Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Trutnowy, Poland

  I love clicking on Wikipedia’s Random Article link, and seeing where it takes me. Today we arrived in Poland, and the northern village of Trutnowy:

  Trutnowy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Cedry Wielkie, within Gdańsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Cedry Wielkie, 13 km (8 mi) east of Pruszcz Gdański, and 19 km (12 mi) south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Coffee shop under new management

  One of my regular haunts has new staff and music, but everything else is the same. Feels weird.

  I wonder where the old people went?

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Breaking: Japan's 'Wonky' Lander Surprisingly Survives The Lunar Night

  • Science Alert ☛ Destined to Die, Odysseus Moon Lander Stoically Sends Back Its First Grainy Pics

    Hang in there Odie!

  • New York Times ☛ Odysseus Moon Lander Sends Photos Home Before Spacecraft Likely Dies

    The privately built American spacecraft’s ability to send home images and other data has been limited by its sideways landing. On another part of the moon, a Japanese spacecraft woke up.

  • Science Alert ☛ An El Niño Some 80 Years Ago Sparked The Retreat of Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier'

    Once it starts, it's difficult to stop.

  The DeDeterminator Uses Quantum Physics To Make Decisions So You Don’t Have To

  Are you making your own decisions and mainlining causality like a sucker? Why go through the agony, when you could hand over the railway switch of determinism to a machine that can decide things for you! Enter the DeDeterminator, a decision machine from [Oliver Child].

  Integration Taught Correctly

  [Math the World] claims that your calculus teacher taught you integration wrong. That’s assuming, of course, you learned integration at all, and if you haven’t forgotten it. The premise is that most people think of performing an integral as finding the area under a curve or as the “antiderivative.” However, fewer people think of integration as adding up many small parts. The video asserts that studies show that students who don’t understand the third definition have difficulty applying integration to real-world problems.

• Hardware

  Radioactive 3D Printed Flower Glows And Glows

  Glow-in-the-dark projects aren’t that uncommon. You can even get glow-in-the-dark PLA filament. However, those common glowing items require a charge from light, and the glow fades very quickly. [Ogrinz Labs] wasn’t satisfied with that. His “Night Blossom” 3D-printed flower glows using radioactive tritium and will continue to glow for decades.

  A Deep Dive Into A 1980s Radio Shack Computer Trainer

  For those of us who remember Radio Shack as more than just an overpriced cell phone store, a lot of the nostalgia for the retailer boils down to the brands on offer. Remember the Realistic line of hi-fi and stereo gear? How about Archer brand tools and parts? Patrolman scanners, Micronta test instruments, and don’t forget those amazing Optimus speakers — all had a place in our development as electronics nerds.

  • CNX Software ☛ Nordic nRF9151 – A smaller LTE-M/NB-IoT and DECT NR+ SiP with enhanced power efficiency and security

    Nordic Semiconductor has announced the availability of its new nRF9151 SiP module adding to the nRF91 cellular IoT lineup. This new module includes a 64MHz Arm Cortex-M33 SoC, LTE-M/NB-IoT connectivity with a radio-frequency front-end (RFE) for cellular support, and DECT NR+ connectivity.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Breakthrough: FDA Approves First Drug For Dangerous Food Allergies

    This will save lives.

  • Latvia ☛ Dark side of 'White' milk: dairy producer's workplace safety questioned

    In a span of a couple of months, four employees of the "Tukuma piens" dairy producer company, more commonly known under the brand "Baltais" ("White"), have got serious injuries. Latvian Television's "Forbidden Method", aired February 26, checked concerns about the employer's lax attitude to safety and employee health.

  • Latvia ☛ Swine fever situation is 'consistently bad', says food authority

    The situation with the spread of African swine fever in wild boar in Latvia is currently 'consistently bad', the head of the animal infectious diseases monitoring division of the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD), Mārtiņš Seržants, said in an interview with Latvian Radio February 27.

  • Federal News Network ☛ McDonough says ‘tighter fiscal picture’ at VA requires careful planning to continue heath care hiring

    The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to keep hiring for its health care workforce this year, but at lower levels than last year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand to shut indigenous health authority amid Maori protests

    New Zealand's Maori Health Authority will be shutdown by June 20, the health minister said on Tuesday, as the centre-right government winds back indigenous policies of previous governments.

  • Science Alert ☛ Women Don't Have to Try as Hard at The Gym to Reap Long-Term Health Benefits

    A nice perk for one sex.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: Rise in mental health issues among South Korean youth sparks reforms

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea nurses will take on more medical work due to doctor walkout

    They have been given legal protection to perform some procedures normally conducted by doctors.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Woman in her 60s dies after bungee jump in South Korea mall

    Police believe the bungee rope sprang loose due to a faulty safety clip.

