Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ We b-bought a home

  More than a few of you have noticed a drop in the quantity and quality of posts here over the last couple of months (not to mention some performance issues for a bit there). In short, Clara and I have spent our idle mental CPU cycles going through the motions of buying a home. It has consumed every waking moment, and even seeped into our dreams.

• Hackaday ☛ Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The (Mc)Cool Typewriter

  Okay, so this isn’t a traditional keyboard, but you can probably figure out why the RuneRing is here. Because it’s awesome! Now, let me give you the finer points.

• Hackaday ☛ The JawnCon 0x1 Badge Dials Up A Simpler Time

  For hackers of a certain age, the warbling of an analog modem remains something of a siren song. Even if you haven’t heard it in decades, the shrill tones and crunchy static are like a time machine that brings back memories of a bygone era. Alien to modern ears, in the 1980s and 90s, it was the harbinger of unlimited possibilities. An audible reminder that you were about to cross the threshold into cyberspace.

• Hackaday ☛ We’ll Take DIY Diamond Making For $200,000

  They say you can buy anything on the Internet if you know the right places to go, and apparently if you’re in the mood to make diamonds, then Alibaba is the spot. You even have your choice of high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) machine for $200,000, or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) version, which costs more than twice as much. Here’s a bit more about how each process works.

• New Yorker ☛ The French Perfumer Behind the Internet’s Favorite Fragrance, Baccarat Rouge 540

  Francis Kurkdjian had a runaway hit with Baccarat Rouge 540. Now, at Parfums Christian Dior, he’s trying to make his mark on a storied fashion house.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Drug Resistant Bacteria Expected to Kill Tens of Millions by 2050

    The threat is growing.

  • Science Alert ☛ First of Its Kind DNA Computer Can Both Store Data And Solve Problems

    Clever.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Universe As We Know It May End Sooner Than Expected

    One of the exciting aspects of some fields of physics is that they involve calculating the expected time until the Universe ends or experiences fundamental shifts that would render most if not all of the ‘laws of physics’ invalid. Within the Standard Model (SM), the false vacuum state is one such aspect, as it implies that the Universe’s quantum fields that determine macrolevel effects like mass can shift through quantum field decay into a lower, more stable state. One such field is the Higgs field, which according to a team of researchers may decay sooner than we had previously assumed.

  • Science Alert ☛ There's One Simple Strategy That Works to Reduce Alcohol Intake, Scientists Say

    Just knowing it's 'bad for you' is not enough.

  • Science Alert ☛ We May Have Found Where Modern Humans And Neanderthals Became One

    An encounter that changed the fate of our species.

  • Science Alert ☛ Profound Brain Changes of Pregnancy Revealed in Scientific First

    We've never seen this before.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Perfect Storm of Solar Activity Is About to Unleash an Amazing Show

    We're in for a treat tonight!

  • Science Alert ☛ Extreme Weather to Hit 70% of Humans in Next 20 Years, Study Warns

    We've only seen a taste.

  • Science Alert ☛ Mysterious Structures Discovered Hidden Under The Surface of Mars

    "Mars might still have active movements happening inside it."

  • Science Alert ☛ These Creatures Occupy 'Third State' Beyond Life And Death, Scientists Say

    Forget what you thought you knew.

  • Science Alert ☛ Fragrance in Care Products Could Be Triggering Early Puberty in Girls

    Alarming.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth May Have Once Had a Ring That Slowly Fell From The Sky

    Literally cool.

• Hardware

  • Forbes ☛ AMD Plans Big Battery Boost For ROG Ally + Other Gaming Handhelds

    What's the best type of gaming upgrade? One you don't have to pay for.

  • Hackaday ☛ Real Time Hacking Of A Supermarket Toy

    Sometimes those moments arise when a new device comes on the market and hardware hackers immediately take to it. Over a few days, an observer can watch them reverse engineer it and have all sorts of fun making it do things it wasn’t intended to by the original manufacturer. We’re watching this happen in real time from afar this morning, as Dutch hackers are snapping up a promotional kids’ game from a supermarket (mixed Dutch/English, the site rejects Google Translate).

