Leftovers

• Nothing Permanent Except Change [Ed: Microsoft mouthpieces [1 2]]

  Thanks to some divided attention on our part from having Monki Gras, Kubecon and Surveillance Giant Google Next back to back to back – not to mention a child that suddenly and unexpectedly got sick at school this week – this post is coming out a few days later than we’d originally planned, but it is time to let our community know that Kelly Fitzpatrick is leaving RedMonk.

• David Revoy ☛ My portrait of Charles Darwin in a museum

  I'm super excited to share this with you: my artwork is now on display in a museum. I just received a photo of the room of the exhibition with my portrait of Charles Darwin, and it's huge and looks amazing in this setting. This is a piece I painted in 2012 with the software Krita and the portrait is made up of many species from the evolution, kind of like a modern take on Giuseppe Arcimboldo's style, but with a twist dedicated to the famous father of the "On the Origin of Species".

• Ruben Schade ☛ Brolific

  R.L. Dane enquired about how one maintains a regular blogging habit, and counted my number of posts with a simple bash script.

  I wouldn’t say I have a specific recipe for a successful blog, though there are always a few points to keep in mind:

  Never write filler. People can tell when you’re waffling for no reason, or filling a post with some nonsense that is irrelevant, pointless, and open-ended. Always make sure you stick to a specific point, which aside from helping you choose topics, is a great way to ensure you’re not inadvertently written meandering, useless material.

• New York Times ☛ The Grand Egyptian Museum Is Finally Open. (Well, Mostly.)

  The Grand Egyptian Museum, outside Cairo, has been delayed by revolutions, wars, financial crises and a pandemic. At long last, here’s a look inside.

• Hackaday ☛ Making A Variable Speed Disc Sander From An Old Hard Drive

  This short video from [ProShorts 101] shows us how to build a variable speed disc sander from not much more than an old hard drive.

• Hackaday ☛ An Absolute Zero Of A Project

  How would you go about determining absolute zero? Intuitively, it seems like you’d need some complicated physics setup with lasers and maybe some liquid helium. But as it turns out, all you need is some simple lab glassware and a heat gun. And a laser, of course.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Colossal Squid Caught on Video During First Ever Sighting

    An expedition spotted a baby of the species in the South Sandwich Islands. This cephalopod can grow to more than 20 feet and has proved elusive in its deep-sea environs.

  • New York Times ☛ Astronomers Detect a Signature of Life on a Distant Planet

    Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.

  • Hackaday ☛ Homemade VNA Delivers High-Frequency Performance On A Budget

    With vector network analyzers, the commercial offerings seem to come in two flavors: relatively inexpensive but limited capabilities, and full-featured but scary expensive. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground, especially if you want something that performs well in the microwave bands.

  • Hackaday ☛ SpaceMouse Destroyed For Science

    The SpaceMouse is an interesting gadget beloved by engineers and artists alike. They function almost like joysticks, but with six degrees of freedom (6DoF). This can make them feel a bit like magic, which is why [Thought Bomb Design] decided to tear one apart and figure out how it works.

  • Science Alert ☛ Major Problem in Physics Could Be Fixed if The Whole Universe Was Spinning

    Like a record, baby.

  • Science Alert ☛ Pushing Webb to Its Limits May Have Revealed Earliest Galaxies

    At the edge of everything.

  • Science Alert ☛ There Are Good Health Reasons For Leaving Your Shoes at The Door

    Mom was right.

  • Science Alert ☛ Fake Blood Vessels Mean Lab-Grown Chicken Can Now Be Nugget Sized

    Tastes like chicken.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Quirk of Light Has Revealed The Weirdest Planetary System Yet

    How did this get made?

  • Science Alert ☛ Ghostly Rings of Dying Star Captured in Never-Before-Seen Detail by JWST

    This is amazing!

  • Science Alert ☛ New Form of Dark Matter May Explain Milky Way's Core Mysteries

    One answer to two galactic puzzles?

  • Science Alert ☛ Origins of Earth's Water May Not Be as Complicated as We Thought

    A long-held theory overturned?

• Career/Education

  • New York Times ☛ A U.S.-China Trade War With Students and Tourists as Potential Pawns

    With travel warnings and revoked visas, the two superpowers locked in a bruising trade war may make students and tourists their bargaining chips.

