Leftovers

• CBC ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Consumers will ultimately pay the price for Quebec's new language rules, experts say

• Science

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Understanding how the brain works can transform how school students learn maths

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] A black hole discovery could force us to rethink how galaxies came to be

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Could a couple of Thai otters have helped the UK’s otter population recover? Our study provides a hint

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] A Nasa mission that collided with an asteroid didn’t just leave a dent – it reshaped the space rock

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Saskatchewan Roughriders apologize after ad using 'girl math' sparks backlash from some fans

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Canada Fired Two Scientists for Sharing Information With Beijing, Says Paper

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Private US moon lander tipped sideways but 'alive'

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Investigating insomnia: our research shows how chronic sleep problems can lead to a spiralling decline in mental health

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] IQ tests: the danger of reading too much into them – and the crucial cognitive skills they don’t measure

  • Vox ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Should Big Pharma pay poor countries for finding new diseases?

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Make sure you have 2 measles shots before you travel on spring break, says Canada's top doctor

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Canada almost wiped out syphilis. Now rates are skyrocketing — as more women, infants getting infected

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Many Nigerians struggle to afford food amid record inflation

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] What's behind rising food costs in Canada's North? Questions emerge over how retailer sets prices

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] More than 4 Albertans died — each and every day — from opioids in 2023

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] 2 Indigenous women buried in 1970s identified through DNA analysis, Edmonton police say

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Do natural pesticides actually work?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Is it safe to smoke cannabis while driving?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Germany's Bundestag votes for cannabis legalization

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Cannabis will be legal in Germany — within limits

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] India's angry farmers brace for long, dangerous protest

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Indian workers in Armenia claim abuse from job agencies

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] HELLP in pregnancy: Take your symptoms seriously!

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Corporate pressure led Shoppers Drug Mart staff to bill for unnecessary medication reviews, pharmacists say

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] ADHD: Was the condition a boon for our ancestors?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Angry protests: Why are French farmers so powerful?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] French farmers storm Paris agriculture fair

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Farmers jam Brussels' EU quarter as ministers meet

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Why are farmers across Europe protesting?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Mauritius lets cruise ship dock after cholera scare

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Top 10 most dangerous viruses in the world

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] The harsh reality of trying to access IVF in Canada

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Aphasia, dementia: What was Wendy Williams diagnosed with?

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Techdirt ☛ Elon Sues OpenAI For Breach Of Contract Over A Contract That Doesn’t Exist, Because It’s Not Acting The Way He Wants It To

    Do you remember Irell & Manella? Of course you do. It’s the formerly well-respected law firm that once brought a lawsuit on behalf of PETA claiming (incorrectly) to represent a monkey, which it claimed (incorrectly) could hold a copyright. As we noted at the time, the whole reason that a respected firm like Irell would bring such a lawsuit was a (weak, embarrassing) attempt to position itself for the coming rise in IP lawsuits around artificial intelligence.

  • Game World Observer ☛ Over 2,000 games industry professionals lost their jobs in February, 5x year-over-year

    The scale of video game industry layoffs is massive, as thousands of people continue to lose their jobs every month. February 2024 was, unfortunately, no exception, with game companies cutting at least 2,027 jobs.

  • EuroGamer ☛ What is going on with layoffs in the video games industry?

    Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shipped 10m copies in a weekend. Hogwarts Legacy sold 24m units in a year. Palworld is on 25 million players. Spider-Man 2 was Sony's fastest-selling game. Starfield broke Bethesda records. And then there's been Diablo 4, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Resident Evil 4... sales records have been broken consistently over the past 12 months.

    But then there have been those other headlines. You've seen them, too. 860 layoffs at Epic. 1800 redundancies at Unity. 1900 by Xbox. 900 by PlayStation. 530 at Riot. Nearly 700 at EA. I would give a running total of how many people have publicly lost their jobs in games over the last year, but the likelihood is that by the time this article comes out, the number will have gone up.

  • Game World Observer ☛ Naughty Dog artist Santiago Gutierrez on being laid off after 18 years: “It felt like a cruel twist of fate”

    Mass layoffs announced by PlayStation last week affected hundreds of people, including veteran developers. Among them was Santiago Gutierrez, an experienced artist who has been with Naughty Dog for nearly two decades.

  • Watch As YouTube Workers Demand A Negotiation… And Google Just Lays Them Off En Masse

    Worker unions have gotten traction only in the last few years in tech but they still aren’t protected from mass layoffs. This sad fact is illustrated by this video that went viral over the weekend.

