Links 28/12/2023: Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU and Stupid Patent of the Month Returns
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Transparency/Investigative Reporting
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
- Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
-
Leftovers
-
Ruben Schade ☛ Jon Udell on critical mass, and social network size
He also mentions LibraryThing as an example of a site that has achieved critical mass, at least in his and my eyes. But the New York Times article he quotes earlier in the post would disagree. They want stratospheric growth for investors, and populations of users larger than that of most countries.
I’m onboard with Jon here. If journalists and investors classify sites as having achieved critical mass with such metrics, is that what we really want? And… is it even true?
-
Juha-Matti Santala ☛ Year in Review 2023
Let’s start by seeing how I did with this year in regard to my hopes from 12 months ago: [...]
-
Logikal Solutions ☛ Dice – This is Broken
You would think, Dice, a site branding itself as being for “technology jobs” would know better than use Agile and off-shore labor. Nothing screams “I’m just a hack!” like using the phrase “full stack.” I don’t know for a fact they are using off-shore or visa worker labor, but that is definitely the quality of the software being turned into production. I’ve written about Agile on this blog before. I’ve even written a book on Agile. This is most definitely something professionals won’t touch with a hundred mile pole even while wearing a hazmat suit. Risk of fatal contamination is too high.
-
Phil Eaton ☛ Make your own way
There's enormous potential for getting people together and doing something interesting and there isn't necessarily anyone telling you you should. Things you try may work and they may not. The more you try the more you'll learn what works and what doesn't. I've had a few years of making mistakes organizing to hone the sense.
-
Science
-
New York Times ☛ The First Secret Asteroid Mission Won’t Be the Last
AstroForge, a private company, wants to mine a space rock, but it doesn’t want the competition to find out which one.
-
Science Alert ☛ Intermittent Fasting Seems to Result in Dynamic Changes to The Human Brain
It's not just your weight that's affected.
-
Science Alert ☛ Incredible Videos Take Us Inside a Centrifuge For The First Time
We've never seen fluid dynamics this clearly.
-
-
Education
-
RFERL ☛ Taliban Closes Education Ministry Department, Creating Uncertainty For Thousands
The Taliban's hard-line Islamist government in Afghanistan has eliminated the Monitoring and Evaluation Department in the Education Ministry, a move that threatens the jobs of more than 5,000 people in Kabul and across the country and further erodes secular education in Afghanistan.
-
Manuel Moreale ☛ Reflecting on learned things
Carl wrote a lovely post the other day, listing 20 things he learned this year. I’m not going to write a list myself and you should definitely go read his instead. I am going to comment on two of his entries though.
-
-
Hardware
-
Hackaday ☛ A Guide For Heat-Treating Steel At Home
A lot of colloquial words that we might use when describing something’s durability take on extremely specific meanings when a materials scientist or blacksmith uses them. Things like “strength”, “toughness”, “hardness”, and “resilience” all have different meanings when working in a laboratory or industrial setting than most people might otherwise think.
-
New York Times ☛ Intel Moves Forward With $25 Billion Chip Plant Expansion in Israel
The plan, which was disclosed without details before the Israel-Hamas war, would create thousands of jobs and begin operations by 2028.
-
-
Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
-
The Nation ☛ Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year—From Covid | The Nation
-
Scoop News Group ☛ FDA cybersecurity agreement on medical devices needs updating, watchdog finds
According to FDA guidance, if medical device manufacturers do not fix cyber vulnerabilities, the agency can find that the manufacturers have violated federal law and can be penalized through enforcement actions.
-
USGAO ☛ Medical Device Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Update Agreement to Ensure Effective Coordination
Cyber threats that target medical devices could delay critical patient care, reveal sensitive patient data, shut down health care operations, and necessitate costly recovery efforts. FDA is responsible for ensuring that medical devices sold in the U.S. provide reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, includes a provision for GAO to review cybersecurity in medical devices. This report addresses the extent to which (1) relevant non-federal entities are facing challenges in accessing federal support on medical device cybersecurity, (2) federal agencies have addressed identified challenges, (3) key agencies are coordinating on medical device cybersecurity, and (4) limitations exist in agencies' authority over medical device cybersecurity.
-
New York Times ☛ In Canada, Assisted Death May Soon Be Available for the Mentally Ill
The country is divided over a law that would allow patients suffering from mental health illnesses to apply for assisted death.
-
Science Alert ☛ A Game-Changing Vaccine Could Lower 'Bad' Cholesterol by 30%
Affordable and life-saving.
-
Science Alert ☛ Revolutionary Vibrating Weight Loss Pill Could Reduce Food Intake by 40%
It uses a simple trick.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong launches new mental health hotline offering 24-hour counselling services
Hong Kong authorities have launched a new mental health hotline to provide counselling services to the public, after a fatal mall stabbing earlier this year shone a spotlight on residents’ wellbeing. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau launched the hotline, at the number 18111, during a press conference on Thursday.
-
Science Alert ☛ Popular Type 2 Diabetes And Weight Loss Drug May Protect Against Colorectal Cancer
Bonus health benefits.
