Leftovers

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ NASA’s VIPER Gave Up a Ride to the Moon. This Startup’s Rover Took It.

    After the space agency canceled its VIPER rover, an empty space was available on a private spacecraft that will still head to the lunar surface.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Beyond Doubt': Proteins in Fossil From Actual Dinosaur, Claim Scientists

    How did they avoid decay?

  • Science Alert ☛ LA Coast Community Accelerates Towards Pacific Amid Increasing Landslides

    Threatening hundreds of buildings.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Nonprofit includes scientists, moms who study climate change

    Science Moms is a group of scientists who are mothers who study climate change. The group hopes to connect with other moms to make climate change a normal topic of conversation.

  • UM-Flint receives historic NSF grant for translational research

    UM-Flint has been awarded the largest research grant in its history: $3. 3 million distributed over five years from the National Science Foundation, to be invested in growing its research capabilities.

  • Science Alert ☛ Sunlight Can Still Damage Skin Through a Closed Window. Here's How.

    Not all glass is the same.

  • Science Alert ☛ Remarkable Fossil Discovery Hints at Antarctic Origins of All Modern Birds

    The debate continues.

  • Science Alert ☛ Study Reveals How Much Exercise You Need to Control Your Blood Pressure

    You can do this.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover a Fungus Turning Spiders Into Zombies

    Like something out of a nightmare.

  • Science Alert ☛ Changes in a Greenland Glacier Hid a Grim Truth of Ice Sheet's Destruction

    We're running out of time.

  • Science Alert ☛ Hubble Reveals Cosmic Bullet That Gave The Bullseye Galaxy Its Record-Breaking Rings

    Caught in the act.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD outsells defective chip maker Intel in the datacenter for the first time in Q4 2024

    AMD's datacenter business unit reports record sales, leaves defective chip maker Intel behind.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Tube, The Wooden Kind

    While we aren’t heavy-duty woodworkers, we occasionally make some sawdust as part of a project, and we admire people who know how to make wood and do what they want. We were surprised when [Newton Makes] showed a wooden dowel that was quite long and was mostly hollow. The wall was thin, the hole was perfectly centered, and he claimed he did not use a drill to produce it. Check it out in the video below and see what you think.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Huawei manages to pull $118 billion in revenue despite strict U.S. sanctions and restrictions

    Huawei's consumer business has bounced back since August 2023, following the launch of new smartphones featuring domestically produced chipsets that bypass U.S. sanctions.

  • Hackaday ☛ Investigating Electromagnetic Magic In Obsolete Machines

    Before the digital age, when transistors were expensive, unreliable, and/or nonexistent, engineers had to use other tricks to do things that we take for granted nowadays. Motor positioning, for example, wasn’t as straightforward as using a rotary encoder and a microcontroller. There are a few other ways of doing this, though, and [Void Electronics] walks us through an older piece of technology called a synchro (or selsyn) which uses a motor with a special set of windings to keep track of its position and even output that position on a second motor without any digital processing or microcontrollers.

  • Hackaday ☛ Lorem Ipsum 36? Dolor Sit Amet Keyboard!

    You know, it’s a tale as old as custom mechanical keyboards. [penkia] couldn’t find any PCBs with 36 keys and Gateron low-profile switch footprints, so they made their own and called it the LoremIpsum36. Isn’t it lovely?

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Trump Threatens Efforts to Clean Up Areas Hit Most by Air Pollution

    More than three years ago, ProPublica spotlighted America’s “sacrifice zones,” where communities in the shadow of industrial facilities were being exposed to unacceptable amounts of toxic air pollution. Life in these places was an endless stream of burning eyes and suspicious smells, cancer diagnoses and unanswered pleas for help.

    The Biden administration took action in the years that followed, doling out fines, stepping up air monitoring and tightening emissions rules for one of the most extreme carcinogens. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency requested a significant budget increase in part to issue scores of hazardous air pollution rules and fulfill its obligations under the Clean Air Act. Had the effort been successful, experts said, it could have made a meaningful difference.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Abortion Still Blocked in Missouri, Despite Constitutional Amendment

    Three months after Missouri voters enshrined reproductive rights in the state constitution, abortion remains unavailable as the state’s main provider fights legal hurdles to resume offering the procedure.

    At the same time, opponents of abortion in the state Legislature, stung by the passage of Amendment 3 in November, have filed a raft of bills aimed at thwarting implementation of the measure or undercutting its goals while they try to find a unified strategy to prevent the return of abortion services.

  • New York Times ☛ Cows Have Been Infected With a Second Form of Bird Flu

    A new version of the virus is widespread in wild birds but had not previously been detected in cows.

  • JURIST ☛ Medical advocacy group sues US health agencies for removing information from websites

    Doctors for America, a non-profit medical advocacy organization in the US, sued the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday [...]

  • France24 ☛ Argentina follows US with plans to quit World Health Organization

    Argentina will pull out of the World Health Organization, President Javier Milei's office said Wednesday, saying the decision was motivated by "profound differences" with the UN agency. The South American nation has taken its cue from the US, which announced its exit from the UN agency last month.

  • Stanford University ☛ Scared of the dentist? Here are some strategies to cope

    We’ve taken it upon ourselves to compile a list of healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with everyone’s worst nightmare: your local dentist. I know these simple tricks will have you opening wide and saying “ahh” in no time.

