Leftovers

• Smithsonian Magazine ☛ What It's Like to Experience Polar Night in the World's Northernmost Town

  At 78 degrees north latitude, which is about 12 degrees farther north than the lower boundary of the Arctic Circle, Svalbard is no stranger to polar night. Throughout this period of darkness, the sun remains hidden from us. The sun’s position is so distant that no light reaches Svalbard at all, casting the sky into a perpetual state of pitch-black darkness. Here, only the moon, the stars and the occasional appearances of the northern lights offer up some natural light for us during this everlasting night.

• The Verge ☛ How Digg helped invent the social [Interne]t

  So many of Digg’s features, from its voting mechanism to its commenting system to its occasional teeming toxicity, are omnipresent on the [Internet] now. But in 2004, when Kevin Rose was working on the first versions of his new news platform — back when he was best known as a host on the TechTV network — it was all brand new. And what Rose and others built during that time has changed the way we all use the [Internet] ever since.

  I recently chatted with Rose, who is now a podcaster and investor, about why he built Digg the way he did and why he felt like giving users transparency and control was so important. We also talked about the legacy of some of the tools he helped create, the death of the homepage and the rise of the news feed, and what happens when your company goes from a fun idea to a potential cash cow. In the last 20 years, Rose has seen just about every corner of the tech industry, and he thinks there’s a case for Digg to make a comeback now — but only in a very different corporate form.

  This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

• Simon Willison ☛ Using static websites for tiny archives

  This is such a neat idea. These tiny little personal archive websites aren't even served through a localhost web server - they exist as folders on disk, and Alex browses them by opening up the index.html file directly in a browser.

• Alex Chan ☛ Using static websites for tiny archives

  I create one website per collection, each with a different design, suited to the files it describes. For example, my collection of screenshots is shown as a grid of images, my bookmarks are a series of text links, and my videos are a list with a mixture of thumbnails and text.

• Robert Birming ☛ Silent Cut

  I heard that some hair salons in Sweden have started offering 'silent haircuts'. When making the booking, you can request that you want the hairdresser to keep quiet during the haircut.

• Mandy Brown ☛ Haves and choices

  ONE OF THE HABITS of language that I look out for when I’m listening to someone’s story is that little phrase I have to. Sometimes what follows that phrase isn’t terribly interesting, simply the acknowledgement of a commitment or chore. But at other times those three words can do a lot of work to obscure some agency or choice, perhaps one that we are uncomfortable being honest with ourselves about. “I have to enforce this RTO policy even though I think it’s foolish,” is really a cover for, “I choose to enforce this RTO policy because I don’t want to get fired over it.” It can be awkward to admit the reasons we do things, so we tuck that admission behind the door of “I have to,” where we don’t have to see it.

• Lou Plummer ☛ Doing the Best We Can

• Kevin Wammer ☛ 12 principles

  I like a good list, and I write a lot of them. Sometimes, I make lists to remind myself of things I should do more often. This is one of those lists.

• Science

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Five simple questions can help spot exaggerated research claims over sex differences in the brain

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] We tend to keep away from midges and – even when in swarms – they tend to keep away from each other

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] A new generation of telescopes will probe the ‘unknown unknowns’ that could transform our knowledge of the universe

  • Futurism ☛ Chinese Hackers Use Quantum Computer to Break Military Grade Encryption

    In a Chinese-language paper published late last month in the Chinese Journal of Computers, the researchers claim they were able to use one of D-Wave's off-the-shelf quantum computers to attack Substitution-Permutation Networks (SPNs), classical cryptography algorithms employed in widely-used encryption standards. As Tom's Hardware reports, the paper delineates two distinct methodologies, both rooted in D-Wave's quantum annealing algorithm.

    SPNs are used in algorithms tasked with protecting sensitive institutions including militaries and banks — meaning that, if the researcher's claims are true, their findings could force institutions to revisit their cybersecurity measures.

• Education

  • Threat Source ☛ What I’ve learned in my first 7-ish years in cybersecurity

    I think that this is a good lesson for anyone reading this: If you want to work in cybersecurity, you can, no matter what your background or education is. I’ve met colleagues across Talos who previously studied counterterrorism operations, German and Russian history, and political science. And I walked into my first day on the job knowing next to nothing about cybersecurity. I knew I could write, and I knew I could help Talos tell their story (and clean up the occasional passive voice in their blog posts). But I had never heard of a remote access trojan before.

• Hardware

  • Jeff Geerling ☛ Qualcomm cancels Snapdragon Dev Kit, refunds all orders

    It sounds like they are cancelling all existing orders, but I'm not sure if those who did receive units will also be refunded. I'll update this post if I see a refund for it.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] ‘The younger the user, the better’: TikTok knew app posed mental health risks for children

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Behavioural science: could supermarket loyalty cards nudge us to make healthier choices?

  • Futurism ☛ Doctors Realize at Last Moment They Were Harvesting Organs From Living Patient

    In October 2021, doctors at a Kentucky hospital were moments away from cutting into a man who was declared dead to harvest his organs — until the supposed cadaver started weeping.

    "He was moving around — kind of thrashing. Like, moving, thrashing around on the bed," Natasha Miller, the surgeon who was assigned to perform the procedure, told NPR. "And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly."

  • NPR ☛ ‘Horrifying’ mistake to take organs from a living person was averted, witnesses say

    Miller says she overheard the case coordinator at the hospital for her employer, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), call her supervisor for advice.

    “So the coordinator calls the supervisor at the time. And she was saying that he was telling her that she needed to ‘find another doctor to do it’ – that, ‘We were going to do this case. She needs to find someone else,’ ” Miller says. “And she’s like, ‘There is no one else.’ She’s crying — the coordinator — because she’s getting yelled at.”

