Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Our Home Automation Contest Starts Now!

  Your home is your castle, and what’s better than a fully automatic castle? Nothing! That’s why we’re inviting you to submit your sweetest home automation hacks for a chance to win one of three $150 DigiKey gift certificates. The contest starts now and runs until April 16th.

• Hackaday ☛ Multicolor Resin Prints: Give It A Shot

  [Thomas TEMPE] has been making two-color resin prints. While printing in multiple colors is old hat for FDM printers, the way resin printers work makes it a more difficult proposition. [Thomas] has a simple solution. First, he prints an item with a cavity where he would like the second color. Then, after printing, he fills the cavity with a different color resin using a syringe and cures it. Simple, really.

• Hackaday ☛ Daisugi – Growing Straight Lumber Without Killing The Tree

  In 14th Century Japan, there was a shortage of straight lumber for building and flat land on which to grow it. Arborists there developed a technique that looks like growing trees on top of trees, called daisugi.

• Vice Media Group ☛ How Starship Troopers’ Psychic Subplot Explains Its Divisive Message

  The internet is warring over Paul Verhoeven’s subversive 1997 sci-fi blockbuster, and one puzzling element explains its message: psychic powers.

• BIA Net ☛ DEM Party holds group meeting in seven languages

  DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan delivered his group speech in Kurdish on the occasion of February 21, International Mother Language Day. Other politicians spoke in Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Georgian, Lazuri, and Armenian.

• Hackaday ☛ New Modelling Shows That Flat Protoplanets Might Be A Thing

  While the very idea of a flat planet millions of years after its formation is patently ridiculous, recent modelling shows that during the protostar phase – where material from a nebula is drawn around a hydrostatic core into an accretion disc – it is likely that many of of the protoplanets which form inside a fragmentary protostar accretion disc take on a strongly oblate spheroid shape, rather than a spherical one. This according to [Adam Fenton] and [Dimitris Stamatellos], who ran half a million CPU hours worth of simulation time at the UK’s DiRAC HPC facility, per the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) press release.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Genetic Signature of Down Syndrome Found in Ancient Bones

    The discovery may help shed light on how prehistoric societies treated children with rare conditions.

  • Science Alert ☛ Heat Sloshes About as Bizarre 'Second Sound' Waves in Superfluids

    A new kind of heat wave.

  • Science Alert ☛ Conspiracy Theorists Can Change Their Minds, Surprising Study Shows

    Can evidence break the spell?

  • teleSUR ☛ Africa: UN Urges More Investment in Scientific Development

    The business forum, held under the theme of boosting the transformation of Africa through education, science, technology and innovation, brought together experts from across the continent.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese GPU maker Moore Threads touted MTT S30 for office productivity — comes with one VGA and one HDMI port

    Moore Threads, a China domestic GPU maker, has introduced support for its 'office productivity' MTT S30 graphics card with the latest drivers. It's low-powered at 30W but the specs are also quite limited.

  • Hackaday ☛ Sketchy Logg Dogg Logging Robot Remote Control Hacking

    When we last left [Wes] amidst the torn-open guts of his Logg Dogg logging robot, he had managed to revitalize the engine and dug into the hydraulics, but one big obstacle remained: the lack of the remote control unit. In today’s installment of the Logg Dogg series, [Wes] summarizes weeks of agony over creating a custom circuit based around a microcontroller, a joystick and a lot of relays and other bits and pieces to drive the solenoids inside the logging machine that control the hydraulics.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel Foundry Services Head Stu Pann explains company's plan to build Arm chips, move more manufacturing to the U.S.

    We sat down with the person in charge of Intel's Foundries to find out how the company plans to build out its manufacturing capabilities.

  • RFA ☛ Dutch government withdraws permits for ASML to export to China

    The firm’s tools can be used for China’s military power, raising ‘risk of undesirable end use,’ says minister.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Arctic's Liquid Freezer III coolers could void your CPU warranty — require a custom contact frame for defective chip maker Intel chips

    Arctic just released its new Liquid Freezer III lineup of AIOs featuring custom mounting mechanisms for defective chip maker Intel and AMD CPUs. Arctic is relying heavily on these mounts and is not offering default mounting brackets for LGA 1700, AM4 or AM5 as a backup.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Foxconn founder Terry Gou makes first high profile appearance in months

    Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Fashion Company Apple supplier Foxconn, made his first high profile appearance in months on Tuesday at the firm's 50th birthday, following the ending of his bid for Taiwan's presidency late last year.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Developer releasing self-described 'shovelware' on the PlayStation Store has made nearly $350K in under 1.5 years

    The PlayStation Store is host to some cheap, incredibly basic titles comprised of simply "stroking" the static image of an animal with a button press. Relative to the effort required to create them, these games are astoundingly successful.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Developed A Tool To Reveal Who's at Risk of Burnout, And It's Free

    Try it out yourself.

  • New York Times ☛ Alabama Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Raising Questions About Fertility Care

    The ruling raises worrisome legal issues for would-be parents far beyond Alabama whose hopes for children may depend on in vitro fertilization.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Some South Korean Doctors Have Walked Off the Job

    Physicians say the government’s plan to admit more students to medical school ignores the real cause of doctor shortages: harsh conditions and low wages.

