𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Wednesday, November 25, 2020
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Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login):
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/an-open-letter-to-figosdev/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/an-orwellian-december/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/epo-boa-vico/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/irc-log-241120/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/perens-wrt-osi/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/scientists-run-epo/#comments
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/suckless-javascript/#comments
Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised):
http://techrights.org/2020/11/25/gameros/#comments
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
****** 11.25.20 ******
***** The_Non-Technical_(or_Lesser_Technical)_Software_User_That_Wants_Software
Freedom *****
Posted in BSD, Free/Libre_Software, GNU/Linux at 12:44 pm by Guest Editorial
Team
Open Letter to Figosdev from Mogz (a reply to this_one)
[Duck with Slinky]
Summary: Assuming that Free software should care about what users — not only
developers — really want (and need) it’s important to understand how they view
the current situation (with growing waves of corporate takeover and
compromises, even expulsions)
First, thank you very much for posting your open letter, and for registering my
genuine concern that free software succeed, and for apologies. I really
appreciate that a lot, and thank you for taking the time to respond in detail.
I apologize also, for the delay in response (ill health delayed me finding your
letter). Very interesting to also read your commendable history of
contributing, and past posts. Reading the quotes and your responses is bringing
more clarity to my questions and concerns, so thank you for that.
For example, I realise that I need to make it clearer that part of what I’m
addressing is a resource loop-hole, non-tech users who deeply care about
privacy/freedoms. More about that later.
[Winter Fun series]I understand what you’re saying regarding [Alex] Oliva [who]
won’t fork, thus Linux won’t be fixed, and that integral large packages (perl,
python) can’t be forked, and too few devs to fork halfbuzz, plus the Gnu
Project aren’t making the effort to fork what they could. It was actually a
relief to read things in your response that nobody else ever says, such as most
devs don’t care about users/freedoms, about having contributed to bad projects,
who is fine with mixing with github … that makes the list a lot shorter
regarding who/what to give energy and time to, also. I don’t find it depressing
to have a clear bullet-list that shortens my own list, so I can double down on
what IS positive. Stopping paying attention to users/devs who ignore problems,
who don’t take things seriously, for example, is very uplifting to realise
further, too; no more writing to some main linux youtubers (nb not gardner) and
receiving no responses, for example! To read that you too are fed up with the
attitude to users is very heartening, as nobody says this stuff. No longer
feeling like some kind of lone crazy person, lol. And when people see mirrored
their own real feelings, they definitely feel they can relate, and it can move
them to be part of things.
“I see BSD is being pointed to as the ‘bunker’, but that is a big step for any
non-tech people.”There’s been an unnerving journey of realising what’s going
on, but, if the only people talking about this stuff are saying it’s all too
rotten to fix, that has to be looked at seriously, along with my own
experiences, observations and concerns to date. A main thing I live by is that
there’s a time comes when stepping out and away from something becomes
critical; that frees up energies for what is timely and important to move onto,
and to not step away would jeopardize what CAN be safeguarded and built in the
new space. As long as everything’s been examined and understood fully before
taking such a clear step, better to observe from a distance and be doing
something positive with life, rather than go down with the ship.
You asked directly what sort of hope I want to see … really clear bottom-line
summary about how things are, which the letter from you is already covering
more. Also, what people can do, and HOW (for non-techs), in order to maintain
the freedom/privacy/values that are so important.
I don’t mean about coddling infants, as you reference, but those who don’t have
any tech DNA yet want to get on the BSD ship/into the new place, to support
free software, respect, privacy, care about users, but know they just can’t get
their head around that without clear instruction. The corporate are dumbing
people down by the year, ‘bread and circuses’, ‘leave it to us’, ‘we make your
life easy’ (as we siphon off ALL your data and make money) … they want people’s
energies, power, everything, whereas what I mean is what empowers people, the
ladder that can get them into that place, where they can then do what they do
best, contributing in other ways. You can’t give a jet to someone and expect
them to fly it, but if they’re a passenger on the jet, they could be a doctor,
a lawyer, anything non-tech, but still play a critical part.
“If the talk all the time is about values and who/what cares about users, then
let’s care about the users, actively and practically, helping them to find a
‘bunker’ and batten down those hatches, as they wait for the albeit large
tornado to pass, and meanwhile can do what they can in the ‘bunker’ to hatch
something new.”I see BSD is being pointed to as the ‘bunker’, but that is a big
step for any non-tech people. Can there be a beginner series on running an
easily installable BSD, to get non-tech people started? Are there a few people
willing to do that? Are there any very beginner tutorials anywhere already, all
in one place and up to date? How many non-tech users, who deeply care about
privacy/freedoms, read Techrights? Are most of them lurkers, since privacy/
being offline is so important to them? I have many questions, lol. If a series
were done, it could be shared all across the Linux places? So even non-techs,
who could number far more than realised, can take part? adding important
numbers of people who really care. There’s a very vocal part to Linux, and it
tends to be those pushing for Wayland and the corporate and gaming … no wonder
those who care about the freedoms, or are non-tech, may often be found
increasingly offline, but will be reading articles, and wondering HOW to
function and, in parallel, how to add to the numbers actively making important
shifts.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m talking about bringing more on board those who care
about the values. I have no ability or desire to code, or become more tech … I
want only to support the freedoms, values, respect, the space where people can
be themselves and as happy as possible. That is the only reason I crossed over
to Linux. I leave the technical aptitude to those who practice that so well,
who have that DNA, while I do what I do best.
So many new users have come over in the last year. People who care and want to
contribute tend to want a clear list to get on with, to know how serious things
are, at the same time as beginner instruction on HOW to exit from Linux.
They’re the sort of people we want, who care about privacy/freedom/respect/
values, so how do we get them to the ‘bunker’, even if that ‘bunker’ is e.g. at
first a non-ideal BSD install, but at least a starting place to learn, and with
clear tutorials as a main priority? Get everyone who cares to the best place
possible, where they can function and have a foundation that doesn’t feel like
shifting sands; then the new can come through when possible.
“Those good at tech can do an incredible contribution by distilling what they
know into a simple clear set of tutorials.”I can’t possibly be the only
privacy-conscious and non-tech person on Linux?! So please don’t mistake any of
what I say as me trying to get personal help for me; I know ‘go offline’ is my
answer, if there’s no other way, but I’ve believed for a long time that there
must be many users similar to myself, but who won’t speak up or ask … that’s
been a theme in my life, and anyone’s life who can’t stand by and say nothing,
when it comes to the crunch … and there’s always others afterwards who say they
agreed! Those people can read and ACT independently, no head above the parapet
stuff, via clear tutorials, and that shifts things away from the negative
corporate who treat Linux as their resource to mine, and it really matters that
the corporate, and corporate-supporting, lose the numbers and influence, and
any kind of attention. Providing very clear tutorials would end up being very
low-maintenance overall, once the tutorials are done. Gathering those in one
place is also very important, rather than lots of bits everywhere that may be
old or new, accurate or not. I understand you will have your own life and
commitments, so my question is an open one, about if there are people who would
do tutorials.
To jump to covering the depression part a bit more … it is definitely not about
avoiding the real truth, which ends up freeing people up to go where IS
positive. If others are reading messages mainly pointing out what is
depressing, they can get the message nobody else is going to do anything, and
everything’s too difficult, which makes their fight harder, and makes getting
involved just about impossible. It can seize them up. ‘Let’s all be depressed
together’ doesn’t work, in this instance, except briefly at the start, to know
we’re all on the same page.
Just to reference the ‘not enough work/effort is going in’ too … that can’t be
where things stop, and is certainly not what’s written on my page. If the talk
all the time is about values and who/what cares about users, then let’s care
about the users, actively and practically, helping them to find a ‘bunker’ and
batten down those hatches, as they wait for the albeit large tornado to pass,
and meanwhile can do what they can in the ‘bunker’ to hatch something new.
Rolling over and saying we’re defeated is what the corporate want … no
freedoms, privacy, respect, happiness, stable space to function, etc. There’s
loads can be done about shifting across to BSD, that can bring in a lot more
people that normally can’t, or have tried, to be involved in the movement. Such
articles can add to the already very good truthful articles, and inspire
people, and article writers, helping to generate momentum in shifting across to
BSD, making it doable, if that is the definite consensus about where we all
need to be going.
Those good at tech can do an incredible contribution by distilling what they
know into a simple clear set of tutorials. Just as with drawing on how many
non-tech users there are out there, those with tech ability not sharing what
they know would be a big loss. It’s uncomfortable to be asking regarding doing
this initial outlay, but if it brings in lots of non-techs who care about what
matters, and the move across to BSD can gain big momentum, that could buoy
everyone up and really achieve something productive. I’d rather it be me
rattling off all the tutorials, but that’s a complete non-starter. I can follow
very clear tutorials and be part of the shift, supporting the freedoms, caring
about users, and I can contribute art to the cause. There’s no way I would put
these ideas on the table if I wasn’t willing to contribute something in kind,
and I know I would regret it later if I didn’t ask now.
Would expanding the range of articles be something useful to do? … focusing on
other things e.g. those stepping away and how they’re doing it, those dropping
big tech and how great that is, those who left working for big tech and how
they’re doing better things now, how hyperbolaBSD is coming along/interview …
after the critical tutorials about how to cross over! Articles from non-techs
who’ve been able to go to BSD via the tutorials? How many more users does BSD
have this year? By all means, the clear truth, but also articles that cover the
features of the better place we all want to inhabit. Just throwing out some
ideas, in case anything is useful.
“And, as you rightly say, covering the difference between open source and free
software is very important; another tutorial!”Let’s also remember that the
corporate psychopaths have many blind spots, not caring about or being able to
recognise the things we do, thus not able to come up with the appropriate
solutions either … yes, they read and watch, and their answer to everything
seems to be ‘shut them down’/’invade their space’, never dialogue or connect,
but there are far more non-psychopaths in the world than psychopaths, otherwise
there wouldn’t have been 30 years of Linux before this corporate/psychopathic
stuff started to rear it’s head. The tech sites that promote the corporate etc
want us to believe there aren’t enough good people out there to make a
difference, and such as Red Hat, showing their cards the very next morning like
that, wasn’t very bright, so not crediting them with lots of real wisdom seems
a wise thing to do!
Interesting to read the work you’ve done. I too worked with the homeless, but
in non-tech ways. Background of lots of carework, then art (digital). I didn’t
know about your remastering tool! It would be great to see the article about
that, and maybe others reading, or just finding, TechRights don’t know about it
also.
“Art can certainly lift people, get things expressed, be very unifying (in the
traditional pre-PC/diversity way), and literally brightens up the world.”Thank
you again for your response, and it’s refreshing to dialogue and get clearer on
things, my wish being that all kinds of users can be involved, including non-
techs, as, beyond all the ‘stuff’, I’m certain there are doable things that can
really shift things along more in the direction we want to go, and the more
numbers the better and faster things can shift.
The more I think about this, the more I think creating that place we need
involves bringing in all types of user and very clear and basic documentation,
as numbers and the how-to are integral to that creation. Potential new users
today, who’ve just realised they need to make a shift, could see a set of BSD
tutorials that are actually easier to understand than Linux documentation, and
just go straight to BSD, for example. People need to be informed, included, and
to have the tools, then the numbers just keep rising, along with those good at
tech, and that new space takes shape. And, as you rightly say, covering the
difference between open source and free software is very important; another
tutorial! lol.
I agree that a non-corporate community/usergroup(s) is very important; no egos,
no diversity, no PC, but just basically be decent, which I think would be
there, when people are making effort to do something because they care about
people being free and are all working together on the same page. None of your
‘giafam’s okay’ half-hearteds! It would also need to be solidly private/
encrypted, so no big tech can get in and threaten or harm people. Maybe we’re
all watching to see which of the new communities pan out better, but there
needs to be one secure one we all know of and go to, yes? Gathering
information, tutorials, whatever is the ladder to get more people on board, and
into a new space. Information and energy frittered everywhere doesn’t seem to
be working for Linux as well as it could now, so one central place is
definitely important. Some direction on that I feel is important too, so users
know what is the best place, where are people at, etc. I can’t access the
Slated site, but understand what you’re saying about big tech’s agenda and the
ways they try to take people’s freedom and power.
“My conclusion, when trying various non-systemd distros, was that it was all
about enclaves and either deliberate or broken-tech barriers, which, despite
relating to them wanting their own space, made it impossible to take part in
moving away from systemd.”I haven’t heard Free Culture spoken of, and need to
look up Lessig, for sure, so thanks for pointing me that way. Art can certainly
lift people, get things expressed, be very unifying (in the traditional pre-PC/
diversity way), and literally brightens up the world. Creative people tend to
have plenty of ideas and inspiration to draw on, to apply to real world issues,
too, so I look forward to reading more about Free Culture and what others are
doing with that at this point. Great to hear that there is openness to free-as-
in-freedom art being a good contribution, too! I need to balance what I do with
health issues, but am used to working around that, and would be able to
reliably contribute art, for sure; my pleasure.
I couldn’t agree more about Devuan too. My conclusion, when trying various non-
systemd distros, was that it was all about enclaves and either deliberate or
broken-tech barriers, which, despite relating to them wanting their own space,
made it impossible to take part in moving away from systemd. Every non-systemd
distro I tried that week ended up the same. So thanks for not recommending
Devuan, lol. I run Anarchy and Mate, not ideal but as lean as possible, at this
point, so fully agree with tidying up a small distro. Debian seems a massive
monolith, and definitely looks like an overwhelming amount for anyone to take
on. Getting away from the problems is definitely good. Am up for the adventure,
for getting away from the dark, to somewhere where things can get done, in
freedom and stability.
From this self-advocator, who will never stop championing what enables people
to have choice and freedom, and who doesn’t feel quite as out in the forest as
I did, thanking you again for not being one of those who shunned, and instead
is refreshingly direct and fair, signing off for now. █
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****** 11.25.20 ******
***** An_Orwellian_December *****
Posted in Humour at 1:45 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: With December around the corner and states tightening the screws on
the population (or employers on employees) at least we can look forward to
spring
THE DAYS get shorter
Medics falter
COVID stronger
Goodbye to Orange Ogre
Get the app
Life is crap
Raise the cup
And don’t you shop
Report to Brother
Won’t you bother
Information they_gather
Protesting gets harder
Spring will come
At least for some
Privacy is dumb
Upload to Instagram █
[Amsterdam forest]
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****** 11.25.20 ******
***** Member_of_the_EPO’s_Boards_of_Appeal_Explains_Why_VICOs_(or_ViCo/Video
Conferences/Virtual_‘Hearings’)_Are_Not_Suitable_for_Justice *****
Posted in Europe, Patents at 8:08 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Those also outsource the legal process to another continent, which is
inherently and fundamentally unconstitutional
[U.S. Supreme Court building, Washington, DC]
Summary: It’s interesting to hear (or see/read) what people inside the EPO have
to say about the “new normal” when they enjoy a certain level of anonymity (to
avert retribution)
THE coming few weeks we at least intend to devote to other issues, new issues.
We’ll allocate and dedicate more time to Free software, but we’re still
watching very closely what happens at the EPO and later today we’ll watch what
happens in the Bundestag. We’ll probably write about the UPC almost never
(except for humour, as it mostly became a circus) and about the EPO we’ll write
once a day, at most, if/when something important happens. To be fair, there’s
not so much to write about anymore. The EPO is still secretive, it’s still
releasing loads of ridiculous puff pieces to distract from its corruption, and
approximately 90% of articles we find about the EPO are pure fluff, usually
self-promotional marketing pitch from patent lawyers.
“…approximately 90% of articles we find about the EPO are pure fluff, usually
self-promotional marketing pitch from patent lawyers.”This morning we noticed a
new_comment from someone claiming to be a member of the Boards of Appeal of the
EPO. Assuming this person is honest (in describing oneself as a board member;
based on the content, we have no reason to believe it’s a forgery), here’s a
view from the inside:
Being a board member myself, the idea that worries me most is that
before long the boards as such will no longer meet in a single
location. Nowadays we often have lively discussions when
deliberating, which makes the final decision much more reliable (no
stone being left unturned), but this will not be easy when we see
each other behind a screen, with all the inevitable technical trouble
that comes along (and we have had some of that already in our VICOs,
believe me). Now if the deliberation process suffers, the very heart
of the appeal proceedings suffers. I fear that the quality of our
decisions will decrease if the boards do not meet in person, face to
face. Oh I know that the powers that be do not really care about
quality, and that they see that VICOs can be so much cheaper. But in
the end, our raison d’être is providing good, well-founded and fair
decisions, and that will be made more difficult to achieve.
There are some more comments of interest in there.
[Courtroom tea]“When reading the EPO is using Zoom I was surprised,” the next
comment said. “Of course, the EPO is immune, so they can use whatever they
want… But, since Zoom is critized for not following the General Data Protection
Regulation, for lack of encryption etc., I was wondering: assume you would like
to prevent a VICO, would it be possible to send your opponent a cease-and-
desist-letter (Abmahnung) not to use Zoom professionally? Are patent attorneys,
at least in Germany, bound by their professional duties not to use such a
defective tool? Well, I guess Mr C [António_Campinos] couldn’t care less…”
This was in response to the latest decent_article_from_Dr._Bausch.
Speaking of lack of justice at the EPO, it’s hardly better at the ILO
Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) when EPO staff brings grievances there.
