Links 29/05/2024: More Arrests of Regime Critics and Hate Crimes
Contents
- Leftovers
- Copyrights
-
Leftovers
-
Hackaday ☛ Spark Plug Becomes Glass Cutter
Sometimes a hack doesn’t need to be rocket science to be useful. Take for instance [MofigoDIY] using an old spark plug to build a glass cutter.
-
Hackaday ☛ Play Giant Tetris On Second-Floor Window
Sometimes it seems like ideas for projects spring out of nothingness from a serendipitous set of circumstances. [Maarten] found himself in just such a situation, with a combination of his existing Tetris novelty lamp and an awkwardly-sized window on a second-floor apartment, he was gifted with the perfect platform for a giant playable Tetris game built into that window.
-
James G ☛ An indie web library
This week, I took great joy in reading the district booklet with information about what's on, notes from local counsellors, and pieces on a variety of topics. One of the regular columns is a computer whiz who shares tips on how to make the most of your computer. I thoroughly enjoyed this month's piece on upgrading your backdoored Windows 10 operating system, featuring much information I did not know.
I read this booklet because it came through the door and I put it on my couch for later reading. Whenever the book comes through the door, I say I have to store this away for later. Most months, I end up flicking through the pages to see what's new. Through this booklet, edited by locals, I have built a greater connection to my local area, stayed informed about politics, and more.
-
Science
-
Science Alert ☛ Ancient Origins of Appetite Identified in Brainless Aquatic Creature
Do they also get hangry?
-
-
Hardware
-
Hackaday ☛ Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Auto Harp Typewriter
Where do I even begin with this one? Let’s start with the reasoning behind this giant beast’s existence, and that is medical necessity. [crazymittens-r] needed something that would let them keep working, and after many hours and many versions, this is the current iteration of their ArcBoard, which looks like it could control a spaceship.
-
Hackaday ☛ Digital Meter From 1973, A Teardown
[Thomas] found an interesting probable millivoltmeter with some Beckman displays. Like many instruments from that time period, this one had a lot of tobacco smoke residue inside. The display unit inside had a sticker that not only showed the company that made it, but also had their Telex number on it, another sign of the times. You can see the device in the video below.
-
-
Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
-
Hackaday ☛ Whole-Fruit Chocolate: Skipping The Sugar By Using The Entire Cacao Pod
It’s hard to imagine a world without chocolate, and yet it is undeniable that there are problems associated both with its manufacturing and its consumption. Much of this is due to the addition of sugar, as well as the discarding of a significant part of the cacao pod, which harbors the pulp and seeds. According to a study by [Kim Mishra] and colleagues in Nature Food, it might be possible to ditch the sugar and instead use a mixture of cacao pulp juice (CPJC) and endocarp powder (ECP), which are turned into a sweetening gel.
-
Science Alert ☛ There Are Critical Differences in The Brains of Girls Diagnosed With Autism
We haven't had the full story.
-
DeSmog ☛ Revealed: Far-Right Links of Polish Farmer Hunger Strikers
-
Science Alert ☛ Exercise Reverses Specific Age-Related Brain Changes In Mice
Now is the best time to start.
-
Science Alert ☛ No, All That Sugar Won't Make Your Kid Hyperactive. Even if They Have ADHD.
It's still not a good idea.
-
Science Alert ☛ 25 Year Study Reveals Disturbing Effect Heat Waves Are Having on Births
It's only getting worse.
-
Science Alert ☛ Some People Are Strangely Resistant to Alzheimer's. Here's What Makes Them Different.
What can we learn from their brains?
-
BIA Net ☛ Study finds excessive adolescent birth rates in Urfa amid lack of birth control
The city's refugee-populated areas saw a higher increase in adolescent birth rates. Access to birth control at primary healthcare facilities has been severely limited in Turkey since 2020.
-
New York Times ☛ Senators See Possible Conflicts of Interest in Health Care Pricing Tools
A data analytics firm that helps insurers collect big fees while leaving some patients with unpaid bills has been summoned to explain its business model.
