Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Drive For Show, Putt For Dough

  Any golfer will attest that the most impressive looking part of the game—long drives—isn’t where the game is won. To really lower one’s handicap the most important skills to develop are in the short game, especially putting. Even a two-inch putt to close out a hole counts the same as the longest drive, so these skills are not only difficult to master but incredibly valuable. To shortcut some of the skill development, though, [Sparks and Code] broke most rules around the design of golf clubs to construct this robotic putter.

• MWL ☛ Mail Talk 8 October 2024, with bonus Craig Maloney Memorial Charity Auction starting–NOW

  Next Tuesday, 8 October 2024, I’ll be talking about Running Your Own Mail Server at mug.org, 6:30PM EDT. MUG is my local “hard-core Unixy People” group. Giving a talk during a book release is bad planning, but I am crap at scheduling. One of its members was Craig Maloney.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Rubenerd Show 429: The pa-paya pa-pa-paya episode

  41:19 – A few things today, but mostly a discussion of our beloved Amelia Watson wrapping up her regular English vtuber activities with Hololive, and the adventures of buying our first home! When one thing ends, another thing starts. ♡ Microwave ovens. Custom kitchen delivery.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Turns Off Voyager 2's Science Instrument as Power Supply Declines

    After 47 years of space exploration.

  • Science Alert ☛ Perseverance Found a Zebra-Striped Rock on Mars, And NASA Is Excited

    There may be nothing else like it.

• Hardware

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ DOOM Now Runs on a Quantum Computer (Which Doesn't Even Exist)

    A hypothetical quantum computer… 70 times more powerful than the most powerful Quantum Computer.

  • Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: Another Thing Your TV No Longer Needs

    As Hackaday writers we don’t always know what our colleagues are working on until publication time, so we all look forward to seeing what other writers come up with. This week it was [Al Williams] with “Things Your TV No Longer Needs“, a range of gadgets from the analogue TV era, now consigned to the history books. On the bench here is a device that might have joined them, so in taking a look at it now it’s by way of an addendum to Al’s piece.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti adoption rates explode among gamers — mid-range Ada GPUs gain ground in latest Steam hardware survey

    According to the Steam hardware survey for September, Nvidia's RTX 4060 has seen record adoption rates, gaining over 1% of the total GPU market share in just one month.

  • Hackaday ☛ MikroPhone – Open, Secure, Simple Smartphone

    Modern smartphones try and provide a number of useful features to their users, and yet, they’re not exactly designed with human needs in mind. A store-bought smartphone will force a number of paradigms and features onto you no matter whether you want them, and, to top it off, it will encroach on your privacy and sell your data. It’s why self-built and hacker-friendly smartphone projects keep popping up, and the MikroPhone project fills a new niche for sure, with its LTE connectivity making it a promising option for all hackers frustrated with the utter state of smartphones today.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • University of Michigan ☛ U-M to be a research hub for health equity work

    The School of Public Health will receive $6. 75 million to establish a health equity research hub to help strengthen efforts to reverse health disparities. U-M is one of five institutions sharing $37 million from the National Institutes of Health.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ US school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising [Ed: After COVID-19 'experiments' confidence in vaccines (in general) has fallen further - just what many warned would happen if guards are lowered at regulatory agencies for the sake of some companies' patents]

    The changes may seem slight but are significant, translating to about 80,000 kids not getting vaccinated, health officials say.

  • Science Alert ☛ One Stage of Sleep Seems to Be Critical For Reducing Dementia Risk

    Our brains need it.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Report Links Alcohol to Six Major Cancer Types

    The statistics are sobering.

  • Science Alert ☛ Type 1 Diabetes May Be Triggered by Bacterial Infections, Scientists Find

    This could lead to new treatments.

  • Off Guardian ☛ The UK’s “Chicken License” Rebellion – the GOOD way to deal with BAD laws

    As of today, the UK’s “Chicken License” is in full effect. October 1st marked the deadline for registering your chickens with the proper authority. Moving forward anyone caught with an unlicensed chicken will be in breach of the law and subject to fines and poultry reclamation. I am entirely serious.

  • RFA ☛ North Korea swaps soybean-based doenjang paste with wheat-based imitation

    Residents say it tastes awful and they long for the salty fermented soybean paste, a staple of Korean cuisine.