  • RFA ☛ North Koreans gather cigarette butts to sell to clothing makers

    After large public events, the poor pick up the filters which, when recycled, are worth triple their weight in corn.

  • ADF ☛ Synthetic ‘Cocaine for the Poor’ Ravages Morocco

    Hamza, a 26-year-old Moroccan, once had a steady job and fiancee. He occasionally used recreational drugs at parties with friends, but he was not an addict. Then he was encouraged to try pufa, also known as “cocaine for the poor.”

  • New York Times ☛ Why Women Outnumber Men in South Korea’s Sports Stadiums

    Experts say it has to do with stadium safety and the influence of K-pop fan culture.

  • Latvia ☛ Hospital construction troubles spread to structural level

    The construction company “Velve” has detected deformation in one of the load-bearing columns in the new construction of Stradiņš Hospital A2 building complex and suspects a problem in the construction project, Velve said in a statement on February 20.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Techdirt ☛ False AI Obituary Spam The Latest Symptom Of Our Obsession With Mindless Automated Infotainment Engagement

    Last month we noted how deteriorating quality over at Google search and Google news was resulting in both platforms being flooded by AI-generated gibberish and nonsense, with money that should be going to real journalists instead being funneled to a rotating crop of lazy automated engagement farmers.

  • Techdirt ☛ Xbox’s ‘Business Update Event’ Attempts To Address Rumors…Vaguely

    As anyone paying attention to the video game industry will already know, the last couple of weeks have seen a great deal of rumor and speculation as to the state of Xbox-istan. What started as unsubstantiated rumors suggesting that Xbox was about to make some of its Microsoft-exclusive titles crossplatform to other consoles morphed into more outlandish theories that Microsoft was going to stop making Xbox consoles altogether. Xbox chief Phil Spencer addressed the latter of those rumors in an internal memo, alongside a promise to host a “Business Update Event.”

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • WhichUK ☛ Scam adverts: are you still being targeted? [Ed: Block all ads. Be safer.]

      Despite major legislative changes to make the internet safer, scam advertisers continue to escalate online

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ Poland forms inquiry committee on Pegasus use by previous government

      The Parliament of Poland constituted an inquiry committee which held its first meeting on Monday to investigate the illegal use of Pegasus, a spyware software, by the members of the last ruling government and state officers, including police and other fiscal authorities.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Rob Joyce leaving NSA at the end of March

      The spy agency’s cyber director will be replaced by David Luber, deputy director of the Cybersecurity Directorate and former executive director of U.S. Cyber Command.

    • Federal News Network ☛ What goes on at the TSA’s big operations center

      Nearly every moment a security issue takes place somewhere in the transportation system. Thousands of incidents each week get reported to the Transportation Security Administration's big operations center in Herndon, Virginia.

    • Defence Web ☛ OUTA calls for a redraft of the intelligence laws amendment bill

      The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is deeply concerned about the implications of the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (GILAB), believing it risks compromising democratic principles, and has submitted a list of concerns to parliament.

    • Federal News Network ☛ FISA amendments must acknowledge critical role OSINT plays in preserving national security

      As we approach the April 2024 expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), it is heartening to see a robust debate in Congress on how the U.S. government [...]

    • New York Times ☛ When Eyes in the Sky Start Looking Right at You

      New satellites that orbit the Earth at very low altitudes may result in a world where nothing is really off limits.

• Defence/Aggression

  • YLE ☛ Children's Ombudsman: Last chance to stop "alarming" level of domestic violence against children

    An average of three children per year die a violent death in Finland, with child protection services across the country dealing with more cases than they can handle.

  • ADF ☛ Sahel Feeling Fallout From ECOWAS Exits

    Some have called it West Africa’s “Brexit.” Others referred to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as “the three rebels” after their decision to leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

  • ADF ☛ With SADC Withdrawing, Mozambican Forces Step to the Front

    Mozambique’s armed forces (FADM) are taking a more prominent role in counterterrorism operations, as troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) have begun to draw down. The insurgency in the northeastern province of Cabo Delgado continues to terrorize civilians and confound multinational security forces with its resilience.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴Live: US vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire push for third time

    The United States on Tuesday again vetoed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on the Israel-Hamas war, blocking a demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The veto comes as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced it is pausing deliveries of life-saving food aid to northern Gaza until conditions allow for safe distributions.

  • NYPost ☛ Biden’s betrayal at the forefront as he demands ceasefire in Gaza to stoke his re-election campaign

    President Biden’s latest plan is to now have the UN Security Council support his demand for a cease-fire in Gaza.

  • New York Times ☛ Motaz Azaiza Captured Gaza’s Suffering. But ‘Nothing Changed.’

