Links 19/02/2024: Microsoft Reportedly Set to Cut Even More Jobs, Air Strikes in Yemen Continue
Contents
- Free, Libre, and Open Source Software
- Leftovers
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Free, Libre, and Open Source Software
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Programming/Development
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Java
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TecAdmin ☛ Setting Up JAVA_HOME on Ubuntu
Configuring the JAVA_HOME environment variable is a critical step for Java developers and applications running on Ubuntu. This variable points to the Java Development Kit (JDK) installation directory, enabling the operating system to locate the JDK executables.
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TecAdmin ☛ Java StackOverflowError: Causes, Diagnostics, and Effective Solutions
In the realm of Java programming, encountering errors and exceptions is a common part of the development process. Among these, the StackOverflowError stands out as a critical error that can perplex even seasoned developers.
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TecAdmin ☛ An Insider’s Guide to Java Virtual Machine Architecture
The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is the cornerstone of Java’s platform-independent capabilities, allowing Java applications to run seamlessly across different operating systems without modification. Understanding the architecture of the JVM is crucial for developers to optimize application performance and leverage the full power of Java.
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Rust
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Rustifying libipuz: character sets
It has been, what, like four years since librsvg got fully rustified, and now it is time to move another piece of critical infrastructure to a memory-safe language.
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Leftovers
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New York Times ☛ Old and Young, Talking Again
A society in which members of different generations do not interact “is a dangerous experiment,” said one researcher.
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Hackaday ☛ Extreme Waterproof 3D Prints
Since the crew at [CPSdrone] likes to build underwater drones — submarines, in other words — they need to 3D print waterproof hulls. At first, they thought there were several reasons for water entering the hulls, but the real reason was that water tends to soak through the print surface. They’ve worked it all out in the video below.
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Hackaday ☛ Doubling The CPU Speed Of The TRS-80 Model 100 With A Mod Board
The TRS-80 Model 100 was released in 1983, featuring an 80C85 CPU that can run at 5 MHz, but only runs at a hair under 2.5 MHz, due to 1:2 divider on the input clock. Why cut the speed in half? It has a lot to do with the focus of the M100 on being a portable device with low power usage. Since the CPU can run at 5 MHz and modding these old systems is a thing, we got a ready-made solution for the TRS-80 M100, as demonstrated by [Ken] in a recent video using one of his ‘daily driver’ M100s.
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Iustin Pop: New skis ⛷️ , new fun!
As I wrote a bit back, I had a really, really bad fourth quarter in 2023. As new years approached, and we were getting ready to go on a ski trip, I wasn’t even sure if and how much I’ll be able to ski.
And I felt so out of it that I didn’t even buy a ski pass for the whole week, just bought one day to see if a) I still like, and b) my knee can deal with it. And, of course, it was good.
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Ruben Schade ☛ Music Monday: Liners of the Golden Era
It’s Music Monday time! Each and every Monday (cough), I impart some information about a song, musician, or album such that we may Ravel in their artistry. No, I’m not apologising for that.
Today’s installment has a fun backstory. For the last couple of years I’ve been following the progress of the History FX team and their Lusitania: The Greyhound’s Wake efforts. Billed as a virtual museum, this team of talented artists and 3D designers have been faithfully recreating all the major rooms and decks of my favourite ever ocean liner, the RMS Lusitania. I can’t wait to be able to play it!
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Hackaday ☛ No Inductors Needed For This Simple, Clean Twin-Tee Oscillator
If there’s one thing that amateur radio operators are passionate about, it’s the search for the perfect sine wave. Oscillators without any harmonics are an important part of spectrum hygiene, and while building a perfect oscillator with no distortion is a practical impossibility, this twin-tee audio frequency oscillator gets pretty close.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ New 'Prosthetic' Hacks The Brain to Recall Specific Memories
Forgotten, but not lost.
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Science Alert ☛ Life Spreads Across Space on Tiny Invisible Particles, Study Suggests
It's all around us.
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Science Alert ☛ Physicists Discover Brand-New Isotopes of Heavy Rare-Earth Elements
Alchemy on a cosmic scale.
