Links 26/10/2024: Harald Welte Back to Taiwan, Military Targets in Tehran Under Fire
Contents
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Leftovers
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New York Times ☛ A ’High Touch’ Warehouse for Exacting Brands
Ricky Choi, a co-founder of Nice Laundry, was frustrated by how fulfillment centers handled his brand’s socks and underwear. So he started a new kind of packaging firm for chic labels.
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Science
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Latvia ☛ Applications invited for NATO science grants
Aplicants are invited to apply for the NATO Chief Scientist Grants Program until November 15 to submit research projects aimed at the development of science and the promotion of global security, said the Latvian Ministry of Defense October 24.
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New York Times ☛ Enigmas Seen With James Webb Space Telescope May Be Stellar Bullying Victims
Astronomers offered a new hypothesis for what created pairs of objects nicknamed JuMBOs, while other scientists argue they may not really exist.
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Science Alert ☛ A Giant Hidden Source of Lithium Was Just Discovered in Arkansas
This could be a global game-changer.
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Hardware
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan chip giant TSMC stops shipments to client after semiconductors sent to Huawei
By Joy Chiang Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei, a Taipei government official told AFP, potentially breaching US sanctions.
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Hackaday ☛ Mini Robotic Arm Lets You Start Your Own Mini Assembly Line
Automating tasks with a robot sounds appealing, but not everyone has the budget for an Aismo or Kuka. [FABRI Creator] has a great tutorial on how to build your own mini robotic arm for small, repeatable tasks.
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Hackaday ☛ Supercon 2023: Building A Portable Vectrex, The Right Way
The Vectrex was a unique console from the early 1980s. Developed by a company you’ve probably never heard of—Smith Engineering—it was put into production by General Consumer Electronics, and later sold by Milton Bradley. It was an outright commercial failure, but it’s remembered for its sharp vector display and oddball form factor.
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Hackaday ☛ Hands On With A Giant Nixie Tube
[Sam Battle] is no stranger to these pages, nor is his Museum is not Obsolete. The museum was recently gifted an enormous Nixie tube created by Dalibor Farný, a B-grade (well, faulty) unit that could not be used in any of their commissioned works but was perfectly fine for displaying in the museum’s retro display display. This thing is likely the largest Nixie tube still being manufactured; although we read that it’s probably not the largest ever made, it’s still awesome.
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New York Times ☛ [Repeat] The White House Bet Big on Intel. Will It Backfire?
A plan to revive U.S. chip manufacturing rests partly on a company that is firing workers and delaying factories, even as the government pushes for the opposite.
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New York Times ☛ How defective chip maker Intel Got Left Behind in the Hey Hi (AI) Chip HYPE (scam)
Intel was for decades Silicon Valley’s dominant chip company. But missed opportunities and poor execution left it on the sidelines in tech’s latest gold rush.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel's former CEO reportedly wanted to buy Nvidia for $20 billion in 2005 — Nvidia is worth over $3 trillion today [Ed: Nvidia is worth over $3 trillion today? No, not really, that's just Wall Street lies and fiction.]
A New York Times report says that in 2005, defective chip maker Intel CEO Paul Otellini wanted to buy Nvidia for $20 billion, which could have changed the course of tech history.
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Harald Welte: Back to Taiwan the first time after 5 years
Some of the readers of this blog know that I have a very special relationship with Taiwan. As a teenager, it was the magical far-away country that built most of the PC components in all my PCs since my first 286-16 I got in 1989. Around 2006-2008 I had the very unexpected opportunity to work in Taiwan for some time (mainly for Openmoko, later some consulting for VIA). During that time I have always felt most welcome in and fascinated by the small island nation who managed to turn themselves into a high-tech development and manufacturing site for ever more complex electronics. And who managed to evolve from decades of military dictatorship and turn into a true democracy - all the while being discriminated by pretty much all of the countries around the world, as everybody wanted to benefit from cheap manufacturing in mainland China and hence expel democratic Taiwan from the united nations in favour of communist mainland Chine.
