Links 06/04/2024: More Layoffs and Shutdowns, 'Small Web' Gaining Interest
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- 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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Hackaday ☛ How Much Thrust Is Your Prop Really Making?
The problem of components not conforming to their claimed specification is one that must challenge engineers in all fields, including it seems, that of multi-rotors and remote controlled aircraft. A motor can boast an impressive spec on the website which sells it, but overheat or just not deliver when it’s on your bench. Thus [Valkyrie Workshop] has come up with a simple but ingenious rig to evaluate a motor and propeller combo without breaking the bank.
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James G ☛ Penguin coffee
(Not to be confused with Rubenerd and Clara's PenguinCoffee.)
I have been experimenting with using my personal knowledge graph to write poetry this week. Using KGL, my knowledge graph query language, I can look up a concept, or a concept connected to another concept. I explored various concepts I have talked about on my blog, then started to write a poem based exclusively on words I have written.
Using KGL, I can see relationships in new ways. Whereas when I write a blog post, the context that I take in is limited to what is on my mind and in my notes at the time, KGL lets me put those concepts in context; to connect concepts from one blog post into a broader graph that I can explore. There is one big limitation, though: my knowledge graph contains my existing notes. Thus, using knowledge graphs for ideas is about synthesis, not explicitly new idea generation.
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Parenting is like baking
At least, it's how I feel lately. It's like baking a cake, in the dark, and you don't even know a recipe. And you're also not clear what is or isn't already in the bowl. And your sense of taste and smell are not trained to know what an unbaked cake is supposed to taste like. And the cake takes... 15 years to bake. Every once in a while, the cake comes out of the oven and you get to check a little part of it, but you don't know if the part you're tasting is from the edge, or the middle or what. And it may have fallen into a pile of sand or sugar or hair on the floor before you tasted it. Also, other people are adding ingredients. Sometimes you have a sense of what they are, but most of the time you have no clue. Also the cake wants to choose its own icing and decorations. And the oven temperature is constantly changing. And you're in the back of a pickup truck driving down the interstate.
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Lazy Day
The last 30 or so hours--what I'd consider a /day/ for myself--have become one of my so-called "lazy days". A day where I just let myself relax, do some little something on my light-task todo list, and call it good. It's my way to continue recovering from excessive stress, while still maintaining the slight productivity needed to keep myself in check. Today, I managed to accomplish a few items on that list.
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Tedium ☛ The Venue’s Too Small
A popular indie-pop band announces just ahead of the beginning of a major arena tour that their show can’t fit in the minor-league hockey venue they chose.
This time a year ago, I had the chance to check out a hockey game at the Norfolk Scope. While not the newest thing around, it’s a pretty good venue, quite large, and it is definitely a great way to bring together 6,000 of your neighbors in a venue to watch a zamboni do its thing between periods.
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Science
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New York Times ☛ Up to a Trillion Cicadas Are About to Emerge in the U.S.
Two periodical cicada broods are appearing in a 16-state area in the Midwest and Southeast for the first time in centuries. Can you get rid of them? Do they bite you? We answer your questions.
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New York Times ☛ A Tantalizing ‘Hint’ That Astronomers Got Dark Energy All Wrong
Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of that mysterious cosmic force. That could be good news for the fate of the universe.
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Science Alert ☛ 3 Body Problem: Does The 'Dark Forest' Theory Solve The Fermi Paradox?
Here's what the science says.
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Science Alert ☛ Quantum Computing Heats Up: Scientists Achieve Qubit Function Above 1K
Inching closer to room temperature.
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Hardware
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Linux Gizmos ☛ Digi ConnectCore MP25: Enhanced AI/ML Capabilities with 1.35 TOPS NPU and Integrated ISP
Digi International recently showcased the Digi ConnectCore MP25 at Embedded World 2024, a module designed for computer vision applications in medical, transportation and Industry 4.0 applications. Equipped with an Image Signal Processor (ISP) and a 1.35 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU), it also supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ China-based Maxio creates full line of PCIe 5.0 SSD controllers — capable of up to 14.8 GB/s
Chinese developer of SSD controllers rolls out a PCIe 5.0 x4 controllers for SSDs capable of 14.8 GB/s.
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CNX Software ☛ AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series processors target industrial Hey Hi (AI) with 16 TOPS NPU
AMD has recently “announced” the Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series processors in a community post with the latest AMD embedded devices combining a 16 TOPS NPU based on the AMD XDNA architecture with CPU and GPU elements for a total of 39 TOPS designed for industrial artificial intelligence. The Ryzen Embedded 8000 CPUs will be found in machine vision, robotics, and industrial automation applications to enhance the quality control and inspection processes, enable real-time, route-planning decisions on-device for minimal latency, and predictive maintenance, and autonomous control of industrial processes.
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CNX Software ☛ Hailo-10 M.2 Key-M module brings Generative Hey Hi (AI) to the edge with up to 40 TOPS of performance
Hailo-10 is a new M.2 Key-M module that brings Generative AI capabilities to the edge with up to 40 TOPS of performance at low power. It targets Hey Hi (AI) PCs supporting only the backdoored Windows 11 operating system on x86 or Aarch64 targets at this time. Hailo claims the Hailo-10 is faster and more energy efficient than integrated neural processing unit (NPU) solutions found in defective chip maker Intel SoCs and delivers at least twice the performance at half the power of Intel’s Core Ultra “AI Boost” NPU.