• Hardware

  • The Straits Times ☛ Nvidia kept some China customers in the dark about new US chip clampdown, sources say

    Nvidia now require a licence to export its H20 chips to China “for the indefinite future”.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Galax confirms monstrous dual 16-pin RTX 5090D extreme overclocking GPU for the Chinese market

    Galax is prepping to debut the first RTX 5090 GPU with two 16-pin power connectors, but availability will be limited to China.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s latest export controls rattle chipmakers and their stocks plunge

    Warnings from chipmakers Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. about higher costs related to new controls on exports to China sparked yet another slump in technology stocks today.

  • Hackaday ☛ Replica Of 1880 Wireless Telephone Is All Mirrors, No Smoke

    If we asked you to name Alexander Graham Bell’s greatest invention, you would doubtless say “the telephone”; it’s probably the only one of his many, many inventions most people could bring to mind. If you asked Bell himself, though, he would tell you his greatest invention was the photophone, and if the prolific [Nick Bild] doesn’t agree he’s at least intrigued enough to produce a replica of this 1880-vintage wireless telephone. Yes, 1880. As in, only four years after the telephone was patented.

  • US hits China with export restrictions on chips used for DeepSeek

    Nvidia’s H20 was the most advanced Hey Hi (AI) chip legally exportable to China.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia writes off $5.5 billion in GPUs as US gov't chokes off supply of H20s to China

    Apparently, Jensen Huang's $1 million dinner with The Insurrectionist did not help to ease U.S. government's concerns over H20 GPUs exports to China.

  • New York Times ☛ Taiwan’s Chip Companies Are Caught in the U.S.-China Tariff War

    Hell Toupée has threatened tariffs on Taiwan and the chip industry. China has signaled it will not let the trade war keep it from the technology it needs.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand unveils Robocop-style ‘AI police cyborg 1.0’ officer to enhance Songkran festival safety

    The cyborg is able to detect potential weapons, while excluding water guns.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD takes $800M haircut as US gov't cuts off China's Hey Hi (AI) GPU supply

    AMD is projected to write off $800 million because of expanded export restrictions on Hey Hi (AI) chips.

  • Hackaday ☛ Something Is Very Wrong With The AY-3-8913 Sound Generator

    The General Instruments AY-3-8910 was a quite popular Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) that saw itself used in a wide variety of systems, including Apple II soundcards such as the Mockingboard and various arcade systems. In addition to the Yamaha variants (e.g. YM2149), two cut-down were created by GI: these being the AY-3-8912 and the AY-3-8913, which should have been differentiated only by the number of GPIO banks broken out in the IC package (one or zero, respectively). However, research by [fenarinarsa] and others have shown that the AY-3-8913 variant has some actual hardware issues as a PSG.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Pro Publica ☛ Glenmark Recalls 24 U.S. Drugs Made at a Troubled Indian Factory

    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has recalled two dozen generic medicines sold to American patients because the Indian factory that made them failed to comply with U.S. manufacturing standards and the Food and Drug Administration determined that the faulty drugs could harm people, federal records show.

    In February, the FDA found problems with cleaning and testing at the plant in Madhya Pradesh, India, which was the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year. The current recalls, listed in an FDA enforcement report last week, cover a wide range of commonly prescribed medicines, including ones that treat epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other ailments. ​​A full list of the recalled medications is available here.

  • European Commission ☛ Commission welcomes significant step towards Pandemic Agreement

    The Commission welcomes the preliminary consensus on the Pandemic Agreement which was reached today, in Geneva, by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, underscoring the continuing strength of international cooperation and solidarity for global heath.

  • New York Times ☛ WHO Member Countries Agree to Pandemic Treaty

    The World Health Organization finally reached a compromise on a pandemic treaty after three years of talks. The United States withdrew from negotiations after Hell Toupée took office.

  • New York Times ☛ Pope Francis Thanks Doctors and Nurses for His Recovery

    Although the pontiff has begun meeting with more people, he remains frail and will not lead important Easter events, the Vatican announced.

  • New York Times ☛ RFK Jr. Calls Autism ‘Preventable,’ Drawing Ire From Researchers

    The health secretary said he would prioritize studies into environmental causes while harshly discounting other factors scientists say are likely contributing to rising rates of the condition.

  • University of Michigan ☛ NIH terminates $13 million grant on dementia risks for sole nationally representative mental health sample of Black Americans

    On March 21, a $12.9 million five-year-long grant for a University of Michigan study on dementia risks among at-risk U.S. populations was terminated following a letter from the National Institutes of Health. The study, “ADRD risk and resilience among Black Americans: A 20-year longitudinal study,” received funding from the National Institute on Aging Feb. 1.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Lil Nas X Shares Health Update After Mysterious Illness

    Lil Nas X has shared a health update with fans after he was hospitalized with a mysterious illness that paralyzed the right side of his face. Sharing a picture of himself, the rapper writes, “This is me doing a full smile right now by the way. It’s like, what the f**k? Bro, I can’t even […]

  • Stanford University ☛ Finding harmony in healthcare: How music heals providers and patients alike

    Amid the healthcare worker shortage, Stanford Medicine providers are turning to music for healing — both for themselves and the patients they care for.