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Science Alert ☛ These Birds Score as High as Primates in a Puzzling Cognitive Test
This is impressive!
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Science Alert ☛ NASA Reveals How It Would Warn World of Impending Asteroid Disaster
We may even be able to prevent the apocalypse.
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Science Alert ☛ The Solar System's Missing Planet Has Only One Place Left to Hide
It all comes down to this.
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Hackaday ☛ Canned Air Is Unexpectedly Supersonic
How fast is the gas coming out from those little duster tubes of canned air? Perhaps faster than one might think! It’s supersonic (video, embedded below) as [Cylo’s Garage] shows by imaging clear shock diamonds in the flow from those thin little tubes.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Ruben Schade ☛ Doc Searls shares his nostalgic breakfast
Doc Searls recently blogged about the breakfast his mum used to make him, and what he still makes all these years later:
[H]er most leveraged dish was the breakfast she made for us often when my sister and I were kids: soft-boiled eggs over toast broken into small pieces in a bowl. It’s still my basic breakfast, many decades later.
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University of Michigan ☛ School of Public Health hosts convention on gun violence one year after MSU shooting
Exactly one year after the shooting at Michigan State University, University of Michigan students and community members gathered in the Michigan Union for a day-long series called “Public Health Approaches to Ending Gun Violence.”
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JURIST ☛ Office of the Inspector General report reveals failures in safeguarding procedures for unaccompanied migrant children arriving in US
The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the government watchdog responsible for oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published a report Thursday alleging that significant deficiencies in safeguarding unaccompanied migrant children arriving in the US have been discovered.
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YLE ☛ Finnish kids less nearsighted than Asian peers
Nearsightedness among children has risen in many parts of the world, but not in Finland, according to new research.
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Hackaday ☛ Low-Cost Saliva-based Biosensor For Cancer Detection
More and more biomarkers that can help in the early diagnosis of diseases like cancer are being discovered every year, but often the effective application relies on having diagnostic methods that are both affordable and as least invasive as possible. This is definitely true in the case of breast cancers, where the standard diagnostic method after seeing something ‘odd’ on a scan is to perform a biopsy so that a tissue sample can be tested in a laboratory. What [Hsiao-Hsuan Wan] and colleagues demonstrate in a recently published research article in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B is a way to use saliva on disposable test strips to detect the presence of cancer-related biomarkers. Best of all, the system could be very affordable.
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The Straits Times ☛ India offers protesting farmers support prices on corn, cotton, pulses
India has offered guaranteed support prices for pulses, corn and cotton in a bid to break a deadlock with protesting farmers, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said after week-long clashes with security forces keeping the farmers out of the capital.
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New York Times ☛ Could Long Covid Be the Senate’s Bipartisan Cause?
After four long years, there’s reason to hope that the condition will get the attention that it and the many who suffer from it deserve.
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The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong records most Chinese tourists during CNY since pre-Covid-19
More than 1.2 million Chinese travellers visited the financial hub during the eight-day celebration.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong sees more than 1.25 million mainland Chinese visitors over Lunar New Year holiday
The 1.25 million mainland Chinese tourists who visited Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday “intensified the city’s ambience” and boosted the catering and retail industries, the government has said.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Games ☛ Activision reportedly laying off more than 130 people from Ireland branch
Activision Blizzard is reportedly planning redundancies at its Irish office located in Blackpool, Cork.
As reported by the Irish Examiner, Irish deputy prime minister Michéal Martin said 136 people would be affected by the reported cuts. The Cork office employs an estimated 200 people and was originally established in 2007.
Activision has not responded to the reports. GamesIndustry.biz has reached out for further clarification.
The report comes after a spokesperson for the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment told the Irish Examiner last month that it had "received a collective redundancy notification in relation to potential redundancies at Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Limited."
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Report: Blizzard is laying off almost 140 workers in Ireland
Blizzard is reportedly laying off 136 workers in Cork, Ireland. That's according to the Irish Examiner (as spotted by Eurogamer), which also claims the World of Warcraft and Diablo developer is refusing to negotiate with union representatives in the region.
