Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ How To Talk To Your Scope

  It used to be only high-end test equipment that had some sort of remote control port. These days, though, they are quite common. Historically, test gear used IEEE-488 (also known as GPIB or, from the originator, HPIB). But today, your device will likely talk over a USB port, a serial port, or a LAN connection. You’d think that every instrument had unique quirks, and controlling it would be nothing like controlling another piece of gear, especially one from another company. That would be half right. Each vendor and even model indeed has its unique command language. There has been a significant effort to standardize some aspects of test instrument control, and you can quickly write code to control things on any platform using many different programming languages. In a few posts, I will show you just how easy it can be.

• Hackaday ☛ The Ghost Detector 9000 Is A Fun Spirit-Chasing Game

  Halloween may have come and gone for another year, but we’re still finding neat spooky projects lurking out on the Interwebs. Case in point, the Ghost Detector 9000 from [Jules].

• Ruben Schade ☛ You look nice today!

  You know that line in the Sunscreen Song that encourages you to do one thing every day that scares you? I’ve been doing that with social anxiety, and I’ve been shocked at how well it’s worked.

  Over the last month I’ve been pointing out when someone I interact with changes something about their appearance, or if they stand out in a unique way. If a barista has a new haircut, or a delivery person has a bright purple shirt, or if a doctor has new glasses, I call it out for looking great. It’s even worked for some clients.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ One of The Biggest Hunter-Gatherers Myths Is Finally Getting Debunked

    We've ignored half the picture.

  • Science Alert ☛ Defects Seen Traveling Through Diamond Faster Than The Speed of Sound

    We've never observed this before.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ A Colorful Take On The E-Ink Photo Frame

    Everyone loves sharing photos, and with most pictures being taken on smartphones now, digital frames are more convenient than finding a photo printer. [Wolfgang Ziegler] used an e-ink screen to create a colorful digital picture frame.

  • Hackaday ☛ Computer Gear With — Um — Gears

    Analog computers have been around in some form for a very long time. One very obvious place they were used was in military vehicles. While submarine fire computers and the Norden bombsight get all the press, [msylvain59] has a lesser-known example: an M13A1 ballistic computer from an M48 tank that he tears down for us in the video below.

  • Hackaday ☛ Simple CMOS Circuit Allows Power And Data Over Twisted-Pair Wiring

    If you need to send data from sensors, there are plenty of options, including a bewildering selection of wireless methods. Trouble is, most of those protocols require a substantial stack of technology to make them work, and things aren’t much easier with wired sensors either. It doesn’t have to be that complicated, though, as this simple two-wire power-and-data interface demonstrates.

  • Hackaday ☛ Building An Animated Turn Signal For The Mazda MX-5

    Turn signals in most of the world are mandated to be a flashing orange light, distinct from other bulbs on a vehicle. However, there has been a trend in the modern era to go for fancier animated turn signals using great numbers of LEDs. [ssh16] decided to whip up a set of their own to suit their late-model Mazda MX-5.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Defence Web ☛ SANDF soldiers recover stolen vehicles and millions of rands worth of cigarettes

    South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers busy with border protection patrols under Operation Corona have had a busy three weeks, recovering multiple stolen vehicles transporting millions of rands worth of illicit cigarettes.

  • Number of deaths registered in England and Wales up almost 15% after the pandemic which W.H.O. said ended this year

    An increase of more than 1,200 people, per week.

  • Reason ☛ Lawsuit: COVID Vaccine Injury Claims Diverted to Unconstitutional 'Kangaroo Court'

    A war on terror–era program is the only legal avenue for people seeking compensation for a COVID vaccine injury.

  • Science Alert ☛ One Stage of Sleep Seems to Be Critical For Reducing The Risk of Dementia

    Our brains need it.

  • TruthOut ☛ US Military Defends Use of “Forever Chemicals” as Groups Raise Health Concerns

  • Latvia ☛ Men's health emphasized in 'mustache march' through Rīga

    On Monday, November 20, dozens of participants gathered outside the Freedom Monument for a “Mustache March.” November is Men's Health Month, and this year it places particular emphasis on the need to screening, Latvian Television reported.

