Leftovers

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ In a private letter to U.S. President Biden, semiconductor industry groups blast incoming export rules

    New restrictions could harm dominance of American processors on the global market, say SIA and SEMI.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Latvia ☛ Some cancer patients wait for months for treatment in Latvia

    Cancer patients who have been diagnosed with some specific cancers have been waiting since May last year for radiation treatment to start. This should be done with a short-focus X-ray machine, of which there is only one in Latvia, but because the supplier of the machine is behind schedule, doctors have still not been trained, Latvian Television reported on January 15.

  • New York Times ☛ Even Homes That Evade the Fire Face Toxic Ash Risk, Studies Show

    Health hazards from soot and smoke blown indoors onto furniture and walls can linger for months: “Wind will get through every crack.”

  • New York Times ☛ FDA Bans Red Dye 3 in Foods, Linking It to Cancer in Rats

    Consumer and food safety groups have long urged the agency to revoke the use of this dye and others. The F.D.A. says studies have shown that it causes cancer in rats, but not in humans.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • The Dream of Hadoop is Alive in AI [Ed: Some buzzwords nonsense from Redmond lobbyists or "analysts"]

    Nineteen years ago come April, Yahoo allowed two developers to release a project called Hadoop as open source software. Based on the Surveillance Giant Google File System and MapReduce papers from Google, it was designed to enable querying operations on large scale datasets using commodity hardware.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ China vows to rescue scam victims, crack down on cross-border criminal gangs

      Beijing also said it would step up efforts with other countries’ law enforcement agencies.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam considers removing barriers for China-made Comac aircraft to operate in country

    Comac is seeking to establish itself as an alternative to leading Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing.

  • Rubio says US at risk of relying on China

    Trump’s nominee for secretary of state said China is America’s ‘biggest threat.’

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US sec. of state nominee Marco Rubio to say China cheated its way to power; rejects ‘liberal world order’

    Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, will say Wednesday that China cheated its way to superpower status and that the “liberal world order” long cherished by the US elite should be discarded.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ US bans sales of 14nm and 16nm chips with over 30 billion transistors to China

    U.S. government wants to prohibit shipments of all advanced chips with over 30 billion transistors to China to everyone except approved companies .

  • China’s special-purpose barges could overrun Taiwan shores: experts

    At least five barges are being built in Guangzhou with the aim of offloading trucks and tanks onto coastal roads.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Trump's Greenland bid stirs debate in China about what to do with Taiwan

    Some say Trump's break with the norms of American diplomacy could create an opening for China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India’s triple naval launch shows ‘self-reliance’: Modi

    India and China are competing for strategic influence across South Asia.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Don’t know what ASEAN is? Neither did Pete Hegseth. Why this Asian bloc is important.

    The 10-nation bloc, known as ASEAN, has been useful for the United States in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific. Many member nations have territorial disputes with China, which has become increasingly assertive in pressing those claims.

  • New York Times ☛ What China Wants in Panama: More Trade, Projects and Influence

    Beijing’s efforts to expand its reach in the country have hit several obstacles, in part because of American pressure.

  • New York Times ☛ In Pursuing Canal, Trump Could Push Panama Closer to China

    President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal may be posturing, but it could dampen the Panamanian government’s wish to broaden relations with the United States, analysts say.

  • New York Times ☛ Are Biden and Trump at Odds on Global Energy Strategy? Maybe Not So Much.

    When it comes to gas exports and competition with China, the two administrations share a similar vision, the top U.S. energy diplomat says.

  • South Korea, Japan, US hold air drills following North’s missile tests

    Exercises come as hundreds of police detain impeached President Yoon over his short-lived martial law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean investigators question arrested President Yoon in insurrection probe

    Mr Yoon is refusing to talk and has not agreed to have interviews with investigators recorded on video.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Arrest of South Korea’s Yoon: What is expected for the President in the coming days

    The suspended leader is expected to be held in a solitary cell at a detention centre.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is just the start of a complex legal saga

    Whether the anti-graft agency CIO has the legitimate authority to arrest Mr Yoon remains questionable.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Detained South Korea’s Yoon will not attend questioning, lawyer says

    He has so far refused to talk with investigators, and his questioning is due to resume on the afternoon of Jan 16.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon asks court to review legitimacy of his arrest

    Mr Yoon’s legal team filed a request to review the legitimacy of the president’s arrest.

  • France24 ☛ Impeached South Korean President Yoon to avoid new questioning over martial law bid

    Lawyers for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was arrested on Tuesday over his failed attempt to impose martial law, said Yoon would not take part in further questioning on Thursday, posing questions on how cooperative the impeached president will be after weeks of evading arrest.

