Links 12/10/2023: EDRI on Privacy, Unpacking California's SB 244 – the “Right to Repair Act”
Contents
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Leftovers
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Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ COM-HPC 1.2 specification released with COM-HPC Mini 95x70mm form factor
PICMG has announced the release of the COM-HPC 1.2 specification adding the COM-HPC Mini form factor that’s about the size of a credit card (90x75mm) or half the size of the next-smallest COM-HPC form factor but still provides access to high-speed interfaces such as PCIe Gen5, USB4, and 10GbE. The COM-HPC “High-Performance Computing” form factor was introduced a few years ago for more powerful CPUs (higher TDP) with support for PCIe Gen4 (the COM Express form factor can’t handle PCIe Gen 4 clock speeds and throughputs well), and until now four sizes were available with COM-HPC Client Type modules measuring 95 x 120mm (Size A) to 160 x 120mm (Size C) and Server Type modules having either 160 x 160mm (Size D) or 200 x 160mm (Size E) dimensions.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Russia Aims to Mass Produce 28nm Chips by 2027, 14nm by 2030
Russian ministry re-emphasizes ambitious semiconductor roadmap.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Reason ☛ California Quietly Repeals Restrictions on Doctors' COVID-19 Advice
Several federal judges had expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of penalizing physicians for departing from a government-defined "consensus."
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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EDRI ☛ #PrivacyCamp24: Call for Panels
The 12th edition of Privacy Camp will take place on 24 January 2024. For this edition, we invite you to explore the theme ‘Revealing, Rethinking and Changing Systems’.
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EDRI ☛ The UK data bridge: a sneak peek at the UK privacy race to the bottom to come
The UK extension to the EU – US Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework will come into force on 12 October. Its adoption provides a sneak peek at the future of UK international data transfers, and the erosion of essential guarantees against surveillance measures that the UK data protection reform would bring.
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Latvia ☛ Latvian e-health will no longer be accessible via internet banking
As of January 1, 2024, both residents and medical workers will be able to connect to the eHealth portal eveseliba.gov.lv only by using their electronic signature (eParaksts) or eID card – it will no longer be possible to use Internet banking as verification to connect to the system, the National Health Service (NVD) said in a statement October 11.
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Defence/Aggression
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The Trace ☛ Why Are Shootings Plummeting in New Orleans?
Gun violence is falling nationwide, but the decline in New Orleans is even more pronounced. Community leaders and public health officials want to get the numbers down further.
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The Strategist ☛ Saudi Arabia and Russia have the West over a barrel
At a time when the world is struggling to cope with high inflation, the rising cost of living [...]
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ Response to braverman
ORG has responded to Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s letter to Chief Constables in England and Wales on the police response to the harassment of Jewish people in the UK following the Hamas attack on Israel at the weekend.
[...]
Clause 9 of the Online Safety Bill places a duty on online platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, to prevent users from encountering certain “illegal content”, which includes a wide range of terrorism offences in Schedule 5 and other offences specified in Schedule 7, which can be easily widened.
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Off Guardian ☛ Israel-Hamas “war” – another excuse to shut down free speech
As a brand new war-narrative unfolds, there’s already efforts underway to parlay the conflict into tighter controls on free speech and freedom of expression, both in person and on the internet.
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New York Times ☛ Syrian Torture Hearing Begins in International Court
The International Court of Justice, in a case brought by Canada and the Netherlands, will determine whether President Bashar al-Assad violated the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
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France24 ☛ Zelensky accuses Russia of supporting Hamas operations in Israel
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Moscow of supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in its war against Israel. This came after the president travelled to Romania for the first time since Russia's invasion to speak to President Klaus Iohannis about artillery and air defence supplies.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Zelensky making first visit to NATO headquarters since invasion, alliance says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday visits NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time since the Russian invasion, the military alliance said. Zelensky was in Romania on Tuesday for talks with President Klaus Iohannis about security and grain exports.