    When war broke out in Gaza on Oct.7, Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian photographer, turned his camera to covering pain and loss in a territory under siege. In doing so, he attracted millions of followers — documenting the war while also trying to survive it.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Military Releases Videos It Says Show Bibas Family Members in Captivity on Oct. 7

    “When we saw the video, it really tore our hearts out,” the sister of one of the hostages said. Hamas has said three members of the family died in an Israeli airstrike; Israel has not confirmed the report.

  • New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis : U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Calling for a Cease-Fire in Gaza

    For the third time, the United States used its veto on the Security Council to kill a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Washington has proposed an alternative asking for a halt in fighting “as soon as practicable.”

  • JURIST ☛ US vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire resolution

    The US vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution put forth by Algeria calling for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War on Tuesday. Although the resolution garnered a 13-1 vote, with the UK abstaining, it failed to pass as the US is a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Majority’ support proposed new security law, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee says

    The “majority” of people who have shared their opinions on Hong Kong’s proposed new security law with the government have expressed their support for it, the city’s leader has said.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong affairs set to visit city to hear feedback on new security legislation – reports

    Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs is set to visit the city this week to gather feedback on a proposed homegrown security legislation, known colloquially as Article 23, local media has reported citing sources.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ As international NGOs oppose proposed Hong Kong security law, gov’t slams ‘deliberate smears’

    Hong Kong has strongly condemned comments made by UK-based NGO Hong Kong Watch and dozens of other activist groups on the impending new security law, after they said the legislation would bring “further devastating consequences” for human rights in the city.

  • Defence Web ☛ South Africa’s murder rate increased in the last quarter

    South Africa’s murder rate went up by 2% in the last quarter of 2023, with nearly 8 000 people murdered, but sexual offences declined slightly.

  • Defence Web ☛ EU Red Sea naval operation will safeguard freedom of navigation

    The third European Union (EU) naval operation off Africa – Aspides – was launched yesterday (Monday, 19 February) as a defensive maritime security effort to restore and safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

  • Defence Web ☛ DRC protests: why Congolese anger against the west is justified and useful to the government

    Since early February, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, has been rocked by protests directed against western embassies. Protests took place in front of the British and French embassies, and in front of United Nations buildings. Throughout the city, American and Belgian flags were burned.

  • ADF ☛ Sudanese Army Aims to Regain Ground, Public Support Against RSF

    After losing ground for months, the Sudanese Armed Forces have launched new offensives against the opposition paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, reclaiming some territory in Omdurman, among other places.

  • France24 ☛ How France became the target of Azerbaijan's smear campaign

    What do the absence of French observers at Azerbaijan's February 7 presidential election, a group denouncing "French colonialism" and an online campaign targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics have in common? They are three facets of a new offensive strategy adopted by Azerbaijani diplomacy towards France. FRANCE 24 investigated this shift with the Forbidden Stories consortium and other media outlets as part of "The Baku Connection" project.

  • New York Times ☛ Trump’s G.O.P. Is a Confederacy of Fakers

    Lindsey Graham, J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson and other Republicans are waving the white flag of surrender on Ukraine, all at Trump’s behest.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Here’s what an uncoordinated US withdrawal from Syria would look like. It’s bad for many partners, but especially Turkey.

    An uncoordinated withdrawal from Syria by the United States could pose significant risks for Turkey, leaving the country alone against Iran and Russia.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania to terminate trade pacts with Russia, Belarus

      Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has proposed that the country’s government should terminate the existing trade and economic cooperation agreements signed with Russia and Belarus two decades ago.

    • Reason ☛ Goodbye, Navalny

      Plus: A listener asks if the editors have criteria for what constitutes a good law.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine’s Latest Loss May Be Worse Than Expected

      Also, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case on race and admissions. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘He walked with a smile on his face and his head held high. And he died a hero.’ Opposition politician Ilya Yashin writes about Alexey Navalny from prison — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The FSB understood Navalny’s value’ Journalist Christo Grozev on how he plans to investigate Navalny’s death — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Protesting Polish Farmers Block Much of Ukraine’s Western Border

      The farmers are demonstrating against what they see as an influx of Ukrainian food products crowding the Polish market and undercutting their livelihood.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Pilot Who Defected to Ukraine Is Believed Dead in Spain

      The apparent death in Spain of Maksim Kuzminov is likely to fuel speculation that it was the work of Russia’s intelligence services.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘You’ll be nothing but cannon fodder’: Russian Defense Ministry reportedly recruiting inmates from women’s prison to serve as snipers in Ukraine — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Wednesday Briefing: Hundreds of Ukrainian Soldiers Are Missing

      Also, Julian Assange’s appeal and a U.S. cease-fire proposal in Gaza.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Outgunned Ukraine bets on drones as Russian invasion enters third year

      As Putin's invasion passes the two-year mark, tech-savvy Ukraine is betting on drones as the best way to overcome Russia's increasingly overwhelming advantage in traditional firepower, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

    • RFERL ☛ In Video Message, Navalny's Mother Pleads With Putin To Return Her Son's Body

      More than 67,000 Russian citizens have sent official notes to the country's Investigative Committee demanding that Aleksei Navalny's body be returned to his family, the Meduza news outlet reported, as anger grows over the Russian authorities' refusal to release the Kremlin opponent's body.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Promotes Deputy Chief Of Russia's Prisons Days After Navalny's Death