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The Next Platform ☛ Intel’s Chips No Longer Pay More Than Their Fair Share Of Foundry Costs
The biggest benefit that is coming from the separation of the defective chip maker Intel chip design and marketing business from its foundry operations is that Intel’s chip product groups no longer have to shoulder the totality of the immense costs of its manufacturing operations.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Splave uses ASRock's new Z790I Lightning WiFi motherboard to set multiple overclocking world records
Overclocker Splave used one of ASRock’s new motherboards to achieve multiple world records with Intel’s i9-14900KS CPU.
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Hackaday ☛ Finally Taming Thunderbolt With Third-Party Chips
Thunderbolt has always been a functionally proprietary technology, held secret by Intel until “opening” the standard in a way that evidently wasn’t enough for anyone to meaningfully join in. At least, until last year, when we saw announcements about ASMedia developing two chips for Thunderbolt use. Now, we are starting to see open source, letting us tinker with PCIe at prices lower than $100 per endpoint.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Hack conspiracy journalism: Paul Thacker vs. the definition of “physician”
I had a feeling that this week might be a weird one when, first thing Monday morning, I was greeted with an email from a most unexpected source, someone who has been featured on this blog a number of times for his misleading brand of “journalism” (if you can call it that). This time around, I’m referring to conspiracy theorist hack “investigative journalist” Paul Thacker, whom I first discovered and wrote about in 2016 after he had started attacking a scientist named Kevin Folta over GMOs based on the results of an abusive FOIA request. Mr. Thacker only got worse during the pandemic, for example, amplifying antivax messaging by attacking pro-vaccine doctors and scientists (and sometimes even parroting old antivax tropes himself) and publishing what was in my not-so-humble opinion a very deceptively reported exposé of Ventavia, one of the contract research organizations (CROs) hired to help Pfizer carry out the phase 3 randomized controlled trial of its new COVID-19 vaccine.
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Science Alert ☛ This Prickly New Material Literally Pops Viruses, With Up to 96% Success
Hopefully coming to a hospital near you.
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New York Times ☛ South Korea’s Doctors’ Walkout Spurs Thousands of Complaints
Thousands of interns and residents who stopped working in February are testing the public’s high regard for physicians. But there is also anger at the government.
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CS Monitor ☛ Math, English, and bright smiles. Traveling dental care in schools fills a gap.
Nearly half of all U.S. children don’t receive regular dental care, according to a federal report. School-based traveling dental clinics are trying to change that, along with other community health programs and nonprofits.
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University of Michigan ☛ The tell-tale mind: Psychosis and mental health in literature
Content warning: mentions of suicide, sexual assault and mental illness. Lady Macbeth stands in a trance, staring at the blood upon her hands: a contamination that will plague her palms forever.
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Latvia ☛ Flu, Covid figures still on the decline in Latvia
Last week's data show that the number of flu and Covid-19 patients continues to decline, the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC) said April 3.
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists Destroy 99% of Cancer Cells in The Lab With Vibrating Molecules
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Science Alert ☛ First Images of Human Brain From World's Most Powerful MRI Revealed
"A level of precision never reached before."
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New York Times ☛ Eyeglasses Improve Income as Well as Sight, Study Shows
A study found that when farsighted workers in Bangladesh were given free reading glasses, they earned 33 percent more than those who had not.
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New York Times ☛ Terrified Parents, New Age Health Nuts, MAGA Exiles. Meet the R.F.K. Jr. Faithful.
Trump voters are picking up on his mix of New Age individualism, paranoia and intense nostalgia for the America of the 1960s.
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France24 ☛ ‘Forever chemicals’: French MPs approve PFAS product ban
French MPs on Thursday approved the first reading of a bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of non-essential products containing PFAS or "forever chemicals", marking a significant step in environmental health protection. The list of products, however, stopped short of including cookware after protests from manufacturers this week.
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Federal News Network ☛ Justice Department issues data challenge to help address nation’s drug crisis
DoJ wants participants to combine DEA data with other public health and safety data to drive insights that could save lives in the drug crisis.
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists Identified Four Distinct Sleep Types – And How They Affect Health
Which one are you?
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Science Alert ☛ Kombucha Could Trigger Similar Benefits to Fasting, Study Finds
Tasty and possibly healthy.
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teleSUR ☛ WHO: Africa’s Health Systems Depends on Access to Energy
In sub-Saharan Africa, 15 percent of health facilities are yet to be electrified, Vinci said, undermining efforts to reduce a disease burden fueled by poverty and climatic shocks.
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University of Michigan ☛ CSG talks health care updates and addresses elections
The University of Michigan Central Student Government met in the Wolverine Room at the Michigan Union Tuesday night to discuss the University’s health care system and recent projected election results. The meeting began with a presentation from Chief Health Officer Dr. Robert Ernst and Lindsey Mortenson, chief mental health officer.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Cloudbooklet ☛ Apple Store down along with App Store, Fashion Company Apple TV, Podcasts, and Music Affected
Multiple Fashion Company Apple services including App Store, Fashion Company Apple TV, and Music faced an outage, quickly resolved, impacting users globally.
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Relic Entertainment laying off employees a week after being sold by Sega
Relic Entertainment, the company behind hit game franchises like Dawn of War and Company Of Heroes, has announced another round of job cuts.
Last week it was announced that Sega was selling the company to a private investor. This would allow Relic to operate independently and keep making the games it’s known for. This week, they announced layoffs affecting nearly 50 staff.
The company shared the news in a post on LinkedIn, stating that the layoffs were to provide the company with the surest footing for survival in a volatile industry.