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RFERL ☛ With Zelenskiy At NATO HQ, U.S. Announces Fresh $200 Million Military Aid Package For Ukraine
The United States said it would give Ukraine a new military aid package worth $200 million as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy traveled to NATO's headquarters in Belgium to press for more support for his war-ravaged country ahead of the onset of the cold season.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine’s Zelensky Makes Surprise Visit to NATO HQ in Brussels
The surprise appearance by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine came as much of the West has turned its focus to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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France24 ☛ Slovakia’s Fico signs coalition deal with far-right parties
A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country's military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a deal Wednesday with two other parties to form a coalition government.
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RFERL ☛ Slovakia's Fico, Who Campaigned Against Further Ukraine Aid, Strikes Deal To Form Government
Slovakia's former Prime Minister Robert Fico reached a deal on October 11 with center-left and nationalist parties to form a new government that is expected to scale back the country's support for Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ About 1,000 Ukrainians Seek Evacuation From Israel, Ambassador Says
Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel says about 1,000 Ukrainian citizens have turned to the Ukrainian Embassy in Tel Aviv asking for help to be evacuated to Ukraine to escape the war between Hamas and Israel.
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RFERL ☛ Bulgarian Prosecutors Charge Five Foreigners With Illegal Exports To Russian Units In Ukraine
Bulgarian prosecutors said on October 11 that five foreign citizens – three Russian nationals, a Belarusian national, and an Albanian national -- have been charged with participating in a criminal group that was illegally exporting goods for Russian units fighting in Ukraine.
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Latvia ☛ Mayor: Rīga can learn from Kyiv on providing bomb shelters
The mayor of Riga, Vilnis Ķirsis (New Unity), believes that Riga could receive advice from Kyiv about potentially providing bomb shelters for the population of the Latvian capital.
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RFERL ☛ Death Toll In Russia's Missile Strike On Ukrainian Grocery Store Rises To 55
The prosecutor's office in Ukraine's Kharkiv region said on October 11 that two more women had been identified among those killed in a Russian missile strike on a grocery store and cafe in the Kupyansk district last week, bringing the number of dead to 55.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Oligarchs Get Citizenship From Dominica To Evade Sanctions, Investigative Group Says
The Russian investigative group Proyekt (Project) said on October 11 that several Russian tycoons obtained citizenship from the Carribean island nation of Dominica to evade sanctions imposed on them by the West over their links to the Kremlin and Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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teleSUR ☛ Germany to Set Brigade in Lithuania to Strengthen NATO's Flank
The deployment is part of the Zeitenwende project, the execution of which was accelerated due to the Ukrainian conflict.
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YLE ☛ Finland sending 19th military aid package to Ukraine
The total value of defence aid delivered by Finland to Ukraine amounts to around 1.4 billion euros, according to defence minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP).
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New York Times ☛ ‘Always Under Fire’: On the Battlefield With Ukraine’s Elite Troops
Along a front stretching hundreds of miles, Ukraine’s forces are stuck in a daily grind punctuated by drone attacks, artillery strikes and eerily terrifying moments of silence.
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New York Times ☛ Russia Presses Assault Near Avdiivka in Southeast Ukraine
The intensifying push is one of Russia’s few offensive operations in months, as it tries to seize land in Ukrainian regions it claims to have already annexed.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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Atlantic Council ☛ A Ukrainian energy hub will help Europe’s clean transition
Ukraine can become an energy and minerals hub for European. Investing in Ukraine's renewable energy industry is vital for European decarbonization.
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YLE ☛ NBI: Cause of pipeline damage was likely mechanical, not an explosion
Finnish officials said they did not want to speculate about the possibility of Russian involvement in the incident.
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YLE ☛ HS: Russian cargo ship was near damaged pipeline all weekend
As Finland repairs the damaged gas pipeline and communications cable connecting Finland and Estonia, questions shroud the events of early Sunday morning in the Gulf of Finland.