  • Latvia ☛ Campaign urges young people in Latvia not to start smoking

    The Open Creative Centre has launched the "Don't Start!" campaign, encouraging young people not to start smoking. This campaign reminds people: it is easier not to start than to try to quit later.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Elderly woman in South Korea stuck on balcony for 18 hours strings together clothes to seek help

    Her unit was purportedly on a high floor, as the noise from the street drowned her cries for help.

  • The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea worker found dead days after metro construction site collapse

    Rescuers struggled to locate the man in his 50s after the accident.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s state-run food group Cofco hiring dozens in farm powerhouse Brazil

    Its move underscores the importance of Brazil amid an escalating global trade war between the US and China.

  • NYPost ☛ Common cooking ingredient linked to aggressive form of cancer, doctor reveals

    Health experts warn against overusing this food item.

• Proprietary

  • Hindustan Times ☛ YouTuber techie on why he quit Microsoft job is the US, moved back to India

    A Microsoft engineer has quit his job in the US and moved back to India amid immigration concerns for Indian techies.

  • Slop in Clothing of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • APNIC ☛ Level up your network engineering skills with LLMs

      Guest Post: Practical tips, real-world examples, and the pitfalls of using Large Language Models for network management.

    • Qt ☛ Qt Hey Hi (AI) Assistant v0.9 Released – Deploy LLMs Locally and Enjoy the Upgraded User Experience [Ed: Qt is advancing proprietary slop now]

      With the 0.9 release, you can unshackle yourself from cloud LLM providers, at least for code completion. We support CodeLlama-7B-QML and DeepSeekCoder v2 Lite now. You can run them with Ollama, the LLM self-hosting technology, on your computer with a few clicks and a single CLI command.

    • New York Times ☛ US Officials Target Nvidia and DeepSeek Amid Fears of China’s Hey Hi (AI) Progress

      China’s success in artificial intelligence has the Convicted Felon administration and lawmakers weighing rules and investigations to slow Beijing’s progress in the industry.

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ At Meta Antitrust Trial, Kapo-berg Calls Fentanylware (TikTok) a Competitive Threat

      The former chief operating officer took the stand in a landmark antitrust trial accusing Meta of quashing competition through acquisitions.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The platform where bot farms are still effective’: How Russia is leveraging TikTok's algorithm to try to warp public opinion in Ukraine — Meduza

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Open Source For U ☛ It’s the Age of Hey Hi (AI) Agents!

      Businesses must get ready to work with Hey Hi (AI) agents if they want to stay competitive. Many have already adopted them, while others are gearing up to do so. These agents will soon be part of almost every organisation, making up a large global digital workforce.

    • Open Source Initiative ☛ Join us at the OFA Symposium 2025: Advancing open technology impact in uncertain times [Ed: OSI connecting to oligarch capital]

      The OSI is joining forces with fellow content partners Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) and the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) to support OpenForum Academy (OFA) Symposium 2025, taking place November 18–19 at the FGV Law School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • CS Monitor ☛ Lessons from the suburbs: Good garden shears make good neighbors

      I loved the privacy of my green fortress. Until we hacked the hedge and opened up our world.

    • CS Monitor ☛ From retail to the military, ‘intelligent connectivity’ raises ethical dilemmas

      Artificial intelligence, 5G networks, and the Internet of Things are used increasingly often in spaces from retail to the military, raising privacy and ethical considerations.

    • EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 16 April 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. In this edition: Challenging data retention regime in Poland, Ljubljana’s municipal surveillance, and more!

    • EDRI ☛ Ljubljana’s municipal surveillance: Where trust trumps data

      During a Ljubljana municipal council debate on CCTV transparency, several concerning points were raised regarding the Slovenian capital's network of over 500 surveillance cameras and the methods employed to assess their effectiveness in preventing crime. The discussion revealed that the entire system relies heavily on trust in the authorities, without any substantial data to support the cameras' effectiveness or a clear rationale for their widespread deployment.

