Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Instructions for things that should be intuitive

  I was in a public restroom washing my hands yesterday—like a gentleman—when I realised there were no taps to speak of. The spout protruded from the sink as one would expect, alongside an attractive but over-engineered soap dispenser to the side. But… how was one meant to use it? I’ll admit I spent an embarrassing amount of time just staring at this sleek but confounding contraption. I waved my hands around it, tapped the spout, pleaded nicely under my breath. Nothing.

  Eventually, I glanced up and saw a small sticker above the basin that had clearly been placed there after the fact. It read “hold hand under tap for 3 seconds”. Sure enough, holding my hands there for that weirdly extended period was sufficient, and water was delivered henceforth. Sure, it deactivated after a few seconds for no reason, requiring regular waving to turn it back on, but at least I could make something work.

• The Straits Times ☛ From secret society to karaoke club: Malaysia’s Chinese clan associations fight to stay relevant

  Only 20 per cent of the existing associations may survive in the near future, says an expert.

• The Straits Times ☛ China hands lengthy jail terms to two teenagers for murdering classmate

  The male suspects were sentenced to life and 12 years in jail respectively for intentional homicide.

• The Guardian UK ☛ ‘Kids now don’t want to drink’: Dublin’s dry(ish) pub, one year on

  “What we have noticed with Board’s was that the market was far more diverse than just people who might have had alcohol problems,” says O’Shea. “There is a cultural shift. Young people don’t really drink a huge amount.

  “They socialise on apps, they go on Tinder and meet people for coffee and don’t go out in groups in pubs like we used to,” says the 45-year-old. So designing a venue that combined the atmosphere of the pub with drinking options including dozens of non-alcohol drinks, pizza and games seemed the next thing for O’Shea.

• Paweł Grzybek ☛ A look back at 2024

  This year I’m not next to the Christmas tree surrounded by reindeers and blinking lights, but I’m in sunny Carvoeiro on the south coast of Portugal with my family, relaxing and reflecting on the past year. To keep an annual tradition, I would like to share with you some of the highlights and set some goals for the upcoming year.

• Matt Fantinel ☛ Cool Links Vol. 6: December, 2024

  Happy Holidays! I have four new links to read while you recharge your batteries from dealing with end-of-year stress or recovering from overeating.

  They’re either introspective or retrospective, as is the theme this time of year.

• Hidde de Vries ☛ What I got up to in 2024

  It's only a few days until 2025. That means one thing: it is time for my yearly tradition of reviewing… some of my year. I'll cover work, conferences, reading, writing and music.

• Harry Cresswell ☛ 2024 in Review

  With another year almost over, I’ve spent these final few days looking back at the past 12 months. Here are some of those reflections in writing - what went well, what didn’t go so well and what I learnt in the year 2024.

  For those interested in how I approach these end of year reflections, check out a year in review. Perhaps this will give you some inspiration to start writing your own, if you don’t already.

  With that said, let’s get right to it.

• Cory Dransfeldt ☛ Adventures in self-hosting

  "What did you do over the break?"

  "I moved everything to my own hosting!"

• Terence Eden ☛ Most people don’t care about quality

  A decade ago, I ranted about how designers were chasing a perfection which would never be noticed by non-experts. You may take pride in your craft, but the majority of people physically cannot notice the difference between good and bad design. Not even subconsciously.

• Juha-Matti Santala ☛ Year in Review 2024

  Year in Review posts are my public end-of-year self-reflections. They are mainly written for myself: I like to make notes of what has been going on in my life and I really enjoy looking back at the older ones since it’s so easy to forget.

  To prepare for these, I use a really cool booklet called Year Compass that provides nice prompts to take a look at the previous year and plan for the next. This year a new thing I did was I kept writing Month in Review notes on the last day of each month. That made remembering the full year much more vibrant and I can highly recommend.

  Spoilers: 2024 was the fifth bad year in a row.

• Nicholas Tietz-Sokolsky ☛ Reflecting on 2024, preparing for 2025

  If you do things a few times, they're a tradition. This is the third time I'm writing one of these, so I guess it's an annual tradition now! This is where I reflect on the year that's been, and talk some about my hopes and goals for the next year.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Confirms: Parker Probe Survives 'Touching Sun' in Record-Breaking Flyby

    We'll learn so much from this incredible milestone.

  • Science Alert ☛ 2025 Set to Be an Exciting Year For Space Exploration. Here's What to Expect.

    We can't wait!

  • Science Alert ☛ Physicists Discover 'Quantum Embezzlement' Could Offer Infinite Source of Entanglement

    How to steal from the Universe.

  • Science Alert ☛ We Just Got an Extreme Close-Up of One of The Universe's Brightest Objects

    Blazing in the darkness.

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Researchers achieve calculation of Jones polynomial based on the Majorana zero modes

    A research team has experimentally calculated the Jones polynomial based on the quantum simulation of braided Majorana zero modes. The research team determined the Jones polynomials of different links through simulating the braiding operations of Majorana fermions. This study was published in Physical Review Letters.

  • CCC ☛ Biological evolution: writing, rewriting and breaking the program of life (Relive)

    In this talk, we discuss examples from our research, using computer simulations to model the early evolution of animals, from single-celled microbes to complex multicellular organisms. We show that evolution behaves a bit like a hacker, repurposing the programs it previously built in unexpected ways to create new functions and structures.

• Career/Education

  • Jamie Zawinski ☛ Recent books

    Despite the evidence presented by the OSHA-violating precarious tower of books on my desk, it seems like I read kind of an embarassingly small number of books this year. Of those, here are the ones that I enjoyed, in desk-stack order: [...]

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ DRAM prices expected to decline in early 2025 impacting PC, server, and GPU VRAM markets

    PC RAM prices are expected to go down by 8-10% while memory used for GPUs will also see a price cut of about 5-10%

  • Hackaday ☛ 38C3: Xobs On Hardware Debuggers

    If you just want to use a debugger for your microcontroller project, you buy some hardware device, download the relevant driver software, and fire up GDB. But if you want to make a hardware debugger yourself, you need to understand the various target chips’ debugging protocols, and then you’re deep in the weeds. But never fear, Sean [Xobs] Cross has been working on a hardware debugger and is here to share his learnings about the ARM, RISC-V, and JTAG debugging protocols with us.

