Links 23/03/2024: Gershkovich at 1 (Detention in Russia), WikiLeaks Rumours
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Transparency/Investigative Reporting
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Former UPS employee stole $1.3 million in Apple merchandise — used proceeds to buy a home, pay off his Audi
Court documents reveal that the perpetrator, Martinez Beltrano, purportedly stole roughly 866 Apple products from a UPS warehouse he had worked at since 2013. He then resold all of the stolen merchandise on Kijiji, taking payments in cash or e-transfers. The article doesn't say how police discovered the stolen goods or the perpetrator. However, in late January, Beltrano was arrested by Winnipeg police and charged with an assortment of crimes appropriate to the amount of merchandise he stole, including changes for theft of over $5,000 and under $5,000.
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Riccardo Mori ☛ People and resources added to my reading list in 2023
This is the eleventh edition of my annual overview of the most interesting discoveries made during the previous year, whether it’s been a blog worth reading, a creator on YouTube worth following, or a cool website/resource. As a tradition, this overview used to be published every January, mostly as a sort of last look in the rearview mirror at the closing year before moving on to the new one.
This time I’m breaking the pattern, and publishing this towards the end of March, instead. My schedule is a bit off due to reasons I explained in my previous update, but at the same time I have to say that 2023 was a strange year overall. I’ve often mentioned this low tide brought up by a general feeling of ‘tech fatigue’; as a consequence, last year my interest in adding technology-related sources to my reads was rather low. I even neglected to stay up-to-date with the people and blogs I was already following.
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Nicolas Magand ☛ Changing my mind, all the time
In short, I came very close to rendering this draft obsolete even before it was finished. That should teach me not to let drafts linger for too long in the “Ideas” folder.
And remember, this post may or may not already be outdated.
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Mike Haynes ☛ How to read comics in 2024
Over the years, I’ve complained about how difficult it is for newcomers to get into comics but never, until now, offered my own advice on how I’d do it today. As a disclaimer, these are my own suggestions, they worked for me 15 years ago, maybe they’ll help you if you’re looking to get into comic books in 2024.
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Kev Quirk ☛ New Layout
My first attempt at implementing a sidebar was pretty much exactly the same as the mock-up above. It was sticky, so stayed on-screen at all times, but the result of this was that the content felt cramped as I scrolled down a page's content.
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Dan Q ☛ Home Page, 50% Off!
In August, I celebrated my blog – with its homepage weighing-in at a total of just 481kb – being admitted to Kev Quirk‘s 512kb club. 512kb club celebrates websites (often personal sites) whose homepage are neither “ultra minimal” or “link pages” but have a total size, including all assets, of under half a megabyte. It’s about making a commitment to a leaner, more-efficient Web.
My relatively-heavyweight homepage only just slipped in under the line. But, feeling inspired perhaps by some performance enhancements I’ve been planning this week at work, I decided to try to shave a little more off: [...]
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Andreas ☛ 82MHz
They haven’t been available on Spotify or on CD for a long time, but now finally they’re being reissued in form of a remastered box set, and I couldn’t be happier to finally see these albums being given the respect and love they deserve.
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Manuel Moreale ☛ P&B: Taylor Troesh
This is the 30th edition of People and Blogs, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Taylor Troesh and his blog, taylor.town
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Jeremy Keith ☛ Adactio: Journal—What the world needs
I’m writing for myself. I write to figure out what I think. I also publish mostly for myself—a public archive for future me. But if what I publish just happens to connect with one other person, I’m glad.
So, yeah, it’s true that the world doesn’t need you to write and share and publish. Isn’t that liberating? You’re free to write and share and publish for yourself.
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[Old] Zettlekasten ☛ The Collector’s Fallacy
There’s a tendency in all of us to gather useful stuff and feel good about it. To collect is a reward in itself. As knowledge workers, we’re inclined to look for the next groundbreaking thought, for intellectual stimulation: we pile up promising books and articles, and we store half the [Internet] as bookmarks, just so we get the feeling of being on the cutting edge.
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Science
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New Yorker ☛ Is Science Fiction the New Realism?
In an era of life-altering pandemics, advanced A.I., and climate catastrophe, anticipating the future can seem like a futile exercise. Is sci-fi our best chance at making sense of what’s to come?
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Science Alert ☛ Abel Prize Winner Who Tamed Randomness Turned to Math 'Out of Necessity'
His work became essential in today's world.
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Science Alert ☛ First-of-Its-Kind 'Quantum Tornado' Achieves Record-Breaking Black Hole Mimicry
"We have taken this research to the next level."
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Science Alert ☛ Eggs Use a 'Zipper' to Block Extra Sperm: It May Lead to Non-Hormonal Contraception
And new insights into female infertility.
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Science Alert ☛ Study Links Computer Habits to Erectile Dysfunction Risk
Every additional 72 minutes sitting at the desk was linked to a three-fold increase in chance of erectile dysfunction.
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Science Alert ☛ 1 in 12 Stars May Have Eaten a Planet, Cosmic 'Twin Study' Finds
Are we next?
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Science Alert ☛ Stunning Tool Lets You Digitally 'Dissect' Museum Animals With X-Ray Vision
Take a peek inside 👀
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Education
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International Business Times ☛ 'Can I Go To School?': Boy, 8, Travels Over 3500 Miles Alone To Italy After Jihadists Attack His Village
Oumar said that he left his home near Tambaga following a jihadist attack four months ago. The young boy was separated from his family when he ran from the terrorist group on foot.
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Luke Harris ☛ The Job Search Begins
Resume writing is hard. The sky is blue. The day ends in the letter y. But why?
I started rewriting the whole thing for a single position and ended up spending over a day and a half on an empty page. Writing a summary of my experience as it pertained to a job title was excruciating. It should be broad, it is a summary after all. But it should also be specific. Put in those little details. And the years! Don’t forget the years you spent grinding away. Thinking about them is a great way to send the positive outlook you mustered this morning scurrying into the lake.
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Press Gazette ☛ FT US pay talks stall as union demands $260,000 investment
Journalists on the FT in the US are in dispute with management after seeking salary rises averaging just over $4,000 to cover the higher cost of living than UK counterparts.
FT US Guild argues cost of living differences between the UK and US mean their overall remuneration is both lower than their London counterparts and uncompetitive compared with other US newsrooms. It has asked for a one-time additional salary increase for its members, many of whom work at the New York office. Currently-advertised reporter salaries for FT journalists in the US start in the $71,000 to $75,000 range.
The dispute highlights a broader challenge for UK media titles seeking to expand in the US where pay levels for journalism jobs are far higher than the UK.
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Crooked Timber ☛ On Academic Freedom and Institutional Neutrality — Crooked Timber
A few months ago Jacob Levy (McGill) published a lengthy Op-Ed, “Campus culture wars are a teachable moment in how freedom of speech and academic freedom differ,” in the Globe and Mail. It offered a salutary account on the nature of academic freedom in the aftermath of the “Dec. 5 U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing grilling the leaders of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, and the subsequent resignation of two of them, Harvard’s Claudine Gay and Penn’s Elizabeth Magill.”
Before I get to our differences, I agree with much of Levy’s analysis not the least his account of the difference(s) between academic freedom and freedom of speech. In particular, according to Levy a “university’s core commitment is to the discovery, transmission and preservation of knowledge – paradigmatically, what is done in research, in teaching, and in publication and library collection. The principle that defends that commitment is not freedom of speech as such, but rather academic freedom.”
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New York Times ☛ In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent
New research shows that China has by some metrics eclipsed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I. talent, with the country generating almost half the world’s top A.I. researchers. By contrast, about 18 percent come from U.S. undergraduate institutions, according to the study, from MacroPolo, a think tank run by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive ties between the United States and China.
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Hardware
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Silicon Angle ☛ Apple reportedly cancels internal effort to develop custom microLED displays
Apple Inc. has reportedly canceled an internal effort to develop microLED screens, which offer better display quality than competing technologies and are less susceptible to certain malfunctions.
Bloomberg reported the move today, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple reportedly scrapped the project around the same time it ended a long-running internal effort to design an electric car. Like the latter initiative, the microLED development push reportedly experienced several major delays before it was canceled.
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India Times ☛ Apple smartwatch displays: Apple scraps plan to design watch displays in-house: report
The plan was shelved due to high costs and complexity, and Apple is now reorganizing the teams that handled display engineering and eliminating several dozen roles in the United States and Asia, according to the report.
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Wired ☛ Hackers Found a Way to Open Any of 3 Million Hotel Keycard Locks in Seconds
When thousands of security researchers descend on Las Vegas every August for what's come to be known as “hacker summer camp,” the back-to-back Black Hat and Defcon hacker conferences, it's a given that some of them will experiment with hacking the infrastructure of Vegas itself, the city's elaborate array of casino and hospitality technology. But at one private event in 2022, a select group of researchers were actually invited to hack a Vegas hotel room, competing in a suite crowded with their laptops and cans of Red Bull to find digital vulnerabilities in every one of the room's gadgets, from its TV to its bedside VoIP phone.
One team of hackers spent those days focused on the lock on the room's door, perhaps its most sensitive piece of technology of all. Now, more than a year and a half later, they're finally bringing to light the results of that work: a technique they discovered that would allow an intruder to open any of millions of hotel rooms worldwide in seconds, with just two taps.
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Hackaday ☛ Wico Boss Joystick Modded To Use Cherry MX Keyboard Switches
The Wico Boss joystick was one of the better designs of the 1980s. Yours truly had one, and put it through many brutal hours of Amiga-based gameplay. [Drygol] was recently asked if he could alter some of these sticks to be even clickier than stock, and jumped at the change to do some modding.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Pro Publica ☛ A Diplomat’s Visits to Oklahoma Highlight Contacts Between Chinese Officials and Community Leaders Accused of Crimes
The photos look like a routine encounter between a senior Chinese diplomat and immigrants in the American heartland: dutiful smiles, casual clothes, a teapot on a table, Chinese and U.S. flags on the wall.
