GNU/Linux

• Applications

  • Medevel ☛ 19 Open-source and Free SSH Clients for Windows, Linux, and macOS

    An SSH client, also known as Secure Shell client, is a software application that allows users to securely connect to remote servers or devices using the SSH protocol. SSH, which stands for Secure Shell, is a cryptographic network protocol that provides secure communication between two systems over an unsecured network.

• Desktop Environments/WMs

  • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

    • Niccolò Venerandi ☛ KDE Promo Sprint!

      Slightly over a week ago, I joined my first KDE Promo sprint! My only previous experience was the KDE Plasma sprint, which was very different: lots of developers, and much more development time. This sprint was more intimate and only lasted two days; I nonetheless enjoyed it quite a bit.

      You can see me here working hard on promoting all, ehm,

Distributions and Operating Systems

• SUSE/OpenSUSE

  • Fed Up With Spam and Misconduct? OBS Acts Accordingly

    Have you detected any spam? Is some user misbehaving? Is there any project or package that looks suspicious? Starting today, you can easily report any problematic content from the OBS application itself! Our moderators will do the rest. Please join the beta program and enable the Content Moderation feature to help us catch them all.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • Arduino ☛ Tiny DIY Roomba cleans desks and countertops

    The future we were promised was supposed to include robot maids and flying cars. The future we got has Roomba vacuums and Southwest Airlines. But at least those Roomba vacuum robots work pretty well for keeping floors slightly cleaner. Sadly, they leave elevated surfaces untouched and dust-ridden.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Live now! Murena 2 with /e/OS… and a very unique feature

    The Murena 2: A Pioneering Step in Mobile Privacy In today’s digital age, privacy has become a paramount concern for many. With tech giants constantly under scrutiny for potential breaches and misuse of user data, the demand for devices that prioritize user privacy is on the rise.

  • Ready? Murena 2 with /e/OS! (EN+DE+FR+ES+IT)

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

  • LibreOffice project and community recap: September 2023

    Here’s our summary of updates, events and activities in the LibreOffice project in the last four weeks...

Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Difficult decisions and willpower

  I’m obsessed with the idea that we have a finite capacity for making decisions in the course of a day. It’s why people are more reckless in the evenings when it comes to driving, gambling, and alcohol… we’ve been worn down by the day, but especially when it comes to our capacity for making good decisions.

• NYPost ☛ Hawaiian Airlines flight struck by lightning with 278 on board, diverted back to Vegas as scared passengers were ‘crying’

  Hawaiian Airlines Flight 5 was forced to turn back to Las Vegas after the plane, carrying 278 passengers, was struck by lightning.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t board sees 98% of public submissions opposed to Fanling golf course housing project, as golf club cites Asian Games wins

  More than 98 per cent of the submissions received by Hong Kong authorities were opposed to a controversial plan to build public housing on part of the Fanling golf course, the Town Planning Board (TPB) has said...

• Hardware

  • Tedium ☛ RGB Revolution

    RGB lighting is designed to stick out like a sore thumb—and it especially does in a courtroom, it turns out.

    We had green LEDs in the 1950s, and red LEDs by 1962. But blue diodes were hard to develop, and we did not have a truly usable one until 1993, at which point we were able to develop white LEDs with such brightness that they could be used in place of traditional light bulbs. It took just three decades for the white LEDs to replace incandescent light bulbs on store shelves entirely.

    RGB lighting has gained a long-fascinating image as an ongoing trend in popular culture, associated with gamers in particular.

    This week, RGB lighting’s reputation found itself in the crosshairs of the mainstream news because of a decision by Alina Habba, a lawyer for former president Donald Trump, to bring an Asus ROG Strix laptop with her to court. Now, to be clear, the machine is a suitable beast for computing tasks—according to Kotaku, it has an RTX 2070 Super GPU and an Intel i7 processor—but its design stands out in certain settings, especially if you fail to turn off the RGB lighting on the keyboard and on the back of the display, as Habba did.

  • CNX Software ☛ Review of the first Matter device by SONOFF – MINI Extreme Wi-Fi Smart Switch (MINIR4M)

    In this review, we have experimented with various Smart Home platforms that support Matter, such as Home Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and even their own eWeLink app. Let’s see how their operations and features differ to some extent. Quick intro for Matter. We have heard Matter/Thread together in the news. Matter is a control protocol, while Thread is a communication protocol. Both protocols can work together, or separately. Matter can operate on the top of various communication protocols, including WiFi, Ethernet, BLE, or Thread, with subtle differences such as energy efficiency, network, and resiliency.

  • CNX Software ☛ Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/V2L SMARC 2.1 system-on-modules target HMI and Edge AI applications

    ARIES Embedded has recently launched two SMARC-compliant MRZG2LS and MRZV2LS system-on-modules (SoM) powered by respectively a Renesas RZ/G2L dual-core Cortex-A55/M33 microprocessor with Arm Mali-G31 GPU and H.264 video codec (H.264) and a similar Renesas RZ/V2L MPU adding a built-in ‘DRP-AI’ AI accelerator for vision applications. Those are the first SMARC modules from the company and they are well-suited for applications such as entry-class industrial human machine interfaces (HMIs), embedded vision, edge artificial intelligence (edge-AI), real-time control, industrial Ethernet connectivity, and embedded devices with video capabilities.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico and the US focus on semiconductors at economic dialogue

    The talks aimed to help establish further avenues for trade between Mexico and the United States, as well as increase security at the border.