-
European Commission ☛ Commission approves up to €1 billion of State aid by six Member States for the first Important Project of Common European Interest in the health sector
European Commission Press release Brussels, 28 May 2024 The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the first Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI') to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment of healthcare products, as well as innovative production processes of pharmaceuticals.
-
Pro Publica ☛ Some Baptist-Desoto Patients Go to Jail to Await Mental Health Treatment
When Sandy Jones’ 26-year-old daughter started writing on the walls of her home in Hernando, Mississippi, last year and talking angrily to the television, Sandy said, she knew two things: Her daughter Sydney needed help, and Sandy didn’t want her to be held in jail again to get it.
A year and a half earlier, during Sydney Jones’ first psychotic episode, her mother filed paperwork to have her involuntarily committed, a legal process in which a judge can order someone to receive mental health treatment. After DeSoto County sheriff’s deputies showed up at Sydney’s home and explained that they were detaining her for a mental evaluation, Sydney panicked and ran inside. Following a struggle, deputies cuffed and shackled her and drove her to the county jail, where people going through the commitment process are usually held as they await mental health treatment elsewhere.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Vandalism, Covid and a mysterious kidnapping: The trials and tribulations of Bosnia’s Bruce Lee peace-offering
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2005 – with Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs deeply divided following a brutal war in the 1990s – a bronze statue was unveiled in Mostar of a figure it was hoped everyone could agree on: Bruce Lee.
-
The Straits Times ☛ US sanctions Chinese individuals, Thai firms over Covid-related fraud, bomb threats
They were involved in a cybercrime network that made bomb threats and fraudulent applications for Covid-related aid.
-
Democracy Now ☛ “Corky Lee’s Asian America”: Chinese American Legend Spent 50 Years Seeking “Photographic Justice”
As we mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States, we’re joined by Mae Ngai to discuss the life and work of legendary Chinese American photographer Corky Lee, who documented the Asian American community in a career that spanned five decades before his death from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Ngai is the co-editor of the new book Corky Lee’s Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice. We also play excerpts of the new documentary Dear Corky by filmmaker Curtis Chin, which features Lee himself discussing his activism and career. Lee “often said his aim in life was to break stereotypes of Asian Americans one photograph at a time. He wanted to make Asian Americans visible when we had been invisible, erased from American history,” says Ngai.
-
Science Alert ☛ Suicide Risk Increased in Women With Premenstrual Disorders, Study Finds
This needs more attention.
-
-
Security
-
Privacy/Surveillance
-
EDRI ☛ How to fight Biometric Mass Surveillance after the Hey Hi (AI) Act: A legal and practical guide
The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act has been adopted, laying out an in-principle ban on live mass facial recognition and other public biometric surveillance by police. Yet the wide exceptions to this ban may pave the way to legitimise the use of these systems.
-
OpenRightsGroup ☛ Demise of the DPDI is good news for data protection in the UK
Open Rights Group has welcomed the announcement that the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill will be dropped as a result of the dissolution of parliament prior to the General Election.
-
CS Monitor ☛ How the Border Patrol has evolved over 100 years from horses to AI [Ed: Now they just call digital surveillance Hey Hi (AI)]
As the Border Patrol turns 100, we look at how the agency has grown and its role today.
-
-
-
Defence/Aggression
-
New York Times ☛ NYU Langone Nurse Is Fired After Calling the Gaza War a ‘Genocide’
NYU Langone Health gave the nurse, Hesen Jabr, an award for her work. She said hospital officials then fired her because she made pro-Palestinian remarks in an acceptance speech.
-
France24 ☛ Venezuela revokes invitation for EU to observe July election
Venezuela has revoked its invitation for the European Union to send election observers for a presidential contest in July, Elvis Amoroso, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) said on Tuesday.
-
ADF ☛ As SADC Mission in Mozambique Winds Down, Terrorism Resurges
Since deploying in 2021, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) has helped reduce the presence of Islamic State-affiliated terrorists in the Cabo Delgado province from several thousand to a few hundred.
-
NYPost ☛ John Kirby likens Israeli airstrike that killed civilians to US bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan: ‘We did the same thing’
"We owned up to it, we investigated it, and we tried to learn from it to make changes," the White House spokesman said.
