Links 20/08/2024: Digital Services Act (DSA) Misused Politically, China Asserting Control in Far Seas
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 and Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Ruben Schade ☛ Goodbye, Phil Donahue
I’m sure I speak for a lot of people of my generation, but Phil Donahue’s American daytime talk show was mandatory viewing when I’d be home from school, either because I was sick, or later when I was staying back to care for my mum after her chemo days.
He sparked many a conversation between us, often times that would stretch into days. His show was the lens through which I learned so much about my mum’s philosophy and morals, which in large part formed my own. He also offered a glimpse into the US beyond what we learned from scripted TV and the evening news.
His kind, principled approach to discussion will be missed.
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Digital Music News ☛ Brooklyn Metal Dive Saint Vitus Bar Permanently Closes Doors
Brooklyn metal bar Saint Vitus has closed its doors for good, according to Instagram posts. The club’s owners posted an epitaph online with a photo shoot with the venue’s lifespan on the wall behind them, 2011 – 2024.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Surprise Alzheimer's Finding: Brain's Support Cells May Be Fueling Disease
It goes beyond neurons.
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Science Alert ☛ Stonehenge Mystery: Scientists Reveal How They Traced The Altar Stone
A secret buried for thousands of years.
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Science Alert ☛ Hordes of Tarantulas Are About to Swarm in The US, And Here's Why
Time to leg it.
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Science Alert ☛ Hidden Consciousness Detected in 25% of Unresponsive Patients Tested
"We can detect brain activity."
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists May Have Found a Way to Save The Banana From Extinction
You can be part of the solution.
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Science Alert ☛ This Memory Exercise Could Help Reduce Severity of PTSD Symptoms
"Our goal is to unlock sleep as a new treatment window."
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Science Alert ☛ Newly Identified Proteins May Explain Devastating Effects of Alzheimer's
Teamwork at its worst.
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Science Alert ☛ Distant Supermassive Black Hole Discovered Savoring Its Meal, Bite by Bite
Oh the humanity.
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Science Alert ☛ How Might Months Stranded in Space Affect Astronauts' Sense of Time?
It might not be so bad.
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Latvia ☛ Latvian researchers model the creation of matter itself
Astronomers at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences are having success in the most fundamental research area of all – the creation of matter – reports Labs of Latvia.
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Computers Are Bad ☛ 2024-08-19 mining for meteors
Billboards
Route 66 is often viewed through the lens of its billboards. The Jack Rabbit Trading Post, a small store a few miles out of Joseph City, would hardly be remembered were it not for its billboards spanning four states. The tradition of far-advance billboards is still observed today. Albuquerque's roadside stop operator Bowlin puts billboards six hours and two freeway exchanges out from its combined gas station-Dairy Queens. One can ponder the mystery of "The Thing" (near Benson, Arizona) throughout nearly the entire state of New Mexico.
So, if you have driven anywhere over a several-hundred-mile span of Interstate 40 (the modern-day successor to Route 66 in this area), you are probably aware of the Meteor Crater [1]. At Meteor, Arizona, between Flagstaff and Winslow, the Meteor Crater earns its nonspecific name: it was the first crater definitely shown to have been the result of a meteor impact. It is a spectacular sight, almost 4,000 feet wide and 600 feet deep. It is also known by another name: Barringer Crater, for the family that has owned it for over one hundred years.
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Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ Toshiba TCKE9 reusable e-fuse features a fixed over-voltage clamp with adjustable overcurrent limit
Toshiba has recently introduced the Toshiba TCKE9 reusable e-fuse (electronic fuse) series, a new lineup of e-fuse ICs that can be used repeatedly, to protect power supply lines from various electrical faults like overcurrent, overvoltage, overtemperature, and short circuits. These new chips integrate various protection features into a single chip which simplifies circuit design and reduces component count compared to how a traditional protection circuit with multiple components is designed.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ China's new Hygon CPU spotted with 64 Zen cores — C86-7490 supports 12-channel DDR5 memory and resides in AMD SP5 socket
Hygon's C86-7490 processors use AMD's SP5 packaging, but what resides under the heat spreader?
