Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Indonesian Tribe Adopts Korean Hangul to Preserve Ancient Cia-Cia Language

  The Cia-Cia language has been passed down orally for centuries. Now the tribe’s children are learning to write it in Hangul, the Korean script.

• CS Monitor ☛ Mexico City sees potential soccer fields. But garden farmers fight to preserve a legacy.

  Mexico City’s chinampas, artificial islands first built by the Aztecs, are under threat from spreading urbanization. But a small collection of farmers on the islands are banding together to protect ancient farming practices.

• TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Stolen from Grand Rapids museum, recovered pair of ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers are on auction block

  The Judy Garland Museum hopes to submit a winning bid, keep iconic movie props in Minnesota

• Ruben Schade ☛ Advertisers love absolutes!

  I watch a lot of YouTube and listen to a lot of podcasts, some of which have embedded ads. Embedded ads are ads that are embedded. Gee, thanks Ruben! These are ads that the presenter delivers, in lieu of injected ads that frankly sound terrifying.

• Data

  • Ravi Dwivedi: Asante Kenya for a Good Time

    In September of this year, I visited Kenya to attend the State of the Map conference. I spent six nights in Nairobi, two nights in Mombasa, and one night on a train. I was very happy with the visa process being smooth and quick. Furthermore, I stayed at the Nairobi Transit Hotel with other attendees, with Ibtehal from Bangladesh as my roommate. One of the memorable moments was the time I spent at a local coffee shop nearby. We used to go there at midnight, despite the grating in the shops suggesting such adventures were unsafe. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and we were rewarded with a fun time with the locals.

  • Hackaday ☛ IPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project

    The iPod once reigned supreme in the realm of portable music. Hackers are now working on preserving one of its less lauded functions — gaming. [via Ars Technica]

• Science

  • CS Monitor ☛ Where playgrounds benefit adults, and a bridge between art and science opens minds

    Progress roundup: Galleries marry disciplines to spark creativity, the benefits of greener playgrounds spread to the community, and Oslo, Norway, spreads budget responsibilities.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reveal The First 3D X-Ray of a Skyrmion Magnetism Vortex

    A new foundation for future computers.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Dark Oxygen' Discovered in The Ocean, But What Does It Mean?

    A mystery bubbling under the surface.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Just Got Closer to Creating The Heaviest Element Ever

    Pushing atomic boundaries.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Found a 'Yellow Brick Road' at The Bottom of The Pacific Ocean

    Where does it lead?

  • Latvia ☛ How to promote more female involvement in science?

    Although many people find the idea of changing careers after the age of 30 unacceptable or risky, it is possible, and it can help fulfill long-cherished dreams. The old saying that it is never too late to learn is more relevant today than ever. And exactly this awareness and the courage to change careers, even in economically active years, can help increase the number of representatives in the exact sciences, including women, notes 'Girls Go CERN' project participant Antra Asare in a piece for Labs of Latvia.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nintendo Wii turned into a sleeper gaming PC, complete with GameCube ports — powered by AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS and Radeon 680M graphics

    YouTuber takes a Nintendo Wii with a broken disc drive and turns it into a sleeper mini PC build.

  • CNX Software ☛ Lanner NCA-1050 – A fanless desktop network appliance with defective chip maker Intel Amston Lake SoC

    The Lanner NCA-1050 is a fanless desktop network appliance by defective chip maker Intel Atom Amston Lake processors (X7835RE, X7405C, X7203C) for efficient, low-power performance.

  • Hackaday ☛ Supercon 2024: Badge Add-On Winners

    This year we challenged the Hackaday community to develop ShittySimpleSupercon Add-Ons (SAO) that did more than just blink a few LEDs. The SAO standard includes I2C data and a pair of GPIO pins, but historically, they’ve very rarely been used. We knew the talented folks in this community would be able to raise the bar, but as they have a tendency to do, they’ve exceeded all of our expectations.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ NXP tumbles on weak outlook as automotive chip revenues decline

    NXP Semiconductors N.V.’s stock was down almost 6% in after-hours trading today after it delivered an outlook that fell some way short of Wall Street’s expectations, due to what it said is “macroeconomic weakness” in Europe and the Americas.

