Leftovers

• Latvia ☛ Flying discs are taking over Latvia

  “It's too far”, “that's a ridiculous angle”, “this disc just isn't right for me” – my first time playing disc golf, I kept blaming everything but myself for the dire lack of decent throws. I did, however, appreciate the scenic surroundings on the banks of the river Aiviekste and the opportunity to be outside moving about after a day of screen time. While I was skeptical, I did slowly start to understand why people might like the sport that involves lobbing discs towards long-legged metal baskets trying to get them in with a minimum amount of strategic throws.

• YLE ☛ Tourism in the Instagram era: How Finland is harnessing aurora power

  The north of Finland offers visitors one of the best chances in the world to witness the northern lights phenomenon, but insufficient preparation may leave some aurora-chasing tourists disappointed.

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-08 [Older] Afghanistan earthquakes kill more than 2,000, Taliban says

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] Afghanistan rocked by another strong earthquake

• Vox ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] We know where the next big earthquakes will happen — but not when

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Japan takes funerals into the metaverse for convenience

• CBC ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] From AI to robot butchers, automating the meat packing industry is not cut-and-dried

• Science

  • CS Monitor ☛ Why NASA’s latest mission targets a metal-rich asteroid

    By sending a spacecraft on a journey of 2 billion miles, scientists hope to learn something about the core of our own planet. NASA’s mission to a metal-rich asteroid is about curiosity and creativity.

  • The Conversation ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Nasa's Psyche mission is set for launch – here's how it could unveil the interior secrets of planets

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Mobilizing public science priorities through the American commercial space industry

    Every ten years, for a variety of disciplines, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is responsible for providing consensus recommendations, designated as “decadal surveys”, on behalf of the scientific community to shape national research programs.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Find Drug That Relieves Daytime Sleepiness – And It's Not Caffeine

    More effective than anything else.

    [...]

    While it's difficult to summarize findings across multiple trials, the comparison does show solriamfetol's effects out in front, possibly as a result of increases to levels of norepinephrine (readying the body for action) and dopamine (linked to pleasure and motivation) in the brain.

    The researchers say solriamfetol's pros and cons are worthy of further investigation, particularly in terms of the longer term effects on people who take it because there is little evidence on long-term use. And and it's not just those with OSA and EDS who might find solriamfetol and these other drugs helpful.

    [...]

    "Fifteen to 30 percent of people in North America have a diagnosis of OSA and the prevalence could be much higher as many others are undiagnosed," said Pitre.

    "Many people have symptoms as the condition is highly associated with obesity, which affects a large and increasing number of people in Canada, the United States and other high-income countries."

  • The Conversation ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] The afterglow of an explosive collision between giant planets may have been detected in a far-off star system

  • The Conversation ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] How loneliness changes the way our brains process the world

• Hardware

  • Ruben Schade ☛ What counts as authentic retrocomputing

    My post last week about authentic foods was supposed to only be an intro to this post, but it ended up taking a life of its own. It’s not necessary to read that one first, but maybe it might hint at where I approach this too.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD's Anti-Lag+ Triggers Anti-Cheat Protection in Multiple Games

    Multiple games crash or trigger anti-cheat protection with AMD's Anti-Lag+ enabled.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Khadas Mind Review: SBC with 13th Gen Intel on Board

    Khadas’ latest board is a full Intel Raptor Lake desktop wrapped up in a shell of space gray aluminum.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Spicy Food Can Be Extremely Painful, But Is It Actually Dangerous?

    Too hot to handle?

  • YLE ☛ Antidepressant use during pregnancy increasing

    The use of antipsychotic drugs among expectant mothers is growing in Finland.

