Leftovers

• Digital Music News ☛ Alan Jackson Announces Final Tour Dates Amidst Worsening Health Situation

  Country star Alan Jackson announces his final tour dates in the face of his worsening neurological condition, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

• Hackaday ☛ A Look Inside The Geochron Clock

  There are plenty of cool clocks out there, and maps by their very essence are cool, too. But a map that’s also a clock — or is it a clock that’s also a map? — has to be the coolest thing ever.

• Hackaday ☛ A Super-Size Functional Tribute To An Ultrasonic Sensor

  Sometimes, it’s time to shut down the oscilloscope, and break out the cardboard and paints. If you’re wondering what for, well, here’s a reminder of an Instructable from [CrazyScience], that brings us back to cardboard crafts days. They rebuild one of the most iconic components for an electronics tinkering beginner — an ultrasonic distance sensor, and what’s fun is, it stays fully functional after the rebuild!

• James G ☛ My creative environment

  I enjoy writing in solitude. As I write, I am sitting on an armchair, looking out at the green hills. I am wondering about the haze on the hill at which I am looking: it is as if there is a low fog that the sun has helped to dissapate, but with some of the fog left lingering. When I look up, I see a blue sky decorated with clouds. When I am in solitude, I can stop, look, and think about the world around me. How do I describe this fog? Is it a haze? Is it confined to Scotland? My mind has room for questions, exploration, and play.

  I like to write in a comfortable chair, or perhaps my bed, depending on the time of day. I sometimes put my noise-cancelling headphones in so I hear nothing. In this environment, I can focus on what I want to say. Sometimes, I like to listen to what is around me, working as the birds sing in the background. I appreciate natural sounds, within which I see a world of wonder and beauty.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ US government probes South Korean company accused of selling American tools to Chinese entities

    Chinese entities keep getting advanced chipmaking tools made by American companies from South Korean companies.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Asus RT-BE96U Wi-Fi 7 router review: A new 6 GHz wireless speed king emerges

    The RT-BE96U ditches the gaming-centric software and RGB frills of Asus’ flagship Wi-Fi 7 router but still packs a performance punch.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Over 60 heat-related deaths in Mexico so far this year, Health Ministry reports

    In 2023, heat killed almost 10 times as many Mexicans as in 2022. This year is on track to be much worse.

  • Federal News Network ☛ New 911 system for health care industry antitrust violations

    The FTC, HHS, and Justice Department want tips from the public about antitrust violations in the health care industry.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China food security law comes into force, aims for absolute self-sufficiency

    Analysts said the law may not have a significant impact on how China boosts food production.

  • A blast from the past: Jake Crosby retracts his antivax criticism of an MMR study

    As hard as it is to believe, I’ve been at this blogging thing nearly 20 years. Even more unbelievable, I’m still at it at least twice a week, although back in the day I was much, much more prolific. Such is life, I guess, although I’m trying to get back into the swing of, if not daily, at least three times a week posting. (Life intervenes, I guess.) In any case, last week, I was tweaked and surprised to get an email from a journalist asking me about someone whose name is truly a blast from the past, namely the antivax wunderkind named Jake Crosby from that wretched hive of scum and antivax quackery, Age of Autism. Of course, back in the pre-pandemic day AoA really was the main wretched hive of scum and antivax quackery, but since COVID-19 I’ve been wondering if I should bestow that title on one of the unfortunately huge number of even more wretched hives of scum and antivax quackery that have proliferated on Substack and elsewhere. The problem was that there are just too damned many to pick from these days.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ 'Godmode' GPT-4o jailbreak released by hacker — powerful exploit was quickly banned

    A jailbreak of OpenAI's GPT-4o used leetspeak to get Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot to bypass its usual safety measures, allowing users to receive knowledge on how to hotwire cars, synthesize LSD, and other illicit activities.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • ACLU ☛ Police Want to Treat Your Data Privacy Like Garbage. The Courts Shouldn't Let Them.

      Imagine this: You lost your phone, or had it stolen. Would you be comfortable with a police officer who picked it up rummaging through the phone’s contents without any authorization or oversight, thinking you had abandoned it? We’ll hazard a guess: hell no, and for good reason.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ North Korea launches suspected ballistic missiles following reconnaissance satellite

    North Korea launched Thursday around 10 suspected short-range ballistic missiles to its eastern sea and attacked the global positioning system, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reported. The missiles flew about 350 km and landed in the East Sea, an area in which the South Korea hosts major air force bases.

