Leftovers

• Off Guardian ☛ The Violence of Development

  The following article is taken from a revised version (Sept 2024) of the author’s open-access book Food, Dependency and Dispossession: Resisting the New World Order (2022).

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ This Stunning Crystal Could Preserve The Human Genome For Billions of Years

    A doorway to forever.

  • Science Alert ☛ Hundreds of Mysterious Nazca Glyphs Have Just Been Revealed

    This could finally explain their purpose.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Grew Microbes in a Lab Experiment, And They Evolved a New Sense

    Bacteria that genetically reconfigured themselves.

  • Science Alert ☛ Brain Waves Can Be Manipulated While We Dream, And It Could Help Treat Dementia

    A radical new approach.

  • Science Alert ☛ Mysterious Link Between Alzheimer's And Cancer May Finally Be Explained

    A new clue has emerged.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Incredible Distortion Is Like a Magnifying Glass Into Deep Space

    "A line-of-sight spanning most of the observable Universe."

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists in Japan Are About to Build a Supercomputer Like No Other

    A thousand times faster than today's fastest machines.

• Education

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Molecular biologist Dennis Lo ‘sole candidate’ to head Chinese University of Hong Kong – reports

    Molecular biologist Dennis Lo is the “sole candidate” to become the next president and vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), local media reported on Sunday. Lo is the associate research dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences at CUHK.

  • The Kent Stater ☛ New Crawford classroom changes the style of business learning

    Crawford Hall opened at the start of the fall semester with a number of new amenities that are not seen in any other building on campus. The Global Forum classroom features 360 degree projection screens, can be seen from Crawford’s exterior and houses hundreds of students for lectures.

• Hardware

  • Tedium ☛ Party In The Rear

    Considering the legacy of rear-projection TVs, the most efficient route to a big-screen TV in the pre-LCD era.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ MSI teases five upcoming motherboards with concealed connectors — Project Zero gets defective chip maker Intel and AMD 800-series motherboards

    During a factory tour, MSI revealed its plans to launch five next-gen Project Zero boards.

  • Hackaday ☛ Custom Mini-Neon Signs In 10 Minutes

    Sometimes, you see a project that isn’t a technical powerhouse but just looks so good you can’t help but think about duplicating it. That’s how we felt with the mini-neon signs made by [makerverse]. From an electronics point of view, it is just some filament LEDs and a 3D-printed casing. But, as you’ll see in the video below, these look like little miniature neon signs, and they look great.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Beautiful Lamp-Inspired PC Case

    Sometimes you see something super cool and think of how it would be really neat if applied in a totally different context. [MXC Builds] saw an awesome lamp from [karacreates], but decided it would be better as a PC case.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • European Commission ☛ Commission launches WTO consultations challenging China's anti-subsidy investigation into EU dairy

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 23 Sep 2024 Today, the Commission launched a consultation request at the World Trade Organization (WTO), challenging China's initiation of an anti-subsidy investigation against imports of certain dairy products from the EU.

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘Dumbphones’ a smart move? Some young people seeking free time and friends say yes.

    Smartphones may still be ascendant, but trends suggest some young people may be freeing up time by putting their high-tech phones down.

  • LRT ☛ Why are Lithuanian émigrés returning home from the UK?

    Over 43,000 Lithuanians have returned from the United Kingdom over the last five years. Among the main reasons experts mention Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, while families with children more often choose to come back home.

  • New York Times ☛ Was It Really a Hot Zone Summer?

    From Covid to dengue, viral outbreaks seemed to be popping up all over. But maybe Americans are just more attuned to threats now.

  • New York Times ☛ California Schools Must Restrict Phones Under New Law Signed by Newsom

    Calls for crackdowns have mounted with reports of cyberbullying and studies indicating that smartphones are harmful to children’s mental health.

  • JURIST ☛ HRW calls on authorities to address racial inequalities in access to healthcare

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) renewed its call for governments to address racial discrimination and inequalities in healthcare, in a statement issued on Monday.  In the statement, HRW cited General Recommendation No. 37 of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), concerning racial discrimination and the right to health.

  • Latvia ☛ Father of diphtheria victim says he didn't trust doctors [Ed: Considering how badly COVID-19 was handled, expect many more parents like these]

    Latvian Television reported September 23 on the diphtheria outbreak which has claimed the life of an unvaccinated four-year-old child.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Almost half of Hong Kong secondary school students may not seek help over mental distress, survey finds

    Close to half of Hong Kong secondary school students in Hong Kong have said they would not necessarily seek help when facing mental health issues, a survey conducted by a non-governmental youth organisation has found.