  • RFERL ☛ Polio Inoculation Campaign Kicks Off In 21 Afghan Provinces

    An extensive polio vaccination campaign started on February 26 in 21 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, the country's Health Ministry said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian couple arrested after accidentally feeding son milk mixed with meth

    The police said the couple were high on drugs during the incident in their flat in Selangor.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ After U.S. Strikes, Iran’s Proxies Scale Back Attacks on American Bases

    Tehran, wary of igniting open warfare with Washington, has told militia groups it backs to curtail assaults on targets such as military installations, Iranian and American officials say.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Airstrikes in Lebanon Are the Deepest in Years

    At least two Hezbollah fighters were killed in strikes in the Bekaa Valley, and at least six other people were wounded, the mayor of a nearby city said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says 5 Chinese coast guard ships entered waters near front-line islands

    
    

    China’s coast guard in February began regular patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands.

  • teleSUR ☛ Sierra Leonean President to Visit China

    It is believed that this visit will inject new impetus into the comprehensive and in-depth development of China-Sierra Leone ties.

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  • RFERL ☛ China Introduces Visa-Free Visits For Georgian Citizens

    Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on February 26 that Georgian citizens can now visit China without visas for a period of up to 30 days.

  • RFA ☛ Chinese activist pens love letter to Chow Hang-tung in prison

    Ye Du vows to fight for the couple's freedom until his dying day, in a letter marking China's Valentine's Day.

  • New York Times ☛ Videos Show Exchange of Gunfire at Houston Megachurch

    The videos released by the Houston police left open the question of who shot a 7-year-old boy as his mother, armed with an assault-style rifle, exchanged fire with off-duty officers.

  • YLE ☛ Finland holds Air Force defence drills across the country

    The training will also involve the use of stretches of highway nearby both main air bases, which will result in the closure of Highway 4 in Jyväskylä and road 9523 in Rovaniemi.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvian officials congratulate Sweden on NATO's accession

    Latvian officials, welcoming Sweden's accession to NATO on Monday February 26, emphasize that Sweden joining will strengthen the security of the region and the alliance as a whole.

  • YLE ☛ Finnish leaders welcome Sweden into Nato

    President Niinistö and PM Orpo immediately congratulated Sweden after its Nato membership was confirmed on Monday evening.

  • The Strategist ☛ Last of the ‘true believers’ or harbinger? Ana Montes and the future of espionage against the West

    Ana Montes was US Intelligence’s ‘Queen of Cuba’. The Defence Intelligence Agency’s leading Central America analyst; go-to voice on Cuban intentions and capabilities; eldest daughter of a family dedicated to US Government service.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Federal News Network ☛ Whistleblowers exposing fraud pocket over $350M

    Whistleblowers filed more than 700 lawsuits under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act in fiscal 2023. That's the most since 2014.

• Environment

  • Science Alert ☛ Clouds Vanish During a Solar Eclipse, And We Finally Know Why

    Creeping away in the darkness.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ Trump wants to unravel Biden’s landmark climate law. Here is what’s most at risk.

    President Joe Biden’s crowning legislative achievement was enacting the Inflation Reduction Act, easily the nation’s largest investment into addressing the rising dangers of climate change.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Stanford University ☛ From the Community | ‘Sustainability Science and Systems’ is ambiguous corporate lingo

      "The proposed move towards 'sustainability' represents a worrying trend away from the natural sciences in exchange for vague corporate lingo," write the Earth Systems Student Advisors

  • Overpopulation

    • YLE ☛ Vasectomy wait times stretch up to three years

      Finland's wellbeing services counties blame the long queues on a scarcity of resources.

• Finance

  • IT Wire ☛ Google pulls standalone Pay app in US

    In a blog post, Joris van Mens, the group product manager of Surveillance Giant Google Pay, said the app was being withdrawn "to simplify the app experience" as Surveillance Giant Google Wallet was 'the primary place for people to securely store payment cards used for tap and pay in stores".

    No direct mention was made of the take-up of the standalone app in the US.

  • EuroNews ☛ Sony to cut about 900 PlayStation jobs as gaming layoffs continue | Euronews

    The layoffs arrive a month after Microsoft said it would cut nearly 2,000 workers after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

  • PlayStation Follows Xbox In Announcing Significant Layoffs For 2024 | Pure Xbox

    "Difficult news about our workforce" - Sony has announced major layoffs involving its PlayStation business...

