Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Another of those random question lists

  I saw this one float by on Mastodon, and thought it’d be a fun distraction.

  As a PSA, if you’re not like me and use keysmashes stored in a password manager for “secret questions”, you probably shouldn’t answer things like this.

• New York Times ☛ Revisiting Eikoh Hosoe’s Otherworldly Images of Postwar Japan

  Working with a group of talented collaborators, Eikoh Hosoe redefined what it meant to be a photographer.

• Our journey with SignPath

  Our Journey with SignPath: Code Signing for backdoored Windows Binaries When distributing software, code signing is essential to ensure our users can trust the software they download, especially on an operating system like backdoored Windows that displays security warnings for unsigned software.

  So for us, code signing is not just an option, but a necessity to validate software binaries, prevent tampering, and for the convenience of our users.

  A Little Background on This Journey It’s not difficult to code sign and notarize software binaries for Fashion Company Apple macOS.

• New York Times ☛ Under Trump, Tech Giants Like Fashion Company Apple and Meta Face a Familiar Uncertainty

  Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and others learned during the last Trump administration to expect the unexpected when it came to Washington scrutiny and support.

• Standards/Consortia

  • Inside Towers ☛ DOD Recruits Hughes to Develop Open RAN Prototype at Fort Bliss - Inside Towers

    DoD is leaning towards Open RAN because it allows components from different radio, hardware, and software vendors to be interoperable on the same platform. Moreover, RAN modularity allows agility and promotes supply chain security, vendor competition, that drives innovation and cost efficiencies. DoD sees Open RAN benefits as increased 5G network functionality and scalability, incorporation of artificial intelligence/machine learning, and greater flexibility in acquiring or replacing the software and hardware used in military equipment.

    DoD points out that Open RAN and the ability to exert near-real time control over the RAN, via a RAN Intelligent Controller, enables strategic advantages to the warfighter. The primary use case that the Fort Bliss prototype will test through the RIC is the ability to rapidly change spectrum at the 5G control node, a capability that has real world relevance to resilient communications for a mobile command post, according to the DoD CIO office.

  • YLE ☛ Eastern Finland airports bring back radio navigation systems due to GPS interference

    Three airports in the eastern part of Finland will bring back the use of old-style radio navigation equipment to facilitate aircraft landings when incidents of GPS disruption are detected.

    The radio-based Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) was developed in the 1960s and was widely used in the aviation industry until the advent of GPS technology.

• Open Access/Content

  • Society for Scholarly Publishing ☛ Paywalls are Not the Only Barriers to Access: Accessibility is Critical to Equitable Access

    Over the past couple of months, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has been drawing attention to the need to support not just Open Access as it has been traditionally defined, but also accessibility. This important equity detail was mentioned in the ‘Nelson Memo’ of 2022, in which peer reviewed scholarly content should be available “in formats that allow for machine-readability and enabling broad accessibility through assistive devices” (page 3-4).

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ With DNA, Pompeii Narratives Take a Twist

    In 79 A.D., a volcanic eruption engulfed a town’s residents. They weren’t all who scientists thought, newly extracted genetic material suggests.

  • Science Alert ☛ Analysis of Mystery 'Tar' Balls on Sydney Beach Reveals Shockingly Gross Origins

    It's more disgusting than we thought.

  • Science Alert ☛ What Is Alexithymia? A Guide to The Hidden Experience of Millions

    It’s not easy to tell if someone has it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Vampire Bats Run on Little Treadmills to Reveal How They Metabolize Blood

    We can't stop watching.

  • Science Alert ☛ Plants Really Do 'Scream'. We've Simply Never Heard Them Until Now.

    The horror.

• Career/Education

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ What Trump's Threats of Mass Deportation Could Mean for Higher Ed

    President-elect Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigrant stances and pledges have ratcheted up uncertainty and anxiety on college campuses, but experts and advocates cautioned against overreacting to the election outcome.

  • Stanford University ☛ Graduate workers union votes to authorize strike

    In results announced at 10 a.m. Thursday, nearly 90% of graduate workers voted in favor of authorizing a union strike to pressure the University to concede on union demands of increased wages and non-discrimination protections.

