Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Larry Fink, Whose Photographs Were ‘Political, Not Polemical,’ Dies at 82

  His black-and-white images captured the chilly anomie of Manhattan’s haute monde, the strangeness of Hollywood royalty and the lively warmth of rural America.

• New York Times ☛ Henry Kissinger’s Life and Work in Photos [Ed: Wall Street Times is celebrating a serial murderer]

  The U.S. diplomat rose from a bookish childhood in Germany to become a power player in the halls of American politics.

• New York Times ☛ Kissinger’s Legacy Still Ripples Through Vietnam and Cambodia [Ed: Wall Street Times still cuddling Kissinger in relation to countries where he committed war crimes]

  His decision to authorize the bombing of Cambodia, efforts to extricate the U.S. from the Vietnam War and role in the rapprochement with China continue to be felt in Southeast Asia.

• RFA ☛ Kissinger had a consequential, controversial impact across Asia

  From China to Bangladesh, the U.S. statesman's policies left a huge mark in the region.

• RFA ☛ China’s top diplomat visits Vietnam ahead of likely Pooh-tin trip

  Wang Yi is set to meet Vietnam’s president and party secretary.

• New York Times ☛ When Henry Kissinger Became an Opera Character [Ed: More senseless hagiographies from Wall Street Times. How many years have they had them prepared on the shelf for the death?]

  In 1987, “Nixon in China” meditated on what was then recent history, depicting Kissinger as a smooth diplomat with a brutal side.

• New Yorker ☛ Henry Kissinger’s Hard Compromises

  In his final years, the architect of America’s opening to China watched as Washington turned against his philosophy of engagement regardless of the costs.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ US Finally Returns to The Moon Next Month After 50 Long Years Away

    It's happening!

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ In Pictures: Hong Kong welcomes China manned space delegation with dinner, major show and exhibition

    Hong Kong authorities have laid on a big welcome for a delegation representing China’s manned space exploration programme, including a major show at the Hong Kong Coliseum and an exhibition at the science museum. The delegation of 17 astronauts and space engineering experts arrived on Tuesday for a four-day visit.

  • Science Alert ☛ Dinosaurs Might Be The Reason We're Not Living to 200 Years Old

    Thanks a lot, dinosaurs.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Japan sets strict rules for chip subsidy recipients in the hopes of preventing leaks to China and Russia

    Japan wants prevent technology secret leaks from companies getting chip-related subsidies from the government.

  • Hackaday ☛ Autonomous Excavator Builds Stone Wall Algorithmically

    In a move that aims to further the circular economy of the construction industry, researchers at ETH Zurich have let an autonomous excavator loose on a big pile of boulders and reclaimed concrete. The goal? To build a 20 foot (6 meter) and 213 ft (65 m) long dry-stone wall as part of a park where the landscape was digitally planned, and the earth autonomously excavated.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Minimum Required For A Film Camera

    Film cameras can be complex and exquisitely-crafted masterpieces of analogue technology. But at their very simplest they need be little more than a light-proof box with a piece of film at the back of it, and some kind of lens or pinhole with a shutter. [ChickenCrimpy] adds the most basic of 35 mm cartridge to create what he calls the Minimum Viable Camera. It’s a half-frame 35 mm pinhole film camera with the simplest possible construction.

  • Hackaday ☛ Hacked Tea Lights Flicker Just Right

    Flickering LED tea lights are a friendly and safe alternative to having flaming little pots of wax situated around your home, but sometimes the flicker scheme leaves something to be desired.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • LRT ☛ Doctor suicide throws light on burnout in Lithuania’s healthcare system

    The Santara Clinics in Vilnius, one of the biggest hospitals in the country, has reported the loss of one of its doctors. It is suspected that the man has committed suicide. A medical workers’ organisation says the incident is a result of deep-seated problems in the healthcare system.

  • BIA Net ☛ 'Child suicides should be investigated'

    The Human Rights Association announced that child suicides have increased by 40% in the last two years. Upon detailed examination of these data, it emphasized that in some regions, there is a higher prevalence of suicides among girls.