-
Reason ☛ Rafah Strike
Plus: Piña coladas, doing business in Hong Kong, edibles at the LNC, and more...
-
New York Times ☛ U.S. Officials Say Deadly Rafah Airstrike Did Not Cross Biden’s Red Line
The deaths were “devastating,” a White House spokesman said, but the scale of the attack was not enough to change U.S. policy.
-
New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: Deadly Strike in Rafah Did Not Cross Biden’s Red Line, Officials Say
President Biden has threatened to cut off the supply of some weapons if Israel mounts a major offensive in Rafah. “We haven’t seen that,” a White House spokesman said.
-
New York Times ☛ At Least 21 Killed in Strike on a Tent Camp in Al-Mawasi, Gazan Officials Say
The reports come just two days after dozens of people were killed when a fire tore through a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah after an Israeli airstrike.
-
New York Times ☛ World Leaders Denounce Deadly Strike in Rafah
They called for an investigation into the attack, which Gazan authorities say killed 45 people, and intensified the pressure for Israel to end its military campaign in southern Gaza.
-
BIA Net ☛ Prisoner on hunger strike: 'I am alone without sunlight'
Halil Yakut, who is on a hunger strike demanding to be transferred to another prison, stated, "While the real culprits of the earthquake are not being prosecuted and the detained contractors are being released, I, an earthquake survivor, have been imprisoned."
-
JURIST ☛ Japan warns southern residents to take cover over threat of North Korean missile
The Japanese prime minister’s office issued an emergency warning through its J-Alert nationwide warning system on Monday, urging residents in southern Japan to take cover indoors or in a sheltered area due to the possible threat of a North Korean ballistic missile.
-
RFA ☛ North Korea blames ‘new-type engine’ for satellite launch failure
The North’s rocket carrying a spy satellite exploded after takeoff, state media reported.
-
RFA ☛ Music by South Korean singer beloved by Kim Jong Il is now banned
The ban on Kim Yeon-ja’s music will be nearly impossible to enforce because she’s so popular, residents say.
-
RFERL ☛ Visa-Free Travel To China For Georgians Comes Into Force
A deal allowing Georgians to travel to China without visas for up to 30 days came into force on May 28, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
-
RFA ☛ Cambodia, China ‘rescue hostages’ at the end of joint naval drills
14 warships including 3 from China took part in the naval stage of annual Golden Dragon exercise.
-
JURIST ☛ Philippines protests China’s unilateral fishing ban in South China Sea
The Philippines protested China’s imposition of a unilateral, four-month fishing ban in the South China Sea, its Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated in a press release on Monday. The ban has been imposed annually since 1999 and is expected to last until September 16 this year.
-
JURIST ☛ US lawmaker visiting Taiwan says weapons are en route after China war games in the region
US Congressman, Michael McCaul, said at a press conference Monday in Taipei that the weapons Taiwan had ordered were on their way. The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told reporters that the war games from China on Monday, were an “intimidation tactic” to punish democracy and that deterrence was key.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘China has always advocated not forgetting history,’ says UN envoy after opposing Bosnian genocide motion
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina China voted against a move to mark the Bosnian genocide at the UN last Thursday, saying the resolution’s drafting was “hasty” and controversial.
-
ADF ☛ Drones, Heavy Weapons Dominate DRC’s Fight With M23
A steady stream of wounded civilians walk or are carried past the tents that surround Ndosho hospital in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
-
ADF ☛ As Sudan War Continues, Fighting Splits Along Ethnic Lines in Darfur
As the battle for control of Sudan’s Darfur region rages on, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have increasingly focused attacks on a single ethnic group: the non-Arab Masalits.
-
ADF ☛ Chinese ‘Conflict Timber’ Financing Mozambique Terrorism
Millions of metric tons of illegally harvested timber smuggled from Mozambique to China are helping to fund one of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies, according to a newly published report.
-
TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Part of Stillwater prison remains on lockdown following weekend attack on corrections officers
The rest of the facility has returned to normal programming, officials said.
