Civati-Druetti (Possibile): Soddisfazione per il giudizio della Corte sul referendum cittadinanza e sul Jobs Act.

“C’è soddisfazione per il giudizio della Corte sul referendum cittadinanza, dopo la verifica sull’ammissibilità del quesito”. Lo dichiarano Giuseppe Civati e Francesca Druetti, fondatore e segretaria di Possibile, partito promotore del quesito insieme a +Europa, Psi, Radicali, Rifondazione Comunista e le associazioni di italiane e italiani senza cittadinanza.

“Con il parere positivo della Corte — continuano Civati e Druetti — la parola ora torna a cittadine e cittadini, che già durante la campagna di raccolta firme hanno partecipato con entusiasmo, speranza, rabbia. Adesso inizia un percorso, intenso e affascinante, di partecipazione democratica su un tema che ci sta molto a cuore, senza dimenticare i referendum sul lavoro, che abbiamo attivamente sostenuto e che vanno nella direzione di quelli che avevamo promosso nel 2015, la prima mobilitazione del nostro partito quando è stato fondato.”

C’è una grande opportunità davanti a noi per migliorare il Paese su questioni fondamentali per la vita delle persone, su cui sono stati registrati passi indietro negli ultimi anni o un dibattito stantio che ha lasciato invariata una situazione che ha lasciato milioni di persone senza un diritto basilare. Lavoreremo con la nostra comunità perché il nostro Paese la colga fino in fondo.”

“Rimane la questione dell’autonomia differenziata, una legge sbagliata a cui ci opponiamo in ogni sua forma, e sulla cui abrogazione la cittadinanza non sarà chiamata a esprimersi. Continueremo a contrastare le norme che minacciano l’unità del paese e aumentano le diseguaglianze territoriali e tra le persone, come abbiamo sempre fatto”.

L'articolo Civati-Druetti: Soddisfazione per il giudizio della Corte sul referendum cittadinanza e sul Jobs Act proviene da Possibile.

You know (or maybe you didn’t), I get super excited when y’all use the links at the bottom of this round-up we call Keebin’ to communicate with your old pal Kristina about your various labors of love. So just remember that.

Case in point: I was typing up this very issue when I heard from [Jay Crutti] and [Marcel Erz]. Both are out there making replacement keyboards for TRS-80s — [Jay] for Models 3 and 4, and [Marcel] for the Model 1. Oooh, I said to myself. This is going at the top.

A TRS-80 Model 4. Image by [Jay Crutti] via JayCrutti.comRelevant tangent time: I remember in the 90s having a pile of computers in my parents’ basement of various vintages, a TRS-80 Model 2 among them. (Did I ever tell you about the time I got pulled over for speeding with a bunch of different computers in the backseat? I was like no, officer, first of all, those are old machines that no one would really want, and I swear I didn’t steal them.)

I think the TRS-80 is probably the one I miss the most. If I still had it, you can bet I would be using [Jay] and [Marcel]’s work to build my own replacement keyboard, which the 40-year-old machine would likely need at this point if the Model 4 is any indication with its failing keyboard contacts.

To create the replacements, [Jay] used Keyboard Layout Editor (KLE), Plate & Case Builder, and EasyEDA. Using the schematic from the maintenance manual, he matched the row/column wiring of the original matrix with Cherry MX footprints. Be sure to check out [Jay]’s site for a link to the project files, or to purchase parts or an assembled keyboard. On the hunt for TRS-80 parts in general? Look no further than [Marcel]’s site.

Keyboards On the Molekula Level

While some focus aesthetically on keyboards, or on comfort, [zzeneg] is simultaneously rocking both and coming up with new keyboard frameworks. Take the open-source Molekula for example.

Image by [zzeneg] via reddit[zzeneg] really digs modular keyboards and especially the VIK standard for interfacing data between PCBs, which calls for an FPC 12-pin, 0.5 mm pitch connector.

The big idea with molekula and future keyboards is to have dumb sides and a smart central module that does the braining and the hosting. Additionally, [zzeneg]’s plan is to keep the central PCBs’ footprint under 100 mm² in order to make it more affordable for experimentation. You can see this in the third photo of the gallery.

There are a couple of cool things going on in addition to the modularity — the switch footprints cover pretty much anything you’d want to use, and [zzeneg] left the hot swap sockets exposed around back. This thing is just cool through and through.

Via reddit

The Centerfold: Alice, 1989 Style

Image by [Brooklick] via redditI wouldn’t mind being chained to [Brooklick]’s desk for a while. Would you? What I can tell you is that this is an Alice keyboard, and that those are 1989 keycaps and switches. Don’t get too excited unless you also have an Alice; according to [Brooklick], the Space bars are crap, although they do look good.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Chicago No. 3

At first glance, the Chicago No. 3 looks a bit like a car that’s missing a bumper. But then you look again and see it sitting on round feet firmly planted behind the frame-less keyboard and think, it might be kind of nice to type on this one. And without that extra iron, it’s probably pretty light and portable, too.
Image via The Antikey Chop
Given all of that, the No. 3 does have an interesting WERTY layout, with the ‘Q’ appearing on the bottom row. So did the model that sold concurrently, the No. 1 (which did have a frame around the keyboard). The base of the No. 3 was slotted, which made it even lighter to carry around.