  • Federal News Network ☛ US military to begin draining leaky fuel tank facility that poisoned Pearl Harbor drinking water

    Next week the U.S. military plans to begin draining fuel from World War II-era underground fuel tanks in Hawaii. Work to drain the 104 million gallons remaining in the tanks is scheduled to begin on Monday. The operation comes nearly two years after the facility sickened 6,000 people when it leaked jet fuel into a Pearl Harbor drinking water well. Removing the fuel is a key step toward shutting down the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility as demanded by the state of Hawaii. The November 2021 spill poisoned the Navy’s water system serving 93,000 people in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

  • Science Alert ☛ Phenomenon That Makes Night Shift Harmful to The Body Identified

    A misalignment that wreaks havoc on health.

    When darkness falls, sleep calls – except for the millions of shift workers who grind through the night. While the rest of us sleep, their health suffers.

    Weight gain, diabetes, cancer, depression, and poor heart health are common among shift workers who are fighting against their body clock to stay awake when they should be sleeping; not to mention eating at times when their metabolism is normally winding down.

    This misalignment wreaks havoc on a person's health as the body's normal circadian rhythms are thrown into disarray.

    Research shows that when you eat has a real impact on health, and a new study in rodents has pinpointed one underlying mechanism that may drive changes in appetite when sleep-wake cycles and day-night cues don't line up.

  • New York Times ☛ California’s Ban on Red Food Dye Puts FDA on the Spot

    The dye was banned in cosmetics after a study suggested it might be a carcinogen. Yet federal regulations still permit its use in foods, stoking concerns that helped build support for the new state law.

  • Science Alert ☛ Massive Review Finds ADHD Is More Prevalent in Adults Than We Realized

    This explains a lot.

  • Science Alert ☛ Antidepressants Can Take Weeks to Work, And We Finally Know Why

    A puzzle for over 50 years.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Long Cold': A Hidden Form of Chronic Sickness Has Just Been Identified

  • Science Alert ☛ World-First Study Finds Immune Cells Crucial to Stopping Bowel Cancer

    New hope against an insidious disease.

  • Science Alert ☛ Food Shortages From Climate Crisis Expected in Decades, Experts Fear

    We're not prepared for this.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] What's wrong with glyphosate, the herbicide used in Roundup?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Precarious job? Study says you'll die earlier

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] AI on Track to Gobble Up as Much Energy as a Country, Study Finds

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • New York Times ☛ Wearables Track Parkinson’s Better Than Human Observation, Study Finds

      Researchers demonstrated that off-the-shelf sensors can measure the subtle changes of disease progression.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ This Israeli family is waiting for news of 10 hostages held in Gaza

    Ten members of the same family were taken hostage on October 7 when Hamas fighters attacked the kibbutz of Be'eri in southern Israel. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to Annalee Milstein, who was away at the time and who now awaits news of her family.

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistani Forces Kill Six Militants In Raid In Northwest

    Pakistani security forces killed six militants and wounded eight others in a shoot-out during an overnight raid in the country's northwest, the military said on October 15.

  • teleSUR ☛ S. Sudan: First Unified Forces Batch Without Firearms Deployed

    The United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo in July 2018 on South Sudan following the outbreak of conflict in December 2013.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Israel warns Hezbollah to stay out of Gaza war

    October 15, 2023 12:44 AM
    
    

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said on Saturday hostilities with Lebanese Hezbollah in parallel with the Gaza war appeared to be restrained and warned the group not to take action that could lead to Lebanon's "destruction".

  • New York Times ☛ Louvre and Versailles Emptied as France Raises Guard After Stabbing

    Troops were being mobilized and two major attractions were evacuated in separate alerts after a stabbing attack that killed a teacher and was described by officials as terrorism.

  • ANF News ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Aydeniz: Turkey deplores the attacks in Palestine but bombs mosques and hospitals in Kurdistan

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Are growing asylum claims putting German system under pressure?

  • Truthdig ☛ 2023-10-07 [Older] We Cannot Be a Party to Uranium-Enrichment in Saudi Arabia

  • HRW ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] Syria: World Court Begins Watershed Torture Case

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Syria torture testimony heard at the ICJ

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] North Korea Condemns Attack in Syria -KCNA

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] What are the strategic challenges posed by the impact of the Syrian Civil War on the Middle East?