  • Rlang ☛ Working with Time to battle Baby Amnesia

    I am a father of two sons; one 4.5 years old, and the other is but a few months. This may seem weird, but even though I went through everything with my first son…

  • Hackaday ☛ How Do We Deal With Microplastics In The Ocean?

    Like the lead paint and asbestos of decades past, microplastics are the new awful contaminant that we really ought to do something about. They’re particularly abundant in the aquatic environment, and that’s not a good thing. While we’ve all seen heartbreaking photos of beaches strewn with water bottles and fishing nets, it’s the invisible threat that keeps environmentalists up at night. We’re talking about microplastics – those tiny fragments that are quietly infiltrating every corner of our oceans.

• Proprietary/Layoffs

  • Dedoimedo ☛ Windows 7: A 2025 perspective (rose-tinted or not)

    New isn't always better. Far from it. Here's a short review of backdoored Windows 7 with a 2025 perspective, including setup and installation, system updates and associated tweaks, security posture with up-to-date browser, standard user and EMET, available programs, look and feel, speed, ergonomics, privacy, comparison to more modern versions of Windows, relevance, nostalgia factor, other observations, and more. Take a look.

  • ZDNet ☛ Microsoft has a big backdoored Windows 10 problem, and it’s running out of time to solve it

    Microsoft has a big challenge on its hands in the run-up to that end-of-support date: convincing its enormous installed base to leave their beloved Windows 10 behind and make the move to its successor operating system, Windows 11.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Uber shares drop 8% on mixed fourth-quarter results

    Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. dropped 8% in trading today after the company reported better-than-anticipated revenue for the fourth quarter but missed earnings expectations. Uber’s adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, grew 44% year-over-year to $1.84 billion.

  • Notebook Check ☛ Sonos to lay off 200 people amid restructuring

    While reorganizing into functional groups for hardware, software, design, quality, and operations, the new Sonos CEO had to make the difficult decision of eliminating a number of jobs. Sadly, this move will affect around 200 employees, who will receive severance pay based on the time they spent with the company.

  • Firstpost ☛ Will 2025 be another year of layoffs?

    The year 2025 began with a bunch of companies laying people off.

    Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook are among a number of companies that have all handed out pink slips in January.

    According to reports, thousands of people have lost their jobs thus far across over two dozen firms.

  • BBC kicks off reshuffle of Singapore employees: A lesson in workforce management?

    The restructuring of Singapore-based employees of the BBC highlights a growing trend: redeployment over retrenchment. But is it a lifeline or a loophole?

  • PlayStation Reportedly Undergoing Layoffs Again

    Sony has initiated another round of PlayStation layoffs, if a post by a former employee is anything to go by. It’s unclear if the layoffs are related to the mass cancellations of live service projects as the employee in question is a platform engineer who seems to have worked on the hardware side, including the unannounced PS6.

  • Workday Layoffs: Human Capital Management Company To Lay Off Around 1,750 Employees To Prioritise Investment in AI and Platform Development

    Workday has announced its plan for job cuts. The layoffs will likely affect around 1,750 employees as the company’s strategy is to focus on growth in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and platform development. The Workday layoffs decision came after the company reevaluated its priorities for the future and aims to strengthen its position in the competitive world.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Qt ☛ Which is the best LLM for prompting QML code (featuring DeepSeek v3) [Ed: Qt is again promoting slop and GPL infringement]

      Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the best LLM to write QML code when prompted in English. If you want to know why we reached this conclusion, keep reading.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s industry ministry temporarily bans DeepSeek on security concerns, official says

      The government urged caution on using Hey Hi (AI) services including DeepSeek and Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot at work.

    • Security Week ☛ Researchers Link DeepSeek’s Blockbuster Chatbot to Chinese Telecom Banned From Doing Business in US

      DeepSeek has computer code that could send some user login information to China Mobile.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Australia bans China’s Hey Hi (AI) programme DeepSeek on gov’t devices citing privacy and malware risks

      Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices on the advice of security agencies, a top official said Wednesday, citing privacy and malware risks posed by China’s breakout Hey Hi (AI) program. The DeepSeek chatbot — developed by a China-based startup — has astounded industry insiders and upended financial markets since it was released last month.

    • France24 ☛ South Korea ministries block access to China's DeepSeek from military devices

      South Korea has restricted Chinese Hey Hi (AI) startup DeepSeek from accessing work computers across defense and trade ministries. This follows a request from Seoul's data watchdog to clarify data management practices. The company, known for its Hey Hi (AI) chatbot R1 launched last month, faces scrutiny over user information handling similar to concerns raised by France and Italy.

  • Social Control Media

    • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Warns Congress Against Banning Kids from Social Media [Ed: Microsoft-infiltrated front group]

      Today, the Senate Commerce Committee marked up and reported out the “Kids Off Social Media Act” (KOSMA) to ban minors under the age of 13 from using social control media platforms.

    • EDRI ☛ Exploring the aftermath of the annulment of Romanian election results – social control media platforms, the democratic process, and the role of the DSA

      EDRi member ApTI recaps events leading up to and after the annulment of the December 2024 result of the first round of Presidential elections in Romania. Investigations confirm TikTok’s failure to follow European and national electoral law. With the elections set to take place again later this year, ApTI explores the relationship between the discourse on social control media platforms, the democratic process and how legislation such as the DSA can act as a safeguard.

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico City sanitation worker blows up on Fentanylware (TikTok) with viral song

      After a Fentanylware (TikTok) video with his music and footage of his life as a Mexico City street sweeper went viral, Macario Martínez's dreams of a music career may soon be coming true.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Who’s in the Running to Buy TikTok? — Here’s the Current List of Interested Parties

      Who’s still in the running for consideration to buy TikTok? And will it even matter? Here’s an updated list of probable and interested parties.

