books, websites, video tutorials, some guy who met Jim West one time, whatever reference you use

Archived version

Journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna died in Russian captivity on 19 September 2024. It was previously known that the woman was being illegally held in a pre-trial detention centre in Taganrog. However, journalists from Slidstvo.Info learned that eight days before her death, Roshchyna was transferred to detention centre No. 3 in the city of Kizel in the Perm region. It was in this place of captivity that the journalist died — journalists learned from closed Russian bases that her death certificate was issued in Perm.

Slidstvo.Info spoke to a soldier who had been released from captivity and who had seen Viktoriia Roshchyna in Kizel and travelled there with her on the same train. In addition, journalists identified the heads of the detention centre who may have been involved in Roshchyna’s death.

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For over a year, her family and friends waited for Viktoriia to be exchanged and return home. However, in October 2024, her father received a letter from the Russians stating that Viktoriia had died in captivity. All this time, she had been held in various prisons: in the occupied territories and in Taganrog pre-trial detention Centre No. 2. It was in Taganrog that Viktoriia first crossed paths with soldier Danylo, with whom journalists from Slidstvo.Info managed to speak to. He was returned to Ukraine during an exchange in April 2025.

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“They beat me constantly for an hour or two. They gave me a minute to catch my breath and then started beating me again. I lost consciousness twice during the ‘reception’. The women had their heads shaved, and I could hear them crying,” says Danylo.

“They beat everyone very badly, wherever they could. They could hit you and just knock out an organ,” said another soldier released from captivity, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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“You stand there in one place. All day long, you have your imaginary square where you stand. That is, you are not allowed to move around the cell, you cannot sit down. Talking to each other is also prohibited, because the camera sees everything. They can also open the windows. And, excuse me, Kizel, it’s very cold there. I think there’s even snow there in the summer. I remember once it was about 30 degrees below zero,” says 22-year-old Danylo Murashkin, who was returned to Ukraine in July 2025 after 3.5 years in captivity.

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The fact that Viktoriia died on 19 September was confirmed to Slidstvo.Info by the Office of the Prosecutor General. It happened right in the detention centre.

‘She had been there for less than two weeks, and that is where she died. It was in the pre-trial detention centre in Kizel. Viktoriia’s body was transferred to Ukraine in such a condition that it was not possible to conduct a full forensic examination, the results of which would have provided us with information about the cause of Viktoriia’s death,’ said Taras Semkiv, head of the Second Directorate for Procedural Guidance and Public Prosecution of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

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Journalists managed to obtain a list of employees of pre-trial detention centre No. 3 in Kizel from their sources. Slidstvo.Info verified it and found that in September 2024, 39-year-old Vitaly Spirin was acting as the head of the facility. Spirin’s social media accounts reveal that he is married and has two children. In 2023, Spirin earned 1 million 49 thousand Russian rubles at the detention centre. This is approximately 450 thousand hryvnias.

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“It is obvious that in a place of confinement such as Kizel, such actions cannot take place without the knowledge of the head of the facility. These are systematic manifestations of cruel treatment of Ukrainians in places of confinement. They definitely take place with the connivance and instructions of the management of the detention centre,” says Taras Semkiv, head of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The deceased Viktoriia Roshchyna may also have been in contact with the head of the security department, Yevgeniy Trofimov, the deputy head of personnel and educational work, Konstantin Chekalov, and the deputy head of logistics, Alexei Dorodnov.

All employees of the Kizel detention centre, except for Dorodnov, continue to work there.

I saw a spy and she looked right at me and winked and I ran back home. Now I'm hiding in my garage posting this and my dog is barking at something outside and I'm too terrified to look out. God help me.

Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that Lufthansa was planning to axe up to 20 percent of its administrative staff.

Lufthansa has lost ground to key European rivals IAG and Air France-KLM, which have outperformed the German group in terms of profitability.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a tranche of partial records from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, which include flight logs, diary appointments and a financial ledger.

In the partially redacted documents, there are several emailed schedules over the years, which include:

• A 2019 breakfast with former White House adviser Steve Bannon.