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New York Times ☛ Natural Gas Prices Rise on Israel Concerns and Finland Pipeline Leak
Europe has largely disconnected from Russian gas supplies but remains heavily dependent on imported fuel, exposing it to unexpected disruptions.
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Finance
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Robert Reich ☛ From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating Itself?
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Atlantic Council ☛ The Gulf’s New De-Escalation Foreign Policy Among World Powers
Mohammed Baharoon joins us to discuss the shifting dynamics of Gulf countries’ foreign policies– which are increasingly seein the world order based on interconnectedness, not polarity.
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RFERL ☛ French Court Hands Russian Artist A Suspended Sentence Over Leaked Sex Video
A court in Paris has handed suspended six-month prison terms to Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky and his girlfriend for their roles in leaking a sex video that helped upend the Paris mayoral race and bring down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron in 2020.
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LRT ☛ Lithuania’s Šiaulių Bankas suspends card payments in Belarus
Lithuania’s Šiaulių Bankas is completely suspending card payments in Belarus as of October 11, the bank said. From September until now, payments were restricted in some retail outlets.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian ministry suggests longer residence permits for Belarusians
Lithuania’s Interior Ministry is proposing that Belarusians who cannot return home be issued longer-term residence permits. Instead of annually, they’d have to reapply for residence every three years.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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New York Times ☛ Smartphone Photos Are Getting Faker. Uh-Oh?
Google’s new $700 Pixel 8 lets you use artificial intelligence to add or remove elements from your images. It’s not clear we really need this.
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The Gray Zone ☛ Source of dubious ‘beheaded babies’ claim is Israeli settler leader who incited riots to ‘wipe out’ Palestinian village
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Federal News Network ☛ Russian authorities fine a human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine
Russian authorities imposed a fine of about $1,500 on a prominent human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine, the latest step in a relentless crackdown. Oleg Orlov, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, was convicted of “discrediting” the Russian military after his Facebook post denouncing the invasion. After invading Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin effectively outlawed any criticism of what it insisted on calling its “special military operation.” The authorities have used the law to target opposition figures, human rights activists and independent media.
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RFERL ☛ Veteran Russian Rights Defender Oleg Orlov Fined For 'Discrediting Armed Forces'
A Moscow court on October 11 ordered veteran human rights defender Oleg Orlov to pay a 150,000 ruble ($1,500) fine for the "repetitive discrediting of Russia's armed forces" involved in Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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The Kent Stater ☛ Letter to the editor: Banning books counteracts our freedom of speech
In today’s world, book banning has become a commonplace occurrence due to a misguided fear and dislike of otherness and discomfort. Books discussing the ideas of gender identity, sexual orientation, race and more have been put under siege because they invoke critical thinking and cause questioning of systems in our society.
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New York Times ☛ India Charges Novelist Arundhati Roy Over a 2010 Speech
The action against a Booker Prize winner was the latest in a growing crackdown on free expression by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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RFERL ☛ UN Finds Belarus's Incarceration Of RFE/RL Journalist A Violation Of International Law
The UN has found Belarus violated international human rights law by imprisoning Ihar Losik, concluding that the arrest and detention of the RFE/RL journalist were "based solely on his journalistic activity and his exercise of the freedoms of expression and of association.”
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Pioneer Press marks 175th anniversary with commemorative photo book
We'll be marking the occasion with a variety of special content and products over the next six months.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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RFERL ☛ Imprisoned Belarusian Activist Zmitser Dashkevich Begins New Trial
Zmitser Dashkevich, a noted Belarusian activist who was not released from prison in July after finishing an 18-month term he was handed for taking part in 2020 anti-government rallies, went on a new trial, this time on a charge of "blatant disobedience to the order of penitentiary guards."
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DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer) ☛ Gavin’s GULAG. California Passed Bill to Make it Easier to Mistreat the Mentally Ill.