“Justice denied” is a publication going back to March of this year (“Report on
the 129th Session of the ILOAT”) and it explains how in “Judgments 4255 and
4256 the ILO Administrative Tribunal dismissed a total of 653 complaints coming
from EPO staff. The majority of the complaints concern reforms and other
controversial decisions dating back to 2012 – 2014. In earlier judgments the
Tribunal found that the Administrative Council or the Office (i.e. the
President) had made formal errors in the procedures and sent the cases back for
re-examination. This line has now been confirmed. Arguments of the complainants
why further delays would amount to a denial of justice were ignored.”
Here’s the full_PDF_published_about_this_matter_back_then. █
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****** 11.25.20 ******
***** IRC_Proceedings:_Tuesday,_November_24,_2020 *****
Posted in IRC_Logs at 3:45 am by Needs Sunlight
[HTML5_logs] [HTML5_logs]
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Enter_the_IRC_channels_now
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****** 11.25.20 ******
***** Open_Source_Initiative_(OSI)_Co-founder_Bruce_Perens:_Open_Invention
Network_(OIN)_is_Protecting_the_Software_Patent_System_From_Reform_and_OSI
Approves_Faux_‘Open’_Licences_(Openwashing) *****
Posted in Deception, Free/Libre_Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, OIN, OSI,
Patents at 6:52 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Well, maybe ironically he posted this in a Microsoft site. Microsoft now gets
the_majority_of_the_OSI's_work/budget, basically to help cement its monopoly.
OSI has just advertised a job opening for its leadership because at the moment
it lacks any.
[Bruce_Perens_in_2020]
Summary: Richard Stallman was right about the OSI and the fake ‘movement’ that
claims to have ‘coined’ the term “Open Source” (it wasn’t a new term at all; it
had been used in another context and the Free software community spoke of
things like “Open Hardware” years earlier)
THE “OPEN SOURCE” so-called ‘movement’ (see Perens using that term, “movement”)
turned out to be a sham. It banned its own co-founder and Perens, the second
co-founder, resigned in protest earlier this year. Ever since then he
occasionally explains what went wrong. Richard Stallman speaks to him about it
(he told me so).
“I frequently urge people to stop saying “Open Source”. We need to speak about
Software Freedom (or Free/libre software) instead.”In 2020, for_the_first_time
in_more_than_15_years, I abandoned news about “Open Source” completely, seeing
that the majority of them were just openwashing and promotion of proprietary
prisons such as GitHub (Microsoft surveillance and censorship). To me,
personally, “Open Source” is dead. It’ll never come back. The label or the term
“Open Source” is also increasingly meaningless. Many software licences that are
called “Open Source” are not Free software-compliant. They’re an openwashing
slant to help sell proprietary software and/or mass surveillance in Clown
Computing.
I frequently urge people to stop saying “Open Source”. We need to speak about
Software Freedom (or Free/libre software) instead. Any time we (still) say
“Open Source” we help those who hijacked the term to push a toxic agenda, in
effect helping a new-age monopoly by mass deception.
It’s kind of sad in a way. It’s difficult. For many years I did in fact use the
term “Open Source”; so seeing what happened to it is frustrating. But it’s too
late to change that now. That’s why Perens quit the OSI. That’s why ESR went on
the mailing list and fought back, only to be banned by the very organisation
that he had helped found.
“Open Source” has always been a sham, but many assumed it to be well-meaning;
Stallman_was_right_about_it. “I had an idea though about OSI and their push on
their OSI-approved licenses,” one reader told us earlier this week. She has
been around this scene since the 1990s and she knows what really happened. And
“still,” she says, “when clearly they are long done… since Perens did say there
were licenses that never should have been approved (and I never saw any effort
to improve that situation after he said it…) and since he said there were
loopholes – I will evaluate a few and write up an analysis.”
[Perens_approved_2020]In the meantime she left us with a bunch of relevant
screenshots we cannot see (without a Microsoft account or spying by Microsoft).
Notice these openwashers and people who speak of “virus” (in relation to a
software licence, see image on the right). Those people are active in a
Microsoft site (proprietary and surveillance) while claiming to do “Open
Source”.
Our reader thinks the whole thing is mostly a scam. Charlatans make money from
the scam.
“Meeting people in real life was an eye opener! [:)] At SCaLE 15x in 2017,” she
recalls, “I attended the law track, where I met a Lawyer claiming to be a Free
and Open Source Lawyer… who didn’t know the difference. We did explain the
difference to him during happy hour.
“Although IANAL, I knew more than the lawyers present who did not have the
basic understanding of copyright – Example, they were arguing a moot point
because they did not have basic knowledge of functional v speech.”
Here are some more comments regarding OSI on Linkedin:
[Bruce_Perens]
Richard Stallman once said:
“When I do this, some people think that it’s because I want my ego to
be fed, right? Of course, I’m not asking you to call it
“Stallmanix”!”
We’d like to see Torvalds’ reaction to people saying that he’s releasing “GNU”
each time he releases a new version of Linux (kernel). He’d be more pissed off
than RMS ever was…
We’re still looking for additional loopholes regarding the OSI scam and the
creation of parallel ‘movements’ (like calling GNU “Linux” and Free software
“Open Source” — only to be taken over by the likes of Microsoft at the Linux
Foundation and OSI). To be continued… █
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
****** 11.25.20 ******
***** The_European_Patent_Office_Should_be_Run_by_Patent_Examiners_
(Scientists),_Not_Politicians *****
Posted in Europe, Patents at 8:43 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
EPO should not be run by “COVIDiots”
[EPO hypocrites]
Summary: Europe would be better off (and patent quality much improved) had
people with an actual grasp of science and reality were in charge of the EPO,
not a money-chasing kakistocracy (which is what we have now)
YESTERDAY was the deadliest day (as yet) in terms of COVID-19-linked casualties
(11,710 deaths, many in Europe, and over_60,000,000_cases_in_total_as_of_now).
Italy (over 800 deaths yesterday) initiated lock-down in winter, Germany (worst
day yesterday in terms of casualties) and France followed, and the United
States had a dictator too arrogant to acknowledge the severity of the problem
(it was almost another ’9/11′ yesterday).
“Good vaccination regimes take 5-15 years to develop and properly test.”When
one looks back at the whole thing, the “Second Wave” seems to be a lot more
deadly than the first; in spite of precautions and taking into account the
scarcity of testing at the start of this year. Did EPO management respond to
the crisis like a bunch of scientists or self-serving politicians in pursuit of
nothing but money?
[Gloves and hands]Looking at early publications (pre-lock-down) from the
Central Staff Committee, we see the CDC cited; the actual scientists at the
Office (i.e. not Benoît_Battistelli, António_Campinos and their buddies/family
members) warned repeatedly.
To share/reproduce here a letter from March (when much of this began and before
the lock-down in the UK):
Reference: sc20046cl-0.3.1/4.3
Date: 19.03.2020
Mr António Campinos
President of the EPO
Mr Stephen Rowan
VP1 Office
OPEN LETTER
No “business as usual” at times of a pandemic
Dear Mr President, dear VP1
COVID-19 has triggered conditions unprecedented at that scale in the
professional and social environments world-wide. Governments are
prescribing drastic measures which are accepted as appropriate by the
citizens. The EPO continues to function in that context and under the
prevailing conditions.
As we have addressed in earlier communications, the strain these
circumstances put on individuals are aggravated for a population
predominantly composed of expats. All colleagues are currently called
upon to give their best, for work, at home and for their families in
their country of origin. Logistics nowadays are a challenge, whether
they concern getting a screen or a dossier to the home office or
getting food when we should not be meeting people. All this comes on
top of an already high level of stress and relentless pressure for
“performance” in recent years.
We feel that the crisis management team is doing well to ensure
business continuity. Announcements and instructions abound,
presumably because we have no experience with situations like this
and decisions are development-driven. But it is confusing and
unsettling.
We experience an imbalance between ensuring business continuity and
the Office’s duty of care. There is a strong focus on production and
production means and a lot less evidence of support for maintaining
staff’s physical and mental health.
Office communications are clear on the WHAT. Stay at home if you
belong to the group of staff that form a risk for colleagues. Take
your laptop, and screen, and any dossier you need – but don’t come to
the Office to do so if you have been ordered to stay at home. Don’t
eat in the canteen. Take sandwiches if you have to come in.
We see little consideration, though, for the HOW. Will my boss
understand that I’m struggling to combine work with childcare and an
increased need to stay in touch? I have to process a lot of new
information and devise plans that depart
from routine, that are not the well-oiled machine that I and the
Office are used to. Can I rush to my mother when she needs me?
Unequivocal instructions are still missing for staff who have no
option but to stay at home. Actually, with national initiatives
focussing heavily on containment, we should all stay at home with the
exception of the few requisitioned staff indispensable for keeping
the EPO on tick-over.
With the recognition that we are coping with an exceptional crisis
situation needs to come the readiness to let go of control-mania and
management by Excel. What staff needs most now is the reassurance
that our bosses trust us to give what we can. We feel left alone with
coping with the consequences of conditions beyond our control on the
business continuity of the Office. We find it insane and disturbing
that managers and HR make us individually responsible for
compensating production losses caused by these exceptional working
and living conditions, or suggest us to take leave or parental leave
designed for different purposes if we feel we cannot cope. Civil
servants are offered the possibility of special leave in Bavaria and
EU nationals may have the right to time off from work on grounds of
force majeure.
The bean-counter needs to be switched off during the COVID-19 crisis.
Instead, we see insult added to injury with teleworking-registration
in FIPS. The managers know where and that we are working and giving
our best. Staff perceives the control-mania, and the assumption that
we – if not constantly monitored – will leech the system, as
offensive.
Governments and authorities lead by example. Losses in production are
losses the organisations have to accept.
The vast majority of staff have proven time and again that they are
intrinsically motivated to do a good job, also in difficult times.
You should not assume the contrary. This period must not have any
detrimental effect on performance-assessment.
What needs to happen now is to release pressure for all our
colleagues who are already troubled by the exceptional circumstances.
In areas with measurable production, like in DG1, collective and
individual targets must be temporarily set aside and the annual
production targets adjusted once we have surpassed the pandemic.
Staff representatives are concerned that staff health is maintained,
as a priority. We reiterate our offer to contribute to the joint
efforts.
Yours sincerely,
Alain Dumont
Acting Chairman of the Central Staff Committee
The Central Staff Committee told staff that “[i]n this letter, we explain that
COVID-19 has triggered conditions unprecedented at that scale in the
professional and social environments world-wide. Office communications are
clear on the WHAT but we see little consideration for the HOW. The message is
confusing and unsettling. Staff feel left alone with individually coping with
the consequences of conditions beyond their control. Managers and HR make them
individually responsible for compensating production losses caused by these
exceptional working and living conditions.”
Notice focus on so-called ‘production’ (monopolies aren’t products) rather than
people’s well-being. It’s rather telling, isn’t it? “The Office must release
pressure for all colleagues who are already troubled by the exceptional
circumstances,” the representatives said. “Especially in DG1, the bean-counter
needs to be switched off during the COVID-19 crisis.”
More of what they said back in mid March: “The Central Staff Committee (CSC)
has addressed Mr Campinos on 13 March to explain that it is unrealistic to
expect that the EPO and society will be able to conduct “business as usual”, as
the situation in some Contracting States has already shown… We repeated again
our request to be involved in the (until now) solely management based COVID-19
Task Force as staff’s perspective seems to be thin on the ground during
deliberations..”
The following letter is from Jesus Areso Y Salinas, who was abused by the Stasi
of Benoît_Battistelli for union/staff representation activities (to the point
where his health was severely harmed and he reportedly had a breakdown). It was
sent to Campinos a week earlier:
Reference: sc20044cl-0.3.1/4.3
Date: 13.03.2020
Mr António Campinos
President of the EPO
ISAR – R.1081
The Coronavirus pandemic – an unfamiliar challenge for the EPO
Dear Mr President, dear António,
COVID-19 challenges decision-makers and citizens, managers and staff
world-wide, also in our host countries and within the EPO. You are
preparing the EPO, with the help of your COVID-19 Task Force, for
dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Measures have been taken by
you in Munich and we believe that the same would apply to the others
sites should the situation in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague or Vienna
become critical.
Like everyone living in our host States, we must do all we can to
ensure that the spread of the virus is contained. The collective
effort will ensure not only that we minimize the risks to ourselves,
but also that the national health systems do not get stretched beyond
their limits and that the most vulnerable citizens will have access
to adequate care. That is why, Article 20 (1) of the PPI obliges our
Organisation to co-operate at all times with the national public
health authorities of the host countries.
Abiding by the health recommendations may at times be difficult to
reconcile with the task of keeping the EPO operational. Staff was
instructed to keep the EPO running, occasionally, however, at the
risk of their own or their colleagues’ health, e.g. by coming in to
pick up a laptop or paper files whilst asked to work from home or
having been put on home-quarantine.
It is unrealistic to expect that the EPO and society will be able to
conduct “business as usual”, as the situation in some Contracting
States has already shown. Staff has already shown to be flexible for
the EPO but as expatriates they also have to deal with unfamiliar
authorities, provisions and news-channels, as well as the challenges
of feeding into national medical systems already struggling to cope.
National action-cascades often do not accommodate expat-communities,
so Office-guidance and support are necessary.
With that much on their plates, the colleagues need to be encouraged
to put their and their families’ health and welfare first, while
contributing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among colleagues and
the public. It would become easier if they had authoritative advice
on how best to deal with the crisis, e.g. how to have access to
medical services and social assistance if affected or how to
disinfect one’s surroundings.
The colleagues need reassurance that, whilst working from home, any
contribution on top of their Coronavirus-triggered activities towards
keeping the EPO on tick-over will be welcome and much appreciated.
They currently have to deal not only with suboptimal ergonomic
conditions or tools not performing as well as they do in the Office,
but also challenging family situations with children staying or
quarantined at home, or relatives/parents in need of assistance
whilst tied to their accommodation in the home country.
Any work-contribution under these circumstances is of tremendous
value to the EPO. Any pressure, be it self- or management-induced, is
counter-productive.
The rapid developments must be putting quite a strain on your COVID-
19 Task Force. From the communications so far we notice that the
staff’s perspective seems to be thin on the ground during
deliberations. We therefore reiterate the offer – and request already
made during the GCC meeting of 2 March– to involve staff
representation1 in the activities of the COVID-19 Task Force for
short communication lines and immediate mutual update.
Thank you very much in advance for your favourable consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Jesus Areso Y Salinas
Vice-Chairman of the Central Staff Committee
cc.: Mr S. Rowan; VP1
Ms N. Simon; VP4
Mr C. Ernst; VP5
Mr C. Josefsson; President of BoA
____
1 see e.g. “Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and
Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” including
“Recommended strategies for employers”: https://www.cdc.gov/
coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/guidance-business-response.html
Looking back at those letters, the managers at the EPO were greedy, careless
and reckless. Whereas the staff doing all the actual work was cautious and
realistic. This thing wasn’t going to just be a bump on the road; as we
approach December the pandemic is more deadly than ever (worldwide) and there’s
no a vaccine in sight, not an effective one anyway (all those news articles
about vaccination are more like advertisements for companies with patents,
looking to consume taxpayers’ money, based on untested claims and secret data).
Good vaccination regimes take 5-15 years to develop and properly test. █
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
****** 11.25.20 ******
***** Making_JavaScript_Suck_Less *****
Posted in Free/Libre_Software, Standard at 2:20 am by Guest Editorial Team
By figosdev
[JavaScript source]
Summary: “Other than that, the first rule of JavaScript is: Do not use
JavaScript. But this article is for people who break the first rule.”
First, a disclaimer: this article is not aimed at people making HTML5 games.
Milo (Drummyfish) just put out a CC0-licensed game called Anarch, he already
likes the suckless philosophy, he made his game work on the browser. Everything
he codes is done with care, talent and a serious philosophy. So if you’re
making HTML5 games, you can be certain this article is not about you.
“This article is about those sorts of considerations, as well as times when
JavaScript isn’t always bad.”Second, for amateurs who are just trying things
out, I don’t have a problem with your code not being optimised. Keep it simple
if you can, do consider people with older machines (try your code on much older
machines, if possible) and don’t worry about the rest.
And if your JavaScript creates an animated splash screen for anything OTHER
than a game? Stop, you’re making the Web fucking awful.
Other than that, the first rule of JavaScript is: Do not use JavaScript. But
this article is for people who break the first rule.
[Fomenteu la lectura]That’s why there is a second rule: Avoid using JavaScript
(JS).
I’m sure there are people who think that as long as JS is under a free license,
there’s no problem with it at all. If JS is under a free license, why even
complain? You can change it and share the different version, right?
Not that I go around downloading every program with a free license and running
it on my computer, because malware with a free license is still malware.
Regardless of the license, I want to control what runs on my computer. Remember
when that was the real idea of Free Software?
So JavaScript is off by default. If your website doesn’t already work with JS
turned off, the clock is ticking before I give up. I might decide it’s worth
turning it on. I DO like the idea of only running free JS, incidentally; that
should remain a goal. But I don’t want it to run by default, just because it’s
free. A lot of the free-as-in-freedom JS out there is crap I don’t want
running, don’t want creating problems, don’t want wasting CPU and other
resources.