Activision Blizzard was recently acquired by Xbox maker Microsoft for almost $70 billion. A few months after sealing the merger, Microsoft explained it will be cutting 1,900 jobs across its various game divisions.
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Report: Activision Blizzard expected to cut 136 jobs from Cork office
Microsoft is reportedly set to slash more than a hundred jobs at Activision Blizzard’s Cork office.
As first reported in the Irish Examiner, minister for foreign affairs, or Tánaiste, Michéal Martin – who raised the issue in the Dáil, the Irish government – revealed that 136 of the approximately 200 jobs in Blackpool, Cork, were expected to be cut, calling the redundancies “very serious”.
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After Trouble with the FTC and an Ongoing Lawsuit, Activision Blizzard are Reportedly Set to Cut Even More Jobs
The video game industry is going through a very difficult situation as many companies are facing layoffs. Activision Blizzard has been suffering some major cutbacks, and now according to a new report, more than 100 layoffs could reach its Ireland-based branch.
There is no official confirmation, but the company is refusing to talk about it, and a lot of people are not happy about this information. The lack of communication does not cast Activision/Blizzard in a favorable light, and the company has already been under fire for its treatment of employees.
[...] Many developers are talking about not having any tasks given to them because work teams are very poorly managed. The big studios are not finding a way to improve the workflow and objectives of projects, so this ends up with a horrible result and players not liking the game.
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Fortune ☛ Shares of Nintendo drop as much as 8.8% as it reportedly delays its next Switch console, the latest bad news for a struggling gaming sector
Investors must not be liking reports that the successor to Nintendo’s Switch is being delayed to early 2025, as shares of the Japanese game maker fell as much as 8.8% on Monday.
Though the company has not publicly commented on plans for a successor for its soon to be seven-year-old Switch, it has previously said before that it was working on new hardware and software, which is often taken as a reference to a “Switch 2”. Nintendo did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment on the reported delay of an updated version of its console.
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India Times ☛ Fat tech pay cheques shed up to 40% as slowdown bites
Salary offers for India’s information technology professionals have plummeted 30-40%, from about Rs 1 crore per annum they commanded a year ago, owing to the global macroeconomic headwinds and IT sector slowdown, said industry executives.
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Defence/Aggression
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Says it Struck Houthi Targets, Including Underwater Drone, in Yemen
The American military said it believes it is the first time such an undersea weapon had been used in the current conflict in the Red Sea.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Conducts Five Strikes In Huthi-Controlled Areas Of Yemen, Military Says
The United States conducted five self-defense strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Huthi militias, U.S. Central Command said on February 18.
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AntiWar ☛ How the CIA Destabilizes the World [Ed: So does Russia, but Sachs does not want to talk about that]
There are three basic problems with the CIA: its objectives, methods, and unaccountability. Its operational objectives are whatever the CIA or the President of the United States defines to be in the U.S. interest at a given time, irrespective of international law or U.S. law. Its methods are secretive and duplicitous.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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AntiWar ☛ Throwing Good Money After Bad in Ukraine?
As U.S. House members grapple with whether to give $60 billion more to Ukraine, they must also grapple with the checkered nature of the intelligence they’ve been fed. >
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France24 ☛ Russian courts sentence dozens to jail for commemorating Putin critic Navalny
Russian courts have sentenced dozens of people detained at events commemorating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to short prison sentences, official court announcements showed, with 154 sentenced in Saint Petersburg alone.
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New York Times ☛ As Putin Threatens, Despair and Hedging in Europe
There is a dawning recognition that the continent urgently needs to step up its own defense, especially as the U.S. wavers, but the commitments still are not coming.
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France24 ☛ Russia captures Avdiivka but says Ukrainian soldiers holed up at coke plant
Russia claimed the capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew, but Moscow said that some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant after one of the most intense battles of the war.
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New York Times ☛ A Stunned Russian Opposition in Exile Considers a Future Without Navalny
The death of Aleksei A. Navalny in a Russian prison has been a blow to an opposition movement in which he was the figurehead. But it has also raised hopes of a united front against President Vladimir V. Putin.
