Links 12/12/2023: Students' Performance Collapses, Software Patents Getting Harder
Contents
- GNU/Linux
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Games
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality Monopolies/Monopsonies
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GNU/Linux
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Audiocasts/Shows
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GNU World Order (Audio Show) ☛ GNU World Order 542
Visit the alternate Internet with OpenNIC
shasum -a256=1385c204d02963503cb3de002126a6965982807b4fa46fe100b201d541ee819f
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Leftovers
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] EU approves ban on destruction of unsold clothing
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ The Great Wall of China Is Coated in a Living Substance That Shields It From Harm
It’s alive!
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Education
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Games
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Hardware
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Company under CIA investigation for possibly allowing China access to U.S.-designed supercomputer decides to drop Huawei support, focus on U.S. tech only
G42, a company with an ExaFLOPS-scale stable of Cerebras-based hardware plans to phase out Huawei Hey Hi (AI) hardware.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Stanford University ☛ ‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’: HBCU exchange program returns for second post-pandemic year
Stanford’s HBCU exchange program returned for a second year following a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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New York Times ☛ Dr. Gao Yaojie, Who Exposed AIDS Epidemic in Rural China, Dies at 95
Despite government efforts to silence her, she drew global attention to an epidemic that devastated rural China and killed tens of thousands.
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Reason ☛ Is Economic Freedom Good for Public Health?
New research on how the growth of government may affect public health, even if only indirectly.
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Science Alert ☛ Massive Study Finds a Link Between Commuting And Poor Mental Health
All that time can take a toll.
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Science Alert ☛ People Living in Green Areas Seem to Age Slower at The Cellular Level
We need nature more than we realize.
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BIA Net ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] 'Two out of every 10 children in Turkey face disabilities'
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] 5 now dead in 'major' cantaloupe salmonella outbreak as Canadian cases nearly double
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Canada Bread blames former owner Maple Leaf Foods for price-fixing scheme
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] A vegan diet may be better for your heart, but not taste buds
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Are phones making teenagers depressed?
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-02 [Older] Social media addiction: How can we avoid it?
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Soaring cost of baby formula puts extra pressure on new parents
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] German accused of founding armed group to fight COVID rules
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] WHO calls for higher taxes on alcohol, sugary drinks
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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New York Times ☛ Mistral, French Hey Hi (AI) Start-Up, Is Valued at $2 Billion in Funding Round
The company has publicly released its latest technology so people can build their own chatbots. Rivals like Proprietary Chaffbot Company and Surveillance Giant Google argue that approach can be dangerous.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] What does the EU's AI Act mean for Europe's SMEs?
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Security
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Defence/Aggression
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JURIST ☛ Netherlands police arrest Syrian refugee suspected of crimes against humanity
Dutch police arrested a 55-year-old Syrian refugee on Friday in the town of Druten in the province of Gelderland on suspicion of crimes against humanity, including complicity in torture and sexual violence in Syria during the civil war. This is the first time that the Netherlands has accused someone of committing crimes against humanity.
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JURIST ☛ US vetoes UN Security Council resolution for Gaza ceasefire following Secretary General’s invocation of Article 99
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, prompting a furious backlash from the international community.
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The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand foreign minister seeks closer ties with Five Eyes powers
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday he would draw the country closer to intelligence partners the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia, part of a renewed focus on security under the new right-of-centre government.
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The Straits Times ☛ Papua New Guinea PM Marape says no talks with China on security
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said on Monday there had been no recent talks with China on security after the resource-rich nation signed a security agreement with neighbour Australia last week.
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YLE ☛ NYT: Finnish Ambassador reached out to Trump to discuss Nato
The New York Times reports that European diplomats are concerned about the possibility of the United States withdrawing from Nato if Donald Trump returns to the White House.
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The Straits Times ☛ China's actions in South China Sea undermine regional stability, US says
During the weekend, the Chinese coastguard called on the Philippines to stop its "provocative acts".
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RFA ☛ N Korea warns of ‘destruction’ from US-S Korea drills
There is a possibility that the move could be aimed at the audience within the North, said an analyst.
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Defence Web ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Global Coalition unyielding against ISIS expansion in Africa – US Envoy
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Dating App Abductions Raise Fears for LGBT+ Safety in South Africa
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Defence Web ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Sub-Saharan Africa internal and regional conflicts driven by “meddling”
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The Local SE ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Turkey links Nato ratification of Sweden to F-16 fighter jet sale
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ANF News ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] HPG: Turkey continues to commit war crimes
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The Straits Times ☛ US F-16 crashes into Yellow Sea off South Korea: Report
The pilot ejected and was conscious after being rescued from the sea, a South Korean report said.