  • Pro Publica ☛ A Hospital Kept a Brain-Damaged Patient on Life Support to Boost Statistics. His Sister Is Now Suing for Malpractice.

    In 2018, Darryl Young was hoping for a new lease on life when he received a heart transplant at a New Jersey hospital after years of congestive heart failure. But he suffered brain damage during the procedure and never woke up.

    The following year, a ProPublica investigation revealed that Young’s case was part of a pattern of heart transplants that had gone awry at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 2018. The spate of bad outcomes had pushed the center’s percentage of patients still alive one year after surgery — a key benchmark — below the national average. Medical staff were under pressure to boost that metric. ProPublica published audio recordings from meetings in which staff discussed the need to keep Young alive for a year, because they feared another hit to the program’s survival rate would attract scrutiny from regulators. On the recordings, the transplant program’s director, Dr. Mark Zucker, cautioned his team against offering Young’s family the option of switching from aggressive care to comfort care, in which no lifesaving efforts would be made. He acknowledged these actions were “very unethical.”

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Game World Observer ☛ Game companies laid off over 1,000 industry professionals in September, highest since April [Ed: Led by Microsoft (the layoffs champion)]

    September 2024 was one of the largest months this year in terms of layoffs. The games industry remains in turmoil as hundreds of professionals continue to lose jobs across the globe.

    [...]

    This brings the total number of layoffs this year to nearly 13,000, compared to over 10,500 for all of 2023. January was the largest month by job cuts, with over 6,000, followed by February (2,000+), April (1,000+), May (773), and June (632). The deepest cuts were made by Microsoft (almost 3,000 people), Unity (1,800), and Sony Interactive Entertainment (900).

  • ABP ☛ Samsung Layoffs: Tech Giant To Fire Thousands Of Employees In THESE Regions

    Samsung Layoffs: The report indicates that job cuts are also planned for other international branches, with similar reductions potentially reaching 10 per cent in specific markets

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • AccessNow ☛ Surveilling Europe’s edges: detention centres as a blueprint for mass surveillance

      In the third and final part of her blog series, Caterina Rodelli examines how EU migration policies and detention practices on the island of Samos are strengthening the EU’s wider, permanent mass surveillance infrastructure.

    • WhichUK ☛ Meta and UK banks share data to combat scams

      A new information-sharing partnership between Meta and UK banks could reduce scams

    • JURIST ☛ Germany court rules parts of federal police surveillance law incompatible with constitution

      Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that multiple provisions of the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office Act (BKA Act) are unconstitutional because they infringe upon citizens’ privacy rights.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Iran Would Need Much More Than Weeks to Build a Nuclear Bomb

    Nuclear experts see Tehran as facing up to a year of hard work to master the knotty basics of building a deliverable atom bomb.

  • BIA Net ☛ Ill prisoner Abdulkadir Kuday dies in prison

    Kuday, suffering from multiple health issues including ALS, was not released despite medical reports.

  • France24 ☛ Missile barrage on Israel: What were the 'hypersonic' weapons used by Iran?

    On October 1, 2024, Israel faced one of the largest missile barrages in modern history. Iranian state media said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched around 200 ballistic missiles of various types at Israeli targets, including so-called "hypersonic” missiles. Hypersonic missiles, already in use by Russia, China, the United States and other nations, represent a new generation of ballistic missiles that are more difficult to intercept and more destructive upon impact.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to send military aircraft to evacuate nationals from Middle East

    This is not the first time it has deployed military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict zones.

  • New York Times ☛ Why the Conflict Between Iran and Israel Has Raised Oil Prices Only Modestly

    The fighting is increasing fears about oil supplies, but those worries are offset by greater global production and slowing demand in China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to send military aircraft to evacuate citizens from the Middle East

    Seoul’s decision to dispatch military aircraft comes as tensions in the region intensify.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea court upholds 14-month sentence for rapper who attempted to evade national service

    The Supreme Court also upheld a five-year prison term for a man who helped the rapper in evading his military duties.

  • RFA ☛ Traders in Myanmar struggle as borders with China remain closed in rebel-held areas

    6 of Shan state’s border gates are under the control of insurgent ethnic groups.

  • RFA ☛ INTERVIEW: Trump ‘would love to see his friend Kim Jong Un again’

    Former National Security Advisor John Bolton discusses North Korea issues, possible Trump return.

