Links 18/04/2024: Misuse of COVID Stimulus Money, Governments Buying Your Data
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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Stanford University ☛ Outside the ‘SoundBox’: Student-created instrument features at SF Symphony
Inspired by YouTuber Wintergatan’s instrument of the same name, the Modulin provided concert-goers with a multimodal experience to make music on the spot.
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Science
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Stanford University ☛ Written in the stars: Interdisciplinary Sky Project celebrates the solar eclipse
The Shared Sky Project encourages people to express experiences tied to science, including events like the solar eclipse, through poetry.
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Science Alert ☛ We Have The First Evidence of Ancient Human Life in This Vast Lava Tube Cave
A time-capsule of human history.
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Science Alert ☛ Major First: Quantum Information Produced, Stored, And Retrieved
Two parts connected at last.
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Education
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RFA ☛ Attend flag ceremony or miss key math exam, Hong Kong student told
A prominent education blogger receives multiple complaints about the incident at a high school.
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YLE ☛ Finnish uni loses designer chairs to discerning furniture thief
Aalto University's Espoo campus lost two expensive Karuselli chairs, but security cameras caught the theft on tape.
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Reason ☛ Regulating Smartphones? Jonathan Haidt vs. Libertarians
The author of The Anxious Generation argues that parents, schools, and society must keep kids off of social control media.
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Hardware
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Tom's Hardware ☛ US sanctions transform China into legacy chip production juggernaut — production jumped 40% in Q1 2024
China's legacy chip production has skyrocketed since U.S. export sanctions took effect. In Q1 2024, China's legacy chip production was three times what it was in Q1 2019.
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MIT Technology Review ☛ Why it’s so hard for China’s chip industry to become self-sufficient
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. I don’t know about you, but I only learned last week that there’s something connecting MSG and computer chips.
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Hackaday ☛ Custom Dog Door Prevents Culinary Atrocities
Riley, an 8 lb pug, has more beauty than brains, and a palate as unrefined as crude oil. While we hate criticizing others’ interests and tastes, his penchant for eating cat poop needed to stop. After a thorough exploration of a variety of options, including cat food additives that make its excrement taste worse (HOW? WHY? Clearly taste wasn’t the issue!), automatic litter boxes that stow the secretions, and pet doors that authenticate access to the room with the litter box, [Science Buddies] eventually settled on a solution that was amenable to all members of the family.
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Hackaday ☛ VCF East 2024 Was Bigger And Better Than Ever
I knew something had changed before I even paid for my ticket to this year’s Vintage Computer Festival East at the InfoAge Science and History Museum in Wall, New Jersey.
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CNX Software ☛ Intel Processor U300/U300E penta-core Raptor Lake CPU find its way into mini PCs and network appliances
Some mini PCs and firewall/network appliances are starting to show up with the defective chip maker Intel Processor U300/U300E penta-core CPU on Aliexpress and Amazon. It looks to be a 15W entry-level part for the 13th Gen Raptor Lake processor that may provide a more powerful and slightly more expensive alternative to the popular Alder Lake-N Processor and Core i3-N305 SoCs.
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The Next Platform ☛ What Happens When Hyperscalers And Clouds Buy Most Servers And Storage?
We have a long-standing joke that dates from the early 2000s, when the hyperscalers – there were not yet cloud builders as we now know them – started having hundreds of millions of users and millions of servers and storage arrays to run applications for them at the same time there was the beginnings of consolidation among the OEMs who created the servers and storage used by nearly all enterprises, including dot-com startups.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ Never-Before-Seen Quantum Hybrid State Discovered on Arsenic Surface
Theory didn't predict this one.
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Science Alert ☛ Some Microbes Are Tiny 'Vampires' With a Deadly Attraction to Human Blood
But this discovery could be useful.
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Science Alert ☛ Genes For Strength May Protect Against Disease And Early Death, Large Study Finds
Some people seem to have all the luck.
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RFA ☛ Does China import zero soybeans from Paraguay?