• Hardware

  • Silicon Angle ☛ TSMC, GlobalFoundries reportedly complete CHIPS Act funding negotiations

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and GlobalFoundries Inc. have hammered out the terms of their CHIPS Act funding agreements, Bloomberg reported today. The companies inked preliminary versions of the contacts earlier this year. The initial terms allocated more than $13 billion worth of grants and loans to the two chipmakers.

  • CNX Software ☛ Compex Systems Unveils Wi-Fi 7 Modules with Smart Connectors, Enabling Seamless Multi-Link Operation (MLO) Integration on Conventional CPU Platforms (Sponsored)

    Compex Systems (Compex), a global leader in wireless communication technology, is taking Wi-Fi 7 to new heights with an innovative connector design for Multi-Link Operation (MLO). This breakthrough enables seamless deployment of MLO across off-the-shelf platforms, including those with defective chip maker Intel x86 and ARM processors (e.g. NXP and Marvell), eliminating the need for custom-made host boards and unlocking the full potential of Wi-Fi 7 features for a wider range of users and applications.

  • Hackaday ☛ Hear A Vintage Sound Chip Mimic The Real World

    Sound chips from back in the day were capable of much more than a few beeps and boops, and [InazumaDenki] proves it in a video recreating recognizable real-world sounds with the AY-3-8910, a chip that was in everything from arcade games to home computers. Results are a bit mixed but it’s surprising how versatile a vintage sound chip that first came out in the late 70s is capable of, with the right configuration.

  • Hackaday ☛ DIY Lock Nuts

    If you have a metal lathe just looking for some work, why not make your own lock nuts? That’s what [my mechanics insight] did when faced with a peculiar lock nut that needed replacing in a car. We can’t decide what we enjoyed more in the video you can watch below: the cross-section cut of a lock nut or the oddly calming videos of the new nut being turned on a lathe.

  • Hackaday ☛ Help Wanted: Keep The World’s Oldest Windmills Turning

    While the Netherlands is the country most known for its windmills, they were originally invented by the Persians. More surprisingly, some of them are still turning after 1,000 years.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • JURIST ☛ Quebec premier threatens use of notwithstanding clause to retain doctors in public system

    Quebec premier François Legault announced on Wednesday that his government is prepared to use the notwithstanding clause to require doctors trained in Quebec to start their careers in the province’s healthcare system, aiming to tackle the ongoing shortage of medical professionals.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian company joins NASA programme to develop drugs adapted for space

    Delta Biosciences, a Lithuanian life sciences company, has been selected for NASA’s Space Healthcare Programme. The company will contribute to solutions in space healthcare.

  • France24 ☛ Social media ban will hamper development of skills to deal with online risk, expert says

    Australia's prime minister on Thursday vowed to ban children under 16 from social control media, saying the pervasive influence of platforms like Facebook (Farcebook) and Fentanylware (TikTok) was "doing real harm to our kids". FRANCE 24's Yinka Oyetade speaks to Dr Sarah Rose, Associate Professor of Child Psychology and Education at Staffordshire University. She says that the proposed ban will hamper teenagers' development of skills to deal with social control media and cyberbullying.

  • Science Alert ☛ Experts Are Concerned Drugs Like Ozempic May Cause Muscle Loss

    We need to know more about risks.

  • Science Alert ☛ Light Healing's Surprising History: From Sun Worship to Modern Science

    We've had some bizarre treatments.

  • Science Alert ☛ Small US Town on Alert as 40 Monkeys Escape Research Lab

    Keep your doors and windows securely closed.

  • Science Alert ☛ Low Sugar in Baby's First 1,000 Days Reduces Chronic Disease Risk, Wartime Study Finds

    "Could lead to significant health benefits."

  • Science Alert ☛ Pompeii DNA Overturns Long-Held Assumptions About Its Victims

    We humans are imperfect.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Meduza ☛ Washington gives Oracle green light to buy back its debt in Russia — Meduza

  • Bruce Schneier ☛ Subverting LLM Coders

    Really interesting research: “An LLM-Assisted Easy-to-Trigger Backdoor Attack on Code Completion Models: Injecting Disguised Vulnerabilities against Strong Detection“:

    Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) have transformed code com-
    pletion tasks, providing context-based suggestions to boost developer productivity in software engineering. As users often fine-tune these models for specific applications, poisoning and backdoor attacks can covertly alter the model outputs. To address this critical security challenge, we introduce CODEBREAKER, a pioneering LLM-assisted backdoor attack framework on code completion models. Unlike recent attacks that embed malicious payloads in detectable or irrelevant sections of the code (e.g., comments), CODEBREAKER leverages LLMs (e.g., GPT-4) for sophisticated payload transformation (without affecting functionalities), ensuring that both the poisoned data for fine-tuning and generated code can evade strong vulnerability detection. CODEBREAKER stands out with its comprehensive coverage of vulnerabilities, making it the first to provide such an extensive set for evaluation. Our extensive experimental evaluations and user studies underline the strong attack performance of CODEBREAKER across various settings, validating its superiority over existing approaches.