  • PlayStation to Lay Off 900 Employees, or 8% of Workforce

    Sony’s PlayStation has joined the long list of video game companies hit by layoffs in 2024.

    Approximately 900 Sony Interactive Entertainment employees, or 8% of PlayStation’s global workforce, will be impacted by the cuts, per outgoing-CEO Jim Ryan. Employees across the Americas, EMEA, Japan and APAC regions will be affected and several studios, including PlayStation’s London studio, will shutter.

  • PlayStation announces plans to lay off 900 people, will close London Studio | VG247

    PlayStation has announced plans to lay off 900 people from its global workforce

  • The Verge ☛ Sony is laying off 900 PlayStation employees - The Verge

    Sony is laying off around 900 PlayStation employees. The London Studio in the UK is closing fully, with employees affected worldwide.

  • ABC ☛ Sony to cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation unit as layoffs in technology, gaming sector continue - ABC News

    Sony will cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, or about 8% of its global workforce, becoming the latest company in the technology and gaming sector to announce layoffs

  • Sony Layoffs 2024: What to Know About the Latest PlayStation Job Cuts | InvestorPlace

    Sony layoffs are coming for the company's PlayStation division as the video game business reduces headcounts at several of its developers.

  • CNBC ☛ Sony layoffs: Company to cut 900 workers from PlayStation division

    Sony Interactive Entertainment on Tuesday said it will lay off 900 employees in its PlayStation unit.

  • Sony to lay off 900 PlayStation employees, shut London studio

    Japan's Sony is cutting about 900 jobs at its PlayStation unit and shutting a studio in London, it said on Tuesday as the videogame industry struggles to recover from a post-pandemic slump.

    The layoffs will affect about 8% of the division's staff in regions from the Americas to Asia and come days after Sony slashed the annual sales expectation for its PlayStation 5 console.

  • PlayStation: Sony to lay off 900 employees in latest gaming troubles

    Sony will lay off 900 employees from PlayStation, the company has said.

    Staff from across the world will be laid off, said PlayStation head Jim Ryan in an update. It will reduce the division’s headcount by around 900 people.

    That will lead to cuts as several of PlayStation’s studios, including the complete closure of its London Studios, which worked on several games for the PSVR virtual reality headset.

    Mr Ryan and PlayStation did not say exactly why the cuts were being made. “The goal is to streamline our resources to ensure our continued success and ability to deliver experiences gamers and creators have come to expect from us,” he said in an email sent to staff, without giving specific details about what the changes will include.

  • PlayStation Laying Off 900 People, London Studio to Close

    Layoffs have hit Sony Interactive Entertainment, with PlayStation set to lose 900 employees — about 8% of its headcount. The biggest casualty is London Studio, which is being shut down entirely. The SingStar developer was in operation for 22 years, and was working on a PS5 multiplayer game.

  • International Business Times ☛ Sony Announces Layoffs: The Impact On Gaming Industry And Workforce | IBTimes

    Sony PlayStation announces layoffs affecting 900 employees globally, citing the need for restructuring amidst declining console sales.

  • Sony Interactive Entertainment announces layoffs of 900 employees, or 8% of workforce Pi News [Ed: Might be chatbot-generated spew]

    Thus, the company joined the trend that has defined the video game industry in recent months.

    The layoffs in the video game industry continue, and now Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced laying off 900 employees worldwide, equivalent to 8% of its workforce.

    Through a statement posted on their website, they announced the move, saying, “The PlayStation community means everything to us, so “We thought it was important to let you know about a difficult day in our business.”

    “We have made the very difficult decision to announce our plan to begin reducing our global workforce by approximately 8 percent, or approximately 900 people. in accordance with local laws and consultation processes,” they add, noting that this includes employees worldwide, including their studios.

  • PlayStation Sheds 900 Jobs and Shutters London Studio Among Global Cuts [Ed: Seems like chatbot-generated spew]

    In a strategic move to refine its global workforce, Sony’s PlayStation division has announced the closure of its acclaimed London Studio, best known for its work with PlayStation VR titles. The decision is part of a broader initiative to reduce the company’s overall headcount by approximately 8%, impacting around 900 employees worldwide. Not limited to the UK, the cuts span across the Americas, Japan, as well as regions within Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

  • Sony to reduce headcount globally by 8%: Here's why

    Sony has revealed plans to cut around 900 jobs from its PlayStation division, a global reduction of about 8%.