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Harald Welte: Oral history transcripts: Pioneers of Taiwans Chip + PC industry
During the preparation of my current brief visit to Taiwan, I've more or less by coincidence stumbled on several transcripts of oral history interviews with pioneers of the Taiwanese Chip and PC industry (click on the individual transcripts in the Related Records section at the bottom). They have been recorded, transcribed and translated in 2011 by the Computer History Museum under funding from the National Science Council, Taiwan, R.O.C..
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Hackaday ☛ Using An OLED Display’s Light For Embedded Sensors
These days displays are increasingly expected to be bidirectional devices, accepting not only touch inputs, but also to integrate fingerprint sensing and even somehow combine a camera with a display without punching a hole through said display. Used primarily on smartphone displays, these attempts have been met with varying degrees of success, but a recently demonstrated version in Nature Communications which combines an OLED with photosensors in the same structure might provide a way to make such features much more effective.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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New York Times ☛ A U.S. Farming Giant Gets a Message 11 Stories Tall
Using natural materials from environmental disasters around the country, a Brazilian activist sends a message to a U.S. farming giant.
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JURIST ☛ Canada parliamentary committee summons federal ministers over Fort Chipewyan dock contamination scandal
Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development passed a motion on Wednesday summoning federal cabinet ministers, Indigenous leaders, and experts to testify regarding contamination at the Fort Chipewyan dock in Alberta and a critical communication breach.
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New York Times ☛ Companies to Pay $101.9 Million to Settle Baltimore Bridge Collapse Lawsuit
The suit by the Justice Department was filed last month and laid out what investigators had learned about the ship’s short and catastrophic journey.
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New York Times ☛ Aunt of Jahmeik Modlin, 4-Year-Old Who Starved to Death, Is Suing Child-Welfare Agency
Jahmeik Modlin’s parents have been charged with manslaughter in his death. His aunt’s suit accuses the city of failing to monitor his safety.
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Latvia ☛ Is airBaltic's first aid kit sufficient?
An airBaltic passenger became unwell during a flight. The plane only had a few items in its first aid box. The woman was given medicines by other passengers and was lucky to have a doctor among them. Why aren't more medicines on board, and is an emergency landing better than supplementing a first aid kit? Latvian Television asked these questions October 23.
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UM-Flint receives $3.94M grant to address rural nursing shortage
The UM-Flint School of Nursing has launched an initiative aimed at addressing the critical nursing shortage in Michigan's Thumb region, backed by a $3. 94 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
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New York Times ☛ U.K. Plans Disposable Vape Ban in England
The measure, which echoes plans in Scotland and Wales, aims to protect young people’s health and reduce environmental damage.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to focus spending on digitalising healthcare system
The central bank will provide RM2.6 billion (S$788 million) to upgrade several industries, including healthcare.
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Science Alert ☛ A Shocking Amount of Seafood Isn't What The Label Says, Study Shows
What are you buying?
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Science Alert ☛ Light Shaped Human Evolution, And It's Still Changing Us Today
We're creatures of the Sun.
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Science Alert ☛ Your Sense of Smell Changes The Way You Breathe, Study Reveals
Your nose is far more important than you think.
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Science Alert ☛ Men And Women May Need Different Breakfasts For Weight Loss
Know your body.
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Science Alert ☛ Man's Case of Scurvy Shows Notorious Disease Could Make a Comeback
A disturbing re-emergence.
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Science Alert ☛ Boosting Access to Weight-Loss Drugs Could Save Thousands of Lives
An American health crisis.
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Science Alert ☛ Meditation And Mindfulness Have a Dark Side We Don't Talk About
Adverse effects are not rare.
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France24 ☛ Lawsuit filed against McDonald's over E. coli outbreak
A lawsuit has been filed against McDonald's over an E.coli outbreak linked to its quarter pounders. Tesla's stock soared 21% after Elon Musk surprised investors with a strong sales forecast. Boeing's crisis just got worse after factory workers voted to extend a crippling strike. Plus, a polish radio station has replaced journalists with Hey Hi (AI) presenters.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Hackaday ☛ Artificial Intelligence Runs On Arduino
Fundamentally, an artificial intelligence (AI) is nothing more than a system that takes a series of inputs, makes some prediction, and then outputs that information. Of course, the types of AI in the news right now can handle a huge number of inputs and need server farms’ worth of compute to generate outputs of various forms, but at a basic level, there’s no reason a purpose-built AI can’t run on much less powerful hardware. As a demonstration, and to win a bet with a friend, [mondal3011] got an artificial intelligence up and running on an Arduino.