    In it, one YouTube Music contractor is calling on his union members to urge Google to negotiate with them. That is, until a colleague interrupts him to announce he and dozens of others are being laid off.

    The video shows the mass layoff of 43 YouTube workers, who are given just 20 minutes to collect their things before being considered trespassers. The contractors worked for both Google and Cognizant, a company that also made headlines for the terrible conditions of the Facebook moderators Meta contracted from them.

  • In another blow, Sea of Thieves Co-developer Radical Forge lays off 6 employees

    After Microsoft shed 1900 jobs in Activision, the gaming industry has been witnessing turbulent times. Radical Forge’s announcement to lay off a handful of employees is the latest in a series of setbacks.

    In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the company apprised the community of the restructuring, which will affect the workforce count.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Techdirt ☛ Leaked Data Details The Reach And Breadth Of ShotSpotter’s Gunshot Detection Systems

    The leader in gunshot detection tech rebranded recently. Following several months of sustained negative press, ShotSpotter decided it wanted to be called something else: SoundThinking.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Eastern allies haven't abandoned hopes for NATO post

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] West African Bloc Lifts Sanctions on Junta-Led Niger

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] How will Niger benefit from lifted ECOWAS sanctions?

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] West Africa Bloc Lifts Coup Sanctions on Niger in a New Push for Dialogue to Resolve Tensions

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Algeria Inaugurates Africa's Largest Mosque After Years of Political Delays and Cost Overruns

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Algeria inaugurates 'Africa's biggest mosque'

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Niger: West African bloc ECOWAS lifts post-coup sanctions

  • ADF ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] African Women Break Barriers, Land Leading Roles in U.N. Peace Operations

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] OPCW identifies ISIL as perpetrators of 2015 chemical attack in Syria

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Planned chaos in Syria

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] In 2024, Syrians receive less aid amid rising poverty

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Trump Uses Christian Nationalist Dog Whistles in Nashville Campaign Speech

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Donald Trump Pledges to Protect AM Radio in Rambling Speech to Christian Broadcasters

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Soars in India, Research Group Says

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] UK, EU border agency sign agreement on migration

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-22 [Older] Albania ratifies migrant deal with Italy

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-22 [Older] An asylum seeker died after waiting hours for a shelter space. Advocates are demanding action

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Shamima Begum: Former 'IS' wife loses UK citizenship appeal

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Red Sea: Germany's Bundestag approves naval mission

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] German navy almost shot down US drone over Red Sea — reports

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Houthi attack on Red Sea ship causes massive oil slick

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] Red Sea: US, UK airstrikes target Iran-backed Houthis

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Germany inspects North Korea embassy closed since COVID

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Chad: Shooting heard in capital after deadly attack

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Germany hosts talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] More than 30 killed in Mali bus crash

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Mexico: Two mayoral candidates gunned down before elections

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] People from China increasingly trek to US-Mexico border

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Uganda: ICC orders record €52 million compensation for LRA victims

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] US nuclear weapons facility reopens after wildfire threat

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] How Hungary's delay tactics regarding Sweden's NATO bid have isolated the country politically

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Hungarian parliament votes in favor of Sweden joining NATO

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Sweden in NATO, Hungary in isolation

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Hungary signs deal to buy Swedish fighter jets, says Orban

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Sooner or later, every NATO country will have to meet defence spending target, says Polish PM

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] U.S. ambassador says 'world is watching' Canada's military spending

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] US: Two men convicted of murdering Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Brazil: Thousands rally behind Bolsonaro amid coup probe

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Iran: IAEA urges nuclear monitors' return

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Lula's row with Israel has 'divided his own base'

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] UK: Conservative Party suspends lawmaker over racist remarks

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Common Dreams ☛ In Life As In Death: Let Them See That Many Remember

      Defying fear, cold, threats of arrest, thousands of Russians came to pay their mournful respects to Alexei Navalny, long "living proof that courage is possible," at his funeral this weekend. People chanted "No To War," "Putin Is A Murderer," and, hauntingly, "Navalny"' over and over as they waited in long lines amidst a massive police presence to honor a man "who was not scared of anything." "You weren't afraid," they avowed to his memory, "and neither are we."