• Lunch in 2017 with billionaire and Trump ally Peter Thiel.

• A potential visit from Elon Musk to Epstein’s island in 2014.

There is also a flight log from 2000, which lists Prince Andrew as a passenger on Epstein’s private plane.

In France : https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cartes/PPA

They're lobbying for laws, supporting political parties, and even influencing orthodox economic theories and their spread.
They're also buying publishing houses, survey institutes, and even journalist schools.
That's how you can find people who claim to be neither from the left or the right, but are only knowing/regurgitating opinions broadcasted in the capitalist-owned state(, e.g., solve the deficit by lowering the number of public servants and selling public companies, instead of taxing the billionaires and fighting tax fraud&schemes, after all they're the ones creating jobs and working enough hours to deserve millions, and they'll leave the country if we tax them, not seeing the problem with this race to the bottom).

Just a reminder of our hypocrisy when we're criticizing the state's Pravda while our laws allow the Pravda of the millionaires.

Worker's owned medias and companies would be the obvious third way to private//public ones, or at least the three types in a relative equal mesure, but not >90% of capitalist-owned medias. We could/should also finally accomplish the pluralism that we're so proud of and makes us a "democracy" better than the dictatorships allegedly specialized in brainwashing their citizens(, otherwise how could the authentic popular support be explained, they still need to be sanctioned/invaded/liberated). Concretely, we could give ~100€ every year to our citizens, and let them choose/vote to which newspaper such sum should be allocated, among other ideas. Perhaps that communist newspapers/radios/ideas would finally appear instead of the pseudo-objectivity owned by the wealthiest, who even knows what socialism or capitalism means, and why 'passive incomes'/'lucrative properties' are a theft of the workers, for example ? Or any argument from our enemies, whose narrative is systematically silenced.
Some claim that our freedom of speech on the internet will make such ideas re-emerge, but they've already successfully censored any terrorist point of view, and are still not satisfied, making more than clear that their objective is to control what is said on the internet(, "FReEdOm of SpEecH BuT nOT freEDOm oF ConSeQUEnceS"), this year they're focused on the end of online anonymity, last year it was disinformation and the year before it was hate speech.

Anyway, what was interesting/new here was the mention of social medias, but having a majority of 'workers/readers'-owned mainstream medias is just one more thing that will never happen. Most socialist and republican newspapers belonged to their journalists in the XIXth century.
Just don't doubt that our system is the best, and that we should destroy any country aiming for a different one.

Aside from Alphabet’s own forays into AI, they’re also selling pickaxes to most other AI prospectors.

It’s a story deSouza likes to tell in numbers. In a conversation with this editor, he notes several times that nine out of the top 10 AI labs use Google’s infrastructure. He also says that nearly all generative AI unicorns run on Google Cloud, that 60% of all GenAI startups worldwide have chosen Google as their cloud provider, and that the company has lined up $58 billion in new revenue commitments over the next two years, which represents more than double its current annual run rate.

Asked what percentage of Google Cloud’s revenue comes from AI companies, he offers instead that “AI is resetting the cloud market, and Google Cloud is leading the way, especially with startups.”

The strategy extends beyond simple customer acquisition. Google offers AI startups $350,000 in cloud credits, access to its technical teams, and go-to-market support through its marketplace. Google Cloud also provides what deSouza describes as a “no compromise” AI stack — from chips to models to applications — with an “open ethos” that gives customers choice at every layer.

The approach reflects both opportunity and necessity. In a market where companies can go “from being a startup to being a multibillion-dollar company in a very short period of time,” as deSouza puts it, capturing future unicorns before they mature could prove more valuable than fighting over today’s giants.

“Companies love the fact that they can get access to our AI stack, they can get access to our teams to understand where our technologies are going,” deSouza says during our interview. “They also love that they’re getting access to enterprise-grade Google class infrastructure.”