But behind the images, there is a potentially concerning story. During two trips to Oklahoma, Consul General Zhu Di of the Chinese embassy visited a cultural association that has been a target of investigations into Chinese mafias that dominate the state’s billion-dollar marijuana industry. And the community leaders posing with him in the photos? A number of them have pleaded guilty or been prosecuted or investigated for drug-related crimes, according to court documents, public records, photos and social media posts.
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Pro Publica ☛ A Marijuana Boom Led Her to Oklahoma. Then Anti-Drug Agents Seized Her Money and Raided Her Home.
Qiu He remembers sitting handcuffed on her front porch, her two small children huddled next to her, as state anti-drug agents carrying semi-automatic rifles trooped in and out of her house.
Serving a search warrant, the agents had forced open the front door and arrested her after she allegedly resisted them, according to an affidavit. During the raid last April, agents said they found ledgers, bags of marijuana, a loaded .380-caliber pistol and other evidence they collected as part of an investigation alleging that she is a central figure in an illegal scheme involving at least 23 marijuana operations in central Oklahoma.
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Vox ☛ Kate Middleton cancer diagnosis: how the princess is one of the growing number of young people getting cancer
Kensington Palace did not release details on what type of cancer the princess has, nor did it specify what stage the cancer is or her possible prognosis. But what we do know is that, as a 42-year-old woman, she is far from alone in her diagnosis: Worldwide, more and more people under 50 are developing cancers.
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James G ☛ Seven Days of New Things Day 4: Walking Without Headphones
On this walk, I felt more connected than on most I have taken.
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Axios ☛ TikTok's addictive algorithm: 17% of kids scroll app "almost constantly"
American teens — by a large margin — use YouTube more than TikTok. But they're more likely to scroll through the ByteDance-owned app "almost constantly," according to Pew Research Center polling.
Why it matters: The stat points to how addictive and unhealthy TikTok's endless feed of videos can be for teens.
Zoom in: There's suddenly a roaring national debate over fears about teens' privacy, their data security — and all the misinformation going straight to their phones.
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Axios ☛ Screen time to blame for kids' mental health crisis, research suggests
• “You take a generation of young people, they’re spending a lot more times in their rooms, alone, not sleeping, not hanging out with their friends in person. That’s a pretty bad formula for mental health.”
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Los Angeles Times ☛ Millennials gave birth to 'Generation Alpha.' Are these kids already doomed?
When the last of them arrive this December, they’ll close the largest cohort of children ever to exist on Earth. There are already concerns that the kids aren’t “alright.” The overwhelming majority have yet to graduate elementary school, and 1 in 5 are still in diapers, yet they are widely being called “feral,” illiterate” and “doomed” on YouTube and TikTok — where alphas themselves make up a large and growing share of users.
Blame bad parenting by millennials or tech companies or both — but many of those responsible for setting the discourse online agree we should be worried for them.
“Everyone on the internet is really scared of Gen Alpha,” said Gen Z influencer Rivata Dutta, aka Riv, whose content is popular with alphas on TikTok. “They’re like, oh my God, Gen Alpha is so weird.”
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[Old] Business Insider ☛ Facebook's former director of monetization says Facebook intentionally made its product as addictive as cigarettes — and now he fears it could cause 'civil war'
Facebook's former director of monetization Tim Kendall says he had a role in making Facebook as addictive as cigarettes — and worries that Facebook could be just as damaging to its users.
In a testimony before the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee published Thursday, Kendall accused Facebook of building algorithms that have facilitated the spread of misinformation, encouraged divisive rhetoric, and laid the groundwork for a "mental health crisis."
"We took a page from Big Tobacco's playbook, working to make our offering addictive at the outset," Kendall said in prepared remarks submitted to lawmakers ahead of Thursday's hearing. "The social media services that I and others have built over the past 15 years have served to tear people apart with alarming speed and intensity. At the very least, we have eroded our collective understanding — at worst, I fear we are pushing ourselves to the brink of a civil war."
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New York Times ☛ The Psychedelic Evangelist
A Johns Hopkins scientist was known for rigorous studies of psychedelics. Was he a true believer?
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YLE ☛ Tractor firm Agco invests €70 million in Finnish factory
The multinational agricultural equipment manufacturer plans to invest more heavily in alternative fuel engines.
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YLE ☛ Public health authority warns of BPA in warm tap water
How healthy is the water coming out of your kitchen faucet?
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University of Michigan ☛ Unlocking the dopamine code: A blueprint for college student well-being
As college students navigating the complexities of academia, we often find ourselves contending with formidable adversaries: seasonal depression, lack of motivation and high levels of stress. According to the National College Health Assessment, approximately 80% of college students report experiencing overwhelming levels of anxiety, and nearly 40% grapple with symptoms of depression [...]
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Science Alert ☛ Millions of Americans Have Cognitive Impairment And Don't Know It
A diagnostic crisis emerges.
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University of Michigan ☛ Visitor to UMich exposes Alice Lloyd, hospital, CVS to measles
A recent visitor to the University of Michigan may have exposed students and community members to measles, according to the Washtenaw County Health Department’s local alert Thursday. The person was not associated with the University.
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Latvia ☛ 'Doctor Clowns' ask for public help to heal young patients
The society “Dr. Klauns” launches another charity promotion where "Doctor Clowns" go to small patients to help them overcome stress in hospitals across Latvia, the organizers said on March 21.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Security Week ☛ New Bipartisan Bill Would Require Online Identification, Labeling of AI-Generated Videos and Audio [Ed: CG, not AI, and it is not a new problem at all]
Key provisions in the legislation would require Hey Hi (AI) developers to identify content created using their products with digital watermarks or metadata.
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Bruce Schneier ☛ Public Hey Hi (AI) as an Alternative to Corporate AI
This mini-essay was my contribution to a round table on Power and Governance in the Age of AI. It’s nothing I haven’t said here before, but for anyone who hasn’t read my longer essays on the topic, it’s a shorter introduction.
The increasingly centralized control of Hey Hi (AI) is an ominous sign. When tech billionaires and corporations steer AI, we get Hey Hi (AI) that tends to reflect the interests of tech billionaires and corporations, instead of the public
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The Conversation ☛ My search for the mysterious missing secretary who shaped chatbot history
Accounts of Eliza tend to focus on a Frankensteinian tale of the inventor’s rejection of his own creation. Weizenbaum was horrified that users could be “tricked” by a piece of simple software. He renounced Eliza and the whole “Artificial Intelligentsia” in the coming decades – to the chagrin of his colleagues.
But I am not in the archive to hear Eliza’s voice, or Weizenbaum’s. In all these accounts of Eliza, one woman crops up again and again – our missing secretary.
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The Register UK ☛ Fujitsu to shutter operations in Republic of Ireland
The devastating blow for employees comes in the wake of the mega scandal that saw local branch managers working for the Post Office blamed for errors in the Horizon system that was installed by ICL, which Fujitsu later bought. The system miscalculated daily takings. The Post Office suspected foul play and demanded those local branch managers make up the shortfall personally.
Hundreds of those Post Office employees were wrongly convicted of fraud, some attempted suicide, with sadly four cases resulting in death, and 33 have since died and are unable to see justice served. Fujitsu has said it will compensate victims.
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The Register UK ☛ UN adopts US-sponsored, and non-binding, AI resolution
The resolution, which states it only addresses AI in the "non-military domain," also calls for establishment of a global consensus on what makes a safe, secure and trustworthy AI as well as the creation of international standards to that end.
Additionally, the resolution asks member states that are further along in AI development to ensure they work with developing countries to ensure they aren't left behind as AI technology proliferates. The UN said it is urging members "to cooperate with and support developing countries so they can benefit from inclusive and equitable access, close the digital divide, and increase digital literacy."
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Silicon Angle ☛ United Nations gives green light to first resolution on artificial intelligence
The United Nations General Assembly today unanimously adopted the first global resolution on AI in an effort to encourage the protection of personal data, monitor AI for risks, and safeguard human rights.
The resolution, which was sponsored by the U.S. and co-sponsored by 123 other nations, was adopted by consensus and will have the support of all 193 U.N. member nations. The nonbinding agreement will provide a “comprehensive vision” for all nations that deploy AI, with the onus being on governing the technology rather than letting “it govern us.”
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Scoop News Group ☛ UN passes first standalone AI resolution
The United Nations on Thursday passed a standalone artificial intelligence resolution that aims to encourage the protection of personal data while strengthening privacy policies and compliance with international human rights laws.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday about the UN’s AI resolution, a senior Biden administration official said that as the technology continues to evolve, the U.S. will “continue to lead on the issue here at home and internationally.”
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Stanford University ☛ Tool Without A Handle: Are You Not Trained? - Part 2
The last post in this series[1] addressed how copyright law may impact the development and commercialization of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") tools, given their development relies on use of other people's creative works, often without notice or consent. This is an unavoidable question; as OpenAI noted in a public comment, it is impossible to create generative AI tools without use of copyright-protected content.[2] This post addresses a follow up question: whether, in light of what’s noted thus far, copyright law requires AI model builders to license all such content, and thus whether a mandatory licensing scheme to enable fair exchange of value between creators of protected content and the AI model builders is legally required.
My answer is a caveated “no” – for at least three reasons. First, for the moment, no copyright claim has persuaded a court that licensing is required to avoid infringing the rights of copyright holders in scanned/scraped works used to train AI models.[3] And no US court has yet ruled against the argument that such use of content to train AI models is protected by fair use principles, which permit use of a protected work to create transformative new works.[4] Second, as a practical matter, the economic forces propelling the growth of generative AI appear to be presently much stronger than any resistance to such growth based on copyright concerns.[5] Third, the major platform firms are conscious of the concerns and have staked out responses.
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CBC ☛ From AI dating to flirt coaches: How AI is changing dating, for better or worse
Kathryn Coduto, an online dating researcher and Boston University assistant professor, said while these tools may be useful, they can also make people appear less authentic.
"When AI is used to create a profile, it doesn't really feel like you anymore. It feels like a computer trying to figure out who you are."
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Scoop News Group ☛ House-passed data privacy bill doesn’t thrill privacy groups
A measure to address the sale of Americans’ data doesn’t go far enough to rein in the data broker industry, advocates argue.