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Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD aims to catch up to Nvidia in Hey Hi (AI) battle with $4.9B acquisition — chipmaker strengthens Hey Hi (AI) ecosystem with ZT Systems' expertise in server design
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is acquiring a significant designer and manufacturer of servers and other infrastructure equipment for Hey Hi (AI) data centers to help it catch up with Nvidia.
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Silicon Angle ☛ AMD to acquire hyperscale solutions provider ZT Systems in data center Hey Hi (AI) expansion bid
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced today that it agreed to acquire ZT Systems, a provider of artificial intelligence infrastructure for hyperscale computing providers, to expand solutions for running Hey Hi (AI) models at large scale.
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The Next Platform ☛ Why AMD Spent $4.9 Billion To Buy ZT Systems
If AMD is willing and eager to spend $4.9 billion to buy a systems company – that is more than its entire expected haul for sales of datacenter GPUs for 2024 – then you have to figure that acquisition is pretty important.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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BIA Net ☛ Health minister: No cases of Mpox detected in Turkey
The ministry has established a scientific advisory board after the WHO’s emergency declaration last week.
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New York Times ☛ A Personalized Brain Pacemaker for Parkinson’s
In a new frontier for deep brain stimulation, researchers used Hey Hi (AI) to develop individualized algorithms, which helped a skateboarder and other patients with Parkinson’s disease.
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Science Alert ☛ These 4 Insights Show The Ancient World Knew a Lot About Mental Health
Wisdom from the ages.
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Latvia ☛ Children's Hospital starts bicycle helmet campaign
More than 350 children have been admitted to the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) this summer after falling from a bicycle, said Renāte Snipe, chief physician at BKUS, in a statement August 18.
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Latvia ☛ Latvia makes progress on reducing excess mortality
Figures published by Eurostat August 16 show Latvia making steady long-term progress in reducing levels of excess mortality. Excess mortality refers to the number of deaths from all causes measured during a defined period, above that which was observed in the baseline period.
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Latvia ☛ Cancer fund planned in Latvia to cover treatment costs
Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri (New Unity) proposes to increase the limit for individual reimbursements for oncology medicines from the current €14,228 to € 30,000, Latvian Television reports August 19.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Frank Ch. Eigler: neural net ai falsifies random evolution incredulity
A common creationist argument against biological evolution is ''incredulity'' that a random process could ever produce something complex and functional and "engineered" as life. And it is counter-intuitive, even to some very smart engineers. Biological evolution is relatively slow, and computer simulations of evolution-analogies have been too limited or too niche to convince anyone.
That is, until recently.
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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RFA ☛ South Korea jails scam group leader for 8 years over Laos, Myanmar operation
Seoul bans travel to Lao economic zone over worries about online crime.
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Courts
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JURIST ☛ Colombia strengthens security at Supreme Court following threat
In response to a potential threat, the Colombian government swiftly implemented a series of stringent security protocols Friday aimed at safeguarding the nation’s highest judicial body.
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Mexico News Daily ☛ Federal court workers strike as Morena announces changes to judicial reform proposal
Despite modifications including staggered elections for judges, court workers across the country went on strike on Monday morning.
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Defence/Aggression
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korean soldier defects to the South, Yonhap reports
The soldier was taken into custody by South Korean guards who had been monitoring his movements.
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The Straits Times ☛ US and South Korea hold joint air drills to counter North Korea threat
More than 200 South Korean and U.S. fighter jets are due to fly around the clock for five days this week in what would mark the largest number of sorties flown in training by the allies, South Korea's air force said on Tuesday.
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RFA ☛ South Korea, US kick off military drill amid Pyongyang’s criticism
About 19,000 South Korean military personnel will participate in the drills from Monday to Thursday.
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RFA ☛ South Korea appoints escapee as ‘governor’ of North Korean province
Once a child beggar, Ji Seong Ho steps into the largely ceremonial role to help support other escapees.