“Following last week’s announcement of Relic becoming an independent studio, today we have some difficult news. Earlier today we shared details with Relicans about a layoff. Letting people go was not an easy decision, and was made solely with the goal of providing Relic the best possible chance to survive in an increasingly volatile industry. It does not in any way reflect the expertise, passion, or character of any of the impacted employees.
“We are working closely with those affected providing severance packages, extended benefits, and outplacement support options.
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KitGuru ☛ Relic undergoes layoffs after split from Sega
Just last week, SEGA underwent some structural changes, selling off Relic Entertainment, which is now an independent studio, and laying off workers across its various other divisions. While Relic Entertainment may have gotten away from any potential publisher-led lay-offs, unfortunately, the studio still needs to undergo some cuts to survive the transition.
Relic announced today that it is unfortunately also facing the harsh industry realities hitting other studios in the past 12 months. This has already led to thousands of layoffs across the industry, at studios both big and small. In Relic's case, it will be eliminating less than 50 positions across its company.
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Neowin ☛ Age of Empires IV developer Relic announces new layoffs after becoming an independent studio [Update]
One week ago, Sega announced some major layoffs and also revealed it had sold one of its game studios, Relic Entertainment. Today, the Vancover-based studio announced some layoffs of its own, totaling 41 of its team members.
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Neowin ☛ Apple lays off more than 600 California-based workers
While the iPhone maker didn’t state exactly which people would be losing their jobs, there is a strong possibility that those working on the self-driving car project are those being let go. It was reported in February that Apple was shutting down its car project and that many of the 2,000 employees would be moved over to the company’s generative AI efforts but given today’s news, it looks like 614 of the employees have no place on that project.
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India Times ☛ Apple laid off 600 employees after car, smart screen projects shut shop: report
Apple layoffs come amid a wider restructuring in the tech industry. As per the report, 371 employees were let go from Apple’s main car-related office in Santa Clara, California, while dozens more at multiple satellite offices were impacted. Both the self-driving car and smartwatch products were scrapped by the tech giant earlier this year.
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Mac Observer ☛ Apple’s First Post-Pandemic Layoffs Affect Over 700 Workers
2023 saw a peak of tech layoffs, with companies such as Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and more announcing layoffs, adding up to over a quarter million layoffs across the world, cumulatively but one company that largely avoided layoffs and to a point CEO Tim Cook came forward to comment on it, during a one-on-one interaction with CNBC. When the interviewer asked about Apple’s stance on layoffs, he said that he sees layoffs as a “last resort” and added, “Layoffs is not something we’re talking about at this moment”.
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Yahoo News ☛ Apple cuts jobs after dropping self-driving car plans
Apple has cut more than 600 jobs after reportedly dropping its self-driving car plans.
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Ubisoft Layoffs: 45 jobs cut to enhance ‘collective efficiency’
Ubisoft has eliminated 45 jobs within its “Global Publishing central” and “APAC structures” as part of a restructuring.
“Over the past few months, every team within Ubisoft has been exploring ways to streamline our operations and enhance our collective efficiency so that we are better positioned for success in the long term,” the video game giant said in a statement to GameSpot.
The company added that it’s providing “comprehensive support” to affected staff, but didn’t elaborate on the resources employees will have access to.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Autonomous driving startup Ghost Autonomy gives up the ghost
The autonomous driving software startup Ghost Autonomy Inc., which had raised almost $220 million in venture capital funding, has given up the ghost and closed its business.
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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Krebs On Security ☛ Fake Lawsuit Threat Exposes Privnote Phishing Sites
A cybercrook who has been setting up websites that mimic the self-destructing message service privnote.com accidentally exposed the breadth of their operations recently when they threatened to sue a software company. The disclosure revealed a profitable network of phishing sites that behave and look like the real Privnote, except that any messages containing cryptocurrency addresses will be automatically altered to include a different payment address controlled by the scammers.
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Privacy/Surveillance
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EFF ☛ The White House is Wrong: Section 702 Needs Drastic Change
As we’ve written, the SAFE Act does not go nearly far enough in protecting us from the warrantless surveillance the government now conducts under Section 702. But, with surveillance hawks in the government pushing for a reauthorization of their favorite national security law without any meaningful reforms, the SAFE Act might be privacy and civil liberties advocates’ best hope for imposing some checks upon Section 702.
Section 702 is a serious threat to the privacy of those in the United States. It authorizes the collection of overseas communications for national security purposes, and, in a globalized world, this allows the government to collect a massive amount of Americans’ communications. As Section 702 is currently written, intelligence agencies and domestic law enforcement have backdoor, warrantless access to millions of communications from people with clear constitutional rights.
The White House objects to the SAFE Act’s two major reforms. The first requires the government to obtain court approval before accessing the content of communications for people in the United States which have been hoovered up and stored in Section 702 databases—just like police have to do to read your letters or emails. The SAFE Act’s second reform closes the “data broker loophole” by largely prohibiting the government from purchasing personal data they would otherwise need a warrant to collect. While the White House memo is just the latest attempt to scare lawmakers into reauthorizing Section 702, it omits important context and distorts the key SAFE Act amendments’ effects
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JURIST ☛ Hong Kong revises requirements for transgender individuals to change government ID sex
The Hong Kong government revised on Tuesday the Hong Kong ID cards sex entry policy. After the revision, individuals who have not completed full sex reassignment surgery may apply to change the gender marker on their identity cards.