  • Bruce Schneier ☛ Prompt Injection Defenses Against LLM Cyberattacks

    Interesting research: “Hacking Back the AI-Hacker: Prompt Injection as a Defense Against LLM-driven Cyberattacks“:

    Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly being harnessed to automate cyberattacks, making sophisticated exploits more accessible and scalable. In response, we propose a new defense strategy tailored to counter LLM-driven cyberattacks. We introduce Mantis, a defensive framework that exploits LLMs’ susceptibility to adversarial inputs to undermine malicious operations. Upon detecting an automated cyberattack, Mantis plants carefully crafted inputs into system responses, leading the attacker’s LLM to disrupt their own operations (passive defense) or even compromise the attacker’s machine (active defense). By deploying purposefully vulnerable decoy services to attract the attacker and using dynamic prompt injections for the attacker’s LLM, Mantis can autonomously hack back the attacker.

  • Hackaday ☛ Using [buzzwords] To Help With Assembly

    Although [buzzwords] and large language models have been pushed as direct replacements for certain kinds of workers, plenty of businesses actually doing this have found that using this new technology can cause more problems than it solves when it is given free reign over tasks. While this might not be true indefinitely, the real use case for these tools right now is as a kind of assistant to certain kinds of work. For this they can be incredibly powerful as [Ricardo] demonstrates here, using Amazon Q to help with game development on the Commodore 64.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Disappointing guidance sends Clownflare and Akamai stocks lower

    Investors bailed on the clown content delivery network and security firms Clownflare Inc. and Akamai Technologies Inc. today, after both companies provided tepid guidance in the wake of their third quarter results.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Federal News Network ☛ TSA proposes cybersecurity requirements for pipelines, railroad operators

      TSA's proposed cybersecurity regulation aims to ensure "higher-risk" pipelines and railways are defended from cyber attacks.

    • Federal News Network ☛ Why the U.S. has to get serious about security federally funded research

      "American funded research is being used to support the Chinese military should be unacceptable to everyone," said Dan Lips.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Defence Web ☛ Sudan conflict spilling into Abyei

    The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) this week heard ongoing conflict in Sudan is “exacerbating instability” in Abyei, a 10 000 plus square kilometre contested area between Sudan and the world’s youngest country, South Sudan.

  • RFERL ☛ Uzbekistan Jails 11 Men On Terrorism Charges

    Uzbekistan's State Security Service (DXX) announced on November 7 that a court in the city of Qoqon sentenced 11 individuals to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 12 years for terrorism-related offenses.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US allies Japan, S. Korea seek quick rapport with Trump amid security concerns

    His transactional approach to security, trade and foreign policy remains fresh in recent bureaucratic memory.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Two dead and 12 missing after fishing boat sinks off South Korea, official says

    The President has ordered all available resources to be deployed for a search and rescue operation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon apologises over concerns of election interference, denies wife’s role in them

    Yoon has been suffering from a constant decline in his approval rating.

  • JURIST ☛ G7 Foreign Ministers condemn North Korea ballistic missile launch

    The G7 Foreign Ministers issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) on 31 October, which landed in the sea. The United Nations also expressed concern over the missile launch and the potential threat it poses to “regional stability”. >

  • France24 ☛ At least five UN peacekeepers wounded in deadly Israeli strike on south Lebanon city

    The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when an Israeli drone strike took place on Thursday, wounding at least five UN workers and killing three civilians.

  • JURIST ☛ UN Refugee High Commissioner warns of humanitarian crisis in Lebanon

    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, brought attention to the humanitarian crisis ongoing in Lebanon before the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday.