  • New York Times ☛ How SMIC, China’s Semiconductor Champion, Landed in the Heart of a Tech War

    Efforts by the Beijing-backed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, to break through innovation barriers have landed it in a geopolitical tech battle.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel reportedly lost PlayStation 6 chip design contract to AMD in 2022 — the $30 billion deal was up for grabs

    Intel lost out to AMD in its bid to design and fabricate processors for the upcoming Sony PlayStation 6. According to three insiders, defective chip maker Intel and AMD were the two final contenders in the PS6 chip design and fabrication tender.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Low Tech Mag ☛ Communal Luxury: The Public Bathhouse

    For people in industrial societies, few activities demand more privacy than washing and grooming the body. We usually do it alone, in our private bathrooms, with locked doors. Seen in a historical context, that is unusual. Bathing in the presence of others has been the rule rather than the exception. As late as the first half of the twentieth century, many households, even in the most advanced industrial societies, did not have running water at home, let alone a private bathroom. ¹

    A bathroom requires a domestic water supply, but also a sewer drain, and an energy source to heat the water. Of course, it’s possible to have a hot bath at home without these infrastructures. Ever since Antiquity, the rich have built private baths in their houses. Most often, they could do that because less well-off people - either servants or slaves - filled and emptied their bathtubs with bucketloads of water and collected firewood to heat them.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia's tourist numbers return to pre-Covid levels

    There was good news for Latvia's status as a tourist destination Monday, September 16 with fresh data published by the Central Statistical Bureau, showing that tourist figures are back to pre-Covid levels.

  • New York Times ☛ First Day of a ‘New Life’ for a Boy With Sickle Cell

    Kendric Cromer, 12, is among the first patients to be treated with gene therapy just approved by the F.D.A. that many other patients face obstacles to receiving.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ St. Paul police end mental health unit with embedded social workers as city plans new approach

    The city says it plans to launch a new program in January, but some mental health professionals are concerned about service gaps.

  • NYPost ☛ Arizona Democrat seeking to unseat GOP rep backed universal single-payer health care in resurfaced clip

    The Democratic nominee in a close Arizona House race backed government-run universal health care during a 2019 town hall for then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an archived video clip reveals.

  • Latvia ☛ Help fill Children's Hospital's 'courage boxes' for small patients

    Starting today, September 16, the parcel delivery company Omniva, in cooperation with the Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital Foundation, is running the "Send Courage with Omniva" campaign to encourage people to donate toys to the patient experience project "Courage Box", the organizers said in a release.

  • Latvia ☛ Urgent call for blood donations in Latvia

    The State Blood Donor Center (VADC) is facing a shortage of blood of nearly all blood types, the VADC said in a statement on September 16.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ Google Hey Hi (AI) Notebook Turns Documents into Fake Podcasts with Fake Hosts Having Fake Discussions

    Just what the world needed! Fake podcasts! With fake laughing! Thanks Google!

  • AccessNow ☛ Access Now’s submission on Taiwan Hey Hi (AI) Basic Law

    Access Now welcomes the progressive approach taken in this current preview draft text of Taiwan's Hey Hi (AI) Basic Law, including the importance laid on protecting human rights and the concerns of individuals and vulnerable communities.

  • It's FOSS ☛ What are Tokens in LLMs? A Beginner’s Guide

    Let's clear some of LLM jargon and learn more about tokens.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Press Gazette ☛ Sky Bet reprimanded by ICO over unlawful cookie usage

      ICO also said cookie usage at 99 of the top 100 websites is now compliant.

    • La Quadature Du Net ☛ Press conference in Marseille against Data Centers

      In the wake of the Artificial Intelligence paradigm, data centres are set to proliferate all over the country.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Vectra Hey Hi (AI) warns of Surveillance Giant Google Cloud Document Hey Hi (AI) vulnerability allowing data exfiltration

      A new report out from threat detection and response company Vectra Hey Hi (AI) Inc. is warning of a vulnerability in Surveillance Giant Google Cloud service Document Hey Hi (AI) that allows malicious actors to exploit the service’s misconfigured permissions.