  • France24 ☛ European Union seeks to protect sensitive tech from Chinese buyers

    The EU will signal Tuesday how Brussels will muscle up to counter China's aggressive trade policies, including by unveiling a list of sensitive technologies that must be kept out of Beijing's hands.

  • The Strategist ☛ China and America are not destined for war

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Kent Stater ☛ Nursing students see different COVID-19 vaccine requirements

    Kent State nursing students must complete a clinical requirement to receive their degree from the university. With COVID-19 vaccinations available, some clinicals require immunization, while others do not.

  • NYPost ☛ ‘Huge surge’ of bed bugs: Everything you need to know to get rid of them

    Travel activity is booming again after the pandemic lull — but people aren't the only ones taking trips.

  • Federal News Network ☛ US announces sweeping action against Chinese fentanyl supply chain producers

    The US is announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against 14 people and 14 firms across China and Canada related to the import of fentanyl into the United States. It's one of the biggest actions the Biden administration has taken against the trafficking of the deadly drug. Leaders from the Treasury, Justice and Homeland Security departments, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are set to gather at Justice Department headquarters Tuesday afternoon to outline the administration’s latest action against what it calls a “major China-based syndicate” that sold chemicals to American drug dealers and Mexico-based cartels.

  • Kev Quirk ☛ Fat Boy at 40 - Update 01

    It's been a little over a month since I mentioned the Fat Boy at 40 thing (me wanting to lose some weight), so I thought it was hide time provided an update...

    So I've been tracking my weight, BMI and blood pressure over the last 6 weeks. The good news is that my weight has gone down, as has my BMI and my blood pressure, but I think I could have done better.

  • Federal News Network ☛ US health officials propose using a cheap antibiotic as a ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs

    U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a post-sex morning after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The long-awaited guideline says doxycycline can prevent certain illnesses if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. One official says it's an innovative step to help battle record levels of STD infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposal was released Monday. The agency plans to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period.

  • Latvia ☛ Unwarranted ambulance calls will cost more in Latvia

    A new price list for emergency services will come into force in October, which also includes increasing the price for unwarranted calls, providing an emergency team at mass events, and other paid services. The government agreed on Tuesday, October 3, that the new price list would take effect on October 16.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Boss of new global health newsroom: ‘There is no for-profit model for what we’re doing’

    One of The Examination's first priorities is boosting and diversifying its funding.

  • The Straits Times ☛ WHO says no new cases of Nipah virus detected since Sept 15

    No fresh cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been detected since Sept. 15 in India's southern state of Kerala, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Mayo Clinic Minute: Correcting the curve with scoliosis surgery

    Most people with scoliosis have a mild spinal curve that can be monitored by their healthcare team over time or treated with a back brace and physical therapy.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • WhichUK ☛ Windows stuck in a boot loop: How to fix it [Ed: Install GNU/Linux]

    Our experts explain how to stop your computer restarting, plus how to back up important data if you want to try a factory reset

  • Vice Media Group ☛ 'It's Ludicrous': Those $17K Gold Apple Watches Are Now Obsolete

    The original 2015 watches are now obsolete according to reports, which means they can't be repaired by Apple. Nothing gold can stay.

  • New York Times ☛ Microsoft C.E.O. Testifies That Google’s Power in Search Is Ubiquitous [Ed: The criminal company pretends to be the victim while bribing the US government. This is new level of obscene.]

    Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, is the government’s biggest-name witness in its landmark antitrust case against Google.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testifies in high-profile Google antitrust trial [Ed: Oh, poor Microsoft. Cry us a river and get government bailouts under the guise of "defence" contracts.]

    Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Satya Nadella today testified in an antitrust lawsuit that the Justice Department is pursuing against Google LLC. The case is currently in the third week of what is expected to be an up to 10-week trial.

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • OSI Blog ☛ Criteria review begins by License Consistency Working Group to update licenses to current standards [Ed: The OSI, which takes bribes from Microsoft to promote proprietary software, openwashing, and GPL violations]

      License Consistency Working Group (LCWG) begins work to review OSI's library of licenses against current standards.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Testing Ad-free Subscription Service Outside U.S. As European Privacy Laws Loom [Ed: This is a malicious digital weapon, and few politicians correctly grasp the threat]

      TikTok has confirmed it is testing an ad-free subscription service that may be limited to outside the United States. Here’s the latest. Android Authority did an app teardown of the most recent TikTok for Android build, revealing some surprising features.

    • EDRI ☛ Event summary: Encryption in the age of surveillance

      The EDRi-organised event on encryption, surveillance, and privacy brought together key policymakers, academics, activists and members of the press to build a better understanding of why encryption is important for people and democracy.