  • New York Times ☛ Dozens Killed as Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanon, Health Ministry Says

    The deadliest strikes hit the Bekaa Valley, in and around the historic city of Baalbek, overnight.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia says six UN peacekeepers injured in Lebanon blast

    Malaysia’s defence ministry described the injuries as “minor”.

  • New York Times ☛ China Braces for a New Era of U.S. Rivalry With Trump’s Return

    Beijing is expecting more volatility and competition with the United States, though a lackluster economy may limit China’s options for pushing back.

  • New York Times ☛ Canada Shuts TikTok’s Offices Over National Security Risks

    The order, which will allow people to still use the app, cited concerns about TikTok’s owner, the Chinese tech giant ByteDance.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia proposes ‘world-leading’ ban on social control media for children under 16

    There will be no exemptions for users who have parental consent.

  • Junta airstrikes kill 540 Myanmar civilians since new year, mostly in Rakhine state

    At least 159 died from aerial attacks in the war-torn western state in the first 10 months of 2024.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar junta chief discusses civil war with key ally China

    The junta is reeling from a major rebel offensive in 2023 that seized a large area of territory.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thai PM meets Myanmar junta chief on sidelines of summit in China

    The countries share a 2,000km border, and fighting in Myanmar has sometimes spilled into Thailand.

  • Myanmar junta chief says ready to talk to rebel groups

    Following the military leader’s meeting with Chinese officials, insurgents question whether his offer is genuine

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, China must ‘get along’, Pooh-tin tells Trump

    Donald Trump has vowed to slap 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the US.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Pooh-tin Jinping sends congratulatory message to Donald Trump, says Beijing and Washington must ‘get along’

    Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping said Thursday Beijing and Washington must find a way to “get along” in a message to US president-elect Donald Trump, state media reported.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand would benefit from any U.S-China trade war, says minister

    Thailand's economy stands to gain from any U.S.-China trade war, Thai Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said on Thursday, adding the Southeast Asian country had good relations with both nations and would not need to take sides in a dispute.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China social control media buzzes with admiration for Trump’s comeback

    The announcement of Trump’s election win was viewed more than 1 billion times on Weibo.

  • China’s Pooh-tin congratulates Trump, looks to increase cooperation in ‘new era’

    China’s initial reaction to Trump’s victory was muted

  • Taiwan wonders if Trump will charge ‘protection fees’

    Many Taiwanese believe that Trump will be tougher on China, and make them safer.

  • LRT ☛ Taiwan does not oppose Lithuania restoring ties with China, says FM

    Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung on Thursday said his government does not oppose the incoming Lithuanian government restoring relations with China, Focus Taiwan has reported.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taipei to help Taiwanese firms leave China to avoid Trump’s steep tariffs

    No specific measures were mentioned, but Taiwan in the past had offered subsidies and cheaper loans.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taipei offers to help Taiwanese firms relocate from China if Donald Trump holds true on tariffs threat

    Taipei will help Taiwanese firms relocate their China-based production plants if President-elect Donald Trump carries out his threat to impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese-made goods, the island’s economic ministry said Thursday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippine Coast Guard to acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France

    There are plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines confident in US alliance under Trump amid China tensions, envoy says

    An envoy suggested potential changes under Trump would be ”minimal” and could even be favourable.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US farm exports to China at risk from Trump’s tariff threats

    China remains the largest export market for American farmers despite a decline in trade.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Chinese stealth fighter to take centre stage at China’s biggest air show

    Beijing has invested heavily in developing home-grown commercial planes.

  • Bangkok court clears Thai woman of link to accused Uyghur bombers

    Woman helped find apartments for men suspected of bombing a tourist spot popular with Chinese visitors

  • Exclusive: How Chinese nationalism is sending jitters through the Arctic

    People's Liberation Army-linked tourists with Chinese flags descended on a civilian research station in the Arctic

  • Climate ‘flashpoint’ looms for Trump’s China-centric focus on Pacific: US analysts

    Deepening U.S. engagement with the Pacific is now firmly a consensus issue in Washington.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Two pilots rescued after military plane crashes in Vietnam

    The Russian-made Yak-130 aircraft went down during a training flight.