  • Hackaday ☛ Fukushima Daiichi: Cleaning Up After A Nuclear Accident

    On 11 March, 2011, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake shook the west coast of Japan, with the epicenter located at a shallow depth of 32 km,  a mere 72 km off the coast of Oshika Peninsula, of the Touhoku region. Following this earthquake, an equally massive tsunami made its way towards Japan’s eastern shores, flooding many kilometers inland. Over 20,000 people were killed by the tsunami and earthquake, thousands of whom were dragged into the ocean when the tsunami retreated. This Touhoku earthquake was the most devastating in Japan’s history, both in human and economic cost, but also in the effect it had on one of Japan’s nuclear power plants: the six-unit Fukushima Daiichi plant.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • New York Times ☛ Can Math Help Hey Hi (AI) Chatbots Stop Making Stuff Up? [Ed: No, LLMs are irredeemable because they lack any concept of intelligence]

    Chatbots like Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot get stuff wrong. But researchers are building new Hey Hi (AI) systems that can verify their own math — and maybe more.

  • It's FOSS ☛ Generative Hey Hi (AI) & LLMs: How are They Different or Similar?

    Learn how generative Hey Hi (AI) and LLMs are different but still complement each other.

  • The Register UK ☛ As IBM pushes for more automation, its AI simply not up to the job of replacing staff [Ed: So just keep name-dropping slogans and gimmicks in place of technical substance, repeat while the Ponzi scheme lasts and check with insiders when to drop the stonks]

    IBM's plan to replace thousands of roles with AI presently looks more like outsourcing jobs to India, at the expense of organizational competency.

    That view of Big Blue was offered to The Register after our report on the IT giant's latest layoffs, which resonated so strongly with several IBM employees that they contacted The Register with thoughts on the job cuts.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Reframe launches with $5M to address application silos and improve digital collaboration [Ed: Another trash company attracts some fools to throw money into its trash]

    Workspace orchestration startup Reframe Technologies Inc. launched today and announced that it has raised $5 million in seed funding to further develop its technology.

  • Hackaday ☛ Revisiting 1990’s Mac Games That Never Were

    [John Calhoun] was digging around their old MAC hard drives, revisiting some abandoned shareware games they wrote over three decades ago, and has uploaded the recovered disk images to GitHub for everyone to take apart and play with. This repository has a few of the games complete with their development files and the compiler environment, a mixture of Think Pascal and C.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • SANS ☛ Phishing links with @ sign and the need for effective security awareness building, (Mon, Sep 23rd)

      While going over a batch of phishing e-mails that were delivered to us here at the Internet Storm Center during the first half of September, I noticed one message which was somewhat unusual.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Citizen Lab ☛ Ron Deibert in The Washington Post on Apple’s decision to drop lawsuit against Israeli spyware firm

      Apple has decided to drop its lawsuit against commercial spyware vendor NSO Group, citing a shifting risk landscape that could risk revealing the security methods used to combat commercial surveillance tools.

    • The Strategist ☛ Remotely exploding pagers highlight supply chain risks

      The attacks against Hezbollah using weaponised pagers and walkie talkies serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of compromised supply chains and why Australia must secure its own against the threats from China.

    • AccessNow ☛ Joint civil society statement on the ongoing sabotage of communication devices and the resulting humanitarian crisis [Ed: Access Now seems to have become Islamist in recent years; it makes alliances with terror sympathisers]

      Access Now, with Arab Alliance for Digital Rights, strongly condemns the series of malicious and indiscriminate device explosions across Lebanon and Syria.

    • Off Guardian ☛ Don’t Trust the Government. Not with Your Privacy, Property or Your Freedoms

      “In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” Thomas Jefferson

      Public trust in the government to “do what is right” understandably remains at an all-time low.

    • Internet Society ☛ Texas’ Mandatory Age Verification Law Will Weaken Privacy and Security on the Internet

      Texas' mandatory age verification law will weaken Internet privacy and security and will not provide an effective solution to children being exposed to adult content online.

    • BIA Net ☛ Trial begins for bianet editor Evrim Kepenek over social control media post on 2023 earthquakes

      The law enforcement had included all of Kepenek’s travel records, photos from her reporting trips, addresses, and family information in the investigation file in what her lawyers called an act of invasion of privacy.