-
Hackaday ☛ An Insulin Injection That Lasts For Days: A New Hope For Diabetics
A major challenge for people who have a form of diabetes is the need to regulate the glucose levels in their body. Normally this is where the body’s insulin-producing cells would respond to glucose with a matching amount of insulin, but in absence of this response it is up to the patient to manually inject insulin. Yet recent research offers the hope that these daily injections might be replaced with weekly injections, using insulin-binding substances that provide a glucose-response rather like the natural one. One such approach was tested by Juan Zhang and colleagues, with the results detailed in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
-
Latvia ☛ General practitioners concerned about service maintenance
At the end of this year, the contract of general practitioners (GPs) with the National Health Service (NVD) expires. Not all GPs have signed a new one yet, since according to Alise Nicmane-Aišpure, President of the Association of General Practitioners of Latvia, no association requirement has been implemented, Latvian Radio reported December 28.
-
New York Times ☛ ‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-kyun Found Dead at 48
Mr. Lee, a familiar face on Korean television and movie screens, rose to international fame after starring in the Oscar-winning film.
-
The Straits Times ☛ South Korea police defend probe of 'Parasite' actor who was found dead
The head of the district police force that investigated South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun over allegations of illegal drug use on Thursday defended the tough questioning of him before he was found dead.
-
-
Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
-
Seth Michael Larson ☛ AI and Wonder
On Christmas Day, Brandt Bucher, a CPython core developer, created a wonderful thing. Brandt wrote a pull request description for the new copy-and-patch JIT compiler for CPython in the style of the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” that describes the changes being made (with references!) and rhymes all the way through. Truly a work of art!
-
NYMag ☛ Is Temu the Future of Buying Things?
To engage with Temu is to be cornered in conversation with an AI-powered salesperson who is ushering you past endless tables of assorted goods to sell, right now, with escalating special offers, chained promotions, exclusive limited-time discounts, and lots and lots of free stuff. In the space of a minute, an initial buy-seven-get-three-free promo morphs into a buy-four-get-two deal; “Gifts” pile into your inbox, nudging you through casino-style pseudo-games promising free products, and even cash, in exchange for inviting friends; $2 products that arrive later than expected result in $6 shopping credits. In any other context, a single one of these sales techniques would read as scammy and ridiculous. In Temu, they combine into a totalizing and strangely compelling promotional experience, where prices and timers keep ticking down while your account’s various credits — cash, tokens, invites — keep ticking up, suggesting some sort of climax: a payout or, much more likely, a tiny first purchase of just a few dollars. Lots of American retailers have dabbled in gamification to draw users back to their sites and apps, to make them feel like they’re getting a deal, and to nudge them closer to the checkout screen; Temu, like Shein, draws from promotional techniques that have been used to great effect by retailers in China, where such gamification has been common for years.
Temu isn’t done with you when you close it — it’s one of the most relentless notifiers and emailers I’ve ever encountered in more than a decade of professionally installing weird new apps on my phone. There is never not a sale or a special gift or a new promotion or a recommendation. Temu’s aggressive promotions mean that a lot of those orange bags are being flown across the world for free.
-
-
Security
-
Privacy/Surveillance
-
India Times ☛ Social media companies may have to delete data of users away for three years
“There was some feedback from social media intermediaries on the process to be followed if law enforcement agencies seek data of such accounts after these three years. Those details will need to be worked out. By and large, the idea here is to ensure that the concept of ‘perpetual consent’ for processing personal data is done away with,” a senior government official said.
-
TechRadar ☛ GitHub reminds users to enable 2FA or lose account functionality
The email reads: “GitHub users are now required to enable two-factor authentication as an additional security measure. Your activity on GitHub includes you in this requirement. You will need to enable two-factor authentication on your account before January 19, 2024, or be restricted from account actions.”
-
CyberRisk Alliance LLC ☛ Immediate 2FA activation urged by GitHub
Enabling 2FA on GitHub could be performed through security keys, authenticator apps, GitHub mobile, and SMS, with the platform recommending the implementation of two or more of the aforementioned methods. While 2FA can no longer be deactivated after being enabled before the deadline, modification of configured verification techniques will still be permitted.
-
Site36 ☛ Bundeswehr now spying from space: A Musk rocket has launched the last two SARah satellites
According to experts, the SAR satellites provide images with a resolution of 50 centimetres. In contrast to optical satellites, the radar images are independent of the time of day and weather. The overall system also includes two ground stations for receiving data from space, one of which is to be located in the municipality of Grafschaft in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Ahrweiler and the other in Kiruna, Sweden.
-
University of Toronto ☛ Web CGI programs aren't particularly slow these days
To illustrate this, I put together a very basic CGI in Python and Go, stuck them in my area on our general purpose web server, and tested how fast they would run. On our run of the mill Ubuntu web server, the Python version took around 17 milliseconds to run and the Go version around four milliseconds (in both cases when they'd been run somewhat recently). Because the CGIs are more or less doing nothing in both cases, this is pretty much measuring the execution overhead of running a CGI. A real Python CGI would take longer to start because it has more things to import, but even then it's not necessarily terribly slow.
-
David Buchanan ☛ Another Way Not to Sign JSON
These approaches are both detailed in "How (not) to sign a JSON object," along with a third option which amounts to "use something other than JSON," which I'm discounting here because it's really just a way to avoid the problem—which you should absolutely do if you can, but this article assumes you've decided you really do need to be signing JSON.
-
New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing: Chinese Spies Compete With U.S. Spies
Also, the death of a Korean actor and food predictions for 2024.
-
New York Times ☛ Chinese Spy Agency Rising to Challenge the C.I.A.
The ambitious Ministry of State Security is deploying Hey Hi (AI) and other advanced technology to go toe-to-toe with the United States, even as the two nations try to pilfer each other’s scientific secrets.
