Links 15/01/2025: Efforts to End Wars and 'Newsflation'
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Career/Education
- Hardware
- Games
- Standards/Consortia
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Transparency/Investigative Reporting
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Science
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University of Michigan ☛ UMich faculty panel discuss how the arts enhance research
More than 50 University of Michigan faculty members gathered via Zoom on Monday for a panel discussion on the role of creativity and the arts in their various research projects. The panel covered a variety of topics including screenwriting, anthropology, performance studies and more.
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Science Alert ☛ Oldest Unbroken Record of Earth's Climate Pulled From Antarctic Ice Sheet
It's colossal.
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Science Alert ☛ Dumping Seawater on LA Fires Is an Experiment Scientists Are Closely Watching
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
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Science Alert ☛ Species of Deep Sea Bug The Size of a Small Dog Named For Star Wars Villain
Embrace the dark side.
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Science Alert ☛ Major Study Links 15 Factors to Early Dementia Risk
"It reveals that we may be able to take action."
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Science Alert ☛ JWST Snaps Colossal Waves of Star Dust That Dwarf Our Own Solar System
Unbelievable.
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Science Alert ☛ Future Risk of Stroke Could Be on Display Inside Your Eyes
Windows to the brain.
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Science Alert ☛ Famous 1971 Prison Experiment Wasn't What Most of Us Thought
It's just bad science.
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Science Alert ☛ There's No Such Thing as a Hot Hand For Gamblers. Here's Why.
House always wins in the end.
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Science Alert ☛ Quake Triggers Far Less Earth-Shattering Than We Thought, Study Reveals
It's oh so quiet.
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Career/Education
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The Straits Times ☛ Why China is boosting public science education amid tech competition with the US
Other than attracting talent, new law seeks to gain public support for scientific and technological initiatives.
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Hardware
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Apple will soon receive ‘made in America’ chips from TSMC's Arizona fab — company in final stages of quality verification
Apple is testing the output of TSMC Arizona and verifying if it has the same quality as chips made in Taiwan.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel retires Alder Lake mobile CPUs, excluding HX-series — 12th Gen goes EOL starting April 25 [Ed: Planned obsolescence by perishing firm which leaves CPUs with known back doors in them]
Intel is discontinuing its12th Generation Alder Lake mobile family excluding the HX-grade counterparts.
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Hackaday ☛ Audio On A Shoestring: DIY Your Own Studio-Grade Mic
When it comes to DIY projects, nothing beats the thrill of crafting something that rivals expensive commercial products. In the microphone build video below, [Electronoobs] found himself inspired by DIY Perks earlier efforts. He took on the challenge of building a $20 high-quality microphone—a budget-friendly alternative to models priced at $500. The result: an engaging and educational journey that has it’s moments of triumph, it’s challenges, and of course, opportunities for improvement.
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Hackaday ☛ It’s A Doughnut, In Hardware
Making a physical doughnut is easy enough, given a good dough recipe and a nice hot deep fat fryer. But have you ever considered making a one in physical electronic hardware, on an ASIC? [A1k0n] has, at least in terms of making a virtual doughnut. It’s a hardware implementation of a ray tracer which renders a rotating doughnut to a VGA screen, and it comes courtesy of around 7000 logic cells on the latest iteration of Tiny Tapeout.
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Hackaday ☛ The Many Leaning Towers Of Santos, Brazil
If you’ve ever gazed at the shoreline of Santos, Brazil, and felt like something was tugging at your inner eye level, you’re not alone. In fact, you’ve spotted one of the world’s most bizarre architectural phenomena.