  • Latvia ☛ Price cut for medicines expected next year in Latvia

    Next year, a reduction in medicine prices is promised by the Health Ministry (VM), where there is a commitment to persuade the industry to agree to a fixed markup or ceiling. The industry is not immediately saying no for now, but is waiting for the exact extent of the reduction to be known, Latvian Television reported November 20.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia sees growing trend of legionella outbreaks

    Legionnaires' disease has been spreading with a growing trend in recent years, according to the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC). By November, nearly 70 cases had been recorded this year. The disease is still considered rare, but there is a high risk of death if infected, Latvian Radio reports.

  • Latvia ☛ Why do Latvian men die young?

    Year after year, health is improving, and health literacy and the desire to improve the quality of life are increasing in society. However, against the background of the European Union, the health of Latvian residents is poor. Men stand out in particular. What impacts the health of men in Latvia and what are the doctors' observations? In a special series of articles, LSM will examine this in the coming weeks.

  • The Straits Times ☛ HK travel firm offers refund for the first client who finds live bedbugs in South Korea

    The move is aimed at regaining customers’ confidence in South Korean tour groups.

  • Techdirt ☛ ‘AI’ Is Supercharging Our Broken Healthcare System’s Worst Tendencies

    “AI” (or more accurately language learning models nowhere close to sentience or genuine awareness) has plenty of innovative potential. Unfortunately, most of the folks actually in charge of the technology’s deployment largely see it as a way to cut corners, attack labor, and double down on all of their very worst impulses.

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Authorities Investigate Deadly Mass Overdoses

    Russia's Investigative Committee said on November 21 that it has launched a probe into mass overdose cases among drug users in the southwestern city of Astrakhan.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Windows TCO

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Report finds malware is no longer the biggest cyberthreat to smaller businesses

      A new report released today by managed cybersecurity platform startup Huntress Labs Inc. on threats to small to medium-sized businesses has surprisingly found that the biggest threat to them isn’t malware. The Huntress Small and Medium-Size Business Threat Report found a continuing shift in the nature of threats against SMBs.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • RFA ☛ Man jailed by China seeks compensation from Canadian government

      Michael Spavor, who was jailed for 3 years in China, claims to have been tricked into providing intelligence to Ottawa.

    • Techdirt ☛ Privacy Activist Files Complaint Against The EU Commission Over Its Highly Targeted (Misleading) Ads About CSAM Scanning

      A few weeks back we wrote about a report that the EU Commission, in its push for dangerous client-side scanning mandates, had started buying highly targeted ads to try to influence people to support the policy. The ads, first revealed by Wired, were incredibly misleading. But, also, as we noted, appeared to violate EU’s privacy laws with the targeting.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFA ☛ Fewer than 10% of Taiwanese consider China credible: poll

    An expert cited Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping’s strict approach to cross-strait relations as the main reason.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China welcomes temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement

    Beijing, China China welcomed on Wednesday a truce deal between Israel and Hamas, after they reached an agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of 50 hostages in Gaza. “We welcome the temporary ceasefire agreement reached by relevant parties,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

  • The Gray Zone ☛ Hostile takeover: NATO’s annexation of Montenegro

  • RFERL ☛ Stoltenberg Emphasizes NATO's Vigilance, Readiness As He Wraps Up Balkans Tour

    NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg says the alliance closely monitors what Russia is doing in the western Balkans but currently sees no military threat to any NATO member in the region.

• New York Times ☛ 2 Journalists Killed in Israeli Strike in Lebanon, Network Says

  The Lebanese military and Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister blamed Israel for the attack as the Israeli military said the episode was under review.

• Science Alert ☛ New Evidence: Chinese Rocket And Secret Payload Caused Double Crater on The Moon

  Mystery solved... sort of.

• New York Times ☛ Ailing Hamas Hostages Desperately Need Care, Doctors Say

  Many of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas when it raided Israel had serious medical conditions. Some were badly injured in the attack. Doctors say they need medical care urgently.