    • ACLU ☛ Keeping Our Kids Safe from the EdTech Surveillance Industry

      As a father of two K-12 students, I understand how deeply every parent and school official worries about keeping our kids safe. That critical task means not only keeping them safe from those who may want to harm them, but also providing all the support we can to students who may wish to harm themselves.

      Regretfully, I have watched over the years as schools have increasingly turned to student surveillance technologies to keep our children safe. These decisions haunt me because, as an ACLU senior policy counsel focused on privacy, surveillance, and technology issues, I know full well that surveillance does not deter bad conduct, and it certainly does not protect our students. This living surveillance nightmare becomes all the more disturbing when I think about the many proven interventions that schools choose not to invest in, instead spending their limited resources on student surveillance products that do not work.

      Why do schools continue to invest in unproven surveillance interventions? Because their decisions far too frequently rely on the marketing materials of those looking to get rich off the sale of student surveillance products: the EdTech Surveillance industry. This over-reliance is somewhat understandable, because school districts have limited expertise in surveillance and have little time to become experts. Moreover, when student surveillance sales pitches are being presented and acquisition decisions are being made, the EdTech Surveillance industry’s salespersons and marketing materials are often the only other voice in the room.

    • NYOB ☛ Meta (Facebook / Instagram) to move to a "Pay for your Rights" approach

      In order to bypass the GDPR, Meta apparently plans to move to a "Pay for your Rights" approach

    • Junichi Uekawa: Electronic receipt storage in Japan.

      Japan also started allowing electronic data for receipts, but had some red tape associated with it.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ The rise and fall of Clearview.AI and the evolution of facial recognition

      Facial recognition software has come full circle, from tech darling to tech disaster.

    • APNIC ☛ A review of Lawful Interception legislation in Oceania

      Guest Post: Lawful Interception is a tool for law enforcement to examine data traffic, but legislation varies between jurisdictions.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFA ☛ Fleeing North Korea has never been harder, or costlier

    A South Korean group that helps escapees starts up again after COVID, but fewer are getting through.

  • New York Times ☛ 14-Year-Old Fatally Shoots 2 at Mall in Bangkok, Officials Say

    Thailand has one of the highest gun ownership and gun homicide rates in Southeast Asia, still the episode left the country reeling.

  • AntiWar ☛ Contempt for Press Freedoms: U S Officials Bar Tucker Carlson from Interviewing Putin

    Tucker Carlson reports that the U.S. government prevented him from interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Carlson told the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche that he had sought to arrange an interview with Putin, but U.S. officials blocked him. “I tried to interview Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. government prevented me from doing so.

  • University of Michigan ☛ UMich students who vandalized Jewish Resource Center identified by police

    Two individuals who were captured on surveillance video spray painting homophobic slurs at the Jewish Resource Center in August have been identified as University of Michigan students, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department.

  • Defence Web ☛ Nigerian Army acquires Tares armoured vehicles

    The Nigerian Army is now operating Tares armoured vehicles after having just taken delivery of the new type from Saudi Arabia’s ERAF Industrial Company. In August, photos circulated online of around 15 Tares vehicles being delivered on the back of trucks from Onne Port in Rivers State.

  • Federal News Network ☛ A foreign armed force to fight gangs makes many in Haiti celebrate, while others worry

    Foreigners with guns are met with hostility in most countries in the world. But the departure of armed soldiers and police from Haiti in 2017 after nearly two decades on the streets helped criminals seize control of much of the country. Gangs have carried out with so much robbery, rape and kidnapping that Haitians on Tuesday welcomed news that the U.N. Security Council had approved deployment of an international armed force to Haiti. News of the vote that authorized a one-year deployment of a Kenya-led force to help quell violent gangs dominated conversations and radio and TV programs. ‘It’s like God heard Haiti’s prayers, and he’s sending help,’ said Wensley Johnson, a 40-year-old construction worker.

  • teleSUR ☛ UN Authorizes Security Mission in Haiti To Fight Gangs

    The Council's approval comes a year after the Caribbean country asked for help to fight violent gangs.

  • New York Times ☛ UN Approves Kenya’s Mission to Stabilize Haiti

    Kenyan security forces are expected to head to Haiti for a year to combat gang violence that has killed thousands and forced many more people to flee widespread murders, kidnappings and extortion.

  • New York Times ☛ Kenyan-Led Security Mission in Haiti: What to Know

    With hundreds killed, abducted and injured in a worsening cycle of gang violence in Haiti, a Kenyan plan to lead a mission to help stabilize the country won U.N. approval on Monday.

  • Defence Web ☛ ISS: Digital evidence – a step forward for South Africa

    In one of the first cases of its kind, South Africa’s 2020 Cybercrimes Act has been put to the test to secure a conviction of incitement based on WhatsApp evidence.

  • France24 ☛ Why did the UN vote to send an international force to Haiti?

    The United Nations Security Council on Monday voted to authorise a security mission to Haiti to help the Caribbean country fight heavily armed gangs that have overrun the capital.

