Links 21/01/2024: Chatbot Garbage Is Destroying Google Result and Bing is Failing
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- 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
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Leftovers
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Thomas Rigby ☛ Best of 2022: Dating your content dates your content
Putting a date in your content title might win SEO points but (and this is crucial) you need to update your content frequently so this stuff isn't lingering front and centre for years afterwards.
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Craig Abbott ☛ Stop trying to recruit unicorns with acorns
There will be a massive difference in the experience, skills and expertise of somebody who can tell you if a session timeout meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and somebody who can tell you if the incline on your wheelchair ramp is the correct ratio to meet the building regulations.
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Chris Coyier ☛ What do you do?
I work on a website, called CodePen. You can go to CodePen, and you can write code. We focus on what’s called Front End web development, languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
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Juha-Matti Santala ☛ A few core memories
When I read the introduction post the first time, I felt this was an interesting topic. And don’t get me wrong, it absolutely is. But it’s hard. I had to really really think and dig deep to find "Memories that remind you of the good parts of yourself”. That maybe tells a lot about me. And even harder was writing about those things openly.
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EAPL.mx ☛ Now this capsule/blog is available as EPUB
My idea is to convert all the blog entries into a single file, easy to read by most devices. I read a lot in my phone (using Lithium) and my Kindle, so I was thinking again of EPUB, the ebook format.
Perhaps that's interesting to you... Reading this capsule while you are traveling, or just want to keep a snapshot of all I've written.
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Jack Baty ☛ My wiki is priceless
I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to go back to putting my notes that can be public in the wiki instead of org-mode.
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Hackaday ☛ ‘Radar’ Glasses Grant Vision-free Distance Sensing
[tpsully]’s Radar Glasses are designed as a way of sensing the world without the benefits of normal vision. They consist of a distance sensor on the front and a vibration motor mounted to the bridge for haptic feedback. The little motor vibrates in proportion to the sensor’s readings, providing hands-free and intuitive feedback to the wearer. Inspired in part by his own experiences with temporary blindness, [tpsully] prototyped the glasses from an accessibility perspective.
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Hackaday ☛ Alarm Panel Hack Defeats Encryption By Ignoring It
As frustrating as it may be for a company to lock you into its ecosystem by encrypting their protocols, you have to admit that it presents an enticing challenge. Cracking encryption can be more trouble than it’s worth, though, especially when a device gives you all the tools you need to do an end-run around their encryption.
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Hackaday ☛ Can Car Parts Grow On Trees?
Cars don’t grow on trees, but Ford is designing car parts from olive tree cuttings. [via Electrek]
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Science
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Hackaday ☛ Testing The Atlas ICBM: A 1958 Time Capsule Video
Recently the [Periscope Film] channel on YouTube published a 1960 color documentary featuring the 1958 launch of the Atlas B (SM-65B) ICBM, in its second, Missile 4B iteration. This was the second model of the second prototype, which earned the distinction of being the first truly intercontinental ballistic missile upon its successful test completion, which saw the payload plummeting into its designated part of the Atlantic Ocean. This was a much better result than the previous test of the 3B, which suffered a yaw gyro issue that caused the missile to disintegrate partway into the flight.
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New York Times ☛ Japan Achieves a Soft Lunar Landing, but Its Life on the Moon May Be Short
The SLIM spacecraft made a successful soft landing on the lunar surface, but a problem with its solar panels means it will soon run out of power.
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Science Alert ☛ NASA Reveals Incredible X-59: A Unique, Experimental Supersonic Jet
This thing looks amazing!
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Federal News Network ☛ A Deeper Look at the National Science Foundation
This week, Joe Paiva speaks with Javier Inclan, deputy office head for the Office of Information and Resource Management at the National Science Foundation.
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France24 ☛ US spaceship burns up over South Pacific after failed Moon mission
A crippled American spaceship has been lost over a remote region of the South Pacific, probably burning up in the atmosphere in a fiery end to its failed mission to land on the Moon.