    • New York Times ☛ YouTube CEO Neal Mohan Testifies Surveillance Giant Google Faces Plenty of Ad Tech Competition

      Kicking off the second week of an antitrust trial, Neal Mohan testified that Surveillance Giant Google did what was best for consumers and the ad industry.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RTE ☛ RTÉ Investigates to air revealing documentary on immigration protests in Ireland

    RTÉ Investigates to air revealing documentary on immigration protests in Ireland – Never before seen footage  - In a change to scheduled programming  – Protestor: “The whole country says no.

  • RFA ☛ North Korea sends 500 workers to China in violation of sanctions

    This is the first time North Korea has dispatched workers since the start of the pandemic.

  • NYPost ☛ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested at his NYC hotel by Homeland Security amid sex trafficking investigation

    Embattled rapper and hip hop musician Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested in New York City Monday night amid a federal investigation in sex trafficking allegations, sources said.

  • New York Times ☛ Sean Combs Arrested in Manhattan After Grand Jury Indictment

    The music mogul has been under mounting scrutiny since a 2023 lawsuit by his former girlfriend, Cassie, accused him of sex trafficking and years of abuse.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Diddy Arrested by Federal Authorities Following Grand Jury Indictment

    Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested in Manhattan by federal authorities following a grand jury indictment. Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose music and entrepreneurial career has been disgraced by mounting sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation, has been arrested in Manhattan this evening (September 16), following a grand jury indictment earlier today.

  • JURIST ☛ US ex-president Trump unharmed following probable assassination attempt

    Former US President Donald Trump is safe after US Secret Service agents shot at a man pointing an AK-47-style rifle through a fence while the ex-president was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, authorities confirmed during a press conference Sunday.

  • New York Times ☛ Tuesday Briefing: Suspect is Charged in Apparent Trump Shooting Attempt

    Plus, why you should binge “Shogun.”

  • RFA ☛ Philippines says it did not surrender from Sabina Shoal

    Beijing claims it “has indisputable sovereignty” over the disputed South China Sea shoal.

  • France24 ☛ UK’s Starmer praises Italy’s Meloni for ‘remarkable progress’ in stemming illegal migration

    UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday praised Italian PM Giorgia Meloni for her efforts to go after gangs that profit from illegal immigration, which he said have contributed to a 60-percent drop in the number of illegal migrants arriving in Italy by sea. Starmer said the UK and Italy would work more closely together on the issue and share data and intelligence. Starmer also expressed interest in Italy’s plans to process some asylum claims offshore in two centres due to open in Albania.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ Scholz Stands By Ukraine Support Despite Kazakh Leader's Claim Russia 'Cannot Be Defeated'

      Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev told visiting Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia's military "cannot be defeated" in its war against Ukraine and instead urged support for a peace plans being pressed by China and Brazil, a consideration the German leader quickly rejected.

    • RFERL ☛ Ex-Ukrainian Lawmaker Becomes Member Of Russian Parliament's Upper Chamber

      The governor of Russia's Astrakhan region, Igor Babushkin, appointed former Ukrainian lawmaker Andrei Derkach, who is wanted in Ukraine on treason and corruption charges, to the Russian parliament's upper chamber last week, media reports said on September 16

    • The Straits Times ☛ Kazakh leader urges Scholz to support China's peace plan for Ukraine

      Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urged visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday to give up on the idea that Russia can be defeated on the battlefield and to support China's peace plan for Ukraine, a suggestion Scholz rejected.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Ukraine’s high ground in Russia

      By welcoming scrutiny of its military incursion into Russia, Ukraine abides by rules of war and wins over world opinion.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Ramps Up Air Assault on Ukrainian Cities

      An attack on Kyiv early Monday was the eighth on the Ukrainian capital in about two weeks, officials said, adding that most of the incoming Russian drones had been intercepted.

    • Meduza ☛ Deadly Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow suburb leaves residents unsettled and ambivalent about the war — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president submits three treaties with Russia, Belarus for denunciation

      President Gitanas Nausėda has submitted to the Lithuanian parliament Seimas a proposal to denounce three treaties with Russia and Belarus related to economic cooperation, the President’s Office announced on Monday.

    • RFERL ☛ Berlin Says Support For Moldova Is Working Well So Far, Pledges More

      German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on September 16 gave a positive assessment of the support provided to Moldova in fending off hybrid Russian attacks and pledged further assistance.

