Leftovers

• The Straits Times ☛ Electric elephants, digital donations and live-stream prayers: Faith goes high-tech in India

  Start-ups offering services like virtual ritual prayers and astrology services took off during the pandemic.

• Hackaday ☛ Hack On Self: The Un-Crash Alarm

  Ever get home, tired after work, sit down on a couch, and spend an hour or two sitting down without even managing to change into your home clothes? It’s a seriously unpleasant in-between state – almost comfortable, but you know you’re not really at rest, likely hungry, and even your phone battery is likely about to die. This kind of tiredness can get self-reinforcing real quick – especially if you’re too tired to cook food, or you’re stuck in an uncomfortable position. It’s like the inverse of the marshmallow test – instead of a desire, you’re dealing with lack thereof.

• Hackaday ☛ Enhiker Helps You Decide If Its A Good Day To Hike

  Many of us check the weather before heading out for the day — we want to know if we’re dressed (or equipped) properly to handle what Mother Nature has planned for us. This is even more important if you’re going out hiking, because you’re going to be out in a more rugged environment. To aid in this regard, [Mukesh Sankhla] built a tool called Enhiker.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Lucy Is 50: How a Bombshell 1974 Discovery Redefined Human Origins

    She still has secrets to reveal.

  • Science Alert ☛ Phasing Out Sugar Could Have a Profound Effect on The Planet

    The issue is much bigger than you might think.

• Career/Education

  • NYPost ☛ PA Education Department drops requirement for teachers to adopt ‘woke’ guidelines as part of suit settlement

    The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has agreed to cancel its requirement for schools to enforce teaching guidelines that were deemed "woke" in a recently settled lawsuit.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ ASUSTOR Flashstor Gen2 NAS features AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14, 10GbE networking, up to 12x NVMe SSD sockets

    ASUSTOR Flashstor 6 Gen2 and Flashtor 6 Pro Gen2 are NAS systems based on AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 quad-core processor with up to two 10GbE RJ45 ports and taking up to 6 or 12 M.2 NVMe SSDs respectively. The Flashstor Gen2 models are updated to the ASUSTOR Flashtor NAS launched last year with similar specifications including 10GbE and up to 12 M.2 SSDs, but based on a relatively low-end defective chip maker Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor.

  • Hackaday ☛ Build Yourself A Useful Resistor Decade Box

    If you’ve ever worked with guitar pedals or analog audio gear, you’ve probably realized the value of a resistor decade box. They substitute for a resistor in a circuit and let you quickly flick through a few different values at the twist of a knob. You can still buy them if you know where to look, but [M Caldeira] decided to build his own.

  • Hackaday ☛ OLED Screen Mounting, Without The Pain

    There was a time when no self-respecting electronics engineer would build a big project without at least one panel meter. They may be a rare part here in 2024, but we find ourselves reminded of them by [24Eng]’s project. It’s a 3D printed housing for one of those common small OLED displays, designed to be mounted on a panel with just a single round hole. Having had exactly this problem in the past trying to create a rectangular hole, we can immediately see the value in this.

  • Hackaday ☛ Lasers, Galvos, Action: A Quest For Laser Mastery

    If you’re into hacking hardware and bending light to your will, [Shoaib Mustafa]’s latest project is bound to spike your curiosity. Combining lasers to project multi-colored beams onto a screen is ambitious enough, but doing it with a galvanomirror, STM32 microcontroller, and mostly scratch-built components? That’s next-level tinkering. This project isn’t just a feast for the eyes—it’s a adventure of control algorithms, hardware hacks, and the occasional ‘oops, that didn’t work.’ You can follow [Shoaib]’s build log and join the journey here.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ GlobalFoundries gets $1.5 billion subsidy from U.S. gov't after it was fined for violating export laws to China

    GlobalFoundries signed a deal to get $1.5 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act even after being fined for violating U.S. export laws by supplying advanced chips to Chinese entities.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ E.P.A. Proposes Limits on Nitrogen Oxides

    Nitrogen oxides, a group of gases from the burning of fossil fuels, is linked to a range of health effects.

  • New York Times ☛ Stabbing Suspect’s Descent Into Madness Went Undetected by Authorities

    Ramon Rivera, who had a history of mental illness and minor crimes, missed a check-in with a case manager. Days later, he went on a killing spree in Manhattan, according to the police.