Verdict: Missing Context
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New York Times ☛ Long-Acting Drugs May Revolutionize H.I.V. Prevention and Treatment
New regimens in development, including once-weekly pills and semiannual shots, could help control the virus in hard-to-reach populations.
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Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico’s Health Ministry issues measles alert
Mexico has reported 859 probable cases of measles or rubella, all of which are suspected to have originated outside of Mexico.
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Federal News Network ☛ Veterans Affairs’ IG offers advice for troubled electronic health record
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department launched a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) at the Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago.
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The Straits Times ☛ 1 in 3 South Koreans lives alone, more than half are women
More respondents to the survey are willing to live as a single and not get married.
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teleSUR ☛ US Admits It Has No Evidence China Encourages Fentanyl Shipment
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the drugs most frequently involved in overdose deaths.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 6.1% doctors left Hong Kong public hospitals last year as authorities continue push to hire non-local medics
Hong Kong’s public hospitals saw a turnover rate of 6.1 per cent for full-time doctors in 2023, authorities have said as they continued to recruit non-local medics to address the manpower shortage.
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RFA ☛ Coffee in North Korea: It’s not just for capitalists anymore
Spreading among the elite, coffee is replacing cigarettes as a typical bribe.
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Reason ☛ COVID Stimulus Money Lined the Pockets of Scammers and Fueled Inflation
Money supposedly spent to help Americans may actually have done a lot of damage.
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New York Times ☛ Women Talk Through Their Abortions on TikTok [Ed: Now conflating Fentanylware (TikTok) with reality]
At a time of heightened confusion and legal battles over access to abortion, women are looking to social control media for answers.
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New York Times ☛ What a Fentanylware (TikTok) Ban Would Mean for the U.S. Defense of an Open Internet
Global digital rights advocates are watching to see if Congress acts, worried that other countries could follow suit with app bans of their own.
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Reason ☛ N.C. Court Holds Selective COVID Shutdown May Have Violated State Constitution's "Fruits of Labor" Clause
From N.C. Bar & Tavern Ass'n v. Cooper, decided yesterday by the N.C. Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge April Wood, joined by Judges Donna Stroud and Jefferson Griffin: Plaintiffs appeal from the trial court's order granting summary judgment for Defendant and dismissing all their claims arising [...]
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Latvia ☛ Flu and Covid figures keep improving in Latvia
The number of influenza and Covid-19 patients continued to fall last week according to data published April 17 by the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC).
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Bruce Schneier ☛ Using AI-Generated Legislative Amendments as a Delaying Technique [Ed: Conflating chatbots with "AI"]
Canadian legislators proposed 19,600 amendments—almost certainly AI-generated—to a bill in an attempt to delay its adoption.
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CRN ☛ ConnectWise Lays Off ‘Less Than 100’ Staffers To ‘Improve Operations’
ConnectWise today laid off “certain colleague positions” throughout the company to improve operations and spearhead partner growth opportunities.
“ConnectWise has undergone limited organizational changes to improve operations and ensure resources align with our partners' growth opportunities,” the company told CRN in an emailed statement. “As part of these changes, the company has made the difficult decision to eliminate certain colleague positions. ConnectWise remains committed to our partners' experience and is confident in our plans to support their success.”
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Boom or bust for Google stock as it readies for layoffs
Despite the staggering artificial intelligence (AI) boom that has permeated the stock market and multiple industries since at least the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, employment in the technology sector has been far from stable.
In fact, since the start of 2023, approximately 300,000 workers lost their jobs and Elon Musk’s beleaguered electric vehicle (EV) maker, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) is poised to add several tens of thousands more to the tally.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Google announces its second major round of layoffs this year
Google LLC is said today it’s letting go a significant number of workers in what will be its second round of layoffs this year. The layoffs will mostly affect the company’s financial and real estate departments, a report in Business Insider said.