• PHR ☛ PHR Demands Independent Verification and Accountability for Attacks on Civilians, Health Care in Israel and Gaza

  The horrific attacks on civilians during the war in Israel and Gaza since October 7, including the unprecedented attacks on health care workers and facilities, demand independent verification and accountability, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.

• The Straits Times ☛ China says it is in interest of all parties to ensure peace, stability on Korean peninsula

  China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also said it is hoped that all parties concerned "will remain calm and exercise restraint".

• The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says spy satellite launch successful

  The US leads allies in condemning the launch as a “brazen violation” of UN sanctions.

• The Straits Times ☛ Explainer: What we know about North Korea's new satellite and claims of Russian aid

  Officials and experts around the world are seeking to independently verify North Korea's claim this week that it successfully launched its first spy satellite, an effort that South Korea asserts likely included Russian aid.

• New York Times ☛ North Korea Launches Rocket With Its First Spy Satellite

  The country had failed to put such a satellite into orbit in its two previous attempts at such a launch. This time, it was getting help from Russia, according to South Korea.

• The Straits Times ☛ North Korea's space launch programme and long-range missile projects

  North Korea launched a rocket late on Tuesday carrying what it called a reconnaissance satellite, prompting South Korea to suspend a key part of a military pact it had signed in 2018 with Pyongyang to de-escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula.

• RFA ☛ N Korea launches satellite despite international warnings

  The launch comes a day after Seoul said it detected activities indicating a launch.

• France24 ☛ North Korea says spy satellite launch is successful

  North Korea said Wednesday it had succeeded in putting a military spy satellite in orbit after two previous failures, as the US led its allies in condemning the launch as a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions.

• The Straits Times ☛ Military agreement fractures as tensions rise with North Korea

  South Korea said on Wednesday it would suspend parts of a 2018 military agreement with North Korea designed to curb the risk of inadvertent clashes along their shared border, in response to Pyongyang's claim to have successfully launched a spy satellite.

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to suspend part of military pact after North claims spy satellite launch

  South Korea moved to suspend on Wednesday part of a military agreement it signed with Pyongyang in 2018 after the isolated North defied warnings from the United States and its allies and launched a spy satellite, calling it a success.

• The Straits Times ☛ North Koreans use fake names, scripts to land remote IT work for cash

  The millions earned are to finance Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, the US, UN and South Korea say.

• RFA ☛ China rejects Australia’s accusation of unsafe sea conduct

  Beijing denied its warship emitted sonar pulses causing injuries to Australian Navy divers in waters near Japan.

• RFA ☛ US, Philippines launch joint sea and air patrols

  Announcement comes after President Marcos visits U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

• ADF ☛ Leaders Outline Future of Peacekeeper Training as Kenya Hosts IAPTC

  As director of the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) in Nairobi, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Brig. Joyce Sitienei took center stage recently as host of an international peacekeeping summit.

• Pro Publica ☛ How Bushmaster Made the AR-15 into the U.S.’ Best-Selling Rifle

  Outside Healy Chapel on the campus of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, the American flag swayed at half-staff. Inside, candles flickered, and the dying autumn light filtered softly through stained glass. A nursing student sobbed as a small group of mourners read aloud the names of the 18 people slaughtered with an assault-style rifle in late October at a bowling alley and a restaurant up the road in Lewiston. The college had shut down for two days as police sought the killer, whose body was found in the woods after he turned a gun on himself.

  Saint Joseph’s is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, a 192-year-old society of nuns that has accused the firearms industry of “profiting from these killings.” Toward the end of the vigil, a graduate assistant asked the mourners to pray for political leaders.

• New York Times ☛ U.S. Conducts Airstrikes Against Iranian Proxies in Iraq

  The airstrikes followed an earlier exchange in which a U.S. gunship spotted and fired on militants after they launched missiles at Al Asad Air Base.

• NYPost ☛ Daughter accused of giving 72-year-old mother with dementia gun to commit suicide: ‘Sucks being a 24-7 caregiver’

  Police say Lynda Watts suffered from dementia and her daughter was her primary caregiver.