• Environment

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Climate Change, Cost and Competition for Water Drive Settlement Over Tribal Rights to Colorado River

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Scientists Suggest Dehydrating a Layer of Earth's Atmosphere to Fight Global Warming

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Building a Resilient Planet: Islamic Values, Technological Advancements, and Climate Action

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Great apes in danger of 'generational trauma' due to climate change

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] The Inspiring Movement to Build for Climate Resiliency

  • Vox ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] This chart of ocean temperatures should really scare you

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Is climate change making jacarandas bloom early in Mexico City?

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Michigan climate change: How fish, forests, farms, moose, ticks will change

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Canada's top pensions have trillions in assets. Should they do more to fuel the energy transition?

  • Vox ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] What’s happening to our winters?

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Climate change is erasing Michigan winters, taking our heritage with them

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Brazil Partners With Largest Climate Finance Alliance to Boost Green Growth

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Four Problems for the Degrowth Movement

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Canada is winter. With our warming climate, I feel like I'm losing a part of me

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Early Jacaranda Bloom Sparks Debate About Climate Change in Mexico

  • NL Times ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] 17 climate activists arrested at A10 blockade in Amsterdam

  • International Business Times ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Shein And Temu Are Dominating The Global Air Cargo Industry Despite Climate Crisis

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Temu: Chinese ultra-cheap online shopping model losing steam

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Alberta farmers and ranchers worry about coming season amid drought, high pasture insurance payouts

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Why drought on the Prairies is making your steak more expensive

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] The Prairies are heading into another drought. Here's why we're more vulnerable this time

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Company that operates most of Nunavut's grocery stores asks city of Iqaluit to pay off its water debt

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Can Climate Scientists Learn a Lesson From Cringe Comedy?

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] First Nations celebrate landmark ruling 'forcing' Crown to protect interests against northern B.C. dam

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Danielle Smith's dim view of wind and solar becomes murky policy

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Germany to allow carbon capture, underwater storage

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] EU: Clean energy movement gaining traction

    • TruthOut ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Ohio’s Political Crisis Has Impeded Its Clean Energy. Democracy May Be Next.

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Inspectors for Peace: A History of the International Atomic Energy Agency – Book Review

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] 5 things you should know about ‘clean energy’ minerals and the dirty process of mining them

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] $900M solar component factory to add 1,100 clean energy jobs in Michigan

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Bill Supporting Development of Nuclear Energy Powers to Pass in Kentucky Senate

    • CBC ☛ 2024-02-22 [Older] Lynx Air to cease operations Monday, obtains creditor protection

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Lufthansa ground staff launch fresh strike

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Germany: Union calls 3-day Lufthansa ground staff strike

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Paper book or e-reader: Which is better for the planet?

    • CBC ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Alberta gives cold shoulder to wind and solar industry, as the rest of the world is clamouring for more

    • CBC ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Trans Mountain's latest cost estimate climbs 10%, regulatory filing shows

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] South Africa sees marked rise in rhino poaching

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Scientists unveil 240-million-year-old dragon-like reptile

    • Science Alert ☛ Tragic And Mysterious Elephant Burial Ritual Witnessed by Scientists

      Asian elephants loudly mourn and bury their dead calves, according to a study by Indian scientists that details animal behaviour reminiscent of human funeral rites.

      Researchers identified five calf burials conducted by the giant mammals in the north of India's Bengal region in 2022 and 2023, according to the study published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa this week.

• Finance

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-22 [Older] Germany's recession fears: Economic outlook is grim

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-22 [Older] New EU anti-money laundering agency to be based in Frankfurt [Ed: Germany uses EU to take control of everything while facilitating money laundering and corruption on German soil, e.g. EPO]

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Labor’s Tide Is Rising

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Silicon Angle ☛ GitLab issues soft guidance and its stock tanks after-hours

    The company reported a net loss of $37.6 million, down slightly from the $42.1 million loss it posted in the same period one year earlier. Earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation came to 15 cents per share, easily topping Wall Street’s forecast of an eight-cent-per-share profit. Revenue climbed 33% from a year earlier, to $163.8 million, ahead of the $157.9 million forecast.