  • New York Times ☛ Alcohol Deaths Have More Than Doubled in Two Decades, Study Finds

    Americans are dying of illnesses related to alcohol at roughly twice the rate seen in 1999.

  • New York Times ☛ Can RFK Jr. Limit Ozempic Access as HHS Chief? Here’s What to Know

    President-elect Donald J. Trump is set to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, where he would have limited power over drugs.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Provost’s Seminar offers student mental health strategies

    Ways that U-M faculty and staff can support the growing number of students with mental health challenges were highlighted at the fall Provost's Seminar on Teaching on Nov. 21.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Children suffer as schools go online in polluted Delhi

    The foul air severely impacts children, with devastating effects on their health and development.

  • The Straits Times ☛ After gastroscopy went wrong, S’porean lies in vegetative state in S. Korea, waiting to go home

    The mother of two is now waiting for an independent medical assessment.

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Lincare Cashed In on Distrastrous Philips CPAP Recall

  • New York Times ☛ Covid Can Raise the Risk of Heart Problems for Years

    People who had severe infections are especially vulnerable.

  • Stanford University ☛ Faculty Senate maintains censure of Scott Atlas

    The Faculty Senate gave an update on the disciplinary proceedings against Building 10 student protesters and rejected a potential recession of Scott Atlas’ censure. Atlas had spread misinformation on COVID-19 during the pandemic.

  • New York Times ☛ Dr Martin Makary Chosen to Head the FDA

    A frequent Fox News commentator, Dr. Makary has a penchant for challenging the medical establishment, and stirred pandemic concerns with his views on Covid immunity and vaccine mandates.

  • New York Times ☛ Pat King Found Guilty for Role in ‘Freedom Convoy’

    The verdict was in the high-profile case of Pat King, a man accused of helping provoke disruptions during the so-called trucker convoy, which paralyzed Canada’s capital during the pandemic.

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Heart Meds May Sharply Reduce Dementia Risk, Study Says

    Except in some cases risk increased?

  • Science Alert ☛ Drugs Like Ozempic May Have a Shrinking Effect on The Heart

    New tests in mice reveal a concerning red flag.

  • Science Alert ☛ What Is Adenomyosis? The Little-Known Condition Affects Up to 1 in 5 Women

    Here's what we know.

  • Science Alert ☛ WATCH: Scientists Filmed Ovulation From Start to Finish For The First Time

    This is just the beginning.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • New York Times ☛ Bluesky Is Turning Into a Strong X Alternative

    Bluesky has a hint of the old Ex-Twitter magic, but the feeling of freedom it offers might be even better.

  • LinkedIn Layoffs: Microsoft’s Professional Networking Platform Reduces 1% of Workforce, Around 200 Positions Amid Declining Ad Sales Revenue

    Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has reportedly laid off hundreds of employees from various departments in the past two weeks. The latest round of LinkedIn layoffs has eliminated 200 roles from the engineering and customer support departments. This round comes a year after when a professional social network for businesses, Microsoft, laid off thousands of employees.

  • Web Pro News ☛ Microsoft Copilot Giving Employees Access to Sensitive HR & CEO Emails

    According to the Business Insider article Benioff links to, Copilot is oversharing information to such a degree that some companies are delaying deployment of the tool. Despite the issue, Microsoft says Copilot is not to blame, with companies’ lax data-governance models being the real culprit.

    “Many data-governance challenges in the context of AI were not caused by AI’s arrival,” a Microsoft spokesperson told BI.

    “Microsoft is helping customers enhance their central governance of identities and permissions, to help organizations continuously update and manage these fundamental controls,” the spokesperson added.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ Thailand court’s dismissal of spyware misuse lawsuit spurs condemnation

      Amnesty International on Thursday condemned a Thai court’s dismissal of a spyware misuse lawsuit against NSO Group Technologies, claiming the court’s decision was an “alarming setback.”