    • WhichUK ☛ Frustrated and fobbed-off: why smart meter customer service is falling short

      Around 3.5m smart meters in homes don't work properly. But that's just the start of the problems faced by some energy customers

• Defence/Aggression

  • BIA Net ☛ 19-year-old suspect in İstanbul police killing transported in trash bag and animal control vehicle

    An opposition MP criticized the suspect's treatment, accusing authorities of "fueling public anger and inciting a lynch mob mentality by releasing images of torture."

  • Defence Web ☛ Mwari demonstrates operational impact in Mozambique

    Mozambique’s military is the launch customer for Paramount’s Mwari multi-role aircraft, and deployed the aircraft operationally in northern Mozambique in December 2022. Since then, the aircraft has played a key role in counter insurgency operations, providing reconnaissance and surveillance support.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ What would it mean for Africa to have two permanent UN Security Council seats?

    African nations gaining permanent Security Council seats would make the institution more representative, but significant hurdles remain.

  • France24 ☛ Iran's Revolutionary Guard bans communication devices after Hezbollah pager explosions

    Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has banned the use of pagers and other communication devices after the deadly attacks last week targeting its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, security officials said. One official said a large-scale operation is underway by the IRGC to inspect all devices, not just communication equipment.

  • JURIST ☛ Amnesty International urges US to provide humanitarian aid to Rukban

    Amnesty International on Monday called on the US to provide urgent humanitarian aid to more than 8,000 displaced Syrians in the Rukban camp, a remote area in southeast Syria that borders Jordan and Iraq. Rukban became one of the crossing points for Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war in 2011.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Expanding the US-Japan economic security partnership: Engaging allies and partners

    Economic security has emerged as a national security priority in Tokyo and Washington as both confront challenges posed by China’s civil-military fusion and economic coercion. The alignment of Tokyo and Washington on strategic views of China and the convergence of their economic security priorities has created a new era of alliance cooperation on these issues.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese Software in Vehicles

    Federal officials acknowledged that few Chinese vehicles were on U.S. roads now, but said that the administration wanted to take proactive measures to strengthen national security.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. to Send More Troops to Middle East as Tensions Rise

    Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to say exactly how many troops were deploying, citing operational security.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Japan’s foreign minister to meet Chinese counterpart over boy’s fatal stabbing in Shenzhen

    Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa said on Monday she will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a visit to New York to discuss the fatal stabbing of a schoolboy.

  • CS Monitor ☛ A Chinese answer to anti-foreigner hate

    The killing of a Japanese boy in China evokes strong reaction to Beijing’s use of anti-Japan propaganda as a tool of control.

  • RFA ☛ The Dragon King

  • RFA ☛ EXPLAINED: What exactly is UNGA Week?

    One US official described the UN General Assembly as ‘diplomatic speed-dating on steroids.’

  • RFA ☛ 10 years on, EU and rights groups call for Ilham Tohti’s release

    China sentenced the Uyghur scholar to life in prison in 2014 on separatism charges.

  • RFA ☛ EXPLAINED: Sabina Shoal, the newest flashpoint in the South China Sea

    Manila needs to develop a clear, unified strategy in its South China Sea claim, analysts say.

  • RFA ☛ Beijing says Taipei behind anti-China hackers

    Taiwan military denied role in a hacking group responsible for cyberattacks on Chinese state targets.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China are the real hackers not us, Taiwan says after cyber accusations

    Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said it was China who was the main hacker around the globe.

  • RFA ☛ North Korea blames US for waging a ‘new Cold War’ in Asia with military alliances

    The comment came after Quad leaders reaffirmed a goal of the ‘complete’ denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

  • RFA ☛ Did Kim Jong Un make a statement threatening Israel?

    Verdict: False

  • RFA ☛ US, South Korea, Japan to finalize trilateral secretariat establishment

    The three-way partnership will be finalized when their leaders meet later this year.

  • RFA ☛ Myanmar junta attacks kill 20 in Mandalay region

    Indiscriminate junta airstrikes are killing more villagers, residents and insurgents say.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Israel launches new strikes on Hezbollah as Lebanon death toll nears 500

    Israeli air strikes hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight and artillery and tanks struck additional targets in two areas near the border, the military said Tuesday. The attacks come after Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least 492 people and wounded at least 1,645, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

  • New Yorker ☛ Are Israel and Hezbollah Headed Toward an “Open-Ended Battle”?

