Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Todepond: Make stupid things!

  There’s nothing I could add to this:

  Make stupid things. Make stupid sounds. Make stupid pictures. Make stupid videos. Make stupid stories. Make stupid jokes. Make stupid sentences. Make stupid poems. Make stupid blog posts. Make stupid decisions. Make stupid things.

• Standards/Consortia

  • The Register UK ☛ The Agent Name Service, it's like DNS but for AI agents

    Proponents of agentic AI expect autonomous software bots will automatically complete multi-step, interactive tasks. To do so they’ll need to use APIs to interact with enterprise applications and data and communicate with other agents. Work has begun on protocols to make that possible. Google has developed Agent2Agent (A2A), Anthropic offers Model Context Protocol (MCP), and IBM's contribution is the Agent Communication Protocol (ACP).

  • Ruben Schade ☛ The perhaps unsurprising longevity of email

    When a tool based on an open protocol leaves however, another can take its place. Your data may disappear off a disk or a site, but something with local copies and a distributed protocol can get around this problem, and you can move elsewhere. Hey wait a minute… like email!

• Science

  • University of Michigan ☛ The Forrest Dump administration’s budget cuts to the NOAA critically halt federal funding to Great Lakes research

    In 2024, Great Lakes researchers at the University of Michigan were awarded a $6.5 million five-year grant by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to host a research center focusing on algal blooms, climate change and overall environmental impacts on human health for communities living in, working in [...]

  • Science Alert ☛ Should You Shower in The Morning or Night? It Depends on One Crucial Factor.

    There is a clear answer.

  • Science Alert ☛ Huge Study Reveals Where Gout Comes From, And It's Not What We Thought

    "The myth that gout is caused by lifestyle or diet needs to be busted."

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Energy Drink Additive Could Be Fueling Growth in Leukemia

    A health warning.

  • Science Alert ☛ Want to Live to 100? These Four Habits Might Help Get You There.

    Having the right genes helps too.

  • Science Alert ☛ Tales of Viking Pregnancy Reveal The Fierce Side of Norse Mothers

    Overlooked, but not silent.

  • Science Alert ☛ Alarming Sea Level Rise Expected Even With 1.5°C Warming Limit

    Let's not make it worse.

  • Science Alert ☛ Dark Streaks on Mars May Not Be Signs of Flowing Water Like We Thought

    Bittersweet news.

• Hardware

  • The Straits Times ☛ China slams US ‘bullying’ over new chip warnings [Ed: Hey Hi (AI) chips? Nope, they mean GPUs.]

    Washington warned firms that using Chinese-made Hey Hi (AI) chips would risk violating US export controls.

  • France24 ☛ China slams new US chip curbs as 'bullying,' vows response

    Beijing on Wednesday condemned new US semiconductor export controls as "bullying," vowing countermeasures against restrictions limiting China's access to high-tech chips and supply chains. The commerce ministry called the rules "typical unilateral bullying and protectionism," warning they destabilise global semiconductor supply chains.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China accuses US of undermining trade talks with warning against Huawei chips

    The Commerce Department said the use of Huawei's Ascend chips is a breach of US export controls.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Beijing slams US ‘bullying’ over new warnings on China-made Hey Hi (AI) chips [Ed: "Hey Hi (AI) chips" is a misnomer]

    Beijing condemned on Wednesday new US warnings on the use of Hey Hi (AI) chips made in China, vowing it would take steps against “bullying” efforts to restrict access to high-tech semiconductors and supply chains.

  • The Strategist ☛ It’s not just software. Physical critical equipment can’t be trusted, either

    Just auditing the software in critical equipment isn’t enough. We must assume that adversaries, especially China, will also exploit the hardware if they can. .

  • Hackaday ☛ Stylus Synth Should Have Used A 555– And Did!

    For all that “should have used a 555” is a bit of a meme around here, there’s some truth to it. The humble 555 is a wonderful tool in the right hands. That’s why it’s wonderful to see this all-analog stylus synth project by EE student [DarcyJ] bringing the 555 out for the new generation.