-
The Straits Times ☛ North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vows never to give up space reconnaissance project
North Korea's attempt to launch a spy satellite on May 27 failed after the first stage booster exploded in flight.
-
AccessNow ☛ Access Now Grants: how we supported activists in 2023
In 2023, Access Now Grants supported activists facing digital threats around the world, from Palestine to Myanmar to Ukraine and beyond.
-
Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
-
European Commission ☛ Remarks by Commissioner Simson at Friends of Europe's Ukraine Security Forum "A tipping point for Europe's security and democracy"
-
Atlantic Council ☛ ‘The time has come’: Calls grow to allow Ukrainian strikes inside Russia
Pressure is building for the US and other NATO allies to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, writes Peter Dickinson.
-
Atlantic Council ☛ Only enhanced air defenses can save Ukraine from winter energy collapse
Ukraine's power grid has been decimated in recent months by a major Russian bombing campaign. In order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe this winter, the country urgently needs more air defenses, writes Aura Sabadus.
-
JURIST ☛ Ukraine: Russia strike on hardware store kills at least 17, injures 48 others
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said on Sunday that a Russian strike on a hardware store in Kharkiv, Ukraine a day before killed and injured at least 17 and 48 people, respectively. Five people also remain missing. The victims of the strike were employees and customers of the store.
-
RFERL ☛ 5 European Allies Meet In Prague To Discuss Czech Munitions Drive, Air Defense For Ukraine
The leaders of five European NATO states reaffirmed their support for Ukraine on May 28 at a meeting in Prague where the main focus was a Czech plan to procure up to 800,000 artillery shells from countries outside the European Union and provide them to Ukraine.
-
RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy To Attend D-Day Commemorations In Normandy, Says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said on May 28 that he will greet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy along with other world leaders in Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day.
-
RFERL ☛ Belgium Pledges $1 Billion In Military Aid, 30 F-16s For Ukraine
Belgium will deliver 977 million euros ($1 billion) in military aid and 30 F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine under a 10-year bilateral security agreement signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on May 28 in Brussels.
-
New Yorker ☛ Why the Summer Could Be Disastrous for Ukraine
Amid a new advance by Russian forces, Zelensky faces enormous challenges in marshalling the equipment and the manpower necessary to keep them at bay.
-
CS Monitor ☛ Russia wises up to a Ukrainian strength
A corruption purge of military generals hints the Kremlin realizes it can’t win the war without honest governance.
-
New York Times ☛ Do We Still Understand How Wars Are Won?
Israel and Ukraine don’t have the luxury of fighting fecklessly.
-
New York Times ☛ Calls Mount to Let Ukraine Strike Russia With Western Weapons
The U.S. and other allies have banned Ukraine from firing Western weapons into Russia. Kyiv says that has handcuffed its ability to prevent cross-border attacks.
-
New York Times ☛ Blinken Travels to Eastern Europe as Russia Presses War in Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken aims to show support for Moldova, which is under threat from Russia, and plans to attend a NATO meeting in the Czech Republic.
-
Meduza ☛ A patchwork solution Ukraine has stalled Russia’s new offensive near Kharkiv by redeploying troops from other fronts, leaving defenses elsewhere stretched thin — Meduza
-
AccessNow ☛ Civil society to YouTube: stop helping Russia suppress free speech
Through an open letter, Access Now and over 20 Russian and international civil society organizations are urging YouTube and its parent company Surveillance Giant Google to not help the Kremlin censor Russian independent media and human rights organizations.
-
JURIST ☛ Ex-German Army officer sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for working as Russian agent
An ex-German Army officer was sentenced on Monday to three years and six months in prison by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court for working for the Russian government as an agent and passing official secrets.
-
LRT ☛ Most Lithuanians don’t miss Russian channels, but 14% still watch them
The majority of Lithuanians do not miss Russian TV programmes, but 14 per cent still watch them, according to a survey commissioned by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania.
-
LRT ☛ Russia’s sabotage actions ask for collective response – Lithuanian aide
Russia’s actions require a legal assessment and collective response, Kęstutis Budrys, a senior advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, says amid reports of possible cases of sabotage and the Kremlin’s plans to change the maritime borders with Lithuania and Finland.