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Science Alert ☛ This Camera Takes 1,000 Years to Capture a Single Photograph
Long exposure!
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Education
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Dan Q ☛ [Bloganuary] Dream Job
If I didn’t have bills to pay, I could happily just volunteer for Three Rings. I’d miss Automattic, of course: there are some amazing folks there whom I love very much, and I love the work. But if they paid me as little as Three Rings did – that is, nothing! – I’d choose Three Rings in a heartbeat.
But man, what a privileged position I’m in that I can be asked what my dream job is and I can answer “well, it’s either this thing that I already do, or this other thing that I already do, depending on whether this hypothetical scenario considers money to be a relevant factor.” I’m a lucky, lucky man.
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Hardware
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Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD removes Taiwan branding from CPUs, says change wasn't made to appease China
AMD will no longer mark its chips as made in Taiwan, a change that many theorize was made at the behest of China.
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CNX Software ☛ $16 Grove Vision Hey Hi (AI) V2 module features WiseEye2 HX6538 Arm Cortex-M55 & Ethos-U55 Hey Hi (AI) microcontroller
Seeed Studio’s Grove Vision Hey Hi (AI) V2 module is based on the HiMax WiseEye2 HX6538 dual-core Cortex-M55 Hey Hi (AI) microcontroller with an Arm Ethos-U55 microNPU and features a MIPI CSI connector for an OV5647 camera.
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The New Leaf Journal ☛ My Logitech Washable Wired Keyboard K310
I lead off (almost) every issue of our flagship newsletter, The Newsletter Leaf Journal, by informing readers new and old that the newsletter was typed on my waterproof keyboard. However, despite reminding the internet that I use a waterproof keyboard on a weekly basis, I have never written much about it. That changes here. I introduce my Logitech Washable Wired Keyboard K310.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ Disease X: WHO Warns Future Outbreak Just a Matter of Time
It won't be hypothetical forever.
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists Think They've Figured Out How Cannabis Triggers The Munchies
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BIA Net ☛ Ten measures health units can take to save women experiencing violence
The Coordinator of the "Empowerment Project for Health Service Mechanisms for Women Experiencing Violence," Ayşe Tek, emphasized that healthcare units could play a "rescuer" role for women experiencing violence. She stated that the ten proposed measures for the healthcare system need to be implemented.
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New York Times ☛ With Harsh Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. Law, Uganda Risks a Health Crisis
The country had made great progress against H.I.V. Now terrified patients have fled clinics, and experts fear a resurgence.
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YLE ☛ Kela: Mental health issues most common reason for extended sick leave in 2023
Overall, the benefits agency paid out reimbursements for around 15 million sick leave days in 2023, totalling about 900 million euros.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Futurism ☛ AI Garbage Is Destroying Google Results
It's starting to look like an unrecognizable heap of spam, meaningless search engine optimization (SEO) filler, and dubiously sourced news.
"It’s the worst quality results on Google I’ve seen in my 14-year career," eminent SEO expert Lily Ray told Fortune.
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Security Week ☛ CISA Issues Emergency Directive on Ivanti Zero-Days
The CISA emergency directive comes less than two weeks after researchers at Volexity caught a Chinese government-backed [cracking] team chaining an exploit for the two Ivanti vulnerabilities to launch remote, unauthenticated code execution attacks.
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Deccan Chronicle ☛ IP Address of [Intruder] Targetting Govt.'s A/C Found
The city cybercrime police teams have identified the IP number of the server from where a hacker attacked the X (Twitter) account of Governor Dr Tamilsai Soundararajan. The Governor's X account was accessed through unauthorised means on January 16.
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Report: Bing Gained Less Than 1% Market Share Since Adding Bing Chat
It has been just about a year now since Microsoft launched Bing Chat (now known as Copilot) and Bing’s market share has only grown less than 1% according to StatCounter. Most of you may not be surprised, since our poll shared shortly after Bing Chat launched had most of you thinking Bing won’t gain that much market share from this feature.