    • New York Times ☛ At Hillmantok, a Digital H.B.C.U., Class Is in Session

      A video welcoming students to Leah Barlow’s African American studies course inspired a virtual university of free Fentanylware (TikTok) lectures from Black academics and experts.

• Linux Foundation

  • PR Newswire ☛ Texas Instruments Joins the Linux Foundation's Civil Infrastructure Platform as a Gold Member

    The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP), the open source project enabling long-term management of infrastructure systems, today announced that Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has joined as a Gold Member. As a member of the CIP, TI demonstrates a commitment to facilitating open source innovation and development of solutions, tooling, and platforms that empower critical open source infrastructure.

  • Texas Instruments Joins the Linux Foundation's Civil Infrastructure Platform as a Gold Member - WV News

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ China's Pooh-tin meets Thai prime minister with trade, online scams in focus

      China's President Pooh-tin Jinping met Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Beijing on Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, as the two countries eye closer ties amid growing global uncertainties.

    • Scam park victim returns to Hong Kong after Thai rescue

      The woman is 'in good health' as Thai officials promise to liaise with Myanmar over remaining Hong Kongers.

    • Thailand cuts power to Myanmar’s scam centers in anti-crime push

      The crackdown comes after growing alarm about the centers and a visit by a top Chinese security official.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Federal News Network ☛ Democratic lawmakers press White House about Elon Musk’s access to classified data

      In a letter to Convicted Felon, ranking members of seven House committees ask whether Musk and his DOGE team have security clearances needed to access classified data.

    • Federal News Network ☛ DOGE’s ‘unimpeded’ access to classified data poses national, economic security risks

      There is no information on who has been hired under DOGE, the authority under which it operates, or how it vets and monitors its staff.

    • Pro Publica ☛ How Gun Lobby, Cambridge Analytica Used Customer Data for Political Gain

      Arthur Douglas has been passionate about guns his entire life. He spent his childhood hunting, then amassed a treasured collection of firearms, including antique rifles he considers priceless. For years, he’s worked as a firearms instructor for the National Rifle Association and the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

      But the 61-year-old building contractor was incensed to learn from ProPublica that his name, age, New Hampshire address, phone number and registered voting status were in a database compiled by the gun industry’s chief lobbying group to help friendly politicians win elections.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Report: Amazon tipped to ship revamped Alexa Hey Hi (AI) updates later this month [Ed: More surveillance for fools who want GAFAM to install microphones in their homes]

      Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa team is inviting journalists to attend a big product event in New York City later this month, where it’s expected to announce more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities for its popular digital assistant.

    • EDRI ☛ Civil Society Demands: European Commission Must Close e-ID Loopholes!

      In a coalition of 15 civil society organisations, EDRi member epicenter.works published an open letter demanding that the European Commission close loopholes in the European Digital Identity Wallet. They highlight risks for privacy and transparency in recent eIDAS implementing acts.

    • EDRI ☛ Why Ireland is the Achilles heel of the EU’s fightback against Big Tech

      The recent controversies surrounding Big Tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Kapo-berg — who are defying content moderation norms and accusing the EU of censorship — should come as no surprise to those following the tech industry closely. For over a decade, Big Tech has approached the EU's robust data protection framework as little more than a compliance checkbox, rather than a set of binding legal obligations.

    • EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 5 February 2025

      What has the EDRis network been up to over the past two weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. >

• Defence/Aggression

  • Myanmar authorities arrest 475 young people in Yangon in January: group

    The military is conscripting as it hopes to re-capture lost areas and improve security for an election.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina's father's home

    DHAKA - Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh's founding leader, as his daughter, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a fiery social control media speech calling on her supporters to stand against the interim government.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippine V-P Duterte impeached for assassination threat against Marcos, alleged misuse of funds

    V-P Duterte's impeachment could mean the end of her political career, analysts say.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US aid freeze is new threat for ailing Myanmar refugees on Thai border

    Healthcare services in a mountainside refugee camp in Thailand were brought to a halt.

  • New York Times ☛ Valérie André, Daring French Army Copter Pilot, Dies at 102

    She was the first woman to fly rescue missions in a combat zone, in Indochina and Algeria. She was also the first Frenchwoman to become an army general.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Panama Canal and Convicted Felon: How much influence does China really have?

    President Convicted Felon is wrong when he says China controls the Panama Canal. But the U.S. rival does have influence there, and the administration is moving to counter it.

  • Canadian warship visits Cambodia after drills in South China Sea

    The port call comes after exercises with the US Navy and maneuvers near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

  • Chinese ‘should use their right to vote,’ despite the risks: activist

    Constitutional scholar Yao Lifa says people should exercise their legal rights, even under one-party rule.

  • Former U.S. Federal Reserve adviser pleads not guilty in spy case

    John Harold Rogers allegedly passed secret information about U.S. money policy to Chinese officials for years.

  • China is deporting Tibetans trying to visit family in Tibet

    Man living in Belgium is interrogated and sent back after 20 hours.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania-China relations: a half-hearted attempt at a thaw?

    Both Lithuania’s prime minister and parliament speaker are calling for improving relations with China. But will this be a meaningful break from the last government’s policies?