  • The Strategist ☛ Hanwha Ocean buying Austal would probably suit the United States

    It looks like the United States has changed Australia’s mind. In April, the Australians doubted private shipbuilder Austal could be sold to South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, but now they have no concerns.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian police arrest parents of murdered autistic boy

    Six-year-old Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin was murdered in December 2023.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S., Chinese Defense Chiefs Hold First in-Person Talks Since 2022

    Lloyd J. Austin III met his Chinese counterpart as both countries try to show they can manage their disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese vice-foreign minister urges US to stop ‘smearing’ China

    Mr Ma Zhaoxu also urged US to stop imposing "abusive" sanctions on Chinese companies.

  • RFA ☛ China suspends tariff arrangements on 134 items under Taiwan trade deal

    Decision follows China’s opposition to new Taiwanese leader Lai who took office in Taipei on May 20.

  • RFA ☛ US, China defense chiefs meet in hope of easing tension

    Analysts said first in-person talks between Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun would yield little but break the ice.

  • RFA ☛ Marcos condemns Beijing’s ‘assertive’ moves in the South China Sea

    The Philippine president also urged Beijing and Washington to responsibly manage their rivalry.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ After US, EU criticise first arrests under new security law and verdict in Hong Kong 47 trial, gov’t hits back

    The Hong Kong government has rebutted international criticism of the city’s first arrests under a new, homegrown security law and the trial of Hong Kong’s 47 democrats, after a US government body said Thursday’s verdict showed “the Chinese Communist Party is pulling the strings” in Hong Kong.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong woman accused of funding overseas activist Nathan Law following arrest under new security law

    A Hong Kong woman, who was among seven arrested under the city’s new security law, has also been accused of violating the Beijing-imposed security law over funding overseas activist Nathan Law and others.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong judges’ reasons for convicting 14 democrats of subversion conspiracy under national security law

    Fourteen Hong Kong pro-democracy figures have been found guilty of taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law over their involvement in an unofficial primary election held in July 2020.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Verdict in landmark Hong Kong national security trial shows common law system intact, gov’t advisor says

    The verdict in Hong Kong’s largest national security case to date – which saw 14 pro-democracy figures convicted of conspiring to commit subversion and two acquitted – demonstrated that the city’s common law system was intact and effective, a government advisor has said.

  • RFA ☛ US to issue visa bans for Hong Kong officials

    The sanctions come in response to Thursday’s guilty verdicts against 14 pro-democracy activists.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China removes preferential tariffs on over 100 Taiwan imports in latest move against island

    China on Friday said it would remove preferential tariffs on more than a hundred imports from Taiwan, blaming the island’s continued “discriminatory prohibitions” on goods from the mainland. The special rates will be removed from 134 goods, including machine tools and industrial chemicals, an appendix shared by Beijing’s Customs Tariff Commission showed.

  • Meduza ☛ Border disorder The return of four villages to Azerbaijan sparks turmoil at Armenia’s political and literal frontiers — Meduza

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China and US to resume military-to-military communications after defence chiefs meet in Singapore

    By Jing Xuan Teng and Martin Abbugao The United States and China will resume military-to-military communications “in the coming months”, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday, as Beijing hailed the “stabilising” security relations between the countries.

  • The Strategist ☛ The dangerous retreat into protectionism

    Trade barriers, tariffs and other protectionist tools are starting to feature more prominently around the world, often appearing under the heading of economic security.

  • New York Times ☛ ‘North Korea: The People’s Paradise,’ by Tariq Zaidi

    The photographer Tariq Zaidi captures everyday images of a hidden society at work and at play.

  • France24 ☛ Syria's Ghouta chemical attack: Exiled activists seek justice for 2013 atrocity

    In August 2013, a chemical attack using sarin gas was perpetrated in Syria’s Ghouta region, northeast of Damascus, killing some 1,400 people. Attributed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the crime remains unpunished to this day. But Syrian refugees in Europe are fighting for justice. Activists, lawyers and witnesses have set out to track down those responsible, some of whom live in France. Yet many obstacles remain: the few witnesses living in exile fear reprisals on their families who have stayed behind, while there is no access to Assad's Syria, making it impossible to carry out investigations on the ground. FRANCE 24's Dana Alboz brings us this exclusive 27-minute documentary. Warning: viewers may find some images upsetting.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Calls for End to Gaza War, Endorsing Israeli Cease-Fire Proposal

    The president outlined a plan to try to get Hamas and Israel to break out of a monthslong deadlock that has resulted in the killing of thousands of Palestinians.