  • France24 ☛ UN Security Council approves international security force for Haiti

    The United Nations Security Council on Monday authorized a foreign security mission to Haiti, a year after the Caribbean country asked for help to fight violent gangs that have largely overrun its capital Port-au-Prince.

  • RFA ☛ Former Taiwan president to boycott National Day

    Ma Ying-jeou says the use of the word ‘Taiwan’ is tantamount to declaring independence.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Armenian lawmakers vote to join ICC, straining ties with ally Russia

      Armenia’s parliament voted Tuesday to join the International Criminal Court, a move that further strains the country’s ties with its old ally Russia after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over events in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Despite Warning Signals From Moscow, Armenian Lawmakers Ratify ICC's Rome Statute

      Despite opposition from Moscow, Armenian lawmakers have voted in favor of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which issued warrants in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's commissioner for their roles in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

    • New Yorker ☛ Should the West Threaten the Putin Regime Over Ukraine?

      The historian Stephen Kotkin on the state of the war and the dangers of a Russian Tet Offensive.

    • AntiWar ☛ As General Milley Retires, His Legacy Is Brinkmanship with Russia and China

      Gen. Mark Milley retired on Friday as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and handed over command to Air Force chief Gen. Charles Q. Brown. In 2019, Milley took up the post after being nominated by President Donald Trump.

    • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Biden calls US allies to ‘coordinate’ support for Ukraine

      US President Joe Biden called key allies on Tuesday to "coordinate" support for Ukraine, the White House said. Western allies have raised concerns on the subject after Republican hardliners in Congress derailed US funding for Kyiv. The news came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited frontline areas in eastern Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin’s Next Target: U.S. Support for Ukraine, Officials Say

      Russian spy agencies and new technologies could be used to push conspiracy theories, U.S. officials say.

    • RFERL ☛ Another Former Wagner Mercenary Recruited From Russian Prison Accused Of Murder

      A former fighter from the Wagner mercenary group who was recruited from prison last year has been accused of killing two women and burning their house down after returning home to Siberia from the ongoing war against Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian Foreign Ministry: Russia targeting Latvian officials while abroad

      Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) suggested October 2 that Russia is seeking to punish Latvian officials who have stood up to its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine: Orchestra from Russian-held city of Mariupol gets new home in Kyiv

      In Ukraine, more than half of Mariupol's inhabitants have fled the southern city, preferring not to live under Russian occupation. Among them are conductor Vasyl Kryachok and some of his musicians, who decided to rebuild the orchestra he himself founded some 35 years ago. The "Renaissance" chamber orchestra of Mariupol has now found refuge in the capital Kyiv.

    • LRT ☛ Ukraine transfers some agricultural cargo controls to Lithuania’s Klaipėda

      Veterinary and sanitary controls of Ukrainian agricultural cargo bound for the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda will in the next two days be transferred from the Polish-Ukrainian border directly to Klaipėda under a deal reached by Kyiv, Warsaw, and Vilnius, Reuters has reported.

    • RFERL ☛ Biden Calls Allies To Reassure U.S. Aid Will Continue As Zelenskiy Visits Frontline Troops In East

      U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone with key allies on October 3 to reassure them that the Washington will stand fast on Ukraine after funding for U.S. aid to help Kyiv's war effort was dropped from a stopgap spending measure passed by Congress over the weekend.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Adds Former Adviser To Ukraine's Presidential Office To Wanted List

      Russia's Interior Ministry added the former adviser to Ukraine's presidential office, Oleksiy Arestovich, to its wanted list on unspecified charges a day after Arestovich participated in a forum for self-exiled Russian opposition activists and politicians in Estonia on October 2.

    • RFERL ☛ Billions In Frozen Funds For Hungary On Table As EU Seeks Ukraine Support

      The European Union is considering unlocking billions of euros for Hungary that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns as it seeks to win Budapest's approval for aid to Ukraine including a start to membership talks for Kyiv, senior officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Defense Minister Says Moscow Has No Plans For Additional Mobilization For War In Ukraine

      Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on October 3 that there are no plans for an additional military mobilization for the ongoing invasion of Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine's Security Service Says It 'Neutralized' Russian Spy Network In South

      The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has "neutralized" a Russian intelligence network in the southern region of Mykolayiv following a "large-scale" special operation.

    • New York Times ☛ A tactic known as ‘elastic defense’ is one of several factors aiding Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ Warsaw, Kyiv Make Breakthrough On Ukrainian Grain Transit

      Warsaw and Kyiv announced on October 3 they had agreed to speed up the transit of Ukrainian cereal exports through Poland to third countries, a first step in resolving their "grain war."

    • New York Times ☛ Why MAGA Wants to Betray Ukraine

      Whatever they may say, it’s not about the money.

    • Latvia ☛ One month since minority schools switched to more Latvian language instruction

      It has been a month since classes in which lessons which were previously conducted both in Latvian and Russian now to learn only in the official language. First hurdles are also encountered, Kurzeme regional television reports October 2.

