Leftovers

• Tim Retout: Strauss as Pop Music

  While watching the Vienna New Year’s Concert today, reading about its perhaps somewhat problematic origins, I was struck by the observation that the Strauss family’s polkas were seen as pop music during their lifetime, not as serious as proper classical composers, and so it took some time before the Vienna Philharmonic would actually play their work.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ New Year's Resolutions Didn't Stick in 2024? Scientists Say Try This For 2025

    You're only human.

  • Science Alert ☛ Just One Cigarette Steals 20 Minutes of Your Life Expectancy, Study Finds

    Quitting can add years to your life.

  • Science Alert ☛ 2025 Officially Marks The Start of a New Human Generation

    Welcome!

  • Science Alert ☛ Kickstart 2025 With Quadrantids Peak, One of The Best Meteor Showers All Year

    Plus more night sky highlights this week!

  • Science Alert ☛ The Size of Your Pupils While You Sleep Could Reveal The Memories You're Reliving

    A real eye-opener.

  • Science Alert ☛ Volcanic Activity Beneath Yellowstone's Massive Caldera Could Be on The Move

    Even volcanoes like a vacation.

  • Science Alert ☛ Here Are 4 Things We Need to Consider Before We Mine Our Moon

    It's going to happen.

  • New York Times ☛ Big Rockets, a Big Telescope and Big Changes in Space Await in 2025

    Here are some key events to look forward to in space and astronomy in the year ahead.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Turning A Lada Into An EV With 50 Cordless Drills, Because Why Not?

    [Garage 54] is no stranger to vehicle-related projects of the “because why not?” variety, and their latest is using 50 cordless drills combined into a monstrous mega-motor to turn a gutted (and extended) Lada into an electric vehicle (EV).

  • Hackaday ☛ Creating Temporal Light Reflections With Metamaterials

    Owing to the wave nature of light there are many ways that such different waves can interact with each other, but also with materials. Everyone knows about reflecting light with a mirror, which is a property of materials like metals, but specific structures can cause the light to behave in a way that creates rather amazing results.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • WHO calls on China to release all data on COVID-19 origins

    Five years after the pandemic emerged in Wuhan, global health body 'honors' victims, health workers, long-haulers.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China says it shared Covid-19 info ‘without holding anything back’

    Beijing insisted on Tuesday that it had shared information on Covid-19 “without holding anything back”, after the World Health Organization implored China to offer more data and access to understand the disease’s origins.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Nepal’s gongfu nuns kick off reopening of nunnery to public after five years

    The nunnery was forced to close its doors to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • New York Times ☛ Evidence Against Drinking Has Grown. Will Federal Advice Change?

    Officials in other countries are warning about the health hazards of alcohol in any amount. Americans are still told that moderate drinking is safe. What gives?

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Judge upholds most of California’s ban on ‘addictive feeds’ for children

    Tech industry trade group NetChoice has failed to block California’s attorney general from enforcing most of a law that will regulate how social control media firms deliver content to young people. The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September last year.

  • Science Alert ☛ Pooping Before You Exercise Has an Incredible Effect on Performance

    The secret is out!

  • Science Alert ☛ Common ADHD Drug Could Make Some People Better Drivers

    Interesting.

  • The Straits Times ☛ No Newcastle disease found in country’s bird’s nest products: Malaysian officials

    The disease had been detected among chickens and ducks in Malaysia earlier from March to June 2024.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2024: ‘The danger of Hey Hi (AI) in war: it doesn’t care about self-preservation’

    Originally published on 30 August 2024. Recent wargames using artificial-intelligence models from OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic revealed a troubling trend: Hey Hi (AI) models are more likely than humans to escalate conflicts to kinetic, even nuclear, war.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Encode and the ‘godfather of AI’ join Elon Musk’s bid to block OpenAI’s for-profit switch

    Encode, a nonprofit organization that co-sponsored California’s failed SB 1047 Hey Hi (AI) safety legislation, is joining forces with Elon Musk to oppose OpenAI’s plan to repivot as a fully for-profit company.