  • The Verge ☛ Fired Twitter execs are suing Elon Musk for over $128 million

    Elon Musk fired a lot of people after he took over Twitter, but the first ones to go were several of its top executives. Now former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett are suing Musk and the company now known as X, saying they’re owed more than $128 million in severance payments, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

  • BNN ☛ Huawei Pumps $22 Billion Into R&D to Beat U.S. Sanctions - BNN Bloomberg

    China’s largest tech giant almost doubled its R&D budget over the past half-decade to $22.1 billion in 2021 -- more than any company in the world outside America. That’s 22.4% of its sales that year: nearly double Amazon.com Inc.’s and Google-owner Alphabet Inc.’s proportions and more than triple iPhone-maker Apple Inc.’s. Only Meta Platforms Inc. came close among the so-called Faang contingent with 20.9%, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

  • India Times ☛ saudi arabia data centers: Amazon's AWS to launch Saudi Arabia data centers, invest over $5.3 billion

    Amazon.com's cloud division Amazon Web Services said on Monday it will launch data centers in Saudi Arabia in 2026 and plans to invest more than $5.3 billion in the kingdom.

    The cloud region will enable customers to securely store content and run workloads while offering higher speed for its users.

  • OpenRightsGroup ☛ A dangerous precedent for global censorship

    Previously, ORG responded to both the Online Harms White paper and the Online Safety Act, while it made its way through the Houses of Parliament as a Bill. We have submitted numerous policy briefings to parliamentarians about our concerns around the Act’s impacts on online privacy, security, and free speech. And in June of last year, we coordinated a letter that was signed by over 80 civil society organisations, academics and cyber experts from 23 countries urging the UK government to protect encrypted messaging.

  • Wired ☛ Why Tech Job Interviews Became Such a Nightmare

    The responses in social posts and direct messages to WIRED underscore how the tech industry is undergoing a cultural change—and a maturation. The companies of the colloquial Silicon Valley are overcorrecting for pandemic-era hiring, adjusting to high interest rates, and yielding to shareholder pressure to make their businesses more efficient.

    The independent job tracker Layoffs.fyi estimates that more than 400,000 tech jobs have been shed since the start of 2022. In the past two weeks alone, Amazon, Cisco, Expedia Group, Rivian, and the dating app Bumble announced more job cuts.

  • International Business Times ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Trump Says He's A Genius; Professor Says His Slurred Speech And Repeated Errors Are Worse Than Biden's

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Singapore foreign interference law: Who will it affect?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Japan, North Korea hint they are ready for high-level talks

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Project Censored ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Hollywood’s Pentagon Propaganda, Deconstructing Disinformation, and Critical Media Literacy Education in the US

    • Quartz ☛ AI makes photos of fake Black Donald Trump supporters

      Donald Trump supporters are creating and sharing AI-generated images of the former president with Black voters. The photos appear to be an attempt to inflate Trump’s popularity with the Black community, but the photos are nothing but fakes.

      In the leadup to the 2024 Presidential Election, several of these AI-generated dupes of Black Trump supporters have popped up on social media. One image is a holiday photo depicting Trump embracing several Black people. However, it’s an AI dupe created by The Mark Kaye Show, a conservative talk show, and distributed on Facebook to over one million of Kaye’s Facebook followers. The post from November, first reported by the BBC, was not labeled as being AI-generated in any way.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFERL ☛ UN Rights Chief Slams Russia's 'Repression' Of Dissent Ahead Of Election

    Speaking at a meeting of the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 4, Volker Turk pointed to the absence of opposition candidates over administrative technicalities in the March 15-17 election, which incumbent Vladimir Putin is expected to easily win, as fostering "serious concerns" about the election.

    "The authorities have further intensified their repression of dissenting voices prior to this month's presidential election," he said.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Russian Prosecutor Requests Tougher Sentence for Jailed Former Navalny Staffer

    Liliya Chanysheva, the former head of Navalny's office in the central Bashkortostan region, and her former colleague, Rustem Mulyukov, were the first Navalny staffers to be convicted of national security charges after his organisation was deemed "extremist" in 2021.

  • The Straits Times ☛ National security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai: what's happened so far | The Straits Times

    Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai is on trial accused of endangering China's national security.

    Lai, 76, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces - which carry a possible life sentence - and a lesser charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

  • El País ☛ Death from heartbreak, instead of suicide: What censorship did to opera

    The Italian censors tried to prevent it from being performed, but Verdi proved to be a great negotiator. His opera premiered successfully and began touring theaters throughout Europe… except for France. And not because of censorship: this time, it was Victor Hugo himself who didn’t consent to it being performed, while his original work was still prohibited.

    How did the opera get past censorship, when it utilized the same script of Hugo’s banned play? Well, this was thanks to the genius of Giuseppe Verdi.