      Russian President Vladimir Putin promoted the Deputy Director of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, Valery Boyarinev, to the rank of colonel general just three days after the death of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny in a remote Arctic prison camp, an associate of Navalny said on February 20.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. To Announce New Russia Sanctions After Navalny Death; EU Summons Russian Diplomat

      The United States will announce new sanctions on Russia on February 23 over the death of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, the White House said on February 20.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Prepares ‘Major Sanctions’ Against Russia Over Navalny’s Death

      President Biden has said there is “no doubt” that Vladimir V. Putin’s government was behind the death of the Russian opposition leader.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Vladimir Putin is personally responsible’ From prison, Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza comments on Alexey Navalny’s death — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Let me finally see my son’: Alexey Navalny’s mother releases video statement demanding Putin release his body — Meduza

    • Vice Media Group ☛ X Suspends, Then Reinstates, Alexei Navalny’s Widow After Pledge to Continue Anti-Putin Politician’s Work

      Yulia Navalnaya pledged to continue her late husband’s work to unseat Vladimir Putin in videos shared across social control media. X promptly suspended her.

    • Meduza ☛ The Collective West What is Putin really talking about when he rails against the West? — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Believing Is Seeing

      Of Moscow, New York and partisan perception.

    • RFERL ☛ Reconstituted Wagner Group Expanding Russian Influence In Africa, Mideast, Report Finds

      Russia is using unconventional methods to expand its influence, evade containment, and destabilize and disrupt its adversaries, including a rebranding of the private Wagner mercenary group that is making progress in forwarding the Kremlin's Africa policy, according to a new report.

    • ADF ☛ Burkina Faso Opens Door for Russia’s Africa Corps

      Russia’s extensive courtship of Burkina Faso in recent months has included 25,000 metric tons of free wheat, an agreement to build a nuclear power plant, a personal security detail for junta leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré and now 100 paramilitary fighters.

    • European Commission ☛ EU provides €83 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Ukraine and in Moldova

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 20 Feb 2024 Today, the Commission is announcing an initial €83 million in humanitarian aid to support the people affected by Russia's war against Ukraine in 2024.

    • Latvia ☛ Photo exhibitions to mark two years of war in Ukraine

      A new photography exhibition in Rīga will mark two years since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Rēzekne's Ukrainians to hold support event February 24

      Around 300 Ukrainian refugees have found their second home in Rēzekne, at least temporarily. Many of them have been living in Rēzekne for over a year and are gradually becoming part of the labor market and cultural life. Rēzekne's locals and Ukrainian refugees have decided to hold support events for Ukraine on the second anniversary of Russia's war.

    • Latvia ☛ Ukrainian entrepreneurs in Latvia share their stories

      For more than a year, the Ukrainian Olga's restaurant “Green Pumpkin.UA” and Irina's Cafe “Smakoliki” have been open in Latvia. Olga and Irina did not use to work in the catering sector in Ukraine, but when the Russian invasion began they came here and decided to start their businesses and offer a small part of Ukraine to Latvia. Latvian Radio visited the restaurants on February 20.

    • PHR ☛ 1,336 Attacks on Ukraine’s Health System Since Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion Demand Accountability: PHR

      Ukraine’s health care workers, facilities, and other medical infrastructure have been attacked at least 1,336 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to new data from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and international and Ukrainian partner organizations. W

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Time is running out to help Ukraine and defend the West

      The West is potentially overwhelmingly stronger than Russia and can enable Ukraine to win. But this will require far more effort and speed, writes Victor Pinchuk.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Dispatch from Munich: The lessons of appeasement for US lawmakers withholding support for Ukraine

      The lesson of Munich, then and now, is that the cost of countering a despot will only grow.

    • France24 ☛ Sweden boosts military aid to Ukraine with $682 million armament package

      Sweden said Tuesday it would give 7.1 billion kronor ($682 million) worth of military equipment to Ukraine, in a boost for the country as it struggles to fight off Russia's invasion.

    • France24 ☛ Russia arrests woman with dual US-Russian citizenship for 'treason'

      Russia's FSB security services said on Tuesday it had arrested a US-Russian woman suspected of treason for raising funds for the Ukrainian army.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine '1,000 Percent Sure' Military Aid Will Continue, But Unsure When

      U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on February 20 that she is fully confident that Congress will approve additional funding for Ukraine but that it is not possible to predict when it will happen.

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Two Self-Exiled Kremlin Critics

      A Moscow court on February 20 issued arrest warrants for two self-exiled Kremlin critics -- economist Konstantin Sonin and politician Leonid Gozman -- on a charge of spreading false information about Russian troops involved in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Intelligence Confirms Death Of Noted Russian Defector In Spain

      Ukrainian intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov on February 19 confirmed to RFE/RL that Russian pilot Maksim Kuzminov, who hijacked a Russian military helicopter Mi-8 for Ukraine last year, was found dead in Spain.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Air Defense Repels Fresh Russian Drone Attack, Says Military

      Ukrainian air-defense forces shot down all 23 drones launched by Russia at Ukraine's territory on February 20, the military said on Telegram.