Google’s infrastructure play got even more ambitious recently, with reporting revealing the company’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering to expand its custom AI chip business. According to The Information, Google has struck deals to place its tensor processing units (TPUs) in other cloud providers’ data centers for the first time, including an agreement with London-based Fluidstack that includes up to $3.2 billion in financial backing for a New York facility.

Competing directly with AI companies while simultaneously providing them infrastructure requires … finesse. Google Cloud provides TPU chips to OpenAI and hosts Anthropic’s Claude model through its Vertex AI platform, even as its own Gemini models compete head-to-head with both. (Google Cloud’s parent company, Alphabet, also owns a 14% stake in Anthropic, per New York Times court documents obtained earlier this year, though when asked directly about Google’s financial relationship with Anthropic, deSouza calls the relationship a “multi-layered partnership,” then quickly redirects me to Google Cloud’s model marketplace, noting that customers can access various foundation models.)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/639591

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Microsoft will provide free Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 in the European Economic Area through October 13, 2026, but with specific conditions[^1]. While users won't need to enable Windows Backup or use Microsoft Rewards points, they must sign in with a Microsoft Account at least once every 60 days to maintain access to updates[^2].

"If your Microsoft Account is not used to sign in for a period of up to 60 days, ESU updates will be discontinued, and you'll need to re-enroll by signing in using the same MSA," Microsoft confirmed[^3].

This change came after pressure from Euroconsumers, who argued that linking security updates to Microsoft's cloud services raised concerns under the Digital Markets Act[^4]. The free ESU program applies to Windows 10 version 22H2 devices in the EEA (European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway)[^5].

Outside the EEA, users still must either enable Windows Backup, redeem Microsoft Rewards points, or pay approximately $30 for ESU access[^2].

[^1]: BleepingComputer - Microsoft will offer free Windows 10 extended security updates in Europe

[^2]: Windows Central - Microsoft will revoke free access to Windows 10's extended security updates in the EEA

[^3]: WindowsLatest - No, you'll still need a Microsoft account for Windows 10 ESU in Europe

[^4]: The Verge - Microsoft forced to make Windows 10 extended security updates truly free in Europe

[^5]: gHacks - Microsoft makes Windows 10 Extended Security Updates free, but only for users in one region

cross-posted from: https://quokk.au/post/297392

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/32228521

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36494811

Poland has emerged as the largest buyer of drones from Taiwan, positioning itself as a key hub for Europe’s growing demand for non-Chinese defense technology, Bloomberg reported on September 25.

The country now accounts for nearly 60% of Taiwan’s drone exports, which surged to about $32 million through August this year—up from almost nothing in previous years. The United States ranks second, importing around $7 million worth over the same period.

Taiwanese drone manufacturer Ahamani confirmed that Polish demand is so strong it is planning to open a factory in the country, as reported by Bloomberg. The company also revealed that other international firms, including a major South Korean drone producer, have expressed interest in sourcing non-Chinese motors. ) on September 25.

The country now accounts for nearly 60% of Taiwan’s drone exports, which surged to about $32 million through August this year—up from almost nothing in previous years. The United States ranks second, importing around $7 million worth over the same period.

Taiwanese drone manufacturer Ahamani confirmed that Polish demand is so strong it is planning to open a factory in the country, as reported by Bloomberg. The company also revealed that other international firms, including a major South Korean drone producer, have expressed interest in sourcing non-Chinese motors.

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In the US, nearly 195,000 cars are also affected, while in BMW's home market of Germany, around 136,500 vehicles are impacted, the company said.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4759550

Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of "state interference" in the Netherlands, prosecutors say, in a case with reported links to Russian spying.

The pair were allegedly contacted by pro-Russian hackers on the messaging app Telegram, Dutch media reported.

One of the boys allegedly walked past the offices of Europol, Eurojust and the Canadian embassy in The Hague carrying a "wi-fi sniffer" - a device designed to identify and intercept wi-fi networks.

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The National Office of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service confirmed court appearance, but told the BBC it could not provide details on the case due to the suspects' age and in "the interest of the investigation", which is ongoing.

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