  • New Yorker ☛ “The Fishing Place” Puts History Into the Present Tense

    With a style as daring as his narrative sense, Rob Tregenza dramatizes the moral dilemmas of Norwegians under Nazi occupation.

  • Defence Web ☛ More questions than answers in Parliamentary DR Congo briefing

    Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga stands accused of “trying to spin herself out of accountability” in the wake of Tuesday’s joint briefing to two of Parliament’s defence oversight committees on South Africa’s soldier deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

  • France24 ☛ Dictator resistance? A 1940s US sabotage manual goes viral

    Since the inauguration of The Insurrectionist in January, tens of thousands of people have downloaded the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual”, a guide written by a US intelligence agent in 1944 to help the allied resistance during World War II. Its newfound popularity comes amid an emerging grassroots opposition to waves of executive orders from the new president.

  • Defence Web ☛ Houthi attacks drop vessel transits by half through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait

    The maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has experienced a significant downturn following the series of Houthi attacks over the last 15 months, as evidenced by a comparison of transit data before and after the onset of these incidents.

  • France24 ☛ Haiti under siege: 'Just when we think situation has reached rock bottom, it deteriorates further'

    More than $13 million in U.S. funding for an international security force helping fight armed gangs in Haiti has been frozen under President The Insurrectionist's 90-day pause on foreign aid, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Powerful gangs, armed with weapons largely trafficked from the United States, have united in the Caribbean country's capital Port-au-Prince under a common alliance and now control most of the city and are expanding to nearby areas. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's François Picard is joined by Diego Da Rin, Analyst in Haiti for the International Crisis Group.

  • Defence Web ☛ Mantis Security: A proactive approach to security

    Established in 1987 under the chairmanship of Mark Kramer, Mantis Security is a Johannesburg-based security company specialising in comprehensive security solutions. With 38 years of experience, the company emphasises the importance of a holistic and proactive approach to security.

  • Defence Web ☛ No single entity can address modern defence and security challenges in isolation – Holomisa

    Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa believes that public-private partnerships (PPPs) provide the agility, innovation, and resource mobilisation needed to keep South Africa’s defence systems robust and responsive. He will be elaborating on this with a keynote address at the upcoming Public-Private Partnership for Defence and Security Conference.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ How the US can benefit from deepening Azerbaijani-Israeli ties

    Washington should learn from Israel’s diplomatic and security collaboration with Azerbaijan to bolster its own ties with Baku.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan outlines his vision for peace in the region

    “It isn’t possible to have real and thriving independence, prosperity, and security without peace,” Pashinyan argued at an Atlantic Council event.

  • The Strategist ☛ Australia’s new security threat: cocaine trafficking by Brazilian crime groups

    Australia faces an emerging national security threat from Brazilian crime groups.

  • The Strategist ☛ AUKUS and war powers: aligning decision-making for effective defence

    AUKUS has a fundamental, unaddressed challenge: the differences in how each member nation exercises its war powers.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Memory-Holing Jan. 6: What Happens When You Try to Make History Vanish?

  • New York Times ☛ As Elon Musk Dismantles USAID, Foreign Leaders Rejoice

    Leaders in Russia, Hungary and El Salvador welcomed the Convicted Felon administration’s assault on U.S.A.I.D., which many authoritarians have seen as a threat.

  • North Korea’s new map erases South Korea, signaling policy shift

    The term used in the map confirms that the North no longer sees South Koreans as of the same ethnic group.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea tourism surges in 2024 with record spending and arrivals

    Shopping remains the biggest draw for foreign tourists, accounting for 37.8 per cent of their spending.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Three bullets, mouldy rice’: North Korean soldiers endure shortages, dire conditions

    One defector said soldiers were given just three bullets each during the rare shooting drills.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s ex-defence minister calls protesters who stormed court ‘patriots’

    He said he would use the donations he received from his supporters to help those who get arrested.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia seeks to block ex-PM Najib’s bid for house arrest

    The Attorney-General’s Chambers is looking to appeal the case at the Federal Court.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ Support rally for Ukraine planned in Rīga February 24

      On February 24, the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a pro-Ukraine action "Together until Victory!" will take place at the Freedom Monument in Rīga, the organizers said in a release.

    • Security Week ☛ Russian Hackers Exploited 7-Zip Zero-Day Against Ukraine

      Russian threat groups have been observed exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in 7-Zip against Ukrainian entities.

    • LRT ☛ Additional €20m needed for Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania – UNHCR

      An additional 19.9 million euros (20.6 million US dollars) is needed to help Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania between 2025 and 2026, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

    • North Korean casualty rate in Kursk may be as high as 50%: US expert

      Ukraine and South Korea believe North Korea will send more troops to support Russia despite the losses.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Could Reveal Convicted Felon's Peace Plan For Ukraine As Early As Next Week -- Report

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has confirmed that he will take part next week in the Munich Security Council and will speak about Convicted Felon’s goal to end the war in Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Dictator Urges Trading Ukraine’s Critical Minerals for More U.S. Aid

      Ukraine has already emphasized that by supporting its war effort, the U.S. could get access to the country’s wealth of critical minerals like lithium and uranium.