  • Hackaday ☛ Humble Television Tubes Make An FM Regenerative Radio

    The regenerative radio is long-ago superseded in commercial receivers, but it remains a common project for electronics or radio enthusiasts seeking to make a simple receiver. It’s most often seen for AM band receivers or perhaps shortwave ham band ones, but it’s a circuit which also works at much higher frequencies. [Perian Marcel] has done just this, with a regenerative receiver for the FM broadcast band.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Lesson In RF Design Thanks To This Homebrew LNA

    If you’re planning on working satellites or doing any sort of RF work where the signal lives down in the dirt, you’re going to need a low-noise amplifier. That’s typically not a problem, as the market is littered with dozens of cheap options that can be delivered in a day or two — you just pay your money and get to work. But is there a case to be made for rolling your own LNA?

  • CNX Software ☛ Maximizing Connectivity with LTE-M in Asset Trackers

    CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Dana Cohen, Product Marketing Manager at Sony Semiconductor Israel, discussing LTE-M in asset trackers and comparing it to LTE Cat1.bis, another LPWAN technology. Connectivity has been a game changer in the asset-tracking landscape. Personal devices, pets, vehicles, international packages, or any kind of asset can all easily be tracked through the clown.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Behind the Election Anger May Be Something Else: Lingering Covid Grief

    In the first election after the pandemic, Americans are heading to the polls full of emotions.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Does Everyone Have to Die?

    I’ve been told several times by people who have acted as human pincushions and are on their eighth Covid shot, “Well, I guess you were wrong! According to you, I should be dead by now!”

  • NYPost ☛ It’s raining ‘forever chemicals’ in this major city — and likely everywhere else, researchers warn: ‘PFAS are practically everywhere’

    Health experts have only recently begun to explore the harmful — and potentially carcinogenic — properties of PFAS.

  • Latvia ☛ Breast cancer screening takes a step forward in Latvia

    Breast cancer treatment in Latvia has taken a big step forward, reports Latvian Radio.

  • Science Alert ☛ Cancer Threat From Oral HPV Is a Lifelong Risk, But Can Be Prevented

    Another reason to get vaccinated.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Deadliest Kind of Brain Cancer May Have a Promising New Treatment

    Hope is on the horizon.

  • Science Alert ☛ The State of The Ocean Is Intrinsically Linked to Human Health

    It's all connected.

  • JURIST ☛ Texas governor orders public hospitals to report healthcare costs of undocumented immigrants

    Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order No. GA-46 takes effect on Friday, requiring Texas public hospitals to collect information on and report healthcare costs of undocumented immigrants.

  • ACLU ☛ This Election Day, States Lead the Fight for Reproductive Freedom

    Since the fall of Roe, Americans have consistently supported reproductive freedom at the polls. Knowing this, ACLU advocates across the country have worked to ensure the people have a say on reproductive freedom. On Election Day, voters will decide on ten ballot initiatives that will protect and increase abortion access at the state level.

  • NYPost ☛ James Van Der Beek’s wife shares heartfelt message of support after his colorectal cancer diagnosis

    James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, is showing her support after the actor revealed he’s been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and issued a public apology to his loved ones after claiming he was forced to disclose his private health battle..

  • The Straits Times ☛ Overweight Chinese turn to weight-loss camps to slim down

    Such facilities have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis.

  • New Yorker ☛ How Syria Became the Middle East’s Drug Dealer

    Bashar al-Assad has propped up his regime by exploiting the Middle East’s love of an amphetamine called captagon.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • New York Times ☛ Meta Permits Its Hey Hi (AI) Models to Be Used for U.S. Military Purposes

    The shift in policy, covering government agencies and contractors working on national security, is intended to promote “responsible and ethical” innovations, the company said.