• TruthOut ☛ National Islamophobia Strategy Is PR Stunt to Protect Biden’s Political Future

• The Nation ☛ Bibi

  Check out all installments in the OppArt series.

• Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

  • RFERL ☛ Moscow Resident Reportedly Kills Himself After Receiving Subpoena For Military Service

    Several Telegram channels in Russia said on November 20 that a 23-year-old Muscovite shot himself to death after he received a subpoena for military service.

  • Meduza ☛ A symbol of resistance Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution was not a ‘coup’ — no matter how many times Putin insists otherwise — Meduza

  • France24 ☛ Germany pledges $1.4 billion for Ukraine's army on ten-year Maidan anniversary

    Germany on Tuesday unveiled another large military aid package for Ukraine during an unannounced visit to Kyiv by the defence minister that coincided with the 10th anniversary of the historic Maidan protests.

  • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Marks 10th Anniversary of Maidan Uprising That Foreshadowed War

    President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the so-called Maidan revolution, which toppled a pro-Russia leader 10 years ago, as the “first victory” in a long struggle against Moscow.

  • Meduza ☛ A Russian winter offensive Meduza’s updated Ukraine combat map shows developments in Avdiivka, Kupyansk, Bakhmut, Orikhiv, and the Dnipro — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Converting disappointment to ‘something productive’ Military expert Dara Massicot discusses Ukraine’s elusive battlefield breakthrough and the long war ahead — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Early release Russian Satanist who killed four teenagers pardoned after fighting in Ukraine — Meduza

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Arming Ukraine is the cheapest way to stop Putin’s resurgent Russia

    Arming Ukraine may be expensive, but it is by far the cheapest way to stop Vladimir Putin's resurgent Russia, writes Ivan Verstyuk.

  • AntiWar ☛ The Ukraine War Has Been a ‘Great Bargain’ for US in the Black Sea

    U.S. officials view the war in Ukraine as a way of achieving geopolitical objectives in the Black Sea, an energy-rich region that connects Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

  • AntiWar ☛ There Could Have Been Peace: How the US Ensured a Long War in Ukraine

    On February 27, just the third day of their war, Russia and Ukraine announced direct negotiations in Belarus.

  • The Strategist ☛ Why the US and its partners can’t afford to abandon Ukraine

    In recent weeks, US President Joe Biden has boldly referred to the United States as the world’s ‘indispensable nation’.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine aims to hold Russia accountable for heritage site attacks

    Ukraine is working to document Russian attacks on the country's cultural heritage that Ukrainians argue are part of a broader Kremlin campaign to erase Ukraine's national identity, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Wartime Ukraine is making historic progress toward EU membership

    The Ukrainian authorities have made clear they view EU membership as a strategic priority and are fully committed to pursuing this goal, even while defending themselves against Russia’s ongoing invasion, writes Mark Temnycky.

  • JURIST ☛ Ukraine launches two probes of lawmakers in continuing fight against corruption

    Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced investigations into two unnamed lawmakers on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to bribe reconstruction officials.  

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian FM says Russia will attack Europe ‘maybe in 10 years, maybe in five’

    In a strongly-worded interview with Elta, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested that it is only a matter of time before Russia attacks Europe once the war in Ukraine is over without a total defeat for Moscow.

  • LRT ☛ ‘Russia’s war in Ukraine will be seen as colonial war’ – interview with Timothy Snyder

    “One thing I’m confident about is that this will be seen as a colonial war. There are other ways to characterise it, but it is a colonial war in the sense that Russia meant to conquer, dominate displace, exploit. And it’s an imperial war in the sense that in choosing to fight this war, Russian elites were self-consciously defining themselves as an empire as opposed to a normal state,” American historian Timothy Snyder says about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall wounded outside Kyiv honoured by Zelensky

    News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch leads visit to meet Zelensky in Ukraine.