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Defence Web ☛ Nigerian Navy getting new Malaysian patrol boats
The Nigerian Navy’s patrol boat flotilla will add two new patrol vessels to its fleet in September following a successful two-year build in Malaysia.
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France24 ☛ Thousands in India join nationwide protests over doctor's rape and murder
A nationwide strike by healthcare workers launched after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old female doctor in Kolkata has escalated, with protests taking place across India in favor of stronger laws to protect medical personnel and better protection for women.
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RFA ☛ China, Philippines trade blame after ships collide in South China Sea
Beijing says the Philippines acted dangerously, but Manila insists its vessels were targeted by Chinese aggression.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese and Philippine ships collide near disputed Second Thomas Shoal in South China Sea
By Sam Davies Chinese and Philippine vessels collided on Monday during a confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, the two countries said. China and the Philippines have had repeated confrontations in the vital waterway in recent months, including around a warship grounded years ago by Manila [...]
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RFA ☛ 7 brothers from prominent Uyghur family confirmed jailed in Xinjiang
China arrested them on flimsy charges during mass incarcerations that started in 2017.
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The Strategist ☛ Conception and conjecture in statecraft: insights from Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger made his name in the 1950s as a scholar of ‘statesmen’, always using the masculine noun.
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RFA ☛ New junta ‘security’ committee would arm Myanmar’s local communities
A leaked document describes a body tasked with ‘expanding forces’ at the ward and village level.
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The Strategist ☛ France’s underappreciated air power in the Indo-Pacific
France’s underappreciated air presence in the Indo-Pacific underscores its long-term commitment to regional partnerships, especially with Australia. It improves regional security and offers an opportunity for more cooperation with Australia.
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RFA ☛ Myanmar military launches heavy airstrikes to recapture town from rebels
Tens of thousands of people are forced from their homes in the latest fighting in Sagaing.
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New York Times ☛ Hamas and Islamic Jihad Claim Responsibility for Tel Aviv Bombing
The two groups described the attack as a suicide bombing, but an Israeli statement did not. If confirmed, it would be the first suicide bombing in Israel in roughly eight years.
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JURIST ☛ Report warns humanitarian aid urgently needed as acute malnutrition accelerates for children in Yemen
An acceleration of acute malnutrition has made famine a real possibility in some Yemeni government-controlled areas, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned on Sunday.
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France24 ☛ UN warns of soaring child malnutrition in Yemen's government-held areas
Child malnutrition is soaring in Yemen's government-controlled areas, UNICEF said on Sunday, citing the latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative. The UN children's agency said the increased rates were "driven by the compounded effect of disease outbreaks (cholera and measles), high food insecurity, limited access to safe drinking water, and economic decline".
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Defence Web ☛ Home Affairs deports Libyan nationals
The Department of Home Affairs has concluded the deportation of the 95 Libyans who were arrested in White River, Mpumalanga, last month on suspicion of receiving military training at an illegal military camp.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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RFERL ☛ Moscow Is Ready To Get Involved In Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Process, Putin Says
ussian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on August 19 that Moscow is ready to get involved in the process of signing a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
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RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Officials Confirm Indian PM Modi Will Visit On August 23
Ukraine has confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit on August 23.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine Says Its Incursion Will Bring Peace. Putin’s Plans May Differ.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to hold Russian territory as leverage in future talks. In Moscow, many doubt the strategy.
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Latvia ☛ Latvian public media announce donation campaign for Ukraine
In honor of Ukraine's Independence Day on August 24, Latvian public media - Latvian Television (LTV), Latvian Radio, and the portal LSM.lv - in cooperation with the charity platform "Ziedot.lv" are uniting in a three-week-long support campaign for Ukraine starting Monday, August 19.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine controls 92 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukrainian forces controlled more than 1,250 square kilometres and 92 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region. He urged his Western allies to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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LRT ☛ Lithuania to extend Ukrainian refugee protections for another year
Lithuania is planning to extend temporary residence permits for Ukrainian refugees for another year.