  • Defence Web ☛ Non-aligned: A series of confusing events

    The week of 28 October to 01 November saw an anti-climactic series of diplomatic activities take place in Pretoria, leaving some furious and many more scratching their heads about what exactly took place.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ How Russia Openly Escalated Its Election Interference Efforts

      The Kremlin did not bother to hide its efforts to influence the 2024 presidential election, as it did in the past.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The West must respond to Russia’s rapidly escalating hybrid warfare

      Russia's hybrid war against the West is escalating rapidly and requires a far firmer collective response, writes Doug Livermore.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Donald Trump’s election victory fuels hopes and fears in Ukraine

      Donald Trump's election win has sparked alarm in Ukraine, where many fear he will end US support for the country. However, some war-weary Ukrainians hope he can help end the Russian invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

    • Meduza ☛ Parts of Russia are running out of a drug that is crucial for pregnant women with this blood disorder — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky: North Korean soldiers already sustaining losses in Russia’s Kursk region — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Chinese Electronics Plant In Russia Closes As Western Sanctions Bite

      A Chinese-owned electronics plant in Russia’s Leningrad region has ceased operations, highlighting the growing impact of Western sanctions on Moscow over its war against Ukraine and the shifting dynamics of foreign business in Russia.

    • Stanford University ☛ Former U.S. ambassadors call for increased Western assistance to Ukraine

      Michael McFaul ’85 M.A. ’86 and Steven Pifer ’76, former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and Ukraine, respectively, stressed the necessity of Western assistance to Ukraine and denying Putin resources in order to oppose Russian authoritarianism and defend global democracy.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin honors Chechen politician with another presidential award despite long history of dishonorable, even illegal, behavior — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ In hour-long speech, Putin denounces NATO’s ‘extreme recklessness’ in Ukraine, then during Q&A, congratulates Trump on presidential election — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Major General Of Russian Army Dies In Ukraine

      A Major General of the Russian army died in Ukraine on November 7. Pavel Klimenko’s death was confirmed by his sisters via the publication “Important Stories” on Telegram.

    • New York Times ☛ Trump Will Test European Solidarity on NATO, Ukraine and Trade

      Another Trump term could spur Europe’s efforts to stand on its own, but it is far from clear its leaders will seize the moment this time.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Keeps Hitting Ukrainian Cities With Waves of Drones

      Moscow has been using decoy drones with no warheads to overwhelm defenses, and surveillance drones and strike drones to gather intelligence, Ukrainian officials said.

    • New York Times ☛ European Leaders Meet Amid Trump Victory and Global Uncertainty

      Leaders from across Europe and beyond gathered to discuss the war in Ukraine, immigration and plans for a second Trump presidency.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia drops two bombs on Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injuring at least 25 — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia loses its eighth general in Ukraine. This one allegedly ran a ‘concentration camp’ that tortured men who refused attack orders. — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Google Maps removes images showing Ukrainian military facilities — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky tells European summit Ukraine needs ‘sufficient weapons, not support in talks’ — Meduza

    • JURIST ☛ Co-chair of Russia election watchdog recognized as prisoner of conscience

      Amnesty International recognized Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of the Russian election watchdog Golos (“Voice”), as a prisoner of conscience on Tuesday. Melkonyants was arrested on August 17, 2023, shortly before the start of federal and local elections and the 2024 presidential campaign.

    • RFERL ☛ Western Leaders Urge Georgia To 'Change Course' After Disputed Vote

      The leaders of three European Union member states -- France, Germany, and Poland -- on November 7 urged Georgia to investigate allegations of widespread voting irregularities during last month's parliamentary elections and called on Tbilisi to reverse Russian-inspired legislation.

    • RFERL ☛ Britain Slaps Massive Sanctions Package On Russia

      Britain on November 7 announced its largest package of Russia sanctions in one year and a half, slapping punitive measures on 56 people and entities linked to Moscow's war machine, including mercenary groups active in Africa and an individual accused of involvement in a 2018 Novichok attack.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin Lavishes Praise on Trump, Saying Russia Is ‘Open’ to Restored Ties

      Russians close to the Kremlin voiced optimism that Donald J. Trump could help end the war in Ukraine on Russia’s terms. Vladimir V. Putin said Mr. Trump’s remarks on ending the war “deserve attention.”