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JURIST ☛ Biden administration issues export restrictions for US computer chips used in artificial intelligence [Ed: Parroting buzzwords for companies that sell lies and GPUs]
The Biden administration proposed new export restrictions on computer chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) on Monday. The restrictions are an effort to prevent other rival nations, from accessing and abusing advanced US technology.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Biden signs executive order that will make federal lands available for Hey Hi (AI) infrastructure [Ed: More nonsensical hype interjected into the White House; LLMs, for examples, are being marketed as "fill the blank with chaff about some unknown thing", but that won't work and cannot work; there's no actual intelligence there. Nowadays when sites claim people need more "AI skills" it's no better than arguing the industry needs better plagiarists hired; that is more or less the same thing, except the cheerleading.]
President Joe Biden today signed an executive order that will make federal lands available for artificial intelligence data centers.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Qualcomm hires Intel's Xeon architect to lead development of server CPUs
Sailesh Kottapalli to lead development of Qualcomm's server processors.
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Games
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Futurism ☛ Did Elon Musk Pay a Gamer to Level a Character Up, Then Accidentally Kill It Permanently Due to Incompetence?
But as many in the gaming community have pointed out, Musk was likely paying more skilled players to level the character up — and there's ample evidence supporting that conclusion, as painstakingly documented on the game's subreddit.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Doom ported to run directly from a PDF file — DoomPDF port runs at approximately 12.5 FPS
A high school student created a Doom (1993) port inside a PDF file. Ading2210 created DoomPDF, inspired by the recent release of Pdftris—Tetris (1985) in a PDF and a version of Breakout (1976) ported to a PDF container several years ago. Like PDFtris, DoomPDF relies on the support of the document file format for Javascript. Still, this time, those interested in playing must fire up a Chromium-based browser to satisfy their curiosity.
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The Register UK ☛ It's Doom ... running in a PDF file
There is a race to see who can bend the PDF file format to do the most impressive thing. Considering the more-than-30-year-old shooter, Doom, has been ported to many unexpected places, it was inevitable it would turn up in a PDF file.
The Portable Document Format (PDF) was developed to present documents in a manner that was independent of the software, hardware, and operating system showing them. It's an undoubtedly neat system, but malware authors have been known to exploit its complexity.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Modder tests if waiting 14,272 years will beat the classic Oregon Trail game
Modders create an Oregon Trail Time Machine to determine if the game can be beaten by waiting impossible spans of time...
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Standards/Consortia
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Macworld ☛ Researcher finds a vulnerability in the iPhone USB-C controller
The vulnerability is in the ACE3 USB controller, which Apple introduced with the iPhone 15 lineup in 2023. Cyber Security News reports that researcher Thomas Roth used his knowledge of the previous controller, the ACE2, as the basis to hack the latest controller, using “a combination of reverse engineering, RF side-channel analysis, and electromagnetic fault injection.” Roth and his team were able to bypass the ACE3’s validation checks and install a modified patch into the CPU.
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Inside Towers ☛ FCC Has Boots on The Ground in Los Angeles
The agency staff is also helping to manage public safety spectrum use and coordinating with government and industry on response efforts. The Commission has issued grants of Special Temporary Authority to keep communications operational.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association is reporting, as of Monday, the Eaton fire which threatened Mount Wilson is 35 percent contained while the Palisades fire is only 15 percent contained. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) says it has restored about half of the sites impacted by power outages and is continuing to deploy portable generators at sites in areas like Altadena, Duarte, Calabasas, Malibu, Fillmore and Agoura Hills until commercial power is fully restored.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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European Commission ☛ Commission to assess next steps for tackling discrimination in China's public procurement market for medical devices
European Commission Press release Brussels, 14 Jan 2025 A report published today, highlighting continued discrimination against EU medical devices in China's public procurement market, will inform the Commission's assessment on what measures should be taken to restore the EU-China level playing field in this area.
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New York Times ☛ Kate Middleton Is in Cancer Remission. It Doesn’t Always Mean the Illness Is Cured.
While the announcement is good news for the Princess of Wales, cancer experts describe the challenges of a life shadowed by an earlier diagnosis.
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New York Times ☛ New Obesity Definition Challenges Current Use of B.M.I.