  • Hackaday ☛ Plugging Plasma Leaks In Magnetic Confinement With New Guiding Center Model

    Although the idea of containing a plasma within a magnetic field seems straightforward at first, plasmas are highly dynamic systems that will happily escape magnetic confinement if given half a chance. This poses a major problem in nuclear fusion reactors and similar, where escaping particles like alpha (helium) particles from the magnetic containment will erode the reactor wall, among other issues. For stellarators in particular the plasma dynamics are calculated as precisely as possible so that the magnetic field works with rather than against the plasma motion, with so far pretty good results.

  • CNX Software ☛ Radxa NIO 5A credit card-sized Mediatek Genio 520 SBC showcased at Computex 2025

    Radxa NIO 5A is an upcoming Mediatek Genio 520 SBC in credit card/Raspberry Pi form factor that should offer a more affordable entry into the MediaTek Genio family than Radxa Nio 12L equipped with a powerful Mediatek Genio 1200 SoC. There’s no public information on the web about it, but I was sent some photos of the board from Mediatek’s booth at Computex 2025, and we know it’s powered by the Genio 520 octa-core Cortex-A78/A55 SoC with a 10 TOPS Hey Hi (AI) accelerator and comes with “large memory and high-capacity storage”.

  • Hackaday ☛ Fault Analysis Of A 120W Anker GaNPrime Charger

    Taking a break from his usual prodding at suspicious AliExpress USB chargers, [DiodeGoneWild] recently had a gander at what used to be a good USB charger.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Yellow Fever Resurgence Could Make COVID Look 'Pale' by Comparison

    The world is at high risk.

  • NYPost ☛ Shakira concertgoers may have been exposed to measles at sold-out MetLife show, NJ health officials warn

    An out-of-state resident who attended the Colombian singer's sold-out Los Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour on May 15 was recently diagnosed with the highly contagious virus.

  • Federal News Network ☛ ‘DRP or no DRP, I’m done’: VA health care employees plan on leaving, with or without separation incentives

    A Veterans Crisis Line responder says he applied for the deferred resignation program and plans on leaving the VA.

  • New York Times ☛ R.F.K. Jr. Has Unlikely Allies in His Drive to Limit Atrazine

    An unlikely group is coalescing around the health secretary’s drive for restrictions on atrazine, which is linked to cancer, birth defects and low sperm counts.

  • New York Times ☛ RFK Jr.’s War on Pesticides Riles Farmers and a Republican Senator

    A health report commissioned by Hell Toupée has been causing angst within the agriculture industry who fear the chemicals will be identified as a driver of childhood disease.

  • New York Times ☛ Is Red Meat Bad for Your Heart? It May Depend on Who Funded the Study.

    A new analysis found that red meat studies with industry links were more likely to report favorable results than those without them.

  • New York Times ☛ Joe Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis Is a Familiar Scenario for Prostate Experts

    Guidelines advise no screening after age 70, and doctors say that even men who test diligently may develop an aggressive cancer after none was found at a recent checkup.

  • CS Monitor ☛ How independence helps caregivers on the job and Indigenous people in Colombia

    Progress roundup: Philippine island boosts incomes and mangrove forests, Colombia protects isolated tribes, and U.S. home care workers thrive in co-ops.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania reports highest death toll on record this flu season

    The 2024–2025 flu season officially ended in Lithuania last week. Seventy-five people died of flu this season, the highest death toll on record, the National Public Health Centre (NVSC) said on Monday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Korean children starting day care earlier, staying longer: Survey

    A ministry official attributed the findings to evolving family dynamics.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Plunging roof tiles at 650-year-old tourist attraction in China spark investigation

    Videos show the tiles crashing down within seconds, sending up a large cloud of dust.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to give $648m to WHO in next 5 years, official says

    The UN agency is seeking extra funding to offset the loss of its top donor, the United States.

  • Science Alert ☛ Sitting Could Be Shrinking Your Brain (And Exercise May Not Help)

    Go stretch your legs.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Liam Proven ☛ I am so sick and tired of "AI"

      Spent much of today getting a Live AROS USB key working, which wasn't trivial... it needed a USB 3 key, which I had to go and buy specially.

       

      But after that... I am so tired. I want to write about new stuff in software, but there feels to be no area not contaminated with "AI".
      
