File clerks at elevator desks in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1937
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    ironsoap
    4d ago 100%

    “The offices of the Central Social Institution of Prague, Czechoslovakia with the largest vertical letter file in the world. Consisting of cabinets arranged from floor to ceiling tiers covering over 4000 square feet containing over 3000 drawers 10 feet long. It has electric operated elevator desks which rise, fall and move left or right at the push of a button. to stop just before drawer desired. The drawers also open and close electronically. Thus work which formerly taxed 400 workers is now done by 20 with a minimum of effort.

    Source

    40
  • Sysadmins slam Apple’s SSL/TLS cert lifespan cuts
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    ironsoap
    5d ago 100%

    If approved, it will affect all Safari certificates, which follows a similar push by Google, that plans to reduce the max-validity period on Chrome for these digital trust files down to 90 days.

    Max lifespans of certs have been gradually decreasing over the years in an ongoing effort to boost internet security. Prior to 2011, they could last up to about eight years. As of 2020, it's about 13 months.

    Apple's proposal would shorten the max certificate lifespan to 200 days after September 2025, then down to 100 days a year later and 45 days after April 2027. The ballot measure also reduces domain control validation (DCV), phasing that down to 10 days after September 2027.

    And while it's generally agreed that shorter lifespans improve internet security overall — longer certificate terms mean criminals have more time to exploit vulnerabilities and old website certificates — the burden of managing these expired certs will fall squarely on the shoulders of systems administrators.

    Over the past couple of days, these unsung heroes who keep the internet up and running flocked to Reddit to bemoan their soon-to-be increasing workload. As one noted, while the proposal "may not pass the CABF ballot, but then Google or Apple will just make it policy anyway…"

    ...

    However, as another sysadmin pointed out, automation isn't always the answer. "I've got network appliances that require SSL certs and can't be automated," they wrote. "Some of them work with systems that only support public CAs."

    Another added: "This is somewhat nightmarish. I have about 20 appliance like services that have no support for automation. Almost everything in my environment is automated to the extent that is practical. SSL renewal is the lone achilles heel that I have to deal with once every 365 days."

    Until next year, anyway.

    18
  • Stick M12 attack UAVs developed by Ukrainian defense company United Military Solutions.
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 100%

    Opening paragraphs translated:

    Barrage ammunition Stick M12 was developed in Ukraine Aviation Bpa (Unmanned aerial vehicles) defense industry Ukraine

    The Ukrainian defense company developed a barrage ammunition called the Stick M12.

    The United Military Solutions company said that their new drone is capable of flying at a distance of up to 70 km.

    At the same time, the Stick M12 UAV type «Krylo» is able to stay in the air for more than an hour.

    The impact drone is equipped with one electric motor in the rear. In the front part there is a warhead.

    It is designed to defeat stationary targets, armored vehicles and locations where enemy personnel are deployed.

    It is known that in June, a batch of these barrage munitions was received by a 100th separate mechanized brigade of the Ground Forces.

    ...

    7
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    Facepalm ironsoap 1w ago 87%
    A conversation with a school teacher in the state of Florida

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20782694 > I posted on Facebook about hurricane Helene hitting Asheville North Carolina and how climate change resulted in one of the most severe storms and disasters we have ever seen in American history. This public school teacher in Florida proceeded to message me privately to tell me that climate change is fake, and how I need to get real because climate change supposedly had nothing to do with Western North Carolina looking like the setting for the next season of Fallout TV series. There's no other way to put it, honestly. I have seen so many pictures and videos of the damage, it is simply astonishing. I have never seen something so gruesome and horrific in my whole life... > > > It's honestly crazy that there are teachers, who are responsible for educating other people, and this is the kind of stuff that they are telling people.

    18
    5
    Inside Trump's brand new grift for billionaires
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 95%

    Harris has said that she wants legislation implementing the tax cut to only apply to the people we traditionally think of when we think of tips: waiters, maids, caddies, and other service-industry customer-contact workers.