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Again Requests Permission To Use Long-Range Weapons To Hit Targets Deep Inside Russia
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has again pushed for permission from Ukraine's allies to use long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.
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RFERL ☛ Germany Says It Is 'Fully Committed' To Supplying Ukraine Aid
A government spokesman on August 19 insisted that Germany would continue to supply necessary aid to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion, despite plans to halve its budget for helping Kyiv in 2025.
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CS Monitor ☛ Ukraine’s marvel of innovation
A surprise incursion into Russia again shows other countries how Ukrainians rely more on their mental capabilities than on material solutions.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine Attacks Bridges in Russia’s Kursk Region, Aiming to Encircle Troops
The attacks aim to destroy or damage crossings over a river in the Kursk region that are Russian forces’ only routes for resupply or retreat, military analysts say.
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LRT ☛ Kaliningrad–Riga bus overturns in Lithuania, injuring 20 people
A bus en route from Russia’s Kaliningrad to Riga in Latvia overturned while crossing Lithuania on Monday morning, injuring 20 people and leaving two passengers stuck inside.
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RFERL ☛ Phil Donahue, American Talk Show Host Who Bridged U.S., Soviet Audiences, Dies Aged 88
U.S. television talk show pioneer Phil Donahue, who hosted a groundbreaking television discussion series between U.S. and Soviet audiences in the 1980s, has died aged 88.
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RFERL ☛ Trial Of 12 Belarusians Over Drone Attack At Military Airport Starts In Minsk
The Minsk City Court on August 19 started the trial of 12 men and women over a drone attack at the Machulishchy Air Base near Minsk in late February 2023 that damaged a Russian military plane.
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RFERL ☛ Moscow Police Reportedly Force Migrant Workers To Enlist Amid Raids
Russian media cited sources close to the Moscow city police department on August 18 as saying that dozens of migrant workers were officially summoned to enlistment centers following police raids over the weekend.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Hits Clooney Foundation With 'Undesirable' Designation
The office of Russia’s prosecutor general on August 19 said it had banned a foundation launched by American movie star George Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife Amal Clooney.
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RFERL ☛ Vladivostok Court Upholds U.S. Soldier Gordon Black's Sentence
A court in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok on August 19 rejected the appeal filed by the lawyer of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black against his sentence of 3 years and 9 months in a general regime penal colony on charges of theft and threat to kill.
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Latvia ☛ 'Moscow House' in Rīga to be auctioned off
The so-called Moscow House at Marijas Street 7, Rīga, will be auctioned by SJSC "Valsts nekustamie īpašumi" (State Real Estate) with a starting price of EUR 3.57 million, according to information in the official publication "Latvijas Vēstnesis" on August 19.
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LRT ☛ Germany’s belt-tightening puts squeeze on the ‘Lithuanian brigade’
Pressed by security challenges and financial difficulties, Germany may be tightening its belt at the expense of the brigade to be deployed in Lithuania. According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, Berlin is cutting the budget of the planned brigade to between 4 and 6 billion euros, instead of the 6–9 billion quoted earlier.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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RFERL ☛ Montenegro Detains Polish Citizen Suspected of Multimillion-Dollar Crypto Fraud
Montenegrin police announced on August 18 that it had detained Roman Ziemian, a Polish national wanted by Poland and South Korea for multimillion-dollar fraud.
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The Straits Times ☛ China makes $41 billion nuclear push with record approvals
China has more nuclear reactors under construction than any other nation in the world.
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RFA ☛ Photos: Myanmar motorists queue for hours as fuel shortages persist
Ongoing civil war has impacted local currency, leading to rationing by gas stations
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Wildlife/Nature
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New York Times ☛ The Mennonites Making the Amazon Their Home
Groups of Mennonites, seeking inexpensive land far from modern life, are carving out new colonies in the Amazon. They are also raising fears that they are adding to the deforestation of the vital jungle.