      I get the depressing feeling that computing is just being eaten up by bloody "AI". Virtually every press release I've seen this week has been AI. Mozilla adopts new Hey Hi (AI) search engine. Red Bait releases RHEL 10 with built in Hey Hi (AI) chat bot to help clueless PFYs admin the thing. backdoored Windows bloody Notepad has Hey Hi (AI) built in. Hey Hi (AI) in Surveillance Giant Google Docs. Hey Hi (AI) boosters in my mentions telling me and my friends that Hey Hi (AI) is helping them read antique books or whatever. 

    • SAG-AFTRA Says Fortnite’s Use of Hey Hi (AI) Instead of Actors Is Unfair

      The union that represents U.S. actors, journalists and other artists has filed an Unfair Labor Practices complaint against the production company for the popular interactive video game, Fortnite. The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), filed the complaint against Llama Productions, which is wholly owned by Epic Games, Inc., charging that the game’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to recreate the voice of deceased actor James Earl Jones as Darth Vader violated Section 8(a), subsections (1) and (5) of the National Labor Relations Act.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • WhichUK ☛ Sim-swap scammers exploit weak email security, warns Which?

      Unauthorised Sim swaps are up by 1,055%. Could mobile networks do more to protect customers?

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Andrew Cuomo, Singling Out Another Political Target

    After killing a criminal case against Mayor Eric Adams, the Convicted Felon administration has begun investigating his chief rival in the New York City mayoral race over his testimony about the pandemic.

  • Defence Web ☛ Questions about DRC allowances and apparent ration shortage as SADC mission withdrawal underway

    South Africa’s largest military labour organisation and two political parties, one currently committed to the government of national unity (GNU), are up in arms about apparent shortcomings in allowances paid to soldiers on active continental duty as well as an alleged lack of rations.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group expresses concern over escalating US violence in Yemen

    Amnesty International on Monday called for an investigation into the US air strike on a migrant detention centre in Sa’da, Yemen, on April 28, that killed and injured dozens of migrants. This follows reports of escalating US air strikes in Yemen that have resulted in a high number of civilian casualties.

  • France24 ☛ France: Foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot calls Gaza ‘a place of death’

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot this morning said the situation in Gaza is "unbearable" as Gazans face starvation, according to the World Health Organization,due to the Israeli blockade.

  • North Korea deploys handheld signal detectors to crack down on cross-border calls

    Authorities want to block calls to South Korea by North Koreans using Chinese cell phones, sources tell RFA.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s Fighter Jets and Missiles Get a Boost From the India-Pakistan Clash

    The reported success of Chinese-made fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in the conflict has fed nationalist pride in China, and has renewed warnings to Taiwan.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India arrests 11 accused of spying for Pakistan: Local media

    The arrests come after the worst flare-up in violence between the nuclear-armed rivals since 1999.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Boycott Turkey’ campaign emerges in India over Turkish support for Pakistan

    Azerbaijan, Malaysia and China have also been caught in the cross hairs of Indians for the same reason.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, US hold joint maritime drills in South China Sea

    The "maritime cooperative activity," was the second for the year and sixth overall since 2023.

  • South Africa downgrades Taiwan status, signaling more China influence, say experts

    South Africa downgraded the Taiwan Liaison Office status to a “Taipei Commercial Office” on its official website.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Highly unusual’: Why Taiwan President Lai made no mention of China in major speech

    Analysts say he is seeking to avoid letting Beijing hold him responsible for escalating cross-strait tensions.

  • New York Times ☛ Official Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Convicted Felon

    An assessment contradicted a presidential proclamation. A political appointee demanded a redo, then pushed for changes to the new analysis, too.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Some military parents say DEI purge hurts their kids’ schools. They’re suing.

    Defense Department schools for service members’ children are removing books the Convicted Felon administration says focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some parents are suing to keep the books.

  • France24 ☛ Honduras: Thirty eight 'self-deporting' migrants arrive from the USA

    Thirty-eight Honduran migrants, who participated in the Department of Homeland Security’s  "Project Homecoming" to “self-deport" themselves, arrived in Honduras from the USA. Participants get a payment of $1,000 from the US government if the migrant leaves voluntarily and the scheme "preserves the possibility” of their return, “one day” to the United States legally.

  • Security Week ☛ Madhu Gottumukkala Officially Announced as CISA Deputy Director

    New CISA Deputy Director Madhu Gottumukkala has joined the agency from South Dakota’s Bureau of Information and Technology.

