Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Shawn Mendes Walked Away From Stardom. He’s Ready to Talk About It.

  In 2022, the pop singer and songwriter canceled a world tour to focus on his mental health. Returning with a stripped-down album, he has a mature new message for his fans.

• CS Monitor ☛ In ‘A Real Pain,’ a road trip whose emotional power sneaks up on you

  “A Real Pain,” written by, directed by, and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg, is the kind of movie that creeps up on you, says film critic Peter Rainer. It has a way of seeing that, in its own modest way, owes something to the Yiddish sensibility that informed storytellers like Isaac Bashevis Singer.

• Legal

  • The Guardian UK ☛ Elon Musk skips hearing as $1m election giveaway case moves to federal court

    Election law experts have raised questions about whether Musk’s drawing violates a federal law barring someone from paying others to vote. Musk has cast the money as both a prize as well as earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.

  • Futurism ☛ Elon Musk Blows Off Court Appearance After Being Sued For Operating an Illegal Lottery

    Elon Musk was ordered to attend a court hearing in Pennsylvania on Thursday, after being sued for his controversial scheme to pay voters in the key swing state ahead of the presidential election.

    The lawsuit was filed by Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner, accusing Musk and his pro-Trump America PAC of running an illegal lottery by giving away $1 million in prizes to registered voters.

  • Reuters ☛ Judge declines to block Elon Musk $1 million voter giveaway as billionaire seeks to move case

    The billionaire entrepreneur, who is spending heavily to back Republican Donald Trump, had been ordered to attend the hearing but did not appear. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is seeking to halt the giveaway less than a week before the tightly contested presidential election between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

• Science

  • France24 ☛ Macron's choice on Western Sahara may end up affecting energy supplies, analyst says

    President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara Tuesday and pledged French investment in the largely Moroccan-controlled but disputed territory. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to William Lawrence, Professor of Political Science at the American University. He says that the choice by Macron to side with Morocco on Western Sahara will have consequences on the relations with Algeria, and possibly affect energy supplies.

  • Science Alert ☛ Maya City of Epic Proportions Discovered Deep in Mexican Jungle

    A monumental revelation.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Librarians Struggle With Mental Health After Traumatic Events at Work

    As libraries become public stages for social problems — homelessness, drug use, mental health — the people who work there are burning out.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Pentagon’s medical accession records pilot now covers up to 51 health conditions

    DoD's medical accession records pilot allows recruits with previously disqualifying health conditions to join the military.

  • Latvia ☛ Emergency service to cut number of teams on duty at night

    The Emergency Medical Service (NMPD) will reduce the number of teams on duty at night in some parts of Latvia, NMPD chief Liene Cipule said in an interview on Latvian Radio's "Krustpunktā" program October 31, promising that the changes will not reduce the quality of the service.

  • Science Alert ☛ Alcohol Consumption Is a Lot More Common in Animals Than We Knew

    But maybe not for the reason you think.

  • Science Alert ☛ Vampire Bats Are More Than Just Bloodsuckers, Expert Reveals

    Some vampires are real.

  • Science Alert ☛ In a First, Scientists Found Structural, Brain-Wide Changes During Menstruation

    Period brain is real.

  • Science Alert ☛ Surprising 'Nocebo Effect' Shows Gluten May Not Be The Problem in IBS

    What's the real trigger?

  • Science Alert ☛ Electrical Brain Stimulation at Home Can Help Depression

    A ray of hope when nothing else works.

  • Science Alert ☛ First US Case of Bird Flu Detected in a Pig, Officials Report

    The number of mammals infected is growing.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ 25% of Surveillance Giant Google Code is Hey Hi (AI) Generated [plagiarism passed off as "fair use"]

    Layoffs, lack of pay raises for engineers, but they're not replacing programmers with Al. Wink wink.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Tracking World Leaders Using Strava

      Way back in 2018, people noticed that you could find secret military bases using data published by the Strava fitness app. Soldiers and other military personal were using them to track their runs, and you could look at the public data and find places where there should be no people running.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indian and Chinese troops gift sweets at contested border

    Soldiers were photographed shaking hands and handing boxes of sweets to mark Deepavali.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India, China complete troops pullback from border face-off points, Delhi official says

    The nuclear-armed neighbours reached a deal last week on patrolling the border.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Again Calls For West To OK Strikes Inside Russia After Deadly Kharkiv Bombing

      President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has reiterated his call on Ukraine's allies to allow Ukraine to use advanced Western weapons to hit deeper inside Russia in the aftermath of a Russian strike on Kharkiv that left at least three people dead, including two boys aged 11 and 15, and at least 36 wounded.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Dismisses Prosecutor-General Amid Draft-Dodging Scandal

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy officially dismissed Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin following investigations revealing numerous government officials allegedly evaded military service by falsely claiming disability benefits.

