Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Batteries Not Included: Navigating The Implants Of Tomorrow

  Tinkerers and tech enthusiasts, brace yourselves: the frontier of biohacking has just expanded. Picture implantable medical devices that don’t need batteries—no more surgeries for replacements or bulky contraptions. Though not all new (see below), ChemistryWorld recently shed new light on these innovations. It’s as exciting as it is unnerving; we, as hackers, know too well that tech and biology blend a fine ethical line. Realising our bodies can be hacked both tickles our excitement and unsettlement, posing deeper questions about human-machine integration.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ SpaceX Is Unable to Repeat Catch During Starship Test Launch

    The giant booster stage of the prototype moon and Mars rocket carried out a water landing while the vehicle’s upper stage continued on an hourlong journey through space.

  • Science Alert ☛ Mysterious Signal Preceded The Most Powerful Eruption of Modern Times

    A seismic precursor we never knew about.

  • Science Alert ☛ A First-of-Its-Kind Signal Has Been Detected in Human Brains

    Our brains could be more powerful than we thought.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Body Can Absorb Vitamins Directly From Air, Evidence Shows

    Why didn't we know about this?

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover Monster Galaxies Lurking in The Early Universe

    But how is this possible?

  • Science Alert ☛ Dolls May Be an Effective Therapy For Dementia. Here's Why.

    Not just a child's toy.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Technique Gives Hope to Millions Who Experience Chronic UTIs

    A living material that releases 'good' bacteria.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Unbelievable' Video Shows 2 Bees Working Together to Open a Bottle of Soda

    A daring soda heist.

  • Science Alert ☛ Individual Cells Seem to Be Capable of a Complex Form of Learning

    Cleverer than we suspected?

• Career/Education

  • CS Monitor ☛ Howard University hoped to make history. Now it’s ready for a different role.

    Kamala Harris hoped to declare victory at Howard University on election night. Today, students at one of America’s top HBCUs wrestle with the fallout.

  • New York Times ☛ Texas Education Board Backs Bible-Infused Lessons in Public Schools

    School districts serving more than two million elementary-school children would be able to adopt a curriculum that draws on the Bible.

• Hardware

  • New York Times ☛ Robots Struggle to Match Warehouse Workers on ‘Really Hard’ Jobs

    The machines can load and unload trucks, move goods and do other repetitive tasks but are stymied by some, like picking items from a pile.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Local content, global consequences: Apple’s battle to sell its latest phone in Indonesia

    Indonesia and Fashion Company Apple have been in a stand-off over local content requirements to sell the iPhone 16.

  • CNX Software ☛ UP 710S – A slim, credit card-sized defective chip maker Intel N97 development board with M.2 E-Key WiFi socket and GPIO, I2C, SPI, and COM wafers

    AAEON’s UP 710S is a credit card-sized defective chip maker Intel N97 SBC and development board with an M.2 E-Key socket for a WiFi and Bluetooth module, and similar interfaces such as gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and  HDMI outputs as found in Raspberry Pi boards.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Winter market planned at 21 Roots Farm

    The nonprofit Grant hobby farm serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Microsoft 365 Admin portal abused to send sextortion emails

    Over the past week, people on LinkedIn, X, and the Microsoft Answers forum reported receiving sextortion emails through the Microsoft 365 Message Center, allowing the scams to bypass spam filters and land in the inbox.

  • WCCF Tech ☛ Microsoft’s Copilot Efforts Are Receiving Backlash, And Insiders Believe The Approach Is More Focused On Competition Rather Than Providing Value

    ...the rapid expansion approach is facing criticism from the tech community and internally.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Wave of news publishers arrive on Bluesky as sign-ups surge

    Group of journalists sign letter declaring X/Twitter to "no longer be a useful tool" for reporting.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launch gets stranded on the runway – We can't get it to install after multiple attempts

    Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 officially launched today, but it's basically been a complete bust trying to play or even get into the game so far. Loading queues and interminable loading screens are basically all we've seen so far.

  • EFF ☛ The U.S. National Security State is Here to Make AI Even Less Transparent and Accountable [Ed: "AI" nonsense. They could just as well say "algorithms" or "computers". Nothing news here.]

    Private AI systems like those operated by tech companies are incredibly opaque. People are uncomfortable—and rightly so—with companies that use AI to decide all sorts of things about their lives–from how likely they are to commit a crime, to their eligibility for a job, to issues involving immigration, insurance, and housing. Right now, as you read this, for-profit companies are leasing their automated decision-making services to all manner of companies and employers and most of those affected will never know that a computer made a choice about them and will never be able to appeal that decision or understand how it was made.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • France24 ☛ Digital parenting: tips on how to use real-time location tracking

      In Entre Nous, we speak to Elizabeth Milovidov about real-time location tracking. Some parents may be worried about their children and decide that knowing their child's location is necessary for peace of mind. Real-time location tracking is possible using many apps available on the market.