    • New York Times ☛ E.U. Foreign Ministers Hold Surprise Summit in Wartime Kyiv

      Nearly all of the European Union’s top diplomats met in the Ukrainian capital, convening to reassert the bloc’s commitment against Russia’s invasion.

    • New York Times ☛ As Biden Urges Aid, Both Russia and Ukraine Expect U.S. Role to Continue

      Officials in Moscow and Kyiv played down the significance of a U.S. government spending bill that lacked new funding for Ukraine.

    • LRT ☛ Russia can rebuild military capabilities faster than previously thought – adviser

      Russia’s rising military spending could help it to rebuild its military capabilities faster than previously thought, Kęstutis Budrys, the national security adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, has said.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Ruble Briefly Weakens to 100 Against U.S. Dollar

      The currency has been significantly weaker since the start of the year, in a sign of the financial volatility prompted by the war in Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Athens Democracy Forum: Rethinking Security When So Many Threats Are Invisible

      One U.S. company is helping Ukraine behind the scenes combat not only attacks from traditional weapons but invisible ones, too.

    • New York Times ☛ At the Athens Democracy Forum, Climate, Technology, Ukraine and Youth Dominated

      Speakers warned that threats from climate change, cyberattacks and Russia’s aggression were undermining democracy.

    • New York Times ☛ Town’s Revolt Reveals Larger German Concerns About Arming Ukraine

      The resistance of tiny Grossenhain to a new arms plant shows how the government’s plan for a more assertive foreign policy is struggling to gain traction.

    • LRT ☛ Praise to Russia and understaffed customs: Dispatch from Lithuania’s border with Belarus

      In Lavoriškės, a Lithuanian village close to the border with Belarus, one can shop in two small grocery stores that have everything one could possibly need.

    • RFERL ☛ Moldova's Constitutional Court Allows Members of Banned Pro-Russian Party Shor To Run In Elections

      Moldova's Constitutional Court said on October 3 that members of the Russia-backed Shor party can take part in local elections next month, less than four months after it banned the organization.

    • RFERL ☛ Roskosmos Pinpoints Cause Of Moon Landing Failure

      Russia blamed a malfunction in an on-board control unit for causing its lunar lander to crash into the moon in August.

    • RFERL ☛ Kadyrov's Daughter Named Chechen Deputy PM Amid Unconfirmed Reports Of Father's Poor Health

      Aishat Kadyrova, the 24-year-old daughter of the Kremlin-backed authoritarian head of Russia's Chechnya region, has been promoted from culture minister to the region's deputy prime minister responsible for social issues.

    • RFERL ☛ Kazakh Minister Admits To List Of People Barred From Entering Country Over Comments

      A spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said on October 2 that the ministry has created a list of persons who publicly "express negative opinions" about Kazakhstan and therefore are banned from entering the country.

    • teleSUR ☛ Russia Not Preparing Burevestnik Nuclear Missile Tests: Peskov

      The Russian president announced the creation of the new intercontinental cruise missiles, Burevestnik, in 2018.

    • teleSUR ☛ Russian and Latin American Legislators Condemn the US Sanctions

      Russian Senate President Matviyenko called for uniting efforts in international parliamentary spaces to combat this illegal practice.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News: U.S. and World Leaders Pledge to Support Kyiv ‘For as Long as It Takes’

      President Biden, in a conference call with world leaders amid tumult in Congress, insisted that U.S. aid would not be interrupted, a White House spokesman said.

    • CS Monitor ☛ With one video, Russia’s Chechnya problem seizes the spotlight again

      In theory, Russian law applies everywhere within Russia’s borders. But over and over, the Chechen republic proves exempt from those rules, no matter how blatant a violation might be.

    • Latvia ☛ LTV goes undercover to expose people smugglers on the Latvia-Belarus border

      Latvian Television's Aizliegtais Paņēmiens ('Forbidden Method', AP) investigative journalism show tackled a very topical subject October 2 with a daring probe into the murky world of people smugglers operating along the Belarus-Latvia border to get third-country citizens into the European Union.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian Border Guard: offenders are better-prepared

      It has been another tense weekend in the Latvian-Belarusian border area. A total of 471 cases of illegal crossing attempts were recorded over the weekend. Recent sightings by border guards show larger groups of 20-30 people trying to cross the border at the same time, Latvian Television reported October 2.

• Environment

  • IT Wire ☛ Global EV sales up by 49% in 1H23 with China leading the way [Ed: Very slow growth considering that many sales moved in that 'way' and relative share of EVs is minuscule. The car "industry" is struggling badly. Well, it says "6.2 million units were sold in this period." That's nothing. Best-selling cars could sell hundreds of millions of units, each.]

    Global sales of electric vehicles grew by 49% year-on-year in the first six months of 2023, the technology analyst firm Canalys says, adding that 6.2 million units were sold in this period.

