Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Normanhurst has nice trees

  Normanhurst is a suburb in northern Sydney, not to be confused with North Sydney which is only north of Sydney in the sense that page two of an encyclopæedia isn’t the start. That analogy made more sense in my head.

  My family spent a lot of time in Normanhurst when we’d come back to Australia to visit friends and family. One of the features I remembered most was the trees. Even just wandering around near the station you see some stunning ones. I thoroughly enjoyed my brief walk here this afternoon.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Neutrinos Are Shrinking, and That’s a Good Thing for Physics

    A new estimate of the ghostly particle’s maximum possible mass brings physicists a tad closer to understanding the universe.

  • University of Michigan ☛ FDA reform is finally here

    On June 30, 1906, former President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act into law, establishing comprehensive government oversight surrounding harmful foods, drugs and medicines. This act laid the groundwork for our modern-day Food and Drug Administration, marking a key commitment from the U.S. Government to safeguard the health of its citizens.

  • Hackaday ☛ Using Integer Addition To Approximate Float Multiplication

    Once the domain of esoteric scientific and business computing, floating point calculations are now practically everywhere. From video games to large language models and kin, it would seem that a processor without floating point capabilities is pretty much a brick at this point. Yet the truth is that integer-based approximations can be good enough to hit the required accuracy. For example, approximating floating point multiplication with integer addition, as [Malte Skarupke] recently had a poke at based on an integer addition-only LLM approach suggested by [Hongyin Luo] and [Wei Sun].

  • Science Alert ☛ We Were Wrong About Uranus: New Study Solves Long-Standing Mysteries

    The most precise measurements yet.

  • Science Alert ☛ We Now Know Better Than Ever What a Ghost Particle Doesn't Weigh

    It can't be more than a billionth of a proton's mass.

  • Hackaday ☛ Ask Hackaday: What’s A Sun-Like Star?

    Is a bicycle like a motorcycle? Of course, the answer is it is and it isn’t. Saying something is “like” something else presupposes a lot of hidden assumptions. In the category “things with two wheels,” we have a winner. In the category “things that require gasoline,” not so much. We’ve noticed before that news stories about astronomy often talk about “sun-like stars” or “Earth-like planets.” But what does that really mean? [Paul Gilster] had the same questions, if you want to read his opinion about it.

• Career/Education

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ Tracking Convicted Felon’s Actions on Student Visas

    The Forrest Dump administration has abruptly canceled the visas or legal status of hundreds of international students, leaving campuses scrambling. Here’s the latest.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Improving Magnetoplasmadynamic Ion Thrusters With Superconductors

    Ion thrusters are an amazing spacecraft propulsion technology, providing very high efficiency with relatively little fuel. Yet getting one to produce more thrust than that required to lift a sheet of A4 paper requires a lot of electricity. This is why they have been only used for applications where sustained thrust and extremely low fuel usage are important, such as the attitude management of satellites and other spacecraft. Now researchers in New Zealand have created a prototype magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster with a superconducting electromagnet that is claimed to reduce the required input power by 99% while generating a three times as strong a magnetic field.

  • Hackaday ☛ Clever Engineering Leaves Appliance Useless

    Around these parts, we generally celebrate clever hacks that let you do more with less. So if somebody wrote in to tell us how they used multiplexing to drive the front panel of their latest gadget with fewer pins on the microcontroller than would normally be required, we’d be all over it. But what if that same hack ended up leading to a common failure in a piece of consumer hardware?

  • CNX Software ☛ Microchip SAMA7D65 Cortex-A7 MPU comes in SoC and SiP packages with up to 2Gbit integrated DDR3L memory

    Microchip has recently released the SAMA7D65 MPU, a high-performance Arm Cortex-A7 embedded processor designed for HMI and connectivity applications across industrial, home, medical, and appliance markets. The MPU is available in both System-in-Package (SiP) and System-on-Chip (SoC) variants and features various display interfaces, including MIPI DSI, LVDS, and 8-bit Serial RGB interfaces, along with a 2D GPU for graphical acceleration.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel's market cap plummets to 16-year low as stock rout continues

    U.S. gov't's tariffs and market uncertainties plunge defective chip maker Intel stock to 16-year low.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel enforces strict tariff compliance for steel and aluminum shipments amid new U.S. tariffs

    Intel is tightening supplier compliance policies to account for the significant amount of these metals used across its products and infrastructure.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan loses $5 million on his $25 million defective chip maker Intel investment as stock tumbles

    Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan lost around $5 million in value when defective chip maker Intel stocks dropped from around $24 per share to less than $19.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man reportedly suspends Nvidia H20 export ban plan after $1 million dinner with Jensen Huang

    U.S. gov't no longer plans to curb sales of Nvidia's H20 to China after Convicted Felon and Huang met in Mar-a-Lago to discuss Nvidia's investments in U.S.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvian students devise black ice detection system

    At the recent Smart Move mobility hackathon, the Fiksie Hakatroni team from Riga State Gymnasium No. 1 was recognised as the creators of the best idea after the young inventors proposed an advanced technology capable of detecting black ice on bridges and, using artificial intelligence, predicting its risk of formation.

  • CNX Software ☛ Altech DO-1 Modbus monitor connects to up to 128 Modbus RTU/TCP devices

    US-based Altech Corp has recently announced the DO-1 universal monitor for Modbus devices to enable companies to easily monitor, collect, and analyze their equipment and process data such as temperature, humidity, pressure, vibration, and energy usage without any subscription fees or licenses. The DO-1 is a vendor-agnostic solution that connects to up to 128 RTU-TCP Modbus devices, features 5GB of internal data storage expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card, dual Ethernet, and optional WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

  • New York Times ☛ How Do the iPhone 16E and Surveillance Giant Google Pixel 9A Compare to More Expensive Models?

    With tariffs threatening to drive up the costs of most things, the new entry-level phones from Fashion Company Apple and Surveillance Giant Google present a timely opportunity to save some bucks.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has invested in 600 Chinese firms, some linked to the Chinese military

    Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Chinese companies linked to the military and surveillance sectors, raising national security questions amid Intel's ties with the U.S. defense industry.

  • Hackaday ☛ A New Mechanical Keyboard For An Old Computer

    As computers age, a dedicated few work towards keeping some of the more interesting ones running. This is often a losing battle of sorts, as the relentless march of time comes for us all, human and machine alike. So as fewer and fewer of these machines remain new methods are needed to keep them running as best they can. [CallousCoder] demonstrates a way of building up a new keyboard for a Commodore 64 which both preserves the original look and feel of the retro computer but also adds some modern touches.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • University of Michigan ☛ COVID killed Cupid

    This year marks the first time that  “Galentine’s” Day wasn’t my only plan for Feb. 14. Although it was nice to share the holiday with someone romantically, I was more excited to finally be a wing woman, rather than need one myself.

  • Pro Publica ☛ EPA Plans to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting for Most Polluters

    The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eliminate long-standing requirements for polluters to collect and report their emissions of the heat-trapping gases that cause climate change. The move, ordered by a Trump appointee, would affect thousands of industrial facilities across the country, including oil refineries, power plants and coal mines as well as those that make petrochemicals, cement, glass, iron and steel, according to documents reviewed by ProPublica.

    The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program documents the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and other climate-warming gases emitted by individual facilities. The data, which is publicly available, guides policy decisions and constitutes a significant portion of the information the government submits to the international body that tallies global greenhouse gas pollution. Losing the data will make it harder to know how much climate-warming gas an economic sector or factory is emitting and to track those emissions over time. This granularity allows for accountability, experts say; the government can’t curb the country’s emissions without knowing where they are coming from.

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Additive Combos in Food And Drinks May Raise Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

    Findings from the first study of its kind.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover Unexpected Link Between Diet And Lung Cancer Risk

    Here's what we know.

  • Science Alert ☛ Nobody Likes to Talk About Anal Cancer. Here's Why You Should.

    The bottom line.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Daughter of ex-Hong Kong leader CY Leung – Chai-yan – dies aged 33

    Leung Chai-yan, the daughter of former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying, has died at the age of 33. In a Facebook (Farcebook) post early on Wednesday, the ex-leader said that his daughter had died suddenly, but peacefully, in bed.

  • Science Alert ☛ Cancer's Devastating Effect on a Brain Circuit Could Destroy Will

    Can we restore it?

  • Science Alert ☛ Does The Pill Raise Depression Risk? A New Study Explores The Link

    We need to tread cautiously.