Additionally, the two models had different ribbon mechanisms. The No. 3 used a 3/8″ ribbon that fed through those vertically-oriented spools, which is something I haven’t seen before. The No. 3 had two additional keys — a Backspace and a Margin Release. Whereas the No. 1 cost $35, the No. 3 went for $50 in early 1900s money (about $1,600 today).

Functionally speaking, the two were quite similar. In addition to both having a WERTY keyboard, they each used a typesleeve — a cylindrical component that can be swapped out, much like the IBM Selectric’s golf ball type element — and a hammer to print. Interestingly enough, in order to use either model, the typist had to turn the safety off by pulling a “hammer extension arm” on the left side before typing. Hopefully, nothing terrible happened if you forgot to do this.

And What Do We Think of Hardware Layers?

Madden was here. Image via AutoKeybo
Wow. This might actually be a good use of image recognition; I am undecided. It certainly looks cool at first blush, anyway. And I hope it makes a little zhoop! sound in the process of working.

Okay, so, imagine you’re sitting there at your split keyboard and need to mouse or enter some digits real fast. With this number, all you have to do is stretch out your fingers for a second and whoosh — the QWERTY retracts, and in its place comes a 10-key on the left and a mouse on the right.

That’s the power of AutoKeybo. Here, watch the demo video. It’s only nine seconds long.

youtube.com/embed/GXim-IJ4EXc?…

So, let’s start with the obvious. This is supposed to be an ergonomic keyboard, given that you don’t have to move your hand over to mouse. But you do have to rest your arms on a big plastic box that’s two keyboards tall, and that probably isn’t good for you. But it is split, and the sides are angled toward one another, so there’s that.

The cool part is that the trays move independently, so you just stretch out whichever hand is hiding what you need to use real quick. It would be nice to access the mouse without losing the left half of the keyboard. Don’t ask me why, it just would. Just so you wouldn’t have to move both hands.

Okay, so how does it work already? Basically, there’s a built-in camera that detects the splaying of your fingers to trigger the switch. It has a Raspberry Pi 5 doing all of the crunching, which of course you could use as a standalone computer. Here’s a report from someone else who tried it out at CES.

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.

hackaday.com/2025/01/20/keebin…

[Maurycyz] points out right up front: several of the reagents used are very corrosive and can produce toxic gasses. We weren’t sure if they were trying to dissuade us not to replicate it or encourage us to do so. The project in question is making strontium aluminate which, by the way, glows in the dark.

The material grows strongly for hours and, despite the dangers of making it, it doesn’t require anything very exotic. As [Maurycyz] points out, oxygen and aluminum are everywhere. Strontium sounds uncommon, but apparently, it is used in ceramics.

For the chemists among us, there’s an explanation of how to make it by decomposing soluble nitrate salts. For the rest of us, the steps are to make aluminum hydroxide using potassium alum, a food preservative, and sodium hydroxide. Then, it is mixed with nitric acid, strontium carbonate, europium, and dysprosium. Those last elements determine the color of the glow.

A drying step removes the acid, followed by dissolving with urea and water. The heat of the reaction wasn’t enough to form the final product, but it took time with an oxy-propane torch to form blobs of strontium aluminate. The product may not have been pure, because it didn’t glow for hours like commercial preparations. But it did manage to glow for a few minutes after light exposure.

We try to limit our chemistry to less toxic substances, although ferric chloride can make a mess. You could probably track down the impurities with a gas chromatograph. What we really want is a glow-in-the-dark car antenna.

hackaday.com/2025/01/20/diy-st…

With the right conditions, this tiny sensor can measure 12 meters
If you need to measure a distance, it is tempting to reach for the ubiquitous ultrasonic module like an HC-SR04. These work well, and they are reasonably easy to use. However, they aren’t without their problems. So maybe try an IR time of flight sensor. These also work well, are reasonably easy to use, and have a different set of problems. I recently had a project where I needed such a sensor, and I picked up a TF-MiniS, which is a popular IR distance sensor. They aren’t very expensive, and they work serial or I2C. So how did it do?

The unit itself is tiny and has good specifications. You can fit the 42 x 15 x 16 mm module anywhere. It only weighs about five grams — as the manufacturer points out, less than two ping-pong balls. It needs 5 V but communicates using 3.3 V, so integration isn’t much of a problem.