    • Meduza ☛ Kremlin says Zelensky’s proposal for Ukraine to get nukes in lieu of NATO membership ‘verges on madness’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Trump’s special envoy expected to present plan for ending war in Ukraine at Munich conference next week — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian forces advance on Pokrovsk, gateway to control of Ukraine’s northern Donbas In this video, Meduza breaks down the latest developments on the battlefield — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ President: Baltic states ready to unplug from BRELL grid

      The Baltic States are fully prepared to disconnect from the BRELL ring joining Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania with Russian and Belarusian electricity networks, said President Edgars Rinkēvičs after meeting with Prime Minister Evika Siliņa on Wednesday, February 5.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Baltic states unplug from Russia’s power grid—but Moscow still looms over critical infrastructure

      Breaking from the Russian system, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are about to synchronize their electricity systems with the Continental Europe Network.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Surrounded by superpowers, Kazakhstan walks a geopolitical tightrope

      Still a relatively young nation, Kazakhstan finds itself at critical juncture amid a series of domestic and geopolitical shocks. Its future depends on the success of economic liberalization efforts—and a delicate balancing act: The country must strengthen ties with the West and simultaneously manage its relations with powerful neighbors like Russia and China.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania detains Belarusians, seizes 17 trucks for sanction violations

      Lithuania’s Customs Criminal Service (MKT) has carried out searches in Vilnius and Rudamina and detained 17 trucks and 15 semi-trailers worth 1.5 million euros as part of an investigation into violations of international sanctions.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The losers don’t put the victors on trial’: Reactions from the Kremlin’s cronies to Europe’s prosecution plans against Putin — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Council of Europe moves to create tribunal to try Putin for war on Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin ousts Yury Borisov as head of Russia’s state space agency — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia’s Transport Ministry launches mass inspection of tankers following Kerch Strait oil spill — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Open To Diplomatic Path To End War, Zelenskyy Says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would agree to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end almost three years of war, but he would do so if that is the only way to bring peace to Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ 'Majority' of Ukrainians want ceasefire with Russia, Zelensky's ex-spokesperson says

      FRANCE 24 spoke to Iuliia Mendel, who was the spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from 2019 to 2021. She is the author of "The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World". In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said he was ready to negotiate directly with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mendel called this a "very realistic approach", saying that "continuing this war of attrition actually is making us weaker". Mendel added that the "majority of the people [in Ukraine] definitely agree [on the need for a] ceasefire".

    • France24 ☛ Kremlin calls Zelensky's readiness for Putin talks 'empty words'

      The Kremlin on February 5 dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as 'empty words'.

    • Meduza ☛ Pavel Durov’s criminal case in France won’t go to trial for at least a year — WIRED — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian Investigative Committee chief calls for raising drinking age to 21 and lowering criminal liability age for drug dealing to 14 — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Donald Trump, the man in the mirror Alexandra Prokopenko explains why depoliticized Russian elites may be counting on America’s returned president to save them — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Former Russian mayor and his wife murdered, reportedly by their own granddaughter — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian train passenger fined for ‘discrediting’ the army after conductor reports him — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Governor of Russia’s Vologda region wants a total ban on abortions — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Draft exemptions as Russians know them are ending: The newsletter Faridaily reveals how new rules are making it far harder for employers to shield staff from mobilization — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ From small-time Ukrainian crime boss to potential Prigozhin rival Who was Armen Sarkisyan, the Russian paramilitary head killed in a Moscow blast? — Meduza

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew

    Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies. ProPublica is attempting to document who is working with him and what they are doing.

• Environment

  • EDRI ☛ The mirage of EU techno-solutionism to the climate crisis

    Technology, as shaped by today’s market-driven priorities, carries immense hidden environmental and social costs. The tech sector is one of the fastest-growing contributors to waste and energy consumption. In 2021, it was responsible for two-to-three percent of global carbon emissions — on par with aviation.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Inside Trump’s EPA: What Employees Say About the Decision to Stay or Go

    In the face of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to reshape the Environmental Protection Agency and drive out its workers, more than 300 career employees have left their jobs since the election, according to a ProPublica analysis of personnel data.

    The numbers account for a relatively small share of the overall workforce at the EPA, but those who have departed include specialist civil servants crucial to its mission: toxicologists, lawyers, engineers, biologists, toxic waste specialists, emergency workers, and water and air quality experts.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia PM confirms ‘slight increase’ in electricity tariffs for industry sector

      Businesses expressed concerns about increased costs and investors losing interest.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Mechanic caught by Malaysian authorities for not renewing road tax for 23 years

      The man claimed he only rode in residential areas and not on main roads.

    • Meduza ☛ Kazakhstan releases preliminary report on Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, confirming impact from ‘external objects’ — Meduza

    • New Yorker ☛ Is Flying Actually Becoming Less Safe?

      The veteran transportation-safety reporter Matthew L. Wald breaks down the dangers of airline safety becoming a political flashpoint.

    • DeSmog ☛ Pierre Poilievre Keen on Canadian LNG Despite Economic and Environmental Risk

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Revelator ☛ What Can Psychology Offer Biodiversity Protection?

    • Hackaday ☛ Investigating Why Animals Sleep: From Memory Sorting To Waste Disposal

      What has puzzled researchers and philosophers for many centuries is the ‘why’ of sleep, along with the ‘how’. We human animals know from experience that we need to sleep, and that the longer we go without it, the worse we feel. Chronic sleep-deprivation is known to be even fatal. Yet exactly why do we need sleep? To rest our bodies, and our brains? To sort through a day’s worth of memories? To cleanse our brain of waste products that collect as neurons and supporting cells busily do their thing?

    • Science Alert ☛ DNA Confirms Orcas Prey Upon One of Australia's Deadliest Marine Predators

      There could be consequences.