    Air strikes across Lebanon, on the heels of last week’s pager and walkie-talkie explosions, have left the country in a state of dread.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China 'firmly supports' Lebanon in safeguarding its security

    China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday that China firmly supported Lebanon in safeguarding its sovereignty and security and strongly condemned violations after Israel's large scale airstrike.

  • New York Times ☛ In Beirut, Israel’s Strikes Stoke Fears of War

    With Monday’s attacks across southern Lebanon, the prospect of the escalating conflict enveloping the city has suddenly become real for many Beirut residents.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes on Hezbollah, Killing Hundreds in Lebanon

    It was the deadliest day of Israeli attacks in Lebanon since at least 2006. More than a thousand were also injured, Lebanon’s health ministry said, without saying how many were civilians. The armed group Hezbollah sent rockets into northern Israel and vowed to keep attacking.

  • New York Times ☛ Tuesday Briefing: Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Kill Hundreds

    Plus, vintage soccer jerseys and the memories they preserve.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill Hundreds as Warplanes Target Hezbollah

    It was the deadliest day in decades of hostilities between Israel and the militants, who stepped up their own barrage of rockets.

  • New York Times ☛ Tuesday Briefing: Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Kill Hundreds

    Plus, vintage soccer jerseys and the memories they preserve.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Targets Top Hezbollah Commander Ali Karaki in Beirut Strike

    Hezbollah said in a statement that the chief of its forces in southern Lebanon was alive and well.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Launches Deadly Strikes Across Gaza, Local Officials Say

    The latest in a series of strikes on schools being used as shelters killed three in Nuseirat, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. Israel has said the buildings were being used by Hamas militants as a command center.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel-Hezbollah Tensions Spiral in Week of Attacks: What to Know

    Exploding pagers, a major Israeli strike in Beirut and Hezbollah attacks deep inside Israel have brought the two sides closer than they’ve been in years to a full-scale war.

  • New York Times ☛ Fear Spreads in Beirut as Israel Steps Up Strikes

    Lebanon’s Education Ministry ordered some schools to close amid warnings from Israel that it was intensifying strikes against Hezbollah and calls for residents to evacuate.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Israel Is Escalating Attacks Against Hezbollah in Lebanon: News Analysis

    Israel’s intensifying strikes show how determined it is to stop Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks — and how far it is from achieving that goal.

  • NYPost ☛ Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 7 as people flee south Lebanon

    Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Israel launches new overnight strikes on Hezbollah after nearly 500 killed in Lebanon

    Israeli air strikes hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight and artillery and tanks struck additional targets in areas near the border, the military said Tuesday. The attacks come after Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least 492 people and wounded at least 1,645, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ International operation strikes organized crime in Latvia and Spain

      An alleged leader of organized crime in Latvia has been arrested in an international operation, reports LSM's Latvian language service.

    • The Strategist ☛ Envisioning a better peace in Ukraine

      With Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine now well into its third year, there are mounting questions about whether any sort of peace or victory is possible.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Federal News Network ☛ Whistleblowers show colleges and other non-profits aren’t immune from the False Claims Act

    "These are interesting cases in that they are spotlighting as we see the Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative cases coming up from under seal," said Julie Bracker.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ California sues ExxonMobil for plastic-recycling 'campaign of deception'

      California's attorney general has targeted ExxonMobil in a lawsuit that aims to charge the oil giant for the clean-up of millions of tons of plastic waste, the latest in a string of suits leveled against oil and gas companies over the growing environmental crisis. The suit alleges that ExxonMobil used decades-long marketing campaigns to dupe consumers into thinking their plastic waste would be recycled.

    • Impact of GM Layoffs: What Went Wrong?

      General Motors declared it would close its Kansas plant, which employs nearly 1,700 people. The company said it is laying off 1,695 employees at its Kansas Fairfax Assembly factory. The story verified the layoffs and cited an official from the corporation, citing Automotive News. There will be two layoffs: starting on 18 November, the first wave will affect 686 full-time employees and 250 temporary workers. On 12 January 2025, the second phase is slated to take effect, involving 759 full-time employees.

    • RFA ☛ Leaked audit of VW’s Xinjiang plant contains flaws: expert

      Scholar Adrian Zenz says auditors did not adhere to international standards, making it unreliable.

    • Science Alert ☛ A Nuclear Explosion Could Protect Earth From an Asteroid Catastrophe

      It would have to be incredibly precise.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • LRT ☛ Autumnal equinox marked in Vilnius – photos

      September 22 marks the autumnal equinox and the start of astronomical autumn. On this occasion, Vilnius residents and visitors gathered on the Stalo (Table) Hill, and LRT photographers captured the moments of the celebration.