  • Defence Web ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Ghana urges US not to waver in war against terrorism in West Africa

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Germany takes action against Hamas supporters

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Putin sees gains on eastern Ukraine front lines, including industrial hub Avdiivka

      Russian forces have made gains in their Ukraine offensive, President Vladimir Putin said Sunday, including in Avdiivka, a symbolic industrial hub where fighting has been fierce.

    • LRT ☛ ‘It’s either you or us next’ – interview with Georgian president

      If Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, Russia will attack the Baltic states or Georgia, according to the country’s president Salome Zurabishvili.

    • teleSUR ☛ Failed US Policy Fuels Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Putin

      Washington and its allies tried to monopolize the Middle East settlement, the Russian president said.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Putin sees Belt and Road Initiative as China’s desire to cooperate on global issues: Reports

      He is due to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing from Oct 17-18.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Putin to visit China to deepen ‘no-limits’ partnership with Xi

      China and Russia declared a “no-limits” partnership in February 2022, just days before the Ukraine invasion.

    • The Straits Times ☛ What to watch for at Xi's meeting with Putin

      Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China this week to meet Xi Jinping, the Kremlin chief's first trip outside the former Soviet Union this year.

    • Latvia ☛ Fallen Latvian volunteer honored in Ukraine

      On Saturday, October 14, at a military ceremony in Kyiv , three volunteer soldiers of the Foreign Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were killed in Liman on October 1, were honored, among whom was a citizen of Latvia. Their commander described the fallen Latvian as a true patriot of Latvia, reported Latvian Radio.

    • Federal News Network ☛ Emotions run high as Poland prepares to hold a high-stakes national election

      Poland is holding an election Sunday that many view as its most important one since the 1989 vote that toppled communism. At stake are the health of the nation's democracy and the foreign alliances of a nation on NATO’s eastern flank that has been a crucial ally to Ukraine. Political experts say the vote will not be truly fair after eight years under a conservative government that has eroded checks and balances to gain control over state institutions. Emotions are running high ahead of the voting. The editor of a national newspaper says the election will decide the future of “a system that has been a guarantor of Polish success for the last three decades.”

    • France24 ☛ Poland votes in parliamentary elections with future EU, Ukraine ties at stake

      Poles began voting on Sunday in parliamentary elections that will prove crucial for future ties with the European Union and neighbouring Ukraine, as the ruling populists bid for a third consecutive term in power.

    • JURIST ☛ Latvia closes border crossing with Russia to avoid threats to ‘public order and national security’

      The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers announced Thursday its plan to close the Ventuli and Pedeze border crossing points to Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ At Least Six Ukrainian Civilians Reported Killed In Russian Strikes

      At least six people have been killed by Russian strikes in southern and eastern Ukraine as the Russian military continues its latest offensive.

    • RFERL ☛ First Evacuation Flight For Ukrainians Leaves Tel Aviv

      The first evacuation flight for Ukrainian citizens has left Israel, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on October 14.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Wins Important Pledges Of Support As It Prepares For Winter Battles, Zelenskiy Says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said fresh pledges of military support from the United States and several European countries during the past week have strengthened Ukraine as it prepares for battles in the coming winter.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Worries That Prolonged War in Gaza May Dilute Global Support

      Slow military progress and cracks in the backing of key allies could also drain vital attention from Ukraine’s battle with Russia, some fear.

    • Latvia ☛ Russia limits access through Latvia's Vientuļi border crossing point

      Russia has significantly restricted entry into the country through Vientuļi (Ludonka) border crossing point since Friday night, which is still open to border crossers until October 16 before its closure, so queues of people and vehicles are forming in Latvia, the Ministry of Interior (IeM) sand Latvian Television reported October 14.

    • France24 ☛ Netanyahu tells troops ‘next stage is coming’ as Israel prepares Gaza offensive

      Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians struggled Saturday to flee from areas in Gaza targeted by Israeli bombardments after Israel warned residents in the north to evacuate ahead of an expected ground offensive. Israeli air strikes on Gaza have killed at least 324 people over the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said. In total, 2,215 people have been killed in Gaza amid the ongoing strikes, which have followed Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,300 people.