    Trump, on the other hand, has refused to limit his no-tax-on-tips proposal to such workers, opening up the possibility that big banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, and other companies that traditionally have paid year-end bonuses — sometimes in the millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars — could simply reclassify their bonuses as tax-free tips.

    **Adding to the confusion should Trump’s plan go into place, the Supreme Court earlier this year expanded the definition of tips when they ruled that if politicians or judges are paid bribes, but the payments are made *****after ***the politician or judge does the requested favor, they’re no longer bribes but, instead, merely tips.

    Jesus H. f#$k Christ, let's not normalizing bribes.

    18
  • A huge explosion at a gas station in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 100%

    Someone correct me, but that looks like natural gas or LPG, turning into a what amounts to a fuel air bomb. I'm assuming it's a secondary to an attack.

    4
  • Cards Against Humanity offers payouts to new swing-state voters, responding to Musk's PAC
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 100%

    I think their point is that we need to change the law. But yes, let's not normalize this or the billionaire will start regularly paying.

    is exploiting a legal loophole to pay America’s blue-leaning non-voters... This whole thing should probably be illegal—so quick, give us your money before they change the law!,

    14
  • This means I close the tab, regardless of what is on the site.
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 100%

    Incredibly hostile design. I generally avoid, but like Reddit they have hostage to some info I desire sometime so wipe my way through it... Close the browser, rm -rf /, and wash my hands.

    1
  • No ads here!
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    ironsoap
    1w ago 100%

    Insofar as the FTC is in a legal case with google, American users do not have individual standing. But the court of public opinion is another venue without the need for such logic. As this is a political decision to enforce and proceed eight the case as much as an economic one, I would beg to disagree that provocation is in their best interest.

    Perhaps some would like to file a complaint? https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/submit-merger-antitrust-comment

    3
  • Kroger's mountain town pricing strategy under scrutiny in Colorado merger trial
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    ironsoap
    2w ago 100%

    The zone was established to pass on rising costs by raising prices in select stores with less risk of losing sales volume from competition, Groff confirmed.

    “And yes, we look for areas that had less competition, and we selected those stores for that reason,” he said, adding it didn’t mean those stores had no competition at all.

    Biller pointed out the “no-comp stores” have no Safeway stores nearby, which Groff confirmed, and there are City Market stores in Vail and Gunnison with Safeway that also have high costs to operate but were not included in the zone.

    The “no-comp” stores on the Western Slope saw revenues grow faster and yielded gross margins more than double of more competitive Kroger stores, Groff confirmed.

    It was considered a successful program, Groff testified, because it raised prices without losing customers and covering Kroger’s rising costs.

    4
  • www.theguardian.com

    > Joe Biden has called off a four-day trip to Germany this week that had been intended to culminate in a summit to discuss Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” for Ukraine. > The White House said on Tuesday evening that the president would stay at home “to oversee preparations for and the response” to Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday. > It was not clear how Biden’s absence would affect the planned summit, the first time world leaders were due to gather at the Ramstein US airbase, normally the location of a regular meeting of defence ministers to discuss military aid for Kyiv.

    26
    21
    Favoirte indepth youtube channels?
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    ironsoap
    2w ago 100%

    So what benchmarks would you define as in-depth? In-depth this decade is not what is was 2 or 3 ago, due to content consumption, but your comment made me realize how cultural the concept is. On the spectrum between a 5 bounce video to a PhD leaves a lot of room.

    1
  • www.backpacker.com

    > While it is true that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that helps manage the path and the lands surrounding it, has advised hikers to stay off the southernmost 865 miles, or its lower third, it is not true that those miles are destroyed. Sources I spoke to talked of toppled trees, down branches, and flooding.

    31
    1
    Thousands of toxins from food packaging found in humans – research
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    ironsoap
    3w ago 100%

    Among the worst offenders is plastic, a material that is largely unregulated and can contain thousands of chemicals. Silicone and coatings on metal cans can also contain toxic or understudied compounds, Geueke said. Many paper and cardboard products were until recently treated with PFAS and can contain a layer of plastic.