    • University of Michigan ☛ It Happened at Michigan — An historic doctorate in botany

      Edavelth Kakkat Janaki Ammal made history in 1931 when she became the first Indian woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree in botany in the United States.

    • NYPost ☛ Tiny Alaskan island known as the ‘Galapagos of the North’ in panic over possible rat sighting

      A tiny Alaskan island known as the "Galapagos of the North" with a population of just 350 is in a panic over a singular rat that may not even exist.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Without water, how do you fight wildfires? Algeria leans on AI, drones, and trucks.

      Rural Algerian firefighters are pioneering new ways to combat wildfires fed by Algeria’s hot, dry climate. With artificial intelligence and new laws, the government is streamlining faster responses and saving lives.

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ What’s it really like to swim with whale sharks?

      No trip to the Mexican Caribbean is complete without a brush with these majestic ocean giants, an enjoyable (and informative) day trip from Cancún.

    • Science Alert ☛ Octopuses Team Up With Fish to Hunt, And Will Punch Them if They Act Up

      An incredible partnership caught on camera.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ China Cuts Interest Rates and Mortgage Down Payments

    The country’s central bank also freed commercial banks to lend more money in a package of moves aimed at rekindling growth in a stagnant economy.

  • JURIST ☛ France deploys anti-riot police to Martinique amid protests over rising living costs

    The French government deployed the special anti-riot police, the Republican Security Companies (CRS), to Martinique on Sunday in response to ongoing protests against the rising cost of living on the French-ruled Caribbean island.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s central bank cuts key interest rate, reserve ratio as measures to boost ailing economy unveiled

    China’s central bank on Tuesday unveiled a raft of measures to boost the country’s struggling economy, cutting the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve and lowering a key interest rate.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s retirement age reforms not enough to fix pension headache

    Both older and younger workers have expressed worries about the changes.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • JURIST ☛ Tunisia labor union denounces new electoral law submitted 15 days before election

    The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) on Saturday condemned a proposed change in the country’s electoral laws submitted 15 days before the presidential elections. In a letter published by Echaabnews, the organization’s media outlet, UGTT’s Secretary General Noureddine Taboubi rejected the amendment as unacceptable and demanded it be stopped.

  • New York Times ☛ Ashwin Vasan Resigns From Adams Administration as Investigations Swirl

    Dr. Ashwin Vasan, who led New York City out of the pandemic as its health commissioner, is the third top official to quit in recent weeks.

  • NYPost ☛ Feds demanded Adams admin’s communications with 5 more countries as Turkey probe expands: sources

    The subpoenas sought details on all interactions between administration officials and Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, sources told The Post.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Inquiry Into N.Y. Mayor’s Foreign Ties Said to Include 6 Countries

    Federal prosecutors investigating Mayor Eric Adams and his campaign’s ties to Turkey issued subpoenas in July for records related to 5 other countries.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Research Aided Chinese Military Technology, House Republicans Say

    A congressional report argues that Beijing has exploited ties with American universities to advance technologically, and that further guardrails are needed.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ Man Smashes Ai Weiwei’s Porcelain Sculpture at Italian Museum

    The man behind the episode, at a reception for Mr. Ai’s new exhibition in Bologna, has targeted artists before, a museum spokesman said.

  • JURIST ☛ Tanzania authorities arrest opposition leaders ahead of planned protests

    Tanzania police on Monday arrested opposition members, including prominent leader Tundu Lissu, and journalists in Dar es Salaam before planned peaceful protests calling on the government to address the abduction of opposition figures in recent months.

  • RFA ☛ EXPLAINED: What is the Article 23 security law in Hong Kong?

    A Hong Kong court hands down the first jail terms under legislation passed in March.