At first glance, the range is impressive. You can read things as close as 10 cm and as far away as 12 m. I found this was a bit optimistic, though. Although the product sometimes gets the name of LiDAR, it doesn’t use a laser. It just uses an IR LED and some fancy optics.

How it Works

The simple explanation for how these sensors work is that they bounce light off a target and measure how long it takes to see the reflection. This is oversimplified, but one thing to keep in mind is that light is fast. To measure a millimeter, you need to measure a difference of less than 7 picoseconds. Light travels 1 mm in 3.3 picoseconds, and then the return flight doubles that.
How time of flight works (from the TFmini-S Product Guide)
Because of practical considerations, there are typically a few specialized techniques used. A pulsed sensor turns the illumination on and off and samples pixels to determine the ratio of the overlap in the outbound beam and the reflected light.

It is also possible to sample four measurements on each cycle (that is, four measurements 90 degrees apart) and compute the distance with some fancy trigonometry. TI has a paper that goes into some detail. Or, if you prefer video, they have a video on the topic, too, which you can see below.

youtube.com/embed/TpjnooXhOmY?…

Practical Concerns

Of course, you can’t measure infinitesimally small times, so the sensors are typically blind when you get too close. This sensor claims to be able to read as little as 10 cm. However, if you read closely, you’ll see that if the total distance is under 6 meters, the sensor is only accurate to within plus or minus 6 cm. So at 10 cm, you might read 4 cm to 16 cm, which is a pretty big difference.

Ambient light can affect measurements, too. One thing you might not think about is that it also matters how reflective the target item is. All of these things can reduce the 12-meter range.
You really want a flat target (image from the TFmini-S product manual)
You also have to think about the field of view. The further away something is, the larger it needs to be. At 12 meters, for example, the target has to be at least 42 cm on a side to present a big enough target. At 1 meter, a 3.5 cm side will suffice.

The target must also be fairly flat in the field of view. If the sensor sees a partial reflection at one distance and more reflection at a further distance, you’ll get an inaccurate reading. None of these things are insurmountable, of course.

Connecting isn’t hard. You use the red/black wires for 5 V power. A 3.3 V serial port is on the white and green wires: white is the line the unit receives data on. We’ve read that if you hook these up backwards or overvolt them, they’ll die. We didn’t test that.

Code

It is pretty easy to write some MicroPython code to get some readings. You can download the code to try it out. The heart of it is very simple:
while True:
total_distance = 0
valid_samples = 0
for _ in range(NUM_SAMPLES):
distance, strength, _ = get_lidar_data()
if distance >= 0 and strength >= 100: # throw out "weak" values or errors
total_distance += distance
valid_samples += 1 # only count good values
if valid_samples > 0:
print(total_distance / valid_samples)

By default, the device sends data out frequently. If you want to change things, you can and you can even save your setup so that it will continue to operate to your last settings.

The output is two 0x59 bytes followed by the distance (two bytes), the strength (two bytes, LSB), a device temperature (two bytes), and a checksum. All the two-byte values are least-significant byte first.

Commands all start with 0x5A and the length of the packet. Then there’s a command code, any data the command needs, and a checksum. Many of the commands are fixed, so the checksum is already computed in the documentation for you.

Speaking of documentation, if you want to write your own code, you don’t really need the datasheet. You do want the “Product Manual” from the Benewake website. The commands are all in that document. You can switch to a readout in millimeters or centimeters. You can set how often the system sends data. You can also put it in a polling mode. The slowest you can get data is once per second.

In Use

A simple but effective test setup.
So how did it work? Some informal testing on the bench wasn’t too bad. The error at near distances was within range but pretty bad at about 3 cm. However, it looked relatively constant, so you can account for it in your code. We don’t know if different materials or different sensors would require different offsets, but we’d guess they do.

There was some very small noise in the sensor output, but, honestly, not much. There were no wild results to filter out. Averaging didn’t buy much because the output was pretty stable already.

Conclusion

Like most things, this is a good solution if you need it, but there are other options, and you have to weigh the pros and cons of each method. Of course, you can build your own, which might help you optimize. Sometimes, the ultrasonic sensors are just fine.

hackaday.com/2025/01/20/time-o…

Come riportato di recente, il collettivo italiano di hacker Anonymous Italia ha sferrato un attacco mirato come ritorsione contro le recenti operazioni condotte dal gruppo NoName057(16). L’azione, denominata “dis-CARICA dei 101”, è parte dell’iniziativa più ampia #OpRussia e ha portato al defacing di 101 siti web russi legati ai sistemi di biglietteria online per i trasporti pubblici nella Federazione Russa.

Questa risposta coordinata da Anonymous Italia rappresenta un chiaro messaggio di opposizione agli attacchi informatici condotti da NoName057(16), consolidando il loro impegno all’interno della campagna contro obiettivi strategici russi.

