๐•ฟ๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–๐–—๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–˜ Bulletin for Thursday, December 10, 2020 โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”…โ”… Generated Fri 11 Dec 04:01:48 GMT 2020 Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (๐š›๐š˜๐šข (at) ๐šœ๐šŒ๐š‘๐šŽ๐šœ๐š๐š˜๐š ๐š’๐š๐šฃ (dot) ๐šŒ๐š˜๐š–) Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals The corresponding HTML versions are at ๐’•๐’†๐’„๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’”.๐’๐’“๐’ˆ Latest in ๐’‰๐’•๐’•๐’‘://๐’•๐’†๐’„๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’”.๐’๐’“๐’ˆ/๐’•๐’™๐’• and older bulletins can be found at ๐’‰๐’•๐’•๐’‘://๐’•๐’†๐’„๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’”.๐’๐’“๐’ˆ/๐’•๐’™๐’•-๐’‚๐’“๐’„๐’‰๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’” Full IPFS index in ๐’‰๐’•๐’•๐’‘://๐’•๐’†๐’„๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’”.๐’๐’“๐’ˆ/๐’Š๐’‘๐’‡๐’” and as plain text in ๐’‰๐’•๐’•๐’‘://๐’•๐’†๐’„๐’‰๐’“๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’”.๐’๐’“๐’ˆ/๐’Š๐’‘๐’‡๐’”/๐’•๐’™๐’• โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐‘๐„๐‚๐„๐๐“ ๐๐”๐‹๐‹๐„๐“๐ˆ๐๐’ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order): QmQ4qcYbFg6RCtajMJBcgoESAn4Cj6wafngVaCsGFVmMTj QmY8CNiuBXEWgEde7biLS6voUiyGg6AsEAjFXJkFEqGUED QmTpnBsAUeyBLJL2NGgLi6vhAmf6Kr6gWhTZYGrmt9U7hv QmZ2hDQGLcFiBexEJSLeXytE1arKzw2acB1Tjz9a89V4Fa Qmd6CkrB6BxvbpYc2A4inaPdP66KBtq72z4VXkuwzSMgkP QmYfrMVyySrZF2SrDo83bXq8ZvCS5nvmuBRbTwmmUMwfmG QmX8sx4qHQqTcXiwTPUfF5FJgwB17cRE94Vdq7o8aajWoB QmNgrJVRJJYg75CzFXHMzwK5Qzc4TSeqDifwZp45So4rE4 QmVRL6WMmGiPV37uPBGTUEvLUEsKm7Yrd3bfHwpJyyzhPU QmS9bP8yhTuXvtdnGKjZQcTYCgofc2LYKW3KEeK8Vq8hti QmZQcuYLNJ1irDo1sgAAN46wJgKbFzZkWPXhqzsJr4wmpV QmfVy1Cefdnogv1y46TCGUYXffiMvPoaUrebDtBmzQouNd QmY1YfMUmDPhBaybxneMM72CHSdttnzK6m6Az1quYcU13Y Qmb1nmr8opPQQQchMsxCxxgtpnpvC6ntG5egMNCvSy6goB QmedadEVa8qx38m3nCc1XAsSv1Ysax8t5GDMfnDFFQ9uuD Qmbeyyus6WJKney9DHZmnSFuEe3qvF2Sobtjn7Meuxzeax QmPWBiWqJudrvMfHmJsdpGQnTiyouDZ2XVRas97CR47vCe QmbWU8LZAoueFo3sFHg9yUhSStNjX3gHp2HdjiLbC1S1CY QmTHV7Z8T6n8D8q3njyZvFEW2igm8TkT7vWz9BwTnLtZCY QmYq9nBUinhGJxPEMNFrimohy385yozBshCqbwY9ZfdYW9 QmQxFpN1zaj9q7VEH7KHHxsNW8nxKEKw42BNKPmSZXAgEP โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐ˆ๐๐ƒ๐„๐— โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• โฆฟ EPO Staff Already Knew Months After Antรณnio Campinos Had Been Parachuted Into the Office That He Was a โ€™Budget Butcherโ€™ | Techrights โฆฟ Corporations Love Shareholders, Not Software Freedom or Usersโ€™ Needs | Techrights โฆฟ Paper on โ€œImproving Governance, Transparency and Accountability at the EPOโ€ Shows That Antรณnio Campinos Has Accomplished Nothing in Half His Term (2.5 Years) | Techrights โฆฟ IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, December 09, 2020 | Techrights โฆฟ [Meme] IBM is Totally Not Killing CentOS | Techrights โฆฟ EPO Bribes of Media/Publishers Pay Off as the Office Uses Lots of Buzzwords to Promote Illegal Agenda and Apparently to Distract From Next Weekโ€™s Strike | Techrights ไทผ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/bfc-report-and-pension-reform/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/corporations-love-shareholders/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/epo-governance-2018/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/irc-log-091220/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/killing-centos/#comments http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/puff-pieces-ahead-of-strike/#comments ไทž Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/tor-browser-10-0-6/#comments ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 61 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/bfc-report-and-pension-reform/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ EPO_Staff_Already_Knew_Months_After_Antรณnio_Campinos_Had_Been_Parachuted_Into the_Office_That_He_Was_a_โ€˜Budget_Butcherโ€™โ €โœ Posted in Europe, Patents at 2:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Executor of the Battistelli plan; shadowy scammer for โ€˜shadow budgetโ€™ (grift) ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡EPOTIFโฆˆ Summary: The sole purpose of Antรณnio Campinos seems to be destroying the whole financial basis of the EPO (amassing wealth for gambling purposes while taking away wealth from the staff), very much contrary to the EPC โ€” and all along lying to staff about it! TWO years ago the Central Staff Committee (CSC) of the EPO met with Antรณnio Campinos and issued this โ€œreport of the 121st BFC,โ€ (Budget and Finance Committee) presented to staff as follows: In October, for the first time in years, your staff representatives had a short โ€œpre-meetingโ€ before the latest meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) with the President of the Office to discuss items on the agenda of this BFC meeting as well as other matters of interest. Again, we can report that the President allowed open and frank discussions. The concerns we raised were noted but did not, however, lead to concrete changes. On the agenda of the BFC meeting were two items of particular interest for staff: - Transfer of funds into the Pension Schemes; - Budget implementation in 2018; Draft budget 2019 and forecast 2020- 2023. Our proposals - For a fair distribution of the injection into the SSP in particular of interest for staff rather at the beginning of their career and - For increasing the foreseen rewards budget in 2019 to allow for at least partial compensation for the non-rewards in the past rewards exercises. were not yet taken on-board. This BFC meeting was a transitional one, building on the legacy of the previous Administration, waiting for the definition of new strategic orientations by Mr Campinos. Hereโ€™s the full_report [PDF], also as images: ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡BFC_report_p1โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡BFC_report_p2โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡BFC_report_p3โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡BFC_report_p4โฆˆ_ โ€œโ€ฆCampinos came to the Office only to chop it down, outsource it, crush/rob workers โ€” all based on fabrications and lies.โ€Much of this report deals with financing issues, including pensions. To the general public this may not mean very much, but it does matter to staff and it affects the quality of examiners the Office is capable of recruiting. ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡EPO scamโฆˆ As the staff found out only months later, Campinos came to the Office only to chop it down, outsource it, crush/rob workers โ€” all based on fabrications and lies. Several months later the CSC wrote about โ€œ[i]ntentions concerning a pension reform,โ€ noting that the plan of Campinos was very bad indeed. To quote the CSC: In the recent Communiquรฉ on a MAC meeting dated 15 March 2019 it is stated that โ€œ(W)hile we have already increased our operational and financial performance over recent years, the issue of financial sustainability is ongoing. We are now aiming to manage these questions based on a solid plan to address our liabilities for the years to come and so these questions do not have to be revisited in the near future.โ€ Staff understands the above sentences as an indication that the Office is now considering imminent and strong cuts in the pension system. This comes as a surprise, since none of the topics on the Presidentโ€™s yearly work program with the Staff Committee for 2019 concerns the pensions. To avoid further unrest spreading among staff we request the President to disclose now any detailed plans and timetable with respect to a potential pension reform. We and EPO staff as a whole look forward to urgent clarifications by the President on this sensitive matter. The full letter is reproduced below: Reference: sc19046cl- 0.3.1/4.2.2 Date: 22.03.2019 Mr Antรณnio Campinos President of the EPO ISAR โ€“ Room 1081 Open letter Your intentions concerning a pension reform Dear Mr President, In a Communiquรฉ on a MAC meeting dated 15 March 2019, you inform staff that โ€œ(T)he The MAC received updates on the progress of the preparation of both the Financial Study and the Staff Survey reportโ€. We regret that the Central Staff Committee (CSC) has neither been involved in the financial study nor has it received any update on the staff survey or the financial study. You state that โ€œ(W)hile we have already increased our operational and financial performance over recent years, the issue of financial sustainability is ongoing. We are now aiming to manage these questions based on a solid plan to address our liabilities for the years to come and so these questions do not have to be revisited in the near future.โ€ Irrespective of the fact that we strongly disagree with you over the existence of a long term liability issue1, staff understands the above sentences as an indication that the Office is now considering imminent and strong cuts in the pension system2. This comes as a surprise, since none of the topics on the yearly work program with the Staff Committee you have defined for 2019 concerns the pensions. ____ 1 For instance the Office fulfils today the recommendations for long term sustainability of the last financial study (Deloitte 2016; Base Case 100 PpH). 2 The wildest rumours are currently circulating, including about the unilateral removal of the tax adjustment for colleagues under the Old Pension System. ===================================================================== To avoid panic spreading among staff approaching or above 50 already contemplating going on (early) pension, we think it would be fair that you disclose now your detailed plans and timetable with respect to your idea of a pension reform. More specifically should you aim at having the Administrative Council (AC) support before the end of the year 2019 a pension reform taking effect as from 1 January 2020, many colleagues may decide to leave the Office before the end of 2019, which implies that they should inform the Office accordingly 6 months in advance3, i.e. before 31 May 2019. We consider it is your duty to inform staff in writing directly and swiftly, e.g. through an Intranet announcement, of your true intentions with respect to pension changes. Staff must get clarity and/or be reassured as a matter of urgency on the following points: - Do you intend to involve the Staff Representation in the pension reform? If yes when? - When do you plan to have the Administrative Council deciding on changes to the existing pension system and when will it take effect? - Do you intend to respect acquired rights of staff (knowing that you have declared several times to different audiences that you โ€œdo not like acquired rightsโ€)? - Which transition measures, if any, do you have in mind, also regarding early pensions? With the current level of distrust in your administration, the lack of a swift and precise answer to this letter will be โ€“ no doubt โ€“ interpreted by staff as an intention to harm them by surprise. A pension reform devised behind closed doors and imposed on staff without meaningful consultation of the Staff Committee would inevitably lead to further demotivation among staff, to increased litigation and social unrest. It should be avoided in the interest of the Office and Staff. We and EPO staff as a whole look forward to your urgent clarifications on this sensitive matter. Yours sincerely, Chairman of the Central Staff Committee _____ 3 Cf. article 54(2) ServRegs. So at that stage, just 9 months or so after arriving at the Office (as an outsider), people could already โ€˜sniff outโ€™ his agenda. He didnโ€™t come to rescue the Office but to carry on destroying it whole destroying the lives of workers (some of whom had already spent decades working there). โ–ˆ ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 306 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/corporations-love-shareholders/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ Corporations_Love_Shareholders,_Not_Software_Freedom_or_Usersโ€™_Needsโ €โœ Posted in Free/Libre_Software, GNU/Linux, IBM, Red_Hat at 6:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Whoโ€™s left to (really) love GNU/Linux if not its users, who actually depend on it unlike_these_IBM_executives and Linux_Foundation executives? ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡When your own chiefs; Basically reject your own productโฆˆ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡Jim Whitehurst storyโฆˆ Summary: IBM loves profits made through Red Hat (and RHEL), but it does not love GNU/Linux and cannot understand why so many people do in fact love GNU/ Linux THE IBM-owned and IBM-controlled Red Hat isnโ€™t crushing CentOS because thereโ€™s no demand for it but because there is demand for it; minimal compliance and conformance with licences seems โ€œfair enoughโ€ for IBM. After all, the new CEO โ€œHopes_to_Double_Sales_at_Red_Hat_in_Next_Three_Yearsโ€; what better way than leaving users stranded, compelling at least some of them to become customers? ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡IBM and Red Hatโฆˆ IBMers who loved GNU/Linux have already retired (Red Hatโ€™s founders, who love this company the most, are also gone). In recent years IBM worked closely with Apple, not with Free software. The CEO of Red Hat (and now IBM President) isnโ€™t even eating his own dogfood (he claimed he had messed around with Fedora, but thereโ€™s no strong evidence of it and Red Hat didnโ€™t do much for the Fedora project, which keeps languishing). Red Hat was the first distribution that I used (years before Fedora Core existed) and the_latest_disappointment_from_IBM is certainly not the last. We can envision several other things happening next (particular projects on the chopping block), but weโ€™d rather not name them and give any ideasโ€ฆ Our article_about_Red_Hat_layoffs was read by about 100,000 people; people know that this is happening, but many are still in denial about it. Recently, as noted in the news some weeks ago (itโ€™s in our Daily Links), IBM fired a huge number of workers across Europe. โ€œGNU/Linux development (or whatever replaces โ€œLinuxโ€) ought to get back to its grassroots communityโ€ฆโ€Last month Tom (Thomas Grzybowski) reported_for_us that according to a friend of his, who had been attending one of the OLF Conferences, Bob Young of Red Hat โ€œwas telling a story about how a few years ago he had explained to Richard Stallman that he himself was more committed to Free Software than Stallman was. In his view, Stallman was only ideologically supporting Free Software, while Red Hatโ€™s entire business model depended upon on it. And through Red Hatโ€™s commercialization of GNU/Linux, Young had brought open-source/free software into wide-spread corporate acceptance and into the marketplace such that many more people could benefit.โ€ This is typical; itโ€™s conflating market share (or โ€œpenetrationโ€ as executives like to call it) with other things, such as the freedom Stallman (RMS) strives to give users and hackers (he means developers when he uses that word). Judging by the history of IBM, the company doesnโ€™t care about freedom. It never did. Linux and GNU were just zero-cost tools for IBM to build systems upon. IBMโ€™s executives in the 1990s understood that it was better to work with GNU/Linux than without it (and sure, they groomed โ€œOpen Sourceโ€ and โ€œLinuxโ€ rather than Free software and GNU; IBMโ€™s employees still_try_to_oust_RMS_from_his_own project,_GNU). Letโ€™s be realistic about it; IBM may have the most important GNU/Linux distribution, but that does not make it the most important advocate or โ€˜flag bearerโ€™. GNU/Linux development (or whatever replaces โ€œLinuxโ€) ought to get back to its grassroots community; shareholders of IBM do not share the same goals as ours and theyโ€™re not_diverse_either (itโ€™s a bunch of highly privileged people, rarely geeks). โ–ˆ ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 396 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/epo-governance-2018/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ Paper_on_โ€œImproving_Governance,_Transparency_and_Accountability_at_the_EPOโ€ Shows_That_Antรณnio_Campinos_Has_Accomplished_Nothing_in_Half_His_Term_(2.5 Years)โ €โœ Posted in Europe, Patents at 1:14 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Mr. Antรณnio โ€œPhoto-Opโ€ Campinos has just wasted a lot of valuable time and created new problems ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡I can smile. Did I get the job?โฆˆ Summary: โ€œA discussion paper on the governance of the EPOโ€ is very much relevant to the current situation at the EPO; it shows that the current patently incompetent administration refuses to tackle all (or any of) the underlying issues, which have led to another_(very_imminent)_Office-wide_strike Published in English, German, and French in 2018 was a paper from SUEPO, which IP Watch made a copy of (available to the general public) 2 years ago. As SUEPO put it at the time, in its address to staff: The developments that have taken place at the EPO over the last five to six years have revealed serious weaknesses in the governance of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), some of which are common to international governmental organisations, others typical for the EPOrg. The present document tries to analyse those weaknesses and suggest approaches for improving the situation. Now that thereโ€™s a strike planned (5 days from now), partly intended to wake up the Administrative Council, the time seems right to reproduce_it_here: [PDF] ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p1โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p2โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p3โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p4โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p5โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p6โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p7โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p8โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p9โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p10โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p11โฆˆ_ ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡EPO_governance_p12โฆˆ_ โ€œNot a single problem has been solved in 2.5 years.โ€โ€œDoing what needs to be done,โ€ SUEPO said 2 years ago. That was the last month of Benoรฎt_Battistelli; did Antรณnio_Campinos adopt any of these suggestions? No. Not a single problem has been solved in 2.5 years. New problems were instead created. โ–ˆ ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 486 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/irc-log-091220/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ IRC_Proceedings:_Wednesday,_December_09,_2020โ €โœ Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:04 am by Needs Sunlight ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡H ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡HTML5_logsโฆˆ_ #techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5 ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡H ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡HTML5_logsโฆˆ_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5 ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡t ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡text_logsโฆˆ_ #techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡t ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡text_logsโฆˆ_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text Enter_the_IRC_channels_now =============================================================================== ยง IPFS Mirrorsโ €โžพ CID Description Object type IRC log for ย QmYFvMdEzBA7oKAQkCZuF9zX9eLDqubShDa95NyL6irEmy #boycottnovell ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡HTML5 logsโฆˆ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell ย QmQG22NjgEas6E9L6D9ifF5zut6Rs8KpjVW5wvYW5kJZ33 (full IRC log ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡text logsโฆˆ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for #boycottnovell- ย QmQLCZaRNdkAWZHe3d1pDsoiBE6kdEND25cdauGj9j5nJX social ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡HTML5 logsโฆˆ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell- ย QmVfdZpwmmNpotcLY8dCHRjqexbZGuN9B6trQBKFnzhnrW social ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡text logsโฆˆ (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for ย QmUUFZxPsjLeZ589Vqswpq7gcRy66kr26MpV6nQ4uWjsqM #techbytes ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡HTML5 logsโฆˆ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techbytes ย QmU6S4zNrKKWm4TgTC2r7BRcXiGY5LmZRUKYanKBYSpUy7 (full IRC log ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡text logsโฆˆ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for ย QmdrhmYc7e868hMe1DiPqDFMtt2xB843ajznDwzDLWZz6Q #techrights ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡HTML5 logsโฆˆ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techrights ย QmdAxjS5RCyCQavkiwXJP54bq8eSyaTLkBeocZmPrZD82d (full IRC log ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡text logsโฆˆ as plain/ASCII text) ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡IPFS logoโฆˆ ยง Bulletin for Yesterdayโ €โžพ Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmQxFpN1zaj9q7VEH7KHHxsNW8nxKEKw42BNKPmSZXAgEP ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 599 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/killing-centos/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ [Meme]_IBM_is_Totally_Not_Killing_CentOSโ €โœ Posted in GNU/Linux, IBM, Red_Hat at 5:00 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Yesterday: IBM_Keeps_Weakening_Its_Commitment_to_Developers_and_Software Communities ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡Yes, how can I help? Systemd? Yes, it's obligatory now. Wait, you use CentOS? We don't support that. No, we didn't kill it. We pretended to create Stream in addition, then killed the other.โฆˆ Summary: The new_boss_of_Red_Hat wants the bucks, not the community; as a person closely familiar with IBM deal-making told us last year, IBM always waits two years before getting rid of people or products inherited from newly- acquired companies ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 630 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐€๐‘๐“๐ˆ๐‚๐‹๐„ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• (โ„น) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2020/12/10/puff-pieces-ahead-of-strike/#comments โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ EPO_Bribes_of_Media/Publishers_Pay_Off_as_the_Office_Uses_Lots_of_Buzzwords to_Promote_Illegal_Agenda_and_Apparently_to_Distract_From_Next_Weekโ€™s_Strikeโ €โœ Posted in Deception, Europe, Patents at 5:25 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Three_EPO_"news"_items_in_less_than_two_days? Sometimes they go on for over a month without even one. ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡EPO Auditโฆˆ Notice how nobody in the media bothered covering this question among others, leading to Commission_cover-up_in_the_dark (without any backlash whatsoever) Summary: Bribed media keeps posting puff pieces, blackmailed media says nothing (โ€œmedia blackoutโ€, utter silence), and the EPOโ€™s Web site is a non-stop propaganda machine; is this the best we have to offer in terms of journalism in 2020? THE EPO blocks this site. Both Benoรฎt_Battistelli and Antรณnio_Campinos did this. Facts are โ€œmaliciousโ€โ€ฆ PR is โ€œgoldโ€. As we noted here last week, these censorious affairs are counterproductive because if staff wants to know something, staff will find a way. Theyโ€™re not โ€œcompinosโ€ (literally herders of cattle), theyโ€™re mostly examiners. Research is the type of thing they do for a living. โ€œThe staff should also be very angry at the media, seeing what happened to it over the past half a decade (I used to speak to some of those who covered the scandals; I know why they stopped); not only did the media fail to cover EPO abuses (journalists suppressed) as at times it also helped Battistelli defame an innocent judge, both in the Netherlands and in Germany.