Release Liners

Release liners are specialized materials used as protective layers to prevent adhesives from prematurely bonding to surfaces. They serve as carrier substrates that are coated with a release agent—commonly silicone or other low-surface-energy materials—that enables the easy separation of the liner from the adhesive layer during application. These liners play a critical role across numerous industries, including labels and tapes, medical products, hygiene items, industrial laminates, and composite materials.

The primary function of a release liner is to protect pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) until they are ready for use. Once the liner is removed, the adhesive can bond to a target surface. This makes release liners indispensable in the production and application of self-adhesive products, ensuring ease of handling, preventing contamination, and extending the shelf life of the adhesive layer.

Release liners are typically constructed using various base materials such as paper, film, or specialty substrates, which are then coated with a release agent. Paper-based liners are widely used due to their cost-effectiveness and compatibility with many applications. They include glassine, supercalendered kraft, and clay-coated papers. Film-based liners, made from polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET), or polyolefin blends, offer superior strength, dimensional stability, and moisture resistance, making them suitable for demanding or high-performance uses.

Release Liner Market

Release Liners Market Research Report Information by Substrate (Film-Based and Paper-Based) By Labelling Technology (Glue Applied, Pressure Sensitive, Shrink Sleeve, Stretch Sleeve, In-mold and Others) By Printing Process (Flexography, Digital Printi…

^{Chitranshi Jaiswal (Market Research Future)}

Low Migration Inks

Low migration inks are specialized printing inks formulated to minimize the transfer of ink components from packaging materials into the packaged product, particularly food, pharmaceuticals, or personal care items. This is essential in ensuring consumer safety, especially when products are sensitive to contamination or are in direct or indirect contact with printed surfaces. These inks are designed in compliance with stringent regulatory standards and are widely used in the packaging industry, especially for food-safe and health-compliant applications.

The term "migration" refers to the movement of substances—such as solvents, photoinitiators, plasticizers, or other additives—from the printed layer through the packaging material and into the product. Migration can occur through direct contact or via the set-off effect, where printed surfaces come into contact with the unprinted side of packaging materials during stacking or rolling. Low migration inks are engineered to resist this transfer, reducing the risk of contamination and preserving the integrity and safety of the packaged goods.

Formulating low migration inks involves careful selection of raw materials, particularly those with high molecular weights, low volatility, and minimal extractability. The ink components—such as binders, pigments, solvents, and additives—are chosen based on their low potential to migrate and their compliance with applicable food safety regulations and industry standards. Additionally, these inks often include special curing mechanisms, such as UV or electron beam (EB) curing, which help fully crosslink the ink film and minimize residual substances that could migrate.

Low Migration Inks Market

Low Migration Inks Market Research Report Information By Printing Process (Flexography, Gravure), By Substrate Type (Corrugated Boxes, Flexible Films), By End-Use Industry (Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics & Personal Care), And By Region (…

^{Anshula Mandaokar (Market Research Future)}

https://apnews.com/article/mossad-iran-israel-weapons-missiles-a504ee31c70857c8d86a0d066997e344

"Sorella di Perfezione": Angeli e Demoni nel nuovo libro di Giuseppe Iannozzi. - LFA Publisher - Booktrailer su YouTube:

**youtube.com/shorts/SfvcAhebHvs…

E se vi va, iscrivetevi al mio canale YouTube. Grazie di cuore a Tutte/i.

Businesses are directed through the setup process by an Indian virtual network expert that evaluates their requirements and suggests platforms such as Cisco or Fortinet. Businesses can divide the network for better security and performance with VLAN setup services in India. These services guarantee low network congestion and effective traffic control.

India's VPN service providers offer safe remote connectivity options that protect personal information for distant working teams. VPN prevents cyber hazards by ensuring encrypted communication for both small and large businesses. VPNs are configured by knowledgeable specialists to meet particular corporate needs, guaranteeing a smooth integration.