    • RFERL ☛ Ecuador Backtracks On Plan To Send Weapons To Ukraine After Moscow Goes Bananas

      Ecuador's foreign minister on February 19 said the small Latin American country didn't plan to send Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine after the president's vow to do so sparked a spat with Moscow over banana and flower exports.

    • RFERL ☛ Dual U.S.-Russian Citizen Arrested In Yekaterinburg On Suspicion Of 'Treason'

      Russia's FSB security service on February 20 said it had arrested a woman with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship on suspicion of treason for funding the Ukrainian Army, Russian state media reported.

    • The Straits Times ☛ US, European parts found in North Korean missile in Ukraine: Report

      It found that 75 per cent of the parts were linked to companies incorporated in the US.

    • CS Monitor ☛ After Navalny’s death, a ‘Reagan Republican’ comes to breakfast

      Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed confidence that Congress would step up for Ukraine at a Monitor Breakfast with reporters.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia May Have Captured Hundreds of Ukrainian Soldiers

      The fall of Avdiivka to Russia may be more significant than it initially seemed as Ukraine struggles with morale and recruitment.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Arrests U.S. Citizen, Accusing Her of Treason by Aiding Ukraine

      The country’s main security agency said the 33-year-old detainee lived in Los Angeles. A lawyers group said she was accused of donating $50 to the war effort.

    • Latvia ☛ Russian-Estonian arrested over vandalism of memorial in Latvia

      Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) said February 20 that on February 8 it detained a person at the Pāternieku border control point on suspicion of desecration of a memorial site in Latvia on behalf of the Russian special services, as well as attempted provocations at memorial sites in the other Baltic states.

    • Latvia ☛ Sprūds: Russia's brutality cannot be underestimated

      Russia and its brutality towards human life cannot be underestimated, Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressives) said in an interview with Latvian Television on February 20.

    • The Strategist ☛ The lonesome death of Alexei Navalny

      Back in 2013, when Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was facing bogus criminal charges, I recalled my great-grandfather, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, comparing Russia to a tub full of dough. ‘You put your hand down in ...

    • LRT ☛ How Lithuania is preparing to fortify its border with Russia, Belarus

      Lithuania is planning to acquire most of the engineering equipment to impede the movement of a potential enemy this year, as well as set up more than 20 counter-mobility parks.

    • RFERL ☛ X Account Of Navalny's Widow Temporarily Suspended For Unknown Reason

      Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, temporarily suspended the account of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, without giving a reason.

    • RFERL ☛ Prosecutors Seek More Than Three Years In Prison For Russian Teen Over Koran Burning

      Prosecutors in Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya asked a court in Grozny to sentence a young man to 3 1/2 years in prison for publicly burning a Koran.

    • RFERL ☛ Dutch Court Rejects Russia's Appeal Against Order To Pay Over $50 Billion To Defunct Yukos

      The Amsterdam Court of Appeals on February 20 rejected Russia’s appeal against a 2014 order by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague to pay $50 billion, a sum that has risen to more than $60 billion with interest, to shareholders of the defunct Yukos oil group.

    • RFERL ☛ European Countries Summon Russian Diplomats Over Navalny Death

      A host of European governments on February 19 summoned Russian diplomats following the prison death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

    • Meduza ☛ Kremlin spokesman rejects E.U. foreign policy chief’s request for international investigation into Navalny’s death, says Moscow doesn’t accept ‘such demands’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Moscow police reportedly ordered to ‘identify’ individuals bringing flowers to memorials honoring Navalny — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania gives equal funding to Constantinople and Moscow-aligned Orthodox Christians

      Lithuania this week allocated equal funding – 77,600 euros – to the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, and the recently established Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia adds U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham to official list of ‘extremists and terrorists’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Moscow court sentences former advisor to Russian Embassy in France to 18 years for treason — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Yulia Navalnaya, Aleksei Navalny’s Widow, Takes Center Stage

      The wife of Russia’s most famous opposition leader long shunned the spotlight, but his death in prison may make that impossible. “I have no right to give up,” she said.

    • Meduza ☛ Estonia detains 10 people suspected of involvement in ‘hybrid operation’ coordinated by Russian special services — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ How Biden Can Avenge Navalny’s Death

      The president cannot allow Russia’s rulers to think that his threats are hollow.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ Multiple California Climate Cases Against Big Oil Are Merging into One Super Suit

      Several California municipalities are merging their climate deception litigation with the state’s climate case, to jointly pursue a super-sized lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry, according to recent court filings. This development comes as Chicago joins the growing list of U.S. municipalities suing the fossil fuel industry.

      On February 5, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Charles S. Treat approved California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s petition to link the state’s climate accountability case with lawsuits brought by the counties of Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz, and the cities of Imperial Beach, Richmond, and Santa Cruz. 