โ€Earlier today SUEPO sort of โ€˜broke the silenceโ€™ as far as the general public is concerned because SUEPOโ€™s site now publicly mentions next weekโ€™s strike, citing Kluwer Patent Blog. It later added this_new_node that says: โ€œLโ€™Union Syndicale Fรฉdรฉrale (USF), the largest trade union federation in the European international civil service, today published the following article on the announced strike on 15 December 2020 at the European Patent Officeโ€ฆโ€ โ€œStaff of EPO goes on strike on 15th Decemberโ€ (English version) can be found here [PDF]; itโ€™s a one-pager: ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด_๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ_โฆ‡Article_USFโฆˆ_ The full letter is clearly written, as imaged above (simple and clear language not only EPO insiders can grasp), with the following English text: ยง Staff_of_EPO_goes_on_strike_on_15th_Decemberโ €โžพ After two and a half years of presidency of Mr. Campinos, the situation is again tense at the European Patent Office. Many of the issues inherited from the previous administration have not yet been solved, or only partially solved. In particular staff at the EPO is still denied a fair career progression and a fair and transparent reporting system. Respect for staff and staff representation, people-oriented management, decrease of work pressure and genuine social dialogue are still empty promises that have failed to materialize so far. The cases of some of the SUEPO officials/Staff representatives abusively sanctioned by the Battistelli administration have not been settled and partial impediment of the activities of the staff representation and its capacity to contact all the staff by limiting the number of email addressees to 50, has not been officially lifted yet. The current unique strict regulations on the right to strike are a clear limitation of that same right and an unacceptable interference of the administration in union matters. On top of all that the unilateral implementation of a new Salary Adjustment Procedure based on a flawed financial study will have a disastrous effects from next year on to the salaries and the pensions of the staff, due to its arbitrary capping mechanism. For the first time in EPO history, and most probably in the history of international organizations, Purchasing Power Parity between sites and parallelism with the evolution of salaries in the central governments of the member states will not be respected. This precedent is worrying not only for the staff of the EPO but also for all staff of international organisations. The new Salary Adjustment Procedure is an adjustment procedure only by name and should be more properly called a Salary Erosion Procedure. The EPO top management is now pushing unpopular, divisive and far- reaching reforms, like a reform on education allowance, despite the pandemic while ignoring most input from the staff and the staff representation. Staff at the EPO has been very patient so far. However in light of all of the above and the lack of substantial progress in most of the issues at stake staff has decided that โ€œenough is enoughโ€ ! Roberto Righetti Member of the USF Federal Bureau Member of SUEPO TH So whereโ€™s the mainstream media? Silent. Missing. ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡Police squadronโฆˆ Not interested? Isnโ€™t it important news when Europeโ€™s second-largest institution goes on strike for the first time in years? Corrupt EPO management already uses its mindless catchphrases and buzzwords to promote illegal patents such as software_patents (probably trying hard to distract from their staff going on strike because EPO managers break many laws). This (warning: epo.org link) is the third one in just over 24 hours. Sometimes 24 whole days go by (even more) without a single one! Speaking as a technical person, I can say very sincerely that itโ€™s just a buzzwords salad with little or no substance. When the EPO says โ€œfourth industrial revolution (4IR) [...] Internet of Things, big data, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI)โ€ it means dogwhistle or โ€˜codeโ€™ for patents on code. Those are ILLEGAL and this is what a buzzwords salad looks like (written like it was prepared by a marketing department, not a technical professional): A study published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) shows that innovation in fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies has accelerated significantly worldwide. Between 2010 and 2018, global patent filings for these technologies, which concern smart connected objects and span the Internet of Things, big data, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI), grew at an average annual rate of almost 20% โ€“ nearly five times faster than the average of all technology fields. The study, entitled Patents and the Fourth Industrial Revolution โ€“ the global technology trends enabling the data-driven economy, looks at all international patent families (IPFs) related to 4IR worldwide between 2000 and 2018. Each of these represents a high-value invention for which patent applications have been filed at two or more patent offices globally. The study finds that nearly 40 000 new IPFs were filed for these technologies in 2018 alone. This means they accounted for more than 10% of all patenting activity worldwide that year. This is the kind of junk that later gets reprinted by media that the EPO bribes (in exchange for printing such junk in multiple languages). Hours ago a reader told us that the EPO-bribed Les Echos is at it again. ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡Policeโฆˆ โ€œNew puff piece in Les Echos,โ€ the reader says, as s/he โ€œdiscovered a_new_puff_piece in the official fake news partner of the EPO. While the redhead drug addict oppresses the staff, he plays the hero in the press. The Germans would call his behaviour โ€œSelbstbefriedigungโ€.โ€ No wonder the staff is angry. The staff should also be very angry at the media, seeing what happened to it over the past half a decade (I used to speak to some of those who covered the scandals; I know why they stopped); not only did the media fail to cover EPO abuses (journalists suppressed) as at times it also helped Battistelli defame an innocent judge, both in the Netherlands and in Germany. โ–ˆ ไทฉ ๐š•๐š’๐š—๐šŽ 827 โ•’โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ• ๐ƒ๐€๐ˆ๐‹๐˜ ๐‹๐ˆ๐๐Š๐’ โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•• โ €โŒง โ–ˆโ–‡โ–†โ–…โ–„โ–ƒโ–‚โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ– 12.10.20โ €โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–โ–‚โ–ƒโ–„โ–…โ–†โ–‡โ–ˆ โŒง โœ Links_10/12/2020:_Tor_Browser_10.0.6_and_Facebook_Antitrust_Actionโ €โœ Posted in News_Roundup at 5:54 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ผ๐Ÿ„ฐ๐Ÿ„ถ๐Ÿ„ด ๐Ÿ„ณ๐Ÿ„ด๐Ÿ…‚๐Ÿ„ฒ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„ฟ๐Ÿ…ƒ๐Ÿ„ธ๐Ÿ„พ๐Ÿ„ฝ โฆ‡GNOME bluefishโฆˆ ยง Contentsโ €โžพ * GNU/Linux o Distributions o Devices/Embedded * Free_Software/Open_Source * Leftovers * ยง GNU/Linuxโ €โžพ o โš“ Top_5_Linux_Tablets_Thatโ€™s_Great_For_Privacyโ €โ‡› Itโ€™s no secret that Linux-based operating systems have been garnering quite some popularity as of late. Well, why wouldnโ€™t they? Thereโ€™s a lot of advantages that Linux distros have to bring to the table, the most notable of which is privacy. Thanks to Linuxโ€™s way, these operating systems can secure the user data from malware and other such attacks. Other than that, you can also better manage your files and decide who will have what kind of access to which files, courtesy of the directory permissions that youโ€™ll get with Linux. o โš“ An_Interview_with_LearnLinux.TVโ€™s_Jay_LaCroixโ €โ‡› For me, Linux is an amazing thing. Iโ€™m obsessed, itโ€™s like my hobby and it just happens to pay. What are the odds that something you love to do can generate a paycheck? Thereโ€™s nothing as great as that. In addition to the YouTube channel, I write books, so my newest book is going to be coming out at the end of the year. The book is Mastering Ubuntu Server โ€” Third Edition. Itโ€™s just an update to the 2nd Edition, but it became a lot more than just an update. Surprisingly the amount of work Iโ€™ve had to do on it is about the same as writing a brand new book from scratch, because itโ€™s taken at least six months now to finish. The 2nd one has been a very big success, and this one I think is going to be even better. The important thing to note is this book is written entirely on System76 hardware and entirely on LibreOffice. o ยง Desktop/Laptopโ €โžพ # โš“ 5_Best_Linux_Distros_to_use_on_Home_PC_&_laptop_in_2021โ €โ‡› When it comes to a home pc or laptop that is accessible by multiple people then you must want an operating system that is not only secure but also enough simple and easy to understand by everyone. As more and more people are getting aware of security and privacy concerns because of increasing internet penetration in our daily lives, Linux distrosโ€™ developers keep doing hard work to make them more user friendly and easy to understand. Also, if you have multiple PCs in your home, then for installing Linux you donโ€™t have to pay anything. Moreover, you donโ€™t want RedHat, CentOS, Kali Linux, OpenSUSE which are more inclined towards professional users. In-home, we want something which indeed a Linux but less sophisticated, easy to understand, installation packages should be available via Software Manager and can detect all PC hardware to setup corresponding drivers. o ยง Serverโ €โžพ # โš“ ZimaBoard_is_a_hackable_single-board_server_with_Intel Apollo_Lake_(crowdfunding)โ €โ‡› Both models should be able to support a range of operating systems including server-specific options like pfSense, LibreELEC, or OpenWrt as well as desktop (or mobile) operating systems including Windows, various GNU/Linux distributions, or Android. According to promotional materials, the ZimaBoard comes from the same folks who make the LattePanda line of single-board computers with Intel chipsโ€ฆ although I donโ€™t see any mention of the ZimaBoard on the LattePanda website or social media channels. # โš“ Mirantis_OpenStack_for_Kubernetesโ €โ‡› o ยง Audiocasts/Showsโ €โžพ # โš“ 1080p_Video_Editing_on_a_Raspberry_Pi_400_with_Ubuntu_MATE โ€“_YouTubeโ €โ‡› Welcome back to our series about the Raspberry Pi 400! In this video Jason attempts to produce a 1080p video using Kdenlive and Ubuntu MATE. # โš“ Ncmpcpp:_Letโ€™s_Rice_Up_This_Music_Player_โ€“_YouTubeโ €โ‡› Ncmpcpp is an amazing terminal based music player for Linux and today weโ€™re going to take from looking fairly boring like it does out of the box to being a genuenly impressive looking terminal application. We wonโ€™t be configuring everything but this should give you a decent baseline to work with. # โš“ mintCast_349.5_โ€“_Just_Some_Linux_ISOs_โ€“_mintCastโ €โ‡› In our Innards section, we talk Docker, OpenVPN and Transmission And finally, the feedback and a couple of suggestions # โš“ FLOSS_Weekly_608:_What_Makes_a_Standard?โ €โ‡› Take a deep dive into the connections between standards, open-source, and much more with John Wunderlich. John contributes to many standards efforts as a self-described privacist with a degree in history and who in past lives was a journeyman machinist and trained air traffic controller. # โš“ 203:_TOR_De_Force_of_M1_Mac_โ€“_Destination_Linuxโ €โ‡› This week weโ€™re going to dive into the world of TOR, the Onion Router. Is Tor a good way to stay private on the internet? Is using the Tor Browser really safe? Can you truly remain anonymous using this tool? Those questions and more are what deep dive in this episode. We also take a look at the new Patreon Campaign in order to reverse engineer Linux Support on the M1 Mac from Apple. In addition we will be covering community feedback and of course we have our popular tips/tricks and software picks. All of this and so much more this week on Destination Linux. # โš“ Coder_In_the_Woods_|_Coder_Radio_391โ €โ‡› Time to talk business, and Chris reveals his biggest mistake since going independent. o ยง Kernel Spaceโ €โžพ # ยง Graphics Stackโ €โžพ # โš“ Vulkan_Comes_To_Apple_Silicon_GPUs_/_M1_By_Means_Of MoltenVK_1.1.1_โ€“_Phoronixโ €โ‡› While Apple continues to drive their own Metal graphics/compute API, Vulkan support built atop Metal continues to mature thanks to the open-source MoltenVK project. With the MoltenVKโ€™s latest update is now support for Apple Silicon with the M1โ€ฒs new GPU. MoltenVK 1.1.1 was released on Wednesday and while the version number may seem like an insignificant update, itโ€™s actually a big one. There are a number of updates in this release for Vulkan-on-Metal and is rounded out by the initial Apple M1 โ€œApple Siliconโ€ support. Apple Silicon needed some additional GPU pixel formats support and different device properties to be set, among other tweaks for this brand new Apple hardware. # โš“ Mesa_21.0_Begins_Landing_Optimizations_For_AMD_Smart Access_Memory_โ€“_Phoronixโ €โ‡› While AMD Smart Access Memory has already been supported under Linux for some time with its resizable BAR functionality, only now with all the excitement around the feature being promoted with the Ryzen 5000 series and Radeon RX 6000 series hardware is the Mesa driver code beginning to see some optimizations for it. Lead RadeonSI developer Marek Olลกรกk of AMD has merged a set of optimizations for AMD Smart Access Memory that will come in next quarterโ€™s Mesa 21.0 release. The code that landed today include a helper for determining Smart Access Memory / all vRAM visible, only force the staging uploads for vRAM when Smart Access Memory isnโ€™t enabled, and only use staging for linear textures when the feature is disabled. For cases when Smart Access Memory is enabled, vRAM is now used for command buffers, the pipe usage stream is mapped to vRAM, and the uploading code has been unified and going straight to vRAM with this feature enabled. More details within this merge request. # โš“ AMD_Opens_Up_The_Code_To_Its_Radeon_Memory_Visualizer โ€“_Phoronixโ €โ‡› Back in May was AMDโ€™s celebration of the GPUOpen re-launch and that included the introduction of the Radeon Memory Visualizer (RMV) as their newest tool at the time. But rather strange for being a โ€œGPUOpenโ€ development tool is that it was Windows-only and not actually open-source. Today that has now changed with Radeon Memory Visualizer going open-source. GPUOpen announced today that the Radeon Memory Visualizer is in fact open-source and available under an MIT license. This tool is designed to provide insight into video memory usage during various workloads and help in vRAM profiling. RMV was updated last month for RDNA 2 while just ahead of Christmas they made good on their word to open-source it. o ยง Benchmarksโ €โžพ # โš“ A_Preliminary_Look_At_Radeon_RX_6800_XT_Windows_Performance vs._Open-Source_Linux_Driversโ €โ‡› Software Windows drivers for the recently released Radeon RX 6800 XT, here are some preliminary data points looking at the OpenGL / Vulkan performance between Windows and Linux for RDNA 2. While working on some extensive Ryzen 9 5900X Windows vs. Linux benchmarks, with the Radeon RX 6800 XT installed I also ran some preliminary GPU performance tests for those curious how well the AMD Linux graphics driver stack is performing roughly one month after launch. The same system was obviously used with the Ryzen 9 5900X, ASU ROG CROSSHAIR VIII HERO, 2 x 8GB DDR4- 3600 memory, and the reference Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card. o ยง Applicationsโ €โžพ # โš“ Best_Audio_Editing_and_Music_Making_Software_for_Linuxโ €โ‡› This article covers a list of music making or audio editing software usable on Linux. Some of these applications allow you to record sound streams through external devices like microphones while others allow you to capture audio from musical instruments connected to your Linux system. These are some of the best, free, and open source software that you can use to record, edit, mix, synthesize, and directly make music from scratch using external instruments connected to your Linux system. o ยง Instructionals/Technicalโ €โžพ # โš“ Step_by_step_guide_to_reset_root_password_in_Mysql_โ€“ LinuxTechLabโ €โ‡› Working with MySQL or MariaDB database, you might have faced a situation where you might have forgotten root or another userโ€™s password, or being SysAdmin, you might have had to deal with users who have forgotten their password. In this tutorial, we will learn to reset the root password in Mysql or resetting any other user accountโ€™s password (the same steps can also be used to reset the userโ€™s password in MariaDB as well). # โš“ Manage_operations_on_S3_Bucket_using_aws-cli_from_the_EC2 instanceโ €โ‡› We can create and manage the S3 bucket using the AWS console. Sometimes there can be a need where we want to create and perform operations on the S3 Bucket from the command line. If you are not aware of the S3 bucket and would like to learn about it click here where you can find an article about the S3 bucket written by me. # โš“ How_to_start_and_kill_a_process_in_Ubuntu_20.04_LTSโ €โ‡› A process is a series of steps to perform some specific tasks. In terms of computer science, a process is a program undergoing execution. Often Multiple processes run at a time. One process is associated with one program and each process has different components that perform their respective tasks. Different properties are associated with each process. # โš“ How_to_disable_ICMP_ping_replies_(linux)_|_RNMโ €โ‡› Few weeks ago during server setup phase for one of my project, I notice there is no ICMP or ping replies from server and some port are not able to access. I told the network engineer to check and seem they blocking the ports and disabling ICMP replies from their firewall configuration. # โš“ How_to_clean_up_the_Fedora_root_folder_โ€“_Red_Hat Developerโ €โ‡› When upgrading a package or the Fedora release version, I sometimes hit the error: Disk Requirements: At least XXX more space needed on the / filesystem. This message tells me that the disk space is inadequate. I need to clean the Fedora root folder space before performing the upgrade. When browsing to learn more about this issue, I can easily find many people who have the same problem, as well as many different cases where it occurs. In addition, the possible ways to fix this issue are typically spread over various forums, making it complicated to choose the right path. In this article, I grouped together several interesting sources that describe different ways to address this issue, even when my case wasnโ€™t the root cause. I hope my experience and understanding of this issue helps save you time in resolving it. # โš“ How_to_change_the_Vertical_Mx_linux_Taskbar_panel_to_bottom โ€“_Linux_Shoutโ €โ‡› MX Linux is grabbing popularity much faster than other Linux in the same category because of speed and its less resource consumption. By default, it comes with an Xfce desktop environment but with a left-side vertical taskbar, which is really uncomfortable and annoying at least for me. In case, the same goes for you and you also want to customize MX Linux Taskbar to the standard one, as we have on Linux Mint or Windows, then here is the solution. [...] After having the panel at the bottom one thing that remains problematic for some people is the position of the MX Linux start menu button. It will remain on the right side and to move it to the left side, in Panel preferences, click on the Items tab and the move select Whisker Menu, drag it to the top. In the same way, move other icons. If you want to add any other application shortcut then that can be possible from there by using the + icon. # โš“ How_to_Install_PHP_8.0_on_Ubuntu_20.04_/_18.04โ €โ‡› PHP is arguably one of the most widely used server- side programming languages. Itโ€™s the language of choice when developing dynamic and responsive websites. In fact, popular CM platforms such as WordPress, Drupal, and Magento are based on PHP. At the time of penning down this guide, the latest version of PHP is PHP 8.0. It was released on November 26, 2020. It boasts of new features and optimizations such as union types, named arguments, null safe operator, match expression, JIT, and improvements in error handling and consistency. This tutorial walks you through the installation of PHP 8.0 on Ubuntu 20.04 / 18.04. # โš“ How_to_Install_PHP_8_on_Ubuntu_20.04_with_Apache_and_Nginx โ€“_LinuxBuzโ €โ‡› PHP also know as โ€œPHP: Hypertext Preprocessorโ€ is an open-source and most widely used scripting language used for developing dynamic and responsive web applications. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf and used as a general-purpose programming language. At the time of writing this tutorial, the latest version of PHP is PHP 8.0. It was officially released on November 26th, 2020. It contains a number of new features including, Union Types, Match Expressions, Named Arguments, Attributes, Weak Maps, and much more. In this tutorial, we will explain how to install PHP 8 on Ubuntu 20.04 and integrate it with Apache and Nginx web server. # โš“ How_to_become_a_cloud_administratorโ €โ‡› # โš“ How_to_Install_FreeBSD_12_on_VirtualBox?_โ€“_Linux_Hintโ €โ‡› FreeBSD is one of the many open-source distributions of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Kernel. Since BSD is an iteration of Research Unix, FreeBSD is said to be a Unix-like operating system. It can be used on pretty much any processor adaptive to Intelโ€™s x86 architecture. Other builds that can run it includes amd64, PC-98, Alpha/AXP, and IA-64. It is known for being more reliable and faster than Linux, hence used as an alternative to Linux. It is favored by manufacturing companies, and such other entities, because of its licensing system, which allows them to modify the kernel without having to make the changes open-source. This tutorial is about installing FreeBSD 12 on VirtualBox. The instructions here are universal to almost all other hypervisors. # โš“ How_To_Repeat_A_Command_Every_X_Seconds_On_Linux_โ€“_Linux Uprising_Blogโ €โ‡› This article explains how to repeat a command every X seconds on Linux, in 2 ways: using watch, and using sleep in a while loop (with a way to avoid time drift when using long-running commands). # โš“ How_To_Install_Monitorix_on_CentOS_8_โ€“_idrootโ €โ‡› In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Monitorix on CentOS 8. For those of you who didnโ€™t know, Monitorix is a free, open-source, lightweight system monitoring tool designed to monitor as many services and system resources as possible. It has been created to be used under production UNIX/Linux servers, but due to its simplicity and small size, you may also use it on embedded devices as well. 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 โ€˜sudoโ€˜ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you through the step by step install Monitorix system monitoring tool on CentOS 8. # โš“ Linux_Run_Command_As_Another_Userโ €โ‡› # โš“ How_to_disable_ICMP_ping_replies_(linux)_|_RNMโ €โ‡› Few weeks ago during server setup phase for one of my project, I notice there is no ICMP or ping replies from server and some port are not able to access. I told the network engineer to check and seem they blocking the ports and disabling ICMP replies from their firewall configuration. # โš“ How_To_Install_Steam_On_Ubuntu-based_Distribution?