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Bloomberg ☛ 2024-10-10 [Older] Dan Riccio, Longtime Apple Hardware Executive, Is Retiring

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Stellantis CEO Under Fire From Italian Lawmakers as the Group Grapples With Financial Troubles

  • Futurism ☛ Half a Million Users Flooded to Twitter Competitor After Elon Musk Handed Creeps the Keys

    Surprise, surprise. X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is implementing yet another brain-meltingly dumb change to his social media platform by rendering the block function completely pointless and opening the floodgates for even more harassment.

    In its new form, "blocking" someone still allows them to view your posts and your profile, tearing down an important way for some users to protect themselves against abuse on the site.

    And it appears that for many users on the fence about staying on the site, this was the last straw.

  • The Atlantic ☛ The AI Boom Has an Expiration Date

    Perhaps this new and newly bullish wave of forecasts doesn’t actually imply a surge of confidence but just the opposite. These grand pronouncements are being made at the same time that a flurry of industry news has been clarifying AI’s historically immense energy and capital requirements. Generative-AI models are far larger and more complex than traditional software, and the corresponding data centers require land, very expensive computer chips, and huge amounts of power to build, run, and cool. Right now, there simply isn’t enough electricity available, and data-center power demands are already straining grids around the world. Anticipating further growth, old fossil-fuel plants are staying online for longer; in the past month alone, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all signed contracts to purchase electricity from or support the building of nuclear power plants.

  • Micah R Ledbetter ☛ Concerns about passkeys

    Passkeys are a technically interesting idea with many upsides, but I am concerned about the power they take away from users.

  • The Verge ☛ Password manager makers want to let you securely transfer passkeys

    “It is critical that users can choose the credential management platform they prefer, and switch credential providers securely and without burden,” the FIDO Alliance wrote in its press release. “Until now, there has been no standard for the secure movement of credentials, and often the movement of passwords or other credentials has been done in the clear.”

  • Mere Civilian ☛ Why do I have to switch anyway?

    Yes, this approach has its drawbacks but after living in the Apple ecosystem for over 10 years, I am happy to live in a multiplatform ecosystem. Apple has built a nice wall garden but as nice as it is, it is far from perfect and each year, it appears to get just a little bit worse and bit more expensive. With Apple "it just works" until it doesn't.

    Building my very own ecosystem... this is exciting ⛵

  • Jeremy Cherfas ☛ Shhhh

    For some time now my podcasts have benefited from a semi-automatic transcript produced with the help of Sonix.ai. It is a paid service, but not all that expensive, and has the great advantage that it is very easy to correct the output because it has a nifty built-in player that will let me listen to the audio corresponding to weird words. Having corrected the transcript, I generally download it and gussy up the formatting a bit before sharing it as a PDF with each episode.

  • Michael Tsai ☛ Passkeys Credential Exchange

    I don’t love this framing because, to me, “export” means that it generates a standalone file that I can do with what I please. I can edit it. Or back it up and import it later—possibly into a different app. As far as I can tell, this is not that. It’s more of a way to transfer passkeys between password managers. It’s specifically designed to “export” an encrypted blob that can only be read by the password manager that requested the export. There’s no use even storing the exported file because, unless you have a way to back up the receiving private key, you won’t even be able to import it again. Maybe a third-party developer will make an app that requests/receives an export and lets you access your own data.

  • MacRumors ☛ FIDO Alliance Working on Making Passkeys Portable Across Platforms

    The FIDO Alliance is developing new specifications to enable secure transfer of passkeys between different password managers and platforms. Announced on Monday, the initiative is the result of collaboration among members of the FIDO Alliance's Credential Provider Special Interest Group, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, and others.

  • Matt Birchler ☛ Passkeys get a bit closer to becoming portable

  • FIDO Alliance ☛ FIDO Alliance Publishes New Specifications to Promote User Choice and Enhanced UX for Passkeys - FIDO Alliance

    With this rising momentum, the FIDO Alliance is committed to enabling an open ecosystem, promoting user choice and reducing any technical barriers around passkeys. It is critical that users can choose the credential management platform they prefer, and switch credential providers securely and without burden. Until now, there has been no standard for the secure movement of credentials, and often the movement of passwords or other credentials has been done in the clear.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Independent UK ☛ Michigan Democrat accuses supermarket brand of using facial recognition for surge pricing

      Tlaib also said it was her understanding that, through a partnership with Microsoft, Kroger was intending to place cameras at its digital displays, using facial recognition to determine the gender and age of the store’s customers who are captured on camera and using that information to present them with targeted advertising on the electronic shelving labels.

    • Alabama Reflector ☛ Computer programs monitor students’ every word in the name of safety

      School districts across the country have widely adopted such computer monitoring platforms. With the youth mental health crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and school violence affecting more K-12 students nationwide, teachers are desperate for a solution, experts say.

      But critics worry about the lack of transparency from companies that have the power to monitor students and choose when to alert school personnel. Constant student surveillance also raises concerns regarding student data, privacy and free speech.

    • Wired ☛ Sam Altman’s Eye-Scanning Orb Has a New Look—and Will Come Right to Your Door

      The project, called Worldcoin, might have been written off as another techno-utopian project bound to fail had it not had one name attached to it: Sam Altman, the cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, one of the most dramatic tech companies of the modern era. An inkling of Worldcoin began in 2019 when Altman began exploring identity verification that could be used in universal basic income schemes.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Krebs On Security ☛ Sudanese Brothers Arrested in ‘AnonSudan’ Takedown

    The U.S. government on Wednesday announced the arrest and charging of two Sudanese brothers accused of running Anonymous Sudan (a.k.a. AnonSudan), a cybercrime business known for launching powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against a range of targets, including dozens of hospitals, news websites and cloud providers. The younger brother is facing charges that could land him life in prison for allegedly seeking to kill people with his attacks.

