Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Here's Your Guide to The Must-See Astronomy Events of 2025

    A stunning year ahead.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Rare Neurological Condition Can Cause an Addiction to Jokes

    This is no laughing matter.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discovered An Amazing Practical Use For Your Leftover Coffee Grounds

    We shouldn't throw them out.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China-made DDR5 memory chips use less advanced chipmaking technology — chips are nearly 40% larger than Samsung's DDR5

    CXMT's DDR5 memory is here, but the company uses outdated process technology and trails behind market leaders both in terms of performance and costs.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Burnsville nonprofit clinic that served underinsured families closes doors

    Former workers called it a sign of a U.S. health care system that fails to adequately care for many of its residents.

  • NYPost ☛ 2024 was worst year for stomach virus outbreaks on cruise ships in over a decade: CDC

    In December alone, the CDC reported five separate outbreaks on four different ships -- sickening more than 800 people. All of the outbreaks were caused by the highly contagious norovirus.

  • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2024: ’20 years after the first Australian meth epidemic, another is upon us’

    Originally published on 29 August 2024. Australian communities are teetering on the edge of a second methylamphetamine crisis that, if not addressed urgently, will lead to widespread health and safety issues.

  • The Straits Times ☛ No Newcastle disease virus in our bird’s nest products: Malaysian officials [Ed: He says, she says, instead of real reporting]

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

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Year ender 2024: The year that saw big tech job cuts surge

    Industry giants such as Microsoft, Google and Apple were at the forefront of this [mass layoffs] trend.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Age AU ☛ 2024-12-25 [Older] Banks are tracking your every click. It could save you thousands [Ed: So theage is selling this idea that mass surveillance is good for you]

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Xi Jinping says no one can stop China’s ‘reunification’ with Taiwan

    The Chinese President put out a clear warning to pro-independence forces in his New Year message.

  • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2024: ‘Floating piers and sinking hopes: China’s logistics challenge in invading Taiwan’

    Originally published on 27 August 2024. No doubt the Chinese military was paying attention. Last month the United States disassembled and removed the floating pier it had assembled at a Gaza beach to take aid deliveries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan President wants exchanges with China, sees lack of goodwill

    Mr Lai said China was blocking normal interactions with restrictions on Chinese tourists visiting.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] India: 3 Sikh militants killed in Uttar Pradesh

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Germany: Magdeburg attack could shape upcoming general election

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Far-right rally divides Magdeburg after attack

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Germany: Colombian care workers will not be deported

  • JURIST ☛ UN experts say Israel has systematically violated international law

    A group of UN human rights experts on Monday called for Israel to face immediate accountability and consequences for systemic violations of international law.

  • France24 ☛ 2024: A year marked by violence, wars, elections and the Olympic Games

    As 2024 nears its end, FRANCE 24 takes a look at world events that marked the year including the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East, the French legislative elections and the US presidential vote. 2024 was also marked by French feminist icon Gisèle Pelicot's mass rape trial that shone the spotlight on violence against women. A big year for sports, 2024 saw Paris hosting the Summer Olympics where millions of spectators watch world-class athletes compete for gold.

  • Defence Web ☛ Precision policing: a vital element of reducing firearm crime

    Mass killings have wreaked havoc in numerous South African communities in recent months. Along with the devastating murder of 18 people in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape province on 28 September, other attacks have taken a heavy toll on human life.

  • Defence Web ☛ Transnational maritime threats needed transnational responses

    Maritime security is no longer about the threat of nations at war, but the threats of yore, piracy on the high seas, and smuggling. The theatre is no longer just at sea, but also along shores and in ports.

  • France24 ☛ Growing crime rate in South Africa bolster private security sector

    South Africa has the biggest private security industry in the world with three times more staff than the police force. The sector, which boasts 16,000 companies in South Africa, is negotiating a partnership with the police to deal with rampant crimes.

  • JURIST ☛ Serbia court convicts parents of teenage school shooter

    The parents of the 13-year-old who killed 10 people at a school in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2023 were convicted on Monday. The teen’s father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, was accused of committing a serious crime against public security as well as abusing and neglecting a minor.

  • ADF ☛ Expert Urges South Africa to Confront Radicalization, Terror Financing Threats

    South African children as young as 11 are being radicalized and recruited to commit terror acts, according to an Institute for Security Studies expert who spoke at the Border Management Conference and Expo in Pretoria in November.

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

    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 approved of two new judges to a court set to decide Yoon's fate.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Will South Korea's President face detention? Unpacking the martial law allegations.

    A South Korean court issued warrants Tuesday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and search his office and residence over allegations of rebellion in connection with his short-lived declaration of martial law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean court issues arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon

    Although the warrant has been issued, it is unclear if investigators and police will be able to execute it.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Acting President Choi to appoint two Constitutional Court justices

    He says he hopes the move will end political uncertainty “as soon as possible”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea investigators warn anyone blocking Yoon’s arrest ‘could be prosecuted’

    Mr Yoon Suk Yeol has failed to report for questioning thrice.

