Links 21/12/2023: NASA Streams Cat Video and More Software Patents Invalidated
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- 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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Leftovers
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Science Alert ☛ You Really Should Just Say No to That Invitation, Study Finds
Your friends will still like you.
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Hackaday ☛ Australia Bans Engineered Stone, Workers Elsewhere Demand The Same
Engineered stone, also known as artificial stone or composite stone, has become a popular material in the construction and design industries due to its aesthetic appeal and durability. It’s become the go-to solution for benchtops in particular, with modern kitchens and bathrooms heavily featuring engineered stone in this way.
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Hackaday ☛ Explore Neural Radiance Fields In Real-time, Even On A Phone
Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) is a method of reconstructing complex 3D scenes from sparse 2D inputs, and the field has been growing by leaps and bounds. Viewing a reconstructed scene is still nontrivial, but there’s a new innovation on the block: SMERF is a browser-based method of enabling full 3D navigation of even large scenes, efficient enough to render in real time on phones and laptops.
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Science
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New York Times ☛ NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space
Using laser communication, NASA streamed a cat video from almost 20 million miles away, or 40 round trip flights to the moon.
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Science Alert ☛ NASA Has Beamed The First High-Def Video Across 19 Million Miles. Featuring a Cat.
Giant pounce for catkind.
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Vice Media Group ☛ Scientists Have Solved the Mystery of a Strange 'Signal' from Earth's Core, Study Reports
Scientists in China report they've confirmed a link between an 8.5-year signal and a "wobble" in Earth's core that challenges earlier knowledge.
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Hackaday ☛ NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space Via Laser
Everyone knows that the most important part of a tech demo is to make the right impression, and the team over at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) definitely had this part nailed down when they showed off streaming a cat video from deep space using laser technology as part of NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) program. This system consists out of a ground-based laser transmitter and receiver along with a space-based laser transceiver, which for this experiment was positioned at a distance of 31 million kilometers – 80 times the distance between the Moon and Earth – as a part of the Psyche spacecraft.
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Hackaday ☛ How A LEGO Set Is Born
LEGOs are the first window into making something in your head become real for many makers. The Verge dug into how a LEGO set itself goes from idea to the shelves.
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ Robotic Rose Of Enchantment Drops Petals On Command
In Disney’s 1991 film Beauty and the Beast, an enchantress curses the young (10 or 11-year-old) prince to beast-hood for spurning her based solely on her appearance. She gives him a special rose that she says will bloom until his 21st birthday, at which time he’ll be turned back into a prince, provided that he learned to love by then. If not, he’ll be a beast for eternity. As the years go by, the rose drops the occasional petal and begins to wilt under the bell jar where he keeps it.
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CNX Software ☛ ASRock Industrial NUC Ultra 100 Meteor Lake-H motherboards feature Core Ultra 5 125H and Core Ultra 7 155H processors
ASRock Industrial has just announced two NUC Ultra 100 motherboards powered by defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake-H processors namely the Core Ultra 5 125H and Ultra 7 155H with up to 16 cores and 22 threads, and integrating defective chip maker Intel ARC Graphics and the new defective chip maker Intel NPU Hey Hi (AI) engine.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ Scientists Find an Unexpected Trigger of Eczema – And Clues on How to Stop It
FINALLY!
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New York Times ☛ Mystery Amid an Anthrax Outbreak in Africa
Only a fraction of the presumed cases in five countries have led to positive tests for anthrax. Some scientists say other causes cannot yet be ruled out.
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teleSUR ☛ Africa: Health Experts for Local Production of Vaccines
"Local production and distribution are much more reliable solutions for the African continent, which currently outsources more than 90 percent of its vaccine, medicine, and therapeutic needs," said Rwandan Minister of Health.
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Science Alert ☛ 19-Million-Year-Old Jaw Bone Flips Our Understanding of How The Biggest Whales Evolved
A fossil from 16 MILLION years earlier than we thought they'd originated.
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Latvia ☛ Digitalization of healthcare in Latvia – why, how and for whom?
The importance of digitalization in and of healthcare has been placed into focus for several years and although there are systems in many countries, the full potential of it has not been fully implemented. In Latvia, the process has intensified recently, but what does it mean in practical terms? Kadi Lubi, Kristaps Krafte and Ieva Dzirkale offer their thoughts on the matter on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia.
