Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Online Game Becomes Unexpected PixelFlut

  Blink and you could have missed it, but a viral sensation for a few weeks this summer was One Million Checkboxes, a web page with as you might expect, a million checkboxes. The cool thing about it was that it was interactive, so if you checked a box on your web browser, everyone else seeing that box also saw it being checked. You could do pixel art with it, and have some fun. While maintaining it, its author [eieio] noticed something weird, a URL was appearing in the raw pixel data. Had he been hacked? Investigation revealed something rather more awesome.

• Hackaday ☛ Symmetrical Gear Spins One-Way, Harvesting Surrounding Chaos

  Here’s a novel ratchet mechanism developed by researchers that demonstrates how a single object — in this case a gear shaped like a six-pointed star — can rectify the disordered energy of its environment into one-way motion.

• Hackaday ☛ 2024 Tiny Games Contest: Realistic Steering Wheel Joystick In Miniature

  For racing games, flight simulators, and a few other simulation-style games, a simple controller just won’t do. You want something that looks and feels closer to the real thing. The major downsides to these more elaborate input methods is that they take up a large amount of space, requiring extra time for setup, and can be quite expensive as well. To solve both of these problems [Rahel zahir Ali] created a miniature steering wheel controller for some of his favorite games.

• Ruben Schade ☛ A History of Scotland, by Neil Oliver

  I picked up a copy of Neil Oliver’s book on Scottish history last time I was in Melbourne, and I just got around to finishing it. It was decent, though I’m a little conflicted.

  Nearly half my family comes from Scotland. My dad is German, and both branches of my late mum’s family came from Scotland (with a branch hailing from Sussex in England). But I was born in Australia, and spent most of my childhood in Southeast Asia, so I know more about the Peranakan and colonial history of Singapore and Malaysia than I do my own ancestry. I’ve started to change this.

• Science

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian math whiz, 19, sets record for solving 50 digits multiplication in 24.61 secs

    Ms Yap Wen Min said the biggest challenges she faced were managing her time and dealing with mental strain.

  • New York Times ☛ Mining for Neutrinos and for Cosmic Answers

    In a South Dakota cavern, scientists are working to capture the most elusive particles in the universe.

  • Off Guardian ☛ “Gene-Edited” vs “Genetically Modified” – What’s the difference?

    Have you heard? Gene-edited crops and livestock are here to solve all our problems! Yes, everything from pandemics to the cost of living crisis to climate change is about to get so much better. Isn’t that a relief?

• Hardware

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Intel reportedly weighing sale of its foundry division

    Intel Corp. is weighing a sale of its foundry business in a bid to shore up its financial performance, multiple publications reported today. CNBC cited sources as saying that such a deal is one of several options the chipmaker is considering to address the headwinds facing its business.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel mulls spinning off its manufacturing division

    Intel is working with investment banks over strategic options regarding its manufacturing operations.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Why Relief Agencies Are Rushing Polio Vaccines to Gaza

    A wider outbreak in the conflict zone would be difficult to contain and could spread far, experts fear.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Study: Are Mixed Breed Dogs Really Healthier Than Purebreds?

    What say you, cockapoo?

  • Science Alert ☛ Drinking Alcohol May Impact Future Generations Before They're Conceived

    It starts earlier than you might think.

  • France24 ☛ Three-day pauses 'not enough to prevent Gaza health crisis', HRW says

    Israel has agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" in Gaza to allow health officials to administer polio vaccinations to children in the territory, the World Health Organization said Thursday. However, these pauses will not be enough to prevent a rapidly spreading health crisis in Gaza, says Bill Van Esveld of Human Rights Watch, as the root causes of polio and other diseases can only be addressed by an end to Israel’s “siege” of Gaza.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Dolphin Publications B V ☛ How LinkedIn migrated from Red Hat to Azure Linux

    In 2016, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn. Three years later, the “Blueshift” project was to ensure that the social network would make the move to Azure. Now, at least, the migration to Microsoft’s own Linux distribution Azure Linux is complete.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ DeepCool penalizes Chinese distributor for selling sanctioned products on Amazon in the US — blurred logo and brand name change violated contract