  • JURIST ☛ South Korea court issues arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon

    A South Korean court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law earlier this month, according to local media. The Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant, allowing investigators to detain Yoon for questioning for 48 hours.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • JURIST ☛ Georgia outgoing president says she will continue to struggle as successor inaugurated

      The outgoing president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili implied on Sunday that she will continue to struggle with the Georgian people as her succession was sworn in as she addressed people gathered near the Orbeliani Palace in the capital Tbilisi during the inauguration ceremony.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia ends sign-on bonuses for prisoners joining the army — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Secret military files from 2013–2014 show Moscow’s planning for potential war with Japan and South Korea on Russia’s eastern flank — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian border guards withdraw from sole checkpoint on Armenian-Iranian border — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Genealogy platform MyHeritage will exit Russia and delete Russian user data — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Announces Sanctions Against Russian, Iranian Entities Accused Of Election Interference

      The United States on December 31 imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia that it accused of attempting to “stoke socio-political tensions” and influence voters during the 2024 U.S. elections.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ US sanctions Russian, Iranian groups for election interference

      The two entities are accused of partnering with intelligence agencies using artificial intelligence to conduct information operations against U.S. audiences.

    • LRT ☛ Suspected Russian spy's case handed over to Lithuanian court

      The case of Eduard Manovas, accused of spying for Russia, has been handed over to court, the Lithuanian Prosecutor General's Office said on Tuesday.

    • France24 ☛ Georgia’s ruling party ‘instrumentalises’ conservative values to stay in power, expert says

      Georgia’s pro-Russia governing party Georgian Dream, backed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is instrumentalising conservative values to stay in power, former Georgian minister and professor at Science Po Tornike Gordadze told FRANCE 24, pointing to the party, which started out as a left-wing movement, embracement of far-right politics. “Mr. Ivanishvili personally has ties with Russia”, Gordadze added, citing US sanctions of the magnate.

    • Meduza ☛ Acting Kursk governor calls residents’ demands for increased compensation for losses from Ukraine’s offensive ‘not entirely fair’ — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Europe to end imports of Russian gas via Ukraine on January 1

      European imports of Russian gas via Ukraine are set to cease on New Year’s Day after the collapse of a key transit deal between Moscow and Kyiv. After more than a decade of fraught relations with Moscow, European officials say they are confident that alternative routes will prevent any shortage for consumers.

    • Meduza ☛ Gazprom reduces gas flow to E.U. through Ukraine, full transit to stop on New Year’s Day — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Suspends Flow of Natural Gas to Europe Through Ukraine

      The Russian energy giant Gazprom announced the move early Wednesday. Ukraine had refused to renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Gas Flow Through Pipeline In Ukraine Ends

      Russian natural gas supplies to Europe via a pipeline traversing Ukraine are set to end on January 1 as a contract on the flow of gas that Ukraine refused to renegotiate is expires.

    • Meduza ☛ 2024 ends with Russian-Ukrainian POW exchange — the 11th of the year and the 59th of the war — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of POWs

      Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.

    • France24 ☛ Russia halts gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, Kyiv hails ‘historic event’

      Russia on Wednesday shut down its oldest gas route to Europe, which runs through Ukraine, after a transit deal expired in the early hours of January 1, 2025, without an accord extension. Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine accelerated Europe's efforts to end its dependence on Russian gas, an endeavor hailed by Kyiv.

    • New York Times ☛ On E-Scooters and ATVs, Russian Forces Swarm Ukrainian Positions in the East

      Stepped up attacks by Russia are heightening longstanding concerns over how Ukraine manages its military and countering assumptions that Moscow’s offensive would slow, soldiers and military analysts say.

    • RFERL ☛ Volunteers Race To Clean Oil Covered Coastline After Tanker Accident In Kerch Strait

      At least 63 kilometers of coastline in Russia's southern region of Kuban has been covered by heavy fuel oil from two oil tankers that ran aground in the ecologically sensitive waters off Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimean Black Sea coast.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Helicopter Downed By Ukrainian Sea Drone, Says Kyiv

      Ukrainian's military said it has downed a Russian helicopter for the first time with a missile launched from a new-generation sea drone. In a December 31 statement, Ukraine said a water-based drone on the Black Sea was responsible for the attack. Until now, such drones have only been known for strikes against Russian ships or other marine targets.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Russian Judge Who Sentenced War Critic

      The United States has imposed sanctions against the Russian judge who sentenced human rights activist Alexei Gorinov to seven years in jail for speaking against the war in Ukraine.

    • North Korean soldiers fighting with outdated weapons, Ukrainian sergeant says

      Their cigarette lighters and AK-47s all seem to have been provided by the Russians, he said.

    • LRT ☛ Will the war In Ukraine end in 2025?

      Once Russia's initial push to subjugate Ukraine failed in the first weeks of its full-scale invasion, a widespread view prevailed for two years or more: There's no end in sight.