-
-
-
Defence/Aggression
-
Site36 ☛ Possibly two G20 trials against police in Germany after all, but brutal racist cop still faces no consequences
-
Techdirt ☛ Body Cam Report Shows Fewer Agencies Are Allowing Cops To View Footage Before Making Statements
The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) published a report on body cam use by law enforcement agencies in 2014. It not only presented stats on body cam use around the nation, but also attempted to create a set of best practices for the agencies utilizing them.
-
The Gray Zone ☛ Mass graves, grave questions: Britain’s secret Srebrenica role
-
Eesti Rahvusringhääling ☛ Estonia opens €25 million drone procurement process
The procurement's terms include accessories, spare parts and maintenance repair, over a four-year period, while the RKIK awaits bids through to January 26, 2024.
-
VOA News ☛ How Librarian Spies Helped Win World War II
“They weren't the James Bond type of spy but more of the low key, under-the-radar spy,” says Kathy Peiss, author of “Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe.”
"They were there to collect what today we would call open-source materials. So magazines, newspapers, materials like industrial directories, and anything that might give some insight into the planning and strength of the enemy.”
-
The Straits Times ☛ South Korean loan for Poland arms deal does not exist, says PM
A South Korean loan to Poland to finance arms deals does not actually exist, Poland's prime minister said on Wednesday, although the new government hopes to still continue with the purchases.
-
France24 ☛ North Korean leader Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered its military, the munitions industry and the nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented "confrontation moves" by the United States, state media reported on Thursday.
-
NYPost ☛ North Korea’s Kim Jong Un orders military to accelerate war preparations: state media
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered its military, the munitions industry and the nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media said on Thursday.
-
The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations: State media
He also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist independent” countries.
-
The Straits Times ☛ Japan protests South Korean court ruling on colonial-era workers
A Supreme Court ruling that Japanese companies should pay compensation to Koreans conscripted to work for the firms during colonial occupation.
-
The Straits Times ☛ Three Hong Kong students jailed over ‘terrorist’ bomb plot
They are the last to be convicted in prosecutions against a group promoting independence from China.
-
The Straits Times ☛ China urges regional alert as US military steps up forward deployment
China's defence ministry on Thursday urged the Asia-Pacific to be on high alert as the United States steps up forward military deployment in the region, after reports of a U.S. plan to revive a Pacific airfield that launched atomic bombings of Japan.
-
RFA ☛ China sanctions US compliance firm over Uyghur research
Kharon ‘provided so-called evidence for America’s illegal sanctions,’ Beijing says.
-
RFA ☛ Xi Jinping appoints China’s top naval commander
Admiral Hu Jongming will oversee the largest navy in the world by number of battleships.
-
JURIST ☛ Canada offers financial settlements to two men detained in China in 2018
The Canadian government has offered to provide a matched settlement to Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig on Tuesday following their incarceration in Chinese prisons in 2018, according to government sources for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.
-
Defence Web ☛ New Chinese equipment for Zimbabwe Defence Forces
What Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa calls “the unparalleled strategic partnership” between his country and the People’s Republic of China saw him accept a consignment of new Chinese military equipment, including armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
-
AntiWar ☛ The US and China at Year’s End
This hasn’t exactly been a year of good news when it comes to our war-torn, beleaguered planet, but on November 15th, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping took one small step back from the precipice.
-
New York Times ☛ Why the Watermelon Emoji Is a Symbol of Support for Palestinians
The fruit has taken on new prominence since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
-
New York Times ☛ Gaston Glock, Inventor of the Gun That Bears His Name, Dies at 94
A reclusive Austrian billionaire, he created the handgun worn by two-thirds of America’s police officers and the security forces of at least 48 countries.
-
The Straits Times ☛ China asks citizens to leave Myanmar border district, citing security
Clashes have raged since October across Myanmar’s northern Shan state.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese embassy in Myanmar tells citizens to leave border district as battles between rebels, junta flare
China’s embassy in Myanmar on Thursday asked its citizens to leave a northern district along the countries’ shared border, citing heightened security risks as ethnic minority armed groups battle the junta. Clashes have raged since October across Myanmar’s northern Shan state after the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the […]
-
The Straits Times ☛ China urges nationals to leave north Myanmar region amid unrest
China's embassy in Myanmar urged its nationals on Thursday to leave the Laukkai area in Kokang region in northern Myanmar as soon as possible, citing growing security risks.
-
RFA ☛ Crowd of Indonesians storms Rohingya shelter, demanding refugees be deported
All the while, the protesters were shouting slogans such as “kick them out” and “reject Rohingya in Aceh,” an AFP report said.
-
Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
-
RFERL ☛ Imprisoned Belarusian Opposition Politician Reportedly Placed In Harsher Conditions
Realnaya Belarus Telegram channel cited sources in a penal colony in the eastern city of Mahilyou on December 14 as saying that the leader of the opposition United Civic Party, Mikalay Kazlou, was placed in late November in the penitentiary’s cell-type unit (PKT), where calls and visits are banned.
-
Meduza ☛ Moscow court says ‘almost naked’ party aimed at ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships’ — Meduza
-
Meduza ☛ Russia’s Supreme Court denies Yekaterina Duntsova’s appeal after election commission rejects her application to run for president — Meduza
-
Meduza ☛ Russian prosecutors request seven-year prison sentence for poet who was reportedly raped by police — Meduza
-
YLE ☛ Russian diplomat: Finland would be the first to suffer in Nato conflict
The diplomat is known for his fiery and sometimes confusing comments.