  • EFF ☛ Deepening Government Use of AI and E-Government Transition in Latin America: 2024 in Review [Ed: Misuse of the label and buzzword "Hey Hi"; EFF should know better and used to know better]

    In November, the Ninth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean approved the 2026 Digital Agenda for the region (eLAC 2026). This initiative unfolds within the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a regional cooperation forum focused on furthering the economic development of LAC countries.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Apple reportedly ceases Vision Pro production amid sluggish sales

    Apple Inc. may have ceased production of its first-generation Vision Pro headset after the product, which came to market in 2024, turned out to be a massive flop for the company.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Meta plans to flood social control media with AI-generated users and content

    Meta Platforms Inc. plans to flood Facebook (Farcebook) and other social control media platforms with artificial intelligence-powered user profiles, one of its top executives has said. Over the last year, Meta has been developing and promoting various new Hey Hi (AI) tools across Facebook, Instagram and other sites.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ Ivory Coast president announces French troops' departure in January

    Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said in an end-of-year speech that French forces will withdraw from the West African nation in January, making it the latest country to weaken military ties with the former colonial power. French troops have been forced to depart from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military-led governments hostile to the ex-colonial ruler have seized power in recent years.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia yet to license most social control media platforms as new rules to curb online harm kick in

    No action taken yet against unlicensed social control media and messaging platforms so far.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Hotel leaves one dead, FBI investigates possible terrorism

    One person has died and seven others were injured when a Tesla Inc. Cybertruck exploded outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas in what may have been a targeted attack. According to local media reports, the Cybertruck exploded at about 8:40 a.m. this morning in the valet area of the Trump-owned hotel.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Kim Jong Un attends New Year’s celebrations, gets card from China’s Xi: North Korean state media

    Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae attended the New Year's celebrations, reported state media.

  • France24 ☛ Syrians celebrate New Year after fall of Assad regime

    Syrians celebrated their first New Year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday as fireworks lit up the night sky above Damascus. In the capital's main square, people brandished "revolution" flags, the country's unofficial new emblem.

  • Year in photos: Lens of empathy captures stories of resilience across borders

    An RFA photojournalist highlighted Hong Kong and Myanmar’s exiled communities rebuilding their lives.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Triumph and tragedy, sometimes in one day? That was local news photography in 2024.

    Shooting for the Pioneer Press, John Autey captured Suni Lee, Jessie Diggins and Sam Darnold along with the all-female St. Paul City Council and the caskets of fallen heroes.

  • New York Times ☛ Gaza Residents Endure Harsh Conditions as Israel-Hamas War Continues Into 2025

    Several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the city of Jabaliya, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. Israel’s military said it was targeting Hamas.

  • France24 ☛ New Year brings another deadly Israeli strike on Jabalia in northern Gaza

    Fifteen people were killed and more than 20 injured in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday. The town of Jabalia and an adjacent refugee camp in northern Gaza have been the target of a major Israeli land and air offensive in recent months.

  • New York Times ☛ Tensions Escalate After Pakistan Pounds Afghanistan With Airstrikes

    Pakistani leaders were once friends of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now, cross-border violence has become alarmingly frequent.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Facing unprecedented arrest over martial law, South Korea’s Yoon vows to ‘fight till end’

    The opposition Democratic Party said Yoon was delusional and remains committed to his "insurrection".

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea's Yoon, facing unprecedented arrest over martial law, vows to 'fight till end'

    The opposition Democratic Party said Yoon was delusional and remains committed to his "insurrection".

  • JURIST ☛ South Korea acting president to move quickly to fill Constitutional Court vacancies amid political turmoil

    South Korea acting president Choi Sang-mok announced on Tuesday that he would immediately move to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court to restore stability after the impeachment of two of his predecessors this month.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Russia launches deadly New Year’s Day aerial attack on Kyiv

      A rare Russian aerial attack on the heart of the Ukrainian capital early on Wednesday killed two people, injured at least six and damaged a residential building in Kyiv. The strikes came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a New Year's Day message, vowed that "no cruise missile" could defeat the nation.

    • France24 ☛ Moldova declares state of emergency as Russia-Ukraine gas deal ends

      Russia's gas transit to Europe via Ukraine stopped on Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv said, ending a decades-long arrangement and marking the latest casualty of the war between the neighbours. Russian gas has been supplied to Europe via pipelines crossing Ukraine since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 in an arrangement that earned revenues for Moscow from the gas and for Kyiv from the transit fees.

    • JURIST ☛ US imposes sanctions on Russia judge over detention of activist

      The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday against Russian judge Olesya Mendeleeva due to her involvement in the detention of Alexei Gorinov, an activist who was sentenced to seven years in prison for opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Targets Ukraine With Scores Of Drones; Kyiv Says 63 Downed

      Russia targeted Ukraine with scores of drones overnight, and Ukrainian officials claimed most were downed or jammed by air defenses. At least one person was killed in Kyiv.

    • France24 ☛ World braces for major changes in 2025

      As the world greets the New Year, FRANCE 24 takes a look at major changes set to come in 2025 including Donald Trump's return to the White House, the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the political uncertainty in France and Germany and more.

    • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2024: ‘As important as Ukraine is, a Taiwan war must be Australia’s biggest worry’

      Originally published on 30 September 2024. Other than the Middle East, the world faces the possibility of two major wars escalating in Europe and East Asia, over Ukraine and Taiwan.