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Defence/Aggression
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Techdirt ☛ Cops Sued Over Bogus SWAT Raid Predicated On A ‘Find My Device’ Ping
Just recently, we covered a case involving a bogus raid of someone’s home based on nothing more than a ping from Apple’s ‘find my device’ feature. The Denver (CO) PD’s SWAT team raided the home of 77-year-old Ruby Johnson, destroying her garage door and some ceiling panels (?) in the process. The raid was predicated on a “find my device” ping from the owner of an iPhone that had been stolen along with their pickup truck.
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France24 ☛ Senior Iraqi jihadist leader killed in Syria suicide bombing
A prominent Iraqi jihadist leader in Syria's rebel-held northwest was killed in a suicide bombing, the group he was in and a war monitor said on Friday.
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Michael Jackson’s alleged victims request to obtain sealed records that include nude photos of late singer
The photos in question, which were taken in 1993, were "taken by police" and show the "Billie Jean" singer's "genitalia and naked body," according to the new filing.
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Defence Web ☛ Sudanese Armed Forces might collapse at hands of RSF
In early March, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) retook sections of Omdurman from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The reconquest marked one of the SAF’s few victories after months of humiliating retreats and territorial losses since fighting broke out nearly a year ago.
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France24 ☛ Myanmar's military-ruled capital targeted in drone attack, junta says
Myanmar security services shot down seven drones over the military-built capital Naypyidaw on Thursday, the junta said, in what appeared to be a rare attack on the junta's centre of power by its opponents.
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The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand says new Nato partnership to be concluded in 'coming months'
WELLINGTON - New Zealand is committed to working more closely with NATO partners to support collective security and expects to conclude talks on its partnership agreement with the alliance in the \"coming months,\" Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Friday.
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CS Monitor ☛ Five ways Israel is changing after six months of war in Gaza
Civil society’s response to Oct. 7 is planting the seeds of a new political class. But what Israelis see as the worst day in their history is also profoundly challenging their sense of security and belonging.
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JURIST ☛ UK government faces growing calls to suspend arms sales to Israel following aid workers attack
Leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrat Party Sir Ed Davey called upon the UK government on Wednesday to suspend arms sales to Israel.
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New York Times ☛ Lawyers and Retired Judges Call On U.K. Government to End Arms Sales to Israel
The government is coming under more pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel after the strike on a convoy in Gaza that killed seven aid workers, including three Britons.
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CS Monitor ☛ Family, friends remember selfless acts of World Central Kitchen workers killed in Israel
Those who knew the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike while delivering aid to Palestinians are grieving their loved ones and looking for answers. The strike has drawn international condemnation.
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New York Times ☛ World Central Kitchen Demands an Independent Investigation Into Israeli Strike
The Israeli military, which has accepted responsibility for the strike, has started looking into the killings of seven aid workers. But the disaster relief organization said that was not enough.
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New York Times ☛ Israeli Strikes in Damascus and Gaza Show Strengths and Limits of Accuracy
In an airstrike on Monday in Damascus, Israel’s military displayed pinpoint precision. Hours later in Gaza, that same military killed seven aid workers.
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New York Times ☛ Israeli Military Cancels Leave for Combat Units After Airstrike in Syria
Though no reason was given for the moves, Israeli newspapers said they came amid fears of an increased threat from Iran after an Israeli strike in Syria.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Defense Secretary Denounces Israel’s Strike on Aid Workers in Gaza
A bristling phone call reflected a shift in Lloyd J. Austin III’s tone toward his Israeli counterpart as he stressed the need for better protection of aid workers.
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Digital Music News ☛ Mike Pence Launches $2 Million Ad Campaign to Push Fentanylware (TikTok) Ban Through Senate
Former Vice President Mike Pence launches a $2 million ad campaign to push the Senate to support the House bill that would force Chinese-based ByteDance to sell Fentanylware (TikTok) in the United States — or face a ban.
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New York Times ☛ Friday Briefing: Six Months of the Israel-Hamas War
Also, the rise of “carefluencers.”
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YLE ☛ Unsafe storage of guns not uncommon
Finnish law requires firearms to be locked away when not in use, but police are not empowered to check if owners are in compliance.
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YLE ☛ Finland's eastern border to remain shut indefinitely, including boat harbours
"Spring will provide opportunities to put more pressure on Finland," warned Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns).
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YLE ☛ Finnish-Israeli soldier dies in Gaza
The man, a dual citizen of Finland and Israel, died a week before completing his three-year service in the Israeli Defence Forces.
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RFA ☛ North Korean no-no: Carrying bags on your shoulder
That smacks of the capitalist South. Instead, youth are told to use backpacks or carry bags in one hand, socialist style.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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YLE ☛ Finland's first year in Nato: Stubb cites "revolutionary change"
Nato celebrates its 75th anniversary in Brussels on Thursday, along with the accession of Sweden and the first year of Finnish membership.
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Latvia ☛ Latvia plans long-term support for Ukraine at 0.25% of GDP
Latvia plans to sign an agreement with Ukraine on long-term support and security commitments, committing to provide Ukraine with military support of 0.25% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) this year and for the next two years, according to the draft information report prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on April 3.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Aiding Ukraine is a strategic investment, not charity
Some members of Congress are concerned about costs, but US support for Ukraine is an investment in US economic and national security that is already paying off.
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France24 ☛ As NATO marks 75 years, a revitalized Alliance faces an array of new challenges
As NATO marks its 75th anniversary on Thursday, the Alliance is seeing renewed dynamism, particularly with the recent accessions of Finland and Sweden. But the organization also faces multiple challenges, from the war in Ukraine to the possible return to power of Donald Trump in the United States. According to military historian Guillaume Lasconjarias, the transatlantic alliance finds itself in a state of “paradox” between a renewed sense of purpose and a wealth of new challenges.