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New York Times ☛ New Guidelines Serve as Government ‘Guardrails’ for Hey Hi (AI) Tools
A national security memorandum detailed how agencies should streamline operations with artificial intelligence safely.
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New York Times ☛ Can a Chatbot Named Daenerys Targaryen Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?
The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy says he became obsessed with a chatbot on Character.AI before his death.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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NYOB ☛ Here’s an idea, Pinterest: Ask users for their consent before tracking them!
noyb has filed a complaint against Pinterest with the French data protection authority (CNIL)
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EDRI ☛ Deported for reporting a crime: the paradox of securitisation policies
The review of the Return Directive, which governs detention and deportation procedures in the EU, should not lead to the criminalisation of undocumented people. Rather, it should uphold their fundamental right to personal data protection by establishing firewalls that allow them to report crimes without fears of being deported.
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ACLU ☛ DHS Focus on "Soft Targets" Risks Out-of-Control Surveillance
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investing resources in what it calls protecting “soft targets,” which include crowded places that aren’t subject to “hardened” security measures. Examples include shopping areas, transit facilities, and open-air tourist attractions. We are all used to going through security checks at airports and some other venues, but the vast majority of events and spaces in the United States don’t have that kind of security. The question is: Do we want DHS having a role in all of those spaces?
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Silicon Angle ☛ LinkedIn hit with $334M fine for violating GDPR
The Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Corp.-owned professional networking platform Microsoft's Surveillance Arm LinkedIn has been ordered to pay €310 million ($334 million) by the European Union’s privacy regulator over targeted advertising practices, one the biggest fines to hit American big tech under the General Data Protection Regulation.
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ Data Use and Access Bill will fail to protect public from Hey Hi (AI) harms
The Data Use and Access Bill will fail to protect the public from harmful uses of artificial intelligence, say digital rights campaigners, Open Rights Group. The Bill, published today, rehashes many of the provisions in the previous government’s controversial Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which was ditched in wash-up prior to the General Election.
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Pro Publica ☛ Iconic Gun-Makers Gave Sensitive Customer Information to Political Operatives
For years, America’s most iconic gun-makers turned over sensitive personal information on hundreds of thousands of customers to political operatives.
Those operatives, in turn, secretly employed the details to rally firearm owners to elect pro-gun politicians running for Congress and the White House, a ProPublica investigation has found.
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Defence/Aggression
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France24 ☛ Anger on the streets as ruling party candidate declared president-elect in Mozambique
Protests quickly erupted across Mozambique on Thursday as the ruling Frelimo party was announced to have held onto power in this month's disputed election. It means Daniel Chapo will suceed President Filipe Nyusi, following a poll that both the opposition and EU observers suspect was neither free not fair.
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Defence Web ☛ More police than border guards and soldiers protect SA borders
Border protection in South Africa is a joint responsibility shared between the Border Management Authority (BMA), the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and the SA Police Service (SAPS) with, all told, over seven thousand three hundred personnel involved.
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Defence Web ☛ DA calls for body cameras to monitor KZN police after 107 suspects killed in one year
With an average of nine suspects killed each month by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) between July 2023 and July 2024, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for the urgent use of body cameras to monitor police-public interactions, amongst other interventions.
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Defence Web ☛ Four ways countries are strengthening women’s participation in security efforts
The full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all peacekeeping areas has been found to make United Nations operations more effective and lets the organisation better reflect and engage with the communities it serves, the UN says as it marks Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Month.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong 47: Sentencing for 45 democrats tentatively scheduled for November 19
The 45 democrats convicted in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial after taking part in an unofficial primary election are expected to be sentenced next month. High Court Judge Andrew Chan has tentatively scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 19, according to a document seen by HKFP.
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JURIST ☛ UN reports increased number of women killed in wars in 2023
The proportion of women killed in armed conflict doubled from 2022 to 2023, the UN reported Wednesday. The UN also recorded a rise in the amount of conflict-related sexual violence.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korean draft-dodger falls from building trying to run from investigators
He fell from the bathroom of his fifth-floor unit, injuring his back in the process.