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] British YouTuber spotted in Perth after being charged over woman's alleged rape

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Iran’s Threat to Azerbaijan’s Critical Energy Infrastructure

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] U.S. Officials Believe Israel Will Target Military and Energy Sites in Iran, NBC Reports

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Germany's Scholz affirms Israel weapons exports in wide-ranging speech

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] China Threatens Taiwan With More Trade Measures After Denouncing President's Speech

  • BIA Net ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Clashes between Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria spark fire near border

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Prosecutors Seek 8 Years for Dutch Woman Accused of Keeping Yazidi Slaves in Syria

  • BIA Net ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Man captured in Africa accused of attacks on Turkish forces in Syria

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-10-13 [Older] SDF units supported by Coalition forces dismantle an ISIS cell in Raqqa

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Iran-Saudi Arabia Proxy War

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Kremlin Backtracks From Comments on Saudi BRICS Membership

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Saudi Crown Prince Visits Cairo to Discuss Investment, Middle East Crises

  • The Hill ☛ Ex-NBC executive apologizes for promoting Donald Trump in 'The Apprentice'

    “To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the conceit of the show,” Miller wrote.

    “At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.”

  • Kansas Reflector ☛ Law enforcement officials prepare for possible post-election violence in D.C.

    Experts interviewed by States Newsroom said there is a very real chance of political violence in the weeks and months ahead, though they said law enforcement agencies have learned from recent events. The unrest could build after what is expected to be a very close presidential election, with results possibly delayed for days or longer or even litigated in the courts.

  • Wired ☛ GPS Jamming Is Screwing With Norwegian Planes

    From the ground, northeastern Norway might look like fjord country, peppered with neat red houses and dissected by snowmobile tours through the winter. But for pilots flying above, the region has become a danger zone for GPS jamming.

    The jamming in the region of Finnmark is so constant, Norwegian authorities decided last month they would no longer log when and where it happens—accepting these disturbance signals as the new normal.

  • Task And Purpose ☛ Army basic training now has soldiers facing drone swarms

    Dubbed “Forge 2.5,” the 96-hour field training exercise has been updated over the past year so that Army trainees learn how to conceal themselves from drones, Brito said. That includes training on how to limit their electronic signatures and decrease the size of command posts so that they don’t pose tempting targets.

  • Axios ☛ Google will block election ads after polls close

    Google will block election ads across all of its platforms after the last polls close on Nov. 5, according to a memo sent to its advertising partners Thursday and obtained by Axios.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk wants to ‘restart’ the international peace system

    Matviichuk, as a coordinator of Euromaidan SOS, has joined activists and organizations across Ukraine in documenting Russian war crimes taking place during the war. She said the group has documented over eighty thousand thus far. “But that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

    “There is no legitimate reason in doing such things; there is also no military necessity in it,” she added. “Russians have done these horrible things only because they could.”

    Below are more highlights from the conversation, moderated by NBC News Congressional Correspondent Julie Tsirkin.

  • The Guardian UK ☛ Russia’s aim is to ‘create havoc’ if it is behind DHL fires, says air freight expert

    The dangerous packages, which caught light at DHL sites in Birmingham and Leipzig, are not thought to have been sophisticated but in both cases appear to have evaded security checks. German authorities warned this week that a plane could have been downed if the devices, which were both sent by air, had ignited in flight.

  • The Local DK ☛ Right-wing Danish party says Nordic citizenship deal should end due to Sweden

    Regardless of this restriction, DF says the agreement should be scrapped.

    Bjørn said that Sweden has granted Swedish citizenship to a total of 1.2 million people since the turn of the millennium, mostly from Middle Eastern countries. Despite being Swedish citizens, they have no cultural ties to Denmark according to the outspoken DF representative.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Latvian Saeima issues statement reaffirming support for Ukraine

    • NL Times ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Prosecutors suspect 40-year-old man of murdering his Ukrainian ex-partner in Assen

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Ukraine's Zelenskyy pitches 'victory plan' in Brussels

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Ukraine war: Zelenskyy presents victory plan to EU leaders

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Biden Making Quick Trip to Germany Before US Election to Discuss Ukraine and Democracy With Allies

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Biden Heads to Germany for Talks on Ukraine, Middle East

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Ukraine's Former Armed Forces Chief Endorses 'Victory Plan' in First Speech Since His Dismissal

    • CBC ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents 'victory plan' to Ukraine's parliament

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] EU, Gulf states seek give and take on Ukraine, Middle East

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy touts 'victory plan' to lawmakers

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] War in Ukraine: Landmines to hurt food exports for years

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Ukraine Seeks Global Help With Massive Task of Landmine Clearance at Swiss Meeting

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Biden Announces New $425 Million Military Aid for Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Key Points From Zelenskiy's Ukraine Victory Plan

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] NATO's Rutte Aware of Ukraine 'Victory Plan,' Discussing Next Steps

    • CPJ ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] CPJ, partners demand justice for Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Kremlin Says NATO's Nuclear Exercises Fuel Tensions in Light of 'Hot War' in Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Ukraine Urges Brazil to Arrest Putin if He Attends G20 Summit

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-13 [Older] Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy says troops hold Kursk positions

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Ukraine: Nikopol residents talk of life on the front line

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Ukraine: Nikopol residents talk of life on the frontline

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris on Handling Israel, Ukraine Wars, WSJ Poll Shows

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Ukrainian Recruiters Descend on Kyiv's Nightlife in Search of Men Not Registered for Conscription

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Berlin for 'victory plan' talks

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Will French Mirage bombers boost Ukraine's air defenses?