Working with an Indian virtual network service provider gives you access to cutting-edge resources and knowledge. These suppliers guarantee strong network performance by providing end-to-end solutions, from planning to maintenance. Businesses can use premium virtual network solutions to remain competitive in India's expanding digital landscape.

Organizations may create scalable, secure IT systems by investing in virtual network solutions. Businesses in India may create a network infrastructure that is fit for the future and spurs innovation and success by working with knowledgeable consultants.

read more
radiant.in/virtual-network-vla…
[https://radiant.in/virtual-network-vlan-vpn-solution-service-provider-expert-consultant-company-in-india/]

Best Virtual Network, VLAN & VPN Solutions | Expert IT Consultants India

Get secure & efficient Virtual Network, VLAN & VPN solutions from top IT experts in India. Tailored networking services for seamless business connectivity

^{Radiant Info Solutions}

What's the future of screen capture on Linux? What's holding it back? What's pushing it forward?

A version of this question that might be more accurate/holistic: Do you think there'll be a standard, high-performance desktop API in our lifetimes?

It feels like there isn't the same market pressure like there is for Valve and Proton that'll make a good capture protocol appear. I'd love to eat my words, but I'd also easily bet one trillion dollars¹ that I'll be dead before anything dethrones GPU vendor extensions.

tangential additions / context for the terminally bored:

For example, Nvfbc+Nvenc is a must-have for game streaming with Moonlight and ALVR (not sure if AMD has anything like that), but it's my poor understanding that this type of GPU-only framebuffer capture isn't possible on Wayland for security or other reasons, which is sadly keeping me on X11.

Windows probably has awesome screencapture APIs given that the NVIDIA Capture SDK documentation cites it as why they removed Nvfbc from their Window's drivers but not their Linux drivers.

The proof that Windows reaped the rewards of unifying all their stuff can be seen in the Lossless Scaling-likes that are on the market (Magpie, Integer Scaling, etc.) while all Linux has is like Gamescope and vkbasalt ², so apples and oranges.

1. Zimbabwean ↩︎
2. super-tangential: I tried to ducttape a Lossless Scaling-like out of nvfbc, using a shader to do closest neighbor scaling. But once I had to truly delve into Xorg, I gave up, as playing Maple Legends was not worth all that effort. ↩︎

The Defense Department has mobilized 700 troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

These troops will “not participate in law enforcement activities” but will “provide logistical support, and conduct administrative and clerical functions,” according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. The troops were deployed last week, Parnell said.

The three states have seen several large-scale ICE raids since Trump took office in January and implemented his hardline anti-immigration agenda, promising to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

700 troops have been mobilized to help ICE in raids in Florida, Louisiana and Texas

The Trump administration mobilized troops to Los Angeles in response to anti-ICE protests earlier this month

^{Katie Hawkinson (The Independent)}

The San Francisco Police Commission unanimously accepted a nearly $9.4 million donation Wednesday night to expand the police department’s drone program and add 10 new drone take-off sites.

“This is by far the largest one-time donation I think we’ve ever considered,” said police commissioner Kevin Benedicto. The Board of Supervisors will vote on the gift later this month.

The donation was proposed last week by Ripple Labs, a San Francisco-based crypto company run by billionaire Chris Larsen, and the San Francisco Police Community Foundation, a nonprofit that Larsen founded in 2023. Larsen has been a long-time proponent of increasing the SFPD’s use of technology and donated $250,000 to the passing of Prop E.

‘We’re going to be covering the entire city with drones:’ SFPD accepts billionaire’s $9.4M gift

San Francisco police commission accepts tech billionaire's gift, to provide cops with drones, cameras and a massive new office

^{Frankie Solinsky Duryea (Mission Local)}

A federal appeals court on Tuesday seemed ready to keep Donald Trump in control of California national guard troops after they were deployed following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.

Last week, a district court ordered the US president to return control of the guard to Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, who had opposed their deployment. US district judge Charles Breyer said Trump had deployed the Guard illegally and exceeded his authority. But the administration quickly appealed and a three-judge appellate panel temporarily paused that order.

