House Bill Requires Pornography Filter on All Phones, Computers Purchased in Kansas Slashdotby msmash on technology at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 11:35 pm)

Two bills introduced in the Kansas House on Wednesday generate funding for human trafficking programs by requiring all new internet-capable telephones or computers sold in the state to feature anti-pornography software and by mandating adult entertainment businesses charge a special admissions tax. From a report: Sabetha Rep. Randy Garber sponsored legislation requiring the software installations and dictating purchasers would have to pay a $20 fee to the state, and whatever cost was assessed by retail stores, to remove filters for "obscene" material. No one under 18 would be allowed to have filter software deleted. "It's to protect children," Garber, a Republican, said in an interview. "What it would do is any X-rated pornography stuff would be filtered. It would be on all purchases going forward. Why wouldn't anybody like this?" He said it wouldn't be surprising if the bill, if adopted as law, generated legal challenges.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Razer Game Store Closing Feb 28, Less Than Year After Launch Slashdotby msmash on business at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 10:35 pm)

The Razer Game Store will close on February 28 at 1am PST, the company announced in a blog post. This comes less than a year after its launch last April. From a report: The shutdown is part of "the company's realignment plans," according to Razer. "It has been a privilege for us to recommend and deliver great digital game deals to you. We have been extremely fortunate to have you as part of our awesome community," the post reads. "Thank you for the support and making all this possible. We will be investing in other ways to deliver great content and introduce game promotions through Razer Gold, our virtual credits system."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

India withdraws security for Kashmiri separatists stoking fears AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 10:30 pm)

Controversial move by home ministry comes days after suicide attack on paramilitary forces that killed 42 Indian troops.
Israel evicts Palestinians from Jerusalem home AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 10:00 pm)

Israeli authorities served the Abu Assab family eviction notice ordering them to vacate property by end of February.
What should be done with foreign ISIL fighters captured in Syria? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 10:00 pm)

US President Donald Trump tells European leaders to 'take back' more than 800 ISIL fighters held in Syria.
New York Mayor Says Amazon Headquarters Debacle Was 'an Abuse of Corporate Power' Slashdotby msmash on business at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 9:35 pm)

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is still upset that Amazon isn't coming to New York. De Blasio attacked the company Sunday for canceling plans to build a second headquarters in Queens last week. From a report: "This is an example of an abuse of corporate power," de Blasio told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press." "Amazon just took their ball and went home. And what they did was confirm people's worst fears about corporate America." He made similar comments in a New York Times op-ed Saturday. Amazon canceled the deal just months after announcing plans to split its new, second headquarters between New York and Virginia. The Seattle-based company, which is trying to grow its footprint at home and abroad, spent a year reviewing hundreds of "HQ2" proposals from all over North America before settling on the two regions. [...] On Sunday, de Blasio, a Democrat, said New York offered Amazon a "fair deal," and blamed the company for making what he called an "arbitrary" decision to leave after some people objected. "They said they wanted a partnership, but the minute there were criticisms, they walked away," he added. "What does that say to working people that a company would leave them high and dry simply because some people raised criticisms?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Israel to withhold millions of dollars in Palestinian funds AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 9:30 pm)

Israel shrinks tax payments to Palestinian authority equivalent to stipends paid to families of Palestinian attackers.
How TV Pirates Accidentally Pushed a 25-Year-Old Indie Song to the Top of the Charts Slashdotby msmash on piracy at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 8:35 pm)

Last week, an alt-rock mystery puzzled the music press. Almost 25 years after its release, the Dinosaur Jr. song "Over Your Shoulder" appeared at number 18 on Japan's Hot 100 chart, beating out major new releases like Ariana Grande's "7 Rings." Here's what drove the popularity of the old song: More than 15 years ago, it was used on a Japanese reality show about boxing bad boys. Six years ago, Billboard started counting YouTube plays. And just days ago, YouTube apparently began recommending pirated episodes of that reality show to Japanese users, who seemingly binged it in the thousands, playing "Over Your Shoulder" over and over again in the process.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Bangladesh: Deadly blaze kills nine in Chittagong slum AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 8:00 pm)

Dozens injured and at least 200 homes destroyed in hours-long inferno, officials say.
US troops withdrawal from Syria 'will be gradual' process AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 8:00 pm)

The US special envoy for Syria has reassured allies that the withdrawal of American troops from the country will not be abrupt.
Germany Sees Big Rise in Security Problems Affecting Infrastructure Slashdotby msmash on security at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 7:35 pm)

Germany has experienced a big increase in the number of security incidents hitting critical infrastructure such as power grids and water suppliers, the BSI cybersecurity agency said on Sunday, adding however that they were not all due to hacking. From a report: The Welt am Sonntag weekly had reported on Sunday that Germany had learned of 157 hacker attacks on critical infrastructure companies in the second half of 2018 compared to 145 attacks in the whole of the previous year. "The number of reports of IT security incidents has increased but it is not to be equated with the number of cyber attacks," tweeted the BSI in response to the newspaper report.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Polish prime minister withdraws from Israel visit AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 7:00 pm)

PM Morawiecki will not attend a Jerusalem summit after Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Polish complicity during Holocaust.
Kashmiri students blame India's ruling party for revenge attacks AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 7:00 pm)

Kashmiris blame the ruling BJP for anti-Muslim sentiments after a suicide bomber killed 42 Indian security personnel.
Trade with Colombia continues as Venezuela blocks US aid AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at February 17, 2019, 7:00 pm)

Although shipment of food and medical supplies remains stranded in Colombia, goods continue to cross the border on a daily basis.
The Complicated Economy of Open Source Software Slashdotby msmash on opensource at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at February 17, 2019, 6:35 pm)

An excerpt from a report, which looks at the complicated business of funding open source software development: On the surface, the open source software community has never been better. Companies and governments are adopting open source software at rates that would've been unfathomable 20 years ago, and a whole new generation of programmers are cutting their teeth on developing software in plain sight and making it freely available for anyone to use. Go a little deeper, however, and the cracks start to show. The ascendancy of open source has placed a mounting burden on the maintainers of popular software, who now handle more bug reports, feature requests, code reviews, and code commits than ever before. At the same time, open source developers must also deal with an influx of corporate users who are unfamiliar with community norms when it comes to producing and consuming open source software. This leads to developer burnout and a growing feeling of resentment toward the companies that rely on free labor to produce software that is folded into products and sold back to consumers for huge profits. From this perspective, Heartbleed wasn't an isolated example of developer burnout and lack of funding, but an outgrowth of a systemic disease that had been festering in the open source software community for years. Identifying the symptoms and causes of this disease was the easy part; finding a cure is more difficult. Further reading: How Does Heartbleed Alter the 'Open Source Is Safer' Discussion?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.