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France24 ☛ Macron dismisses Russia’s ‘ridiculous’ remarks suggesting Paris had a role in Moscow attack
French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed Thursday as “ridiculous” Russia's defense minister's remarks suggesting Ukraine and France could had a role in last month's deadly Moscow concert hall attack.
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France24 ☛ NATO foreign ministers mark 75 years of alliance, discuss more support for Ukraine
NATO foreign ministers meet on Thursday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their alliance, having agreed to start planning for a greater role in coordinating military aid to Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Strikes May Have Hit 15 Percent Of Russian Refinery Capacity, Says NATO Official
Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries may have disrupted more than 15 percent of Russian capacity, a NATO official said on April 4.
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RFERL ☛ One Of Two Power Lines At Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant Cut Off Grid
Ukraine's power generating company, Enerhoatom, said on April 4 that one of the two power lines at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was disconnected from the grid amid intensive Russian shelling.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Fugitive Reportedly Fighting With Russian Troops In Ukraine
The Agentsvo Telegram channel says Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former city councilor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who is wanted at home for the alleged possession of child pornography, forgery, and obstruction of justice, might have joined Russian troops invading Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Strikes Kill 8 In Eastern Ukraine, Including 4 In 'Despicable' Attack On Kharkiv
Russian drones struck several regions across Ukraine overnight, killing eight people, including four in Kharkiv, where two residential buildings were hit in a double attack that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called "despicable."
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Rejects Macron's Statements on Sending Troops to Ukraine
His statements evidence a readiness to follow the escalation path, Russian diplomat Grushko said.
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New York Times ☛ NATO Wants to Show Support for Ukraine, but Only So Much
Admitting Kyiv is a nonstarter as long as the war with Russia is raging. But the member nations want to show they are supporting Ukraine “for the long haul.”
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New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing
Ukraine expands its draft.
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Latvia ☛ Kariņš: NATO needs a strategy to 'rein in Russia'
Outgoing Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš wrapped up one of his final assignments April 4 at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, where NATO Allies discussed current security and defence priorities in preparation for the NATO summit to be held in Washington in July.
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AntiWar ☛ Russia Finally Says ‘Nyet’ to Continued DPRK Sanctions Enforcement
Last week, a United Nations Security Council resolution to extend the mandate for the UN Panel of Experts on DPRK sanctions was vetoed by the Russian Federation, effectively disbanding the primary enforcement mechanism for the nine rounds of sanctions that have been imposed on the DPRK since 2006 [...]
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Reason ☛ Be Skeptical of That 60 Minutes Report on Havana Syndrome
Russiagate 2.0?
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LRT ☛ ‘Our border is also with Russia’ – interview with Dutch PM
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is seen as the front-runner in the race to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO secretary general, and Lithuania supports his candidacy. In an interview with LRT, he says the Netherlands considers Lithuania’s border with Russia and Belarus as its border.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Has Not Asked India To Cut Russian Oil Purchases, U.S. Treasury Official Says
The United States has not asked India to cut Russian oil imports as the goal of sanctions and the $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the Group of Seven is to have stable global oil supplies while hitting Moscow's revenue, a U.S. Treasury Department official said on April 4.
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RFERL ☛ Far-Right German Lawmaker Denies Receiving Payments From Russia-Linked Propaganda Platform
A lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has denied allegations connecting him with Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns.
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RFERL ☛ EU 'Dithers' As Foreign Agent Laws Spread Across Europe And Central Asia, Says Rights Watchdog
The European Union's "dithering" has allowed "foreign agent" laws to spread in Europe and Central Asia, Human Rights Watch says, increasing the risk to civil society organizations that are already under threat from governments who are seeking to stifle democratic institutions and the free press.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Detains 3 More Central Asians For Alleged Role In Deadly Concert Hall Attack
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on April 4 that it has detained three more Central Asian natives on suspicion of involvement in last month's attack on the Crocus City Hall entertainment center near Moscow that claimed more than 140 lives.
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RFERL ☛ French President Has No Doubt Russia Will Target Paris Olympics
French President Emmanuel Macron said on April 4 that he has no doubt Russia will malevolently target the Paris Olympics this summer.
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RFERL ☛ Finland Extends Russian Border Closing Indefinitely
The Finnish government said it will extend the closure of border stations with Russia until further notice and added several ports to its list where travel would be prohibited.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Detains 3 More Suspects Involved in Moscow Terror Attack
Since March 22, eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the Crocus Hall attack.
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RFERL ☛ 8 Uzbeks Killed In Traffic Accident In Kazakhstan
Police in the northwestern Kazakh region of Aqtobe said on April 4 that eight Uzbek citizens had died in a traffic accident on a highway connecting with the Russian city of Samara.
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New York Times ☛ In Moscow Attack, a Handful of Suspects but a Million Tajiks Under Suspicion
The main suspects in a deadly assault near Moscow were from Tajikistan. Now many other Tajiks, who fill jobs in Russia’s wartime economy, are being deported and harassed.
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Meduza ☛ ‘Outsourcing execution’ Can Russia extradite the Moscow terrorist attack suspects to Belarus, which has the death penalty? — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian governor stabbed after town hall meeting — Meduza
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YLE ☛ New Defence Forces commander: Finland under no special threat
General Janne Jaakkola, who took up his post as Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces this week, told the media on Thursday that there is no particular military threat to Finland from Russia.