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Finance
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The Straits Times ☛ China plans 'bigger, stronger' social security fund to aid ageing society
HONG KONG - China will beef up its 2.88 trillion yuan ($406 billion) social security fund, making it "bigger and stronger" to help support its rapidly ageing population as the number of new births and younger workforce to support its seniors shrinks.
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University of Michigan ☛ Adventures in babysitting: ask for fair pay
I’ve been a babysitter for roughly four years. I’ve worked for many different clients, from distant relatives to interested Facebook (Farcebook) users. Needless to say, I have plenty of experience with every aspect of the job.
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Silcon Republic ☛ GM layoffs to affect more than 1,000 global staff
Tech companies globally have been reducing their headcounts as a way to cut costs and streamline their businesses. Just this month, both Cisco and Intel announced global job cuts. Other tech companies to announce layoffs this year include Microsoft, TikTok, Indeed, Google, Amazon Web Services, EA, Sony, Snap, PayPal, SAP, eBay, Twitch and Xerox.
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Fast Company ☛ The hidden and preventable reason for layoffs
As the labor market continues to change, economists are intrigued as some industries are adding jobs by the thousands while others are making similar-sized layoffs. For example, as companies like TikTok, Google, and Microsoft make significant cuts to their workforce, we can’t help but liken it to pandemic times and wonder if we’re seeing the next monumental wave of layoffs. Past layoffs were repercussions of overhiring. Now we’re seeing a different pattern, one far more preventable.
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Latvia ☛ Debate over bank surplus tax idea in Latvia
Whether and in what form to introduce a bank surplus tax is a matter of divided opinion among the political forces forming the coalition. There is consensus that budget revenues can be raised through the banking sector, but diverging views on the form, Latvian Radio reports August 19.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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CS Monitor ☛ Don’t call it a farewell: Joe Biden to give keynote address to Democrats
The opening night of the Democratic National Convention features a bittersweet moment as Joe Biden speaks. The party shoved him aside, but he’s also deeply respected and known for resilience.
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New York Times ☛ Democrats and Labor Still Need Each Other
The Democratic Party’s future is tied to an economy that works not only for businesses, but for workers.
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RFA ☛ China’s Pooh-tin Jinping welcomes Vietnam’s top leader, stresses ‘shared future’
It is To Lam’s first foreign trip since he was elected general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party on Aug. 3.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Vietnam’s new leader To Lam meets China’s Pooh-tin Jinping in Beijing on first overseas trip
Vietnam’s new top leader To Lam met Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping in Beijing on Monday, in his first overseas trip since being named general secretary of the country’s Communist Party.
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RFA ☛ Chinese calls for Taiwan hotel boycott part of propaganda machine
A viral video taking aim at the Evergreen Laurel in Paris was approved by a United Front organization.
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New York Times ☛ Mexico’s Judges Vote to Strike, Opposing Overhaul of Legal System
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants judges elected, not appointed. Court workers have already walked out to protest his plan, which critics call a power grab.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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AccessNow ☛ Open letter on 2024 FCC Hey Hi (AI) deepfakes disclosure in U.S.
Access Now strongly supports the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to ensure transparency in the use of AI-generated content in political ads.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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AccessNow ☛ Commissioner Breton: stop politicising the Digital Services Act
Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are calling on the EU Commissioner Thierry Breton to stop politicising the enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
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AccessNow ☛ Civil society statement: Commissioner Breton needs to stop politicising the Digital Services Act
Access Now, Article 19, and EFF urge the EU Commission to let their enforcement work be guided by evidence rather than political sentiment.
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France24 ☛ Nicaragua outlaws 1,500 NGOs, including religious charities
The government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega on Monday banned 1,500 non-governmental organisations it views as hostile, most of them religious charities. The move was part of an ongoing crackdown on civil society groups seen as opposing Ortega's rule.
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Reason ☛ Age Check Laws Are a 'Back Door' to Banning Porn, Project 2025 Architect Says in Hidden Camera Video
"We'd have a national ban on pornography if we could, right?"