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Meduza ☛ Alexey Navalny, 1976 – 2024 Navalny’s life in photos — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ ‘They said I could either leave or be charged’ Yekaterinburg woman describes authorities’ zero tolerance policy for flowers honoring Navalny — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ A ‘red’ regime Former inmates on life and death in the Arctic prison where Alexey Navalny died — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Paramedic says Navalny’s body has bruises consistent with seizure, chest compressions — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Yulia Navalnaya publishes first Instagram post since husband’s death: ‘I love you’ — Meduza
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New York Times ☛ Monday Briefing
The impact of Aleksei Navalny’s death.
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New York Times ☛ Navalny Allies Confirm His Death as Family Waits for Release of His Body
A spokeswoman for the team that has continued Mr. Navalny’s work said his mother had received the official notification. Hundreds of his mourners have been detained after his death.
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RFERL ☛ British PM, EU Commission Chief Express Outrage At Navalny Death, Discuss Ukraine
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke by phone on February 17, expressing outrage over the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in a Russian prison and discussed aid for Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Moscow Looks To Extend Avdiyivka Gains, As Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Shooting POWs
Russian forces appear to be consolidating their gains in and around the captured eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka following Ukraine’s withdrawal, while Kyiv accused the Kremlin's troops of shooting eight prisoners of war, posting a video shot from the air purporting to show one incident.
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RFERL ☛ EU's Borrell Says Bloc Will Keep Aid, Artillery Shells Flowing To Ukraine
Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, says the bloc has provided a "continuous flow" of aid to Ukraine in its nearly two-year battle against the Russian invasion, but he acknowledged that in war "it is never enough" and that assistance -- especially artillery shells -- will continue to be sent.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japan hosts Ukraine reconstruction meeting, pledges new tax treaty
Japan has pledged more than $13.5 billion worth of financial aid to Ukraine.
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YLE ☛ Stubb: "If the west had failed to support Ukraine, it would no longer exist"
Finland's incoming president spoke to the press at the Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of world leaders.
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YLE ☛ Alexander Stubb meets Zelensky
The Ukrainian president said he hoped Finland would continue to support his country's EU and Nato bids.
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New York Times ☛ For Harris, Promises to Ukraine Prove Harder to Make Amid G.O.P. Resistance
Vice President Kamala Harris tried to reassure European and Ukrainian leaders that America would come through with security aid. But worries persist as House Republican leaders block the measure.
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RFERL ☛ China Tells Ukraine It 'Does Not Sell Lethal Weapons' To Russia
China's foreign minister has told his Ukrainian counterpart that Beijing does not sell lethal weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine, a statement said on February 18.
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New York Times ☛ Monday Briefing: Avdiivka Falls to Russia
Also, Russians mourn Aleksei Navalny.
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New York Times ☛ Navalny’s Death Shocked the World, but Will It Galvanize Opposition to Putin?
His death united world leaders and demonstrators in grief, but it also left Russia without a charismatic counterweight to its leader’s increasingly repressive policies.
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Latvia ☛ Hundreds of Latvian pupils prepare big donation for Ukraine
Although it is difficult to surprise activists of the Ukraine-supporting association “Your Friends”, Latvian school students have managed to do so. Several hundred students in 100 Latvian schools have responded to the call to provide donations to soldiers, Latvian Television reported on February 18.
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NYPost ☛ Ukraine needs money and Biden needs to take responsibility
Joe Biden’s brazenness knows no bounds.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine seeks Japan's support for post-war reconstruction
Ukraine's prime minister urged Japan's government and private sector on Monday to step up support for the country's reconstruction, promising an "economic miracle" once the almost two-year-old war with Russia ends.
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New York Times ☛ How Ukraine and Russia May Shift War Strategy After Avdiivka’s Fall
After the capture of Avdiivka, Ukrainian forces will need a new defensive line in unforgiving terrain, while Russia tries to press its advantage.
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New York Times ☛ Avdiivka: The Death Throes of a Ukrainian City
Toward the end of Russia’s long assault, hundreds of civilians still remained in Avdiivka. Those who escaped in the last weeks spoke of relentless devastation.