    • teleSUR ☛ Lufthansa Workers Begin One-Day Strike in Germany

      "The ground workers feel that they have been left out in the cold," said negotiator Reschinsky.

    • LRT ☛ Lufthansa strike affects flights from Lithuania to Munich, Frankfurt

      This week’s strike by the ground staff of the German airline Lufthansa will affect six flights to and from Lithuania, Tadas Vasiliauskas, a spokesperson for Lithuanian Airports (LTOU), said on Tuesday.

    • France24 ☛ Eiffel Tower closed for second day as staff extend strike over financing

      The Eiffel Tower, one of the world's top tourist attractions, remained closed for a second straight day Tuesday as staff extended a strike over the monument's financing.

    • DeSmog ☛ Critics Say Barclays’ New Restrictions on Financing Oil and Gas Projects Are Too Limited and Too Late

      Barclays, one of the largest banks headquartered in the European Union, will stop funding new oil and gas projects. The shift is part of a slew of internal changes geared toward curbing emissions. But the newly adopted measures, which were announced last week, leave the London-based multinational with plenty of flexibility to continue financing fossil fuel extraction — and some critics say they don’t go far enough. 

      “Overall we feel progress has been made by Barclays, but there are still areas of concern,” said Kelly Shields, a campaign manager with ShareAction, a UK-based nonprofit that used investor pressure to lobby the bank to change its lending practices. 

    • Vice Media Group ☛ First Prison Photo of Sam Bankman-Fried Emerges: Bearded, Thin, and ‘Weird as Shit’

      Independent crypto journalist Tiffany Fong obtained the photo of the former FTX CEO from a former inmate she called “G Lock.”

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Hackaday ☛ Measuring Trees Via Satellite Actually Takes A Great Deal Of Field Work

      Figuring out what the Earth’s climate is going to do at any given point is a difficult task. To know how it will react to given events, you need to know what you’re working with. This requires an accurate model of everything from ocean currents to atmospheric heat absorption and the chemical and literal behavior of everything from cattle to humans to trees.

• Finance

  • YLE ☛ Unemployment rate up as job vacancies diminish

    The unemployment rate trend stood at 7.7 percent in January, an increase from the figure of 6.9 percent one year ago.

  • YLE ☛ Widespread disruption to card payments

    Transactions may be delayed or rejected, the service provider says.

  • Latvia ☛ Decision on EU anti-money laundering agency home likely this week

    Thursday is the day when the location of a headquarters for a new European Union anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) will likely be decided, according to political news portal Politico.

  • YLE ☛ Finnwatch probe follows wealthy Finns around the world

    A few hundred wealthy Finns who pulled in more than 50,000 euros in unearned income moved out of the country to avoid or lessen their capital gains tax burdens, according to NGO Finnwatch.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Monetary reforms went wrong. Now Nigeria faces an economic crisis.

    In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, inflation has caused the currency to fall to a record low. Nigerians now struggle to navigate the soaring costs of food and other essential services.

  • YLE ☛ Unpaid sick leave and unemployment benefit cuts — Yle survey reveals the government's most unpopular plans

    People expressed which of the government's planned reforms they are most opposed to, as well as which would be easiest to accept.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ China hopes France continues role in stable Sino-European relations, foreign minister says

    China hopes France will continue a constructive role in developing healthy and stable Sino-European relations by enhancing mutual trust and promoting integration of interests, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

  • RFA ☛ Chinese coast guard causes ‘panic’ with Taiwan cruise ship boarding

    The inspection of a sightseeing vessel near Kinmen island comes amid increased Chinese patrols in the area.

  • RFA ☛ 'A tough future like that is hard to think about'

    Oscar-nominated Taiwanese-American director S. Leo Chiang on his film about Taiwan's frontier island of Kinmen.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taipei urges Beijing to remain ‘rational’ after 2 Chinese nationals died in boat incident off Kinmen island

    Taiwan called on Beijing to “be rational” on Tuesday following a deadly incident involving a Chinese boat and the Taiwanese coast guard, with the island’s premier insisting it would protect its waters.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Australian writer Yang Jun’s family says he will not appeal suspended death sentence imposed by China

    Chinese-Australian dissident Yang Jun will not appeal a suspended death sentence imposed by a Beijing court, his family said Wednesday in a statement denouncing China’s “inhumane” justice system.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Middle East Instability: A Chinese Perspective to the Latest Flashpoint

    Chuchu Zhang joins us from Shanghai to explore China's evolving response to the ongoing instability in the Middle East—including the attacks in the Red Sea and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict— and how they could test US hegemony in the region.

  • RFA ☛ ‘Stop harassing’ Chinese students, Beijing tells US

    American officials say any deportations of Chinese students are not for political reasons.

  • RFA ☛ Group launches legal center to fight China's 'long-arm' enforcement

    The center will teach lawyers, policymakers and journalists how to stop Beijing targeting its dissidents overseas.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says it has not stepped up military deployments on frontline islands

    Taiwan has not increased military deployments on frontline islands facing China and there is nothing unusual in the military situation around Taiwan, the defence ministry said on Wednesday amid a rise in tensions with Beijing.