  • The Atlantic ☛ A Russian Dissident’s Remarkable Courtroom Speech

    On the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the regime shut down Memorial, after 30 years of operation. The same regime arrested Orlov, who had criticized the invasion with the same unsparing language he had used for the previous four decades. “This brutal war,” he wrote in an article, is “not only mass murder of people and destruction of the infrastructure, economy, and cultural sites” of Ukraine but also “a severe blow to the future of Russia,” a country that “is now pushed back into totalitarianism, but this time into a fascist totalitarianism.” Like Alexei Navalny, whose funeral took place in Moscow on Friday, Orlov was extraordinarily brave—brave enough to publish his criticism of the war, of President Vladimir Putin, and of Putin’s regime.

  • Techdirt ☛ Missouri’s New Speech Police

    Republican state Rep. Jamie Gragg of Ozark is a freshman lawmaker with no discernible accomplishments on his record. However, it isn’t to say that the man doesn’t break from the party line when it comes to the Republican Party’s fascistic campaign against transgender rights.

  • Techdirt ☛ Body Cam Shows Sheriff Obliging A Bigot To Search A Library For ‘Obscene’ Books He’s Too Stupid To Understand

    Courtesy of Solar Opposites (imho the funniest show on streaming TV), here’s what happens when you teach a cop how to read:

  • Techdirt ☛ DeSantis Vetoes Terrible Social Media Bill… Only To Support One That’s Just As Bad

    I had thought that maybe, just maybe, now that DeSantis had dropped out of the Presidential race, maybe (just maybe?) he’d stop pushing blatantly unconstitutional laws. That’s not to say that DeSantis has any good ideas. But it felt like over the last few years, he really leaned into the nonsense culture wars in an attempt to boost his own profile for a hilariously inept Presidential run. He seemed to think that going to war with a “woke Disney” would somehow appeal to the brainwashed fools who now make up the base of his party. It didn’t work.

  • CPJ ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Iraqi Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky charged with defamation over Facebook post

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Supreme Court Will Decide What Free Speech Means on Social Media

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • [Old] The Chris Hedges Report ☛ Journalists Abandoned Julian Assange and Slit Their Own Throats

    The failure by journalists to mount a campaign to free Julian Assange, or expose the vicious smear campaign against him, is one more catastrophic and self-defeating blunder by the news media.

  • [Old] The Chris Hedges Report ☛ Watch this Sermon: The Crucifixion of Julian Assange

    The criminal ruling class has all of us locked in its death grip. It cannot be reformed. It has abolished the rule of law. It obscures and falsifies the truth. It seeks the consolidation of its obscene wealth and power. But to do this, we must, as Julian has done, as all prophets have done, pick up the cross and bear its awful weight on our back.

  • European Parliament ☛ The extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange and implications on freedom of the press (debate)

    One of the Irish parties of the left, Sinn Féin, identify that the extradition of Mr Assange is an attempt to suppress journalism. But this is the same party that was accused just a few weeks ago of deliberately targeting the media. According to a letter signed by the National Union of Journalists, Pen International and Reporters Without Borders, ‘the number of legal actions that have been filed by Sinn Féin members points to a coordinated campaign against the media in Ireland’. According to Index on Censorship, a UK-based watchdog: ‘We are not aware of members of any other Irish party taking a comparable number of concurrent cases against the media in recent years’.

  • UN Human Rights ☛ UK/US: Time to end prosecution of Julian Assange, UN expert says | OHCHR

    “I am concerned about the use of the Espionage Act in this case, as this statute provides no protection for the publication of information in the public interest,” Khan said.

    She noted that if extradited, Julian Assange would be the first publisher to be prosecuted in the US under the Espionage Act.

    “It would set a dangerous precedent that could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism in the United States and possibly elsewhere in the world,” the Special Rapporteur said.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ Germany's Scholz speaks out against Assange extradition

    Supporters of Assange, who is Australian, say he is a journalist who lifted the lid on US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They claim the prosecution is politically motivated and that he has no chance of a fair trial in the US.

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] $1b for journalism at risk in new warning over Google, Facebook

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Journalism in crisis in Nepal as media revenue slumps

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] French journalist detained in Ethiopia, employer says

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Thomas Rigby ☛ Social media is not the place for public service announcements

    Public service information should be provided in a way that

    • requires no account to view

    • is chronological

    • is timely

    Relying on a billionaire's revenue generation factory disguised as an announcement feed is (and always was) a terrible idea.