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Rolling Stone ☛ Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm
After the vote, Palantir executive Jacob Helberg, who also serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, called on his social media followers to fund opponents to lawmakers who voted no on the bill to ban TikTok. Gallagher worked with Helberg in recent months as part of an effort to build bipartisan, bicoastal support of the bill. Helberg took a job at Palantir as a senior policy advisor to CEO Alex Karp back in August.
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EFF ☛ Cops Running DNA-Manufactured Faces Through Face Recognition is Tornado of Bad Ideas
Since 2014, law enforcement have also sought the assistance of Parabon NanoLabs—a company that alleges it can create an image of the suspect’s face from their DNA. Parabon NanoLabs claim to have built this system by training machine learning models on the DNA data of thousands of volunteers with 3D scans of their faces. It is currently the only company offering phenotyping and only in concert with a forensic genetic genealogy investigation. The process is yet to be independently audited, and scientists have affirmed that predicting face shapes—particularly from DNA samples—is not possible. But this has not stopped law enforcement officers from seeking to use it, or from running these fabricated images through face recognition software.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ EU top court upholds ruling on fingerprints for ID cards
The European Union's highest court upheld a previous decision to have two fingerprints on identity cards after it was challenged at a German court.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said the 2019 regulation was in line with fundamental rights to respect for private life and the protection of personal data. But the underlying legal basis for the 2019 regulation, which is directly applicable in all member states, was faulty, the court said.
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CJEU ☛ The mandatory insertion in identity cards of two fingerprints is compatible with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to protection of personal data [PDF]
The mandatory insertion in identity cards of two fingerprints is compatible with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to protection of personal data. It is justified by the objectives of combatting the production of false identity cards and identity theft and to ensure the interoperability of verification systems. However, the Court declares the regulation laying down that measure to be invalid on account of the fact that it was adopted on an incorrect legal basis, and therefore, in accordance with the wrong legislative procedure. Because of the serious negative consequences of the regulation being invalid with immediate effect, the Court is maintaining the effects of the regulation until the entry into force of a new regulation, by 31 December 2026 at the latest.
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Defence/Aggression
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RFA ☛ Myanmar’s junta shuts down public hospital in wartorn township
Doctors and healthcare staff are told to relocate, creating a medical crisis for the community.
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RFA ☛ Nearly 80% of Indonesians see Beijing’s South China Sea actions as threat
A survey showed they preferred a defense alliance with Southeast Asian nations to strengthen Indonesia’s sovereignty.
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New York Times ☛ Blinken Describes New U.S. Push for Cease-Fire in Gaza
In Saudi Arabia, the secretary of state discussed a U.S. draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council calling for “an immediate cease-fire tied to the release of hostages” in Gaza.
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France24 ☛ Russia, China veto US Security Council bid on Gaza ceasefire
Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-backed draft UN Security Council resolution that linked an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to the release of hostages held by Hamas. The veto came as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel plans to launch a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah with or without US support. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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JURIST ☛ Russia and China veto US-authored UN Security Council Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution
Russia and China vetoed a US-authored UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution Friday that called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The exact text of the UNSC Resolution is not currently available to the public; however, UN News provided a summary of its content.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. to Present Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution at U.N. Security Council
A resolution for the U.N. that American diplomats are circulating was notable for its strong language in seeking a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
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CS Monitor ☛ Ramadan peace prevails in Jerusalem as all sides keep extremists at bay
Even without war in Gaza, Jerusalem is a flashpoint. At the center is Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the three holiest sites in Islam. Yet amid cooperation on security, as seen by our reporter, a peace during this holy month of Ramadan has been holding.
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RFERL ☛ Roadside Bomb Targeting Security Forces Kills 2 Soldiers, Wounds 15 In Pakistan
A roadside bomb exploded near a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan on March 21, killing two soldiers and wounding 15 others, officials said.
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LRT ☛ Far-right views and EU-sceptic past. Who is Lithuania’s next defence minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas?
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, current chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK), is slated to become Lithuania’s next defence minister. His colourful political past contains anti-EU sentiments, as well as the flirtation with extreme nationalists and Europe’s far-right.
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LRT ☛ Human rights orgs petition against Kasčiūnas’ appointment as Lithuania’s defence minister
More than 20 non-governmental organisations and associations working in the field of human rights have appealed to President Gitanas Nausėda asking him not to appoint the head of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK), Laurynas Kasčiūnas, as the defence minister. They quote his far-right views and opposition to human rights.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Article 23: Hong Kong slams ‘malicious’ ex-governor Chris Patten, accusing security law critics of ‘fact-twisting’
Hong Kong’s government has lashed out at foreign critics of its new national security law, describing the city’s last British governor – Chris Patten – as a “malicious” anti-China figure, accusing him and others of twisting the facts.
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New York Times ☛ Suicide Bombing Outside Afghan Bank Kills at Least 20
The blast targeted a bank in Kandahar, where Taliban members had gathered to collect their salaries, witnesses said.
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RFERL ☛ Deadly Suicide Bombing Strikes Outside Bank In Kandahar As Taliban Employees Wait For Pay
A suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt outside a bank in the Afghan city of Kandahar early on March 21 as Taliban employees waited for their salaries.
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New York Times ☛ No Charges in Death of Nex Benedict, Prosecutor Says
The Tulsa County district attorney said a fight involving the nonbinary student in an Oklahoma high school bathroom was “mutual combat.” The death has been ruled a suicide.
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The Hill ☛ Jan. 6 [insurrecctionist] accused of storming Capitol in red face paint pleads guilty
A St. Louis Cardinals fan accused of storming the Capitol in all red during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the insurrection.
The man, who legally changed his name from Daniel Donnelly, Jr. to Rally Runner in 2017, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to a felony offense of civil disorder, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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JURIST ☛ Denmark intelligence service finds elevated terrorism threat due to Israel-Hamas war
The intelligence agency identified six categories of threats. While the threat relating to militant Islamists remained at the level of “significant,” threats from right-wing extremists, anti-establishment extremists and left-wing extremists were labeled as “general,” “limited” and “minimal,” respectively. In addition, the PET assessed the threats from advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology but opined that it was too soon to comment on their specific effects. As for the impact from other international conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, the PET said it currently “has no direct effect on the terrorist threat to Denmark.”
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NL Times ☛ Number of explosive attacks still rising; 250 incidents so far this year
The number of incidents involving explosives in the Netherlands continues to grow. So far this year, the police already counted 250 attacks or attempted attacks. Most of the attacks are still happening in the Rotterdam and Amsterdam region, NOS reports.
Last year, there were 900 incidents involving explosives. The police previously reported 600 explosive attacks or attempts thereto in the Netherlands last year, but not all incidents had been recorded yet.
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Digital Music News ☛ Senators Urge Declassification of TikTok Info Amid 'Significant Risk'
“American intelligence and law enforcement officials on a bipartisan basis have repeatedly raised alarms that the Chinese government can use its direct and absolute control over ByteDance to exert malign influence over what users see on TikTok and spy on their private information,” Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal recapped, reiterating for good measure examples of the ample security and data criticism surrounding TikTok.
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International Business Times ☛ TikToker Tells Illegal Immigrants To 'Invade and Claim Empty Homes' Under US Squatters Rights
The TikTok user Leonel Moreno, known online as @leitooficial_25, has made false claims to his followers. Moreno, who appears to be a Venezuelan migrant, stated that U.S. law allows them to "seize" unoccupied houses.
It is worth noting that Moreno is misrepresenting squatter's rights, also known as adverse possession laws, which are complex and vary by state. While they allow someone who occupies a property for an extended period to claim ownership, there are strict requirements.
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New Eastern Europe ☛ We need to remember what this is – a war of aggression
JENS STOLTENBERG: The elections in Russia were not free, nor fair. They confirm that Russia is an authoritarian society. Any opposition, any real opposition doesn’t exist. Those who have the courage to oppose Vladimir Putin are either forced to flee, live abroad, or are jailed; some of them are even killed, as we saw with Alexei Navalny. We also saw attempts to conduct elections in the occupied territories of Georgia, but also in Ukraine, and that is a grave violation of international law. Thus the outcome of these elections were rigged, and of course, I am not surprised.
So Putin shouldn’t be expecting a call from you to congratulate him on his landslide victory?
No, these are not real elections.
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Kansas Reflector ☛ Every member of Kansas' congressional delegation wants to end TikTok as we know it
Of the House members, LaTurner took the hard line: “The Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to gain influence in the United States — including using TikTok to steal keystrokes and data from over 170 million Americans. It’s vital that TikTok cuts ties with the CCP to ensure Kansans are not being targeted, manipulated, and spied on by our nation’s greatest foreign adversary.”
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India Times ☛ Content creators worry about miseducation in a world without TikTok
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill last week that will give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the US assets of the short-video app, or face a ban. It's the greatest threat since the Trump administration to the app, and to the content creators who reach wide audiences and often earn their living on it.
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New York Times ☛ Democracy Crumbling in African Countries Once Ruled by France
Democracy is in trouble in former French colonies in Africa. And the two ways it is being subverted — by the elected officials entrusted with upholding it, or by coup plotters overthrowing governments — are manifestations of the same malaise, according to some experts.
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VOA News ☛ Islamic State Group Claims Attack on Moscow Concert Hall; 60 Dead
In a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, the group said it attacked a large gathering of Christians in Krasnogorsk on Moscow's outskirts, killing and wounding hundreds.
On Friday, several gunmen dressed in camouflage burst into the Crocus City Hall, a 6,200-seat venue on the Western edge of Moscow, according to witnesses and social media posts.
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New York Times ☛ Live Updates: Gunmen Kill at Least 40 at Moscow Concert Hall, Russian Officials Say
U.S. officials said the Islamic State was responsible for the attack, one of the deadliest in Russia in decades.
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New York Times ☛ Moscow Concert Hall Photos: Deadly Attack and Fire at Crocus City Hall
Images show the scene of what could be the deadliest attack in Russia in decades. Multiple gunmen killed at least 40 people in an assault in the capital’s outskirts.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Warned About Possible Moscow Attack Before Concert Hall Shooting
Pro-Moscow forces had dismissed the alert as an attempt to scare Russians.