In un’ulteriore escalation, questa mattina il gruppo OverFlame, come contromossa agli attacchi di Anonymous Italia, ha rivendicato un’azione a loro volta, pubblicando il seguente messaggio sul proprio canale Telegram:
Buongiorno, Russia 🇷🇺

Stiamo lanciando una contro-operazione sull'Italia “Defuse 102” in risposta agli attacchi degli hacktivisti italiani. Il primo obiettivo è stato il servizio di sicurezza statale italiano, l'obiettivo è gravemente danneggiato 🔥

Rapporto:
❌check-host.net/check-report/22…

Gloria alla Russia 🇷🇺
Per Kursk ❤️
Per il Donbass ❤️
Per Belgorod ❤️
#OP404

OverFlame|Riserva OverFlame|FORUM|contattaci -> @OverFlame_contact_bot

L’impatto dell’attacco

Dal link pubblicato all’interno del canale telegram di OverFlame, il sito in questione che avrebbero preso di mira è una pagina dell’Aise e nello specifico sicurezzanazionale.gov.it/web.…. Inoltre tale pagina sembrerebbe non essere la pagina dell’AISE (ed infatti risponde con 404 all’interno del body).

L’AISE è l’acronimo di Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna, il servizio di intelligence italiano responsabile per la sicurezza nazionale nell’ambito delle attività all’estero. L’AISE è una delle due principali agenzie di intelligence in Italia, insieme all’AISI (Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Interna), e fa parte del Sistema di Informazione per la Sicurezza della Repubblica (SISR).

Il sito è sempre risultato perfettamente funzionante pertanto è probabile che solo alcune connessioni siano andate offline, come riporta il ChackHosts pubblicato dal gruppo di hacktivisti filorussi.

OverFlame annuncia una Partner con NoName057(16)

Il gruppo OverFlame, attivo dal gennaio 2025, ha ufficializzato il 16 gennaio una partnership operativa con il collettivo NoName057(16), consolidando una collaborazione mirata a rafforzare le loro azioni congiunte.

Fino a oggi, OverFlame non aveva mai preso di mira obiettivi italiani, rendendo l’attacco attuale un’escalation significativa nelle sue operazioni. Tuttavia, il gruppo si è già distinto per una serie di campagne mirate contro siti web in Lituania, caratterizzati dal dominio nazionale .lt, confermando un focus strategico su obiettivi specifici.

L'articolo OverFlame Vs Anonymous Italia. Nell’Obiettovo il sito Dell’AISE, Colpito Con Poco Successo proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

Le campagne malware Vidar proseguono con la loro cadenza ormai regolare, riporta il CERT-AgID, le quali prendono di mira gli utenti italiani ogni lunedì mattina.

L’ultima ondata, rilevata nella notte del 20 gennaio 2025, sfrutta nuovamente le PEC compromesse per inviare e-mail esclusivamente ai possessori di caselle PEC, puntando sulla attendibilità di queste comunicazioni per massimizzare il tasso di successo degli attacchi.

Come già osservato in precedenti campagne, anche questa volta gli attori malevoli hanno fatto largo uso della tecnica del Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) e della rotazione di utilizzo di numerosi host: sono stati rilevati 147 host utilizzati per distribuire il payload sotto forma di file JavaScript.

Queste strategie, sebbene già ampiamente note e sfruttate da tempo, si rivelano sempre efficaci nel complicare il rilevamento e la mitigazione delle campagne. In particolare, le URL generate con DGA ed i percorsi randomizzati restano inattive durante la fase iniziale notturno dell’attacco e si attivano solo nella mattinata successiva, aumentando le difficoltà della prevenzione proattiva.

Le attività di contrasto sono state già messe in atto con il supporto dei Gestori PEC. Gli IoC relativi alla campagna sono stati diramati attraverso il Feed IoC del CERT-AGID verso i Gestori PEC e verso le strutture accreditate.

Si raccomanda di prestare sempre la massima attenzione alle comunicazioni ricevute via PEC, in particolare quando contengono link ritenuti sospetti. Nel dubbio, è sempre possibile inoltrare le email ritenute sospette alla casella di posta malware@cert-agid.gov.it

L'articolo Ogni Lunedì Mattina: Allarme PEC! Vidar Malware Torna a Colpire Gli Italiani proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

With Donald Trump’s inauguration today, journalists and whistleblowers can expect four more years of legal attacks, threats, smears, bullying, and other abuses we haven’t even thought of yet — all intended to stop them from reporting the news.

While no one can predict exactly what the next four years have in store, here are three press freedom issues that we’ll be following closely at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF).

Increased leaks investigations

Trump’s first term was marked by a surge in leaks investigations. Unnamed sources close to his incoming administration (ironic, isn’t it?) have told reporters to expect even more of the same during his second term.