  • The Verge ☛ Oregon is about to sign — or veto — the strongest right-to-repair law yet

    Oregon’s landmark right-to-repair law is nearly here — today, SB 1596 passed the Oregon legislature, and is headed to Governor Tina Kotek’s desk to sign or veto within the next five days. It’s a big deal, because the Oregon law would be the first to ban “parts pairing,” a practice where companies can keep you from using components (sometimes even official ones) unless that company’s software is satisfied that they belong.

  • Associated Press ☛ Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River

    Negotiating terms outlined late Wednesday include water rights not only for the Navajo Nation but the neighboring Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes in the northeastern corner of the state. The water would come from a mix of sources: the Colorado River that serves seven western states, the Little Colorado River, and aquifers and washes on tribal lands.

  • Digital Music News ☛ YouTube Music Contractors Laid Off During City Council Meeting

    YouTube Music contractors who unionized were laid off while speaking to the Austin City Council after the contract between Cognizant and Google expired.

    The YouTube Music workers organized under the Alphabet Workers Union, which represents workers at Google’s parent company laid off the entire YouTube Music team. The layoffs became public knowledge as they happened while speaking at an Austin City Council meeting in Texas, where the city council was set to vote on a resolution asking the company to negotiate with the union.

  • Kansas Reflector ☛ ‘The lifeblood of the community’: States invest to save rural grocery stores

    “The store is the lifeblood of the community,” Hassler said. “We have to keep our store, we have to keep our schools, we have to keep our churches — and it’s all a struggle right now.”

    The market opened four years after the closure of the town’s only grocery store. Some 110 community members bought shares, which funded the transformation of a shuttered American Legion post into a brightly lit store packed with fresh and packaged foods.

  • Daniel Pipes ☛ Hijab:: Word of God or Word of Man? :: Reviewed by Daniel Pipes

    Morrow does not spare "weak Western nations" from his anger, rightly calling them "too cowardly to defend their secular values and human rights, have empowered and emboldened conservative, retrograde, and radical Islam. ... Terrified of being denounced as 'Islamophobes,' they act as the allies of radical Islamists rather than stand on the side of moderate and secular Muslims." Too true.

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Amazon to pay $1.9 million to settle claims of human rights abuses of contract workers

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] 'Freedom Convoy' organizer from Sask. suing federal government for using Emergencies Act to freeze accounts

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-24 [Older] First orders to remove online images issued under new B.C. intimate images act: attorney general

  • The struggle of women-only tech events

    Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) camps for women are not new. There are so many out there that encourage women to join STEM and give them the resources they need to succeed in learning. Despite these efforts, women in STEM made up less than 25 per cent of the workforce in Canada in 2023. From my perspective, women have the resources to complete their STEM degrees and there is already an abundance of programs dedicated to supporting women through education. The problem is entering the professional field. And once you enter it, there are a lot of other problems.

    Organizations and individuals are starting to realize this and there is a demand for more support for women after education. For example, one of Toronto’s largest technology conferences, Collision, offers “Women in Tech” tickets meant exclusively for women. The ticket also comes along with perks: significant discount in ticket price, access to an exclusive lounge, and talks catered specifically to addressing problems women might face in the industry.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Canada to create regulator to hold online platforms accountable for harmful content, sources say

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Draft Canada Law Would Force Social Media Companies to Quickly Remove Harmful Content

  • CBC ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Some phone plans pricier than before Rogers-Shaw deal: watchdog

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• The Verge ☛ Apple hit with first-ever EU fine following Spotify complaint

  Apple has been hit with a fine of €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) by European Union antitrust regulators over its App Store rules, and has been told it cannot stop music services from advertising cheaper subscription deals outside of Apple’s store. News of today’s fine was earlier reported by the Financial Times, and comes ahead of Apple’s huge shakeup of the iPhone’s app distribution rules due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

• Digital Music News ☛ Deezer Says the EU $1.95B Fine Isn't Enough to Reign in Apple

  Deezer has issued a statement praising the European Commission’s $1.95B+ fine for Apple breaking antitrust rules. However, it says the company’s newly implemented rules are aimed at circumventing the spirit of the Digital Markets Act.

• European Commission ☛ Commission fines Apple

  The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users') through its App Store. In particular, the Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions'). This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

• Wired ☛ Apple Fined $2 Billion as Europe Sides With Spotify

  The fine originates in a legal complaint filed with the European Commission by Spotify in 2019, challenging the restrictions and fees Apple places on developers listing their apps in the App Store. Today the European Commission agreed, saying that Apple’s App Store restrictions amount to unfair trading conditions that may have led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions.