    • RFERL ☛ Serbian, Montenegrin Firms Hit With U.S. Sanctions For Supporting Russia's War In Ukraine

      The United States slapped sanctions on Serbian company Ventrade and Montenegro-based International Business Corporation Bar (IBC) for exporting to Russia dual-use goods that can be used in the defense industry.

    • RFERL ☛ Finnish Prosecutor Charges Russian Ultranationalist Leader With War Crimes

      The Finnish Prosecutor-General's Office has charged Voislav Torden, also known as Yan Petrovsky, a Russian ultranationalist and former commander of the Rusich sabotage group, with war crimes committed in Ukraine in 2014.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Says 8,000 North Korean Troops Ready For Combat In Kursk Region

      The United States said on October 31 that it has information that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine, and Russia "fully intends" to deploy them in combat against Ukrainian troops.

    • North Korean troops to battle Ukraine within days, US says

      The troops are expected to be deployed into combat ‘in the coming days,’ US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

    • Cashing In

      North Korea is sending more than 10,000 Korean People's Army troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Second auction of 'Moscow House' unsuccessful

      For the second time in a row, State Real Estate (VNĪ) has failed to sell the property at Marijas Street 7, Riga, more commonly known as Moscow House. VNĪ plans to reduce the starting price of the auction again, VNĪ said Thursday.

    • Meduza ☛ Well-known defense attorney is arrested in Chechnya and whisked to Moscow to face charges for threatening a prosecutor — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ University student sentenced to 16 years for alleged terrorist plot and Moscow military enlistment office reconnaissance — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Chinese sanctions against U.S. companies leave Ukrainian military drone supplier without batteries — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Finland charges Russian paramilitary commander with war crimes against Ukrainian soldiers — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian and Ukrainian forces have begun the battle for Kurakhove — its fall would spell the end for Ukraine’s defense in southern Donbas — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ North Korea, in the Spotlight Over Ukraine, Launches a Long-Range Missile

      The launch, into waters west of Japan, came shortly after the United States and South Korea criticized the North for sending troops to join Russia’s war.

    • ICBM test ‘proves’ North Korea’s missile tech helped by Russia alliance, experts say

      Experts condemn North Korea after its most recent ICBM test, its seventh since 2017.

    • RFERL ☛ Hungary's Foreign Minister Critiques EU Sanctions During Minsk Visit

      During a security forum in Minsk, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto sharply criticized European Union sanctions against Belarus and Russia, advocating for dialogue over isolation.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Kremlin, asked if Russia is helping North Korea with missile technology, declines comment

      The Kremlin on Thursday declined to comment when asked if Russia was helping North Korea to develop its missile and other military technology following a test launch by Pyongyang of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

    • NYPost ☛ Action star Steven Seagal appears to have gained ton of weight in latest Russian propaganda appearance

      "Seagal, as a rule, controlled the narrative hard when filming as he insisted on certain camera angles and nothing that accentuates his weight gain," a source said.

    • France24 ☛ Russia fines Surveillance Giant Google a sum greater than the size of the world’s total GDP

      Russia has fined Surveillance Giant Google 20 decillion dollars, or 20 billion trillion trillion dollars… a sum greater than the size of the world’s total GDP. The EU has launched a probe into e-commerce giant Temu. European markets closed with their steepest loss for a year. Plus, Americans are expected to spend $11.6 billion on Halloween this year.

    • Meduza ☛ Kremlin spokesman says fining Google $2.5 trillion trillion trillion for blocking Russian propaganda is a ‘symbolic’ measure — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ No Russian provocations expected ahead of Baltic grid synchronisation – minister

      With 100 days to go before the planned synchronisation of the Baltic power grids with continental Europe, Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys does not expect Russian provocations against Lithuania.

    • Latvia ☛ Taxi driver gets seven years for spying for Russia

      On Thursday, October 31, the Riga City Court found taxi driver Sergejs Sidorovs guilty of spying for Russia and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment and two years' probationary supervision, LETA reports.

    • Latvia ☛ Barclay De Tolly monument in Rīga dismantled

      Last night, the monument to Russian marshal Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly at the Esplanade park was dismantled, Riga Mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) reports on social control media "X" October 31.

    • Latvia ☛ Former Rēzekne mayor's trial continues

      On Wednesday, October 30, the Administrative District Court in Rēzekne continued hearing a case on whether the dismissal of Aleksandrs Bartasevičs (Together for Latvia) from the position of Rezekne City mayor was justified, Latvian Radio reports.

    • CS Monitor ☛ US seeks to counter Chinese influence in the Global South. Is it too late?