    • EDRI ☛ Avoiding regulation of biometric surveillance and loyalty applications: The 20th Big Brother Awards took place in the Czech Republic

      For the twentieth time, the Czech organization and EDRi member IuRe (Iuridicum Remedium) awarded prizes to the greatest snoopers.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Pro Publica ☛ As Trump Spends on Border Security, Residents’ Basic Needs Go Unmet

  • JURIST ☛ UN rights office raises alarm over Israel military operations in Lebanon

    The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed on Tuesday grave concern over the continued loss of civilian life in Lebanon. The country is facing ongoing Israeli military operations, with the UN human rights office saying the strikes may constitute violations of international humanitarian law.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Waved Off Israeli Strike After Divisions Emerged in His Administration

    Israel developed plans for attacking Iranian nuclear facilities that would have required U.S. assistance. But some administration officials had doubts.

  • New York Times ☛ Palliative Care Doctor Is Charged With Serial Murder of 15 Patients in Germany

    The Berlin doctor, who was not named because of privacy laws, is also accused of setting fire to some of the patients’ homes to hide evidence.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea criticises US for deploying B-1B strategic bomber in South Korea

    North Korea criticised the United States for deploying the B-1B strategic bomber in a recent joint military drill with South Korea, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea criticises US for deploying B-1B strategic bomber in South Korea

    It called the joint US-South Korea military drills an 'open threat' to Pyongyang's security.

  • The Strategist ☛ Taiwan: the sponge that soaks up Chinese power

    Taiwan has an inadvertent, rarely acknowledged role in global affairs: it’s a kind of sponge, soaking up much of China’s political, military and diplomatic efforts.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ China is militarizing its coast guard against Taiwan. Here’s how Taipei and its allies can respond.

    As new evidence emerges about China's long-suspected practice of using its coast guard for military purposes, Taiwan and the US have the tools to push back.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Navigating the US-PRC tech competition in the Global South

    A landscape report analyzing China's strategic tech engagements with the Global South and how the US can compete.

  • The Strategist ☛ China targets Canada’s election—and may be targeting Australia’s

    Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks.

  • The Strategist ☛ The Spirit for Australia: why Canberra should pursue the B-2 bomber

    China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted a pressing need to defend Australia’s air and sea approaches more effectively.

  • ACLU ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man's Expanded Domestic Military Use Should Worry Us All

    There’s growing concern that President The Insurrectionist might invoke the Insurrection Act to bring National Guard troops under federal control and deploy them within the U.S. This speculation may be partly because one of Hell Toupée’s Inauguration Day executive orders, which declared a national emergency at the southern border set an April 20 deadline for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to recommend whether to use the Insurrection Act. That date is approaching quickly.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea police raid presidential office and security compound

    Police seized encrypted phone servers and raided the office of ex-president's security detail.

  • JURIST ☛ US federal judge blocks Convicted Felon order to revoke legal status of 500k+ migrants

    A US federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked an order issued by the Convicted Felon Administration that sought to revoke the legal status and work permits of nearly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group publishes report on human rights violations in Mozambique amid post-election crackdown

    Amnesty International released an extensive report on Wednesday denouncing human rights violations in Mozambique following the 2024 elections. In the report, Amnesty International evaluated human rights abuses committed by Mozambican security forces during the post-election crackdown.

  • JURIST ☛ IOM reports Pakistan forcibly deported nearly 60,000 Afghan refugees since April

    The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday reported that nearly 60,000 Afghan refugees have been forcibly deported from Pakistan. The latest wave of forced deportations comes amid a nationwide crackdown to expel foreigners, whether they are residing in Pakistan legally or illegally, under the pretense of national security.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli army faces growing dissent: ‘I will never again serve under this government’

    Israeli media have reported a marked increase in the number of reservists refusing to show up for army duty, pointing to rapidly declining support for a war that critics – including within the military – say is no longer motivated by Israel’s security interests and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

  • France24 ☛ Israel says troops to remain indefinitely in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria

    Israel's Defense Minister said on Wednesday troops would stay in "security zones" in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, potentially complicating ceasefire and hostage talks with Hamas. Israeli forces, having retaken over half of Gaza, resumed operations last month to pressure Hamas after a truce collapsed.

  • Beijing, Manila at odds over Surveillance Giant Google Maps update on South China Sea

    Google labeled part of the South China Sea as the ‘West Philippine Sea’ – a term Beijing rejects.