      US-sanctioned DeepCool contacted Tom's Hardware to state that it had nothing to do with the Shaking Tank Amazon store selling its products with blurred logos. A company rep tells us it has taken action against the seller, who was violating its contract with DeepCool.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Meduza ☛ Here’s what to expect from France’s case against Telegram and Pavel Durov — Meduza

    • Scoop News Group ☛ WATCH: NSA releases lecture from computer science pioneer Rear Adm. Grace Hopper

      The U.S. government has to figure out what to do with all the data it wants to collect. Younger people’s engrained ability to harness a new wave of technology should be incorporated into an organization’s mission.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ How Benjamin Franklin is inspiring defenders to protect critical infrastructure

      The digital world is (mostly) on fire. Two new projects have tapped hackers to try and put it out.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFA ☛ RFA Insider #14: North Korean escapee interviews: Life after Pyonghattan

  • CS Monitor ☛ In China, Jake Sullivan cements a triumph of quiet diplomacy

    China and the United States have opened military communications channels and other contacts in a bid to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.

  • RFA ☛ Sullivan to China: US committed to ‘complete’ Korean peninsula denuclearization

    The absence of references to North Korean denuclearization in US party platforms has raised concern in the South.

  • RFA ☛ China releases report to fortify claim over disputed shoal in South China Sea

    Chinese researchers accuse Philippine ships of damaging coral growth at Sabina Shoal.

  • RFERL ☛ Iranian Police Say Officers Failed To Control 'Anger' In Alleged Torture Death

    Iran’s national police command said on August 30 that officers exhibited a “lack of anger control” while handling a man who died in custody earlier this week in the northern Gilan Province.

  • JURIST ☛ HRW urges SAF, RSF leaders to investigate and cease abuse of Sudan detainees

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday to immediately investigate and cease their personnel from ill-treating and torturing, summarily executing and mutilating the dead bodies of individuals in their custody.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pacific bloc scrubs Taiwan from document after China complaint

    China had slammed an earlier version as a “mistake” that “must be corrected”.

  • RFA ☛ Hundreds of Taiwanese 'disappear' in China over past 10 years

    Rights groups call for better safeguards for all victims of 'enforced disappearance.'

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Pacific bloc rebuffs moves from China’s regional allies to sideline long-term partner Taiwan

    By Steven Trask Pacific leaders wrapped up a key summit in Tonga on Friday, endorsing a major joint policing initiative and rebuffing moves from China’s regional allies to sideline long-term partner Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ South Korea Says an Official Leaked Classified Information to China

    The sales of intelligence agency data raised awkward questions as the nation is expanding military information sharing with the United States.

  • RFA ☛ Vietnam, Philippines to sign defense cooperation agreement

    The neighbors seek to bolster security ties amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

  • RFA ☛ China warns Myanmar rebel army to stop fighting

    Security officials told the insurgent group they would 'teach them a lesson' if they didn’t comply.

  • JURIST ☛ Germany deports 28 Afghan nationals following Solingen knife attack, citing security concerns

    The German government carried out on Friday morning its first deportation flight of Afghan nationals back to their home country, according to a statement published by Germany’s Minister of Interior and Home Affairs Nancy Faeser. The deported people were 28 Afghans who had been convicted of criminal offenses and were subject to deportation orders.

  • Defence Web ☛ Two ‘significant’ border busts for Regiment General de la Rey

    Another example of the contribution made to border security by the SA Army Reserve Force comes from Potchefstroom-based Regiment General de la Rey, deployed on the Mpumalanga/Eswatini border.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hongkonger jailed for 7 years, 4 months for possessing guns in case linked to 2019 bomb plot

    A woman who pleaded guilty to possessing firearms and bullets without a license in a case linked to a thwarted bomb plot in 2019 has been sentenced to seven years and four months in jail.