  • Hackaday ☛ [Kerry Wong] Talks (and Talks) About A 300 MHz Oscilloscope

    There aren’t many people who could do an hour-long video reviewing an oscilloscope, but [Kerry Wong] is definitely one of them. This time, he’s looking at a UNI-T MSO2304X 300 MHz scope. The review might be a little long, but the scope — like many modern scopes — has a lot of features for measuring power, accommodating digital signals with an add-on pod, and protocol decoding.

  • CNX Software ☛ WiFi 7 access point and client M.2 modules are cheaper than I thought

    We have already seen WiFi 7 mini PCIe and M.2 modules from Compex for business customers, but I’ve recently noticed AsiaRF AW7991-AE2 M.2 module rated BE5000 offers an affordable alternative design for access points for just $58 plus shipping. But adding WiFi 7 to a consumer device can be cheaper than I expected as defective chip maker Intel BE200 or MediaTek MT7925-based M.2 modules can be purchased for around $20 to $30.

  • Hackaday ☛ Beam Me Up: Simple Free-Space Optical Communication

    Let’s think of the last time you sent data without wires. We’re not talking WiFi here, but plain optical signals. Free-space optical communication, or FSO, is an interesting and easy way to transmit signals through light beams. Forget expensive lasers or commercial-grade equipment; this video by [W1VLF] offers a simple and cheap entry point for anyone with a curiosity for DIY tech. Inspired by a video on weak signal sources for optical experiments, this project uses everyday components like a TV remote-control infrared LED and a photo diode. The goal is simply to establish optical communication across distances for under $10.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Die-Level Look At The Pentium FDIV Bug

    The early 1990s were an interesting time in the PC world, mainly because PCs were entering the zeitgeist for the first time. This was fueled in part by companies like Intel and AMD going head-to-head in the marketplace with massive ad campaigns to build brand recognition; remember “Intel Inside”?

  • Hackaday ☛ A Review That Asks: Do You Need A Thermal Camera?

    [Maker’s Fun Duck] has a recent video review of a cheap thermal camera from a company called Kaiweets, which you can see below. It checked all of his boxes: It was standalone, handheld, cheap, and not too cheap. The question is: does it work well for the kinds of things we would do with such a camera?

  • Hackaday ☛ Wire Rope: Never Saddle A Dead Horse

    If you’re into building large projects, you’ll eventually find yourself looking at wire rope. Multistrand steel wire used as antenna guy wires, bridge supports, and plenty of other uses.  The [HowNot2] team tested an old rule of thumb for wire rope. “Never saddle a dead horse”.

  • [Old] Carl Tashian ☛ What Developers Should Know About Networks — Carl Tashian

    I love computer networking. It has loads of real-world cost/benefit tradeoffs, abstractions and designs that have stood the test of time and scale, funny workarounds that got layered on top, and a rich and fascinating history that spans computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications, information theory, and physics.

  • University of Toronto ☛ My screens now have areas that are 'good' and 'bad' for me

    Once upon a time, I'm sure that everywhere on my screen (because it would have been a single screen at that time) was equally 'good' for me; all spots were immediately visible, clearly readable, didn't require turning my head, and so on. As the number of screens I use has risen, as the size of the screens has increased (for example when I moved from 24" non-HiDPI 3:2 LCD panels to 27" HiDPI 16:9 panels), and as my eyes have gotten older, this has changed. More and more, there is a 'good' area that I've set up so I'm looking straight at and then increasingly peripheral areas that are not as good.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is antivax. He is NOT a “vaccine skeptic”

    If there’s one thing that really, really, really irritates the living crap out of me, it’s how large swaths of the press have been describing President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in their reporting as a “vaccine skeptic,” rather than what he is, an antivaccine conspiracy theorist. Ever since RFK Jr. suspended his campaign and bent the knee to Donald Trump and then became his pick to run basically every non-military health program in the federal government, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, I’ve been increasingly dismayed to see him described by nearly every media outlet—including NPR on at least one occasion!—as a “vaccine skeptic,” his antivax views as “vaccine skepticism,” and antivaxxers as “vaccine skeptics.” I swear, the journalistic malpractice here is just one step removed from credulously repeating and believing RFK Jr.’s decade-long tendency to declare himself not just “not antivaccine” but, risibly, “fiercely pro-vaccine” (or, just the other day, “all for the polio vaccine“). Seriously, I’m reminded of that famous recurring bit in Charlie Brown cartoons in which Lucy pulls the football away just as Charlie Brown is about to kick it, after having promised she wouldn’t do that. Think of RFK Jr. as Lucy and the press as Charlie Brown.

  • NYPost ☛ COVID origins coverup: Letters to the Editor — Dec. 30, 2024

    NY Post readers discuss the 2021 withholding from President Biden of research indicating COVID began in a lab leak.

  • Science Alert ☛ CDC Detects Bird Flu Mutation in Human, Amid New Infections in Cats

    "It's good to know we should be looking out for this."

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Stone Baby': How The Rare Phenomenon Forms Inside The Body

    Sometimes undetected for decades.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Achilles Heel' of Drug-Resistant Bacteria Has Been Found, Scientists Say

    Millions of lives are at stake.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Diabetics in Malaysia face medicine shortage as slimming craze thins supply of Ozempic

    There is an increased demand from non-diabetic individuals due to its weight loss effects.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Why there is no free seating at meals at China’s first senior home for the blind

    The home in Shenyang has been held up as a prime example of specialised eldercare in China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Why young people are hiding gifts for strangers in China’s cities

    These gifts can range from blind boxes to milk tea packets.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese Olympic table tennis champ says never ‘officially informed’ about fines

    Olympic table tennis star Fan Zhendong said Sunday he had never been “officially informed” he would be fined for not competing on the world tour despite officials saying the rules were “consistent, not new”. Fan, who took the men’s singles title in Paris this year, announced on Friday he was quitting the WTT World Tour, […]

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Plastic Additives May Have Affected The Health of Millions

    The researchers argue the results are concerning enough to warrant global action, but critics say we still need conclusive proof that these chemicals are the true cause.

    The suspects in question – BPA (bisphenol A), DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) – have been previously associated with serious health issues.

  • VOA News ☛ Losing your kids to doom scrolling? Greece is building government app for that

    Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister of digital governance, said the Kids Wallet app, due to launch in March, was aimed at safeguarding children under the age of 15 from the risks of excessive and inappropriate internet [sic] use.