โ €โ‡› Folks a few years ago playing came on Linux was a dream, and If you asked someone Can we play a game on Linux System then people will say โ€œBIG NOโ€. After collaboration with steam and wine, they introduced proton in steam through which we can easily play games like GTA V, Witcher, Tom Rider, etc in Linux very easily. According to the proton report, it is shown that some games perform much better in Linux than in windows. Many games migrating to Linux after the introduction of proton in steam for Linux. Today we will explain to you how to install and configure steam in Linux with proton enabled to your favorite games on Linux. # โš“ How_to_install_Manjaro_20.2_GNOME_Edition_โ€“_YouTubeโ €โ‡› In this video, I am going to show how to install Manjaro 20.2 GNOME Edition. # โš“ How_to_Install_OCS_Inventory_Asset_Management_Software CentOS_8โ €โ‡› OCS โ€œOpen Computers and Software Inventory Next Generationโ€ is an open-source assets management solution that allows you to inventory IT assets. It works by collecting the hardware and software information of the remote machine running the OCS client program and visualize the inventory through a web interface. It uses SNMP protocol to gather information from the network printers, switches, computer, etc. In this tutorial, we will explain how to install OCS inventory on CentOS 8 server. # โš“ How_to_install_PyCharm_on_Ubuntu_20.04โ €โ‡› In this video, we are looking at how to install PyCharm, community edition, in Ubuntu 20.04. # โš“ How_to_Check_OpenSSH_Version_โ€“_TecAdminโ €โ‡› OpenSSH is an secure networking utility for remote login with SSH protocol. This is the primary tools used by the most of Linux based systems for the remote SSH login. OpenSSH provides you the option to connect remote system over the SSH protocol. Which provides the end to end encryption between communication to two systems. This tutorial will help you to check OpenSSH version running on your system. # โš“ How_to_install_Taiga_Project_Management_on_CentOS_8โ €โ‡› Taiga is an open-source project management system that helps you to manage both simple and complex projects for startups. # โš“ Chattr_Command_in_Linux_(File_Attributes)โ €โ‡› In Linux, file attributes are meta-data properties that describe the fileโ€™s behavior. For example, an attribute can indicate whether a file is compressed or specify if the file can be deleted. Some attributes like immutability can be set or cleared, while others like encryption are read-only and can only be viewed. The support for certain attributes depends on the filesystem being used. This article explains how to use the chattr command to change file attributes on Linux file systems. # โš“ How_to_setup_SSH_login_without_password_on_Linux_systems_โ€“ The_Linux_GURUSโ €โ‡› We might be required to setup ssh login without password for any number of reasons like remote file/commands execution, initiating backups with SCP, etc. In this tutorial, we will learn to setup ssh login without password by using ssh public- private key-based authentication. For this to work, we will first have to create ssh keys on one server, named SERVER A & then will copy the created public key to another Linux server, named SERVER B. The public key is copied into the file located in a userโ€™s ssh directory i.e. โ€˜/home/ user/.ssh/authorized_keysโ€™. o ยง Gamesโ €โžพ # โš“ After_a_new_visual_novel?_Tokyo_Re:Connect_is_coming_to Linux_with_a_demo_up_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› What looks like it could be a really high quality romance visual novel, Tokyo Re:Connect from KONEKO now has a demo available and theyโ€™re crowdfunding on Kickstarter. โ€œYou play as the protagonist Shindou Touki, who moves from the countryside to Tokyo, to begin a new chapter in his life. Navigate through various choices and the life of a high school student in the city, as Touki learns what it means to connect with others. Including over 30 hours of gameplay, detailed CG, and a moving soundtrack โ€“ all in high definition โ€“ your choices will affect the path you take.โ€ # โš“ Check_out_30_minutes_of_the_upcoming_TMORPG_Book_of_Travels |_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› Might and Delight (Shelter, Meadow and more) are currently developing Book of Travels which theyโ€™re calling a TMORPG (Tiny Multiplayer Online RPG) and it looks seriously gorgeous. With a crowdfunding campaign well behind them now that was a success back in November 2019, theyโ€™re fully into the production on it now and they put up around 30 minutes of footage along with commentary to give us a true proper first look at what to expect from it. Iโ€™m ridiculously curious about this since it will have small player numbers per cluster, it will rely on your character learning a unique symbol language and a focus on authentic roleplaying. # โš“ Desperados_III_has_a_final_free_update_as_Mimimi_Games_move to_self-publish_their_next_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› Mimimi Games are giving Desperados III a โ€œproper goodbyeโ€ with the final free update, and itโ€™s quite an exciting one for an already amazing game. Just released is the โ€œBounty Mode Updateโ€ which allows you to change how you play the game. You will be able to play with all character across almost every major mission, so this means you can make it easier or spice it up and make it perhaps more interestingly difficult for yourself. Mimmi said โ€œYou want to crash the Mayorโ€™s wedding in โ€œMission 4: Until Death Do Us Partโ€ with all characters and create some fun voodoo chaos with Isabelle, while the Doc snipes his way through the wedding preparations. Well, here you go!โ€. Thereโ€™s also now a simple form of a level editor, which they call โ€œLevel Editing Cheatsโ€ that allows you to go into any mission and activate a new mode where you can then spawn all sorts of things in. Save it and then share it. Not quite a full level editor but close and could allow for some interesting creations with the existing levels. # โš“ INZANE_is_an_upcoming_cinematic_side-scroller_adventure that_looks_awesome_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› With some pretty impressive visuals at time, the upcoming side-scroller INZANE is one to keep on your watch list or help fund it if it catches your attention like it did mine. Confirmed to be coming to Linux and Windows, with macOS planned later. โ€œAn experiment plagued by psychological suffering, which is fleeing from itself and other threats, wandering through a world in which reality and imagination are not far apart. A 2D cinematic side- scroller with a fascinating mystical atmosphere and detailed hand-crafted world. Exciting and complex puzzles that are unique in their own way.โ€ # โš“ Valve_upgrade_the_Steam_browsing_experience_in_the_latest Steam_Labs_experiment_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› With so many thousands of games available on Steam, discovering what you want can be a serious pain in the arse and Valve are clearly aware of that with a new Steam Labs experiment. Steam Labs Experiment 010: Browsing Steam is now available on an opt-in basis, which introduces a much broader set of ways to explore all the various games on Steam. Using some of the new tagging systems they built for other already rolled out features, itโ€™s added a ton of new areas to Steam. It updates the main navigation bar on Steam to give you a quick menu for New & Noteworthy releases along with a huge Categories menu. Originally (and for anyone not testing it right now), the Categories menu was very simplistic and only offered a few basic tags to get you going. # โš“ Amusing_multiplayer_party_game_Gang_Beasts_has_a_huge update_and_big_sale_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› Gang Beasts from Boneloaf is the super-silly party game that sees various gelatinous characters engage in brutal fisticuffs and itโ€™s bigger and better than ever. Probably one of the funniest and dumbest multiplayer fighting party games around, and it seems theyโ€™re going to keep on updating it after splitting from Double Fine. Thereโ€™s a lot to go over but hereโ€™s a small slice of what to expect: a major Unity game engine upgrade, itโ€™s now 64bit on Linux with 32bit removed, a new glass destruction system they said should look and perform better, a new buoyancy system to perform better and allow them to do more types of liquid, lots of new costumes and parts for customization including adding the Yogscast Charity Drive 2015 DLC now being part of the game, a new Aquarium stage, new audio, tons of combat tweaks to make it feel better and the list just goes on and on. # โš“ Valve_puts_up_Proton_5.13-4_to_get_Cyberpunk_2077_working on_Linux_for_AMD_GPUs_|_GamingOnLinuxโ €โ‡› Two bits of major news to cover for the Steam Play Proton compatibility layer, with some exciting major changes coming in with updates. Donโ€™t know what Steam Play Proton is? Go take a look at our dedicated page. Firstly, if you have an AMD GPU and you donโ€™t mind grabbing the latest development code for the Mesa graphics drivers โ€“ Cyberpunk 2077 should actually work on Linux with the new Proton 5.13-4 release. Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais mentioned that CD PROJEKT RED allowed them some early testing time to get the work done for both vkd3d (the Direct3D 12 to Vulkan layer) and radv (the AMD Mesa Vulkan driver). As an NVIDIA GPU owner, this makes me quite jealous as it seems my only other current choice on Linux is Stadia or GeForce NOW (unofficially โ€“ until later in 2021). # โš“ Updated_SDL_to_2.0.14_in_preparation_for_release candidateโ €โ‡› # โš“ SDL_2.0.14_Being_Prepared_With_OS/2_Support,_PS5_DualSense +_Xbox_Series_X_Controllers_โ€“_Phoronixโ €โ‡› A new SDL2 library release is being prepared for this widely-used, cross-platform abstraction layer popular with games for supporting a wide range of input devices / peripherals and other vast subsystem coverage in a portable manner. # โš“ Watch:_Cyberpunk_2077_Running_on_Arch_Linuxโ €โ‡› Cyberpunk 2077 launched today on Steam, but itโ€™s a Windows-only game. However, Valve was quick to update their Wine-based Proton compatibility tool for Steam Play to add support for Linux systems. Therefore, to run Cyberpunk 2077 on Linux you would need to have Proton 5.13-4 installed on your GNU/ Linux distribution, along with the Mesa Git graphics stack, and an AMD Radeon GPU. # โš“ Cyberpunk_2077_Can_Run_On_Linux_With_Steam_Playโ€™s_Proton 5.13-4_โ€“_Phoronixโ €โ‡› In an unexpected but pleasant surprise, there is support in the just-released Proton 5.13-4 for this game set to be released tomorrow. Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt and powered by their REDengine 4. This open-world game is releasing on Windows tomorrow (10 December) and will work in conjunction with this Wine downstream that powers Steam Play. # โš“ Cyberpunk_2077_Will_Run_on_Linux_via_Steam_Playโ €โ‡› In a surprising turn of events, Cyberpunk 2077 will be playable thru Steam Play on Linux operating systems starting tomorrow. This is all made possible thru Steamโ€™s Proton compatibility layer which allows Windows-based games to run on Linux. Phoronix spotted Cyberpunk 2077 support in an update for Proton, version 5.13-4 which was made specifically to add support for the hot new game. The only requirements are an AMD Radeon graphics card, a Steam copy of the game (obviously), and the Mesa 20.1 git (Mesa is an open-source implementation for APIs like OpenCL and Vulkan). To see whatโ€™s recommended for best performance, check out our list of Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements, but note that you wonโ€™t want to use an Nvidia card. o ยง Distributionsโ €โžพ # โš“ IPFire_2.25_โ€“_Core_Update_153_available_for_testingโ €โ‡› I hope everyone is doing well during lockdown. For those of you, who have some spare time, we would be glad if you could help us testing the next version of IPFire. It comes with many exciting changesโ€ฆ The location database has received significant updates that improve its accuracy. This was possible by importing more data into it and correlating it with existing data from other sources. We have also improved performance of loading data from the database into the kernel for firewall rules which removes a class of issues where IP addresses could have matched more than one country. # ยง BSDโ €โžพ # โš“ macOS_to_FreeBSD_migration_a.k.a_why_I_left_macOSโ €โ‡› I think the title tells a lot about the story Iโ€™m going to tell you. This is not a technical documentation for how I migrated from macOS to FreeBSD. This is a high-level for why I migrated from macOS to FreeBSD. Not so long ago, I was using macOS as my daily driver. The main reason why I got a macbook was the underlying BSD Unix and the nice graphics it provides. Also, I have an iPhone. But they were also the same reasons for why I left macOS. # โš“ Fiddling_with_OpenBSD_portsโ €โ‡› This has been a good learning experience. I donโ€™t think Iโ€™ll ever be packaging anything myself but I have a better idea now of what goes on behind the scenes. I did want to package TailScale for OpenBSD at some point, maybe if I have free time in the future Iโ€™ll give it a shot as a learning exercise. At this point Iโ€™ve worked my way backwards to understand whatโ€™s happening, if I ever package something Iโ€™ll have to work forwards โ€“ which is an even bigger task. # ยง IBM/Red Hat/Fedoraโ €โžพ # โš“ CentOSโ€™s_switch_to_Stream_is_a_major_change_in_what CentOS_isโ €โ‡› The switch to CentOS Stream makes two major changes to what CentOS is from CentOS 8 onward (CentOS 7 is currently unaffected). First, it shortens the package update period to no more than five years, because package updates for the CentOS Stream version of RHEL stop at the end of RHELโ€™s five year full support period. In practice CentOS Stream for is not likely to be immediately available when RHEL is launched, and you wonโ€™t install it immediately even if it was, so you will get less than five years of package updates before you must switch or operate machines without someone providing security updates for you. # โš“ Jonathan_Carter:_CentOS_Stream,_or_Debian?โ €โ‡› Earlier this week, the CentOS project announced the shift to CentOS stream. In a nutshell, this means that they will discontinue being a close clone of RHEL along with security updates, and instead it will serve as a development branch of RHEL. As you can probably imagine (or gleam from the comments in that post I referenced), a lot of people are unhappy about this. [...] Iโ€™m also somewhat skeptical of how successful CentOS Stream will really be in any form of a community project. It seems that Red Hat is expecting that volunteers should contribute to their product development for free, and then when these contributors actually want to use that resulting product, theyโ€™re expected to pay a corporate subscription fee to do so. This seems like a very lop-sided relationship to me, and Iโ€™m not sure it will be sustainable in the long term. In Red Hatโ€™s announcement of CentOS Stream, they kind of throw the community a bone by saying โ€œIn the first half of 2021, we plan to introduce low- or no-cost programs for a variety of use casesโ€- it seems likely that this will just be for experimental purposes similar to the Windows Insider program and wonโ€™t be of much use for production users at all. Red Hat does point out that their Universal Base Image (UBI) is free to use and that users could just use that on any system in a container, but this doesnโ€™t add much comfort to the individuals and organisations who have contributed huge amounts of time and effort to CentOS over the years who rely on a stable, general-purpose Linux system that can be installed on bare metal. # โš“ CentOS_Linux_is_deadโ€”and_Red_Hat_says_Stream_is_โ€œnot a_replacementโ€โ €โ‡› On Tuesday, Red Hat CTO Chris Wright and CentOS Community Manager Rich Bowen each announced a massive change in the future and function of CentOS Linux. Moving forward, there will be no CentOS Linuxโ€”instead, there will (only) be CentOS Stream. Originally announced in September 2019, CentOS Stream serves as โ€œa rolling preview of whatโ€™s next in RHELโ€โ€”itโ€™s intended to look and function much like a preview of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as it will be a year or so in the future. โš“ CentOS_Linux_reborn_as_Rocky_Linux_enterprise_operating systemโ €โ‡› As you know, Red Hat and IBM shocked the Linux community by killing CentOS 8 stable. There will be no CentOS Linux. Red Hat announced that there would be only CentOS Stream, which will act as a rolling version, and it will be used as next RHEL. Now we have a possible alternative called Rocky Linux. I think Red Hat/IBM underestimated the Linux community. Did they believe they will get away with a significant change? How did they not see this coming? I think IBM and Red Hat no longer care about opensource. They went ahead and removed much stuff from the CentOS wiki too. * โš“ CentOS_Changes_to_CentOS_Stream,_Moving_to_UNSTABLEโ €โ‡› CentOS has officially made the statement that they will be changing direction and be basing their project on RHELโ€™s unstable branch for the foreseeable future and will ditch any โ€œlifelongโ€ support as previously โ€œpromisedโ€. This is all literally a business move on the folks who own Red Hat nowโ€”who also own CentOS. All I can say is GOOOODD LUCCCCKKKK. * โš“ Updated_IBM_Cloud_Essentials_training_course_now_availableโ €โ‡› The latest version of the online IBM Cloud Essentials course is now available. Through the activities of this free course, you learn about the many offerings and services on IBM Cloud that make it the most open and secure public cloud for business. * โš“ New_features_and_storage_options_in_Red_Hat_Integration_Service Registry_1.1_GAโ €โ‡› This article introduces new storage installation options and features in the Red Hat Integration service registry. The service registry component is based on Apicurio. You can use it to store and retrieve service artifacts such as OpenAPI specifications and AsyncAPI definitions, and for schemas such as Apache Avro, JSON, and Google Protobuf. Weโ€™ve provided Red Hat Integrationโ€™s Service Registry 1.1 component as a general availability (GA) release in Red Hat Integration 2020-Q4. * โš“ Public-Key_Cryptography_Standard_(PKCS)_#11_v_3.0_has_been_released: What_is_it,_and_what_does_it_mean_for_RHEL?โ €โ‡› The PKCS #11 standard specifies a generalized loadable cryptographic API which allows third parties to supply cryptographic implementations which can be used by our security libraries and applications. The standard supports loading more than one module, so that applications can use more than one PKCS #11 module at once. PKCS #11 was developed in 1994 as part of the RSA PKCS standards, used to bootstrap security protocols and standards. In 2012, RSA turned the standard over to the OASIS PKCS #11 working group, which released the first new version of the standard in 2015. Since itโ€™s release, PKCS #11 has been used in both open source and closed source environments. In RHEL 8.0, PKCS #11 became the main medium to access cryptographic hardware operations from our applications. Our core crypto components (OpenSSL, NSS, gnutls), and their dependent applications (e.g., Apache httpd) take advantage of PKCS #11 driver modules to support cryptographic hardware from hardware security modules (HSM)s, that are mostly applicable to server applications like httpd, to smart cards, applicable in applications like Firefox. ยง Debian Familyโ €โžพ * โš“ KDE/Plasma_and_Cinnamon_updates_in_Debian_|_There_and_back_againโ €โ‡› So here we go, two desktop environments got updates in Debian/ experimental. A few days ago I have updated all the Cinnamon related packages to the latest release 4.8, and yesterday I have uploaded KDE/Plasma packages of 5.20.4. This brings my two favorite desktop environments up to upstream release in Debian. * โš“ Pogoโ €โ‡› Pogo โ€“ A fast and minimalist audio player for Linux. It groups tracks by album, which uses less space and simplifies rearranging your playlist. Pogo does not organize your tracks in a music library and does not stream or download tracks. Therefore, it is best suited for people who store their tracks by album and want a simple way of playing them. Pogo allows you to quickly search for music on local drives and in the playlist. It also features an equalizer and displays covers and desktop notifications. ยง Canonical/Ubuntu Familyโ €โžพ * โš“ Snaps:_How_we_got_here_|_Ubuntuโ €โ‡› Iโ€™m celebrating nine years at Canonical, and coming up on 15 years since I started contributing to Ubuntu in the community. Itโ€™s been quite the ride, helping build, support and advocate for the most popular Linux desktop, and most used Linux distribution in the cloud. Over those years, weโ€™ve strived to make it easy for users to get the latest software onto their Linux systems. We had a couple of interesting diversions along the way, but our destination has always been bringing the best of Linux and the Open Source community to desktop, cloud, server, and more recently mobile and IoT. Letโ€™s take a look back and retrospect how we got where we are. ยง Devices/Embeddedโ €โžพ * โš“ I_Just_Edited_1080p_Video_On_This_$70_Computerโ €โ‡› With my recent shift to full-time video production, Iโ€™m typically editing 1080p and 4K video on an expensive PC packing a Ryzen 12-core CPU, 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super. So when someone suggested I try to slap together a video using the new $70 Raspberry Pi 400, I chuckled and tossed the idea aside. But then my technological curiosity got the best of me (it always does) and I tackled it head on. I was expecting a downright infuriating experience, but the combination of ARM-friendly Linux distro Ubuntu MATE and open source video editor Kdenlive turned in results that legitimately surprised me. Now, this is a fully functional $70 PC (it even ships with a free operating system) built inside of the official Raspberry Pi keyboard. It can drive two monitors and has an ethernet port and three USB ports. Spend an extra $30 and youโ€™ll get the complete kit featuring a mouse, USB-C power adapter and a full- color book guiding beginners down the path of their first Raspberry Pi adventures. * โš“ 10_Ways_to_Get_Started_with_Raspberry_Piโ €โ‡› As we mentioned previously, Raspberry Pi recently released the Raspberry Pi 400, with a cool compact keyboard form factor. This product, Eben Upton says, is part of the companyโ€™s mission โ€œto put affordable, high-performance, programmable computers into the hands of people all over the world.โ€ With that in mind, he says, the Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit provides a classic โ€œChristmas morningโ€ unboxing experience: a complete PC that plugs into your TV or monitor. You donโ€™t have to spring for the deluxe 400 model to enjoy the Raspberry Pi, though. As Anderson Silva points out, โ€œthe family of Raspberry Pi compute products now ranges in price from $5 for the Raspberry Pi Zero all the way to $100 for the kit, which is the most expensive official product in its catalog. The Pi 400 standalone unit (without all the extras) is $70, which is still cheaper than the Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB of RAM.