  • Windows Central ☛ Microsoft wants you to use Bing *so much* that it might give you $1,000,000 to do so — if you make the switch from Google

    Microsoft Rewards asks if you want to win a million dollars for a minimal amount of effort. If so? Look no further. 

  • DataCenter Dynamics ☛ Oracle lays off several hundred OCI staff - report

    Oracle Corporation reportedly started a round of job cuts this month, with the cloud unit hit particularly hard.

    According to a report by Channel Futures, several hundred employees within the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) unit have been laid off.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Kim Jong Un’s sister says US, Japan, S. Korea drills justify N. Korea’s nuclear reinforcement

    North Korea's ICBM launch last week flew higher than any previous North Korean missile.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea fires missile, South Korea military says

    This follows North Korea’s recent test of a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

  • US presidential election sparks curiosity in North Korea

    Many North Koreans aware of US sanctions are watching to see if political change will improve the economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian pop star and 5 accomplices charged in Thailand over drug possession

    Police arrested the six suspects at their hotel rooms and found 6,060 methamphetamine pills.

  • Awaiting refugee status, Myanmar nationals in Malaysia struggle, risk deportation

    Some applicants can wait up to a decade to become refugees, aid groups said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar junta chief to make first China visit since seizing power

    Since the coup, Myanmar has been in chaos, including areas along its border with China.

  • Vietnamese fishermen in China’s detention for six months: think tank

    The Beijing-approved group said some Vietnamese fishermen have been detained in the Paracels for 'illegal fishing.'

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia complains to Vietnam over South China Sea reef expansion, sources say

    Malaysia has sent a complaint letter to Vietnam in early October, but has so far received no reply.

  • The Straits Times ☛ As Brics expands, China-India rivalry could shape its future trajectory

    This rivalry could undermine an expanded Brics' cohesiveness and complicate consensus-building.

  • RFERL ☛ Kazakhstan, China Strengthen Economic Ties With $2.5 Billion In New Investments

    Kazakhstan has signed eight commercial agreements worth $2.5 billion with Chinese companies, significantly enhancing bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese lawmakers meet to hash out long-awaited stimulus plan against backdrop of US election

    China’s top lawmakers gathered Monday to hash out a major stimulus package that analysts say could grow even bigger if former US president Donald Trump wins the White House this week.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Head of Myanmar junta to visit China for first time since seizing power in 2021 coup

    Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will travel to key ally China this week, both countries said Monday, in his first known trip there since seizing power in a 2021 coup.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ How data control is driving a new US-China economic divide

    China’s increased restrictions on corporate and financial data make it difficult for the United States and allies to enforce economic statecraft tools like sanctions and supply chain safeguards.

  • Nearly 200 schools in Myanmar hit by junta air strikes since military coup

    The regime often claims that the buildings house resistance fighters.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Strikes Damage a Major Hospital in Northern Gaza, Officials Say

    Patients and medical staff were wounded at Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few in northern Gaza still providing limited medical care, the health ministry and the hospital’s chief said.

  • Off Guardian ☛ The Politics of Fear: Laying the Groundwork for Fascism, American-Style

    The contagion being spread like wildfire is turning communities into battlegrounds and setting Americans one against the other.

  • France24 ☛ America has inched closer than ever to authoritarianism, historian says

    FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to Rick Perlstein, historian and author of the book "Reaganland: America's Right Turn". He says that America has inched closer to authoritarian governance than it has at any time in its history, except for the states in the South during the era of slavery and segregation.

  • New Yorker ☛ What Is Cornel West Thinking?

    The public intellectual’s Presidential campaign could ease Donald Trump’s path to the White House. Why won’t he drop out?

  • Defence Web ☛ Successful Op Vala Umgodi deployment ends in North West province after hundreds apprehended

    South Africa’s North West was the proverbial “happy hunting ground” for soldiers deployed as part of the SA Army Light Modern Brigade (LMB) supporting police as part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal mining as per the Operation Vala Umgodi tasking.