  • The Independent UK ☛ Single cigarette costs up to 22 minutes of life, new predictions warn

    Women lose 22 minutes of their life with each cigarette they smoke while one shortens a man’s life by 17 minutes, experts have estimated.

  • The Drone Girl ☛ Blood delivery by drone takes off in Japan

    In what was a test project between delivery drone maker Wingcopter, international trade service ITOCHU Corporation, and ANA Holdings (an aviation group primarily known for its airline of the same name), the team conducted blood deliveries by drone in Okinawa, Japan. There, they transported blood between Urasoe and Nago using Wingcopter’s delivery drones in a proof-of-concept (POC) experiment. The test demonstrated the potential for drones to address labor shortages and ensure critical medical supplies reach isolated or disaster-stricken regions.

  • David Mead ☛ On batch cooking

    Now while this book is not revolutionary in it's advice, the recipes do harken back to my childhood. Both my Grandparents and Parents went through the imposed rationing of WWII. Myself growing up in 70's Britain, meant the lessons they learned then carried over.

    Left over veg from the Sunday roast was Monday's Bubble & Squeak. Lasagna was many weekday dinners. Eating out was pretty much reserved for birthdays.

    While getting that "taste of childhood", turns out I'm eating healthier (at least more veg) and saving money.

  • NL Times ☛ Police warn of rising digital extortion among Amsterdam teens

    The police’s warning follows a growing concern about the use of Snapchat as a platform for extorting money from vulnerable youth. Snapchat has been under scrutiny globally for its role in facilitating such crimes, especially in the United States, where the app received thousands of reports of similar extortion attempts involving minors.

  • New York Times ☛ Jimmy Carter’s Quiet but Monumental Work in Global Health

    It was quiet work and drew relatively little attention because it was focused on afflictions that plague the poorest people in the most marginalized places, but it had enormous impact.

    “The work in global health may turn out to be some of the most important work that he did,” said Dr. William H. Foege, who helped lead the successful effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s and played a key role in drawing the former president into the field of global health after he left office.

  • [Old] MITRE Corporation ☛ Playbook for Threat Modeling Medical Devices | MITRE

    Medical devices are increasingly complex and connected systems existing in complex connected ecosystems of healthcare delivery. Standard security controls can ensure some baseline security capabilities, but they fail to address the myriad of ways that medical devices are used, interface with the healthcare ecosystem, and most important, how security risks could result in unacceptable safety issues. Instead, for several years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recognized the value of threat modeling as an approach to strengthen the cybersecurity and safety of medical devices. To increase knowledge and understanding of threat modeling throughout the medical device ecosystem, FDA engaged with MITRE, the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC), and Adam Shostack to conduct a series of threat modeling bootcamps and develop a playbook based on the learnings from those bootcamps.

  • CCC ☛ The ongoing (silent) storm in the medical devices industry and since when cybersecurity is a thing (Relive)

    Medical technology is a heavily regulated industry and while there are very big name companies with deep pockets, small to medium manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the sheer amount of cybersecurity requirements. On top of all this, the requirements are many, qualified people are rare, and essential dependencies have shown not to be always stable.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Metro UK ☛ 2024 video game review – a year to forget but there’s hope for 2025

    If the truth is ever known about what has been happening behind closed doors at Microsoft and Sony, for the last two years, it’s not likely to be for a long time, given how poor a picture it will paint of both companies. There’s been reports of civil wars at both console makers – Microsoft’s over whether to go multiformat or not and Sony’s over whether to abandon single-player games in favour of live service games – and while it can’t be proven, it would certainly explain a lot.

  • Hacker Noon ☛ The Most Consequential Technology Stories of 2024, According to HackerNoon Editors

    Microsoft closed down three of its studios: Alpha Dog Games, Arkane Austin, and Tango Gameworks.

  • Futurism ☛ OpenAI Admits It Needs Vastly More Money Than It Thought

    Now, with its newly proposed corporate structure, the Microsoft-backed startup won't be ditching its nonprofit aims entirely, but it's fair to say that altruism will no longer be the sole priority.

    The restructuring calls for its existing "capped-profit" arm to be transformed into a Delaware-based public benefit corporation, a type of corporate entity whose goals are ostensibly to serve the benefit of society while generating profits.

  • India Times ☛ Beijing unveils plans to boost driverless vehicle use in capital

    Companies with large robotaxi fleets in China include Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu, which plans to deploy 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan by the end of 2024. Pony. ai, which floated in the US market in November, plans to expand its robotaxi fleet nationwide to over 1,000 by 2026 from 250 this year.

  • India Times ☛ How AI could reshape the economic geography of America

    The study is part of a growing body of research pointing to the potential for chatbot-style artificial intelligence to fuel a reshaping of the population and labor market map of America. AI's transformative force could change the nation's economy and politics, much like other technological revolutions.

  • John Gruber ☛ Daring Fireball: OpenAI’s Board, Paraphrased: ‘To Succeed, All We Need Is Unimaginable Sums of Money’

    OpenAI’s board now stating “We once again need to raise more capital than we’d imagined” less than three months after raising another $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion sounds alarmingly like a Ponzi scheme — an argument akin to “Trust us, we can maintain our lead, and all it will take is a never-ending stream of infinite investment.”

  • [Old] Chris Holdgraf ☛ How I’m trying to use BlueSky without getting burned again

    A lot of my thinking here is influenced by a great blog post called Don’t build castles in other people’s kingdoms. While the post is technically about the gaming industry, it has a lot to tell us about any relationship between users, platforms, and value creation.

    The short takeaway is that you should create the most value in spaces that you control, and leverage platforms that others control to direct attention and value to your own spaces.

  • CCC ☛ Waiter, There's An LLM In My Search!

    Overall, the state of search right now is: not good. Search engine results are full of AI generated sludge, SEO spam and self-dealing by providers. This talk will look at the options that are open to us to improve search somewhat, including a few tips and tricks that anyone can take advantage of today to make hyperscale search providers like Google more functional again. But in many ways the most interesting question is whether we can find ways to discover stuff online that don't rely on a handful of hyperscale providers to do all the web crawling and indexing, and servicing of people's queries. In particular, what would happen if search was federated - how could we make that scaleable and performant, and what can we learn from the fediverse?

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • 404 Media ☛ Secret Service Admits It Didn’t Check if People Really Consented to Being Tracked

      Emails viewed by 404 Media show that the Secret Service did not verify that location data it was tracking people with was actually collected with consent, despite saying so.