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Latvia ☛ Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal visits Latvia
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is in Latvia Thursday, April 4 as part of a whistlestop tour to northern Europe.
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Meduza ☛ No Prigozhin, no problem Wagner Group shifts focus back to Mali in its largest public Africa recruitment drive ever — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Putin says Russia cannot be target for Islamic fundamentalists due to the country’s ‘unique example of interfaith harmony’ — Meduza
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teleSUR ☛ Moscow Attack Aimed to Damage Russia's Unity: President Putin
"Our country demonstrates a unique example of unity among different faiths, religions, and ethnicities," he said.
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Latvia ☛ Man arrested in Rīga for glorifying Putin
State police have detained a young man born in 2002 for war crimes and praising Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and the man has been placed in custody, police reported.
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Latvia ☛ STRATCOMCOE offers podcast on 'The new age of human connectivity'
The Rīga-based NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Exellence (STRATCOMCOE) has a new videocast available in its series examining topical issues within its remit.
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Environment
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RFA ☛ Taiwan accelerates recovery efforts after worst quake in 25 years
Rescue teams are racing against time looking for missing earthquake victims in Hualien County.
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The Straits Times ☛ Torrential rains drench Sydney triggering flood warnings
SYDNEY - Torrential rains pummelled Australia's southeast on Friday, dumping almost a month's worth of rainfall on Sydney and triggering flood warnings, with authorities urging people to avoid non-essential travel and stay indoors.
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Energy/Transportation
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DeSmog ☛ Pathways Alliance Co-founder Donated to Pierre Poilievre Campaign, Records Show
For the past year and a half an industry group called the Pathways Alliance has been running national ads claiming oil sands producers are climate leaders “on the road to net zero.”
But federal records newly reviewed by DeSmog reveal that the group’s co-founder has personally donated to the Conservative Party of Canada, whose leader Pierre Poilievre is campaigning to abolish the country’s most prominent climate policy, a nationwide tax on carbon emissions, saying it brings “misery and suffering on the Canadian people.”
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DeSmog ☛ Vast Majority of Global CO2 Emissions Tied to Just 57 Entities
Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, a small number of fossil fuel entities — just 57 corporate and state producers — have been responsible for 80 percent of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. And a majority of those actors have only expanded production in the intervening years.
That’s according to a new report released today by InfluenceMap detailing its Carbon Majors project, an influential database of fossil fuel production data. The database analyzes the individual carbon emissions of 122 “carbon majors” — publicly owned corporations, nation states, and state-owned entities — that, together, are responsible for more than 70 percent of fossil fuel and cement emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
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Hackaday ☛ Ultimate Power: Lithium-Ion Batteries In Series
At some point, the 3.6 V of a single lithium ion battery just won’t do, and you’ll absolutely want to stack LiIon cells in series. When you need high power, you’ve either got to increase voltage or current, and currents above say 10 A require significantly beefed up components. This is how you’re able to charge your laptop from your USB-C powerbank, for instance.
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Wildlife/Nature
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Science Alert ☛ There Are Two Spiders in This Picture, And It Could Be a First of Its Kind
Spot the spider. No, the OTHER spider.
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Finance
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RFA ☛ China’s crackdown highlights murky world of local finances
Local asset exchanges are being shut down amid warnings of financial risks from unregulated products.
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RFA ☛ Taiwan crisis would risk hundreds of billions in G7 exports: report
Retaliatory Chinese trade and economic sanctions could hit global trade, but will also cost Beijing dear.
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RFA ☛ US Treasury secretary in China amid ‘overcapacity’ dispute
Janet Yellen says subsidies for Chinese industries are leading to a ‘flood’ of cheap goods.
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Debt From Above: The Carbon Credit Coup
Latin America is quietly being forced into a carbon market scheme through regional contractual obligations – enforced by the satellites of a US intelligence-linked firm – which seeks to create an inter-continental "smart grid,” erode national and local sovereignty, and link carbon-based life to the debt-based monetary system via a Bitcoin sidechain.
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YLE ☛ SAK: Political strikes to end – for now
The labour movement has been ratcheting up political strikes since September in an effort to pressure the right-wing government – with little apparent effect so far.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Democracy Now ☛ From Prison to the Presidency in 3 Weeks: In Senegal, Pan-Africanist Opposition Figures Take Office
Senegal has inaugurated the youngest elected president in Africa. Newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye nominated Ousmane Sonko to be his prime minister this week, capping a remarkable three-week period that saw the two opposition figures go from prison to ruling Senegal, vowing to fight poverty, injustice and corruption. Faye and Sonko were released from prison in mid-March after previous President Macky Sall had attempted to delay the vote, sparking fears of an anti-democratic election process. Faye’s ultimate triumph, running on a platform of pan-Africanism and reform, has been a cause for celebration among many Senegalese, including former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, who says “democracy prevailed,” giving the country’s younger generation a long-awaited opportunity to “shake up the system,” adds the Senegalese lawyer and political analyst Ibrahima Kane. Both join the show from Senegal’s capital Dakar.
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The Strategist ☛ South Korea approaches parliamentary elections
South Korea’s domestic politics are plagued by trends including polarisation, truth decay, strongly differing perspectives, sharp personalities, and a widening gender divide.
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Federal News Network ☛ Understatement: Congress doesn’t function properly
Survey of congressional staff shows worrisome trends in how the crucial staff feels about their jobs, their working conditions, and the behavior of Members.