Tuesday’s hearing was about whether the order could take effect while the case makes its way through the courts, including possibly the supreme court.

It’s the first time a US president has activated a state national guard without the governor’s permission since 1965, and the outcome of the case could have sweeping implications for Trump’s power to send soldiers into other US cities. Trump announced on 7 June that he was deploying the guard to Los Angeles to protect federal property following a protest at a downtown detention center after federal immigration agents arrested dozens of immigrants without legal status across the city. Newsom said Trump was only inflaming the situation and that troops were not necessary.

Appeals court likely to keep Trump in control of national guard deployed in LA

White House had appealed an order from last week telling Trump to return control of the guard to California governor

^{Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)}

Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

BlueMonday1984

2025-06-08 23:07:28

Stubsack: weekly thread for sneers not worth an entire post, week ending 15th June 2025

Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

Republican Thomas Massie joins with Democrats in effort to require Congress approval before Trump attacks Iran

As Donald Trump publicly threatens to join Israel in attacking Iran, an unlikely coalition of lawmakers has moved to prevent the president from involving US forces in the conflict without Congress’s approval.

On Tuesday, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, whose libertarian-tinged politics have often put him at odds with Trump, joined with several progressive Democrats to introduce in the House of Representatives a war powers resolution that would require a vote by Congress before Trump could attack Iran. Democrat Tim Kaine has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie wrote on X in announcing the resolution. Democrats Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez replied “signing on” to the tweet, while Massie’s office later announced that several others, including chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Greg Casar, would also sponsor the resolution.

‘Not our war’: bipartisan US lawmakers back resolution to block involvement in Iran

^{Chris Stein (The Guardian)}

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/31873332

In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a worse actor than Meta, or a worse product that the AI Discover feed.

404 Media

2025-06-17 14:47:09

Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People's Chats With AI

I was sick last week, so I did not have time to write about the Discover Tab in Meta’s AI app, which, as Katie Notopoulos of Business Insider has pointed out, is the “saddest place on the internet.” Many very good articles have already been written about it, and yet, I cannot allow its existence to go unremarked upon in the pages of 404 Media.

If you somehow missed this while millions of people were protesting in the streets, state politicians were being assassinated, war was breaking out between Israel and Iran, the military was deployed to the streets of Los Angeles, and a Coinbase-sponsored military parade rolled past dozens of passersby in Washington, D.C., here is what the “Discover” tab is: The Meta AI app, which is the company’s competitor to the ChatGPT app, is posting users’ conversations on a public “Discover” page where anyone can see the things that users are asking Meta’s chatbot to make for them.

This includes various innocuous image and video generations that have become completely inescapable on all of Meta’s platforms (things like “egg with one eye made of black and gold,” “adorable Maltese dog becomes a heroic lifeguard,” “one second for God to step into your mind”), but it also includes entire chatbot conversations where users are seemingly unknowingly leaking a mix of embarrassing, personal, and sensitive details about their lives onto a public platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg. In almost all cases, I was able to trivially tie these chats to actual, real people because the app uses your Instagram or Facebook account as your login.

In several minutes last week, I saved a series of these chats into a Slack channel I created and called “insanemetaAI.” These included:

• entire conversations about “my current medical condition,” which I could tie back to a real human being with one click
• details about someone’s life insurance plan
• “At a point in time with cerebral palsy, do you start to lose the use of your legs cause that’s what it’s feeling like so that’s what I’m worried about”
• details about a situationship gone wrong after a woman did not like a gift
• an older disabled man wondering whether he could find and “afford” a young wife in Medellin, Colombia on his salary (“I'm at the stage in my life where I want to find a young woman to care for me and cook for me. I just want to relax. I'm disabled and need a wheelchair, I am severely overweight and suffer from fibromyalgia and asthma. I'm 5'9 280lb but I think a good young woman who keeps me company could help me lose the weight.”)
• “What counties [sic] do younger women like older white men? I need details. I am 66 and single. I’m from Iowa and am open to moving to a new country if I can find a younger woman.”
• “My boyfriend tells me to not be so sensitive, does that affect him being a feminist?”