  • European Commission ☛ Speech by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the EPSCO Council Meeting - Collaboration and Exchange on Long COVID

    European Commission Speech Brussels, 30 Nov 2023 Chair, Ministers,

    The long-term consequences of a COVID-19 infection are still very real for too many people.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Surge in respiratory illnesses in China not linked to Covid-19: Experts

    The pathogen behind many infections lately is totally different from the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

  • YLE ☛ Significantly fewer Covid deaths in Finland

    The number of deaths confirmed to have been caused by the coronavirus so far this year is about one-third of those recorded in 2022.

  • New York Times ☛ Climate Change Drives New Cases of Malaria, Complicating Efforts to Fight the Disease

    The number of malaria cases rose again in 2022, propelled by flooding and warmer weather in areas once free of the illness.

  • Science Alert ☛ Wild Hypothesis Links The Bubonic Plague to Modern Oral Health

    The effects are longlasting.

  • Federal News Network ☛ VA’s million veterans program, now has a million veterans

    Over a decade ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs launched an ambitious project to build the world’s largest collection of health and genetic data – the idea being it would be an invaluable tool for disease research. It is called the Million Veterans Program (MVP). And as of this month, it has lived up to its name.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • BIA Net ☛ Education Ministry introduces Hey Hi (AI) classes for middle schools

    The ministry has dedicated a unit specifically to the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, aiming to ensure students use these technologies in accordance with ethical principles.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • ACLU ☛ Some Steps to Defend Against Online Doxxing and Harassment

      In our tumultuous political era, those who stake out controversial positions or participate in protests can find themselves subject to digital attacks that go beyond the verbal, such as doxxing and hacking. People in the middle of passionate political debates can benefit from taking certain steps to protect their privacy and safety online. Even if you aren’t a high-profile target yourself, reducing your own exposure can help if a friend or family member is facing increased threats, because we all have information about our friends and family on our digital devices and accounts. In fact, everybody can benefit from such steps. With digital attacks on the rise, we here republish and update advice that we’ve given in the past.

    • The Strategist ☛ From ‘national intelligence community’ to ‘national intelligence power’

      Australian intelligence’s foremost challenge is to further evolve from being a ‘national intelligence community’ to generating ‘national intelligence power’.

    • EDRI ☛ CSAR: European Parliament rejects mass scanning of private messages. Here is why

      On 22 November, the European Parliament officially adopted its position on the draft ‘Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse’ (CSAR). With strong support for this position from all seven European political groups, this marks a positive development for human rights in one of the most controversial draft European Union (EU) laws in recent memory.

• Defence/Aggression

  • [Repeat] New York Times ☛ Judge Halts Fentanylware (TikTok) Ban in Montana

    TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been locked in a legal battle with Montana since the state passed the ban in April.

  • RFA ☛ North Korea bars contact between soldiers and civilians

    The move aims to prevent theft and smuggling of military resources.

  • CS Monitor ☛ How 20th-century laws of war apply amid 21st-century crises

    Two major international crises – the war in Gaza, and a surge in migrants desperately trying to enter Europe – are underscoring what might be called a values paradox.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia rushes to tighten laws after detainees including Malaysian in Mongolian murder case freed

    December 01, 2023 5:00 AM
    
    

    Australia has a policy of not deporting people who face the death penalty.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim calls for military readiness against any ‘provocation’

    Mr Kim rolled out operational strategic guidelines to improve military's readiness, war capabilities.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US and its partners target North Korea with sanctions following spy satellite launch

    The US also slapped sanctions on cyber espionage group Kimsuky.

  • New York Times ☛ 4,789 Facebook (Farcebook) Accounts in China Impersonated Americans, Meta Says

    The company warned that the inauthentic accounts underscored the threat of foreign election interference in 2024.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Meta takes down 4,792 Chinese accounts posing as journalists and lawyers to manipulate public debate

    Tech giant Meta has taken down 4,792 accounts in China which were said to have used fake profile pictures and personal information to manipulate online public debate by posing as journalists, lawyers, or American citizens.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Meta says China-based influence efforts ramp up

    Meta has taken down five coordinated influence networks out of China in 2023.