    • JURIST ☛ Armenia parliament ratifies ICC Rome Statute

      President Vahagn Khachaturian signed the Armenian parliament’s decision to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into law on Sunday, placing the Caucasus country under the Hague-based institution’s jurisdiction despite warnings from its longtime ally Russia. This comes after Armenia stated it was considering ratifying the Rome Statute of the ICC on September 1st.

    • JURIST ☛ Russian dissident Alexei Navalny’s lawyers arrested on extremism charges

      Three lawyers representing Russian dissident and critic Alexei Navalny were detained Friday following raids of their residences. The three men are accused of participation in an extremist group allegedly led by Navalny. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Segunin and Alexei Lipster have represented Navalny in his many legal struggles, with Kobzev acting for him since 2010.

    • JURIST ☛ UNHRC extends mandate of independent expert on Russia by one year

      The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia by one year on Thursday. Mariana Katzarova is the first and present mandate holder. She was appointed in May 2023 and will continue monitoring and reporting on the human rights crisis in Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ At Least 16 Russians Killed In Attack On Israel, Embassy Says

      At least 16 Russian citizens died in the attack on October 7 in southern Israel by the militant group Hamas, the Russian Embassy in Israel said on October 14.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia asks UN Security Council to vote Monday on Israel, Gaza

      Russia has asked the United Nations Security Council to vote Monday on a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Council of Europe votes to recognize Holodomor as 'genocide'

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • New York Times ☛ Australia Fines X for Not Providing Information on Child Abuse Content

    The service formerly known as Twitter told Australian regulators that its automated detection of abusive material had declined after Elon Musk bought it.

• Environment

  • JURIST ☛ Human rights experts warn against European crackdown on climate protesters

    Multiple human rights experts expressed concern on Thursday against measures Europe has used to silence climate activists. including mass arrests, long sentences and new laws that restrict the right to protest.

  • New York Times ☛ How Megafires Are Remaking the World

    In our Pyrocene age, enormous wildfires aren’t merely damaging ecosystems but transforming them.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-08 [Older] ‘Without Water, There Is No Life’: Drought in Brazil’s Amazon Is Sharpening Fears for the Future

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Wildfires in Dry Amazon Rainforest Choke Manaus City

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2023-10-07 [Older] ‘Inexcusable’: U.S. Slammed for Refusal on Global Green Climate Fund

  • Truthdig ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] How Climate Risks Are Destabilizing the Global Insurance Market

  • The Age AU ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Vast Antarctic ice shelves shrinking as ocean warms

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-07 [Older] B.C. has doubled its old wildfire record. Experts say we can take action now to slow crisis

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] After losing their home in N.W.T. wildfires, this family is grateful to be together for Thanksgiving

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] What made September’s record heat 'gobsmackingly bananas'

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Vietnam: Why climate activism can be a risky business

  • RIPE ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Climate-Friendly Software: Don't Fight the Wrong Battle

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] The Last Planet on the Left: Climate Change as Revenge

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Google's New Weather and Climate Tools, Ranked

  • NL Times ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Climate protests at Rabobank branches across NL over industrial farming investments

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Is California’s Climate Lawsuit against Big Oil a Gamechanger?

  • New Yorker ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Rebranding Global Climate Change

  • Vox ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] How a tiny island is adapting to climate change ... on its dinner plates

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] Itaborai: Brazil's energy strategy raises climate concerns

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Extreme weather: Is climate change always to blame?