    • Latvia ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Braže reiterates need to scuttle Russia's 'shadow fleet'

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Russian lawmakers push through ban on childless 'propaganda'

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] The 'legal' tools Russia uses to ban its critics

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] US Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Companies Accused of Helping Make Russian Attack Drones

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Moldovan Police Say People Trained in Russia for Moldovan Protests

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Russian Lawmakers Push Ahead With Ban on 'Child-Free Propaganda'

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] UK Imposes Sanctions on Russian Oil and LNG Vessels

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Zelenskiy Says Some N.Korean Officers Already Deployed Alongside Russians in Ukraine

    • NL Times ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Accountancy firm BDO fined €1.3 million for work with Russian-held football club Vitesse

    • CBC ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Man adrift in frigid Russian seas for 67 days survived by drinking rainwater

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Ukraine: Journalists mourn Victoria Roshchyna they say was "killed" by Russia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Ukrainian reporter Roshchyna dies in Russian detention

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] He Said, She Said: Trump Defends Ties to Putin, Harris Slams Him for Sending COVID Tests to Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Any Deployment of US Nuclear Arms to Japan Would Collapse Regional Stability, Russia Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Factbox-What Proposals Will Russia Push at the BRICS Summit?

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Russian Military Officer Killed in 'Hit' in Moscow Region

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Russia Promises Retaliation Against Norway Over Cuts to Diplomatic Staff

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Russia Says Zelenskiy 'Victory Plan' Is Pushing NATO Towards Direct Conflict With Moscow

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Russia Using Generative AI to Ramp up Disinformation, Says Ukraine Minister [Ed: They probably just mean LLMs or English chatbots, which are not "AI"]

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] US Warns of Growing North Korean Military Support for Russia's War

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Ukraine Requests Monitoring Mission at Odesa Ports Amid Russian Strikes

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Albania starts EU membership talks after Russia's 'wake-up call' to bloc

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Russian disinformation is growing in Germany

    • Spiegel ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Ex-NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg: "Lack of Military Support Made It Easier for Russia to Invade"

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Cyber Criminals Are Increasingly Helping Russia and China Target the US and Allies, Microsoft Says [Ed: Microsoft distracting from the fact they are exploiting Microsoft holes. Also, Microsoft is the culprit, not the expert on this.]

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] After 67 Days Adrift, a Russian Man Was Rescued but His Brother and Nephew Are Dead

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] EU Energy Ministers Discuss Ukraine Energy Crisis, Russian LNG

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Four-Fifths of Ukrainians Support Ban of Russia-Linked Church in Poll

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Russian Court Rejects Detention Appeal of South Korean Accused of Espionage, RIA Reports

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Russian Man Jailed for Daughter's Anti-War Drawing Alleges Dire Conditions in Prison

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Russia Releases Man Whose Daughter's Drawing Opposed Ukraine Fighting

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Russia Seeks Over $1 Billion in Damages From Shell, Report Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Spanish Police Say They Seize Russia-Bound Chemicals, Including Possible Weapons Material

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Germany: Spy chiefs warn of increasing Russian threat

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Ukraine updates: EU sanctions Iran over missiles to Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] EU Includes Iran Air in Sanctions Over Missile Transfer to Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Russian Attack Kills One Person, Damages Two Civilian Vessels in Ukraine's Odesa

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Russia Jails French Researcher Vinatier for Three Years in 'Foreign Agent' Case

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] French Citizen Convicted in Russia of Collecting Military Information and Gets 3 Years in Prison

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Russia Says It Captured a Southern Ukraine Village in a Push Before Winter Comes

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Russia Says Its Forces Take Ukrainian Village of Levadne

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-13 [Older] One Dies in Crash Landing of Small Russian Plane in Siberia

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] China and Russia Leading the Multipolar World

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Estonians prepare to defend themselves against Russia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Ukraine updates: Kyiv says it foiled Russia drone attack

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Four Dead After Fuel Station Blast in Russia's Chechnya - Ministry

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Iran Sends Satellites to Russia for Rocket Launch, Tasnim Reports

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Ukraine's 'Venice' in Danube Delta Faces Relentless Russian Drone Attacks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] US Official Accuses Russia and China of Blocking Asia Leaders' Statement

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] Zelenskiy Says Ukrainian Forces Holding Positions in Russia's Kursk Region

    • CBC ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Recent deadly strikes on ships in Black Sea could scare away commercial traffic, warn analysts

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Russia's Putin and Iran's Pezeshkian hail close ties

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Russian Extends Detention of U.S. Citizen Tater for One Month, Court Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Policeman, Two Others Die in Shooting in Russia's Ingushetia Region

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] US Treasury's Adeyemo to Discuss Russia Sanctions on Trip to London

    • Meduza ☛ As Russian forces bear down on Ukraine’s Kurakhove, some residents flee while others refuse to leave home — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Outlines Ukraine’s ‘Victory Plan’ to EU Leaders

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made an urgent plea in Brussels, though it’s unclear to what extent the officials gathered there will go along with it.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Wrestles With Aiding Allies and Maintaining Its Own Weapons Supply

      Pentagon officials discuss whether the flow of assistance could be hurting the military’s ability to respond to a new conflict.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Presents His Ukraine 'Victory Plan' To EU, NATO Leaders

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to outline to EU and NATO leaders on October 17 the details of his "victory plan" -- a set of measures that he says would turn the tide of the war in Kyiv's favor.