    • France24 ☛ Barrage of Russian missiles and drones hits targets in Kyiv and across Ukraine

      At least 12 residential buildings, and several “social infrastructure objects” were destroyed in Ukraine on Tuesday as Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack targeting multiple regions, including the capital Kyiv. Ukraine, meanwhile, claimed it had for the first time shot down a Russian helicopter with a naval drone.

• Environment

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Mayotte: France holds silence for cyclone Chido victims

  • Meduza ☛ 2024 was the hottest year on record for Moscow — Meduza

  • New York Times ☛ The Panama Canal Has a Big Problem, but It’s Not China or Trump

    Climate change is causing drought conditions that are making it harder to operate the Panama Canal and more expensive to pass through.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Nigeria steps up fight against illegal oil trade

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Honda and Nissan launch negotiations for historic merger

    • New York Times ☛ He Didn’t Know His Father Was on Doomed South Korean Flight Until It Crashed

      Oh Jaejin’s father, 64, had not told Mr. Oh he was flying, because he didn’t want his son to worry. They had been looking forward to his becoming a grandfather.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Empty desks and tears mark 5 colleagues killed in South Korean plane crash

      White chrysanthemums had been placed on the office desks of the victims.

    • The Straits Times ☛ The man who showed the world South Korea’s deadly plane crash

      A 48-year-old man who was one of the first to record video footage of the Jeju Air tragedy recounts what he saw.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea says initial data extracted from Jeju Air crash black box voice recorder

      Experts were still reviewing how to extract the data from the second black box, the flight data recorder.

    • Does a video show ‘final moment’ of South Korean plane before crashing in Muan?

      Verdict: False

    • France24 ☛ South Korea to inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft following plane crash

      South Korean officials said Monday they will conduct safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's airlines, as they struggle to determine what caused a plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier. Meanwhile the attention has turned to the concrete embankment that the plane crashed into, which experts say should not have been located so close to the runway.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Chinese Companies Have Sidestepped Trump’s Tariffs. They Could Do It Again.

    The companies have found plenty of new channels to the U.S. market — demonstrating the potential limits of the tariffs Donald Trump has promised to impose.

  • New York Times ☛ Xi Jinping, China’s Leader, Nods to Economic Challenges

    In a New Year’s address, Pooh-tin Jinping made a rare acknowledgment of the flagging economy while reiterating the government’s growth targets.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China raises salaries for government workers to boost spending

    President Pooh-tin Jinping earlier declared boosting domestic consumption as China's top priority for 2025.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ New rule for foreign e-commerce sites selling in Mexico takes effect

    The new rule closes a tax loophole e-commerce companies like Amazon, Temu and Shein previously enjoyed on sales in Mexico.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Vietnamese monk leaves Laos, enters Thailand

    Thich Minh Tue, who was an internet hero earlier this year, is on a pilgrimage to India.

  • Prominent Vietnamese writer in hiding says police are harassing his family

    Doan Bao Chau faces prosecution for Facebook (Farcebook) posts and interviews with foreign media critical of the government.

  • Uyghur group welcomes key laws passed in US defense bill

    The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act was extended by five years.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-12-23 [Older] Mozambique: Top court confirms disputed Frelimo election victory

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New York Times ☛ ‘It Ends With Us’ Actor and Director and His Publicists Sue The Times for Libel

    Justin Baldoni claims that The Times defamed him and his team in an article about the actress Blake Lively’s allegations that she had been the victim of a smear campaign.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘Home has to feel warm, full, and cozy — no matter what’: Meduza’s journalists reflect on the New Year’s traditions they grew up with and those they’ve carried across borders — Meduza

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ A Christmas gift for the biosimilar industry: Landmark judgment in SPC Manufacturing Waiver case

  On December 23, the Brussels Enterprises Court issued a significant judgment confirming that Samsung Bioepis’ notification complies with the legal requirements for relying on the SPC Manufacturing Waiver for export purposes, dismissing claims brought by Amgen on multiple fronts (Dutch language judgment here and English machine translation here).

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Patent Grants for 2024

    For decades the USPTO has issued patents each and every Tuesday -- with data being released typically at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time.  Today's release wraps up 2024 and almost breaks a record with 7,499 utility patents issued -- the second most ever in any given week.  (The #1 spot is held by 7669 utility patents issued on October 3, 2023).  The total UTL patents issued has been rising for the past several years but are still below the 2019 high point at over 350,000.

    As you look at the chart above, the 2024 patent monopoly count numbers are a bit skewed upward because of a calendaring quirk. While most years have 52 Tuesdays, 2024 has 53 Tuesdays.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Posts January 2025 Hearing Schedule

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled five oral hearings for the month of January 2025. As indicated below, the first four will be held virtually and the fifth will be in-person at the USPTO's Madison East Building in Alexandria, Virginia. Briefs and other papers for each case may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.