  “For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, in a statement. “They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem.”

• Gizmodo ☛ Apple Slapped With $2 Billion Fine for Ripping Off Music Customers

  “This is illegal and it has impacted millions of European consumers,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s European Commissioner for Competition, said at a press conference. European users do not have “a free choice as to where, how and at what prices to buy music streaming subscriptions.”

• New York Times ☛ How Regulations Fractured Apple’s App Store

  Since introducing the App Store in 2008, Apple has run it largely the same way across 175 countries, right down to the 30 percent commission it has collected on every app sold.

  The company calls the result an economic miracle. The store has generated more than $1 trillion in sales, helped create more than seven million jobs and delivered Apple billions of dollars in annual profits.

• VOA News ☛ Apple Fined Nearly $2 Billion by European Union Over Music Streaming Competition

  "This is illegal, and it has impacted millions of European consumers," Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, said at a news conference.

  Apple behaved this way for almost a decade, which meant many users paid "significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions," the commission said.

  The 1.8 billion-euro fine follows a long-running investigation triggered by a complaint from Swedish streaming service Spotify five years ago.

• India Times ☛ apple eu $2 billion fine: Apple-Spotify case: EU slaps nearly $2 billion fine on tech giant

  The European Commission's decision was triggered by a 2019 complaint by Swedish music streaming service Spotify over this restriction and Apple's 30% App Store fees.

  The European Union competition enforcer said Apple's restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case and also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by dating app providers.

• India Times ☛ margrethe vestager news conference: EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager to hold news conference, Apple in focus

  EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager will hold a press conference on a competition case at 1200 GMT, the European Commission said on Monday without providing details.

  She is likely to announce a fine and an order to iPhone maker Apple to allow Spotify and other music streaming services inform users of options outside Apple's App Store, sources close to the matter said.

• CS Monitor ☛ European Union fines Apple 1.8 billion in first antitrust penalty

  Apple – which said it contests the decision – behaved this way for a decade, resulting in “millions of people who have paid two, three euros more per month for their music streaming service than they would otherwise have had to pay,” she said.

  The €1.8 billion fine follows an investigation triggered by a complaint from Swedish streaming service Spotify five years ago. Since then, the EU has drawn up new regulations taking effect this week to prevent tech giants from cornering digital markets.

• The Register UK ☛ EU fines Apple nearly $2B over in-app purchases

  Apple's anti-steering rules have prevented developers from directing users outside the App Store – thereby circumventing Apple's 30 percent commission – for in-app purchases and subscriptions. As part of the EC decision, Apple is being forced to end the use of anti-steering provisions in the bloc, but this restriction applies only to music streaming apps, an EC spokesperson told The Register.

  Vestager described Apple's anti-competitive conduct as having gone on for nearly a decade, resulting in iOS users paying "significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions." The anti-steering provisions also led to a "degraded user experience," Vestager said, as users were forced to "engage in a cumbersome search" to find cheaper prices outside the App Store because the anti-steering rule also prevented developers from telling users about cheaper prices available elsewhere.

• New York Times ☛ Apple Fined $2 Billion by E.U. for Using App Store to Thwart Competition

  Apple on Monday was fined 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) by European Union regulators for thwarting competition among music streaming rivals, a severe punishment levied against the tech giant in a long-simmering battle over the powerful role it plays as gatekeeper of the App Store.

  The penalty, announced by the E.U. antitrust regulator, is the culmination of a five-year investigation set in motion by one of its biggest rivals, Spotify. Regulators said Apple illegally used its App Store dominance to box out rivals.

• Silicon Angle ☛ EU fines Apple €1.84B over App Store's anti-steering rules

  The European Commission decided to fine the company after finding that its anti-steering rules may have led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions. Additionally, officials determined the provisions caused “non-monetary harm in the form of a degraded user experience.” Because developers can’t include a link to external purchase options in their apps, users have to search manually for those purchase options.

• India Times ☛ Apple: EU antitrust chief Vestager to hold news conference, Apple in focus

  EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager will hold a press conference on a competition case at 1200 GMT, the European Commission said on Monday without providing details.

  She is likely to announce a fine and an order to iPhone maker Apple to allow Spotify and other music streaming services inform users of options outside Apple's App Store, sources close to the matter said.