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The Straits Times ☛ Najib apologises to all Malaysians over 1MDB debacle
The former PM made the statement after over 26 months in jail.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian student who stuffed her newborn baby in cereal box convicted of murder in Britain
The jury rejected Teo Jia Xin’s defence that she heard voices telling her to dispose of the baby.
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The Straits Times ☛ Asian Insider: China-India border deal eases tensions | Japanese politics is a family affair
Asian Insider brings you insights into a fast-changing region from our network of correspondents and commentators.
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The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan president to visit frontline islands with China for battle anniversary
Taiwan's president will visit Kinmen on Oct 25 for the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou.
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The Straits Times ☛ Asian Insider: China-India border deal eases tensions | Japanese politics is a family affair
Asian Insider brings you insights into a fast-changing region from our network of correspondents and commentators.
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The Straits Times ☛ How an anxious China is backing Myanmar's faltering junta in civil war
BANGKOK/BEIJING - When an alliance led by three rebel armies seized swathes of territory near Myanmar's border with China from the military junta last October, Beijing looked the other way.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Tragic death of aid worker underscores Gaza’s postwar challenge
The international community has long been criticized for its inaction as Hamas gradually tightened its control over NGOs and civil institutions.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Dispatch from Taiwan: China’s military drills look more frightening outside of Taiwan than from inside
The US and its allies took note when China launched large military exercises around Taiwan just after October 10. But it’s also important to pay attention to how Taiwanese reacted to Beijing’s saber-rattling.
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New York Times ☛ Prosecutor in Menendez Brothers Case to Ask Court for Resentencing
The request from George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, could lead to Lyle and Erik Menendez being released from prison, decades after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
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The Strategist ☛ Making the AUKUS partners interchangeable takes a defence ecosystem
To make the AUKUS partnership successful, the three partner nations will need to shift, as Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a speech in 2022, from interoperability to interchangeability.
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JURIST ☛ Frontex urged to use aerial surveillance for rescues in the Mediterranean Sea
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday launched a new campaign, #WithHumanity, calling on Frontex, the European Union’s border and coast guard agency, to utilize its aerial surveillance capabilities to ensure prompt rescues of endangered vessels in the Mediterranean.
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EDRI ☛ EDRi and members take EU decision-makers through 20 years of digital policy
This September, EDRi, Access Now and ARTICLE 19 took Parliamentarians through a rollercoaster ride of all things digital policy in the European Union. From the early internet and initial experiments in platform regulation, through more recent regulatory innovations, and finally to questions of security and surveillance, we shared a digital rights perspective of the good, the bad and the ugly of digital policy in the EU.
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New York Times ☛ Israeli Attack Killed 3 More of Its Soldiers in the South, Lebanon Says
Israel’s military said it was looking into whether its forces had “accidentally harmed” Lebanese soldiers while conducting raids in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.
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New York Times ☛ Iran Prepares for War but Hopes to Avert One as It Braces for Israeli Strikes
Tehran has several plans for responding to a threatened retaliatory strike by Israel, depending on its severity, and might also do nothing, insiders say.
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CS Monitor ☛ A terrorist attack in Turkey drew global condemnation. Then, Turkey struck back.
The strike came days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested parole for the PKK’s imprisoned leader and hours after a terrorist attack in Ankara. Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes against the PKK, who have power bases in Iraq and Syria.
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NYPost ☛ TikToker arrested after wrecking Greek flags at NJ restaurant thinking they were Israeli
The TikTokker posted her now viral video seven months after the incident - leading police to re-open the case.
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CS Monitor ☛ On immigration, Harris and Trump talk tough – with critical differences
Voters rank the border as a top election issue. Donald Trump takes a hardline stance against illegal immigration, while Kamala Harris seeks to reform a “broken” system.
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New York Times ☛ How Powerful Is North Korea’s Military?
