Tom Roche

Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.

I’ve noticed that my Emacs blog is now almost 2 years old!

Is there something absurd about writing about a text editor in that very text editor for such a long period? - I think the answer to this is clearly…, no!

My first post was on 2022-07-15 and this will be blog number 97.

And yes before you ask, how do I know this to be true?, well I found out the Emacs way!

I recorded its inception date in org-agenda, so I saw this date creep up this week :

** blog anni :james:web:
<2022-07-15 .+1y>

The date of my first post is in an org drawer in my single Emacs blog org file:

:EXPORT_HUGO_LASTMOD: 2022-07-15

and the blog number?, well, I org-copy-visible’d my org blog file of all the top level org headers, pasted into the scratch buffer, flush-line’d out all the TODO entries, then finally entered (display-line-numbers-mode) to get the number of lines (I suspect there might be an easier way to do this 😀)

I also wrote this post ahead of time and to remind me when to post I created an org schedule entry as follows:

** TODO post 2 yr emacs blog post
SCHEDULED: <2024-07-15 Mon>

and appeared in the agenda as :

Monday     15 July 2024 W29
  aab--calendar:Scheduled:  TODO post 2 yr emacs blog post

and in (cfw:open-org-calendar) as :

+-------------------------+
| 15 (3)                  |
| TODO post 2 yr emacs    |
| blog anni               |
|                         |
|                         |
|                         |
+-------------------------+

Living an Emacs life and especially partially through org means that any and all information can be easily extracted let alone initially logged, the basic text format is so simple and uniform that all the data items above were pretty much extracted using the same mechanism through Emacs.

Anyway enough of all that, in celebration of being able to maintain some level of blogging discipline for 2 years, I decided to revisit my very first post, which was on how to create an offline version of the major Emacs repositories, namely:

• ELPA
• MELPA
• ORG

As it turns out this post is still quite relevant as from time to time, I need an offline version for an Emacs setup without an internet connection.

So lets re-post!, just for fun!, including the bash script that I still use:

Steps to locally download emacs packages for offline installation.

Local ELPA MELPA ORG

#! /bin/bash
cd ~
mkdir -p emacs-pkgs/melpa
mkdir -p emacs-pkgs/elpa

echo
echo "updating MELPA..."
echo
rsync -avz --delete --progress rsync://melpa.org/packages/ ~/emacs-pkgs/melpa/.

echo
echo "updating ELPA..."
echo
rsync -avz --delete --progress elpa.gnu.org::elpa/. ~/emacs-pkgs/elpa

# org (currently no rsync support)
echo
echo "updating ORG..."
echo
cd ~/emacs-pkgs
git clone https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/emacs/org-mode.git
# wget -r -l1 -nc -np https://orgmode.org/elpa

I then copy the emacs-pkgs directory to the offline target machine and change the default package manager archives to point to these packages.

Modify .emacs in the following manner commenting out the online package communication:

;; (setq package-archives '(("melpa" . "https://melpa.org/packages/")
;;                          ("org" . "https://orgmode.org/elpa/")
;;                          ("elpa" . "https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/")))

(setq package-archives '(("melpa". "~/emacs-pkgs/melpa")
                          ("org" . "~/emacs-pkgs/elpa")
                          ("elpa" . "~/emacs-pkgs/org-mode/lisp")))

The award-winning show where Mark Steel travels around the UK visiting towns with nothing in common but their uniqueness.

After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

Next stop, Mark visits the city of Stoke-on-Trent, part of the industrial area know as The Potteries.

Mark chats to the locals about their town, hears about how friendly people are and some the famous people associated with Stoke.

Written and performed by Mark Steel.

Additional material by Pete Sinclair.

Producer: Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2024.

The ink had barely dried on the deal for the French subs that then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had signed when a group of people behind the scenes started the campaign to get out of it. They had concerns that the subs would not meet the requirements that the Americans had for Australia in their role in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in relation to China.

Guest: Andrew Fowler, author of Nuked: The Submarine Fiasco that Sank Australia’s Sovereignty (Melbourne University Press)

In the first of two consecutive non-news Friday releases, Danny sits down for another rigorous academic exchange, this time with David Austin Walsh, historian at Yale’s program for the study of antisemitism and author of Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right. The two dig into the big issues broached by the book, including the “right-wing popular front” opposed to socialism, communism, and New Deal liberalism, the nature of conservatism vs fascism, figures from Pat Buchanan to Richard Spencer to Donald Trump, the advent of the left-right divide, and what, if anything, American liberals and leftists can do to defeat American fascism/semi-fascism/fascistish-ism.

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NB: this is what some might call a “debate episode” wherein things get a little heated, but everyone left as friends in the end.

Also check out David’s May op-ed in the New York Times, “Do You Want a ‘Unified Reich’ Mind-Set in the White House?” and see him at the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 29 to talk about the 2024 election.

Lucy Porter, Ria Lina, Simon Evans, and Hugo Rifkind join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news in this post-General Election special.

It's official: Sir Keir Starmer will be the next Prime Minister of the UK. Join The News Quiz for this post-vote episode recorded on the Friday morning after the vote has come in. Covering the exit polls, results, the winners, the losers, the other losers, and the rest.