    • RFERL ☛ Britain Slaps Sanctions On 18 More Russian Tankers, 4 LNG Vessels

      Britain has imposed sanctions on 18 more Russian oil tankers and four liquefied natural gas tankers in what the government said amounted to the largest move against Moscow's "shadow fleet" circumventing restrictive measures by the West following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Clashes Erupt Between Rival Orthodox Groups At Cathedral In Ukraine

      A violent confrontation broke out between believers of rival Orthodox churches after the St. Michael's Cathedral in the central Ukrainian city of Cherkasy was handed over from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Chinese Drone Companies Targeted By Latest U.S. Sanctions

      The United States on October 17 imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies and an affiliated Russian company involved in making and shipping drones that Russia has used in its full-scale war in Ukraine.

    • LRT ☛ Zelensky’s plan is ‘what we wanted to do at NATO Vilnius summit’ – Lithuanian president

      The items in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's victory plan are homework not done by the West, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Russia is indoctrinating schoolchildren throughout occupied Ukraine

      The Kremlin is conducting a massive indoctrination campaign throughout schools in Russian-occupied Ukraine that underlines Moscow's intention to erase Ukrainian national identity, writes Tetiana Kotelnykova.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian Saeima issues statement reaffirming support for Ukraine

      Ahead of next week's parliamentary summit of the International Crimea Platform in Rīga, the Saeima adopted another statement October 17 condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine, expressing support for Ukraine's early integration into the European Union and NATO, and calling on allies to supply Ukraine with weapons and allow them to be used for targets in Russian territory.

    • European Commission ☛ Statement by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the European Business Association conference: “Ukraine on the way to the EU”

      European Commission Statement Kyiv, 17 Oct 2024 Ladies and gentlemen

      Thank you for inviting me to open your conference this afternoon.

    • Latvia ☛ Braže reiterates need to scuttle Russia's 'shadow fleet'

      Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže met with EU Special Envoy for Sanctions David O’Sullivan in Rīga October 17 and used the opportunity to again call for action to tackle Russia's sanction-busting 'shadow fleet' of ships.

    • Latvia ☛ Rīga to dismantle three more monuments

      On Wednesday, October 16, after a heated debate, the Riga City Council approved the dismantling and relocation of the statue of the Russian soldier Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly in Esplanade Park. It was also decided to dismantle the statues of the writers Andrejs Upīts and Sudrabu Edžus.

    • JURIST ☛ ECHR rules Russia violated freedom of expression

      The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that Russia violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (convention) in a press release on Tuesday.

    • RFA ☛ US, allies to monitor North Korea sanction violations with new body

      The decision follows the dissolution of a UN monitoring group 6 months ago due to a veto from Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ Bill Banning 'Childfree Propaganda' Gets Initial Approval From Russian Lawmakers

      Russia's State Duma on October 17 passed a bill in its first reading that would ban “childfree propaganda,” marking the latest expansion of the government’s efforts to regulate social discourse.

    • RFERL ☛ Kazakh National Soccer Coach Fined For Language Joke

      Kazakh national soccer team coach Stanislav Cherchesov, a Russian national, has been fined by the national federation for making an insensitive comment regarding the Kazakh language.

    • New York Times ☛ Moscow Roils a Country on the Edge of Europe and Russia

      Russia is behind a disinformation campaign in Moldova ahead of a presidential election and a referendum making E.U. membership a “strategic objective,” Moldovan officials and global media companies say.

    • RFERL ☛ Moldovan Police Arrest 'Provocateurs' Trained In Russia, Balkans

      Moldovan authorities say they have exposed a network of more than 100 people trained in Russia and the Balkans to provoke post-election unrest in the southeastern European country and have arrested several suspects.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Opposition Politician's House To Be To Auctioned Off

      City  authorities in Minsk have put the home of self-exiled opposition politician Valer Tsapkala up for auction as part of a broader crackdown on government critics.

• Environment

  • [Old] PBS ☛ Michigan Bottlers Still Get Free Water, Despite Governor’s Tough Talk

    Nestle was extracting hundreds of millions of gallons of groundwater a year, which it bottled and sold under the Ice Mountain brand. The only cost: a $200 yearly fee per site. The company asked the state for a 60% boost in how much it could take from a well that draws from the source of two cold-water trout streams. At the time, the Flint water crisis was still in the spotlight, contributing to broad pushback. Nearly 81,000 public comments opposed the permit request; 75 supported it.

    In April of that year, state officials said they didn’t have any grounds to deny the request and gave Nestle the go-ahead. The same week, the state said it would stop providing bottled water to Flint.

    The contrast seemed clear: Nestle gets free water, Flint families don’t. And one of the staunchest critics of the arrangement was Whitmer, a rising Democratic leader who had served 14 years in the Legislature.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Great Lakes’ water levels dropping, but still just about average

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a report issued late last week, said that by the second week in November, it expects water levels to drop 5-6 inches on lakes Erie and Ontario and 2-3 inches on lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron.

    New estimates are due to be released in the coming days.

  • The Local DK ☛ Denmark’s 'repair cafes' make circular economy mainstream

    ‘Repair cafes’ seek to improve sustainability in Denmark by reducing the number of objects that are thrown out because of small defects.

    The workshops help visitors to get small fixes like new fuses in juicers or putting a new set of screws on a wobbly piece of furniture.

    At the cafes – which are seeing a sharp increase in number across Denmark – visitors can get free tutorials in repairing objects from experienced professionals, so their items last longer before ending on the scrapheap.

  • [Old] Thumbwind Publications LLC ☛ Were Foreign Companies Stealing Great Lakes Water?

    In 2018, there was a public comment period during which over 80,000 Michigan residents submitted objections to a permit that allowed Nestle to pump over half a million gallons of water a day from Michigan aquafers—a public resource—and bottle it in single-use plastic and sell it back to us. It’s an ongoing example of utter foolishness, with unfettered exploitation of limited natural resources for a foreign company’s profit. Is it stealing Great Lakes water? Legally? No. Practically? Yes.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Rising La Nina to Deepen US Plains Drought, NOAA Says

    A developing La Nina is expected to bring warmer- and drier-than-normal weather to the central and southern U.S. Plains this winter, likely worsening a drought in the country's top winter wheat-producing area, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Southern Africa drought brings famine to tens of millions

    Months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region’s worst hunger crisis in decades, the United Nations’ food agency said Oct. 15.