    • The Verge ☛ Volkswagen leak exposed location data for 800,000 electric cars

      A whistleblower first notified Der Spiegel and the European hacking association Chaos Computer Club of the vulnerability, which also affects EVs from Volkswagen-owned car brands on a global scale, including Audi, Seat, and Skoda.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Location data from 800,000 Volkswagen vehicles exposed by cloud misconfiguration

      A misconfiguration in a cloud environment made data from hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen AG vehicles available online, multiple publications reported today.

      The issue was brought to the attention of German newspaper Der Spiegel by a whistleblower. Researchers from Chaos Computer Club, a cybersecurity association, also played a role in uncovering the data leak.

    • Electrek ☛ Massive data leak at Volkswagen exposes locations of 800,000 EV drivers, for months | Electrek

      The sensitive information was left exposed on an unprotected and misconfigured Amazon cloud storage system for months – the problem has now been patched. The breach was signaled by the hacker association Chaos Computer Club, which was tipped off by an anonymous hacker. While Volkswagen had left the door wide open for anyone to access the data for months on end, apparently, there is no evidence of anyone doing that. Which is a good thing, because a reasonably tech-savvy person could access months of your whereabouts and connect into your personal credentials via Volkswagen’s online services.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Through the ubiquitous eyes of cellphones

      But today, that once-exclusive perch has been transformed and even democratized by the ever-present mobile phone, which lives in every pocket and can produce quality images as never before. I still trundle through war zones with my pro gear, and do my best to be in the right place at the right time, to document resilience and the extremities of the human condition, from Ukraine to Lebanon. But I am rarely first anymore. Personal mobile phones are always already there, posting on social media the experience of war and peace.

• Defence/Aggression

  • VOA News ☛ Venezuela fines TikTok $10 million over viral challenge deaths

    Supreme Tribunal of Justice Judge Tania D'Amelio said that the popular video-sharing app had been negligent in failing to implement "necessary and adequate measures" to stop the spread of content encouraging the challenges.

    TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, was ordered to open an office in the South American country and given eight days to pay the fine or face "appropriate" measures.

  • LRT ☛ Nordic, Baltic countries urge Georgia to consider new elections

    "We are seriously concerned about the situation in Georgia," Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland said in a joint statement.

    "We have called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the irregularities reported ahead of and during the parliamentary elections on October 26. We have condemned violence and intimidation against peaceful protesters, politicians and media representatives; and we deplore the threats directed towards President Zourabichvili," reads the statement released by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

  • The Washington Post ☛ Germany accuses Musk of trying to influence election through AfD support

    “It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election,” deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters, in reference to Musk’s posts backing the AfD on X, the social media site he owns, as well as the opinion piece.

  • The Guardian UK ☛ Olaf Scholz: German election ‘will not be decided by social media owners’

    In a New Year’s Eve address recorded for television and made available before its broadcast on Tuesday, Scholz said German citizens alone had the power to decide “where Germany goes from here” after the general election on 23 February.

    “It will not be decided by the owners of social media channels,” Scholz said of the country’s future.

  • The Hill ☛ Former US Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré warns Elon Musk poses national security risks

    A former U.S. lieutenant general warned Sunday that Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who has become intricately involved in President-elect Trump’s transition, may pose national security risks due to his ties to China and Russia.

    Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré pointed to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s business interests in China, as well as his reported conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  • Rolling Stone ☛ Elon Musk Stays at Mar-a-Lago to Be Near Bestie Donald Trump

    Elon Musk, a key megadonor in the 2024 election, has apparently decided he can’t risk being away from President-elect Donald Trump for more than a few days at a time. To that end, he has since Election Day mainly resided in a cottage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a report from The New York Times.

  • New York Times ☛ How Elon Musk Has Planted Himself Almost Literally at Trump’s Doorstep

    Mr. Musk has been using one of the cottages available for rent on Mr. Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago, the former Marjorie Merriweather Post home in Florida that Mr. Trump converted into a members-only club and hotel in the 1990s, according to two people with knowledge of the arrangement. The cottage where he has been staying, named Banyan, is several hundred feet away from the main house, according to a person who knows the property.

  • The Record ☛ Germany charges three suspected Russian spies accused of surveilling military sites

    The main suspect, 40-year-old Dieter S., along with his alleged accomplices Alexander J., 38, and Alex D., 43 — all residents of the Bavarian town of Bayreuth — are reportedly linked to Russian intelligence services and accused of participating in sabotage operations. A spokesperson for the German Federal Prosecutor's Office confirmed these details in a statement to the news outlet Der Spiegel.

  • RFERL ☛ Finnish Investigators Find Anchor Marks On Seabed Near Damaged Cables

    He added that the trail created by the anchor ran "dozens" of kilometers.

    Finland seized the Eagle S on December 26, citing suspicions that it caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and damaged four Internet lines. Finnish investigators said the ship may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the sea floor.

    Finnish and EU officials say the Eagle S is believed to belong to a "shadow fleet" of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue for Russia's economy and its war against Ukraine.

  • YLE ☛ NBI finds up to 100km-long trail carved into seabed

    Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Sunday continued its probe into suspected deliberate damage to subsea electricity and telecom cables in the Gulf of Finland that occurred on Christmas Day.

    Investigators suspect that the oil tanker, Eagle S, was behind the damage, with Finnish authorities continuing their investigation aboard the ship on Sunday.

  • VOA News ☛ Finland discovers anchor ‘dragging track’ amid suspicions of Russian subsea sabotage

    “With the underwater operations, we have been able to identify the dragging track at the seabed from the beginning to the end,” said Detective Chief Inspector Sami Paila of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation in a Sunday press release. “The track is dozens of kilometers in length. For the time being, the possible location where the anchor came off has not been established.”

    The announcement marks the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent months and comes as NATO warns of a growing threat of unconventional Russian attacks in the region.

  • The Record ☛ Finland seizes suspected Russian spy ship and questions crew following cable breaks

    Shortly following the breaks, the Finnish authorities dispatched armed units to board the ship by helicopter. The crew did not resist, and the Eagle S was seized by the country’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on suspicion of aggravated criminal mischief.

    Sami Paila, the NBI’s tactical lead for the operation, said investigators collected material on board the ship and began analysing it immediately. “Although we needed to move fast at the start of the criminal investigation, it is ultimately a question of a challenging and time-consuming process,” he added.