  • RFERL ☛ Iranian Grammy Winner Says Security Case Against Him Dropped

    Grammy Award winner Shervin Hajipour, who was facing a prison sentence for making the viral song Baraye, said on September 23 that his case has been closed and he’s been granted amnesty.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Associated Press photojournalist denied entry to Hong Kong after visa renewal rejected

    An award-winning French photojournalist working for Associated Press has been denied entry to Hong Kong months after an extension of her work visa was rejected by the city’s immigration authorities.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Daily Mail CEO on Surveillance Giant Google lawsuits, Hey Hi (AI) and why future of news is bright

    Revenue and profit up for DMG Media this year after Mail Online partial paywall move.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ After int’l lawyers appeal to UN over media mogul Jimmy Lai’s health, Hong Kong gov’t slams ‘unreasonable smears’

    The Hong Kong government has condemned a team of international lawyers advocating for the release of media mogul Jimmy Lai after they reported the tycoon’s deteriorating health to the United Nations.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mark Allen Group buys travel and aviation publisher Sixth Continent Holdings

    The deal covers flagship title The Moodie Davitt Report as well as its three travel industry events.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Reach CEO Jim Mullen says regulation needed to save free online news

    Tech platforms fuel division and misinformation says Reach CEO Jim Mullen.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Revisiting ICP-2: Strengthening Internet governance for the future

    Guest Post: The upcoming revision of ICP-2 offers a unique and important opportunity for the global Internet community to help shape the future of Internet governance.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: ITCN Expo 2024

    Pubudu Jayasinghe hosted a booth at the ITCN Expo 2024, held from 27 to 29 August in Karachi, Pakistan.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Get Ready: A YouTube Premium Price Hike Incoming for Subscribers Outside the US

    YouTube Premium is getting a price hike for international subscribers—with the hike determined by region. The price hikes differ per region, with some regions seeing between 30% and 50% increases in the price of YouTube Premium. YouTube has raised its prices several times since 2020.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Let’s Get Some Hype In the Chat — YouTube Hype Borrows a Twitch Concept

    YouTube is borrowing a page from Twitch’s promotional catalog with its new hype feature. While Twitch hype works only while the creator is live (encouraging active donations), YouTube Hype allows fans to boost the video to virality for small-time content creators.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Locked Phone, World of Issues: The Push for Cell Phone Unlocking

    Locked devices make it harder to use the phones we own in the ways that we want. 

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Atlantic Council ☛ How protecting intellectual property rights in African music, film, and fashion can create opportunity and wealth

  The creative industry has the potential to transform the African continent through economic growth and narrative change. As the demand for African innovations continues to increase, so will the need for the protection of creators. 

• Patents

  • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Strict interpretation of the patentability of dosage inventions under French law

    While the patentability of further medical use claim defined by a dosage regimen used to be ruled out, the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal has accepted them since decision G 2/08 in 2010.

  • JUVE ☛ Federal Patent Court revokes InterDigital patent monopoly in dispute with Oppo [Ed: EPO granted a lot of fake, illegal patents - including software patents - and patent trolls now have a field day in Europe]

    The Federal Patent Court under presiding judge Monika Hartlieb has revoked InterDigital’s  EP 2 485 558 B1 in its entirety (case ID: 2 Ni 11/22). The patent monopoly protects a technology for a method and apparatus for providing and utilising a non-contention-based channel in a wireless communication system.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Third DynaIP entity, Cloud Systems, IoT patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On September 20, 2024, five weeks 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 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.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ First main infringement hearing in Edwards vs Meril at Munich local division [Ed: This is an illegal and fake court, but JUVE courted bribes to keep lobbying for this illegality and try to continuously legitimise it, in effect perpetuating EPO corruption and ushering it into the gut of the EU]

      The timing for the hearing in Edwards vs Meril is good. Last weekend saw the opening of the famous Oktoberfest. From morning onwards, the beer tents are full of party-goers in traditional Bavarian costumes. Not far away is the courtroom of the local division Munich.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ "Video Streaming Royalty Stack Best Left to Devices," say Economist [Ed: Those patents should not exist at all! No monopolies on math!]

      The Brattle Group determined in a recently released report the aggregate value of video streaming technologies is already taken into account through existing device based royalty rates. Brattle considered various video codecs, streaming protocols, content delivery networks, and media players while excluding other technologies like wireless and Internet protocols.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Section 2(d) Appeals Turn Out?

    The TTAB affirmance rate for Section 2(d) appeals is running at 90% so far this year. Here are three recent decisions. How do you think they came out? No hint this time.

    In re Casa Bonita Foods Inc., Serial No. 97497611 (September 19, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cindy B. Greenbaum). [Section 2(d) refusal of the mark CASA BONITA for "Tortillas; Corn-based snack foods; Tortilla chips; Tortilla shells" in view of the identical mark registered for "restaurant services."]

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ UMG Muscles Into Hong Kong and Macau with ‘Universal Music China Greater Bay Area (UMCGBA)’

    Universal Music Group launches Universal Music China Greater Bay Area (UMCGBA) in Hong Kong and Macau.