  • New York Times ☛ Trump and Allies Assail Conviction With Faulty Claims

    After former President Donald J. Trump was found guilty, he and a number of conservative figures in the news media and lawmakers on the right have spread false and misleading claims about the Manhattan case.

  • France24 ☛ Biden says Israel has offered 'comprehensive' new ceasefire deal

    US President Joe Biden on Friday called on Hamas militants to agree to a new offer from Israel on releasing hostages in exchange for a Gaza ceasefire, saying it was the best way to begin winding down the deadly conflict. Biden's speech came after the Israeli military said it had ended operations in eastern Jabaliya in northern Gaza after destroying tunnels and weapons production sites. Read FRANCE 24's liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.

• Environment

  • DeSmog ☛ EU Farmers Shun Anti-Green Deal Protest in Brussels

  • DeSmog ☛ Ads Claiming LNG Exports Reduce Emissions Are Misleading, Says Regulator

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Quick & Capable WiFi For Your Nice-Power Supply

      Rejoice, those of us who have purchased a Nice-Power lab PSU from an Eastern source.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New Yorker ☛ Outside the Trump Courthouse, Times Are Crazy and People Are Strange

    A surreal gathering to hear the verdict included a crucifix-wielding town crier, someone yelling “Shawshank!,” and a frisson of violence.

  • France24 ☛ TV election debate in Hungary draws criticism

    We take the political temperature in Hungary, where the state broadcaster has hosted an EU election debate – the first of its kind in nearly 20 years. Public television gave each party candidate a total of 11 minutes on four selected topics – a format which opposition activists said did not allow for a genuine battle of ideas. Our ENTR portrait profiles Lili, a 19-year-old voter in Hungary.

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘Ain’t I A Woman?’ speech set in Ohio stone with new Sojourner Truth statue

    A statue of Sojourner Truth, a formerly enslaved abolitionist and women’s rights pioneer, was unveiled on May 29 in the exact spot where she gave her iconic 1851 speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”

  • JURIST ☛ Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to state’s abortion laws

    The Texas Supreme Court unanimously rejected a challenge to the state’s abortion laws Friday. The issue at hand was whether Texas’s civil abortion law prohibiting abortion unless a woman is facing a life threatening condition violated the state constitution.

  • PHR ☛ Texas Supreme Court Ruling in Zurawski v. State of Texas Endangers Patients and Clinicians

    The Texas Supreme Court’s ruling today rejected the challenge to the state’s abortion restrictions, exposing both pregnant patients and physicians to significant risk, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).   In Zurawski v. State of Texas, the Texas Supreme Court refused to clarify the medical exceptions to the state’s abortion ban.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s Umno gives ‘second chance’ to sacked members in bid to win back young voters

    Party insiders hope the popular ex-youth chief Khairy and former information chief Shahril Hamdan make a comeback.

  • New York Times ☛ CNN, NBC and Other News Outlets Cut Away From Trump Speech

    It was the latest example of journalists having to weigh the news value of a major political moment against the challenges of reporting on a candidate who regularly speaks in falsehoods.

  • JURIST ☛ SCOTUS unanimously backs NRA on First Amendment ruling

    The Supreme Court decided Thursday that government officials cannot indirectly suppress free speech through coercion, reinforcing their previous decision in Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • European Commission ☛ Vice-President Suica delivers a keynote speech via video message for the EESC plenary session on the fight against hate-speech

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ News media job cuts 2024 tracked: Cuts continue at Wall Street Journal

    Big losses at likes of The Messenger, LA Times, Sports Illustrated and Mediahuis Ireland started 2024.

  • Press Gazette ☛ NI law that would have outlawed reporting Savile allegations struck down

    Belfast Telegraph editor says law had already affected newspaper's work.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Marty Baron: Why WaPo fell behind NYT and why we can’t be Trump ‘combatants’

    The ex-Post and Boston Globe editor on the NYT bundle and "radical reinvention" of the industry.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • PHR ☛ 475 Medical Professionals to Biden Administration: End Solitary Confinement in ICE Detention Now

    475 doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals have signed a letter demanding that the U.S. government end the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities due to severe health harms caused by the practice, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today.  