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Vice Media Group ☛ Winner of Japan’s Top Literary Prize Admits She Used ChatGPT
Rie Kudan was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize and promptly announced that she used Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot to write about 5 percent of the winning novel.
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Digital Music News ☛ Spotify May Have Just Lost Its War Against Fashion Company Apple In the US — But There’s Still Hope for Europe
Apple lost its Supreme Court appeal in its legal battle with Epic Games—immediately making changes to its App Store policies and negatively impacting Spotify. Fashion Company Apple has to allow outside payment methods, but the App Store is also introducing a brand-new out-of-platform fee.
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European Commission ☛ Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Fashion Company Apple over practices related to Fashion Company Apple Pay
European Commission Press release Brussels, 19 Jan 2024 The European Commission invites comments on commitments offered by Fashion Company Apple to address competition concerns over access restrictions to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores (Near-Field Communication – ‘NFC').
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Defence/Aggression
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El País ☛ Nadal, the icing on Saudi Arabia’s geostrategical sporting cake
The 2022-2023 Amnesty International report on Saudi Arabia associates the country with concepts such as “torture”, “mistreatment”, “abuse”, “rape”, “discrimination against women”, “collective executions”, “forced evictions”, “persecutions”, “arbitrary and unfair trials”, “inhumane conditions”, “inadequate action against the climate crisis” and “the death penalty”, among many others that directly violate fundamental human rights. However, these concepts do not seem to constitute an obstacle for the world of sports, business and more business. The country has plunged headlong into the King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s expansion plan, which in the Strategic Vision 2030 program - promoted in 2016 by his son and deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, internationally accused of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – included competition and its stakeholders as an essential economic axis, centered around football, tennis, golf and Formula 1. This is a recipe for guaranteed success. An excellent promotional and rebranding strategy expressed in the form of a collection of stickers.
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ANF News ☛ Bayik: Turkey must give up the politics of genocide, denial, annihilation, isolation
The isolation and torture of the leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan, continues. Why and how does the Turkish state pursue this policy of isolation? Also, looking at the global campaign; how do you evaluate the development of it?
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Digital Music News ☛ Seven Months After Ripple’s Debut, TikTok Is Testing An On-Platform AI Song Generator
Observant Redditors spotted and then posted about the feature at hand, dubbed AI Song and seemingly available to select TikTokers in the service’s video-upload section. According to the appropriate on-screen description, the artificial intelligence offering is powered (at least in part) by large language model (LLM) Bloom.
Per its own description, Bloom boasts 176 billion parameters and can “generate text in 46 natural languages” – a significant point given TikTok’s global userbase. At present, those with access to the test – it’s unclear precisely how large this group is or when a broader rollout could arrive – can make music for their TikTok clips via text inputs, as mentioned.
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France24 ☛ Iran announces successful satellite launch, heightening Western concerns over missile program
The Soraya satellite was placed in an orbit at 750 kilometers (about 460 miles) above the Earth's surface with a three-stage rocket, the state-run IRNA news agency said. It did not immediately acknowledge what the satellite did.
The launch was part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' space program alongside Iran's civilian space program, the report said.
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India Times ☛ OpenAI's Sam Altman in talks with Middle East backers over chip venture
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in discussions with Middle Eastern investors and chip fabricators including TSMC about launching a new chip venture, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
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Reuters ☛ Ambiguous Italian court ruling on fascist salute delights extreme right
In a decision released on Thursday, the court said fascist salutes during commemorative events should not be considered criminal, but it left open the possibility of prosecution depending on the context of the incident.
Legal experts said the ruling would not resolve an issue that has long dogged Italy, which has never fully confronted the legacy of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia To Become Largest Supplier Of Oil To China
Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has upended global trade, including the shipment of fossil fuels.