-
The Straits Times ☛ Russia tells South Korea not to be surprised if Moscow retaliates over sanctions
December 28, 2023 2:12 AM
Russia told South Korea on Wednesday not to be surprised if Moscow retaliates against Seoul for expanding the list of goods which cannot be exported from the East Asian nation to Russia without special permission.
-
The Straits Times ☛ US proposes G7 explore ways to confiscate $300 billion in Russian assets: FT
The United States has proposed that working groups from G7 countries explore ways to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
-
RFERL ☛ Russia, India 'Closer' To Joint Military Equipment Production
Russia and India have made tangible progress in talks on plans to jointly produce military equipment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on December 27 after talks with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Moscow.
-
-
-
Transparency/Investigative Reporting
-
SANS ☛ Unveiling the Mirai: Insights into Recent DShield Honeypot Activity [Guest Diary]
In this digital age, as our dependence on technology grows, understanding which devices are connected to our networks and keeping track of their security updates is critically important. In this post, I dig into my instance of the DShield honeypot to see what attack vectors malicious actors are trying to exploit. What I found were several attempts to upload the Mirai family of malware. This finding serves as a stark reminder of the vast amounts of vulnerabilities available in the wild.
-
-
Environment
-
MIT Technology Review ☛ Six takeaways from a climate-tech boom
But the optimism comes with a warning. As a journalist who wrote extensively about cleantech 1.0, which began around 2006 and collapsed by 2013 as countless solar, battery, and biofuel firms failed, I have a sense of wariness. All of it feels a bit too familiar: the exuberance of the VCs, the hundred of millions going to risky demonstration plants testing unproven technologies, and the potential political backlash over government support of aggressive climate policies. Writing about the current climate-tech boom means keeping in mind that most previous venture-backed startups in cleantech have failed miserably.
-
Energy/Transportation
-
YLE ☛ Finland slashes net electricity imports in 2023
Finland has made big changes in its electricity market in 2023.
-
Pete Warden ☛ Why I Love my Chevy Bolt EV
All of this is to say that I am definitely not a Car Guy. My brother is, and I admired the hard work he put into hand-restoring a Carmen Ghia, but cars have always left me cold. Growing up I also paid far too much attention to terrifying PSAs about the dangers of car crashes, so I’ve got a lasting fear of hurting someone while I’m driving. Controlling a ton of metal speeding at 70MPH using only our human senses still feels like a crazy idea, so I do my best to be very alert, drive defensively, and generally err on the side of caution. I’ve been the butt of “Driving Miss Daisy” jokes from friends, and I usually finish last at go-kart outings, but (knock on wood) I’ve still got a clean record thirty years after I first got my license.
-
Low Tech Mag ☛ How to Build a Small Solar Power System
Conventional solar PV installations are installed on a rooftop or in a field. They convert the low voltage direct current (DC) power produced by solar panels into high voltage alternate (AC) power for use by main appliances and rely on the power grid during the night and in bad weather. None of this holds for the small-scale systems we build in this manual. They are completely independent of the power grid, run entirely on low voltage power, and are not powering a whole household or city but rather a room, a collection of devices, or a specific device. Small-scale solar is decentralized power production taken to its extremes.
-
-
Overpopulation
-
RFA ☛ China deletes leaked stats showing plunging birth rate for 2023
Report said China’s population had fallen by 3.1 million this year.
-
-
-
Finance
-
Yahoo News ☛ US online retailer Zulily says it will go into liquidation, surprising customers
The U.S. online retailer Zulily is closing down, surprising customers and laying off hundreds of workers after efforts to salvage the business failed.
The Seattle-based company said in a notice on its website that it had tried to fill all pending orders and expected to manage that within the coming two weeks. Zulily said it was trying to ensure that orders that could not be filled were cancelled and refunded and offered a contact for customers who did not get their orders or refunds.
“This decision was not easy nor was it entered into lightly. However, given the challenging business environment in which Zulily operated, and the corresponding financial instability, Zulily decided to take immediate and swift action," said the notice, signed by Ryan C. Baker, vice president at management consultant Douglas Wilson Companies, which is handling the receivership for the company.
-
[Fake money] Market Struggles Amid Tech Sector Layoffs In 2023
The tech industry faced a reckoning in 2023, with tens of thousands of employees having lost their jobs. The news of mass layoffs not only came from new-age tech startups and apps, but also from some of the big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft.
-
India Today ☛ Google, Amazon, other tech companies may soon pause hiring in India, job openings down by 90 per cent
The Indian tech space is feeling the impact of the global economic slowdown with major tech giants like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple reportedly slowing their recruitment processes. The active job postings by these companies have plunged by 90 per cent compared to 2022.
-
Fudzilla ☛ Intel scores $3.2 billion grant for new plant amid Gaza bloodbath
Intel, the US chip giant, has bagged a $3.2 billion grant from Israel's government to build a new $25 billion plant in the war-torn country.
The news comes as Israel is locked in a brutal war on the Gaza Strip which has sparked global calls to boycott the country.
-
The Nation ☛ Doddering
-
YLE ☛ Customs: US trade link growing more important
After Germany and Sweden, the United States is now Finland's third largest export destination.
-
YLE ☛ Landlords raked in two billion euros of rental income last year
Taxpayers in Finland have become enthusiastic landlords, especially in Kauniainen.
-
New York Times ☛ National Association of Realtors Loses Its Grip on Real Estate Industry
The National Association of Realtors is facing antitrust lawsuits and sexual harassment allegations, and real estate agents are now looking for alternatives.