  • New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: Israeli Strike Hits Aid Convoy, Killing Four in Lead Vehicle

    The Israeli military and a U.S. aid organization gave differing, murky accounts of the attack, which targeted people who were not originally part of the convoy.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ A Palestinian Fentanylware (TikTok) star who shared details of Gaza life under siege is killed by Israeli airstrike

    The death of 19-year-old Palestinian Fentanylware (TikTok) star Medo Halimy catalyzed an outpouring of grief on social control media, where his followers expressed shock and sadness as if they, too, had lost a close friend.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian FM lambasts Europeans for slow delivery of Ukraine aid

      
      

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Bombs High-Rise In Kharkiv, Killing 7, As Zelenskiy Begs West To Lift Weapons Restrictions

      Ukraine needs "strong decisions" from its partners to stop the terror that Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a Russian air strike on Kharkiv hit a high-rise residential building and playground, killing at least seven people, including a 14-year-old girl.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Dismisses Ukraine's Air Force Chief After Crash Of F-16

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on August 30 dismissed the commander of the country's air force one day after the crash of a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet that had been recently deployed in the country's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

    • RFERL ☛ Von Der Leyen: Europe Must 'Rethink Foundations' Of Security, Boost Ukraine Defense

      European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a greater European commitment to security and overcoming past unwillingness to provide its own defense.

    • RFERL ☛ Siberian Journalist Gets 8 Years In Prison Over Articles About Ukraine War

      A court in Siberia on July 30 sentenced Sergei Mikhailov, a journalist and founder of the LIStok newspaper in the city of Gorno-Altaisk, to 8 years in prison on a charge of distributing false information about the Russian military.

    • RFERL ☛ Manhunt Launched In Russia After Former Inmate Recruited To Ukraine War Allegedly Kills 2

      Police in Russia's Perm region on August 30 launched a manhunt to catch a former inmate, Artyom Buchin, who is suspected of killing a 28-year-old woman and her daughter after returning from the war in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Czech, EU Voices Urge No Curbs On Ukraine's Use Of Western Weaponry Inside Russia

      Czech President Petr Pavel on August 30 joined a growing EU chorus urging allies to lift all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons as Kyiv continues its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion of its much smaller post-Soviet neighbor.

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Dismisses the Head of the Air Force Days After F-16 Crash

      The Ukrainian president gave no reason, but there are indications that friendly fire may have brought down the jet, a Western official said.

    • New York Times ☛ Maduro Appears to Send Two Foreign Members of Ukraine’s Military to Face Trial in Russia

      Two Colombian soldiers who had fought for Ukraine are now under arrest in Moscow. They wound up there after stopping over in Venezuela, which apparently extradited them.

    • Meduza ☛ Meet the Palianytsia: Everything we know about Ukraine’s new homegrown ‘drone-missile’ — and Kyiv’s plans to use it on Russian territory — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ History event marks 30 years since Russian forces left Latvia

      An event will be held in the Latvian War Museum this weekend to mark the 30th anniversary of the departure of Russian troops from Latvian territory.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Judge Under Investigation Over His Children's U.S. Citizenship

      Judge Rizvan Yusupov of Tatarstan's Supreme Court, who upheld the extension of the pretrial arrest of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva in June, may lose his position after he confirmed reports that his children have U.S. citizenship.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Adds Founder Of Meduza News Website To 'Foreign Agent' List

      Russia's Justice Ministry on August 30 added the founder of the Latvia-based Meduza news website, Galina Timchenko, to its list of "foreign agents." The website itself was added to the list in April 2021.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia designates Meduza co-founder Galina Timchenko as a ‘foreign agent’ — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Inmate Revolts Highlight Failings and Miseries of Russian Prisons

      Staff shortages, beatings, corruption and harsh treatment of Muslim prisoners have all led to unrest among inmates, with recent uprisings turning deadly.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Activist Arrested On Terrorism Charge Over Reposting Online Message

      A court in the Russian city of Samara on August 29 placed activist Alina Lushavina in pretrial detention until at least October 29 on a charge of justifying terrorism by reposting an unspecified message online.