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ News media job cuts 2024 tracked: Axios, Tampa Bay Times, New York Public Radio and Hollywood Reporter all hit in August
The post News media job cuts 2024 tracked: Axios, Tampa Bay Times, New York Public Radio and Hollywood Reporter all hit in August appeared first on Press Gazette.
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Press Gazette ☛ Reporting neurodiversity: ‘Don’t get unqualified writers to tell our stories’
Lydia Wilkins finds out how journalists can sensitively and accurately cover this relatively new topic
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong press freedom in further decline, according to press group survey of journalists in city
Hong Kong press freedom has fallen further according to a survey of media workers in the city, who separately said that that a recently enacted security law had “significantly impacted” the industry.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Digital Music News ☛ Class Action Lawsuit Against Adidas Over Disastrous Kanye West Partnership Dismissed by Federal Judge
The class action lawsuit against Adidas over the company’s partnership with Kanye West has been dismissed by a federal judge, citing insufficient evidence. A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Adidas over the company’s partnership with Kanye West, accusing Adidas of securities fraud involving the disgraced rapper’s volatile behavior.
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Reason ☛ A Day Care Worker Who Says She Was Documenting Diaper Rashes Got 126 Years for Taking 8 Photos
The Maryland Supreme Court deemed the evidence sufficient to convict the defendant on sexual abuse and child pornography charges.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality and Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Gunnar Wolf ☛ Gunnar Wolf: The social control media my blog –as well as some other sites I publish in– is pushed to will soon stop receiving updates
For many years, I have been using the dlvr.it service to echo my online activity to where more people can follow it. Namely, I write in the following sources: [...]
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Stuart Langridge: Family Fortunes board generator
I nerd-sniped myself.
Internet: I am disappointed that you have not provided me with one of those meme-maker websites for a Family Fortunes board. Now I will have to make one.
— Stuart Langridge (@sil) 16/08/2024, 21:57:24See, I put word to thought and that was my mistake. So I spent, like, half my Saturday doing this instead of what I should be doing.
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Zimbabwe ☛ Liquid’s new partnership brings next-gen private 5G networks to Zimbabwe and beyond
Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Globalstar have formed a partnership to deliver advanced 5G connectivity solutions across Africa, the Middle East, and the Gulf.
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APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: APAC DNS Forum
APNIC actively participated in the APAC DNS Forum 2024 held in Bali, Indonesia from 23 to 24 July 2024.
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MIT Technology Review ☛ The race to save our online lives from a digital dark age
There is a photo of my daughter that I love. She is sitting, smiling, in our old back garden, chubby hands grabbing at the cool grass. It was taken in 2013, when she was almost one, on an aging Samsung digital camera.
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Digital Music News ☛ 10 Additional States Join the DOJ’s Live Nation Action — Lengthier Amended Complaint Builds on Antitrust Arguments
10 additional states have joined the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which are facing more detailed allegations of anticompetitive practices in an amended complaint. The Justice Department submitted that amended complaint (complete with the 10 new plaintiffs) today, after levying the initial antitrust suit towards the end of May.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ No Concrete Plans, No Standing: Federal Circuit’s Latest on IPR Appeals
The recent Federal Circuit decision in Platinum Optics v. Viavi Solutions focuses attention once again on the case-and-controversy requirement derived from Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which extends federal judicial power to “Cases” and “Controversies.”
The seemingly simple phrase has been the subject of extensive judicial jockeying in the development of the doctrine we know as “standing.” The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that federal courts may only decide actual, ongoing controversies between adverse parties, and may not issue advisory opinions addressing hypothetical disputes.
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Unified Patents ☛ Third DynaIP entity, Cloud Systems, IoT patent monopoly challenged
On August 19, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,975,051, owned and asserted by Cloud Systems HoldCo IP, LLC, an NPE and DynaIP entity. The '051 patent monopoly relates to a system for controlling and configuring devices through a server.