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Warns EU Leaders That Capitulation To Putin Is 'Suicidal'

      President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned European leaders that capitulation to Russia after it invaded Ukraine would be "suicidal" for Europe, just hours after Kyiv and the Black Sea port of Odesa were rocked by an unusually intense wave of air strikes.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Congratulates Trump On U.S. Election Victory

      Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. presidential election and said Moscow is open to talks with the Republican president-elect.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia-Belarus border infrastructure to be in place by end of 2026

      The entire Latvian-Belarusian border will be equipped with technical security systems by the end of 2026, stated the head of the State Border Guard, Guntis Pujāts, in an interview on Latvian Television's "Morning Panorama" program November 7.

    • RFERL ☛ 31 Political Prisoners Convicted Under Belarus's 'Extremism' Law Pardoned

      Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pardoned 31 people convicted under the country’s "extremism" law.

    • RFERL ☛ 4 Killed, 40 Wounded In Russian Attack On Ukrainian City Of Zaporizhzhya

      Russian attacks on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya on November 7 have killed four and wounded 40, Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

    • France24 ☛ European leaders meet in Budapest and face up to Trump victory

      European leaders are meeting in Budapest today, for two days of talks, focused on the challenges posed by Trump's return to the White House. The EU leaders are being joined by the NATO chief, as well as Britain's prime minister and Vlodomyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

    • Meduza ☛ Record number of North Koreans arriving in Russia for ‘studies’ coincides with reports of North Korean troops being sent to the country — Meduza

• Environment

  • Dispatches from Europe, No. 8, November 6, 2024 – European Left Alliance for People and the Planet

  • Dispatches from Europe, No. 9, November 7, 2024 – Svitlana Romanko on Defunding Russia’s Fossil-Fueled Military Machine

    Svitlana Romanko is the Executive Director of Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian climate justice organization focused on ending fossil-fueled conflicts and climate chaos and driving the clean energy revolution in Ukraine and globally.

    Before initiating Razom We Stand when Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Svitlana was for several years the 350.org leader for Eastern Europe, Caucusus, and Central Asia.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Teen electrocuted: Malaysia temporarily bans use of sockets in express buses

      The ban will be in place till a probe into the alleged electrocution of the teen on a bus is over.

    • France24 ☛ Nissan to cut 9,000 jobs as profits plunge 93%

      Japanese carmaker Nissan says it will cut 9,000 jobs globally, after net profit in the April to September period plunged 93.5% year on year. The company has struggled with weak EV sales in China and has missed the hybrid boom in the US.

      But first, Germany's "traffic lights" coalition has collapsed over differences on economic policy.  At the heart of the political feud is the country's "debt brake" system.  Now enshrined in the constitution, it forces balanced budgets.

    • Science Alert ☛ Private Jet Emissions Surged by Nearly 50% This Decade

      Where are the regulations?

    • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Predict Hey Hi (AI) to Generate Millions of Tons of E-Waste

      A massive new problem emerges.

    • Hackaday ☛ Disposable Vape Batteries Power EBike

      There are a lot of things that get landfilled that have some marginal value, but generally if there’s not a huge amount of money to be made recycling things they won’t get recycled. It might not be surprising to most that this is true of almost all plastic, a substantial portion of glass, and even a lot of paper and metals, but what might come as a shock is that plenty of rechargeable lithium batteries are included in this list as well. It’s cheaper to build lithium batteries into one-time-use items like disposable vape pens and just throw them out after one (or less than one) charge cycle, but if you have some spare time these batteries are plenty useful.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ A Door Is Unlocked, and 43 Monkeys Make a Bid for Freedom

      Dozens of rhesus macaques escaped a research facility in South Carolina. They’re still on the lam.

    • NYPost ☛ Here’s how many bees you’re killing with your car — and why that’s dangerous for the environment

      Bee-ware.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Brazil’s president promised to protect the Amazon. This year, deforestation fell 31%.

      After years of agribusiness expansion under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government, the Amazon’s deforestation rate plummeted this year. Current President Lula da Silva has prioritized environmental protections.

    • Defence Web ☛ Time to act against wildlife crime is now – SA environment minister

      South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George maintains wildlife crime has developed into sophisticated, greed-driven enterprises run by international criminal syndicates. He was speaking at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Wildlife Inter-Regional Enforcement (WIRE) meeting in Cape Town this week.

• Finance

  • CS Monitor ☛ Germany can’t balance its budget. Now its government is in free fall.

    Germany’s governing coalition fell apart on Nov. 6 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to push through a plan to borrow more money in support of the Ukrainian war effort. Years of tension peaked when the fiscally conservative Free Democrats jumped ship.