That means whistleblowers or anyone even suspected of unauthorized leaking could face invasive investigations, such as surveillance of their movements and activities, and broad legal demands for their electronic records. Those who are caught and prosecuted may also be punished harshly, including with long prison sentences.

The Department of Justice could also issue subpoenas or other legal demands to journalists or their tech providers seeking the identities of reporters’ sources, as it did during Trump’s first term. Journalists who refuse to comply with demands to name their confidential sources could be fined or jailed — Trump has been clear that he would like to see just that.

Unfortunately, a law that would have prohibited that, the PRESS Act, failed last Congress, thanks to Democrats’ stalling and Sen. Tom Cotton’s lying. We’ll continue to press Congress to pass a federal law that would protect investigative reporting, during the Trump years and beyond, by prohibiting jailing journalists for refusing to burn their sources. Congress must also reform the Espionage Act — a law that’s been used by both Democrats and Republicans to prosecute those who leak classified information to the press — to ensure it applies only to spying, not whistleblowing.

FPF will also continue to oppose attempts to undermine secure communication tools such as end-to-end encryption, which will become increasingly important in the absence of strong legal protections for journalist-source confidentiality. Journalists and sources should familiarize themselves with best practices for digital security. Sources should brush up on methods for lessening their own risk and may want to consider using SecureDrop and a Tor Browser to share documents or information anonymously.

Criminal prosecutions of journalists

Journalists could be jailed not only for refusing to reveal their sources but also for publishing information that the Trump administration or oligarchs in its orbit don’t want to be made public.

Thanks in no small part to the Biden administration’s decision to continue Trump’s prosecution of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange, the Trump administration will have an easier time abusing the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists who publish national defense information. Assange pleaded guilty to violating Section 793(g) of the act last June, the first time in U.S. history a publisher has been convicted under the law.

It’s a short legal leap from prosecuting Assange to prosecuting national security reporters at traditional news outlets. Assange’s guilty plea was based on conduct that journalists engage in every day: soliciting classified information from the public, encouraging a source to provide him with classified information, and publishing that information.

It’s a short legal leap from prosecuting Assange to prosecuting national security reporters at traditional news outlets.

A journalist charged under the Espionage Act for publishing newsworthy information will have a strong First Amendment defense. But we shouldn’t rely on courts to make the right call when it comes to protecting press freedom against spurious national security claims. Congress must reform the Espionage Act not only to protect whistleblowers but also ensure that it can’t be used against journalists.

Unfortunately, the Espionage Act isn’t the only threat. Federal prosecutors could use other criminal laws against journalists over the next four years. Computer hacking laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, in particular, have already been abused to go after digital journalists like Florida journalist Tim Burke.

With the possibility of increased protests during the Trump administration, we may also see journalists covering protests arrested for crimes like trespassing. While the DOJ recently issued important guidance and recommendations about the First Amendment protections for journalists covering protests, there’s no guarantee it will continue to follow them under Trump.

FPF will continue to speak out against the criminal prosecution of journalists for doing their jobs and push to ensure that they receive full First Amendment protections.

Abuse of government surveillance against the press

We’re also concerned about increased government surveillance of the press over the next four years, especially through tech providers.

The government already has the power to issue legal orders requiring a tech company to turn over a journalist’s digital records, and it can do so in secret by gagging the company. DOJ guidelines limit the circumstances under which the government can issue those legal demands, but the next DOJ could simply ignore or repeal them.

If the government can’t get a legal order for tech company data, it can often buy it. No law prevents the FBI and intelligence agencies from buying location or other sensitive data about Americans from data brokers that they usually couldn’t get without a warrant. And they’re doing exactly that.

While there’s a real risk of abuse of these spying powers over the next four years, there’s also a possibility of reigning them in.

The Trump administration will also have expanded powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress reauthorized and broadened last year to expand the types of entities that can be forced to help the U.S. spy. While some lawmakers promised a later “fix” to that part of the law, that fix has never come. Section 702 is often sold as a purely foreign surveillance law targeting terrorists and drug traffickers, but it’s also been used to spy on Americans, including journalists, without a warrant.

While there’s a real risk of abuse of these spying powers over the next four years, there’s also a possibility of reigning them in. Some of the most vocal critics of government surveillance in recent years have been Republican lawmakers aligned with Trump, who called on the last Congress to kill FISA. Speaker Mike Johnson recently ousted a pro-FISA representative, Mike Turner, from his chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee.

FISA will be up for reauthorization again during Trump’s second term. MAGA skepticism toward government surveillance may create opportunities to pass FISA reform and other bipartisan laws limiting government spying, like the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act.

At the same time, some Trump appointees have been singing a different tune more recently and embracing government spying powers. Republicans may very well find that they enjoy vast spying powers when they’re the ones who control them, just like the Democrats did. In that case, FPF will be there to remind them that most Americans don’t want to live in a surveillance state.