  • The Strategist ☛ Be alert to China’s military weaknesses

    Some of those who want to appease Beijing assert that China’s military superiority would enable it to defeat the US over Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan Over a Year Ago

    A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Israel knew Hamas’ attack plan more than a year ago

    Military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.

  • France24 ☛ Israel must act ‘in accordance with the laws of war’, Blinken says in Tel Aviv

    Speaking from Tel Aviv on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that Israel must conduct its military operations “in accordance with the laws of war” and called for more to be done to protect civilians as a Gaza truce extension was set to expire Friday morning. Six Israeli hostages were released late Thursday after two women, including French-Israeli hostage Mia Schem, were freed earlier in the day.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Atlantic Council ☛ What’s Charlie Sheen got to do with it?

      Host and Nonresident Senior Fellow Alia Brahimi speaks with Russia analyst Sergey Sukhankin about the arrest in Libya of the Wagner Group operative Maksim Shugaley.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Putin’s pro-war majority: Most Russians still support Ukraine invasion

      Putin’s pro-war majority: almost two years on, most Russians still support the Ukraine invasion and have reconciled themselves to the reality of a long war, writes Peter Dickinson.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Western leaders must choose: Arm Ukraine or enable Putin’s genocide

      Western leaders must decide whether they are finally prepared to arm Ukraine adequately or face the consequences of a Russian victory which would lead to genocide in the heart of Europe, writes Taras Kuzio.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Putin has been accused of starving civilians as a warfare tactic. Will the ICC agree?

      New evidence about Russia’s actions in Ukraine offers the ICC an opportunity to prosecute starvation as a war crime or crime against humanity affecting Ukrainians and other global victims.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Peacemakers and Putin’s holy war

      In former Soviet states with churches tied to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Kremlin leader faces a rebellion against the invasion of Ukraine.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin to hold call-in question show and end-of-year address on December 14 — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ Baltics, Poland, Ukraine submit Gulag birch bark heritage for UNESCO consideration

      Cultural institutions from the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine have submitted a joint nomination to the UNESCO international register "Memory of the World", urging the inclusion in it of letters sent from the Siberian Gulag, written on birch bark during the period 1940-1965, the Latvian National Commission of UNESCO said November 30.

    • JURIST ☛ Ukraine authorities accuse four appellate judges of bribery

      The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office accused on Thursday four judges from the Kyiv Court of Appeal of graft totaling $35,000. 

    • LRT ☛ Few Ukrainians interested in Lithuanian citizenship – official

      Most Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania are not interested in acquiring Lithuanian citizenship, says the head of the Migration Department.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Court Sentences Ukrainian Soldier To 12 Years In Prison On Terrorism Charges

      A military court in Russia's southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don on November 30 sentenced Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Zaporozhets to 12 years in prison on terrorism charges.

    • RFERL ☛ Hungary Will Not Agree To Starting EU Membership Talks With Ukraine, Minister Says

      Hungary will not support any European Union proposal to begin talks on making Ukraine a member of the bloc, a government minister said on November 30.

    • RFERL ☛ OSCE Opens Summit In Skopje Amid Boycotts, Criticism Directed At Russia's Presence

      The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on November 30 kicked off its annual summit in North Macedonia amid boycotts and criticism from some member states for the presence in Skopje of Russia's top diplomat as Moscow continues its war on Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Discusses Need To Fortify Ukraine's Defenses Along Front

      President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Ukrainian troops on the front line in the Kupyansk area of the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on November 30, the president's office reported on Telegram, a day after he visited troops in the south.

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky says Donbas residents will have harder time reintegrating than Crimea residents after Ukraine reclaims occupied territories — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian general reportedly killed in Ukraine ‘far from the line of combat’ — Meduza

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea

      Following a severe storm in the Black Sea heavily impacted Crimea, pro-Kremlin sources circulated a conspiracy suggesting the US used a weather weapon.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Ahead of 2024 election, Meta worries about lack of information on top-tier nation-state covert operations

      Russia, Iran and China are likely to conduct influence operations via fake social control media accounts ahead of the 2024 election, a new Meta report says.