    The World Food Program warned it could become a “full-scale human catastrophe.”

    Five countries – Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger. The WFP estimates that about 21 million children in southern Africa are now malnourished as crops have failed.

  • The Nation ☛ Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia’s Farmlands and Waterways

    Makayi wasn’t beating around the bush. The critical minerals in KoBold mines won’t end up in the possession of Zambia or any other African country. They are bound for Western consumers alone. KoBold’s CEO Kurt House is also honest about his intentions: “I don’t need to be reminded again that I’m a capitalist,” he’s been known to quip.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] What are the La Nina and El Nino climate phenomena?

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] There’s No Such Thing as a Climate Haven

  • CBC ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Rise of solar power ushers planet toward 'age of electricity,' energy agency says

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] How are hospitals dealing with climate change?

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Michigan a top winner of climate funds Trump wants to revoke

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Companies That Fought Climate Action Accused of Price Gouging Hurricane Milton Evacuees

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Washington State's Landmark Climate Law Hangs in the Balance in November

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-10-13 [Older] Protests Surge as Governments Support Genocide and Climate Catastrophy

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Robbing Africa’s Riches to Save the Climate (and Power AI)

  • CBC ☛ 2024-10-12 [Older] How to inspire neighbourhoods to fight climate change? It's all about taking action

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Hurricane Season Has Revealed the Right’s New Climate Denial Playbook

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Florida Senate Race Becomes a Battle Over Climate Resilience

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Helene and Milton, Harbingers of Climate Chaos

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Oregon's Most Populous County Adds Gas Utility to $51B Climate Suit Against Fossil Fuel Companies

  • Renewable Energy World ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Solar sector funding trailing last year’s pace by $6B, total deals down

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Germany’s Green Transition Is Faltering

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Unpacking the Energy Transition – Economic and Geopolitical Dimensions

    • CBC ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Alberta government proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar energy

    • South Africa ☛ Cape Town about to become first Metro with its own solar plant

      Cape Town is on course to become the first city in South Africa to both own and operate a solar power plant, marking a critical move towards energy self-sufficiency.

      Currently under construction, a 7 MW solar facility in Atlantis—about 40 km north of the city—is set to expand to 10 MW in the future. The ZAR 200 million ($11.3 million) project, managed by the Lesedi Technoserve consortium, is expected to be operational within a year, supplying power directly to the municipal grid.

    • The Scotsman ☛ Electric wallpaper piloted in Scottish city as alternative to central heating

      Electric wallpaper uses copper strips and a layer of graphene, which emits infrared when it is powered with electricity. It has been lauded as a better alternative to central heating, due to producing less mould and drying out the air less than traditional central heating.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Alabama man arrested for role in SEC Twitter account hijacking

      According to the Department of Justice, the FBI and the SEC Inspector General, Council and other unnamed parties used SIM-swapping to steal the identity of a third-party individual with access to the SEC’s main account. The attackers only maintained control of the account for a short time, but before the SEC and Twitter/X could restore access back to the agency, they published a post imitating Chair Gary Gensler and announced that the listing of Bitcoin on registered national securities exchanges had been approved.

      While the SEC did indeed eventually approve the listing, the premature posting caused considerable market disruption, sending the price up by $1,000 per bitcoin before falling by $2,000 per bitcoin when the announcement was revealed to be fake.

    • [Old] The University of Chicago ☛ When Cryptomining Comes to Town: High Electricity-Use Spillovers to the Local Economy | BFI

      Households and small businesses paid an extra $204 million and $92 million annually, respectively, in Upstate New York because of increased electricity consumption from cryptominers; while in China, where electricity prices are fixed, rationing of electricity in cities with cryptomining deteriorates wages and investments.

    • APNIC ☛ The strange cases of consumer-grade routers on puny power supplies

      But not all our power outlets were solar inverter supplied — some still connected straight to the grid. Out came my trusty old extension lead and I connected the new router to it. Lo and behold, it now behaved itself. Back onto the solar-supplied socket, and back were the problems. Aha!

      The fix: Rummaging through my old parts box unearthed a power supply that was a bit more powerful than the one that came with the router, and even fit the connector. Lesson learned.

    • The Washington Post ☛ Amazon doubles down on nuclear energy with deal for small reactors

      Amazon is leading a $500 million funding round for X-Energy Reactor, a company that develops small modular nuclear reactors and fuel. It’s also working with utilities in Washington state and Virginia on potential SMR projects. Google said Monday it will purchase energy from small modular nuclear reactors developed by Kairos Power.

    • India Times ☛ Amazon AI: Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions

      Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of artificial intelligence using atomic energy.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-10 [Older] Gazing at your dog can connect your brain with theirs, research shows

    • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Ancient humans were so good at surviving the last ice age they didn’t have to migrate like other species – new study

    • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] The ‘bully cats’ bred to resemble American bully dogs and how fashion is creating mutant pet breeds

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] The Shriveling Mighty Amazon River Drying Out

    • The Revelator ☛ All the Plants We Cannot See

• Finance

  • International Business Times ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] No Business Skills, No Loans, No Problem: How Todd Graves Built A Billion Dollar Chicken Finger Empire Against All Odds

  • CBC ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] All banks to label Canada Carbon Rebate correctly, as Liberals defend embattled policy

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Big US Banks Say Consumers Are Still Strong, Despite Economy Fears

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] How the Associated Press Covers Elections in an Unprecedented Political Climate

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Greek Official Accuses EU of Policy Failure on Migration as War and Climate Change Fuel Displacement

  • India Times ☛ Meta lays off employees at WhatsApp and Instagram, the Verge reports

    Meta has slashed around 21,000 jobs since November 2022 to keep costs low with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling 2023 the "Year of Efficiency".