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France24 ☛ North Korea claims it tested 'underwater nuclear weapon system'
North Korea said Friday that it had tested an "underwater nuclear weapon system" in response to joint naval exercises by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that involved a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
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RFA ☛ North Korea tests ‘underwater nuclear system’ to counter foes
Pyongyang said it was responding to maritime drills by the US, S Korea and Japan.
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New York Times ☛ Families to Testify at Guantánamo Bay About Loved Ones Lost to Terror
Relatives of victims of the 2002 attack are expected to describe their loss to a U.S. military jury sentencing two Malaysian prisoners.
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The Straits Times ☛ Brazil backs Beijing's 'One China policy,' foreign minister Wang Yi says
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday welcomed Brazil's support for Beijing's "One China policy" that states Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, a move that strengthens bilateral ties with South America's largest country.
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The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: Who is Liu Jianchao, seen as China’s choice for next foreign minister?
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The Strategist ☛ A new approach to defence industrial policy
When policymakers discuss the AUKUS partnership, they like to focus on the flashy bits: nuclear submarines, hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence. Politicians of all stripes can rarely resist the temptation.
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Defence Web ☛ CAR and Uganda enter military co-operation agreement
Uganda this week entered a military co-operation agreement with a country it shares no border with – the Central African Republic (CAR).
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ACLU ☛ Alabama Plans To Execute A Man With Nitrogen Gas Despite Jury’s Life Verdict
On January 25, the state of Alabama will attempt to execute Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, forcing him to inhale pure nitrogen through a mask until he suffocates. This will be the first time in United States history that nitrogen gas has ever been used to execute a person.
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France24 ☛ 'Our children won't forget': Grief and anger over Israeli raids on West Bank camps
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, Israel has stepped up its raids in the occupied West Bank, storming refugee camps and arresting dozens of people. Human rights groups say at least 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the last three months. The Israeli military insists its soldiers are defending themselves from militants holed up in the camps. But residents of Palestinian camps who spoke to FRANCE 24 accuse Israel of terrorising the population.
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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JURIST ☛ Texas attorney general offers to accept contested facts to end whistleblower lawsuit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton offered to end a whistleblower lawsuit against him on Thursday by not contesting the facts of the case and accepting any judgment against him.
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Environment
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CBC ☛ How green are those Stanley tumblers that everyone wants thanks to TikTok?
But even if the cups themselves are built to last — an eco-friendly alternative, perhaps, to single-use cups and bottles — the very notion of a trendy water bottle gets in the way of sustainability, say advocates.
Consumer trends come and go. Sustainability experts warn many of today's hot tumblers will eventually end up in a landfill just like their paper and plastic counterparts once this fad is over.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ Japan: Mount Fuji plans to limit climbing this summer
Yamanashi prefectural government announced in late December that a limit of 4,000 climbers per day would be introduced on the popular Yoshida Trail, on the northern flank of the mountain, at the start of the 70-day summer climbing season on July 1.
Announcing the plan, Governor Kotaro Nagasaki told a press conference on December 20 that several additional regulations would also be imposed, including not permitting more climbers to set off from the start of the trail between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. and the introduction of a toll to help cover the cost of maintaining hiking routes and the construction of shelters to be used in the event of an eruption.
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The Verge ☛ Why a Supreme Court decision on fishing boats could change everything
Two cases have worked their way up to the Supreme Court that jeopardize the long-standing Chevron doctrine: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. Plaintiffs in both cases are challenging a rule that makes fishing companies pay for the cost of observers they’re legally required to bring on their ships to monitor their operations. They’re asking justices to overrule Chevron and have backing from other industry groups ranging from Gun Owners of America to e-cigarette manufacturers.