    • RFERL ☛ Appeals By Russian Director, Playwright Against Extension Of Pretrial Detention Rejected

      The Moscow city court rejected appeals by theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriichuk against an extension of their pretrial detention on charges of justifying terrorism with the production of the play Finist-The Brave Falcon.

    • teleSUR ☛ Russia to Remain Active in OPCW Despite Losing Seat in Council

      Washington used political pressure to prevent Russia from being re-elected to the council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

    • New York Times ☛ Paul Whelan Attacked in Russian Prison, His Family Says

      Mr. Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a labor camp, told his family that another inmate struck him in the face.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight and Other Groups File Amicus Brief in Support of Lawsuit Challenging DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ Act

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Climate Protesters Interrupt Met Performance of Wagner’s ‘Tannhäuser’

    Met officials were forced to bring down the curtain halfway through the opera as protesters unfurled banners that read “No Opera On A Dead Planet.” The performance later resumed.

  • YLE ☛ Finland opens pavilion at COP28 to market climate solutions

    Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) and three other cabinet ministers will visit the Finnish pavilion in Dubai, the first of its kind at a UN climate conference.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ At COP28, the Road to Climate Action Is Paved with Big Oil Loophole Language

      The European Union has clearly laid out its position: Climate neutrality, the Council of the EU stated last month, will require “a global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption in this decade.” Then, in its second letter to parties, the president of COP28, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, underscored the need to “work towards a future energy system that is free of unabated fossil fuels by mid-century.” 

      From having the CEO of an oil company preside over global climate negotiations, to getting a consulting firm to push the interests of its Big Oil and gas clients, it doesn’t look like a great start for the conference, set to begin on November 30th in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. And with another recent analysis showing that fossil fuel lobbyists attended UN climate negotiations at least 7,200 times in the last 20 years, experts and campaigners are worried fossil fuel influence will, once again, obstruct climate action. 

    • DeSmog ☛ This Hopeless COP Is the Most Hopeful in Years

      Faith in UN climate conferences is at a new low. If we wanted a final straw, the appalling and yet somehow unsurprising revelation that the United Arab Emirates had planned to use its position as host of the latest annual gathering, known as COP28, as a platform for making new oil deals should suffice. 

      It might seem that there could be no more depressing state of affairs. But we believe the opposite: This is the most positive climate moment in years. Our institutions have already decisively failed us, and the sooner we realise it the better. 

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Geoeconomic fragmentation is threatening the green energy transition

      The energy transition depends on trade—and on China. Geoeconomic fragmentation could impact global climate targets.

    • YLE ☛ Energy Authority: Finland's electricity supply is good this winter

      Multiple simultaneous disruptions in the country's electricity system could jeopardise the situation, the agency said.

    • Security Week ☛ US Sanctions Cryptocurrency Mixer Sinbad for Aiding North Korean Hackers

      US Treasury sanctions Sinbad, saying the cryptocurrency mixer is laundering funds for North Korean hacking group Lazarus.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Exactly How Much Life is on Earth?

      According to a new study, living cells outnumber stars in the universe, highlighting the deep, underrated link between geophysics and biology.

    • Science Alert ☛ Rare Baby-Sized Rodent Just Caught on Camera For The First Time

      Crunching through coconuts with its giant, sharp teeth.

    • Science Alert ☛ Dolphins Reveal a Mysterious Hidden Sense: They Can Detect Electric Fields

      How did we not know?

• Finance

  • YLE ☛ July-September downturn in Finland’s economy

    The latest quarterly figures from Statistics Finland align with forecasts of a looming recession.

  • YLE ☛ Nationwide competition emerging in Finland’s commuter rail services

    Finland's State Railways VR has sold 11 commuter trains to Suomen Lähijunat, which plans to start some new local services as early as in 2025.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong and China affiliates of PwC among firms fined total of US$7.9 million by US audit inspectors

    US inspectors announced fines against China-based firms Thursday, as part of a broader effort to hold US-listed Chinese companies up to American auditing standards amid simmering geopolitical tensions. These included PwC affiliates in Hong Kong and China, alongside a Chinese audit company.