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Pro Publica ☛ 2024 Elections to Use District Maps Challenged as Discriminatory
With the Republicans holding just a two-vote majority in the House of Representatives, voters will go to the polls in November in at least two congressional districts that have been challenged as discriminatory against people of color.
After months of delays and appeals, courts have decided in the last two weeks that the maps in South Carolina and Florida will stand, giving Republican incumbents an advantage.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Reason ☛ Journal of Free Speech Law: "Lies and the Law and Introduction," by Prof. Genevieve Lakier
The final article posted from the Knight Institute’s Lies, Free Speech, and the Law symposium.
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Techdirt ☛ Supreme Court To Nick Sandmann: ‘Lol, No’ To Hearing His Omnibus Defamation Lawsuit Against News Orgs
Remember Nick Sandmann? He was the dude who became something of a Rorschach Test for how much your political beliefs (in any direction) influence your views of a short video, when EVERYONE HAD OPINIONS on his MAGA-hat wearing encounter with a Native American demonstrator, Nathan Phillips. Also, everyone magically became experts in reading body language and facial expressions.
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JURIST ☛ Idaho Senate passes bill to restrict availability of books ‘harmful to minors’ in public libraries
The Idaho Senate approved House Bill No. 710 Wednesday, which declares that a school or public library shall not promote or make available any conduct that is deemed harmful to minors.
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Stanford University ☛ “Gladiator combat” to replace dispute resolution between students
Richard Saller's brand-new free speech policy trades in the pen for the sword.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Techdirt ☛ Let Me Rewrite That For You: NY Times Misinforms Readers About RFK & Biden
It’s been a few years since I last did a “Let me rewrite that for you” post. This idea was first suggested by the brilliant press critic Dan Froomkin. Basically, when he finds a bit of journalistic malpractice, he rewrites it the way a good journalist would, to show why the original was so wrong. The last time I did it was about some misleading coverage of the documents released by Frances Haugen by The Washington Post.
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Press Gazette ☛ How Independent’s Buzzfeed deal supercharges its social control media reach
Food network Tasty UK has 20 million followers on Facebook (Farcebook) alone.
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RFA ☛ Spurned by local viewers, Hong Kong TV stations look north for profit
Broadcasters are filling the air with more Chinese content to draw mainland advertisers.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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RFERL ☛ Kazakh Prison Guards To Face Trial For Allegedly Torturing Inmates
Prosecutors in the central Kazakh region of Ulytau said on April 3 that seven prison guards and five soldiers from the State Penitentiary Service will face trial for allegedly torturing inmates, an extremely rare case in the Central Asian state.
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Reason ☛ Federal Appeals Court Says Texas Inmate's Decade-Long Lawsuit Over Sleep Deprivation Can Keep Going
Michael Garrett and other Texas inmates get less than four hours of sleep a night. He argues it's cruel and unusual punishment.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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APNIC ☛ Exploring the realm of cyber early warning systems
Guest Post: Applying physical early warning system frameworks to cyber hazards.
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APNIC ☛ Abuse of dangling DNS records on cloud platforms
Guest Post: Real-life hijacks of cloud resources identified for the first time.
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Techdirt ☛ FCC Prepares To Restore Net Neutrality, But The New Rules Might Be Weaker Than The Ones Discarded By Trump
The FCC has announced that it will vote to restore the net neutrality rules stripped away by the Trump administration during an agency meeting on April 25.
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SANS ☛ Slicing up DoNex with Binary Ninja, (Thu, Apr 4th)
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Kev Quirk ☛ The Small Web ♥️ Blogrolls
I've had my own Blogroll for a while now, but I'm seeing them start to pop up all over the small web, and it's glorious.
I'm not going to insult your intelligence by talking about what a blogroll is. Fact is, if you've clicked on this post, you likely know what one is and I hate it when posts explain what something is at the beginning. Anyway, that's a post for another day...
Discovery
Blogrolls are a fantastic way of discovering personal blogs. If you're on a blog that you enjoy, the likelihood is that the person writing the blog probably enjoys similar content as you. So if they have a blogroll, you're likely to enjoy at least some of their recommendations.
As a result of this meandering discovery, my RSS reader currently sports nearly 200 blogs and I spend more time there, reading interesting posts, than on Mastodon. It's bloody great.
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Reworked Capsule + More!
Just finished migrating my capule and website to a new server, as well as deploying a number of planned changes! Most of the changes are just making it easier for me to work on my capsule and administrate the server, but there are some nice new things for people other than me too.
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Internet Society ☛ When “Free” Comes With Strings Attached
“Free streaming subscription with mobile plan!” “Data-free music streaming!” ”Use these top 3 social apps without using up your data!” These are just a few examples of the types of promotions you’ll see coming from telecommunications providers around the world to entice people into selecting their service.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ Is Amazon the next big target for patent monopoly disputes in Europe?
Patent lawsuits are nothing new for Amazon. In 2009, I.C.B.M. sued the online retailer for alleged infringement of an e-commerce patent. In 2010, Discovery sued for infringement of a patent monopoly by Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and, in 2019, a developer of voice software took legal action against Amazon’s virtual voice assistant, Alexa.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Getting a (further) telehandle on the issue of obviousness – Bamford v Manitou in the English Court of Appeal
Introduction It is common for parties to English patent monopoly litigation to settle their differences after the first instance judgment on the merits from the Court.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Guest Post: Where Are the Patent Judge Shoppers Going?
In the past few weeks, more and more people outside of patent monopoly law have learned about ‘judge shopping’—quirks in procedural rules that allow plaintiffs to pick not just a court but the individual judge who will hear their case.
