Links 10/02/2024: Massive Increase in Power Bills and Farmers' Debt
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
- Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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uni Emory ☛ A First-Timer’s Guide to China: Essential Tips for Navigating the Middle Kingdom
China, the Middle Kingdom, is a land of rich history, stunning landscapes, and vibrant culture.
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RFA ☛ These false eyelashes are ‘Made in China,’ wink wink
North Korean eyelashes exported to China are repackaged and sold worldwide in possible violation of sanctions.
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Science
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Hackaday ☛ Better Living Through Biomedical Engineering
We don’t often think of medicine and engineering as being related concepts, and most of the time, they aren’t. But there’s a point where medicine alone may not be enough to treat a particular ailment or injury, and it might be necessary to blend the mechanical with the biological. When a limb is lost, we don’t have the technology to regrow it, but we can apply engineering principles to build a functional facsimile that can help the patient regain lost independence and improve their quality of life.
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Education
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uni Emory ☛ Their words, not ours: Students, speak against administrative restrictions
The rise of cancel culture and the weaponization of institutional speech codes have created an atmosphere of intellectual conformity in which dissenting opinions are not only discouraged but also actively punished.
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Reason ☛ Associational Standing Isn't Defeated by Pseudonymity in Members' Declarations
From today's Tenth Circuit decision in Speech First, Inc. v. Shrum, written by Judge Harris Hartz and joined by Judges Nancy Moritz and Veronica Rossman: Speech First, Inc. is a nationwide organization that describes its mission to include the protection of free speech on college and university campuses.
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ 20,000 Volt Plasma Knife Slices, Dices, And Sparks
For the most part, here at Hackaday we’re more interested in how something was made than the backstory on why an individual actually put it together. Frankly, it’s not really our business. But we’ve been around long enough to know that practicality isn’t always the driving force. Some folks build things because they want to challenge themselves, others because there’s nothing commercially available that quite meets their needs. Of course, there’s another camp that just builds things to look cool.
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Hackaday ☛ Droplet Watch Keeps Time Via Electrowetting
Hackers just can’t help but turn their sights on timepieces, and [Armin Bindzus] has designed an electrowetting-based watch.
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Daniel Lemire ☛ JSON Parsing: defective chip maker Intel Sapphire Rapids versus AMD Zen 4
Intel has release a new generation of server processors (Sapphire Rapids) while the latest AMD technology (Zen 4) is now broadly available. There are extensive comparisons available. Of particular interest is the open benchmark results which assess various aspects of processor speeds, including JSON parsing performance.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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YLE ☛ Helsinki police seize opioid 'more dangerous than fentanyl'
Police said a criminal network imported around 200 kg of amphetamines, and "dozens of kilos of cocaine" to Finland.
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Techdirt ☛ Court ‘Reluctantly’ Dismisses Yelp’s Lawsuit Against Texas, Over Ken Paxton’s Threats Regarding Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (who is still indicted and facing a trial later this year) has argued in court that governments both should never, ever try to influence what content social media sites take down, but also that Texas should be able to tell social media websites what content they must keep up and what content must be removed. He’s also somewhat infamous for launching “investigations” into websites he doesn’t like.
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BIA Net ☛ Report draws attention to air pollution in Hatay
The report emphasized that dust, particularly affects infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with chronic illnesses.
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New York Times ☛ Dipping Into the World’s Most Stunning Hot Springs
From onsens in Japan to high-altitude pools in Bolivia, the photographer Greta Rybus shares highlights from her search for thermal waters.
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BIA Net ☛ Farmers' debt to banks increased by 80% in one year, surpassing 590 billion lira
CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer stated that the increase in debt in one year amounted to 261 billion lira and said, "Farmers, grappling with dozens of problems such as the increase in the cost of feed, fuel, electricity used for agricultural purposes, feed, fertilizer, labor costs, and the inability to sell their products, have started to either move away from agriculture or borrow from banks."
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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Zimbabwe ☛ Developer who stole $24m from HIT appears in court (it wasn’t a hack)
The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) was robbed by one of its developers, allegedly. About ZW$24 million (~US$2000) was pinched but HIT has recovered $21 million of it so far. These are not huge amounts but theft is theft.
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Defence/Aggression
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JURIST ☛ India suspends Free Movement Regime with Myanmar
Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah declared on Thursday the discontinuation of the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allowed for people from India and Myanmar to move freely between the two countries.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Justice minister Paul Lam says new security legislation will not ‘mainlandise’ Hong Kong
The Secretary for Justice Paul Lam has refuted concerns that the legislation of Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law, as laid out under Article 23 of its mini-constitution, will “mainlandise” the city.
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France24 ☛ Senegal protesters clash with security forces over presidential election delay
Senegalese security forces on Friday used tear gas to disperse people attempting to gather in the capital after being urged to mobilise against a last-minute delay of presidential elections.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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New York Times ☛ On a Frozen Border, Finland Puzzles Over a ‘Russian Game’
As it votes on Sunday for a new president, NATO’s newest member says Moscow is testing it by turning asylum seekers into a political pressure point.