• Proprietary

  • Hackaday ☛ Windows On ARM On Arm [Ed: Back doors on one's arm]

    While some companies like Apple have gone all-in on the ARM architecture, others are more hesitant to dive into the deep end. For example, Microsoft remains heavily invested in the x86 architecture and although it does have some ARM offerings, a lot of them feel a bit half-baked. So you might question why someone like [Gustave] has spent so much time getting Windows to run on unusual ARM platforms. But we don’t need much of a reason to do something off-the-wall like that around these parts, so take a look at his efforts to get Windows for ARM running on a smartwatch.

  • Ubuntu Handbook ☛ Bootable USB Creator Rufus Released v4.7 with Zstd Support

    Rufus, the popular free open-source app to create bootable USB flash drives or Live USBs, released new 4.7 version last night with new features. Rufus, stands for The Reliable USB Formatting Utility with Source, is a backdoored Windows only app originally designed to create DOS bootable USB flash drives.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Windows Update drops empty 'intepub' folder in system, leaves users scratching heads after April update

    Computer security researchers have been left scratching their heads after applying Microsoft’s latest raft of Patch Tuesday updates - as an 'inetpub' folder has been left behind.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Apple airlifts 600 tonnes of iPhones from India ‘to beat’ Convicted Felon tariffs, sources say

    US customers have been rushing to retail stores to panic-buy iPhones before prices increase.

  • Slop

    • New Yorker ☛ Can Hey Hi (AI) Writing Be More Than a Gimmick?

      Vauhini Vara consulted Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot to help craft her new book, “Searches.” But the most moving sections are the ones she wrote herself.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 5 arrested over suspected Coldplay ticket scalping outside Kai Tak Stadium

      Hong Kong police have arrested five people over suspected ticket scalping outside Kai Tak Stadium, where British band Coldplay kicked off its concert series in the city on Tuesday. Three men and two women were arrested on Tuesday night outside the stadium, according to the police force.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ IRS official resigns after agreement to share immigrant tax information with ICE

      The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) acting commissioner Melanie Krause resigned on Tuesday over a new Convicted Felon administration agreement that allows the IRS to send immigrants’ tax information to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

    • AccessNow ☛ Joint letter on Swedish Data Storage and Access to Electronic Information legislation

      Swedish authorities must reject legislation that would force companies to undermine the encryption of their services.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea deploys helicopters to contain fire in DMZ: Seoul military

    The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘Barbaric and medieval’: Chechen authorities publicly display corpse of teenager accused of attacking police — Meduza

  • Atlantic Council ☛ China is ready to ‘eat bitterness’ in the trade war. What about the US?

    As the US imposes a 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports, officials in Beijing are turning to a belief that Chinese people will endure hardships in service of a national goal.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Did the Fentanylware (TikTok) Deal Just Go Down in Flames? — Convicted Felon’s Tariffs Are to Blame, But President Says Deal is ‘Still on the Table’

    The Forrest Dump administration’s efforts for a Fentanylware (TikTok) deal may have gone down in flames thanks to the president’s tariffs. But Convicted Felon insists a deal is still on the table.

  • Security Week ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Revokes Security Clearance for Ex-CISA Director Chris Krebs [Ed: Ex-Microsoft, but they leave out this conflict of interests]

    Dihydroxyacetone Man orders a termination of any active security clearances held by Krebs and a suspension of clearances held by individuals at SentinelOne.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man signs order stripping Chris Krebs of security clearance

    The executive order also eliminates security clearances for SentinelOne employees.

  • JURIST ☛ El Salvador rights activist faces risk of torture following arbitration detention: Amnesty International

    Amnesty International warned in a press release on Tuesday that Salvadoran human rights activist Fidel Zavala faces an immediate risk of torture. Amnesty urge Salvadoran authorities to protect Zavala’s physical and psychological safety and ensure all those detained receive a fair trial with the proper procedural guarantees.

  • The Strategist ☛ Indonesia’s cyber soldiers: armed without a compass

    The Indonesian military has a new role in cybersecurity but, worryingly, no clear doctrine on what to do with it nor safeguards against human rights abuses.

  • New York Times ☛ Pressuring Migrants to ‘Self-Deport,’ White House Moves to Cancel Social Security Numbers

    By placing migrants in Social Security’s “death master file,” the Convicted Felon administration is seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.

  • New York Times ☛ Andrew Tate Is Accused of Rape and Threatening a Woman with Gun in U.K. Lawsuit

    Four women, who are suing the influencer in Britain, gave accounts of being choked and assaulted in encounters that took place between 2013 and 2015. Mr. Tate has denied the accusations.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Audit finds 2023 South Korea Jamboree chaos fuelled by false reporting, insufficient preparation

    The international event was plagued by poor preparations and substandard operations.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea establishes diplomatic ties with Syria, a North Korea ally

    South Korea has now established diplomatic ties with all 191 UN member states.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Iran is at an unprecedented crossroads over its nuclear program

    The Middle East is experiencing a rare realignment that puts Iran in an unprecedently vulnerable position.