  • JURIST ☛ Israel bars UN Secretary-General amidst rising fears of all-out war in the Middle East

    Israel barred the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country on Wednesday, escalating tensions already heightened by regional conflict. The announcement was made by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, on the social control media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

  • BBC ☛ UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

    The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.

    The deal – reached after years of negotiations - will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move.

    This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft.

    The announcement, made in a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian Prime Ministers, ends decades of often fractious negotiations between the two countries.

  • New York Times ☛ Iran’s Strikes on Israel Appear Aimed at Shoring Up Regional Alliance

    Iran’s second missile barrage against Israel is unlikely to deter its foe, experts say, but may help retain the support of the “Axis of Resistance” it has built up over years.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Says He Won’t Support an Israeli Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Sites

    His comments reflected a renewed effort by his administration to seek restraint from Israel to try to avoid a growing war in the Middle East.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Strikes on Gaza Schools and an Orphanage Kill Scores of Palestinians

    The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency said the Israeli military operation had included an incursion by ground troops and airstrikes.

  • New York Times ☛ ‘There’s No Safety’: Decision to Leave Ends in Tragedy for Lebanese Family

    Zahraa Badreddine fled Nabatieh in southern Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes intensified, hoping to find safety in a predominantly Christian area closer to the coast. But last Sunday, an airstrike near Sidon killed her two children.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel’s Strikes in Beirut Brings the Once-Bustling Suburbs to a Standstill

    Airstrikes targeting members of Hezbollah have brought the Dahiya neighborhoods south of Beirut to a standstill, its residents fleeing and businesses shuttering.

  • New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis Updates: Strikes in Lebanese Capital Leave 6 Dead, Health Ministry Says

    The Israeli military said it was conducting what it called “a precise strike” in Beirut. State media said a health authority building in the Bachoura neighborhood had been hit.

  • New York Times ☛ A Storm, a Strike and War Abroad Pose Challenges for Harris

    Scenes of striking workers, hurricane devastation in the Southeast and missiles over Israel represent a rare moment of turbulence for Kamala Harris.

  • New Yorker ☛ What’s Next in the Israel-Iran Conflict?

    In the span of a week—with the death of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, and Iran’s ballistic-missile strike on Israel—the entire Middle East is changed.

  • France24 ☛ Israel says eight of its soldiers killed in clashes with Hezbollah in south Lebanon

    Israel said eight of its soldiers died on Wednesday in clashes with Hezbollah in south Lebanon. Tensions in the Middle East spiralled in the past 48 hours after Israel began what it describes as a "limited, localised and targeted" ground operation in Lebanon and Iran responded by firing at least 180 missiles at Israel in its biggest-ever assault on its arch-enemy. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: At least six killed in Israeli strike on central Beirut

    At least five people have been killed and 11 have been injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a Hezbollah rescue facility in Bachoura, a district located in the center of Beirut. Journalists and witnesses reported loud explosions, marking the second Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital this week.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Let’s talk about… “WWIII” trending again, as war in ME expands

    The year-old Israeli-Hamas war is, we are told, spreading across the region. Following Israel’s bizarre “pager  attack” last month the IDF have “shifted focus” to Lebanon. Two days ago an Israeli strike on Beirut is said to have levelled six buildings and “wiped out” the entirety of Hezbollah’s leadership.

  • NYPost ☛ Iran’s missle strike was a dud and it’s clear the mad mullahs are losing the war

    The known death toll of the wave of missiles fired by Iran into Israel yesterday is as follows: Israelis 0, Palestinians 1.

  • Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Keeps Enlisting Billie Eilish to Debut New Features — This Time for Flip Story [Ed: Looking for ways to give Beijing more control over Western culture and minds]

    TikTok taps Billie Eilish again to debut a new feature, this time for Flip Story, a photo feature where users can tap to ‘flip’ from one to the other. Since Fentanylware (TikTok) resolved its licensing dispute with Universal Music Group, the social video platform has continually tapped UMG artist Billie Eilish to debut new features.

  • Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Is Dumping Merlin And That’s That — Platform Tells Indie Labels to Make a Direct Deal or Face Removal [Ed: TikTok also glorifies terrorists who do complete head removal]

    The battle between indie collective Merlin and Fentanylware (TikTok) is heating up as the social control media platform seeks to bypass Merlin’s collective bargaining power by striking individual deals with the indie labels it deems worthy.