  • YLE ☛ APN Podcast: The benefits and barriers to volunteering in Finland

    While carrying out voluntary work may offer newcomers a gateway into their communities, many people face challenges finding volunteering opportunities.

  • RFA ☛ China's workers face layoffs, unpaid wages ahead of Lunar New Year

    State media paints a rosy picture, yet workers say business is terrible and people are losing jobs everywhere.

  • Zimbabwe ☛ Local startup that provides housing loans to the informally employed rebrands and has updates on progress

    In 2022, we interviewed a local startup aiming to provide mortgages to individuals in the informal sector. Recently, we reconnected with them to inquire about their progress and current endeavours.

  • France24 ☛ Singapore and Zurich tie for top ranking among world's most expensive cities

    Singapore and Zurich tied for the world's most expensive city this year, followed by Geneva, New York and Hong Kong, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Thursday as it cautioned that the global cost-of-living crisis was not yet over.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Pro Publica ☛ Subpoenas for Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo Approved by Senate Judiciary in SCOTUS Probe

    The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to authorize subpoenas of billionaire businessman Harlan Crow and conservative legal activist Leonard Leo as part of the committee’s ongoing effort to investigate ethics lapses by Supreme Court justices.

    But the ultimate fate of the subpoenas is uncertain. If Crow and Leo defy the information requests — which ask for a detailed accounting of gifts, transportation and lodging the two men provided or helped organize for Supreme Court justices and the justices’ relatives — Democrats would need a 60-vote majority to enforce the subpoenas. Currently, Democrats hold a one-vote advantage in Congress’ upper chamber.

  • Media

    • Press Gazette ☛ Podcast 61: Why bad news can be good for business publishers with Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour

      The Wall Street Journal publisher spoke to Press Gazette at our inaugural New York event in November.

    • Hackaday ☛ End Of An Era: Popular Science Shutters Magazine

      Just three years after the iconic magazine abandoned its print version and went all-digital, Popular Science is now halting its subscription service entirely. The brand itself will live on — their site will still run tech stories and news articles, and they have two podcasts that will keep getting new episodes — but no more quarterly releases. While you can’t complain too much about a 151 year run, it’s still sad to see what was once such an influential publication slowly become just another cog in the content mill.

    • Techdirt ☛ An Appeals Court Broke Media Advertising, So The Copia Institute Asked The California Supreme Court To Fix It

      A few months ago a California court of appeals issued a really terrible decision in Liapes v. Facebook. Liapes, a Facebook user, was unhappy that the ads delivered to her correlated with some of her characteristics, like her age. As a result there were certain ads, like one provided by an insurer offering a particular policy for men of a different age, that didn’t get delivered to her.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • France24 ☛ Russia’s Supreme Court bans 'international LGBT movement', effectively outlawing activism

    Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism, in the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country.

  • RFERL ☛ 'Shameful And Absurd': Russian Supreme Court Declares LGBT 'Movement' Extremist

    Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that the LGBT "movement" is "extremist," sparking a global outcry over fears the designation will allow the country to ratchet up its crackdown on gay and transgender people.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Russia outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in landmark Supreme Court ruling

    A lawsuit filed to Russia’s Supreme Court identified “signs and manifestations of an extremist nature” by the LGBTQ+ movement operating in Russia. It ruled that the movement is extremist and banned LGBTQ+ activism in the increasingly conservative country.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘You don’t intimidate us’ Human rights activist Igor Kochetkov on registering the non-existent ‘international LGBT movement’ in a bid to thwart Russia in court — Meduza

  • Press Gazette ☛ Piers Morgan’s likely libel defence over naming of royals in racism row

    TalkTV has named the royals at the centre of racism claims but sister title The Sun has not.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Journalist Minnie Chan of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post missing after China trip, Japanese media reports