  • Digital Music News ☛ Meta Lays Off Employees Across WhatsApp, Instagram & More

    Meta has started laying off multiple employees across various teams on Wednesday, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Reality Labs, among others. The company confirmed these changes to TechCrunch and The Verge, noting the changes were made in order to reallocate resources.

  • Maine Morning Star ☛ UMaine president chosen to serve on advisory board of National Science Foundation

    University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Science Foundation’s advisory board. As part of her new role, she will join other board members in overseeing funding and policy decisions of the $9 billion dollar agency that awards research and development grants to scientists and engineers across the country.

  • New York Times ☛ Microsoft and OpenAI’s Close Partnership Shows Signs of Fraying

    Microsoft had already pumped $13 billion into OpenAI, and Mr. Nadella was initially willing to keep the cash spigot flowing. But after OpenAI’s board of directors briefly ousted Mr. Altman last November, Mr. Nadella and Microsoft reconsidered, according to four people familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    Over the next few months, Microsoft wouldn’t budge as OpenAI, which expects to lose $5 billion this year, continued to ask for more money and more computing power to build and run its A.I. systems.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • International Business Times ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Amazon Files Groundbreaking Lawsuits Against Fake Review Brokers: 'Our Customers Deserve Honest Opinions'

    • Vox ☛ Vox ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] For some evacuation defiers, Hurricane Milton is a social media goldmine

      RTL ☛ RTL ☛ TikTok, Facebook approve ads with US election disinformation, study says

      TikTok and Facebook approved advertisements containing blatant US election falsehoods just weeks ahead of the vote, a watchdog investigation revealed Thursday, calling into question the tech platforms' policies to detect harmful disinformation.

      The advocacy group Global Witness submitted eight ads containing false election claims to the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok, the Meta-owned Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube to test their ad systems in the final stretch of the November 5 election.

      The ads carried outright election falsehoods [...]

    • The Washington Post ☛ How to tell AI-generated Trump and Harris voices from the real ones - Washington Post

      To copy a voice, AI tools require a vast array of audio samples scraped from the internet. They use algorithms to recognize patterns in the speech and create clones that replicate them. Since politicians have a wealth of speeches and interviews available online, they are commonly included in these datasets, making them easy targets for high-quality deepfakes, AI experts said.

      By analyzing very large datasets, AI models have gotten vastly better at mimicking speech, according to Sarah Barrington, an AI researcher at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information. Earlier models would produce robotic speech, but now “the cadence is pretty good,” she added. “It’s as though you’re speaking to a human.”

    • NPR ☛ How to avoid sharing election misinformation

      The 2024 election season is upon us. While Election Day is November 5, early voting started in September in some states. As we wait for the final results to be declared, chances are, you’re going to come across false or misleading information.

      To avoid spreading misinformation this election season, here are four things to consider.

    • NPR ☛ From rodeos to radio, inside the Arizona fight against misinformation

      But beyond the music, La Campesina also provides Spanish-language news. And during this election year it has a big goal: combat misinformation about elections among Arizona Latinos.

    • Los Angeles Times ☛ A second-grade project is lesson in AI deep fakes

      Her results for three-toed sloths, the slow-moving and beloved tree dwellers that inhabit Costa Rica’s rainforest, turned up a slew of unbearably adorable pictures. Some seemed to smile for the camera as they hung from trees. Closer inspection showed they were too cute to be true. Many of the images that popped up were AI-generated. It turned an assignment about our family’s heritage into a lesson about what’s real on the [Internet].

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Meta's Oversight Board Seeks Public Comments on Hate Speech Moderation

  • HRW ☛ 2024-10-11 [Older] Another Troubling Decision For Free Speech in Cameroon

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Project Censored ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Attacks on Democracy from Press Freedoms to Dark Money in Politics

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ The 'legal' tools Russia uses to ban its critics

    Unlike other wartime films showing death and destruction on the frontline, "Of Caravan and the Dogs," co-directed by Askold Kurov and an anonymous filmmaker, was primarily shot in the newsrooms of different Russian media outlets. Yet, despite the unspectacular settings, the heartbreaking documentary allows viewers to directly witness the final nails being put in the coffin of Russia's free press.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘They see journalists as pets’ How the Ukrainian authorities have tried to control the country’s media industry since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion

    According to this person, a “whole bunch of channels” were launched at the initiative of Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak. However, the source described the project as unsuccessful. “It was some whim of [Yermak’s],” he explained. “There was probably some sense in it: at one time, the president was actively reading Telegram channels.” But Zelensky didn’t know that some of the channels were linked to Yermak, which meant the chief of staff could use them to “promote” certain ideas, the source said.

  • Axios ☛ Florida Judge orders stop to abortion ad threats by DeSantis officials

    A Florida judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday prohibiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration from threatening to prosecute TV stations that carry ads promoting the state's abortion rights referendum on November's ballot.

  • Kansas Reflector ☛ Survey shows most Kansans support criminal charge for police chief who led newspaper raid

    “Honestly, this upsets me that this even happened,” one of the respondents wrote. “It was all public information so they should not have even been investigated. It would make a local newspaper not want to investigate or report on such things because they might end up being arrested for something that’s not even illegal.”

