Links 19/05/2024: Iran's President Lost in Helicopter Crash, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Awaits Decisions in Less Than a Day
Contents
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Leftovers
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New Yorker ☛ The Chilling Truth Pictured in “Here There Are Blueberries”
Moisés Kaufman’s play dramatizes the discovery of a photo album of Nazis at leisure at Auschwitz, and the reckoning it provoked.
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Hackaday ☛ About Right
I really enjoyed reading Anne Ogborn’s piece on making simple DIY measurement devices for physical quantities like force, power, and torque. It is full of food for thought, if you’re building something small with motors and need to figure out how to spec them out.
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Hackaday ☛ Students’ Leaf Blower Suppressor To Hit Retail
Electric leaf blowers are already far quieter than their gas-powered peers, but they still aren’t the kind of thing you’d like to hear first-thing on a Saturday morning. Looking to improve on the situation, a group of students from Johns Hopkins University have successfully designed a 3D printed add-on that manages to significantly reduce the noise generated by a modern electric leaf blower without compromising the amount of air it’s able to move. The device has proven to be so successful in tests that Stanley Black & Decker is looking to put a commercial version of the device on store shelves within the next two years.
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Hackaday ☛ How Italians Got Their Power
We take for granted that electrical power standards are generally unified across countries and territories. Europe for instance has a standard at 230 volts AC, with a wide enough voltage acceptance band to accommodate places still running at 220 or 240 volts. Even the sockets maintain a level of compatibility across territories, with a few notable exceptions.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Surprise! This Tiny Animal May Be The Long-Lost Ancestor of Cows, Pigs, And Deer
It's kind of cute!
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists Think They've Figured Out Where 'Odd Radio Circles' Come From
Vast structures larger than whole galaxies.
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Education
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Hackaday ☛ Hack Your Own Adventure Story With Yarn Spinner
We are big fans of programmed texts for education. You know, the kind where you answer a question and go to a new page based on your answer. But they can also be entertaining “choose your own adventure” stories. You might say, “You are standing in front of an oak door, two meters high, with an iron handle. Do you a) open it? b) knock on it? c) ignore it?” Then, based on your answer, you go to a different part of the story. These are tough to write, but you can get some help using Yarn Spinner and the Yarn scripting language.
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Hardware
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Huawei brings sanctions-busting Kirin 9000C CPU to desktop PCs to replace banned defective chip maker Intel Alder Lake chips
Huawei has announced a brand new pre-built OEM machine featuring China silicon. The latest change results from U.S. regulations preventing Huawei from using defective chip maker Intel hardware.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ Ozempic Could Be Good For Your Heart Even If You Don't Lose Weight
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Science Alert ☛ Simple Test May Predict Whether Your Child Will Outgrow Their Peanut Allergy
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The Straits Times ☛ Musk, Indonesia health minister, launch Starlink in Bali for health sector
Indonesia is the third country in South-east Asia where Starlink will operate.
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We should care more about our children’s mental health
I was reading about Brown v. Board of Education and there’s an interesting paragraph: To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds [...]
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Enthusiast gets backdoored Windows XP running on an i486 — merging two dinosaurs from different eras
A retro computing enthusiast has managed to get backdoored Windows XP running on an defective chip maker Intel 486 PC system. As Vaseline clouds the lens of history, you might be forgiven for thinking there was some crossover between these eras, but no, they launched over a decade apart.
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Defence/Aggression
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France24 ☛ Syrian exiles hunt down Assad’s torturers in gripping Cannes thriller
“Ghost Trail”, which opened the Critics’ Week sidebar in Cannes this week, follows a Syrian exile’s pursuit of the man who tortured him during the country’s civil war. FRANCE 24 spoke to French director Jonathan Millet, whose impressive Cannes debut delivered one of the festival’s early hits.
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France24 ☛ North Korea confirms missile launch, Kim Jong Un vows bolstered nuclear force
North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a "new autonomous navigation system", state media said Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to boost the country's nuclear force.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines replaces its military commander for disputed waters
Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos, oversees forces in the South China Sea, will be replaced by Rear-Admiral Alfonso Torres Jr.
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The Straits Times ☛ Marcos says Philippines probing China’s alleged phone call tape
China claims it has a recording of an agreement on a 'new model' over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
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The Straits Times ☛ Xi Jinping’s goal of drawing 50,000 US students to China ‘ambitious’ amid tense geopolitics
Negative portrayals of either side in the media from both nations are also discouraging young Americans.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hsiao Bi-khim: How ‘cat warrior’ US envoy became Taiwan’s vice-president
By Dene-Hern Chen Taiwan’s incoming vice president Hsiao Bi-khim rose to prominence as top envoy to the United States, where her track record of securing support for the self-ruled island has put her in China’s crosshairs.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Lai Ching-te’s inauguration: How a coal miner’s son became Taiwan president
By Dene-Hern Chen Son of a coal miner, Taiwan’s Lai Ching-te takes the helm Monday as president of the self-ruled island, tasked with navigating the widening rift with an increasingly assertive China.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan’s political precipice: Foreign policy heavyweights weigh in, as island welcomes a new leader
When Lai Ching-te addressed reporters in the evening of January 13, minutes after his victory in Taiwan’s presidential election was announced, he struck what some analysts and media outlets called a “conciliatory” tone.