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 70% of Hong Kong companies saw cyberattacks this year, privacy watchdog survey finds

      Almost seven out of 10 Hong Kong companies experienced cyberattacks in the past year, the city’s privacy watchdog has found after a survey revealed that firms’ cybersecurity readiness still stood at “basic” levels.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Strikes Across Lebanon After Ordering Evacuations of Southern Towns

    The wide-scale bombardment continued a day after a U.S. envoy held talks with Israeli officials on a possible cease-fire with Hezbollah militants.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistani town in uproar after 40 Shi'ites gunned down in bus convoy

    Angry crowds gathered in the remote Pakistani mountain town of Parachinar on Friday, incensed by an attack on an escorted convoy of buses in which 40 Shi'ite Muslims died after being sprayed with automatic fire in an ambush.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China blames US support for Taiwan for failure of defence chiefs Dong Jun and Lloyd Austin to meet

    China on Thursday blamed Washington’s support for Taiwan for the failure of the two countries’ defence ministers to meet this week, after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called Beijing’s no-show “unfortunate”.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ The United States has trade leverage with China, but not as much as Washington thinks

    Diversification away from China is proving far more difficult for high value-added goods such as electronics - and the incoming Trump administration knows that.

  • BIA Net ☛ Turkey’s main opposition party seeks intelligence cooperation to prevent 'terrorist' infiltration

    CHP’s Özel says this cooperation is specific to membership applications for the party’s overseas offices and aims to prevent infiltration by ISIS, the Gülenists, and the PKK

  • Malaysia, Vietnam elevate ties amid South China Sea tensions

    Both claimant-nations agree to work closer on settlement of disputes, security issues in the South China Sea.

  • France24 ☛ 'Chilling': Raising democracy & human rights on the world stage a 'red line' for Chinese government

    Jailed Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai on Friday said he had advocated for "peaceful resistance" against China's erosion of the city's freedoms as he provides evidence for three days in his trial for collusion with foreign forces, an offence carrying up to life in prison under the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the financial hub in mid-2020. As Chinese authorities sentence dozens of democracy activists for subversion, FRANCE 24's Yinka Oyetade is joined by Elaine Pearson is director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, overseeing more than 20 countries.

  • What Jimmy Lai’s ‘sham’ trial means for Hong Kong’s freedom: RFA Insider #20

    Other topics in this episode: Nov. 22 Kimchi Day, methanol poisoning in laos, politics of taekwon-do

  • France24 ☛ 'We can never stop migration by building walls': EU Commissioner Urpilainen

    The EU believes it has an offer than can effectively counter China worldwide – its Global Gateway Investment Strategy. Jutta Urpilainen, the outgoing European Commissioner for International Partnerships, is adamant that this strategy offers long-term human development and avoids the debt traps that Chinese investment in Africa has come with. "We don’t want to create new dependencies," she tells Talking Europe. We discuss the impact that Global Gateway has had since its inception in 2021, as well as the EU's apparent shift in focus towards migration and border security, and what that means for its international partnerships.

  • The Kent Stater ☛ Trump’s intel pick was placed on government watch list for overseas travel and foreign connections

    Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

  • Federal News Network ☛ DARPA tries a simple but profound concept to improve cybersecurity

    "This idea of compartmentalization has a realization by breaking systems up into small pieces," said Howard Strobe.

  • US Navy Times ☛ Could a fighter jet software upgrade have saved this pilot’s life?

    Pilots typically regain “useful consciousness” between 45-60 seconds after blacking out, according to Flynn.

    Flynn said he thinks the Navy and NAVAIR understand the benefits of Auto-GCAS, but have opted to not spend the money and time installing the system in the Super Hornet fleet because “it’s never been important enough for Navy leaders.”

  • France24 ☛ Trump tariffs loom over Europe: Is a US-EU trade war inevitable?

    There is nervousness in Brussels about the incoming US administration. That is not just down to Donald Trump's plans for Ukraine, but also because of his pledge to slap tariffs on EU goods of at least 10 percent. Trump insists that the EU will have to "pay a big price" for not buying enough American exports. That could hit key industrial sectors hard, not least car manufacturing. And officials from the European Central Bank are now warning of the damage that US tariffs would do to economic growth in the eurozone. But is a trade war inevitable, or could the two sides negotiate an off-ramp? We put the question to two MEPs.

  • France24 ☛ Netanyahu: A wanted fugitive, 1000 days of war in Ukraine, G20

    It has been a week that has seen the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants for the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of Defence Yoav Gallant. They are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, alongside the Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.