  • Defence Web ☛ UN peacekeeping marks its silver anniversary

    Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided protection of civilians (POC) in armed conflict was an issue of international peace and security, and it tasked the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) with the first explicit mandate to protect civilians from threats of physical violence.

  • The Strategist ☛ Celebrating 10 years of ASPI’s Women in Defence and Security Network

    When Hayley Channer and Nicole Seils attended a defence-related event in Canberra in 2014, they realised they were two of only a handful of women in the room.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ The post-election threats you need to prepare for, according to experts

    The pre-election period was busy for foreign and domestic actors looking to undermine confidence in U.S. elections. Election observers are expecting an even bumpier ride between election day and inauguration. 

  • New York Times ☛ Trial Over Killing of Teacher Samuel Paty Begins in France

    Eight more people are facing charges over the 2020 murder of the teacher, Samuel Paty, who had displayed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as an illustration of free speech.

  • Defence Web ☛ SANDF soldiers recover millions of Rands worth of stolen vehicles, drugs in latest border ops

    South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in Mpumalanga had a busy October doing border protection duty, recovering R3 million worth of stolen vehicles and R6 million worth of dagga. 5 South African Infantry (SAI) Battalion is currently deployed along the borders of South Africa, Mozambique, and Eswatini under Operation Corona.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Maia Sandu wins reelection in Moldova’s runoff, carried by diaspora and Chișinău voters — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Police outside Chelyabinsk launch series of sweeps and raids against local Roma community after late October riot — Meduza

    • The Strategist ☛ From the bookshelf: ‘Engaging North Korea’

      North Korea is again in the global spotlight.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian parliament to have permanent reps in Kyiv, Berlin

      The Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, plans to have permanent representatives in Ukraine and Germany.

    • LRT ☛ Is Ukraine’s frontline collapsing?

      Donbas is heaving with death.

    • RFERL ☛ Number Of North Korean Troops In Kursk Grows To 11,000, Zelenskiy Says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 4 that 11,000 North Korean troops had reached Russia's Kursk region, according to Kyiv's intelligence agencies.

    • RFERL ☛ EU, Seoul Condemn North Korean Involvement In Russia's War In Ukraine

      The European Union and South Korea condemned "in the strongest possible terms" North Korea's transfer of weapons to Russia and the deployment of special forces to help the Kremlin with its "unlawful war of aggression" against Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Germany's Baerbock In Kyiv As Russia Pounds Ukraine's Infrastructure

      German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met with Ukrainian officials on November 4 in Kyiv where she arrived in a show of support for Ukraine as Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine nears the 1,000-day mark.

    • The Straits Times ☛ EU and S.Korea urge withdrawal of N.Korean troops from Russia's war with Ukraine

      South Korea and the European Union on Monday jointly condemned North Korea's supply of weaponry to Moscow and demanded that it withdraw troops it has sent as Russia wages war against Ukraine.

    • The Straits Times ☛ $263m a year, 700,000 tonnes of rice, space tech: The deal for North Korea joining Russia’s war

      South Korea said the North expects that a Trump victory would lead to an early end to the Ukraine war.

    • Meduza ☛ Google Maps updates satellite images of Ukraine and accidentally reveals military sites — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Ahead of Moldova’s presidential run-off, pro-Kremlin bots threatened ‘Ukraine 2.0’ and urged voters to ‘follow Georgia’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia reportedly to pay North Korean soldiers $2,000 per month to fight against Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Antiwar activists in Russia spread fake military recruitment flyers directing readers to lists of soldiers killed in Ukraine — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania wants to ban dual Russian, Belarusian citizens from serving in military

      The defence minister and the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence have registered a bill that would exclude people with Russian and Belarusian citizenship from serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

    • RFERL ☛ German Prosecutors Drop Probe Against Russian-Uzbek Billionaire Usmanov

      German prosecutors have dropped a money-laundering investigation into Uzbek-born Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, but he will be required to pay a fine of 4 million euros ($4.36 million), the prosecutor’s office said on November 4.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Crackdown On Military Corruption Continues With New Arrest

      A top official from Russia's National Guard was sent to pretrial detention on November 4 for at least two months on corruption charges amid a crackdown on military graft.