  • YLE ☛ Baltic Sea situation prompts exceptional Defence Committee meeting

    The committee plans to discuss recent events in the Baltic Sea.

    The meeting was called after authorities suspected that an oil tanker had deliberately severed an electrical cable between Finland and Estonia, as well as four telecommunications cables at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland last week.

  • Meduza ☛ After Estlink 2 cable damage, Finnish police discover 60-mile anchor drag mark on Baltic seabed

    Sami Paila, detective chief inspector of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, told Yle that the mark was likely caused by the anchor of the oil tanker Eagle S, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. “We were able to determine this through underwater investigations,” Paila said.

    “The mark ends where the vessel raised its anchor chain, and from that point eastward, it stretches for several dozen kilometers, if not nearly 100 kilometers [62 miles],” he added.

  • LRT ☛ Baltic, Nordic countries to step up ship monitoring in Baltic Sea

    "An action plan is being drafted and will be coordinated not only among the three Baltic states but also with Scandinavian countries to ensure, first of all, certain monitoring – tracking ship movements and assessing risks to ensure prevention in the future, including through technological means," the prime minister told reporters.

  • [Old] Bruce Schneier ☛ CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly - Schneier on Security

    CCIA warned of the security dangers posed by software monopolies during the US antitrust proceeding against Microsoft in the mid and late 1990’s. We later urged the European Union to take measures to avoid a software “monoculture” that each day becomes more susceptible to computer viruses, Trojan Horses and other digital pathogens.

    Our conclusions have now been confirmed and amplified by the appearance of this important report by leading authorities in the field of cybersecurity: Dan Geer, Rebecca Bace, Peter Gutmann, Perry Metzger, John S. Quarterman, Charles Pfleeger, and Bruce Schneier.

  • [Old] Government Media Executive Group LLC ☛ Report condemns Microsoft "monopoly" as insecure - Washington Technology

    A report released today by a team of cybersecurity professionals condemns the ubiquity of Microsoft Corp. software as inherently insecure and called for government to break the software giant's dominant grip on the market.

  • NL Times ☛ At least seven overnight explosions in Amsterdam, mostly in West district

    The series of explosions adds to a growing number of incidents involving explosive devices in Amsterdam this year, raising serious concerns about public safety. Law enforcement emphasized the risks posed to residents, bystanders, and emergency responders by the use of illegal fireworks, flammable liquids, and improvised explosive devices.

  • US Navy Times ☛ Navy information warfare officers can now take command at sea

    Years ago, the Navy installed information warfare commanders in carrier strike groups to supplement air warfare and surface warfare commanders. In 2022, the service also established the Fleet Information Warfare Command Pacific, which combats false narratives from malign actors in the information domain.

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Year of Disbelief: The Relentless Rise of Antisemitism in Canada

    We would never tolerate this for any other group on campus. Yet Jewish students and faculty not only faced this hate, but faced the claims there was no real issue on campus. Further, the challenges on campus extended to opposition to efforts to identify antisemitism or agreements featuring one-sided political statements that sacrificed the university’s position as a neutral forum for discussion, debate and learning. The cumulative effect of months of this discrimination – Jewish students and faculty left to feel unsafe on campus, told their political or religious beliefs are unwelcome, or the failure to enforce university policies on student non-discrimination – created a normalization of antisemitism that was once unthinkable on Canadian campuses.

  • El País ☛ Elon Musk, unelected president and agent of chaos

    Now, Musk seems poised to apply this model to the U.S. administration. Trump has appointed him, alongside fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, to head the so-called the Department [sic] of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This entity is not part of the executive branch, has no clear powers as of yet, and its mandate — saving money and streamlining the government — is vague. It’s not even an original idea; similar efforts have yielded few results since the Reagan era.

  • JURIST ☛ Trump asks Supreme Court to delay Fentanylware (TikTok) ban, will seek ‘political resolution’ upon taking office [Ed: Insurrectionist meddling before taking Office]

    President-elect Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Friday to halt a potential Fentanylware (TikTok) ban, aiming to delay its enforcement while his administration works toward finding a “political resolution” to the controversy.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Trump, lawmakers and advocacy groups urge Supreme Court to pause Fentanylware (TikTok) divestment

    As the deadline for Byteance Ltd. to divest the U.S. operations of Fentanylware (TikTok) quickly approaches, President-elect Trump, various members of Congress and advocacy groups have made representations to the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of pausing the forced selloff.

  • France24 ☛ Syria's new leader says elections could take up to four years

    Organising elections in Syria could take up to four years and drafting a new constitution could take three years, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the rebel leader who ousted President Bashar al-Assad from power, said in an interview broadcast by Saudi state media on Sunday.

  • France24 ☛ 2024: A look back at a year of war and upheaval in the Middle East

    The year 2024 was marked by an escalation of armed conflict across the Middle East. Alongside the relentless bombing of Gaza, Israel expanded operations into Lebanon to target Hamas ally Hezbollah, whose militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel. For the first time in two decades, Israel also exchanged fire with Iran while Syria witnessed the spectacular fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime at the hands of Turkish-backed rebels.

  • New York Times ☛ Behind the Dismantling of Hezbollah: Decades of Israeli Intelligence

    A Times investigation shows how extensively Israel penetrated the Lebanese militia, closely tracking the group’s commanders and culminating in the assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

  • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2024: ‘China may be putting the Great Firewall into orbit’

    Originally published on 26 August 2024.

  • JURIST ☛ UN raises concerns over landmine contamination in Afghanistan

    The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated on Sunday that Afghanistan has become one of the most heavily mine-affected countries globally, posing a significant threat to the lives of its citizens.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • JURIST ☛ Biden announces $2.5B in support for Ukraine before leaving office

      US President Joe Biden announced USD $2.5 billion in aid to Ukraine on Sunday, stating that the aid was intended to help Ukraine “prevail” in its nearly three-year war with Russia. The announcement comes just weeks before Biden’s departure from office in January.

    • France24 ☛ Syria's de facto leader Sharaa meets Ukrainian foreign minister in Damascus

      Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new leader and head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, hosted a Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday. The meeting is an effort to rebuild relations between the two countries after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, who was a close ally of Russia.

    • France24 ☛ Russia and Ukraine exchange more than 300 prisoners of war

      In a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, Moscow and Kyiv on Monday exchanged captive soldiers, with more than 300 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers returning home ahead of New Year's Eve.