-
RFERL ☛ Former Siberian Coal Mine Official Imprisoned Over Deadly 2021 Blast
A court in Russia's Siberian region of Kemerovo on May 28 sentenced the former chief engineer at a coal mine over an explosion in 2021 that killed 51 people.
-
RFERL ☛ Tatar Activist Gets Suspended Sentence Over Anti-War Stance
The Supreme Court in Russia's Tatarstan region on May 28 handed a suspended two-year prison sentence to antiwar activist Zulfia Sitdikova, who was convicted of rehabilitating Nazism and discrediting Russia's military.
-
Marcy Wheeler ☛ How the Steele Dossier Broke MAGAts’ Brains
The story of how the Steele dossier broke MAGAts' brains involves a brutal double game from Oleg Deripaska, injection of disinformation into the dossier, and use of the dossier to discredit totally unrelated parts of the Russian investigation.
-
ADF ☛ Russia Accused of Flooding Libya with Counterfeit Currency
Russia faces fresh allegations of flooding Libyan markets with counterfeit banknotes in another bid to further destabilize the country. The Kremlin has a documented history of sending counterfeit currency to Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
-
BIA Net ☛ Court acquits defendant in murder case of Russian feminist activist
Anastasia Yemelyanova was killed in Turkey in September last year.
-
Meduza ☛ Russian courts turn more and more to seizing suspects’ assets — Meduza
-
RFERL ☛ Belarusian Entrepreneur Gets 9 Years In Prison Amid Crackdown
The Vyasna human rights center said on May 28 that the Minsk City Court sentenced Artur Rolich, the owner of a shop selling brand-name clothing and shoes, to nine years in prison on charges of financing terrorist and extremist activities and financially supporting an extremist group.
-
RFERL ☛ Siberian Court Upholds 9-Year Prison Sentence Handed To Former Navalny Associate
A court in the Siberian city of Tomsk has rejected an appeal filed by Ksenia Fadeyeva, a former local lawmaker and the ex-head of late opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's regional team, over a nine-year prison term she was handed in December for extremism, a charge she and her supporters reject.
-
France24 ☛ Macron says Kyiv should be allowed to ‘neutralise’ Russian military bases, prompting Putin warning
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that there would be “serious consequences” if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia, as sought by Kyiv.
-
JURIST ☛ Russia receives proposal from ministries to remove Taliban from terror list
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia is removing the Taliban from the country’s list of prohibited terrorist organizations, according to state-run news outlet RIA Novosti.
-
teleSUR ☛ NATO Countries Must Realize the Game They Are Playing: Putin
"Do they want a global conflict?" the Russian leader asked, referring to the threat of the use of Western weapons against his country.
-
-
-
Environment
-
Energy/Transportation
-
RFA ☛ Amid US flirtation, Cambodia stresses ‘steel’ ties to China
Days before US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit, Hun Manet and Hun Sen met with China’s ambassador.
-
DeSmog ☛ Ditch Hydrogen as ‘Poor Decarbonization Tool’, Citizens’ Committee Urges Edmonton
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s emissions fall as renewable energy capacity expands, but coal investments blight carbon outlook
China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell in March for the first time since its economy reopened after pandemic restrictions, suggesting the country’s emissions may have peaked, according to a new analysis.
-
-
-
Finance
-
New York Times ☛ Biden Moves to Open U.S. Banks to Cuba’s Private Sector
The rules will allow Cuban entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the United States, making it easier for them to expand and encouraging other Cubans to start businesses.
-
CS Monitor ☛ The no-buy challenge is taking over the internet. Does it work?
A new trend is taking over the internet: the no-buy challenge. Some participants want to curb overspending, while others seek out a simpler lifestyle by cutting back on their consumption habits.
-
-
AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
-
RFERL ☛ Republika Srpska Withdraws 'Foreign Agent' Law From Assembly Agenda
The government of Republika Srpska has withdrawn a controversial proposed foreign agent law from the agenda of the National Assembly.