The North’s nuclear forces have been the focus of global concern. But its conventional military is vast and empowered — even if it is hobbled by shortages, corruption and isolation.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea propaganda leaflets found in Seoul attack S. Korean president and wife
The leaflets include messages describing South Korea's first couple as immoral and mentally unstable.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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France24 ☛ Georgia braces for vote seen as choice between Russia, EU
Georgians vote on Saturday in watershed elections, with a union of pro-Western opposition forces facing off against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards Russia. Brussels has warned the October 26 vote will be crucial for the fate of Georgia's fledgling democracy and its long-held aspiration for EU membership. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Tinatin Japaridze, Eurasian Political Risk Analyst at Eurasia Group.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China and India agree to work towards improving ties as leaders Pooh-tin and Modi meet for first formal talks in 5 years
India and China Wednesday agreed to work towards improving bilateral ties, signalling a potential thaw between the neighbours since clashes between their troops in 2020 over a contested border.
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RFERL ☛ Dozens Detained In Russia After Riots Over Stabbing Death Of Romany Taxi Driver
Dozens of people have been detained in the city of Korkino about 35 kilometers from the southern Russian city of Chelyabinsk after mass riots on October 24.
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RFERL ☛ Moldova's Pro-Russian Presidential Candidate Defends His Romanian Passport
Alexandr Stoianoglo, who faces pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu in the runoff of Moldova's presidential election early next month, has defended acquiring Romanian citizenship and lashed out at media revelations that his daughters have been working in Western Europe.
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RFERL ☛ Serbia Reverses Move To Expel Russian Anti-War Activist
Serbia's Interior Ministry has reversed an earlier decision to expel anti-war Russian activist Anton Bobryshev, the Russian Democratic Society, an anti-war organization of Russia's Serbian diaspora, has announced.
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The Straits Times ☛ China says not aware of North Korean troops in Russia
A spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry said “the Chinese side is not aware of the situation”.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon, Poland’s Duda condemn North Korea troop dispatch to Russia
The presidents of South Korea and Poland condemned North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia.
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Latvia ☛ 'Crimea Platform' parliamentary summit in Latvia
On 24 October, Latvia hosts the 3rd Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform.
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CS Monitor ☛ Why North Korea is sending troops to Russia – and how it risks an ‘escalation spiral’
North Korea sending troops to Russia and Ukraine risks escalating that conflict, and underscores growing collaboration among antidemocratic nations.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Forces Launch Deadly Attacks In Eastern Ukraine
A Russian air strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk on October 24 killed one person and wounded 10 others, regional authorities said.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says Russia Deploying North Korean Troops In Kursk Region
Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has approved a strategic partnership treaty with North Korea that allows for "military and other assistance" from one country to the other.
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LRT ☛ In its reelection campaign, Georgia’s ruling party plays the Ukraine war card
Georgia's ruling party is portraying the upcoming elections as an existential choice: between war and peace.
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France24 ☛ Nowhere to run? Sudan civil war pushes Darfur to brink
Far from the war in Ukraine and the multiple fronts in the Middle East, a power grab between feuding coup leaders rages on.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Moldovan and Georgian elections highlight Russia’s regional ambitions
Russia is playing a key role in elections currently underway in Moldova and Georgia, underlining Moscow's determination to retain its regional influence despite challenges created by the invasion of Ukraine, writes Katherine Spencer.
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CS Monitor ☛ At BRICS summit, Russia tries to build a world without the US
Russia has long aspired to use the BRICS bloc of countries to circumvent the U.S.-dominated global economic system. The group’s latest meeting shows how much progress Russia has made – and how other BRICS members keep that goal from being fully realized.
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New York Times ☛ Why Is North Korea Deploying Troops to Help Russia? Here’s What to Know.
The move gives Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, leverage to ask President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for a lot in return.
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New York Times ☛ At BRICS, Putin Appears to Say That North Korean Troops Are in Russia
“If there are images they are a reflection of something,” he said in a tongue-in-cheek answer to whether Pyongyang had sent troops to help with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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New York Times ☛ Putin Abandons Caution on North Korea in Pursuit of Victory in Ukraine
The invasion of Ukraine has led the Russian leader to jettison cooperation with the West over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal in favor of an ever-deepening military alliance with Pyongyang.
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RFERL ☛ Vulin Defies EU Advice, Meets With Putin At BRICS Summit
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit despite advice to EU candidate countries to refrain from such contacts.