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YLE ☛ Tukes warns of winter swimming dangers
Ice generally covers swimming spots in the winter months, but that does not stop Finnish enthusiasts from enjoying their invigorating dips.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Vice Media Group ☛ China Using Hey Hi (AI) to Create Anti-American Memes Capitalizing on Israel-Palestine, Researchers Find
According to a new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the CCP is spreading memes depicting Biden as a war crazed tyrant.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Other voices: Human intelligence must rule: Hey Hi (AI) needs limits impose by people
The billionaires who increasingly control this corner of the economy can't be trusted to regulate themselves.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Silicon Angle ☛ FTC calls pharmacy Rite Aid “reckless” after facial recognition use in stores
The Federal Trade Commission today announced a settlement with the pharmacy chain Rite Aid that will include a five-year ban on the company using artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition technology.
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Federal News Network ☛ CIA’s Hey Hi (AI) efforts focus on training, monitoring, augmenting human analysts
Raman said generative Hey Hi (AI) and large language models really "caught the intelligence community by storm" in late 2022, when its potential to augment human analysts became clear. And that's precisely what the CIA wants to do: Augment its human analysts, not replace them, in order to enable the agency's mission.
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Defence/Aggression
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Defence Web ☛ EU monitoring hijacked vessel off Somalia
The European Union Naval Force (EU NavFor) is closely monitoring the hijacked Maltese-flagged merchant vessel Ruen, which remains off the Somali coast.
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New York Times ☛ U.N. Security Council Vote on Gaza Resolution Is Delayed Again
The announcement came as diplomats negotiated with the U.S. on what it might allow to pass. The U.S. has been the only member of the Security Council to block demands for an immediate cease-fire.
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CS Monitor ☛ Recognitions for peace in Gaza
A rejection of violence by emerging Israeli and Palestinian leaders hints at a shared security set on renewed democracies.
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RFA ☛ N Korea’s military provocations boost S Korea’s nuclear arsenal push
The current US support and measures leaves a significant security gap for S Korea, expert says.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia imposes docking ban on Israeli ships, vessels heading to the country
The ban will come into immediate effect.
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BIA Net ☛ Three leaders of criminal organizations detained in Turkey
Thomas Josef Konrad, accused of drug trafficking in Poland, was apprehended in Antalya; Daniel Alexander Muller, wanted in Germany, and Jinking Peng from China were taken into custody in İstanbul.
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RFA ☛ Anti-junta forces capture Myanmar border crossing gate
Junta forces surrendered after a battle at the crossing to China, locals said.
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RFA ☛ Anti-junta forces set up satellite-based internet service in 60 areas
The high-speed system was built by Starlink, a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
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ADF ☛ Controversial Burkinabé Law Sends Junta Critics to Frontlines of War
ADF STAFF Security forces in civilian clothes abducted Daouda Diallo, a prominent human rights defender in Burkina Faso, on December 1 as he was renewing his passport in Ouagadougou, the national capital. Three days later, a picture of him armed and wearing military clothing circulated on social control media.
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RFA ☛ Lao and Chinese border guards conduct joint border patrols
Residents say they support the crackdown on human trafficking and illegal trade.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines rebukes China over South China Sea claims
The Philippine defense minister rebuked China on Wednesday for accusing his country of provoking tension and stirring trouble in the South China Sea, saying only Beijing believed what it was saying.
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RFA ☛ South China Sea coral reefs under severe threat: report
China has caused the most reef destruction through dredging, landfill and giant clam harvesting, report says.
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RFA ☛ Taiwan reports sightings of Chinese balloons
Taipei’s defense ministry said balloons from China have been spotted over the Taiwan Strait but they may be meteorological.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan detects another Chinese balloon crossing sensitive median line, marking third sighting this month
A Chinese balloon was detected moving across the sensitive median line separating Taiwan from China, Taipei’s Ministry of National Defence said Tuesday, the third time it has reported such a sighting this month.
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ADF ☛ 1 Million in Burkina Faso Surviving Under Extremists’ Blockades
The fields around Djibo in northern Burkina Faso are empty: The farmers cannot leave the city to work them. Djibo, along with other communities in the countryside, is under blockade by militants who accuse residents of siding with the government.
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ADF ☛ Experts Say Africa Needs a ‘Human Firewall’ to Protect Against Cyberattacks
The rapid expansion of digital technology in recent years has left millions of Africans vulnerable to cybercriminals seeking to scam them, their companies and even their governments out of money and valuable personal information.