โ€ * โš“ Tiny,_dual_GbE_Orange_Pi_powers_up_with_RK3328โ €โ‡› A tiny โ€œOrange Pi R1 Plusโ€ router board has launched for $22 with a quad -A53 Rockchip RK3328, 1GB DDR4, 2x GbE, USB 2.0 host and Type-C, microSD, and a 13-pin GPIO header. Shenzhen Xunlong has updated its circa-2017 Orange Pi R1 mini- router SBC. The Orange Pi R1 Plus advances from a 1.2GHz, quad- core, Cortex-A7 Allwinner H2 (and later H2+) to a 1.5GHz, quad -A53 Rockchip RK3328. The dimensions have grown slightly to 57 x 56mm, and the price has grown even more from $14 to a low of $22 without heatsink or other options. * โš“ Orange_Pi_R1_Plus_router_SBC_features_Rockchip_RK3328,_Dual_GbEโ €โ‡› FriendlyELEC NanoPi R2S SBC for headless applications with Rockchip RK3328 processor and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports is getting some competition, as with Orange Pi R1 Plus board, Shenzhen Xunlong Software has updated its Orange Pi R1 board powered by an Allwinner H2+ to RK3328 processor coupled with 1GB RAM, and offering dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, plus one USB port for router applications. The new Orange Pi R1 Plus has a significantly faster processor, quadruple the amount of RAM, support for Gigabit Ethernet instead of Fast Ethernet, but lacks built-in WiFi, as the company decided to provide a USB port instead for external WiFi adapters. There are also fewer I/Os available since the 26-pin header is gone. But a better comparison might be against NanoPi R2S as both boards are pretty similar. * โš“ Hands_on_with_the_new_Raspberry_Pi_OS_release:_Hereโ€™s_what_you_need_to knowโ €โ‡› new release of the Raspberry Pi OS arrived last week. As usual, the release announcement gives a general overview of the most important additions and improvements, and the release notes contain a lot more detail. In addition to the usual accumulation of updates since the previous release (August 2020), there has been some significant new hardware such as the Raspberry Pi 400 and the Raspberry Pi 4 Case Fan, which needed new support in the operating system: it was getting to the point where building a new Raspberry Pi SD card required more time on updates than it did for actually downloading the OS image and copying it to the card. Creating a new SD card requires a bit more effort, and a bit of thought about content and size of the three different versions of Raspberry Pi OS currently available. The new images are available from the Raspberry Pi Downloads page, of course. As has always been the case, all of the images are compatible with all of the different Raspberry Pi systems, from the original Model A and Model B through to the latest Pi 400 keyboard, and including all of the Pi Zero variants. * โš“ RISC-V_hardware_&_software_ecosystem_highlights_in_2020โ €โ‡› The RISC-V Summit 2020 is currently taking place virtually, and RISC-V International, a non-profit corporation aiming to drive the adoption and implementation of the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA), took the occasion to remind us of the growth of the ISA both in terms of commercial adaption, education, and other projects. * โš“ The_State_of_Robotics_โ€“_November_2020_|_Ubuntuโ €โ‡› Goodbye Thanksgiving (well, for some of us), hello Christmas! The holiday season really is the best, and it always brings interesting robotics news, which we will now distill into a quick dose of delightful and easily-digestible tidbits. As always, if youโ€™d like to see your work showcased here, please send an email to robotics.community@canonical.com, and weโ€™ll feature it in next monthโ€™s blog. [...] With the release of ROS Foxy earlier this year, the ROS 2 community introduced โ€œRolling Ridleyโ€. Itโ€™s named this way because itโ€™s a โ€œrollingโ€ releaseโ€“ what is that? The documentation says that itโ€™s โ€œa staging area for future stable distributions of ROS 2..โ€ Basically, unlike traditional releases like Foxy and Noetic that have a defined support timeframe and well-defined versions of packages contained within them, a rolling release will continue to roll, as it wereโ€“ there is no defined support timeframe, and versions of software on that release will continue to be updated often. You can consider it more or less the trunk of development for ROS 2 as a whole, out of which new ROS distributions are cut and stabilized before final release. * โš“ Vision_controller_with_4x_PoE+_ports_runs_on_Ryzen_V1000โ €โ‡› Neousysโ€™ rugged โ€œNuvis-534RTโ€ real-time vision controller features AMDโ€™s Ryzen Embedded V1000 with 16GB DDR4, 4x GbE ports with PoE+, 4x USB, M.2 with NVMe, and DIO, lighting, and camera controls. Neousys, which recently announced an Intel Elkhart Lake based POC-400 embedded system, has posted a product page for a vision control system. Like the companyโ€™s POC-500 embedded PC and POC- 551VTC in-vehicle controller, the Nuvis-534RT runs on AMDโ€™s Ryzen Embedded V1000. * โš“ Gifts_that_last_all_year_roundโ €โ‡› * ยง Open Hardware/Moddingโ €โžพ o โš“ Raspberry_Pi_4_Compatible_Kit_Offers_Upgradeable_Open_Computerโ €โ‡› Made from extruded aluminum, the Model 100 is large enough to accommodate any single board computer (SBC). The chassis has space for three small 1920 x 480 resolution HDMI touchscreens and an obligatory RGB mechanical keyboard. The aesthetic of the Model 100 screams โ€œhacker,โ€ and it will come in two colors: โ€œCyberpunk Blackโ€ and โ€œRetropunk Silver.โ€ Moving around the back, we can see the ports of the SBC broken out into what appears to be industrial-style connectors, but as the only images available are renders, this could change on release. Common ports for HDMI, USB, Ethernet are present, along with four SMA antenna ports. However, the Raspberry Pi uses an internal PCB antenna, so it is unclear how these ports will be used. To power the Model 100, we can use a 5V supply for boards such as the Raspberry Pi. For other boards we can use a 12V supply. o โš“ Arduino_Blog_ยป_Arduino-based_machine_makes_cutting_and_stripping wires_easyโ €โ‡› If you need to strip a wire or two, thatโ€™s easy enough. However, what if you need tens or hundreds of wires stripped to the exact same length? Such a task would quickly become tedious, but with Mr Innovativeโ€™s Arduino Nano-based machine all you have to do it pop in a few numbers and it takes care of the rest! * ยง Mobile Systems/Mobile Applicationsโ €โžพ o โš“ PUBG_Mobile_Global_version_1.2_beta_APK_download_for_Android released?โ €โ‡› o โš“ iPhone_14_might_finally_catch_up_to_Android_phones_in_this_key areaโ €โ‡› o โš“ Android_11_Update_On_Poco_F1,_Mi_A2,_OnePlus_6,_Nokia_6.1_Plus And_More:_New_Android_11_Update_Custom_ROMโ €โ‡› o โš“ Nokia_Smartphone_With_Android_10_(Go_Edition)_to_Launch_on December_15โ €โ‡› o โš“ How_to_Disable_Spam_Notifications_on_Androidโ €โ‡› o โš“ You_can_now_control_your_Android_phone_with_just_your_eyes_โ€“ hereโ€™s_how_it_worksโ €โ‡› o โš“ What_Android_phone_do_you_think_ruled_2020?โ €โ‡› o โš“ This_slim_32-inch_Android_smart_TV_is_a_brilliant_bargain_at ยฃ177โ €โ‡› o โš“ Play_Store_for_Android_TV,_Google_TV_gets_minor_redesign_w/_new icons,_moreโ €โ‡› o โš“ The_10_Best_Keyboards_for_Android_(Updated_2020)โ €โ‡› o โš“ The_Best_Android_&_iOS_Apps_For_Planning_&_Cooking_Christmas Dinnerโ €โ‡› o โš“ Tenorshare_4uKey_for_Android_โ€“_Best_Way_To_Unlcok_Android_Screen Lockโ €โ‡› o โš“ Google_breaks_SMS_on_many_Android_phones,_is_rolling_back_changes nowโ €โ‡› o โš“ The_20_Best_Police_Scanner_Apps_for_Android_in_2021โ €โ‡› o โš“ Top_10_Best_SMS_Android_Apps_โ€“_2020โ €โ‡› o โš“ Top_10_Best_Action_Games_For_Androidโ €โ‡› o โš“ Best_Android_app_deals_of_the_day:_Old_Manโ€™s_Journey,_GPS_Speed Pro,_moreโ €โ‡› o โš“ How_to_Stop_Spam_Texts_on_an_iPhone_or_Androidโ €โ‡› o โš“ How_to_Block_Phone_Numbers_on_iPhones,_Android_Smartphonesโ €โ‡› o โš“ How_to_Add_Custom_Toggles_to_Android_11โ€ฒs_New_Power_Menuโ €โ‡› o โš“ Xiaomi_Mi_10_gets_Android_11_stable_update_in_Indiaโ €โ‡› o โš“ Redmi_Note_9_Pro_starts_receiving_Android_11_update_in_Indiaโ €โ‡› o โš“ Verizonโ€™s_Galaxy_S20_models_are_the_first_to_get_Android_11_and One_UI_3.0โ €โ‡› o โš“ BlackBerry_and_Android_partner_up_to_secure_Android_11โ €โ‡› o โš“ Leaked_teaser_video_of_Samsung_Galaxy_S21_shows_new_Android flagship_in_all_its_gloryโ €โ‡› o โš“ The_Easiest_Way_to_Blur_Faces_in_Videos_on_Your_Android_Phoneโ €โ‡› o โš“ Google_announces_improvements_to_search_in_Google_Drive_on Androidโ €โ‡› o โš“ Single_tap_sign-ins_coming_to_Chrome_on_Androidโ €โ‡› o โš“ Canโ€™t_send_or_receive_messages_on_your_Android_phone?_Youโ€™re_not aloneโ €โ‡› o โš“ Chrome_for_Android_rolling_out_helpful_icons_to_the_overflow menuโ €โ‡› o โš“ New_features_coming_to_Google_Pixel_and_other_Android_devices: Here_are_the_detailsโ €โ‡› o โš“ Nokia_is_announcing_a_new_Android_Go_smartphone_on_December_15โ €โ‡› ยง Free, Libre, and Open Source Softwareโ €โžพ * โš“ Set_up_a_hyperconverged_infrastructure_with_open_source_toolsโ €โ‡› A modern infrastructureโ€™s needs are ever-growing. As demand grows for scaling up applications, our existing servers and storage are no longer enough. This is the point when most businesses look at setting up a virtualized environment on- premises or turning to public cloud infrastructure. But the cost of setting up your own environment or running it on the public cloud can be daunting. Fortunately, it is entirely possible to run a full-featured virtualization environment with completely open source products without burning a hole in your pocket. A hyperconverged environment is one where compute, storage, and network resources are all on the same servers, managed by a single interface. As I will show in this article, you can run a full-featured virtualized infrastructure with optimal use of servers by using oVirt and Gluster to deploy a hyperconverged solution. * ยง Web Browsersโ €โžพ o โš“ New_Release:_Tor_Browser_10.0.6โ €โ‡› Tor Browser 10.0.6 is now available from the Tor Browser download page and also from our distribution directory. This version brings back a functioning meek bridge, and also allows users to automatically get bridges within Tor Browser again. o ยง Chromiumโ €โžพ # โš“ Chromium_And_Ungoogled_Chromium_Web_Browsers_Are_Now Available_On_Flathubโ €โ‡› Chromium web browser is now available on Flathub, making it easy to install and update across many Linux distributions. Following the standard Chromium browser, Ungoogled Chromium has also been added to Flathub. o ยง Mozillaโ €โžพ # โš“ Mozilla_reports_$338M_revenue_spike_from_settlement_over Yahoo_contractโ €โ‡› According to the 2019 financial statement released by the maker of the Firefox browser, Mozilla posted $338 million as โ€œOther revenue,โ€ a new line item that had not appeared in prior yearsโ€™ reporting. Elsewhere, Mozilla implicitly tied that amount to an earlier contract with Yahoo, which was purchased by Verizon in 2017. โ€œIn CY ((calendar year)) 2019, Mozilla Corporation generated $465M from royalties, subscriptions and advertising revenue, excluding one-time litigation settlement revenue,โ€ wrote Angela Plohman and Roxi Wen, Mozillaโ€™s executive vice president and CFO, respectively, in a post to the companyโ€™s website. # โš“ Mozilla_teams_up_with_Twitter,_Automattic,_and_Vimeo_to provide_recommendations_on_EU_content_responsibilityโ €โ‡› The European Commission will soon unveil its landmark Digital Services Act draft law, that will set out a vision for the future of online content responsibility in the EU. Weโ€™ve joined up with Twitter, Auttomattic, and Vimeo to provide recommendations on how the EUโ€™s novel proposals can ensure a more thoughtful approach to addressing illegal and harmful content in the EU, in a way that tackles online harms while safeguarding smaller companiesโ€™ ability to compete. # โš“ Leading_with_Data_โ€“_Cascading_Metricsโ €โ‡› Itโ€™s surprisingly hard to lead a company with data. Thereโ€™s a lot written about how to set good goals and how to avoid common pitfalls (like Surrogation) but I havenโ€™t seen much written about the practicalities of taking action on these metrics. I spent most of this year working with our executive team to understand our corporate goals and to track our progress against these goals. I found that setting rock-solid goals didnโ€™t do much good if individual employees didnโ€™t know how they could contribute. The big and ambitious goals we set for our company as a whole can be overwhelming to a single employee. Itโ€™s hard to know where to start, so instead, overwhelmed employees go back to whatever they were working on before. We have to do more if we want to create behavior change and get everyone working toward the same goal. [...] Firefox is losing users. We have been for a while. Obviously, we want to turn this around. We started by setting a goal for 2020: Slow the loss of Firefox users. # โš“ TenFourFox_Development:_Floodgap_downtime_fixedโ €โ‡› I assume some of you will have noticed that Floodgap was down for a couple of days โ€” though I wouldnโ€™t know, since it wasnโ€™t receiving E-mail during the downtime. Being 2020 the problem turned out to be a cavalcade of simultaneous major failures including the complete loss of the main network backboneโ€™s power supply. Thus is the occasional โ€œjoyโ€ of running a home server room. It is now on a backup rerouted supply while new parts are ordered and all services including TenFourFox and gopher.floodgap.com should be back up and running. Note that there will be some reduced redundancy until I can effect definitive repairs but most users shouldnโ€™t be affected. # โš“ Mozilla_moves_out_of_Mountain_Viewโ €โ‡› * ยง FSFโ €โžพ o โš“ The_road_to_software_freedom_is_paved_with_licensingโ €โ‡› For many people, the path towards software freedom begins with a single program. They may not even know what free software is; they may just need a tool or a program to do a particular job. But in their search for that tool, the Free Software Directory, which is one of the key resources run by the Licensing and Compliance Lab, can often be a starting point for a much larger journey. The Directory catalogues over 16,000 free software packages. Users can find free software packages for almost any activity, from playing games and reading books, to software libraries and developer tools. Every entry in the Directory is meticulously vetted by volunteers and FSF staff to ensure that users have the freedom to run, modify, copy, and share their modified versions of the work. Millions of users have visited the Directory looking for a particular piece of software, and upon finding it, have been introduced to the wider world of software freedom. While the Directory already acts as a great starting point for many on their free software journey, thereโ€™s so much more we can still do. We want to make it easier for people, once introduced to free software, to likewise help introduce others. We need resources and financial support for staff in order to organize and mentor volunteers to help us keep those thousands of entries up to date, and to write code to automate various kinds of imports and entry updates to help keep everything current, and so we can add thousands more. The Directory is one of the best tools that we have for showing what is possible with free software, but we need your help to reach millions more. o ยง GNU Projectsโ €โžพ # โš“ GNU/Bash_5.1_released_with_the_random_${SRANDOM}_number engineโ €โ‡› Current GNU/Bash maintainer Chet Ramey announced the latest major release, Bash 5.1, on December 7th, 2020. Bash is the default shell on many Linux distros and popular among developers, especially those working with Linux containers. It is the fifth major release of bash. It came with a new enhanced random number generation and added a new variable called SRANDOM. Let us see how to install and use newly released GNU/BASH 5.1 on Linux. [...] Apart from enhanced random number generation and added a new variable called $SRANDOM in GNU/Bash 5.1, we see many other minor enhancements. Head over to the GNU bash project homepage to grab the latest software. # โš“ Recutils,_GOOPS_and_virtual_slotsโ €โ‡› Writing Guile bindings for C libraries is seriously fun. As recutils is becoming popular in GNU, I thought it would be a fun idea to write Guile bindings for librec, the library powering recutils. Consequently, we are also thinking about adding Guile scripting to recutils. # โš“ The_Official_Gnu_Package_Behistun_โ€“_Renamed_behistun_ (previously_gbehistun)โ €โ‡› Gnu Behintun (gbehistun) was originally planned as a tool for geophysical analysis. Major decisions about Gnu Behistun have been made since that time. The first change was the development of the Gunga Din Software, that has today been incorporated into the Official Behistun Package. o ยง Licensing/Legalโ €โžพ # โš“ We_Love_GPLv3,_but_are_Switching_License_to_Apache_2.0: TerminusDBโ €โ‡› We have decided to re-license TerminusDB from GPLv3 to Apache 2.0. We want independent software developers (ISVs) to embed TerminusDB in their applications and those developers feel that Apache is a lower risk option. The substantive points of practical difference are far less important โ€“ sufficient people believe it to be true and sufficient lawyers have advised teams to be wary of GPL. In our experience, ISVs and devs in large companies/institutions size up their options at project conception and there remains a niggling doubt that โ€˜GPL might limit commercial prospects and cause me headachesโ€™. The world has changed โ€“ and code freedom is being overtaken by developer freedom. * ยง Openness/Sharing/Collaborationโ €โžพ o ยง Open Access/Contentโ €โžพ # โš“ High_APCs_Are_A_Feature,_Not_A_Bugโ €โ‡› There has been some outrage at the announcement that Nature is following through with their 2004 declaration of charging ~10k ($/โ‚ฌ) in article processing charges (APCs). However, not only have these charges been 16 years in the making but the original declaration was made not on some obscure blog, but at a UK parliamentary inquiry. So nobody could rightfully claim that we couldnโ€™t have seen this development coming from miles away. * ยง Programming/Developmentโ €โžพ o โš“ Laravel_Holiday_Giveaway_โ€“_Laravel_Newsโ €โ‡› Hard to believe that another year is coming to a close, and what a year it has been. Letโ€™s face it, for most of us, 2020 has been a complete dumpster fire. Thatโ€™s why this year Iโ€™ve decided to step things up with the annual giveaway that I organize. This is the third or fourth year that Iโ€™ve run a holiday giveaway. There are a lot of reasons why I do it. I feel so privileged and lucky to be a part of this community that has given me so much. o โš“ What_is_functional_programming?_โ€“_Oโ€™Reillyโ €โ‡› Iโ€™m not thinking of any specific branch of mathematics. Yes, the Lambda Calculus has significant ties to set theory, logic, category theory, and many other branches of mathematics. But letโ€™s start with grade school mathematics and assignment statements; theyโ€™re basic to any programming language. o โš“ retvals,_terrible_teaching,_and_admitting_we_have_a_problemโ €โ‡› Sometimes, my older posts find a new set of readers and generate a whole new round of interest. The whole โ€œfork() can failโ€ thing from August 2014 did this earlier this year. Itโ€™s over six years old but is still just as valid as ever. It still brings out THE ONE in certain venues, too. Letโ€™s talk about whatโ€™s going on here. The fundamental situation is that we have a library call that eventually does some sort of system call, and that system call can fail. Itโ€™s actually kind of interesting, given that fork- the-library-call might call fork-the-syscall. Itโ€™s just as likely that itโ€™ll call clone() instead, especially on Linux with glibc in the past, what, 15 or so years. o ยง Perl/Rakuโ €โžพ # โš“ rt.cpan.org_will_sunset_on_March_1st,_2021โ €โ‡› Weโ€™re still finalizing the details, but the plan is to provide a static historical archive. # โš“ Day_10:_My_10_commandments_for_Raku_performances_โ€“_Raku Advent_Calendarโ €โ‡› Raku has a nice visual profiler. No excuse to ignore it, it is extremely simple to use. Just run the profiler with raku โ€“profile=myprofile.html foo.raku then open the generated HTML file in your favorite browser (for instance firefox myprofile.html &). # โš“ Advent_of_Code_2020_Day_9/25_in_the_Raku_programming language_โ€“_Andrew_Shitovโ €โ‡› Day 9 of Advent of Code is here and the task is the following. Take a list of numbers and find the first one, which is not the sum of two of the 25 preceding numbers. o ยง Pythonโ €โžพ # โš“ Python_String_replace()_Function_โ€“_Linux_Hintโ €โ‡› String replacement is often essential. If you want to replace any string or word in your program, then one option is to manually check the whole program and replace each string with the desired string. Python also provides a built-in replace() function for string replacement. The Python replace() function does not replace the actual string, but it makes a copy of the string, and replaces instances of the specified string with the new string. This article shows you how to use the replace() function in Python. # โš“ How_to_Fix_json.loads_Unexpected_UTF-8_BOM_Error_in Pythonโ €โ‡› In Python, You will get an error while retrieving the data from any 3rd party API request. In fact, when response content converts to JSON format using json.loads method, it throws an json.decoder.JSONDecodeError: Unexpected UTF-8 BOM error. In this article we are going to see how to fix json.loads() Unexpected UTF-8 BOM error in Python. How to Fix json.loads Unexpected UTF-8 BOM error in Python. We have seen solutions to fix Unexpected UTF-8 BOM errors when using json.loads in Python. o ยง Rustโ €โžพ # โš“ This_Week_in_Rust_368โ €โ‡› * ยง Leftoversโ €โžพ o โš“ That_Gospel_Spielโ €โ‡› I picture you, years from any now, playing table tennis with your partner at some schmaltzy kibbutz by the wind- pressed sea, paddle-swiping at the butterfly ball, olives plumping on background branches โ€” distractions in the breeze โ€” while old men kvetch over coffee tables like Hasidic Prufrocks, their peachy days behind them, and grand children gallop in the surf and throw apples at the pulsing sun You miss and miss the ball and your partner laughs, white picket teeth, at your energy and light, against a sky you think gratuitously blue and bright โ€” some stained glass scented memory with a kind of abstract hope painted into it, and you standing there arms akimbo, a masterpiece just waiting to dance, Mona Lisa at the prom, โ€œGame,โ€ he says, like some pick-up line at the punch bowl. o โš“ Black_Dirt_Farm_Collective:_Building_a_Self-Sufficient Communityโ €โ‡› This interview with the Maryland-based collectiveโ€™s shakara tyler and Blain Snipstal is the second in a series highlighting grassroots organizations working, or seeking to work, outside a reliance on wealthy donors. It has been edited for length and clarity. What is the Black Dirt Farm Collective ? o โš“ What_I_Learned_Moving_Cross-Country_Twice_in_4_Monthsโ €โ‡› On the road, and home againโ€”It was June, three months into the pandemic, and I was stranded on Interstate 80 a few hours outside of Salt Lake City when I started to think that all of this was maybe a bad idea. Something had happened miles ahead, and both lanes of westbound traffic were at a standstill. Ten minutes ticked by. Then 20. People turned off their engines, climbed out of their cars, and started stretching. Iโ€™d been in rapid, manic motion for weeks. o โš“ Imagine,_Stillโ €โ‡› o โš“ Identity_is_a_Katamari,_language_is_a_Katamari_explosion_โ€” DustyCloud_Brainstormsโ €โ‡› There is a curious, surreal, delightful (and proprietary, sorry) game, Katamari Damacy. It has a silly story, but the interesting thing here is the game mechanic, involving rolling around a ball-like thing that picks up objects and grows bigger and bigger kind of like a snowball. It has to be seen or played to really be understood. This ball-like thing is called a โ€œKatamari Damacyโ€, or โ€œsoul clumpโ€, which is extra appropriate for our mental model. As it rolls around, it picks up smaller objects and grows bigger. The ball at the center is much like an identifier. But over time that identifier becomes obscured, it picks up things, which in the game are physical objects, but these metaphorically map to โ€œassociationsโ€. Our identity-katamari changes over time. It grows and picks up associations. Sometimes you forget something youโ€™ve picked up thatโ€™s in there, itโ€™s buried deep (but itโ€™s wiggling around in there still and you find out about it during some conversation with your therapist). Over time the katamari picks up enough things that it is obscured. Sometimes there are collisions, you smash it into something and some pieces fly out. Oh well, donโ€™t worry about it. They probably werenโ€™t meant to be. o ยง Scienceโ €โžพ # โš“ The_Anthropocene_Isโ€ฆ_Heavy:_Scientists_Find_Human-Made Objects_Now_Outweigh_All_Life_on_Earthโ €โ‡› โ€œThe science-fiction scenario of an engineered planet is already here.โ€ย  # โš“ Scientists_and_physicians_versus_the_central_conspiracy theory_of_science_denialโ €โ‡› COVID-19 has been with us now for over a year now, having emerged in China around this time last year as a mysterious and severe new respiratory disease, from there to spread to the rest of the world and be declared a pandemic around nine months ago, along the way spawning an incredible number of conspiracy theories. Since then, it has ravaged the world, particularly the US, where as I write this the number of people known to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID- 19, recently surpassed 15 million (itโ€™s likely much higher, given the lack of testing early on after the pandemic hit the US), while the death toll from this coronavirus is over 280K and climbing rapidlyโ€”and also likely much higher. # โš“ On_December_21,_Jupiter_and_Saturn_will_look_like_a_double planet_for_the_first_time_since_the_Middle_Ages_|_Science Codexโ €โ‡› Just after sunset on the evening of Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer together in Earthโ€™s night sky than they have been since the Middle Ages, offering people the world over a celestial treat to ring in the winter solstice. o ยง Hardwareโ €โžพ # โš“ RISC_vs._CISCโ €โ‡› For the last decade or more the debate has seemed frozen, with the CISC x86 architecture dominating the server and desktop markets, while the RISC ARM architecture dominated the mobile market. But two recent developments are shaking things up. Below the fold, some discussion. o ยง Health/Nutritionโ €โžพ # โš“ The_FCC,_2.5_GHz_Spectrum,_And_The_Tribal_Priority_Window: Something_Positive_Amid_The_COVID-19_Pandemicโ €โ‡› Never has โ€œnecessity is the mother of inventionโ€ rung more true than in trying to get high speed broadband to Native Americans. Long on the other side of the โ€œdigital divide,โ€ Tribes have struggled to attract traditional carriers to provide service on their reservations, where population densities are low, poverty rates are high, and a Byzantine array of federal, state, and Tribal regulations related to rights-of-way stall or derail deployment efforts. In a dramatic mid-pandemic paradigm shift, Native Americans are becoming the early adopters of a promising wireless technology โ€“ the 2.5 GHz band. # โš“ Itโ€™s_the_Government,_Stupid!