    • RFERL ☛ Doctors Without Borders Ceases Operations In Russia

      The Swiss-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group on September 16 said it has been forced to close its operations in Russia.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Gets 8 Years In Prison For Killing African Student

      A court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on September 16 sentenced a Russian man to eight years in prison for stabbing to death a 32-year-old postgraduate student from Gabon.

    • RFERL ☛ Iran's Pezeshkian Claims No Transfer Of Weapons To Russia Since He Took Office

      President Masud Pezeshkian claims that Iran has not transferred any weapons to Russia since he took office in late July and seemed to open the door for direct talks with the United States over nuclear issues, but only if Washington shows it is not "hostile" toward the Islamic republic.

    • RFERL ☛ Jailed Russian Anti-War Journalist Starts Hunger Strike

      Jailed Russian anti-war activist and journalist Maria Ponomarenko has started a hunger strike to protest a new charge laid against her and a prison report saying she was reprimanded seven times for violating penitentiary rules.

    • New York Times ☛ In Georgia, a Political Uproar Erupts Over a 2008 War With Russia

      The leader of the governing party said the country should apologize for a conflict for which many Georgians blame Moscow, heightening a monthslong political battle.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Activist Submits Appeal Of Public Figures To Serbian President Calling For His Release

      Belarusian journalist and political activist Andrey Hnyot (aka Andrew Gnyot) submitted an appeal to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's office -- signed by more than 780 international and Serbian artists and intellectuals -- requesting he not be extradited to Minsk and calling for his release.

    • RFERL ☛ Lukashenka Pardons 37 More Belarusian Political Prisoners

      Authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pardoned 37 people, including six women, serving prison terms on extremism charges, his press service said on September 16.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Journalist, Daughter Denied Reentry To Georgia For Unknown Reasons

      Belarusian journalist Andrey Myaleshka, who has been residing in Georgia since fleeing political persecution in 2021, was denied re-entry into the South Caucasus country on September 16 while returning from vacation in Poland with his daughter.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Slaps New Sanctions On Georgian Government Officials, Dozens Of Others

      The United States has slapped sanctions on more than 60 Georgians, including two members of the government, who it said have "undermined" democracy and human rights in the country amid concerns in the West of Tbilisi's tilt toward Moscow.

    • RFERL ☛ French National Pleads Guilty To Evading 'Foreign Agent' Responsibilities

      A Moscow court on September 16 agreed to proceed with the trial of French citizen Laurent Vinatier in a "special order" -- which guarantees a lighter sentence -- after he pleaded guilty to a charge of evading the responsibilities of a "foreign agent."

    • France24 ☛ Russia orders evacuations in Kursk region, Ukraine invites UN and Red Cross to ‘ensure rights’ there

      Russian authorities have ordered the evacuation of “multiple” villages that border Ukraine in the Kursk region, a local governor said on Monday. The news comes as Moscow says its forces have wrested two more villages in the region out of Kyiv’s control. Ukraine’s foreign ministry has invited the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to Kursk to carry out humanitarian work and verify the country is respecting international law amid its incursion there.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ How Ukraine’s Kursk incursion echoes the Gettysburg campaign

      Viewing the Kursk incursion through the lens of the climactic campaign of the US Civil War offers a relevant framework for interpreting Ukraine’s motivations, possible outcomes, and long-term strategic objectives.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin issues decree to expand Russian military by 180,000 soldiers — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ A Russian teenager commented on a social media post about Navalny. Then, the FSB came knocking. — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian to ‘responsibly consider’ claims about Volkov’s attackers – president

      Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he will “responsibly consider” the recent allegations made by the team of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny about the masterminds of the attack on his associate Leonid Volkov in Vilnius.

• Environment

  • France24 ☛ Death toll rises as more rivers burst their banks in central European floods

    Intense flooding caused by heavy rain across central Europe has killed at least 18 people, with more rivers bursting their banks on Monday. More than 12,000 people have been evacuated in the Czech Republic, the country's prime minister said Sunday evening, while villages and towns across eastern Romania have been submerged by the rising waters.