    • RFERL ☛ Pro-EU Sandu's Reelection Proof Of Russia's 'Failure,' Biden Says

      Final preliminary results show Moldova's pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, has won a second term, a critical milestone for the integration of one of Europe's poorest countries into the European Union that U.S. President Joe Biden said was proof that Russian interference "failed."

    • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia, Russia navies hold first joint drills in Java Sea

      Analysts say this shows the South-east Asian nation’s willingness to befriend any country.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian and Other Groups May Try to Undermine U.S. Elections After Vote

      Russian and other groups have unleashed a torrent of disinformation. Cybersecurity officials plan to issue updates on threats throughout Election Day.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian federal agents raided governor’s offices two days before his resignation — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian Defense Ministry releases Unity Day propaganda highlighting army’s multiethnic composition — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian National Guard major general jailed on bribery charges — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian Orthodox Church head says death penalty is okay by Jesus — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin taps former Krasnodar mayor for Tambov governor’s seat after volunteer military service in Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Newly published documents from invasion’s first weeks reveal Putin’s plans to render post-war Ukraine powerless — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin joins unscheduled meeting at Kremlin with North Korea’s foreign affairs minister — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ With cameras rolling, Putin shares tender moment with daughter of helicopter pilot killed in Kharkiv — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Grants Citizenship To 3,344 Foreigners Under Ukraine Service Decree

      Russia has granted citizenship to 3,344 foreigners since the start of the year under a decree by President Vladimir Putin that allows passports to be issued to participants in the invasion of Ukraine and their family members.

    • Meduza ☛ CEO of Russia’s Channel One state news network compares Steve Jobs to Hitler — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Intelligence sources tell WSJ that Russia plotted to put incendiary devices aboard planes bound for U.S. and Canada — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov settles German criminal probe out of court — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Elite Russian private schools are trying to shield children from the war. But even the youngest students are starting to talk about it. — Meduza

    • JURIST ☛ Belarus rights group reports death of political prisoner Dmitriy Schlethauer

      The Viasna Human Rights Centre, one of the oldest human rights groups in Belarus, reported on Friday that political prisoner Dmitriy Schlethauer died on October 11, less than one month after being transferred to the penal colony at Mogilev in the east of the country. The cause of death is unknown.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Power-Over-Skin Makes Powering Wearables Easier

      The ever-shrinking size of electronics and sensors has allowed wearables to help us quantify more and more about ourselves in smaller and smaller packages, but one major constraint is the size of the battery you can fit inside. What if you could remotely power a wearable device instead?

    • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia conducting ‘thorough exercise’ to reform fuel subsidy scheme, minister says

      Its policy has kept inflation low but has exposed state coffers to swings in global oil prices.

  • Overpopulation

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t should display baby photos in offices to encourage civil servants to have children, lawmaker says

      The Hong Kong government should display baby photos in its offices to create an “atmosphere” that would encourage civil servants to have children, a lawmaker has suggested.

• Finance

  • China sees sharp drop in marriages amid economic downturn

    China has seen a sharp drop in marriages so far this year amid an economic slump and changing priorities.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea man hides father’s body in freezer for a year over ‘inheritance issues’

    Investigators did not find any evidence that the suspect had killed his father.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean opposition leader agrees to scrap financial investment tax

    South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday agreed to back government plans to scrap a scheme to tax profits on financial investments, citing the need to boost the country's undervalued stock market.

  • The Straits Times ☛ 270 busted in South Korean medical insurance fraud

    Busan Nambu Police Station apprehended the scammers in October.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Dispatches from Europe #5: October 30, 2024 – Ia Eradze on Resisting Authoritarianism and Foreign Domination in Georgia

    I interviewed Ia Eradze, a leftwing political economist in Georgia, on October 28, two days after the controversial Georgia parliamentary election. We talked in the afternoon before a protest demonstration against election rigging by the democratic opposition would be held that night.