Republican state attorneys general and conservative activists have been exploiting those rules to challenge federal government policies on abortion, immigration, gun control, transgender rights, and more in front of sympathetic, Republican-appointed judges, primarily in Amarillo and Wichita Falls, Texas.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ USPTO Fees: Targeted Higher Fees to Push for Compact
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently proposed a new fee structure for fiscal year 2025, which includes significant increases in various patent monopoly fees. [Read the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] While incremental fee adjustments are common, the proposed changes for FY2025 are particularly noteworthy due to their magnitude in certain targeted areas and potential impact on applicant behavior. Many filers will likely change their practices based on the new higher fees. The USPTO appears to be using these fee adjustments as a tool to shape patent monopoly prosecution strategies, encouraging more compact patent monopoly applications and smaller patent monopoly families. >
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Equitable IP entity Communication Interface Technologies virtual connection patent monopoly prior art
Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 6,574,239, owned by Communication Interface Technologies LLC, an entity of Equitable IP Corporation. The ‘239 patent monopoly relates to client-server computing architectures and communication techniques. More particularly, the invention relates to a system whereby a mobile worker and a central server may maintain a virtually continuous connection without the need to maintain a physical connection continuously.
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Trademarks
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Techdirt ☛ Ohio State University Challenges Trademark App For Vodka Brand ‘VOHIO”
We’ve had a couple of posts about Ohio State University’s theories on trademark law over the past couple of years, with all of them centering on the school’s application, ultimately somehow granted by the USPTO, to trademark the word “the.” The whole thing was so absurd that even noted college football cheerleader Kirk Herbstreit thought the whole thing was dumb, but here we are. The point of this preamble is that the school doesn’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to being sane on matters of trademark law.
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Recent 2(d) Appeals Turn Out?
Here are the three Section 2(d) appeals recently decided by the TTAB. So far this year, the affirmance rate in Section 2(d) appeals is near 95%! How do you think these three came out? No hints this time. [Answers in first comment.]
In re Biobu SARL, Serial No. 90730546 (March 26, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cindy B. Greenbaum). [Section 2(d) refusal of EKOBO for "Dishes, plates and bowls; cups; serving dishes and serving trays; and serving spoons and serving tongs; bathroom accessories, namely, soap boxes, soap dishes, tooth brush holders, bath sponges, soap dispensers, bathroom trays," in view of the registered mark ECOBOO for “Bath brushes; Bottle cleaning brushes; Cleaning cloth; Cleaning cloths; Cloths for cleaning; Dish cloths; Loofahs for household purposes; Sponges for household purposes; Abrasive sponges for scrubbing the skin; Bath products, namely, body sponges; Bath products, namely, loofah sponges; Cleaning sponges; Fabric clean room wipes; Facial cleansing sponges; Kitchen sponges; Massage sponges; Scouring sponges."]
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ Pophouse Acquires KISS Catalog, Name and Likeness Rights, and Trademarks – ‘Our Mission Is to Fulfill the Band’s Vision to Become Immortal’
Pophouse Entertainment has officially acquired the catalog, name and likeness rights, and trademarks of KISS – with plans for a biopic and other projects already in motion. Pophouse reached out this morning with word of its latest music-IP investment, having closed a deal for the work of Cyndi Lauper in late February.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Pirate IPTV Investigations Are Expensive, Time-Consuming & Prone to Misfire
In September 2023, Swedish anti-piracy group Rights Alliance was looking forward to the upcoming trial of a man suspected of being behind a pirate IPTV service. He registered the site's domain and in 2020 received almost $190,000 in cryptocurrency from sales. The case was backed by IP address evidence and a financial investigation, but things didn't go exactly to plan. A court of appeal decision handed down Thursday couldn't alleviate the disappointment.
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Techdirt ☛ Copyright Nonsense Is Back? Spain’s On Again, Off Again Telegram Block
In a bizarre turn of events over the past few weeks, Spain’s high court ordered a ban on Telegram because some users (gasp!) used the tool to share copyright-protected content. The judge then suspended his own order a few days later after receiving a lot of criticism. Then, the judge asked the police to investigate the potential impact of such a ban on users. Confused? Welcome to the twisted world of copyright nonsense.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Plex Asks GitHub to Take Down 'Reshare' Repository Over Piracy Fears
Plex is a multi-functional streaming platform that allows users to watch, organize, and curate their favorite media entertainment. Sharing Plex libraries is also an option; one that comes with piracy concerns. In an effort to "avoid the growth of piracy", Plex asked GitHub to remove a repository that allows people to reshare libraries that were not originally theirs.
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Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Returns as Official Entertainment Partner of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (Might Want to Skip Those Universal Music Songs Though) [Ed: Beijing controlling European culture?]
TikTok returns for the third year running as the Official Entertainment Partner for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, the 68th edition of the world’s largest live music event. With over 589,000 posts for #Eurovision already, Fentanylware (TikTok) is poised as the Eurovision Official Entertainment Partner.
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Digital Music News ☛ Indie Advocate Impala Backs Universal Music Group’s Fentanylware (TikTok) Pullout, Raises ‘Value Gap’ Concerns
Impala Music backs UMG’s decision to part ways with TikTok, citing ‘value gap’ concerns and urging DSPs to address the ‘unintended consequences’ of proposed streaming reforms. Impala, the European organization for independent music companies and national associations, has been hard at work consulting its members on “moment economy” services like Fentanylware (TikTok) and their perceived value.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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