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YLE ☛ Border Guard suspects 2 Finns of illegal eastern crossings
The case, linked to alleged incidents in Finnish Lapland, is being forwarded to the prosecutor for consideration of charges.
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Latvia ☛ U.S. agrees on 5-year defense 'roadmaps' with Baltic states
December 15 saw Dr. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense host a triple signing ceremony for so-called "bilateral defense cooperation roadmaps" with officials from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
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Latvia ☛ Top Latvian officials talk counterterrorism
On December 19 the State Security Service (VDD) held a meeting of the Counterterrorism Center Expert Advisory Board, where current developments in the field of counterterrorism were discussed.
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YLE ☛ Watch: Finland and the US sign major defence pact
Finland and the United States signed a major defence cooperation agreement in Washington on Monday.
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The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand to explore Aukus benefits, boost security ties with Australia
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The Aukus weapons development and procurement project would help ensure peace and stability in the Pacific region.
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Latvia ☛ Latvian citizen accused of terrorism threats
On December 15, the State Security Service (VDD) asked the prosecutor's office to prosecute one Islamic convert for disseminating terror-soliciting material, VDD said Wednesday.
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JURIST ☛ Trump seeks to dismiss Georgia election interference charges
Former US President Donald Trump asked a Georgia court on Monday to dismiss the 13 criminal charges against him in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s 2020 presidential election interference case. Trump claimed that, because all of the charges stem from political speech or advocacy, the US Constitution’s First Amendment shields him from criminal responsibility.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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France24 ☛ Putin says Russia ready to hold talks on the future of Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia would be prepared to talk to Ukraine, the United States and Europe about the future of Ukraine if they wanted to, but that Moscow would defend its national interests.
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The Strategist ☛ Putin’s dead end
In his annual press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that he will be ready for a peace settlement with Ukraine only after he has achieved his goals [...]
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Atlantic Council ☛ Wartime Ukraine’s European energy integration continues
Ukraine has been invited to join Europe’s leading electricity infrastructure association in January 2024 as the country's remarkable wartime European energy sector integration continues, writes Aura Sabadus.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s EU accession process faces bureaucratic and political hurdles
The European Council’s recent decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine was a momentous moment both for Kyiv and the European Union. Now the serious work begins, writes James Batchik.
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France24 ☛ ‘Too high a price’: Ukraine’s war widows forge a path towards an uncertain future
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel have died since Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. The families left behind face building a new life amid an ongoing war with no end in sight.
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France24 ☛ US Senate leaders say deal on Ukraine aid not expected before year's end
The Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Senate said Tuesday that Washington will not be able to approve new aid for Ukraine before year's end, as the two sides continue to seek a compromise.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine's President Zelensky says 'no one knows' when war will end
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that there was no end in sight to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as fatigue builds among Kyiv's allies nearly two years into the war and the Kremlin voices growing confidence of victory.
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Meduza ☛ Key highlights from Zelensky’s year-end press conference — Meduza
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France24 ☛ French retailer Decathlon still selling in Russia despite official pullout over Ukraine, report says
French sports retail giant Decathlon has secretly continued selling clothes in Russia despite officially pulling out in protest at Russia's war in Ukraine, a media report published Tuesday said.
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JURIST ☛ UN rights commissioner criticizes Russia over failure to protect civilians in Ukraine
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Tuesday that there had been an “extensive failure” by Russia to protect the safety and human rights of civilians in Ukraine. Türk’s remarks came during a speech at an ‘interactive dialogue’ hosted by the UN OHCHR.
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LRT ☛ For the first time in history, Germany is permanently deploying brigade outside its territory – interview
Ukraine and Russia will decide when to start peace negotiations, while Kyiv’s allies must help it achieve the best possible negotiating position, says German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
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LRT ☛ Ukraine’s Join UP! starts direct flights from Vilnius to Sri Lanka
Ukraine’s leading tour operator Join UP! starts direct flights from Vilnius to Sri Lanka on Thursday.