  • France24 ☛ 'Unprecedented, justified and overdue': No int'l court has indicted a pro-Western leader since WWII

    Gazans saw little hope on ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders would slow down the onslaught amid fresh Israeli military strikes. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on what is being deemed a "watershed event in the history of international justice", FRANCE 24's William Hilderbrandt welcomes former New York Assistant Attorney General Reed Brody. Mr. Brody is currently an ICJ Commissioner, Human Rights Lawyer, War Crimes Prosecutor, and Author of 'To Catch a Dictator'.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea condemns US military drills with South Korea and Japan

    North Korea warned that it would take immediate actions if needed to defend the state.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Husband and wife clinic owners in Cambodia dump dead patient and a 3-year-old kid by deserted road

    The patient died after receiving an injection at the clinic.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean leader Kim accuses US of stoking tension, warns of nuclear war

    Kim said the Korean peninsula has never faced such risks of nuclear war as now.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Distress over North Korea loudspeakers compromising border residents’ health

    The noise has resulted in sleep disorders, heightened stress levels and anxiety.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea condemns US military drills with South Korea and Japan

    North Korea condemned on Saturday recent joint military drills by the United States, South Korea and Japan, warning that it would take immediate actions if needed to defend the state.

  • North Korea’s Kim plays down prospect of better US ties under Trump

    Kim says achieving ‘most powerful military’ is the only option in face of unwavering US hostility.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim says past diplomacy only confirmed US’ hostility

    The country has abandoned diplomacy since his second summit with Donald Trump collapsed in 2019.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ 'The Russians know they cannot win this war unless the West quits', former US Army officer says

      Commenting on President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-provided long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory, retired United States Army officer Ben Hodges said "it should have been done two years ago". "You can see how much the Russians dread Ukraine having this capability now that can destroy [their] headquarters, logistics, artillery," he added. For the former officer, "the Russians know they cannot win this war unless the West quits".

    • Meduza ☛ Seoul’s top security adviser says Moscow traded Pyongyang air defense equipment for troops in Kursk — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Lukashenka Threatens Internet Shutdown If There Are Protests During Presidential Vote

      The authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has threatened to shut down the Internet in the event of mass protests during or after the upcoming presidential election, after the previous vote in 2020 erupted in unprecedented unrest amid opposition allegations it was rigged.

    • Meduza ☛ Kremlin spokesman says Russia needs migrant workers amid ‘strained demographic situation’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky revokes state awards from 34 individuals, including Russia’s Patriarch Kirill, under new law — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘These are unprepared people, like in ’41’ Audio recording of alleged call between Prigozhin and Lukashenko includes criticism of Russian security forces and talk of cash — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Supplies Antiaircraft Missiles to North Korea, the South Says

      Pyongyang has long coveted an advanced air-defense system to guard against missiles and war planes from the United States and South Korea.

    • New York Times ☛ Guard at U.S. Embassy in Norway Accused of Spying for Russia and Iran

      The Norwegian man was arrested this week in Oslo and ordered jailed pending further investigation in what the authorities called a ‘very serious case.’

    • The Straits Times ☛ From animal diplomacy to tourism: North Korea, Russia highlight soft aspects of partnership

      Moscow and Pyongyang agreed to expand charter flights between the two countries.

    • Meduza ☛ Friends with (strategic) benefits Troops and missiles for oil and bears: What Russia gets from North Korea, and what Pyongyang receives in return — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia to lift ban on gasoline exports ahead of schedule — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ In harshest desertion sentence yet, Russian court imprisons soldier for 10 years — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Norway arrests U.S. embassy security guard on suspicion of spying for Russia and Iran — Meduza

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia sent anti-air missiles to N. Korea in exchange for troops, says Seoul official

      Moscow is also reportedly helping Pyongyang with its spy satellite programme.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Declares Forum Advocating Regional Autonomy A Terrorist Organization

      The Russian Supreme Court on November 22 ruled in favor of a petition by the Prosecutor General’s Office, declaring the international organization Post-Russia Free Nations Forum a terrorist group.

    • LRT ☛ Baltics agree to jointly control movement of battlefield goods

      The Baltic states plan to jointly control the movement of goods whose exports to Russia and Belarus are banned because they are used for war. The three countries have agreed to draw up a regional list of sensitive controlled battlefield goods.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Sanctions expectations in a second Trump administration

      Sanctions are poised to remain a cornerstone of US foreign policy under a second Trump administration. With a focus on Iran, Russia, and potentially China, Trump's team may lean on tools like secondary sanctions while navigating a tense geopolitical environment.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Menacing, but it changes nothing’: Strategic weapons expert Maxim Starchak answers questions about the experimental ballistic missile system Russia just fired at Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Officials in Kyiv launch investigation into executions of five Ukrainian POWs outside Donetsk — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian-Ukrainian negotiations bring home 46 Kursk region residents — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Cancels Parliament Session, Citing a Warning Over a Missile Attack

      This is the first time Parliament has canceled a session since Russia invaded Ukraine.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russian forces capture settlement of Novodmytrivka in eastern Ukraine

      Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces had captured the settlement of Novodmytrivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, their latest gain in what Defence Minister Andrei Belousov described as an accelerated advance.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Puts Sanctions On Russia's Last Major Bank

      The United States has sanctioned Gazprombank, Russia’s third-largest lender, and dozens of other financial institutions as President Joe Biden seeks to further curtail the Kremlin’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine before he leaves office in two months.