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Amazon's Indigenous People Urge Brazil to Declare Climate Emergency as Rivers Dry Up

  • University of Michigan ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] GlobalMarks fundraiser sells stickers for climate change solutions

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ A dirty habit: Why Indonesia is addicted to coal and how it can go green

      Going green is a costly but necessary step for Indonesia, whose heavy reliance on coal carries major health and climate risks.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] India: At least 4 killed, 80 injured after train derails

    • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] The Biden Administration Is Pumping Billions Into Clean Hydrogen

    • The Age AU ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] ACCC clears Canadian fund’s $18.7b takeover of Origin Energy

    • BIA Net ☛ 2023-10-14 [Older] Energy Minister Bayraktar: 'Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station is a Turkish company'

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-14 [Older] Mexico Energy Secretary Steps Down, to Seek Veracruz Governorship

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Biden Is Talking About Green Energy and Jobs in Pennsylvania Again. Will His Message Break Through?

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] Proposed state oversight of solar, wind pits energy needs v. rural rights

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] With tensions rising, Michigan Democrats unveil clean energy reforms

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] Mexico Denies Energy 'Donations' to Cuba but Mum on Financial Details

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • France24 ☛ Tide turns against whalers in Iceland after video emerges of whale’s tortured death

      The company that has a monopoly on commercial whaling in Iceland has come under fire in the wake of two brutal killings captured on camera this summer – the first showing a whale in agony for a full 30 minutes before dying, another showing the slaughter of a pregnant female. Though tougher restrictions on whaling have been introduced, Icelandic activists say that the only path forward is a total ban on the practice.

    • Federal News Network ☛ South Carolina man convicted of turtle smuggling charged with turtle abuse in Georgia

      A South Carolina man previously convicted of smuggling protected turtles between the United States and Hong Kong faces new allegations of turtle-related crimes in Georgia. Bibb County sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday arrested 43-year-old Steven Verren Baker of Holly Hill, South Carolina, and charged him with 15 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. No lawyer is listed in Georgia records for Baker, who remains jailed. Deputies say they found 15 turtles in poor health at Baker's mother's house. Officials described Baker as the ringleader of a 2016 scheme to mail protected turtles back and forth between the United States and Hong Kong without permits.

  • Overpopulation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Can India's ancient stepwells solve its water crisis?

• Finance

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] China and US get blamed for delayed debt relief to Africa

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Germany headed for deeper recession, IMF says

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Is US denying China a bigger voice at IMF?

  • After years of prosperity, the Spanish technology sector faces an unprecedented situation: the “hiring freeze”

    Teleworking was a constant during the pandemic and since then it has been slowly declining in Spain. However, today, and according to data from an InfoJobs macro survey, 22% of employed people still work from home, totally or partially. The computer sector is one of those that offers this possibility the most.

  • TechCrunch ☛ London’s not calling for Par Equity, as VC firm targets £100M at UK startups in the north

    Any conversation centered on the U.K. tech scene often has a strong center of gravity around the south of the country — to many, “the U.K.” and “London” may as well be the same thing.

    A recent House of Commons Committee report on venture capital allocation pointed to “uneven levels of VC investment” across the U.K., with the so-called “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge attracting some 80 percent of the country’s total investment. The lion’s share — around 70 percent of the total — is poured into the Greater London region, as per Dealroom data.

    And this is something Edinburgh-based VC firm Par Equity is seeking to address, with a new £100 million fund targeting early-stage startups in the north.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Ecuador’s Presidential Election: What to Know

    A center-right businessman and a leftist candidate are vying for the presidency on Sunday at a moment when the country is facing growing insecurity fueled by international criminal groups.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia's referendum failure could lead to more divisive politics, analysts say

    Australia's decision to deny constitutional recognition to its First Peoples could herald a more divisive \"Trump-style\" politics at the next national election, while pushing the prime minister to pivot to cost of living issues, some analysts said.

  • International Business Times ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Keir Starmer promises 'decade of national renewal' in Labour speech

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] German anti-racism body leaves X over 'rise in hate speech'

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] People Want Threads to Be Old Twitter. Threads Would Prefer Not to.