• Defence/Aggression

  • ADF ☛ Amhara Region Is Ethiopia’s Latest Battleground

    Military drones hummed through October’s midday sky over the central Ethiopian town of Mehalganat in the volatile Amhara region before destroying several buildings at a health clinic compound.

  • ADF ☛ Northern Ghana Emerges as Base for Sahelian Terrorist Organizations

    Northern Ghana has emerged as a logistical base from which violent extremist organizations from Burkina Faso launch attacks into other areas as they try to expand farther into West Africa.

  • ADF ☛ African Partner Outbreak Response Alliance Marks 10 Years of Cooperation

    Health, military and government officials from more than 30 African nations have concluded a conference of the African Partnership Outbreak Response Alliance that included a simulated response to a mass casualty event, a first for the annual conference.

  • ADF ☛ Sudan’s War Threatens to Create Widespread Ethnic Conflict

    Sudan’s war is inflaming ethnic tensions across the country and threatening to turn the battle between two military factions into a broader war along tribal lines. “The escalation of war narratives by both sides is fueling ethnically charged rhetoric,” the Advocacy Group for Peace in Sudan (AGPS) said in a statement.

  • France24 ☛ NRC calls for 'diplomatic pressure on warring parties' to avert spread of famine across Sudan

    Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected "any foreign interference" in the country's war, praising Russia's "supportive stance" for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, Philippines ink military intel-sharing pact amid Trump-era alliance concerns

    US Defense Secretary Austin gave assurances that the Philippines will remain "important" under the second Trump presidency.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand prepares to tighten espionage laws to stop foreign interference

    Legislation that strengthens existing espionage laws and introduces new offences passed a first legislative hurdle in New Zealand on Tuesday.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Sen. Blumenthal wants FCC to get busy on telecom wiretap security rules

    The subcommittee chair said the FCC has the ability to act now in response to Salt Typhoon targeting the 2024 presidential campaigns.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ How to remove the cybersecurity gridlock from the nation’s energy lifelines

    A unified approach from both public and private sectors is essential to safeguard our critical infrastructure.

    >

  • France24 ☛ Mass rape victim Gisele Pelicot condemns cowardice of accused abusers

    Gisele Pelicot, subjected to mass rape organised by her husband over 10 years, on Tuesday condemned the cowardice of the dozens of men accused of abusing her who claim they didn't realise it was rape, adding France's patriarchal society must change. Details with FRANCE 24's Shirli Sitbon in Avignon, and Blandine Deverlanges, member of Les Amazones d'Avignon collective.

  • New York Times ☛ Out of Gaza

    We photographed badly wounded Gazans who made it out for treatment. Many can think of little but the dead they left behind. “We wanted to go with them, too,” one child told us.

  • France24 ☛ Photographer Aline Deschamps on documenting Lebanese resistance

    Aline Deschamps is a photojournalist who has documented life in Lebanon as the country was once again drawn into conflict with Israel. Having lived in Beirut for five years, Deschamps did not initially set out to be a war photographer. Her work focuses on how ordinary people—students, entrepreneurs, and teachers—come together during times of crisis to support one another. In this interview with FRANCE 24, she shares stories of those she met during her assignments in Beirut, including a Palestinian man who moved from Gaza to the city a decade ago, only to find himself caught in the current bombardment.

  • JURIST ☛ Canada PM admits immigration cut could have come faster, blames ‘bad actors’

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained the government’s reasoning for relaxing Canadian immigration law after the pandemic, and for the recent restrictions imposed, in a YouTube video released Sunday. Trudeau admitted that the federal government could have taken action earlier when companies and universities exploited the policy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Iran, Israel among rivals to showcase their arms at Vietnam defence expo

    Companies from Iran, Israel, China, Russia and the United States will showcase military equipment at an arms expo in Hanoi in December, Vietnam's defence ministry said on Tuesday, a rare case of geopolitical rivals exhibiting their wares together.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Separatist Leader Of Georgia's Breakaway Abkhazia Resigns Amid Protests

      The de facto leader of Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway Abkhazia region has signed his resignation amid ongoing protests by opposition supporters against a property deal with Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ Bosnia To Expel Russian Man Suspected Of Training Moldovans To Foment Unrest

      Authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina will expel a Russian citizen who was arrested on suspicion of instructing Moldovan nationals how to foment unrest in Moldova.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘They dealt with this problem on their own’: What the resignation of Abkhazia’s leader means for the Russia-backed breakaway Georgian region — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Utter nonsense’: Russia’s Central Bank head slams calls for freezing savings deposits and withholding interest payments — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Washington won’t revise its own nuclear doctrine in response to Russia’s ‘irresponsible rhetoric’ — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • ADF ☛ Russian Orthodox Church Viewed as Tool to Spread Kremlin Influence