  • RFERL ☛ U.S. Concerned Iran May Provide Ballistic Missiles To Russia For Use In Ukraine

    White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has voiced concern that Iran may provide Russia with ballistic missiles for use in its war against Ukraine.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Civilians reflect on Ukraine’s 2014 uprising in the midst of war

    Ten years ago, Ukrainians protested President Viktor Yanukovychin’s decision to move the country away from the EU and toward Russia. The months-long standoff led to the ouster of Mr. Yanukovychin, and nine years later, an ongoing war with Russia.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘They’re ready to forgive you’: How the Kremlin’s ‘penance system’ for artists works — and the compromises they make to keep their jobs — Meduza

  • New York Times ☛ Ukraine’s Children With Special Needs Suffer the ‘Huge Pressure’ of War

    Children with conditions like ADHD and autism have been particularly affected by the traumas and uncertainties of the war and the disruptions to daily life, families and experts say.

  • The Strategist ☛ From the bookshelf: ‘China and Russia: four centuries of conflict and concord’

    In recent years, publishers have released a deluge of new books on relations between China and the United States, some predicting conflict and others offering formulas for maintaining peace.

  • France24 ☛ UN General Assembly urges 'Olympic Truce' for 2024 Paris summer games

    The UN General Assembly called Tuesday for the observance of a traditional "Olympic Truce" during the next year's Paris summer games, as Russia again condemned what it called "political interference" in sport.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia, IOC Clash At UN Before Member States Pass Olympic Truce For Paris Games

    The UN on November 21 voted to adopt a traditional truce around the 2024 Paris Olympics despite objections from Russia.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia Arrests French Citizen For Illegally Entering From Estonia, FSB Says

    Russia has detained a French citizen for illegally entering the country from Estonia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on November 21.

  • teleSUR ☛ Russia Regrets Finland's Plans to Shut Border Crossings

    The Finnish Cabinet announced the complete closure of border crossing points with Russia from Nov. 18, 2023, to Feb. 18, 2024.

  • YLE ☛ What is Russia hoping to achieve with hybrid tactics on the Finnish border?

    The Kremlin's suspected hybrid operation on the Finnish border may be aiming to sow societal discord and paint Finland as part of the 'hostile' West, two foreign policy experts say.

  • YLE ☛ Wednesday's papers: Expanding border barriers, presidential poll, slippery roads

    According to one morning press report, Finland's defense forces are preparing to install razor wire barriers along more sections of the eastern border with Russia.

  • YLE ☛ Tuesday's papers: Border latest, term-time holidays and resting from rally driving

    The border between Russia and Finland has been partially closed, and some are demanding a full shutdown on the eastern frontier.

  • Meduza ☛ Czech Republic reportedly pushing to restrict Russian diplomats’ travel throughout E.U. — Meduza

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian officers capture weather balloon with Belarusian contraband cigarettes

    Lithuanian border guards have intercepted a weather balloon launched from Belarus that smugglers were using to transport 750 packs of cigarettes, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported on Tuesday.

  • RFERL ☛ Ten Skulls, Other Human Bones Found At Construction Site In Moscow

    The Moscow city prosecutor's office said construction workers found 10 human skulls along with at least 10 fragments of other skulls and dozens of various human bones during an excavation of underground communications facilities at a site where a restaurant once operated.

  • RFERL ☛ Moscow Court Rejects Nobel Winner Muratov's Appeal Against 'Foreign Agent' Label

    A Moscow court on November 21 rejected journalist and Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov's appeal against the Justice Ministry's September decision to add him to the so-called foreign agents registry.

Environment

• Science Alert ☛ Ozone Hole May Not Be Recovering After All. In Fact, It Might Be Getting Larger.

• Wildlife/Nature

  • Science Alert ☛ A Mystery Illness Is Spreading Rapidly Through Dogs in The US

    Here's what we know so far.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover Genes That Turn a Peaceful Fungus Into a Carnivorous Killer

    Creepy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dog abandoned with written note sparks anger in South Korea

    Only 27.5 per cent of animals rescued by shelters in 2022 found new homes.

  • ADF ☛ Report: Chinese Firm Extracted $5 Million in Illegal Timber From DRC in 6 Months

    ADF STAFF A new study reveals how a Chinese logging company is illegally leveling rainforests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), stripping the country of millions of dollars’ worth of irreplaceable natural resources and fueling corruption.