โ €โ‡› The current coronavirus pandemic is a prime example of governmental responsibility. Individuals cannot be blamed for the virus, and the much-beloved market cannot solve the crisis either. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed the neoliberal belief that the individual is responsible, and the market is the best mechanism to solve problems. The first belief is that the free market is the panacea for almost all issues. However, letting the free market deal with the coronavirus resulted in the needless death of thousands. The second belief-system is deregulation โ€“ ending red tape! What we need against the coronavirus is the exact opposite. We need regulation on social distancing, which facilities should open or close, etc. The coronavirus pandemic demands more regulation, not less. Take regulation away and chaos reigns. Third, neoliberalismโ€™s advocates less state โ€“ no nanny state! Take the stateโ€™s ultimate regulating force, the police, away, and the coronavirus-infected people will spread the virus. We depend on the police, the state and state-run hospitals. # โš“ Running_out_of_coffins_After_welcoming_tourists_all_summer, officials_in_Russiaโ€™s_Kaliningrad_region_deny_rising_numbers of_coronavirus_casesโ €โ‡› In early December, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said the countryโ€™s coronavirus situation was most dire in two regions: St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad region. Shortly beforehand, Meduza and Mediazona uncovered that officials in Kaliningrad had published figures on deaths from COVID-19 that were nearly five times lower than those contained in the classified database used by government officials. Meanwhile, Kaliningradโ€™s regional authorities maintain that they arenโ€™t hiding anything โ€” and they activelyย continued to encourage tourists to visit the region throughout the fall, despite of the pandemicโ€™s second wave. In a dispatch for Meduza, correspondents Ekaterina Medvedeva and Vadim Khlebnikov from the local newspaper Novy Kaliningrad report on how Russiaโ€™s westernmost region is coping with COVID-19. # โš“ Want_Vaccines_Fast?_Suspend_Intellectual_Property_Rightsโ €โ‡› # โš“ UKโ€™s_Covid_Vaccine,_and_a_Fake_Competition_With_the_EUโ €โ‡› Claims made by Tories on this issue border on the delusional. The education secretary, Gavin Williamsonโ€”whose career peaked when he was Fireplace Salesman of the Year in 2006 and 2007 (before he entered politics) โ€” has claimed the UK is the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine for clinical use because the country has โ€œmuch betterโ€ scientists than France, Belgium or the US. # โš“ 19_Tragic_Facts_About_Covid-19โ €โ‡› At least 106,000 nursing home residents and staff died from COVID as of early December, around 39% of the overall deaths reported. # โš“ Rich_Nations_Hoard_Vaccines_While_90%_of_People_in_Poor Countries_Denied_โ€˜Escape_Route_From_the_Pandemicโ€™โ €โ‡› โ€œUnless something changes dramatically, billions of people around the world will not receive a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19 for years to come.โ€ # โš“ New_UN_โ€˜Emissions_Gapโ€™_Report_Emphasizes_Necessity_of_Green Recovery_From_Covid-19_Pandemicโ €โ‡› โ€œWe need profound shifts in how we live, travel, eat, and generate electricity: for ourselves, our societies, and economies.โ€ # โš“ โ€˜Beyond_Incomprehensibleโ€™:_Bipartisan_Covid_Relief_Package Would_Let_Paid_Sick_and_Family_Leave_Expireโ €โ‡› โ€œExtending emergency paid leave at the height of a pandemic is not only something we can afford, itโ€™s something we canโ€™t afford not to do.โ€ # โš“ Peopleโ€™s_Vaccine:_Calls_Grow_for_Equal_Access_to Coronavirus_Vaccine_as_Rich_Countries_Hoard_Supplyโ €โ‡› While the United States, Britain and other wealthy countries race to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus, a new report finds that as much as 90% of the population in dozens of poorer countries could be forced to wait until at least 2022 because wealthy countries are hoarding so much of the vaccine supply. A growing movement is calling for the development of a peopleโ€™s vaccine and the suspension of intellectual property rights to expand access. We speak with Dr. Mohga Kamal- Yanni, a policy adviser to the Peopleโ€™s Vaccine Alliance, and Achal Prabhala, a public health advocate and coordinator of the AccessIBSA project, which campaigns for access to medicines in India, Brazil and South Africa. # โš“ Some_Countries_May_Not_Have_COVID_Vaccine_Until_2022_as Richer_Ones_Hoard_Supplyโ €โ‡› # โš“ Raging_Pandemic,_Anemic_Responseโ €โ‡› # โš“ โ€˜A_Terrible_Decisionโ€™:_Progressives_Denounce_Biden_Pick_of โ€˜Mr._Monsantoโ€™_Tom_Vilsack_as_Ag_Secretaryโ €โ‡› โ€œWe need a USDA Secretary on the side of everyday people. If this is not the fox guarding the henhouse, itโ€™s pretty damn close.โ€ # โš“ Progressives_Denounce_Biden_Pick_of_โ€œMr._Monsantoโ€_Tom Vilsack_to_Head_USDAโ €โ‡› # โš“ Trump_Backs_Herd_Immunity_and_Calls_Millions_Contracting COVID_โ€œTerrificโ€โ €โ‡› # โš“ โ€˜Violence_is_a_dutyโ€™_St._Petersburg_law_enforcement_raid local_bars_for_refusing_to_comply_with_coronavirus restrictionsโ €โ‡› In the early hours of Wednesday, November 9, law enforcement officials carried out raids at several bars in St. Petersburg. The searches came after a group of several dozen local restaurants, bars, and cafes announced plans to disregard the city administrationโ€™s restrictions for the New Year holidays, which were introduced to counter the spread of COVID-19. Commenting on the raids, St. Petersburg Deputy Governor Evgeny Yelin said that the police had every right to use force, describing violence as as their โ€œduty.โ€ # โš“ We_Canโ€™t_Message_Our_Way_Out_of_a_Public_Health_Crisisโ €โ‡› Days after his election to the presidency, Joe Biden and his transition team released a plan outlining how they would tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to calls to increase production of protective equipment, expand testing and tracing, and distribute vaccines was a recognition that the government had to provide โ€œclear and consistent guidanceโ€ to people and communities on how to navigate the pandemic. # โš“ โ€˜Vaccines_do_not_equal_zero_Covid,โ€™_warns_WHO_as_jab rollouts_startโ €โ‡› # โš“ NYT_Cheerleads_School_Reopening_as_Covid_Spikesโ €โ‡› New York City Mayor Bill de Blasioโ€™s decision in late November to reopen public schools for some lower grades, even as Covid-19 cases have surged and the crisis is expected to worsen, has rankled many teachers and parents. But the mayorโ€™s dubious plan has found the New York Times to be its best form of public relations. # โš“ As_Pandemic_Overwhelms_Hospitals,_1/3_of_Americans_Live_in Areas_Where_ICUs_Close_to_Capacityโ €โ‡› The declining rate of hospitalizations as ICUs fill up โ€œsuggests that thereโ€™s some rationing and stricter triage criteria about who gets admitted,โ€ said Dr. Thomas Tsai.ย  o ยง Integrity/Availabilityโ €โžพ # ยง Proprietaryโ €โžพ # โš“ Appleโ€™s_Failure_To_Ensure_Backwards_Compatibility_In Big_Sur_Leaves_Developers_Quite_Sourโ €โ‡› When thereโ€™s a major OS upgrade, like Appleโ€™s recent Big Sur MacOS release, you would hope that an effort was made to ensure backwards compatibility with key apps and services. However, itโ€™s now become clear that Apple failed to do so, and a variety of different developers across a variety of different applications have had to scramble over the last few weeks to update their apps just to keep working on the latest version of MacOS. Itโ€™s always understandable that a few apps may fall through the cracks, but with Big Sur, itโ€™s notable just how widespread the reports are of compatibility problems, and just how much scrambling app developers had to do just to make sure their apps continued working. Here are just a few reports of such problems from across the internet. # โš“ Govt_lagging_badly_on_cyber-security_measures,_Labor saysโ €โ‡› Only a quarter of Commonwealth entities have implemented the top four cyber security measures recommended by the Australian Signals Directorate six years after they became mandatory, an auditorโ€™s report says. # โš“ German_Court_Orders_Encrypted_Email_Service_Tutanota To_Backdoor_One_Accountโ €โ‡› A legal requirement to add backdoors to encrypted systems for โ€œlawful accessโ€ has been discussed for many years. Last month, the EU became the latest to insist that tech companies should just nerd harder to reconcile the contradictory demands of access and security. Thatโ€™s still just a proposal, albeit a dangerous one, since it comes from the EU Council of Ministers, one of the regionโ€™s more powerful bodies. However, a court in Germany has decided it doesnโ€™t need to wait for EU legislation, and has ordered the encrypted Web-email company Tutanota to insert a backdoor into its service (original in German). The order, from a court in Cologne, is surprising, because it contradicts an earlier decision by the court in Hanover, capital of the German state of Lower Saxony, and Tutanotaโ€™s home town. The Hanover court based its ruling on a judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the EUโ€™s highest court. In 2019, the CJEU said that: # ยง Pseudo-Open Sourceโ €โžพ # ยง Openwashingโ €โžพ # โš“ Googleโ€™s_secretive_Fuchsia_OS_is_open_for contributionsโ €โ‡› Googleโ€™s super secret, experimental in-development operating system, Fuchsia, is still alive. Google recently put out a blog post titled โ€œExpanding Fuchsiaโ€™s open source modelโ€ announcing that the company is now accepting public contributions and bug fixes for whatever this OS ends up being. There is now a public mailing list, a public bug tracker, and even a roadmap. Google says it has โ€œbeen developing Fuchsia in the open, in our git repository for the last four years.โ€ Thatโ€™s not quite how I would describe the development process. After we compiled Fuchsia and got it running on a Pixelbook, the Fuchsia team scrubbed the repo of the user interface. I would guess Fuchsia has a similar setup to Android, with a public-facing repository full of the bits Google is willing to disclose, and a private repo where all the interesting stuff happens. Either that or Google has done zero interface work in the last two years, and Fuchsia development is slower than anyone was expectingโ€”I donโ€™t see any user interface code in the repo. There is a public bug tracker, but many of the bugs are labeled โ€œRestrict-View-Googleโ€ and are not visible to non-employees. # โš“ Google_is_still_making_its_mysterious Fuchsia_OS,_and_now_it_wants_your_helpโ €โ‡› Itโ€™s been over four years since we first found out that Google is developing a new operating system called Fuchsia. Itโ€™s unique because itโ€™s not based on a Linux kernel; instead, it uses a microkernel called Zircon. Itโ€™s also unique because, despite being developed โ€œin the openโ€ on publicly browsable repositories, nobody really understands what the OS is for, and Google executives have been remarkably coy about it all. Today, that mix of trends continues as the company announces that itโ€™s opening up a little more by asking for more public contributors from outside its organization. Google says it has โ€œcreated new public mailing lists for project discussions, added a governance model to clarify how strategic decisions are made, and opened up the issue tracker for public contributors to see whatโ€™s being worked on.โ€ # โš“ Google_Pushing_Fuchsia_OS_to_Public_Open Sourceโ €โ‡› For four years, not that much has been known about the Fuchsia platform by Google. It just appeared with no explanation. The world is about to learn more about it. Google announced it is expanding the open source Fuchsia platform, making it public, and inviting contributions. [...] In this weekโ€™s announcement, Google explained, โ€œStarting today, we are expanding Fuchsiaโ€™s open source model to make it easier for the public to engage with the project. We have created new public mailing lists for project discussions, added a governance model to clarify how strategic decisions are made and opened up the issue tracker for public contributors to see whatโ€™s being worked on.โ€ The company added that โ€œas an open source effort, we welcome high-quality, well-tested contributions from all. There is now a process to become a member to submit patches or a committer with full write access.โ€ Along with welcoming contributions to the open source project, Google is also โ€œpublishing a technical roadmap for Fuchsia to provide better insights for project direction and priorities. Some of the highlights of the roadmap are working on a driver framework for updating the kernel independently of the drivers, improving file systems for performance, and expanding the input pipeline for accessibility.โ€ # ยง Privatisation/Privateeringโ €โžพ # ยง Linux Foundationโ €โžพ # โš“ Linux_Foundationโ€™s_ACRN_Hypervisor Achieves_First_Commercial_Product Integration_with_TTTech_Industrialโ €โ‡› IoT Solutions provider TTTech Industrial today is launching the first commercial product based on the Linux Foundationโ€™s ACRNโ„ข hypervisor for the industrial market. With the latest release of its Nerve Blue industrial edge computing platform, TTTech Industrial is making ACRN 2.0 available to customers in a commercial, fully supported software solution that runs on a variety of Intel processors in an array of industrial applications. ACRN Project members include ADLINK, Aptiv, Intel Corporation, LGE and Neusoft Corporation. # โš“ Linux_Foundationโ€™s_ACRN_Hypervisor Debuts_On_Nerve_Blue_Industrial_Edge Platformโ €โ‡› TTTech Industrial has announced the first commercial product based on the Linux Foundationโ€™s ACRN hypervisor for the industrial market. With the latest release of its Nerve Blue industrial edge computing platform, TTTech Industrial is making ACRN 2.0 available to customers in a commercial, fully supported software solution that runs on a variety of Intel processors in an array of industrial applications. # โš“ Open_source_ACRN_hypervisor_debuts on_an_industrial_edge_platformโ €โ‡› TTTechโ€™s Linux-based โ€œNerve Blueโ€™โ€ industrial edge computing platform is the first commercial implementation of the open source ACRN hypervisor. Nerve Blue includes a node stack that runs on Intel based systems plus a cloud management stack. TTTech Industrial has launched the first commercial product built around ACRN, the Linux Foundationโ€™s lightweight hypervisor for safety critical embedded applications. The Nerve Blue platform uses ACRN 2.0 โ€œto run PLC software for controlling high-speed machine functions alongside other less time-sensitive software applications on the same hardware platform,โ€ says the Linux Foundation. The Linux-based Nerve Blue is available now on systems will Intel Apollo Lake and 8th Gen Whiskey Lake processors. In early 2021, support will be added for Elkhart Lake (Atom x6000E). # โš“ The_Linux_Foundation_is_getting into_the_access_management_gameโ €โ‡› To bolster trust and security in online transactions, the Linux Foundation (LF) has announced a new cloud- native identity and access management project. In a press release, LF argues that online trust is essential to a digital society and with the new initiative it โ€œseeks to tackle the most challenging security and performance requirements.โ€ The project, christened Janssen, is based on the well-known open source access management platform, Gluu server, and inherits its set of signing and encryption features. # โš“ Linux_Foundation_launches_Janssen project_to_rebuild_online_trust_with cloud_IAM_platform_|_Biometric Updateโ €โ‡› The Janssen Project has been launched by the Linux Foundation to develop a cloud native identity and access management software platform prioritizing security and performance, based on Gluu Server. The platform is conceived of as benefiting from robust signing and encryption functionalities to address the fundamental challenge of online trust. # โš“ For_the_love_of_open_source:_Why developers_work_on_Linux_and_open- source_software_|_ZDNetโ €โ‡› The myth of the open-source developer is theyโ€™re unemployed young men coding away in basements. The truth is different. The Linux Foundationโ€™s Open Source Security Foundation (OSSF) and the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) new survey, Report on the 2020 FOSS Contributor Survey, found a significant number of women developers, with the plurality of programmers in their 30s, and the majority are working full-time jobs with an annual average pay rate of $123,000. # ยง Securityโ €โžพ # โš“ Analysis_of_the_RECON/Attack_Surface_Management Spaceโ €โ‡› To me, the two questions for a potential userโ€”or investorโ€”of these spaces are: If you can answer those questions youโ€™re doing pretty well. # โš“ EFF_at_30:_Saving_Encryption,_with_Technologist Bruce_Schneierโ €โ‡› To celebrate 30 years of defending online freedom, EFF invited author, security technologist, and EFF board member Bruce Schneier to discuss the future of the โ€œCrypto Wars.โ€ This epic battle, raging since the 1990s, pits privacy and security advocates against the U.S. government in a fight over encryption. Governments around the world have grown evermore keen to weaken encryption and acquire backdoor access to private devices and Internet communications. Killing the EARN IT Act and protecting encryption is top of EFFโ€™s agenda. EFF has adamantly defended encryption and its widespread use from the early days of Bernstein v. US Department of Justice, the case that established that software source code was speech protected by the First Amendment. This technology paved the way for ecommerce, rising social movements around the world, and your ability to have a private conversation in an increasingly online world. # โš“ Episode_235_โ€“_Door_10:_Deciding_what information_matters_โ€“_Open_Source_Securityโ €โ‡› Josh and Kurt talk about Apple leaking internal IP addresses. Sometimes we create our own emergencies over things that donโ€™t matter. # โš“ Bug_could_expose_patient_data_from_GE_medical imaging_devices,_researchers_warnโ €โ‡› Security researchers have discovered a software vulnerability that could allow an attacker to steal sensitive patient data handled by X-ray, MRI machines and other medical devices made by General Electric. All told, the issue affects more than 100 models of devices, according to CyberMDX, the medical security company that publicly disclosed the vulnerability on Tuesday. # โš“ FireEye_break-in:_Mandia_has_forgotten_that charity_begins_at_homeโ €โ‡› Whenever FireEye, the cyber security firm that just had its crown jewels compromised, publishes a report on some activity by malicious attackers, it always issues a judgment on where they come from โ€“ with high confidence most of the time. # โš“ Adobe_Releases_Final_Flash_Player_Update:_How to_Uninstall_Flash_in_Windows,_Mac,_Linux, Chromeโ €โ‡› Adobe released the final Flash Player update on December 8 and urged users to uninstall the program as it ends its support for on yearend. According to Tech Radar, the update is called AIR 32, which seemed like a sendoff to the software that has been a vital part in web content, animation, audio, and video creation. It remained afloat since its launch in 1996, but its continuing drop in users led to Adobeโ€™s decision to stop the software. # โš“ Adobe_just_released_the_last_Flash_update everโ €โ‡› Adobe has released the final scheduled update to its Flash Player plugin, weeks before Flashโ€™s official retirement. As noted on Adobeโ€™s site, yesterday marked the last update for Flash outside mainland China, which has a separate version of the software. Adobe will stop supporting Flash on December 31st, 2020, and it will block Flash content from running on January 12th, 2021. # โš“ NZ_financial_strategies_provider_hit_by_Windows NetWalker_ransomwareโ €โ‡› New Zealand retirement and financial strategies provider Staircase appears to have taken a hit from cyber criminals using the Windows NetWalker ransomware. # ยง Privacy/Surveillanceโ €โžพ # โš“ DHS_Inspector_General_Is_Going_To_Take_A Look_At_The_DHSโ€™s_Purchase_Of_Cell_Location Data_From_Data_Brokersโ €โ‡› DHS components are buying up cell location data from third parties to track down undocumented immigrants and whoever else ICE and CBP might be interested in. The IRS is doing the same thing. So is the Department of Defense. # โš“ Senators_Express_Privacy_Concerns_Over Proctoring_Appsโ €โ‡› The product is surveillance. There is no improving it. EFF agrees that these apps pose a serious danger to studentsโ€™ privacy. Surveillance shouldnโ€™t be a prerequisite for an education. Proctoring apps use monitoring techniques to supposedly determine whether a student is cheatingโ€“but in the process, they force students to surrender sensitive biometric information and video recordings of their private spaces. These apps invade studentsโ€™ biometric and data privacy, and exacerbate existing inequities in educational outcomes, especially for Black students. While safeguarding student data and improving equity in educational tools are laudable goals, there is a far deeper and more sinister issue at play hereโ€”there is a growing student surveillance ecosystem, even beyond these proctoring apps. Other tools that are gaining popularity with school administrations include facial recognition software and applications that monitor student social media activity, such as Bark, Social Sentinel, and GoGuardian. Cloud-based educational platforms and school- provided devices often collect far more information on students than is necessary, store this information indefinitely, and sometimes even upload it to the cloud automatically. Taken as a whole, these apps normalize and codify the use of surveillance in schools. And remote proctoring apps arenโ€™t just being used at the college levelโ€“some companies offer their services to high schools, too. # โš“ Medlemsmรธte_2020-12-08:_Monopoly,_Not Mind_Control:_Whatโ€™s_Really_Happening_With โ€œSurveillance_Capitalismโ€โ €โ‡› Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and the claim that Big Tech can use big data to bypass our cognitive faculties is a doozy. Whether the claim is being made by big tech or its critics, itโ€™s pretty thin, and if youโ€™re a tech critic, itโ€™s a kind of backhanded compliment: even if Big Tech is being run by evil geniuses, at least theyโ€™re still geniuses. Thereโ€™s a more parsimonious explanation: Big Tech are mediocre monopolists, engaged in the same deep-pocketed moneyball that allowed their robber-baron forebears to corner entire sectors of the economy. If thatโ€™s true, then we have a range of options that donโ€™t require safeguarding the alleged mind- control rays hidden in their data centers. Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy which is now available in Norwegian; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER. # โš“ Huawei_and_5G_Explainedโ €โ‡› Canada, unlike its closest intelligence and military allies, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and United States of America (i.e., countries that collectively comprise the โ€˜Five Eyesโ€™), has yet to make a firm decision about whether Huaweiโ€™s 5G products will be permitted, partially permitted, or fully banned from Canadian telecommunications providersโ€™ networks. In the absence of a decision, all major Canadian telecommunications providers have focused on predominantly purchasing 5G equipment from Ericson and Nokia. In November 2020, the Canadian parliament passed a non-binding resolution that called on the Government of Canada to come to a decision about whether to ban or permit Huawei equipment in private companiesโ€™ networks, with a decision expected in December or January. # โš“ Facebook_Risks_Instagram-WhatsApp_Breakup in_Antitrust_Caseโ €โ‡› The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general led by New York said they filed antitrust complaints against Facebook Wednesday, alleging the company stifled competition from rivals in order to protect its monopoly in social media. The lawsuits seek court orders unwinding Facebookโ€™s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, according to copies of the complaints provided by the states and the FTC. # โš“ Scoop:_WhatsApp_goes_after_Apple_over privacy_label_requirementsโ €โ‡› Facebookโ€™s global messaging service WhatsApp is protesting Appleโ€™s requirement that app owners submit information about the user data they collect for use in new privacy labels coming to Appleโ€™s app store. The state of play: WhatsApp says that the provision is anti- competitive because Appleโ€™s own encrypted messaging service, Messages, is preinstalled on iPhones and doesnโ€™t need to be downloaded from Appleโ€™s app store, where the privacy labels are now required. # โš“ Hiding_Malware_in_Social_Media_Buttonsโ €โ‡› The syntax for hiding the skimmerโ€™s source code as a social media button perfectly mimics an โ€˜svgโ€™ element named using social media platform names (e.g., facebook_full, twitter_full, instagram_full, youtube_full, pinterest_full, and google_full). # โš“ The_Risks_of_Discrimination_of_Biometric Mass_Surveillance_โ€“_Watch_the_Recordingโ €โ‡› Throughout the European Union, governments are experimenting with highly intrusive systems of facial recognition and other biometric mass surveillance in public spaces. At the same time, there has been a global uproar against the usage of these technologies due to their alarming consequences for fundamental rights, fuelling mass surveillance and racial discrimination. In the united states, lawmakers have already started to impose strong legislations that ban the use of these technologies. The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament therefore calls on the European Commission to equally acknowledge the adverse effect of biometric surveillance methods on our fundamental rights, and to impose a ban of biometric mass surveillance technologies in the European Union. Together with international experts, we discussed the harmful effects of biometric mass surveillance and the ways through which these technologies amplify racial discrimination and exclusion in our societies. # โš“ The_Interceptโ€™s_Silence_About_Edward Snowdenโ€™s_Inclusion_in_Julian_Assangeโ€™s Chargesโ €โ‡› In short, having been alerted to the superseding indictment, The Interceptโ€™s resident expert on hacking utterly dodged the allegations made in that expanded charge, not so much as mentioning what they were. At the time, I promised to return to Micahโ€™s embarrassing piece after I finished some more pressing issues. It turns out, the problem at The Intercept is broader than just Micahโ€™s piece. A recent post from Charles Glass suggests that if President Biden were to โ€œremove the Espionage Act charges against Assange,โ€ it would amount to the withdrawal of his extradition application entirely. # โš“ What_apps_and_services_did_I_pay_for_(and love)_in_2020?โ €โ‡› TweetDelete: This is a bulk Tweet deletion service. I paid $10 in November 2019 and itโ€™s now $15. One could argue this functionality should exist within Twitter. For free. And that no one should be on Twitter anyway. I agree with all of those points. Iโ€™ve been on Twitter since 2007 and while Iโ€™m not prolific, I donโ€™t see the need to keep things up forever. I also now automatically purge Tweets after 90 days. o ยง Defence/Aggressionโ €โžพ # โš“ Our_Real_Security:_Preventing_a_New_Cold_War_with_Chinaโ €โ‡› Pressing for peaceful resolution of U.S.-China tensions in ways that provide mutual benefit for both sides and other Asia-Pacific nations needs to become a peace movement priority. # โš“ Bidenโ€™s_Defense_Secretary_Pick_Shows_the_Revolving_Door_for Military_Contractors_Remainsโ €โ‡› Industry ties were simply taken for granted in Bidenโ€™s defense secretary sweepstakes. # โš“ Ilhan_Omar_Rips_Congress_for_Approving_$740.5_Billion_Bill to_โ€˜Appease_Defense_Contractorsโ€™_While_Skimping_on_Covid Reliefโ €โ‡› โ€œIt is unconscionable to pass a Pentagon budget that continues to fund unnecessary projects and endless wars during a time of widespread suffering across our country.โ€ # โš“ Fighting_and_Writing_Against_Americaโ€™s_Forever_Warsโ €โ‡› If you have a moment, how about joining two retired officers, Bill Astore and me, Danny Sjursen, as we think about this countryโ€™s catastrophic forever wars that, regardless of their deadly costs and lack of progress, never seem quite to end? # โš“ With_Abortion_Rights_Under_Attack,_Activists_Urge_Biden_to Strike_Hyde_Amendmentโ €โ‡› # โš“ Biden_Must_Block_Trumpโ€™s_Arms_Sale_to_the_UAEโ €โ‡› The Senate is expected to vote this week on whether to block the Trump administrationโ€™s proposed $23 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates. Congressional action is unlikely to stop the deal, but it will bring the issue to the forefront for the incoming administration. Indeed, the UAE arms deal will pose the first major test of the new administrationโ€™s commitment to end military support for abusive governments in the Persian Gulf. The Biden administration must seize the opportunity to roll back a deal that would cause devastating harm to both the people in the Middle East and Americaโ€™s standing in the region. # โš“ โ€˜Severe_Blow_to_Iraqi_Torture_Survivorsโ€™:_Despite_Evidence of_UK_War_Crimes,_ICC_Drops_War_Crimes_Probeโ €โ‡› The decision โ€œwill doubtless fuel perceptions of an ugly double standard in justice: one approach to powerful states and quite another for those with less clout.โ€ # โš“ Trump_voters_donโ€™t_really_believe_Biden_stole_the_election โ€”_but_they_do_want_a_coupโ €โ‡› Well, as the author of a book called โ€œTroll Nation,โ€ itโ€™s clear where I stand: By and large, Republican voters who claim that Biden stole the election are arguing from bad faith, not delusion. This distinction is important because it shows that the intentions of Republican voters (and too many of their elected leaders) are sinister, and need to be taken seriously as an overt assault on democracy. Understanding modern politics means understanding one crucial reality about the current landscape: Conservatives donโ€™t hold beliefs, they only have rationalizations. # โš“ Emmanuel_Macron_unveils_a_controversial_bill_to_fight Islamismโ €โ‡› The new provisions, which will go through parliament in early 2021, include tight curbs on home-schooling (though not an effective ban, as originally promised). Parents will need to apply for permission to teach their children at home, and to justify it. The aim is to limit the use of home- schooling as a way to escape state oversight of radical Koranic teaching. Officials say they have uncovered such classes in some neighbourhoods. # โš“ Trumpโ€™s_Last_Gasp_Is_a_Scheme_to_Disenfranchise_20,756,421 American_Votersโ€”and_Heโ€™s_Getting_Helpโ €โ‡› It is easy to laugh at the notion of buffoonish characters like Paxton and Trump calculating quadrillions. โ€œI feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit,โ€ says Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel observes, โ€œMr. Paxtonโ€™s actions are beneath the dignity of the office of Attorney General and the people of the great state of Texas.โ€ Yet Kaul, Nessel, and their colleagues in Pennsylvania and Georgia will mount necessary defenses of the results from their states. That is the right thing to do, as what Trump proposes is the ultimate voter suppression. # โš“ Remote-Control_Killing:_Iran_Says_Top_Nuclear_Scientist Assassinated_By_Gun_Guided_Via_Satelliteโ €โ‡› A machine gun equipped with a โ€œsatellite-controlled smart systemโ€ was used to kill Iranโ€™s top nuclear scientist, a senior official with the countryโ€™s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has said. # โš“ Tweet_storm_shows_China_aims_to_project_power_through provocationโ €โ‡› The CCP blocks Twitter for its citizens, but the countryโ€™s diplomats regularly use the platform to prosecute the partyโ€™s messages and narratives about topics including the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinaโ€™s economic recovery from the pandemic, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. They use it to address perceived double standards and slights. # โš“ France,_Belgium_and_Austria_Move_into_the_Frontline_of_a Battle_for_the_Soul_of_Islamโ €โ‡› The lobbying, emphasizing common interests in countering political Islam and Turkey, with which France is at odds in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean as well as on the issue of political Islam, aligned themselves neatly with Mr. Macronโ€™s domestic and international agenda. # โš“ What_happens_to_sexual_abuse_survivors_after_the_headlines fade?โ €โ‡› Itโ€™s a scourge that never seems to stay out of the headlines for long: UN peacekeepers and aid workers accused of sexually abusing and exploiting women and children. Despite so-called โ€œzero toleranceโ€ policies and pledges from the UN and aid organisations to root out perpetrators, harrowing accounts from survivors keep surfacing, as we discovered in our recent investigation about how 50 women described being lured into sex-for-work schemes by aid workers during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But what happens to survivors after the headlines fade? For many, justice has remained elusive, with cases either dismissed or still pending years later. For others, the stigma associated with the abuse, legal hurdles, and organisational lethargy has stood in the way of women seeking reparations. What can be done to help women find justice โ€“ however they define it? Can there be justice with continued impunity? # โš“ The_New_Humanitarian_|_COVID-19_fuels_growing_conflict_and displacement_in_Colombiaโ €โ‡› Even as the fourth anniversary of a landmark peace accord came and went in late November, conflict and extortion were driving rising numbers of people from their homes in Colombiaโ€™s most lawless regions. โ€œThere have been three major displacements in regions outside of the city since September,โ€ journalist ร‰der Narvรกez Sierra told The New Humanitarian, flanked by two large state-provided bodyguards as he drank a coffee in a small bakery in Caucasia. The city is part of a conflict zone in Colombiaโ€™s northern Bajo Cauca region, where illegal mining, coca production, and extortion are the economic lifeblood of the rival armed groups whose violence and threats are behind the string of displacements. In September, 206 families were forced to flee to Caucasia from Cรกceres, 38 kilometres away, following threats from Los Caparros, a criminal paramilitary โ€œself-defense forceโ€ currently in conflict with two other armed groups in the region. On 18 November, another 70 people fled the same town when Los Caparros imposed an armed curfew in response to the death of one of its leaders at the hands of the Colombian military. Many of those affected came from Indigenous communities. o ยง Transparency/Investigative Reportingโ €โžพ # โš“ Govt_Watchdog_Group_Gives_Biden_Blueprint_to_Rectify Trumpโ€™s_โ€œTransparency_Abusesโ€โ €โ‡› โ€œDonโ€™t you wish you knew who visited Trump at Mar- a-Lago?โ€ # โš“ YouTube_Will_Finally_Start_Removing_Videos_Falsely_Claiming Donald_Trump_Won_U.S._Electionโ €โ‡› The [Internet]-video giant said it was taking the action now because Dec. 8 marked the safe-harbor deadline for the U.S. presidential election and that, at this point, enough states have certified Biden as president-elect to make the results indisputable. โ€œGiven that, we will start removing any piece of content uploaded today (or anytime after) that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, in line with our approach towards historical U.S. Presidential elections,โ€ YouTube said in a blog post. # โš“ US_election:_YouTube_to_ban_videos_alleging_widespread voter_fraudโ €โ‡› The announcement comes after a โ€œsafe harbourโ€ deadline โ€“ which sets a date by which states need to certify the results of the presidential election. โ€œYesterday was the safe harbour deadline for the US Presidential election and enough states have certified their election results to determine a President-elect,โ€ said YouTube. It also said that the move was in line with its historical approach to US presidential elections. # โš“ YouTube_channels_making_money_from_ads,_memberships_amplify Trump_voting_fraud_claimsโ €โ‡› At least nine popular YouTube channels were promoting on Thursday debunked accusations about voting fraud in the U.S. presidential race, conspiratorial content that could jeopardize advertising and memberships revenue they get from the video service. o ยง Environmentโ €โžพ # โš“ Coca-Cola,_Pepsi,_Nestle_Top_Plastic_Polluters_for_3rd Yearโ €โ‡› In an annual audit by Break Free From Plastic, Coca-Cola has been ranked the worldโ€™s No 1 plastic polluter after its beverage bottles were the most frequently discarded on beaches, rivers, parks, and other litter sites in 51 of 55 nations surveyed. In 2019, it was the most commonly littered bottle in 37 countries, out of 51 surveyed. Coca-Cola was found to be worse than PepsiCo and Nestlรฉ combined: its branding was found on 13,834 pieces of plastic, with PepsiCo branding on 5,155 and Nestlรฉ on 8,633. # โš“ Biden_Can_Restore_the_EPA,_But_It_Will_Require_Steadfast Effortโ €โ‡› # โš“ Eco_โ€˜Sabotageโ€™:_Trump_EPA_Issues_Last-Minute_Rule_to_Make Action_on_Climate_and_Pollution_Harder_for_Bidenโ €โ‡› โ€œThis is an egregious 11th-hour attempt to handcuff the incoming administration and undercut the benefits of clean airโ€”in the worst days of a global health crisis.โ€ # โš“ Green_Groups_Call_On_Future_Biden_White_House_To_Overturn New_EPA_Rule_Announced_With_The_Heritage_Foundationโ €โ‡› The rule is specifically about an accounting process used in rulemaking called a cost-benefit analysis. According to EPAโ€™s announcement, the rule is supposed to increase consistency and transparency when EPA develops regulations under the Clean Air Act. But leading environmental organizations and a former EPA official say the new rule is redundant and dangerous, as it would allow polluters to tie up any new EPA regulations in legal challenges based on claiming the cost-benefit analysis for a given regulation isย inadequate. # โš“ Climate_Change_Should_Be_Our_Priority_in_the_Post-Pandemic Eraโ €โ‡› As we prepare to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, governments trying to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 are digging us deeper into the climate crisis. # ยง Energyโ €โžพ # โš“ Major_Fossil_Fuel_PR_Group_is_Behind_Europe_Pro- Hydrogen_Pushโ €โ‡› According to a new report, titled The Hydrogen Hype: Gas Industry Fairy Tale or Climate Horror Story?, released by a coalition of groups in Europe including Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and Food and Water Action Europe, details the work of FTI to push hydrogen as a clean climate solution in Europe. So far it appears FTI is being quite successful in this endeavor. As the report notes, the โ€œEuropean Commission is most definitely onboardโ€ with the idea of a hydrogen-basedย economy. # โš“ Major_Victory_as_$226_Billion_New_York_Pension_Fund Announces_Largest_Fossil_Fuel_Divestment_of_Its_Kindโ €โ‡› New York is the first U.S. state to release a fossil fuel divestment plan. # ยง Wildlife/Natureโ €โžพ # โš“ Ocean_research_plan_seeks_to_preserve_seasโ€™_wealthโ €โ‡› A decade of ocean research is about to begin to try to save the planetโ€™s richest habitat from human destruction. o ยง Financeโ €โžพ # โš“ Kremlin-linked_Rossiya_Bank_earning_$27_million_annually from_inflated_commissions_on_utility_servicesโ €โ‡› Rossiya Bank earns at least 2 billion rubles (about $27 million) per year on housing and utility payments. This was uncovered in a new investigative report from Proekt and The Bell on Yuri Kovalchuk โ€” friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rossiya Bankโ€™s main shareholder.ย  # โš“ Whereโ€™s_the_Second_Relief_Act?_The_US_Safety_Net_Is Working,_but_There_Are_Capitalists_Who_Donโ€™t_Want_It_Toโ €โ‡› If the current model of capitalism is incompatible with the guarantee of quality jobs, it is time to talk about alternatives that provide workers more leverage within labor markets and a broader voice in compensation and investment decisions. # โš“ Thinking_of_Amazon_Workers_This_Holiday_Seasonโ €โ‡› Jeff Bezos is no Santa. His treatment of workers is downright disgusting. # โš“ New_Research_Shows_โ€˜Pandemic_Profitsโ€™_of_Billionaires_Could Fully_Fund_$3,000_Stimulus_Checks_for_Every_Person_in_USโ €โ‡› โ€œAmericaโ€™s billionaires could pay for a major Covid relief bill and still not lose a dime of their pre- virus riches.โ€ # โš“ New_Bill_Proposes_Stopping_Unemployment_Agencies_That_Make Mistakes_From_Demanding_Money_Backโ €โ‡› Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., and Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., have introduced a bill that would shield unemployed workers from having to return federal pandemic unemployment assistance benefits when agencies have mistakenly paid them these funds. The legislation, submitted on Dec. 2, came in the wake of an article by ProPublica in October that exposed the debts and anguish faced by workers who have been overpaid by state unemployment agencies (which administer both state and federal payments), sometimes as a result of the stateโ€™s mistakes. The agencies, the article showed, have variously garnished paychecks or taxed refunds to obtain repayment, while others charged interest on the debt. # โš“ Offshore_Tax_Havens_โ€˜Deep_Wells_of_Profitโ€™_For_Oil_Giants, Report_Showsโ €โ‡› โ€œThese companies are deliberately exploiting gaps in tax law and weak enforcement, and they are doing so in order to make enormous profits. The victims are the countries and their budgets and their people.โ€ # โš“ โ€˜This_Is_Atrociousโ€™:_Trump_White_House_Proposes_Covid Relief_Plan_With_$0_Weekly_Unemployment_Boostโ €โ‡› โ€œThe presidentโ€™s proposal starts by cutting the unemployment insurance proposal being discussed by bipartisan members of the House and Senate. That is unacceptable.โ€ # โš“ How_Rural_China_Became_an_Engine_for_Global_Consumer Capitalismโ €โ‡› If the trick to living well with technology is balanceโ€”between scrolling and occasionally mustering up the energy to leave the house and see friendsโ€”2020 has not only tipped these delicate scales but managed to ensure that they were laid waste altogether. With billions of people isolated in their homes across the world with nothing but their screens to help them socialize, teach, learn, and work, many are discovering that digital relationships are a poor substitute for flesh and blood connections. We have gorged too much, too mindlessly, on this thing that ultimately doesnโ€™t serve us awfully well, it seems; the only way forward is to deny, absolve ourselves, and repeat. o ยง AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politicsโ €โžพ # โš“ Anthropocene:_Human-Made_Materials_Now_Weigh_as_Much_as_All Living_Biomass,_Say_Scientistsโ €โ‡› The science-fiction scenario of an engineered planet is already here. # โš“ With_Fudgeโ€™s_Ohio_Seat_Opening,_Progressives_Say โ€œCongresswoman_Nina_Turner_Has_a_Nice_Ring_to_Itโ€โ €โ‡› โ€œIโ€™m a public servant through and through, but Iโ€™m just going to leave it there for now,โ€ the former Bernie Sanders campaign co-chair coyly replied when asked if she will run.ย  # โš“ To_Depose_Liberalismโ€™s_Own_โ€˜Prosperity_Gospelโ€™:_A_Modest Proposalโ €โ‡› Rabbi Lerner has my gratitude because I (we) live in a materialist culture in which dark feelings are unacceptable no matter what the time of year. Dominant, ruthless secularism is psycho-spiritual oppression, a major contributing cause of the spiritual sickness, prevailing weakness and lack of exuberant, resurgent energy in liberal society. Repressing and denying so much, itโ€™s difficult to find energy leftover for imagining a common good. Easier to want nothing so grand as the utopian dream of community (radically inclusive enough to include oneself!); to instead, allow these ideals to remain abstract and impersonal, not blood-deep, and energizing. Easier, then, to vote for the lesser evil and fool yourself into believing itโ€™s for the greater good. In previous years, he tells us, Rabbi Lerner has offered group counseling services for people suffering this malady. That such groups exist, fulfilling a need, provides evidence for his claim โ€“ the depression, though not supposed to be โ€“ is real. # โš“ Kremlin_denies_reports_that_Putin_has_two_identical_offices in_Moscow_and_Sochiโ €โ‡› Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed reports that President Putin has secretly been working from two, identical offices (one near Moscow and one in Sochi) as โ€œnonsenseโ€ and โ€œnot true.โ€ In conversation with journalists on Wednesday, December 9, Peskov maintained that in his opinion, these reports have emerged as part of an โ€œinformation attackโ€ on the president. # โš“ In_the_End_We_Will_All_Pay_for_the_Cowardice_of_the_Liberal Classโ €โ‡› No one should take them seriously. They stand for nothing. They fight for nothing. # โš“ Obamaโ€™s_Memoir_Offers_Insights_Into_Major_Shortcomingsโ €โ‡› With the possible exception of the memoir of President Ulysses Grant, there has never been a presidential memoir as useful or insightful as Barack Obamaโ€™s โ€œThe Promised Land.โ€ย  There has never been one more gracefully written than Obamaโ€™s.ย  Interestingly, he provides clues to the shortcomings of his performance that was successful in many ways but nevertheless disappointing to his devoted following.ย  And Iโ€™m proud to be part of that following. Thereโ€™s a Sherlock Holmesโ€™ novel that offers the clue of a dog that doesnโ€™t bark.ย  Obama does the same in skirting those areas where he underperformed or even performed poorly.ย  His first cabinet selections in the field of national security was certainly one of those areas.ย  Obama offers one sentence on the selection of Marine general Jim Jones as a national security advisor, and another sentence on his resignation.ย  It would take an unusual general officer to perform the duties of national security adviser, and Jones was clearly not one of them.ย  One sentence is devoted to describing the appointment of Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was โ€œcapturedโ€ by the clandestine and operational personnel of the agency and performed poorly.ย  Therefore, it was surprising to find Panetta advancing to the more difficult position of secretary of defense in 2011, although unsurprising that he was similarly โ€œcapturedโ€ by the senior general officers of the Pentagon. # โš“ A_Short_Summary_of_the_Election_Fraud_Griftโ €โ‡› Trump and right-wing media claim 2.7 million votes for Trump were changed to votes for Biden. It was pulled off using a secret server in a fortified, secret CIA computer outpost in Germany, not in Spain, as Trump attorney Sydney Powell first claimed. We know this because Gen. Jack D. Ripper, err, Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney (USAF Ret.) let us in on how the damning evidence was secured at a cost of Special Forces lives in a firefight with the CIA. โ€œIn addition, the U.S. special forces command seized a server farm in Frankfurt, Germany, because they were sending this data from those six states through the internet to Spain and then into Frankfurt, Germany. Special operation forces seized those, that facility, so they have those servers and they know all this data they are providing. # โš“ What_Does_the_Esau_Revolution_Despise?