  • The Kent Stater ☛ [Fentanylware addicts] react to possible Fentanylware (TikTok) ban after Sep. 16 court hearing

    The social control media platform Fentanylware (TikTok) fought in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, against a federal ban that is set to take place on Jan. 19. The ban would prohibit app stores across the U.S. from carrying or advertising the app.

  • Stanford University ☛ Q&A: Nisrin Elamin Ph.D. ’20 calls for attention on the war in Sudan

    The conflict in Sudan has received only a fraction of the attention given to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Three state elections have backed Germany into a corner

      The recent successes of populist parties in Germany’s state elections could signal an imminent shift in Berlin’s policies on climate, immigration, and aid for Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Says Biggest Election Influence Threats Come From Russia, Iran, China

      The United States expects Russia, Iran, and China to continue their attempts to influence the November 5 elections by using artificial intelligence to disseminate fake  information, according to a report released on October 2 by the Department of Homeland Security.

    • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Cybersecurity head says there’s no chance a foreign adversary can change US election results

      Federal agencies have warned of growing attempts by Russia and Iran in particular to influence voters before the Nov. 5 election and election conspiracy theories have left millions of Americans doubting the validity of election results.

    • CS Monitor ☛ How a front-line husband-and-wife reporting team gets the news out in Ukraine

      Close to the Russian border, a Ukrainian couple are keeping the local newspaper alive despite shelling, providing a lifeline for the local community.

    • CS Monitor ☛ This chef is fighting a culinary battle for Ukrainian identity

      In “The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen: Recipes from a Native Chef,” Yevhen Klopotenko celebrates the foods that separate Ukraine from Russia.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Withdraws From Vuhledar, Town Long Under Russian Attack

      Vuhledar had been under assault for almost three years. Russian forces entered it after a furious battle, and Ukraine ordered troops to retreat.

    • New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing: Israeli Troops Clashed with Hezbollah

      Plus, what we learned from fashion month.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Russia to spend $2.54 billion on its own chipmaking tools industry by 2030

      Russia's proposed spending on its own chipmaking tools industry by 2030 is 57 times lower than its spending on war against Ukraine in 2025 alone.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Withdraws From Vuhledar As Russia Resumes Strikes On Danube Port

      The Ukrainian military has confirmed that it is pulling out of the strategic city of Vuhledar in the east, while Ukraine's critically important Danube port of Izmayil was again targeted by waves of Russian drone strikes that raised the alarm in neighboring NATO member Romania.

    • RFERL ☛ RFE/RL Reveals 20,000+ From Russia's Volga Regions Have Died In Ukraine

      More than 20,000 soldiers from Russia's Povolzhye -- territories comprising several regions around the Volga River -- have died in Ukraine since the start of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, according to calculations from RFE/RL's Idel.Realities.

    • RFERL ☛ Croatia Backs Out Of NATO Ukraine Mission Over National Security Concerns

      The president of Croatia has refused to approve the participation of Croatian soldiers in NATO’s mission to support Ukraine citing a desire to prevent the conflict from spreading toward Croatia and to ensure the safety of its citizens.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Launches Criminal Case Against Opposition Yabloko Party Lawmaker

      Russia has opened a criminal case against opposition politician Lev Shlosberg, one of the few Kremlin critics publicly opposed to the Ukraine campaign still at large in the country.

    • France24 ☛ In Ukraine’s Lyman, printed press becomes vital link to outside world

      Print media might be struggling in many parts of the world, but it has become a vital link to the outside world for isolated communities near Ukraine's front lines. In the battle-scarred Ukrainian city of Lyman, Russian bombardments frequently cut power and internet access – leaving the local “Zoria” ("Dawn") newspaper as one of the few reliable sources of information left.

    • France24 ☛ The significance of Russia's capture of the Ukrainian stronghold of Vuhledar

      Russian troops took control of Vuhledar in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, opening the way for Russian forces to advance toward other towns in the region. Both sides value Vuhledar due to its position on elevated ground at the intersection of the eastern and southern battlefield fronts, making it key to supply lines.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Russian authorities arrest nearly 100 in raids tied to cybercriminal money laundering

      The Russian operation comes less than a week after the U.S. government unsealed indictments and sanctions against two men allegedly connected to the UAPS system

• Environment

  • Pro Publica ☛ Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration?