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RFERL ☛ UN Chief Tells Putin Invasion Of Ukraine Violates International Law
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 24 that his invasion of Ukraine violated the UN charter and international law, according to a UN statement following their meeting at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.
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JURIST ☛ ICC finds Mongolia failed to comply with request to arrest Putin
The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled unanimously on Thursday that Mongolia failed to comply with its request to arrest and surrender Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court referred Mongolia’s non-compliance to the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), which oversees the administration of the court.
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France24 ☛ Disclose: Russian gas tankers make repair stops in French port
A new investigation by the NGO Disclose has found that the port of Brest in Brittany in France is being used as a crucial stop for tankers delivering gas valuable to president Vladimir Putin. FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin speaks to the author of the investigation, Alexander Abdelilah.
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Atlantic Council ☛ North Korean troops could help Putin avoid a risky Russian mobilization
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has turned to his north Korean ally for troops to help cover his own army's catastrophic losses in Ukraine and avoid a politically risk second wave of mobilization in Russia itself, writes Olivia Yanchik.
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LRT ☛ AI-dubbed debate video earns Lithuanian politician a fine
Eduardas Vaitkus, former presidential candidate and leader of the Lithuanian People’s Party which ran for parliament earlier this month, has been fined for copyright monopoly infringement after posting an altered clip from an LRT election debate.
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France24 ☛ Putin not interested in Guterres' "just peace" in Ukraine: analyst
Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya on Thursday slammed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, labelling the Kremlin boss a "murderer". FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports. Jennie Shin speaks to Natia Seskuria, an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. She says that Guterres has been calling for "just peace" at the BRICS summit, but it is precisely Putin who is not interested in 'just peace'.
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Environment
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The Straits Times ☛ Trees uprooted, power lines snapped as Cyclone Dana pummels India's east coast
A 'severe cyclonic storm' pounded India's eastern coast on Friday, uprooting trees, snapping power lines and inundating some areas, authorities said, adding that no deaths or injuries were reported.
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Energy/Transportation
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France24 ☛ Peru bus drivers strike over violent attacks and extorsion
In Peru, widespread racketeering has become the main source of income for criminal gangs. Fed up with the violence, residents have taken to the streets, demanding that the government get it under control. A story by Matthew-Mary Caruchet.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to regulate cross-border trade of virtual assets
South Korea plans to start regulating cross-border transactions of virtual assets such as cryptocurrency, bringing in registration and reporting requirements from the second half of 2025, the finance ministry said on Friday.
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Hackaday ☛ Custom Drone Software Searches, Rescues
When a new technology first arrives in people’s hands, it often takes a bit of time before the full capabilities of that technology are realized. In much the same way that many early Internet users simply used it to replace snail mail, or early smartphones were used as more convenient methods for messaging and calling than their flip-phone cousins, autonomous drones also took a little bit of time before their capabilities became fully realized. While some initially used them as a drop-in replacement for things like aerial photography, a group of mountain rescue volunteers in the United Kingdom realized that they could be put to work in more efficient ways suited to their unique abilities and have been behind a bit of a revolution in the search-and-rescue community.
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Finance
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New York Times ☛ How Trump Could Bankrupt Social Security
Retirement benefits for millions of Americans are on the line.
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France24 ☛ As World Bank turns 80, how to tackle 21st-century problems?
As the International Monetary Fund and World Bank mark 80 years since their founding, how can they stay relevant and effective? During the annual fall meeting in Washington, World Bank Senior Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg told FRANCE 24 that reforms are underway, but need to happen more quickly.
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Federal News Network ☛ Does that 2% pay raise mean federal employees are chumps?
Boeing, where union workers turned down 35% pay hikes, is in big trouble. Both its commercial and defense sides are losing money, just as China comes on.
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Mexico News Daily ☛ Inflation trended up in early October, driven by rising food prices
The cost of food is up 10% compared to last October, with fresh fruits and vegetables seeing the largest price increases.
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New York Times ☛ Why Boeing Workers Rejected a New Contract: Retirement Benefits
A large majority of more than 33,000 striking union members voted against a contract that included big raises but not the restoration of a frozen pension plan.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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New York Times ☛ Why Democracy Lives and Dies by Math
A documentary filmmaker and a mathematician discuss our fear of numbers and its civic costs.