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Harvard University ☛ ‘Chevron deference’ faces existential test
But there is a chance the court will jettison Chevron altogether and declare that the courts must decide all questions relating to statutory interpretation. That sounds eminently sensible on its face, but simply cannot work in practice. For nearly 100 years, Congress has delegated power to expert agencies to regulate our modern economy, set and enforce public health standards, protect consumers, and much more. Those tasks necessarily and unavoidably require agencies to make legal determinations when Congress has left gaps to fill. If the court overturns Chevron, it will have aggrandized its own power at the expense of Congress, the administrative state, and the president, and thrown critical day-to-day decisions necessary to implement scores of federal statutes to the federal judiciary. It will gum up the works for federal agencies and make it even harder for them to address big problems. Which is precisely what the critics of Chevron want.
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Wildlife/Nature/Space
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Science Alert ☛ These Tiny Creatures Become Cannibals After Sex Turns Deadly
Don't be fooled by their sweet faces!
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Science Alert ☛ Hidden Source of Mysterious Glow in The Early Universe Finally Revealed
A light in a dark place.
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Science Alert ☛ Sperm Whales Live in Huge, Distinct Clans Spread Across The Ocean
Seven clans alone live in the North Pacific, according to recent underwater acoustic data, and yet despite their shared genes, it's extremely rare for these groups to interact.
When traveling, a clan of sperm whales can sometimes take an hour or more to make a simple 90-degree turn, which could indicate some level of 'democratic' decision-making. Forget herding cats; talk about herding sperm whales.
"In many respects the closest parallel may be the ethno-linguistic groups of humans," writes Whitehead about the sperm whale clans.
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Science Alert ☛ Cluster of Ancient Lost Cities in The Amazon Is The Largest Ever Found
A hidden world is revealed.
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Overpopulation
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France24 ☛ An unspoken pain: Tackling France's infertility problem [Ed: This is not about "infertility"; it's about people choosing not to have kids]
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed this week to tackle the country’s growing infertility problem as part of efforts to revive the country’s sluggish birth rate, describing the subject of infertility as "the taboo of the century". More than three million people in France are said to suffer from the condition, making it a major public health issue – but one that has never been treated as such.
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Finance
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BIA Net ☛ Central Bank survey anticipates year-end inflation at 42%
The policy rate expectation for the current month's end is set at 45%.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Concerns over China’s economy weigh on Hong Kong, Shanghai markets despite Wall Street rally
Markets mostly rose Friday following a tech-led rally on Wall Street that helped soothe traders’ concerns that the Federal Reserve will likely not cut interest rates, though China’s economic woes dragged on Hong Kong and Shanghai.
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CS Monitor ☛ China wants to grow its economy. So why is it halting construction?
China ordered local governments in 12 regions to halt major infrastructure projects, a blow to its efforts to grow the economy. The decision hints at the scope of China’s concern over local government debt.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Reason ☛ Three Former Attorneys General File Amicus Brief in Trump v. Anderson
Other amici include me, law professor Gary Lawson, and Citizens United.
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New York Times ☛ Sudan’s Mohamed Hamdan, Often Rumored Dead, Takes Victory Tour
Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan was greeted by African leaders as if he had already won Sudan’s civil war. His forces have secretly been armed by the United Arab Emirates, an as-yet unpublished U.N. report found.
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JURIST ☛ India largest opposition party issues notice to spokesperson over remarks against fellow member
India’s largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress, issued Thursday a show-cause notice to its spokesperson Alok Sharma over his remarks against another member and former Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) state Kamal Nath. Sharma made those remarks in a recent interview with the news channel 4pm.
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El País ☛ Experts warn of the dangers and difficulties of a government-instituted anti-porn app: ‘This has never been successful’
In Spain, the government is hoping that minors won’t be able to access adult content on the internet. This past Tuesday, the cabinet approved a plan to protect children and youth from online pornography. One of the proposed measures is the development and implementation of an app that will enable the confirmation of the age of users who wish to access certain webpages.
The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) presented a proposal in December of 2023 to demonstrate that there’s already technology that allows for this. “It’s a pilot project that we hope can be presented in the summer of 2024,” Minister of Education Pilar Alegría said on Tuesday, following a cabinet meeting.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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The Straits Times ☛ Cut it out: Streaming platforms including DRM spreader Netflix and Amazon Prime face censorship pangs in India
They have come under increasing pressure to curb content that may offend Hindu groups or the ruling BJP.