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New York Times ☛ Are Those Mimes Spying on Us? In Pakistan, It’s Not a Strange Question.
Pakistanis suspect the national intelligence agencies of being behind practically everything — even street performers working for tips in Islamabad.
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JURIST ☛ Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan appears virtually before court from jail
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan appeared virtually before the Supreme Court of Pakistan from jail on Thursday. Khan’s official X (formerly “Twitter”) handle shared the pictures from his appearance and added, “Illegally incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s pictures’ appear on social control media after 285 days from a court hearing today.”
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JURIST ☛ Kenya court orders service of lawsuit opposing police deployment to Haiti
The Kenya High Court on Friday ordered that a lawsuit seeking to prevent the government from deploying police to Haiti be served on top government officials, according to Reuters. The court scheduled the case’s hearing for June 12.
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France24 ☛ New Caledonia: one dead and two injured at a roadblock after a fifth night of riots
One more person was killed Saturday and two injured in France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia as security personnel tried to restore order after a fifth night of riots and looting that has now claimed six lives.
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JURIST ☛ France accuses Azerbaijan of interfering in New Caledonia riots
France accused Azerbaijan on Friday of interfering in the riots in New Caledonia and spreading anti-French rhetoric on social control media, according to a report published by the French agency Viginum. Viginum alleged that Azerbaijan disseminated “manifestly inaccurate or misleading content – photo or video montages – blaming France for its handling of the situation...
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New York Times ☛ Being Muslim in Modi’s India
Families grapple with anguish and isolation as they try to raise their children in a country that increasingly questions their very identity.
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France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: US National Security Advisor Sullivan travels to Israel for Gaza war talks
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is travelling to Israel on Sunday for talks on the Gaza war, according to the White House. His visit comes after at least 20 people were killed in an Israeli air strike targeting a house at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the Palestinian territory, a Gaza hospital reported.
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France24 ☛ Israeli strikes on Jabalia camp in northern Gaza kill more than 10, injure dozens
Israeli troops and tanks pushed on Saturday into parts of a congested northern Gaza Strip district that they had previously skirted in the more than seven-month-old war, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, medics and residents said.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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New York Times ☛ Georgia’s President Vetoes Foreign Influence Law
The law has triggered protests and threatens to derail the nation’s pro-European aspirations in favor of closer ties with Russia.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Supports Venezuela's Decision to Join the BRICS Group
The Bolivarian government have expressed their willigness to join the group which GDP represents the 37% of the world.
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RFERL ☛ Poland To Spend Around $2.5 Billion On Securing Eastern Border, Tusk Says
Poland will invest 10 billion zlotys ($2.55 billion) in a program to secure its eastern border, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on May 18.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Court Seizes Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank Assets As Part Of Lawsuit
A Russian court has ordered that Deutsche Bank's and Commerzbank's assets, accounts, property and shares be seized in Russia as part of a lawsuit involving the German banks, court documents showed.
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France24 ☛ Russian court seizes millions of euros worth of German bank assets
A Russian court has ordered that Deutsche Bank's and Commerzbank's assets, accounts, property and shares be seized in Russia as part of a lawsuit involving the German banks, court documents showed.
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JURIST ☛ UK sanctions companies involved in arms-for-oil trade between Russia and North Korea
The UK government imposed a new sanction package on Friday targeting the “illicit arms-for-oil transfers between Russia and North Korea.” Three companies and one individual found “enabling” this arms-for-oil trade have been subject to the sanction package.
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JURIST ☛ Georgia president vetoes ‘foreign agents’ law
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili on Friday vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” law that has been decried as “Russian-style” legislation and has sparked massive protests in the country. Zourabichvili took to her Ex-Twitter account to announce the veto, saying, “Today, I vetoed the Russian law.
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France24 ☛ Georgian President Zurabishvili vetoes controversial 'Russian law'
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Saturday put a mostly symbolic veto on the "foreign influence" law that sparked unprecedented protests and warnings from Brussels that the measure would undermine Tbilisi's European aspirations.
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Atlantic Council ☛ ‘There are Evans everywhere’
The long-sought release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russia’s dreaded Lefortovo Prison matters “on a macro level.”