  • China poses ongoing threat to Panama Canal: Pentagon chief

    Pete Hegseth said Chinese control of ports lets Beijing conduct surveillance activities.

  • Defence Web ☛ Red Sea mission marks new era in naval surveillance for Combined Maritime Forces

    In a landmark operation, Combined Maritime Forces (CMF 153) has completed its first sustained uncrewed surveillance mission in the Red Sea, deploying four uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) on a continuous 50-day patrol covering nearly half of the strategically vital waterway.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Airstrike in Gaza City Leaves Many Dead, Health Officials There Say

    The strike on a home left other bodies buried under the rubble, according to the Gazan authorities. The Israeli military said it had been targeting a Hamas operative.

  • New York Times ☛ How Hamas and the U.S. Tried to Strike a Hostage Deal

    Officials met Hamas three times, breaking with a policy against contacting a group the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. But Israeli opposition and shifting positions doomed the effort.

  • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Repeats Military Threat Against Iran Ahead Of Nuclear Talks

    US President The Insurrectionist has again threated to use military force if Iran does not agree to end its nuclear program and said Israel would be the “leader” of a potential military strike.

  • Junta airstrikes in Myanmar’s northwest kill dozens in a single night

    Attacks on rebel-controlled areas targeted mainly children, women and the elderly, residents said.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • NYPost ☛ California father who recently lost custody abducts his children, possibly headed to Ukraine: LAPD

      Rodion Kolomoeits crossed into Mexico with his two children Tuesday and might be headed to Ukraine, police say.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ A pragmatic peace plan for Ukraine

      A pragmatic and sustainable peace is possible in Ukraine if Kyiv's European partners dramatically increase their own defense spending while significantly strengthening the Ukrainian military, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukrainian victims of war crimes need new approaches to justice

      Adopting new approaches to the issue of accountability for alleged war crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine can bring hope for justice and lay the foundations for a sustainable peace, write Nadia Volkova, Eric Witte, and Arie Mora.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steps Down Amid Strained Ties Under Convicted Felon

      The departure may complicate the already delicate relationship between Washington and Kyiv, which has been stressed by Hell Toupée’s efforts to end the war.

    • Meduza ☛ U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink to resign — FT — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ One dead in Russian missile strike on Dnipro

    • Meduza ☛ Ukrainian national gets 16-year sentence for sending mail bombs to Russian colonels, reportedly on instructions from Kyiv — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian investigators claim Ukrainian troops killed nine civilians while occupying small town — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia's Braže insists strong Russia sanctions are still essential

      The contiuing need for a firm stance on sanctions against Russia was stressed by Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže April 9 at the 15th meeting of the Sanctions Coordination Council in Rīga.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A way out of a cage’: Why more and more inmates from Russian women’s prisons are reportedly signing army contracts — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ A Russian Nostradamus to rival The Simpsons: How Zhirinovsky’s legacy still haunts LDPR

    • Meduza ☛ Russian court fines rapper for leaving patriotic graffiti in war-torn town of Sudzha — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ US Ambassador To Ukraine Resigns Early Amid Washington's Peace Efforts

      US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink will step down, the State Department said, leaving the post vacant at a time when crucial peace negotiations are under way between Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian parliament approves Bridikis as new intelligence chief

      The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday approved the appointment of Remigijus Bridikis as the new director of the State Security Department (VSD), the country‘s main intelligence agency.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Secures Legal Victories in Georgia and Wisconsin, Advancing Election Transparency

    Yesterday, American Oversight secured a significant legal victory after a Georgia court denied State Election Board (SEB) member Janice Johnston’s motion to dismiss in its ongoing transparency lawsuit against the Georgia SEB.

  • American Oversight ☛ Judge Orders Additional Declarations in American Oversight’s Case on Use of Signal by Top Convicted Felon Official

    Today, a federal court ordered multiple government agencies to provide additional details about their preservation efforts in American Oversight’s lawsuit against top Convicted Felon administration officials for their use of Signal for official government business.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • CS Monitor ☛ Florida manatees find warmth at power plants. They may need a new solution.