    • Latvia ☛ Another shipment of Latvian drones ready to go to Ukraine

      Another shipment of Latvian-made drones - more than 1,000 units - is ready to be sent to Ukraine, according to a post by the Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds (Progressives) on social control media December 28.

    • Latvia ☛ The cynical symbiosis of Russia's church and state

      On 16 December, the European Union adopted its latest package of economic and individual restrictive measures in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Among other provisions, this sanctions package includes measures targeting the military unit responsible for the attack on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, Okhmadyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.

    • New York Times ☛ Biden Announces $2.5 Billion in Security Aid to Ukraine

      The Treasury Department also released an additional $3.4 billion in budget aid as the Biden administration rushes assistance to Kyiv in its final weeks in office.

    • Meduza ☛ Ukrainian drones attack Crimea and Russian regions, spark oil depot fire in western Russia — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine says naval drone downs Russian Mi-8 helicopter in historic first — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Chocolate wars and bohemian gatherings: Sweet life of interwar Kaunas

      The interwar Kaunas featured several famous confectionary factories. Kotryna Sarapinaitė, a master’s student at the Faculty of Humanities of Vytautas Magnus University, who researches Lithuanian and world gastronomic culture, tells about their popular sweets and disagreements.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin sends New Year’s greetings to four new world leaders, drops two others from list — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A tragic incident in Russia’s airspace’ How Putin was forced into a reluctant half-apology over the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Authoritarianism looms large in Georgia as governing party cements rule

      Georgia inaugurated a far-right governing party loyalist as president Sunday, escalating a political showdown moments after his pro-EU predecessor declared herself the "only legitimate president". Security programme advisor Mariam Tokhadze spoke to FRANCE 24 about what comes next in the Caucasus country where authoritarianism looms large.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A crime against political prisoners’: Belarusian opposition politician Andrei Sannikov on Lukashenko’s plans to extend his 30-year grip on power — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Former Armenian defense minister arrested in Moscow — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Azerbaijani president demands Russia admit guilt in fatal plane crash, pay compensation — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Reuters investigation shows Western sanctions have failed to stop five billionaires’ chemical factories from supplying Russia’s major explosives factories — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Soprano Netrebko Withdraws From Vienna Debut In Strauss Opera Scheduled For Late January

      Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from her planned role debut in Johann Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Vienna State Opera, citing ill health earlier this month that limited her preparation.

    • North Korea says giant tourist beach resort to open in June 2025

      The resort, expected to attract Russians, is seen as a big step to developing tourism.

    • JURIST ☛ Russia threatens retaliation over blocking of state media Telegram channels across EU

      Russia Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened Sunday to implement retaliatory measures against European media outlets after Russian state media Telegram channels became inaccessible across the EU.

    • The Strategist ☛ Baltic subsea sabotage: We’re letting Russia (and China) undertake target practice

      Weak-kneed responses to attacks on Baltic cables risk allowing the Russia-China axis to conduct free target practice against NATO critical infrastructure, promoting the two countries’ proficiency, interoperability and lethality.

    • Meduza ☛ Prominent Ukrainian journalist says ‘historic meeting’ to end ‘hot phase of war’ set for December 30 — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ The wreckage of war Photos from 2024 reveal the scale of devastation in Ukraine’s frontline cities — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Russia and Ukraine Swap More Than 300 Prisoners Ahead of U.S. Transition

      Exchanges have taken place before, but this deal, involving big numbers on both sides, comes as Trump prepares to take over in Washington, potentially endangering American aid to Kyiv.

    • RFERL ☛ Hundreds Of POWs Freed In Latest Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap

      Russia and Ukraine have conducted another prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates, freeing hundreds of prisoners of war.

    • New York Times ☛ Where Is Russia Finding New Soldiers? Wherever It Can.

      From murder suspects to immigrants to a former Olympic gold medalist, Russia pressures those it thinks should fight in Ukraine.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Ukrainian chefs rediscover their country’s cuisine – after Soviets tried to destroy it

      Ukrainians are uncovering their country’s culinary history – and how its distinctive features were suppressed during Soviet rule.

    • RFERL ☛ Newly Announced $5.9 Billion In U.S. Aid Comes At Critical Time For Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says

      The White House has announced a $2.5 billion aid package to Ukraine and pledged to "continue surging" aid to get it to the authorities in Kyiv "as quickly as possible."

    • RFERL ☛ Air Raid Sirens Blare Across Ukraine, Explosions Heard In Kyiv

      Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine early on December 31 with explosions heard in some parts of the capital as officials warned of Russian air attacks.

    • Meduza ☛ Ukrainian police identify Russian commander involved in murder of Bucha civilian recognized by red manicure — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ A year-long defense crisis: As 2024 comes to a close, Ukraine and Russia brace for the looming battle over Pokrovsk — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia launches overnight drone and missile strikes across Ukraine — Meduza

• Environment

  • Truthdig ☛ The Fate of Our Imperiled Public Lands

    And if the USPS is a problem, then what about public lands and the agencies that manage them? Sure, they provide ecological benefits, stewardship of and free access to millions of acres of stunning landscapes, wildlife habitat and so much more. And yet, they are “subsidized” to the tune of tens of billions of dollars each year, making them ripe for Musk’s chopping block. Utah, with the support of other conservative states, has offered to make Musk’s job easier with a lawsuit seeking to seize control of the “unappropriated” federal land in its midst. Because those states can’t afford to manage those lands at a loss, they would almost certainly sell them off to private interests.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ Developers Eye Louisiana, Texas Coasts for Offshore Carbon Storage

    • Pro Publica ☛ How Oil Companies Offload Costly Cleanup Onto the Public

    • The Register UK ☛ Jimmy Carter’s tech legacy: Solar, space, and more

      Carter famously had 32 solar panels installed on the roof of the White House, which were used to heat water. Despite his prediction that the panels would still be atop the roof of the Presidential residence "supplying cheap, efficient energy" in the year 2000, successor Ronald Reagan had them torn off while redoing the roof in 1986. Carter had the last laugh there, though: President George W. Bush brought solar back, and Barack Obama added modern panels during his administration that are still in service.

    • Futurism ☛ OpenAI's Latest AI Can Cost More Than $1,000 Per Query

      All that fastidious thinking, however, comes with exorbitant expenses. To achieve that high-water mark, o3 used well over $1,000 of computing power per task — over 170 times more compute than a low-power version of o3, and leagues beyond its predecessor, which cost less than $4 per task.