    5
  • Climate impacts put insurance commissioner races in the spotlight | As premiums skyrocket, voters are starting to pay attention to one of the most obscure positions on the ballot.
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    ironsoap
    4w ago 100%

    Over the past 40 years, Americans have been moving to more disaster-prone regions of the U.S. South and West. “A hurricane cutting the Gulf side of Florida now just encounters way more houses, way more businesses, way more roads, way more infrastructure than it did 40 years ago,” Keys said.

    At the same time, climate change has been increasing the frequency and severity of extreme storms and wildfires in those fast-growing regions. Finally, when disaster strikes, inflation and labor shortages have driven up the cost of rebuilding.

    All of these factors have made disasters more expensive, and contributed to the rise in premiums. But the biggest factor behind the rise, according to Keys, is the way that climate change is reshaping a fundamental pillar of the insurance industry.

    Insurance is built around the assumption that disaster doesn’t strike everyone at the same time. For many types of insurance, that assumption is mostly true — a car insurer, for example, knows that it’s unlikely that every driver will get into a fender bender on the exact same day. But when it comes to home insurance, climate change is causing this assumption to crumble. A major wildfire could easily burn down an entire town, or a hurricane could easily rip the roofs off all the homes in a neighborhood. For this reason, insurance companies in disaster-prone regions end up purchasing their own insurance policies, known as “reinsurance.”

    Reinsurance protects regular insurance companies from going bankrupt from a string of major disasters. Since reinsurance companies cover the epicenters of extreme weather, they’ve recently become extremely sensitive to climate risk. Since 2020, premiums for reinsurance have doubled, and will likely continue to rise. In states that experience frequent extreme weather disasters — like Louisiana, Texas, and Florida — insurance companies end up purchasing a lot of expensive reinsurance, and those costs get passed down to customers.

    This is the biggest factor behind the recent surge in home insurance premiums, and Keys doesn’t expect it to stop anytime soon. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Jacques de Vaucleroy, the chairman of the major reinsurance firm Swiss Re, said that reinsurance premiums will continue to rise until people stop building in dangerous areas.

    Good article, several interesting specifics and a food overview. The last bold is mine.

    5
  • German "Skynex" air defense system in service of the Ukranian Air Force.
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    ironsoap
    4w ago 100%

    Two full systems were donated using German funds. I hope more are in the pipe.

    Each Skynex system is composed of four Revolver Gun Mk3 cannons, a CN-1 control node, and an X-TAR3D radar.

    17
  • What are lemmy's favorite video channels for more depth then you get from average news and television sources? [Prerun](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3ehuUksTyQ7bbjGntmx3Q) is one that comes to mind as he digs, thinks, and explains, and is willing to say he's wrong. [Business Inside](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyq283he07B7_KUX07mmtA)r is another one that has a great number of in depth topics, even if not quite as much as one might want sometimes. [DW](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW39zufHfsuGgpLviKh297Q) is another. [RealLifeLore](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5tjEmvPItGyLhmjdwP7Ww) also seems to some great explaining. [LegalEagle](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpa-Zb0ZcQjTCPP1Dx_1M8Q) similar. All of these are debatable to a greater or lesser degree, but I'm interested in alternative sources. What else is out there? What platform? Why?

    74
    39
    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/21/harris-trump-august-raising-spending-fec-00180356

    >Harris entered August with more money than Trump, and managed to raise more than she spent over the month. Trump’s campaign, by contrast, spent more than it raised despite far fewer expenses. Her campaign reported taking in $190 million; his, just shy of $45 million. >The vice president’s campaign outspent Trump $174 million to $61 million in August. But Harris’ preexisting cash advantage and superior fundraising mean that she ended the month with $235 million, $100 million more than Trump. ... >Trump is also relying heavily on outside groups, including for campaign activities that most campaigns have traditionally conducted in-house, such as canvassing. >He benefited from more outside spending on his behalf in August than Harris did — $163 million to $104 million, according to FEC independent expenditure filings. >One pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., reported $25 million newly raised in August, including $10 million from Wisconsin billionaire Diane Hendricks and $5 million from Paul Singer, a major GOP donor who was once critical of Trump. Several other groups that reported major spending on Trump’s behalf in August, including the Elon Musk-linked America PAC, don’t report their donors until October. >Two pro-Harris super PACs, FF PAC and American Bridge, respectively reported $36 million and $21 million raised in August. Much of that money came funneled through nonprofits, so the actual donors behind that money are not known. The largest individual donations to the groups included $3 million from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz to FF PAC and $2.5 million from longtime Democratic donor Deborah Simon to American Bridge. So lots of numbers and a bit hard to track it in this article they way they reference, they need a table. An amazing amount of money for monthly numbers, even this late in the campaign.