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RFA ☛ China launches New Year crackdown on 'online rumors'
Many of those arrested were complaining or sharing information the government hadn't approved.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Rocky road for those Hong Kong academics who are out of tune with the times
An amusing coincidence last week. A kind friend sent me an interesting op ed piece from the China Daily about recent events at Harvard University, where the president recently resigned under pressure from major donors.
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Reason ☛ High School Football Coach Isn't a "Public Official" or "Public Figure" For Libel Law Purposes,
even when he "adopted a controversial 'no punt' strategy."
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong national security police arrest man over ‘seditious’ online forum posts
Hong Kong national security police have arrested a man on suspicion of doing an act or acts with seditious intention, in connection with statements he made on popular online forum LIHKG.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Sports Illustrated's publisher terminates most of staff in mass layoff, union says
Sports Illustrated employees were notified on Friday that a "significant number, if not all" of their jobs were set to be eliminated, according to a new statement from the publication's union.
The Sports Illustrated union posted on X: "This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship. We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years."
Mitch Goldich, unit chair of the SI union and NFL editor, said in a statement that the union will continue to fight for the publication.
"We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue," he said.
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RFA ☛ China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists, CPJ says
Uyghurs make up almost half of the journalists jailed by China
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Press Gazette ☛ Prince Harry drops libel action versus Mail On Sunday over bodyguards story
Harry failed last month in a bid to stop the case from going to trial.
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New York Times ☛ Prince Harry Withdraws Libel Claim Against Mail on Sunday Publisher
The prince had been suing Associated Newspapers over a 2022 article suggesting he misled the public over his security arrangements, claiming it was defamatory.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Apple Daily newspaper became ‘radical’ after Jimmy Lai met US top officials in 2019, court hears
Hong Kong’s now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper became “radical” after its founder, media mogul Jimmy Lai, met with top US officials including then vice-president Mike Pence amid the 2019 protests and unrest, a court has heard.
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The Dissenter ☛ In Assange’s Darkest Hour, Committee To Protect Journalists Yet Again Excludes Him From Jailed Journalist Index
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ANF News ☛ Women journalists in Southern Kurdistan face ever-increasing violations
While 43.4 percent of the participants stated that cultural and social norms are obstacles for women journalists, 63 percent of media institutions do not have a policy on gender inequality. According to the results of the research, this situation prevents women from being aware of their rights.
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VOA News ☛ Small-Town US Newspapers Stolen After Running Story About Rape Charges at Police Chief's House
Mike Wiggins vowed to get to the bottom of it, posting Thursday on X, formerly Twitter: "If you hoped to silence or intimidate us, you failed miserably. We'll find out who did this. And another press run is imminent."
The newspaper posted the story on social media and removed its website paywall so people could read about the felony sexual assault charges filed against three men, including a relative of the police chief, for actions that allegedly occurred at a May 2023 party in Ouray where drugs and alcohol were used, according to court records. The suspects were ages 17, 18 and 19 at the time, and the person who reported the alleged rapes was 17, records said.
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NPR ☛ 'Sports Illustrated' to lay off most of its staff amid severed licensing deal
The publisher of Sports Illustrated is planning to lay off most — and possibly all — of its journalists on staff, after failing to pay its licensing fees to the magazine's parent company.
Authentic Brands Group, the magazine's owner, said in a statement that it ended its licensing agreement with The Arena Group, the magazine's publisher, to publish Sports Illustrated, but that it remained committed to the 70-year-old magazine's continued publication.