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New York Times ☛ Here’s the latest on the attack in Russia.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Says ISIS Was Responsible for Deadly Moscow Concert Hall Attack
The United States collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. ISIS members have been active in Russia, one U.S. official said.
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US News And World Report ☛ Explainer-Why Did ISIS-K Attack a Moscow Theater?
The United States has said its ability to develop intelligence against extremist groups in Afghanistan such as ISIS-K has been reduced since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2021.
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RFERL ☛ Dozens Dead After Gunmen Storm Moscow Concert Hall; Islamic State Claims Responsibility
Russian authorities said at least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured after gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, on March 22 in an attack reportedly claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
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The Hill ☛ Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Moscow concert hall
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Moscow concert hall Friday that left at least 40 people killed and over 100 civilians injured.
The group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Friday evening shared by SITE, an intelligence group.
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Associated Press ☛ Moscow concert hall attack: Russia says many killed, over 100 wounded
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. intelligence agencies had learned the group’s branch in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow and shared the information with Russian officials.
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Kansas Reflector ☛ Kelly signs legislation honoring Korean War chaplain and recipient of the Medal of Honor
Kapaun, ordained a Catholic priest in Wichita, completed the Army chaplain school in 1944 and was posted to India. He separated from active duty, but returned to the Army and was sent to Japan. He deployed to South Korea and earned a Bronze Star for helping save the life of a wounded soldier pinned down by enemy fire.
He also braved enemy fire to rescue nearly 40 men, for which President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Kapaun the Medal of Honor in 2013. His died in a POW camp. His remains were eventually buried in Hawaii, but disinterred and positively identified in 2021. He remains were eventually reburied in Kansas.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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RFERL ☛ Russian Court Rejects Lawsuit By Navalny's Mother Over Son's Prison Care
A Russian court rejected a lawsuit filed by the mother of late Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny against guards of a prison where he died last month, his associate Ivan Zhdanov said on March 21.
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Meduza ☛ ‘He’s dead. So what?’ A dispatch from the Arctic village where Alexey Navalny took his final breath — Meduza
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Insight Hungary ☛ Orbans calls for his supporters to 'occupy Brussels'
In a speech commemorating Hungary's March 15 national holiday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proclaimed his readiness to march on Brussels and the European Union. Speaking from the iconic steps of Budapest's National Museum to honor the Memorial Day of the 1848 Revolution, Orbán declared, "If we are to safeguard Hungary's freedom and sovereignty, our only recourse is to take control of Brussels."
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Security Week ☛ Russian APT29 Hackers Caught Targeting German Political Parties
Russia’s APT29 hacking group is expanding targets to political parties in Germany using a new backdoor variant tracked as Wineloader.
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Scoop News Group ☛ German political party targeted by SVR-linked group in spearphishing campaign, Mandiant says
The group may have been seeking insights on shifting European sentiments on Ukraine, threat analysts suggest.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Experts react: What did the European Council just say about Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The European Council held its quarterly meeting on March 21-22 to set the political direction for the European Union on a range of issues.
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European Commission ☛ Commission proposes increased tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain products
European Commission Press release Brussels, 22 Mar 2024 The European Commission is today proposing to increase the tariffs on imports into the EU of cereals, oilseeds, and derived products (‘grain products') from Russia and Belarus, including wheat, maize, and sunflower meal
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France24 ☛ Kremlin says Russia ‘in a state of war’ in Ukraine for first time
The Kremlin said Friday it is in a “state of war” in Ukraine, escalating the official language it uses to describe the conflict, now in its third year.
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France24 ☛ Russia says ‘massive’ air strikes on Ukraine a revenge for border attacks
Russia’s defence ministry said Friday it had launched a series of “massive” air strikes against Ukraine as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on its border regions over recent weeks.
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LRT ☛ Ukraine support groups back Kasčiūnas after criticism over far-right stances
After several dozen human rights NGOs have criticised Laurynas Kasčiūnas’ nomination for the minister of defence over his former far-right affiliations and anti-human rights stances, Lithuanian Ukraine support groups have expressed backing for the conservative MP.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Denies Role In Deadly Attack On Russian Concert Venue
A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on March 22 that Kyiv was not involved in the attack on a Moscow-area concert hall the same evening that left dozens dead and many more injured after gunmen stormed in and fired at concertgoers.
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RFERL ☛ FSB Detains 7 For Alleged Ties To Military Group Fighting With Ukraine
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 22 that its officers detained seven men in Moscow on suspicion of collaborating with the so-called Russian Volunteers' Corps (RDK) that has fought alongside Ukraine's armed forces against Russian troops.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Vlogger Detained For Calling Russian Soldiers 'Cannon Fodder'
Police in Russia's southwestern Rostov region detained vlogger Nelli Khomyachkova over a video she posted online in which she called Russian soldiers involved in Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine "cannon fodder."
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RFERL ☛ Russia Reportedly Plans New Wave Of Military Mobilization
The Vyorstka Telegram channel cited four sources close to the presidential office and Defense Ministry as saying that Moscow plans to soon announce a new wave of military mobilization that would seek to enlist up to 300,000 people to bolster its troops involved in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Kremlin Uses Word 'War' For Ukraine Invasion
Russia is now at "war" with Ukraine because of Western interference in what Moscow previously called a "special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the Argumenty i Fakty media outlet, which is owned by the Moscow municipal government.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Hit By Widespread Blackouts After Massive Russian Assault
Russia on March 22 launched a massive wave of strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, killing at least two people, hitting the country's largest dam and temporarily severing a power line at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant while causing almost-complete blackouts in other parts of the country.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Is in a 'State of War' in Ukraine: Peskov
Russia "cannot allow the existence of a state on its borders, which has a documented intention to use any methods to take Crimea," the Kremlin spokesperson said.
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The Straits Times ☛ Russia says United States must share any information it has on attack near Moscow
Russia said on Friday that if the United States knew for sure that Ukraine was not involved in a mass shooting incident at a concert hall near Moscow Washington should share any information it had.
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CS Monitor ☛ Victories against Russia – outside Ukraine
Many former Soviet states are shaking off Moscow’s meddling to join the European Union – and embrace a civic identity that unites.
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New York Times ☛ Collecting the Dead Russia Left Behind
Civilians who gather dead Russian soldiers face many of the war’s perils along the front, where death is ubiquitous.
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New York Times ☛ Russian Attack Leaves Over a Million in Ukraine Without Electricity
Power plants and a major hydroelectric dam were damaged in what Ukrainian officials said was one of the war’s largest assaults on energy infrastructure.
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Meduza ☛ Dam hit, nuclear plant narrowly avoids shutdown as Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russia’s Defense Ministry reportedly planning to covertly mobilize 300K for war in Ukraine, launch siege on Kharkiv — Meduza
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European Commission ☛ Questions and answers on proposed tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus
European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 22 Mar 2024 How high will the tariffs be? Which goods will be affected?
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Latvia ☛ Public initiative calls for stopping manganese ore transit through Latvia
Over 3,400 people have signed the initiative submitted this week to stop the transit of manganese ore to Russia via Latvia, which is a third of the necessary signatures for its submission to the Saeima, Latvian Radio reported March 22.
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Latvia ☛ Latvian exports to Russia: business almost as usual?
Latvian exports had a very bad 2023 with double-digit declines that were almost as big as during the financial crisis, as shown in the graph below.
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AntiWar ☛ How the West Upended the World’s Best Figure Skater To Undermine Russia
I recommend readers take a very pleasant few minutes to watch Kamila Valieva skating two months before the sole positive test so you see what we are talking about. On 7 February 2022, the Beijing Olympics was underway and drawing international attention.
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France24 ☛ Russia adds 'LGBT movement' to 'terrorists and extremists' blacklist
Russia's financial watchdog said Friday it had added what it calls the "international LGBT movement" to its list of terrorists and extremists.
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LRT ☛ US ambassador to NATO: Russian attack on Baltics is not imminent
According to US and NATO assessments, a Russian attack on the Baltic states is not imminent. “But the alliance is preparing to respond immediately, should Russia get any ideas about crossing the line into NATO territory,” US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told Baltic journalists on Thursday.
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LRT ☛ Lithuania welcomes EC proposal to raise tariffs on Russian grain
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal on Friday to impose maximum tariffs on EU imports of Russian and Belarusian grain, but also urged the Commission to introduce import tariffs on other agricultural products as well.
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LRT ☛ One-third of Lithuanians disagree with phasing out education in Russian – survey
Over a third of Lithuanians believe that education in public schools should continue in both Lithuanian and the languages of ethnic minority communities, according to a survey commissioned by LRT.
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The Straits Times ☛ Strong possibility Russia will veto resolution on North Korea sanctions, UN diplomat says
There is a strong possibility Russia will veto a U.N. resolution calling for continuation of the mandate of an expert panel that monitors implementation of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, a U.N. diplomat told Reuters on Friday.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Call for Gaza Cease-Fire Runs Into Russia-China Veto
The American draft resolution before the Security Council did not go far enough to end the Israel-Hamas war, Russia and China said, after the United States had vetoed three earlier resolutions.
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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Federal News Network ☛ Judge orders Army Corps of Engineers send whistleblower ‘thank you letter’
The 2023 settlement terms, called for the letter to Dr. Toni Savage, along with an undisclosed monetary award.
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Futurism ☛ Boeing Whistleblower Said He Was Being Harassed and Humiliated Before Death
Earlier this month, former Boeing worker John Barnett was found dead by officials in Charleston, South Carolina, the result of what officials said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His body was recovered in a car parked in a hotel lot amid his testimony against his former employer.
Barnett's mysterious death couldn't have happened at a worse time for his former employer, with Boeing continuously making headlines for its repeatedly malfunctioning planes.
Now, local Charleston news station WCSC has obtained a redacted version of the lawsuit Barnett filed against the aerospace giant back in 2017, shedding more light on the company's alleged retaliation and tactics to keep Barnett quiet.