    131
    9
    www.theguardian.com

    >Employers who force staff to return to the office five days a week have been called the “dinosaurs of our age” by one of the world’s leading experts who coined the term “presenteeism”. >Sir Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School, said employers imposing strict requirements on staff to be in the office risked driving away talented workers, damaging the wellbeing of employees and undermining their financial performance.

    183
    14
    edition.cnn.com

    Rostov-on-Don hit again? Anyone have links to visuals?

    112
    2
    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/27/jd-vance-trump-imitation-00171375

    > Trump has the magic touch to juice turnout and excite Republicans in a way that his imitators do not. In 2018 and 2022, the two elections in the Trump era when the head honcho was not on the ballot, pro-Trump Republican candidates did poorly, running below expectations and losing winnable races. Meanwhile, even when Trump lost in 2020, he overperformed in public polling. > It’s an interesting puzzle: Many of Trump’s ideas are largely unpopular with voters; without his charisma, his ideological allies are left with policy positions like abortion bans that most Americans don’t really like. It’s Trump’s personality that keeps him happily ensconced at the head of the party. > The result is that candidates like Vance up and down state ballots try to build on Trump’s political legacy without being able to capture his personal one.

    34
    4
    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/opinion/national-debt-us-taxes.html

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.one/post/15434778 > Krugman chimes in on US national debt > > Alternative link: https://archive.ph/ce08r > > "Specifically, let me make three points. First, while $34 trillion is a very large figure, it’s a lot less scary than many imagine if you put it in historical and international context. Second, to the extent debt is a concern, making debt sustainable wouldn’t be at all hard in terms of the straight economics; it’s almost entirely a political problem. Finally, people who claim to be deeply concerned about debt are, all too often, hypocrites — the level of their hypocrisy often reaches the surreal. > > How scary is the debt? It’s a big number, even if you exclude debt that is basically money that one arm of the government owes to another — debt held by the public is still around [$27 trillion](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYGFDPUN). But our economy is huge, too. Today, debt as a percentage of G.D.P. isn’t unprecedented, even in America: It’s roughly the same as it was at the [end of World War II](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYPUGDA188S). It’s considerably lower than the [corresponding number for Japan](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=158,\&s=GGXWDN_NGDP,\&sy=2019\&ey=2024\&ssm=0\&scsm=1\&scc=0\&ssd=1\&ssc=0\&sic=0\&sort=country\&ds=.\&br=1) right now and far below [Britain’s debt ratio](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSDOTUKA) at the end of World War II. In none of these cases was there anything resembling a debt crisis. > ..."

    1
    0
    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/opinion/national-debt-us-taxes.html

    Alternative link: https://archive.ph/ce08r "Specifically, let me make three points. First, while $34 trillion is a very large figure, it’s a lot less scary than many imagine if you put it in historical and international context. Second, to the extent debt is a concern, making debt sustainable wouldn’t be at all hard in terms of the straight economics; it’s almost entirely a political problem. Finally, people who claim to be deeply concerned about debt are, all too often, hypocrites — the level of their hypocrisy often reaches the surreal. How scary is the debt? It’s a big number, even if you exclude debt that is basically money that one arm of the government owes to another — debt held by the public is still around [$27 trillion](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYGFDPUN). But our economy is huge, too. Today, debt as a percentage of G.D.P. isn’t unprecedented, even in America: It’s roughly the same as it was at the [end of World War II](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYPUGDA188S). It’s considerably lower than the [corresponding number for Japan](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=158,\&s=GGXWDN_NGDP,\&sy=2019\&ey=2024\&ssm=0\&scsm=1\&scc=0\&ssd=1\&ssc=0\&sic=0\&sort=country\&ds=.\&br=1) right now and far below [Britain’s debt ratio](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSDOTUKA) at the end of World War II. In none of these cases was there anything resembling a debt crisis. ..."