  • Meduza ☛ Putin meets with Russians freed by Hamas, expresses gratitude for ‘humanitarian act’ — Meduza

  • Defence Web ☛ No evidence of RDM regulatory breach and arms exports remain regulated – Ntshavheni

    According to Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa is a responsible arms trader and does not allow the re-export of munitions to countries participating in armed conflicts. Her statement comes as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) alleges munitions exported to Germany by Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) are being re-exported to Israel and Ukraine.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China and Malaysia say important to maintain peace and stability in South China Sea

    China and Malaysia emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea in a joint statement issued on Thursday at the end of a state visit by Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's Pooh-tin calls on Asian nations to resist confrontation and protectionism

    Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping called on Wednesday for Asian nations to unite in resisting geopolitical confrontation, unilateralism and protectionism, as he aims to consolidate ties with some of China's closest neighbours amid a deterioration of relations with the U.S.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Xi says China stands with South-east Asia to counter ‘unilateralism’, amid US tariffs

    Mr Pooh-tin is in South-east Asia to shore up economic and trading ties amid a stand-off with the US.

  • Japanese warships will be first to visit a Cambodian port upgraded by China

    China’s role in the project sparked fears it may use the base as an outpost to expand its regional influence.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cambodia eyes more China help as Pooh-tin visits amid US tariff tensions

    Phnom Penh is also a close partner of China, and is the country’s largest creditor.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says it will ignore US 'tariff numbers game'

    China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the "tariff numbers game", China's foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245% due to its retaliatory actions.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says it will ignore US ‘tariff numbers game’

    The White House has outlined how China faces tariffs of up to 245% due to its retaliatory actions.

  • Myanmar insurgent army to withdraw from northern territory amid Chinese pressure

    The move is part of ongoing peace negotiations being brokered by China in Kunming, said sources.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China names new trade envoy amid escalating tariff war with US

    China said Wednesday that it had appointed a new trade envoy, as the world’s second-largest economy pushes back against The Insurrectionist

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Stop threatening and blackmailing,’ China tells The Insurrectionist

    China told Washington on Wednesday to “stop threatening and blackmailing” after The Insurrectionist said it was up to Beijing to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending their trade war.

  • France24 ☛ Syrian family returns home after seven years of displacement

    Ibrahim is the father of six children. After seven years living in a tent in a refugee camp in the Aleppo region, his family can finally return to their village, Maasaran, even though their house is partially destroyed. Since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad, hundreds of thousands of people have been trying to return home—one of the priorities of the new Syrian government after 13 years of civil war.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania’s economic ties with China ‘minimal’ – minister

      Economic ties between Vilnius and Beijing are now minimal, Economy Minister Lukas Savickas says.

    • Latvia ☛ Government approves €900,000 for Ukrainian children's camps in Latvia

      On Tuesday, 15 April, the Government approved € 900,000 for the organisation of camps for Ukrainian children.

    • The Strategist ☛ Women in combat roles strengthen our defence force

      The Ukraine war has been called the bloodiest conflict since World War II. As of July 2024, 10,000 women were serving in frontline combat roles.

    • France24 ☛ Rubio, Witkoff head to Paris for Ukraine war talks

      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President The Insurrectionist's special envoy, travel to Paris on Wednesday for talks with their European counterparts on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

    • LRT ☛ Vilnius court opens terrorism trial in 2024 Ikea fire case

      A terrorism trial began Wednesday at the Vilnius Regional Court, where an 18-year-old Ukrainian citizen is accused of carrying out a terrorist act by setting off an explosion and fire at an Ikea store in the Lithuanian capital.

    • LRT ☛ Company headed by Ukraine-Lithuania Chamber chair to export medical supplies to Belarus

      A Lithuanian company led by Kristina Laima Aleknienė, chair of the Ukraine-Lithuania Chamber of Commerce in Vilnius, is set to export millions of euros’ worth of medical goods and equipment to Belarus this year.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Attack On Dnipro Kills 2 Women, Injures At Least 16

      A Russian drone attack killed young woman and an elderly woman and injured at least 16 others on April 16 in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said.

    • RFERL ☛ Kyiv Cites 'Significant Progress' In Talks With US On Partnership Deal, Rare Earth Minerals

      Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said there has been "significant progress" in negotiations with the United States toward a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that includes a deal on rare earth minerals.

    • New York Times ☛ Latvia Exits Land Mine Convention Amid Fears of Russian Aggression

      The government, along with two other Baltic nations and Poland, agreed last month to quit the 1997 accord that prohibits from using anti-personnel mines. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was cited as a key reason.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Arrests Former Governor of Kursk Region

      Aleksei B. Smirnov, together with his deputy and other accomplices, was accused of embezzling money earmarked for building defenses that failed to prevent a Ukrainian attack in Kursk.