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LRT ☛ Kaunas extends free public transport for Ukrainians
The Kaunas City Council decided on Tuesday to extend the public transport concession for Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainians will be able to use public transport in Lithuania’s second biggest city for a symbolic fee throughout 2024.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine's Kyivstar Reports Fresh Problems A Week After Cyberattack
Ukraine's biggest mobile operator, Kyivstar, which was hit by a mass cyberattack earlier this month, said on December 20 it was experiencing new difficulties with voice communication in some regions.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Launches Attack Drones At Ukraine As Fresh U.S. Aid Appears In Doubt
Russian fired drones at targets across Ukraine, including Kyiv, early on December 20, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope on further U.S. aid that now appears in doubt.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Shelling Of Kherson In Southern Ukraine, Sumy Region in East Injures At Least Four
A drone attack in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and Russian shelling in the eastern region of Sumy injured at least four people, authorities said late on December 19.
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New York Times ☛ Giuliani’s Money Woes Were a Focus of Ukraine Inquiry, Records Reveal
F.B.I. agents scrutinizing Rudolph W. Giuliani’s efforts to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine thought financial problems might be motivating his actions.
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Techdirt ☛ Self-Proclaimed 9/11 Hero Rudy Giuliani Now Owes Election Workers He Defamed $148 Million
The man who decided he was the real glue holding New York City together following the 9/11 attacks is now nothing more than a man whose stupid, obsequious mouth has written checks he can’t cash. And all to stroke the ego of a lame duck president who thought what the nation really needed was a self-absorbed autocrat.
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New York Times ☛ Zelensky, After Tough Year on Battlefield, Insists Ukraine Will Prevail
Ukraine’s counteroffensive sputtered, but President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that Russia, too, “failed to achieve any results” on the ground, while Ukraine had successes at sea.
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New York Times ☛ Drones Give Ukraine Some Success at Sea
The use of sea drones highlights a path forward for Ukraine in its fight with Russia that has been promoted by the White House and embraced by the Ukrainian leadership.
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Meduza ☛ Ukrainian commander says situation on the eastern front ‘difficult’ — Meduza
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Security Week ☛ 2022 Election Not Impacted by Chinese, Russian Cyber Activity: DOJ, DHS
Hackers, including from Russia and China, launched cyberattacks and collected information, but it did not impact the integrity and security of the 2022 US election.
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Scoop News Group ☛ FBI seizes ALPHV leak website. Hours later, ransomware gang claims it ‘unseized’ it
Law enforcement seized the websites of the notorious Russian-speaking group before the criminals say they seized it back.
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Scoop News Group ☛ Chinese, Russian interference attempts on 2022 midterms didn’t impact voting, intelligence agencies say
U.S. intelligence agencies expect election interference to shift from targeting of voting systems to influencing social control media.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Russian prime minister hails ‘all-time high’ in ties with China during Beijing visit
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin hailed his country’s relationship with China on Tuesday, declaring an “all-time high” in bilateral ties during a visit to the Chinese capital, according to readouts from both Moscow and Beijing.
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JURIST ☛ UN human rights expert concerned over disappearance of Russia opposition figure Alexei Navalny
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia issued a statement Monday, expressing grave concerns over the disappearance of Russian dissident and opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, who has been missing within the Russian penal system for nearly two weeks.
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LRT ☛ MPs concerned about Russian artists performing in Lithuania
The parliamentary Committee on Culture are holding a meeting on Wednesday to discuss why Russian artists close to the Kremlin continue performing in Lithuania.
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RFERL ☛ Support Group For Russian Segment Of Wikipedia Announces Its Dissolution
Wikimedia.ru -- the nonprofit organization that supports the Russian segment of Wikipedia, announced its dissolution on December 19, after its director Stanislav Kozlovsky was forced to resign from his job at the Moscow State University due to Russian officials' plans to label him a "foreign agent."
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RFERL ☛ Court In Russia's Far East Releases Jehovah's Witness Imprisoned On Extremism Charges
A court in Russia's Far Eastern Amur region has replaced a four-year prison term with a one-year suspended sentence for 71-year-old Jehovah's Witness Vladimir Balabkin after changing his indictment from organizing an extremist group's activities to taking part in such activities.
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RFERL ☛ Kazan Activists Who Protested Crackdown On Journalists, Including RFE/RL's Kurmasheva, Face Charges
Activists who earlier this month protested Moscow's crackdown 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, have been charged with violating public gatherings regulations.
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RFERL ☛ Russia's Ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party Nominates Leader For President
Russia's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party on December 19 proposed its leader, lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled for March 17.