    • RFERL ☛ 2 Dead, 12 Wounded In Russian Strikes On Ukraine's Sumy

      Two people were killed and 12 wounded in Russian strikes on Sumy early on November 22, Artem Kobzar, the mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city, reported in a video statement on Telegram.

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow Boasts Missile Strike On Ukraine Was 'Warning' To West

      Ukrainian lawmakers were advised to avoid the government district on November 22 and parliament cancelled a scheduled session due to warnings of a potential missile strike.

    • LRT ☛ Latvian, Ukrainian oligarchs sanctioned by Britain

      Influential Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash is among eight people targeted by fresh British sanctions that accuse the group, which includes his wife, Lada, of large-scale, international corruption.

    • LRT ☛ Belarusians rally in Vilnius in support of expelled Ukraine fighter

      Around two dozen Belarusians staged a demonstration outside the European Commission Representation office in Vilnius on Friday. Their protest follows the expulsion of a Belarusian who fought for Ukraine, but was expelled from the EU and subsequently extradited from Vietnam to Minsk.

    • LRT ☛ Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov to visit Lithuania

      Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will arrive in Vilnius later on Friday and will meet with his Lithuanian counterpart and the president on Saturday, the Defence Ministry has announced.

    • France24 ☛ Russia says hypersonic missile strike on Ukraine was a warning to 'reckless' West

      The Kremlin said that a strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was a message to the West that Moscow will respond harshly to any "reckless" Western actions in support of Ukraine. Analysis by FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar.

    • Meduza ☛ Following U.S. sanctions, Gazprombank warns UnionPay card clients traveling abroad: ‘Bring cash’ — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Merkel Memoir Recalls What It Was Like Dealing With Trump and Putin

      The new book by former Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany also aims to justify decisions she made that are still affecting her country and the rest of Europe.

    • New York Times ☛ As Ukraine Fires U.S. Missiles, Putin Sends a Chilling Message

      The Russian leader ominously declares that America risks nuclear war as it expands its aid.

    • RFERL ☛ Opera Singer Loyal To Putin Has Performances Canceled In Naples

      The Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy, has canceled appearances by opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov over his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Says Russia Will Reuse New Missile In 'Combat Conditions' After Ukraine Strike

      Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's new intermediate-range ballistic missile, a nuclear-capable weapon, will continue to be tested, including in combat conditions, as Moscow struck several Ukrainian regions with other weapons.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine a 'punch bag': Despite Western military support, 'Russia can always retaliate multifold'

      The Kremlin has publicly declared that a strike on Ukraine using a newly-developed hypersonic ballistic missile was designed to warn the West that Moscow will respond to moves by the US and Britain to let Kyiv strike Russia with their missiles. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on Putin's war on Ukraine and the ever-evolving escalation, FRANCE 24's Jean-Emile Jammine is joined by Dr Alexander Titov, Lecturer in Modern European History in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen's University Belfast.

    • France24 ☛ What we know about the new hypersonic Oreshnik missile Russia used against Ukraine

      Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow would continue testing the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile in "combat conditions" a day after firing one on Ukraine. "We will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production," he said in a televised meeting with military chiefs.