• France24 ☛ EU slaps Apple with €1.8 billion fine for music streaming restrictions

  The European Commission said it "found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app".

  "This is illegal under EU antitrust rules," the EU's powerful antitrust regulator said.

• Deutsche Welle ☛ EU hits Apple with €1.8 billion antitrust fine

  Apple is one of six major companies that have to comply with new EU competition regulations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by March 6.

  Besides Apple, the EU has launched several antitrust proceedings against large tech companies, including a probe into Microsoft over its packaging of the messaging app Teams.

• RTL ☛ Appeal expected : Apple hit with 1.8-bn-euro EU fine for music streaming restrictions

  The European Union has imposed a 1.8 billion-euro fine on Apple, marking the company's first antitrust penalty from Brussels, following allegations of limiting competition by restricting music streaming services from offering alternative subscription options.

• Tech Central (South Africa) ☛ Apple slammed with €1.8-billion EU antitrust fine

  The EU competition enforcer said Apple’s restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case and also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by dating app providers.

• India Times ☛ Google vs Indian apps: Indian internet companies dial up fight against Google

  Indian companies have asked the government to give Google a “strategic response” on what they deem to be monopolistic behaviour by the US tech major. Meanwhile, Google has maintained that its actions against the ten companies are only to make the ecosystem “fair” for a “vast majority” of developers who comply with its norms.

• IP Kat ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] When is a lawyer sufficiently independent?

• IP Kat ☛ 2024-02-25 [Older] Right of communication to the public returns to the CJEU: should the operator of a short-term rental apartment building pay a licence fee when they install TV sets in those apartments? Yes, says AG Szpunar

• US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-26 [Older] Exclusive-Google Steps up Microsoft Criticism, Warns of Rival's Monopoly in Clown

• Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-27 [Older] Move Over OpenAI, Microsoft Has a New Darling Startup

• Patents

  • 2024-02-27 [Older] Rethinking In re Cellect and Its Consequences

  • US News And World Report ☛ China's Huawei and Amazon in Patent Licencing Agreement

    China's Huawei Technologies and U.S. tech giant Amazon said they had signed a multi-year patent licencing deal that resolves litigation between them.

• Trademarks

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] Guest book review: Contentious Trade Mark Registry Proceedings

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-02-23 [Older] GC rules on bad faith and abuse of right in trade marks filing

  • AppleInsider ☛ Apple sues US Patent Office over augmented reality trademarks

    Apple has again filed a suit against the USPTO following the office's refusing to allow terms such as "Reality Composer" to be trademarked.

    Previously Apple has sued the USPTO over trademarks such as that for the Smart Keyboard, but done so only after some years spent in appeals. It's not clear when Apple first filed for trademarks on "Reality Composer" and "Reality Converter," but it launched apps with those names by 2020.

  • Techdirt ☛ Eminem Can’t Duck Deposition In Dumb Trademark Opposition He Initiated

    While I’m mildly surprised by this, at least it’s a pleasant surprise. Almost exactly a year ago rapper Eminem opposed the trademark for the “Reasonably Shady” podcast, which is itself a product of Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, both of whom were on Real Houswives of Potomac. The opposition itself is quite silly, with Em’s team essentially suggesting that any use of the word “Shady” by anyone else in any form of entertainment is somehow going to confuse the public into thinking he is in some way associated with the content.

  • Right of Publicity

    • Engadget ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Amazon accused of using AI to 'replicate the voices' of actors in Road House remake

• Copyrights

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] AI Grifters Fill Amazon With Kara Swisher Memoir Ripoffs

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Publishers Target LibGen Domains, IPFS Gateways, Plus $30m in Piracy Damages

    Several prominent textbook publishers including Cengage, Macmillan Learning, and Pearson Education, are seeking $30 million in piracy damages from the operators of shadow library, LibGen. Collecting payment from the unknown defendants will be complicated, but the terms of a proposed injunction reveal that the publishers aim to target the site's domain names and proxy services, even third-party IPFS gateways.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ China Sentences Pirate Site Operators, Huge Win For Japan's Anime Industry

    Three people arrested in China last year for operating major piracy site B9Good have been sentenced by a local court. Foreign companies face significant obstacles when attempting to enforce their rights in China but here, anti-piracy group CODA, acting for major Japanese anime rightsholders, came up with a novel strategy. The convictions of a pirate site operator and two uploaders are the first ever obtained by foreign rightsholders inside China.