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Threads Edit Button Is Here, No Payment to Zuck Required

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Conversation ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] How morbid curiosity can lead people to conspiracy theories

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Fact check: Fake videos circulating over Hamas attack on Israel

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] EU Commission lashes out against X and co.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Lawsuit Accuses Officials in a Louisiana City of Free Speech Violations Aimed at Online Journalist

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Federal News Network ☛ Venezuelan migrants who are applying for temporary legal status in the US say it offers some relief

    The lives of several hundred thousand Venezuelans living in the U.S. could change now that President Joe Biden’s administration is offering them temporary legal status. The Homeland Security Department announced last month it would grant Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans. That makes it easier for them to get work permits. Víctor Macedo says he can now earn a living “as God intended.” He dreams of opening a bakery. He and his wife and two children have been living in Florida for nearly two years with the support of family and friends. They fled Venezuela after receiving death threats for opposing the country's socialist government.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Landlords face fines for renting out ‘grave-like’ rooms in Malaysia, says ministry

    Such rooms could be potential fire and health risks due to the lack of ventilation.

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2023-10-07 [Older] The Price of Amazon’s “Prime” Business Model Is Our Bodies

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Amazon Workers Gear Up for Black Friday Strike

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] UN Human Rights Council puts abusers in guardian role

  • HRW ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Turkey: Top Court Upholds Rights Defender’s Life Term

  • BIA Net ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] 'Turkey is a big joke, but how much can we laugh at this?'

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Accused in killing of London, Ont., Muslim family details dark web use, descent into paranoia

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Parent calls Sask. government's new bill a 'smokescreen' over mental health, addictions crisis

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Protesters urinated, defecated on church property, convoy trial hears

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] Public Sector Workers in Quebec May Be on the Verge of a General Strike

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Unifor strike 'on hold' after GM reaches tentative agreement with Canadian workers

  • CBC ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Hundreds rally at Sask. legislature as debate on school pronoun policy begins

  • Highlighting civil rights pioneer T. Thomas Fortune

    When the Black newspaper editor and civil-rights activist T. Thomas Fortune moved to Red Bank in the summer of 1901, his arrival was front-page news. “Mr. Fortune is one of the most noted colored men of the country,” the Red Bank Register reported.

    But a century later, the elegant Red Bank home that Fortune’s family called Maple Hall stood vandalized and derelict, its brick foundation crumbling, its windows boarded up. Still, the once-grand old place caught Gilda Rogers’ eye whenever she passed by. “That home probably was something really special in its heyday,” she would think.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] Amazon's First Internet Satellites Successfully Reach Orbit [Ed: Spies in charge of the Net]

• Monopolies

  • CCIA ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] The FTC’s Case Against Amazon Puts U.S. Digital Tech Competitiveness at Risk [Ed: So the US government should stay out of the way of harmful monopolists?]

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] The FTC Case Against Amazon Is Revealing the Extent of the Company’s Shady Market-Rigging

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] How tech giants are hijacking the internet

  • Patents

    • IP Kat ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] What is the standard for preliminary injunctions before the UPC? [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional, so Europe's 'justice' system for patents is now officialy a crime by virtue of its very existence]

    • Florian Müller ☛ 2023-10-13 [Older] First Ericsson v. Lenovo & Motorola Mobility patent infringement lawsuit found in North Carolina after standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing negotiations failed: multi-jurisdictional enforcement underway

    • Florian Müller ☛ 2023-10-12 [Older] Appeals court rejects Deutsche Telekom's appeal against IPCom: no SEP royalty refund

    • Florian Müller ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] Governments of three medium-sized EU member states agree: proposed SEP Regulation is overly intrusive and unbalanced

    • Gizmodo ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Google Nest Features Return After Judge Throws Out Sonos Patent Case

    • Florian Müller ☛ 2023-10-11 [Older] License-based settlements of SEP disputes in jeopardy: Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court heard Deutsche Telekom's 'antitrust' appeal against IPCom, anticipates review by Federal Court of Justice

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] Gates Foundation funding $40 million effort to help develop mRNA vaccines in Africa [Ed: Gates Foundation pushing Gates-patented monopolies to enrich Bill Gates. This is no charity.]