    • Meduza ☛ He was the governor of Russia’s Kursk region when Ukraine launched a surprise incursion. Now, Alexey Smirnov is in jail facing embezzlement charges. — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Dual Russian, Belarusian, Chinese citizens barred from Lithuania's military academy

      Lithuanian citizens who also hold Russian, Belarusian or Chinese passports and individuals without Lithuanian citizenship will not be admitted to the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy, the cabinet decided on Wednesday.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Aides Close State Dept. Office on Foreign Disinformation

      Secretary of State Marco Rubio put about 40 employees on leave who had tracked disinformation by China, Russia, Iran and terrorist groups.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia asks U.S. to let it us frozen assets to buy Boeing planes — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • The Straits Times ☛ China stares down Boeing parts shortage while Comac stockpiles

      Singapore may provide a work-around for delivery of US aircraft parts in China, says one analyst.

    • Meduza ☛ School discos, cafe vouchers, and car lotteries How to solve a population crisis, according to Russian officials — Meduza

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • JURIST ☛ Ireland government agrees to share documents with Omagh Bombing Inquiry

    The Government of Ireland formally agreed to allow relevant material including reports and intelligence to be shared with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry in order to support the Inquiry’s findings and investigations.

• Finance

  • France24 ☛ California sues to block The Insurrectionist's tariffs and trade war

    California said Wednesday it is suing the US government over former President The Insurrectionist's shifting tariffs, arguing he lacked authority to impose them. The lawsuit marks the state's strongest challenge yet to the trade policy, which has roiled global markets and fueled uncertainty among American businesses.

  • New York Times ☛ The Insurrectionist’s Tariffs Will Only Strengthen China’s Hand

    China’s e-commerce ecosystem illustrates how Convicted Felon’s tariffs only strengthen that country’s hand.

  • Latvia ☛ Heads or tails? Cabbage heads!

    The annual public poll has named the collection coin "Cabbage" as "Latvian Coin of the Year 2024", the Latvian Central Bank (Bank of Latvia) said in a release on 15 April.

  • New York Times ☛ Shein and Temu Will be Hit by Convicted Felon’s China Tariffs. Americans Are Worried.

    The Forrest Dump administration’s plan to add steep fees to packages from China will deal a blow to Temu, Shein and some Fentanylware (TikTok) Shop sellers, worrying American consumers.

  • Dedoimedo ☛ Zorin OS 17.3 review - Would you pay for your Linux desktop?

    Zorin OS is one such beast. While it's based on Ubuntu, and it's largely Ubuntu, Zorin OS tries to set itself apart by offering a paid version (about EUR50), which comes with additional software, tweaks and support from the developers. Technically speaking, you can also pay for Ubuntu, if you like, or try the pro set of patches, which ought to last you a decade plus. KDE is also gearing up toward having its own commercial distro. Today, we shall focus on Zorin, and how it does its thing. Let's begin.

  • New York Times ☛ How Brazil’s Rare Earths Mine Illustrates China’s Grip Over Minerals

    A Brazilian rare earths mine backed by American investors illustrates China’s grip over the strategic minerals that underpin the modern economy.

  • JURIST ☛ Legal advocacy group files lawsuit to block Convicted Felon tariffs on foreign trading partners

    A legal advocacy group filed a lawsuit with the US Court of International Trade on Monday to block Convicted Felon’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners, arguing that the president overstepped his authority.

  • New York Times ☛ How China Took Over the World’s Rare Earths Industry

    China seized mines and built factories. Japan took note and invested in Australia. But the United States did little despite concerns about control of supplies.

  • New York Times ☛ Stocks Fall on Jerome Powell’s Concern About Tariffs and Tech’s Pullback

    Semiconductor stocks fell after the Convicted Felon administration blocked companies from selling certain chips to China without a license.

  • France24 ☛ US stocks, dollar slide as Powell warns tariffs likely to spur inflation

    Wall Street traders returned to selling Wednesday, pushing stocks lower as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious remarks that tariffs are likely to fuel a rise in inflation. The Nasdaq finished down more than three percent.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China appoints new top trade negotiator amid US tariff war

    China’s World Trade Organisation envoy Li Chenggang replaces veteran trade tsar Wang Shouwen.

  • New Yorker ☛ Recession Indicators Are Everywhere

    Kyle Chayka writes about the various indicators, psychological and economic, of a potential recession.