-
Reason ☛ Fresno Police Ignored Claims of Domestic Violence. Now, the City Will Pay $500,000.
Two women reported attacks and threats from abusive ex-partners to the police. A lawsuit claimed they were ignored.
-
-
AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
-
Quillette ☛ The Southern Poverty Law Center’s New Enemy: Americans Who Accept Biology
But the SPLC’s report hardly confines itself to such unassailable liberal principles. The real point of the project, it seems, was to catalogue and denounce public figures who’ve expressed dissent from the most extreme demands of trans-rights activists—specifically, (1) the demand that children and adolescents who present as transgender much instantly be “affirmed” in their dysphoric beliefs, even if such affirmation leads to a life of sterility, surgical disfigurement, drug dependence, and medical complications; and (2) the demand that biological men who self-identify as women must be permitted unfettered access to protected women’s spaces and sports leagues.
-
The Hill ☛ Kinzinger says Christians who back Trump ‘don’t understand’ their religion
“I’m going to go out on a NOT limb here: this man is not a Christian,” Kinzinger said on X, formerly known as Twitter, responding to Trump’s Christmas post. “If you are a Christian who supports him you don’t understand your own religion.”
-
New York Times ☛ Jiang Ping, the ‘Conscience of China’s Legal World,’ Dies at 92
He was removed from his university presidency after supporting pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square. He remained a relentless advocate for rule of law.
-
RFA ☛ Possible Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing summit ‘in discussion’: report
But China has been exhibiting reluctance in proceeding with the trilateral summit, source says.
-
The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam's 'bamboo diplomacy' shifts into higher gear
Communist Party-ruled Vietnam has upgraded ties with the world's top powers, including former foes, China and the United States, as part of its \"bamboo diplomacy\", which it has pro-actively pursued since 2021 to navigate rising global tensions.
-
-
Censorship/Free Speech
-
The Straits Times ☛ China pressures influential Taiwanese band Mayday ahead of elections: Sources
The rock band, Mayday, was told to publicly voice support for Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is part of China.
-
The Straits Times ☛ China says Taiwan is 'hyping up' military threat for its own gain
China's defence ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan's government is deliberately "hyping up" the so-called military threat from China for its own selfish gain.
-
France24 ☛ Xi vows to prevent anyone 'splitting Taiwan from China in any way'
President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to resolutely prevent anyone from “splitting Taiwan from China in any way”, the official Xinhua news agency reported, a little more than two weeks before Taiwan elects a new leader.
-
France24 ☛ Hong Kong's pro-democracy Civic Party disbands after China cracks down on dissent
Six lapel pins bearing the Civic Party's founding date are all Hong Kong veteran politician Alan Leong kept when the once-prominent opposition group cleared its headquarters and shuttered its doors days before the new year.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s freedoms ‘better protected’ under national security law, government tells UN ahead of human rights review
Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms are more safeguarded since Beijing imposed a national security law, the city’s government has told the United Nations (UN) ahead of a routine human rights review in January.
-
Meduza ☛ Ambulance called for former Navalny staffer facing ‘extremism’ charges after hours-long court session with no food or breaks — Meduza
-
[Old] BIA Net ☛ Appeals court overturns fashion designer's sentence for 'insulting Erdoğan with Gollum photo'
On December 6, 2022, the 2nd Penal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice ruled in the Gollum case that there was a "repeated trial with the same charge" and overturned the sentence.
-
NPR ☛ Tom Smothers, one half of TV comedy legends the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86
It also drew the ire of network censors, and after years of battling with the brothers over the show's creative content, the network abruptly canceled the program in 1970, accusing the siblings of failing to submit an episode in time for the censors to review.
Nearly 40 years later, when Smothers was awarded an honorary Emmy for his work on the show, he jokingly thanked the writers he said had gotten him fired. He also showed that the years had not dulled his outspokenness.
-
[Old] NPR ☛ 'The Uncensored Story' Of The Smothers Brothers
From 1967 to 1969, Tommy and Dick Smothers challenged the censors at CBS and the political establishment who tried to tame their wildly popular -- and politically left-leaning -- show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The brothers lost their show, but later won a battle in court. TV critic David Bianculli joins host Terry Gross to talk about the legendary comedy duo who tackled political issues and censorship.
-
[Old] Gannett ☛ Smothers Brothers' censored segments surface on Internet
Now, just as censorship on the Internet is becoming a hot issue, they're getting on the Internet, showcasing 17 censored segments from their original "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."
-
[Old] Smithsonian Magazine ☛ In 1968, When Nixon Said ‘Sock It To Me’ on ‘Laugh-In,’ TV Was Never Quite the Same Again
Battling the CBS censors and landing themselves on Nixon’s list of enemies, the Smothers Brothers didn’t just reference current events; they encouraged their audience to take a stand. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" may have surpassed "Laugh-In" in contemporary relevance, but it didn’t last as long on air. Amidst controversy, CBS canceled the show during its 1969 season.
-
The Hill ☛ Tommy Smothers, famed for political satire, dies at 86
The show’s content led to frequent clashes with CBS censors and infuriated then-President Johnson, who reportedly demanded network president William Paley intercede. In response, the brothers booked folk legend Pete Seeger, who performed an antiwar song that was cut from the initial airing. The show was canceled in April 1969, three months after the inauguration of Richard Nixon, another frequent target. The brothers successfully sued CBS for breach of contract in 1973 over the cancellation.