Written by Andy Zaltzman

With additional material by: Peter Tellouche, Alice Fraser, Cameron Loxdale, Stu Cooper and Christina Riggs Producer: Sam Holmes Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Nicholls Sound Editor: Chris Maclean

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4 An Eco-Audio certified Production

Headlines for July 11, 2024; Should Biden Step Aside? Wajahat Ali & Norman Solomon Debate Democratic Options for 2024 Race; Fmr. Israeli Peace Negotiator Daniel Levy: Netanyahu Is “Trying to Do Everything to Prevent a Deal”

To discuss the Zionist movement’s untold history of collaboration with fascism, including Nazi Germany, Rania Khalek was joined by Tony Greenstein, a longstanding Jewish anti-Zionist, Marxist and anti-fascist activist from the UK and author of “Zionism During the Holocaust: The Weaponization of Memory in the Service of State and Nation.”

Watch the extended version of this interview on our Patreon. Become a member at https://www.Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews to access the full episode and other exclusive content.

The award-winning show where Mark Steel travels around the UK visiting towns with nothing in common but their uniqueness.

After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

Next stop, Mark visits East Grinstead and chats to locals about their town, and discovers its places of interest, including the historic high street.

Plus its connection to Winnie the Pooh.

Written and performed by Mark Steel.

Additional material by Pete Sinclair.

Producer: Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2024.

Ryan and Emily discuss Dems fracturing over Biden dropout calls, Jon Stewart unloads on Dems over Biden age coverup, neurologist says Biden clearly has Parkinson's, Kamala surges against Trump, Biden DOJ war on UAW over Gaza ceasefire, and Brian Stelter confronts media failures on Biden's cognitive decline. 

To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.com/

Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines for July 10, 2024; Report from Gaza: Israel Attacks Schools & Orders Palestinians to Leave Gaza City Amid Ceasefire Talks; Their Goal Is Total Ethnic Cleansing: Mustafa Barghouti on Israel’s Expulsion Order for Gaza City; “Peace, Not NATO”: As Biden Hosts Leaders in D.C., German MP Decries NATO’s 75 Years of War & Hypocrisy

Krystal and Saagar discuss Lancet medical journal says 186k killed in Gaza, Hamas leaders reveal Oct 7 true plans, Owen Jones dire warning for Labour after UK elections, French left shocks Le Pen. 

To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.com/

Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re joined by Ryan Grim & Jeremy Scahill of the NEW independent journalism venture Drop Site News. We look at how the Biden campaign meltdown has pushed the war in Palestine out of the news, and the relationship between Biden’s long history of bad policies and the current crises he’s leading. Plus, mainstream media’s failed coverage of both topics, and some Drop Site reporting on Democratic megadonors gives a glimpse into Joe Biden’s aggrieved and petty motivations.

Support Jeremy & Ryan’s independent journalism and check out Drop Site at: https://dropsitenews.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Headlines for July 09, 2024; Mohammed Abu Hashem Spent 22 Years in U.S. Air Force. He Quit After Israel Killed His Aunt in Gaza; “On the Record with Hamas”: Jeremy Scahill Speaks with Hamas About Oct. 7, Ceasefire Talks & Israel

Krystal and Saagar discuss Ryan leaves The Intercept, Biden refuses to drop out, Dems plot Biden revolt, key Dems float Kamala replacement, Biden White House caught feeding questions to interviewers, liberals float wild Biden conspiracies, exclusive interview with Disney heiress on Biden donors. 

To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.com/

Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of July, Venezuelans head to the polls to elect a new president, with Nicolás Maduro seeking another six-year term. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto, who was in New York for a U.N. debate on unilateral sanctions. Fresh from visits to China and Russia, where he engaged with BRICS alliance leaders, Pinto discusses Venezuela's bid to join this coalition aimed at countering Western economic dominance. They delve into the impacts of sanctions from the Trump and Biden administrations on Venezuela's economy and migration crisis, and the battle over Citgo, a U.S.-based oil company acquired by the country in 1990. Grim also questions Venezuela's human rights record.

Find full transcript at The Intercept.

If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference.

And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having endured weeks of impossibly restrictive BBC election guidelines, Jonathan Pie is looking forward to election day and an end to all the madness. But first he has to persuade an apathetic Sam that not 'all parties are the same' and to actually go out and vote.

Written and performed by Tom Walker

Cast: Jonathan Pie ….. Tom Walker Sam ….. Aqib Khan Caller ….. Ellie Dobing

Producers …. Alison Vernon-Smith and Julian Mayers

A Yada-Yada Audio production for BBC Radio 4

Over at the Emacs subreddit, justsellingmykeeb asks for the best way of moving to the beginning or end of various structures such as regions delimited by some sort of brace or HTML tag. I usually use Ctrl+Meta+f, Ctrl+Meta+b, and, when I remember, expand-region for this but those don’t always do exactly what I want.

There are a lot of good answers in the comments and they’re definitely worth reading if you have the same problem. These range from the simple like expand-region to the more complex like paredit. I like the simpler answers—even though I am a paredit user—because I’m terrible at remembering key shortcuts that I don’t use frequently. Maybe Charles Choi should consider a paredit porcelain.