  • Game Rant ☛ Until Dawn, Dark Pictures Developer Hit With Layoffs

    Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games has recently announced layoffs. Supermassive Games is known for making horror games with impactful choices, and it’s the latest company affected by one of the worst recent trends in the gaming industry.

    Supermassive Games was founded back in 2008, and it initially served as one of Sony’s second-party developers, working on games such as LittleBigPlanet, Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves, and Killzone HD. The studio rose in prominence in 2015 with Until Dawn, a horror game with a big emphasis on choice. Following that, the company continued to create horror games in the same style with the Dark Pictures Anthology series, and the recent The Quarry.

  • YLE ☛ €55m bill for renovation of presidential residence raises eyebrows

    The property's renovation budget is close to the original construction cost.

  • YLE ☛ Prosecutors file human trafficking charges against berry bosses

    The charges relate to the company's treatment of workers from Thailand.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Economic challenges are a barrier to Argentina’s prosperity

    In Argentina's recent election, libertarian economist Javier Milei won by 11 percent, tapping into economic discontent. His platform stressed freedom and spending cuts, but facing challenges like hyperinflation and fiscal deficits, he may need to moderate his approach for success.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Chile struggles with economic stagnation

    Chile grapples with economic slowdown and political polarization. Growth has stalled, and trust in democratic institutions has waned as parties have multiplied. Despite failed attempts to rewrite the constitution, polarization persists, complicating Chile's political future.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Economic reform is crucial for growth in Brazil

    Brazil's economic prospects are hindered by high taxes, inefficient regulations, and security concerns, particularly in drug trafficking routes. Reform efforts, including tax and fiscal reforms, along with leveraging Brazil's strengths like clean energy, are crucial for growth and education opportunities.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Sub-Saharan Africa grapples with development imperatives

    Sub-Saharan Africa confronts urgent development challenges, including the imperative for democratization and institution building, amid critical security concerns. With declining foreign support and China's Belt and Road Initiative rising, worries arise over debt and politicized financing. Despite potential through regional integration, diverse political interests and institutional weaknesses remain obstacles.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Egypt grapples with political uncertainty under El-Sisi

    Egypt faces economic challenges with heavy debt and political unrest. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's reelection may not prompt reforms, exacerbating inflation and currency devaluation. Gulf aid hinges on reforms, while militarization impedes change. Regional tensions heighten instability risks.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Pakistan faces urgent need for comprehensive reforms to spur long-term growth and stability

    Pakistan needs extensive economic and institutional reforms to boost long-term growth and prosperity. These reforms involve improving property rights, increasing public investment in education and health, and addressing political polarization. A new political settlement is necessary to foster stability and enable these reforms.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ China must spread its wealth to reach equality

    Despite phenomenal growth in GDP, Chinese people have seen only modest gains (if any) across a range of freedom and prosperity indices. The Chinese Communist Party has failed to share the benefits of the country’s upward economic trajectory equally among its citizens.

  • RFA ☛ China touts economic prospects amid ‘rising East and declining West’

    Xi Jinping pushes a new wave of spending to upgrade factory equipment and home appliances.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ China’s authoritarian trend meets resistance in East Asia and the Pacific

    China's influence shapes political and economic dynamics in East Asia and the Pacific. Despite resistance, its practices hinder freedom across the region. Youth movements demand responsive systems. Weak institutions and challenges like inequality persist, requiring diversified economic strategies and strengthened democracies to navigate regional complexities.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ South Africa needs political change to meet economic demands

    South Africa's future hinges on political changes, especially the potential shift to a coalition government in the 2024 election. Economic challenges, including rising debt, demand urgent reforms. Global alliances, notably with BRICS and China, affect trade dynamics, emphasizing the need for diversification.

  • BIA Net ☛ Alevi Conference emphasizes that assimilation policies persist employing different methods

    Speaking at the "Alevis on the 100th Anniversary of the Republic" conference held in İstanbul, Tülay Hatimoğulları, the Co-Chairperson of the DEM Party, stated, "The government's understanding of 'closing the parenthesis of the Republic' puts secular lifestyle and different belief groups at risk."

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Redefining US strategy with Latin America and the Caribbean for a new era

    The strategic interest of the United States and the countries of Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) lies in strengthening their western hemisphere partnership. Shared borders, economic interests, and security alliances bind these nations, along with a common goal for prosperity.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Reason ☛ Supreme Court Seems Likely to Strike Down Florida and Texas Social Media Laws

    The laws violate the First Amendment because they require social control media sites to abjure most content moderation, and platform speech they disapprove of.

  • Reason ☛ No Pseudonymity in Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

    From today's decision by Judge Joshua Wolson (E.D. Pa.) in Doe v. Temple Univ.: Courts are public. That's a foundational principle in American society.