      Western governments challenge Chinese and Russian influence in the Global South, counting on new economic initiatives and on their reputations.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Turns to China to Stop North Korean Troops From Fighting for Russia

      American agencies have assessed that China dislikes the growing partnership between Russia and North Korea. The State Department has raised the troop issue with Chinese diplomats.

    • Meduza ☛ Raiffeisen Bank International says it won’t leave Russia without compensation — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian guided aerial bomb hits residential building in Kharkiv, injuring and killing civilians — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ How a Russian region’s school hijab ban sparked a war of words between North Caucasian lawmakers, Kremlin propagandists, and nationalist bloggers — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ American officials say 8,000 North Korean troops are now in Russia’s Kursk region — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ Last chance for Belarusian cars to re-register in Latvia

      Passenger cars registered in Belarus should become a rarer sight on Latvian roads from November 1, as a ban on vehicles from the aggressor state comes into effect.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Activist Andrey Hnyot Freed By Serbia

      Belarusian activist and journalist Andrey Hnyot (aka Andrew Gnyot) has been freed from house arrest in Serbia and allowed to leave for an unspecified European country, his lawyers told RFE/RL on October 31.

    • Meduza ☛ The Russian government has started hiding monthly migration statistics — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan halts airport traffic amid three drone attacks — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Major Russian bank changes hands as billionaire owner sells to partner and divests from country — Meduza

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Putin’s North Korean escalation is a direct result of Western weakness

      The arrival of North Korean soldiers on the battlefields of Europe is the result of more than a decade of weak Western responses to escalating Russian aggression in Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Russia’s economy is overheating but Putin cannot change course

      Russia's wartime economy is in danger of overheating due to a combination of record military spending, sanctions pressures, and runaway inflation, but Vladimir Putin dare not change course, writes Alexander Mertens.

    • France24 ☛ Some 8,000 North Korean troops at Ukraine border could enter combat 'in coming days', US says

      US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy the North Korean troops into combat “in the coming days”, adding that the use of North Korean troops is a sign of desperation and weakness from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    • Meduza ☛ Alexey Navalny’s former defense attorneys are honored in Paris for their human rights service — Meduza

    • CS Monitor ☛ Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years. How did he last so long?

      The Russian public is generally satisfied with how their country has transformed under Vladimir Putin. But that’s less because of his attributes and more a reflection of Russian history and culture.

    • The Strategist ☛ The 2024 US Elections and the Pax Americana

      Under a new US president, will the United States stand by Ukraine, potentially risking war with Russia? Will it stand by its NATO treaty obligations?

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Media coverage of Ukraine must balance public interest and victim privacy

      Victims of the war in Ukraine have already been deprived of their choices by Russia’s aggression. They have the right to choose whether they want their stories to be publicized.

    • France24 ☛ War in Ukraine: Ukraine's second largest city pounded

      At least 35 people were injured and three people, including one twelve year old boy, were killed after Russian troops bombed a residential buyilding in Kharkiv early on Thursday. Moscow also fired 10 missiles at Dniester Estuary bridge, which connects the north and southern areas of the Odesa region, and 43 exploding drones over at least nine Ukrainian regions. Meanwhile Ukraine responded with drone attacks of its own.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Shanghai braces itself for torrential rain as Typhoon Kong-rey advances

    Shanghai's railway operator announced suspensions to some high-speed trains from Oct 31 to Nov 1.

  • New York Times ☛ Spain Flash Floods: Scenes From the Deluge

    Flash flooding across Spain killed more than 95 people after torrential rain left towns and villages submerged and turned streets into rivers.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ DeSmog and Pocket Project Team Up to Host Climate Consciousness Summit 2024

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Confirm Monkeys Do Not Have The Time to Write Shakespeare

      There's simply not enough time in the Universe.

    • Science Alert ☛ Halloween: Meet The Spooky Animals Named After Ghosts

      Happy Halloween!

    • The Straits Times ☛ Python captured after swallowing goat in Kedah

      The capture was challenging as the snake had retreated into a pond after consuming the goat.

• Finance

  • MWL ☛ “Dear Abyss” live on Kickstarter

    Confession time: I don’t love Kickstarter. I don’t love money either, but it does seem to be a dependency when living in capitalism. When I release a book on my site, I sell a few copies.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Off Guardian ☛ How to…Rig Your Rigged Elections

    Are you an aspiring oligarch, dictator or autocrat? Do you want to wield power whilst maintaining a façade of popular support and democratic mandate? Do you want to make your proles believe they have a choice? Well then, welcome to the first of our "How to..." series. A selection of articles dedicated to teaching aspiring authoritarians how to hide tyranny behind a reassuring mask of  freedom.