  • France24 ☛ 'Almost inevitable' that South Korea's embattled president 'will be serving time in prison'

    Impeached South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday over his failed martial law bid, ending a weeks-long standoff with authorities and becoming the first sitting president to be detained in the nation's history. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih welcomes Dr John Nilsson-Wright, Author, Senior Fellow, Asia Programme, at Chatham House and Associate Professor in Modern Japanese Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Man sets himself on fire near South Korean anti-graft office

    The man was severely burned and unconscious following the incident.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India panel calls for legal action against individual after US accusations in foiled murder plot

    The US thinks an Indian intelligence official directed plans to assassinate a prominent Sikh separatist in 2023.

  • New York Times ☛ Johnson Ousts Turner as Intelligence Chairman, Bowing to Trump

    Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio, had at times been critical of the president-elect. He told people that he was axed after an edict from Mar-a-Lago.

  • Off Guardian ☛ We Called It: Israel-Gaza Ceasefire

    Eight days ago, in our third prediction for 2025 we said… …the incoming Trump admin will be trying to score “peacemaker” points with a deal in Ukraine, that could extend to Israel-Gaza too. A negotiated release of all hostages is also possible.

  • France24 ☛ Despite Israel’s threatening presence, Syrians in Golan refuse to leave ‘in exchange for peace’

    As Damascus celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syrians living in the Quneitra governorate in the Golan Heights looked on as Israeli troops suddenly drove into their villages. The near-daily Israeli raids are scaring the population, who say they now live in constant fear that Israel’s “temporary” occupation of the 50-year-old demilitarised zone will one day become permanent.

  • France24 ☛ Joe Biden tells Americans to 'stand guard' against oligarchy in farewell speech

    France 24 correspondent, Fraser Jackson, reports from Washington D.C., where US President Joe Biden gave his final speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday, warning in a dark farewell of the rise of oligarchy, the "tech industrial complex", Artificial Intelligence, and disinformation.

  • France24 ☛ Biden warns of threats against US democracy in final Oval Office speech

    In an ominous final address from the Oval Office on Wednesday, outgoing US President Joe Biden warned Americans against an ultra-wealthy "tech industrial complex" that threatens to take over the country's democracy. Biden ends his tumultuous tenure on a historically unpopular note, but, with threats such as Artificial Intelligence and disinformation compounding as Donald Trump prepares to take office next week, cautioned the US to "stand guard" against the existential dangers ahead.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Former Rochester high school speech coach and cop convicted of sexually assaulting girl

    ROCHESTER, Minn. — A jury Wednesday convicted on all charges a former Rochester police officer and John Marshall High School speech team coach accused of sexually assaulting a minor.

  • France24 ☛ The economic fallout of the Gaza War

    As a ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, Yuka Royer takes a look at the economic and social costs of the war in Gaza.

    The United Nations has repeatedly warned about famine spreading across the territory, with food inflation reaching more than 400% and real GDP shrinking by 86% in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has also been facing worsening fiscal challenges due to a large part of its tax revenues withheld by Israel.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Strategist ☛ EU, NATO forge closer ties with East Asia as Russia, China threaten

      The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 brought the European Union and Poland closer to like-minded states in Asia, including Japan.

    • Latvia ☛ Nearly 50,000 Ukrainians currently under Latvian protection

      On 30 November 2024, slightly more than 4.2 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU, according to Eurostat igures published January 15

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Europe has a window of opportunity to shape Ukraine peace efforts

      With the incoming Trump administration still formulating its approach to ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European leaders now have an historic window of opportunity to shape the future of European security, writes Doug Klain.

    • France24 ☛ ‘Little to lose’: Ukraine exacts retribution on Russian energy sites as Trump looms

      Ukraine and Russia have carried out massive strikes on each other’s energy facilities over the past two days, reflecting Kyiv’s growing willingness to respond blow-for-blow – and target a crucial Russian export – as it prepares for a potentially decisive transfer of power in Washington.

    • JURIST ☛ Australia summons Russian ambassador after Melbourne man reportedly killed while fighting for Ukraine

      Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded on Wednesday to the alleged death of Oscar Jenkins, a Melbourne man captured while fighting for Ukraine, swearing to take “the strongest action possible” against Russia if Jenkins’ death is confirmed.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania doesn’t rule out sending troops to Ukraine if requested – FM

      If Ukraine requested the deployment of troops from some Western countries, including Lithuania, Vilnius would discuss the issue with allies, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has said.

    • Mint Press News ☛ The Burning Questions: LA Fire Cuts vs. Billions for Israel and Ukraine

      Amid devastating wildfires, Many Angelenos are questioning the wisdom of slashing local emergency budgets while billions are allocated to Israel and Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Representative Who Backed Aid To Ukraine Removed From Committee Chairmanship

      U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has removed the chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee who has been an outspoken supporter of assistance for Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Rubio, Trump's Pick For Secretary Of State, Says Ukraine Must Make Concessions

      President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the top U.S. diplomat, said it is “unrealistic” to believe that Ukraine’s armed forces can push Russian troops back to pre-invasion lines and that Kyiv will have to make concessions to Moscow to end the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion.