    • France24 ☛ FRANCE 24 war correspondent on being embedded with Ukrainian military in Russia

      In this episode of Scoop we take a look at the origins of embedded journalism, when a reporter is attached to a military unit in a combat zone. Critics say the access comes at the cost of impartiality; proponents say that while it is not a comprehensive overview, it provides vital information from the battlefield. We also speak to FRANCE 24 senior reporter Catherine Norris-Trent. Russia has opened a criminal case against her after she was embedded with the Ukrainian military in Russia's Kursk region.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia warns tourists about drowning as deaths rise this rainy season

    There were some 19 drowning cases recorded in November alone

  • France24 ☛ India banks on renewables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

    At the COP29 summit draws to a close, this report takes us to a renewable energy farm in India, partly owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. He has just been charged in the US for allegedly bribing Indian authorities over contracts for solar plants in the south of the country. As one of the largest producers of greenhouse gases, India is at a critical juncture in its battle against climate change.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Transforming Drone Drives And Flies

      Vehicles that change their shape and form to adapt to their operating environment have long captured the imagination of tech enthusiasts, and building one remains a perennial project dream for many makers. Now, [Michael Rechtin] has made the dream a bit more accessible with a 3D printed quadcopter that seamlessly transforms into a tracked ground vehicle.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • CS Monitor ☛ Moody chickens? Playful bumblebees? Science decodes the rich inner lives of animals.

      New science shows that farm animals and other creatures exhibit signs of conscious experience. How should this make us see them – and ourselves?

    • Science Alert ☛ A Common Blood Pressure Drug Extends Lifespan And Slows Aging in Animals

      The potential is immense.

    • Science Alert ☛ A Giant, Mysterious 'Scar' Was Discovered in The Australian Outback

      Where did it come from?

    • The Revelator ☛ This Month in Conservation Science: Trojan Seahorses and ‘Vampire’ Birds

    • Hackaday ☛ Mammalian Ancestors Shed Light On The Great Dying

      As we move through the Sixth Extinction, it can be beneficial to examine what caused massive die-offs in the past. Lystrosaurus specimens from South Africa have been found that may help clarify what happened 250 million years ago. [via IFLScience]

  • Overpopulation

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea's mountain of plastic waste shows limits of recycling

      South Korea has won international praise for its recycling efforts, but as it prepares to host talks for a global plastic waste agreement, experts say the country's approach highlights its limits.

• Finance

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania revokes Foxpay’s banking licence

    The Bank of Lithuania has revoked Foxpay's licence due to the fintech company's "gross and systematic" violations, the central bank said on Friday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Gold bars, cash bundles in kimchi boxes: Millions seized from S. Korea tax dodgers

    The tax authorities say they have recovered some $2.4 billion from these tax dodgers as at October.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ We’ve moved in! [Ed: Took a mortgage]

    AAAAAAAA!

    A year of house hunting, applying for finance pre-approval from a cooperative, legal adventures that threw a massive and unexpected spanner in the works (maybe a topic for another time), interstate travel, putting in offers, anxiety attacks, weekend after weekend of inspections, having an offer accepted, negotiating, conveyancing, government paperwork, sorting out the mortgage, waiting for settlement, getting the keys, having electrical work tested, levelling the floor, replacing the ancient carpet with wood/hybrid, having the walls painted, having the unit cleaned, booking leave from work, reserving the loading bays in the old and new apartment buildings, having utilities connected, packing, sorting out council rates, more packing, moving fragiles by hand, did we mention packing, and getting the movers in. Now we’re in this apartment full of boxes, flat-pack furniture, cables, and a blinking fibre modem.

  • The Straits Times ☛ How Gautam Adani’s alleged bribery scheme took off and unravelled

    The Indian tycoon's companies were raising billions of dollars in loans and bonds through international banks.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Declining inflation fails to bring relief for food prices

    While fruit and vegetable prices rose to over 18% in early November, overall inflation is trending down.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch: Who snatched GerryHutch.com, GerryHutch.ie & TheMonk.ie? [Ed: Daniel Pocock keeps registering domains named after political rivals - not a good tactic, potential liability]

    When Gerry Hutch released his video this week, he wasn't able to publish it on a web site bearing his own domain name. These names were all proactively registered by Daniel Pocock, a candidate for Dublin Bay South who has worked as a consultant for a number of banks.

  • Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch: The Hutch: there can be only one

    Luke "Ming" Flanagan is one of Ireland's most successful independent candidates ever. Ming regularly shares advice with those who want to follow in his footsteps. He recently told The Irish Times:

    ‘The one thing you’ve got to do is be remembered in politics’

    When news reports appeared about Gerry Hutch, a.k.a. The Monk entering politics, Daniel Pocock, candidate for Dublin Bay South remembered his old friend Hutch Hussein, formerly President of the Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party.

    Is there room for two Hutches in the world of politics?

  • New York Times ☛ What Elon Musk Needs From China

    From electric cars to solar panels, Mr. Musk has built businesses in high-tech manufacturing sectors now targeted by Beijing for Chinese dominance.