    8
    2
    "Initials" by "Florian Körner", licensed under "CC0 1.0". / Remix of the original. - Created with dicebear.comInitialsFlorian Körnerhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearRE
    Reddit ironsoap 8mo ago 93%
    Reddit IPO in March
    www.theguardian.com

    Reddit made an initial public offering filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday ahead of its highly-anticipated stock market debut. The social network plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RDDT.” Its listing – expected in March – would be the largest IPO by a social media company since Pinterest went public in 2019. How social media’s biggest user protest rocked Reddit The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, Reddit said in a statement. The IPO filing revealed that Reddit sustained $90.8m in losses in 2023, as its revenue grew by roughly 21%. The business estimated that its US average revenue per user or ARPU, was $3.42 for the last quarter of 2023 – a decrease of 2% year over year...

    37
    12
    markets.businessinsider.com

    Guyana's oil production is booming, and it's growing at an unprecedented pace, according to energy expert Dan Yergin. "Guyana is very important because it is the fastest offshore oil development in the history of the world," he said in a CNBC interview on Monday. Exxon Mobil and Chevron have both been expanding their footprints in the region. Exxon began production at its third project in Payara, Guyana, this year, bringing its total production capacity in the region to approximately 620,000 barrels per day. And in October, Chevron signed a deal to acquire oil company Hess, with one big trophy of the agreement being a project off the coast of Guyana. But long-simmering antagonisms between Guyana and its neighbor Venezuela have resurfaced recently, with Venezuela claiming a big chunk of Guyana's land. "So far it's more bluster," Yergin said. "Nicolás Maduro, the dictator president of Venezuela, had this farcical referendum where maybe 10% of people voted claiming two thirds of Guyana. But what's really piqued his interest is offshore oil." The flare-up should be taken seriously in the US, Yergin warned, as Maduro remains in a weak position with the country seeing a large refugee crisis. That's after years of economic collapse have sent millions of Venezuelans fleeing the country, landing mostly in other part of Latin America. "The risk is that he might do something, he might seize a piece of territory, plant a flag," he said. "And of course, you have to keep in mind that Maduro's close allies are Russia, Cuba, and increasingly, Iran." For now, hostility between Venezuela and Guyana is more words than action, Yergin added. In terms of geopolitics, the real threat to oil markets is in the Middle East, at the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. That waterway sees about 9 million barrels of oil pass through every day, especially with Russian oil shifting south after Western sanctions were imposed. Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen have declared they would target Israel-bound vessels that do not stop in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. "The Houthis seem to feel that they're invincible, that they can attack US naval ships," Yergin said. "That's a thing to watch as a geopolitical factor that could affect [oil markets]."

    30
    0
    https://defence-blog.com/russia-uses-tactics-of-strategic-deception/