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NYPost ☛ Russian CEO wins autographed golden Donald Trump sneakers after $9K bid
A Russian CEO has won an autographed pair of Donald Trump’s new golden sneakers after making an eye-watering bid.
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France24 ☛ Yulia Navalnaya, Kremlin critic’s heroic wife, to attend EU foreign policy meeting
Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian custody, will attend the EU foreign affairs council on Monday, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday. For many years, Navalnaya insisted she had no interest in getting into politics, but since Navalny’s death on Friday, she appears to have turned into her late husband’s torchbearer.
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France24 ☛ More than 400 detained in Russia while paying tribute to Navalny
Over 400 people were detained in Russia while paying tribute to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died at a remote Arctic penal colony, a prominent rights group reported.
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JURIST ☛ Russia police detain hundreds at rallies honoring late opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Police in Russia detained more than 400 people across the country at rallies honoring late opposition leader Alexei Navalny over the weekend, according to a list of detainees published by Russian human rights group OVD-Info on Saturday and reporting from Radio Free Europe on Sunday.
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JURIST ☛ Navalny spokesperson says Russia opposition leader ‘murdered’ and demands body be returned to family
Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on Saturday that the Russian opposition leader was “murdered” and demanded that Navalny’s body be “handed over to his family immediately.” His death was formally announced by Russia’s state prison service on Friday, which said that he had lost consciousness and could not be resuscitated.
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RFERL ☛ Pussy Riot Members, Others Honor Navalny At Berlin Memorial Event
Members of the Russian Pussy Riot protest group and other well-known activists held a memorial in the German capital, Berlin, on February 18 for fierce Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, who died on February 16 in a remote prison in Russia's Arctic region.
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RFERL ☛ Estonian PM Says Won't Be Intimidated By Russian Arrest Warrant
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on February 18 dismissed an arrest warrant issued by Russia, saying it was just an attempt to intimidate her amid speculation she could get a top EU post.
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RFERL ☛ Defying Authorities, Russians Pay Tribute To Navalny; Hundreds Detained
Russians continued to pay tribute to Aleksei Navalny on February 18, laying flowers at ad hoc memorials and defying the authorities, who detained more than 400 people in at least 36 cities at gatherings for the late opposition leader over the past three days.
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RFERL ☛ Kadyrov's Teenage Son Becomes Chechnya's Minister For Youth
Akhmat Kadyrov, the 18-year-old son of the authoritarian ruler of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been appointed the region's minister for youth and sports, a high-ranking Chechen official announced.
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YLE ☛ PM: Russian leadership responsible for Navalny's death
Hypothetical phone calls from Russia and the prospect of nuclear weapons arose during a media Q&A with the premier.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ But Her Emails: How Trump Trained the GOP to Hate Rule of Law 1
Even before Russians dropped a match onto the bonfire of partisan divide in 2016, Republicans were absolutely convinced Hillary was either a criminal or they could make her one.
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New York Times ☛ Russian Arrests of Navalny Mourners Lead to Fears of Big Crackdown
At least 366 people were detained over the weekend, leading to concern that the arrests could signal greater government repression ahead of Russia’s elections in March.
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New York Times ☛ Republicans Push Hard Line on Russia While Defending Trump’s NATO Comments
Fearful of antagonizing the former president, congressional Republicans downplayed the remarks, instead lauding the former president’s record and criticizing President Biden.
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New York Times ☛ Intelligence Chairman Defends His Hints About a Russian Space Weapon
Representative Michael R. Turner, who drew criticism last week after releasing a cryptic statement about a new threat, said he wanted to avoid “an international crisis.”