โ €โ‡› If manipulation of information from Russia via social networking is โ€œvote tamperingโ€, then how much more vote tampering is elimination of an entire party from news stories and even from the ballot so that many voters are not aware of its existence? In all likelihood, efforts by the Democratic Party (DP) affected the mind-set of more voters than all the right-wing howls put together. Ballot Manipulation: Imagined and Real # โš“ โ€œVoter_Fraudโ€_Conspiracies_are_a_Fraud:_2020_Election Editionโ €โ‡› It shouldnโ€™t need to be said, but the available evidence conclusively documents how voter fraud is exceedingly rare in U.S. elections. As one study from the Brennan Center for Justice summarizes: โ€œmost reported incidents of voter fraud are actually traceable to other sources, such as clerical errors or bad data matching practices,โ€ while documented voter fraud ranges between .00003 to .0025 percent of votes cast in U.S. elections. Another academic study finds just 31 instances of voter fraud in more than a billion ballots cast in U.S. elections from 2000 to 2014. Regarding the 2020 election, even Republican- appointed judges and Republican state officials have rejected the Trump legal teamโ€™s and the presidentโ€™s own personal demands that entire slates of Electoral College votes be handed to Trump due to alleged voter fraud, and contrary to the popular vote majorities in these states that went to Joe Biden. A sane observer would realize the absurdity of these fraud claims, particularly when theyโ€™re routinely rejected in case after case in courts of law, due to a total failure to present any systematic evidence of voter suppression or fabricated votes. Trumpโ€™s clumsy claims donโ€™t pass the simplest of smell tests. Why if the Democrats were so incredibly effective in overturning popular pro-Trump majorities in state after state, were they so bad at cheating that they managed to lose nearly a dozen seats in the House of Representatives? And why did they fail to capture most seats in the Senate? # โš“ Think_Tankers_Against_China:_the_Australian_Strategic Policy_Instituteโ €โ‡› In conducting this exercise, accuracy can become the logical casualty. The security think tank often acts as an operational mercenary. The funders want advice that confirms and affirms a position; the advising think tank wants continued funding. Such a match is a poison for contrarian assessments. The think tank thereby operates in circles more reminiscent of astrology, seeing patterns where there are none, and impressing their funders that a threat exists on a scale not previously thought possible. This ensures more funding and future projects. The โ€œChina threatโ€ presents one such moment. Analysts are hardly going to be wreathed and garlanded with praise for suggesting that the PRC, while being a disagreeable neighbour and sporting a terrible human rights record, is not quite the external threat it is made out to be. China is not Australiaโ€™s foe, despite efforts being made to paint it as such. Former Australian ambassador to Beijing Geoff Raby suggests a deep confusion in Canberraโ€™s policy, unable to negotiate the line between โ€œChina as an enemyโ€ and the sycophancy of โ€œChina tickle our tummiesโ€. # โš“ Trumpโ€™s_Backers_Are_Becoming_More_Violent._I_Fear_What_Will Happen_in_January.โ €โ‡› # โš“ Lobbyist_Fundraisers_and_GOP_Foreign_Agent_Receive_Key Appointments_Under_Trumpโ €โ‡› # โš“ Fewer_Than_One-Quarter_of_GOP_Voters_Trust_the_Presidential Election_Resultsโ €โ‡› # โš“ Georgia_Senators_Back_Lawsuit_Trying_to_Invalidate_Their Own_Constituentsโ€™_Votesโ €โ‡› # โš“ Georgia_Moves_to_Shut_Down_Early_Voting_Sites_Ahead_of Senate_Runoffโ €โ‡› # โš“ Progressives_Shouldnโ€™t_Be_Afraid_of_Fighting_Bidenโ€™s Nomineesโ €โ‡› Speaking on Monday at The Wall Street Journalโ€™s CEO Council Summit, Representative Cedric Richmond, recently recruited by the Biden transition team to become a top White House adviser as director of the Office of Public Engagement, assured the business elite that they would always enjoy the ear of the new administration. Asked how CEOs can get the White House to listen to them, Richmond said, โ€œI hope to be that conduit straight into the White House.โ€ He promised an โ€œopen-door policy.โ€ # โš“ The_Biden_Administration:_Who_Will_Hold_the_Power?โ €โ‡› All of these people โ€“ cabinet members, White House advisers, and special appointees who run task forces โ€“ formally answer to the president, but they work for the people, for you. This is where your power lies. Letโ€™s make sure Bidenโ€™s appointees never forget who they work for. # โš“ โ€˜These_Executions,_Disturbing_as_They_Are,_Have_Flown Largely_Under_the_Radarโ€™โ €โ‡› Janine Jackson interviewed ย the Interceptโ€™s Liliana Segura about Trumpโ€™s execution spree for the December 4, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. # โš“ The_Past_and_Future_of_the_Left_in_the_Democratic_Partyโ €โ‡› โ€œWe need to not ever use the word socialist or socialism ever again,โ€ argued Representative Abigail Spanberger during a now-infamous House Democratic caucus call just two days after the 2020 general election. Spanberger, who just won a close reelection in Virginia, is one of several prominent moderates within the party who are blaming progressives and the left for why Democrats lost seats in the House of Representatives and failed to gain a majority in the Senate. Pennsylvania Representative Conor Lamb, who also survived a close race, is another. He concluded in a recent interview, โ€œMoving forward, we canโ€™t be talking about socialism and defunding the police. We need to talk about things people like the sound of, things we can get done.โ€ # โš“ The_Georgia_GOPโ€™s_Fight_Against_Voter_Registrationโ €โ‡› It was shortly before noon on the Saturday before Election Day 2018. Polls showed Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams had a shot at becoming the governor of Georgia, which would have made her the first black woman to hold the office in US history. # โš“ Nina_Turner_Files_to_Run_for_Congress_in_Ohioโ €โ‡› The former Ohio state senator and Bernie Sanders 2020 national campaign co-chair filed the requisite FEC paperwork on Wednesday. # โš“ The_EU_is_making_overtures_about_cybersecurity collaboration_under_Bidenโ €โ‡› The agenda was focused on a proposal from the European Commission and the office of the EU High Representative that suggests that the EU and the U.S. increase cybersecurity-related information- sharing and coordinate repercussions for bad actors in cyberspace. The commission and high representative โ€” essentially the EUโ€™s foreign minister โ€” also proposed an increase in cybersecurity capacity-building efforts, discussions about 5G, and a meeting in early 2021 to discuss security and military operations. # โš“ John_Lennon_and_the_Politics_of_the_New_Leftโ €โ‡› Forty years after his murder in New York City, we remember John Lennonโ€™s record of political engagement as a champion of the anti-war movement and a self-styled โ€œinstinctive socialistโ€ โ€” which brought him into conflict with Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover. o ยง Censorship/Free Speechโ €โžพ # โš“ Content_Moderation_Case_Study:_Scammers_Targeting_Scrabble Chat_(2020)โ €โ‡› Summary: In the spring of 2020, Mattel and Hasbro announced that the official mobile version of the game Scrabble would no longer be the game produced by Electronic Arts, but rather a new game called Scrabble Go created by a company called Scopely. The change drew the ire of fans (who have even started a petition for the old game to be brought back) for taking what had been a fairly standard mobile version of the popular word game, and introducing a new, flashier version that had some additional โ€œgamificationโ€ incentives and put the focus on playing against others, rather than the computer as was typical in the previous game. # โš“ Bidenโ€™s_Top_Tech_Advisor_Trots_Out_Dangerous_Ideas_For โ€˜Reformingโ€™_Section_230โ €โ‡› It is now broadly recognized that Joe Biden doesnโ€™t like Section 230 and has repeatedly shown he doesnโ€™t understand what it does. Multiple people keep insisting to me, however, that once he becomes president, his actual tech policy experts will understand the law better, and move Biden away from his nonsensical claim that he wishes to โ€œrepealโ€ the law. # โš“ Itโ€™s_Not_Section_230_President_Trump_Hates,_Itโ€™s_the_First Amendmentโ €โ‡› Under Section 230, the only party responsible for unlawful speech online is the person who said it, not the website where they posted it, the app they used to share it, or any other third party. It has some limitationsโ€”most notably, it does nothing to shield intermediaries from liability under federal criminal lawโ€”but at its core, itโ€™s just common- sense policy: if a new Internet startup needed to be prepared to defend against countless lawsuits on account of its usersโ€™ speech, startups would never get the investment necessary to grow and compete with large tech companies. 230 isnโ€™t just about Internet companies, either. Anyย intermediaryย that hosts user-generated material receives this shield, including nonprofit and educational organizations like Wikipedia and the Internet Archive. Section 230 is not, as Trump and other politicians have suggested, a handout to todayโ€™s dominant Internet companies. It protects all of us. If youโ€™ve ever forwarded an email, Section 230 protected you: if a court found that email defamatory, Section 230 would guarantee that you canโ€™t be held liable for it; only the author can. If youโ€™ve ever forwarded an email, Section 230 protected you. o ยง Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Pressโ €โžพ # โš“ Web_scraping_is_a_tool,_not_a_crimeโ €โ‡› As a reporter who can code, I can easily collect information from websites and social media accounts to find stories. All I need to do is write a few lines of code that go into the ether, open up websites, and download the data that is already publicly available on them. This process is called scraping. But thereโ€™s a calculus I make in my head whenever I begin pursuing a story that requires scraping: โ€œIs this story worth going to prison for?โ€ Iโ€™m not talking about hacking into the walled-off databases of the CIA. Iโ€™m talking about using a script to gather information that I can access as an everyday Internet consumer, like public Instagram posts or tweets that use a certain hashtag. # โš“ Iranian_journalist_Kayvan_Samimi_begins_3-year_prison sentence_over_protest_coverageโ €โ‡› Yesterday, authorities arrested Samimi at the Evin Prison Sentence Enforcement Office, in Tehran, and took him to serve a three-year sentence at Evin Prison, according to reports by the exile-run Human Rights Activists News Agency and the London-based outlet Iran International. Authorities arrested Samimi, now 72, on May 1, 2019, while he was covering labor protests for the Iran-e Farda magazine, where he worked as editor- in-chief, as CPJ documented at the time. He had been free on bail since June 17, 2019, while facing charges of โ€œcolluding against national securityโ€ and โ€œspreading anti-establishment propaganda,โ€ according to news reports. # โš“ Vietnam_Moves_Blogger_From_Prison_to_Psychiatric_Hospitalโ €โ‡› A Vietnamese blogger detained in May on accusations of producing anti-state propaganda has been transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital in Hanoi. Pham Chi Thanh, commonly known as Pham Thanh, covered politics and social issues on his blog Ba Dam Xoe and used to work for the state-ownedโ€ฏVoice of Vietnamโ€ฏradio station. o ยง Civil Rights/Policingโ €โžพ # โš“ Bold_and_Visionary:_A_Criminal_Justice_To-Do_List_for_the New_Administrationโ €โ‡› Biden and Harris have a mandate from the electorate to fight against mass incarceration, and itโ€™s past time to tackle this crisis. # โš“ English_Soccer_Players_Take_a_Kneeโ €โ‡› As more athletes have chosen to take a knee during the National Anthem in protest of racism and police violence, some worry that the gesture may be losing its impact. When kneeling is approved by sports leagues and is practiced in an empty stadium, with no fear of a fan backlash, it can feel empty like an empty attempt at branding rather than the radical dissent it once was. As author Howard Bryant wrote, โ€œJust call it for what it is: kneeling is a safe gesture now. No risk, no sanction. When it was a risk, very few people took it.โ€ Or, as former NFL player Martellus Bennett put it, โ€œKneeling in 2020 donโ€™t hit the same.โ€ # โš“ Protest_Song_Of_The_Week:_โ€˜FNPโ€™_By_Billy_Nomatesโ €โ‡› The following was originally published at Ongoing History of Protest Songs.Billy Nomates is the moniker of Tor Maries, a singer-songwriter in the United Kingdom who released her self-titled debut album back in August. Although the album was recorded pre-pandemic, it is still politically relevant due to its themes of class struggle and social inequality.โ€œIโ€™ve never really had money, but I was the poorest Iโ€™d been a couple of years ago after working a load of minimum wage jobs,โ€ Maries told NME. โ€œI was miserable and poor and unfulfilled: I couldnโ€™t write about fancying someone or anything nice. I thought: โ€˜If Iโ€™m going to write again, I have no optionbut to write about โ€œah, itโ€™s all crap.โ€™โ€This is exemplified by one of the albumโ€™s standout tracks โ€œFNP,โ€ which is short for โ€œForgotten Normal People.โ€ The song highlights the reality that if you are not part of the elite then the powers that be donโ€™t care about you.In the United States, this reality has become even clearer considering the governmentโ€™s response to COVID-19 and their failure to pass an adequate stimulus package. Both sides of the political aisle are using โ€œForgotten Normal Peopleโ€ as a pawn in their power grab.The lyrics also contain a message of empowerment: In a corner of society that they hope disappearsThat has more soul than their tiny minds could handleForgotten Normal People are a force to rememberAnd what they havenสผt consideredIs how we hold everything togetherBy banding together and making their voices heard, Nomates believes Forgotten Normal People can force those in power to remember them.Listen to โ€œFNPโ€ by Billy Nomates: # โš“ Russian_State_Duma_adopts_law_extending_presidential immunityโ €โ‡› Russian lawmakers have approved a law guaranteeing legal immunity for former presidents in its third reading. Passing this bill brings the countryโ€™s legislation in line with the latest version of the Russian constitution, which was amended following a nationwide vote earlier this year. # โš“ Trump_Set_to_Execute_Brandon_Bernard_Even_as_Jurors_&_Ex- Prosecutor_Call_for_Clemencyโ €โ‡› President Trump has sent eight people to their deaths so far this year, breaking a 17-year hiatus in federal executions, and plans to execute five more in the final weeks of his administration. On December 10, International Human Rights Day, the federal government is scheduled to kill Brandon Bernard, a Black man who was 18 years old when he was convicted as an accomplice to the murder of a young white couple in Texas. Bernard did not kill either person and says he was a โ€œgetaway driverโ€ during a robbery gone wrong. Citing moral reasons and new evidence, five of the nine surviving jurors have changed their minds, and the former assistant U.S. attorney who helped secure his death sentence is calling for his execution to be halted. โ€œItโ€™s very rare that you have five of the nine surviving jurors saying that they would like to see clemency in this case,โ€ says Liliana Segura, a criminal justice reporter for The Intercept, who has covered the case extensively. โ€œBrandon Bernardโ€™s death sentence hinges on evidence that has been called into significant question.โ€ # โš“ Spree_of_federal_executions_during_Trumpโ€™s_lame-duck_period and_pandemic_is_unprecedentedโ €โ‡› Barr told The Associated Press heโ€™s likely to schedule more executions before he leaves the Justice Department. The Justice Department last month amended its execution protocols, paving the way for other methods, such as firing squads and poison gas, in addition to lethal injection. The rule goes into effect Dec. 24. # โš“ In_his_final_days_in_office,_Trump_orders_series_of executionsโ €โ‡› Five executions are scheduled before President- elect Joe Bidenโ€™s 20 January inauguration โ€“ breaking with an 130-year-old precedent of pausing executions amid a presidential transition. # โš“ Tajikistan_Accused_of_Intimidating_Activists_Abroad_by Targeting_Relatives_Back_Homeโ €โ‡› His situation is not unusual. Last Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Tajik government of a โ€œcampaign against all dissent,โ€ saying the authorities targeted critics abroad with โ€œkidnapping, extradition, forced disappearance, and harassment and persecution of family members of exiled critics.โ€ # โš“ Tibetan_Woman_Detained,_Threatened_in_Qinghai_Over_Calls For_Democracyโ €โ‡› Authorities in Qinghai province in northwestern China last month detained a Tibetan woman known for her online advocacy of democracy and the rule of law, holding her for 10 days before releasing her under continuing surveillance, Tibetan sources say. Tsering Tso, who had drawn police attention with her postings on the social media platform WeChat, was taken into custody at her home in the provincial capital Xining on Nov. 12 and brought by 10 officers to a detention center in Trika (in Chinese, Guide) county, an India-based Tibetan rights group said this week. # โš“ Seattle_police_found_in_contempt_for_use_of_less-lethal weapons_on_protestersโ €โ‡› However, of the four violations, the court was โ€œmost concernedโ€ with police misuse of blast balls, from which three of the violations occur. Blast balls, a grenade-like weapon that spews pepper gas when detonated, were used with little accuracy, Jones said. # โš“ The_Policing_Question:_Protection_vs._Service_in_2020โ €โ‡› Note: The NLG National Office, in collaboration with NLG Review, will be publishing a 4-part blog series exploring questions around policing in the United States. Guild members will be sharing pieces analyzing the policing of social movements, the role of police in maintaining current power dynamics, and alternatives to policing from community power to defunding to abolition. The goal of this series is to generate discussion and conversation among our members and the public regarding the current state of policing and to envision new strategies of social organization. Please also read the Guildโ€™s recent resolution supporting the abolition of policing passed by the membership in 2020. # โš“ Shirish_Agarwal:_Farm_Laws_and_Too_much_Democracyโ €โ‡› Around 1995 -96 when Internet had started to become a thing in India, there had been quite a few non- profits which were working on various issues. One of those which I initially came in contact with and which I found to be a bit absurd was non-profit which was working in the field of women against Violence. Now it is and was not the concept or the idea which was absurd to me, it was what these women were doing. Instead of the traditional ways in which you counsel women and try and figure out issues, these women were collecting data points from newspapers and magazines. This was way way before data science became a thing in India. They had their own structure where a story about violence against women which would be above the fold would be 5 points, the one below 2.5 points, in inner pages, it would be less and less. Patriarchy at that time was so strong, even today is but at that time it was such, that it felt a waste of time. I did consult them but never said that but did privately feel the above. In hindsight, they were doing the right thing and yet even today crimes against women goes unreported and is suppressed by both State and Central Governments as well as NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). Interestingly, just few days back, the case against M.J. Akbar by Priya Ramani had taken a back seat and the defamation case by M.J. Akbar was taken forward. Even then, Priya Ramaniโ€™s counselโ€™s arguments were such that the court wound up in half an hour when they were expecting to do a whole day hearing. The next hearing would be happening today which I will look at in few hours from now. Why Priya Ramani was singled out rather than other tweets may probably be because she is an NRI and most NRIโ€™s usually do not want to be part of the bureaucratic Indian court system. This is also the reason that most companies from outside India especially those who are into startups prefer to change ownership, IPR etc. to their own or any country outside India which does make a loss to the exchequer. But this again is a story for another day. o ยง Internet Policy/Net Neutralityโ €โžพ # โš“ GOP_Confirms_Unqualified_Simington_to_FCC_With_Eye_On Crippling_Biden_FCCโ €โ‡› The Senate voted 49-46 Tuesday afternoon along strict party lines to appoint Trump ally NTIA advisor Nathan Simington to the FCC. Simington is hugely unqualified, and his appointment sets another new low in the modern GOPโ€™s campaign of sleazy and blisteringly hypocritical politics at the cost of a functioning government or the public interest. # โš“ California_Legislation_to_Make_Significant_Investments_in Public_Broadbandโ €โ‡› This new legislation, S.B. 4 โ€“ Broadband for All, takes a different approach than the original S.B. 1130 by creating a new program that will help local governments build their own broadband options. In fact, it enables local governments to make a massive billion dollar investment in public infrastructure by unlocking the bond market for local communities. This new bond program would enable local governments to secure long-term low- interest financing in the same way electricity was paid for in deep rural markets. Those investments, designed to give long termsโ€”multiple decadesโ€”to repay the bonds, will be in fiber optic infrastructure. This makes the most sense, as fiber optic is the only data infrastructure proven to last that long, and remain useful as an asset. Californiaโ€™s current law (known as the California Advanced Services Fund or CASF) has failed to meet the digital divide challenge.ย It discriminates against local community bidders to build broadband infrastructure, favors spending state money on slow outdated infrastructure, does not cover all rural and low-income Californians, and has been underfunded. A recent study found that California, despite having CASF already, is the the state with the largest number of students in the United States that lack sufficient access to broadband. This lays the weaknesses of CASF bare, showing it is a grant program investing in obsolete infrastructure, at 100% cost to the state, that collects very little actual money to spend. S.B. 4 remedies this problem by making improvements to the grant program that are more modest than S.B. 1130โ€™s goals, but updates the way the state collects revenue for the program with an โ€œaccess lineโ€ charge. This revenue amendment is critical, because the stateโ€™s original way to collect money has been hindered by federal deregulation of the telecommunications industry, and has not kept pace with the way we use communications infrastructure. Absent this change, itโ€™s likely that funding for this program will continue to decline despite the fact that a growing number of Californians depend (and pay for) communications services. Arguably the most consequential change S.B. 4 makes is eliminating the expiration date for revenue collection, allowing the state to do more to permanently close the digital divide with large scale investments every handful of yearsย until every Californian has access to the Internet service they need. # โš“ The_Broadcasting_Act_Blunder,_Day_14:_The_Risk_to_Canadian Ownership_of_Intellectual_Propertyโ €โ‡› (prior posts in the Broadcasting Act Blunder series include Day 1: Why there is no Canadian Content Crisis, Day 2: What the Government Doesnโ€™t Say About Creating a โ€œLevel Playing Fieldโ€, Day 3: Minister Guilbeault Says Bill C-10 Contains Economic Thresholds That Limit Internet Regulation. It Doesnโ€™t, Day 4: Why Many News Sites are Captured by Bill C-10), Day 5: Narrow Exclusion of User Generated Content Services, Day 6: The Beginning of the End of Canadian Broadcast Ownership and Control Requirements, Day 7: Beware Bill C-10โ€™s Unintended Consequences, Day 8: The Unnecessary Discoverability Requirements, Day 9: Why Use Cross- Subsidies When the Government is Rolling out Tech Tax Policies?, Day 10: Downgrading the Role of Canadians in their Own Programming, Day 11: The โ€œRegulate Everythingโ€ Approach โ€“ Licence or Registration Required, Broadcast Reform Bill Could Spell the End of Canadian Ownership Requirements, Day 12: The โ€œRegulate Everythingโ€ Approach โ€“ The CRTC Conditions, Day 13: The โ€œRegulate Everythingโ€ Approach โ€“ Targeting Individual Services) # โš“ Senate_Confirms_Nathan_Simington,_Trumpโ€™s_Unqualified_and โ€˜Worse_Than_Ajit_Paiโ€™_FCC_Nomineeโ €โ‡› โ€œBy confirming Simington, theyโ€™re not โ€˜owning the libsโ€™ or โ€˜sticking it to Biden,โ€™ theyโ€™re just hurting our kids, small businesses, and our communities. Itโ€™s up to us to make sure they regret it.