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ Mystery deaths and mass layoffs: Europe’s green battery dream Northvolt turns sour

      Northvolt was a shiny new startup with a pretty logo that promised to “make oil history” by making the cleanest electric car battery the world had ever seen. The Swedish company founded in 2016 was seen as a huge driver for Europe’s dream to become carbon neutral, and would drastically cut the continent’s reliance on China for imported electric car batteries. Some of the largest car-makers out there, including Volvo, Volkswagen and BMW, rushed to place their orders, and investors virtually poured money into the company.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ China’s cleantech growth strategy sets its sights on Brazil

      China is relying on cleantech exports to help drive economic growth, but with the United States and other developed nations becoming increasingly hesitant to purchase Chinese imports, China’s cleantech sectors need to search for alternative markets. Brazil has emerged as a potential top buyer, but it must walk a fine line to avoid becoming overly dependent on China.

  • Overpopulation

    • Overpopulation ☛ New study shows what is possible with strong family planning funding

      Access to voluntary, informed family planning should be the right of all people. In the past, only those with health insurance or who were well-to-do were likely to be able to access good family planning care.

    • France24 ☛ Spain welcomes record 21.8 million summer vistors as overtourism sparks protests

      A record number of tourists travelled to Spain in summer 2024 amid protests from residents who blame tourists for degrading living conditions. Although the high figures were a boon for the economy, Spain should "transform" its model for the tourism sector the tourism minister said.

• Finance

  • Atlantic Council ☛ China’s sputtering engine of growth leads its imports to downshift

    China's slowing economic growth, declining imports, and rising emphasis on import substitution are reverberating globally, impacting trade partners and reshaping geopolitical and economic dynamics.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor

    Enforcement of the law initially targeted solar products, tomatoes, cotton and apparel, but over the last several months, the U.S. government has identified new sectors for enforcement, including aluminum and seafood.

  • The Strategist ☛ Securing Australia’s supply chains through targeted investments in manufacturing

    Australia needs a policy for delivering the minimum manufacturing capacity that would ensure national resilience, security and economic prosperity.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • RFA ☛ Inside Bamban: A small Philippine farming town and its mysterious hub

    A sleepy, rural town thrust into the national spotlight over its former mayor, Alice Guo.

  • RFA ☛ Indian mountaineers name peak claimed by China after Dalai Lama

    The act is a symbolic gesture of Tibetan resistance to Beijing, scholars say.

  • RFA ☛ Despite constant hovering by Chinese ships, Malaysia expands South China Sea drilling

    But Beijing may 'ratchet up the pressure' as Malaysia widens drilling operations, says a U.S. think tank report.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Nine months later: The regional implications of the Ethiopia-Somaliland MOU

    The involvement of other players in the Horn of Africa’s security landscape is a prime example of how middle-power politics and diplomacy in one region could, over time, create a tinderbox of conditions.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ After Operation Inherent Resolve: How to not mess up US-Iraq security relations again

    The importance of broadening US relations with Iraq beyond counter-terror operations cannot be overstated.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Her power in Poland came accidentally. She kept it with stamina – and Facebook.

    Ewa Łętowska helped Poland create its democracy. Even though the nation is backsliding, she has helped keep it a democracy – one Facebook (Farcebook) post at a time.

  • New Yorker ☛ Will J. D. Vance’s Debate Victory Matter on Election Day?

    Clare Malone and Vinson Cunningham give a play-by-play of the “surprisingly policy-oriented” Vice-Presidential showdown.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ A man in a hurry: Keir Starmer’s early approach is making waves at home and abroad

    The new UK prime minister’s much-anticipated speech at the Labour Party’s recent gathering in Liverpool is a window into where the country may be headed.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong should promote public debate and assembly to restore int’l confidence, ex-official says

    The Hong Kong government should promote debate in society about the city’s economic transformation, and encourage public assemblies in order to rebuild its international image, a former senior official has said.

  • Pro Publica ☛ A Pair of Billionaire Preachers Built the Most Powerful Political Machine in Texas. That’s Just the Start.

    Last December, Sid Miller, the Texas commissioner of agriculture, posted a photo of himself brandishing a double-barrel shotgun on X and invited his followers to join him on a “RINO hunt.” Miller had taken to stumping in the March primary election against incumbents he deemed to be Republicans in Name Only. Not long after that, he received a text message from one of his targets, a state representative named Glenn Rogers.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFA ☛ INTERVIEW: Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement was doomed to fail

    Former leader Nathan Law says the fight for democracy never stood a chance under Pooh-tin Jinping's political ambitions.