  • France24 ☛ Shanghai hit by strongest typhoon in more than 70 years as Bebinca makes landfall

    Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in 70 years, made landfall on Monday, state media reported. Flights were canceled, highways closed, and coastal residents evacuated as the city grappled with strong winds and heavy rain. A red alert remains in place, with Bebinca surpassing the impact of 1949’s Typhoon Gloria, city authorities confirmed.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Typhoon Bebinca: Strongest storm to hit Shanghai since 1949 shuts down Chinese megacity

    Tens of millions of people in Shanghai and across China’s densely populated east coast hunkered indoors Monday as the strongest storm to hit since 1949 swept in, downing trees and disrupting transport across the region.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania ready to help Poland hit by heavy rains, floods

    Lithuania stands ready to send aid to Poland hit by torrential rains and floods, the Government’s Office said on Monday.

  • RFERL ☛ Orban Cancels Foreign Trips As Floodwaters In Central, Eastern Europe Wreak Havoc

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he has canceled all of his "international obligations" as his country braces for floodwaters that have already ravaged much of Central and Eastern Europe, where several people have died in the wake of torrential rains from Storm Boris.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Fortune ☛ Volkswagen's job cuts could exceed 15,000, Jefferies says | Fortune Europe

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ Whale’s presence in Malaysia a sign of healthy marine ecosystem, says researcher

      Experts say humpback whales do not harm humans, though interference can cause a defensive reaction.

• Finance

  • Latvia ☛ EBRD team to visit Latvia this week

    Representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Board of Directors will be in Latvia from 17 to 20 September 2024, the institution has announced.

  • New Yorker ☛ How Inflation Fooled Almost Everybody

    With the Fed poised to cut rates for the first time in years, what have we learned about the economic disruptions of the pandemic era?

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ex-executives of Jimmy Lai’s Hong Kong media company file legal challenge against global accounting firm BDO

    Two former executives of Hong Kong’s Next Digital media group have filed a legal challenge against global accounting firm BDO, accusing it of helping city authorities to liquidate the company founded by jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai.

  • Staff That Steals From Customers and Whose Bosses Cover Up for the Stealing [Ed: Maybe she takes the 'tax' for using 1) cash and 2) till, but that's just sarcasm; she is stealing]

    In hindsight, it was always hard to get a hold of a boss to report these issues too. It was slow, cumbersome, almost impossible – maybe by design. Maybe Customer Service people even get trained in stonewalling people.

  • RFA ☛ Thailand's longan boom faces uncertain future as Chinese tighten grip on market

    China imports 95% of its longan from Thailand, with most local buyers acting as nominees for Chinese merchants.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico celebrates Independence Day

    Take a visual tour of Independence Day celebrations around the country with this selection of photos, from Mexico City to Oaxaca to Zacatecas.

  • New York Times ☛ In Linda Sun’s Case, Signs of a Familiar China Playbook

    Linda Sun is just the latest member of the Chinese diaspora whom Beijing is accused of recruiting to influence Western democracies.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • JURIST ☛ Elon Musk criticizes Australia law designed to combat misinformation

      Elon Musk, the owner of social control media platform X (formerly Twitter), called the government of Australia fascists on Friday for introducing a bill that would impose fines on social control media companies that fail to prevent the spread of misinformation online.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ China proposes mandatory red flags placed on all AI-generated content posted online

      China pushes for mandatory red flagging for Hey Hi (AI) content.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ Vietnam court jails activist for 5 years for ‘distributing anti-state propaganda’

    Vietnam’s Hanoi People’s Court sentenced prominent activist and former member of the critical YouTube channel CHTV, Phan Van Bach, to five years in prison on Monday. He was convicted under  Article 117 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes “distributing anti-state propaganda.”

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ First person convicted under Hong Kong’s new security law after pleading guilty to wearing ‘seditious’ T-shirt

    A Hongkonger has pleaded guilty to sedition over a T-shirt with a protest slogan on it, becoming the first person convicted under the city’s new security legislation. Chu Kai-pong, 27, appeared in front of Chief Magistrate Victor So at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Monday.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Huw Edwards given suspended six-month sentence over indecent images charges

    The sentencing judge said Edwards's "long-earned reputation is in tatters".