  • Trademarks

    • IP Kat ☛ 2023-10-10 [Older] Advocate General vs. German Supreme Court – Does the use of four rings on a car grille infringe Audi’s trademark?

    • IP Kat ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] Council approves EU Regulation for Non-Agri Geographical Indications

    • IP Kat ☛ 2023-10-09 [Older] [Guest post] An insight into international law-making: Third Special session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications of WIPO

    • IP Kat ☛ 2023-10-08 [Older] Distinctiveness and human faces: can you register a face? Perhaps, but not so easily

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Back to School

    To say my life took some twists and turns would be an understatement. I was determined from an early age to find my own path in life and question everything. This has had both good and bad outcomes for me over time. I've had a lot of experiences that someone following the easy path would have missed out on. I'm pretty well travelled compared to my peers, and I've found friendships in a number of unusual places. That said, I've been chronically underemployed and have lived well below the poverty line for a large part of my life. In addition to that, I do feel some disconnect when talking to other technically minded people due to the fact that there's a lot of shared history that is assumed but which I don't share in.

  • Be not afraid of FEARMONGERS

    There is a condition - generalised anxiety disorder where the afflicted sees hidden dangers in everything. You can sometimes spot them. They have a bizarre walk, arms flailing, coming at you.

• Technology and Free Software

  • Reading news on my ebook reader

    I, unfortunately or not, have gotten quite used to quickly reading the news every morning, right after I wake up. Like a morning coffee for others, it helps me wake up and feel ready for the day.

    For a long time, this happened while in bed: my first instinct was to grab my phone and quickly browse through the local news sites. Many times, this led to getting up much later than I would have liked to because of the preoccupation with my phone. Not only that, but many times I found myself not really interested in any of the articles, yet still scrolling the site to scratch that anxious itch.

  • Don't Say PC When You Mean Windows

    "PC" stands for "personal computer". Windows is one of a countless number of operating systems that can run on PCs.

  • Internet/Gemini

    • Save Gemini pages that you like to your hard drive; don’t (just) bookmark them

      While bookmarks of individual pages are nice, if there’s an article or something on Geminispace that you want to be able to refer back to, you should probably save it to your hard drive instead of expecting it to just be there months or years later. People get tired of hosting stuff for $8/month plus whatever the domain registration takes per year. Or they reinstall the OS on their Raspberry Pi machines, and forget that they were running Jetforce or something like that.

    • Put your capsule’s URL in your Gemtext pages

      Elsewhere, I’ve said that you ought to save things you like that you’ve discovered in Geminispace as the post might disappear randomly.

      However, if other people are saving your pages, your pages may not have much in them to help identify what capsule they were from.

    • How to keep your lovely Gemini thing running

      I'm seeing a growing concern about Gemini sites going offline, never to be seen again, and how to preserve the dying content. This is a good thing to do, however, let me help in trying to stop some Gemini capsule going offline in the first place. Yours or mine, maybe.

      I believe that the first cause is a sense of doing a fruitless, thankless job. Comments are few and far in between, and having no monetary compensation or even a shard of fame, you end up thinking you're doing this all for nothing. But that's most often than not a lie from the fourth pit of hell. (I know the guy responsible for that there, a true liar demon, really). People don't comment for a plethora of reasons, including bad previous experiences, the belief that the author might take your words wrong and even laziness.

  • Programming

    • After nex, what next? 💻

      I came across the nex protocol, and implemented it for my client. It's pretty simple.

    • Why Roc could be the First Mainstream Purely Functional Programming Language

      Roc[1] is a work-in-progress programming language that aims to be "fast, friendly, and functional". Its been speadheaded by Richard Feldman[2], an evangalist for Elm[3] and functional programming in general. It is very clear that all of the people working on it have reflected deeply on what has worked well across a variety of different programming languages, both new and old, and as a result are building something that I think is truely groundbreaking. There are some new ideas (that I hope will be more widely adoped) and some not-so-new ones where their contribution is simply to bring all of the great ideas floating about into one package.