Also read our article on Biden's three biggest press freedom failures.

freedom.press/issues/three-pre…

When it comes to press freedom, last week was a fitting close to President Joe Biden’s term. On Wednesday, he emphasized the importance of the free press in his farewell address. On Thursday, two journalists who demanded answers about the Israel-Gaza war were removed — one forcibly — from his secretary of state’s news conference. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the TikTok ban he supported despite knowing full well the “data privacy” concerns lawmakers cited were a pretext for censorship.

With “friends” of press freedom like Biden, who needs enemies? The president who loved to proclaim that “journalism is not a crime” ignored warnings from press freedom advocates and handed his proudly anti-press successor a road map to criminalize it.

Here are the three themes that will define Biden’s press freedom legacy.

Anti-press prosecutions

Biden ignored warning after warning about the dangers of prosecuting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for actions investigative journalists take every day — talking to sources, obtaining secret documents, and publishing them. Nevertheless, he persisted — extracting a guilty plea from Assange in exchange for his freedom, normalizing prosecutions of routine newsgathering.

Biden officials might have taken issue with Assange’s methods or believed he wasn’t a “journalist,” but it doesn’t matter — there is nothing in the Espionage Act that would restrict Trump from employing identical legal theories against any publisher of government secrets he dislikes, including conventional journalists.

And then there’s the prosecution of Florida journalist Tim Burke under computer crime laws. That did Trump a huge favor because the Espionage Act only applies to government secrets. But, as Biden knows, Trump also has oligarchs to protect! The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, under the interpretation of Biden’s Department of Justice, will help him do so by criminalizing journalists’ use of the internet to find secrets the powerful don’t want published — even if the powerful accidentally post them on publicly available websites.

Not only that, the government, according to Biden’s prosecutors, can label reporting materials like notes and stories in progress as contraband and permanently seize them, stopping journalists’ stories in their tracks. Only Biden knows if he finally regrets arming Trump with this impressive anti-press arsenal, but that won’t help Trump’s victims.

Sacrificing the Constitution for ‘national security’

Justice Hugo Black famously wrote in the Pentagon Papers case that “the word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.” Black’s probably rolling over in his grave.

It is undisputed that the purported national security concerns underlying the TikTok ban are entirely hypothetical. There is no evidence China is using TikTok to spy on Americans. And why would it, when, absent a comprehensive data privacy law, the information it could conceivably get from TikTok is widely available from plenty of other sources? But there is evidence that lawmakers’ real motivation for the ban was to stop young people from using TikTok to criticize the Israel-Gaza war.

President Joe Biden greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a fist bump in 2022. Later that year Biden's administration declared Salman immune from liability for his suspected role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP Photo

And yet, the Supreme Court, at the Biden administration’s urging, authorized censorship of not just one newspaper but a whole platform that millions of Americans, including journalists, use to communicate. Biden seems to regret his political stunt actually becoming law, promising that the ban won’t go into effect immediately. And Trump, who once supported the ban, now opposes it.

That means it’s entirely possible that, at the end of the day, all that will come out of this is a Supreme Court ruling weakening the First Amendment just in time for Trump’s return. Well done, Joe.

Incidentally, the Supreme Court’s TikTok opinion cited China’s law requiring companies from there (like TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance) to cooperate with Chinese surveillance. But it didn’t mention that the U.S. passed a law last year, with Biden’s full support, letting our own government force companies to secretly spy for it.

Biden again ignored repeated warnings that the law could easily be abused by Trump and whoever comes after him to spy on journalists. For someone so critical of Chinese surveillance and censorship, Biden sure likes copying directly from their playbook.

Turning a blind eye to Gaza

We don’t mean to put journalists on a pedestal. Every civilian death in the Israel-Gaza war is tragic, and press freedom violations are far from the only wrongs by its ally that the Biden administration ignored.

That said, the world relies on journalists for credible information about the war, and Israel has killed a record number of reporters, many of them in seemingly targeted attacks. It has refused to allow international outlets to enter Gaza and retaliated against those that are already there. Journalists report death threats followed by bombs.

The U.S. would surely be quick to condemn the same conduct by an adversary, but in Israel’s case, it expresses “concern” and spews other meaningless rhetoric while doing absolutely nothing to hold Israel accountable for its use of U.S. weapons and funds to attack the press. It’s no wonder that journalists, frustrated with all the doublespeak, breach decorum at news conferences.

Yes, Biden’s done some good things for the press. His DOJ passed guidelines that limited subpoenas and surveillance of journalists. Trump will likely repeal those — an outcome Biden could’ve prevented by advocating for the PRESS Act, the bipartisan bill to protect journalist-source confidentiality that he never vocally supported. The Biden DOJ also warned against arresting journalists at protests, including after they're dispersed.