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ANF News ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Protest against the demographic change and the settlement of Palestinians in Afrin
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NL Times ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] Dutch police arrest Syrian interrogation chief for crimes against humanity
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BIA Net ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] 'Where is Syrian human rights advocate Ahmed Katie'
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] German state: Citizenship applicants must support Israel
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Germany debates tying citizenship to Israel loyalty
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] US charges former diplomat with spying for Cuba
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] US military finds several bodies after plane crash off Japan
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Germany: AfD in Saxony classified as 'extremist'
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Indonesia: Rohingya arrivals exhausting local villages
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Yemen: Houthis turning Red Sea into 'crucial front line'
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Global shipping on alert after Houthis attack vessels
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] US warship downs drones approaching its position in Red Sea
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Calls grow to reform UN peacekeeping missions
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] China under pressure to stop repatriating North Koreans
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] EU faces 'huge' risk of terrorist attacks, says official
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Germany on guard against terrorism
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Freed Thai hostages: 'Israelis had it worse'
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Global arms sales decline despite surge in wars, conflicts
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] Will Ramzan Kadyrov's teenage son follow in his footsteps?
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RFERL ☛ Russia Scolds German Ambassador For War Remarks In Moscow Cathedral
The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized Germany's ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, for his remembrance of war victims and plea for peace during a church Christmas concert.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Activists Protest Crackdown On Journalists, Including RFE/RL's Detained Kurmasheva
Activists on December 10 protested against the crackdown inside Russia on independent journalists, including Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service who has been held in Russian custody since October 18.
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RFERL ☛ Serbia Launches Interconnector To Gas Pipeline In Bulgaria
Serbia on December 10 completed the interconnector to a pipeline in Bulgaria that would allow the Balkan country to diversify its gas supplies and reduce its dependence on Russia.
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New York Times ☛ Zelensky to Visit Washington With U.S. Aid to Ukraine in Doubt
Officials announced that the Ukrainian president would travel to Washington on Tuesday for a last-ditch lobbying effort with President Biden and members of Congress.
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Set To Visit White House After Argentina Stop On Drive To Bolster Support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to travel to the United States on December 11 after receiving an invitation from President Joe Biden to visit the White House on December 12 on the heels of his visit to Argentina to meet with Latin American leaders.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Military Police In Armenia Detain Deserter Who Refused To Fight In Ukraine
A Russian conscript soldier who reportedly refused to take part in fighting in Ukraine has been arrested by Russian military police in Armenia.
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RFERL ☛ Top Swedish General Visits Front Lines In Ukraine
The commander in chief of the Swedish armed forces, General Micael Byden, has visited the front in eastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian media reports.
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RFERL ☛ Several Wounded As Ukraine Repels Russian Missile Attack On Kyiv
Ukrainian air defenses repelled a missile attack on the capital, Kyiv, and its surroundings in which at least four people were wounded, the military and officials said.
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JURIST ☛ Ukraine condemns Russia plans for presidential election in occupied territories
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned on Saturday the Russian Federation’s plans to hold presidential elections on occupied Ukrainian territory early next year, following the decision taken by Russian lawmakers on Friday.
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France24 ☛ War in Ukraine boosts depressed Russian regions amid defence sector boom
The Kremlin appears to be preparing for a long, drawn-out war in Ukraine by boosting defence spending by 70 percent next year, a move that promises to benefit depressed Russian regions and sectors related to the war effort.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine's Zelensky to meet Biden, Republicans as war funding dries up
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington Tuesday to meet President Joe Biden and plead his case before Republicans balking at sending more money for his fight against Russia, amid warnings aid will run out in weeks.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Putin visits UAE, Saudi Arabia in rare foreign trip
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New York Times ☛ Netanyahu Speaks to Putin and Criticizes Cooperation Between Russia and Iran
It was the first call in weeks between the two leaders, whose relationship has been strained since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
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RFERL ☛ Netanyahu Speaks To Putin, Voices Disapproval Of Iran Ties
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 10 and voiced displeasure with "anti-Israel positions" taken by Moscow's envoys at the UN, an Israeli statement said.
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The Strategist ☛ What does Putin want from the UAE and Saudi Arabia?
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last week in a bid to expand relations with the two oil-rich states and show that he isn’t as isolated [...]