    • Molly White ☛ Not just one bad apple: FTX's practices were business as usual in [cryptocurrency]

      Adversary cases from the FTX collapse further expose how [cryptocurrency] companies do business: with secret acquisitions of “grey area” businesses, buying influence, and creative accounting.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Meduza ☛ Thousands of Russians have volunteered to clean Black Sea beaches and save local wildlife following a disastrous oil spill. Here’s what workers are saying. — Meduza

• Finance

  • France24 ☛ Italy cracks down on self check-ins for short-term vacation rentals

    Italy's police chief has ordered Airbnb-style owners to verify the identity of guests in person rather than remotely as visitor numbers surge, according to a circular seen by AFP on Tuesday. The measure is put into place following security concerns linked to the expansion of tourist accommodation.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ VC-funded Kalshi faces backlash and CFTC scrutiny over Luigi Mangione murder case futures

    Kalshi Inc., a financial exchange and prediction market funded by highly prominent venture capital firms, has been forced to shut betting on the outcome of the alleged killer of United Health Group Inc. Executive Brian Thompson in an apparent breach of financial market regulations.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Jimmy Carter played a major role in opening US-China ties

    Critics say he should have been tougher on Beijing’s human rights practices.

  • Deccan Chronicle ☛ Elon Musk Calls H-1B Visa Program Broken, Urges Major Reform

    The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The tech industry has long called for more H-1B visas to attract highly skilled workers to the US.

  • India Times ☛ Govt on alert over H-1B row, taking feedback from IT firms

    "So to that extent, we don't want to look at it as more restrictions and so on. We have to look at it as how the American policy also pans out," a source said. The sources said that the government also wants to highlight how multi-national companies - including from the US - are setting up global capability centres (GCCs) in India, in a clear pointer to the need to have qualified Indian professionals in their midst. The fact that they are setting up GCCs in India shows that they are keen to hire qualified Indian workers for cutting-edge work, they added.

  • India Times ☛ America is a meritocracy: Elon Musk reiterates stand on H-1B visa debate

    The US is embroiled in a controversy around the H-1B visa. It is a non-immigrant visa in the US that allows the country's employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Right-wing critics argue that the H-1B program is vulnerable to abuse, with some employers using it to hire cheaper foreign labour instead of American workers.

  • NDTV ☛ Revanth Reddy Meets Microsoft President Satya Nadella In Hyderabad

    The Chief Minister and his IT Minister discussed various technology imperatives that the state is focusing on including AI, Gen AI, cloud, and sought Microsoft's support to develop a strong ecosystem so that Hyderabad is seen as the leading city in the world in technology domain, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement Monday.

  • The Record ☛ Telegram blocks Russian state media channels in several EU countries

    The messaging app Telegram has blocked access to channels belonging to major Russian state-owned news outlets across much of Europe, including Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and Latvia.

    When users based in the affected European countries attempt to access these channels, they see a notice saying the content is unavailable because it “violated local laws.”

  • Doc Searls ☛ The Real Intention Economy

    Get this straight: they’re not talking about the intention economy I’ve been writing about and developers have been working on for eighteen years. They’re worried about a completely different thing—a bad thing—that they call an intention economy.

    The apparent* source for all this PR is Cambridge University’s Research / News office, which published this earlier today: Conversational AI agents may become attuned to covertly influence your intentions, creating a new commercial frontier that researchers call the “intention economy”. It begins, [...]

  • The Straits Times ☛ UK study warns of perils in AI-driven ‘intention economy’ | The Straits Times

    The research argues that the potentially “lucrative yet troubling” marketplace emerging for “digital signals of intent” could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates.

    Our increasing familiarity with chatbots, digital tutors and other so-called “anthropomorphic” AI agents is helping enable this new array of “persuasive technologies”, it added.

  • Wired ☛ The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2024

    For its entire existence as a global medium, the internet's evolution has been caught in a tug of war, pulled by opposing forces: on one side, moderation and control; on the other, disruption and anarchy.

    This year, the most prominent actors weighing in on the side of disruption were familiar faces: The reckless oligarchs, cybercriminals, scammers, and state-sponsored hackers who made the internet feel particularly dangerous in 2024 were, to some degree, the same forces destabilizing the online world in 2023. But perhaps more than in any other recent year, those agents of chaos seemed to persist in the face of opposition, to grow in their influence—and to win.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Legislating Article 23 security law was ‘biggest challenge’ of career, Hong Kong’s security chief says

    Legislating Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law was the biggest challenge of his career, the city’s security chief has said. In a Facebook (Farcebook) video shared on Sunday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang recapped a year he described as being “filled with challenges and opportunities.”

  • Futurism ☛ Elon Musk Begs People on Twitter to Be Nicer

    From many corners of X, the response Musk got wasn't quite what he had in mind. Many posts accused him of being a "hypocrite," The Huffington Post found, if not the prime source of negativity on the platform.

    "You first," rejoined fellow billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

    "Too late. You created this cesspool. You own it," quipped another user. "Hypocrite."

  • Techdirt ☛ ‘Free Speech Absolutist’ Elon Musk Suspends Critics On ExTwitter, Asks People To Be Nicer

    He has regularly banned journalists who anger him or shut down reporting that challenges his political allies. He has repeatedly throttled links to sites he views as competitive and recently admitted to suppressing posts with links to news sources.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Truthdig ☛ 20 Years After His Death, Gary Webb’s Truth Is Still Dangerous

    Twenty years ago this month, on Dec. 10, 2004, former San Jose Mercury News investigative reporter Gary Webb died by apparent suicide, following a stretch of depression. The subject of the 2014 film “Kill the Messenger,” Webb had left the newspaper in 1997 after his career was systematically destroyed because he had done what journalists are supposed to do: speak truth to power.

  • VOA News ☛ Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala 

    Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

    Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, according to the Italian foreign ministry.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Hackaday ☛ 38C3: Lawsuits Are Temporary; Glory Is Forever

    One of the blockbuster talks at last year’s Chaos Communications Congress covered how a group of hackers discovered code that allegedly bricked public trains in Poland when they went into service at a competitor’s workshop. This year, the same group is back with tales of success, lawsuits, and appearances in the Polish Parliament. You’re not going to believe this, but it’s hilarious.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Statewide copper wire theft law will take effect Jan. 1 despite lawsuit from scrap metal industry

    The new law requires anyone recycling scrap metal copper for profit to obtain a state-issued license.