  • Plantations

    • Democracy Now ☛ “Modern Form of Slavery”: Haitians at Dominican Sugar Plantations Work Under Inhumane Conditions

      We go with Democracy Now! correspondent Juan Carlos Dávila to the Dominican Republic, where many Haitian migrants and their descendants work on sugar plantations under conditions amounting to forced labor and live in heavily underresourced communities known as bateyes. Many bateyes do not have electricity or running water. We speak to local residents and members of the Reconocido movement, which fights for the rights of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, about the workers’ inhumane treatment and their lack of legal status in the country, as well as about efforts to improve living conditions in the bateyes, such as an initiative spearheaded by the Puerto Rican environmental group Casa Pueblo to install solar panels in the communities. “The right of energy has to be for everyone,” says Casa Pueblo’s executive director, Arturo Massol-Deyá, who shares how his organization is working in solidarity with batey residents to disrupt the cycle of poverty and prepare for climate adaptation.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • YLE ☛ Watch: Wolf sightings increasing on Finland's eastern border

      Finland's Border Guard patrols have been encountering more wolves along the border with Russia of late.

    • France24 ☛ More than 100 dolphins dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar

      More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say.

    • CS Monitor ☛ China-US diplomacy hits panda-monium. Why are the bears going home?

      The National Zoo’s three giant pandas are set to return to China in December. Amid diplomatic tensions between China and a number of Western governments, China appears to be gradually pulling back its pandas from Western zoos as their agreements expire.

• Finance

  • CS Monitor ☛ South Asia is the fastest growing region. Why are analysts concerned?

    South Asia is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, according to the World Bank, making it the fastest-growing region in the world. However, analysts are worried that the current rate is unsustainable – even as growth remains below pre-pandemic levels.

  • Reason ☛ California's Housing Crisis Looms Over the State's GOP Convention

    Away from the speeches of the party's presidential candidates, the Republican Huntington Beach city attorney talked up his efforts to thwart state zoning reforms.

  • WhichUK ☛ Best places to retire in the UK revealed

    From healthcare to leisure activities to house prices, we've found the best places across the UK to have a happy retirement

  • European Commission ☛ Speech by Commissioner McGuinness at the launch of the joint EU/OECD-INFE financial competence framework for children and young people

  • France24 ☛ Inflated rents, high interest rates and lack of supply create European housing crisis

    Soaring costs across the EU are pricing out renters, deterring prospective buyers and preventing new homes from being built. As Europe’s housing crisis grows, so do homelessness rates across the bloc. What are the solutions to Europe’s housing crisis?

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Evergrande closes up 28% in Hong Kong after trade resumes

    Shares in heavily indebted Chinese property giant Evergrande ended higher Tuesday as they resumed trade following last week’s suspension when the firm announced its boss was under criminal investigation.

  • Mint Press News ☛ Why China’s Rapid Rise is Terrifying the United States, with John Ross

    While many in the West take a very dim view of China, China expert John Ross is far more positive, telling MintCast that China has seen the highest sustained economic growth of any country in world history.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dalio says China-US relations are 'on the brink of red lines'

    Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said on Tuesday that the relationship between China and the United States is "on the brink of red lines," although he does not see a war on the way.

  • New York Times ☛ China Is Suffering a Brain Drain. The U.S. Isn’t Exploiting It. [Ed: US Is Suffering a Brain Drain. Wall Street Times is spinning the situation.]

    China’s brightest minds, including tech professionals, are emigrating, but many are not heading to America. We spoke to them to ask why.

  • BBC ☛ British Steel pensions: Port Talbot worker lost £50,000 - BBC News

    One financial adviser has been hit with a £2.2m fine for dishonestly advising hundreds of people.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Strategic Litigation Quarterly Newsletter: Exploring new and existing paths toward accountability

    SLP has continued to work on an archive documenting open-source evidence of human rights violations in Iran and on engaging with UN member states ahead of the body's review of China.

  • New York Times ☛ Gaetz’s Challenge to McCarthy Draws Attention to His Ethics Issues

    Representative Matt Gaetz is facing a House Committee inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of funds. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has argued Mr. Gaetz’s attempt to oust him is payback.

  • New York Times ☛ Campbell Brown, Who Led Facebook News, Leaves Meta

    Ms. Brown’s exit indicates how Meta’s priorities around news and its relationships with media companies have changed.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Trump returns to his fraud trial, and judge explains a comment that Trump took as a victory

    A New York judge has taken the air out of the win that former President Donald Trump claimed he scored in the first hours of his civil business fraud trial. Trump had touted an important victory after Judge Arthur Engoron suggested Monday that testimony about Trump’s 2011 financial statement might be beyond the legal time limit. But Engoron said Tuesday that “statutes of limitations bar claims, not evidence.” Later, Trump and lawyers for both sides repeatedly went into court behind closed doors. The reason was not immediately clear. Trump denies any wrongdoing in the lawsuit.

  • WhichUK ☛ Fraudsters are targeting small businesses on Facebook

    Which? warns business page owners on Facebook to beware of the 'permanent page deletion' scam

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Reading between the lines of China’s new security rules for embassies and consulates

    By building on earlier laws aimed at increasing its security footprint abroad, Beijing could also grow its capacity to carry out transnational repression.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • RFA ☛ China's spy-handlers tried to 'turn' outspoken Hong Kong radio host

      Edmund Wan, known as 'Giggs,' says Chinese state security police wanted him to set up a pro-China YouTube channel.