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Environment
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RFA ☛ Countries disagree on fossil fuel wording as COP28 deadline looms
China shows hand, substituting renewables for gradual, orderly transition.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] COP28: Germany praises efforts to curb methane emissions
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International Business Times ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Hundreds Dead, Thousands Displaced As Torrential Rain Hits Parts Of East Africa
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Energy/Transportation
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Latvia ☛ LIVESTREAM: 'Energy Trilemma: The Backbone for Energy Transition - Baltic Sea Region Focus'
A conference on energy security, accessibility and sustainability in the Baltic Sea region is being held in Rīga December 11.
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Ontario’s ‘Crypto King’ owes investors millions. How is he still living large?
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Canadian NBA star wins lawsuit to undo purchase of mansion where Ontario Crypto King lived
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Scheerpost ☛ 2023-12-02 [Older] Binance’s Noah Perlman: Ties to FTX, Epstein and Gemini Earn
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] Lula Says Brazil Never to Be Full Member of OPEC+, Only Observer
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] North Carolina Farms Were Properly Approved to Collect Energy From Hog Waste, Court Says
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Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Accelerating Renewable Energy Development in Indonesia
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Copenhagen Post ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] COP28: Denmark contributes DKK128 million to pan-African green energy initiative
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] COP28: Is a tripling of nuclear energy workable?
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] COP28: Germany's Baerbock pushes for fossil fuel phaseout
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] German train driver strike hits rail passengers
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Cannabis traffickers used cryptocurrency, 'barrels of honey or maple syrup' to cover tracks: Manitoba RCMP
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Wildlife/Nature
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Science Alert ☛ The 'Rarest Alligator in The World' Was Just Born in Florida
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Science Alert ☛ Ancient Tyrannosaur's Last Victims Can Still Be Seen Inside Its Stomach
They were never fully digested.
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Science Alert ☛ 'Ultimate Killing Machine': Huge Intact Skull of Prehistoric Predator Found
"Able to prey effectively on anything."
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Colombia, Brazil Destroy Illegal Gold Dredges in Amazon Rainforest
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Overpopulation
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korean government asks young couples why they refuse to have children
It is a bid to acquire ideas for policies that will help tackle the country’s faltering birth rate.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] North Korea's Kim Jong Un urges women to have more children
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Finance
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YLE ☛ Strikes could interrupt bus services on Thursday
The details of which services would be impacted are not yet known.
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France24 ☛ Far-right outsider Milei sworn in as Argentina's president promising drastic economic reforms
Javier Milei was sworn in Sunday as Argentina’s president, as the country steels itself for harsh spending cuts and economic reforms aimed at curbing rampant inflation.
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The Age AU ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Why this photo is bad news for the global economy
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Surge in newcomers putting pressure on inflation via housing demand: BoC official
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Ontario has a rental housing enforcement unit. It investigates a fraction of cases and fines even fewer
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Bakers in Saskatchewan search for sugar as labour dispute empties store shelves
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] As expected, Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady at 5%
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New York Times ☛ Biden Steps Out in Tinsel Town and the Big Donors Show Up
The president was back on the fund-raising trail in Los Angeles this weekend after a hiatus because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Italy’s ‘arrivederci’ to China’s BRI could be a template for others
Italy opting out of China's Belt and Road Initiative is both a blow to the already scaled-back initiative and a signal of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's resolve.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ South Korean chipmaking tool firms increase their sales into China, capitalizing on U.S. sanctions against the PRC
As the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan restrict sales of advanced fab tools to China, South Korea-based Nextin continues to supply Chinese companies with sophisticated inspection equipment.
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The Straits Times ☛ Tourists in South Korea can use app to pay for shopping, get tax refunds
Seoul's government aims to attract 30 million international visitors by 2026.
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Engadget ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Amazon ditches Venmo as a direct payment option after just 14 months
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IP Kat ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Book Review: Chokepoint Capitalism
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Does Germany need to rethink globalization?
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Is this the most powerful generation of workers in decades?
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Germany: A new scheme to fill the skilled labor gap
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] German budget chaos: No vote on 2024 spending this year
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-02 [Older] Turkish companies flee to Egypt as economy tanks at home
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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France24 ☛ Hong Kong holds 'patriots only' local elections after shutting out opposition
Polls opened in Hong Kong's first "patriots only" district council election on Sunday, with officials dismissing concerns of potentially low turnout in a race that has shut out all opposition candidates after a national security crackdown.