    • New York Times ☛ The Search for the Original Silly Goose in the Fossil Record

      Some paleontologists think that fossils recovered from Antarctica are evidence of birds similar to modern geese and ducks that lived alongside the dinosaurs.

    • Science Alert ☛ Report Reveals World's Fourth Largest Lake Now a Deadly Desert

      In just 60 years.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Why Banks May Be Hoping You’re Not Paying Attention

    They have no fiduciary duty in many cases and can profit from customers’ confusion. But where’s the line between unsavory and illegal?

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong products targeted in US Pres. The Insurrectionist’s new China tariffs, says Washington

    US President The Insurrectionist’s new China tariffs, effective Tuesday, also target Hong Kong products, the US government has said. On Saturday, President Convicted Felon announced an additional 10 per cent levy on all goods from China, on top of the duties they already endure.

  • Latvia ☛ Kazāks' nomination for governor of Latvian central bank moves ahead

    The Budget and Finance (Tax) Committee of the Saeima has moved a draft decision on the election of Mārtiņš Kazāks as governor of the Latvian central bank. The vote on the appointment is scheduled for Thursday, January 6, at an extraordinary session of the Saeima.

  • Pro Publica ☛ WA Governor Orders a Study of Data Centers’ Energy Use, Job Creation and Tax Revenue

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese foreign ministry urges Sino-US dialogue as import tariffs kick in

    China said what is needed now is not unilateral, additional tariffs but dialogue and consultation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China calls for cooperation with EU amid ‘global challenges’

    China is willing to work with the European Union (EU) to boost cooperation and respond to “global challenges”, its foreign ministry said on Feb 5, as the bloc faced potential US tariffs on its shipments to the world’s largest economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China challenges Convicted Felon tariffs at WTO, package shippers warn of chaos

    China, which was subjected to an additional 10 per cent US tariffs, had vowed to challenge the step at the WTO.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Send Us Photos of Changes to Federal Buildings

    We’re documenting how federal buildings are changing during the transition to the new government.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cook Islands PM aims to boost trade ties during China visit

    Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown will visit China next week, the first visit by a leader of the small South Pacific state in a decade, to help improve ties ranging from trade, climate and investment to tourism and infrastructure.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ USPS had ceased accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong late Tuesday, potentially affecting numerous PC parts — service was restored by early Wednesday

    The USPS is working with the CBP to build a system that will efficiently check every arriving parcel from China to charge import duties.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US Postal Service resumes parcels from Hong Kong and China after stoking trade fears

    The US Postal Service (USPS) said Wednesday it would continue accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, hours after an order to suspend shipments over President The Insurrectionist’s new tariffs sparked fears of major trade disruptions.

  • New York Times ☛ F.C.C. Releases CBS ’60 Minutes’ Interview With Kamala Harris

    The complete interview, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by President Convicted Felon, shows that “60 Minutes” aired a concise version of Ms. Harris’s answer on Israel.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Dictator pledges FBI reform, but big purge of agents could backfire

    Possible widespread firings of FBI​ agents are raising concerns about ​the agency’s ability to keep the public safe and to be politically independent.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Telling the Story of January 6 to the Judges Who Know It Best: The Two FBI Lawsuits

    One of two lawsuits to prevent the FBI from retaliating against Agents who conducted the January 6 investigation asserts, as part of an aggressive mandamus request, that a DOJ led by Convicted Felon's defense attorneys, "do[es] not have discretion to redefine the truth of January 6, 2021" in order to claim the work of FBI agents authorized by judges is illegal.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Union lawsuit seeks to block ‘deferred resignation’ program

    OPM's controversial workforce reduction program violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Anti-deficiency Act, unions claim.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Photo of Elon Musk, The Insurrectionist and Benjamin Netanyahu is AI-generated

      An AI-generated photo of Musk, Convicted Felon and Netanyahu is making the rounds on social control media, following the meeting between the Israeli and US leader in The White House to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas. In other news, some claim that President The Insurrectionist is holding talks with Albania to potentially take over 100.000 Gazan refugees. We debunk these claims in this edition of Truth or Fake.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to control micro drama distribution in tighter regulation push

    China will mandate a licensing requirement for broadcasting micro dramas.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Australia expresses ‘serious concerns’ for dissident writer jailed in China

    Australia said Wednesday it is concerned for the health of jailed Chinese-Australian dissident writer Yang Jun, who was handed a suspended death sentence a year ago by a Beijing court. “We hold serious concerns about Dr Yang’s health and conditions,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ UK Government shelves taking action against SLAPP anti-media lawsuits

    Response to Future of News inquiry "fails to reflect severity of situation".

  • JURIST ☛ Press freedom advocates condemn Yemen journalist imprisonment over government criticism

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned in a statement on Monday the four-month prison sentence against Yemeni freelance journalist Aziz Al-Ahmadi for criticizing a government’s decisions on social control media. The organization viewed this prison sentence as a threat to free reporting in Yemen and a violation of the right to freedom of speech.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Kay Burley retires from Sky News: ‘Let politicians of every party rejoice’

    Burley, who has been at the broadcaster since launch, has anchored her final broadcast.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Third of New York Times subscribers do not pay for its news product

    The number of news-only NYT subscribers dropped 30% year-on-year as the company encouraged them onto "bundled" subs.