Biden's administration helped free journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva from Russia, where they were held on sham charges. There were other highlights, like restrictions on spyware (which Trump may also reverse).

But those accomplishments pale in comparison to his failures. He has not only damaged the press at home, he’s undermined the U.S. standing to oppose attacks on the press abroad.

We know things will likely get worse under Trump, but it’ll take a lot to make us miss Biden and his empty platitudes.

Also read our article on three threats to press freedom we're watching during Trump's second term.

freedom.press/issues/bidens-pr…

Over 25 civil society organisations and experts actively following the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act are urging the European Commission’s AI Office to ensure that the upcoming Commission guidelines clarify fundamental rights as the central guiding basis to enable meaningful AI Act enforcement. They also note note the various shortcomings of the Commission’s consultation process.

The post European Commission guidelines on the AI Act implementation must center human rights and justice appeared first on European Digital Rights (EDRi).

Since Musk’s acquisition of X in October 2022, we have been working towards an exit strategy. Recent developments and Musk becoming part of the second Trump administration have contributed to a unique and toxic platform power-grab, which has accelerated our X-it timeline. EDRi is joining many other organisations and people in leaving X by the end of January 2025. On 20 January, we will host an important X Spaces conversation to encourage our followers to join Mastodon.

The post Why EDRi is leaving X and where to find us appeared first on European Digital Rights (EDRi).

I titoli di stato non vengono conteggiati nel calcolo dell’ISEE, un vantaggio che sembra fatto su misura per i risparmiatori. Ma cosa si cela dietro questa scelta?

Da un lato, è un chiaro incentivo per finanziare il debito pubblico spingendo i cittadini a investire direttamente nello Stato. Dall’altro, potrebbe indurre molti a concentrare i propri risparmi in un’unica direzione, riducendo la diversificazione.

È davvero una grande opportunità per i risparmiatori o una strategia per esigenze di bilancio statale? Voi cosa ne pensate?

In passato abbiamo parlato nel nostro blog della protezione della fauna selvatica e della necessaria cooperazione internazionale in tema di contrasto alla criminalità che si basa sui traffici di specie animali e di loro parti pregiate.

Oggi parliamo di uno Stato africano che soffre molto della ingerenza del crimine in questo delicato settore: il Malawi. Si tratta di uno stato dell'Africa meridionale, senza sbocco sul mare, confinante con Zambia, Mozambico e Tanzania, che vanta Parchi nazionali e riserve naturali, come il Parco Nazionale di Liwonde e il Parco Nazionale di Nyika.

La notizia positiva è che il Malawi ha fatto passi da gigante nella lotta contro la criminalità della fauna selvatica negli ultimi dieci anni.
Secondo un nuovo rapporto del Dipartimento dei Parchi Nazionali e della fauna selvatica e del Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, oltre 600 arresti sono stati effettuati tra il 2017 e il 2023, con oltre 500 condanne e il sequestro di oltre due tonnellate di avorio.
Il numero di casi giudiziari riguardanti il furto e la illecita commercializzazione di avorio è diminuito di anno in anno, con il numero più basso nel 2023, che rappresenta un calo del 67% rispetto al picco del 2017.

I progressi del Malawi sono particolarmente degni di nota data la portata globale del traffico illegale di specie selvatiche, che colpisce ecosistemi, economie e società. L’UNODC World Wildlife Crime Report (2024) (reperibile qui unodc.org/documents/data-and-a…) ha riportato 13 milioni di sequestri di circa 4.000 specie vegetali e animali tra il 2015-2021.

Il Report di UNODC è la Terza edizione del rapporto che analizza il commercio illegale di fauna selvatica. I crimini faunistici danneggiano la conservazione, gli ecosistemi e i diritti delle comunità locali. Nonostante i progressi, il commercio illegale rimane vasto, coinvolgendo oltre 160 paesi. Viene sottolineata l'importanza del coinvolgimento delle comunità locali e dell'evidenza scientifica per affrontare il problema, con l'obiettivo di generare maggiore attenzione e interventi efficaci contro questa industria criminale.

Il "National Parks & Wildlife Act" modificato del Malawi, approvato nel 2017, fornisce maggiori protezioni per la fauna selvatica e sanzioni più forti per i criminali della fauna selvatica, comprese pene detentive fino a 30 anni. Il tasso medio di condanne per le offese di elefante e rinoceronti nel 2023 era del 93%, con il 90% di questi casi che si traduce in una pena detentiva. La pena detentiva media emessa è di 5,5 anni e la pena massima fino ad oggi è di 18 anni.

Tuttavia, la battaglia contro la criminalità della fauna selvatica non è ancora stata vinta. Il traffico di pangolini e il bracconaggio degli elefanti rimangono preoccupazioni, ed è fondamentale che gli animali sequestrati ricevano cure veterinarie e riabilitate.