An international commission made the case for focusing on body fat quantity and the illnesses people experience.
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University of Michigan ☛ UMMAP reaches tentative contract agreement with University of Michigan Health
After approximately a year of negotiations, the United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals announced they have reached a tentative agreement with University of Michigan Health for the union’s first contract in a press release Tuesday evening.
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Latvia ☛ Blood donors were very responsive in 2024 in Latvia
Last year saw the highest blood donor response in 12 years, according to information compiled by the State Blood Donor Center (VADC) on January 14.
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New York Times ☛ Estimated Gaza Toll May Have Missed 25,000 Deaths, Study Says
Analysis found that more than 64,000 Palestinians may have been killed by traumatic injury in the first nine months of the war.
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The Straits Times ☛ Johor-Singapore SEZ to give big boost to Johor healthcare sector: Chief minister
Johor's Onn Hafiz Ghazi had a wide-ranging discussion with Singapore's Ong Ye Kung in Kota Iskandar.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Jon Udell ☛ The Configuration Crisis [Ed: Word salads are not intelligence, it's just a combination of words spewed out with some grammatical constraint built in]
Perhaps, even though they are not themselves explainable, AIs can help us engineer explainable systems. But I’m not optimistic. It feels like we’re on a path to keep making systems harder for humans to configure, and we keep expanding our reliance on superhuman intelligence to do that for us.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ SEC sues Elon Musk, saying he didn’t disclose Ex-Twitter ownership on time before buying it
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Ex-Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social control media site.
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TechRadar ☛ Some customers are about to see a huge rise in their Abusive Monopolist Microsoft 365 subscriptions
Customers across six Asian and Australasian nations are having to contend with major price hikes to stay connected...
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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World’s ‘largest illicit online marketplace’ is just a download away
A Cambodian company accused of moving money for criminal syndicates has an app on Apple.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Scammer uses AI-generated images of Brad Pitt to swindle over $850K from 53-year-old French woman [Ed: Just because gullible people exist does not mean that "the Hey Hi (AI) age" (hype wave) is potent, this is anecdotal]
A hapless French woman is robbed of $850K and a bright future with Brad Pitt by the horrors of catfishing in the Hey Hi (AI) age.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Building cyber resilience: Strategies to combat AI-driven threats and ransomware [Ed: LLMs for ransomware]
Cybersecurity strategies are undergoing a transformation as organizations face increasingly sophisticated threats, such as artificial intelligence-driven attacks and ransomware.
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Defence/Aggression
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Site36 ☛ Number of people shot by police in Germany reaches all-time high since counting began in 1976
A strikingly high number of people are killed by the German police in their own homes, in many cases in their exceptional psychological situation. Statistically speaking, 6 December is the most dangerous day to be killed.
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The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea’s Yoon: Embittered survivor becomes first sitting president arrested
He was a tough political survivor who became increasingly isolated halfway through his five-year term
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The Straits Times ☛ Explainer: What to know about the arrest of South Korea's impeached President Yoon
Mr Yoon's legal peril stands in contrast to his storied career before politics as a top prosecutor.
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New York Times ☛ South Korean President Is Detained in Insurrection Inquiry
Investigators have detained South Korea’s impeached leader, Yoon Suk Yeol. This is the first time a sitting South Korean president has been detained on criminal charges. Choe Sang-Hun, the Seoul bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how we got here and what it may mean for South Korea moving forward.
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The Straits Times ☛ What to know about the second attempt to arrest South Korea’s Yoon
The first attempt to detain the impeached President ended in failure after a six-hour stand-off with his security detail.
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New York Times ☛ South Korean Leader Shuns Trial as He Tries to Hold Off Detention
The Constitutional Court began hearings on whether to unseat Yoon Suk Yeol. But he remained in his fortified residence as investigators drew up plans to detain him.