  • Meduza ☛ As corporate debts in Russia balloon under rising interest rates, a wave of bankruptcies could be on the horizon — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ IKEA stores owner Ingka Group sells off last remaining asset in Russia — Meduza

  • Cash is a core technology

    This month the UK Treasury Committee has posted a call for evidence on the question of whether to legally mandate the acceptance of cash in Britain.

    We feel very strongly about this and have submitted a document supporting that idea, and we hope that you'll be inspired to also lend your support.

    As workers in technology and cybersecurity we are immersed in a quite cloistered world. We interact daily with colleagues and companies who are gushing with enthusiasm about new 'efficient' ways to 'make life easier'. Sometimes we forget how real, ordinary people experience the technology we make. There are often downsides that have a negative effect on different aspects of security, including psychological and social security, and long-term resilience. But we are also sons, daughters, parents, neighbours and carers who must reckon with these effects.

    Cash money is a vital component in any society and, we argue, cash capability is a national security asset equal in importance to energy, transport and food resilience. It can exist alongside electronic payments, but if those come to dominate and entirely displace cash that puts us all at risk.

    Security is complicated. It encompasses many fields. Sometimes things that don't appear immediately relevant are actually at the core of a situation. We hope this article will help you appreciate how we can face unusual problems, like how too much of a good technology can ironically lead to a serious insecurity.

  • New York Times ☛ Fed Cuts Interest Rates by a Quarter Point, but the Path Ahead Is Less Clear

    The Federal Reserve is reducing rates in response to cooling inflation. Donald Trump’s presidential victory has pumped up uncertainty.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Surging produce prices pushed up inflation in October

    Climatic conditions have caused major swings in produce prices this year, but winter weather is expected to bring relief.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Asian Insider: What Trump’s comeback hails for Asia | Security jitters in Europe from Trump win

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon praises Trump in phone call as trade officials brace themselves for tariffs

    Trump noted South Korea’s success in shipbuilding and vessel maintenance.

  • New York Times ☛ Gulf States See Trump as Ally They Can Do Business With

    The Gulf region is looking to the next U.S. administration for help in ending the Mideast war and firm cooperation on security and economic interests.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Trump Sweeps Nearly All Texas Border Counties

    Texas Democrats have long viewed the state’s growing Latino population as their ticket to eventually breaking through the Republican Party’s dominance. Tuesday night, however, showed that the GOP has made significant gains in peeling away those voters, and nowhere was that more apparent than along the border.

    After years of losing the statewide Latino vote by double digits, Republicans set a high-water mark with Donald Trump capturing 55% of the critical voting bloc, besting Vice President Kamala Harris’ 44% share, according to exit polls.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Second Trump Presidency: Issues We’ll Be Watching and How to Get in Touch

    Sixteen years ago, we started ProPublica to do hard-hitting, rigorous journalism that exposes wrongdoing and injustice. In that time, our investigative reporters have covered three presidential administrations, from the Obama administration’s failed housing policies to the Trump administration’s immigration strategies that separated parents from their children at the border to the Biden administration’s failure to uphold U.S. law when it came to arming the Israelis.

    Now that Donald Trump is the president-elect for the second time, we will once again turn our focus to the areas most in need of scrutiny at this moment in history. As our editor-in-chief wrote yesterday, that’s what our more than 150 working journalists do.

  • ACLU ☛ Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.

    Today, as the nation prepares for the devastating onslaught of civil liberties abuses identified in our most recent analysis of Donald Trump’s policy proposals and rhetoric, the ACLU, too, is prepared.

    Starting on day one, we’re ready to fight for our civil liberties and civil rights in the courts, in Congress, and in our communities. We did it during his first term – filing 434 legal actions against Trump while he was in office – and we’ll do it again.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Will Trump still face lawsuits? Will he use Justice Department to sue his enemies?

    Newly elected president Donald Trump has a bucket of legal problems – and a Justice Department soon at his disposal. He may reshape American justice.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Don’t buy the hype, 2024 is no 2016

    This isn't 2016. And Harris isn't Clinton, and Trump isn't even the same Trump. Then at least there was some wild card elements to his game, now we know who he is. 2016 at least had the appearance genuine moment, 2024 does not. And it feels like everyone knows it. Remakes are never as good as the original. Cash-grabs banking nostalgia bucks. Soul vs soulless.