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Federal News Network ☛ Little-known law needs Justice Department attention
David Janovsky So there are three main components to the Death and Custody Reporting Act. First, Justice is supposed to be collecting data on deaths in custody from local, state and federal law enforcement and corrections agencies. And it’s important to note that the definition of in custody is broader than people might initially assume. It covers any circumstance from the moment someone is interacting with law enforcement and not free to leave. So it could be a traffic stop, not even necessarily an arrest all the way through incarceration in a prison, jail or immigration detention.
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Vox ☛ Francesca Gino lawsuit: Harvard University’s scandal-ridden dishonesty researcher has a baffling defense.
But that still may not be enough to prevent an expensive legal battle. Given that it is increasingly evident that scientific fraud is nowhere near as rare as anyone hoped, we desperately need better processes for identifying it. We also need a better means of protecting the people who stick their necks out to bring it to light.
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Environment
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Wired ☛ The Feds Are Trying to Get Plants to Mine Metal Through Their Roots
Now the US government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, aka ARPA-E, wants in on the action. Today it’s announcing up to $10 million in funding to explore ways to use plants for extracting nickel from American soils. They’re calling the exploratory topic “Plant HYperaccumulators TO MIne Nickel-Enriched Soils,” or PHYTOMINES, encouraging partnerships between scientists, farmers, and the battery and mining industries. The idea is to find the right kind of hyperaccumulator—ideally a native North American species—that can grow quickly and suck up a lot of nickel. That could bolster the domestic supply of nickel, which the feds consider a “critical material”—an essential ingredient in the batteries that are themselves essential to the renewable revolution.
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Public Citizen ☛ Texas Tells Private Companies to Invest in Fossil Fuels or Else - Public Citizen
Texas is forcing private companies to subsidize the dirty energy industry, Public Citizen said today in response to the Permanent School Fund (PSF) notifying BlackRock that it would terminate its business with the financial firm.
In a letter, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) chair informed BlackRock it was withdrawing about $8 billion in investments to comply with Senate Bill 13. The legislation, signed into law in 2021, bars the SBOE-administered fund – which supports the state’s public schools – from doing business with financial firms that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry. State lawmakers have gone on the attack against private companies that consider environmental, social, and governance issues when making business decisions. Though BlackRock denies engaging in a boycott, the Texas Comptroller lists the company as out of compliance with SB 13.
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Energy/Transportation
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RFA ☛ Dozens of Rohingya rescued from capsized boat off Indonesian coast
A survivor said up to 50 had died during the journey from Malaysia, but authorities reported no deaths.
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Techdirt ☛ Warner Bros. Had To Have A Tasmanian Football Team Explain Where Its Taz Character Came From
The Devil, as they say, is in the details. It’s a lesson that Warner Bros. apparently just recently had to learn after it poked the Australian Football League over its latest addition to the league, from the isle of Tasmania. You have probably already guessed where this is going.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Governor signs bills creating electric vehicle charging station network across Wisconsin
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed bipartisan bills Wednesday designed to jump-start creation of an electric vehicle charging network along the state’s interstate system and major highways.
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Hackaday ☛ Magnetic Power Cable Makes Mobility Scooter Much Better
Sometimes, you have to wonder what major manufacturers of assistive tech are thinking when they design their products. [Niklas Frost]’s father has MS and uses an electric mobility scooter to get around. It’s a good solution to a terrible problem, except it stops short of the most important part — the charging scheme. Because of the aforementioned mobility issues, [Niklas]’s father can’t plug and unplug it without assistance. So much for independence.
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New York Times ☛ Sixteen States Sue Biden Administration Over Gas Permit Pause
President Biden halted approvals for new exports of liquefied natural gas to study its effect on the climate, national security and the economy. Major oil- and gas-producing states are angry.
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Quartz ☛ Blinding laser strikes against pilots are at a record high
The FAA received 1,297 reports of laser strikes in the U.S. in February alone, an average of 44.7 per day. That’s significantly higher than January, which saw an average of 36.4 per day. Pilots in 2023 were hit with 13,304 laser strikes in the U.S., the worst year ever recorded.
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The Hill ☛ FBI tells passengers on midair blowout flight they may be ‘crime’ victims
Attorney Mark Lindquist, who is representing more than 20 passengers who were on the early January flight, provided a copy of the letter to The Hill and confirmed that it had been sent to his clients who were passengers on the Boeing 737 Max 9 flight.
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Los Angeles Times ☛ FBI tells passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that lost a panel they might be crime victims
“I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office wrote in the letters, which passengers received this week. “This case is currently under investigation by the FBI.”
The plane was flying 16,000 feet over Oregon on Jan. 5 when the panel blew out, leaving a gaping hole in the side. The rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling, and suction as air rushed from the hole exerted force on people inside the plane.
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New York Times ☛ F.B.I. Tells Passengers on Alaska Flight They May Have Been Crime Victims
The letters are a sign that a criminal investigation the Justice Department has opened into Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737 Max 9 jet, is ramping up.
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Gizmodo ☛ FBI Says Passengers on Alaska Flight May Have Been Victim of a 'Crime' as Investigation Expands
The airplane manufacturer’s troubles began in January when one of its planes, a 737 MAX, suffered a fuselage rupture mid-flight. The flight, Alaska Airlines 1282, was in the process of taking off from Portland, Oregon when a part of the plane’s hull suddenly blew out. The plane quickly routed back to the airport and landed without incident. While nobody was seriously injured as a result of the debacle, the incident kicked off what has become a months-long whirlwind of negative attention for the plane manufacturer. That whirlwind has included intensifying media scrutiny, a slew of additional safety incidents, and a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into flight 1282.
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Alex Sirac ☛ [Note] My Interrail trip starts in 9 days
On March 31st, I’ll be embarking for a trip throughout a large chunk of Europe (wish I had done more, but Europe is big) with an Interrail ticket for an entire month. With Interrail, I get to take as many trains as I want − no flights, no car rental. In this house we’re sustainable and enjoying every single window view on the way (except for one night train, alright).
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Common Dreams ☛ EPA Caves to Industry Pressure, Finalizes Weaker Auto Pollution Rule
“This rule could’ve been the biggest single step of any nation on climate, but the EPA caved to pressure from Big Auto, Big Oil and car dealers and riddled the plan with loopholes big enough to drive a Ford F150 through,” said Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign. “The weaker rule means cars and pickups spew more pollution, oil companies keep socking consumers at the pump, and automakers keep wielding well-practiced delay tactics.”
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Public Citizen ☛ Bitcoin Miners Are Gobbling up Energy in Texas. We Are Not Any Closer to Finding out Exactly How Much. - Public Citizen
Last August, during a punishing summer heat wave, Riot Platforms was bringing in taxpayer money for essentially doing nothing.
How do Bitcoin miners make money without mining Bitcoin? It comes down to the shaky nature of the Texas electric grid. When electricity demand gets too high, we face calls for conservation or even blackouts. To avoid this, Texas’ grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), pays certain customers to stop using energy when demand is high.
You and I don’t get paid when we shut off our air conditioners during summer peak hours—we do that to help out. But large industrial customers do get paid. One Bitcoin miner, Riot, was paid $31 million in August last year for not mining Bitcoin. That money ultimately comes from other ratepayers in Texas.
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Pro Publica ☛ Chevron Will Pay Record Fines for California Oil Spills
Oil giant Chevron has agreed to pay a record-setting $13 million to two California agencies for past oil spills, but some of the company’s spills are ongoing.
The fines, announced Wednesday, come more than three years after an investigation by The Desert Sun and ProPublica found that oil companies are profiting from illegal spills and that oversight of the industry by California’s oil and gas division was lax.
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Finance
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RFA ☛ 100,000 North Koreans work abroad, earning US$500 million a year: UN
Workers were sent to more than 40 countries to earn foreign cash, most of it forwarded to Pyongyang.
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RFA ☛ Chinese residents of North Korea worry about returning from China
New restrictions on imports and possibly travel are making some reluctant to go back, sources say.
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Reason ☛ The National Debt Is a National Security Issue
The growing debt will "slow economic growth, drive up interest payments," and "heighten the risk of a fiscal crisis," the CBO warns.
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YLE ☛ APN Podcast: Finland's hidden homeless
All Points North asks why homelessness among immigrants is rising in Finland while it falls for all other demographics.
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YLE ☛ Thursday's papers: Purchasing power down, Patria's Swedish sale and a young X-ray enthusiast
Finnish purchasing power has decreased consistently since 2020, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
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JURIST ☛ South Korea ambassador to Australia returns home amid allegations of investigation interference
South Korea’s ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-seop returned to South Korea on Thursday after facing allegations of interference in the investigation of the July 2023 death of Sergeant Choi Su-geun.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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CS Monitor ☛ Sports and love bridge an Asian rift
A TV romance series and Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani bring South Korea and Japan closer than ever toward healing the frictions of the past. Love and sports really are universals.
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RFA ☛ Fiji resets police cooperation with China, scraps short-term deployments
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka put the cooperation agreement under review last year.
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Latvia ☛ OSCE High Comissioner pays visit to Latvia
On March 21, Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš met with the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kairat Abdrakhmanov, who arrived in Latvia on a working visit.
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France24 ☛ Portugal's centre-right leader Luis Montenegro appointed prime minister
Centre-right leader Luis Montenegro was appointed prime minister of Portugal on Wednesday night, but will have to form a coalition government and grapple with a growing far right after his party's narrow victory in parliamentary elections.
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RFERL ☛ Brnabic Elected Parliament Speaker, Dacic Becomes Acting Serbian Prime Minister
Ana Brnabic was voted in by lawmakers as the new speaker of the Serbian National Assembly after opposition parties left the chamber to protest against December elections that international observers characterized as "unfair."
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Biden and Trump ask voters if they’re ‘better off’ than they were 4 years ago. It’s complicated
Each candidate is hoping the answer skews in his favor — but the verdict may well hinge on whether people are reflecting back on the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of their pocketbooks or some broader sense of well-being.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea sends delegation to China, Vietnam, Laos, KCNA says
SEOUL - North Korea has sent a delegation to China, Vietnam and Laos, state media KCNA said on Friday, as the isolated country expands its diplomatic engagement after COVID-19 lockdowns.
