Leftovers

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ What to Know About the Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

    In Rwanda, 11 deaths have been reported from this rare but deadly disease. Two people tested negative in Germany this week.

  • New York Times ☛ She Was Diagnosed With Brain Cancer, Then Wrote a Rom-Com About It

    Sophie Kinsella, the author of “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” packs love, laughter and a harrowing real-life health ordeal into a 133-page novella.

  • Defence Web ☛ Minister Motshekga wraps up SANDF service calls at Military Health Service

    Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga this week made it to the headquarters of the fourth SA National Defence Force (SANDF) arm of service  – the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) in Pretoria’s Erasmusrand.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Why the Latest Pro-Rationing Study is Really Good News

    Another day, another academic study/tabloid headline/cringily earnest editorial normalising the idea of rationing. The powers-that-shoudn’t-be LOVE rationing. They would die to start rationing everything for everyone (except themselves, naturally).

• Asia

  • RFA ☛ Elderly in North Korea forced to dance on International Day of Older Persons

    Nursing homes nationwide host propaganda events thanking Kim Jong Un for helping the elderly live happy lives.

  • RFA ☛ North Korea to use all forces including nuclear if attacked: Kim Jong Un

    South Korea earlier warned the North it would face the end of its regime if it attempted to use nuclear weapons.

  • France24 ☛ N. Korea will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if attacked, says Kim Jong-Un

    North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, ramped up the provocative rhetoric that has increasingly soured relations between South Korea, promising it would use "all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons." South Korea responded that its US-backed response would be "overwhelming," and result in the "end of the North Korean regime."

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea leader Kim threatens nuclear response if sovereignty breached: Report

    He criticised South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for threatening to end the North Korean regime.

  • New York Times ☛ Europe Expected to Approve Higher Tariffs on Electric Cars From China

    The European Union is expected to support wielding tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, seeking to prevent unfair competition.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia PM to visit Bangladesh, focus on labour issues

    DHAKA - Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is set to arrive in Bangladesh on Friday for talks primarily focused on labour issues, according to Dhaka officials. 

  • The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: The trust problem with China’s long-range ballistic missile test

  • RFA ☛ Typhoon Krathon shuts Taiwan’s stock market, kills 2 people

    World’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC said it did not expect a significant impact on operations.

  • RFA ☛ EXPLAINED: What are the Paracel Islands and why are they disputed?

    Chinese action against a Vietnamese fishing boat has highlighted the neighbors’ dispute over the islands

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Vietnam condemns ‘brutal behaviour of Chinese law enforcement’ against fishermen near disputed islands

    Vietnam’s foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China’s “brutal behaviour” during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea.

  • RFA ☛ One in five Hong Kongers now live in poverty, report finds

    The figures offer a warning that all is not well, despite recent stimulus measures, experts say.

  • RFA ☛ A mysterious death, a murky trial and the limits of China’s ‘petitioning’

    Fifteen years after her mother died, Li Ning is still looking for answers from the state.

  • RFA ☛ PRC citizen couple who disrupted anti-China protest deported from Taiwan

    The couple, surnamed Yao, had entered Taiwan on the false pretense of visiting relatives.

  • RFA ☛ New York woman sentenced in stabbing death of Chinese dissident

    Zhang Xiaoning was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing Jim Li, an immigration lawyer.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t might evict elderly tenants from subsidised flats if they do not live in them full-time

    Hong Kong’s government might evict elderly public housing tenants who do not “regularly and continuously” live in their flats, as part of a drive to crack down on abuse of subsidised housing.

  • RFA ☛ PRC at 75: Deng Xiaoping never delivered on young people's desire for freedom

    Many in China feel nostalgia for the 1980s, but political authoritarianism was still the default setting.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hongkonger abandons appeal against conviction, sentence for insulting China’s national anthem at volleyball game

    A Hong Kong man has dropped a bid to appeal against his conviction and eight-week jail term for insulting the Chinese national anthem at an international volleyball game last year. The High Court heard on Thursday morning that Chan Pak-yui, who was sentenced in mid-August, would not be pursuing his appeal.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China needs ‘ambition’ to meet target of cutting carbon emissions, report says

    China should set a “strong but achievable” target of slashing emissions at least 30 percent by 2035 when it submits updated climate commitments in coming months, a report urged Thursday. Signatories to the 2015 Paris climate accord must announce by next February their updated roadmaps to achieve the treaty’s goal of limiting global temperature rises.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Amid Sanctions, Russian Oil Tankers Are Flying New Flags

      A shadowy network of ships has registered in Gabon, highlighting how Vladimir V. Putin is building an economy beyond the reach of Western sanctions.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Signs Law Allowing Criminal Defendants To Join Military

      Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial new law suspending criminal proceedings against individuals who are called up for military service or sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense to serve in the armed forces.

    • RFERL ☛ Media Watchdog Warns EU About Russian Outlet Operating In Serbia

      Reporters Without Borders has asked the European Union to hold Serbia accountable for hosting Russian state media network RT, which RSF calls "Vladimir Putin's factory of lies."

    • JURIST ☛ Russia signs law exempting defendants from criminal liability during military service

      Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws on Wednesday that provide exemptions from criminal liability for individuals in the Russian Federation who have contracted for military service or have been mobilized. The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, approved the bills in September.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Stanford University ☛ Committees on antisemitism and Islamophobia find ‘widespread and pernicious’ bias, restricted speech and harassment on campus

    Two committees formed in the wake of Oct. 7, 2023 outlined dozens of instances of distrust between campus communities as the Israel-Gaza war nears the one-year mark.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ District Court Overturns USPTO's Genericness Refusal of SPECTACLES for "Smart Glasses"

    In a 60-page Memorandum Opinion and Order, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California reversed the USPTO's refusal to register the mark SPECTACLES [in standard character and stylized form] for "smart glasses" on the ground of genericness, but upheld the finding of mere descriptiveness. The TTAB had affirmed the refusal [TTABlogged here], leading to this Section 1071 civil action for de novo review. Applicant Snap Inc.'s claim of acquired distinctiveness failed, but the court remanded the applications to the Office "to permit supplemental registration of SPECTACLES both as a word and stylized mark." Snap Inc. v. Vidal, Case No. 2:22-cv-00085-SK (C.D. Cal. Sept. 27, 2024).