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New York Times ☛ Google Fires 28 Employees Who Protested an Israeli Cloud Contract
The dismissals escalated longstanding tensions between company leaders and activist employees opposed to supplying technology to Israel’s government.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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NYOB ☛ EDPB Opinion: Meta cannot rely on "Pay or Okay"
EDPB Opinion: Meta cannot rely on "Pay or Okay"
First Update on the EDPB's "pay or okay" opinion on larger platforms.
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Reason ☛ Biden Opposes Bill That Would Keep Cops and Feds From Buying Your Data
The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act would prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing data that they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.
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AccessNow ☛ U.S. Senate must stop the biggest expansion of surveillance power in 20 years
Ahead of an expected U.S. Senate vote this week that would not only reauthorize but expand the spying law Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [...]
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Scoop News Group ☛ With a mysterious surveillance target identified, calls for Congress to change course
Civil liberties advocates want to narrow the scope of an amendment to a controversial surveillance law.
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Reason ☛ New Privacy Rights Act Exempts Government and Gives More Power to the FTC
An interview with Consumer Choice Center Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski.
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Scoop News Group ☛ House passes bill to limit personal data purchases by law enforcement, intelligence agencies
The bill’s passage was cheered by privacy advocates, but faces an uncertain future in the Senate and with the White House.
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Defence/Aggression
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France24 ☛ Myanmar's Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest due to heatwave
Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave, the military government said. On Wednesday it also granted amnesty for over 3,000 prisoners to mark this week’s traditional New Year holiday.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippine Coast Guard to join military drills with United States
The exercises will be focused near the potential flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China, US defence chiefs hold first talks in almost 18 months amid tensions over South China Sea, Taiwan
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun via video teleconference Tuesday, in the first substantive talks between the superpowers’ defense chiefs in nearly 18 months.
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RFA ☛ China warns against US-Philippine joint military exercise
Chinese foreign ministry says the expanded annual exercise Balikatan destabilizes the region.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines says decision to strengthen ties with Japan, US a ‘sovereign choice’
The Philippines urged China to "reflect upon its own actions" in the South China Sea.
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The Straits Times ☛ China foreign minister says Beijing and Jakarta want regional peace and stability
Chinese investment in Indonesia reached more than $10 billion in 2023.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese researchers use low-cost Nvidia chip for hypersonic weapon —unrestricted Nvidia Jetson TX2i powers guidance system
Nvidia's Jetson TX2i system-on-chip is good enough for hypersonic weapons.
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IT Wire ☛ Five Australians held in operation to take down cyber-crime ring
“Australians who have used LabHost to steal data should not expect to remain anonymous. Authorities have obtained a vast amount of evidence during this investigation and we are working to identify anyone who has used this platform to target innocent victims.”
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RFERL ☛ Kyrgyz Ministry Reportedly Asks Internet Providers To Limit Fentanylware (TikTok) Accessibility
Media reports in Kyrgyzstan cited the Digital Development Ministry as saying that it had instructed Internet providers to limit access to Fentanylware (TikTok) as of April 18.
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Pro Publica ☛ Blinken Has Not Sanctioned Israeli Units Linked to Killings, Rapes Despite Staff Recommendations
A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses.
But Blinken has failed to act on the proposal in the face of growing international criticism of the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza, according to current and former State Department officials.
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Atlantic Council ☛ China vs. IMEC: The Minilateral Movement in the Middle East
Jean-Loup Samaan joins to dissect the rise of the new minilateral movement in the Middle East, IMEC, the groundbreaking corridor, and its impact on the region compared to Chinese initiatives.
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RFERL ☛ Iranian Political Prisoners Launch Hunger Strike Over Wave Of Executions
A group of Iranian political prisoners around the country have launched a hunger strike to protest a wave of death sentences that could push Iran's execution rate even higher, human rights activists reported.
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France24 ☛ Violent arrests seen in Iran as 'morality patrols' resume in nationwide crackdown
A year and a half after the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, police in Iran have resumed “morality patrols” to crack down on women violating the Islamic Republic’s strict hijab rules. Patrols consisting of uniformed male officers and female officers in black chadors have been seen in the capital Tehran and other cities, along with the notorious white vans used to transport arrested women to police stations.