  • NYPost ☛ Paid FBI informant accused of fabricating Biden bribery allegation received another debunked Hunter tip — this time from Russia: court docs

    Federal prosecutors revealed the paid FBI informant accused of fabricating a high-profile $10 million bribery allegation against President Biden and Hunter Biden recently shared another false story.

  • New York Times ☛ Ex-FBI Informant, Accused of Biden Lies, Said He Had Russian Contacts

    Federal prosecutors portrayed the former informant, Alexander Smirnov, 43, as a serial liar incapable of telling the truth about even the most basic details of his own life.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Alexander Smirnov Admits Russian Spies Passed on Lies about Hunter Biden

    Alexander Smirnov admitted some of the claims he has made about Hunter Biden came from Russian spies.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Congress can’t be too concerned about the state of affairs

    Russian brutality on parade once again. No end in sight for the Middle East conflict. No federal 2024 budget and the border crisis rolls on. What a great time for Congress to take a recess.

  • JURIST ☛ Tunisia opposition leader initiates hunger strike in prison

    Rached Ghannouchi, the Tunisian opposition leader and head of the Ennahda main opposition party, commenced a hunger strike on Monday in solidarity with other anti-government figures. Ghannouchi, aged 82, has been incarcerated since last year on charges of incitement against police and plotting against state security.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan’s largest parties strike deal on coalition government

    Former premier Shehbaz Sharif will be the coalition’s candidate for prime minister.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ How a wave of disinformation is endangering Rohingya refugees in Indonesia

      Dozens of photos and videos that have been either "doctored" or taken out of context so as to negatively portray Rohingya refugees have been circulating on Indonesian social control media. This wave of disinformation has become so intense that the United Nations is worried about the refugees’ safety – even in Aceh province, which has, historically, been considered very welcoming. Our Observer, an Indonesian journalist who specialises in fact-checking for a publication called Mafindo, has been looking at the rise in online hate speech and fake news targeting the Rohingya.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Meduza ☛ X (formerly Twitter) briefly suspends account of Alexey Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya — Meduza

  • Techdirt ☛ Don’t Fall For The Latest Changes To The Dangerous Kids Online Safety Act

    The authors of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) unveiled an amended version last week, but it’s still an unconstitutional censorship bill that continues to empower state officials to target services and online content they do not like. We are asking everyone reading this to oppose this latest version, and to demand that their representatives oppose it—even if you have already done so. 

  • Techdirt ☛ Elon Only Started Buying Up Twitter Shares After Twitter Refused To Ban Plane Tracking Account

    Ever since he first started to make moves to purchase Twitter, Elon Musk has framed his interest in “rigorously adhering to” principles of free speech. As we’ve noted, you have to be ridiculously gullible to believe that’s true, given Elon’s long history of suppressing speech, but a new book about Elon’s purchase suggests that from the very start a major motivation in the purchase, was to silence accounts he disliked.

  • BIA Net ☛ ‘Kurdistan exists, LGBTI+s exist’

    The İstanbul Trans Pride Week Committee has issued a statement, raising concerns about the repercussions of escalating discrimination, hate speech, and nationalism on the LGBTI+ movement.

  • Reason ☛ UC's National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement $20K Non-Residential Fellowships

    The Center is accepting applications until March 15; check out the details here. (I'm one of the Advisory Board members.) An excerpt: Each year, the Center selects Fellows from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds such as law, journalism, higher education, social science, technology and government.

  • Reason ☛ Journal of Free Speech Law: "Courting Censorship," by Prof. Philip Hamburger

    The article is here; the Introduction: Has Supreme Court doctrine invited censorship? Not deliberately, of course. Still, it must be asked whether current doctrine has courted censorship—in the same way one might speak of it courting disaster.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • RFERL ☛ Imprisoned RFE/RL Journalist Ihar Losik Held Incommunicado For One Year

    The parents of RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik, who is serving 15 years term on charges that he, RFE/RL, and foreign governments have called politically motivated, say their son has been held incommunicado in a Belarusian prison for a full year.

  • RFERL ☛ Ihar Lednik Is Latest Political Prisoner To Die In Belarusian Custody

    The Belarusian Social Democratic Party said on February 20 that its member, Ihar Lednik, died at the age of 63 in a correctional colony where he was serving a three-year prison term on a charge of insulting the country's authoritarian ruler, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

  • RFERL ☛ Court Rejects RFE/RL Journalist Kurmasheva's Request For House Arrest

    The Supreme Court of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan ruled on February 20 that RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who has been held in Russian custody for more than four months on charges that she, her employer, and her supporters reject, will remain in pretrial detention.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia Declares RFE/RL An 'Undesirable Organization'

    Russia has labeled Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as an "undesirable organization," according to a registry maintained by the country's Justice Ministry, exposing its journalists and others working with the organization, as well as its donors or those who are interviewed by it, to criminal charges.