  • New Yorker ☛ Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane

    The writer explains how she took up quilting to help her cope with terrible news, and the science behind why it works.

  • New Yorker ☛ Ketanji Brown Jackson on Ethics, Trust, and Keeping It Collegial at the Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court Justice talks with David Remnick about the decline in public trust and questions about the Court’s ethics code, and how Justices get along in a very partisan era.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Who are the 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures jailed for subversion? Part I – Primary election organisers, ex-district councillors

    Forty-five of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures were jailed for conspiring to subvert state power on Tuesday as the city’s largest national security case came to a close.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 8 appear before jury at Hong Kong’s second UN anti-terrorism trial

    The trial of eight people who were allegedly involved in three bomb plots in early 2020 has begun, with seven of them facing the same charge that saw a man sentenced to almost 24 years in prison days ago.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Observer writer speaks out over ‘grave threat’ to title at press freedom conference

    Observer writer Carole Cadwalladr has been told to "desist" by management after public statements about Tortoise deal.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Battle for future of National World as shareholder launches takeover bid

    Media Concierge is understood to have abstained on executive chairman David Montgomery's re-appointment this year.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Jason Cowley bowing out after 16 years as New Statesman editor

    Cowley will continue to write for the New Statesman as a columnist and essayist. 

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ UN reports 2024 as deadliest year on record for humanitarians

    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday reported that more aid workers, healthcare staffers, delivery personnel and other humanitarians have been killed in 2024 than in any other year, with a recorded death toll of 281 aid workers globally.

  • Latvia ☛ March for men's health to be held Saturday in Rīga

    On Saturday, November 23, the men's health movement "Men's Test" is organizing a march for men's health starting at the Freedom Monument.

  • 4 inmates on hunger strike in Vietnamese prison

    The prisoners were unhappy that paper, pens and books had been taken away by guards.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Mississippi Segregation Academies Are Benefitting From Taxpayer Dollars

  • Shanghai factory workers block major highway over layoff payouts

    The workers say they have been offered payouts that fall short of the terms in their contracts.

  • North Korean women in China catch ‘Disco Fever’

    The female factory workers could get in trouble if Pyongyang finds out they were dancing like decadent capitalists.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Oppo infringed Panasonic SEP says local division Mannheim in first FRAND ruling

    The ruling from Mannheim comes despite Panasonic and Oppo having, in principle, already agreed to settle their global patent monopoly dispute in October. The courts involved are also aware of this.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Senate Committee Advances PREVAIL Act

    In a tight 11-10 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the PREVAIL Act (Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act) that would make substantial changes to Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings. The bill addresses perceived anti-patentee imbalances in the current inter partes review (IPR) system. However, a number of Senators raised concerns and were seeking assurances about a negative impact on generic drug prices. The Bill as adopted by the Judiciary Committee included a friendly amendment by the Bill's co-sponsor Sen. Coons that attempted to address some of the drug-pricing concerns by expanding the scope of who can file IPR/PGR petitions.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Magnetar/Atlantic IP entity, Croga Innovations, firewall patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On November 21, 2024, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,601,780, owned by Croga Innovations, Ltd., an entity of Atlantic IP Services Limited.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Affirms Refusal of ENDURELITE in view of ENDUROLETE for Supplements, Rejecting Strategic Partners Argument

    The Board affirmed a refusal to register the mark ENDURELITE, finding confusion likely with the registered mark ENDUROLETE, both for dietary and nutritional supplements. The marks are "extremely similar," the goods identical in-part, and the channels of trade and classes of consumers for those goods are presumably identical. Applicant argued that, under Strategic Partners, its ownership of a registration for the mark ENDURELITE FUELING FAST & Design (shown immediately below) justifies registration of the standard character mark. The Board disagreed. In re Endurelite Supplements, LLC, Serial No. 90708132 (November 15, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas W. Wellington).

• Copyrights/Broadcast

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Karel Čapek’s Letters from England (1925)

    Account of a trip round England by the Czech writer who introduced the word “robot” to the world.

  • Digital Music News ☛ SiriusXM Made It Too Difficult for Customers to Cancel Subscriptions

    A New York judge rules that SiriusXM made it too difficult for customers to cancel their service, weeks after federal regulators enact a click-to-cancel rule for subscriptions. New York State Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruled on Thursday that SiriusXM made it too difficult for its customers to cancel their subscriptions [...]