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France24 ☛ Investigation: Are there really rising cases of cannibalism in Haiti or is it fake news?
Rumours that cannibalism is common in Haiti circulated in March on social control media. FRANCE 24's Observers team looked into these reports and found that several of the videos upon which these rumours seem to be based actually have nothing to do with Haiti – even though several real instances of cannibalism appear to have taken place in Haiti between 2019 and 2024. However, this gruesome practice remains extremely rare. But this hasn’t stopped conservative social control media accounts based in the United States and the Dominican Republic from widely spreading this rumour. Elon Musk shared one of the most widely shared posts, which garnered around 17 million views.
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The Strategist ☛ China extends anticorruption drive to Belt and Road
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is increasingly taking a stand against corruption in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Bribing foreign officials in securing projects has always been an unspoken BRI mechanism, but what’s become ...
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AntiWar ☛ Trilateral Militarization: From Missiles to Nukes
In the Philippines, the proponents of the trilateral alliance frame it as a response to the “threat of assertive China.” In reality, the unwarranted trilateral alliance seems to be the result of a longstanding US maritime counter-insurgency (COIN) campaign, resting on the work of the US Navy Department and other US interests.
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New York Times ☛ Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran
Israeli officials say they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened.
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New York Times ☛ Israel ponders a response to Iran’s attack, with each choice a risk.
In debating how to respond to last weekend’s Iranian airstrike, Israel’s war cabinet is choosing between options that could deter future attacks or de-escalate hostilities.
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New York Times ☛ Hezbollah Attack Injures 14 Israeli Soldiers in Border Village
The Lebanese militant group said the drone and missile attack was in response to Israeli airstrikes that killed two Hezbollah commanders.
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France24 ☛ Security fears over splashy River Seine opening ceremony of Paris Olympics
The talk before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games ideally should be about its grandiose backdrop: a summer sun setting on the Seine River as athletes drift by in boats and wave to cheering crowds. But behind the romantic veneer that Paris has long curated, mounting security concerns already have had an impact on the unprecedented open-air event.
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The Straits Times ☛ Underwater drones to be tested in Japan with aims to promote domestic manufacturing
Japan expects AUVs to be used for inspecting offshore wind power generation facilities and underwater surveillance.
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Pro Publica ☛ How Schools Should Handle Student Threats, According to Some Experts
After a former student killed six people last year at the private Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, state leaders have been looking for ways to make schools safer. Their focus so far has been to ramp up penalties against current students who make mass threats against schools.
Months after the killings, legislators passed a law requiring students who make such threats to be expelled for a year (unless a school superintendent decides otherwise) and allowing schools not to enroll them afterward. This year, the legislature passed bills that make the offense a felony and that revoke driving privileges for a year.
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RFA ☛ Hong Kong arrests 291 for endangering national security in past 4 years
Those arrested range from 15 to 90 years old, the government says.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japan 'two-faced' for seeking closer ties while warning of China threat, Chinese state media says
An editorial in a Chinese state-controlled newspaper admonished "two-faced" Japan for inaccurately portraying it as a regional security threat.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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LRT ☛ Security tops Lithuanian voter concerns in EP elections – survey
The upcoming European Parliament elections are more important than ever to the EU citizens, the latest Eurobarometer survey shows. The most pressing issues for Europeans are poverty reduction, health, as well as defence and security. The latter is also the most important topic for Lithuanians.
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YLE ☛ Finnish president making first state visit to Sweden, with focus on defence, security
The visit is meant to boost cooperation between the Nordic countries "in the current security policy context, both bilaterally and as members of Nato", according to the Office of the President.
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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France24 ☛ Embattled Boeing in spotlight as Congress calls whistleblower to testify about plane defects
Boeing is the subject of back-to-back Senate hearings Wednesday, as Congress examines allegations of major safety failures at the embattled aircraft manufacturer.
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Environment
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Science Alert ☛ Indonesian 'Ring of Fire' Volcano Eruption Sparks Tsunami Alert, Evacuations
It could collapse into the sea.