Rachel Tobac, CEO of Social Proof Security, compiled a series of chats she saw on the platform and messaged them to me. These are even crazier and include people asking “What cream or ointment can be used to soothe a bad scarring reaction on scrotum sack caused by shaving razor,” “create a letter pleading judge bowser to not sentence me to death over the murder of two people” (possibly a joke?), someone asking if their sister, a vice president at a company that “has not paid its corporate taxes in 12 years,” could be liable for that, audio of a person talking about how they are homeless, and someone asking for help with their cancer diagnosis, someone discussing being newly sexually interested in trans people, etc.

Tobac gave me a list of the types of things she’s seen people posting in the Discover feed, including people’s exact medical issues, discussions of crimes they had committed, their home addresses, talking to the bot about extramarital affairs, etc.

“When a tool doesn’t work the way a person expects, there can be massive personal security consequences,” Tobac told me.

“Meta AI should pause the public Discover feed,” she added. “Their users clearly don’t understand that their AI chat bot prompts about their murder, cancer diagnosis, personal health issues, etc have been made public. [Meta should have] ensured all AI chat bot prompts are private by default, with no option to accidentally share to a social media feed. Don’t wait for users to accidentally post their secrets publicly. Notice that humans interact with AI chatbots with an expectation of privacy, and meet them where they are at. Alert users who have posted their prompts publicly and that their prompts have been removed for them from the feed to protect their privacy.”

Since several journalists wrote about this issue, Meta has made it clearer to users when interactions with its bot will be shared to the Discover tab. Notopoulos reported Monday that Meta seemed to no longer be sharing text chats to the Discover tab. When I looked for prompts Monday afternoon, the vast majority were for images. But the text prompts were back Tuesday morning, including a full audio conversation of a woman asking the bot what the statute of limitations are for a woman to press charges for domestic abuse in the state of Indiana, which had taken place two minutes before it was shown to me. I was also shown six straight text prompts of people asking questions about the movie franchise John Wick, a chat about “exploring historical inconsistencies surrounding the Holocaust,” and someone asking for advice on “anesthesia for obstetric procedures.”

I was also, Tuesday morning, fed a lengthy chat where an identifiable person explained that they are depressed: “just life hitting me all the wrong ways daily.” The person then left a comment on the post “Was this posted somewhere because I would be horrified? Yikes?”

Several of the chats I saw and mentioned in this article are now private, but most of them are not. I can imagine few things on the internet that would be more invasive than this, but only if I try hard. This is like Google publishing your search history publicly, or randomly taking some of the emails you send and publishing them in a feed to help inspire other people on what types of emails they too could send. It is like Pornhub turning your searches or watch history into a public feed that could be trivially tied to your actual identity. Mistake or not, feature or not (and it’s not clear what this actually is), it is crazy that Meta did this; I still cannot actually believe it.

In an industry full of grifters and companies hell-bent on making the internet worse, it is hard to think of a more impactful, worse actor than Meta, whose platforms have been fully overrun with viral AI slop, AI-powered disinformation, AI scams, AI nudify apps, and AI influencers and whose impact is outsized because billions of people still use its products as their main entry point to the internet. Meta has shown essentially zero interest in moderating AI slop and spam and as we have reported many times, literally funds it, sees it as critical to its business model, and believes that in the future we will all have AI friends on its platforms. While reporting on the company, it has been hard to imagine what rock bottom will be, because Meta keeps innovating bizarre and previously unimaginable ways to destroy confidence in social media, invade people’s privacy, and generally fuck up its platforms and the internet more broadly.

If I twist myself into a pretzel, I can rationalize why Meta launched this feature, and what its idea for doing so is. Presented with an empty text box that says “Ask Meta AI,” people do not know what to do with it, what to type, or what to do with AI more broadly, and so Meta is attempting to model that behavior for people and is willing to sell out its users’ private thoughts to do so. I did not have “Meta will leak people’s sad little chats with robots to the entire internet” on my 2025 bingo card, but clearly I should have.