  • France24 ☛ China appoints new trade negotiator amid tariff war with US

    Emboldened by the latest economic data that showed China's economy in the first quarter grew faster than expected at 5.4%, Beijing continues to play hardball in its trade war with the United States. But it also quietly appointed a new trade negotiator, with experience at the WTO. Meanwhile, Convicted Felon said he'd take part in trade talks with Japan as its delegation headed for Washington. Turmoil returned to Wall Street as the Federal Reserve chairman warned about inflationary impacts of tariffs.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • France24 ☛ Brazil, the art of change in a post-Bolsonaro era: Film for democracy (2/3)

    To mark the France-Brazil 2025 season, which takes place in France from April to September, and the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, FRANCE 24's cultural magazine arts24 brings you a three-part series exploring how Brazil's creative forces are shaping national identity and driving social change through music, film and fashion.

    The second installment of our Brazil series presented by Eve Jackson examines the country's powerful cinematic legacy and its role in confronting the nation's complex political history. Shot in Rio de Janeiro, "Film for democracy" arrives at a pivotal moment following the country's first-ever Oscar win for Best International Feature. This episode features acclaimed director Walter Salles discussing his Oscar-winning film "I'm Still Here", which confronts the painful legacy of Brazil's 1962-1985 military dictatorship. Through the true story of Eunice Paiva, whose husband was forcibly disappeared, the film reignites crucial conversations about historical memory and justice.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Scott Bessent’s Imaginary Friends

    In the week since Scott Bessent brashly claimed the US still had things called "allies" that he planned to use to isolate China, those countries formerly called US friends have been seeking solidarity from more reliable partners.

  • The Strategist ☛ The Insurrectionist’s first three months: rude, raucous and rogue

    Sunday marks three months since The Insurrectionist’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality.

  • Breach Media ☛ The radical thinker behind Pierre Poilievre’s country-wrecking plans

    Martin Lukacs unpacks Milton Friedman’s influence on Poilievre’s pro-corporate playbook

  • CS Monitor ☛ Some decry Convicted Felon disruptions. These voters exult in them.

    Just as Hell Toupée’s vision for America has intensified in his second stint in Washington, so, too, has his strongest supporters’ admiration.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New York Times ☛ Russia Jails 4 Journalists for Working With Navalny’s Organization

    The case highlighted the perils of independent journalism amid an intensified Kremlin crackdown on freedom of expression.

  • Meduza ☛ Russia adds 69-year-old father of Navalny ally Leonid Volkov to list of 'extremists and terrorists' — Meduza

  • Stanford University ☛ These poems’ publication prove that The Daily is biased

    Yeah Mason Barrett '28 wrote it. Yeah we published it. But we both know you're going to like it, so stop whining and get clicking.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Flag error on front page of Sin Chew Daily unacceptable, says Malaysia’s King

    The Home Ministry issued a show-cause letter to the publication and is investigating the matter.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Cision closes journalism jobs board and sells expert enquiry service

    Cision Jobs website to close on 30 April. Separately, Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to relaunch under new owner on 22 April.

  • Press Gazette ☛ 2025 journalism job cuts tracked: Houston Landing closes, Quartz sale results in newsroom layoffs

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong court blocks activist jailed under nat. sec law from appealing for lighter sentence

    A Hong Kong court has blocked an independence activist jailed under the national security law from appealing for a shorter sentence. The High Court’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday denied Joseph John, also known as Wong Kin-chung, permission to challenge his five-year jail term.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Amnesty International’s Hong Kong office reopens overseas after pulling out of city in 2021 citing nat. security law

    Amnesty International’s Hong Kong office has reopened overseas after it pulled out of the city in 2021, citing the onset of the Beijing-imposed national security law. Ex-lawmaker Fernando Cheung and former student activist Joey Siu are among the board members.

  • University of Michigan ☛ More than 300 female PAs sue Michigan Medicine for alleged wage discrimination

    Christine Oldenburg-McGee, a Michigan Medicine physician assistant, along with more than 300 former and current fellow female PAs filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Michigan Medicine for alleged wage discrimination.  The lawsuit alleges systemic, lasting, gender-based disparities in pay amongst workers, a violation of state and federal law.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Federal judge blocks Labor Department from enforcing key part of Convicted Felon’s anti-DEI executive orders

    Judge Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades.

  • JURIST ☛ Federal judge blocks key parts of Convicted Felon’s anti-DEI orders

    A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction preventing the US Department of Labor from requiring government contractors and federal grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that violate any federal anti-discrimination laws.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] Pulse Internet Measurement Forum at APRICOT 2025: Part 2

    The second PING recording from the first Pulse Internet Measurement Forum held during APRICOT 2025, featuring Amreesh Phokeer, Beau Geiskens, Doug Madory, and Lia Hestina.

  • Internet Society ☛ The Open Fibre Data Standard

    The Open Fibre Data Standard (OFDS) is an open data, open standards initiative supported by the Internet Society.  