      The Russian Orthodox Church is quietly winning allegiance from priests and parishes from the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt with offers of humanitarian aid, vaccines, infrastructure, schools, hospitals and spiritual patronage. >

    • ADF ☛ JNIM Targets Malian Government, Russian Mercenaries But Civilians Pay the Price

      When the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked Bamako in September, it marked the first attack inside the Malian capital since 2016. The attack on a military training school and international airport where Russian mercenaries are based killed at least 77 people, mostly young gendarmerie recruits.

    • RFERL ☛ Ex-Moscow Lawmaker Sentenced In Absentia To 8 Years In Prison

      A Moscow court on November 19 sentenced a former local lawmaker in absentia to eight years in prison for spreading "fake news" about the Russian military.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Court Sends Bashkir Activist To 9 Years In Prison Amid Crackdown

      A court in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan on November 19 sentenced activist Marat Sharafutdinov, the final defendant in the high-profile Karmaskaly case, to nine years in prison.

    • RFERL ☛ Europeans Probe Baltic Cable Damage As Suspicions Turn Toward Russia

      European governments have accused Russia of intensifying "hybrid attacks" following reports that Baltic Sea fiber-optic communications cables were damaged by suspected sabotage, although they have not yet directly tied Moscow to the damage.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ 1000 days 💙💛

      To be clear to the journalists covering the current Ukrainian War, it did not start a thousand days ago. Crimea was invaded ten years ago. What you are referring to is a thousand days in the escalation in this unprovoked, unjustified hostility against a nation of people who just wants to live peacefully in Europe.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘You beg them for soap and pads’ How Belarusian women’s prisons turn menstruation into a form of torture — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Four Belarusian Families Face Trial As Crackdown On 2020 Protesters Continues

      Four years after mass protests erupted against Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian rule in Belarus, trials against those who took to the streets continue.

    • RFERL ☛ Exiled Opposition Leader Condemns Belarus 'Anti-Riot' Drills Ahead Of January Election

      Exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya on November 19 condemned so-called anti-riot drills conducted by Belarusian police ahead of the planned January 26 elections in which strongman ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka will likely be declared the winner for his seventh term.

    • Mint Press News ☛ Escalation Flashpoint: Biden Approves Ukrainian Strikes Inside Russian Heartland

      In this episode of State of Play: Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the US, cloak and dagger drama - leaked intelligence, NATO stay-behind operations, nuclear brinkmanship and how the Biden Administration will be remembered as one of the most reckless, violent, and foolhardy in US history.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Imposing neutrality on Ukraine will not stop Putin or bring peace to Europe

      Imposing neutrality on Ukraine will not bring about a durable peace in Europe. On the contrary, it would leave Ukraine at Putin’s mercy and set the stage for a new Russian invasion, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Brazilian, US public-private partnerships key to regional energy security

      On the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center hosted an event focused on strengthening collaboration on energy security between the US and Brazil. Brazil and the US are natural partners when it comes to navigating the energy transition with many opportunities for partnership.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Modi's inflation-blowing farm pivot may not be enough to win key Indian state

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several pro-farmer but inflation-stoking measures in recent months, such as easing curbs on rice and onion exports, but that may not prove enough for him to sway an election on Wednesday in a key state.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Sabah corruption scandal ahead of 2025 state polls poses fresh challenge for Anwar

    A whistleblower produced videos alleging corruption by state assemblymen.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India restricts WhatsApp’s sharing of data with other Meta entities, imposes $34 million fine

    Tech giants, including Fashion Company Apple and Meta, face new regulatory challenges with India’s proposed EU-like antitrust law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea opposition leader indicted for misuse of public funds, Yonhap says

    His legal battles could jeopardise his expected bid to contest the next presidential race.

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to Alaska campaign finance measure

    The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Alaska residents’ challenge of a ballot measure that requires public disclosure of political donations. The plaintiffs argue that the requirement violates their constitutional right to free speech. The plaintiffs initially requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the provisions of Ballot Measure 2 from taking effect.