  • France24 ☛ EU agrees to lift economic sanctions on Syria, Kallas says

    The European Union on Tuesday agreed to lift economic sanctions against Syria, said the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas. It came a week after the US lifted its sanctions against Damascus. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the EU's decision showed an “international will” to support the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian PM draws criticism after fishing weekend in controversial company

      Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, leader of Lithuania’s ruling Social Democratic Party, spent Sunday fishing at a private horse ranch in the Alytus District alongside Druskininkai Mayor Ričardas Malinauskas and businessman Tautvydas Barštys, the news outlet 15min.lt reported Monday.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Completely unfounded allegations’: Telegram’s founder accused France of election interference in Romania — a claim denied by Paris and amplified by Moscow — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian justice minister says strengthening statehood more important than rule of law and protecting citizens' rights — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia opens felony case against Meduza co-founder and CEO Galina Timchenko — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ 'I should be convicted of stupidity': A Russian man says his arson plot was a setup to aid law enforcement. He's headed to prison anyway. — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ The Moscow Metro’s strange ‘gift’ to passengers: How Russia’s world-class subway restored a life-sized wall sculpture of Joseph Stalin — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Romania's allies relieved by the victory of the pro-European party

      Centrist and pro-European candidate Nicușor Dan has won Romania's presidential election, defeating far-right nationalist George Simion with 53.6% of the vote. Dan's victory, following a campaign emphasizing anti-corruption and EU integration, was welcomed by the European Union as a reaffirmation of Romania's commitment to Western alliances. The election followed a turbulent period marked by political instability and concerns over Russian interference.

    • France24 ☛ 'We need diplomacy now: Europeans don't have to wait on US to engage directly with Russians'

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist on Tuesday said he was weighing what actions to take after the European Union and Britain moved ahead with new Russia sanctions, but gave no further details. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza welcomes Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Professor Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development.

    • Latvia ☛ Braže: 'Russia must be pressured to make peace'

      On Tuesday, 20 May 2025, the EU Foreign Affairs Council officially approved the 17th round of EU sanctions against Russia, further strengthening economic pressure on the aggressor state.

    • BIA Net ☛ Russia's airbase in Syria attacked

      Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports intense weapon fire near Khmeimim airbase.

    • Meduza ☛ Trump administration explores using foreign aid funds for Ukrainian refugees’ ‘self-deportation’ — The Washington Post — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia has sent 20,000 naturalized citizens to fight in Ukraine, Investigative Committee head says — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian missile strike on training ground in Sumy region kills six, Ukrainian National Guard reports — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ EU Plans New Sanctions on Russia in Push for Ukraine Cease-fire

      The European Union has now targeted Moscow’s fleet of covert oil tankers and plans more restrictions, as the Convicted Felon administration’s approach to the war shifts.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukrainians Brace for a Longer War as Convicted Felon Backs Off Cease-Fire Call

      Hell Toupée appears to be stepping back from trying to end the war in Ukraine. Many in the country see little choice but to battle on.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s New Position on the War in Ukraine: Not My Problem

      In a reversal, Hell Toupée appears to have backed off joining a European push for new sanctions on Russia, seemingly eager to move on to doing business deals with it.

    • LRT ☛ NATO walking back on Ukraine membership promise would be reputational blow – Nausėda

      If NATO failed to live up to its membership promise to Ukraine, this would be a serious reputational blow, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine launches probe into French-trained brigade hit by scandal

      The scandal-plagued “Anne of Kyiv” brigade of the Ukrainian army that was trained in France is under further investigation after a Ukrainian media report alleged that its commander had been involved in “fictitious combat payments and extortion”.  The unit has seen over 1,200 cases of soldiers going AWOL – absent without leave.

    • France24 ☛ G7 finance chiefs meet in Canada, focus on Ukraine war, Convicted Felon tariffs

      Top G7 finance leaders convened in Canada on Tuesday to address Ukraine's war and economic instability fueled by former US Hell Toupée's tariffs. Through Thursday, they will assess global economic challenges and align on Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials invited to join talks.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ How to prevent Ukraine’s booming defense sector from fueling global insecurity

      With the Ukrainian defense sector experiencing years of unprecedented growth in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion, it is important to prevent Ukraine’s innovative military technologies from fueling a new wave of international instability, writes Vitaliy Goncharuk.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ US-Ukraine minerals deal creates potential for economic and security benefits

      The recently signed US-Ukrainian minerals deal places bilateral ties on a new footing and creates opportunities for long-term strategic partnership, writes Svitlana Kovalchuk.