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New York Times ☛ South Korea President Yoon Is Detained for Questioning Over Martial Law
Yoon Suk Yeol became the first South Korean leader to be detained while in office, ending a tense standoff between his supporters and the authorities.
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The Straits Times ☛ Impeachment trial of South Korean President Yoon begins
However, the first hearing was quickly adjourned after the suspended leader failed to show up.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea investigators arrest impeached President Yoon, ending weeks-long stand off
Mr Yoon said he had agreed to attend questioning to prevent the risk of bloodshed.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon: Embittered survivor becomes first sitting president arrested
He was a tough political survivor who became increasingly isolated halfway through his five-year term
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France24 ☛ Clashes as S. Korean investigators attempt to arrest President Yoon
South Korean investigators made a fresh attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over a failed martial law bid, but were involved in clashes after being blocked by his guards. Yoon has resisted arrest since a short-lived December 3 power grab plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades, after he directed soldiers to storm parliament in an unsuccessful attempt to stop lawmakers voting down his move.
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France24 ☛ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrested over failed martial law bid
South Korean investigators announced on Wednesday that they had arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law bid early last month, after a second police raid on the fortified presidential residence forced Yoon to agree to "respond" to the investigation.
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France24 ☛ 🔴 South Korean investigators say they arrested President Yoon
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France24 ☛ South Korean investigators arrest impeached President Yoon
France 24 regional correspondent Yena Lee reports on the situation in South Korea, where Yoon Suk Yeol became the first sitting president in the country's history to be arrested on Wednesday after anti-corruption authorities stormed his presidential residence to execute a warrant for Yoon's failed martial law attempt early last month.
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JURIST ☛ South Korea anti-corruption agency warns against obstruction of Yoon’s arrest
South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sent letters on Sunday to the Ministry of Defense and Presidential Security Service (PSS) warning that any soldier or security agent that obstructs the execution of the outstanding arrest warrant for impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol may be subject to criminal charges and civil charges [...]
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia govt’s bid to shut down talk of Najib’s house arrest is pointless, say experts
One analyst said it was “too late and futile”, as discussions on the matter are already in the public domain.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong ex-professor Khaw Kim Sun found guilty in retrial of ‘yoga ball murder’ case
Former university professor Khaw Kim Sun has been found guilty and sentenced to life for a second time following a retrial, in which he was convicted of murdering his wife and daughter with a carbon monoxide-filled yoga ball in 2015.
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Xinjiang authorities begin winter campaign to ensure security before Chinese New Year
Experts say Uyghurs are the target in a region where it would be hard to find security measures to add.
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Defence Web ☛ Zambia aiming to buy more Bell 412 helicopters
The Zambian military is looking to expand its Bell 412 helicopter fleet and has requested the sale of additional rotorcraft worth $100 million from the United States.
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Defence Web ☛ Fighting a common enemy: The role of private security in counterterrorism
Terrorism remains a pervasive global threat, with its complex manifestations and far-reaching consequences necessitating a multifaceted response.
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Atlantic Council ☛ US intervention against Mexican cartels carries major risks. Here’s how to mitigate them.
Cartels have a significant capability to retaliate, but there are ways that the United States can prepare for such risks.
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Atlantic Council ☛ China is supporting the Houthis. Here’s how the Trump administration can respond.
From buying up Iranian oil to sending dual-use parts, Beijing’s actions are indirectly and directly helping the rebel group in Yemen that is disrupting Red Sea shipping.
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The Strategist ☛ The US, South Korea and Japan should work together on regional challenges
With Donald Trump’s return to the presidency now a reality, the Indo-Pacific faces an era of heightened uncertainty driven by North Korea’s growing military capabilities and China’s expanding regional influence.
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New York Times ☛ Pete Hegseth Dresses for Defense
The nominee for Secretary of Defense wore his patriotism on his sleeve during his confirmation hearing — and his belt, his socks, and his pocket square.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Atlantic Council ☛ No peace without security: Ukraine needs guarantees against new Russian invasion
Ukraine is ready to make territorial concessions but insists that any peace deal must include credible long-term security guarantees to prevent a new Russian invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.