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Meduza ☛ Over 12,000 people have sent appeals to Investigative Committee demanding release of Navalny’s body, says Russian human rights project — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian federal investigators traveled to prison region after Navalny’s death, says source — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Over 10,000 users report disruptions on Telegram, with 38 percent of complaints coming from Moscow — Meduza
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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Hackaday ☛ 3D Print Train Wheels For Garden Railway
There’s something magical about a train, whether you call it a railway or a railroad, plenty of us have hankered after our own little piece of line on which to shunt wagons or chuff around our domain. Envy [Otis Rowell] then, because he’s made himself a garden railway with the laudable purpose of moving wood pellets for his heating. A mere garden railway may be cool but it’s not in itself special, so the reason we’re featuring it here comes from something else. He’s making his rail wheels by 3D printing them with a normal printer.
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Wildlife/Nature
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Science Alert ☛ Wild Discovery Reveals Frog And Mushroom Joined at The Hip
It's growing out of its body.
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Finance
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The Straits Times ☛ India’s fintech star Paytm totters after being hauled up for lapses, prompting industry concerns
India’s central bank has asked Paytm’s banking division to end its services due to “persistent” non-compliances.
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LRT ☛ Baltic banks must be more concrete on their sustainability goals – analysis
Only five out of 24 Baltic banks commit to net zero. It is time for the rest to step up, argue Vaida Arlauskaitė and Monika Aleksiejūtė-Jonušauskienė of the consultancy Viridis Sustainability.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese foreign minister says Canada not a ‘rival’ amid tense relations
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday told his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly that their two countries were “not rivals, let alone enemies”, as foreign interference fears in Ottawa weigh on a tense bilateral relationship.
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The Straits Times ☛ In unusual move, China offers to back Hungary in security matters
China offered to support long-time strategic partner Hungary on public security issues, going beyond trade and investment relations, during a rare meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, just as NATO struggles to expand its network in Europe.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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France24 ☛ Why pro-Russian accounts are sharing a fake video of French farmers and manure
Pro-Russian social control media users have been widely circulating what looks like a Euronews report showing French farmers dumping manure outside the Ukrainian embassy. French farmers began protesting for better pay in January and the video claims that the farmers took the drastic manure action after the Ukrainian ambassador penned a letter asking them to stop their protests. But this video is fake. It’s one of a series of fake news reports aimed at making Ukraine look bad in the eyes of the West.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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JURIST ☛ Cybersecurity group reports new national-scale social control media disruption in Pakistan amid ongoing protests over allegations of election fraud
Cybersecurity and digital governance organization NetBlocks reported a new national-scale disruption to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday in Pakistan, as protests erupted following allegations of election fraud.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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IT Wire ☛ Lower house Assange vote gives Albanese cover for inaction
One has to contrast Albanese's weak efforts to those of former Coalition prime minister John Howard who got South Australian David Hicks released from prison in the US. He had been taken there by American troops after being discovered in Afghanistan.
Finding that Hicks' imprisonment was affecting his poll ratings, Howard contacted Dick Cheney, then the vice-president, but the actual power behind the throne, and the latter obliged through cutting a deal under which Hicks was returned home to Australia.
This gives ample indication of the pull that Albanese has with the US, though he has done everything but prostrate himself when it comes to dealings with Washington. Australia is transferring billions to the US for a submarine deal that may never eventuate and has more or less handed over the country's defence policy to the US.
It is not surprising that Washington treats Canberra with contempt. After all, who admires a country that has no self-interest when it comes to major policy decisions?
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JURIST ☛ Committee to Protect Journalists calls for investigation into killing of Myanmar journalist Myat Thu Tan
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called for the Myanmar government to investigate the killing of journalist Myat Thu Tan and prosecute the perpetrators. The journalist’s body was reportedly found buried in a bomb shelter in a Rakhine State military camp.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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RFERL ☛ Afghan Province Orders Officials Not To Photograph Living Things
Authorities in the Afghan province of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, ordered officials on February 18 not to take pictures or videos of "living things."
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The Straits Times ☛ Afghan province orders officials not to photograph ‘living things’
Televisions and pictures of living things were banned under the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001.
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The Straits Times ☛ China urges US to end ‘harassment’ of Chinese students
Beijing pressed Washington to “rectify” its decision to place China on a list of major countries transiting or producing narcotics.
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RFA ☛ For Uyghur family, a legacy of rootlessness
The Muhammads fled China and war-torn Afghanistan. Decades later, they may be on the move again.