    • Latvia ☛ Government approves more money for Ukrainian one-off allowances

      On Tuesday, 20 May, the government reallocated EUR 984,200 to the State Employment Agency (NVA) to provide 1,330 Ukrainian civilians with a one-off employment or self-employment start-up allowance.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man-Putin Call Notches Diplomatic Win for Russia, but Economic Goals Remain in Limbo

      The Kremlin has withstood pressure for an immediate cease-fire as a precondition for peace talks, but the Russian president’s push for normalizing relations with the United States appears in limbo.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin 'Not Interested At All' In Ukraine Cease-Fire, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Tells RFE/RL

      Lithuanian FM Kestutis Budrys tells RFE/RL that Putin isn’t serious about a Ukraine cease-fire, urging tougher sanctions.

    • RFERL ☛ Donald, Vladimir, And A 2-Hour Phone Call: Did Putin Get The Better Of Convicted Felon?

      A two-hour-plus call was an eyebrow-raising shift in both substance and tone from The Insurrectionist: there was no demand for Vladimir Putin to sign onto an immediate cease-fire. And the White House was pulling back from its efforts to halt the fighting.

    • RFERL ☛ EU, UK Target 'Warmonger' Putin And Russia's 'Shadow Fleet' With New Sanctions

      The European Union and the United Kingdom have imposed a new batch of sanctions targeting dozens of ships considered to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet" that help Moscow avoid restrictions placed on it over the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Putin continues to thwart Convicted Felon’s goal of achieving a cease-fire

      The US and Russian presidents held a two-hour call on May 19. But was any real movement made toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine?

    • Meduza ☛ A scream, not a celebration: Why Meduza broke its own rules to talk about exile, trauma, and self-censorship — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia's Internal Security Bureau gets new head

      On Tuesday, May 20, the government appointed Igors Jaunrodziņš, who has been acting head of the Internal Security Bureau (IDB), to the position of the Bureau's head for a five-year term.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Federal News Network ☛ Staying on the right side of record retention laws

    "What we have seen across the administration is the purging of FOIA officers and others who are responsible for federal records management," said Chioma Chukwu.

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Record May heat scorches north, central China: state media

    Swathes of northern and central China sweltered this week under record May heat, state media said Tuesday, with temperatures rising well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several major cities. China has endured spates of extreme weather events, from searing heat and drought to downpours and floods, for several summers running. The country]

  • France24 ☛ India: Torrential rains inundate tech capital Bengaluru

    Bengaluru, India's tech capital, has been inundated by torrential rains killing at least three people, an official said, and exposing long-standing infrastructure failures in a city that has expanded at breakneck speed.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ China, South Korea and Japan looking into Asean’s clean energy market amid US scale-back

      A report found that China invested the most public financing in Asean clean energy with over US$2.7 billion.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ Human-wildlife conflict cases surging in Malaysia

      A total of 66,825 reports involved animals such as elephants, monkeys and tapirs.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Man releases snakes in Bangkok condo to protest against neighbour’s noisy dog despite ban on pets

      A video posted on Facebook (Farcebook) showed the reptiles slithering across tiled marble floors of the building.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Everyone is Moving to Chengdu. What Does That Say About China’s Economy?

    Once derided for its slower pace, Chengdu has a surging population and booming real estate market as workers look beyond China’s major coastal cities.

  • The Strategist ☛ Australia should establish a unit dedicated to financial warfare capabilities

    In an age of great-power competition, the next major conflict may be waged not in the skies over the Indo-Pacific or in the South China Sea, but through sanctions regimes, targeted financial disruptions [...]

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan sticking to demand for US to eliminate tariffs, trade envoy says

    The two countries held working-level trade talks in Washington on May 19.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Tax and inflation rates may be more important than market volatility in your TSP

    "What we've seen this year is that the U.S. stock funds are down negative. And the I Fund is up 9%," said Art Stein.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ For first time in 18 years, women absent in South Korea’s presidential race

    Half of South Korea’s voters are women, but all the presidential candidates are men.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Press Gazette ☛ Express rapped by IPSO over inaccurate headlines six times in three months

      The articles mostly related to the perceived impact of the first Budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

    • France24 ☛ Did James Comey call for Convicted Felon’s assassination with ‘8647’ seashell post?