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LRT ☛ Unlicensed carriers taking people to Belarus will lose visas – Lithuanian official
Bus drivers transporting people between Belarus and Lithuania without permits could lose their visas, says Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, amid the government’s drive to cut traveller flows between the two countries.
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Meduza ☛ Over 400 evacuated after apartment building in Moscow catches fire — Meduza
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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YLE ☛ Massive electric bills reflect a cold January
Numerous households received a shock in the mailbox this January as electricity bills shot up.
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Wildlife/Nature
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Science Alert ☛ Stunning Award-Winning Photo of Vulnerable Polar Bear Stirs The Heart
A thousand words.
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Finance
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RFA ☛ Dragon down the economy
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Latvia ☛ Latvian central bank governor: 'inflation dragon' is down but not out
The level of inflation in Latvia and the European Union, compared to last year, has significantly decreased, and still has some room for further easing said Latvia central bank governor Mārtiņš Kazāks on Latvian Radio February 9.
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Latvia ☛ Annual inflation in Latvia drops below 1%
Data published on February 9 by the Central Statistical Bureau show that in January 2024, compared to January 2023, the average level of consumer prices increased by 0.9 %.
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Atlantic Council ☛ China’s stock market collapse is the end of the road for many foreign investors
The long-running collapse of Chinese stocks has wiped out trillions of investment dollars and delivered another blow to an economy beset by property crisis, slow growth, and deflation, and has added uncertainty about Beijing’s very support for money-making.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Cisco reportedly plans to lay off thousands following lower product orders
Cisco Systems Inc. is expected to axe thousands of jobs in a restructuring initiative that could be announced as early as next week. Reuters reported the upcoming layoffs today, citing multiple sources familiar with the plan. The tipsters said that Cisco has not yet determined the exact number of employees who will be laid off.
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BIA Net ☛ 'Inflation swallowed up retiree pensions in 2023'
CHP Ankara Deputy Semra Dinçer, who prepared a report on how 2023 went for retirees, said, "Inflation swallowed up the retiree pension. Retirees have become unable to afford meat."
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Federal News Network ☛ How to avoid needing to work after retirement
Retirement is supposed to mean you don't work any more or at least only work because you want to. Most people wonder, how much income is enough for me to retire?
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Techdirt ☛ Dropshipping Creates Novel Online Business Opportunities For The Long-Term Unemployed In South Africa (And Others)
Dropshipping – memorably described by Sirin Kale in Wired as people “selling products they’ve never handled, from countries they’ve never visited, to consumers they’ve never met” – is one of the best examples of “pure” Internet activity around. As Kale explains:
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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CS Monitor ☛ In Pakistan, a delay in poll results could undercut election integrity
Pakistan’s election was marred by allegations of rigging before polls even opened on Thursday. Now, as a disruption in results draws additional scrutiny, this could become one of the most controversial votes in the country’s history.
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The Straits Times ☛ Imran Khan supporters 'here to stay' as young Pakistanis turn out to vote
Below huge wall-mounted photos of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Naila Khan Marwat cheered with scores of young volunteers on election night whenever counts on TV channels suggested their candidate was in the lead.
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JURIST ☛ Federal judge strikes down Louisiana state electoral maps, orders districts redrawn
A federal judge in Louisiana struck down Louisiana state House and Senate districting maps Thursday for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and diluting Black voter power in the gulf state.
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The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia set for last major rallies as election campaign draws to close
Indonesia's presidential contenders are gearing up for their last major rallies on Saturday to fire up their bases and sway undecided voters, as campaigning draws to a close ahead of the world's biggest single-day election next week.
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Site36 ☛ Antifa trial hits EU right-wing parties: MEPs and Commission criticise Hungary
Left-wingers from Italy and Germany are on trial in Budapest for allegedly attacking neo-Nazis. This is causing problems for the government in Rome and now also for the right-wing parties in the EU Parliament.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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Silicon Angle ☛ AI content comes under the magnifying glass amid runaway deepfakes [Ed: CG fakes by far predate this whole "AI" hype and panic, which is a form of marketing for the bubble]
Efforts to rein in artificial intelligence, especially rogue content such as deepfake video and audio, are accelerating, both from the government and Hey Hi (AI) companies themselves. No surprise there, given that one guy got fooled into paying scammers who deepfaked his company’s executives $25 million.
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JURIST ☛ Meta Oversight Board to examine misleading posts shared during Australia Voice Referendum
Meta’s (META.O) oversight board announced Friday it will examine two cases on how the media giant handled potentially misleading posts shared ahead of the Australian Voice referendum last year. Meta (formerly known as the Facebook (Farcebook) company) is the social control media company that owns and operates Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Reason ☛ Writer's Suspended Death Sentence Is a Reminder of China's Awful Record on Human Rights
Yang Hengjun's punishment will be commuted to life in prison if he passes a probationary period. But the espionage accusations against him are highly spurious.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t slams ‘slanderous’ US ex-envoys’ statement of ‘dismay and concern’ over Jimmy Lai security law trial
The Hong Kong government has condemned a joint statement by four ex-consuls general in Hong Kong, which expressed “dismay and concern” over a fellow former diplomat being named as a “co-conspirator” in the landmark national security trial of media mogul Jimmy Lai.