‘AI Instagram Influencers’ Are Deepfaking Their Faces Onto Real Women’s Bodies

AI 'influencers' on Instagram have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views by stealing reels from real women to make the AI seem more "believable."

^{Jason Koebler (404 Media)}

Okay, I'm not exactly sure what the precise story is above. Schweiz (Switzerland) being a completely landlocked country, I suppose we're to imagine the body of water here being either of lakes Geneva, Neuchâtel or Bienne, yeah?

So then, a couple personal reminiscences just below, and then let's get to Muralt's excellent art, yeah? (I promise it'll be over soon 😁)

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

As for me, I did visit Schweiz and Lake Geneva a long time ago as a youth, and was impressed by its supreme cleanliness, and (expensive, haha) charm. The chocolates were incredible, and I remember a nice sweetened, hot cocoa mix called... "Suchet," was it? (hmm, or was that an Italian one?) Point is, there wasn't anything quite like that hot chocolate across the two major US cities I grew up in, I think maybe because such brands processed cocoa solids a bit differently than in the American market. (side-note: I found the Toblerone chocolate imported to the USA quite excellent, but surprisingly clumsy in terms of marketing to the American market, but... whatever)

deih43ym53wif.cloudfront.net/l…

Oh, and I especially remember the super-pleasant little family hikes we took, around our hotel, I think around the base of Mt. Jungfrau or her 'sibs.' I also recall the countryside teeming with a sort of 'classic Teletubbies' landscape, i.e. vaast, perfectly manicured English-style lawns, featuring cattle grazing just as they pleased...

Now for some reason (as that little boy), and despite a previous visit to an uncle's ranch, I'd never really SEEN cows (i.e. female milk-producing-bred cattle) up close, before. The Swiss cows seemed so cute and placid to me, which impacted me nicely those days, specifically as a troubled kid with both 'high-energy' and 'low-energy' conflicting qualities. (oof, hard to explain the whole mess, really)

Anyway! Every time our family passed by a tourist-type shop, and for the duration of the trip, I would be SURE to pick up a couple more 'milker' postcards as I discovered them, which I eventually built in to a mighty stack of excellence, which in my mind rivaled or even surpassed (haha) my buddies' typical, lame baseball card collections. Now, far as I know, 'cows against cowboys' didn't start as a conscience thing at the time, but maaybee it was subconsciously a kind of earthy, spicy retort to 'putting people in boxes,' like-- "Well, my players give delicious milk (and beef); how many of your 'baseball stars' can claim the same, losers?" (lol, I'm so ridiculous)

i.imgur.com/5Ewpl9y.jpeg

For example: "I'll trade you my awesome "Swiss-kiss" card for one of your Babe Ruth's and a huge stack of Barry Bonds!" (no, I'm not implying nuttin, babe; absolutely not!) (I swear, though, that exact image was on one my beloved collectibles)

Haha, alright, one last little ramble before I get to Muralt's stuff. It's that my family's Euro trip way back when ignited in me a real appreciation and curiosity about Europe as a whole, that in fact turned in to something of a life-long pursuit, especially when it comes to BD. See, we also visited Italy, Austria and Hungary for the record, all equally-fascinating places. Altho Hungary being part of the Soviet bloc at the time, it was a little scary getting in and out.
Yeap yeap, /DearDiary

*phew*
Okay, let's get to it--

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

Muralt is a talented illustrator and comics artist from Switzerland. He has worked for many years in areas such as comics, games, industrial design and advertising. His style is characterized by a high level of detail, realism and emotional expressiveness. He skillfully combines traditional and digital techniques, which gives his work a special look. --"DSCVR" site

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

His most famous comic is "The Fall", released in 2018. This is a graphic novel that tells about life in a post-apocalyptic world where people are forced to fight for survival in a new reality. It received high praise from critics and was popular with readers.

cdn.imagecomics.com/assets/i/r…

While working on comics and illustrations, Muralt pays special attention to details and characterizes his characters, making them unique and recognizable. This helps him create unique worlds and atmospheres in his work that are unfamiliar and memorable.