  • Press Gazette ☛ Toolkit to help journalists overcome ‘unspoken power dynamic’ in sensitive interviews

    Publication of toolkit aims to help journalists working with "care experienced" people.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Four columnists quit Jewish Chronicle over standards, secrecy and ‘bias’

    Writers condemn lapse in standards, secrecy and drift to right of specialist title.

  • RFA ☛ Chinese court rejects feminist journalist Sophia Huang's appeal

    The Guangdong High People's Court makes the decision in secret, concealing it from her defense team.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • RFA ☛ Death of Chinese delivery rider highlights harsh working conditions

    Riders make around US$0.70 per delivery, forcing them to put in long hours without rest to make ends meet.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ CEO Andy Jassy tells Amazon employees they’ll have to be in the office 5 days a week next year

    Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Andy Jassy has signaled an end to the company’s work-from-home policy, telling staff in a lengthy memo on Monday that they’re going to be required to sit in the office five days a week.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Answering Common Questions About Abortion Pill Safety

  • Pro Publica ☛ Under Georgia’s Abortion Ban, She Died After Delayed Care

  • OpenRightsGroup ☛ ICO fails UK Meta users and allows social control media giant to resume data scraping for AI

    Open Rights Group have called on the ICO to justify its refusal to issue a binding order to stop Meta’s plans to scrape users data in order to train its Hey Hi (AI) systems. Meta’s plans will not only resume but have also expanded to include scraping users’ comments as well as posts, images and videos.

  • AccessNow ☛ Open letter to European Commission: the dangers of age verification proposals to fundamental rights online

  • RFA ☛ NagaWorld union leader released from prison, vows to lead ongoing strike

    The dispute at the Phnom Penh hotel and casino complex began in 2021 and has featured clashes with police.

  • RFERL ☛ Imprisoned Leader Of Unregistered Kazakh Opposition Party Starts Hunger Strike

    The leader of the unregistered Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) political party, Marat Zhylanbaev, has launched a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.

  • France24 ☛ Beijing frees US pastor imprisoned in China for almost 20 years

    David Lin, a US pastor jailed in China since 2006 on charges of contract fraud, has been released, the State Department said Sunday. Washington has for years urged Beijing to release Lin, who the US maintains was wrongfully detained.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China frees US pastor David Lin after almost 2 decades in detention

    An American pastor detained by China since 2006 on what the United States has called spurious charges has been freed, the State Department said Sunday. David Lin “has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” a State Department spokesperson told AFP.

  • New York Times ☛ China Frees American Pastor, David Lin, After Nearly 20 Years in Prison

    David Lin had tried to open a Christian training center in Beijing. The United States considered him one of three Americans “wrongfully detained” by China.

  • RFA ☛ China releases US pastor David Lin after 18 years in jail

    The timing of Lin's release could show Beijing is looking to ease tensions with the United States.

  • EDRI ☛ Open letter: The dangers of age verification proposals to fundamental rights online

    On 16 September, EDRi and 63 organisations, academics and experts in privacy, encryption, child safety, sex workers' rights and consumer rights issued a joint statement urging the European Commission to prioritise effective child safety measures while expressing serious concerns about the suitability, proportionality, and negative impact on fundamental rights of current age verification proposals.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong man dies after being shot by police called to handle domestic dispute

    A Hong Kong man has been shot dead by police after wielding a knife and a pair of scissors at an officer despite multiple warnings, the force has said.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: APSIG 2024, APrIGF 2024, TWIGF 2024, Asia Pacific Youth IGF 2024, and DRAPAC 2024

    APNIC and the APNIC Foundation supported and actively participated in APrIGF 2024, which was co-located with TWIGF 2024, APSIG 2024 and the Asia Pacific Youth IGF 2024 in Taipei from 18 to 23 August 2024.

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 212: Matt Hatfield on the State of Canadian Digital Policy as Politicians Return from the Summer Recess

    Parliament resumes after a summer break today. While digital policies receded into the background over the past few months, the political intrigue of by-elections and a minority government without an NDP deal will be accompanied by questions about what happens to Bill C-63, Canada’s online harms bill, Bill C-27, the privacy and Hey Hi (AI) reform bill, Bill S-210, the age verification bill, and a myriad of other regulatory and policy issues.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Streamlining Sports Streaming: Getting Just the Games You Want Shouldn’t Be This Hard

    The transition from cable to streaming for sports has made following your favorite team a lot more complicated.