  • The Kent Stater ☛ Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s arguments on Texas and Florida’s social control media laws and the First Amendment

    The Supreme Court expressed skepticism Monday about state laws in Texas and Florida designed to stop social control media giants from throttling conservative views but also suggested that whatever decision emerges may not be the court’s final word on the significant First Amendment questions raised by the case.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • France24 ☛ French journalist covering African Union summit detained in Ethiopia

    A French journalist has been arrested and detained in Ethiopia since February 22 on suspicions of conspiring "to create chaos" in the country, his employer, the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, announced on Monday.

  • BIA Net ☛ Journalists Candemir and Aslan detained in Van

    Journalists Arif Aslan and Oktay Candemir were taken into custody in police raids in Van and brought to the Provincial Security Directorate.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Pro-Beijing activist asks China official to clarify security law, ‘soft resistance,’ says Hongkongers too afraid to speak up

    A pro-Beijing activist has petitioned a visiting top Chinese official, urging for clarification on “soft resistance” and the “bottom line” of the national security law, and saying that a lack of certainty around what was allowed had left Hongkongers afraid to speak up.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Rare Hong Kong protest sounds alarm on new security law

    The protesters were surrounded by police officers as they chanted slogans outside the government headquarters.

  • JURIST ☛ Ethiopia police arrest French journalist on suspicion of conspiracy to create chaos

    Ethiopian authorities arrested French journalist Antoine Galindo for allegedly “conspiring with armed groups to create chaos” in the country, his employer announced Monday. Security forces in civilian clothing arrested Galindo on Thursday at a hotel in the capital, Addis Ababa, while he was interviewing a political officer of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Bate Urgessa.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ex-US president Trump’s praise of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai flagged by prosecutors at nat. security trial

    Hong Kong prosecutors have pointed to ex-US president Donald Trump’s praise of detained media mogul Jimmy Lai almost four years ago in his national security trial. Ivan Cheung, a lead prosecutor, presented to the court on Monday a series of tweets and reports published by the now-shuttered Fashion Company Apple Daily newspaper from August 2020.

  • France24 ☛ Two shot dead as Guinea's capital Conakry crippled by general strike

    Two youths were shot dead Monday as Guinea's capital was paralysed on the first day of an open-ended general strike, a key test for the junta that seized power in 2021 and banned demonstrations while muzzling critics.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Singaporean man arrested for overstaying in Malaysia nearly 13 years

    He had been in Malaysia since 2011, according to Johor immigration officials.

  • The Straits Times ☛ More Malaysians opting for gig work, raising fears of skilled workers shortage

    Stagnant wages and inflexible hours in nine-to-five jobs cited as reasons for choosing the gig economy.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ Magnetar Capital entity Lionra cybersecurity patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On February 22, 2024, less than five weeks after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 9,264,441, owned by Lionra Technologies Ltd, a Magnetar Capital entity.

  • JUVE ☛ Court of Appeal judges pave way back to European market for NanoString

    The Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court has just made legal history by issuing its long-awaited judgment in the appeal proceedings between 10X Genomics and NanoString.

  • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Brazilian Congressman introduces bill to allow Hey Hi (AI) as inventor [Ed: Village fool who clearly does not understand what the patent system was created for]

    On February 20, 2024, a Brazilian Congressman introduced a bill to amend the national IP Statute (Law #9,279/96) and regulate the ownership of inventions generated by artificial intelligence systems.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Burden of Proof Buffers Patent Owner Misconduct in Patent Revival Case

    A jury in Judge Albright’s W.D.Tex. court sided with Amazon – finding no infringement. On appeal, the Federal Circuit has affirmed — particularly affirming Judge Albright rejection of Freshub’s post-verdict motions. Freshub, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 22-1391 (Fed. Cir. Feb 26, 2024).  In a cross-appeal, Amazon argues that the district court should have found the patent monopoly unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. That appeal was also rejected. Freshub v Amazon.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ More on G 0002/21: has the Robin Redbreast been freed from its cage?

      As William Blake put it in Auguries of Innocence, written in 1803 but not published until 1863, “A Robin Redbreast in a cage, puts all heaven in a rage”. So did the ill-crafted concept of plausibility with the case law of the EPO’s Technical Boards of Appeal (TBA).

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Datanet file backup patent monopoly found invalid

      On February 23, 2024, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) entered a final rejection of the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 8,473,478, owned and asserted by Datanet, LLC. The ‘478 patent monopoly is directed to an automatic real-time file management method and apparatus.