โ€ # โš“ [Old] Judge_rules_against_Trump_global_media_chief_after firingsโ €โ‡› A federal judge has ruled against the head of the agency that runs the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded news outlets who was accused of trying to turn it into a propaganda vehicle to promote President Donald Trumpโ€™s agenda. The ruling effectively bars U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack from making personnel decisions and interfering in editorial operations. Pack, a conservative filmmaker, Trump ally and onetime associate of former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon, made no secret of his intent to shake up the agency after taking over in June. # โš“ [Old] Inside_the_Plot_to_Kill_the_Open_Technology_Fundโ €โ‡› One reason the OTF managed to gain the trust of technologists and activists around the world is because, as its name suggests, it invested largely in open-source technology. By definition, open- source softwareโ€™s source code is publicly available, meaning it can be studied, vetted, and in many cases contributed to by anyone in the world. This transparency makes it possible for experts to study code to see if it has, for example, backdoors or vulnerabilities that would allow for governments to compromise the softwareโ€™s security, potentially putting users at risk of being surveilled or identified. Now, groups linked to Pack and Bannon have been pressing for the funding of closed-source technology, which is antithetical to the OTFโ€™s work over the last eight years. # โš“ [Old] Democracy_activists_stranded_after_Trump_admin_pulls funding_for_anti-censorship_toolsโ €โ‡› The $20 million represented the bulk of the Open Technology Fundโ€™s 2020 budget. The freeze was ordered by the new CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, a conservative documentary filmmaker and ally of Steve Bannon, the former adviser to President Donald Trump. Pack, who took the helm in June, has angered both Republicans and Democrats in Congress by firing top executives and the governing boards of the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media outlets overseen by his agency. Press freedom groups have warned that Pack is putting the editorial independence of the Voice of America and the other U.S. broadcasters at risk. The Agency for Global Media declined to comment. o ยง Digital Restrictions (DRM)โ €โžพ # โš“ AT&T_Agrees_to_Sell_Crunchyroll_to_Sony_for_$1.18_Billionโ €โ‡› Crunchyroll runs an anime streaming service that has more than 3 million subscribers. It also serves 90 million users around the world through other media and products, including mobile games and merchandise. Sony aims to broaden distribution for Crunchyrollโ€™s content partners and create new offerings for anime fans. # โš“ Sony_is_buying_anime_streaming_service_Crunchyroll_from AT&T_for_$1.175_billionโ €โ‡› Sony will be buying anime streaming service Crunchyroll from AT&T for $1.175 billion, Sony and AT&T announced Wednesday. Specifically, Crunchyroll will become part of Sonyโ€™s Funimation, which already licenses many popular shows such as Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, and One Piece. Now that Sony owns both Crunchyroll and Funimation, the company has tremendous power over anime in the US at a time when many other media companies are trying to figure out their anime content. Netflix has also invested heavily in both licensing and producing its own anime content. o ยง Monopoliesโ €โžพ # โš“ Resisting_Amazon_Is_Not_Futileโ €โ‡› The challenge of how to organize at a company so vast and apparently omnipotent, whose CEO is on the way to becoming the worldโ€™s first trillionaire, can seem utterly overwhelming, a futile exercise. And yet any credible working-class theory of taking on late-stage monopoly capitalism in todayโ€™s Gilded Age must answer the question of how to organize worker power at Amazon. The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy doesnโ€™t purport to provide a comprehensive road map for organizing. But in essays by the editors bookending seventeen curated articles from around the world, the book offers important insights into Amazonโ€™s insidious nature, the challenges of organizing, and also some glimmers of organizing success at the local and national levels. # โš“ โ€˜Big_Stepโ€™_for_Antitrust_as_FTC_and_State_AGs_Sue_Facebook as_Illegal_Monopolyโ €โ‡› โ€œGood,โ€ said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. # โš“ Open_Season:_FTC_&_48_Attorneys_General_File_Separate Antitrust_Lawsuits_Against_Facebookโ €โ‡› Everyone knew that this was coming eventually, but on Wednesday two separate antitrust lawsuits were filed against Facebook. First, the FTC filed a complaint, followed by 48 Attorneys General, representing 46 states, the District of Columbia and Guam (Guam!), similarly arguing that Facebookโ€™s acquisitions of Instagram and Whatsapp were an antitrust violation. I will say, upfront, that both cases appear to have a lot more meat to them than the DOJโ€™s astoundingly weak case against Google. And yetโ€ฆ Iโ€™m still somewhat surprised at some of the claims made in both lawsuits that seem somewhat disconnected from reality. # โš“ US_states,_FTC_seek_break-up_of_Facebook_in_anti-trust lawsuitsโ €โ‡› Forty-eight US states, led by New York, have filed a lawsuit against Facebook claiming that the company has illegally stifled competition in order to protect its monopoly power. # โš“ Facebook_calls_antitrust_lawsuits_โ€˜revisionist_historyโ€™โ €โ‡› Facebook also takes issue with the retroactive nature of the breakup. Both acquisitions are more than five years old, and were approved by regulatory agencies at the time. # โš“ The_FTC_is_suing_Facebook_to_unwind_its_acquisitions_of Instagram_and_WhatsAppโ €โ‡› On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a massive antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media giant has harmed competition by buying up smaller companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to squash the threat they posed to its business. Forty-seven other state and regional attorneys general are joining the suit. The lawsuit centers on Facebookโ€™s acquisitions, particularly its $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2011. In addition to its acquisition strategy, the attorneys general allege that Facebook used the power and reach of its platform to stifle user growth for competing services. # โš“ U.S._and_States_Say_Facebook_Illegally_Crushed Competitionโ €โ‡› Federal and state regulators of both parties, who have investigated the company for over 18 months, said in separate lawsuits that Facebookโ€™s purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the companyโ€™s dominance. Since those deals, Instagram and WhatsApp have skyrocketed in popularity, giving Facebook control over three of the worldโ€™s most popular social media and messaging apps. The applications have helped catapult Facebook from a company started in a college dorm room 16 years ago to an internet powerhouse valued at more than $800 billion. # โš“ FTC_and_States_Sue_Facebook,_Seeking_to_Force_Divestitures of_Instagram,_WhatsAppโ €โ‡› UPDATED: Facebook illegally acquired competitors Instagram and WhatsApp in a blatant abuse of its monopoly power, lawsuits filed by the FTC in coordination with more than 40 state attorneys general allege. The suits seek to force Facebook to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. The lawsuits allege that Facebook broke U.S. antitrust laws in maintaining a monopoly on the social-networking market, from which it has earned billions of dollars from advertising and generated massive profits. In addition, they charge that the companyโ€™s unlawful monopoly has given it broad discretion to set terms for how usersโ€™ private information is collected and used to further its business interests โ€” and has let Facebook impose anticompetitive conditions on third-party developers. # ยง Patentsโ €โžพ # โš“ Locking_in_the_Rules_at_the_PTOโ €โ‡› President Trumpโ€™s administrative agencies are working hard to lock-in policy changes before the major shift expected in January. The Patent Office is no different. The changes here (except those implementing court precedent) are ones that the next administration could change, but the implementation Final Rules and Precedential Decision create administrative hurdles. [...] New Precedential Decisions: The PTAB (operating under the guidance of Dir. Iancu) has designated three recent institution related decisions as Precedential. These decisions are important for locking-in the Boardโ€™s approach because the Federal Circuit no longer has authority (Thryv) to guide the scope and procedure of IPR institutions. # โš“ ViCo_for_Oral_Proceedings_at_the_EPO_โ€“_CIPAโ€™s_view_โ€“ Kluwer_Patent_Blog [Ed: CIPA President. Amplifying patent litigation extremists from CIPA, who actively promote what's illegal and unconstitutional for financial gain while public supporting criminals]โ €โ‡› It is becoming clear that videoconferencing is inevitable in the long term for all oral proceedings at the EPO. The next generation of users of the system will expect a remote, distributed and technology-based process as a matter of course and, as indicated by the EPOโ€™s recent Progress Report, the technology supports adoption of ViCo now. In our response to the consultation by the Boards of Appeal to proposed new Article 15a RPBA on ViCo, CIPA puts the case for the urgent adoption of the same rules as have been implemented at first instance, with the sole caveat that the technology is fit for purpose. The EPO Progress Report and experience in other intellectual property courts has shown that ViCo has indeed come of age bringing benefits of efficiency, accessibility, reduced costs and reduced environmental impact โ€“ and the inclusion of all available talent regardless of location. # โš“ Comments_on_USPTOโ€™s_Newest_Regulation_Overall_Oppose Discretionary_Denial_Rules_โ€“_Patent_Progressโ €โ‡› The USPTO is considering whether to enshrine discretionary denial of inter partes review cases into regulation. Last week, comments were due on the most recent portion of this process. (CCIAโ€™s comments criticizing the current General Plastic, Valve, NHK Spring, and Fintiv precedential opinions, and explaining why they should not be converted into rules, can be found here.) Over the course of a shortened 44-day rulemaking period, more than 800 comments were received. An analysis of the comments shows that, when it comes to comments with substantive argument and evidence, the weight of comments is against any proposed rule that would codify discretionary denial into regulation or strengthen the existing precedents. In fact, the weight of substantive commentary is strongly against discretionary denial. [...] Presumably, the USPTO is conducting this abbreviated request for comments with an eye towards rulemaking before the new Administration takes office. But given that the weight of substantive feedback on the request for comments is against any such rule, it would be inappropriate for the Director to put forth any such rule, much less put forward such a rule with only weeks before the new Administration takes over. The USPTO under Director Iancu has failed to abide by APA rulemaking requirements in the pastโ€”ignoring the weight and substance of commentary against a proposed rule would just be one more example. # โš“ Call_for_a_strike_at_the_European_Patent_Officeโ €โ‡› The Central Staff Committee of the European Patent Office and the trade union SUEPO have called for a strike on Tuesday 15 December 2020 during the meeting of the Administrative Council. SUEPO has announced the strike will be the start of a year of social conflict to defend the future of the Staff and their families. In a letter to EPO personnel today, the CSC called upon colleagues to join the strike: โ€œRegrettably, we can only report a continued erosion of our work package, an erosion that has even accelerated during these times of pandemic. All the while, our President maintains that the staff he meets are happy, that social dialogue is working at full speed and that all is going well in EPO-land (our production has not suffered, even today). This is in stark contrast to the emails, phone calls and messages we keep receiving by many colleagues who are increasingly suffering from the unabated production pressure and management by spreadsheet, topped up by the social isolation due to the pandemic.โ€ [...] The ILOAT already has a large backlog of several hundred complaints filed against the EPOrg. The ILO governing body stated on several occasions that the high number of cases from the EPOrg impairs the effective and unimpeded functioning of the ILOAT in the interest of all international organisations that have recognized the jurisdiction of the ILOAT. It has therefore limited the number of EPOrg cases dealt with in each session to about 30 to 40 and is considering further measures. This has a detrimental effect to legal certainty and legal peace and could result in that the means of legal redress available to EPO staff for labour disputes may no longer be considered being sufficient and the immunity from national jurisdiction of the EPOrg may thus be at stake.โ€ The Central Staff Committee has urged the Administrative Council to work towards reforming the internal means for appeal; to further increase significantly the resources of the internal Appeals Committee and its members; to ensure unhindered access to legal redress for all employees; and to urgently enter into discussions with ILOAT (โ€ฆ) to ensure that all complaints are dealt with expeditiously. # ยง Trademarksโ €โžพ # โš“ Have_you_considered_the_effect_of_Brexit_on_the territorial_scope_of_a_trademark_license?โ €โ‡› This Kat promised himself that he would not offer any public thoughts about trademarks and Brexit. On the other hand, he had devoted several years to penning a treatise on trademark licensing. So, what happens when Brexit (โ€œmum is the wordโ€) meets trademark licensing (โ€œthe more the merrierโ€)? Maybe quite a lot, when it comes to determining whether the United Kingdom is included or excluded within the scope of the territory covered by the license. The definition of โ€œTerritoryโ€ is a fundamental provision of a trademark license (or a co-existence agreement). When multiple countries are intended, the usual practice is to list all the countries by name, where the most crucial decision may be whether to refer to the โ€œUnited Statesโ€, or the โ€œUnited States of Americaโ€; to โ€œDenmarkโ€, or the โ€Kingdom of Denmarkโ€. But sometimes a short-cut might provide a concise way to designate multiple countries. Defining โ€œTerritoryโ€ as โ€” โ€œthe countries within European Unionโ€ โ€” would seem to be one such instance. [...] In any event, at the operational level, law firms and companies will be challenged to identify all such relevant agreements (both licenses and consent/co-existence agreements). As well, contacting the relevant counterparty, or its representatives, may not be straight-forward. Trademark practitioners have been busily attending to their European Union trademark portfolios and the status of these marks and their registrations in the United Kingdom after December 31st. While doing so, practitioners will be well-advised to also turn their gaze to the provisions of their trademark license agreements and especially, the scope of the territorial clause. # ยง Copyrightsโ €โžพ # โš“ โ€˜Streaming_stole_my_record_moneyโ€™:_why_Spotify_is ruining_rockโ €โ‡› Artists and writers simply do not get their share of the pie (often less than ยฃ200 a year), Rodgers told MPs, despite the โ€œstaggeringโ€ amount of money in the industry. Songwriter Fiona Bevan, who has co-written songs with Ed Sheeran and Kylie Minogue, described the situation as โ€œshamefulโ€ and said songwriters have been forced into the (no pun intended) gig economy. โ€œRight now, hit songwriters are driving Ubers,โ€ Bevan said. Jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch described the situation as a โ€œmarket failureโ€. The musiciansโ€™ comments follow similar remarks made to the committee last week by Elbow singer Guy Garvey. He said that artistsโ€™ lack of money is threatening the very future of music. โ€œThat sounds very dramatic,โ€ Garvey said, โ€œbut if musicians canโ€™t afford to pay the rent, if they canโ€™t afford to live, we havenโ€™t got tomorrowโ€™s music in place.โ€ Meanwhile Tom Gray, a member of Gomez and the man whose Broken Record alliance helped bring about the inquiry in the first place, tells me that streamingโ€™s meteoric rise is creating a ticking โ€œtime bombโ€ that will decimate grass roots music if nothing changes. So whatโ€™s going on? Why have we got mega- bucks deals on the one hand and musicians prophesying poverty and doom on the other? Can one industry really be so ludicrously lopsided? Well, yes it can. And whatโ€™s intriguing is that the feast and the famine both stem from precisely the same source: the business models adopted by Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and other streaming platforms. # โš“ Wait,_Bob_Dylan_Owned_โ€˜The_Weightโ€™?_An_Explainerโ €โ‡› That income varied from year to year, depending on the songโ€™s usage. Estimates differ, but โ€œThe Weightโ€ could easily pull in a few hundred thousand dollars in a year in which itโ€™s used in an ad or film, although considerably less if the income is only derived from record or streaming royalties. # โš“ Controversial_Copyright_Legislation_May_Show_Up_in โ€˜Must_Passโ€™_US_Spending_Billโ €โ‡› Several controversial copyright bills are reportedly being added to the US โ€˜must-passโ€™ spending bill. This includes the CASE Act and a proposal to make streaming piracy a felony. Tech companies and civil rights groups are calling on lawmakers to reject these plans. # โš“ Spanish_Piracy_Giant_Movidy_Shuts_Down,_Owner_Too Sick_to_Continueโ €โ‡› Spanish pirate streaming giant Movidy has closed itself down with immediate effect. The platform was one of Spainโ€™s most-visited sites, period, but following a sad medical diagnosis in the summer, the owner says he is now too ill to continue. Due to security reasons and recent pressure from copyright holders, the site will not be sold to any third-party. # โš“ Creative_Commons_Joins_the_American_Universityโ€™s Efforts_to_Promote_the_International_Right_to Researchโ €โ‡› โ€œThe COVID pandemic has cast a bright light on inequities in the global research system that restrictive copyright laws perpetuate,โ€ said Professor Sean Flynn, director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property and the projectโ€™s principal investigator. โ€œIn many countries, library resources, for example, can only be used โ€˜on the premisesโ€™ of that institution. Use of educational materials is often restricted to use โ€˜in a classroom.โ€™ Our goal is to promote a system in which every researcher, every student, and every citizen of every country has the ability to engage in modern research activity and enjoy its products, including across borders and utilizing online tools.โ€ # โš“ Artists_speak_out_at_the_UK_Economics_of_Music Streaming_Inquiryโ €โ‡› However, from a copyright law perspective, both are captured by copyright infringement as communication to the public. Section 20(2) (a) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 confirms โ€œcommunication to the public by electronic transmission, and in relation to a work include โ€“ (a)the broadcasting of the work.โ€ In fact, the origins of communication to the public are found in the development of the copyright holderโ€™s right to restrict performance of their work. The WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996 which rationalised and synthesised this protection by establishing full coverage of the communication right, intended to provide a technology-neutral right, where the technical means by which the communication was made was irrelevant, in order that any future technical development be included within the provision. Why does this matter? Well, it has an impact on the remuneration the artists can receive. PPL currently has the right to license the online transmission of radio, television and certain types of online streaming services, including live streaming and customised streaming. But, PPL does not license music services that offer downloads or on-demand streams of individual music tracks, such as Spotify and Apple Music, or services that enable the upload of content by the general public, such as YouTube and Facebook. In the music industry, the usual arrangement is that the record label, who own the sound recording of a song, licence their catalogue to a streaming platform such as Spotify. Spotify keep 30%, and give 55% to the record label and 15% goes to the publisher (who owns the copyright in the musical work). When the artist signs a recording contract with the label, who make a financial investment into the artist by paying for the recording of the track as well as through marketing of the music. This investment is recouped, not from the profit of the sound recording, but from the royalty. This means it typically takes a long time for artists to receive royalties, if ever. [...] This is not something directly asked for by the artists, but is something that I included in my evidence to the committee. Currently, playlisters are people who create playlists that users follow. Playlisters earn revenue by creating playlists that directly impact the discovery of music and therefore the remuneration to artists and songwriters. However, the users and the artists are not informed of the playlistersโ€™ earnings, benefits and deals which are made in order to get certain songs on their playlist. Therefore, in my evidence I recommended that this activity should be considered as influencing, and as a result be regulated by the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) which works with social media platforms and influencers. The ASA provides specific guidance for influencers, which applies when a person is paid in some way, regardless of how many followers they may have. # โš“ Nintendo_Plays_โ€˜Control_Inceptionโ€™,_Cancelling Splatoon_Broadcast_After_Teams_Protest_Canceling_Smash Bros._Tourneyโ €โ‡› If youโ€™re one of what I assume are zillions of folks who come here for my rants about Nintendo, I owe you an apology. While Iโ€™m usually pretty good about bringing you every instance of Nintendo doing the Nintendo all over itself and its fans, one such instance from last month slipped through the cracks. The Big House is a high profile Super Smash Bros. tournament series and host. Unfortunately, Nintendo shut down what was supposed to be the latest tournament and broadcast of The Big House via a C&D notice. At issue appears to be the use of a mod called โ€œslippiโ€, a fan-made mod that basically unbroke the nearly two decades old game when it came to online play. Without getting too technical, the mod simply made the game perform well over internet connections, whereas it was previously essentially unplayable. Given that The Big House tournament was rendered virtual this year due to you-all-know-what, the mod was essential to running the tournament. From Nintendo: โ•˜โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•โ•› ยถ Lines in total: 6128 โžฎ Generation completed at 04:03, i.e. 95 seconds to (re)generate โŸฒ