Regardless of your proclivities, there’s probably a suggestion in the comments that will work for you. Take a look and see.

As a special endcap to this season of Movie Mindset, Will, Hesse & Chris interview the director of Repo Man, Sid & Nancy, Walker and many others, the great Alex Cox. They discuss the Los Angeles of Repo Man, his visual style, his approach to making “political” films, and various genres, writers, and actors he admires. And of course, we get to the bottom of who killed JFK.

Alex is currently crowdfunding what may be his last movie, “My Last Movie” on Kickstarter. Please consider kicking in and becoming one of the dead souls: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexcoxfilms/my-last-movie

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CIVIL WAR! In the cities, fighting between CNT ANARCHIST MILITIAS and government forces breaks out, while NATIONALIST FORCES under General Francisco Franco bring the Army of Northern Africa back to the peninsula. Meanwhile, the arming of the workers leads to SOCIAL REVOLUTION in the Republican Zone, and the CNT and Generalitat enter into a fragile structure of DUAL POWER in Catalonia. Western governments turn their backs on the Republic, as Franco becomes GENERALISSIMO and lays SIEGE TO MADRID. Foreign brigades flock to Spain, while terror bombings culminate in the reduction of GUERNICA. Soon, the CNT must make a critical choice.

Keep your eyes out for more information on ordering Matt’s Spanish Civil War book, coming soon.

Special thanks to Travis from the (great) band Activity for the Spanish Bombs cover that anchors this ep. Check out their latest release here: https://activity.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-in-the-room

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special co-production with the Democratic Constitution Podcast, Soberanía co-hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth join Luke Pickrell to discuss Morena’s efforts to move quickly on their massive mandate and approve Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s proposed constitutional reforms, including the controversial effort to radically change Mexico’s judicial branch of government, and why these proposed changes can cement AMLO’s progressive legacy.

Geoff Norcott, Stuart Mitchell, Daliso Chaponda and Katy Balls join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.

With just one week to go before the UK heads to the polls, Andy and the Panel analyse the final head-to-head debate, discuss the pitfalls of workplace betting, and finally bring a voice to the political elephants in the room.

Written by Andy Zaltzman

With additional material by: Toussaint Douglass, Mark Granger, Angela Channell, & Pete Tellouche Producer: Sam Holmes Executive Producer: Richard Morris Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Nicholls Sound Editor: Rich Evans

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4 An Eco-Audio certified Production

The award-winning show where Mark Steel travels around the UK visiting towns with nothing in common but their uniqueness.

After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

Next stop, Mark visits the Malvern hills in Worcestershire.

“...if ever after I'm dead you hear someone whistling this tune on the Malvern Hills, don't be alarmed, it's only me" Edward Elgar.

Famous for its magical waters and its steep hills. Amongst those associated with Malvern are: C.S Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Darwin, George Bernard Shaw and Theodore Roosevelt.

As well as Malvern, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Stoke on Trent, East Grinstead, Coleraine in Northern Ireland and Nether Edge in Sheffield.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair

Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2024.

Last week’s stunningly bad debate and a few shocking Supreme Court rulings have rapidly taken the 2024 Presidential Race into relatively unprecedented waters. We’ve assembled the CTH election unit of reporter Dave Weigel and analyst Josh aka Ettingermentum to survey the state of the race, Joe Biden’s quickly diminishing outlook, and potential surprise outcomes that may lay ahead. Plus, key tips and tricks to master your playthrough of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Find Dave’s reporting at Semafor here: https://www.semafor.com/author/david-weigel

Find the Ettingermentum newsletter here: https://www.ettingermentum.news/

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Enlarge / Ariel and Caliban learned as kittens that scratching posts were fair game for their natural claw-sharpening instincts. (credit: Sean Carroll)

Ah, cats. We love our furry feline overlords despite the occasional hairball and their propensity to scratch the furniture to sharpen their claws. The latter is perfectly natural kitty behavior, but overly aggressive scratching is usually perceived as a behavioral problem. Veterinarians frown on taking extreme measures like declawing or even euthanizing such "problematic" cats. But there are alternative science-backed strategies for reducing or redirecting the scratching behavior, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

This latest study builds on the group's prior research investigating the effects of synthetic feline facial pheromones on undesirable scratching in cats, according to co-author Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas, a veterinary researcher at Ankara University in Turkey. "From the beginning, our research team agreed that it was essential to explore broader factors that might exacerbate this issue, such as those influencing stress and, consequently, scratching behavior in cats," she told Ars. "What’s new in this study is our focus on the individual, environmental, and social dynamics affecting the level of scratching behavior. This perspective aims to enhance our understanding of how human and animal welfare are interconnected in different scenarios."

The study investigated the behavior of 1,211 cats, with data collected via an online questionnaire completed by the cats' caregivers. The first section collected information about the caregivers, while the second asked about the cats' daily routines, social interactions, environments, behaviors, and temperaments. The third and final section gathered information about the frequency and intensity of undesirable scratching behavior in the cats based on a helpful "scratching index."

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