Finance

• Pro Publica ☛ Dodge & Cox Exec Made Millions for Himself Trading the Same Stocks as His Fund

  In late 2015, Dodge & Cox, one of the nation’s largest mutual fund managers, began buying large quantities of shares of a cloud-computing company called VMware. Over three quarters, Dodge & Cox amassed almost $700 million in shares. That was good news for anyone who already owned shares of VMware, since big purchases tend to push a stock price upward.

  One such shareholder was David Hoeft, a member of the Dodge & Cox committee that made the decision to buy the shares and an advocate for investing in technology companies. Hoeft, who has spent 30 years at Dodge & Cox, is now the company’s chief investment officer.

• TruthOut ☛ Talk of “Border Crisis” Is Misleading. The Real Crisis Is US-Imposed Poverty.

• TruthOut ☛ NYPD Spends $390 Million on Radio System Despite NYC’s Massive Budget Cut

• RFA ☛ China orders financial support for battered property sector

  Beijing is also shoring up efforts to diffuse and manage risks.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Democracy Now ☛ Argentina’s Trump? Far-Right Javier Milei Wins Presidency with Echoes of Past Dictatorship

  Far-right libertarian Javier Milei has been elected president of Argentina, defeating centrist Peronist Sergio Massa. Milei is a climate crisis denier who has proposed banning abortion and easing restrictions on guns. He has vowed to shut down Argentina’s central bank, replace the nation’s currency with the U.S. dollar and crack down on women’s and LGBTQ people’s rights. We discuss what else to expect from Milei’s presidency with Argentine feminist activist Verónica Gago and Franco Metaza, the director of international relations for the Argentine Senate.

• TruthOut ☛ What Can We Expect From Argentina’s Far Right President-Elect?

• Digital Music News ☛ U.S. Treasury Secretary Says Fentanylware (TikTok) Issues Remain ‘Unresolved’

  The United States still has concerns about privacy on Fentanylware (TikTok) with issued remaining ‘unresolved,’ according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “We do have concerns around the potential issues with privacy and social control media,” Yellen told CNBC in an interview on Monday. “This is a matter that has not been resolved.”

• TruthOut ☛ Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over “Wildly Gerrymandered” Maps

• The Straits Times ☛ China to name finance veteran Zhu Hexin as new forex chief, sources say

  China is set to appoint Zhu Hexin, a veteran banker and chief of state-run financial conglomerate CITIC Group, as the new head of its foreign exchange regulator, four people familiar with the matter said, amid growing headwinds for the economy and markets.

• The Straits Times ☛ Fiji PM: China likely to collaborate on key port, shipyard project

  Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament on Wednesday the Pacific Islands nation was likely to collaborate with China on a key port modernisation and shipyard project, after discussing it in a meeting with Chinese president Pooh-tin Jinping.

• Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

  • Federal News Network ☛ What can be done in the public-health sector to combat misinformation?

    A new study looked into how well health misinformation is researched by these institutions and the methods they used to fight it. One of the study's authors is Stefanie Friedhoff, professor of the practice at Brown University's School of Public Health.

  • How Open Source can help fight election disinformation

    Experts from around the globe gathered to discuss how Open Source tools can help fight the spread of misinformation during elections. The session focused on identifying digital public goods to increase public knowledge, transparency and literacy.

Censorship/Free Speech

• The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s PM Anwar to discuss Coldplay concert with Federal Territories Mufti

  The band has been an outspoken supporter of Palestine over the past decade.

• RFA ☛ Prominent Chinese rights attorney incommunicado, believed detained

  Tang Jitian is detained en route to a funeral as the teenaged son of another lawyer is treated for an overdose.

• Meduza ☛ Navalny misses scheduled hearing after landing in ‘punishment cell’ for 23rd time — Meduza

• RFERL ☛ Navalny Placed In Punitive Confinement For 23rd Time Since August Last Year

  Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, who is serving a total of 19 years in prison on extremism and other charges, has been placed in a punitive solitary confinement for the 23rd time since August 2022.