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RFERL ☛ Moscow Offices Of Publishing House Linked To Popular Writer Akunin Searched
The Moscow-based Zakharov Publishing House, which has published books by writer Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin since the 1990s, said on December 19 that police had searched its offices.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Expands Its Blacklist of European Officials
Previously, the European Union approved the twelfth sanctions package against Russia.
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teleSUR ☛ The West Fails to Undermine Russia's Autonomy: Lavrov
The economic sanctions against Russia have also failed to reduce its productive capacities.
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YLE ☛ Russia summons Finland over US defence pact
Moscow has summoned the Finnish ambassador over Finland's newly signed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States.
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ADF ☛ As Critics Warn of ‘Blood Gold,’ Mali Signs Deal with Russia to Open Refinery
Ahmed was crossing Mali in an attempt to reach Europe when he was waylaid by extremists and forced to work in one of the country’s artisanal gold mines. “We’ve been here for a year,” he told Al Jazeera. “My brother has been here for six months.
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Meduza ☛ Russian government commission endorses law to criminalize “Russophobia” — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ New package of E.U. economic sanctions against Russia comes into force — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ ‘If you can't save the world, save the world inside you’ Photographer Emmie America’s project in support of the Russian LGBTQ+ community — Meduza
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Environment
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The Straits Times ☛ Weakened polar vortex seen as likely culprit behind China’s big chill
Temperatures in China have plunged to as low as minus 33.2 deg C in the city of Datong in Shanxi province.
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New York Times ☛ China Earthquake Kills More Than 120 in Gansu and Qinghai Provinces
The 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Gansu Province around midnight. People who had fled their homes huddled in the cold, building fires to keep warm.
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RFA ☛ Western China rocked by magnitude 6.2 earthquake
Death toll passes 100, and will likely rise.
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New York Times ☛ Wednesday Briefing: The Aftermath of China’s Quake
Plus our best photos of 2023.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Survivors brave sub-zero temperatures after earthquake in northern China’s Gansu, Qinghai kills 131
By Sébastien Ricci Survivors of China’s deadliest earthquake in years huddled in aid tents on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll rising to 131.
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France24 ☛ Rescuers dig in freezing cold as China earthquake death toll rises to 131
Rescuers dug through rubble for a second freezing day on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll in China's deadliest earthquake in years rising to 131.
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New York Times ☛ China Earthquake: In Bitter Cold, a Struggle to Help Survivors
The death toll from the earthquake, in a poor, remote area, rose to 131. People who had lost their homes huddled in tents or spent the night in cars.
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The Straits Times ☛ ‘Too dangerous inside’: China quake victims brave freezing night
The quake has killed at least 127 people – mostly in impoverished Gansu province.
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New York Times ☛ Photos From Iceland’s Volcanic Eruption: A Show of Lava and Smoke
Icelanders had been girding for an eruption. When it happened, they wanted to see it.
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Finance
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Forbes ☛ Over 305,000 Laid Off In Major U.S. Cuts This Year—Here Are The Biggest [Ed: Far more, this number is laughably small compared to the real one]
More than 305,000 employees in the U.S. lost their jobs in a torrent of major layoffs at U.S. companies throughout the year, according to Forbes’ layoff tracker, starting with a parade of cuts at tech giants in January, and persisting stubbornly throughout the summer and fall even as recession fears tapered off and as unemployment rates remain low.
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Alphabet Stock Up 2.3% at Market Open After Reports of Restructuring at Google [Ed: So many euphemisms for layoffs]
Shares of Google's parent company Alphabet advanced 2.3% at the market open after the reports of its ad sales unit restructuring.
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YLE ☛ Finance Ministry, Bank of Finland downgrade economic forecasts as recession deepens
Both the Bank of Finland and the Finance Ministry downgraded economic forecasts for next year, suggesting the downturn could be worse than feared.
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YLE ☛ Inflation eats away at income levels
Finnish wage-earners have seen their buying power decrease thanks to high inflation.
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Latvia ☛ No surprises: inflation is low
In November, the average level of prices in Latvia remained unchanged month on month, with annual inflation falling to 1.0%.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Three next steps for the EU’s approach to economic security
The EU’s Strategy on Economic Security, published this summer, was the first official effort to present a more coherent view on the European policy approach at the intersection of economics and geopolitics. In the end, however, the EU's approach to economic security can only be successful if it is tied to Europe's long-term political objectives.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Inside a central bank at war
Get a look inside how central banks are springing into action like never before to protect their economies as their countries enter war.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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JURIST ☛ EU launches first formal proceedings under Digital Services Act against X
The European Commission announced Monday that it is commencing formal proceedings against social control media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) under the landmark European Union (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA).