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ABC ☛ Sports Illustrated's publisher terminates most of staff in mass layoff, union says
Mitch Goldich, unit chair of the SI union and NFL editor, said in a statement that the union will continue to fight for the publication.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ Journalists say tech giants aid suppression
Google, Meta and other tech giants are making it more difficult to access independent media content in Belarus, exiled journalists have told the European Commission. By complying with restrictions imposed by Minsk,these companies have "become tools for a totalitarian and authoritarian regime to put pressure on civil society instead of helping to promote independent media," the exiled journalist Natalia Belikova told the Financial Times in January.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that technology companies have enormous power — perhaps in some cases even more than those in political power," Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya told DW in January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "It is important that these companies are on the side of good and committed to promoting democratic values.”
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Deutsche Welle ☛ Decoding China: Beijing wants more influence in Africa
"African countries receive support from China in the form of investment, trade and development aid. And in return, China receives political support in correlations between financial flows and the voting behavior of African states in the United Nations when it comes to issues that are relevant to China," she said.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Latvia ☛ Future women programmers wanted from Latvia and Estonia
Until January 24, women ready for a career change have the opportunity to apply for a free 12-month training and reskilling program dubbed 'WoTech', where they will have the chance to learn basic programming skills and receive support that will help them prepare for a job change.
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New York Times ☛ Seoul Police Chief Charged in South Korea Crowd Crush
Kim Kwang-ho, charged with negligence, is one of the most senior officials to face legal consequences for the October 2022 disaster that killed nearly 160 people in Seoul.
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RFA ☛ ‘If I don’t have a dream, what on Earth is the point of living?’
Three North Korean immigrants in the UK talk about their escapes and dreams.
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YLE ☛ Teachers' union opposing later summer school break
Finland's teacher's union, the OAJ, is not enthusiastic about a proposal to shift the start of summer school holidays to mid-June, saying it would require an extensive overhaul of the education system.
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YLE ☛ Finland sees 18% rise in robberies during 2023
The biggest increases in robbery reports were filed in Oulu, Central Finland, Häme and Southwest Finland, Statistics Finland reports.
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Jacobin Magazine ☛ The West Coast Was Once a Cradle of Class Struggle
In the depths of the Great Depression, maritime and waterfront workers on the Pacific Coast of the US — from Bellingham, Washington, to San Diego, California — erupted in militant strikes against their shipping magnate employers.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Techdirt ☛ State Lawmaker Tries To Ratf*ck Community-Owned Broadband Effort In Frankfort, Kentucky
We’ve noted numerous times how U.S. communities are increasingly tired of substandard, expensive broadband caused by market failure, so they’re building their own broadband networks at a record pace. These efforts take a wide variety of forms, whether it’s via a local cooperative, a collection of municipalities, or a city owned utility (see Chattanooga’s huge successes in Tennessee).
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Hackaday ☛ You Wouldn’t Download A House
Shelter is one of the most basic of human needs, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we continually come up with new ways to build homes. Most building systems are open source to an extent, and the WikiHouse project tries to update the process for the internet age.
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Internet Society ☛ What Happens When the Internet Shuts Down?
In early May 2023, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, the foundational rhythm of life was disrupted by the outbreak of inter-community violence, followed swiftly by a government-mandated Internet shutdown.
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Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: 2.5Gbit Ethernet
I just decided to upgrade the core of my home network from 1Gbit to 2.5Gbit. I didn’t really need to do this, it was only about 5 years ago that I upgrade from 100Mbit to 1Gbit. but it’s cheap and seemed interesting.
I decided to do it because a 2.5Gbit switch was listed as cheap on Ozbargain Computing [1], that was $40.94 delivered. If you are in Australia and like computers then Ozbargain is a site worth polling, every day there’s interesting things at low prices. The seller of the switch is KeeplinkStore [2] who distinguished themselves by phoning me from China to inform me that I had ordered a switch with a UK plug for delivery to Australia and suggesting that I cancel the order and make a new order with an Australian plug. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if I had received a UK plug as I’ve got a collection of adaptors but it was still nice of them to make it convenient for me. The switch basically does what it’s expecte
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Daylist is Blowing Up—Too Bad the Creator Was Laid Off
Glenn McDonald, who served as the curator of EveryNoise. Spotify acquired The Echo Nest, which encompassed EveryNoise in a deal worth $100 million over ten years ago. Since then, McDonald served as a ‘data alchemist,’ helping Spotify filter and sort music into hyper-specific genres for every mood.