  • France24 ☛ US housing crisis in focus as voters prepare to choose next president

    The US economy is humming with GDP expected to grow at a healthy clip, unemployment low and inflation coming down closer to the Federal Reserve's 2% target. But polls have shown American voters are worried about the state of the economy. Home prices have gone through the roof.  Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have promised to bring them down. Plus, Boeing workers are voting on a new wage offer, which could end their seven-week strike.

  • New York Times ☛ Supreme Court to Hear Louisiana Congressional Map Dispute

    The case, which will not affect this election cycle, involves a legal fight over how the state draws its voting maps and could determine the political power of Black voters there.

  • CS Monitor ☛ What happens if Trump tries to overturn another election loss?

    Since the chaotic 2020 election, the system has been strengthened. But a narrow victory by Kamala Harris could still lead to a drawn-out battle.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ This should be atop the next US president’s reading list

    A new essay by former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley provides an important contribution at the early stages of a new geopolitical era.

  • Dick Van Dyke, 98, makes rare appearance on social control media to endorse Kamala Harris for president

    The "Mary Poppins" star, 98, recited an old speech from Rod Serling — first read in 1964 — while endorsing Harris on Instagram Monday night.

  • Everything Zen

    You’re getting hit by pre-election chaos on every other part of the internet. Let’s take a step back and get a bit of a palate cleanser. Personally, I find a little Tedium goes a long way.

    The odds are that, based on my recent schedule, this will be the last issue of Tedium before the 2024 presidential election. I’m not really expecting a lot of breaking news in the market for tedium. (As our about page states, tedium is noted for its pattern of stillness, which one cannot say about an election.) But I do think there is something to be said about a moment of zen amid chaos. I am not perfect at this. Some people meditate or spend entire weekends in the woods. I, instead, like digging into Tedium. And with that in mind, tonight’s pre-election Tedium attempts to make the case for Tedium as a palate cleanser. Because, let’s be honest, we need it right now. — Ernie @ Tedium

  • Pro Publica ☛ As Denver Aids Arriving Migrants, Its Homeless Residents Feel Left Behind

  • Pro Publica ☛ RNC Video Contradicts Trump’s “Illegal Aliens” Voting Claims

    In public remarks, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims about the threat of widespread voting by “illegal aliens” and noncitizens in the 2024 election.

    Away from the spotlight, though, at least one Republican National Committee official is telling volunteer poll watchers a completely different story: that such voting is close to impossible.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Federal News Network ☛ Malign interference and cryptocurrency: A new frontier in disinformation and national security

      Leaders at Chainalysis shed light on the pivotal role of crypto tracing in identifying and countering political threats.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • University of Michigan ☛ Academic freedom lecture to address extramural speech

    Judith Butler, a philosopher and gender studies scholar, will deliver the Faculty Senate's 34th annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ New York Times-owned The Athletic reports quarterly profit for first time

    And The New York Times Company surpassed 11 million total subscribers in Q3.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Chinese rights lawyer Wang Yu hospitalized after hunger strike

    Chinese rights lawyer Wang Yu was hospitalized after a 9-day hunger strike.

  • New York Times ☛ New York Times Tech Workers Go on Strike

    The Times Tech Guild represents more than 600 software developers and others who run the back-end systems behind The Times’s digital operation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Calls seeking counselling on domestic, sexual abuse hit all-time high in South Korea

    337,171 calls were made in 2023 to national counselling centres, up 15.1 per cent from the previous year.

  • JURIST ☛ Civil group calls for accountability from China over human rights violations in Xinjiang

    The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), an NGO promoting the protection of human rights, recalled on Monday the need for further action to hold China accountable for grave human rights violations in Xinjiang.