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France24 ☛ Harris to showcase Springsteen, Obama at star-studded Georgia rally
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris heads to the battleground of Georgia on Thursday for a star-studded rally featuring rock legend Bruce Springsteen, entertainer Tyler Perry and former president Barack Obama.
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France24 ☛ French culture minister in bid to charge tourists to visit Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral
French ministers have raised the idea of charging tourists to enter Paris' world-famous Notre-Dame cathedral when it opens in December after a five-year restoration, a proposal that drew a rebuke from the city's diocese on Thursday. Culture Minister Rachida Dati said she had suggested implementing a "symbolic charge" during a conversation with Paris' Catholic archbishop, with proceeds dedicated to conserving the country's religious heritage.
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Pro Publica ☛ How Immigration Is Affecting Whitewater, Wisconsin
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New Yorker ☛ How Poll Watchers Could Help Trump Challenge the Election Results
“It’s impossible to overstate how much more organized Trump’s 2024 operation is than the 2020 operation,” the New Yorker contributing writer Antonia Hitchens says.
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New York Times ☛ The Menendez Brothers: How True Crime Is Re-Examining Old Cases
A thriving genre built on podcasts and documentaries, coupled with younger generations’ more skeptical worldview, helped revitalize interest in this case and others like it.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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CS Monitor ☛ Did Disney World get swamped by Helene? Russian bots created pictures to prove it.
As the election nears, Russian Hey Hi (AI) and bot accounts online have been increasingly magnifying divisions in US society. Researchers say that they aren’t creating the situations, but instead “simply pouring gasoline on fires that already exist.”
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Latvia ☛ Association to push for certificate annulment of doctor for spreading misinformation
The Ethics Committee of the Latvian Medical Association (LĀB) has decided to ask for the annulment of the certificate of a pediatrician and homeopath Edgars Mednis, working at the Āgenskalns Clinic, Latvian Radio learned from journalist Inga Spriņģe on October 23.
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New York Times ☛ Family Wins Suit Against Conspiracist Who Called Manchester Bombing a Hoax
A British court found that a man who called the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert a “fake terrorist incident” had harassed victims and abused media freedom.
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France24 ☛ What we know about the viral video of a displaced Palestinian girl carrying wounded sister
Just days ago, a video of a displaced little girl in Gaza carrying her injured sister on her back for 2km gained serious traction online, racking up millions of views and shares. It was posted by a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, who said he helped take her back to her displacement camp. This video has also been struck with accusations of “Pallywood” from pro-Israel accounts. Vedika Bahl explains what we know about the video in this episode of Truth or Fake.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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The Straits Times ☛ China’s growing ideological crackdown sees more officials punished for ‘banned books’
At least 15 party cadres have been accused of illicit reading or possessing forbidden materials so far in 2024.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Reach race to publish more stories does not put audience (or reporters) first
Former Reach online editor Rachel McGrath says race for more stories pushed her to burnout.
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Press Gazette ☛ Farrah Storr: Why less can be more when selling online content
Substack head of writer partnerships shares her tips on how to make newsletters work.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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JURIST ☛ Philadelphia prison sued over death of diabetic inmate
The family of diabetic inmate Louis Jung Jr. who died at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, filed a US federal lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that the jail withheld insulin and proper medical care, leading to his death.
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Ruben Schade ☛ The last brief window before modern “manfluencers”
Did you know masculinity is under threat? Worse than that though, it may be in irriversable and terminal decline, from which mankind will never recover!? Scary! We hear this every couple of decades or so, along with the requisite pearl clutching and moral panic over what it represents, what society should do, and why young men in particular are letting the world down every time they refuse to whistle at a woman on the street.
Wait, maybe I shouldn’t say pearl clutching, only women wear those. Um… modded light truck steering wheel clutching? With their hands! Phew, nailed it.