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Gizmodo ☛ Politicians Who Voted to Ban TikTok May Own as Much as $126 Million in Tech Stocks
Financial disclosures show that members of Congress who voted for the so-called “TikTok ban” last week may own between $29 million and $126 million worth of stock in competing tech companies, according to data from Quiver Quantitative, a company that tracks congressional investments. Among the 352 members of the House of Representatives who voted “yes” on the bill, 44 reported they own shares of companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap—all corporations that could stand to benefit if TikTok is forced into a sale or a full-on ban.
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Gizmodo ☛ Texas Escalates Its War on Porn
Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and its sister sites, pulled out of Texas last week leaving horny Texans with fewer websites to find their favorite porn. Those in the Lone Star State who try to visit an Aylo site will see a message from the company explaining that the age verification laws are “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous.”
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Reason ☛ European Union's AI Law Will Stifle Innovation and Competition
The legislation classifies AI systems into four categories. Systems deemed unacceptably high risk—including those that seek to manipulate human behavior or ones used for social scoring—will be banned. Also off limits, refreshingly, is the use of biometric identification in public spaces for law enforcement purposes, with a few exceptions.
The government will subject high-risk systems, such as high-priority infrastructure and public services, to risk assessment and oversight. Limited-risk apps and general-purpose AI, including foundation models like ChatGPT, will have to adhere to transparency requirements. Minimal-risk AI systems, expected by lawmakers to make up the bulk of applications, will be left unregulated.
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India Times ☛ Investors greenlight Trump's $6 billion social media deal
Former US President Donald Trump came a step closer on Friday to reaping a major windfall from his social media firm after investors in a blank-check acquisition company approved a tie-up currently worth about $6 billion.
The deal values Trump's majority stake in the company that holds his app Truth Social at about $3.6 billion. The windfall could prove vital as Trump grapples with the financial fallout of a string of legal cases against him, including a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud case in New York.
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Quartz ☛ Lawmakers who voted for TikTok ban own lots of tech stocks
Financial disclosures show that members of Congress who voted for the so-called “TikTok ban” last week may own between $29 million and $126 million worth of stock in competing tech companies, according to data from Quiver Quantitative, a company that tracks congressional investments. Among the 352 members of the House of Representatives who voted “yes” on the bill, 44 reported they own shares of companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap—all corporations that could stand to benefit if TikTok is forced into a sale or a full-on ban.
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India Times ☛ Microsoft’s $650 million deal with Inflection AI: Key things to know
Tech giant Microsoft will be paying artificial intelligence (AI) startup Inflection $650 million to licence its software, a week after it roped in the company's two cofounders and most of its staff, as per a Bloomberg report.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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DeSmog ☛ Fossil Fuel Lobby Kicks off Disinformation Campaign Against EPA Auto Emissions Rule
Fossil fuel interest groups have mobilized quickly to oppose a new rule issued by the Biden administration designed to speed up America’s transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.
The rule, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized on March 20, limits emissions from tailpipes on new cars, starting in 2027.
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The Record ☛ Meta to shutter key disinformation tracking tool before 2024 election
The letter points out that this year “approximately half the world’s population will vote” and says that the absence of the CrowdTangle tool will undermine the monitoring of election disinformation.
“Meta’s decision will effectively prohibit the outside world, including election integrity experts, from seeing what’s happening on Facebook and Instagram — during the biggest election year on record,” the letter said.
Major elections in the United States, Brazil and Australia are among the looming contests, and Meta has not announced a similar replacement for the service, which it bought in 2016.
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Mozilla ☛ Mozilla Foundation - Open Letter To Meta: Support CrowdTangle Through 2024 and Maintain CrowdTangle Approach
On 14 March, Meta announced it would abandon CrowdTangle, the tool used by tens of thousands of journalists, watchdogs, and election observers to monitor the integrity of elections around the world. Meta will shut down CrowdTangle on 14 August, without an effective replacement, ahead of elections in the United States, Brazil, and Australia and in the wake of elections in India, South Africa, and Mexico — endangering both pre- and post election monitoring.
Meta’s decision will effectively prohibit the outside world, including election integrity experts, from seeing what’s happening on Facebook and Instagram — during the biggest election year on record. This means almost all outside efforts to identify and prevent political disinformation, incitements to violence, and online harassment of women and minorities will be silenced. It’s a direct threat to our ability to safeguard the integrity of elections.
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Sightline Media Group ☛ WWII unit whose fake tanks fooled Nazis get Congressional Gold Medal
With inflatable tanks, radio trickery, costume uniforms and acting, the American military units that became known as the Ghost Army outwitted the enemy during World War II. Their mission was kept secret for decades, but on Thursday the group stepped out of the shadows as they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in Washington.
“The actions of the Ghost Army helped change the course of the war for thousands of American and Allied troops and contributed to the liberation of a continent from a terrible evil,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said during the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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France24 ☛ India punishes critics by revoking visas and residency permits
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi often draws crowds of supporters from the Indian diaspora on his foreign visits. But back home, his administration has been revoking visas and residency permits of foreign nationals of Indian origin as well as spouses of Indian citizens. For those denied access or kicked out of India, the experience can be traumatic.
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RFERL ☛ Apple Reportedly Removes Navalny's Voting App At Russia's Request
Apple, at the direction of Russia's media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has removed an app (Photon-2024) created by the team of late Russian anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny to help users vote for candidates other than President Vladimir Putin.
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Mint Press News ☛ USAID’s Disinformation Primer: Global Censorship in the Name of Democracy
Shocking revelations from a leaked USAID report expose how the agency collaborates with tech giants and media outlets to stifle free speech, silence dissent, and manipulate public opinion under the guise of fighting fake news.
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JURIST ☛ India Supreme Court halts government fact-checking unit amid free speech concerns
India’s Supreme Court intervened on Thursday in the ongoing dispute over the government’s Fact-Check Unit (FCU) and temporarily halted its operation following concerns raised by various parties, according to Live Law.
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EFF ☛ EFF and 34 Civil Society Organizations Call on Ghana’s President to Reject the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
EFF has joined 34 civil society organizations to demand that President Akufo-Addo vetoes the Family Values Bill.
The legislation criminalizes being LGBTQ+ or an ally of LGBTQ+ people, and also imposes custodial sentences for users and social media companies in punishment for vague, ill-defined offenses like promoting “change in public opinion of prohibited acts” on social media. This would effectively ban all speech and activity online and offline that even remotely supports LGBTQ+ rights.
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Techdirt ☛ Canadian Gov’t Pushes UK’s ‘Online Harms’ Abandonware In Hopes Of Regulating More Speech
The UK government spent months trying to pass a bill named the “Online Harms Act.” As opposition mounted — mainly over the many ways the bill would undermine encryption — the UK government decided to rebrand the bill as the kinder sounding “Online Safety Act.” Who could be against “Safety”?
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RFA ☛ Revered and feared: Asia’s authoritarian states censor and mistreat poets
World Poetry Day brings tributes to fallen and jailed poets and vows not to back down.
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RFA ☛ Chinese censors remove video showing off Tiananmen massacre medal
The video garnered angry comments, and some supportive ones, before being deleted.
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India Times ☛ Reddit may need to ramp up spending on content moderation, analysts say
The newly listed company had warned in its initial public offering (IPO) paperwork that it depended on moderators to "engage in good faith", and risked being perceived as condoning "offensive, inappropriate, hostile, or otherwise objectionable content" due to its approach to moderation.
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RFA ☛ Chinese censors remove video showing off Tiananmen massacre medal
Chinese censors have deleted a video in which a People's Liberation Army soldier brags about a medal given to her father for participating in the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, highlighting the government's efforts to hide that part of its history, according to media reports and social media posts.
In the video posted March 18 to the official account of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force on the video-sharing platform Bilibili, a woman clad in a camouflage uniform holds up a medal she said was presented to her father after he was among the troops that entered Beijing in early June 1989 to put down weeks of peaceful, student-led protests in Tiananmen Square.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Google’s new Sandbox advertising system could be ‘the end for a lot of publishers’
Publishers have deep concerns about Google's plan to replace cookies with its own Sandbox system.
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Reason ☛ Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks
U.S. prosecutors are looking to wriggle out of an espionage trial for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Group allegedly financed by Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai prepared ‘sanctions list’ for US, court hears
An activist group allegedly financed by media mogul Jimmy Lai prepared a list of proposed sanctions targets – including Hong Kong’s leader and top officials – which was intended for presentation to the US government at the height of the 2019 protests, a prosecution witness has told Lai’s national security trial.
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Tedium ☛ In Our Media Climate, The House Always Wins
Deadspin’s new owners ditched an entire staff of people without batting an eye. Kotaku, owned by G/O, appears to have given into the waves of haters on social media, and has decided to put its entire staff on an unsustainable treadmill. These moves happen because it’s about the money that can be made, rather than the work that can be created. The workers don’t matter. Neither do the readers.
The problem is not limited to G/O. This week, news emerged that both Gannett and McClatchy, two dominant newspaper chains, were each winnowing down or getting rid of their Associated Press affiliations. On the surface, this seems like it make sense, as local journalism has become much more of a focus than generic wire copy picked up anywhere. But this greatly changes the equation around AP’s value proposition, because the information it generates comes from the media outlets that it serves. That means the wire service is losing access to a lot of local news that is likely to eventually go national or even global, degrading its overall reach. Some might argue that the wire is outmoded. But the net result is that we will all lose access to quality information collected at a high level, in exchange for short-term profit. And seemingly these decisions were made without actually asking the people on the ground using these services.
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Reason ☛ Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks
Attorney General Merrick Garland still has to sign off on any deal, according to the Journal. And Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton told Consortium News that Assange is dead-set against signing a deal that would require him to come to the United States, due to worries that the U.S. government could change the terms at the last minute.
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RFERL ☛ Gershkovich Team Continues Fight To Free WSJ Reporter From Russian Jail
Gershkovich, 32, will mark one year of detention in Russia on March 29. On that day in 2023, The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in Yekaterinburg for alleged espionage that he, his newspaper, and the U.S. government deny. He's been held ever since in Moscow's Lefortovo prison.