-
Democracy Now ☛ Who Funds Canary Mission? James Bamford on Group That Doxxes Students & Profs for Palestine Activism
Longtime investigative journalist James Bamford’s latest piece for The Nation looks at Canary Mission, a shadowy pro-Israel group that publishes the photos and personal details of students who take part in Palestinian advocacy on U.S. colleges, branding them antisemites and often damaging their career prospects. Bamford explains how this operation has direct links to the Israeli government, and that wealthy Americans who fund this effort could be breaking the law by acting as agents of a foreign power. “The purpose is to blacklist and dox students, professors, and largely anybody who disagrees with Israel or is pro-Palestinian,” Bamford tells Democracy Now!
-
Techdirt ☛ Utah Finally Sued Over Its Obviously Unconstitutional Social Media ‘But Think Of The Kids!’ Law
Last year, we wrote a bunch about how the Utah legislature was rushing through a bill to destroy the internet by claiming they were doing it “for the children.” There were all sorts of obvious problems with the bill, and even though it was clearly unconstitutional, Utah Governor Spencer Cox not only signed it, but literally dared people to sue the state over the bill (somewhat ridiculously, he made sure to stream the signing of the bill on all of the websites he was looking to hinder with the bill).
-
-
Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
-
The Hindu ☛ Pegasus infection found on Indian journalists’ phones after Apple alert: Amnesty International
The Wire news website’s editor Siddharth Varadarajan and another journalist in India were targeted with Pegasus spyware this year, the nonprofit Amnesty International’s Security Lab was able to determine after testing their devices, it announced on Thursday. The journalists had received an alert from Apple that they were being targeted by “state-sponsored hacking,” following which they provided their phones to Amnesty for testing. NSO Group, the Pegasus spyware’s developer, only sells its technology to governments. India’s Intelligence Bureau imported hardware from NSO Group in 2017, trade data shows.
-
-
Civil Rights/Policing
-
EFF ☛ Equitable Access to the Law Got Stronger: 2023 Year in Review
This blog is part of our Year in Review series. Read other articles about the fight for digital rights in 2023.
-
Modern Diplomacy ☛ ‘In a globalised world, human rights must also be global’
A reoccuring message in these events was that in a globalised world, human rights must also be global. An interconnected world will never be stronger than its weakest link, and if human rights violations in one part of the world are neglected, the effects will eventually spill over and have ramifications in other parts. In an urgent call for international solidarity, the Nobel laureate and her family emphasised that Iranian civil society is in dire need of outside support and called on other countries’ civil society actors to help.
‘Those who can enjoy their freedom of expression must use it to put pressure on their own governments to speak out against regimes like the one in Iran’, Taghi Rahmani pleaded, continuing ‘The West needs to have a strategy on how to deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. If it doesn’t, it will serve the interests of the regime’.
-
El País ☛ The Guinean nurse who stopped performing genital mutilation on girls: ‘In an environment where everyone does one thing, it is very difficult not to do the same’
Cut as a child herself, Diallo, 35, talks about her work practicing female genital mutilation (FGM) in a rather introverted manner, although she answers all questions. “At the clinic, we stopped mutilating little girls when we understood the physical and psychological damage it causes, and we began to provide training to stop this gender-based violence,” she recalls. Two years ago, she stopped cutting to work as a midwife in a public health center in the district of Pelel, near Labé, the commercial epicenter and capital of one of the eight regions into which Guinea is divided. Since 2021, a military junta has governed this country of 14 million inhabitants; according to the United Nations Population Fund, over 41% of the population is under 14 years of age.
-
New York Times ☛ Tesla Strike Is a Culture Clash: Swedish Labor vs. American Management
The Tesla technicians who walked off their jobs in Sweden say they still support the mission of the American company and its headline-grabbing chief executive. But they also want Tesla to accept the Swedish way of doing business.
They call it the Swedish Model, a way of life that has defined the country’s economy for decades. At its heart is cooperation between employers and employees to ensure that both sides benefit from a company’s profit.
-
Google, Meta, other tech giants slash DEI-related jobs, resource groups in 2023: Report
Tech giants, like Google and Meta, have slashed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in 2023 despite their commitments following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and riots.
According to data provided by job site Indeed, cited by CNBC, DEI-related job postings in 2023 have declined 44%.
-
RFA ☛ Indonesia: Workers protest at China-owned smelter after deadly fire
They demanded safer working conditions and a halt in nickel production until a comprehensive investigation was completed.
-
RFERL ☛ Jailed Kazakh Activist's Appeal Rejected
A court of appeals in the western Kazakh city of Oral on December 26 rejected an appeal filed by activist Marua Eskendirova against a 25-day jail term she was handed almost two weeks before on a charge of calling on the Internet for an anti-government rally.
-
-
Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
-
APNIC ☛ Three of the best: IPv6
This year in IPv6, we learned a lot about IPv6 extension headers, and how such a large addressing space allows us to reconsider how IP addresses can improve the Internet. We gained real-world insight into how various economies and organizations throughout the region are deploying and leveraging IPv6 and received plenty of practical IPv6 advice. Here are three of 2023’s best: [...]
-
EFF ☛ 2023 Year in Review: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Busy Year of Free Speech and Tech Cases
Of the four cases decided this year, the results are a mixed bag. The court showed restraint and respect for free speech rights when considering whether social media platforms should be liable for ISIS content, while also avoiding gutting one of the key laws supporting free speech online. The court also heightened protections for speech that may rise to the level of criminal “true threats.” But the court declined to overturn an overbroad law that relates to speech about immigration.