    • RFERL ☛ Massive Russian Attack Targets Ukraine Energy Sites Amid Winter Freeze

      Russia has launched a fresh massive attack on Ukrainian energy targets, causing rotating power outages that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said highlighted the need for Western help to strengthen the existing capabilities of Ukraine’s air shield.

    • New York Times ☛ A Crucial Coal Mine in Ukraine Under Attack by Russian Forces Finally Shuts Down

      The mine, near the frontline city of Pokrovsk, produced coking coal crucial for Ukraine’s steel industry. It kept running until the very last moment, when Russian forces finally reached its gates.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Go to your people’: How one Russian living illegally in Ukraine was deported directly to Russia — at his own request — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ U.K. and France discussing sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine — The Telegraph — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian officer given nearly three years in prison for downing Russian helicopter he mistook for Ukrainian drone — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Missile Attack Prompts Emergency Power Cuts in Ukraine

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said air defenses had shot down at least 30 missiles from a “massive” barrage that had targeted gas and energy facilities.

    • Latvia ☛ Former Soviet officer sentenced to prison for spying for Russia

      The Riga District Court this week sentenced a 72-year-old Russian citizen, a former Soviet officer, to eight years in prison for spying for Russia, the prosecutor's office told LETA January 15.

    • Latvia ☛ Windows of 'Corner House' in Rīga smashed

      Another attack on the Corner House (former KGB building) of the Latvian Occupation Museum - three windows have been smashed. People working there regularly receive threats by phone. Russian speakers promise a repeat of history and their deportation. Police say this is not organized crime, Latvian Television reported on January 14.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Securing a free and open world: A US-EU blueprint to counter China and Russia

      An enhanced strategic partnership between the United States and the European Union can advance interests for both sides amid immense geopolitical challenges.

    • LRT ☛ Politicians warn of sabotage as Lithuania’s exit from Russian power system nears

      Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are due to disconnect from the Russian electricity system BRELL on February 9. As the day approaches, the Baltic countries must prepare for possible incidents and sabotage, experts and politicians warn.

    • New York Times ☛ Poland’s Leader Suggests Russian Hand in Plot to Attack Western Cargo Planes

      “I can only confirm that Russia planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland but against airlines across the globe,” said Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian airlines resolve dual registration issue for over 300 aircraft, clearing them for international flights — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Transnistria’s leader says Russia will start supplying gas to the breakaway region as humanitarian aid — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Scammers, not protesters, now behind most arson attacks on Russian enlistment offices — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Jesus is our lawyer’: Meet the American family that moved to Russia as ‘ideological immigrants,’ lost all their money, and still plans to stay — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The end of a life cycle’: How the Russian authorities are ‘quietly dissolving’ the Gulag History Museum after its director refused to censor an exhibition on Soviet-era repressions — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Museum of Moscow reportedly removed section on Soviet repressions from city history exhibition at last minute — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The evidence leaves no room for doubt’ Military analyst Ruslan Leviev reviews the proof corroborating North Korea’s military intervention in Russia’s Kursk region — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia reportedly considering buying gas in Europe for Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Nobel Prize winner Alexievich to attend Vilnius Book Fair

      Belarusian writer, political activist, and Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich will attend this year’s Vilnius Book Fair.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarus Parades Jailed RFE/RL Journalist Ihar Losik On State TV

      Belarus state TV has aired a propaganda program parading imprisoned RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik, who has not been heard from in nearly two years.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Appeasement will only fuel Vladimir Putin’s imperial ambitions in Ukraine

      Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is an old-fashioned colonial war rooted in centuries of Russian imperial history that cannot be ended by limited territorial concessions or other attempts at appeasement, writes Anastasiia Marushevska.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin to demand Ukraine sharply reduce military ties with NATO in Trump talks — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ NATO launches Baltic Sea patrol mission to safeguard underwater infrastructure — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Purported transcript of final communications between crashed Azerbaijan Airlines plane and air traffic controllers published online — Meduza

• Environment

  • Ruben Schade ☛ The Great Sydney Storm of 2025

    Clara and I had the brilliant idea of checking out a new Japanese restaurant two suburbs over last night for dinner. It was a bit of a walk, but absolutely worth it. Teriyaki salad with sesame sauce, and a small bowl of miso… wow. The way to my heart is hugs, Arabica, and simple but tasty Asian food.

    We’re into year two of our 10,000 steps a day challenge (!!!), so naturally we decided to walk home instead of catching the train. There was a light drizzle, but we were in high spirits having recharged our Japanese batteries again. It was cool but not cold, the tree-lined roads were quiet, and we could hear all those wonderful Australian birds. There’s nothing else like it in the world.