      Former FBI Director, James Comey, posted a photo on Instagram last week of seashells forming the number ‘8647.’ The post on social control media caused an uproar, especially coming from The Insurrectionist’s close allies, supporters and family members, who claim that Comey’s message was an incitement for violence against the US President. We explain where the term ‘eighty-six’ comes from and more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taobao sparks outrage by selling items featuring South Korean dictator’s face

    Activists demanded that Taobao suspend the vendor from selling the items.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ex-district councillor arrested under Article 23 says she is being ‘silenced’ after losing job, ousted from play

    A former Hong Kong district councillor arrested under the city’s homegrown security law last May has said she is being “silenced” after being ousted from her job and a theatre production she was part of.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong High Court grants bail to father of wanted activist Anna Kwok pending his nat. sec trial

    Hong Kong’s High Court has granted bail to the father of wanted pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok, pending his national security trial for allegedly trying to handle her financial assets.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ Human rights experts raise concerns over Australia youth justice systems

    Independent human rights experts on Monday urged lawmakers in the Australian state of Queensland to vote against a bill proposing the introduction of additional criminal offences, imposing adult sentences on youth offenders.

  • JURIST ☛ UN expert urges world leaders to prioritize human rights during upcoming UN Ocean Conference

    The UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño, urged world leaders on Tuesday to incorporate human rights in ocean governance ahead of the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3). In her statement,

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Breaking Up is Hard to Do (But Do it Anyway) [Ed: Microsoft-infested think tanks speaks about Google, but does not disclosure the Microsoft affiliation]

    The path forward to curbing Google's dominance across digital markets may mean spinning off some of its most well-known products.

  • The Straits Times ☛ For 15 years, Apple’s Find My app didn’t work in South Korea - but this man changed that

    For over 15 years, Fashion Company Apple users in South Korea were unable to use the device-tracking feature.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit Confronts “Divide and Conquer” Briefing Strategy in Patent Appeal

    In a display of judicial frustration with attorney conduct, the Federal Circuit (i.e., Chief Judge Moore) recently confronted two appellants for apparently attempting to circumvent word count limitations through a "divide and conquer" briefing strategy.  The parties have responded to the court's show cause order in Focus Products Group International v. Kartri Sales Co., and we are now waiting for the court to act both on the merits of the case and potential sanctions.

    The conduct dispute centers on how appellants Kartri Sales and Marquis Mills structured their briefs in appealing a district court decision that found the parties infringed both patents and trade dress related to shower curtain designs. The case was heard before a Federal Circuit panel consisting of Chief Judge Moore, along with Circuit Judges Clevenger and Chen. Patrice Jean of Hughes Hubbard & Reed represented Kartri Sales, Donald Cox his own firm represented Marquis Mills, and Morris Cohen of Goldberg Cohen represented the Sure Fit appellees.

  • JUVE ☛ Nipro wins dispute over dialyser patent monopoly with Taylor Wessing and Betten Resch

    Fresenius’ EP 1 671 695, which protects a “hollow fibre dialyser comprising curled hollow fibres”, expired in 2021. The current proceedings therefore mainly concerned the question of damages. Mannheim Regional Court found the patent monopoly to be infringed in June 2020.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Epic Games Triumphs in Marathon Patent Infringement Suit Involving Travis Scott and Ariana Grande Fortnite Concerts

    Four years and one week-long trial later, Epic Games has triumphed in a patent monopoly infringement suit involving Fortnite concerts from Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and others.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ USPTO Fails to Prove Section 2(a) False Connection of ENAIRA with the Central Bank of Nigeria

    Despite the applicant's "egregious conduct" during prosecution of its application and during this appeal, the Board was "duty-bound" to decide this case "solely on the record and the applicable law," and so it reversed the USPTO's Section 2(a) refusal to register the mark ENAIRA on the Supplemental Register, for “Financial services, namely, providing a virtual currency for use by members of an on-line community via a global computer network." The Office had maintained that the mark falsely suggests a connection with the Central Bank of Nigeria. In re Mefona LLC, Serial No. 97065669 (May 14, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Christopher C. Larkin).