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TechTarget ☛ EU AI Act brings tough rules and big fines to businesses | TechTarget
The EU AI Act has yet to be adopted into law, but recent momentum indicates that business leaders need to begin preparing compliance strategies now.
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The Nation ☛ The Contempt for Democracy Driving the Anti-Abortion Movement
In the wake of major abortion-rights victories in Michigan and Ohio, where majorities of voters enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitutions, and in Kansas and Kentucky, where voters rejected efforts to remove or prevent abortion rights from being included in the state constitution, the anti-abortion movement is mounting an aggressive campaign against such vox populi measures. Steven Aden, the chief legal officer of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life told Politico, “We don’t believe those rights should be subjected to majority vote.”
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The Nation ☛ The UN Climate Conference Finally Names the Culprit, Fossil Fuels—but Is It Enough?
When COP 28 President Sultan Al Jaber banged the gavel on December 13 to end this year’s UN climate negotiations in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the results of the conference and the response were decidedly mixed.
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YLE ☛ Halla-aho files police complaint over comedian's "fascist" comment
Ilkka Kivi said Jussi Halla-aho was a fascist in a comment on the X social control media platform.
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New York Times ☛ The Year in Social Media
You may have forgotten — or wanted to forget — what happened on the internet in 2023. We’re here to refresh your memory.
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Vice Media Group ☛ George Santos, Ziwe, and the Insatiable Internet Content Machine
The disgraced former congressman drives clicks, and our inability to look away has gifted him with a power he has been able to wield with a disconcerting self-awareness.
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New York Times ☛ The 27 Bills That Became Law in 2023
Despite holding more than 700 votes this year, the House only managed to pass 27 bills that have made it into law, thanks to tiny majorities, divided government and a right wing bent on constraining government.
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New York Times ☛ The 2023 House by the Numbers: 724 Votes, Only 26 Laws Enacted
The tally reflects the extraordinary chaos and paralysis that gripped the House in 2023, when lawmakers did more voting but less lawmaking than at any time in the past decade.
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JURIST ☛ North Carolina rights groups file lawsuit against state redistricting plans
Two prominent voting rights advocacy groups sued Republican state leadership in North Carolina on Tuesday over the state’s redistricting plans. The groups argue that the plans will disenfranchise Black voters and make Democratic majorities impossible in the state.
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RFERL ☛ EU Election Monitor Slams Alleged Irregularities In Serbian Vote, Calls For Full Probe
A European Union election observer has condemned alleged irregularities in Serbian elections this weekend and called for a probe as the opposition accused the ruling populist party of committing voter fraud to secure its victory.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Techdirt ☛ Ex-Marine Sues Gov’t Over Its Demand He Take Down His ‘Fuck The Government’ Sign
To paraphrase Voltaire, I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death the government’s right to prosecute you for what you say.
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University of Michigan ☛ ACLU writes letter to UMich administration expressing concern over suppression of student activism
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sent a letter to the University of Michigan on Tuesday expressing concern over recent actions taken by the University in response to student activism around the Israel-Hamas war.
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RFA ☛ Son of prominent Cambodian lawyer sought in fatal hit-and-run crash
The victim’s wife said on Facebook (Farcebook) that the lawyer offered her US$1000 if she agreed to drop charges.
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JURIST ☛ Oversight Board reverses Meta removal of two social control media posts about Israel-Hamas war
The semi-independent Oversight Board which handles appeals of social control media company Meta’s content moderation decisions decided Tuesday to reverse Meta’s auto-removal of two posts on Instagram and Facebook (Farcebook) about the ongoing Israel-Hamas War after an expedited review process. Both posts were restored by Meta after the review was announced.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong media summit forced to go online after venue cancellations, as organiser suggests self-censorship to blame
A conference about independent media in Hong Kong was forced to move online after multiple venues cancelled, with one calling the event “unsuitable.”