    Then it started. Lightning in the distance so bright it lit up the night. It was continuous and unrelenting, as though it was striking the Earth every other second. The wind hit soon after; a gust so strong it nearly knocked us over, and made mincemeat of our golf umbrella. And then… the rain.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Boy, 16, nabbed for driving without licence after multi-vehicle crash in Malaysia kills 5

      Two of the victims killed were teenagers in a car driven by the teen that caused the accident.

    • H2 View ☛ Maire wins $125m EPCC contract to deliver hydrogen production unit to biorefinery

      Maire has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract worth $125m to deliver a hydrogen production unit to Malaysia.

  • Overpopulation

    • Overpopulation ☛ Reflections on the 2024 Nobel prize in economic sciences: What is prosperity and how did it come about?

      How did modern prosperity come about, and why did it happen in some countries much more than others? The winners of the 2024 Nobel prize in economics argue social institutions play a vital role.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Thai resort island Phuket grapples with growing garbage crisis

      More than 1,000 tonnes of waste is collected on Phuket every day.

• Finance

  • Latvia ☛ Siliņa drops support for Kazāks as Latvia's central bank governor

    Latvia is no closer to having a central bank governor in office after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said she no longer supported giving Mārtiņš Kāzaks a second term January 15.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China, Sri Lanka agree more investment and economic cooperation

    BEIJING - China and Sri Lanka agreed on more investment and economic cooperation on Wednesday as China's President Pooh-tin Jinping met recently-elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Beijing.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ Chinese Celebrities and Tourists Think Twice About Thailand

    The brief abduction of a Chinese actor who was trafficked into Myanmar to work in a scam camp has rattled travelers from a country that Thailand relies on for tourism.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand seeks negotiations with China to lift syrup imports ban

    Chinese authorities have asked Thailand to inspect dozens of factories before opening negotiations to lift a ban imposed last month on sugar syrup and premixed powder exports from the Southeast Asian nation, Thai officials said.

  • JURIST ☛ Uganda criticized over arbitrary detention and torture of lawyer

    The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders condemned the Ugandan government Wednesday for the arrest, torture, and judicial harassment of human rights lawyer Eron Kiiza. Kiiza was arrested on January 7, at the General Court Martial in Makindye township while representing his client, opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: IGF 2024

    APNIC and the APNIC Foundation actively participated in the IGF 2024, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 15 to 19 December 2024.

  • Luis Villa: non-profit social networks: benchmarking responsibilities and costs

    I’m trying to blog quicker this year. I’m also sick with the flu. Forgive any mistakes caused by speed, brevity, or fever.
    
    Monday brought two big announcements in the non-traditional (open? open-ish?) social network space, with Mastodon moving towards non-profit governance (asking for $5M in donations this year), and Free Our Feeds launching to do things around ATProto/Bluesky (asking for $30+M in donations).

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Inviolable Nature of Jury Verdicts

    A new petition for certiorari filed by Provisur Technologies challenges the Federal Circuit's approach to reviewing jury verdicts in patent monopoly cases, particularly regarding willful infringement findings.  In its opinion, the Federal Circuit had rejected a jury verdict of willful infringement and the judge's resulting damages enhancement.  The petition argues that this is an improper reexamination of the jury's factual findings and a violation of the JMOL standard. Provisur v. Weber, No. 24-723.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Lab Technology audio announcement patent monopoly challenge instituted

      On January 15, 2025, less than 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 8,498,388, owned by Lab Technology LLC. The ’388 patent monopoly outlines a system and method for delivering and updating audio announcements via telecommunication devices.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Affirms 2e5 Functionality Refusal of Fire Extinguisher Pressure Gauge Configuration, Despite Applicant's Design Patent

    The Board affirmed a Section 2(e)(5) functionality refusal to register the product configuration shown below, for "fire extinguishing preparations," finding that applicant's advertising and its utility patents "establish the functional benefits of Applicant's proposed mark." "The mark consists of a three-dimensional configuration of a pressure gauge placed in the center of a recess on the bottom of product packaging." In re Kronebusch Industries, LLC, Serial No. 87621232 (December 30, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Jennifer L. Elgin).

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Technology and Free Software

    • Flightle

      Flightle is a 2D flight simulator that has all the controls of a flight sim but makes the journey one dimensional with a side-scrolling display that is not a million miles away from Flappy Bird

    • Decision Makers

      With the US government poised to legislate against Tiktok in the coming days, it is worth going back a few administrations to see how the US once approached the question of the internet, back when it looked a lot different than it did today.

      In many ways, the internet is a modern miracle - much of its development was truly community-driven, whether that be the technical community developing standards through organisations like the IETF, or groups like ICANN and the RIRs harnessing a multistakeholder approach to determine policies around names and the distribution of IP addresses.