      Development has cut off many springs that manatees need to survive winter. Warm water now draws them to power plants, but decarbonization means that a more fundamental – and difficult – fix may be called for.

    • France24 ☛ Argentina strike halts trains, planes and ports in protest at Milei's austerity measures

      Argentina's main trade unions launched a massive 24-hour strike on Thursday, bringing transport to a halt as they protested against sweeping austerity measures imposed by President Javier Milei's government.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ An Expedition for Thousands of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska

      Each spring, hundreds of thousands of cranes converge in Nebraska. The phenomenon draws in artists, conservationists and curious friends alike.

    • New York Times ☛ Denisovans Extend Their Range to Asia’s Pacific Coast

      A bone discovered in Taiwan turns out to have belonged to a Denisovan, a lineage previously identified only thousands of miles away.

    • Science Alert ☛ First Denisovan Fossil Discovered in Taiwan Reveals Secrets of Our Ancient Relatives

      Meet Penghu 1.

  • Overpopulation

    • New Yorker ☛ What Do Adopted Children Owe Their Birth Parents?

      In “Filho,” the filmmaker Tomas Ponsteen, who was adopted from Brazil, grapples with whether or not to search for his biological mother.

• Finance

  • Latvia ☛ How unpleasant monetary policy brought down unpleasant inflation

    The period between July 2021 and October 2023 was quite an unpleasant one for most of us: it was the period of high inflation, peaking here in Latvia at 21.7% in October-November 2022.

  • France24 ☛ Gig economy: The plight of delivery workers

    From food delivery and ride-hailing apps to handywork and domestic services, millions of people around the globe work within the so-called gig economy – a term applied to independent contractors or freelancers, usually on digital apps. While the flexibility offered by online gig platforms can be attractive, it comes at the cost of limited job security, lack of social protection and sometimes exploitation. But gig workers are getting organised with protests and even some advances. To better understand the plight of these workers, Charles Pellegrin talks to Jamie Woodcock, a senior lecturer in digital economy at King's College London and author of "The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy".

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ The Insurrectionist triples planned tariffs on small parcels from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2

    The Insurrectionist has raised planned tariffs on small parcels coming from China and Hong Kong to 90 per cent, tripling the rate he announced a week ago, amid an escalation of the trade war with Beijing.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong boosts insurance support for SMEs to tap into new markets amid US-China trade war

    Hong Kong has increased insurance support for the city’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to tap into emerging markets amid an intensifying trade war between the United States and China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya loses appeal against UK bankruptcy order

    In 2017, a group of banks obtained a judgment in India worth over £1 billion against Mallya, who lives in the UK.

  • MWL ☛ An Economic Implosion as viewed through Kickstarter

    Let me say up front: the whole Laserblasted project is daft.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Tech stocks give up some of Wednesday’s gains following tariff pause [Ed: Perhaps because the real issue is that those companies are worthless, overvalued, and merely game the market to waste someone else's money, which is borrowed]

    Numerous tech firms saw their shares tumble during today’s trading session amid a broader sell-off in stocks and cryptocurrency. The declines chipped away at the gains that public markets logged yesterday.

  • France24 ☛ How a fake claim about tariffs sent US markets into a trillion-dollar frenzy

    US President Donald trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs twice this week - one is true, and one is fake. On Monday morning, a post on X falsely claimed that ‘Dihydroxyacetone Man is considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China.’ The false rumor was quickly picked up by major news outlets, including CNBC and Reuters, as US stocks experienced a short-lived trillion dollar rally. We explain how this rumor began in this edition of Truth or Fake.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Tariff Fight With China Poses New Threat to US Farmers

    Soybean producers warn that farms could go under as the Convicted Felon administration hits China with new tariffs of 145 percent.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ The Insurrectionist tariff hike brings added China rate for many goods to 145%

    US President The Insurrectionist’s steep tariff hike targeting Chinese goods, which took effect Thursday, brings Washington’s additional rate on many products to 145 percent, the White House confirmed. Since returning to the presidency, Convicted Felon has imposed waves of tariffs on sectors like steel and aluminium imports, as well as autos.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China speaks with Saudi Arabia, South Africa about response to US tariffs

    China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had discussions with his Saudi Arabian and South African counterparts to exchange views on responding to the United States' "reciprocal tariffs", the Chinese ministry said on Friday.