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France24 ☛ NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage
The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months. Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine. The "Baltic Sentry" mission would involve "frigates and maritime patrol aircraft" among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine 'most significant element' of Biden's US foreign policy as he sought to 'repair alliances'
US President Joe Biden declared that his stewardship of American foreign policy has left America safer and economically more secure, trumpeting his administration's work on expanding NATO and rallying allies to provide Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Mark Owen welcomes Dr. Garret J. Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, and Co-Director of the Transatlantic Policy Center in the School of International Service at American University.
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LRT ☛ What would still constitute Ukrainian ‘victory’?
From the survival of the state to reclaiming Crimea and Donbas – the concept of victory for Ukraine has changed repeatedly over the past three years of full-scale war. Now, more voices both at home and abroad are talking about a necessary ceasefire. But what do Ukrainians actually think?
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Ukraine recovers combat instructional documents from killed North Korean soldier
The soldier who fell while fighting in the Kursk region,was also carrying photos, presumably of his family.
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RFERL ☛ Kallas Says Europe Should Increase Pressure On Moscow In Push To End War
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Kyiv and its partners should continue to apply pressure on Russia to improve Ukraine’s position in any eventual negotiations to end the war.
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RFERL ☛ Top Russian Diplomat Again Signals Readiness For Trump's Ukraine Proposals
Russia’s foreign minister signaled that Moscow was ready to hear from President-elect Donald Trump and advisers on proposals to resolve the Ukraine war, saying that the incoming administration had "started to acknowledge the realities on the ground.”
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Targets 'Strategic Sites' With Drone Attacks In Russia
Ukraine launched a massive attack on targets inside Russian territory on January 14, hitting weapons production plants, oil refineries and warehouses.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Must Be In Position Of Strength Before Any Peace Talks, NATO Chief Says
Ukraine is currently not in a position to begin peace talks with Russia, NATO chief Mark Rutte told members of the European Parliament on January 13 as Russian forces concentrate their main offensive efforts around the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region and in the Russian region of Kursk.
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The Straits Times ☛ Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed
SYDNEY - Australia summoned the Russian ambassador over reports a Melbourne man had been killed after being captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
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New York Times ☛ For These Teenagers in Ukraine, Hope Arrived at the Stage Door
The students in a summer acting course performed a play set in America, called, “It’s okay!” And it gave them hope that their lives would be OK, too.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine Launches ‘Massive’ Drone Attacks Inside Russia, Officials Say
The barrage appeared to be one of the largest recent assaults in Ukraine’s campaign to damage Russia’s war machine on its home territory.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Forces Tried To Stop Removal Of Captured North Korean Soldier From Battlefield
Russian forces tried to prevent Ukrainian troops who captured a North Korean soldier in Kursk earlier this month from taking him off the battlefield, according to a Ukrainian soldier involved in the mission in comments to RFE/RL.
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Meduza ☛ ‘Reality, not dreams’: RT editor-in-chief proposes Ukraine ceasefire where Russia keeps occupied territories but nothing more, enraging Z-patriots — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ FSB arrests Russian accused of plotting to poison defense industry workers on ‘Ukrainian intelligence’ orders — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Ukraine launches drone attacks on oil and chemical facilities in multiple Russian regions, causing fires and disruptions — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Stuck on pause Rumors of peace talks have Ukrainian politicians gearing up for potential elections — even with no timeline in sight — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian officials designate separatism meme from Ukraine as ‘terrorism’ — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Moscow court sentences Ukrainian mayor in absentia to prison for advocating ‘killing these subhumans worldwide’ in response to Bucha massacre — Meduza
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Latvia ☛ Baltic allies meet in Helsinki for snap security summit
The Finnish capital, Helsinki, is the focal point of the Baltic Sea Tuesday with regional leaders meeting to discuss what to do about suspected recent sabotage of infrastructure, most likely as a result of actions by Russia and its partner countries, and Russia's sanctions-busting efforts by means of using a so-called "shadow fleet".