  • University of Michigan ☛ How to buy a democracy

    Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — three of the richest men in the world and owners of some of the largest online platforms for speech in the country — can only be described as oligarchs.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • ADF ☛ Russian Disinformation Targets Côte d’Ivoire

      The Fentanylware (TikTok) video spread like an out-of-control fire in October. Dramatic music swelled in the background while the video frantically jumped from clips of security forces in action to police vehicles mobilizing with flashing lights and other scenes of chaos.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ All 45 Hong Kong democracy campaigners jailed in city’s largest security trial

    Activist Benny Tai received the longest sentence of 10 years under the sweeping national security law.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Over 1,400 days since their arrests, 45 Hong Kong democrats face sentencing in landmark subversion case

    Forty-five Hong Kong pro-democracy figures face sentencing on Tuesday in the city’s largest national security case to date. They face up to life imprisonment after being convicted of conspiring to commit subversion over their roles in an unofficial legislative primary election held in 2020.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Benny Tai, Joshua Wong among 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists jailed up to 10 years in landmark national security case

    Pro-democracy activist Benny Tai has been jailed for 10 years over organising an unofficial primary election in 2020, as Hong Kong’s High Court delivered sentences in the city’s largest national security case to date.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘We will survive this’: Mixed emotions for families of Hong Kong democrats jailed in landmark national security case

    More than three years and eight months since 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were charged with conspiring to commit subversion, their family members on Tuesday learned when they would next see their loved ones without a screen separating them.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong 47: Gov’t to consider appealing for longer sentences as Taiwan, overseas groups condemn case

    The Hong Kong government will consider whether to appeal for longer sentences of certain democrats jailed on Tuesday in the city’s largest national security case.

  • The Straits Times ☛ 'Hong Kong 47': Reaction to jailings of democrats in landmark national security trial

    HONG KONG - Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday sentenced 45 leading democrats to jail terms of up to 10 years in what critics say is a major blow to the financial hub's rule of law.

  • New Yorker ☛ Why Do We Talk This Way?

    Technology is dramatically changing political speech, rewarding quantity and variety over the neat messages of the past.

  • EFF ☛ Speaking Freely: Marjorie Heins

    *This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    Marjorie Heins is a writer, former civil rights/civil liberties attorney, and past director of the Free Expression Policy Project (FEPP) and the American Civil Liberties Union's Arts Censorship Project. She is the author of "Priests of Our Democracy: The Supreme Court, Academic Freedom, and the Anti-Communist Purge," which won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Book Publishing in 2013, and "Not in Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth," which won the American Library Association's Eli Oboler Award for Best Published Work in the Field of Intellectual Freedom in 2002.

    Her most recent book is "Ironies and Complications of Free Speech: News and Commentary From the Free Expression Policy Project." She has written three other books and scores of popular and scholarly articles on free speech, censorship, constitutional law, copyright, and the arts. She has taught at New York University, the University of California - San Diego, Boston College Law School, and the American University of Paris. Since 2015, she has been a volunteer tour guide at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • CS Monitor ☛ Millions in rural America lack reliable internet. How Massachusetts towns got online.

    Millions of Americans in rural areas lack access to fast, reliable broadband internet. It's an equity problem that communities are starting to solve.

  • Hackaday ☛ Dial-up Internet Using The Viking DLE-200B Telephone Line Simulator

    Who doesn’t like dial-up internet? Even if those who survived the dial-up years are happy to be on broadband, and those who are still on dial-up wish that they weren’t, there’s definitely a nostalgic factor to the experience. Yet recreating the experience can be a hassle, with signing up for a dial-up ISP or jumping through many (POTS) hoops to get a dial-up server up and running. An easier way is demonstrated by [Minh Danh] with a Viking DLE-200B telephone line simulator in a recent blog post.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Amazon Music Unlimited Adds Monthly Audiobook Following Spotify Bundling Frenzy — Is Another Royalty Reduction Forthcoming?

    Is Amazon Music joining Spotify in reaping massive royalty savings by capitalizing on bundles? Potentially, as the Amazon-owned streaming platform has integrated Audible and added one audiobook per month to its core subscription plans.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Bryan Lunduke ☛ DOJ: Surveillance Giant Google Must Sell Off Chrome

  And that's only one impact of Surveillance Giant Google being officially ruled a monopoly.

• KOL447 | Audio: Law and Intellectual Property in a Stateless Society

  Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 447.

  This is from the show "Axioms of Liberty," which has another episode about my IP writing. This time, it's a reading of "Law and Intellectual Property in a Stateless Society."

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Playlists and Podcasts Are Being Abused by Spammers to Link to Pirate [sic] Websites — Here’s a Look at How the Scam Works

    Spotify’s playlists and podcast pages are being abused by spammers to link to pirate websites offering games, ebooks, and other downloads. Here’s a closer look at this growing exploitation. Spotify’s webpage at ‘open.spotify.com’ is essentially the web version of Spotify and as such, it is highly indexable by search engines like Google.

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Christoph Jamnitzer’s Neuw Grotteßken Buch (1610)

    Scatology, autophagia, and vulva-like flowers all commingle in this ornament design book of grotesques.