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

For sure, be sure to check out these cool, amazing little sketchbooks in the link, below:

jaredillustrations.ch/wp-conte…

Oh dear, that could almost double as the Statue of Liberty... 😔

Muralt's site:
jaredillustrations.ch/category…

cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/45953900

The National Unity Government (NUG) has begun constructing two bomb-proof underground hospitals in its controlled areas, with plans to build up to eight, according to U Nay Phone Latt, spokesperson for the NUG Prime Minister’s Office.

https://eng.mizzima.com/2025/06/12/23326

At the heart of Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral run is the firm belief that none of the terrible things he’s done to the people whose votes he’s competing for will matter. Here’s a reminder of a few of the biggest scandals on that long list.

Andrew Cuomo Wants to Get Away With All of It

^jacobin.com

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/german-defence-minister-not-considering-sending-taurus-missiles-ukraine-2025-06-12/

Britain’s serious crime agency has frozen UK property worth £170m belonging to the former land minister of Bangladesh amid a crackdown on former allies of Sheikh Hasina, the autocratic leader deposed in last year’s student-led revolution.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed it had frozen assets belonging to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, who is among allies of Hasina whose sizeable UK real estate portfolios have come under scrutiny by authorities in Dhaka investigating alleged corruption.

Analysis of Land Registry documents indicates that all of Chowdhury’s more than 300 properties are subject to asset freezing orders, preventing them from being sold or transferred.

These include a luxury home in St John’s Wood, London, bought for £11m in 2022, and an apartment block in Fitzrovia, bought for £12.65m a year earlier, part of a portfolio bought for an estimated £170m.

NCA freezes £170m of UK property belonging to ally of ousted Bangladesh leader

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s assets frozen as authorities in Dhaka investigate alleged corruption of former regime

^{Rob Davies (The Guardian)}

The hacking mystery roiling the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government is deepening after researchers said they had found new evidence that two more journalists were targeted using the same military-grade spyware that Italy has admitted to using against activists.

A parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence confirmed earlier this month that Italy had used mercenary spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions against two Italian activists.

But the same committee, which launched an investigation into the hacking scandal in March, said it had been unable to determine who was behind the targeting of a prominent Italian investigative journalist, Francesco Cancellato, whose news outlet has been critical of the Meloni government.

Now a report by researchers at the Citizen Lab has revealed that a close colleague of Cancellato, Ciro Pellegrino, who is head of the investigative outlet Fanpage.it’s Naples bureau, was also targeted by a user of Paragon Solution’s spyware, which is called Graphite. The Citizen Lab said a third journalist, who chose to remain anonymous and is described as a “prominent European journalist”, had also been targeted with the spyware, it said.

Graphite Caught: First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted -

We conducted a forensic analysis of devices belonging to two journalists who were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware.

^{Bill Marczak (The Citizen Lab)}

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I'll note that California was trying phase down new gas cars over a period of years, and still allowed 20% plug-in hybrids at the end of the phase-down.

Edit: Gov Newsom immediately announced a lawsuit over this

A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington.

China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles.

But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them: the war-torn country was the source of nearly half those imports in the first four months of this year, Chinese customs data show.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3048041/china-backed-militia-controls-rare-earth-mines-in-myanmar

This post uses a gift link with a view count limit. There is a archived copy of the article for when it runs out

Notably:

“Economic damage from populist rule is typically severe,” they find. “Over 15 years, real GDP per capita is 10 per cent lower compared to the nonpopulist counterfactual.”

And

they rarely leave after losing elections, but more often amid “major scandals that lead to impeachment or resignations, constitutional crises and refusals to step down, as well as coups, suicides, or deadly accidents”. One of the paper’s authors, Schularick, has said it’s “totally naive” to imagine Trump will simply walk away in 2028

The strongman’s MO

A study of political movements worldwide assesses the populists’ playbook — and how Donald Trump fits in

^{Simon Kuper (Financial Times)}