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[Repeat] New Yorker ☛ The Artist Holding Valuable Art Hostage to Protect Julian Assange
Using a thirty-two-ton Swiss bank safe, Andrei Molodkin says he will destroy works by Picasso, Rembrandt, and Warhol if the WikiLeaks founder dies in prison.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Techdirt ☛ Order Demanding Oregon Paper Return Docs A Lawyer Accidentally Gave Them Reversed By Judge
At the end of last month, a federal court judge decided to throw the First Amendment out the window to engage in a bit of the old prior restraint.
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New York Times ☛ Does Technology Rule Our Sex and Dating Lives?
Our erotic and romantic lives have become ever more tangled with machines.
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JURIST ☛ India state passes uniform civil code amid criticism from Muslim community
The Indian State of Uttarakhand passed the first-of-its-kind Uniform Civil Code Wednesday, which imposes common rules for all communities on marriage, divorce, inheritances, land, property and live-in relationships. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)-led state government of Uttarakhand passed the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024 which outlaws bigamy and polygamy, regulates live-in relationships...
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Reason ☛ Wisconsin Police Held a Man and 3 Kids at Gunpoint During Routine Traffic Stop
Luke Weiland has filed a lawsuit alleging that police used "excessive" force.
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YLE ☛ Strikes to impact daycare services in 14 cities next week
Early childhood education work stoppages on 13-14 February will affect both the public and private sectors.
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NYPost ☛ UK cops watched Netflix, lifted weights at missing woman’s home: ‘Not very professional’
"You expect police to be working hard and protecting people, it's not what you expect, not very professional."
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Techdirt ☛ Comcast Gets A Wrist Slap For Using Dumb And Misleading ’10G’ Marketing To Confuse Customers
Back in 2019, when fifth generation (5G) wireless was getting a lot of dumb (and as it turned out, unwarranted) marketing hype, the cable industry came up with an amazing idea: they’d simply call their existing cable broadband service a “10G technology” in a bid to (1) piggyback on the hype 5G was getting, and (2) falsely represent coaxial-based broadband as something more futuristic than it actually is.
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Reason ☛ New Report Measures Attempts to Impose, and Evade, Internet Repression
Interest in virtual private networks provides insights into a global battle over digital freedom.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Digital Music News ☛ Is This Finally the End of iTunes? — Fashion Company Apple Music, Fashion Company Apple TV Launches for Windows
Apple Music, Fashion Company Apple TV, and Fashion Company Apple Devices apps have officially launched for Windows, potentially spelling the definitive end of the iTunes app. Fashion Company Apple has officially launched the Fashion Company Apple Music, Fashion Company Apple Devices, and Fashion Company Apple TV apps on PC after a lengthy preview and testing period, encouraging backdoored Windows users away from iTunes.
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Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Is Shutting Down ‘Music + Talk’ Music Licensing Feature for Podcasters
Spotify is making some core changes to its Spotify for Podcasters platform, including shutting down its ‘Music + Talk’ music licensing feature. Here’s the latest. Spotify says it is deepening its partnership with Riverside to provide podcast creation inside the Spotify for Podcasters website. The initial partnership with Riverside was announced in 2022.
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JUVE ☛ MSD vs. Viatris sees Paris Court of Appeal depart from previous SPC case law
At the centre of the dispute between MSD and Viatris over diabetes drug Janumet is the interpretation of Articles 3(a) and 3(c) of the SPC Regulation No. 469/2009.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ Despite Respondent's Bogus Legal Citations, TTAB Denies BRONX NATIVE Cancellation Petition on Contractual Estoppel Ground
The Board tossed out this petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark BRONX NATIVE for various clothing items, finding that the petitioners were contractually estopped from challenging the registration. In reaching this decision, the Board refused to consider respondent's brief, which was filled with erroneous quotations from and citations to various precedents, and references to a number of decisions that didn't exist. Tiarra Hamlett and Michael Hamlett Jr. v. Bronx Native composed of Giancarlos Martinez, Roselyn Grullon and Amaurys Grullon, Cancellation No. 92077944 (February 7, 2024) [Not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas L. Casagrande).
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Techdirt ☛ Panda Express Opposes Trademark For ‘Trash Panda Vegan’ Food Truck
Here we go again. In so many of these trademark disputes, the disputer far too often is wielding overly broad trademarks granted by the USPTO to suggest that having that registered mark is all they need to shut down the use of those broad terms by others. Nowhere do you find any claims of actual customer confusion. Half the time you don’t even get any real explanation as to why there is a concern for such confusion. It’s all just “Mine. Mine! MINE!”
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ High-Stakes RIAA v. Yout Battle Kicks Off in Appeals Court As the Stream-Ripper Seeks Information from YouTube
Back in 2022, Hartford-based stream-ripper Yout appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Now, this next component of the high-stakes battle is in full swing.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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