    Defence Blog Magazine Russia uses tactics of strategic deception DEFENSE & SECURITYNEWS By Dylan Malyasov Dec 7, 2023 In a geopolitical landscape dominated by shifting alliances and strategic maneuvering, the Russian approach to conflict resolution often veils ulterior motives. Despite calls for peace and temporary ceasefires, the Russian modus operandi seems rooted in exploiting diplomatic processes to buy time for economic recovery and military resurgence. At present, while global attention is fixated on the Middle East, Moscow actively advocates for “peace talks” concerning Ukraine, enlisting partners from Turkey and the UAE. Ukrainian intelligence has previously indicated Russia’s contemplation of freezing the conflict—a move that could grant Russia until 2028 to rebuild its military might, potentially expanding aggression beyond Ukraine to the Baltic states. This practice of tactical maneuvers is not new for the Kremlin; Putin himself has adeptly manipulated public statements and actions. Drawing parallels, the Russian-Chechen conflict saw a similar pattern, dividing the bloody conflict into phases after significant losses suffered by Russian forces against local resistance. Initially aiming to annex the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Russia faced staunch opposition, leading to a divided conflict. Ultimately, the conflict resulted in the withdrawal of Russian forces and the preservation of Chechnya’s independence. Post the Russian defeat in the first Chechen war, discontent brewed within Russian political circles, particularly the military, regarding the outcome. Concerns surfaced that the Chechen issue remained unresolved, setting a precedent for other national autonomies historically annexed by force. To reinitiate hostilities, a formal pretext was utilized, purportedly combating non-governmental armed formations considered a terrorist threat. The second war proved more successful for Russia, primarily due to active targeting of civilian populations. Mass clearances of settlements resulted in substantial civilian casualties. Between 1999 and 2002, an estimated 16,000 lives were lost, a significant toll for the relatively small population of the republic. Russia’s hybrid tactics extended beyond direct engagements. Signing agreements with other states, it employed proxies to destabilize regions, providing a formal pretext for resuming hostilities. This was evident in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, where Russian intervention followed actions by South Ossetia and Abkhazia—regions under Russian influence—creating conflict with Georgia’s armed forces. This intervention was preceded by formal appeals from the separatist groups of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to the Russian parliament for recognition. Simultaneously, Georgia proposed international peacekeeping forces in the separatist regions, prompting escalated Russian actions post-April 2008. Despite Western initiatives for peaceful resolutions, rejected by separatists and Russia, the conflict escalated into a full-scale war with Russian forces occupying significant Georgian territory, termed by Russian propaganda as “peace enforcement.” Throughout history, Russia has demonstrated a pattern of ceasefire simulations only to resume conflicts under diverse pretexts. Understanding this historical context becomes imperative in assessing current geopolitical tensions and forecasting potential escalations in global security. In a similar vein, the crisis in Ukraine unfolded along analogous lines when, employing their proxies and even involving, for the first time, the deployment of the private military company (PMC) “Wagner,” Russians gained control over Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. Notably, at that juncture, official Moscow distanced itself from Wagner and the separatist factions, labeling them as “little green men.” Moscow and Putin consistently denied direct involvement in Ukraine. On March 4, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that the forces in Ukraine were not Russian Federation troops but rather “self-defense units” who acquired weapons from local Ukrainians. Simultaneously, media reports analyzing the armaments of the “little green men” revealed Russian weaponry. It wasn’t until April 17, 2014, that Putin publicly acknowledged Russian military presence in Crimea. The direct involvement of state institutions in creating and managing the PMC “Wagner” was only acknowledged in 2023 during an attempted coup led by the group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who subsequently perished in an explosion aboard his private plane over Russian territory. Initially, the Kremlin denied the existence of the PMC “Wagner,” later referring to it as a “volunteer group” before eventually acknowledging its direct involvement. Putin personally confirmed Russia’s full support and provision of the private military company on June 27 during a meeting with the Ministry of Defense officials. During the period from 2014 to February 2022, Ukraine pursued diplomatic avenues to resolve the conflict, resorting to ceasefire agreements, notably the Minsk Agreements. These agreements, signed by parties in the Normandy Format, involved Russia and Putin himself as negotiators. However, they were consistently violated, primarily by Wagner mercenaries and proxy forces controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The tenure of Russia under Putin’s leadership has been characterized by the use of clandestine hybrid tactics, propaganda, and a blatant disregard for international law and legal accountability. Adopting a modus operandi akin to organized crime syndicates, the Kremlin feigned agreement signings only to breach them using its hybrid forces. Furthermore, on the international stage, Moscow reneged, denounced, and terminated several crucial agreements concerning human rights, disarmament, and the prevention of global conflicts. Therefore, the likelihood of Russia, under Putin’s helm, adhering steadfastly to its commitments in the future appears improbable. Expecting the Russian regime to acknowledge its mistakes and engage in talks to create a foundation for a long-term peaceful process might not align with its historical patterns. Hence, it’s imperative not to don rose-colored glasses and anticipate that the Russian regime will concede its errors or engage in negotiations for the establishment of a prolonged peace process.