    • France24 ☛ Russian attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv kills at least six

      Russian strikes killed at least six people in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, local officials said on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had dropped a guided bomb on the city and reiterated his call for Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russian military air bases. Later Friday, Ukrainian strikes on Russia's Belgorod border region killed at least five and wounded 37, the region's governor said.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky fires Ukraine's air force commander after fatal F-16 crash

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed his air force chief after one of the country's F-16 fighter jets crashed while repelling a Russian air attack, killing the pilot, Oleksiy Mes. “We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers,” Zelensky said in an address.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Dispatch from Kyiv: How Ukraine’s incursion into Russia has changed the war

      On an Atlantic Council trip to Kyiv, Ambassador John E. Herbst takes stock of how Ukrainians view the war now that their forces have seized more than 460 square miles of Russian territory.

    • RFERL ☛ 'No Worries' About Putin's Visit To Mongolia, Kremlin Says, Despite ICC Warrant For His Arrest

      The Kremlin on August 30 said it is not concerned about President Vladimir Putin's visit to Mongolia on September 3, despite an arrest warrant that the International Criminal Court (ICC) says Mongolia is obligated to act on.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine urges Mongolia to arrest Putin on ICC warrant, Kremlin says it has 'no worries' about visit

      President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, the first time the Russian leader has visited a member nation of the International Criminal Court since the court ordered his arrest in March 2023. The court alleges Putin is responsible for war crimes, saying he failed to stop the deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ What to Know About Putin’s Planned Visit to Mongolia Amid ICC Arrest Warrant

      The Russian president will travel to Mongolia, a member of the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2023.

    • RFERL ☛ Poland Pressuring Belarus To Release Political Prisoners, Parliament Speaker Says

      Poland continues to pressure the Belarusian regime for the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut and other political prisoners, the speaker of the Polish parliament (Sejm) said on August 30 at the Globsec security conference in Prague.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Zimbabwe ☛ Could Converting Regular Cars to Electric Vehicles Be Viable in Zimbabwe?

      Wondered this after bumping into an article about companies doing this in South America. Brand new full electric vehicles are quite pricey.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Dogs Really Do Understand The Words in Those Viral Videos, Study Confirms

      It's not just a gimmick!

    • Science Alert ☛ Strange New Species Found in Toxic Lake Could Hold Clues to Life's Origins

      Why is it so weird?

    • Science Alert ☛ Wait a Minute. Why Don't Any of The Solar System's Moons Have Rings?

      This is weird.

    • Science Alert ☛ What Would Happen if a Warp Drive Spaceship Flew Into a Black Hole?

      Fasten your seatbelt.

    • NYPost ☛ Mom frantic to save clinical trial that could cure her 3-year-old daughter: ‘The treatment is sitting in a fridge’

      A rare, fatal disease called SPG50 affects fewer than 100 people in the world — and one of them is Naomi Lockard, a 3-year-old in Colorado.

• Finance

  • Goldman Sachs Begins Layoffs as Part of Annual Review Process

    Goldman Sachs reportedly plans to lay off between 3% and 4% of its workforce — amounting to about 1,300 to 1,800 people — as part of its annual review process.

    The layoffs have already started, will continue through the fall and are expected to be made across the bank’s divisions, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (Aug. 30), citing unnamed sources.

    Goldman Sachs spokesperson Tony Fratto told the WSJ, per the report: “Our annual talent reviews are normal, standard and customary, but otherwise unremarkable.”

    Fratto added that the bank’s total headcount is expected to remain higher at the end of the year than it was in 2023, according to the report.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Strategist ☛ From the bookshelf: ‘Zhou Enlai: A Life’

    Zhou Enlai was a giant of twentieth century international relations.