Too many websites use it without a good enough reason, and wherever you draw
the line, more consideration needs to go into when people use JS for their
websites. This article is about those sorts of considerations, as well as times
when JavaScript isn’t always bad.
“I especially hate it when everything loads except the buttons that go to the
next and previous page. Many websites don’t do that, and many do.”One question
to ask yourself is: did you have enough reason to use JS at all? In other
words, did your design really benefit much from the things only JS can do in
your particular situation? Techrights is a great example; there is absolutely
nothing that Techrights does with JS that I consider useful.
All the functionality (save what WordPress may need, and they used to be more
reasonable) that Techrights really needs can be accomplished without
JavaScript. The carousel at the front is annoying and unneeded — I avoid the
front page for that and other reasons. Is it easy enough to avoid? Absolutely.
Is it a worthwhile use of JS? It’s not like we are all going to agree on
everything, I get that; but I think this is a perfect example of a superfluous
application that can simply be removed.
I really did write this article to talk about JavaScript, not to pick on
Techrights, but while we are on the subject Techrights also delivers jQuery to
my web browser. Unless it’s WordPress that needs that now (a terrible thought,
but it wouldn’t surprise me at these days) I think Techrights could do just
fine without installing any extra JS libraries, particularly ones from GitHub.
I don’t expect them to overhaul their entire CMS — when Techrights chose
WordPress about 15 years ago, it was not nearly as much of a mess as it is now.
Every version that comes out, WordPress has gotten worse in this regard. But
this article is not about overhauling both sides of a website; it is about
making simpler changes and simpler choices to begin with.
I get that there are applications that are dynamic and communicate with a
server without refreshing. These are my least favourite designs, but there is a
place for them. This sort of thing is overdone, but some people are going to
make flashy bloated bullshit no matter what. Nobody who insists on that is
going to care about the points made here; people who like suckless software
might avoid JS altogether, but I think we would benefit substantially from more
minimalism — with or without JS.
“If you can make your website work without JavaScript, you should strongly
consider doing so.”So if I were in charge, I would remove jQuery (if possible)
and just leave WordPress, ditch the carousel even if I have to change a
template to get it to work without it. Short of WordPress, I would be trying to
remove jQuery along with any JS libraries that could be removed.
If you can make your website work without JavaScript, you should strongly
consider doing so. I especially hate it when everything loads except the
buttons that go to the next and previous page. Many websites don’t do that, and
many do.
Using a bloated, complex framework that loads blank pages is another extreme
annoyance. I already boycott as many websites that do this as possible. Yes, I
still load some of them. What would be better, is if people stopped doing this.
I’ve even made designs that don’t layout properly until JS is enabled — but the
page still loads, it isn’t blank. You don’t need to turn JS on just to read
what it says, and you really shouldn’t have to. Sure, perhaps you can come up
with a good exception. But the problem is that there are too many exceptions,
the problem is that people creating websites just don’t care about this.
Just to recap before this article changes its angle altogether:
1. Avoid JS.
2. If you don’t manage that, at least keep it minimal.
3. Avoid extra libraries.
4. Make it so that when JS is off, visitors still get something worthwhile —
other than a message to turn JS on.
5. Avoid GitHub — yes, it has most of the JS libraries; all the more reason.
Additionally, if you can make it so that it’s easy (read: “trivial”) to
download your JS and run it without an Internet connection, do that. Obviously
this doesn’t apply to designs that sync periodically with the web server.
“The key is to keep it simple and minimalist, while still being dynamic.”Here’s
an example — you might hate this, but at least it illustrates some of the ideas
presented here:
If you have very limited bandwidth, and want to conserve bandwidth for
yourself, for visitors or both — you can make a simple “wiki” in JavaScript so
that instead of writing full HTML, you can write text like this:
Here is text.
Here is *bold* text, followed by a blank line:
Here is a link: [url]http://techrights.org[/url]
For three lines of text, you’re not saving any bandwidth (or trouble) by not
doing something like this instead:
Here is text.
Here is *bold* text, followed by a blank line:
Here is a link: http://techrights.org
But for an entire website, doing this with a small, single (vanilla) JavaScript
file will save you a lot of bandwidth and make your source much easier to edit,
read as source, and — this is why I did it — easier to parse from the command
line without a browser.
If your website is about coding, this can make it much easier to display
snippets of code and handle those properly. It is easier to download a single
file with code in it, trim the file, and have a usable copy of the code (code
other than JavaScript) already.
“JavaScript is still overrated, still overused.”If someone loads the page in a
browser with JS turned off they will still get the text, but it may all run
together. If you don’t like HTML, a script like this can make HTML optional, or
even let you create your own friendlier alternative (like markdown or bbcode).
If you have the ability to use PHP or Python or something else on the server,
and this isn’t too intensive for the server load you can afford, you can do
this in PHP or Python. But if you can’t afford to run your code on the server
side, small amounts of free JavaScript code can do this.
It can also replace HTML with something that can be parsed and then displayed
as formatted text without a browser altogether. For example if the wiki script
is very simple, or fairly simple and very popular, you can also have a version
of it Python, SML, Raku, or Lua. Then people who download your webpage can pipe
it directly through their copy of the offline script, which then makes it do
the same things from the command line that it would do from JS — without some
bloated solution like Node.js from GitHub.
The key is to keep it simple and minimalist, while still being dynamic.
Here is another application that I think sucks less: Suppose you want to either
teach coding, or create a simple e-book. You might not even have a smartphone
because they’re evil, but you know your friend has a tablet or an e-reader,
maybe they even made their own tablet with a Raspberry Pi. At any rate, they
either may not have or don’t know how to install an EPUB reader, or they can
only do PDF on a fairly small screen — I have worked on all sorts of ways to do
e-books (plain text, HTML, EPUB, PDF) but you want them to be able to download
a single file they can read even when they don’t have a data connection.
You can do plaintext or everything in a single HTML file, but most people don’t
want to scroll through a page that long on their phone or tablet. EPUB is a
very nice option because you can zoom large without horizontally scrolling/
panning on every single line, but maybe they don’t like their EPUB reader, or
find it complicated, or it only reads files from a directory that is difficult
for them to get the file to.
“I would love a more minimalist alternative to the Web, maybe with a more
minimalist JavaScript alternative as well.”Some PDF readers can wrap text
lines, most don’t and fewer (if any) free-as-in-freedom PDF readers do — that’s
only useful if they can actually install it on their platform –
In my opinion the most reliable way to do an e-book (not the best for every
purpose, I know) is to make a VERY simple HTML file with JavaScript included in
the same (HTML) file, as opposed to having it download separately.
Then your simple (and free) JS can keep pages small, make it so they can go to
the next page, previous page, skip to the next chapter or go to a specific page
number; all of this can be done with very little code (even relative to a
single chapter, up to a full-length book) and it will run on anything with a
browser — whether downloaded for offline use or simply viewed online.
For smaller, simple applications, this approach also works.
Obviously, it is better for most things to write actual software. JavaScript is
still overrated, still overused.
But it is also extremely easy (even without a library) to create an HTML file
with a few buttons, add some code to the same file, and have a working program.
For a simple application that works online or offline, or for what is
absolutely the most beginner-friendly way to create a “gui” application without
a lot of skill, familiarity or tedious hacking with library code, vanilla JS
makes creating a simple “app” (it will even run on a phone) trivial.
“For the moment, the easiest way to have a subset of Javascript is to simply
use less of it.”For programs that save or load data, access the system or do a
lot of serious work, you’re still better off writing something with better
tools than what’s described here. One of the things I promote is everyone
learning how to code — and I do prefer Python or other things based on Python
to JavaScript, but for some purposes JavaScript can be useful.
I believe in subsets as well as minimalism. I would love a more minimalist
alternative to the Web, maybe with a more minimalist JavaScript alternative as
well.
For the moment, the easiest way to have a subset of Javascript is to simply use
less of it. This article focused on examples and recommendations around more
modest uses, times in which it is better to avoid JS altogether, and perhaps
will inspire someone to create a subset of JavaScript that we can use instead.
“I don’t claim that this defines “Suckless” JavaScript; only that it is
possible to make JavaScript suck less.”I know that “pulling back” like this on
technology doesn’t always work, but we still often end up with rewards when we
try.
I don’t claim that this defines “Suckless” JavaScript; only that it is possible
to make JavaScript suck less.
Long live rms, and Happy Hacking. █
Licence: Creative_Commons_CC0_1.0 (public domain)
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════════╕
****** 11.25.20 ******
***** Links_25/11/2020:_GamerOS_and_Biden_Transition_in_Motion *****
Posted in News_Roundup at 1:59 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
[GNOME bluefish]
**** Contents ****
* GNU/Linux
o Distributions
o Devices/Embedded
* Free_Software/Open_Source
* Leftovers
* **** GNU/Linux ****
o ** Meet_DevTerm:_An_Open_Source_Portable_Linux_Terminal_For
Developers **
You may be familiar with Clockwork company, which earlier
launched an open-source Linux-powered portable game
console called GameShell for gamers.
Now, they’re back with another new portable and modular
device called DevTerm for developers, which you can
easily carry along wherever you go.
o ** Assign_Actions_To_Touchpad_Gestures_On_Linux_With_Touchegg **
The application runs in the background, transforming the
multi-touch gestures you make on your touchpad into
various desktop actions. For example, you can minimize a
window by swiping down using 3 fingers, pinch in using 2
fingers to zoom in, etc.
This is a demo video recorded by the Touchegg developer
(image above credits also go to the dev).
o **** Audiocasts/Shows ****
# ** Secret_Modem_Sounds_|_LINUX_Unplugged_381 **
We have the coolest new retro tool of the year,
that will turn you into a Linux powered spy.
Plus the changes coming to Fedora, and what GNOME
is focusing on next year.
# ** mintCast_348.5_–_Shepherding_Pis_–_mintCast **
In our Innards section, we continue our talk on
Raspberry Pi Projects.
o **** Kernel Space ****
# ** inus_Torvalds_Would_Like_To_Use_An_M1_Mac_For_Linux,_But…
[Ed: So much commotion and clickbait based on some worthless
E-mail which is also pretty meaningless given its context] **
Yes, Torvalds said he’d love to have one of the new
M1-powered Apple laptops, but it won’t run Linux
and, in an exclusive interview he explains why
getting Linux to run well on it isn’t worth the
trouble.
# ** Linus_Torvalds_wants_Apple’s_new_M1-powered_Macs_to_run
Linux **
o **** Applications ****
# ** Sysmon_–_A_Graphical_System_Activity_Monitor_for_Linux **
Sysmon is a Linux activity monitoring tool similar
to Windows task manager, was written in Python and
released under GPL-3.0 License. This is a Graphical
visualization tool that visualizes the following
data.
By default distribution like Ubuntu comes with a
system monitor tool, but the drawback with the
default monitor tool is it does not display HDD,
SSD, and GPU loads.
Sysmon adds all the features to a single place
similar to the Windows Task Manager.
# ** myMPD_–_standalone_and_lightweight_web-based_MPD_client **
My favorite pastime is to see an eclectic range of
bands, solo artists, and orchestras live. It’s such
a life-changing and exhilarating experience to be
present. It’s one thing to be sitting at home
listening to a CD or watching music videos on TV or
on YouTube, but being with an audience, packed out
in a stadium or music hall, takes it to another
level. But it’s an expensive pastime, and still on
hold given the coronavirus pandemic. I’m therefore
listening to music from my CD collection which I’ve
encoded to FLAC, a lossless audio format, and
stored locally.
Linux offers a huge array of open source music
players. And many of them are high quality. I’ve
reviewed the vast majority for LinuxLinks, but I’m
endeavoring to explore every free music player in
case there’s an undiscovered gem.
MPD is a powerful server-side application for
playing music. In a home environment, you can
connect an MPD server to a Hi-Fi system, and
control the server using a notebook or smartphone.
You can, of course, play audio files on remote
clients. MPD can be started system-wide or on a
per-user basis.
myMPD is a standalone and lightweight web-based MPD
client. Its developer claims myMPD is designed for
minimal resource usage and requires only very few
dependencies.
o **** Instructionals/Technical ****
# ** Shading_in_Blender_–_Linux_Hint **
Shading is an act of adding shade to a drawn object
to give it a look and a perception of depth. Nobody
likes white bland 3D objects. In 3D modeling, it is
very significant to give objects some color
material or texture. The process of adding shades
to color materials and textures is called shading.
Shading is so essential in 3D modeling that Blender
has a dedicated workspace for shading.
Shading workspace will automatically bring us in
the “Look Dev” mode. Look Dev mode approximates
lights and gives a general idea of the output of
the object or scene. The shader editor will show
the shader nodes of the selected object. Every
object in Blender can be assigned a default
material with white shading. And these shaders can
be manipulated in the Shading workspace. You can
add material to any object by going into the
material tab.
# ** Blender_Viewport_Navigation_–_Linux_Hint **
The viewport is the main view of Blender that a
user sees after getting it installed. At first
look, it may appear intimidating, but it has become
a lot comprehensible after the launch of the 2.80
version. The interface is less complicated and
simple to learn.
The viewport is a window that allows you to look
around the scene or object you created. Viewport
and camera view can be confusing, but both are not
similar. A camera is an object in the scene,
whereas the viewport is a part of the interface.
Basics of navigating viewport include rotating,
zooming, and panning the perspective of the view.
There are various ways to navigate in the viewport.
# ** Blender_Cloud_Rendering_–_Linux_Hint **
How does it feel when you create a beautiful scene
in Blender with high definition textures, shaders,
particles, and volumetric effects and when you
click on rendering, it just says that you need 2
hours to render just one frame? Yes, it feels
discouraging. It is not easy to render a high-
quality image or animation using an ordinary
workstation.
It is not a piece of cake to render in Blender,
especially when working in Cycles (rendering
engine). 3D rendering requires a lot of computing
power. If you are rendering an animation, then it
will take much more power and time. It would be
best if you had a powerful PC with high-end
specifications to get decent results. The trouble
is the affordability of a robust workstation; they
are costly. But this issue is fixable; just use
cloud rendering.
# ** Delete/Drop_a_Database_in_MySQL_–_Linux_Hint **
MySQL is an RDBMS (Relational Database Management
System) that is famous for its speed and easy-to-
use interface. In this article, you will learn
about the different methods to delete or drop a
database in MySQL. In this article, we assume that
you already have a working knowledge of the
creation and listing of databases in MySQL. So,
feel free to read on if you have already installed
MySQL on your system and have some dummy databases
in MySQL that you want to delete.
# ** CentOS_8_Restart_Network_–_Linux_Hint **
Among the most frequent system administration
practices is the process of restarting the network.
To connect your machine with the Internet, a sound
networking service is always required. At times,
due to undesirable issues, the networking service
in a particular operating system may start
malfunctioning. If the issue is temporary, then it
can be resolved simply by restarting your
networking service.
There are multiple methods that you can use in any
operating system to restart the system’s networking
service. Today, we walk you through the two primary
methods of restarting the network service in CentOS
8, one of the most popular distributions of the
Linux operating system.
If you are using a system based on CentOS 8 and are
not able to establish a secure connection with your
network, you would be shocked by how many issues a
quick restart can solve. You can restart the Linux
networking service using various commands, but you
must execute the commands to restart the network
using sudo or su commands as a root user.
# ** Installation_of_Sublime_text_editor_on_Ubuntu_20.04 **
Sublime Text is a well-known text editor used to
write source code for web development. This
tutorial will assist you in installing Sublime Text
on an Ubuntu 20.04 machine.
# ** WireShark_in-depth_Tutorial_–_Linux_Hint **
Wireshark is an open-source and free network
traffic inspection tool. It captures and displays
packets in real-time for offline analysis in a
human-readable format with microscopic details. It
requires some sound knowledge of basic networking
and is considered an essential tool for system
administrators and network security experts.
Wireshark is the de-facto go-to tool for several
network problems that vary from network
troubleshooting, security issue examination,
inspecting network traffic of a suspicious
application, debugging protocol implementations,
along with network protocol learning purposes, etc.
The Wireshark project was initiated in 1998. Thanks
to the global networking expert’s voluntary
contribution, it continues to make updates for new
technologies and encryption standards. Hence, it’s
by far one of the best packet analyzer tools and is
utilized as a standard commercial tool by various
government agencies, educational institutes, and
non-profit organizations.
# ** How_to_Access_Google_Drive_on_Debian_10 **
Google Drive is a cloud storage and synchronization
service that allows users to keep, synchronize, and
share files across many devices. It offers 15GB of
free storage space for each Google account to store
files.
# ** Keep_track_of_multiple_Git_remote_repositories_|
Opensource.com **
Working with remote repositories gets confusing
when the names of the remote repositories in your
local Git repo are inconsistent.
# ** Merging_and_sorting_files_in_Linux:_Easier_than_you_think
**
# ** How_to_Administrate_CloudLinux_OS_from_Command_Line **
# ** 5_Ways_to_Install_IntelliJ_IDEA_on_Ubuntu **
Here learn how to download and install IntelliJ on
Ubuntu. Intellij Idea can be installed simply from
GUI and also from CLI.