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Science Alert ☛ Global Income Set to Shrink by One Fifth by 2050 Under Climate Change
Doing nothing has come at a devastating cost.
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New York Times ☛ Dubai Flooding Photos and Video: Heavy Rains in UAE and Oman Kill at Least 19
The heavy rains also flooded parts of Dubai International Airport, causing scores of flight delays and cancellations, and brought other cities in the U.A.E. to a standstill.
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Energy/Transportation
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The Straits Times ☛ Upcoming China train station looks like a sanitary pad, say netizens
The design was approved by the the government in Jiangsu province and the China Railway Group.
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Hackaday ☛ This Go-Kart Rides On A Pallet
Many beginner woodworkers, looking to offset the introductory costs of starting a hobby, will source their wood from pallets. Generally they’re easily found and can be low or no cost, but typically require a bit of work before they’re usable in a project. [Garage Avenger] is looking to do something a little outside of the box with his pallet project, though. He’s using raw pallets as a chassis for a four-speed go-kart, partially for the challenge and excitement and also to one-up a Pinterest post.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Alleged cryptojacker arrested for money laundering, $3.5 million in cloud service fraud — ultimately mined less than $1 million in crypto
'CP3O' allegedly exploited clown computing providers by creating two companies where multiple accounts were created under respective names, and exploited benefits without paying the bills.
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Yahoo News ☛ AI Computing Is on Pace to Consume More Energy Than India, Arm Says
AI’s voracious need for computing power is threatening to overwhelm energy sources, requiring the industry to change its approach to the technology, according to Arm Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer [...]
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Wildlife/Nature
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New Yorker ☛ The Highest Tree House in the Amazon
In 2023, conservationists and carpenters converged on Peru to build luxury accommodations in the rain-forest canopy.
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Science Alert ☛ Ancient Bones Hint at The Most Colossal Marine Reptile The World Has Ever Seen
As long as two buses!
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Science Alert ☛ Amazingly, Some Bumblebees Can Survive Underwater For a Week
Scientists found out by accident.
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Overpopulation
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ California sets long-awaited drinking water limit for ‘Erin Brockovich’ contaminant
California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie “Erin Brockovich.”
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Finance
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s economy grew 5.3% in first quarter, but property sector remains obstacle to recovery
China’s economy expanded far more than expected in the first quarter of 2024, data showed Tuesday, but disappointing retail and industrial figures suggested leaders face severe headwinds to hit their annual growth target.
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YLE ☛ Opposition slams austerity budget
Opposition parties were unhappy with plans announced on Tuesday to raise taxes and cut spending to improve the state's bottom line by some three billion euros in 2025.
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YLE ☛ Check the list: These are the main changes as the government cuts spending and raises taxes
Students will no longer receive general housing benefits, high-earners and pensioners will pay more tax and VAT will increase by 1.5 percentage points.
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YLE ☛ Wednesday's papers: Biggest budget losers, Pentagon warns Finland and bugs over pesticides
A social policy professor says that students and people reliant on public healthcare will likely lose out the most.
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New York Times ☛ Inflation in U.K. Slows to 3.2%, Lowest in More Than 2 Years
As the economy cools, pressure is building on the Bank of England to cut interest rates.
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WhichUK ☛ Inflation drops to 3.2% – how many savings accounts can beat it?
Chocolate biscuits and crumpets have fallen in price
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The Hindu ☛ Google lays off unspecified number of employees, moves roles to other global hubs
“We collectively have to make tough decisions,” Google Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat wrote in a memo that underlined the importance of organising teams to leverage changes AI has brought to the tech sector.
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Express And Star ☛ Google confirms more job cuts as part of company reorganisation | Express & Star
Google is cutting an unspecified number of jobs, the technology giant has confirmed, as part of its latest efforts to cut costs.
The tech firm said the cuts were not company-wide and that affected employees will be able to apply for internal roles, but it has not confirmed how many people have been affected or the teams involved.