    • New York Times ☛ Why Did Ukraine Halt the Flow of Russia’s Natural Gas to Europe?

      And why didn’t it cut off Russia’s natural gas earlier?

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Halts the Flow of Natural Gas From Russia to Europe

      A transnational pipeline was shut down on Wednesday after Kyiv refused to renew a prewar agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Expresses Hope for 2025, but Russia Presses On With Attacks

      In his New Year’s address, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine urged continued U.S. support.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says It Downed Russian Helicopter With Sea Drone For First Time

      Ukraine claims that for the first time, one of its sea drones has downed a Russian military target in the air during a day of intense attacks by both sides as the war edges closer to its three-year anniversary.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ US sanctions Iranian, Russian entities over election interference efforts

      The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned two Iranian and Russian organizations that attempted to interfere in the 2024 election. The move is the latest in a series of recent steps taken by U.S. officials to combat disinformation from foreign adversaries.

    • RFERL ☛ End Of Russian Gas Transit A Defeat For Moscow, Zelenskiy Says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 1 that the end of natural gas supplies to Europe via a major pipeline traversing Ukraine is a major defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ In 2024, China saw warmest year in decades, breaking records yet again

    The national average temperature stood at 10.92 deg C in 2024.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to send Jeju Air crash black box to US [Ed: The footage shows faulty wheels/landing gear - further concurred by a similar incident a day later. Will US cover up? Boeing seems to be murdering whistleblowers, so any conclusions they reach should be treated sceptically.]

      Investigators have been combing the crash site in south-western Muan since the disaster on Dec 29, 2024.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean police raid Muan airport over Jeju Air plane crash: Yonhap [Ed: Seems to be about more an some bird; are they covering up to deny damage claims?]

      All 175 passengers and four of six crew members were killed on Dec 29.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Xi Jinping says China must apply ‘more proactive’ macroeconomic policies in 2025

    President Pooh-tin Jinping said China will put in place “more proactive” macroeconomic policies next year, state media reported, as he addressed a top political advisory body on Tuesday. The country has struggled this year to climb out of a slump fuelled by a property market crisis, weak consumption and soaring government debt.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Xi says China’s 2024 GDP growth set to hit target of around 5%

    Mr Pooh-tin signaled that support for the economy will continue into 2025.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia Edition: Thumbs up for Anwar’s investment push | From secret society to karaoke club: How Chinese clans stay relevant

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea's presidential aides offer to resign amid political crisis

    SEOUL - Senior aides to South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol offered to resign en masse on Wednesday, a day after his office expressed regret over acting President Choi Sang-mok's approval of two new judges to a court set to decide Yoon's fate.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Three of the best: Podcasts

    APNIC’s Podcast PING continued to attract experts to discuss varied Internet operation topics — here are three of the best.

  • EFF ☛ Decentralization Reaches a Turning Point: 2024 in review [Ed: Decentralization... UNLIKE the EFF, which plays social control media games and endorses proprietary, centralised ones]

    The Fediverse, a wide variety of sites and services most associated with Mastodon, continued to evolve this year. Meta’s Threads began integrating with the network, marking a groundbreaking shift for the company. Only a few years ago EFF dreamed of the impact an embrace of interoperability would have for a company that is notorious for building walled gardens that trap users within its platforms. By allowing Threads users to share their posts with Mastodon and the broader fediverse (and therefore, Bluesky) without leaving their home platform, Meta is introducing millions to the benefits of interoperability. We look forward to this continued trajectory, and for a day when it is easy to move to or from Threads, and still follow and interact with the same federated community. 

    Threads’ enormous user base—100 million daily active users—now dwarfs both Mastodon and Bluesky. Its integration into more open networks is a potential turning point in popularizing the decentralized social web. However, Meta’s poor reputation on privacy, moderation, and censorship, drove many Fediverse instances to preemptively block Threads, and may fragment the network..

    We explored how Threads stacks up against Mastodon and Bluesky, across moderation, user autonomy, and privacy. This development highlights the promise of decentralization, but it also serves as a reminder that corporate giants may still wield outsized influence over ostensibly open systems.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ 2024 Federal Circuit Review

    As we enter 2025, I wanted to pause for a moment to look at some of the Federal Circuit's 2024 development of U.S. patent monopoly law.  The court issued about 70 precedential patent monopoly cases along with a handful related to other IP doctrines (primarily trademark). 

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Happy Public Domain Day 2025!

    Each January 1st is Public Domain Day, when a new crop of works have their copyrights expire and become free to share and reuse for any purpose. Here's our highlights for 2025.