Links 18/05/2024: Caledonia Emergency Powers, "UK Prosecutor's Office Went Too Far in the Assange Case"
Contents
-
Leftovers
-
Hardware
-
Tom's Hardware ☛ 12-core AMD Strix Point Zen 5 engineering sample shows up in early Blender benchmarks, matches 8-core 7700X in performance
Blender benchmarks of the upcoming mobile processor are interesting to read, but don't provide the context necessary to get too excited (or disappointed.)
-
-
Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
-
Silicon Angle ☛ EU launches probe into Meta over compliance with child safety rules
The European Commission today launched a probe to determine whether Meta Platforms Inc.’s child safety efforts may have fallen short of regulatory requirements. The move comes only weeks after the commission, the European Union’s executive branch, announced another investigation into the social control media giant.
-
-
Security
-
Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
-
Defence Web ☛ SANDF would have enough money if it wasn’t for theft and corruption
There is much discussion about the declining South African National Defence Force (SANDF) budget, which is unlikely to increase, but the military would have enough funding if there was not so much corruption and theft in government.
-
-
Privacy/Surveillance
-
WhichUK ☛ 11 things every smartphone owner should do to keep their data safe
It's important to keep your personal data hidden from prying eyes – our experts explain how you can help secure a device in minutes
-
-
-
Defence/Aggression
-
The Straits Times ☛ Tracking China's 'grey zone' balloon flights over Taiwan
TAIPEI - About a month before Taiwan's January presidential election, China began sending intruders over the Taiwan Strait: more than 100 balloons, some of which passed through the island's airspace or busy, Taipei-controlled air corridors for civil aviation.
-
New York Times ☛ Taiwan, on China’s Doorstep, Is Dealing With Fentanylware (TikTok) Its Own Way
The island democracy was early to ban Fentanylware (TikTok) on government phones, and the ruling party refuses to use it. But a U.S.-style ban is not under consideration.
-
RFA ☛ Taiwan lawmakers to visit disputed South China Sea island
Analysts say the trip by opposition legislators may be aimed at putting pressure on the new government.
-
RFA ☛ Taiwan steps up police protection for pundits denounced by China
Beijing will sanction five Taiwanese media commentators for 'inciting hostility and confrontation' with China.
-
The Strategist ☛ Before applying Hey Hi (AI) to war, we’d better think about its limitations
Weapons have had some capacity for decision-making since World War II, but now artificial intelligence is taking the capability to vastly greater levels and, before long, prevalence. So far, this is looking highly problematic.
-
France24 ☛ France rushes emergency police reinforcements to New Caledonia
France on Thursday announced it would send additional security forces to New Caledonia after imposing a state of emergency following three nights of clashes in its Pacific territory that have left five dead and hundreds wounded.
-
France24 ☛ French security forces impose ‘calmer’ situation in New Caledonia under emergency powers
Hundreds of military and armed police reinforcements deployed Friday to the riot-scarred streets of France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia, seeking to quell clashes that have left five people dead and hundreds injured.
-
RFERL ☛ Kazakh Rights Activist Aidar Syzdyqov Detained
Security officers in Astana on May 16 detained Kazakh activist Aidar Syzdyqov on unspecified charges.
-
New York Times ☛ Arab League Calls for U.N. Peacekeepers in Gaza and the West Bank
Any use of U.N. forces would have to be approved by the Security Council. “There first has to be peace to keep," said a U.N. spokesman.
-
-
Transparency/Investigative Reporting
-
JURIST ☛ Australia capital supreme court sentences war crimes whistleblower David McBride for theft and leaking military information
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday sentenced war crimes whistleblower David McBride to five years and eight months’ imprisonment for theft and sharing classified military documents with journalists after McBride exposed allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
-
-
Environment
-
The Strategist ☛ Climate disruption deserves more than a cameo role in security analysis
Climate risks that are interconnected, multiplying and intensifying can cascade across natural and human systems.
-
Energy/Transportation
-
CS Monitor ☛ Customer service: China’s quick EV battery swaps, and sidewalk story time in Pakistan
Progress roundup: EV company in China makes battery swaps faster than charging. And in Pakistan, volunteers spread the joy of books in an outdoor story time.
-
-
-
Finance
-
Silicon Angle ☛ Frontend development startup Vercel valued at $3.25B following new $250M round [Ed: Great example of faking or making up "value". One thing does not imply the other.]
Vercel Inc., a startup that helps developers build web application frontends faster, has secured $250 million in fresh funding at a $3.25 billion valuation. Reuters reported the Series E investment today. It was led by Accel with participation from Alphabet Inc.’s GV startup fund, CRV and a half-dozen other investors.
-
Latvia ☛ Indexo gets licensed as bank in Latvia
Following an assessment and proposal by the Latvian Central Bank (Bank of Latvia) the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to issue a credit institution license to JSC "Indexo Banka". The decision takes effect on Thursday, May 16, the Bank of Latvia said in a press release.
-
Latvia ☛ Banks see potential for lending increases in Latvia
The sluggish lending by banks is widely cited as one of the problems of Latvia's economic underdevelopment. But, as the banks' own data show, this has the potential to change. There is interest in borrowing from both citizens and businesses, and the banks themselves are also interested in lending, Latvian Television reported on May 15.
-
-
Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
-
JURIST ☛ India Supreme Court orders immediate release of journalist detained in illegal funding case
The Supreme Court of India issued an order Wednesday for the release on bail of Prabir Purkayasth, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick. Purkayasth had been detained in a case in which authorities accused NewsClick of receiving illegal funding from China.
-
teleSUR ☛ UK Prosecutor's Office Went Too Far in the Assange Case: Corbyn
The Crown Prosecution Service may have overstepped its bounds in advising the Swedish government.
-
-
Civil Rights/Policing
-
RFERL ☛ 28 Pakistani Nationals Detained In Kyrgyzstan For 'Working Illegally'
Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on May 16 that it detained 28 Pakistani nationals a day earlier for "working illegally" in a sewing shop in Bishkek.
-
ACLU ☛ Eight Supreme Court Cases To Watch
The Supreme Court’s docket this term includes many of the complex issues American society is currently facing, including gun control, free speech online, race-based discrimination in voting, reproductive rights, presidential immunity from criminal accountability, and more.
The ACLU has served as counsel or filed friend-of-the-court briefs in all of the cases addressing these hot-button issues. The court will decide all its cases by the beginning of July. Here are eight undecided cases to watch, and what they mean for the future of our civil liberties.
-
-
Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
-
APNIC ☛ A transport protocol’s view of Starlink
How TCP interacts with the characteristics of the Starlink service.
-
-
Digital Restrictions (DRM)
-
Digital Music News ☛ Breaking: The Mechanical Licensing Collective Files Suit Against Spotify Over Unpaid Royalties (Spoiler Alert: Bundling’s the Culprit)
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has filed a lawsuit against Spotify for allegedly underpaid royalties under the compulsory mechanical blanket license — and bundling’s at the heart of it.
-
-
Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Welcomes Senator Klobuchar’s Antitrust Reform Bill Strengthening Enforcement [Ed: Public Knowledge has Microsoft in its board though; that's an obvious conflict of interest]
Recently, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), chair of the Senate Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee, reintroduced the “Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform (CALERA) Act” to make it easier for the government to stop anticompetitive mergers and conduct.
-
Copyrights
-
Press Gazette ☛ WSJ editor Emma Tucker on how publishers can protect themselves from Hey Hi (AI) challenge
WSJ boss on preparing for "seismic" shift in media landscape with arrival of generative AI.
-
Monopolies/Monopsonies
-
* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.