Next year, we’re hopeful that the court will uphold the right of individuals to comment on government officials’ social media pages, when those pages are largely used for governmental purposes and even when the officials don’t like what those comments say; and that the court will strike down government overreach in mandating what content must stay up or come down online, or otherwise distorting social media editorial decisions.
-
-
Digital Restrictions (DRM)
-
Digital Music News ☛ Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Is Smashing More Than Spotify Records — Major Milestones on YouTube, Shazam, and Pandora
While impressive, the much-touted stat – besides adjacent figures like the astonishing 641.82 million Spotify streams the song’s added during the past two years and the roughly 100,000 playlists now featuring the track – paints only a partial picture of the perennial holiday favorite’s actual reach.
-
Digital Music News ☛ Why Are Certain Songs Greyed Out on Spotify? Here Are Some Possible Causes and Solutions
First, Spotify occasionally greys out tracks on a regional basis due to licensing-agreement terms. In brief, some deals only allow the platform to offer certain songs to fans in select nations.
Additionally, commercially prominent releases have been temporarily greyed out in the past amid region-specific licensing disputes, before being restored following the resolution of the underlying issues.
-
-
Patents
-
Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Fed Cir affirms PTAB decision Invalidating 1996 Patent on Mobile Base Stations
In a non-precedential decision, the Federal Circuit has affirmed a set of PTAB decisions canceling the claims of four patents owned by Carucel Investments L.P. (“Carucel”) — finding them invalid as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. See Carucel Invs. L.P. v. Vidal, Nos. 2021-1731 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 26, 2023). The affected Carucel patents include U.S. Patent Nos. 7,221,904; 7,848,701; 7,979,023; and 8,718,543, with priority back to a 1996 application filing. All four patents relate to mobile communication systems involving base stations that can be mounted on moving vehicles. Carucel v. Vidal Opinion.
The original focus of the invention involved a closed-loop rail system running alongside a highway and that carried mobile base stations moving in the direction of the flow of traffic. That focus of the invention was quickly scrapped – likely as impractical. But, the disclosure was seen as sufficient to also cover movable base stations with no rail limitation — allowing mobile base stations that might be on the cars and other vehicles themselves.
> -
Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit Appellate court Grants Emergency Stay of Fashion Company Apple Watch Ban
The patent monopoly battle between Masimo and Fashion Company Apple over pulse oximetry technology in the Fashion Company Apple Watch took a new turn on December 27th. Despite the recent import ban imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Fashion Company Apple was granted a temporary stay by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. For now, this emergency ruling blocks the government from enforcing the exclusion order on certain Fashion Company Apple Watch models through at least mid-January. However, the legal fight is far from over. For Masimo, this short-term win for Fashion Company Apple weakens its bargaining position as the two companies continue their protracted patent monopoly dispute in courts and before regulatory agencies.
-
Kangaroo Courts
-
Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Kluwer UPC Blog Opinion Piece [Ed: UPC is both illegal and unconstitutional. This blog promoted this crime for many years and now it takes stock of the "accomplishments" of this crime.]
Access to documents: How far should we be able to peek behind the curtain? As we move past the first six months of operation of the UPC, those trying to keep track of its jurisprudence – and the judges themselves – are starting to have a busier time of things.
-
-
Software Patents
-
Techdirt ☛ Stupid Patent of the Month: Selfie Contests
Patents are supposed to be an incentive to invent. Too often, they end up being a way to try to claim “ownership” of what should be basic building blocks of human activity, culture, and knowledge. This is especially true of software patents, an area EFF has been speaking out about for more than 20 years now.
-
The Verge ☛ Why the Apple Watch is being banned — and how Apple can avoid it
In 2020, Masimo filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in the Central District of California accusing Apple of stealing trade secrets and infringing on 10 of its patents. That case dragged on and on, so Masimo then filed a separate case with the ITC in 2021. Then last year, Apple sued Masimo back, claiming the company made an Apple Watch clone with its Masimo W1 Medical Watch. Clearly, there’s some bad blood here. But in this case, the important thing is that the ITC sided with Masimo. In January 2023, it ruled that Apple Watches did in fact infringe on Masimo patents.
-
Axios ☛ Apple resuming watch sales in U.S. after court pauses ban
Driving the news: Apple filed an emergency appeal Tuesday against the USITC's decision that it had infringed two patents owned by Masimo Corporation and Cercacor Laboratories, which the commission said became final on Dec. 26.
-
India Times ☛ Apple resumes sales of smartwatches post appeals court win: here's what you need to know
The ITC had barred imports and sales of Apple Watches with blood-oxygen level reading technology. The feature is available from its Series 6 model, which launched in 2020.
-
India Times ☛ Explainer: What is next after pause of US Apple Watch import ban?
Apple appealed the ban to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. The court halted the ban on Wednesday while it considers the company's request for a longer-term pause during the appeals process.
-
India Times ☛ Apple wins bid to pause Apple Watch ban at US appeals court
In a four-paragraph ruling, the appeals court said it would halt the ban while it considers Apple's motion for a longer-term pause during the appeals process. The court gave the ITC until Jan. 10 to respond to Apple's request.
-
-
-
Copyrights
-
CBS ☛ Teen who leaked Grand Theft Auto VI sentenced to indefinite stay in "secure hospital," report says - CBS News
Eighteen-year-old Arion Kurtaj hacked Rockstar Games using an Amazon Fire TV stick, a hotel TV and his mobile phone.