Il progresso del Malawi nella protezione del suo patrimonio naturale è un viaggio notevole, che comporta il sostegno del governo e di tutti i partner impegnati.

A pochi giorni di distanza dall'annuncio di $Trump, memecoin di Donald Trump, anche la prossima first lady americana lancia la sua criptovaluta, la $MELANIA. Basata sulla blockchain di Solana, ha aumentato il suo valore del 188% nelle prime 10 ore.

Tra poche ore Trump giurerà come presidente degli Stati Uniti.

Lascio a voi le vostre conclusioni.

Come nota personale constato che la sezione commenti del mio canale Telegram è bombardata di spam di queste due criptovalute.

rp.pl/waluty/art41701131-melan…

Melania Trump wyemitowała memiczną kryptowalutę

Melania Trump, przyszła (i zarazem była) pierwsza dama USA, wyemitowała własną, "memiczną" kryptowalutę o nazwie $MELANIA.

^{Hubert Kozieł (Rzeczpospolita)}

Con il singolo “Jumping the Gun”, Hope Tala si conferma una delle voci più intriganti e promettenti della scena indie-pop contemporanea. La giovane cantante inglese, originaria di Londra ma attualmente di base a Los Angeles, ci trasporta in un mondo musicale che fonde delicatamente Indie-Pop, R&B contemporaneo e sfumature alternative. @Musica Agorà

iyezine.com/recensione-di-jump…

Recensione di “Jumping the Gun” di Hope Tala

Recensione di “Jumping the Gun” di Hope Tala - Hope Tala si conferma una delle voci più intriganti e promettenti della scena indie-pop contemporanea. - Hope Tala

^{Margherita Zanin (In Your Eyes ezine)}

Da un paio di giorni i riflettori sono puntati sulla scuola, cosa bizzarra, visto che oltre a servirsi dell’istruzione per propaganda politica ed ideologica, di solito a nessuno interessa veramente cosa succede all’istruzione nel nostro paese.

Il ministro Valditara ha rilasciato al Giornale un’intervista in cui parla della nuova Riforma scolastica e nel giro di qualche dichiarazione la percezione è di uno spin-off di “Ritorno al futuro”.

Tralasciamo il “ritorno” del latino alla scuola secondaria di primo grado (che il ministro si ostina a chiamare “scuola media”, sorvolando sulla nuova denominazione voluta dalla Riforma Moratti più di 20 anni fa), visto che con l’autonomia scolastica si possono già attivare corsi di latino da anni. La perplessità rimane sempre la stessa: da quale altra materia verrà preso il tempo necessario per inserire lo studio del latino in orario curricolare?

Tralasciamo che nessuno ha commentato il ritorno dei giudizi sintetici alla scuola primaria (“elementari” per il ministro), dopo tre anni di sperimentazione effettivamente buttata nel cestino (e di risorse economiche per la formazione, risorse umane per stilare i nuovi obiettivi di valutazione, tempo per spiegare a genitori/tutori il cambiamento in atto).

Quello che lascia più interdetti è sicuramente il sapore nostalgico e italo-centrico di tutto il discorso, il poule tutto al maschile a capo della commissione, l’assenza di studentesse e studenti al tavolo delle decisioni sul futuro della loro istruzione.

Il focus dello studio della storia, quella del “nostro paese e dell’occidente, senza sovrastrutture ideologiche”.

Le poesie da imparare a memoria, come se le insegnanti di scuola primaria già non lo facessero.

L’avvicinamento dei bambini e bambine alla comprensione della musica, quando poi, in Italia, la categoria di lavoratori dei musicisti è tra le più bistrattate tra gli artisti.

Infine, come se non bastasse, a questo teatrino anacronistico si è aggiunta Paola Frassinetti, sottosegretaria al ministero dell’Istruzione, che ci ha tenuto a sottolineare che lo studio della Bibbia avrà una posizione nell’istruzione primaria.

È sempre stato così: le riforme sono l’unica cosa che è concessa al ministero dell’istruzione per dare un’idea di cambiamento senza effettivamente spendere soldi.

Le classi-pollaio, più della metà degli edifici scolastici obsoleti e non sicuri, la necessità dell’introduzione di un’educazione alla sessualità e all’affettività, far fronte alla quasi totale assenza dello sviluppo del pensiero critico, l’introduzione obbligatoria di pedagogisti all’interno delle scuole primarie e psicologi e psicoterapeuti alle scuole secondarie, una supervisione periodica degli insegnanti, un supporto maggiore agli insegnanti di sostegno, il riconoscimento della professione dell’educatore, potremmo andare avanti e elencare le vere priorità, rispetto alla reintroduzione del latino e della Bibbia.

Non ci resta dunque che dire: bentornati nel ventennio.

Flavia Farina

Alla Base la Scuola

L'articolo Riforma Valditara: bentornati nel Ventennio proviene da Possibile.