Welcome again to everybody. Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is the weekly discussion thread.

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Qtopia Sydney has announced the program for Pride Fest 2026, which will run from 1 to 30 June. Billed as “Sydney’s queer arts and culture festival”, it will feature more than 300 events, marking the largest program in the festival’s history.

cross-posted from: https://libretechni.ca/post/1263630

New York’s state budget could pass within days. Buried deep in the text is a provision that has nothing to do with balancing the books. Part C of the budget bill would require every 3D printer sold in New York to run surveillance software that scans every design file you create, and blocks anything an algorithm flags as a potential firearm component . A separate provision would expose researchers, journalists, and educators to felony charges simply for possessing or sharing certain design files.

cross-posted from: https://libretechni.ca/post/1263630

New York’s state budget could pass within days. Buried deep in the text is a provision that has nothing to do with balancing the books. Part C of the budget bill would require every 3D printer sold in New York to run surveillance software that scans every design file you create, and blocks anything an algorithm flags as a potential firearm component . A separate provision would expose researchers, journalists, and educators to felony charges simply for possessing or sharing certain design files.

The arrival of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in Dresden, Germany, is set to change the city.

...

The company’s joint venture, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC), will be its first plant in Europe. The fab is scheduled to open by late 2027 and will produce 28-nanometer chips.

TSMC has already brought a few dozen Taiwanese employees and their families to Dresden, per Nikkei. About 2,000 employees and their families will eventually settle there for at least three years.

The figure will rise to about 15,000 when employees and families of ESMC suppliers of other nationalities are included.

...

Regarding the influx of Taiwanese employees, Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert said, “There are no organized protests against the project, and support within city committees is strong,” per Nikkei. “The influx of new residents is expected to significantly increase regional value creation and also strengthen other sectors such as skilled trades, thereby increasing overall purchasing power,” he added.

Kelly Su, president of the Taiwanese Business Association in Dresden, said TSMC’s relocation support differs greatly between its employees and those at smaller supplier companies,

...

Web Archive link

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/58799415

By Robert Ariail

By Robert Ariail

Iranian state media report that the government is planning not to hold talks with the US in Islamabad, with the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports remaining a major sticking point.

The tensions have been exacerbated by the US military’s attack on and seizure of the Touska overnight.

State broadcaster IRIB on Sunday quoted Iranian sources as saying “there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks”.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier quoted anonymous sources as saying “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive”, adding that lifting the US blockade was a condition for negotiations.

A huge fire destroyed about 1,000 makeshift homes, many of them built on stilts over water, and displaced thousands of people in a coastal village in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Sunday, authorities said.

The blaze broke out early on Sunday morning in a “water village” in Sandakan district in Sabah’s northeast, where some of Malaysia’s poorest residents, including indigenous and stateless communities, live in closely packed, wooden stilt houses.

Sandakan police chief George Abd Rakman was quoted by local English daily The Star as saying that the “very large-scale and heartbreaking incident” affected 9,007 residents.

A quarter of a million people could lose their jobs by the middle of next year as Britain “flirts with recession”, analysis suggests, after business confidence was shattered by the US-Israel war on Iran.

As the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, summoned bank chiefs for talks aimed at containing the fallout, twin reports from top accounting firms underlined the scale of the economic threat facing the UK.

Iran’s retaliatory closure of the strait of Hormuz trade route and its strikes on its regional neighbours, which have sent oil and gas prices soaring, will cause the biggest economic hit since the pandemic, according to the EY Item Club, an economic forecast group.

A separate report by Deloitte found finance chiefs at big UK businesses were already reining in their spending plans, taking action that was likely to weigh on economic activity and hiring.

made from an old cookie-container :) From trash to trash-container :)

The US military took custody of an Iranian-flagged container ship that attempted to get past an American blockade near the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump announced on Sunday, leading Tehran to accuse him of violating the fragile ceasefire between the countries.

In a social media post, Trump said that an “Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA” tried to get past the US naval blockade, “and it did not go well for them”.

Trump said that a US navy guided missile destroyer had warned the Touska to stop in the Gulf of Oman, but the vessel did not. “[Our] Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,” Trump said, adding that US marines now have custody of the vessel.

“The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity,” Trump added. The ship is on the treasury department’s list of sanctioned vessels.

We and a growing number of lawmakers are proposing legislation to ensure that the companies that helped drive the climate crisis help pay their fair share of the ensuing damage.

China’s motorhome industry just shocked the global RV market.

In just a few years, Chinese manufacturers have gone from almost no presence in the RV industry to producing high-tech motorhomes that rival – and sometimes outperform – $200,000 American RVs.

So how did China’s RV companies move this fast?

In this video we break down how companies like BYD, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, and Dongfeng are using electric vehicle technology, vertical integration, and advanced smart features to create motorhomes that cost 40–70% less than Western brands.

Israeli forces have destroyed over 1,000 homes daily since March 2, according to Lebanon’s scientific research council.

Frontman Julian Casablancas repeated, 'What side are you standing on?' while the violent footage played

Hello, everyone! In this video, I will create a simple shader for generating an animated star using a noise texture. And as usual, we will have plenty of parameters available to customize this effect to suit the needs of our game.