-
The Straits Times ☛ In South Korea, ticket scalping expands beyond music to almost anything that can be bought
D
Even 12.9 per cent of 60-somethings had bought such illegal tickets.
-
Digital Music News ☛ Exclusive: Spotify Price Increase ‘Definitely on the Table’ in France as ‘Streaming Tax’ Moves Forward
In brief, after setting a hard pullout deadline in response to copyright law changes, Spotify decided to stay put in the South American country following the issuance of a government decree shifting the retooled law’s remuneration obligations. As implementation negotiations take shape in the new year, it’ll be interesting to see how this far-reaching decree impacts the law and key stakeholders.
-
Torrent Freak ☛ ‘Strike 3’ Files Record Number of Piracy Lawsuits in 2023
Strike 3 Holdings continues to raise the bar when it comes to the number of piracy lawsuits filed in U.S. federal courts. This year, the adult entertainment company has already filed a record-breaking 3,465 cases. With potential settlements of hundreds or thousands of dollars each, this can be quite a lucrative business.
-
-
Gemini* and Gopher
-
Personal/Opinions
-
Every Radiohead Album Ranked - Edan's Capsule
I first discovered Radiohead when my parents were having a tidy. My mum had overturned the entire CD rack and pulled out a stack of discs to get rid of, which included a copy of OK Computer. Not really sure why she wanted to throw it out, but regardless I took it, played it, enjoyed it, and then bought more.
-
No doubt about the flout spouts
I've been enjoying retrieving boxes from storage, whose contents were somewhat thrown together in the heat of the needing-to-move moment. It's fun/interesting to encounter varieties of things amongst unlikely boxfellows.
-
Happy thoughts about holiday, worries about 2024
I have a lot of joy and hope in my heart. But it's conflicted, and I have to fight to keep those feelings on top. This post is a jumble of a lot of thoughts that have been banging around in my head. It probably doesn't make sense. It probably isn't fun to read. But by jove I needed to get it off my chest. So here it is.
-
🔤SpellBinding: ZEIJSTA Wordo: PROOF
-
Happy thoughts about holiday, worries about 2024
I have a lot of joy and hope in my heart. But it's conflicted, and I have to fight to keep those feelings on top. This post is a jumble of a lot of thoughts that have been banging around in my head. It probably doesn't make sense. It probably isn't fun to read. But by jove I needed to get it off my chest. So here it is.
-
Hopes (Resolutions?) for 2024
I'm trying to keep things decently simple for 2024 in terms of habits or projects I want to do. Of course there will be more things I plan to do, but the following are 3 things I certainly want to make progress on.
-
Some of what being an ‘owner’ means to me
i've been an ‘owner’, in the kink sense, for well over a decade now, across two different relationships. In one relationship, a former partner (now friend) was my ‘property’: [...]
-
drinks
The whole family's together for Christmas. Tonight, the move's been rum or bourbon and coke, but I've been hittin' the gin and brandy and slivovicha.
So far, the peppermint schnapps has not made an appearance, but the only reason we have it is for hot chocolate, and the weather's too warm for it in Florida right now.
-
🔤SpellBinding: CHIPRTY Wordo: POSER
-
Busting out the good 'ole .5mm Pentel
It was fun creating a 3x5 card post. Handwriting and degrees of rudimentary drawing felt truer to the moment than pure text. Also, there seemed to be more value to it for having felt the expenditure of energy over time.
-
-
Poetry
-
Technology and Free Software
-
Qubes OS backup transfer from old to new computer
With the recent release of Qubes OS 4.2, I took the opportunity to migrate to a newer laptop (from a Thinkpad T470 to a NovaCustom NV41) so I had to backup all the qubes from the T470 and restore them on the NV41.
-
A minimalist ham radio holiday
I had the most wonderful Christmas holiday weekend. No family visits, no presents, no obligatory dinner. December has been further enjoyable since there was no decorating to be had this year. I was able to take the big leap towards studying for my extra class amateur radio license during this holiday break. After a 3 day binge study period I was able to complete 65% of the study materials. This as extremely exciting. I was able to also revive my ultimate terminal computer project with the raspberry pi 400.
-
Internet/Gemini
-
On the "Glory" of the IP Protocol Suite
After reminiscing on yesterday's post for a while and reading up more on relevant documentation (OSI session layer, presentation layer, application layer, ACSE, CASE, ROSE etc.), I found that many functions were left out of the "IP suite of protocols" as it was back then - they did not deliver a whole toolkit, especially in the 80s and 90s when the big bang of Internet applications, and thus protcols, happened. "Oh wow I can open a TCP connection just like that and chat with my friend! How cool!" (which is probably how IRC got started - and they still have problems adding modern comforts into their protocol). But that's not a fully-working application protocol. The work starts after that you got a network layer connection.
-
-
Programming
-
Tiny thread issues
To make sounds on the Thumby while something else is happening you need threads. In a sane world, spawn all the threads you want, and the machine does its best to allocate processing time to them using whatever cores it has and/or time sharing. Not on Thumby. There are two cores, and that means two threads max. I've been playing tunes by starting a new thread every time, and it's worked. Each thread ends before it's time for another tune to play. Except when it doesn't. Sometimes a tune thread hangs around. Then when it's time for another tune, that's a third thread and "OSError: core1 in use" and it crashes.
The upshot of all this is I need one music thread that's always running, and I need to grok some Python stuff about sharing and/or passing data between threads. I'm not happy because it was all working fine. Or so I thought.
-
-
-
Monopolies/Monopsonies
-
* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.