  • JURIST ☛ ECHR rules Bosnia law lacks safeguards to protect data covered by legal professional privilege

    The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Bosnia violated the European Convention on Human Rights by its insufficient data protection laws with regard to legal professional privilege. The decision followed a lawyer’s complaint that his phone data had been indiscriminately collected and used in a criminal trial against him.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Meduza ☛ Russian lawmakers move forward with legislation to seize antiwar expats’ property and ‘intellectual’ income — Meduza

  • AccessNow ☛ #KeepItOn: authorities in Mozambique must stop normalizing internet shutdowns during protests

    We urgently demand that the government of Mozambique put an immediate end to the increasing use of shutdowns amid ongoing protests.

  • EFF ☛ EFF to Court: Reject X’s Effort to Revive a Speech-Chilling Lawsuit Against a Nonprofit

    X’s lawsuit against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate is intended to stifle criticism and punish the organization for its reports criticizing the platform’s content moderation practices, and a previous ruling dismissing the lawsuit should be affirmed, EFF and multiple organizations argued in a brief filed this fall. 

    X sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate (“CCDH”) in federal court in 2023 in response to its reports, which concluded that X’s practices have facilitated an environment of hate speech and misinformation online. Although X’s suit alleges, among other things, breach of contract and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the case is really about X trying to hold CCDH liable for the public controversy surrounding its moderation practices. At bottom, X is claiming that CCDH damaged the platform by critically reporting on it.

    CCDH sought to throw out the case on the merits and under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The California law allows lawsuits to be dismissed if they are filed in retaliation for someone exercising their free speech rights, known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. In March, the district court ruled in favor of CCDH, dismissed the case, and found that the lawsuit was a SLAPP.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Publishers hooked on Surveillance Giant Google Discover traffic risk race to the bottom

    Google Discover now main source of traffic for many publishers - but some are playing a risky game.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Guido Fawkes appeals for donations to fund Dale Vince libel fight

    Paul Staines says legal costs are already approaching £50,000 before the case has even got to court.

  • Press Gazette ☛ City AM proposes axing Monday print edition

    Small number of jobs at risk as result of proposed print reduction.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Right to Repair ☛ Championing Change: Surveillance Giant Google Wins 2024 Right to Repair Advocacy Award

    The Repair Association has the distinction of presenting an annual Repair Advocate of the Year award, and today, we announce this year’s winner: Google.

    2024 has been a banner year for Right to Repair in the US, with more bills passed than ever before, covering more product categories, including powered wheelchairs in  California and Massachusetts.  Oregon put an end to software repair restrictions–a practice commonly known as “parts pairing”—and extended repair protections back to 2015 for most electronics except cell phones.  Colorado went even further; not only did the state restrict anti-consumer “parts pairing,” but it also covered technology purchased by businesses and called on the FTC to develop a repair scoring system.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Federal Circuit’s Antisuit Injunction Decision in Ericsson v. Lenovo has Broader Implications for Global SEP Litigation

    On October 24, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (No. 24-1515, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 26863) cleared the way for Lenovo to seek an antisuit injunction against Ericsson in the parties’ global FRAND litigation. In doing so, it established important precedent for cases involving standards-essential patents.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Malikie and Peterreins Schley kick off UPC battle against Nintendo [Ed: UPC is illegal and should not even exist, but JUVE took money to lobby for this illegality and it still does that]

      Malikie, founded in 2023 to commercialise the BlackBerry patent monopoly portfolio, is part of the Irish company Key Patent Innovation.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Three Section 2(d) Appeals - Affirmed or Reversed?

    A TTAB judge once said to me that one can predict the outcome of a Section 2(d) appeal about 95% of the time just by looking at the marks and the goods/services. Here are three recent Board decisions.

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Anton Seder’s The Animal in Decorative Art (1896)

    An Art Nouveau reference book full of elaborate ornamentation: winged dragons, chiseled hieroglyphs, warring sea creatures.

  • Digital Music News ☛ A Sample Within a Sample? Soulja Boy, GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B Face Infringement Suit Over ‘Wanna Be’

    Copyright infringement stemming from a sample within a sample? Rapper Plies is suing GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion, Soulja Boy, and Cardi B for allegedly using his work in multiple tracks without authorization.