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Kenya's Facebook case: Meta found not in contempt
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Greece, Turkey Seek to Restart Relations With Meetings in Athens
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Turkey's Erdogan vows 'new era' in ties with Greece
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BIA Net ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] Letter from conscientious objectors in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus to Erdoğan and Mitsotakis
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CNBC ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] New Mexico Sues Meta Over CSAM Content on Facebook and Instagram
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International Business Times ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Elon Musk-Owned X (Twitter) Revamps Its Ad Strategy As Ad Revenues Decline
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Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] How France Has Continued Exploiting its Former African Colonies
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] How colonial Germany extended its empire in Africa
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Missouri House Democrat Is Kicked off Committees After Posting Photo With Alleged Holocaust Denier
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Peru's ex-President Alberto Fujimori released from prison
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Peru court orders release of ex-President Fujimori
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Hunter Biden indicted on new federal tax evasion charges
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Qatargate: One year on, EU cash-for-influence scandal still far from over
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Olaf Scholz: The most unpopular German chancellor ever
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Scholz calls for solidarity with Jews as Hanukkah begins
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Boris Johnson apologizes to UK COVID victims
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] AI: EU holds crunch talks on landmark regulation
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Reason ☛ "The Trouble with Congress or College Presidents Policing Free Speech on Campuses"
Will Creeley (FIRE) and I have this L.A. Times opinion piece today. I doubt our readers will find anything new here (it's based on FIRE's past work explaining free speech, and on my posts about the absence of any exception for advocacy of genocide), but I thought I'd pass it along.
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Reason ☛ From Sam Altman (OpenAI) on Anti-Semitism
https://twitter.com/sama/status/1732925866836210151 (Apropos The Lesson and the value of free speech; see "Moral Rot": Rude Awakenings, Lessons, and Being Not Sure How to Cope.)
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[Repeat] RFERL ☛ Mohammadi Blasts Iran's 'Despotic' Regime In Smuggled Nobel Acceptance Speech
The teenage children of imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi accepted the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for their mother at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10, delivering a speech in which she blasted the "despotic" regime in Tehran.
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New York Times ☛ Children of Jailed Narges Mohammadi Accept Her Nobel Peace Prize
At the ceremony in Oslo, the Iranian activist’s twins also read a speech from their mother calling for a “globalization of peace and human rights.”
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New York Times ☛ The Right and Wrong Ways to Deal with Campus Antisemitism
The proper response to censorship is not more censorship.
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RFA ☛ Hong Kong’s ‘patriots only’ elections record lowest-ever turnout
This was the first district election since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system in 2021 to allow only ‘patriots’ to run.
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-03 [Older] Prominent Hong Kong Activist Quits for Canada After Two-Year Silence
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CBC ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] Democracy activist Agnes Chow, now in Canada, won't return to face trial in Hong Kong
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Engadget ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] The UK could require facial scans or photo IDs to view online porn
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CPJ ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] Appeals Court Upholds Gag Order on Trump in Washington Case but Narrows Restrictions on His Speech
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Counter Punch ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] So Much for Free Speech: The Antiwoke Movement Cancels Palestine
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NL Times ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] Den Bosch mayor will not be prosecuted for hate speech allegations
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-07 [Older] Exiled leader says China is erasing Tibetan culture
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Civil Rights/Policing
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JURIST ☛ Rights group accuses China of collective punishment of human rights defenders
Madrid-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders (SD) published a report on Sunday alleging the practice of collective punishment as a political tool by the Chinese government against human rights defenders and their families on Sunday, which marked International Human Rights Day.
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ANF News ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] Kalkan: Repression in Turkey is like a nightmare
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Deutsche Welle ☛ 2023-12-06 [Older] Hollywood actors ratify contract to formally end strike
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Zimbabwe ☛ Dark Fibre Africa donates ICT lab to orphanage, gives update on fibre-laying progress, comments on Starlink
In my opinion, there is no deed too small in our digital literacy and inclusion fight. So, when we heard that Dark Fibre Africa had sponsored the transformation of a library into an ICT lab at a children’s home, we had to see what was what.
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US News And World Report ☛ 2023-12-09 [Older] Amazon Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss the FTC's Antitrust Lawsuit Against the Company
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Patents
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Software Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Drafting Functional Claims Still Risky Post-Alice
Western Digital sued Viasat for infringing claims from several patents, including US8,504,834, which covers “media streaming systems and software.” In a recent decision, Judge Haywood (N.D.Cal.) granted a motion to dismiss — finding the claims of the ‘834 patent monopoly directed to ineligible subject matter. The background section of the patent monopoly explains explains that prior art systems decrypted locally stored content using a decryption key obtained from a digital rights management (DRM) server. This had drawbacks related to efficiency and cost. The patent monopoly describes an improved system where the decryption key is derived from a stream of data received over a network, rather than needing to contact a DRM server.