  • NYPost ☛ John Kerry says First Amendment is the enemy, as elites try to stamp out free speech

    If you want to know how hostile the global elite are to free speech, look no further than John Kerry’s recent speech to the World Economic Forum.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ News media job cuts 2024 tracked: ABC News layoffs and US national network Scripps News shuts

  • JURIST ☛ Cambodia court charges award-winning journalist with inciting unrest

    Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist was arrested and charged for incitement on Tuesday, leading to widespread concern among international rights groups and media organizations. Dara was taken into custody on Monday by military police at a toll booth near Sihanoukville.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ MN attorney general files fraud lawsuit against developer behind Lakeville housing project aimed at Somali-Americans

    The lawsuit alleges the company “misrepresented numerous important sale details” to get Somali-American families to make down payments.

  • JURIST ☛ DOJ finds unconstitutional conditions and rights violations in Georgia prisons

    The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday issued a critical report detailing alleged rights violations within Georgia’s prison system. Following an investigation, the DOJ found that conditions in the state’s prisons violate the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

  • Citizen Lab ☛ Gender-based digital transnational repression as a global authoritarian practice: Article by The Citizen Lab published in Globalizations

    In a recent article published in the peer-reviewed journal Globalizations, The Citizen Lab’s Siena Anstis, senior legal researcher, and Émilie LaFlèche, former legal intern, examine how digital abuse against women exacerbates the sexism and patriarchal structures that exist in the physical world.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Internet of Things BoF at APNIC 58

    Guest Post: IoT Alliance, IPv6 city update, IoMT, IPv6 addresses for non-electronic items, and more from the first-ever IoT BoF at an APNIC conference.

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] Focusing purely on technology limits the understanding of Internet resilience

    Nowmay Opalinski discusses the GEODE project and his analysis of Internet fragility in Pakistan.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Ones to watch Netherlands 2024: Jarieke Timmerman [Ed: Pure spam disguised as journalism. JUVE has been taking money to promote illegal things and push spam; ads as "articles", lobbying as "reporting"]

    Every year, JUVE Patent carries out extensive research in the Dutch patent monopoly market, culminating in the publication of the Dutch patent monopoly rankings. Our latest research highlighted Jarieke Timmerman, associate at BarentsKrans, as one of three ‘Ones to Watch’ in the Dutch patent monopoly market for 2024. Jarieke Timmerman has obviously done some things right.

  • New York Times ☛ Gilead Agrees to Allow Generic Version of Groundbreaking H.I.V. Shot in Poor Countries [Ed: Patent waivers only in Africa? And rip off everyone else?]

    Many middle-income countries are left out of the deal, widening a gulf in access to critical medicines.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit Slices Through Patent Infringement Verdict: A Damage Apportionment Preview

    The Federal Circuit recently issued a decision in Provisur Technologies, Inc. v. Weber, Inc., No. 23-1438 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 2, 2024), partially reversing a $10.5 million jury verdict in a patent monopoly infringement case involving food processing machinery. This decision marks the latest chapter in an ongoing legal battle between the two food processing equipment manufacturers. The case has a complex procedural history, including parallel inter partes review (IPR) that is now on petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ What Music Does the Mission District in San Francisco Love? — Hyper Local ‘Bop Spotter’ Showcases Heard Tunes

    The Mission District is one of San Francisco’s oldest neighborhoods, named after a Spanish mission built in 1776. The neighborhood is one of the most notable centers for Chicano culture—perhaps exemplified by a new art installation called the Bop Spotter.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Range Media Partners ‘Is An Unlicensed Talent Agency Built on Deceit,’ CAA Alleges in New Information-Theft Lawsuit

    Range Media Partners “is an unlicensed talent agency built on deceit” – at least according to a firmly worded lawsuit filed by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). CAA just recently fired off the complaint against nearly five-year-old Range Media Partners, which, as some know, is having a big 2024.

  • Public Domain Review ☛ “Freedom! Equality!! Justice!!!”: Victoria Woodhull’s Impending Revolution (1872)

    A Christian socialist speech by the first woman to run for president and the first person to publish the Communist Manifesto in the US.