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Dolphin Publications B V ☛ Google moves part of operations and lays off employees once more - Techzine Europe
For the second time this year, Google is laying off a large number of employees. The round of layoffs mainly affects the finance and real estate departments of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
The layoffs follow an earlier major round of layoffs this year. Last year, Google and other Alphabet subsidiaries also laid off employees. Like other tech companies, Google wants to spend more on AI development. To do so, it needs the relevant staff and to fund such positions, it is cutting jobs that do not contribute to technological innovation.
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Google lays off more workers, though details murky
Another tech giant is laying off its workers amid economic uncertainty and the push to invest more in AI.
Google is laying off an undetermined number of workers, the company announced Wednesday, as the company aims to lessen costs amid economic uncertainties.
The Alphabet-owned company left much to the imagination as it did not specify what departments or the amount of employees which would be effected by the cuts.
However, this is nothing new in tech nor for Google, as the new announcement comes after a flurry of layoffs across the company and the tech sphere. The tech giant laid off hundreds of employees just this January, across its engineering, assistant, and hardware teams.
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March 2024 Layoffs: IBM, Stellantis, and Evonik Lead Major Job Cuts
Layoffs were announced at high-profile companies, including IBM, Stellantis, and Evonik in the US as well as Sainsbury’s, Metro Bank, and Unilever in the UK.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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The Straits Times ☛ Papua New Guinea to host China, Australia high level visits
China's foreign minister is expected to sign an economic cooperation deal on a visit to Papua New Guinea on Saturday, just days before Australia's prime minister arrives to mark historical defence ties by walking a famous World War Two trail.
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Techdirt ☛ Chemtrail Legislation Is The New Normal In A Severely Abnormal America
It’s enough to make you want to shoot yourself in the face in embarrassment. It’s enough to make you want to dress as a mime when visiting Europe because at least you won’t be mistaken for an American. It’s enough to make you wonder how the Land of the Free became the Land of the Besotted Idiots so quickly during the four years overseen by a lame duck president more famous for sexual harassment, failed lawsuits, and bankruptcies than actual governance.
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CS Monitor ☛ Australia sees surge in public violence despite tough gun laws. Some blame extremism.
Australians are demanding answers after a deadly knife attack in a Sydney mall and a stabbing during a church service. Some locals argue that tough gun laws prevented a deadlier attack. Others worry religious extremism is rising unchecked.
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JURIST ☛ UK Supreme Court rules trade union laws breach human rights
The UK Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that part of the UK’s trade union laws are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
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New Yorker ☛ Trump’s America, Seen Through the Eyes of Russell Banks
In his last book, “American Spirits,” Banks took stories from the news about rural, working-class life and turned them into fables of national despair.
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New Yorker ☛ Ronan Farrow on the Scheme at the Heart of Trump’s New York Trial
A back-room deal between the former President, his then lawyer, and the C.E.O. of American Media plays a central role in the criminal felony charges he faces in Manhattan.
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Reason ☛ The Kansas Legislature Unanimously Passed a Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill
Kansas had among the most lax civil asset forfeiture laws in the country, but a bill sent to the governor's desk would strengthen protections for property owners.
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JURIST ☛ US Senate dismisses impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
The US Senate voted Wednesday to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The US House of Representatives impeached Mayorkas in February over his handling of the migrant situation at the US-Mexico border.
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New York Times ☛ Senate Dismisses Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas Without a Trial
Democrats quickly swept aside the articles of impeachment accusing the homeland security secretary of refusing to enforce immigration laws and breach of public trust, calling them unconstitutional.
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CS Monitor ☛ Mayorkas impeachment trial heads to the Senate. Why it likely won’t go far.
The impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is headed to the Senate. It could be over before it begins. “Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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RFA ☛ China expels teacher for pushing for students to use Tibetan language
Authorities interrogated him several times before suspending his teaching license.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists lose bid to take challenge against convictions over data demand to top court
A Hong Kong court has refused three activists’ applications to challenge their convictions over refusing to comply with a data request from national security police at the city’s top court.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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RFERL ☛ Jailed Kazakh Journalist Mukhammedkarim Launches New Hunger Strike
Independent Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, on trial for what he says are politically motivated charges, has launched another hunger strike to protest against the delay of an investigation into his complaint that he was tortured in custody.