# ** How_to_Install_Htop_in_Centos_8?_–_Linux_Hint **
Htop is more like an immersive Centos 8 system
process viewer and device monitor. It shows
resource-usage measures in color and helps you to
conveniently keep track of the performance of your
system as an enhancement. With both an additional
array of choices and a clear picture on the board,
it is the same as the standard main command. It
shows details about the usage of Processor & RAM,
tasks being done, average load, and uptime.
Besides, Htop shows a list of all operating
processes and can even show it in a tree-like
structure. If you are interested to interactively
control your device, then one of your best choices
ought to be the Htop command. It runs on all
distributions of Linux, and in most situations, is
enabled by default.
In this tutorial, you will learn to install Htop on
Centos 8 using the command-line.
# ** How_to_Install_Steam_on_NixOS?_–_Linux_Hint **
When installing things on NixOS, you need to have a
package in the right format on the nixos.org web
page. Steam is available, but some quirks may trip
you up when you try to install it. You will hear
more about this here.
In particular, it is a non-free software package,
so you must enable this option. You will also need
to handle the ‘glXChooseVisual failed’ problem. The
process will work one way in NixOS and another way
on other distributions. It is more complex with
just the Nix package manager.
# ** How_to_Install_and_Configure_Angular_CLI_on_Linux
Distributions **
Modern and dynamic websites require many features,
menus, and widgets to make the website user-
friendly and reach the perfect marketplace. No
matter which tool you use to create your website,
javascript is always required to draw the finishing
line
# ** How_to_Install_and_Use_FFmpeg_in_CentOS_8?_–_Linux_Hint **
If you’d like a fast way of converting between
audio and video files in Linux and would like
something that doesn’t chew on resources and does
the task properly, then you may give FFmpeg a try.
FFmpeg is vital for keeping some level of
familiarity between files uploaded by multiple
users, as well as help maintain your storage space
under control. When using FFmpeg, you can
translate, adjust sample rates, record audio/video
streams, and resize files between different video
and audio formats. It provides a collection of
audio and video libraries that are shared,
including libavcodec, libavformat, and libavutil.
Whenever it refers to converting files, FFmpeg has
several command-line choices, and it is also
recommended to use it from the CLI. Follow me on,
and I’ll lead you to install FFmpeg in Centos 8.
FFmpeg is not offered in the default repositories
of Centos 8. You may opt to build FFmpeg utilities
from the source or install them from the Negativo17
directory via DNF. In this article, we’ll move
ahead with the second choice. It is also the
fastest way to implement FFmpeg on the Centos 8 OS.
# ** How_to_Kill_Zombie_Processes_on_Linux **
Linux, of course, has to keep track of all the
applications and daemons running on your computer.
One of the ways it does this is by maintaining the
process table. This is a list of structures in
kernel memory. Each process has an entry in this
list that contains some information about it.
There isn’t a great deal in each of the process
table structures. They hold the process ID, a few
other data items, and a pointer to the process
control block (PCB) for that process.
It’s the PCB that holds the many details Linux
needs to look up or set for each process. The PCB
is also updated as a process is created, given
processing time, and finally destroyed.
# ** How_to_Setup_a_Firewall_with_UFW_on_Debian_10_Linux_–
Linux_Concept **
Nowadays, a Firewall is an essential utility and
property of any system for security; by default
Debian Operating system having a firewall
configuration tool named UFW (Uncomplicated
Firewall). UFW is a user-friendly front-end tool to
manage iptables firewall rules. It provides you
more straightforward methods to manage iptables as
the name of this tool start from Uncomplicated.
# ** How_to_Use_arping_Command_in_Linux_–_Linux_Hint **
To a network administrator, the ARP protocol may
sound familiar. ARP is a protocol that Layer 2
devices implement for discovering and communicating
with each other. The arping tool works using this
protocol.
Now, why would you need arping? Imagine you are
working with a small office network. Using the
classic ping command to ping hosts to verify their
availability is very tempting, right? Well, if you
are using the ICMP protocol, then you are actually
performing ARP requests for probing devices in the
network.
This is where the arping tool comes in. Like ping,
arping pings network hosts using network layer ARP
packets. This method is useful for hosts that do
not respond to Layer 3 and Layer 4 ping requests.
This article shows you how to use arping command in
Linux.
# ** How_to_configure_YAML_schema_to_make_editing_files_easier
–_Red_Hat_Developer **
YAML is a friendly data serialization standard that
works with all programming languages. While
configuration files are often defined in YAML, it
can even be used as a programming language, like
the workflow language at Google, or Apache Camel K.
It has the advantage of not having any braces,
making it lightweight visually. One of the
drawbacks is that editing YAML files may not always
be easy. For instance, writing a tag at the wrong
indentation level can be hard to detect. To help
with editing, it is possible to provide a YAML
schema that can be leveraged by a large set of
integrated development environments (IDEs).
Unfortunately, this practice is not widespread.
Consequently, users waste time searching for a
missing or extra space and browsing documentation.
In this article, you will discover the benefits of
providing a YAML schema and how to make it
consumable for all your users, making it easier to
edit YAML files.
# ** How_to_connect_and_share_data_between_two_Linux_systems **
I got an interesting request (not from singles in
my area). One of my readers asked me, how does one
go about connecting two Linux boxes – I presume for
sharing purposes. This is a topic I’ve touched upon
frequently, but often indirectly. As Commandant
Lasard from Police Academy would say, there are
many, many, many, many different ways to do this.
So perhaps it’s time for a proper tutorial. I will
show you several common, robust ways to have two
Linux systems communicate over network. We’ll do it
on the command line, then move up to file managers,
and finally, also perform a remote data backup
using a friendly GUI tool. Let’s start.
# ** How_to_manage_user_passwords_on_Linux **
If you’re a Linux admin, you probably take care of
any number of servers, all of which contain
numerous users. Those users log in via various
means or protocols, such as SSH, FTP, HTTP. In
order to successfully log in, those users have to
have—passwords.
# ** Linux_patch_management:_How_to_back_out_a_failed_patch_|
Enable_Sysadmin **
A good patch management plan always includes a good
patch backout plan.
o **** Games ****
# ** Best_Command_Line_Games_for_Linux_–_Linux_Hint **
This article will list various command line games
available for Linux. These games do not require you
to commit a lot of time and can be played in short
bursts. If you are using a lightweight Linux
distribution with minimal UI elements or using a
headless OS based on Linux, this list should be
useful for you.
# ** Tristam_Island_is_a_Infocom-inspired_text_adventure
available_on_over_30_platforms_|_GamingOnLinux **
Okay, now this is quite impressive. Tristam Island
is a text adventure designed like old Infocom works
and it’s playable across more platforms than you
might expect.
Developed by Hugo Labrande using modern, open
source tools on Linux naturally it has first-class
Linux support. However, it’s also available on over
30 other platforms too. From Linux to Windows,
Amiga to Spectrum and even some calculators can run
it. The technical details of it are just as
impressive as the adventure you go on. The
developer also supplies the plain “.z3″ file to run
in your favourite interactive fiction interpreter.
It could run pretty much anywhere.
“After crashing your plane at sea, you end up
drifting to a small island, with not much to
survive. You explore, and find out the island was
inhabited, years ago. But why did the people leave?
And why is there a fence around the white house at
the top of the hill?”
# ** SteamOS-like_couch_gaming_Linux_distribution_GamerOS
expands_with_a_new_release_|_GamingOnLinux **
Need an up to date Linux distribution for your
living room big screen experience? GamerOS can fill
that gap for you while Valve sit on SteamOS.
GamerOS is one of the easiest ways to get a full-
screen Steam experience on a big screen, with no-
fuss updates and a whole bunch of special tweaks to
make it run as nicely as possible. Not only that,
it has a bunch of extras to support other stores
and platforms too.
With the release of GamerOS 21 the standard
components included have been upgraded like the
Linux Kernel 5.9.9, Mesa 20.2.2, NVIDIA 455.38,
RetroArch 1.9 and updates to their Steam Tweaks and
Steam Buddy apps too. Their Steam Buddy is web-
based tool you use to manage non-Steam stuff, with
these release it expanded to support the Atari
Jaguar and PlayStation Portable through emulators.
It also now has audio controls, it will generate
banner images based on game titles when one isn’t
available, fixes gamepads not working with the Epic
Games Store and more fixes.
# ** Cloud_Gaming_Services:_Explained_and_Tested_on_Linux_–
Boiling_Steam **
Here’s a quick test run of some of these game
streaming services, and I’ll explain what they do.
In particular, we’ll see how well each service
fares on the desktop Linux side.
# ** 340_or_so_days_later_and_I_am_still_lost_in_The_Longing_|
GamingOnLinux **
Remember the unique mix of point and click
adventuring with an idle game in The Longing? It’s
supposed to have taken people 400 days to finish
and it released back in March 2020 – to which I was
impressed with it.
This is because when you start, a big timer at the
top of your screen will count down from 400 real-
time days. It’s a painfully slow game, and one
that’s very much the anti-AAA shot some readers
might be needing. It’s all about loneliness, and
the longing to know more and have more. It’s such a
thoroughly strange experience.
The Longing sits between a point and click
adventure with an idle game. You can walk around,
interact with things and explore for a while.
However, certain parts of it force you to wait. You
might need something to grow or get broken before
you can pass, or even just opening a big door might
take an hour or two. You can just quit and come
back, and time will continue on so you don’t need
to have it open.
# ** Jedi:_Fallen_Order_arrives_on_Stadia,_six_new_free_games
for_Stadia_Pro_for_December_|_GamingOnLinux **
Google continues to boost their game selection with
many fan favourites continuing to arrive on their
Stadia game streaming service. They also have big
plans.
As of right now, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is
available to buy on Stadia and it’s 60% off at
$23.99 / €27.99 / £23.99. The sale on that will end
on December 3. They’re also offering a free Stadia
Premiere Edition (Controller + Chromecast Ultra)
with pre-orders of Cyberpunk 2077 and I do have to
admit I love the feel of my own Stadia Controller.
# ** Re-live_the_experience_of_Half-Life_with_Black_Mesa:
Definitive_Edition_out_now_|_GamingOnLinux **
Black Mesa: Definitive Edition is the final big
update to the re-imagined fan-made Half-Life game,
and it’s looking pretty awesome. Easily the best
way to experience the first part of Half-Life.
Don’t get me wrong, the original from Valve still
has plenty of true charm but for modern audiences
it’s not the ideal way to try and get into it.
Black Mesa (especially now with the Definitive
Edition) makes it easier for a new generation to
get invested into the crazy world that is Half-Life
and experience the adventure of Dr. Gordon Freeman.
# ** NVIDIA_plan_to_support_Linux_with_GeForce_NOW_using_Chrome
|_GamingOnLinux **
For a while now you’ve been able to stream games
using NVIDIA GeForce NOW in your browser, however
it looks like NVIDIA will be making that a bit more
official for Linux.
Currently on certain platforms like Windows and
macOS, NVIDIA have a dedicated downloadable
application for their GeForce NOW streaming
service. They expanded support into the browser for
ChromeOS / Chromebooks in the Summer, which
initially needed other platforms to spoof their
browser string to ChromeOS but that hasn’t been
needed for a while.
# ** Radeon_RX_6800_Series_1440p_Linux_Gaming_Benchmarks_With
15_GPUs_–_Phoronix **
While the new Radeon RX 6800 series is suited for
4K gaming, a number of premium readers inquired
about seeing 1440p gaming benchmarks for the cards.
Now that all the initial launch coverage is out of
the way, here is a look at the Radeon RX 6800 / RX
6800 XT with 15 graphics cards in total for this
round of Linux gaming benchmarks focused at 1440p.
Up for this comparison based on the cards I had
available were the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, RTX
2060 SUPER, RTX 2070 , RTX 2070 SUPER, RTX 2080,
RTX 2080 SUPER, TITAN RTX, RTX 2080 Ti, and the RTX
3080 (unfortunately, the RTX 3080 remains my lone
Ampere card at the moment with NVIDIA not yet
sending out the RTX 3090/3070 for Linux testing).
On the Radeon side is the RX 5600 XT, RX 5700, RX
5700 XT, Radeon VII, RX 6800, and RX 6800 XT.
The very latest open-source Radeon Linux graphics
drivers were used for this testing, which does
incorporate the recent driver optimizations. Via
the Phoronix Test Suite a variety of OpenGL and
Vulkan test cases were conducted. The GPU power
consumption and GPU core temperatures were also
monitored on a per-test basis.
o **** Desktop Environments/WMs ****
# **** K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt ****
# ** Kubuntu_20.04_LTS_Review:_The_Familiar_Operating
System **
Here’s my review on Kubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal
Fossa. Two years ago I call it friendly
computing, now in 2020, I call it familiar
operating system for everyone. We have so
many good news with Kubuntu today and let’s
go, I hope you enjoy my review.
Kubuntu 20.04 has a lot of benefits and a
little of issues. I believe it is a familiar
operating system most computer users can
afford, by purchasing real Kubuntu laptops or
by installing manually, you can push your
computing for daily purposes, teaching and
graphic designing quickly and comfortably. To
complete everything, let’s not forget it is a
Long Term Support edition which will receive
Ubuntu-based updates for five years until
2025 and desktop-based updates until 2023.
Win-win solution, nice to everybody, that’s
Kubuntu Focal for you. That’s my review.
o **** Distributions ****
# **** Canonical/Ubuntu Family ****
# ** Ubuntu_maker_wants_app_developers_to_stop_worrying
too_much_about_security **
Buoyed by the recent Snyk security report
that found security vulnerabilities in
several container images except Ubuntu’s, the
company behind it, Canonical, has published a
whole portfolio of hardened images.
Unsurprisingly, Canonical has partnered with
Docker to streamline the delivery of the
secure portfolio of images through Docker
Hub.
“Canonical and Docker will partner together
to ensure that hardened free and commercial
Ubuntu images will be available to all
developer software supply chains for multi-
cloud app development,” Docker’s Matt Carter
wrote in a blog post announcing the
collaboration.
o **** Devices/Embedded ****
# ** Compact_embedded_system_runs_Linux_on_i.MX8M **
MiTac’s fanless “ME1-108T” embedded computer runs
Linux on an up to quad-core i.MX8M with up to 4GB
LPDDR4, up to 32GB eMMC, 2x GbE, 3x USB, and HDMI,
DP, serial, mini-PCIe, and 40-pin RPi GPIO.
ICP Germany announced the launch of MiTac’s compact
ME1-108T embedded system. Although we have reported
on dozens of compute modules and SBCs that run
Linux on NXP’s dual- or quad-core, Cortex-A53
i.MX8M, the ME1-108T appears to be only the second
embedded system using the SoC after Axiomtek’s
Agent336.
# ** M1108_AI_accelerator_chip_delivers_up_to_35_TOPS_for_high-
end_edge_AI_applications [Ed: Linux support comes before
Windows] **
The plan is to support Ubuntu, NVIDIA L4T, and
Windows (future release).
# **** Open Hardware/Modding ****
# ** Vulkan_update:_we’re_conformant! **
# ** Raspberry_Pi_4_V3DV_graphics_driver_achieves_Vulkan
1.0_conformance **
Just a couple of weeks ago, we reported on
the status of Raspberry Pi 4 Vulkan driver &
future plans based on a presentation made by
Igalia at the Open Source Summit 2020 at the
end of October.
At the time, the V3DV Vulkan Mesa driver for
Raspberry Pi 4 was merged into Mesa, passed
over 100,000 tests in the Kronos Conformance
Test Suite (CTS), and was said to implement
the full Vulkan 1.0 API. So it should come as
no surprise that Khronos has now declared the
Raspberry Pi drivers to be conformant with
Vulkan 1.0 specifications.
# **** Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications ****
# ** Android_Runtime_to_become_Mainline_module_in_Android
12 **
# ** Paranoid_Android_releases_Android_11_custom_ROMs_for
the_OnePlus_8_and_OnePlus_8_Pro **
# ** Samsung_opens_an_Android_11_beta_with_One_UI_3.0_for
the_Galaxy_S10_series **
# ** Android_vs._iPhone:_6_stellar_features_Apple_fans
wish_their_phones_had **
# ** Lucky_Patcher_Download_and_Installation_Tutorial_for
Android **
# ** How_to_stop_Google_from_tracking_your_Android’s
location **
# ** How_to_recover_deleted_text_messages_on_Android **
# ** Nokia’s_failure_is_the_final_nail_in_the_coffin_for
Android_One **
# ** PUBG_Mobile_India_to_be_available_on_Android
smartphones_before_iPhones:_Report **
# ** Baidu’s_Android_Apps_Caught_Collecting_and_Leaking
Sensitive_User_Data **
# ** Huawei_fans_find_out_which_phone_is_dropping_Android
for_HarmonyOS_first **
# ** Best_Sports_App_For_Android_2020 **
# ** Best_Security_Apps_for_Android **
# ** Google_will_make_the_Android_Runtime_(ART)_a
Mainline_module_in_Android_12 **
# ** Google,_Lucasfilm_team_up_to_launch_The_Mandalorian
AR_app_for_5G_Pixel_and_Android_phones **
# ** Over_20_Malicious_Minecraft_Android_Apps_Found_on
Google_Play **
# ** Google_sued_for_using_260mb_of_cellular_data_per
month_to_track_Android_users_without_permission **
# ** Samsung_extends_partnership_with_Google,_joins
Android_Enterprise_Recommended_programme **
# ** Android_11_is_officially_released_but_not_yet_for
Nokia_smartphones **
# ** Android_Runtime_becoming_a_Project_Mainline_module
for_easy_updates_in_Android_12 **
# ** How_to_use_the_Google_One_VPN_on_Android **
# ** New_emoji_could_reach_your_Android_phone_faster_than
ever_with_this_change_from_Google **
# ** The_Canberra_Times_news_app_launches_for_iOS_and
Android **
o **** Free, Libre, and Open Source Software ****
# **** Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra ****
# ** LibreOffice_7.1_Office_Suite_Enters_Beta,_Promises_a
Plethora_of_Improvements **
After about six months of development, the
upcoming LibreOffice 7.1 office suite is now
ready for public beta testing. The first beta
release has arrived and anyone willing to
help the development team discover and fix
bugs can download it right now from the
official website for Linux, macOS, and
Windows platforms.