    South China Morning Post (SCMP) reporter Minnie Chan has gone missing after a work trip to China, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Thursday citing unnamed people close to the matter.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘When we’re gone, they’ll come for you’ Meduza’s LGBTQ+ readers on the Russian authorities’ bid to outlaw and silence them — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Russian Supreme Court begins considering authorities’ request to ban ‘international LGBT movement’ behind closed doors — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Russian Justice Ministry bans ‘LGBT movement’ as ‘extremist organization’ — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Russia has banned the so-called ‘international LGBT movement’ What does this mean for queer people and activists living there? — Meduza

  • RFERL ☛ Kazakh Lawmakers OK Controversial Amendments To Media Law On First Reading

    Kazakh lawmakers have approved on first reading controversial amendments to the law on mass media that would allow citizens to file a libel lawsuit up to three years after publication.

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Rights Group Memorial Recognizes RFE/RL's Kurmasheva As Political Prisoner

    The human rights group Memorial has recognized Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service who has been in Russian custody since October 18, as a political prisoner.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong 47: Landmark nat. security trial could end next Monday, court hears

    Hong Kong’s landmark national security trial involving 47 pro-democracy figures accused of conspiring to subvert state power could end as early as next Monday, a court has heard. Closing submissions began on Wednesday in the trial against 16 of the defendants who pleaded not guilty under a sweeping security law Beijing imposed in 2020.

  • RFA ☛ Hong Kong police arrest man at airport for 'Free Hong Kong' T-shirt

    Police also search and warn a lone protester who held up a blank sheet of paper on a busy shopping street.

  • RFA ☛ Beijing silent on key meeting amid growing dissent in party ranks

    Analysts say Pooh-tin Jinping's leadership is in crisis, and a plenary session could expose political in-fighting.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • RFA ☛ China requires job applicants in Tibet to denounce Dalai Lama

    Beijing considers the spiritual leader to be a separatist and wants ‘loyal’ public sector workers.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Techdirt ☛ The Wall Street Journal Is Very Upset By Efforts To Stop Racism In Broadband Deployment

    The 2021 infrastructure bill set aside an historic $42.5 billion for broadband deployment. It also tasked the FCC with creating rules aimed at ending decades of race and class based-discrimination in broadband deployment, which have been well documented by The Markup, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), and others. The goal was to try and keep history from repeating itself.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Hackaday ☛ Falsified Photos: Fooling Adobe’s Cryptographically-Signed Metadata [Ed: BS DRM that was doomed to fail before it even started]

    Last week, we wrote about the Leica M11-P, the world’s first camera with Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) credentials baked into every shot. Essentially, each file is signed with Leica’s encryption key such that any changes to the image, whether edits to the photo itself or the metadata, are tracked. The goal is to not only prove ownership, but that photos are real — not tampered with or AI-generated. At least, that’s the main selling point.

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • “Clear Abuse of Discretion” Leads to New Venue Precedent

      In late October, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the District Court for the Western District of Texas that blocked Fentanylware (TikTok) Inc.’s request to move a patent monopoly infringement suit initiated by Beijing Meishe Network Technology Co. Ltd. from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California.

  • Trademarks

    • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Posts December 2023 Hearing Schedule

      The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled three oral hearings for the month of December 2023, all held via video conference. Briefs and other papers for each case may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.

      
      

      December 5, 2023 - 2 PM: Omegle.com, LLC v. Bad Kittty's Dad, LDA, Oppositions Nos. 91249511 and Cancellation No. 92072561 [Section 2(d) challenges to registration of the mark OMETV for, inter alia, internet video chat rooms, in view of opposer's registered mark OMEGLE for online chat services.]

    • Techdirt ☛ Groq Sends Elon’s ‘Grok’ A Cease & Desist, Though A Funny One

      One of things we enjoy here at Techdirt is when even those with legitimate gripes about trademark law take a bemused view about the whole thing, rather than immediately jumping to angry and overly aggressive threats. No one likes a trademark bully, even when the trademark holder might have a legitimate claim.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Months After Releasing Stable Audio, Stability Hey Hi (AI) Reportedly Explores Possible Sale

      London-headquartered Stability AI, the company behind products including Stable Audio, has reportedly explored a possible sale. The Stable Diffusion developer’s potential selloff entered the media spotlight in reports from outlets including Bloomberg.