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Trademarks
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IP Kat ☛ 2023-12-04 [Older] TEAM USA vs EUIPO – And the winner is…
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IP Kat ☛ 2023-12-08 [Older] General Court maintains the validity of Lego minifigures as EUTMs
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IP Kat ☛ 2023-12-05 [Older] The Vespa appearance: Italian Supreme Court considers that its artistic value may preclude trade mark protection (due to substantial value absolute ground)
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Copyrights
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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"The words are mine; the meaning is you"
To me, if one is going to be serious about politics being "more complicated than right and left", they might consider refraining from hyper-overly-simplistic terminology as though it refers to the reality they claim to see, because persisting in that terminology only reinforces its being accurate - especially to two-bit (i.e. tending toward starkly dualistic) minds.
So... I happen to see value in the "ten commandments" and other statements found in "the bible", and no value in *not* believing in a singular (zero-ular, more accurately..) underlying basis for reality. I could even call the latter "God", and I'd know what *I* mean.
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"The words are mine; the meaning is you"
That's why you may have noticed I find it difficult to take much of anything being discussed seriously, because I can't get it out of my representational framework that others participating in the discussion are using the same words, but with possibly (likely?) considerably different meanings/significances/implications for arising in much different representational contexts (i.e. minds).
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The one thing those knuckle-scraping gas-guzzling troglodytes will never understand is…
…anything, if I keep referring to them derogatively instead of talking to them as people. I know, I know, there are super bad-faith actors out there who it’s better to “defeat” than “debate”, but I was never a fighter.
The number one reason I write my li’l essays is so that I can link to them in future discussions, building complex ideas as if I were composing functions. They're also great reference for myself. I was writing way less complex libraries back when I had to hold it all in my head.
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🔤SpellBinding — CYLOPRH Wordo: SPASM
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research out of academia
im pretty disabled and so can't go to university to study anything, but im really interested in our interaction with the internet (as an entity) and through the internet (with other people)
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05 December 2023
Well... i think winter is really here to stay, last night we got about 10 cm fresh snow whithout any indication of melting in sight. Not bad for beginning of december, the last time i can remember a situation like this was when i was a kid in the 80s. Somehow everything is feeling a bit like a rerun of the 80s for me: The obvious thing with the new east / west conflict doesn't need any explanation i think, the brewing conflicts in south america neither... but a more personal thing that gave me real flashbacks is this: Until the mid 90s the german post did reside in a brutalist "bunker" style building here in my hometown, until they moved away into a more modern, more city centre oriented building. Now... this new(er) building will now be broken down and they moved back into that old concrete castle. The only shame is, that they did not put back the telephone booth in front of it.
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01 December 2023
Its the first december and i am happily diving even deeper into my nostalgia / "need for Primitiveness" / whatever frency and indeed writing this phlogpost within the software Startexter. From a writing comfort Perspective, its still a quiet usable distraction free writing environment.
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the unlucky hunter
It's been a few years, but I'm still kickin. Here's a poem.
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2023 Week 48/49: Status and Photos
In the aftermath of our pet hedgehog Kino passing away, we've decided to get a pair of ferrets as our next pets. We don't have the animals yet; we first need to get a bigger cage, different food and water bowls, cleaning supplies, toys, and many other things. We expect to have them by the end of next month at the latest.
On Thanksgiving Day we had plans to see family for a large dinner, but they fell through after my wife developed an acute viral infection. The disease passed, and we rescheduled to the Saturday after Thanksgiivng weekend--only for some other members of the family to contract COVID-19. We finally managed to get everyone together this past weekend for a combined Thanksgiving-Christmas dinner, or "Thanksmas" as we called it.
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Midnight dinner?
We're thinking of updating our food menu... What is your go-to dish past midnight?
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Politics and World Events
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What's Right and Left Anyways?
I find it interesting how people who used to be on the left take for granted the "criticisms" coming from the right. I see this rhetoric against identity politics and “wokeness” coming from people who you would expect to be on the left or center, or those who are supposedly against racism and homophobia and other forms of discrimination and stereotyping. They've taken for granted that these criticisms are truthful, and so haven't stopped to question the inherent racism in political groups co-opting and changing words like "woke" from their original meaning to something that they claim threatens society as a way of targetting a specific group of people for political gain. The reality is, these criticisms are often not truthful, they are actually strawman arguments that are made up altogether. The rise in Fundamentalism throughout much of society has prevented us from seeing through this.