  • AccessNow ☛ Saudi authorities must end misuse of administrative and judicial measures against released human rights defenders including Loujain al-Hathloul

    We call on the Saudi authorities to immediately cease misusing administrative and judicial measures against human rights defenders released from prison.

  • France24 ☛ Woman strips off clothes at Iran university in apparent protest

    A young woman stripped to her underwear at an Iranian university on Saturday in an apparent protest against the country's strict Islamic dress code, according to online videos and media reports. A video posted on social control media showed security guards at a branch of the Islamic Azad University detaining the unidentified woman.

  • Licensing / Legal

    • US News And World Report ☛ Influential Attorneys Send a Message to Their Peers: No More Frivolous Election Lawsuits

      The letter, organized by the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy, has 125 signatories as of publication, including former presidents of the national association. The current and former leaders hail from across the country, including swing states such as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where some lawsuits have been filed.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 218: Emily Laidlaw and Taylor Owen on Saving the Online Harms Act

    Online Harms Act or Bill C-63 was introduced last February after years of false starts, public consultations, and debates. Months later, the bill appears to be stalled in the House of Commons and has yet to make it to committee for further study. Some view that as a win, given their criticism of the bill, though others who have waited years for action against online harms are beginning to fear that the Parliamentary clock is working against them.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• New York Times ☛ KAWS, the Collector, Says, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Anything Is Mine.’

  Some collectors treat artworks like poker chips and flip work by young artists. That’s not Brian Donnelly. Now his finds star in a show.

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Supreme Court Asked to Address Constitutionality of [patent maximalist] Judge Newman Removal

    Miller Mendel, Inc. has petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision invalidating its background check software patent monopoly in a case that raises questions about both judicial independence and patent monopoly eligibility standards. The petition comes after both the district court and Federal Circuit found Miller Mendel's US Patent No. 10,043,188 ineligible under § 101 as directed to an abstract idea.

  • JUVE ☛ Ones to Watch Germany 2024: Lisa Rieth [Ed: Marketing spam disguised as honest endorsement of some kind]

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

  • EFF ☛ Judge’s Investigation Into Patent Troll Results In Criminal Referrals

    These companies–named Mellaconic IP, Backertop Licensing, and Nimitz Technologies–seemed to be typical examples of “patent trolls,” companies whose primary business is suing others over patents or demanding licensing fees rather than providing actual products or services. 

    However, the cases soon took an unusual turn. The Delaware federal judge overseeing the cases, U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly, sought more information about the patents and their ownership. One of the alleged owners was a food-truck operator who had been promised “passive income,” but was entitled to only a small portion of any revenue generated from the lawsuits. Another owner was the spouse of an attorney at IP Edge, the patent-assertion company linked to all three LLCs. 

    Following an extensive investigation, the judge determined that attorneys associated with these shell companies had violated legal ethics rules. He pointed out that the attorneys may have misled Han Bui, the food-truck owner, about his potential liability in the case. Judge Connolly wrote: 

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Recommended Reading: The Trademark Reporter, September-October 2024 Issue

    The September-October 2024 (Vol. 114 No. 5) issue of the Trademark Reporter has arrived. [pdf here]. Willard Knox, Editor-in-Chief, summarizes the contents as follows (and below): "This issue offers readers an article on how practitioners can use survey evidence to prevail on behalf of brand owners contesting failure-to-function refusals to register their trademarks as well as a book review of a practical handbook on design law."

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ A Tale of Two Dewberries: Corporate Structure vs. Trademark Remedies

    The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers (No. 23-900) in December 2024, addressing the trademark-specific question of whether courts can disgorge profits earned not by the defendant itself, but also by legally separate non-party corporate affiliates.  In many ways, I see this case largely as a corporate "structure of the firm" case.  Does trademark law permit business owners to formally structure their set of closely related businesses to avoid spillover liability?  Most notably, corporate attorneys are regularly looking at ways to divide companies to limit spillover liability. The golden target is to create low-profit (or non-profit) entities that hold all the potential liability; and then shift profits to other corporate affiliates that do not have any liability.