  • France24 ☛ US election: ‘With this much at stake, so little talk on policy and so much about personality'

    There are just five days to go until the US election. Nevada is currently in the spotlight with both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris scheduled to make campaign stops in the swing state. Both campaigns have been sidetracked in recent days, after controversies sparked by a speaker at a Trump rally describing Puerto Rico as an 'island of garbage'. For more in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on this historic election, FRANCE 24 is joined by Dr Thomas Gift, Associate Professor of Political Science in the UCL School of Public Policy and founding Director of the UCL Centre on US Politics (CUSP).

  • CS Monitor ☛ John Lewis served as ‘the conscience of the Congress’

    David Greenberg’s “John Lewis: A Life” follows the civil rights leader from the Selma march to the halls of Congress. Lewis kept faith with the practice of nonviolence.

  • New York Times ☛ White Women Could Decide the Election

    Also, Russia is making swift advances in Ukraine. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Meduza ☛ Meduza merch is here! Get your hoodie or T-shirt and dress to transgress the Kremlin’s censorship — Meduza

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Tedium ☛ Caught In The Middle

    The mess with Bezos and The Washington Post is reflective of a trend that keeps popping up this year: The powerful entity stepping in it without considering the collateral damage.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ Wayback Machine & Surveillance Giant Google Website Cache Go Offline Weeks Before 2024 Election

    With a Presidential election days away, the biggest ways to record online statements are conspicuously broken.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nintendo launches Nintendo Music, an Android/iOS streaming app for paid Switch Online members

    Nintendo Music arrives for smart devices, though a Nintendo Switch Online membership is required to use it.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Nintendo Goes Its Own Way — Debuts Nintendo Music App

    While other gaming companies like Square Enix have uploaded their soundtracks to Spotify, Nintendo is going its own way. The company has debuted a new companion app for its Nintendo Switch Online service—bringing 40 years of music soundtracks to iOS and Android devices for subscribers.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• KOL444 | Property Rights, Bitcoin, Ideas & Fungibility, with AlexAnarcho

  Stephan Kinsella is a pioneer on the topic of intellectual property (IP). His arguments against IP also carry over to the cyberspace. Can you even "own" Bitcoin? After all, it is just a number on an elliptic curve...

• Patents

  • European Commission ☛ Statement by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the adoption of an antitrust decision against Teva for practices involving the disparagement of a rival medicine and the misuse of the patent monopoly system

    European Commission Statement Brussels, 31 Oct 2024 Today's decision to impose an antitrust fine on Teva for disparagement and misuse of the patent monopoly system reaffirms the Commission's commitment to competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector.

  • European Commission ☛ Commission fines Teva €462.6 million over misuse of the patent monopoly system and disparagement to delay rival multiple sclerosis medicine

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 31 Oct 2024 The European Commission has fined Teva €462.6 million for abusing its dominant position to delay competition to its blockbuster medicine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Copaxone.

  • JUVE ☛ Ones to Watch Germany 2024: Corin Gittinger [Ed: Fake article or ad; JUVE takes money from litigation firms to give them lobby power and fake endorsements]

    Every year, JUVE Patent carries out extensive research in the German patent monopoly market, culminating in the publication of the German patent monopoly rankings.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Acacia entity, Stingray IP, Wi-Fi patent monopoly challenged

    On October 31, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,224,678, asserted by Stingray IP Solutions, an NPE and entity of Acacia Research Corporation.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit’s “Red Flags” Fee Analysis Under Fire: DISH Seeks En Banc Review

    DISH Network is seeking en banc review of a Federal Circuit panel decision that vacated a $3.9 million attorney fee award to the victorious defendant in Realtime Adaptive Streaming L.L.C. v. Sling TV, L.L.C., 113 F.4th 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2024).  The petition challenges the panel's approach to reviewing district court fee determinations under 35 U.S.C. § 285, arguing that it contradicts Supreme Court precedent of both Octane Fitness and Highmark, which provided district courts with substantial autonomy in determining whether to award attorney fees.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Is the UPC still needed for SEP disputes? [Ed: UPC is illegal and must be abolished immediately, but JUVE was paid to lie and lobby for this illegality]

      When the representatives of Panasonic, Xiaomi and Oppo met for a three-day hearing at the local division in Mannheim in mid-October, it was meant to be the Unified Patent Court’s grand kick-off for SEP and FRAND proceedings.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Ornamental Design on Jewelry and Clothing Fails to Function as a Trademark, Says TTAB

    The Board upheld a refusal to register the design mark shown below, for jewelry and for "Clothing, namely, t-shirts, socks, hoodies" on the ground that under Sections 1, 2 and 45 of the Trademark Act, the proposed mark, as used on the specimens of record, is merely a decorative or ornamental feature of the goods and does not function as a trademark to indicate their source. In re Dragonsteel Entertainment, L.L.C., Serial No. 97200167 (October 29, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Robert Lavache).