LibreOffice 7.1 promises a plethora of
improvements and some new features, starting
with a new outline folding mode for Writer.
This adds a button with arrow next to a
selected heading in a word document, allowing
users to fold all text from the current
heading to the next one when clicked and with
all its subheadings when right clicked.
# ** LibreOffice_7.1_–_Top_New_Features_and_Release_Dates
**
The upcoming LibreOffice 7.1 is under
development. LibreOffice 7.1 Beta 1 is
released just a while back. Here we take a
look at the LibreOffice 7.1 top new features
and release dates.
# **** Programming/Development ****
# ** Get_started_with_Fossil,_an_alternative_to_Git **
As any programmer knows, there are many
reasons it’s vital to keep track of code
changes. Sometimes you just want a history of
how your project started and evolved, as a
matter of curiosity or education. Other
times, you want to enable other coders to
contribute to your project, and you need a
reliable way to merge disparate parts. And
more critically, sometimes an adjustment you
make to fix one problem breaks something else
that was working.
# ** Booting_from_a_vinyl_record **
Most PCs tend to boot from a primary media
storage, be it a hard disk drive, or a solid-
state drive, perhaps from a network, or – if
all else fails – the USB stick or the boot
DVD comes to the rescue… Fun, eh? Boring! Why
don’t we try to boot from a record player for
a change?
# **** Python ****
# ** Python_Namedtuple_–_Linux_Hint **
Python comes up with many built-in data
structures like lists, dictionaries,
and tuples to store and manage the data
efficiently. The namedtuple is the
dictionary-like container available in
the “collections” module. Similar to
the dictionaries, the namedtuple also
contains the keys that are mapped to
values. However, the namedtuple allows
accessing the values through keys and
as well as through indexes. As compared
to the Python dictionaries, accessing
the values through indexes is the
additional functionality in namedtuple.
This article explains the Python
namedtuple in detail with examples.
# ** Python_OrderedDict_–_Linux_Hint **
Data structures are the essential
components of any programming language
that store and manage the data
efficiently. Python provides many
built-in data structures, i.e., lists,
tuples, and dictionaries, that help the
programmers to create efficient
applications. The Python dictionaries
store the data in key-value pairs. The
OrderedDict is the subclass of the dict
class and maintains the order of the
keys in which were inserted in. This is
the one and the only difference between
the dict and OrderDict. The dict does
not maintain the key’s order.
The OrderedDict keeps the order of keys
insertion, and when we iterate through
the OrderedDict, then it returns the
keys in the same order. On the other
hand, when the iteration is performed
on dict, the keys are returned in
random order. However, the dictionaries
are now ordered in Python 3.6 and above
versions and return the values in the
same order as they are inserted. The
OrderedDict class exists in the
collections module. Therefore, to use
the OrderedDict class, first, import
the collections module. This article
explains the Python OrderedDict in
detail with examples.
# ** Python_Yield_–_Linux_Hint **
Yield is a Python built-in keyword that
returns the value(s) from a function.
The execution of the function is not
terminated. Rather, it returns the
value to the caller and maintains the
execution state of the function. The
execution of the function is resumed
from the last yield statement. The
yield allows us to produce a sequence
of values rather than one value. It is
used inside a function body. The
function that contains a yield
statement is known as the generator
function.
There are several advantages to yield
keyword. For instance, it controls the
memory allocation and saves the local
variable state. However, it increases
the complexity of the code.
# ** Python_defaultdict_–_Linux_Hint **
Python offers many built-in data
structures, such as lists, tuples, and
dictionaries, to save and manage data
efficiently. Dictionaries provide an
easy way to save data as key-value
pairs. A key acts as an index and is
used to retrieve data. Keys should be
unique and immutable throughout the
dictionary. Keys are mostly strings and
integers, though the value of a key
could be of any type, such as an
integer, string, floating-point number,
or complex number. Meanwhile, a
dictionary can contain a collection,
such as a list, tuple, or some other
type of dictionary. A dictionary in
Python is created using a pair of curly
brackets, in which each key-value pair
is separated by a comma.
What if you try to access or modify a
specific key in a dictionary that does
not exist? Well, in this case, the
Python interpreter will raise the
“KeyError” error and terminate the
execution of the program.
# ** How_to_Add_Command_Line_Arguments_to_a_Python
Script_–_Linux_Hint **
If you have developed a Python script
or application meant to be primarily
run in terminal emulators or even GUI
apps, adding command line arguments can
improve its useability, code
readability, application structure and
overall user friendliness of the
application for the end users. These
command line arguments are also called
“options” or “switches” and work
similarly to arguments you usually see
in bash scripts and other C / C++ based
programs.
To add arguments to Python scripts, you
will have to use a built-in module
named “argparse”. As the name suggests,
it parses command line arguments used
while launching a Python script or
application. These parsed arguments are
also checked by the “argparse” module
to ensure that they are of proper
“type”. Errors are raised if there are
invalid values in arguments.
Usage of the argparse module can be
best understood through examples. Below
are some code samples that will get you
started with the argparse module.
# **** Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh ****
# ** How_to_stack_columns **
# **** JavaScript ****
# ** What_is_Vue.js,_and_Why_is_it_Cool?_–_Linux
Hint **
Vue.js is a progressive JavaScript
framework, which is used to build UIs
(User Interfaces) and SPAs (Single-page
Applications). This framework is famous
for its fast-paced learning curve. It
is such an easy to learn and
approachable library that with the
knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript,
we can start building web applications
in Vue.js. The fast learning curve is
kind of a signature of this framework.
It is a versatile framework for our
need as a library or a full-fledged
framework for building huge web apps.
Evan You have created this framework.
The idea of Evan You behind this
framework is to build the best
framework by combining the best
features from already existing Angular
and react Frameworks. Before building
Vue.js, Evan You was working at Google.
Inc and worked on Angular based
projects. So, he came up with the idea
of building his own framework. He
picked the best parts of Angular, like
template syntax, easy to use, and
picked the best parts of React as well,
like two-way data binding, the concept
of props, component-based approach, and
combined them to make a new framework
Vue.js better than both of them.
* **** Leftovers ****
o ** ‘Mom,_is_it_true?’_What_happens_when_children_find_out_their
mother_is_a_sex_worker._A_report_from_Russia’s_heartland. **
No one knows exactly how many sex workers there are in
Russia, but the number is said to be in the millions.
Most of these people are young women trying to pull
themselves and their families out of poverty. Faced with
the illegality of their labor, the dangers of the job,
and the powerful social stigma that haunts prostitution,
Russia’s sex workers walk a tightrope at home, where many
feel compelled to conceal or justify the work that puts
food on the table and keeps a roof overhead. Meduza
special correspondent Irina Kravtsova traveled to
Volgograd, Samara, and Ufa, where she met with three such
women and spoke to their children to learn how Russia’s
sex workers navigate these enormous challenges.
o ** Back_to_Reality **
o ** The_Teachings_of_America **
But that’s a strange teaching.
There’s teachings that say all soldiers are automatically
heroes, and as a result, war is holy.
o ** Unleash_a_Desert_River_and_Its_Wisdom **
o ** She_had_a_foul_mouth_and_a_bottomless_heart_Meet_Oksana_Karas,
the_director_of_a_new_film_about_the_late_Elizaveta_Glinka,
Russia’s_humanitarian_icon **
Oksana Karas’s new film, “Doctor Liza,” is currently in
theaters. The picture follows a day in the life of Dr.
Elizaveta Glinka, a story whose protagonist manages to
comfort, hug, warm, and save hundreds. Chulpan Khamatova
stars in the film, which features many other prominent
Russian actors, including Evgeny Pisarev, Andrzej Chyra,
Konstantin Khabensky, Andrey Burkovskiy, Yulia Aug,
Tatyana Dogileva, Timofey Tribuntsev, Alexey Agranovich,
Elena Koreneva, and Yana Gladkikh. Karas told Meduza
about what effect she hopes to achieve in Russia with a
film about charity.
o **** Education ****
# ** Defenders_of_US_Public_Schools_Call_on_Biden_to_Ditch
Trump’s_Disastrous_Education_Policies—and_Obama’s_Too **
“50.8 million children who attend real public
schools need a secretary of education who will be
their advocate, not an advocate for privatization.”
# ** The_New_Secretary_of_Education_Should_Actually_Listen_to
Students,_Unlike_DeVos **
At the moment, one of the biggest debates in
education is whether or not campuses should reopen
during the pandemic. The Trump administration has
demanded that schools fully reopen irrespective of
COVID-19 rates, budget constraints, and before
there could be a proper assessment of the risk of
community transmission, and DeVos has stated
publicly that she does not see tracking the virus’s
impact in schools as the Education Department’s
responsibility. Meanwhile, the Biden campaign has
promised emergency federal relief funding and
assistance for schools to address the effects of
the pandemic, a move that is in line with many
student activists’ demands.
o **** Health/Nutrition ****
# ** Russia’s_coronavirus_vaccine_developers_says_‘Sputnik_V’
is_95_percent_effective **
Russia’s “Sputnik V” coronavirus vaccine has shown
more than 95 percent effectiveness 42 days after
the first dose, the researchers developing the
vaccine reported on Tuesday, November 24.
# ** Betting_Pool?_Tyson_Managers_Bet_on_How_Many_Workers_Would
Get_COVID._Advocates_Call_It_Grim_Pattern **
The family of a former meatpacker who died from
COVID-19 alleges in a lawsuit that managers at a
Tyson Foods plant in Iowa knew working conditions
would result in illness, and even placed bets on
how many workers would be infected. The family of
Isidro Fernandez, who died in April, says the plant
manager set up a winner-take-all betting pool for
supervisors and managers to wager on coronavirus
infections. Since the start of the pandemic, at
least six workers have died and more than 1,000
tested positive for COVID-19 at the Iowa facility.
Tyson Foods has suspended the managers involved in
the alleged betting scheme, but worker rights
advocates say it is further evidence of abuse and
exploitation in the meat industry. “These companies
are treating them like animals. They’re treating
them as disposable,” says Magaly Licolli, executive
director of Venceremos, an advocacy group for
poultry plant workers.
# ** How_Many_Lives_Would_Have_Been_Saved,_If_We_Had_Cooperated
on_a_Vaccine_With_China? **
In recent days, there have been articles in several
major news outlets about how China vaccinated close
to 1 million people, under an Emergency Use
Authorization, for vaccines that are currently in
Phase 3 clinical testing (here, here, here, and
here). While large-scale distribution of vaccines,
that have not completed testing for safety and
effectiveness, is probably not a good public health
practice, none of these pieces raised any questions
about whether the United States, and other
countries, might have benefited from access to the
Chinese vaccines.
It would not be reasonable to distribute Chinese
vaccines here based on safety and effectiveness
data that had not been thoroughly vetted by the
Food and Drug Administration. But, if we had chosen
to go a collaborative route in developing vaccines,
we could have done our own tests, in addition to
using data available from tests done by the Chinese
manufacturers.
# ** Combating_the_Hazards_of_5G_–_The_Project_Censored_Show **
Guests: Kate Kheel, Phoebe Sorgen, Amber Yang, and
Kenn Burrows.
# ** Capitalist_Competition_Is_Sabotaging_the_Race_for_a
Vaccine **
The global race for a Covid-19 vaccine appears to
be in its final leg. The research was publicly
funded. But Big Pharma stands to make enormous
profits, at the expense of people the world over.
# ** YouTube_Suspends_OANN_Channel_Over_COVID-19_Misinformation
**
YouTube has temporarily suspended and demonetized
the channel for pro-Trump outlet One America News
Network. OANN will be barred from publishing videos
and livestreams for one week, and will need to
reapply to the YouTube Partner Program to regain
its monetization status.
The suspension is the first “strike” for OANN under
YouTube’s terms of service. YouTube uses a three
strike system, with repeat offenders ultimately
being removed from the video platform.
# ** 4_in_10_Americans_Plan_to_Defy_CDC_Guidelines_on
Thanksgiving **
# ** YouTube_temporarily_suspends_OANN_account_after_spreading
coronavirus_misinformation **
YouTube has suspended the pro-Trump One America
News Network from posting new videos for a week,
and the outlet has had its old content demonetized
after uploading a video containing misinformation
about the coronavirus, YouTube spokesperson Ivy
Choi confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.
The weeklong suspension is the result of a “strike”
issued for saying that there is a guaranteed cure
for COVID-19, a claim that runs afoul of YouTube’s
coronavirus-specific policy.
# ** YouTube_Suspends_OAN,_a_Trump_Favorite,_For_Touting_Covid
Cure **
YouTube is temporarily banning One America News
Network for breaking rules about Covid-19 claims,
shuttering the right-wing cable outlet on the
world’s largest video site for a week.
“After careful review, we removed a video from OANN
and issued a strike on the channel for violating
our COVID-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits
content claiming there’s a guaranteed cure,” Ivy
Choi, a YouTube spokeswoman, said in a statement.
After a channel receives three strikes, YouTube
terminates it altogether.
YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, is also
suspending advertisements from the network for
violating other unspecified policies.
# ** Top_epidemiologist_says_Sweden_has_no_signs_of_herd
immunity_curbing_coronavirus **
Sweden’s top infectious disease expert said Tuesday
that the country has not seen evidence of herd
immunity slowing the spread of the coronavirus in
the country.
# ** The_New_Humanitarian_|_Even_if_famine_isn’t_declared,
Yemen_has_a_massive_hunger_problem **
In the coming weeks and months, a group of experts
will decide if Yemen, a country the UN has deemed
the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”, is in the
midst of, or at risk of, a famine.
Despite a recent stream of statements from aid
officials – including last week’s warning from UN
Secretary-General António Guterres that “Yemen is
now in imminent danger of the worst famine the
world has seen for decades” – such a declaration is
not a foregone conclusion.
That’s because, although it’s an emotionally
weighted and frequently used word, famine actually
has a highly complex technical definition that is
hard to meet and requires a level of quality data
that doesn’t always exist in Yemen, which has been
at war since early 2015.
For example, the threshold was not met in late
2018, and that was despite similar cries of alarm,
despite the fact that some children were clearly
starving to death, and despite the finding that
nearly 16 million people were expected to be above
“crisis” levels of food insecurity.
Two years later, and after more than five and a
half years of war – Houthi rebels in the north are
fighting an internationally recognised (but mostly
exiled) government and its allies in the south,
backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition – it seems
to many Yemenis that almost everything that could
possibly go wrong in one country has done so.
o **** Integrity/Availability ****
# ** Strange_case_of_the_art_dealer,_the_tech_billionaire,_his
email_and_Picasso’s_lover **
The only problem, a judge said yesterday, is that
Allen may not have written the email. In fact, Mr
Justice Trower said, evidence pointed to the email
having been fabricated “for the purpose of
misleading the court”.
# **** Proprietary ****
# ** This_Bluetooth_Attack_Can_Steal_a_Tesla_Model_X_in
Minutes **
Lennert Wouters, a security researcher at
Belgian university KU Leuven, today revealed
a collection of security vulnerabilities he
found in both Tesla Model X cars and their
keyless entry fobs. He discovered that those
combined vulnerabilities could be exploited
by any car thief who manages to read a car’s
vehicle identification number—usually visible
on a car’s dashboard through the
windshield—and also come within roughly 15
feet of the victim’s key fob. The hardware
kit necessary to pull off the heist cost
Wouters around $300, fits inside a backpack,
and is controlled from the thief’s phone. In
just 90 seconds, the hardware can extract a
radio code that unlocks the owner’s Model X.
Once the car thief is inside, a second,
distinct vulnerability Wouters found would
allow the thief to pair their own key fob
with the victim’s vehicle after a minute’s
work and drive the car away.
# **** Security ****
# ** Ransomware_gangs_likely_to_start_monetising
stolen_data:_researcher **
Ransomware gangs have shown themselves
to be an innovative lot, incorporating
more and more tactics as they look to
extort money from their victims and
this trend will continue into the new
year, a veteran researcher of this
brand of malware says.
# ** Victory!_Court_Protects_Anonymity_of_Security
Researchers_Who_Reported_Apparent_Communications
Between_Russian_Bank_and_Trump_Organization **
Security researchers who reported
observing Internet communications
between the Russian financial firm Alfa
Bank and the Trump Organization in 2016
can remain anonymous, an Indiana trial
court ruled last week.
The ruling protects the First Amendment
anonymous speech rights of the
researchers, whose analysis prompted
significant media attention and debate
in 2016 about the meaning of digital
records that reportedly showed computer
servers linked to the Moscow-based bank
and the Trump Organization in
communication.