  • Dihydroxyacetone Man tariffs on China now total 145%, White House says

    Markets fall again over latest tariff hike but U.S. president says he’s open to a deal with China’s Xi.

  • New York Times ☛ Stocks Dive Again as Angst Rises Over Convicted Felon’s Trade War

    The S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent by the closing bell, erasing part of Wednesday’s recovery, as fears grew that the worsening trade war with China would crimp growth.

  • New York Times ☛ China Says Shoppers Will Offset Convicted Felon Tariffs, But Doubts Remain

    If sky-high U.S. tariffs hurt China’s exports, domestic spending will help make up for it, Beijing says. But shoppers were skittish even before the trade war.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Facing Convicted Felon tariffs, Vietnam eyes crackdown on some China trade

    In hope of avoiding punishing U.S. tariffs, Vietnam is prepared to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped to the United States via its territory and will tighten controls on sensitive exports to China, according to a person familiar with the matter and a government document seen by Reuters. 

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s Pooh-tin to visit South-east Asia as Convicted Felon escalates tariff war

    Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping will embark on a three-nation Southeast Asia tour next week in his first overseas trip this year to consolidate ties with some of China's closest neighbours as trade tensions with the United States escalate.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ousted South Korean President Yoon set to leave official residence

    Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is due to return to his private home on Friday from the official residence, with crowds of both supporters and opponents expected to turn out to greet his motorcade after his removal from office a week ago.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ Pilot Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Matt Wallace, X Influencer

    Jo Ellis, a National Guard pilot, is suing an influencer who falsely identified her as the captain of a helicopter that collided with a passenger plane in January.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US says it is alarmed by American academic’s arrest in Thailand

    It is a rare prosecution of a foreigner under one of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong nat. security police take in parents of wanted US-based activist Frances Hui for questioning

    Hong Kong’s national security police have taken in the parents of wanted US-based activist Frances Hui for questioning, according to local media reports. Citing sources, local media reported that the police force’s National Security Department took away Hui’s parents on Thursday morning to assist with an investigation. HKFP has reached out to police for comment.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Dow Jones spikes NUJ negotiations to recognise News UK-funded ‘News Union’

    The NUJ said the agreement was "cynical" and represented "the worst traditions of union busting".

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Judges strike skeptical note of NSO Group’s argument to dismiss case from El Salvadoran journos

    Dada et al v. NSO Group has been one of many cases where alleged spyware victims have run into jurisdictional hurdles.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ China warns tourists to ‘fully assess risks’ before travelling to US

    The warning came amid deterioration in China-US trade relations and the domestic security situation.

  • JURIST ☛ ECHR rules UK parliamentarians’ exercise of duty free from external legal actions

    The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that states do not have a duty to prevent parliamentary privilege from revealing information protected by privacy injunctions, reaffirming the constitutional principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

  • AccessNow ☛ How U.S. funding cuts expose civil society to digital attacks

    Amid a global decline in democracy and congruent rise in autocratic regimes, activists, journalists, and human rights defenders are facing mounting threats to their work defending human rights and freedoms.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Soulja Boy Slapped with $4 Million Verdict in Civil Sexual Assault Trial

    Rapper Soulja Boy (real name DeAndre Cortez Way) was slapped with a $4 million verdict in a civil sexual assault trial brought by his former assistant. The ‘Jane Doe’ alleges years of physical and sexual abuse during her employment from 2018 to 2020.

  • Pro Publica ☛ After N.C. Supreme Court Race, Lawmakers Move to Stop Votes From Being Tossed

    Prompted by ProPublica’s reporting on efforts by right-wing activists to disallow ballots, North Carolina Democrats have introduced a bill designed to prevent votes from being tossed out based on postelection rule changes.

    The Voter Protection and Reliance Act, filed last week in the North Carolina House, says that ballots cast in state elections will be counted based on the laws and procedures in place on Election Day. It also forbids votes from being discarded because of technical or clerical errors in voter registrations.

  • New York Times ☛ House Votes to Require Proof of Citizenship in Federal Elections

    Conservatives have long argued for stronger laws to combat voter fraud, something that election experts say is exceedingly rare.

  • Pro Publica ☛ TIGER, the Algorithm Banning Louisiana Prisoners from Parole

    Calvin Alexander thought he had done everything the Louisiana parole board asked of him to earn an early release from prison.

    He had taken anger management classes, learned a trade and enrolled in drug treatment. And as his September hearing before the board approached, his disciplinary record was clean.