• Meduza ☛ Majority of Russians polled by Navalny lack strategy for 2024 election but are prepared to rally behind a single opposition candidate — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ St. Petersburg professor fired after students make video about different professor who lost job for defending anti-war protester Sasha Skochilenko — Meduza

• RFERL ☛ Moscow Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Pussy Riot Member Tolokonnikova

  The Moscow City Court on November 21 issued an arrest warrant for a founding member of the Pussy Riot protest group, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, on a charge of "insulting believers' religious feelings."

• Reason ☛ Characterizing Professor's Tweets as Anti-Semitic Isn't Actionable Libel or Invasion of Privacy

  From Judge Gerald McHugh's decision yesterday in Tannous v. Cabrini Univ. (E.D. Pa.): This is an action brought by Kareem Tannous, a former university professor, against StopAntisemitism.org, a non-profit watchdog organization that reshared Plaintiff's social control media posts with additional commentary….

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• TruthOut ☛ Elon Musks’s “X” Sues Media Matters for Its Report on Antisemitic Content

• RFERL ☛ Former Russian Investigative Committee Official Found Dead In Prison

  The former chief of the Investigative Committee's internal security, Mikhail Maksimenko, was found dead at Correctional Colony No. 11 in the Nizhny Novgorod region, local media reported on November 21.

• Press Gazette ☛ Mirror article accusing James Dyson of ‘screwing country’ was ‘vitriolic’, libel trial told

  The publisher argues an honest person “could self-evidently have held the opinion”.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Reason ☛ Brickbat: Don't Carry On

  Canada's ruling Liberal-NDP coalition has introduced a bill in Parliament that would ban firms in federally regulated industries, such as banking and telecommunications, from bringing in replacement workers during a strike.

• JURIST ☛ Canada dispatch: new federal labour bill would ban employer use of ‘scabs’ during strikes or lockouts

  Canadian law students are reporting for JURIST on national and international developments in and affecting Canada. Mélanie Cantin is JURIST’s Chief Correspondent for Canada and a 3L at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. 

• LRT ☛ 3,000 teachers resume strike in Lithuania

  The Lithuanian Education Workers’ Trade Union (LŠDPS) is resuming the teachers’ strike on Wednesday and organising a rally at the Seimas.

• The Straits Times ☛ HK’s ‘rude’ taxi drivers’ threat to strike casts spotlight on city’s ride-hailing policy

  A planned taxi strike was scrapped, but it renewed public criticism against the industry's poor service standards.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Plans for 500-strong Hong Kong taxi driver strike over Uber thwarted after carpark operator refuses to offer venue

  Taxi groups who planned to mobilise 500 drivers to strike over Uber and other ride-hailing services on Wednesday have had their plans thwarted, after an operator refused to lend out a carpark for the protest.

• TruthOut ☛ Florida Bill Aims to Mandate “Don’t Say Gay” in Many Workplaces

• Pro Publica ☛ For Alaska Families, Questions Remain About Unsolved Deaths and “Suicides”

  KOTZEBUE, Alaska — The hum of a clothes dryer, zippers clinking, filled Saima Chase’s house one afternoon in September as she set down a steaming dish of moose stir-fry. “Egg roll in a bowl,” she said of the quick after-work recipe. The conversation turned to the reason for my visit: unsolved killings, unexplained deaths and suicides that might not really be suicides.

  A 41-year-old Inupiaq woman raised in Kotzebue, Chase recently became the city’s mayor. Before that she worked for the Alaska State Medical Examiner Office, preparing autopsy tables, and at a local nonprofit that offers legal help to domestic violence survivors.

• The Nation ☛ Reconsidering the Indelible Legacy of the “Feminist-Critical Mother of Us All”

  Twenty years ago last month, I opened the New York Times and saw the face I knew so well and the headline, “Carolyn Heilbrun, Pioneering Feminist Scholar, Dies at 77.” Sound mind, sound body, yet she’d taken her own life, leaving only the words, “The journey is over. Love to all.”