Imagine walking down the street,
looking for a good cup of coffee. In
the distance, a storefront glows in
green through your smart glasses,
indicating a well-reviewed cafe with a
sterling public health score. You
follow the holographic arrows to the
crosswalk, as your wearables silently
signal the self-driving cars…
Despite widespread complaints about its
effects on human rights, the Brazilian
Senate has fast-tracked the approval of
“PLS 2630/2020”, the so-called “Fake
News” bill. The bill lacked the
necessarily broad and intense social
participation that characterized the
development of the 2014 Brazilian Civil
Rights…
# ** Every_system_is_a_privileged_system:
Incorporating_Unix/Linux_in_your_privilege
management_strategy **
Despite their importance, Unix/Linux
local and privileged accounts often
don’t get sufficient oversight in a
centralized PAM strategy.
True, the Unix/Linux userbase is
typically more technically savvy and
has a greater understanding of security
than your typical user. In some ways,
Unix/Linux actually led the move toward
PAM decades ago. The problem is, not
much has changed in decades. They still
heavily rely on their own methods for
privileged management, such as Sudo
controls, and are still using Sudo with
few differences from when it was first
introduced.
No matter how savvy the user, Unix/
Linux privileged accounts are time-
consuming and tedious to manage, so
they often don’t get sufficient
oversight. In addition, when it comes
time for an audit, it’s extremely
difficult to piece together all of the
privileged account activities and
security controls. You might have one
report for Windows and Mac and a
separate one or many for Unix/Linux.
You can’t get a consolidated view of
risk to use for decision-making or show
progress to your auditors.
# **** Privacy/Surveillance ****
# ** Seattle_PD_Detective_Took_Clearview
Facial_Recognition_Tech_For_A_Spin,
Possibly_Violating_Local_Laws **
It looks like some members of the
Seattle Police Department have
taken an interest in Clearview.
Clearview scrapes photos and data
from the open web and sells
access to its untested facial
recognition AI to government
agencies, private companies, and
the odd billionaire. According to
Clearview, it has 4 billion
scraped records in its database.
What it doesn’t have is a proven
law enforcement track record for
solving crimes, despite making
extremely forward overtures to
hundreds of law enforcement
agencies around the globe.
# ** FBI_Asks_To_Perform_An_Intrusive_Search
Of_A_Phone_For_Evidence_It_Doesn’t_Need
From_A_Device_That_Probably_Doesn’t_Belong
To_The_Suspect **
It looks like the FBI believes it
should be able to pull pretty
much anything from someone’s
phone for pretty much any reason.
A recent warrant affidavit [PDF]
submitted by Special Agent Brian
De Jesus requests access to
nearly everything contained on a
cellphone abandoned in a car,
supposedly by the suspect now
being charged for being a felon
in possession of a handgun.
# ** Moscow_City_Hall_seeks_to_expand
‘digital_profiles’_of_local_residents
through_new_monitoring_system **
Moscow’s Information Technology
Department has is soliciting bids
to develop a system that will
build detailed “digital profiles”
for all users of municipal
services, as well as constantly
monitor the activities of
Muscovites throughout the city
and at municipal facilities. The
website Open Media first reported
the 280-million-ruble ($3.7-
million) contract’s appearance.
Although the system is reportedly
designed to collect information
anonymously, experts warn that it
could include surveillance
mechanisms and that abuse of the
system could result in people’s
personal information ending up on
the black market.
# ** UK_group_wants_Google’s_‘privacy
sandbox’_tech_launch_delayed **
An alliance of British
businesses, that is campaigning
to stop Google from allegedly
controlling the open Web, has
asked the UK’s Competition and
Markets Authority to delay the
release of technology by the
search firm that is claimed to be
able to cement its alleged
dominance of online business.
# ** Six_Australian_spy_agencies_collected
COVIDSafe_data:_watchdog **
Six Australian intelligence
organisations have “incidentally”
collected data from the COVIDSafe
app, according to a report from
the watchdog, the Inspector-
General of Intelligence and
Security, issued on Monday.
# ** Advertising_for_police_databases:
Germany_wants_„European_Data_Quality_Day“
**
Alerts in the Schengen
Information System are increasing
significantly every year, entries
in Europol databases are also
continuing to grow. The German
government now wants to use video
messages and giveaways to promote
the acceptance of the largest
European police database.
# ** Despite_Not_Finding_Drugs_Nearly_95
Percent_Of_The_Time,_Judges_Keep_Approving
Drug_Warrants_For_Chicago_Cops **
The Chicago Police Department has
firmly established itself as one
of the worst police forces in
America. From running an off-the-
books, Constitution-evading
“black site” to interrogate
detainees without bringing in
their lawyers or rights to
loading up its gang database with
thousands of non-gang members,
the department is a horrific
mess.
# ** Google_sued_for_using_260mb_of_cellular
data_per_month_to_track_Android_users
without_permission **
The complaint detailed:
# ** Amazon’s_Ring_moves_even_closer_to
becoming_the_perfect_urban_police
surveillance_system **
An investigation by the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) found that the Ring
doorbell app for Android was
“packed with third-party trackers
sending out a plethora of
customers’ personally
identifiable information”. The
EFF’s research discovered that
four main analytics and marketing
companies were receiving
information from the app that
included things such as the
names, private IP addresses,
mobile network carriers,
persistent identifiers, and
sensor data on the devices of
paying customers. Also
potentially concerning is the
fact that Amazon keeps records of
every motion detected by its Ring
doorbells, as well as the exact
time they are logged down to the
millisecond. Conscious of the
growing concerns about privacy,
Amazon has improved account
security and privacy control,
although not significantly.
# ** Twitter_verification_will_return_early
next_year **
If no changes to this proposal
are made, the accounts that would
be eligible for verification
would include government
accounts, companies, brands,
nonprofits, news media accounts,
entertainment, sports, activists,
organizers, and what Twitter
refers to as “other influential
individuals.” Each type of
account must meet specific
requirements, like being profiled
in a media outlet, in order to
receive verification. The
entirety of Twitter’s draft
policy can be viewed here. After
receiving feedback, Twitter plans
to release the final policy on
December 17th.
# ** Popular_Wireless_Doorbells_May_Carry
Cybersecurity_Risk **
If you’re not the handy type or
perhaps just don’t want to put
the effort into putting in a
wired security doorbell, such as
a Ring, you may opt for a
wireless doorbell, saving
yourself the hassle. However, you
could end up with more hassles
than you ever dreamed, as 11
popular wireless doorbells failed
basic cybersecurity tests,
according to researchers.
Cybersecurity Research These 11
wireless doorbells that failed
the cybersecurity tests were all
available on common online
shopping sites, such as Amazon
and eBay…
o **** Defence/Aggression ****
# ** Yes,_It’s_Time_to_Come_Home—Now **
Actually ending the war in Afghanistan.
# ** Biden’s_Pick_for_Secretary_of_State_Has_a_Record_of
Militarism **
# ** Biden_is_Facing_a_Showdown_on_Iran_Sanctions **
This past summer, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
began a series of appeals to the UN Security
Council, saying that the United States was still a
member of the deal, based on the council’s 2015
favorable vote by former U.S. ambassador to the UN
Samantha Power. Therefore, Washington had the right
to initiate the “snapback”—a procedure that allows
participants of the deal to reverse any easing or
lifting of sanctions instituted by the pact.
This led to several UN Security Council meetings,
where most members rejected Pompeo’s arguments. But
Pompeo called for the snapback in late September,
despite “objections from most other countries.”
# ** ‘Total_Reset’_is_Wishful_Thinking:_The_Daunting_Task_of
Reordering_US_Foreign_Policy **
While a ‘total reset’ is, perhaps, possible in some
aspects of US policies – for example, a reversal of
the Donald Trump Administration’s decision to
abandon the Paris Agreement on climate change – it
is highly unlikely that the US can simply reclaim
its position in many other geopolitical battles
around the globe.
President Trump was often accused of leading an
‘isolationist’ foreign policy, a misleading term
that, according to Stephen Wertheim’s “Tomorrow,
the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy”, was
deliberately coined to silence those who dared
challenge the advocates of military adventurism and
interventionism in the first half of the twentieth
century.
# ** The_US_Still_Penalizes_Thousands_of_Veterans **
I have known several veterans who had serious
health issues connected to their military
experience and had to fight for support from the
Veterans Administration. The plight of those
suffering the ill effects of exposure to the
defoliant Agent Orange used to make forested areas
of Vietnam visible for attacks by the US, are among
a group that had to fight strenuously for deserved
benefits. A friend from the post-World War II era
fought until the end of his life to get the
benefits he deserved after serving as a military
photographer in the Pacific whose work involved
taking photographs of nuclear tests.
Following the Vietnam War, Jimmy Carter issued an
amnesty program that offered the chance for amnesty
to hundreds of thousands of draft and military
resisters. There were 432,530 veterans who
qualified to have their discharges upgraded, who
were discharged with either undesirable or general
discharges. The Carter amnesty program (“Carter
Authorizes Military To Review Viet
Discharges,” Washington Post, March 29, 1977) had
several pitfalls, with a narrow window of
opportunity of only several months for veterans to
apply to the program and a lengthy process that
typically required the veteran to appear before a
special discharge board made up of military
officers and plead his case. The earlier Ford
program of amnesty was so punitive that amnesty
organizations boycotted it. Those veterans who
qualified for that program were given a second
discharge that further penalized them and marked
them negatively. Most had to complete a punitive
form of alternative service.
# ** Why_Biden_Must_Ignore_Sen._Coons’_‘Caveats’_and_Stay_on
Course_to_Return_to_the_Iran_Deal **
In restoring the Iran deal, Biden can successfully
correct the conflict-laden course he is inheriting
from Trump, repair U.S. credibility, and prove once
again that the administration he served as vice
president was right to choose diplomacy.
# ** Flare-ups_between_India_and_Pakistan_in_Kashmir_are
getting_fiercer **
Though India and Pakistan agreed on an informal
ceasefire in 2003, it fell apart a decade later.
Since 2018 the number of ceasefire violations
recorded by the Indian Army has almost doubled,
while Pakistan has documented a 10% jump (the
figures differ because violations are defined
loosely, including everything from a stray bullet
to an artillery barrage). Things have been getting
steadily worse: in 2019 the Indian army recorded
3,479 violations; the figure for this year so far
is over 3,800.
# ** Lugano_attack:_Two_hurt_in_suspected_terror_incident_in
Switzerland **
She attempted to choke one and stabbed another in
the neck with a knife before being stopped by
shoppers, police say.
# ** The_New_Humanitarian_|_Rethinking_Humanitarianism_podcast:
The_future_of_aid **
Refugees from Ethiopia are currently fleeing across
the border into Sudan. If this crisis plays out
like many do, big aid agencies will soon begin
setting up shop, organising camps, handing out food
and water, and leading an organised response to
those refugees.
But what if things were done differently?
In this fourth episode of the Rethinking
Humanitarianism podcast series, hosts Heba Aly and
Jeremy Konyndyk talk to three disruptors about
their visions for alternative humanitarian action.
They delve into mergers of international NGOs with
Simon O’Connell, the incoming CEO of SNV, an
international development organisation based in The
Netherlands.
They unpack networked humanitarianism with Paul
Currion, the founder of a blockchain company for
the aid industry.
And they hear a vision of local solidarity from
Muthoni Wanyeki, regional director for Africa at
the Open Society Foundations.
o **** Environment ****
# ** Diane_Cook’s_Morality_Tales_for_Our_Climate_Future **
“The Way the End of Days Should Be,” a story from
Diane Cook’s 2014 collection Man V. Nature, takes
place in a flooded world. The story’s unnamed
narrator defends their home from desperate
strangers with the help of a man named Gary. The
narrator’s neighbor, meanwhile, houses every
newcomer who washes up on his porch—he welcomes so
many people, in fact, that his house begins to
deteriorate. No matter how bad things get for the
neighbor and the refugees living in his house, the
narrator refuses to change their isolationist ways.
Eventually, Gary abandons the narrator to help the
neighbor, and the narrator reacts by suspecting
Gary and the neighbor of conspiring against him. We
leave the narrator lingering near their front door,
a knife in each hand, waiting to defend his home
from a siege that may never come.
# **** Energy ****
# ** Cancer_Alley_Community_Leaders_Are_Cautious_As_Biden
Picks_Their_Fossil_Fuel-Friendly_Congressman_for_White
House_Role **
Richmond has taken hundreds of thousands of
dollars in fossil fuel campaign contributions
during his career. Despite this history, some
fenceline communities in Louisiana are
looking forward to the potential of what Joe
Biden’s ascension to the White House with
Richmond by his side could mean for their
majority-Black neighborhoods which are
impacted daily by air pollution from an
expanding petrochemical industry.
# ** Will_a_Tar_Sands_Pipeline_Become_a_Covid_Super
Spreader? **
From a climate perspective, a clean water
perspective and a Covid perspective, Line 3
is nuts.
# ** The_trashcan_bribe_How_an_ambitious_software_project
led_to_Russian_Deputy_Energy_Minister_Anatoly
Tikhonov’s_arrest **
GIS TEK, an expensive software that compiles
information about Russia’s entire fuel and
energy sector, was created to help fight
illegal business dealings and tax evasion.
Its main result so far, however, has been an
embezzlement case implicating the heads of
one of Russia’s largest technology companies,
LANIT, along with Deputy Energy Minister
Anatoly Tikhonov. Meduza technology editor
Maria Kolomichenko reports on the story,
which involved secretly-recorded phone
conversations and reports of bribes being
transferred through a trashcan in a women’s
restroom.
# ** A_Power_Company’s_Quiet_Land-Buying_Spree_Could
Shield_It_From_Coal_Ash_Cleanup_Costs **
Over the past several years, utility giant
Georgia Power has embarked on an unusual
buying spree, paying top dollar for people’s
property in places where cheap land was easy
to find.
In 2016, it bought a veterinarian’s 5-acre
lot in the rolling hills of northwest Georgia
for roughly double the appraised value. The
following year, it acquired 28 acres of
flood-prone land in southwest Georgia’s pecan
belt for nearly four times what the local tax
assessor said it was worth. By the year after
that, it had paid millions of dollars above
the appraised value for hundreds of acres
near a winding gravel road in a central
Georgia town with no water lines and spotty
cellphone service.
# ** When_Can_Pipelines_Take_Private_Land?_Jordan_Cove
LNG_Project_a_Test_for_Eminent_Domain **
After calling around, they soon found out
that a company wanted to build a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Coos Bay
on the Oregon coast, and run a natural gas
pipeline to California — and Evans’ land was
in the way. If the company’s plans worked
out, the pipeline would travel right through
their property.
# **** Wildlife/Nature ****
# ** European_Demand_for_Biomass_Energy_Propels
Destruction_of_US_Forests_–_Validated_Independent_News
**
As Smith wrote, many European nations,
including the UK, Netherlands, and Denmark,
have adopted biomass electricity, with the
unintended consequences of “speeding up
carbon emissions, pollution and forest
destruction.” The shift has led many to see
forests as fuel, encouraging the cutting of
timber for the production of wood pellets.
# ** Big_builders’_plans_threaten_to_wreck_forest
survival **
Plans by corporate power and government
investors risk corporate good intentions and
national vows for forest survival.
o **** Finance ****
# ** Economists_Argue_to_“Use_Debt,_Go_Big,_and_Stay_Big”_With
COVID_Relief_Package **
# ** Trump_Is_Trying_to_Set_Yellen_and_Biden_Up_to_Fail_as_He
Sabotages_the_Economy **
# ** Top_Campaign_Spenders_Won_88_Percent_of_2020_Races **
# ** ‘Well_That_Was_Weird_as_Sh*t’:_As_More_States_Certify_His
Defeat,_Trump_Holds_60-Second_Briefing_to_Brag_About_Stock
Market **
As the president refused to concede defeat,
Pennsylvania and Nevada certified President-elect
Joe Biden’s victories and dealt a major blow to the
Trump campaign’s legal ploy.
# ** As_Hunger_Soars_Across_Nation,_U.S._Trade_&_Foreign_Policy
Is_Also_Causing_Hunger_Across_the_Globe **
As the U.S. enters the holiday season, millions of
people across the country are struggling to find
enough to eat, with the hunger relief group Feeding
America warning that some 54 million U.S. residents
currently face food insecurity amid a massive
public health and economic crisis. Food insecurity
in the U.S. has intensified after the expiration of
federal assistance programs in the CARES Act, and
the United Nations World Food Programme predicts
acute hunger could affect 270 million people
worldwide by the end of 2020 — an 82% increase
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. We
speak with author and filmmaker Raj Patel, host of
the food politics podcast “The Secret Ingredient,”
who says hunger was already at alarming levels in
the U.S. before the pandemic, and it’s only gotten
worse. “The long story here is the continuing war
on the American working class,” Patel says.
# ** With_Just_1%_of_Farms_Controlling_70%_of_Global_Farmland,
Study_Reveals_‘Shocking’_Level_of_Land_Inequality **
“A transformative agenda… is urgent and is in the
interests of all humanity.”
# ** Licensed_to_Kill **
Like a totalized 21st century social system, like a
smoother corporate bureaucratic James Bond. Racial
capitalism: naming systemic inequalities exposed by
post-George Floyd BLM resistance, and revealed by
the Covid pandemic’s disparate racial impacts.