[...]
It was not long ago when rationality and science were used to justify slavery and racism. In fact, it was Scientific consensus that "survival of the fittest" and Darwinism be applied to social issues, including that of race, intelligence, and skills. Hitler used scientific and "leftist" ideas to promote hatred and to kill millions of people, but he is no "leftist" in the modern sense. He is in the center only insomuch that he uses whatever is convenient at the time to gain the most power and to strike fear in a group of people. The extreme left nowadays can want the liberation of Palestinians and still justify the terrorism of Hamas. The center and the right can justify the immoral actions of the State of Israel, failing to realize that prior to the creation of Israel, a lot of Jewish people who were already in or near the land were actually fine with living under these countries that weren’t persecuting them like Europe was at the time. The extreme left can turn criticisms against Israel into antisemitic tropes without realizing that tons of Jews are also against the immoral actions of Israel.
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Energy is undercosted
Hanging out on Libera.Chat the other day I mentioned that energy is undercosted. The other people replied that no, it’s undercosted, fossil fuels are fine, tech will fix it. So I’ll try to explain myself in more detail here.
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Rants
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It's knee-jerk psychopaths seemingly every which way I turn anymore
So the first portion of our trip - which was staying with two couples our age at a really good venue - has morphed to staying at my dad's for a couple days, which is difficult *mostly* because the woman nearly 20-years older than him that he decided to shack up with a couple decades ago is a nightmare from a place at least an order of magnitude worse than the usual hell of other people Satre referred to.
On top of that, he's very much "losing it" mentally, so communication is slow and painful, many detours, retrograde motion, and etc.
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Technology and Free Software
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Re: A Simple Docker Shortcut
This is a reply to a simple docker shortcut[1] by Mr Onak (gemini).
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Why Emacs
I know that Emacs certainly has a lot of flaws, as the lovely piece of 1970s tech it is. If you don’t want to get into Emacs, you shouldn’t have to. Feel free to move along.
And don’t take that last paragraph as meant to scare you away or gatekeep you. If you do want to get into Emacs, here’s my introhere’s my intro.
In other words, I’m neither writing this to convince the Emacs haters, nor to those who already want to get into it. This one I’m writing for those who are neither; those who are curious.
You know how in the Unix shell, you can have programs and they can talk to each other through pipelines, env vars, and command line args, right?
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Musical L-system
More information about L-systems can be found elsewhere.
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11 December 2023
Why has everything to be so complicated in modern consumer electronics? My parents got themselves an IP TV box lately because where we live cable is not available and satelite TV is problematic due to a massive amount of trees in the surroundings which sometimes blocks the signal.
So... my parents are in their 80s, both are normally very sharp people, but when confronted with modern user interfaces they are utterly lost. The calls i got over the last weeks with one of them bordering on a panic attac because the menu has AGAIN changed after an update... or why there is now AGAIN an screen filling textbox highlighting the recent changes in the "Terms and Services"... with no indication how to accept or decline (you have to scroll down to the end to make the buttons appear). That the TV itself has its own caveats doesn't make it any better...
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Wiring a dimmer turns weird
I finally got around to replacing a dimmer for the classic three pendant lights over the open-plan kitchen/lr counter. These had been dark for months now as I was elsewhere, then procrastinating too much. It ws time.
The old Feit dimmer failed in an unforeseen way: the large rocker on/off switch got detached and was now just flapping in the breeze, not doing anything. The unit is sealed with triangular-slot screws. E-waste.
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Internet/Gemini
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For No One
Another aspect that seemingly generates negative phantasms in said silence is the best years of my online life having been in USENET, where commenting on chunks of inline quoting seemed like the pinnacle of textural community to me for years.
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Programming
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Advent of Code
The problems are good ones and lots of fun, but it definitely feels like less of a clean ramp up in difficulty than last year's.
I've been collecting my solutions in this gemini capsule, along with those of anyone on this pubnix who wish to participate.
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History of call-tables
I use call-tables all the time in my code. Sometimes a good solution is to have two call-tables with the same data, one going from A to B and the other going from B to A. That way I can find anything from anything.
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Why the define from match-generics needs to be called in order
When using the define from match-generics you need to take some care about what order you define the calls.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.