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France24 ☛ West must keep adapting Russia sanctions and focus on enforcement, analyst says
U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that transport oil as part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers. FRANCE 24's Yinka Oyetade speaks to Benjamin Godwin, Partner at PRISM Strategic Intelligence. He says that to maintain long-term pressure on Russia and the Russian energy industry, governments must keep adapting sanctions and focus on enforcement.
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Heng Sithy, Cambodian tycoon turned dissident, arrested in Russia
The businessman accused a raft of senior officials of corruption before leaving for Moscow.
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Russian PM wants closer economic cooperation with Vietnam after trade rises 24%
Mikhail Mishustin oversaw agreements including a nuclear power deal during a visit to Hanoi.
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RFERL ☛ U.S., Armenia Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
The United States and Armenia on January 14 signed a strategic partnership agreement expanding cooperation in security and several of areas as Yerevan seeks to distance itself from traditional ally Russia.
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RFERL ☛ NATO Launches Patrol Highlighting Baltic Sea Security Concerns
NATO and EU leaders agreed to launch a monitoring mission of the Baltic Sea in the wake of several "serious incidents" damaging critical undersea infrastructure, some of which are suspected to involve vessels that form part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet.
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The Straits Times ☛ One Indian national killed, another wounded while serving in Russian army
Indian police arrested four people linked to a network of human traffickers.
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ADF ☛ Russian-Backed Hackers Pose a Threat to Africa’s Online Community
Shortly before war broke out between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, a different battle began online led by hackers affiliated with the Russian-backed Anonymous Sudan. In January 2023, Anonymous Sudan launched targeted attacks against computers across Europe, the Middle East and North America.
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ADF ☛ JNIM Militants Continue Blockade of Malian Towns
Chaos continues to reign in many parts of Mali, as extremist militant groups terrorize civilians and clash with government forces and Russian mercenaries on a near-daily basis.
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RFERL ☛ Belarusian State TV Airs Propaganda Film Featuring Jailed RFE/RL Journalists
State-controlled Belarusian television channel ANT has announced a new propaganda film targeting journalists, including jailed RFE/RL's journalist Andrey Kuznechyk, accusing them of allegedly "trying to set Belarus on fire."
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LRT ☛ Lithuania revokes double taxation treaty with Belarus
The parliament on Tuesday denounced Lithuania’s treaty with Belarus on avoiding double taxation of income and preventing fiscal irregularities. It is the latest step in Vilnius’ drive to sever formal relations with the Belarusian government.
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Meduza ☛ ‘Our cell cat, Musya’: How a kitten born in a notorious Moscow jail brought comfort to an imprisoned artist — and went free to a good home — Meduza
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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Federal News Network ☛ Office of Special Counsel has ‘growing staffing concerns’ amid record caseload
The Office of the Special Counsel received a record 6,251 new cases in 2024. That includes 1,757 new disclosures from federal whistleblowers.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court denies constitutionality challenge by oil companies against lawsuits from Hawaii municipalities
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Monday refused to hear the appeals of multiple oil companies which alleged that a negligence lawsuit against them violates the US Constitution’s separation of powers and federal common law.
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Atlantic Council ☛ East Asia’s energy security challenges can be mitigated by US LNG
Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan should look into importing more US liquefied natural gas to strengthen their strategic relationships with the United States.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t investigating scaffolding collapse injuring 11 workers [Ed: Huge mistake to made official statements in MAGA Meta: "Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said in a Facebook (Farcebook) post"]
Hong Kong authorities have said they are investigating the collapse of scaffolding at a construction site that left 11 workers injured, including one still in critical condition, on Monday. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said in a Facebook (Farcebook) post on Monday night that the Labour Department was looking into the incident...