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Techdirt ☛ Kansas Reflector Mostly Admits That Meta’s Blocking Of Their Site Wasn’t Deliberate
Not every bad mistake is evil. Not every poor decision is deliberate. Especially in these more automated times. Sometimes, machines just make mistakes, and it’s about time we came to terms with that simple fact.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Tycoon Jimmy Lai mentioned democrats’ legislative primary polls in late Nov 2019, Hong Kong court hears
Jimmy Lai had mentioned in late November 2019 the idea of conducting a primary poll to “continue the momentum” of the pro-democracy camp in a legislative race originally scheduled for 2020, an activist has told the media tycoon’s landmark national security trial.
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teleSUR ☛ London Court to Resume Assange Extradition Trial in May
Stella Assange denounced that the U.S. assurance regarding the First Amendment is not really an assurance.
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Tedium ☛ Berliner Goes Tabloid
Considering the tale of the longtime NPR editor who decided to pull a Bulworth at the tail end of his long career.
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New York Times ☛ How London Became a ‘Hot Spot’ for Threats Against Iranian Journalists
Iranian reporters and broadcasters in Britain have suffered physical attacks, threats and surveillance, a report by Reporters Without Borders said, weeks after a newscaster was stabbed in London.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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YLE ☛ Defence Forces-issued bras find little support among female troops
The chair of the conscripts' union says that hopefully it won't take another 30 years for the military to revamp the ill-fitting uniform pieces.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian percussion group plays songs for Hari Raya with Indian drum beats [Ed: TikTok as "news"?]
They recorded two Fentanylware (TikTok) videos to ease racial tensions on social control media.
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EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 17 April 2024
But what knocked everyone's socks off was the massive victory in Greece, where EDRi member Homo Digitalis' strategic complaint led to a record-breaking fine to the Ministry of Asylum and Migration for violating people's data protection rights in its border management systems KENTAUROS and HYPERION.
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EDRI ☛ Greek Ministry of Asylum and Migration face a record-breaking €175,000 fine for the border management systems KENTAUROS & HYPERION
On 3 April, the Greek Data Protection Authority (DPA) slapped the Ministry of Asylum and Migration with a record-breaking €175,000 fine under the General Data Protection Regulation for the border management systems KENTAUROS and HYPERION. The DPA’s investigation started back in 2022, following a strategic complaint filed by the EDRi member Homo Digitalis and its partners in Greece.
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EDRI ☛ The colonial biometric legacy at heart of new EU asylum system
On Wednesday (10 April), the EU is set to vote on a new set of asylum and migration reforms. Among the many controversial changes proposed in the new migration pact, one went almost unnoticed — a seemingly innocent reform of the EU's asylum database, EURODAC. Although framed as purely technical adjustments, the reality is far more malicious. The changes to EURODAC will massively exacerbate violence against people on the move.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Techdirt ☛ The GOP Is Blocking A Last Ditch Effort To Bring Cheap Broadband To Poor Americans
The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), part of the 2021 infrastructure bill, currently provides 23+ million low-income Americans a $30 broadband discount every month. But those 23 million Americans are poised to soon lose the discount because key Republicans — who routinely dole out billions of dollars on far dumber fare — refuse to fund a $4-$7 billion extension.
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New Yorker ☛ The Internet’s New Favorite Philosopher
Byung-Chul Han, in treatises such as “The Burnout Society” and his latest, “The Crisis of Narration,” diagnoses the frenetic aimlessness of the digital age.
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APNIC ☛ [Podcast] Using fibre optics to measure vehicle traffic
Dr Mona Jaber from QMUL discusses her research into the use of fibre optic communication systems to measure traffic, digital twins and social-science led research.
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RFA ☛ Report: China is exporting digital control methods
As it exports internet infrastructure, China is expanding its authoritarian model of the web, report says.