  • The Strategist ☛ Australia needs a coast guard to fight and win in the grey zone

    Australia should establish a coast guard to counter China’s use of grey zone tactics in expanding its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

  • France24 ☛ Harris defends policy shifts in first interview as US presidential candidate

    In her first interview with a major news organisation since becoming the Democratic nominee for the November 5 US election, Kamala Harris defended her past policy record and centrist shifts on key issues such as border security and fracking. “My values have not changed,” said the vice president in a primetime CNN interview.

  • ACLU ☛ What Kamala Harris Must Do to End Abuse in the Criminal Legal System

    If elected president, Vice President Kamala Harris would bring extensive experience to the role from her work in the criminal legal system as district attorney, attorney general, senator and vice president. In these roles, her commitment to reforming the criminal legal system has been mixed. In some areas she has taken positions that have embraced reform, while in other areas she has taken positions that were contrary to reform — including instances where she missed the opportunity to end practices that helped drive mass incarceration.

    The ACLU urges Harris to follow the lead of her running mate, Tim Walz, who has been a pioneer for criminal legal system reform in his home state of Minnesota.

  • European Commission ☛ Acceptance speech by President von der Leyen for the Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award at the GLOBSEC Award Ceremony 2024

    European Commission Speech Prague, 31 Aug 2024 Dear friends,

    It is a great privilege for me to be here to receive the Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFA ☛ North Korea bans more TV and movies. Surprise! They’re Chinese

    Internal lectures about historical disputes with China are also banned.

  • France24 ☛ Judge orders shutdown of Musk’s X in Brazil as Starlink contests account blockage

    Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, to immediately suspend its operations within Brazil. The social control media network closed its office in the country earlier this month rather than obey an order from the judge to block dozens accounts being investigated over fake news or hate speech, an order Musk denounced as censorship. Amid the feud over X, the court also blocked the local bank accounts of satellite firm Starlink, which is 40 percent owned by Musk, leading the company on Friday to ask the court to suspend its decision.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Press freedom is no excuse for breaking law, China’s foreign ministry says after Stand News sedition convictions

    Press freedom is no excuse for breaking the law, China’s foreign ministry has said after two ex-editors at the defunct Hong Kong news outlet Stand News were found guilty of sedition.

  • Press Gazette ☛ ITV-backed Gen Z media brand Woo closes after two years

    Woo had a team of around 30-40 people and was founded by a former Ladbible CMO.

  • LWN ☛ AnandTech shuts down

    The venerable AnandTech site has announced

    its closing after 27 years of technology-industry coverage.

    Still, few things last forever, and the market for written tech

    journalism is not what it once was – nor will it ever be again. So,

    the time has come for AnandTech to wrap up its work, and let the

    next generation of tech journalists take their place within the

    zeitgeist.

    The site will surely be missed.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: What is the Hong Kong Journalists Association and what does it actually do?

    Security chief Chris Tang has repeatedly hit out the city’s embattled press union, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA). In 2021, he claimed it was “breaching professional ethics,” casting doubt over its representativeness and credibility, weeks after the state-backed press labelled it an amoral “anti-government political organisation.”

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Citizen Lab ☛ Emile Dirks at the 2024 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition

    The Citizen Lab’s Emile Dirks will present at the upcoming APSA 2024 Annual Meeting & Exhibition as part of a panel discussing how autocrats and aspiring autocrats capture social institutions and stifle counter-mobilization.

  • France24 ☛ East Africa's Swahili coast grapples with legacy of slave trade

    Dotting East Africa’s Swahili coast, Zanzibar, Lamu and Mombasa are synonymous with pristine waters and white sandy beaches. But many tourists are unaware that these UNESCO World Heritage Sites were the scene of a gruesome chapter in history. For centuries, the Swahili coast was central to the slave trade.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Hackaday ☛ Is That Antenna Allowed? The Real Deal On The FCCs OTARD Rule

    The Hackaday comments section is generally a lively place. At its best, it’s an endless wellspring of the combined engineering wisdom of millions of readers which serves to advance the state of the art in hardware hacking for all. At its worst — well, let’s just say that at least it’s not the YouTube comments section.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Alan Pope ☛ Alan Pope: Virtual Zane Lowe for Spotify

    I bodged together a Python script using Spotipy (not a typo) to feed me #NewMusicDaily in a Spotify playlist.