Racial capitalism now is settler-colonialist
neoliberalism, with the genocide accelerated more
up front and center in your face, toxic combo-Rush
Limbaugh and Jabba the Hutt.
Racial capitalism is bankrupting Detroit. Racial
capitalism is the slavery and land grabbing
foundations of US political economy. Racial
capitalism is bipartisan. Racial capitalism is
slave patrol-modeled authorities licensed to kill
in Flint, Kenosha, Ferguson, Louisville, all
oppressed communities north as well as the old
south, via police and viral and human rights
violations, dispossessions, structural and deadly
violence. Racial capitalism is constitutive of
“America”.
# ** As_Retail_Giants_Enjoy_Soaring_Profits,_Workers_Demand
Hazard_Pay_Amid_Soaring_Pandemic **
“America’s essential workers are facing a holiday
season of unparalleled danger.”
# ** ‘Go_Big,_and_Stay_Big’:_Economists_Call_for_$3_Trillion
Covid_Relief_Package_to_Stop_Nation’s_Descent_Into_Ruin **
“The Senate’s failure to provide crucial relief and
recovery aid has left families without a lifeline
and will severely damage prospects for recovery.”
# ** ‘I_Stand_With_the_Amazon_Warehouse_Workers’:_Bernie
Sanders_Throws_Support_Behind_Bold_Union_Drive_in_Alabama **
“If Amazon workers in Alabama–a strong anti-union
state–vote to form a union, it will be a shot heard
around the world.”
# ** Facing_Holiday_Rush,_Frontlines_Retail_Workers_Urge
Billionaire_Bosses_to_Share_the_Wealth **
This essential workforce is hustling to help
holiday shoppers while also organizing for hazard
pay and other Covid-19 protections.
# ** America_and_Britain_are_the_Big_Losers_on_the_World_Stage
**
# ** Liberals_Economists_and_Corporations:_an_Interview_with
Evan_Jones **
The character of the corporation is rarely up for
discussion. It’s completely absent in the entire
economics profession. In political science, it is
generally ignored.
That’s the take of Evan Jones of the University of
Sydney Department of Political Economy.
# ** In_Bizarre_1-Minute_Press_Briefing,_Trump_Takes_Credit_for
Stock_Market_Gains **
# ** Despite_the_CDC’s_Eviction_Ban,_Thousands_of_Tenants_Are
Losing_Their_Homes **
On the first of September, the Centers for Disease
Control issued a moratorium on evictions to curb
the spread of Covid-19. But the moratorium, which
applies only to qualifying tenants through the end
of the year, is riddled with loopholes and has been
ineffectively enforced. Thousands of tenants have
been evicted despite the ban.
# ** Payments_Startup_Stripe_in_Talks_for_Funding_at_$70
Billion_Valuation_or_More **
Private financial technology business Stripe Inc.
is in talks to raise a new funding round valuing it
higher than its last private valuation of $36
billion, according to people familiar with the
matter.
The valuation being discussed could be more than
$70 billion or significantly higher, at as much as
$100 billion, said one of the people, who asked not
be identified because the matter is private. That
would make it currently the most valuable venture-
backed startup in the U.S., according to CB
Insights.
o **** AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics ****
# ** Trump_Lost_the_Election,_But_He_Is_Still_Doing_Terrible
Damage **
# ** Trump_camp_says_Michigan_election_hearing_next_week;
lawmakers_say_no **
While the Trump campaign is encouraged to submit
written testimony, Michigan lawmakers say the
hearing the campaign announced is not happening.
# ** On_to_the_Inauguration,_Please **
So many questions. So many unknowns. To take the
pulse of the country, I took the pulse of a small
group of intellectuals. What was Trump going to do,
I wanted to know. I heard a wide range of views,
though almost everyone I asked said, “Your guess is
as good as mine.” Nobody I talked to— all of them
white, relatively well off and male— saw what we
used to call “the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Or, if there was a light it wasn’t all that bright.
One professor, an expert on the American war
machine, suggested that Trump might well launch a
military attack on Iran. “Yuk, it’s a scary time,”
he emailed.”I worry that Trump will refuse to leave
office and provoke a civil war.” An East Coast
historian who has written a lot about the American
Civil War, has, for months, urged friends to calm
down and de escalate their rhetoric. That historian
wrote, “I think a lot of what Trump is doing is
bluster. I can’t really see what he can actually do
to stay in office.”
# ** Time_for_Democrats_to_Drain_the_Real_Swamp **
Even in defeat, President Trump’s villainies
command the spotlight. Speculation is rife over
whether the Biden administration or the various
state and local criminal investigations in New York
will lead to prosecutions of Trump himself on
everything from campaign finance violations (the
alleged bribes to his mistresses to keep silent
about Trump’s dalliances with them in 2016) to tax
fraud to obstruction of justice. President-elect
Joe Biden has stated that “”this is the time to
heal,” suggesting that he’ll leave the pursuit of
Trump to others. But for the country to heal, one
critical remedy is to rebuild trust in government
and pride in public service. And that will require
putting the spotlight on how the Trump
administration systematically traduced our
government.
# ** Is_Trump’s_No_Concession_Endgame_a_“Stab-in-the-Back”
Gambit_Which_Helped_Bring_the_Nazis_to_Power? **
The post-World War I claim in Germany was as big a
lie as the American “Biden stole the election”
claim, but it came to be believed by a sizable
proportion of the German population and helped lead
to the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
# ** Following_Outcry,_US_Government_Halts_Deportations_of
Women_Who_Allege_Medical_Abuse_in_ICE_Detention—At_Least_for
Now **
“ICE and others at Irwin thought they could silence
these women… But the women have organized and had
the audacity to speak out.”
# ** Progressives_Say_Any_Cabinet_Post_for_Rahm_Emanuel_Is
Unacceptable **
# ** Get_Ready_for_Donald_Trump’s_Shadow_Government—via_Twitter
and_Fox_News **
Other Republicans, in fear of the wrath of Trump’s
supporters, will obstruct Joe Biden at ever.
# ** Trump’s_End_Game **
President Jimmy Carter
My interest in other presidents became more
serious, starting with Jimmy Carter when I joined
the US EPA in 1979. Carter reviewed agriculture
and, probably, he might have favored a sustainable
version of family farming. He was amenable to
change, like preparing the country to face global
warming.
# ** How_Should_Former_Presidents_Behave? **
The question is particularly pertinent as
speculation abounds about Donald Trump’s future,
assuming that he will no longer be in office after
January 20, 2021. Apparently, he is already
collecting money to be used for a second
presidential run in 2024. There are also rumors
that he will be trying to start a media platform to
compete with his former sycophants at Fox News. One
can only hope that the New York State Attorney
General and Manhattan District Attorney will take
up some of Trump’s future time by dragging him into
court for various financial sleights of hand. And,
we shouldn’t forget, he does have hundreds of
millions of dollars in outstanding personal debts
that have to be paid off before 2024.
There has been no mention for the moment of a Trump
presidential library. Perhaps at Mar-a-Lago next to
the 18th green? Also, surprisingly, there seems
little publisher interest in his memoirs, perhaps
because a compendium of his tweets would not be
marketable or all potential collaborators are
afraid of sullying their careers. But, after all,
The Art of the Deal did sell 650,000 copies. The
New York Times refers to several publishing
executives who warn that “publishing Mr. Trump
could be perilous…and that the possibilities of
boycotts, libel lawsuits and social media campaigns
outweighed the obvious financial benefits.” Also,
as one top publisher commented; “We’d want to know
that he would be willing to be edited and submit to
a rigorous fact-checking process.”
# ** Election_2020:_a_Democratic_Mandate_or_a_Vote_Against
Trump? **
The questions that arise now are simple enough:
what caused Trump to lose the election, and to what
extent did Americans vote for Biden, as opposed to
voting against Trump? Answers to these questions
emerge from a careful examination of pre-election
polling and Edison’s national exit polling, the
latter of which surveyed both in-person and mail-
in/absentee voters to collect information on
voters’ demographic backgrounds and their political
and economic motivations. What we find is that mass
anger at racial injustice, the disaster of Covid-
19, and the depressed economy that accompanied it,
were all chief difference makers in the election
outcome.
Continuity with Previous Elections
# ** How_to_Lose_Friends_and_Not_Influence_the_Election_Results
**
Support independent cartooning: join Sparky’s
List—and don’t forget to visit TT’s Emporium of
Fun, featuring the new book and plush Sparky!
# ** The_GOP:_Grotesque,_Outrageous_Putschists **
# ** Rudy_Giuliani_Went_to_Court_and_Made_a_Compelling
Argument—for_His_Own_Disbarment **
Federal Judge Matthew Brann dismissed Donald
Trump’s over-the-top challenge to Pennsylvania’s
election results with a withering rebuke to
arguments made by the leader of defeated
president’s legal team: “This claim, like
Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly
stitched together.” Then the judge, a former
Republican Party operative whose biography
identifies him as a member of the conservative
Federalist Society, let rip.
# ** Birds_Of_A_Feather:_Lame_Duck_Pardons_Turkey_And
Everything’s_Fine_Here_Why_Do_You_Ask? **
# ** How_Biden_Can_‘Build_Back_Better’_With_or_Without_the
Senate **
In 2008, as the economy was in free fall,
Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama worked
together with their secretaries of the Treasury,
the chair of the Federal Reserve, and the president
of the New York Federal Reserve and created one of
the largest financing schemes in the history of the
United States to prevent total economic meltdown.
Part of this was the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
the $700 billion package that Congress passed in
response to the financial crisis. But the
overwhelmingly greater part of this plan used the
Fed to lend out somewhere between $7 trillion and
$29 trillion in near-zero-interest loans directly
to banks to keep them afloat. While this worked to
save our banking system and avoid the worst
possible disaster, the plan neglected to invest in
rebuilding the real economy. As a result, Americans
saw a grueling, decade-long recovery—if they saw
any recovery at all.
# ** Unforgetting:_Confronting_El_Salvador’s—and_My
Family’s—Past **
As a young man, I joined a guerrilla insurgency and
went to war, but I didn’t really know why I did so.
Just six years after the Vietnam War ended, my
family and all other Salvadorans started facing the
profound consequences of the Reagan
administration’s decision to begin spending
billions of dollars to bolster the universally
condemned Salvadoran government and military in
their war against the leftist guerrillas of the
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front. The FMLN
was the Salvadoran embodiment of what Reagan
referred to as the “evil empire” of communism. By
the end of the war, some 80,000 people had been
killed in a country of just over 5 million that’s
the size of Massachusetts. Most of the innocents
were slaughtered by their own government, according
to the United Nations and international human
rights groups.1This article is excerpted from
Roberto Lovato’s Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family,
Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas
(Harper).
# ** Trump_Scheduled_to_Meet_Devil_at_Manhattan_Crossroads **
Washington, November 24: Mephistopheles, the prince
of darkness, announced today through his press
spokesperson, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that he would
meet on Thursday “with his old friend” President
Trump and return to him his soul. The transfer is
expected to take place at noon at the intersection
of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in the shadow of
Trump Tower. The event will be observed by a small
audience, selected by the Devil from among Trump’s
most fervid supporters. Mephistopheles is expected
to wear red, Trump orange.
The Devil has been in possession of Trump’s soul
since 1973, when he met the young real estate heir
through their mutual friend, attorney Roy Cohn,
described by one colleague as “pure evil.” It’s not
known what Trump was paid at the time and there is
no record of the transaction in the president’s tax
returns, recently published by The New York Times.
But it’s likely that profits from the sale –
dispersed over many years — were offset for tax
purposes by losses from Trump’s Atlantic City
casinos, Doral Country Club and multiple golf
courses in the U.S. and Scotland.
# ** When_They_Had_to_Kill_the_King._Learnings_for_the_Post-
Trump_Age. **
The U.S. will never be at peace so long as Trump is
free to create mischief and mayhem. He needs to
prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
# ** Activist_expelled_from_university_over_‘crucifixion’
protest_outside_FSB_building_in_Moscow **
The disciplinary commission at People’s Friendship
University of Russia (RUDN) has decided to expel
activist Pavel Krisevich from its Economics Faculty
over a performance protest he staged outside of
the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in
Moscow’s Lubyanka Square.
# ** ‘Shameful_and_Concerning_He_Is_Even_Being_Considered,’
Says_AOC_as_Rahm_Emanuel_Floated_for_Role_in_Biden_Cabinet **
“The thing about covering up the murder of Laquan
McDonald is that it disqualifies you from holding
any type of public office. Forever,” said Rep.-
elect Cori Bush.
# ** Latinx_Voting_Surge_Boosted_Biden’s_Victory—but_That’s_Not
the_Story_Corporate_Media_Want_to_Tell **
# ** ‘Closest_Thing_to_a_Concession’_Trump_Could_Muster,_Say
Observers_as_GSA_Approves_Biden_Transition_After_Weeks_of
Delay **
“It should not have taken the ire of Congress and
the American public to convince Administrator
Murphy to do the right thing.”
# ** Donald_‘I_Concede_NOTHING!’_Trump_Retweets_Utterly
Unhinged_Randy_Quaid **
In one tweet thanking the actor, the president says
he’s “working hard to clean up the stench of the
2020 Election Hoax!”
# ** As_Feinstein_Steps_Down_as_Top_Judiciary_Democrat,_Sunrise
Movement_Demands_She_Go_One_Step_Further:_‘Resign’ **
“Feinstein lost all credibility when she showed she
was more willing to treat with contempt 11-year-old
climate activists demanding a livable future in her
office, than the Supreme Court nominee who refused
to say whether she would uphold the laws that would
give that future a fighting chance.”
# ** Trump_Hints_of_“Big_Lawsuit”_Even_as_He_Greenlights
Transition_Process_for_Biden **
# ** Sanction_Trump’s_Election_Lawyers—Now! **
That didn’t stop the Trump campaign from declaring
victory and saying the quiet part out loud: It had
dropped the lawsuit because it had succeeded in its
goal of delaying certification of the election
results. Rudolph Giuliani, who appears to be
leading this coup d’imbécile, spoke for the
campaign even though he did not personally
represent it in the Michigan case. He said the goal
of Trump’s lawsuit had been “to prevent the Wayne
County election from being certified prematurely
before residents can be sure that all legal votes
were counted and all illegal votes were not
counted.”
This statement is effectively an acknowledgment of
a violation of legal ethics that is sanctionable
under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. It is an admission that the team’s legal
arguments in court were not designed to achieve
victory but only to delay the completion of the
process entrusted to the Board of Canvassers.
Having achieved that mere delay, by a matter of
hours (and not an actual injunction), the legal
team withdrew its lawsuit and claimed “victory.” It
shows that the lawsuit was a ploy and not a valid
legal argument.
Lawyers are not supposed to bring lawsuits that are
merely designed to cause a delay in the normal
operation of law. They’re not supposed to bring
lawsuits that are frivolous and have no legal
rationale. The Federal Rules anticipate the
possibility of an attorney doing exactly what
Giuliani has admitted the Trump campaign is doing
and authorize judges to punish attorneys who do it.
# ** The_Route_to_Independence_Leads_Through_Oban **
o **** Censorship/Free Speech ****
# ** Will_Parler_Users_Treat_Its_‘Glitch’_That_Hid_Georgia
Election_Content_The_Same_Way_They_Treated_A_Twitter_Glitch?
**
It’s been absolutely fascinating — though not at
all surprising — to watch a ton of Trumpists
mentally struggling with the process of
understanding the nature, importance, and necessity
of content moderation online over the last few
months via Parler. As you may recall, after whining
about being moderated on sites like Twitter and
Facebook, a bunch of Trump fans started using
Parler, a site that was only recently revealed to
have been cofounded by Rebekah Mercer (Parler fans
like to claim that their users are migrating from
Twitter to Parler, but most of them are still using
Twitter, because Parler is mostly them preaching to
the converted).
o **** Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press ****
# ** The_assassination_of_a_‘Brave_Journalist_of_Afghanistan’
**
Dayee, who was 33, was born and raised in Helmand
and spent his working life covering the ebb and
flow of violence between the military and the
Taliban. In the months leading up to his death, the
violence had been flowing. Even as peace talks got
under way thousands of miles away in Qatar, with
the aim of ending the war, Afghanistan was
experiencing a surge in assassinations of people in
public life.
# ** Google’s_Vint_Cerf_takes_up_cudgels_for_company_over_news
media_code **
Australian news businesses that are arguing for a
news media code to ensure that digital platforms
pay for their content are trying to turn back time
and make the Internet much less open and its
business models less diverse, the Internet pioneer
Vint Cerf, a Google vice-president and Internet
Evangelist, claims.
o **** Civil Rights/Policing ****
# ** Another_Drug_Lab_Scandal_—_One_That_Took_Kids_From_Their
Parents_—_Ends_In_Prison_Time **
Another horror story involving the government and a
drug-testing lab is finally coming to a close. And
the owner of the drug lab is going to jail.
# ** Juan_González_Remembers_NYC’s_Only_Black_Mayor_David
Dinkins_&_Vieques_Activist_Carlos_“Taso”_Zenón **
We speak with Democracy Now! co-host Juan González
about the deaths of two leading figures he reported
on: New York City Mayor David Dinkins and beloved
Puerto Rican social leader Carlos “Taso” Zenón.