  • AccessNow ☛ 2024 elections and internet shutdowns watch

    Governments around the world continue to shut down the internet during elections. Join our 2024 elections watch to #KeepItOn.

  • APNIC ☛ Hypergiants are increasingly serving more content via local IPv6 networks

    Guest Post: First-of-its-kind study compares IPv6 off-net deployment and latency to IPv4 across 14 hypergiants.

  • AccessNow ☛ War, famine, and satellites: Connecting the dots of the humanitarian impact of shutdowns in Sudan

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Officially Kicks Off Its ‘Countdown to’ Vodcast Album Release Series with Jelly Roll, MGK

    Spotify kicks off its ‘Countdown To’ Vodcast album release series with Jelly Roll and MGK in its debut episode. Jelly Roll and Machine Gun Kelly feature in the debut episode of Spotify’s new vodcast series “Countdown To,” which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at artists’ upcoming projects while they count down to album launch day.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ $6,000 awarded for AutoConnect vehicle patents prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $6,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by AutoConnect Holdings LLC, an NPE. The patents generally relate to vehicle ecosystems.

    We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests.

  • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Emerald Lake Hills operational management patent monopoly prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Dinesh Swami, Ekta Aswal, and Mani Manikandan, who split an award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 11,636,413, owned by Emerald Lake Hills, LLC, an NPE.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Philips succeeds at UPC in suit against Belkin [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional, but this company lobbied for this fake court and is moreover bribing media like this to play along, legitimising the illegality]

      In one of the UPC’s first telecommunications lawsuits, Philips has taken a dispute previously fought against Belkin in Germany to the European level. The move has proved a success. Philips’ EP 2 867 997 B1 protects a technique for wireless inductive power transfer to charge batteries of portable devices such as cell phones or tablets.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ "A CHANCE TO LIVE LONGER" Fails to Function as a Source Indicator for Medical Information, Says TTAB

    The Board affirmed a refusal to register the proposed mark A CHANCE TO LIVE LONGER in the stylized form below, for "Printed matter, namely, brochures and pamphlets in the field of cancer" and for "Medical information services," because Applicant Bristol-Myers refused to disclaim the phrase. The Board agreed with the USPTO that the phrase fails to function as a source indicator, and therefore must be disclaimed under Trademark Rule 6(a). In re Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Serial No. 90536031 (September 6, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Robert H. Coggins).

• Copyrights

  • Adam Young: Standard Deviation

  • Digital Music News ☛ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, UMG, and BMG Beat ‘Living in a Ghost Town’ Infringement Suit Appeal on Jurisdictional Grounds

    Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, BMG, and Universal Music have officially beaten an appeal in a copyright monopoly suit centering on “Living in a Ghost Town.” The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just recently affirmed a prior district court ruling in favor of the Rolling Stones members as well as the label co-defendants.

  • Digital Music News ☛ APM Legal Blitz Continues With American Hockey League Action Targeting Alleged ‘Rampant Infringement’

    Days after levying a copyright monopoly action against Johnson & Johnson, Associated Production Music (APM) is now suing the American Hockey League (AHL) for allegedly using recordings in “numerous” promotional videos without permission.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Eddy Grant Scores Victory Against Donald Trump in Long-Running Copyright Infringement Suit

    Eddy Grant finally scores a victory against Donald Trump four years after filing a copyright monopoly infringement suit against him.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Warner Music Korea Launches New Label MPLIFY — Signs Olivia Marsh

    Warner Music Korea has announced the launch of MPLIFY, a progressive label dedicated to supporting Korean artists with international connections. By concentrating on English-language music, MPLIFY aims to help these artists engage with a worldwide audience and succeed in the international music scene.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Video Shoot Caused Thousands in Losses for Local Businesses

    Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video has racked up 134 million YouTube views since it dropped on July 4. But not everyone is quite so thrilled—local business owners say they lost thousands in missed business while the shoot was going on.