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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teleSUR ☛ Assange to Present Final Appeal to Avoid Extradition on Feb 20
Julian Assange is wanted on 17 charges of espionage and computer intrusion, all stemming from revelations about U.S. war crimes.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong court to rule on dismissal of media mogul Jimmy Lai’s sedition charge in national security trial on Friday
A Hong Kong court is set to rule on whether the sedition charge laid against media mogul Jimmy Lai was pressed before a six-month statute of limitations had expired, after the defence argued in the closely-watched national security trial that the prosecution had been “out of time.”
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: Despotism (1946)
This educational short film from 1946 was brought to our attention on twitter when a tweet claiming it was being supressed went a little viral. As it turns out it’s not being suppressed, as you can see it is still hosted by youtube, but it’s still a highly interesting watch.
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RFA ☛ Family of political prisoner describes his ordeal behind bars
Fellow prisoners terrorize him, and it is affecting his mental health, his wife says.
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RFA ☛ Interview: Vietnamese activist evades agents, flees to Germany
Nguyen Tien Trung says security forces chased him in Vietnam and Thailand.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: APSIG 2023
Sunny Chendi facilitated two roleplaying activities using the IPGO card game at APSIG 2023, held from 26 to 29 November 2023 in Manila, Philippines.
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APNIC ☛ APNIC to be the Local Host for IETF 119
IETF 119 runs from 16 to 22 March 2024 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Registration is now open.
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APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: 18th BIGF 2023
Siena Perry spoke on the importance of diverse participation at the 18th BIFG 2023, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 23 to 25 November 2023.
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APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: IDNIC OPM 2023
Sanjaya gave a keynote presentation on the Internet number registry system at the IDNIC OPM 2023, held from 5 to 7 December 2023 in Bandung, Indonesia.
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Internet Society ☛ Do We All Experience the Same Internet?
If any two people across the world from each other access the Internet at the same time, will they experience the same thing? To answer this question, some people may point out that people in China experience something much different than the rest of the world because of content filtering and the Great Firewall.
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Net2 ☛ What are DNS record types
The domain name system, abbreviated as DNS, is a global infrastructure responsible for translating human-readable hostnames into corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ German Federal Patent Court changes its mind on CureVac mRNA patent
In Germany, CureVac accuses BioNTech of infringing two patents and three utility models with its mRNA vaccine Comirnaty. One of them, EP 1 857 122 B1, protects a process that improves the expression of mRNA in cells.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ FINGOLIMOD or the Hesitation Blues: can preliminary injunctions be based on a patent monopoly application under French law?
Yes and no, it seems. Well, yes and then no, if recent French decisions are anything to go by. In short, Hesitations Blues reign.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Dismissal but no Vacatur: Federal Circuit Declines to Disturb PTAB’s Upholding of Dafni’s Hair Brush Patent
In a recent nonprecedential decision, the Federal Circuit dismissed Ontel’s appeal seeking to overturn the PTAB’s IPR decision upholding the patentability of Dafni’s hair straightening brush patents. Ontel Products Corp. v. Guy A. Shaked Invs. Ltd., No. 2022-1938 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 19, 2023). The court held that Ontel lacked standing to appeal because “the dispute between Ontel and Dafni over this patent monopoly is moot.” Under the mootness doctrine, “a case becomes moot ‘when the issues presented are no longer live or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome.’” ABS Global, Inc. v. Cytonome/ST, LLC, 984 F.3d 1017, 1020 (Fed. Cir. 2021).
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for IP Investments Group entity, Advanced Transactions, email patent monopoly prior art
Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,386,594, owned by Advanced Transactions LLC, an entity of IP Investments Group. The ‘594 patent monopoly relates to an email campaign generator that generates an email campaign template from an email target database.
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Unified Patents ☛ VideoLabs MPEG patent monopoly claims invalidated
On December 18, 2023, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a final written decision in Unified Patents, LLC v. VL Collective IP LLC holding challenged claims 1, 3, 5, 9, 12, 13, and 15 of U.S. Patent 8,605,794 unpatentable. Owned and asserted by VL Collective IP LLC, a VideoLabs Inc. entity, the '794 patent monopoly is generally directed to synchronizing data segments and references MPEG1.
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Trademarks
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Techdirt ☛ Wait, Grimes Also Has An AI Toy Called Grok?
Oh boy. We’ve already written a few times about Elon Musk’s “Grok” AI from his company xAI, which may or may not be a part of ExTwitter or possibly Tesla, but no one really knows because all of Elon’s companies blend together in a mishmash of hell for anyone who believes in good, normal corporate governance. Specifically, we’ve covered how he’s facing a kinda serious trademark issue with Groq, a well-established AI chip company that has a trademark on the name Groq for use in artificial intelligence (and, no the different spelling doesn’t matter under trademark law).