“Most people forget [Dinkins] was a Democratic
Socialist before democratic socialism was in
vogue,” notes González. He also recalls how Dinkins
backed the movement against apartheid in South
Africa, ordering the city to divest its pension
fund from companies doing business there, and
brought Nelson Mandela to the city right after he
was freed. González also recalls how Zenón was a
longtime activist who for decades led the fight
against the U.S. Navy’s occupation of the island of
Vieques, his hometown, where the U.S. government
tested weapons and held military training
exercises.
# ** ‘Brutal_and_Shocking’:_Outrage_After_Paris_Police
Violently_Evict_Hundreds_of_Migrants_From_Tent_Encampment **
“To think that we will solve a social problem with
police batons is totally delusional,” said the
mayor’s advisor on housing and refugee protection.
# ** As_2020_Sets_Grim_Record_for_Trans_Killings,_Advocates
Call_for_Holistic_&_Uplifting_Media_Coverage **
At least 37 transgender and gender nonconforming
people were violently killed in 2020, making it the
deadliest year for trans and gender nonconforming
people on record, according to a new Human Rights
Campaign report. Of those killed, 22 were Black,
and seven were Latinx. More than 200 trans and
gender nonconforming people have lost their lives
to violence since 2013, when HRC began recording
and reporting violence toward trans people. The
media often perpetuates systemic discrimination by
covering trans and gender nonconforming people
“when we’re celebrities or when we’re dead,” says
Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for
the Transgender Justice Initiative at the Human
Rights Campaign, noting that the true number of
deaths is likely much higher. “It is important that
the media counteract some of the negative imagery
around us by telling stories that uplift our
community, that provide a more holistic view of who
we are.”
# ** Demanding_Reversal_of_Trump_Cruelty,_Immigrant_Rights
Groups_Welcome_Biden_Pick_of_Mayorkas_for_DHS_Secretary **
The former director of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services was a key architect of the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and
also expanded fee waivers for naturalization and
immigration applications.
# ** Two_women_detained_by_border_agents_for_speaking_Spanish
settle_with_agency **
In a press release, the ACLU of Montana said that
Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez had reached an
undisclosed settlement with the agency while adding
that local backlash surrounding the case had forced
the two to move from Havre, Montana, where the
incident occurred in May 2018.
# ** Russian_state_investigators_announce_raids_on_Jehovah’s
Witnesses_across_the_country **
On Tuesday, November 24, the Russian Investigative
Committee announced that it is carrying out
searches targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow,
as well as in more than 20 other regions across the
country.
o **** Internet Policy/Net Neutrality ****
# ** Comcast_Expands_Its_Bullshit_Usage_Caps…In_The_Middle_Of_A
Pandemic **
Contrary to what some try to claim, broadband usage
caps have always been bullshit. They serve
absolutely no technical function, do not help
manage congestion, and exist exclusively to nickel-
and-dime captive customers in monopolized U.S.
markets. Worse, they can be used by incumbent ISPs
anticompetitively to hamstring competitors in the
streaming video and other markets.
o **** Digital Restrictions (DRM) ****
# ** Let’s_Stand_Up_for_Home_Hacking_and_Repair **
Let’s tell the Copyright Office that it’s not a
crime to modify or repair your own devices.
Every three years, the Copyright Office holds a
rulemaking process where it grants the public
permission to bypass digital locks for lawful
purposes. In 2018, the Office expanded existing
protections for jailbreaking and modifying your own
devices to include voice-activated home assistants
like Amazon Echo and Google Home, but fell far
short of the broad allowance for all computerized
devices that we’d asked for. So we’re asking for a
similar exemption, but we need your input to make
the best case possible: if you use a device with
onboard software and DRM keeps you from repairing
that device or modifying the software to suit your
purposes, see below for information about how to
tell us your story.
GitHub recently reinstated the repository for
youtube-dl, a popular free software tool for
downloading videos from YouTube and other user-
uploaded video platforms. GitHub had taken down the
repository last month after the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) abused the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act’s notice-and-takedown
procedure to pressure…
Next time you hear someone blame Section 230 for a
problem with social media platforms, ask yourself
two questions: first, was this problem actually
caused by Section 230? Second, would weakening
Section 230 solve the problem? Politicians and
commentators on both sides of the aisle frequently
blame Section 230 for…
Today EFF is launching How to Fix the Internet, a
new podcast mini-series to examine potential
solutions to six ills facing the modern digital
landscape. Over the course of 6 episodes, we’ll
consider how current tech policy isn’t working well
for users and invite experts to join us in
imagining…
# ** Podcast_Episode:_Control_Over_Users,_Competitors,_and
Critics **
Cory Doctorow joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny
O’Brien as they discuss how large, established tech
companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook can
block interoperability in order to squelch
competition and control their users, and how we can
fix this by taking away big companies’ legal right
to block new tools that connect to their platforms
– tools that would let users control their digital
lives.
o **** Monopolies ****
# ** Mine,_Mine,_Mine!_Nintendo_Neuters_The_Cool_Ways_People,
Groups_Are_Using_‘Animal_Crossing’ **
To be honest, Animal Crossing was always going to
be a hit. It’s just the perfect distillation of the
Nintendo experience: a cutesy social experience
couched in harmless video game fun. Still, one
unanticipated side effect of the global COVID-19
pandemic was how plenty of people and groups turned
to the game for new and innovative ways of
connecting with others. Examples abound, including
players building a real-world economy around the
game’s resources, TV stars plying a version of
their trade in the game, protests and social
movements springing up in the game’s world, and
even the use of the game as part of the
presidential election campaign. Mostly absent was
any pushback from the gaming community. Instead,
these few instances of crossover from real world to
gaming world appeared to simply show the power of
what Nintendo had created: an open and innovative
gaming experience based on community and unbridled
social interaction.
# **** Patents ****
# ** FOSS_Patents:_European_Commission’s_Action_Plan_on
Intellectual_Property_deemphasizes_automotive_industry
concerns,_prioritizes_upload_filters **
Today the European Commission formally
adopted and announced its Action Plan on
Intellectual Property (“IP Action Plan”).
A near-final draft of the document already
leaked last week and generated some media
attention. I elected to wait for the final
document (also because I’m very busy with the
impending launch of my iOS and Android game).
Given that some significant changes have been
made, I’m glad I did hold off.
[...]
The fact that the Commission deemphasizes the
automotive industry’s SEP issues may be
attributable to the immense lobbying
firepower and persistent, highly professional
efforts by major SEP holders such as Nokia
and Ericsson, which is not a conspiracy
theory but based in fact (and would serve to
explain the repeated postponement of the
publication of this document). The automotive
industry’s lobbying departments are basically
one-trick ponies that only know about
emissions standards and similar topics. Those
organizations may need another decade or two
before they figure out IP policy.
I actually doubt that the automotive industry
would have had to expect anything positive to
come out from the Commission’s DG GROW
(formerly called DG MARKT) “brokering” an
agreement between the automotive sector and
major SEP holders. That’s because the
commissioner in charge of DG GROW, Thierry
Breton, is totally in the tank for Nokia and
Ericsson, even up to the point where he
describes fake news as “a fact! A fact! It is
a fact!”.
[...]
The IP Action Plan is per se underwhelming
and unspecific, but that doesn’t mean that
the initiatives it outlines as potential
measures couldn’t be impactful in the
end–possibly even with respect to SEPs. We’ll
have to stay tuned.
# ** Compulsory_licensing:_you_said_“taboo”? [Ed:
Blackmail or extortion with #patents euphemised as
"Compulsory licensing"] **
1. In his 1913 essay Totem und Taboo, Freud
defined taboo as a prohibition related to
what is considered sacred or impure. The
famous psychoanalyst insists on the
irrationality of the phenomenon. Thus,
compulsory licensing, which is often seen as
an impure danger, seems to be a kind of taboo
for intellectual property specialists. But
the numerous research studies related to
COVID-19 and the need to be ready for
eventual health crisis of this type in the
future invite us to try to (re)examine the
question rationally: what is the real nature
of the compulsory license?
[...]
6. Finally, the ex officio license seems to
be able to serve as an economic lever for
States, more particularly by helping them to
encourage patented producers to relocate
manufacturing to their territories and to
lower prices. Thus, patent law could be a key
to addressing the crisis as research for
treatments and vaccines is in full swing.
More generally, this crisis could lead to a
strengthening of the geopolitical and
economic roles of intellectual property,
provided there is no misunderstanding about
its purpose: it is definitely a tool to
foster innovation and growth, but also a tool
directed towards the society and not only
towards the interest of its holder[21]. And,
if they refuse to understand this, the rights
holders, instead of seeing their prerogatives
simply limited, risk expropriations, as has
already and notably been proposed by some in
France and decided upon in Germany.
# ** Researchers_and_European_Patent_Office_Team_Up_to
Fight_COVID-19 [Ed: This is pure propaganda because
granting monopolies does nothing towards fighting a
virus; but the EPO wants exploit a crisis to do lots of
evil things and be seen as heroic] **
# ** Ferring_B.V._v._Allergan,_Inc._(Fed._Cir._2020) **
The Federal Circuit has taken the occasion,
in appeals from the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board as well as district courts, to remand
judgments whenever the Court believes that
the record below is devoid of sufficient
detail to properly assess the correctness of
the decisions made below (see “Merck Sharp &
Dohme Corp. v. Wyeth LLC (Fed. Cir. 2019)”
and “NeuroGrafix v. Brainlab, Inc. (Fed. Cir.
2019)”). Recently, the Court took advantage
of another opportunity to remind a district
court of the need to provide ample factual
bases for its decisions and avoid a “rush to
judgment,” in Ferring B.V. v. Allergan, Inc.
The case involved the claims to patent
ownership of a former consultant, Seymour
Fein, for Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Fein
was a consultant for Ferring Pharmaceuticals
for a little less than four years, until
Ferring terminated his consulting agreement
in November 2002. During his contract,
employment Mr. Fein was involved in a project
involving desmopressin, a synthetic analog of
naturally occurring arginine vasopressin that
is a hormone related to water retention in
humans. In particular, desmopressin was used
to treat sleep disruption caused by nocturia.
The compound had low bioavailability and a
large range of absorption, and it was thought
that increasing desmopressin doses (to reduce
these aspects of use of the drug) could pose
a safety issue. A study performed by Ferring
scientists starting in October 2000 supported
the use of low doses and plasma
concentrations of desmopressin as a
clinically effective nocturia treatment.
However, the drug was also accompanied by
hyponatremia (low blood sodium ion
concentration), which can be life-
threatening, and Mr. Fein was asked to
consult on this problem as part of his
consulting duties. According to the opinion
Mr. Fein suggested using low doses of
desmopressin formulated “in a waterless
orodispersible form (a ‘melt’) [and
administered] sublingually through the
mucosal membranes of the mouth” as a solution
to the problem. When tested, such a
formulation showed double the bioavailability
of previously marketed forms of the drug.
Clinical trials and a patent application
filing by Ferring followed (but this
application named no inventors). Thereafter,
Mr. Fein was not further involved with
development of these formulations of the
drug. Instead, he was tasked with overseeing
(until Ferring cancelled his consulting
agreement) an intravenous desmopressin
administration study, where he suggested
improvements that permitted a greater weight
range of participants. When Ferring filed a
PCT application claiming priority to the
initial application, Mr. Fein was named as an
inventor but his contract with Ferring was
terminated shortly thereafter.
[...]
Finally, the Federal Circuit addressed the
issue of unclean hands. Being an equitable
remedy, defendants’ assertion of equitable
estoppel requires their own conduct to be
without reproach. In this case, Ferring
contended that “the district court erred by
ignoring evidence that Fein intentionally and
deliberately copied Ferring’s . . . clinical
study protocol for use in his own clinical
studies.” Ferring asserted several bases for
its unclean hands allegations that the panel
did not specifically address. However, the
opinion notes that for some of these
arguments and evidence supporting them there
was no discussion in the record and thus “[we
have] no basis to infer that the district
court considered Ferring’s evidence” in this
regard, which the Court found was another
abuse of discretion. The Court accordingly
left correction of these errors to the
District Court on remand.
# **** Software Patents ****
# ** Changes_Reducing_IPR_Institution_Rate_Have
Increased_Litigation_Frequency_and_Cost **
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s
precedential opinions on discretionary
denial are the subject of significant
attention—a withdrawn attempt by the
Trump Administration to codify
discretionary denial as a rule, a
request for comments on rulemaking by
the Office, and a challenge to the
practice of discretionary denial as
illegal under the Administrative
Procedure Act.
The attention is deserved.
Fundamentally, discretionary denial has
harmed the patent ecosystem, reversing
the positive changes observed in patent
litigation frequency and cost. The
changes even appear to have increased
the cost of IPR itself. Using cost data
from AIPLA’s Report of the Economic
Survey, decision analysis from Unified
Patents, and statistical data from the
PTO itself, the following charts show a
clear correlation of the implementation
of discretionary denial and these
negative impacts on the patent system.
[...]
In other words, after the PTO made the
discretionary denial opinions
precedential, innovators were more
likely to face patent lawsuits, less
likely to be able to use the IPR
process as a meaningful defense, and
the total cost of defending
themselves—both in court and at the
PTAB—increased significantly.
It’s also increased the costs for
patent owners, who face a more
expensive set of proceedings at the
Patent Office and more expensive
litigation overall. While a
discretionary denial might save them
money at the Patent Office, it doesn’t
provide a petitioner with any reason to
back away from their invalidity
theory—in fact, in cases like the
recent Philip Morris IPRs, the
petitioner might even be more likely to
fight invalidity in court given the
panel’s statement that their merits
case was particularly strong. And
without a reason to back away,
petitioners are more likely to fight in
court, increasing overall costs for
patent owners.
Cui Bono?
So who actually wins here?
Innovators—plaintiffs and defendants
alike—are forced to spend more on less
consistent proceedings, taking money
away from their R&D efforts.The chief
winners are patent lawyers and law
firms, like Irell & Manella, Director
Iancu’s former firm, which will have
more trials to litigate, leading to
more billable hours, and the patent
trolls, like prolific filer Fortress
Investment Group—represented by Irell &
Manella in manycases—who receive higher
value settlements when litigation costs
increase.
# **** Copyrights ****
# ** Anti-Piracy_Coalition_Seeks_Powerful_New_Tools_To
Tackle_IPTV_Piracy_in_the_EU **
The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance, which
counts major TV broadcasters, sports
rightsholders, and content security companies
among its members, is seeking enhanced anti-
piracy tools from the European Union. These
include real-time stream takedown tools,
toughened repeat-infringer policies, plus
‘take down means stay down’ measures.
# ** Twitter_Under_Fire_for_Refusal_to_Attend_Senate’s
Anti-Piracy_Hearing **
US Senator Thom Tillis is incredibly
disappointed that Twitter declined his invite
to testify at a subcommittee hearing to
discuss how online piracy can be tackled
through voluntary agreements. In a letter
sent to CEO Jack Dorsey, the senator
criticizes the company’s track record,
suggesting that “Twitter simply does not take
copyright piracy seriously.”
# ** The_Broadcasting_Act_Blunder,_Day_Four:_Why_Many
News_Sites_Are_Captured_by_Bill_C-10 **
The potential scope of news sites regulation
is vast, covering everything from the Rebel
(which sells video subscriptions) to podcast
networks like Canadaland. The law also
applies to foreign sites, raising the
possibility that sites with considerable
audio and video and significant Canadian
subscribers such as New York Times could be
captured as well. As with economic
thresholds, it will be open to the CRTC to
decide what obligations online undertakings
should face with regard to news or to
potentially exempt some of these services.
However, as it stands now, Guilbeault is
incorrect when he claims that Bill C-10
excludes news since the bill opens the door
to regulation and creates uncertainty by
leaving it to the CRTC to determine precisely
what regulatory obligations or exemptions
might apply.
# ** What_happens_when_a_virtual_streamer_doesn’t_own_her
body? **
Projekt Melody swears her body belongs to her
— the purple hair, the cat-eared bow, and all
the barely there clothing that strategically
covers her up. She commissioned it from an
artist for $5,000 and even kept the receipts
as proof. And for her thousands of fans on
Twitch, this is what they see when she
streams herself playing Minecraft, watching
movies, or just sitting around chatting in
her room.
It wasn’t until this month that she ran into
a problem: the artist, alleging that Melody
owed him money, filed a copyright complaint
claiming that she didn’t actually own her
body — he did. Melody was banned from Twitch.
# ** Inconceivable:_TikToker_Who_Made_Paint_Mixing_Very,
Very_Cool…_Is_Fired_From_Sherwin-Williams_For_Doing_So
**
TikTok remains a somewhat fascinating service
to me, as different people experiment with
using it to express all sorts of things in
ways that are unexpected and often
delightful. A couple months ago I discovered
that there appears to be an entire genre of
TikTokers creating videos about… mixing paint
colors. I know… I know. At first that sounds
insane. Who could possibly want to watch
that? But some of them are truly amazing, as
first noted by reporter Rebecca Jennings who
tweeted about her discovery of Christian
Hull, an Australian TikToker whose videos of
him watching paint mixing videos and trying
to guess what color the eventual mix will be
is just so insanely joyful and addicting.
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