Not happy with involuntary committal laws, the authoritarians did this with Second Amendment rights in recent years too while the allegedly “conservative” Supreme Court sat there and allowed yet another anti-Constitutional process play out.
There is, for sure, a lesser standard of justice in America for not just the mentally ill, but for anyone even accused of it by the State, and I would just like to go on record as thanking the Democrats for proving they’re even worse, again.
It wasn’t that long ago, that California (again), was at the Supreme Court trying to enforce a law making it a felony to bring homeless Americans into the State (they lost), and they’ve been in court constantly trying to make homelessness a crime, and the cities like San Francisco are the biggest disgrace in America on that issue.
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EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 11 October 2023
The autumn leaves have started to fall but not our spirits. We organised 180 civil society groups and eminent experts to call on governments to stop the use of facial recognition surveillance by police, authorities and private companies. We also mobilised 80 media, journalists, and human and digital rights organisations to urge MEPs to ban the use of spyware against journalists & so much more!
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Federal News Network ☛ The power dynamic in labor has shifted and pickets are seemingly everywhere. But for how long?
From auto production lines to Hollywood, the power of labor unions is back in the national spotlight. But despite historic strikes and record contract negotiations seen this year, there’s still a lot stacked against organizing today. Rates of union membership have been falling for decades. More than 35% of private sector workers, for example, had a union in 1953 compared with about 6% today. Experts point to changes in the U.S. economy, ample employer opposition and growing political partisanship seen in recent decades. And, under current federal and state labor laws, desires to organize can only go so far without policy change.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 5 jailed for up to 3 years and 1 month over false imprisonment of plainclothes police officer during 2019 protest
Five people have been jailed for up to 37 months for charges linked to their roles in the false imprisonment and beating of a plainclothes police officer in October 2019, during the height of the protests and unrest sparked by a since-axed extradition law.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Right to Repair ☛ Unpacking California
SB 244 – the “Right to Repair Act” is now law. Time to unpack the law and its implications:
The Right to Repair Act is grounded in the principle that when you buy something – its yours to use, fix, or resell as you like. Owning things is fundamentally different from rental. If we don’t have the option to choose whom we trust for hiring the service of repair, we aren’t truly owners.
California is a very big state, and by itself this law would have outside influence. But they are one of several laws already on the books with more to follow. Manufacturers will see more laws passed covering more equipment categories and possibly more limitations on details - such as how parts-pairing (aka VIN burning) can be accomplished or banned. States are the “innovators” of our system, and legislative innovation has just begun.
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Monopolies
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ Germany’s patent firms lead claimant actions at the UPC [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional, but JUVE took b ribes to lie about and promote this abomination. JUVE is now mostly a SPAM site/spamfarm for the firms that did this.]
In the initial start-up phase, many parties have already filed extensive lawsuits at the UPC, with many individual cases. These cases span a plethora of different industries and technical fields – the speculation that some sectors would not use the UPC in the beginning seems to be unfounded.
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ That Was Fast: WMG Fills Chief Digital Officer Vacancy With Carletta Higginson—Another Former YouTube Exec
Warner Music Group has announced Carletta Higginson is joining the company as Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Digital Officer. The move is effective October 16. Higginson comes aboard with media executive and music rights expertise, joining the WMG team after serving as the Global Head of Music Publishing at YouTube and Google Play.
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Press Gazette ☛ Publishers adapt to Twitter dropping headlines from story snippets
He said Musk’s latest update “means outlets will have to put more work into their preview pictures and thumbnail selection to keep the same levels of engagement as before. Expect more publications to take bespoke approaches – the FT is a good example of where it works well – and more pressure to be put on reporters to learn design tools like Canva and Photoshop.