-
American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Seeks OMB Documents in Ongoing Lawsuit for Records Related to Trump’s Authoritarian ‘Schedule F’ Plan
-
-
Censorship/Free Speech
-
RFA ☛ China cracks down on Tibetans during holy month
Authorities are preventing worshipers from visiting temples and performing religious rites.
-
Reason ☛ The Most Meritless Claim Based on Allegedly Offensive Speech that Resulted in a Jury Verdict for Plaintiff?
Eugene's post today about the dismissal of a case involving the use of an OK sign supposedly being used as a symbol of white supremacy is a good reminder that most dubious cases based on offensive expression get dismissed.
-
Latvia ☛ Latvia blocks access to another pro-Kremlin website
Latvia's national media watchdog said May 28 it has blocked access to a pro-Kremlin internet portal.
-
Latvia ☛ Government clarifies rules and role of sanctions enforcement agency
On Tuesday, May 28, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers approved overhauled regulations for the Financial Intelligence Service (FID) – clarifying and strengthening its role as Latvia's dedicated anti money-laundering, financial crime and sanctions enforcement agency.
-
New York Times ☛ R.F.K. Jr. Denounces the Removal of Confederate Statues
The independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on a recent podcast that he had a “visceral reaction” to the removal of statues glorifying Confederate leaders.
-
RFA ☛ Don’t talk to media, Tiananmen massacre families warned ahead of June 4 anniversary
State security police place dissidents, activists under guard or take them on enforced 'vacations.'
-
-
Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
-
Press Gazette ☛ FT CEO: News orgs ‘have leverage and should insist on payment’ from Hey Hi (AI) companies
John Ridding described disintermediation as the "biggest threat" facing the industry.
-
Press Gazette ☛ General election 2024 press endorsements: Mirror and Telegraph first to reveal party support
Round-up of newspaper endorsements for the 2024 general election as they come in.
-
Press Gazette ☛ Election 2024: How broadcasters are covering UK general election
Featuring the plans from Sky News, Channel 4 and BillBC News.
-
-
Civil Rights/Policing
-
Reason ☛ California Man Gets $900,000 Settlement for 'Psychological Torture' During 17-Hour Police Interrogation
Detectives in Fontana, California, told Thomas Perez Jr. that his father was dead and that he killed him. Neither was true.
-
RFERL ☛ Former Deputy Chief Of Almaty City Police Detained In Torture Case
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said on May 28 that the former deputy chief of the Almaty city police department, Berik Abilbekov, was detained as part of a case of torture during unprecedented antigovernment protests in January 2022 that turned deadly after security forces opened fire.
-
RFA ☛ Myanmar’s junta kills 4 villagers following mass arrest
Nineteen were released with injuries indicative of torture, residents said.
-
Site36 ☛ New German fundamental right: Civil rights group wants right to life without digitalisation enshrined in Basic Law
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the German Basic Law, the Digitalcourage association is calling for a fundamental right not to have to use digital devices. A petition is to convince the Bundestag.
-
Site36 ☛ German left-wing association uses trade mark rights against Nazis but receives no registration for HKNKRZ
An ad firm helps left-wingers to register trade mark rights for Nazi codes. These may then no longer be used free of charge.
-
New York Times ☛ Man Charged With Hate Crimes in NYC Street Attacks
Skiboky Stora, 40, is accused of targeting people he believed were white, female or Jewish. He was arrested in March after one of his alleged victims shared her story on TikTok.
-
-
Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
-
Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Urges Strict Scrutiny of $4.4 Billion T-Mobile/U.S. Cellular Deal Eroding Wireless Competition
If regulators permit this transaction, they should impose conditions to promote competition.
-
Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Rights activist Chow Hang-tung among 6 arrested over alleged sedition under Hong Kong’s new security law [Ed: It says "arrests were made in connection with a Facebook (Farcebook) group"]
Detained Hong Kong rights activist Chow Hang-tung was among six people arrested by national security police on Tuesday, marking the first apprehensions under the city’s new security law, which was enacted in March.