    • Security Week ☛ Actor Tom Hanks Warns of Ad With AI Imposter

      Actor Tom Hanks and talk show co-host Gayle King were warning fans about ads featuring imposters generated by artificial intelligence.

    • New York Times ☛ Tom Hanks Warns of Dental Ad Using A.I. Version of Him

      Mr. Hanks and the CBS anchor Gayle King both said their likenesses were used in unauthorized advertisements, as worries have grown over the unregulated use of artificial intelligence.

    • JURIST ☛ China rejects US State Department report alleging Chinese support in spread of disinformation

      The People’s Republic of China (PRC) rejected a US State Department report claiming that the PRC supports the global spread of disinformation on Saturday. A PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson, quoted by the Xinhua news agency, said that the “report is in itself disinformation as it misrepresents facts and truth.”

    • Mint Press News ☛ Unreliable Sources: News on North Korea, Brought to You By the CIA

      Following the flow of US taxpayer dollars: How the CIA-linked National Endowment for Democracy funds anti-North Korea propaganda.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Off Guardian ☛ Online Censorship: Canada Continues Crackdown

    On Friday the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission published new guidelines requiring media outlets to register with the service so their content can be “regulated”.

  • Reason ☛ Is silencing a few million Americans a form of protected speech?

    Episode 474 of the Cyberlaw Podcast

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ Is Study Abroad the Newest Front in the Academic Boycott of Israel?

    College leaders could find themselves mediating a thorny debate with implications for academic freedom.

  • RFA ☛ US Senate delegation to visit China next week

    A bipartisan group of six senators led by Chuck Schumer and Mike Crapo reportedly also hope to meet with Xi.

  • RFA ☛ Did Chinese media ignore South Korean PM’s visit to China?

    Verdict: False

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New York Times ☛ New Delhi Police Raid Journalists in India

    The sweep caught up contributors to a left-leaning news website, according to other news outlets and those raided. A Times investigation had linked the site to a pro-China network.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • RFERL ☛ Protesting Bulgarian Energy Workers Sign Agreement With Government

    Bulgarian energy workers are meeting Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and leaders of political parties for negotiations on the government's plans to transition to cleaner energy that triggered protests over fears of the effects the move would have on the mining sector.

  • LRT ☛ Over 2,000 teachers continue to strike in Lithuania

  • JURIST ☛ EU dispatch: Irish barristers strike over legal aid fees

    Law students from the European Union are reporting for JURIST on law-related events in and affecting the European Union and its member states. Ciara Dinneny is JURIST’s European Bureau Chief and a trainee with the Law Society of Ireland. She files this dispatch from Dublin.

  • teleSUR ☛ Strike Against Big US Automakers Enters 18th Day

    A recent poll indicates that 78 percent of U.S. citizens support the striking UAW autoworkers.

  • New Yorker ☛ Why Obama’s “Car Czar” Thinks Biden Should Stay Out of the U.A.W. Strike

    Last week, Steve Rattner called the President’s trip to the picket line “outrageous.” Whom did he help—or harm—by going?

  • Federal News Network ☛ Pennsylvania inmates sue over ‘tortuous conditions’ of solitary confinement

    A group of five Pennsylvania inmates have sued over the solitary confinement conditions in a state prison, saying the conditions are unconstitutional, worsening and creating mental illness in those held there. The lawsuit was filed in federal court Tuesday. It accuses the Department of Corrections’ State Correctional Institution at Fayette of placing those incarcerated into confinement based on secret evidence, leaving inmates unable to challenge their placement and subjecting them to “torturous conditions.” A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections declined comment, saying the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court begins term with oral arguments in federal drug sentencing case

    The US Supreme Court kicked off its Fall 2023 term Monday by hearing oral arguments in a statutory interpretation case examining federal sentencing laws.

  • BBC ☛ Not all Police Scotland officers have vetting records - BBC News

    A review finds some Police Scotland officers have not been vetted since they started their careers.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Michael Geist ☛ What the CRTC’s New Registration Requirements Mean for Regulating Everything from Online News Services to Podcast Providers

    The CRTC last week released the first two of what is likely to become at least a dozen decisions involving the Online Streaming Act (aka Bill C-11).

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 179: Peter Menzies on Why the CRTC Feels Broken Right Now

    Last week, the CRTC issued the first two of what are likely to be at least a dozen decisions involving the Online Streaming Act. Those decisions are already sparking controversy, but as the Commission focuses on Bill C-11 and perhaps soon Bill C-18, there is mounting concern that its other responsibilities are falling by the wayside that its independence from the government is starting to show cracks.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ EU telcos call for big tech to help finance internet infrastructure upgrades

    The heads of Europe’s largest telecommunications companies are arguing that tech giants should help pay for new internet infrastructure, the Financial Times reported today. The executives reportedly expressed their view in a joint letter addressed to members of the European Parliament. A copy will also be shared with the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch.