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korean prosecutors seek 30-year jail term for JMS cult leader charged with sexual assault

  Jeong was released from prison in 2018 after serving a 10-year jail term for rape and embezzlement.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• EFF ☛ The Eyes on the Board Act Is Yet Another Misguided Attempt to Limit Social Media for Teens

  Eyes on the Board would prohibit any school from receiving any federal E-Rate funding subsidies if it also allows access to social media. Schools and libraries that receive this funding are already required to install internet filters; the Children’s Internet Protection Act, or CIPA, requires that these schools must block or filter Internet access to “visual depictions” that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors, as well as requiring the monitoring of the online activities of minors for the same purpose. In return, the E-Rate program subsidizes internet services for schools and libraries in districts with high rates of poverty. 

  This bill is a brazen attempt to censor information and to control how schools and teachers educate.

  First, it’s not clear that there is a problem here that needs fixing. In practice, most schools choose to block much, much more than social media sites. This is a problem—these filters likely stop students from accessing educational information, and many tools flag students for accessing sites that aren’t blocked, endangering their privacy. Some students’ only access to the internet is during school hours, and others’ only internet-capable device is issued by their school, making these website blocks and flags particularly troubling. 

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• Techdirt ☛ ‘Max’ Unsurprisingly Loses Streaming Customers After Several Years Of The Dumbest Decisions Imaginable

  We’ve documented in detail how the whole AT&T–>Time Warner–>Warner Brothers Discovery merger process has been a pointless mess, resulting in no limits of layoffs and damage to the underlying brands. What was supposed to be a gambit by these companies to dominate streaming TV, wound up being a very expensive act of seppuku by over-compensated executives clearly out of their depths.

Monopolies

• Zimbabwe ☛ EU doing the lord’s work. Fashion Company Apple now bringing RCS support to iMessage

  Imagine for a second you are Carl Pei, CEO of a new smartphone company called Nothing and you have lasted long enough in the business to release a second phone. But you need something to stand out about it.

• Dot Esports ☛ Sony getting sued is good, for all of us

  The U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that a $7.9 billion class-action lawsuit against Sony can go ahead, despite the PlayStation company’s lawyers trying to get the case dismissed. This is a good thing, for all consumers.

  The lawsuit is being led by Alex Neill, who claims Sony “abused its dominant position” and has been overcharging users. The lawsuit alleges this was due to Sony charging a 30 percent commission, a fee which subsequently causes games and add-ons to be marked up so developers and publishers can adequately make money.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Recommended Reading: "Welcome To The Land Of Trademark Cancellation -- Where Not All Fraud Is Created Equal"

    Janelle Barbier, Editor-in-Chief of the Santa Clara High Tech Law Journal, has written an interesting and informative article on the CAFC's recent ruling in Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc. [TTABlogged here], in which a divided court panel reversed the TTAB's finding of fraud because "a Section 14 cancellation proceeding is not available as a remedy for a fraudulent Section 15 incontestability declaration." A .pdf of the article is available here.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Tupac’s Iconic ‘Dear Mama’ Slapped with Copyright Lawsuit — 28 Years After Its Release

    Twenty-eight years after its release, Tupac’s iconic track ‘Dear Mama’ becomes the subject of a copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit. The late Tupac Shakur’s legendary hit, “Dear Mama,” has become the subject of a copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit, 28 years after its release.

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • 🔤SpellBinding — BCHIOYR Wordo: AUDIO

  • Butlerian Jihad

    It seems to me that the ban on “thinking machines” in Dune isn’t just a ban on the extreme cases of super clever and emotional Pinocchio AGI.

    It’s a mandate for human oversight and judgment. There is a lot of tech and automation that has existed throughout the past decade that doesn’t fulfill that mandate. Scripts are fun but we’ve got to check the work.

    The risk isn’t primarily “Skynet” or “Reign of Steel” or “Matrix”. It’s that we leave ourselves vulnerable to other humans who can wield their machines more effectively and wield our machines against us.

• Politics and World Events

  • Jumping to Conclusions - Edan's Capsule

    So I was reading through my RSS feed this morning, as per usual, and I happened across an [1]article about a concerning statement from the newly-elected president of Argentina, Javier Milei. In a nutshell, he wants the Falklands back.