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ $10,000 for Adeia Technologies mixed media patents prior art

    Unified Patents added five new PATROLL contests, each with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on the list below. The patents are owned by Adeia Technologies Inc, an NPE. The patents generally relate to various mixed media technologies. They have all been asserted against Disney.

    The contests will expire on June 1, 2025. PATROLL researchers are required to use Pearl to generate claim charts. Submitted invalidity charts must address every limitation of the challenged claim. This may require using more than one prior art reference. Each PATROLL researcher can generate up to 30 invalidity claim charts per month using Pearl.

  • Following Fintiv Reinstatement, the ITC Should Emphasize Patent Validity Review

    In recent weeks the USPTO has continued to undermine its own review processes at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)––from voiding former Director Kathi Vidal’s guidance that limited the Fintiv framework to introducing a non-statutory, “bifurcated” process that will result in more discretionary denials of petitions, irrespective of their merit.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Morris Routing network patent monopoly challenged

    On April 10, 2025, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 12,058,042, owned and asserted by Morris Routing Technologies, LLC, an NPE. The ‘042 patent monopoly relates to path-based data routing in a network.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Unified’s Gatekeeper reexam results in litigation stay

    In Gatekeeper Solutions, Inc. v. Darktrace, Inc. (4:2024-cv-00723), the court has ordered that all proceedings are stayed pending the PTO’s final decision in Unified Patents’ ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent 9,032,038.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Patent Issuance Timeline Accelerated

    The USPTO is shrinking the typical timeline from issuance to he USPTO has announced a significant improvement to their patent monopoly issuance process that will benefit inventors and patent monopoly holders across the nation. Beginning May 13, 2025, the time between Issue Notification and Issue Date will be reduced from approximately three weeks to just two weeks.   When everything is in order, the issue notification typically comes 1-2 weeks after paying the Issue Fee.

    The USPTO formerly needed time for formatting the printing, but now that we have moved to electronic grants (eGrants), the issuance will come that much sooner.  Good work USPTO.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ PHOSITA is no Ordinary Person

    by Dennis Crouch

    In this post, I use the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Sage Products, LLC v. Stewart, Appeal No. 23-1603 (Fed. Cir. April 15, 2025) to delve into the increasingly fictional construct at the center of patent monopoly law: the Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA).  In our stories, PHOSITA is typically the antagonist, attempting to undermine our hero, the inventor. PHOSITA didn't invent, but now says that he would have done so if only he were a real boy.  And, the ever-expanding knowledge base imputed to PHOSITA helps justify that claim--while naturally raising concerns about the system's fairness, predictability, and effectiveness.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ The new Bolar provisions and their potential impact on European PI landscape [Ed: There is an illegal patent court or kangaroo court in place, so PI itself got tainted with corruption and illegality]

      As is well known in the life sciences community in Europe, both the Commission and the Parliament have proposed reforms to the Medicines Directive which, if implemented, would serve to broaden the ambit of the Bolar exemption in the European Union.

    • JUVE ☛ MediaTek and Huawei take multi-jurisdictional chip battle to the UPC [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional; in this case it's misused by non-Europeans, demonstrating how EPO corruption works against Europe]

      Huawei is suing MediaTek for infringement of two patents at the Munich local division (case IDs: ACT_14180/2025 and ACT_13761/2025). EP 4 142 215 protects a “method and apparatus for obtaining UE security capabilities” while EP 3 905 840 covers a “signal indication for flexible new radio long term evolution coexistence”.

    • JUVE ☛ EPO and UPC disagree on validity of Amgen’s patent monopoly for cholesterol drug [Ed: UPC is illegal and EPO breaks the law; this is a case of EU being hijacked by a corrupt circle of profiteers, shredding constitutions and charters to make more money]

      Amgen’s battle with Sanofi and Regeneron, concerning cholesterol-lowering drugs is arguably one of the pharmaceutical industry’s longest-running and most acrimonious. Amgen sells its product under the Repatha brand, while Sanofi and Regeneron market their product as Praluent. For years, both sides have received conflicting decisions from different courts in Europe.

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Photographs of the Samaritan Passover on Mount Gerizim (1917)

    Images from a ritual practised for 127 generations.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Humans Struggle to Accurately Identify Hey Hi (AI) Music, Study Reveals

    How accurately can humans identify music created using artificial intelligence? A new study conducted by MIT Technology Review reveals humans struggle against diffusion-created Hey Hi (AI) music from platforms like Suno and Udio. Diffusion models for creating music don’t compose songs the same way a human might, by starting with chords and adding vocals and drums.