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Latvia ☛ Telecoms prices on the rise in Latvia
Telecommunications services are getting more expensive. Companies explain that they have provided better internet and other improvements, so customer bills are also rising, Latvian Television reported April 16.
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JUVE ☛ Anne-Claire Le Bras: “IP courts will be well-staffed for emergencies during the Olympics” [Ed: Their idea of "emergencies" is ridiculous and an insult to the very concept of "emergencies"]
JUVE Patent: What are your goals as the new president of the 3rd chamber? Anne-Claire Le Bras: It is very important to me to promote exchange between judges and lawyers.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ False Patent Marking as False Advertising: Overcoming Dastar
The Federal Circuit is set to consider the use of terms like “patented,” “proprietary,” and “exclusive” in commercial advertising can be actionable under § 43(a)(1)(B) of the Lanham Act when their use is not entirely accurate. The key issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment for Crocs on Double Diamond Distribution and U.S.A. Dawgs’ (“Dawgs”) counterclaim for false advertising under the Lanham Act.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ What I’m reading from academic journals
I’m always on the lookout for interesting new scholarship related to intellectual property and innovation policy. The following are a few of the articles that I’ve been delving into this past week: [...]
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JUVE ☛ Thales and Kigen case settles, but paves way for FRAND-first
French electronics giant subsidiary Thales and UK firm Kigen have settled their dispute in the UK, just one week before their scheduled FRAND trial on 12 April 2024 went ahead (HP-2022-000011). The terms of the settlement are confidential.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ Emerging Automotive e-Keys patent monopoly challenge instituted
On April 15, 2024, less than one month after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 11,738,659, owned and asserted by Emerging Automotive LLC. The ‘659 patent monopoly generally relates to systems and methods for generating and sharing electronic keys (e-Keys) with users and cloud-based processing systems making e-Keys sharable for enabling shared use of a vehicle.
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Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 awarded for S3G Technologies software modifying patents prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $4,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by S3G Technology LLC, an NPE. The patents generally relate to a computerized system for efficiently modifying remote software. The patents have been asserted against Foursquare, TripAdvisor, HTC, Acer, ASUSTek, and Samsung.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ 4th Circuit Upholds District Court and TTAB: Timberland Boot Design Lacks Acquired Distinctiveness
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed-in-part the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, concluding that the lower court did not err in finding that Timberland’s product configuration mark (shown immediately below) lacked acquired distinctiveness and was therefore unregistrable. The district court had also found the configuration to be de jure functional. [TTABlogged here], but the appellate court declined to reach the functionality issue. TBL Licensing v. Vidal, Appeal No. 23-1150 (4th Cir. April 15, 2024).
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Copyrights
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CS Monitor ☛ OK, she’s worth $1 billion, but can Taylor Swift write poetry? We ask the experts.
Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” will be released on April 19. In advance, we asked poets what they think of the pop star’s wordsmithing.
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Digital Music News ☛ Leah Halton’s Fentanylware (TikTok) Video Featuring YG Marley’s ‘Praise Jah in the Moonlight’ Just Hit 700 Million Views — Too Bad YG Marley Only Got Paid for the First View [Ed: Fentanylware (TikTok) "FOMO" spam; viewcount as "news"?]
Australian model Leah Halton’s Fentanylware (TikTok) video featuring YG Marley’s ‘Praise Jah in the Moonlight’ is on track to break the record for the most-viewed and most-favorited Fentanylware (TikTok) video of all time.
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Public Domain Review ☛ Pseudo-Boccaccio, Yiddish Pulp Fiction, and the Man Who Ripped Off Joyce
In 1927, a pair of lurid “translations” appeared in English, marketed as authentic tales by Giovanni Boccaccio and illustrated with supposedly new works by Aubrey Beardsley. Jonah Lubin and Maria Laurids Lazzarotti search for the origin of these fakes, in which illicit sex begets terrible violence, and uncover a story involving pseudotranslation, Yiddish shund literature, and the piracy king of literary modernism, Samuel Roth.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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