    • Techdirt ☛ Elon Says Copyright/AI Lawsuits Don’t Matter Because ‘Digital God’ Will Arrive Before They’re Decided

      So, we already wrote about the biggest headline grabbing moment from Elon Musk’s Dealbook interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin yesterday, but there was another crazy, Techdirt-relevant one involving copyright and AI. As we’ve explained over and over again, copyright is the wrong tool to use to regulate AI, and using it will lead to bad outcomes.

    • Techdirt ☛ Ubisoft Tries To DMCA Leak Of BG&E Remaster Footage Before Finally Getting It Right

      One of the more famous, and my favorite, quotations attributed to Winston Churchill is: “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.” My second favorite Churchill quote, by the way, is: “Dammit, I can’t decide between these three fingers of whiskey and this tankard of champagne!”

    • Digital Music News ☛ Sony Music Has Sent Nearly 10,000 Deepfake Takedown Notices — Now the Major Label’s Developing a ‘First of Its Kind’ Hey Hi (AI) Product for Consumers

      Having “sent close to 10,000 takedowns” over artificial intelligence “deepfakes,” Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is now preparing to release a “first of its kind” Hey Hi (AI) product for consumers.>

    • Digital Music News ☛ Details on Hall & Oates’ Lawsuit Mystery Emerge: Unsealed Declarations Reveal Longstanding Rift, Accusations of ‘Ultimate Partnership Betrayal’

      Sadly, the members of one of music’s most successful duos are now at war. Daryl Hall has filed a declaration in court accusing ‘adversarial and aggressive’ John Oates of secretly attempting to sell a 50% stake in their joint venture to Primary Wave.

    • Public Domain Review ☛ Wreathed in Pastiche: Max Beerbohm’s Christmas Garland (1912)

      A festive collection of literary parody by the “incomparable” Max Beerbohm.

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • 🔤SpellBinding: EIJMPRU Wordo: ARROW

  • Reflecting on my first term

    So it's the end of my first term as faculty at a community college and I've been trying to reflect a bit about what it's like and how it's been different than other teaching experiences I've had.

    I think, as I've been trying to get to know students and understand where they're coming from, I've been realizing just *how much* this is a place for students who've been having a rough time. Not just in terms of, like, oh they're having trouble affording a full university education but more like they're often working full-time, they have kids, they're dealing with illness or disability, or they're just people who've had really hard lives and are having to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

  • Pattern Salon: Day 1 Thoughts

    So today I woke up at Way Too Early in the morning my time so that I could be awake for very early afternoon Barcelona time for the first Algorithmic Pattern Salon, an event put on by some of the coolest people working in the intersection of computation and art right now.

  • Rainy days are good for productivity

    I took Thursday and Friday off to be able to sow carrots, garlic, radish and the like. Yesterday I fisnished sowing garlic, but I didn't have enough time to do other things.

    Well, today it is raining and I cannot do any work in the garden so I will spend most of the day inside doing "other" things. Among all those things I took some time early this morning to update our local website.

    So looking at the updates in the website, one can immediately know the weather is not good, otherwise, I can only do that at the weekends.

  • You can lead a Geminaut to posts, but you can't make them reply

    Nicely productive day, including:

    * Creating Lua scripts to solve a broken links annoyance

    * Hanging wreaths to the sides of the garage door

    * Setting up a new coffee maker in late Mister Coffee's stead

    * Helping my wife with indoor holiday decorations

    * Exploring more Gemini spaces

    * Decarboxylating some weed

• Technology and Free Software

  • Package Management - Formats and Registries

    Since my mind has been on it, I wanted to work out some of the ideas I had for formats in my packaging system. In this case, I'm going to focus on a single one, NuGet, because I have a fair amount of experience with this and it has some of the complexities that are throwing me.