  • Press Gazette ☛ MPs told of ‘suspicions’ of UK-wide spying on journalists by police

    Documents showed two journalists were spied on “solely to identify our journalistic sources”.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • University of Michigan ☛ Historical protest movements at UMich: Women’s Movement

    During a year of continued campus protests, The Michigan Daily’s Campus Life beat went back through past protest movements at the University to provide a non-exhaustive timeline of ways the University’s campus has been shaped by these movements.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Historical protest movements at UMich: Environmental activism

    During a year of continued campus protests, The Michigan Daily’s Campus Life beat went back through past protest movements at the University to provide a non-exhaustive timeline of ways the University’s campus has been shaped by these movements.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Historical protest movements at UMich: Anti-war protests

    During a year of continued campus protests, The Michigan Daily’s Campus Life beat went back through past protest movements at the University to provide a non-exhaustive timeline of ways the University’s campus has been shaped by these movements.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Historical protest movements at UMich: Black Action Movement

    During a year of continued campus protests, The Michigan Daily’s Campus Life beat went back through past protest movements at the University to provide a non-exhaustive timeline of ways the University’s campus has been shaped by these movements.

  • Unicorn Media ☛ The Groups Behind the Group That Told EU Politicians to Stand Up to Convicted Felon

    Relatively unknown in the US, the European Digital Rights organization is a big deal in the EU. In this article, we look at many of the more than 50 organizations that lend their support and guidance to the organization.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Uproar over video of foreigner spotted doing job reserved for Thais

    Hundreds of netizens in the comment section slammed the foreigner for breaking the laws.

  • RFERL ☛ Dictator Withdraws U.S. From UN Human Rights Council, Aid Agency For Palestinians

    U.S. President The Insurrectionist has announced that the United States will withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and will not renew funding for the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees.

  • JURIST ☛ Dictator withdraws US from UN Human Rights Council, UNRWA

    US President The Insurrectionist on Tuesday signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and demanding a review of US involvement in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

  • JURIST ☛ Baltimore and civil rights groups sue Convicted Felon administration over US executive orders ending diversity programs

    The city of Baltimore and three civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to overturn two executive orders issued in recent weeks by the administration of US President The Insurrectionist aimed at ending federal diversity programs. The lawsuit argues the orders violate constitutional protections and undermine efforts to promote equal opportunities.

  • JURIST ☛ Philippines urged to end the use of anti-terrorism laws against human rights activists

    Amnesty International urged the government of the Philippines on Wednesday to cease using the country’s anti-terrorism laws against development workers and human rights activists and to halt its “crackdown” on human rights organizations.

  • The Wall Street Journal ☛ Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets

    Google is eliminating its goal of hiring more employees from historically underrepresented groups and reviewing some diversity, equity and inclusion programs, joining other tech giants rethinking their approach to DEI.

    In an email to employees Wednesday, Google said it would no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce.

    In 2020, amid calls for racial justice following the police ki-ling of George Floyd, Google set a target of increasing by 30% the proportion of “leadership representation of underrepresented groups” by 2025.

    Parent company Alphabet’s GOOGL 0.14%increase; green up pointing triangle

    annual report released Wednesday omitted a sentence stating the company was “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.” The sentence was in its reports from 2021 through 2024.

    Black and Latino people have long been underrepresented in the tech industry. Google’s 2024 diversity report said 5.7% of its U.S. employees were Black and 7.5% were Latino. Four years earlier, those figures were 3.7% and 5.9%, respectively.

    Google said it was evaluating whether to continue releasing annual diversity reports, which it has done since 2014. The evaluation is part of a broader review of DEI-related grants, training and initiatives, including those that the email said “raise risk, or that aren’t as impactful as we’d hoped.”

  • New York Times ☛ Google Unwinds Diversity Goals, Citing Convicted Felon’s DEI Orders

    The Silicon Valley giant also said it was reviewing other diversity programs and initiatives and would update them if they seemed risky or ineffective.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Google scraps its diversity hiring goals as it complies with Convicted Felon’s new government contractor rules

    Many companies outside of the technology industry also have backed away from DEI.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • AccessNow ☛ #KeepItOn: les autorités doivent rétablir l’accès à Goma et dans toute la RDC

    The #KeepItOn coalition urgently demand that authorities in the DRC stop imposing internet shutdowns amid the ongoing conflict.

  • AccessNow ☛ Holding space for human rights: improving the governance of satellite internet connectivity

    From obstructed humanitarian access to the weaponization of personal digital devices, internet connectivity is an issue that carries multiple layers of harms
    — one that we are only just starting to unpack.

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] How many DNS nameservers is enough?

    Geoff Huston examines the number of nameservers assigned to domains and the potentially inefficient methods used to select which one is queried.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand cuts power, fuel and internet supply to parts of Myanmar

    This comes as the South-east Asian nation steps up efforts to choke scam centres.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • EDRI ☛ Chaos Computer Club supports hackers facing legal battle with railway manufacturer

    Three ethical hackers were targeted by Polish railway manufacturer Newag after exposing anti-competitive practices. EDRi member Chaos Computer Club is backing the researchers to ensure they can continue their vital work without fear of legal retaliation.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Silicon Angle ☛ Apple shares fall after China ponders mounting probe into App Store

  Apple Inc. shares slid today after it was reported China’s watchdog will mount an antitrust investigation into the company’s App Store commissions. The probe, similar to those already carried out in the U.K. and the EU, will examine Apple’s practice of taking 30% of in-app purchase fees and blocking external payment services.

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Blurring the Line Between Law and Fact in Patent Eligibility

    The well-worn advice to trial lawyers, famously captured by Carl Sandburg, has long been: "If the law is against you, pound on the facts. If the facts are against you, pound on the law. If both are against you, pound on the table."