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JUVE ☛ Summer of settlements: Nokia, Seoul Semiconductor and NST end disputes
Summer usually brings fewer verdicts than at other times of the year. The UPC is a different story. The court must officially decide on the withdrawal of claims by means of an application order. Thus, the public learns from the published judgments that the parties to a dispute must have reached a settlement.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ EcoFactor Responds: Defending the Federal Circuit’s Damages Ruling Allowing Qualitative Apportionment
This is my third post focusing on Google’s en banc challenge to ‘loose’ damages testimony. The patentee, EcoFactor, has now filed a responsive brief in the ongoing smart thermostat patent monopoly dispute which resulted in a $20 million jury verdict against Google. A 2-1 Federal Circuit panel affirmed the verdict and, as you might expect, EcoFactor’s en banc response defends the decision, arguing that the case presents a straightforward application of established precedent. At core, EcoFactor argues that Surveillance Giant Google and amici are seeking to impose new, rigid rules that go beyond existing Federal Circuit precedent. Although some say that hindsight is 20/20, anyone who has undergone a hypothetical damages analysis will understand that the process always involves some degree of guestimation and uncertainty — adding additional precision and calculation is unlikely to provide any true certainty or predictability.
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Trademarks
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Latvia ☛ Local fish gets its own trademark in Burtnieki, Latvia
A new trademark "Burtnieka zandarts" (Burtnieks' zander) has been created in Valmiera. This summer, seven restaurants and cafés in the municipality were granted the right to use it, Latvian Radio reported on August 18. The use of this trademark provides a guarantee that the zander served is actually grown and caught in Burtnieki.
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TTAB Blog ☛ Precedential No. 20: Supplemental Registration for PERMITS.COM Cancelled by Prior User of PERMIT.COM Despite No Acquired Distinctiveness
In a "somewhat unusual" Section 2(d) cancellation proceeding targeting a Supplemental Register registration and involving "dueling claims of acquired distinctiveness," the Board granted a petition for cancellation of Fieldvine's Inc's registration for the mark PERMITS.COM for construction permit services. Although Petitioner State Permits, Inc. could not prove acquired distinctiveness for its mark PERMIT.COM, it did prove first use for identical services, and that was enough. State Permits, Inc. v. Fieldvine, Inc., Cancellation No. 92075095 (August 16, 2024) [precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas W. Wellington).
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Copyrights
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Creative Commons ☛ CC strategic workshop reveals big opportunities for open access to cultural heritage
In May 2024, CC organized a strategic workshop in Lisbon to develop a roadmap for future action to advance our work towards a UNESCO instrument on open cultural heritage. In this blog post, we share the full report and some of its key highlights.
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Digital Music News ☛ Kanye West Quietly Settles Copyright Infringement Suit Over Boogie Down Productions Sample
Kanye West has quietly reached an agreement in the copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit with Boogie Down Productions over his track ‘Life of the Party.’ Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has reached an agreement to be dismissed as a defendant from a copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit over his song, “Life of the Party.”
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Digital Music News ☛ Altice USA Quietly Settles Copyright Suit Filed by BMG and Others — Q2 ‘Impairments’ Approached $47 Million
20 months later, plaintiffs including BMG have officially settled the copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit they filed against internet service provider Altice USA. The development came to light in a recent order approving the dismissal stipulation, which all the involved companies had been seeking.
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Digital Music News ☛ WMG Is Getting Serious About Preventing Leaked Music
Warner Music Group is getting serious about tracking down leaked music. The label has posted a job offering for an internet savvy individual to track down leaks as they happen. The job title is ‘Coordinator, Anti-Piracy/Content Protection,’ with Warner looking for someone who is familiar with the depths of the internet.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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🔤SpellBinding — GLNOSTU Wordo: CLEFT
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Slow Ways
Slow Ways is an organisation trying to formalise a set of walking paths across the United Kingdom to provide an equivalent journey planner for walking that cycling and cars have but which has more of a causal focus than hiking sites.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.