  • Meduza ☛ Russia declares RFE/RL ‘undesirable organization’ — Meduza

  • RFERL ☛ Moscow City Court Rejects U.S. Journalist Gershkovich's Appeal Against His Pretrial Detention

    The Moscow City Court rejected another appeal by U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich over his pretrial detention on an espionage charge that he, his employer, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and the U.S. government reject.

  • teleSUR ☛ A Crowd Defends Assange Before the Court Deciding His Future

    "If he is extradited, the chilling effect will be enormous," RSF journalist Rebecca Vincent said.

  • IT Wire ☛ Assange too ill to appear in court for final extradition hearing

    His lawyer Ed Fitzgerald told the British High Court on Tuesday that the case against him was political retaliation for having published documents that embarrassed the US administration.

    Assange has been in custody in the UK since April 2019 when he was arrested following an American request to the British Government to extradite him.

  • BBC ☛ Julian Assange: Lawyers describe US prosecution as state retaliation

    Lawyers for Julian Assange have accused the US of "state retaliation" over its bid to prosecute the Wikileaks founder.

  • France24 ☛ UK court to hear Wikileaks founder Assange's final appeal against extradition to US

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was Tuesday absent due to illness from a London court hearing his final appeal against extradition to the United States to face trial for publishing secret military and diplomatic files.

  • Reason ☛ The Biden Administration Is Bent on Setting an Alarming Precedent by Prosecuting Julian Assange

    The WikiLeaks founder already has spent as much time in a London prison as DOJ lawyers say he is likely to serve if convicted in the U.S.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Let’s talk about…Assange’s Final Extradition Hearing

    Wikileaks founder Julian Assange returns to the courtroom this week in a last-ditch effort to avoid extradition to the United States.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese man arrested in Australia faces extradition to US in North Korea smuggling case

    A Chinese man arrested in Australia is awaiting extradition to the United States for alleged involvement in a North Korean scheme to generate revenue by selling counterfeit cigarettes, Australian authorities said on Wednesday.

  • Reason ☛ Good Times, Bad Times: Eviction Edition

    Plus: Voters in Massachusetts reject state-mandated upzonings, Florida localities rebel against a surprisingly effective YIMBY reform, and lawsuits target missing middle housing in Virginia.

  • Reason ☛ NYC Child Protection Agency Uses 'Coercive Tactics' To Bully Parents Into Allowing Warrantless Searches

    According to a new lawsuit, NYC's child protection agency almost never obtained warrants when it searched over 50,000 family homes during abuse and neglect investigations.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Farmers’ Protest in India Reignites: A Struggle for the Future of Food and Agriculture

    In 2021, after a year-long protest, India’s farmers brought about the repeal of three farm laws that were intended to ‘liberalise’ the agriculture sector. Now, in 2024, farmers are again protesting.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Deep dive into China’s NXDOMAIN data

    Guest Post: Comparing erroneous domain name queries between China and the global DNS system.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Mundipharma and Allen & Overy prevail after Glenmark damages claim

    Damages relating to injunctions have recently attracted attention with, for example, the CJEU publishing a landmark judgment on the topic. Today there were further developments on the issue of damages as the Düsseldorf Regional Court rejected Glenmark’s claims against Mundipharma. At the centre of the dispute is the latter’s painkiller, Targin.

  • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Leigh M. Rothschild entity Quantum Technology Innovations networking patent monopoly prior art

    Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,650,376, owned by Quantum Technology Innovations LLC, an entity of Leigh M. Rothschild.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ CAFC Vacates and Remands BABIES' MAGIC TEA Cancellation Denial: TTAB Misapplied the DuPont Factors

    The CAFC vacated the Board's decision [here] denying a petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark BABIES' MAGIC TEA for "medicated tea for babies that treats colic and gas and helps babies sleep better." The Board found no likelihood of confusion with the registered mark BABY MAGIC for various toiletry goods (including baby lotion). The CAFC ruled that the basis for the Board's finding as to the second DuPont factor was unclear, that the Board had ignored certain evidence bearing on the third factor, and that it erred in failing to weigh the first factor heavily in favor of Petitioner Naterra. Naterra International, Inc. v. Samah Bensalem, Appeal No. 2022-1872 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 14, 2024) [precedential].

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ U.S. Appeals Court Overturns $1 Billion Cox Communications Infringement Verdict, Orders ‘A New Trial on Damages’

    Years after a jury ordered Cox Communications to pay the major labels $1 billion for alleged vicarious and contributory copyright monopoly infringement, the verdict has been partially overturned on appeal – with a new, damages-centered trial on the way.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Beyond the Limit: The Battle Over Copyright Back-Damages in Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy

    The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on February 21 in an important copyright monopoly case – Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy. The central issue is whether copyright monopoly plaintiffs can recover damages for infringing acts that occurred more than three years before filing suit, under the “discovery accrual rule.” 

  • Techdirt ☛ George Santos Files Very Silly Copyright Lawsuit Against Jimmy Kimmel Over His Cameo Videos

    Former Rep. George Santos, kicked out of Congress last year for being an irredeemable liar, has spent his time since expulsion pulling in the big bucks making videos on Cameo for anywhere between $350 and $500 a pop.