    No AI/ML, all automated, “fresh” tunes every day. Tunes that I enjoy get preserved in a Keepers playlist; those I don’t like to get relegated to the Sleepers playlist.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • American Technology Manufacturers Renew Fight Against Fintiv

    In a renewed effort to challenge the so-called NHK-Fintiv rule, earlier this month Apple, Cisco, Google, and defective chip maker Intel asked the Federal Circuit to strike down the widely-criticized Fintiv doctrine for being instituted without a formal rulemaking procedure.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Art of Losing Gracefully or How Koki’s appellate loss is truly a win.

    We have seen lots of ITC action recently. In the new Koki v. ITC decision, the Federal Circuit found that the accused infringer Koki lacked Constitutional standing to bring the appeal  based upon a binding promise not to sue submitted by the patentee Kyocera.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Magnetar Capital entity Togail Technologies 5G patent monopoly found invalid

    On August 12, 2024, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) entered a notice of intent to issue a reexamination certificate canceling the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,791,502, owned by Togail Technologies Ltd., a Magnetar Capital entity. The ’502 patent monopoly relates to error-handling procedures for system information requests in communications.

  • JUVE ☛ Philips and Thales settle global disputes

    As stated in a joint stipulation before the US District Court of Delaware, Koninklijke Philips and Thales agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims (case ID: 20-1713 CFC). This was reported by IPFray. Previously, Blomberg had reported that the court cancelled a hearing scheduled for mid-August.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Magnetar/Atlantic IP entity, Croga Innovations, firewall patent monopoly challenged

    On August 28, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 10,601,780, owned by Croga Innovations, Ltd., an entity of Atlantic IP Services Limited. The '780 patent monopoly relates to a networked computer system that employs a combination of internal and external firewall mechanisms, along with virtualization techniques, to isolate secure LANs from untrusted internet sources.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Is UGLY DOG SALOON for Restaurant and Bar Services Confusable with UGLY DOG for Distilled Spirits?

    The USPTO refused to register the mark UGLY DOG SALOON for "Bar and restaurant services; catering services" [SALOON disclaimed], finding confusion likely with the registered mark UGLY DOG for "alcoholic beverages, namely, distilled spirits; alcoholic cocktail mixes." Applicant argued that "it is very uncommon for a restaurant to offer distilled spirits under a common mark." How do you think this appeal came out? In re Saloon Promotions, Inc., Serial No. 90849904 (August 28, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Melanye K. Johnson).

  • Right of Publicity

    • New York Times ☛ Florida Family Spent $6 Million on Fake Warhols, Lawsuit Claims

      The family sued a Miami gallery, accusing it of going to elaborate lengths to pass off forged artworks as authentic Andy Warhols; the art dealer denied the allegations.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • NIMBYs, YIMBYs, BANANAs and SULTANAs

      For the first three, it's all an argument about the familiar trade-offs involved in new development: the externalities of building new infrastructure and housing. There are various local resources that operate as club goods or common pool resources, e.g., schools, roads, pubs, social trust, and so on, and there is the impact on the rest of society from having more or less housing.

      SULTANAs treat these as second-order effects relative to the impact of tenure: if new high-density housing is going to be produced, owning some of it should not expose the new owners to the severe economic and psychological harm which currently attends upon much of the leasehold housing stock (and some of the freehold houses on new build estates), nor strengthen the existing predators in the new build housing management sector.

    • Updates and mug steam meanderings

      good morning

      :smudge walks confidently, yet excitedly across the bt to greet a morning patron:

      Nothing like a pub pre-sunrise, eh?

      It makes its way into the sky. Burning off humidity and dew. Lowering temps. 78° today as I see. Need the cool down.

  • Technology and Free Software

    • Wrap-up of 100DaysToOffload

      The challenge started on August 1st, 2023. Currently it is August 31, 2024, and this is phlog post 98. Close enough, I think.