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    www.businessinsider.com

    Bill Gates name-checked Elon Musk and Steve Jobs during a fireside chat on Thursday. The Microsoft founder said he considers himself "very nice" compared to his fellow tech leaders. But Gates acknowledged that a certain level of intensity is required in innovative fields. Bill Gates said he considers himself a more relaxed boss than many of his tech compatriots at the top. The Microsoft founder name-checked Elon Musk and Steve Jobs during a fireside chat on Thursday after being awarded the Peter G. Peterson Leadership Excellence Award by the Economic Club of New York. The talk's moderator asked Gates about the lessons he learned in creating a culture of innovation during his time at the helm of Microsoft. The billionaire, who co-founded the technology company with his childhood friend Paul Allen in 1975, said leaders like himself have to think about how "hardcore" they should be when spearheading innovative companies. "Everybody is different. Elon pushes hard, maybe too much," Gates said, referencing Musk. "Steve Jobs pushed hard, maybe too much." "I think of myself as very nice compared to those guys," he added with a laugh. Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, while Musk is the founder and SpaceX and the Boring Company, and cofounder of OpenAI and Neuralink. Gates has a checkered history with both men. He and Jobs nursed a decades-long love-hate relationship, going from allies to rivals and back again several times. Their back-and-forth competitive spirit is often credited with spurring major innovations at both Microsoft and Apple over the years. Steve Jobs Bill Gates Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Beck Diefenbach/Reuters; Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times After Jobs died in 2011, Gates said he respected the Apple founder and was grateful for their competition. The philanthropist's relationship with Musk has been even more turbulent in recent years. The two men have publicly poked at each other and frequently disagree on everything from space travel to climate change. Gates told Musk's biographer, Walter Isaacson, that the Tesla CEO was "super mean" to him in 2022. "Once he heard I'd shorted the stock, he was super mean to me, but he's super mean to so many people, so you can't take it too personally," Gates told Isaacson. But Gates acknowledged during the Thursday discussion that a "certain intensity" is required to succeed as an innovative leader. "In my 20s, I was monomaniacally focused on Microsoft," he said. "I didn't believe in weekends or vacations.' The moderator asked Gates to confirm an urban legend that has circulated in recent years in which the billionaire memorized all of his employees' license plates during the early days of Microsoft so he could track who was putting in long hours at work. "It wasn't that many license plates. We only had a few hundred employees," Gates said, seemingly confirming the tale. "I can still tell you when they came in and out," he added. Gates cites his intensity with the "positive experience" he had at Microsoft, which he said still guides his thinking today. "I view every problem through this innovation lens," he said.

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    www.theverge.com

    "For most markets where DoorDash operates, customers are prompted to tip on the checkout screen, with a middle option already selected by default. If they want to, they can adjust the tip later from the status screen while awaiting their food, or even after it’s delivered. That’s changing today; while blaming New York City’s minimum wage increase for delivery workers, DoorDash announced that for “select markets, including New York City,” tipping is now exclusively a post-checkout option" It seems so ridiculous given tipping fatigue, that DoorDash is making what should be a given sound like a negative.

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    nca2023.globalchange.gov

    The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States.

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    https://defence-blog.com/ukraines-tiny-drone-blows-up-russian-heavy-howitzer/

    Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer with a highly maneuverable racing drone rigged with explosives. Shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by civil rights activist Serhii Sternenko, a video showing a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer which was destroyed by a Ukrainian First-Person-View (FPV) racing drone laden with explosives. In dramatic footage, the Russian self-propelled howitzer is being blown to pieces in a huge blast. Ukrainian Soldiers are strapping rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and self-made bombs to cheap racing drones and using them to attack the Russian armored vehicles and trenches. https://twitter.com/sternenko/status/1712764228837224856 The inexpensive racing drones are apparently so effective that Ukrainian forces can quickly locate and destroy enemy heavy armored vehicles with minimal cost and risk to themselves.