  • Reason ☛ Colorado Will Replace Cops With Drones for Some 911 Calls

    While drones are less likely to shoot or maim innocent civilians, they could also pose privacy issues.

  • Off Guardian ☛ “Nothing About Us Without Us” – An Open Letter

    This is a citizens’ sign-on, on the “outcome products” of the Working Group of the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) and the INB (international Negotiating Body), that are still being finalised...

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Run the Internet With Us: A 7-Day Movement Challenge

    Join the Run the Internet challenge from 5-11 June 2024 to support a globally connected Internet—for all of us.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Rethinks Car Thing Refund Policy After Class Action Lawsuit

    Spotify killed off Car Thing and initially said it would not offer refunds for the $90 electronic brick. Now the music streaming service has backpedaled on refunds—with one condition. Several Spotify Premium users were disappointed to discover that Spotify is officially killing off its hardware experiment on December 9, 2024.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Digital Music News ☛ S&P Global Ratings Downgrades Live Nation Outlook Amid DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit: ‘A Significant Threat to the Business’

  S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Live Nation’s outlook to negative as the Ticketmaster parent grapples with a DOJ antitrust action. The S&P Global subsidiary just recently updated its Live Nation outlook, days following the official filing of the Justice Department’s long-anticipated antitrust complaint.

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Commenting on the USPTO’s Proposed Rule on Terminal Disclaimers

    by Dennis Crouch

    As I have previously discussed on Patently-O, the USPTO recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that could significantly impact patent monopoly practice, particularly in the realm of terminal disclaimers filed to overcome non-statutory double patenting rejections. Dennis Crouch, Major Proposed Changes to Terminal Disclaimer Practice (and You are Not Going to Like it), Patently-O (May 9, 2024). 

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The NYIPLA Brief: Advocating for Patent Term Adjustments

    The Federal Circuit’s 2023 decision in In re Cellect, LLC, 81 F.4th 1216 (Fed. Cir. 2023) has set the stage for a potentially significant Supreme Court case on the interplay between the Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) statute, 35 U.S.C. § 154(b), and the judicially-created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP). Cellect is now seeking certiorari, and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) has stepped in with an amicus brief supporting the petition, arguing that the case presents “questions of exceptional importance.” Brief for New York Intellectual Property Law Association as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioner at 23, Cellect, LLC v. Vidal, No. 23-1231 (U.S. May 28, 2024).

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • European Commission ☛ More than 27,000 unitary patents registered in the first, successful year of the Unitary Patent system [Ed: Unitary Patent system is totally illegal and here is the EU bragging about its crimes, in effect crushing constitutions to benefit foreign monopolists]

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 31 May 2024 Over the first successful year of application of the Unitary Patent system, the European Patent Office (EPO) has already registered more than 27,000 unitary patents.

    • JUVE ☛ Pierre Véron: “UPC is off to an excellent start” [Ed: No, it is a crime, but JUVE was paid to lobby for this crime]

      JUVE Patent: The UPC has been a reality for one year. As a ‘father’ of the UPC project, how satisfied are you with its first year? Pierre Véron: I am happy to say that I think the UPC is off to an excellent start. The judges are enthusiastic.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Posts June 2024 Hearing Schedule

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled four oral hearings for the month of June 2024. The hearings will be held virtually, except for the second one, which will be held in-person at the USPTO's Madison East Building in Alexandria, Virginia. Briefs and other papers for each case may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.

    
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• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • When they tried to say that egoism was good

      Let’s say we could classify some of the stuff that humans do as primarily in our own best self-interest. Let’s call those “egoistic” actions. And then stuff that’s primarily helping others; let’s call that “altruistic” actions.

      [...]

      A while back, that’s exactly what some philosophers tried to argue. That egoism was a virtue, that capitalism was the unknown ideal. One of the biggest arguments in their favour would’ve been the idea that under market capitalism we had the highest standard of living, the best quality of life, that society was prospering.

      Now with hindsight, now that we know that all of that was built on sand, that the black gold we were pumping up was our future, that we’re boiling the planet and making new inroads into plundering the Earth, that idea looks pretty dumb.

    • VAT on Independent Schools

      The Torygraph keeps peddling the story, generated by an org associated with independent schools, that VAT on these schools will cause such a big net outflow of families that smaller schools will close and state schools will he overwhelmed.

  • Technology and Free Software

    • Using Text Mapper for generating a map for a hexcrawl

      I'm working with a neat application to generate random terrain called Text Mapper.