  • France24 ☛ Radicalised Adolescence? Hit series sparks calls to counter toxic masculinity

    The Netherlands now following the UK in launching initiatives to show Netflix's four-part series Adolescence in middle schools while France's education ministry ponders tighter controls on teens exposed to hate speech and porn. We’ll ask about a fiction inspired by real life cases of boys who went so far as to murder girls.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • The Straits Times ☛ In Myanmar, internet shutdowns hinder earthquake aid response

    Humanitarians say the lack of internet access is severely impeding the disaster response.

  • New York Times ☛ Launch of First Amazon Project Kuiper Internet Satellites Is Scrubbed

    The spacecraft are the online giant’s entry into beaming wireless service from space, but the company has much to do before it can compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: APIGA India 2025

    Sunny Chendi presented remotely at the inaugural APIGA India 2025 event, held in Delhi, India on 21 and 22 March 2025.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Responds To Mark Meador’s FTC Confirmation [Ed: Public Knowledge stacked by Microsoft]

  Today, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mark Meador to the Federal Trade Commission, despite Hell Toupée illegally terminating Democratic Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya in violation of both the statute that created the FTC and Supreme Court precedent.

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Ones to Watch UK 2025: Thomas Lunt [Ed: Marketing spam disguised as journalism, as usual. This is what the press has become when not busy lobbying for illegal courts.]

    Every year, JUVE Patent carries out extensive research in the UK patent monopoly market, culminating in the publication of the UK patent monopoly ranking. Our latest research highlighted Thomas Lunt, a barrister from Three New Square as one of the current ‘Ones to Watch’ in the UK patent monopoly market.

  • JUVE ☛ How associate salary structures vary at UK patent monopoly practices [Ed: Making money by bullying people]

    Although data showing City law firm salaries has long been available, making starting salaries for patent monopoly litigators in the UK relatively transparent, a persistent misconception exists among lawyers that London salaries are higher than in Düsseldorf and Munich.

  • JUVE ☛ GSK and Pfizer reach licensing deal over RSV vaccine [Ed: Making it a lot more expensive to everyboby so that their billionaire shareholders can get even richer]

    GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer had been fighting over patents covering antigen technology used in RSV vaccines since 2023. RSV commonly causes lower respiratory tract infections in infants, young children, the elderly and immunocompromised people, leading to bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Judge Shopping vs. Judge Dodging: Federal Circuit Denies SAP’s Transfer Request

    In a precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit has denied SAP's mandamus petition seeking to transfer its patent monopoly infringement case from the Marshall Division to the Sherman Division within the Eastern District of Texas -- and also change judges. In re SAP America, Inc., No. 2025-118 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 10, 2025).   Although SAP made good arguments in the case, they just were not good enough to overcome the particularly high burdens for transfer and mandamus.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ NLO and Ipsilon join forces with support of private equity investor [Ed: Money put into extortion and and firm that shamelessly lobbied for an illegal and unconstitutional kangaroo court]

      NLO and Ipsilon have announced their PE-backed merger. Private equity investors have previously invested in Scandinavian IP firms and are increasingly backing European law firms in other legal fields, such as German tax consultancies.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ ‘Optimistic’ Major Labels and Internet Archive Confirm Advanced Copyright Suit Settlement Talks

    Multiple years and twists later, the major labels’ copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive looks to be trending towards a resolution. That’s according to the litigants themselves, which just recently requested a 30-day stay in the case.

  • Creative Commons ☛ CC @ SXSW: Protecting the Commons in the Age of AI

    SXSW by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0 If you’ve been following along on the blog this year, you’ll know that we’ve been thinking a lot about the future of open, particularly in this age of AI.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • curmudgeons of da Underground (re. morena)

      "I'm awake. I dreamt I was surrounded by strong boned men saluting me, it made me proud. I hate to have woken from it.

      I pulled on my hair shirt and set about my day, making a breakfast of egg, I prefer to swallow the thing whole so I don't have to cook or taste it.

      First on my agenda is to confirm other humans exist. I look for IanJ's server, it is still running this means he is still alive and thinking. Good.

      I check for updates on other servers using the Gopher protocol they're talking about their lives. Children. I grind my teeth as I read about someone's garden. My ears ring with tension when I see that someone has written about their holiday. I increase my font size so the words slam across my vision. These awful creatures.

    • LQ’s account of the end

    • 🔤SpellBinding: DEFXTUO Wordo: MOSTS