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Press Gazette ☛ News diary 25-31 March: One year since WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich detained in Russia
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
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RFERL ☛ Former RFE/RL Correspondent In Belarus Jailed For 3 Years
The Minsk City Court on March 22 sentenced former RFE/RL correspondent Ihar Karney to three years in prison on a charge of taking part in an extremist group.
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CPJ ☛ Spanish journalist Xavier Colás denied visa renewal, expelled from Russia
On Wednesday, Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo reported that Russian authorities refused to renew Colás’ visa, the outlet’s longtime correspondent in Moscow, and gave him 24 hours to leave Russia after working in the country for 12 years.
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France24 ☛ India punishes critics by revoking visas and residency permits
But in India, things that were once fairly straightforward were now getting complicated – and stressful.
The official letter, delivered on January 18, informed the veteran French journalist that her Indian residency had been revoked.
Dougnac had joined the growing list of overseas critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies being banned from India, according to the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
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VOA News ☛ Russia Declines to Renew Visa of Spanish Journalist
A Russian official told Xavier Colas, a Moscow correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, that his visa would not be renewed, the paper reported on Thursday.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Techdirt ☛ US Courts Finally Trying To Crack Down On Judicial Shopping
This took way too long, but it appears that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the Judicial Conference have finally decided to crack down on the serious problem of judicial shopping in the federal courts. They’ve set a new policy that will hopefully result in a more random allocation of cases to judges.
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New York Times ☛ Top Adviser to Mayor Adams Is Accused in a Lawsuit of Sexual Harassment
A New York City police sergeant said she was demoted and later quit after she rebuffed the advances by Timothy Pearson, whose conduct has already drawn scrutiny.
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Reason ☛ #TheyLied Libel Lawsuit Over Ex-Student's Allegations of Rape Can Go Forward,
and so can the professor's Title VII and Title IX discrimination claims against the university.
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JURIST ☛ Iowa passes state-enforced undocumented immigration bill
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would make it a crime to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the US.
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CBS ☛ CPD officer responding to ShotSpotter alert fired at teen setting off fireworks
Body camera footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday showed what unfolded, and how it nearly ended in tragedy.
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EFF ☛ Responding to ShotSpotter, Police Shoot at Child Lighting Fireworks
We’ve written multiple times about the inaccurate and dangerous “gunshot detection” tool, Shotspotter. A recent near-tragedy in Chicago adds to the growing pile of evidence that cities should drop the product.
On January 25, while responding to a ShotSpotter alert, a Chicago police officer opened fire on an unarmed “maybe 14 or 15” year old child in his backyard. Three officers approached the boy’s house, with one asking “What you doing bro, you good?” They heard a loud bang, later determined to be fireworks, and shot at the child. Fortunately, no physical injuries were recorded. In initial reports, police falsely claimed that they fired at a “man” who had fired on officers.
In a subsequent assessment of the event, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability (“COPA”) concluded that “a firearm was not used against the officers.” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling placed all attending officers on administrative duty for 30 days and is investigating whether the officers violated department policies.
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ABC ☛ Chicago shooting: CPD officer fired gun toward boy after hearing fireworks in Auburn Gresham, COPA says | Video
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Tuesday that no one shot at CPD officers last month before an officer fired shots toward a boy on the South Side. Video was also released of the incident.
Three on-duty officers in a marked squad car were responding to a ShotSpotter notification in the 8500-block of South Winchester Avenue in Auburn Gresham about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 25, when they saw a boy standing near a home, COPA said.
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Chicago Sun Times ☛ Chicago cop responding to ShotSpotter alert opened fire on boy lighting fireworks, oversight agency says - Chicago Sun-Times
A Chicago police officer responding to a ShotSpotter alert on the South Side opened fire on a boy lighting fireworks, according to newly released video.
“No, it's just fireworks, it's just fireworks,” the child is heard yelling after the officer fires in his direction, according to footage from the officer’s body camera.
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Hidde de Vries ☛ On popover accessibility: what the browser does and doesn’t do | hidde.blog
The “built-in” accessibility of popover is in the addition of guardrails: browsers try to improve accessibility where they can. These guardrails exist mostly in the form of browsers augmenting accessibility semantics. Before we get into what those guardrails are, let's clarify what that term means.
Many features of HTML have some amount of accessibility semantics associated with them - e.g., roles, states and properties. This is information that a web page exposes, which browsers then pass on to platform accessibility APIs. They do this, so that assistive technologies can build UIs around them (see: How accessibility trees inform assistive tech). These semantics are sometimes baked into native HTML elements. For instance, headings and lists have implicit roles (heading and list, respectively). Other elements, like the checkbox input type, have an implicit role as well as additional states and properties. Developers can use HTML elements with such “built-in” semantics. But they can also set, overwrite and augment accessibility semantics more directly in their HTML structure, using WAI-ARIA.
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Reason ☛ Michigan Sheriffs Colluded To End In-Person Jail Visits and Price Gouge Families for Calls, Lawsuits Allege
Two lawsuits filed this week accuse Michigan sheriff's offices of colluding with large prison telecom companies to end face-to-face jail visitations and then price gouge families who are forced to rely on expensive phone calls and video chats, in return for major kickbacks.
Civil Rights Corps, a criminal justice advocacy nonprofit, filed the two class-actions in Michigan state court, one in Genesee County and the other in St. Clair County, on behalf of multiple residents who say the visitation bans deprive children of the ability to hug their incarcerated parents. The lawsuits claim two major prison technology providers—Securus Technologies and Global Tel*Link (GTL)—dangled significant financial incentives in front of Genesee and St. Clair officials to install video chat kiosks in jails that would eventually replace face-to-face visits.
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Democracy Now ☛ Six White Mississippi “Goon Squad” Cops Get Lengthy Prison Sentences for Torturing Black Men
In Mississippi, six former sheriff’s deputies have been sentenced to between 10 and 40 years in prison for raiding a home and torturing, shooting and sexually abusing two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, in January 2023. The six former deputies, all of whom are white, called themselves the “Goon Squad” and have been linked to at least four violent attacks on Black men since 2019. Two of the men attacked and tortured by the group subsequently died. To discuss the case and the verdict, we’re joined by Eddie Parker and attorneys Malik Shabazz and Trent Walker. “Never have we seen this many police officers sentenced to this kind of time in one week,” says Shabazz, who calls the verdict “historic.” Jenkins, Parker and Shabazz are currently suing the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department over its track record of civil rights violations and racist targeting of Black residents.
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JURIST ☛ Final member of Mississippi 'Goon Squad' sentenced for involvement in assault of Black men
All six officers were terminated and pleaded guilty to their involvement in the January 2023 torturing of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. Known as the “Goon Squad,” the officers broke into a home and subjected the two victims to torture that lasted for hours, which included tasering, waterboarding, and assault, all before Jenkins was shot in the mouth by one of the officers.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Techdirt ☛ Thousands Of Young People Told Us Why The Kids Online Safety Act Will Be Harmful To Minors
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Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Joins 24 Public Interest Groups Urging Congress To Renew FCC Auction Authority, Fund ACP
Groups argue that directing $7 billion of the auction’s projected revenue to the Affordable Connectivity Program would help keep tens of millions of low-income households connected.
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Public Knowledge ☛ Biased Oversight Should Not Undermine Closing the Digital Divide
The American public deserves a more comprehensive analysis of the BEAD program that includes the thoughts and recommendations of the public interest community.
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New York Times ☛ The A.I. Boom Makes Millions for an Unlikely Industry Player: Anguilla
For each domain registration, Anguilla’s government gets anywhere from $140 to thousands of dollars from website names sold at auctions, according government data. Last year, Anguilla’s government made about $32 million from those fees. That amounted to more than 10 percent of gross domestic product for the territory of almost 16,000 people and 35 square miles.
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New York Times ☛ Friday Briefing: The U.S. Sues Apple
Also, India’s opposition faces troubles and tips for a healthier relationship with your phone.
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New York Times ☛ Apple Lawsuits: A Look at the Many Challenges Facing the Tech Giant
The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Fashion Company Apple is the latest in a series of regulatory actions that are hitting the tech giant at the same time.
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CCIA ☛ The DoJ’s Lawsuit Against Fashion Company Apple Follows the EU’s Playbook
After months of speculation and a four-year investigation, the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, alongside multiple state[s]...
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Digital Music News ☛ Moments After Getting Slapped With a $1.95 Billion Fine In Europe, Fashion Company Apple Faces a US Department of Justice Lawsuit Over Smartphone Monopolistic Practices
The United States Department of Justice alleges Fashion Company Apple is operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market in a new antitrust lawsuit. Europe’s Digital Markets Act was designed to prevent Fashion Company Apple from being a gatekeeper—now Fashion Company Apple faces antitrust action in its home turf.
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The Kent Stater ☛ Green bubbles, Fashion Company Apple Pay and other reasons why America says Fashion Company Apple is breaking the law
“Buy your mom an iPhone.” That was Fashion Company Apple CEO Tim Cook’s famous response at Vox’s 2022 Code Conference, when a reporter complained that her mother couldn’t see the videos she texted to her mom’s Android phone because they were grainy and slow.
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CS Monitor ☛ Justice Dept. takes aim at Apple’s digital fortress with antitrust suit
The Biden administration accuses Fashion Company Apple of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones in the U.S. The move escalates an antitrust siege that has already triggered lawsuits against Surveillance Giant Google and Amazon.
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New York Times ☛ A U.S. Lawsuit Accused Fashion Company Apple of Creating a Monopoly
Also, a man received a pig kidney in a medical milestone. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
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Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Hails Antitrust Suit Challenging Apple’s Anticompetitive Practices [Ed: Public Knowledge also has Microsoft inside the Board, so there's a conflict of interest]
The suit argues that Fashion Company Apple has abused its market power in the smartphone market.
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Common Dreams ☛ DOJ’s Apple Lawsuit Is Significant Step To Rein in Corporate Misconduct
“With this lawsuit, the Justice Department and 16 attorneys general have taken a significant step to rein in alleged rampant corporate misconduct that, if true, hurts consumers. The allegations suggest that Apple is not dominating due to the superiority of its products, but as a result of exclusionary behavior intended to tighten its grip on the smartphone market, including degrading non-Apple smart watches, making it harder to message non-Apple smartphones, limiting third party digital wallets, and more.