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New York Times ☛ New Pope Francis Encyclical Urges Catholics to Reject Individualism
In an encyclical titled “He Loved Us,” Francis draws on spiritual themes in the hopes of helping people find deeper meaning while living in today’s hectic societies.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong condemns small Sydney demo against top court judge as ‘despicable,’ ‘blatant interference’
Hong Kong’s government has called a small, peaceful demonstration in Australia against a top court judge “despicable,” alleging that it was a case of “blatantly interfering with ongoing criminal proceedings.” Demonstrators had picketed a speech by Australian judge Patrick Keane on Tuesday over his role on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.
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EDRI ☛ Tech and Society Summit: Decision-makers and civil society articulate a digital agenda that centers people, planet and democracy
On 1 October 2024, 41 civil society organisations – including EDRi – co-hosted the Tech and Society Summit. Throughout the day, EU decision-makers, journalists and civil society held discussions, joined panels and participated in activities that fostered dialogue about the intersections of technology, society and the environment.
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EDRI ☛ Unpacking digital fairness: What Europe must do now to end the tech industry’s most nefarious tactics
The EU plans to propose a Digital Fairness Act to better protect consumers from deceptive design practices, social control media addiction, and pervasive online tracking. We unpack what this means and what the European Commission should do to end Big Tech’s most nefarious tactics.
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EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 24 October 2024
With winter almost on our doorstep, we're warming up for a busy few months in the EU digital rights space. In early November, we'll be paying close attention to the European Parliament hearings of the Commissioner-designates selected by Ursula Von Der Leyen.
Earlier this month, the European Commission unveiled its highly anticipated Digital Fairness Fitness Check report. The report is likely to have a major influence on the Commission’s planned Digital Fairness Act proposal, which will affect our digital rights. Let’s unpack this together.
Protection of young people online should be achieved through empowerment not exclusion. This is the highlight of our and our members' submission to the European Commission’s call for evidence for the Digital Services ActArticle 28 guidelines for the protection of minors online.
This month, we also co-hosted – along with 41 other civil society organisations – the Tech and Society Summit.
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Patents
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Software Patents
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JUVE ☛ Thyssenkrupp wins IP In-house Team of the Year at JUVE Awards [Ed: What they mean by "patenting of AI" is software patents, which are illegal, and these awards are paid-for (bribe-like) fakes that let firms pretend to be important. This is how JUVE makes money. It helps firm lie.]
The 2024 winner of the award for JUVE IP In-house Team of the Year went to Thyssenkrupp for its practical approach in the application and patenting of AI. Currently, many in-house IP departments are confronted with improving efficiency through AI, even when there are no suitable off-the-shelf solutions.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Must "CATTLE COMPANY" Be Disclaimed in "ROCK CREEK CATTLE COMPANY" for Real Estate Development Services?
The USPTO refused to register the mark ROCK CREEK CATTLE COMPANY, in standard character and design form, for "Real estate development services, namely, development of a private luxury resort property; real estate development," without a disclaimer of CATTLE COMPANY. The Examining Attorney, pointing to the fact that applicant's services are offered on a site that includes an active cattle ranching operation, concluded that CATTLE COMPANY merely describes the services "because CATTLE COMPANY immediately conveys a business that develops real estate featuring nearby domesticated animals." How do you think this appeal came out? In re Rock Creek Cattle Company, Ltd., Serial Nos. 90439051 and 90439338 (October 22, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Christopher C. Larkin).
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ Lil’ WeezyCon Officially On Tap — Live Nation, Amazon Music, SoundExchange, Udio Among Participants
Live Nation announces Lil’ WeezyCon at Lil’ WeezyAna Fest to provide young people a unique platform of panels, networking, and community engagement.
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Digital Music News ☛ HAAWK Lands at SESAC Music Group
SESAC Music Group acquires HAAWK, a media software and services company specializing in copyright monopoly management and monetization for independent catalogs. SESAC Music Group announces its acquisition of HAAWK, a media software and services company that specializes in copyright monopoly management and monetization for independent music, film, television, and video catalogs.
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Digital Music News ☛ Former Proprietary Chaffbot Company Researcher Highlights How Proprietary Chaffbot Company Violated Copyright Law in Training ChatGPT
OpenAI has been fraught with leadership changes as executives pour out of the company like water through a sieve. The latest departure is a former researcher who says the company broke copyright monopoly law and is destroying the internet. Here’s the latest.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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