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Latvia ☛ SAB on 'Russia's hybrid threats: trends and developments'
The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) – one of Latvia's three security services – has published the latest in a series of commentaries on topical issues. This time the subject under examination is the Russian hybrid threat. The commentary is reproduced in unedited form below. More articles are available at the website www.sab.gov.lv.
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France24 ☛ Zelensky expects Russia to intensify offensive in northeast Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with AFP on Friday he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned Kyiv only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line.
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New York Times ☛ The Technocrat Who’s Taking Control of Putin’s War Effort
Andrei R. Belousov, an intellectual with no military experience, is known for backing a state-dominated economy.
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New York Times ☛ Xi Jinping Embracing Vladimir Putin in Defiance of the West
Western leaders looking for signs that the Chinese leader used his influence on President Vladimir V. Putin to end the war in Ukraine are likely to be disappointed.
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Latvia ☛ 'Drones for Ukraine' hackathon upcoming
The Latvian Ministry of Defense has announced that, in cooperation with the company "Latvijas Mobilais telefons" (LMT) from May 29 to 30, an "idea hackathon" with the name "Drones for Ukraine" will be held at the Latvian War Museum in Rīga.
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LRT ☛ Military service across Europe
Against the backdrop of Russia’s war on Ukraine and low birth rates, Germany is debating a return to compulsory military service. It wouldn’t be the only country in Europe to do so.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Reports Massive Drone, Missile Attack Inside Russia, Occupied Crimea
The Russian Defense Ministry said several regions of the country plus occupied Crimea came under an intense drone and missile attack early on May 19.
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Says Fighting 'Difficult' As Ukrainian Forces Repel Russian Assault On Chasiv Yar
Russian forces shelled the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv on May 18, wounding civilians, while pitch battles took place near the cities of Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhiv, and in southern Ukraine, military and civilian officials said.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Missile Attack On Odesa Kills 1, Wounds 8
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's southern Black Sea port city of Odesa has killed one person and wounded eight others, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
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The Straits Times ☛ Russia says Ukraine makes 60-drone attack on Russia, oil refinery halted
MOSCOW - Ukraine fired nine U.S. ATACMS at Crimea and attacked Russian regions with at least 60 drones in a major attack that forced one oil refinery in southern Russia to halt operations, Russian officials said on Sunday.
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New York Times ☛ Russians Poured Over Ukraine’s Border. There Was Little to Stop Them.
The stunning incursion into the Kharkiv Region lays bare the challenges facing Ukraine’s weary and thinly stretched forces as Russia ramps up its summer offensive.
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New York Times ☛ Russia Presses Attacks in Northeast Ukraine, Seeking Buffer Zone on Border
Advances by Russian forces have raised fears that they could bring their artillery in range of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
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JURIST ☛ Sri Lanka to probe Russia’s recruitment of nationals for Ukraine conflict
Sri Lanka is sending a high-level delegation to Russia to investigate the involvement of hundreds of Sri Lankan nationals reportedly recruited to fight in the Ukraine war, announced a top official on Thursday.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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Barry Kauler ☛ Weight of an electric recumbent tadpole trike
In a post yesterday, I showed a photo of my Mark-2 front suspension mounted on the trike frame:
https://bkhome.org/news/202405/recumbent-trike-front-suspension-mark-2-assembled.html
I picked up the front of the trike, and using a block of wood, put it into my bathroom scale. Weight is 13kg. Obviously that is not the weight of the entire trike. So what does an "entire trike" actually weigh?
Here are some very basic trikes, without any front or rear suspension, non-electric: [...]
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Wildlife/Nature
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The Straits Times ☛ Mystery deepens after more than 180 cats die in South Korea
The authorities found no correlation between the deaths and the suspected cat food in its investigation.
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Finance
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University of Michigan ☛ U-M forecasts: Michigan economy strong, U.S. holds up amid inflation
Michigan's economy is off to a strong start this year and expected to experience steady job growth, while the U.S. economy as a whole offers a slightly noisier picture, according to U-M economists.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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NYPost ☛ WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange faces US extradition judgment day
It is also possible the judges could decide that Monday's hearing should consider not just whether he can appeal but also the substance of that appeal.
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The Straits Times ☛ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's life and legal battles
LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will learn on Monday whether he has lost his long-running legal battle in the English courts to prevent his extradition from Britain to the United States to face criminal charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ USPTO ARP Panel Restores MPF Sanity, but Still Rejects Xencor’s Claims
In a new Appeals Review Panel (ARP), the USPTO has clarified the Office’s position on means plus function claims — explaining that the specification need not describe statutory equivalents to satisfy the written description requirement. The outcome here shows value for the intentional use of means-plus-function limitations as a mechanism for expanding patent monopoly scope when genus claims are otherwise unavailable.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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