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    www.businessinsider.com

    - Russia is launching "unusual" numbers of carrier killer missiles, among others, at urban areas in southern Ukraine. - The Kh-22 missile is inaccurate when used this way and exceptionally dangerous. - Its reported use in recent attacks on Odesa indicates Russia is continuing to engage in indiscriminate destruction.

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    https://arstechnica.com/?p=1952561

    I have to admire a company following through on the e-waste reduction by doing it's own updates of the Android OS for an EOL chip. I just wish the fairphone 3 was actually more usable. > No one in the Android ecosystem can hold a candle to Apple's software support timeline for the iPhone, but there is one company that comes the closest: Fairphone. Following in the footsteps of the Fairphone 2, the Fairphone 3 is also getting an Android-industry-best seven years of OS support. Fairphone continues to run circles around giant tech companies that have a lot more resources than it does, and it's doing this even in the face of component vendors like Qualcomm dropping support for the phone's core components. > The company announced today that the Fairphone 3, which was released in 2019, has had its support extended to 2026, making for seven years of updates. The company also just released Android 13 for the Fairphone 3. Google's own 2019 phone, the Pixel 4, shut down support in October 2022. > Fairphone strives to make sustainable smartphones, designing its products to be repairable and also offering replacement parts for sale online. Part of that sustainability mission is an absolutely herculean effort to keep the Android updates flowing, even when Qualcomm drops critical software support for the SoC. Fairphone says the Snapdragon 632 SoC in the Fairphone 3 was only supported up to Android 11, so continuing to support the Fairphone 3 meant doing the upgrades all by itself. > For the normal update process, Google releases a new build to the Android open source repository, then SoC vendors like Qualcomm take those builds to create a "Board Support Package (BSP)" for each SoC, which includes updated drivers, proprietary blobs, and all the other bits of code that make the hardware work. Android phone manufacturers usually start their work from these SoC-supported builds of Android, so they only need to add support for their additional hardware. With Qualcomm dropping support for the Fairphone 3 SoC, Fairphone had to do the BSP update work on its own. Fairphone is the only Android phone manufacturer that does this. Everyone else shuts down support along with the SoC vendor. > While seven years of updates is incredible, the one thing you could ding Fairphone for is that the updates don't arrive at a regular cadence. The company actually skipped Android 12 to deliver Android 13 due to all that "build the BSP yourself" work. Monthly security updates probably don't arrive that regularly either. Still, Fairphone doing this with a fraction of the budget of larger companies shows that the usual excuses Android manufacturers make aren't valid. Any company could offer longer support if it wanted to; they're all just content forcing people to upgrade and creating e-waste.

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    "Initials" by "Florian Körner", licensed under "CC0 1.0". / Remix of the original. - Created with dicebear.comInitialsFlorian Körnerhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearSN
    AMAs are the latest casualty in Reddit’s API war
    arstechnica.com

    ... On Saturday, the r/IAmA moderators announced that they will no longer perform these duties: Active solicitation of celebrities or high-profile figures to do AMAs. Email and modmail coordination with celebrities and high-profile figures and their PR teams to facilitate, educate, and operate AMAs. (We will still be available to answer questions about posting, though response time may vary). Running and maintaining a website for scheduling of AMAs with pre-verification and proof, as well as social media promotion. Maintaining a current up-to-date sidebar calendar of scheduled AMAs, with schedule reminders for users. Sister subreddits with categorized cross-posts for easy following. Moderator confidential verification for AMAs. Running various bots, including automatic flairing of live posts The subreddit, which has 22.5 million subscribers as of this writing, will still exist, but its moderators contend that most of what makes it special will be undermined. "Moving forward, we'll be allowing most AMA topics, leaving proof and requests for verification up to the community, and limiting ourselves to removing rule-breaking material alone. This doesn't mean we're allowing fake AMAs explicitly, but it does mean you'll need to pay more attention," the moderators said. The mods will also continue to do bare minimum tasks like keeping spam out and rule enforcement, they said. Like many other Reddit moderators Ars has spoken to, some will step away from their duties, and they'll reportedly be replaced "as needed." ...

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