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Ruben Schade ☛ Stop calling people “content creators”
This is a phrase that’s been getting under my skin of late. Summarising people’s creativity, love, and energy as content sounds innocuous, but it’s pretty cynical and demeaning if you think for more than a few seconds about it.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Hollywood and Netflix Flag 'Priority' Piracy Threats
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has submitted its latest overview of 'notorious' foreign piracy markets to the US Trade Representative. The Pirate Bay and other usual suspects secured entries and for the very first time, the MPA also highlights priority concerns; streaming site Fmovies, video hosting service DoodStream, plus IPTV software WHMCS Smarters.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Anti-Piracy Agency Credited With BitTorrent Victory, IPTV & Streaming Take on Both
French audiovisual/telecoms regulator/anti-piracy agency Arcom is being credited for the decline in BitTorrent-related piracy over the past 12 years. In 2010, eight million French pirates used the protocol but in 2022 that figure was down to just two million, a government report concludes. The challenge ahead is to suppress pirate IPTV and streaming sites, the latter of which coincidentally hit the mainstream roughly 12 years ago.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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Finally autumn
We're finally getting some autumn temperatures now. Though they're still temperatures some places would consider summer, it's now dry enough that the nights are notably cooler than the day, and the daytime highs are under 85F. Leaves are starting to turn, Halloween decorations are everywhere, and hickory nuts are falling.
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🔤SpellBinding: GILRYUT Wordo: SHIRE
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Should Autistic People be Held Accountable for Their Actions?
I want to address one of the biggest misunderstandings about autism and other mental health conditions, which I think can partially be blamed on the confusing nomenclature. In English, we say that a person "has" autism. This is a misleading verb for the context of mental health conditions because the idea of "having" something, in most contexts, implies that that which is had is separate from the haver. This leads to a conception of autism that I call "the ghost in the machine".
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Re: They Told Their Therapists Everything. Hackers Leaked It All
Vastaamo[1] ran the largest network of private mental health providers in Finland when it suffered a catastrophic data breach. A hacker group (or individual) got into the database, downloaded private notes from patient therapy sessions, and threatened to release them all unless paid a very large sum of money by the provider, later extorting then-current and former patients as well.
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New jorb
It’s no secret I think work sucks, but I actually... like this job? It’s easy and low stress, doesn’t leave me in pain after a whole shift, gives me plenty of opportunity to move around or sit around as preferred... Despite being customer-facing, it’s very introvert-friendly, too.
(I’m not going to say what my job *is* because between all the other things I’ve said about my personal life and where I live, that might just be enough info to dox me.)
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Science
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Harmonic Sequences
Sequences move the harmony around by a preset amounts, usually a pair intervals of opposite sign: plus five, minus four. This means the bass will leap up by a fifth, drop by a fourth, then repeat. There are not too many sequences given the limited intervals usually involved (2, 3, 4, 5) and not all sequences may be usable. Variation is possible by using 7ths instead of triads, or substituting some other chord that is "close enough". Some of the sequences do not "go anywhere" harmonically, which means you need to write a bunch of sequences, listen to them, and figure out if they're usable. And probably to review them now and again, as they can be useful tools to keep in mind.
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Technology and Free Software
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Re: Cloudflare Considered Harmful
I will never MitM my websites with Cloudflare. For one, there's no need for it. That I'm aware of, my site has never been DoSed and it gets on my nerves seeing websites use Cloudflare that don't need it. I often stumble across a website in Tor Browser that I can't access because of Cloudflare and think to myself "Is this website important enough to need Cloudflare? I doubt anyone has ever cared to DoS it." And second, as Hugo Landau points out, there are other ways to mitigate DoS that don't involve MitMing one's site and making it stochastically fail.
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Don't Use Ancestry Services
If you're not up-to-date on what happened, 23andMe[1] is a company that offers genetics testing which reveals ancestry and health information. Recently, they had a data breach with millions of sensitive customer records now being sold on the dark web. These records include names, profile pictures, date of birth, location, and genetic ancestry data.
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.