• Monopolies

  • Silicon Angle ☛ On theCUBE Pod: Thoughts on Amazon investing in Anthropic and the FTC problem

    There was a lot of big news in the tech world this week, but one of the most significant involved Amazon.com Inc. announcing it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, the San Francisco-based startup behind the Claude 2 large language model.

  • Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Equitable IP entity Scale Video Coding multicast network patent prior art

      A new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, was added seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 11,019,372, owned by Scale Video Coding, LLC, an NPE and an Equitable IP entity. The ‘372 patent generally relates to an overlay multicast network may provide a set of features to ensure reliable and timely arrival of multicast data. The invention relates to the management of data packets to support multicasting.

    • Reason ☛ Justice Kavanaugh Really Wants to Hear More (Patent) Cases

      Not all of the justices are happy about the Court's stingy approach to certiorari.

    • Supreme Court Rejects Latest Bid to Clarify Patent Eligibility

      The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the petition for certiorari brought by CareDX, Inc. in May asking it to review a 2022 decision holding certain claims of its patents directed to detection levels of donor cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the blood of an organ transplant patient patent ineligible. Justice Bret Kavanaugh would have granted the petition, according to the Order List.

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Kavanaugh Signals Openness to Revisiting Patent Eligibility Framework as Supreme Court Declines CareDx Petition

      The Supreme Court declined to hear an important patent eligibility case on October 2nd, denying certiorari in CareDx v. Natera. This leaves in place a Federal Circuit ruling that invalidated CareDx’s patents on its method for detecting organ transplant rejection.

      The patents at issue covers breakthrough diagnostic technique using cell-free DNA to non-invasively detect organ transplant rejection. For over a decade, scientists had tried unsuccessfully to use cell-free DNA for this purpose. The key innovation was applying high-throughput DNA sequencing and identifying SNP thresholds to make the technique clinically useful. However, the lower courts ruled the patents invalid under the judicial exception to patent eligibility for natural phenomena.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Fortress entity, Entropic Communications, prior art found

      Unified is pleased to announce prior art has been found on three patents owned by Entropic Communications, an NPE and Fortress IP subsidiary.

      We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests.

    • Litigation Investment Entities Threaten United States Security

      In mid-September, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled Unsuitable Litigation: Oversight of Third-Party Litigation Funding. Then, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WA) and Joe Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act (with a House companion bill), which aims to shed light on foreign private equity funding U.S. litigation.

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ VirnetX Seeks Supreme Court Review of IPR Joinder and Fake Acting Officials

      Under the AIA, parties sued for patent infringement generally must seek inter partes review within one year of being served with the complaint. 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). But the provision goes on to permit joinder to an already-instituted IPR proceeding, stating that the one-year time limit “shall not apply to a request for joinder” under § 315(c).

    • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Brazilian government resurrects its Partnership for Productive Development (PDP) program. A new threat to pharma IP rights? [Ed: There are no "IP rights", they're misnaming what's at stake to warp the debate and mislead]

      Brazil’s president published, on September 27, Decree No. 11,715/2023 which institutes the “National Strategy for the Development of the Economic-Industrial Health Complex”.

  • Trademarks

    • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Posts October 2023 Hearing Schedule

      The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled ten oral hearings for the month of October 2023. Seven of the hearings will be held via video conference; three will be "In Person," as indicated below. Briefs and other papers for each case may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.

      
      

      October 10, 2023 - 10 AM [In Person]: Edward Levy and Marc Padro v. Kenneth Harris Hyman, Cancellation No. 92068029 [Petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark FREEDOM PARTY for "organizing and conducting dance parties," on the grounds of nonownership, fraud, and likelihood of confusion with the identical mark used by petitioners.]

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Ed Sheeran Battles Yet Another Infringement Claim Against ‘Thinking Out Loud’

      One plaintiff is still trying to appeal the verdict of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” copyright infringement case after a federal jury ruled in favor of the singer.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Threatens Uruguay Exit As Lawmakers Consider Copyright Overhaul: ‘No Choice But To Suspend the Service’

      Spotify is reportedly threatening a full-scale exit from Uruguay as the nation of approximately 3.5 million residents considers a far-reaching copyright law modification.

    • Digital Music News ☛ U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warner Chappell Music vs. Nealy — And Potentially Resolve Statute of Limitations Concerns Surrounding Copyright Infringement

      The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the Warner Chappell Music vs. Nealy case, clarifying the statute of limitations on recovering damages from copyright infringement. The case involves Miami music producer Sherman Nealy who sued Warner Music’s label Atlantic Records.

    • Public Domain Review ☛ Charles H. Bennett’s Shadows (ca. 1856)

      Illustrations that employ a magic-lantern conceit: the shadow thrown by a spotlit individual can reveal her inner character.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Utopia Distribution Services Draws Potential Rescue Plan from Universal Music and Sony Music, Regulatory Filings Show

      About two months back, Utopia Distribution Services touted a tie-up with logistics company DP World and the adjacent opening of what’s said to be the UK’s largest media warehouse. Now, it’s emerged that two of the major labels have formally offered a rescue plan to keep Utopia Distribution afloat.