    Cody led police in the Aug. 11, 2023, raids after concluding that journalists and a city councilwoman committed crimes by obtaining a public driving record for Kari Newell, a Marion resident who operated a restaurant and had applied for a liquor license. The raids ignored federal and state laws and constitutional protections for a free press and against illegal searches and seizures.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Two NLRB Rulings Are Empowering Amazon Drivers to Organize

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-10-16 [Older] Amazon Is Still a Health and Safety Nightmare for Workers

  • The Atlantic ☛ Afghan Women Have Been Brought Back in Time

    Mariam was 12 years old when a relative sold her into a marriage with a 40-year-old soldier in the Taliban, who was already married. She was repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted. By the time she was 19, she had four children. Mariam’s story is not unusual; her four sisters each had similar experiences, as have countless other Afghan women. I know this all too well—I was born in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s first regime, and left the country when the United States withdrew its troops in 2021. I have friends who still live there. (Mariam is not a real name; like many of the women I spoke with for this story, this person asked me to protect her identity for fear of retribution.)

  • Buttondown LLC ☛ How to relax

    I’ve been debating how to answer this question for the past week, and see-sawing between two different ways to tackle it. One is probably the helpful answer you’re hoping for, while the other one might be the reason why it’s so hard for us to achieve the goal, particularly at this moment in time. This morning, while riding my bike to work on a particularly hot day, it occurred to me that both answers spring from a common kernel.

    We relax when we can trust the people around us.

    Safety is inherent in relaxation, which is essentially our body and mind saying “I don’t need to stand watch right now.”

  • Sean Conner ☛ I think people may be taking the LinkedIn questions not as serious as LinkedIn would like

    I'm posting my previous entry to LinkedIn when this time I'm asked “You're one of the few experts invited to answer: Your team is hesitant about new web app technologies. How can you overcome their resistance to change?” And the first response from one of the “experts” that answered is: “Threaten to fire them.”

  • Pete Brown ☛ No one should have to say they’re redundant

    What I am criticizing is the way the market has forced us all to internalize this sort of anodyne, euphemistic, passive-voice HR speak. We are impacted and made redundant. Change makes us stronger. We are excited for our next opportunity.

    Bullshit.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • RIPE ☛ The Internet Exchange Point: A Window Onto a Changing Internet

    IXPs are the airports of the Internet, busy hubs connecting traffic from a multitude of networks. The Namex observatory provides a unique view of the health and stability of the Internet as it continues to grow and evolve.

  • Inside Towers ☛ FCC Split on Studying How Data Price Caps Affect Consumers

    The FCC will look at how data caps for fixed and mobile broadband internet service affect consumers and competition. The Commission seeks public comment so the agency can determine if it needs to do more.

  • RIPE ☛ Building Resilience: The RIPE NCC’s Draft Activity Plan and Budget 2025

    The Draft Activity Plan and Budget 2025 outlines the RIPE NCC’s plans for the coming year, along with the associated costs to achieve them. This document is essential in maintaining the trust of our membership by upholding high standards of transparency and accountability. It offers a clear view of how we will allocate resources and sets the direction for the RIPE NCC's activities in 2025. Your feedback is crucial, as it can influence the course we take in the coming year and beyond.

    The draft has now been published, and the RIPE NCC is actively seeking input from the membership and wider RIPE community. The consultation is open, and we will also engage in further discussions during the RIPE NCC General Meeting. The document will then be finalised and approved by the RIPE NCC Executive Board before being published in December.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Macworld ☛ M4 Mac mini: Release date, specs, design, price

    Beyond that, there is a suggestion, from Mark Gurman, that the M4 Macs will feature 16GB as standard, rather than the 8GB option that’s been the baseline for years. There is up to 36GB of unified memory available for the M3 Pro, it’s not known if this will be improved in the M3 Pro.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Inside Towers ☛ Verizon, Frontier Seek FCC OK for $20B Deal

  In their joint filing this week seeking the FCC’s approval, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Frontier (NASDAQ: FYBR) say their planned transaction would be in the public interest, benefit Frontier customers and would not harm competition. Verizon plans to acquire Frontier for $38.50 per share plus acquired debt, which equates to about $20 billion, Inside Towers reported. The transaction would bring Frontier’s 7.2 million fiber passings and 2.2 million fiber subscribers into Verizon’s fiber footprint.

• Copyrights

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-10-14 [Older] Can you photograph a copyright-protected wallpaper without the right holder’s explicit consent? Yes, says the German Supreme Court

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-10-15 [Older] Long walk to copyright reform #10: South Africa's Copyright Amendment Bill has been referred to the Constitutional Court

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Pirate IPTV Server Shut Down as City of London Police Target UK 'Bulk Seller'

    City of London Police say a man was arrested this week as part of an operation to disrupt the supply of pirate IPTV subscriptions in the UK. After targeting a residential address and four business addresses in the West Midlands, police say a 38-year-old man was detained on suspicion of copyright and money laundering offenses. Police also shared photos taken during the operation, a relative rarity these days but a welcome source of additional information nonetheless.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ TorrentGalaxy Has a Rough Start Under New Owners

    Popular torrent site TorrentGalaxy is suffering downtime again today. While the site no longer spooks its visitors with cryptic messages, the repeated issues are somewhat unusual. TorrentGalaxy reportedly changed owners, which could partly explain the recent troubles. This is another chapter in the unusual history of the site, which originated in the 1337x chatbox after ExtraTorrent shut down.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Sony Loses as CJEU Rules Datel's RAM Data 'Cheat' Non-Copyright Infringing

    The Court of Justice of the European Union has handed a historic victory to Datel, the company behind video game cheat device Action Replay. For well over a decade, Sony argued that modification of game generated code amounted to copyright infringement. The CJEU judgment holds that there was no violation of Sony's rights, since Action Replay ran alongside Sony's game code, only modifying values in RAM while leaving object code untouched.