Unfortunately, Glenn McDonald was one of the people let go during Spotify’s December 2023 layoffs, which impacted 17% of the company. 2023 was a year of restructuring for the company, starting with 600 people let go in January 2023. Another round followed in June 2023, impacting about 200 people. McDonald was let go in the third round of cuts of 2023. In Spotify’s quest to become ‘relentlessly resourceful’ it has let go of one of the curators of its most loved features for Gen Zers—hyper-personalized, weird playlist titles.
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India Times ☛ DOJ, FTC push to investigate Microsoft's OpenAI partnership: report
Earlier this month, EU antitrust regulators flagged that Microsoft's investment in OpenAI might be reviewable under European Union merger rules, after a similar warning was placed by Britain's antitrust regulator in December.
The FTC initiated talks with the DOJ months ago to figure out which one can review the matter, but neither agency is ready to give up jurisdiction, the report said.
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Trademarks
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Right of Publicity
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Futurism ☛ Grand Theft Auto Voice Actor Furious at AI That Copied His Voice
While some voice actors have decried a recent deal that SAG-AFTRA struck with an AI voiceover studio, one voice actor is already dealing with fallout from AI tech after another company used his voice without his permission for a gimmicky chatbot.
Ned Luke, the actor who voices the Grand Theft Auto V character Michael De Santa, logged onto the social media platform X-formerly Twitter on Sunday and called out tech company WAME in pungent terms for using his voice in an AI chatbot.
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NPR ☛ Opinion: George Carlin wasn't predictable, unlike AI
"Whatever this comedy special is," Kelly Carlin, George Carlin's daughter, told us, "It is not born from my father and should not have his name on it."
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She says her family is exploring how to legally protect her father's work from AI manipulation.
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But Jim Meskimen, who may be the world's best impressionist, told us he considers AI imitations more like, "watching a Roomba carry a football 50 yards. There's no link to an actual living person whose creative energies we recognize and admire."
"None of what I heard was funny," he says of the special. "It was AI making a joke and then laughing and applauding itself."
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Copyrights
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Torrent Freak ☛ Russia Piracy Takedowns Up By 100%, "Western Rightsholders to Blame"
Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor is reporting a huge increase in the amount of infringing content it either blocked or deleted in 2023. The finger of blame for the 100%+ uplift over figures reported in 2022 can be found pointing towards Western companies no longer operating in the Russian market, but still producing desirable content. According to the head of a local anti-piracy company, Western companies have 'legalized' piracy in Russia.
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Digital Music News ☛ Estate of Notorious B.I.G. Settles Long-Running Photography IP Dispute
A years-long trademark lawsuit has been resolved in favor of the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G., having initially sued late hip-hop photographer Chi Modu in 2019 over the unauthorized use of photographs he took of Christopher Wallace (better known as Biggie Smalls, the Notorious B.I.G.) in 1996.
Modu had used the images on “snowboards, (…) skateboards, shower curtains, and NFTs” without the estate’s permission, which he claimed was not necessary since he was the original photographer. The estate sued Modu in 2019.
In May 2022, the court agreed with the estate that Modu’s actions were in violation of the law, and the estate won a preliminary injunction that prevented Modu’s widow from selling merchandise with her late husband’s photographs of the rapper, as it violated the estate’s right to publicity in Wallace’s image.
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The Register UK ☛ How artists can poison their pics with deadly Nightshade to deter AI scrapers
Nightshade poisons image files to give indigestion to models that ingest data without permission. It's intended to make those training image-oriented models respect content creators' wishes about the use of their work.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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