    This traditional dichotomy between law and fact reflects a fundamental principle of American jurisprudence - that certain questions are reserved for judges (law) while others are reserved for juries (fact).  And, even in cases where the judge serves both roles, the law provides for a strict separation of role. See FRCP 52(a).  But patent monopoly law doctrine often defies this clean separation. Take patent monopoly eligibility as an example: while courts characterize the atextual eligibility doctrine as ultimately a question of law, the analysis may require underlying factual determinations about what was conventional in the relevant field at the time of invention. And, even the "legal" aspects of eligibility analysis - like whether claims are "directed to" an abstract idea - require their own form of proof and evidence.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Most Patent Examiners Protected from USPTO Return-to-Office Mandate (for now) Through Union Agreement

    USPTO Commissioner for Patents Vaishali Udupa released guidance yesterday regarding the agency’s implementation of President Convicted Felon’s return-to-in-person work executive order.  The guidance explains that – in general – all remote workers will be ordered to return to office in coming days. But, the memo has a major exception it does not apply to employees whose telework arrangements are protected by collective bargaining agreements.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Empire IP entity, Fleet Connect, Wi-Fi patent monopoly challenged

    On February 4, 2025, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,742,388, owned and asserted by Fleet Connect Solutions, LLC, an NPE and entity of Empire IP. The '388 patent monopoly focuses on a system and method for increased bandwidth in digital communications, particularly within local and wide area networks including WLANs and mobile networks.

  • JUVE ☛ Bristows successful for Novartis against Celltrion’s UK invalidity claim over Xolair [Ed: JUVE, which promotes an illegal patent 'court', is doing PR/marketing for Bristows, which also promotes illegal 'courts'. This is a grotesque industry that promotes illegality and blackmail.]

    The British part of EP 3 805 248 is valid. The UK High Court handed down the ruling last week (case ID: HP-2023-000024). As part of a stratgey to clear the way for a biosimilar product of the asthma drug omalizumab, Celltrion had filed a revocation action against the patent monopoly with the UK court.

  • Patent Applicants 2024– China Outfiles Australian Residents While LG Maintains Individual Lead

    My latest analysis of patent monopoly filing data for 2024 confirms a shift that has been years in the making – Chinese applicants have finally overtaken Australian residents to become the second largest source of patent monopoly applications, behind only the United States.  This milestone comes as US filings showed a notable decline of 5.7%, while Chinese applications continued their steady growth with a 7.2% increase over the previous year.

    Among individual applicants, LG Electronics maintained its position at the top of the table with 229 filings, extending its lead over second-placed Huawei.  The healthcare and medical sector showed particular strength, with companies like Regeneron Pharmaceuticals making substantial gains in the rankings.  Meanwhile, the technology sector saw some significant changes, including the departure of I.C.B.M. from the top 30 applicants after a brief period of increased activity.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Keysoft advertising patent monopoly challenged

      On January 30, 2025, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,271,315, owned and asserted by Keysoft, Inc., an NPE. The '315 patent monopoly is directed to a targeted advertising platform using information gleaned from consumer purchases.

    • Unified Patents ☛ DynaIP entity, Err Content, media casting patent monopoly challenge instituted

      On January 28, 2025, one month after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,721,542, owned and asserted by Err Content IP LLC, an NPE and entity of Pueblo Nuevo/DynaIP. The '542 patent monopoly generally relates to providing main content and extra content to a user through a reference item.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Three Recent Inter Partes Proceedings: The Bigger They Are ....

    Monster Energy Company v. Country Innovation & Supply LLC, Opposition No. 91270179 (January 30, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Catherine Dugan O'Connor) [The Board dismissed this Section 2(d) opposition to registration of the mark BEAST HACK (standard characters) and the two word-and-design marks shown below, for hats, clothing, baseball and softball training aids, and hand grips, in view of the mark UNLEASH THE BEAST! and several other BEAST-FORMATIVE marks for apparel and accessories. The Board found the term "BEAST" to be "both conceptually and commercially weak in the fields of apparel and sports/fitness" and the marks dissimilar in appearance, sound, connotation and commercial impression.]

• Copyrights

  • Press Gazette ☛ FT policy chief warns MPs watered-down copyright monopoly regime for Hey Hi (AI) is ‘huge mistake’

    The FT and PPA pushed back against government proposals to create "opt-out" copyright monopoly exemptions for Hey Hi (AI) companies.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Notorious B.I.G. Estate Sues Target, Home Depot, and Several Others Over Alleged ‘King of New York’ Photo Infringement

    The Notorious B.I.G. estate and others are suing canvas-art company iCanvas as well as several retailers for allegedly infringing on a well-known picture of the famed rapper. The Biggie Smalls estate’s IP company, Republic Merchandising, and photographer Barron Claiborne just recently submitted their straightforward suit to an Illinois federal court.

  • Digital Music News ☛ T.I. and Tiny Harris to Receive Full $71.4 Million In Damages Following Multi-Year OMG Girlz Lawsuit

    T.I. and Tiny Harris have been awarded the full $71.4 million in damages they initially won in their lawsuit before a judge nearly docked it by 75%. Toy giant MGA Entertainment, which created the LOL Surprise! doll line, was initially ordered to pay over $71 million in September.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mail Online sued by agency for payment over Mahsa Amini image

    Agency says Mail Online position undermines the economics of newsgathering.