  • Associated Press ☛ US homelessness up 18% as affordable housing remains out of reach for many

    Among the most concerning trends was a nearly 40% rise in family homelessness — one of the areas that was most affected by the arrival of migrants in big cities. Family homelessness more than doubled in 13 communities impacted by migrants including Denver, Chicago and New York City, according to HUD, while it rose less than 8% in the remaining 373 communities. Nearly 150,000 children experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, reflecting a 33% jump from last year.

  • International Business Times ☛ Spanish Bar Owner Arrested After Google Maps Captures Him 'Stuffing Dead Body Into Car Boot'

    This case highlights how technology, initially designed for navigation and exploration, can unintentionally aid in solving crimes. While Google Street View provided critical evidence in this case, other tech companies are also innovating their mapping tools.

  • RTL ☛ 'Obscene acts': Taliban leader bans windows overlooking women's areas

    The Taliban's supreme leader has issued an order banning the construction of windows in residential buildings that overlook areas used by Afghan women and saying that existing ones should be blocked.

    According to a statement released late Saturday by the Taliban government spokesman, new buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see "the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour's well and other places usually used by women".

  • CBC ☛ Taliban to close all NGOs employing Afghan women

    The Taliban say they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly.

  • France24 ☛ Taliban to close all NGOs that employ Afghan women

    The announcement comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn’t wear the Islamic headscarf correctly.

    In a letter published on X Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in Afghanistan.

  • ANF News ☛ Kurdish women call for the recognition of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

    However, Kurdish gains continue to face severe threats, including from nationalism and radical Islamist groups. In 2014, the world witnessed the ISIS-led genocide in Shingal and its brutal assaults on Rojava, particularly in Kobane. ISIS’s terrorism extended beyond these regions, targeting the free world and causing widespread devastation. The resistance of the Kurdish people and their partners in Shingal and Rojava not only defeated ISIS but also left a lasting legacy of resilience and solidarity for humanity. The unity forged between Kurdish women, local communities, and international coalition forces in this struggle remains a cornerstone of hope and progress.

  • Truthdig ☛ Carter’s Focus on Human Rights Changed the Global South

    Carter’s emphasis during his presidency on human rights, although often regarded as quixotic or hypocritical, had a positive impact around the world, notably in Brazil and Haiti. His successful diplomatic effort to negotiate and win Senate approval for the Panama Canal Treaty successfully removed one of the riskiest flashpoints in U.S.-Latin American relations. (Donald Trump may be about to reveal just how important that treaty was, if he persists with his ill-considered and illegal efforts to challenge it.) He also reduced the previous U.S. support for white minority regimes in southern Africa, helping clear the way for Rhodesia to become independent Zimbabwe in 1980.

  • Advance Local Media LLC ☛ Historic images of Native Americans by a Swiss artist find their way back to North Dakota

    More than two dozen historic prints that depict a slice of Native American life and culture on the Upper Missouri River nearly 200 years ago will soon be more accessible to the public thanks to a gift that enabled a North Dakota organization to buy the rare aquatints.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Porn Videos Appear in Spotify Search Results

    Explicit porn videos are appearing in Spotify search results. A redditor captured an image of their search results after typing in the phrase ‘mia.’ One result appears to show Mia Khalifa—a former porn actress.

  • Ricardo García ☛ Casting video files from Linux to AppleTV

    A couple of weeks ago I received an AppleTV 4K as an early Christmas present. It’s a really nice device and it immediately replaced my Chromecast Ultra as the way to watch streaming content on my 15-year-old non-smart TV. Of course, the kids love it too!

    Before I disconnected my Chromecast Ultra from the TV to put it back into its box, there was a small matter I needed to solve. Sometimes I watch content on my TV by casting it from my personal Linux box. Most of that content are rips of my DVD collection, which is thankfully legal in Spain, as far as I know.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Trademarks

  • Right of Publicity

    • Rolling Stone ☛ Meta to Unleash AI 'Users' on Facebook and Instagram

      But licensing the voices and likenesses of famous people did little to endear Meta to the younger demographics it wants to turn into loyal users of Facebook and Instagram. It junked the bots — widely ridiculed as creepy, corny, and without real purpose — less than a year later. This move coincided with the debut of its AI Studio, where users can create their own chatbots, including wholly fictional characters or, in the case of popular creators who want followers to feel more connected, “an AI that can message with your audience on your behalf, mimicking your tone and expressions.”

      Now, Meta is planning to take the next step: integrating these AI creations as Facebook and Instagram “users” in themselves. As reported by the Financial Times, the hope is that these semi-independent custom avatars will prove more engaging to the young people who are crucial to the survival of Meta’s flagship social networks. “We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do,” Connor Hayes, Meta’s vice-president of product for generative AI, told FT. “They’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform . . . that’s where we see all of this going.”

• Copyrights

  • Torrent Freak ☛ IFPI: Stream-Ripping Fuels Generative AI From Which Existential Threats Emerge

    The seminar Digital Music Piracy: New Trends and Practical Approaches took place before the holidays in Bulgaria. Organized by the Bulgarian Association of Music Producers (BAMP), in partnership with IFPI and the Cybercrime Directorate at the Directorate General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, discussion centered on the latest trends in digital investigation and evidence collection methods.

    Those in attendance included Catherine Lloyd, senior legal advisor to IFPI. In a subsequent interview with BTA.bg, Lloyd cited abusive use of AI as a significant threat to the industry.

  • Smithsonian Magazine ☛ Happy Public Domain Day! Popeye, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' 'The Sound and the Fury' and Thousands of Other Captivating Creations Are Finally Free for Everyone to Use

    Every year, Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke University School of Law’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, publishes an exhaustive analysis of some of the most important works entering the public domain. This year, the list includes copyrighted titles from 1929 and sound recordings from 1924.

    Works enter the public domain when their copyrights expire, typically 95 years after publication. At that point, they become free for anyone to adapt or build upon without permission—with a few caveats. Copyrights to audio recordings, meanwhile, expire 100 years after they were first put to wax.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ More Than Half of All Google Search Takedowns Now Come from Link-Busters

    Typically, copyright holders outsource this work to third-party companies that scan the web for links to pirated material. These companies then contact search engines, like Google, to request their removal.

    Google has become a primary target for these requests, having recently processed its 10 billionth URL removal request.