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The Verge ☛ US v. Apple: everything you need to know
The US Department of Justice has filed a case against Apple for violating antitrust laws. More specifically, the case revolves around how Apple has used its locked-down iPhone ecosystem to build a monopoly.
The DOJ alleges that Apple blocks “super” apps, suppresses mobile cloud streaming services, blocks cross-platform messaging apps, limits third-party digital wallets, and even limits how well third-party smartwatches work on its platforms. This is the third time that the DOJ has sued Apple for antitrust violations in the past 14 years, and if you’re wondering why it was filed in New Jersey, we might have an explanation for that.
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The Verge ☛ United States v. Apple is pure nerd rage
Of course, the long saga of the Microsoft antitrust action (especially if you count the lingering tail of the appellate case) coincided with a lot of things: the founding of Google, the dot com crash, the foundings of both Tencent and Baidu, the “election” of George W. Bush, September 11th, the Iraq War. The United States is no longer in the same position it once was — in diplomacy, in war, or in technology. And the essential dynamics of the American tech sector, not just the names of the major players involved, look very different from how they did just 10 years ago — let alone 20. While United States v. Microsoft almost certainly had a substantial effect on the technology industry and society at large, let’s just say we’re not exactly in a place where we can A/B test antitrust. DOJ wants to write a narrative about its role in the technological ecosystem and the American economy, but whether that narrative actually rings true remains to be seen.
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The Verge ☛ How an artificial tooth monopoly put the DOJ’s blockbuster Apple antitrust suit in New Jersey
In an interview with The Verge, William Kovacic, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission and a professor at the George Washington University Law School, explains that “the Third Circuit is a jurisdiction with some pretty good law for plaintiffs on monopolization issues.” He points to the DOJ’s 2004 antitrust lawsuit against Dentsply, a dental supply company that manufactures fake teeth.
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Wired ☛ 4 Internal Apple Emails That Helped the DOJ Build Its Case
Apple uses the dominance of the iPhone to illegally suppress competition in ways that harm consumers, the US Department of Justice alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
Apple has denied it acts illegally, with spokesperson Fred Sainz saying that the suit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.” But key parts of the suit use the words of Apple’s own executives against the company. The DOJ lawsuit quotes internal emails to argue that Apple knowingly restricts users and developers in unfair ways. Here is how four of the messages appear to show executives discussing how to maintain tight control of Apple's ecosystem.
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Stephen Hackett ☛ United States DOJ Sues Apple
Apple has issued a statement on the lawsuit: [...]
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CoryDoctorow ☛ The antitrust case against Apple (22 Mar 2024)
Call it "Apple exceptionalism" – the idea that Apple, alone among the Big Tech firms, is virtuous, and therefore its conduct should be interpreted through that lens of virtue. The wellspring of this virtue is conveniently nebulous, which allows for endless goal-post shifting by members of the Cult of Mac when Apple's sins are made manifest.
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The Register UK ☛ EU quizzes Microsoft rivals about O365 and Entra ID links
Exclusive Google says the European Union's antitrust authorities have asked if Microsoft unfairly ties authentication to Azure, in a further sign that officials are considering multiple aspects of Redmond's policies.
Specifically, the team probing the complaints against Microsoft are trying to understand if customers must use Entra ID – a cloud-based identity and access management solution formerly branded Azure AD – to access Microsoft services or if they can also use rivals' tech.
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The Verge ☛ What the case against Apple has to do with Microsoft in the ’90s
To better understand the DOJ’s case against Apple, it helps to understand United States v. Microsoft. If you were a teen in the ’90s (or maybe not yet born — in which case, good for you), you may have missed this landmark antitrust case, but here’s the short version: Microsoft got nervous about the rise of the web and used its position as a monopoly to squash would-be competitors, most notably, Netscape.
The court’s findings of fact detail how Microsoft first tried to persuade Netscape not to build a web browser for Windows 95, then attempted to control the company by offering it a “special relationship.” When that failed, Microsoft turned to the “cut off its air supply” page of the playbook, giving Internet Explorer away for free with Windows and making deals / threats in order to exclude Netscape from important distribution channels through other manufacturers. If you’re keeping score at home, this is, in fact, illegal, courtesy of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
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[Old] USDOJ ☛ U.S. V. Microsoft: Court's Findings Of Fact
These consolidated civil antitrust actions alleging violations of the Sherman Act, §§ 1 and 2, and various state statutes by the defendant Microsoft Corporation, were tried to the Court, sitting without a jury, between October 19, 1998, and June 24, 1999. The Court has considered the record evidence submitted by the parties, made determinations as to its relevancy and materiality, assessed the credibility of the testimony of the witnesses, both written and oral, and ascertained for its purposes the probative significance of the documentary and visual evidence presented. Upon the record before the Court as of July 28, 1999, at the close of the admission of evidence, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a), the Court finds the following facts to have been proved by a preponderance of the evidence. The Court shall state the conclusions of law to be drawn therefrom in a separate Memorandum and Order to be filed in due course.
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Matt Birchler ☛ A few thoughts on the DOJ’s antitrust case against Apple
I’m no lawyer, and I’m not going to pretend I’m one, so don’t expect me to make any confident legal clams here. That said, I did read the 88-page suit (PDF) against Apple and I have some thoughts.
Oh, I also haven’t really looked at any other posts about what other people think of this case, so I have no idea if this is in line or not with the general consensus.
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The Verge ☛ Apple’s antitrust fight begins
The argument is complicated, but it has an awful lot in common with another big antitrust trial, one the government won more than two decades ago: US v. Microsoft. That case was about a huge corporation ruthlessly working to neutralize any company that threatened to open up its walled gardens, make it easy for people to build and use cross-platform software, or end the control it had over its massively successful and massively popular platform. This one is very different but also very much the same.
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India Times ☛ Apple antitrust suit mirrors strategy that beat Microsoft, but tech industry has changed
The US government's antitrust lawsuit against Apple draws on the watershed 1998 case that broke Microsoft's stranglehold on desktop software, but that may prove to be an imperfect blueprint for addressing smartphone competition.
The market for the iPhone today looks very different from the near-monopoly enjoyed by Microsoft's Windows operating system two decades ago, and the government as a result may face a tougher time in taking on Apple, legal experts said.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ Precedential No. 4: TTAB Finds "ZPILE" Merely Descriptive of Metal Sheet Piles
In a dubiously precedential ruling, the Board upheld a Section 2(e)(1) refusal to register the proposed mark ZPILE, finding it to be merely descriptive of "Metal sheet piles, metal sheet pile sections, and metal sheet pile connectors for joining metal sheet piles." The Board declined to reach the Office's failure-to-function refusal, but in obvious dictum, discussed the issue anyway. In re Sheet Pile, LLC, Serial No. 97010763 (March 19, 2024) [precedential] (Opinion by Judge Christopher C. Larkin).
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Right of Publicity
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India Times ☛ Tennessee becomes first US state with law protecting musicians from AI
Tennessee's preexisting law protected name, image, and likeness, but it did not specifically address new, personalized generative AI cloning models and services that enable human impersonation and allow users to make unauthorized fake works in the image and voice of others.
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Digital Music News ☛ ELVIS Act Signed Into Law, First AI Legislation in the U.S.
State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-27) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-44) presented the ELVIS Act to unanimous General Assembly passage with a 93-0 vote in the House and 30-0 in the Senate. Throughout the legislation’s process, country guitarist Lindsay Ell, vocalist Natalie Grant, Evanescence co-founder David Hodges, Contemporary Christian artist Matt Maher, singer Chrissy Metz, songwriter Jamie Moore, RIAA SVP of Public Policy Jessie Richard, and Christian artist Michael W. Smith helped lobby for support, speaking to the potential harms of unchecked AI deep fakes and voice clones.
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ Global Recorded Music Revenue Jumped 10.2% in 2023 Amid Double-Digit Growth in Latin America and China, Report Shows
The IFPI has released its annual report for 2023, pointing to double-digit recorded music revenue growth fueled in part by a 19.4% improvement in Latin America and a close to 26% spike in China.
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Public Domain Review ☛ Little Boney: James Gillray and Napoleon’s Fragile Masculinity
Of all the caricatures of Napoleon Bonaparte, representations of the French emperor as a miniscule megalomaniac continue to haunt the historical imagination to an unparalleled degree. Peter W. Walker searches for the origins of “Little Boney” in the early 19th-century caricatures of James Gillray, the English illustrator who took Napoleon down a peg by diminishing his reputation and scale to the point of absurdity.
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The Register UK ☛ Why France just fined Google €250M over online news
At issue is Article 15 of the EU's Copyright Directive, the so-called "link tax" that entitles publishers to be compensated when large online aggregators and platforms like Facebook and Google republish article snippets. In 2019, Google said it would not use snippets from French publishers without explicit permission due to the copyright law. But the FCA deemed that refusal to negotiate an abuse of market power.
In April 2020 the FCA ordered Google to come to a financial arrangement with French news publishers for the reuse of their work in Google News, Google Search, and other services. It did so having concluded that Google had likely abused its dominant position in the market, an outcome informed by years of complaints from media organizations in Europe dating back to at least 2005.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Dutch Court Orders ISP to Block 'Anna's Archive' and 'LibGen'
The Dutch pirate site blocklist has expanded with two new targets, shadow libraries Anna's Archive and Library Genesis. The court order was obtained by local anti-piracy group BREIN, acting on behalf of major publishers. Interestingly, Z-Library isn't listed in the blocking order, despite explicit warnings previously issued by BREIN.
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Torrent Freak ☛ DoodStream: Hollywood, Netflix, Amazon & Apple Sue "Rogue Cyberlocker"
With the benefit of hindsight, the MPA's 'notorious markets' submission to the USTR last year may have also sent a message to the operators of video hosting service DoodStream. The platform was featured unusually prominently and the studios seemed confident of the operators' whereabouts. Whatever the intent, DoodStream's operators are now being sued by Hollywood, Netflix, Amazon and Apple, who apparently identified them as long ago as last summer.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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