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RFA ☛ Enraged N Korean workers in China beat factory manager to death: report
The workers in China’s Jilin province were reportedly angry about long-term wage arrears.
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University of Michigan ☛ Students silently protest Washtenaw County Prosecutor at UMich ACLU Criminal Justice Reform panel
University of Michigan’s ACLU Undergraduate Chapter put together a four-person panel of community organizers and government officials to talk to students about criminal justice reform in Michigan Friday evening.
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JURIST ☛ US judge sentences former FBI counterintelligence official to over 2 years in prison for concealing payment from Albanian intelligence worker
A US District Court judge sentenced former FBI special agent Charles F. McGonigal to 28 months in prison followed by a period of supervised release on Friday for an undisclosed receipt of $225,000 from an individual with ties to the Albanian government.
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The Strategist ☛ The evolution of Australian intelligence: revisiting Harvey Barnett’s ‘Tale of the Scorpion’
Scorpions are fascinating. Found on every continent except Antarctica, their fossil records span 420 million years.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korean man seeks dignified exit from pain, challenges local laws criminalising assisted death
Assisted death has wide public backing in the country, one public opinion poll shows.
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JURIST ☛ Alabama death row inmate challenges nitrogen gas executions in federal lawsuit
A death row inmate in Alabama filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of nitrogen gas executions. He argued that the first person in the nation put to death by this method experienced violent convulsions for several minutes in “a human experiment that officials botched miserably.”
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AntiWar ☛ Washington, Pro-Democracy? Depends on the Country
Pakistan just held an election; Venezuela is about to. Both incumbent governments have banned the leading opposition figure from competing. The United States sanctioned one and was silent on the other. What was the difference? Not international law or responsible leadership, both of which require a consistent application of laws and a consistent response.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Kev Quirk ☛ Building an Archive of My First Blog
My first ever blog was hosted on Blogger, and Surveillance Giant Google loves to delete shit, so I've decided to replicate that site and host it myself.
I first started blogging back in 2011, but back then I didn't know much about web design or hosting (I still don't!), so I decided to use Google's Blogger platform for My First BlogTM.
In all honestly, it worked really well and allowed my to find my feet with this blogging lark, but I eventually moved on from Blogger and that fledgling site of mine fell to the sands of time.
Or so I thought...
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Silicon Angle ☛ European Commission reportedly set to fine Fashion Company Apple $539M for antitrust violations
The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is reportedly preparing to fine Fashion Company Apple Inc. €500 million ($539 million) for allegedly breaking EU law by restricting access to competitors to favor Fashion Company Apple Music on the iPhone.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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Notes on Coffee
Not tasting notes, no; who do you think I am? No, I didn't start drinking coffee till my mid-twenties, and then not black until my thirties. I'm not a supertaster. I'm known for bad opinions. That is to say, what follows should be considered extremely suspect.
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🔤SpellBinding — AEFHRYV Wordo: DWELT
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The making of "Another World" (Delphine, 1991)
We are at the end of the 80s. Twenty-year-old graphic designer and programmer Eric Chahi makes an amateur film at home. He throws a toy car on the carpet, walks, presses a few keys on his Amiga, opens a can of Coke.
All things that he will need to then do the rotoscoping with which he is about to create one of the greatest videogame masterpieces of all time: Another World.
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Academiology III: Investment
There's this one seemingly innocuous memory from my first year of university that sticks out to me--one that I keep finding myself coming back to:
It was late, probably 8PM (that's late for me okay). I had spent probably the entire day, morning to night, studying for some midterm. This was a point in my life where I was really, deeply invested in performing the ritual of education, and I probably didn't have much of a life outside of school because of it. But I had my fix, and I was on my way home.
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Technology and Free Software
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Rainbow Island: Amiga music VS Arcade music
How beautiful is the adaptation of the Rainbow Island theme done on the Commodore Amiga 500 by Steve Turner?
I never noticed it at the time, because in the noisy arcades I frequented it wasn't easy to hear the clean sound of the arcade version of Zuntata.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.