-
RFA ☛ Hong Kong police arrest six people for 'seditious' Facebook (Farcebook) posts [Ed: Reason for arrest is social control media]
Tiananmen vigil organizer Chow Hang-tung is among the arrestees, the first under the Article 23 security law.
-
APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: NETmundial + 10
Sylvia Cadena helped develop the São Paulo Guidelines in the NETmundial +10 meeting, held in São Paulo, Brazil from 29 to 30 April 2024.
-
-
Digital Restrictions (DRM)
-
Right to Repair ☛ The Emperor Has New Clothes
We have now shepherded five state laws to completion, with more underway. Each victory brings us closer to a world where consumers truly own their devices. Yet, along the way, we’ve repeatedly encountered the high-tech equivalent of naked emperors—manufacturers proclaiming their products are so complex, so thin, and so marvelous that only the smartest people can appreciate their quality. The rest of us are expected to bow down and relinquish our rights to control the property we have purchased.
-
-
Patents
-
Tom's Hardware ☛ Huawei patent monopoly reveals 3nm-class process technology plans — China continues to move forward despite US sanctions
Huawei's self-aligned quadruple patterning patent monopoly covers both 3nm and 5nm process technologies, which would allow SMIC and China to create more advanced chips despite the ongoing U.S. sanctions.
-
Software Patents
-
Unified Patents ☛ Phelan Group automotive patent monopoly found invalid
On May 23, 2024, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) entered a final rejection of the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,259,470, owned and asserted by the Phelan Group, LLC, an NPE. The '470 patent monopoly generally relates to a vehicle control system for authenticating and monitoring a driver and their operation of a vehicle to improve safety.
-
Unified Patents ☛ OptiMorphix networking patent monopoly challenged
On May 23, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,031,314, owned by OptiMorphix, Inc. The ‘314 patent monopoly is generally directed to providing differentiated services within a network communication system at a service module.
-
Unified Patents ☛ Fourth OptiMorphix networking patent monopoly challenged
On May 24, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,987,285, owned by OptiMorphix, Inc. The ‘285 patent monopoly is generally directed to adaptive bitrate media streaming (e.g., by privileging audio or video bitrate, or in response to current network conditions).
-
-
-
Trademarks
-
TTAB Blog ☛ CAFC Affirms TTAB Dismissal of Consolidated Cancellations Due to Lack of Entitlement to a Statutory Cause of Action
The CAFC affirmed the Board's dismissal of two petitions for cancellation on the ground of lack of entitlement to a statutory cause of action under Section 1064 of the Trademark Act. The appellant, a limited partner of the Paul Hobbs Winery, challenged registrations for the marks ALVAREDOS-HOBBS and HILLICK AND HOBBS on two grounds (likelihood of confusion and fraud) but it failed to satisfy the Lexmark test because appellant lacked a direct commercial interest in the PAUL HOBBS mark being asserted, and because any injury appellant might suffer was too remote. Luca McDermott Catena Trust v. Fructuoso-Hobbs SL, Appeal No. 2023-1383 (Fed. Cir. May 23, 2024) [Precedential].
-
-
Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Celebrity Names and Trademark Claims: Insights from the Hobbs Winery Case
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision involving Paul Hobbs and Hobbs Winery raises a number of important issues for anyone investing in celebrities or influencers. In the case, early investors in Hobbs Winery were unable to prevent Mr. Hobbs from using his name in other wine ventures, even though a registered mark on PAUL HOBBS was owned by Hobbs Winery. This case was decided on statutory grounds – with a holding that minority owners in a company are not authorized to bring a TM cancellation to protect a mark held by the company. This is an important decision because it prevents the TTAB from being used to settle internal corporate management issues.
Monopolies/Monopsonies
-
-
Copyrights
-
Digital Music News ☛ Sweden’s STIM Reports Record 2023 Collections As International Streaming Revenue Nears $100 Million
Another year, another collections record for Sweden’s Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå (STIM), which has reported all-time-high revenue of $293.22 million (SEK 3.1 billion) for 2023. The more than century-old STIM published its nearly 100-page 2023 annual report today, after disclosing strong 2022 financials a little less than one year ago.
-