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Wildlife/Nature
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s first-ever giant panda twins to make public debut in February
Hong Kong’s first-ever giant panda twins will make their debut to the public in February, Chief Executive John Lee has announced. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Lee said the two pandas – who live at Ocean Park – were nearly six months old. The public will be able to visit them next month.
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The Straits Times ☛ Heat lamps, hay bundles, vitamins: Chiang Mai zoo keeps animals warm in cold weather
The Chiang Mai Zoo is implementing measures to keep its animals warm and healthy
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Finance
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The Straits Times ☛ China to cut pay by half for staff at top financial regulators, sources say
China is set to slash pay for staff at its top three financial regulators, including the central bank, by about half, as part of a regulatory revamp unveiled in 2023 to bring their salaries in line with other civil servants, sources said.
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The Straits Times ☛ Economic woes not a deal breaker as China’s Lunar New Year travel rush kicks off
The annual travel rush for China’s Lunar New Year celebrations officially began on Jan 14.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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The Straits Times ☛ Xi calls China-EU economic relations 'symbiotic' amid trade tensions with US
China and the European Union have a robust "symbiotic" economic relationship and Beijing hopes the bloc can become "a trustworthy partner for cooperation", President Pooh-tin Jinping told European Council President Antonio Costa on Tuesday.
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Hong Kong police question wife, son of wanted exiled pollster
UK-based pollster Chung Kim-wah is wanted by police for 'incitement to secession' under crackdown on dissent.
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China’s exports spike ahead of Trump inauguration, tariff fears
Exports to the U.S. rise by 15.6% in December year-on-year as companies rush to avoid expected tariffs.
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Philippine official on Chinese incursions: Not ruling out another South China Sea law
China has pushed the Philippines 'to the wall' leaving it with only drastic options to stop intimidation: official.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines alarmed after China sends ‘monster ship’ to disputed shoal
Manila said the Chinese vessel clearly meant to intimidate fishermen operating around the South China Sea.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Philippines alarmed by Chinese coast guard ships moving closer to shore
The Philippines said Tuesday it was alarmed by Chinese coast guard patrols which are growing closer to the country’s shore. Beijing claims most of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
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JURIST ☛ Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission files lawsuit against former prime minister and her family for corruption
Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday filed three lawsuits against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and six members of her family for irregularly obtaining land plots under the Purbachal New Town project, according to local media reports.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Newsflation: UK cover prices up by 12% in past year
National newspaper cover prices up 135.8% in a decade.
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Press Gazette ☛ London Live closes after ten years as broadcasting licence to change hands
London Live News at 6 presenter shares missive about importance of local reporting ahead of closure.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong task force sent to Thailand ‘trying their best to help’ trafficking victims, leader John Lee says
A Hong Kong task force sent to Thailand is “trying their best to help” trafficked Hongkongers illegally held in Myanmar, Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday.
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Defence Web ☛ SAPS foils major smuggling operation along Limpopo River
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Operation Vala Umgodi National Intervention (Roving) Team successfully disrupted a large-scale smuggling operation along the Limpopo River in the Musina policing area. The operation, conducted on 11 January 2025, resulted in the confiscation of goods valued at approximately R500,000.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Apple Daily did not violate lease agreement, court hears as Jimmy Lai seeks to overturn fraud conviction
Apple Daily’s lease did not require pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to declare the operations of a consultancy firm at the newspaper’s premises, Hong Kong’s appeals court has heard as the tycoon sought to overturn a fraud conviction.
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Licensing / Legal
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The Verge ☛ DJI will no longer stop drones from flying over airports, wildfires, and the White House
For over a decade, you couldn’t easily fly a DJI drone over restricted areas in the United States. DJI’s software would automatically stop you from flying over runways, power plants, public emergencies like wildfires, and the White House.
But confusingly, amidst the greatest US outpouring of drone distrust in years, and an incident of a DJI drone operator hindering LA wildfire fighting efforts, DJI is getting rid of its strong geofence. DJI will no longer enforce “No-Fly Zones,” instead only offering a dismissible warning — meaning only common sense, empathy, and the fear of getting caught by authorities will prevent people from flying where they shouldn’t.
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DJI ☛ DJI Updates GEO System in U.S. Consumer & Enterprise Drones
Since then, global regulations and user awareness have evolved significantly, with a greater focus on geo-awareness and Remote ID solutions which makes detection and enforcement much easier. National aviation authorities, including the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) in the EU, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the FAA in the U.S., have established comprehensive geographical zones for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and enforce drone regulations.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Devices/Embedded
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APNIC ☛ Reliable IoT network traffic inference
The good news is that IoT devices typically exhibit predictable network traffic patterns. This makes it possible to identify IoT devices by analysing their network traffic. In addition to deterministic methods like examining network services and connection endpoints, a well-established approach involves leveraging Machine Learning (ML) models to infer from traffic data generated by these devices. Various techniques using network traffic at different granularities have been explored, with promising results. However, several challenges still need to be addressed before achieving a reliable traffic inference system.
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JURIST ☛ Apple appears in UK court for overcharging customers in class-action lawsuit
Apple appeared before the UK competition appeal tribunal for overcharging customers in a class-action lawsuit in a class-action lawsuit on Monday.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ Hoffmann Eitle and König Szynka unite top pharma teams [Ed: Probably lacking "demand" (for lawsuits) so trying to converge a little]
For many years, König Szynka has been one of the best-known patent monopoly attorney firms in Germany. This is despite its relatively small size with only 13 patent monopoly attorneys, one lawyer and two offices in Düsseldorf and Munich. But at the end of January, the firm will dissolve.
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JUVE ☛ Maucher Jenkins hires team from df-mp [Ed: Seems like an ad disguised as "news", i.e. the usual from JUVE]
Philipp Nordmeyer (52) began his career as a patent monopoly attorney at Hoffmann Eitle in 2005. In 2010, he moved to df-mp, where he became a partner in 2012.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Publications Before Publishing and the Federal Circuit’s Temporal Gymnastics
Back in October 2024, I previewed the Federal Circuit case of Lynk Labs v. Samsung in a post titled Secret Springing Prior Art and Inter Partes Review. The court has now released its decision -- holding that in IPR proceedings a published patent monopoly application is considered prior art as of its filing date. [Read it here] This solidifies the approach already taken by the USPTO and is significant because a substantial percentage of references relied upon to cancel patent monopoly rights represent "secret prior art" that were non-public at the time the patent monopoly was originally filed.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Ascend Innovation entity, Accessify, communications patent monopoly prior art
Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,197,640, owned by Accessify LLC, an NPE and entity of Ascend Innovation Management, LLC. The '640 patent monopoly relates generally to the use of identification codes in the handling and management of communications.
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Unified Patents ☛ Longhorn Automotive crypto-engine patent monopoly prior art found
Unified is pleased to announce prior art has been found on U.S. Patent 7,634,666, owned by Longhorn Automotive Group, LLC, an entity of Alpha Alpha Intellectual Partners LLC. The ‘666 discloses a compact crypto-engine designed for asymmetric cryptographic processing, capable of executing both Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) protocols. It has been asserted against Nissan.
We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ In 2024, How Often Did the TTAB Affirm Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness/Disclaimer Refusals?
By my count, in 2024 the Board issued final decisions in 66 appeals from Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness refusals or from disclaimer requirements based on mere descriptiveness. The Board affirmed 58 of the refusals and reversed eight. That's an affirmance rate of about 87.9%.
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Copyrights
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Public Domain Review ☛ Alfred G. Mayer’s On the Color and Color-Patterns of Moths and Butterflies (1897)
Abstract wing patterns by a scientist who loved butterflies from birth.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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