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness Appeals Turn Out?
By my count, the Board has affirmed more than 90% of the Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness refusals that it reviewed fo far this year. Here are three more. How do you think they came out? [Results in first comment].
In re Family Defined Benefits, LLC, Serial Nos. 97248954 and 97248972 (November 27, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Jonathan Hudis). [Mere descriptiveness refusals of ASK ME ABOUT RISK TAXES REGULATION INFLATION DEPRECIATION OF THE DOLLAR for, inter alia, annuity services, estate planning, business training, and for downloadable webinars in the field of tax preparation and estate planning. Applicant pointed to existing registrations for the marks ASK ME ABOUT MY WIENER, ASK ME ABOUT REALTY IN HOUSTON!, ASK ME ABOUT SURROGACY, and ASK ME MONEY THINGS to show the USPTO's history, pattern, or practice of registering marks “in the form ‘Ask Me About’ + a generic or descriptive term."]
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Copyrights
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Techdirt ☛ Google Sues Over Bogus, Anti-Competitive DMCA Takedowns
This one is from a couple months ago, but I’m clearing out some older stories that I didn’t have the time to write up when they were new.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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🔤SpellBinding — YGLNOUD Wordo: CRIBS
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Taking it one sip of coffee at a time
Typical day, although awoke later than usual.
A grandchild (the youngest) is coming to visit so I can sneak over to their house and assemble some toy gifts for him.
I got me back into some gopher reading of late.
Online text continues to mostly disappoint: not because people don't know how to write, but because Same Old.
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Hey hey gem[i]naut, say the way you post
And that's it, really: making and wearing shoes instead of making and installing enough carpet for the whole world. On a case by case basis, i.e. who's making you do this and/or that instead of be-coming (aka defining oneself to be) what doesn't re-quire this and/or that?
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Politics and World Events
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Advent tasks 🎄
...ecclesiastical pedants will know that its not Christmas yet, it's Advent.
This is an stressful time because family members have more expectations that usual. I have to find time for the things that I think are important.
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New Minnesota State Flag and Seal Chosen
I'm a Minnesotan. With the exception of a few months a few years ago where I lived in NYC, I have always lived in Minnesota. As a Minnesotan, it's bugged me that the Minnesota state flag somehow managed to blend in with like half of the states being a blue flag with a state seal, while also being uniquely "not good" to frequently get ranked as the worst state flag in the US. This October, I saw in a newspaper that the state was taking submissions for a new state flag and state seal. This was not that long after CGPGrey did his video ranking all of the state flags, so I was excited to keep up with the process. Well, a base design for a seal has been chosen and a final flag design has been picked. There is still the chance that the designs can be vetoed, but that seems quite unlikely.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ New Measurement of The Higgs Boson Is The Most Precise Ever Recorded
The most elusive particle in physics.
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Science Alert ☛ Insane Images Show Lava Flowing Out of The Fissure That's Opened Up in Iceland
What's going on?
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Technology and Free Software
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xearth
Haven't run it in years. Over 20 of them, maybe? Someone was discussing a script to show the time in various places (handy when dealing with international interactions), and while xearth does not show the time it does show where the yin and yang are, so one can see that it is around sunset in Madrid when these bytes were being pressed.
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A Google Ad Points Out Our Existential Problem
This ad is constantly running on youtube on my TV (I just rawdog it with a Roku... Someday I will block ads...)
The protagonist stands in front of the camera, looking confused, holding a knob that fell off his toaster oven. The fear in his eyes is real, as he has no idea how to get out of this situation.
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Digital Math Workbook: Exploring Options (publ. 2023-12-20)
I've been working through practice problems in the little book "A Student's Guide to the Mathematics of Astronomy". I was doing this on paper at first but found that I was losing a lot of my very limited time correcting small arithmetic mistakes, along with pencil slips, that are only discovered twelve steps after they are made. So I started looking into ideal options for a digital math workbook. So far, I've played around with two approaches:
[...]
Emacs Org has a feature where you can embed code in SRC blocks, and then execute them in the document, outputting results to another nearby block. Since Emacs has a built-in scientific calculator, with some CAS capabilities, I wondered if this system would work well for this use case.
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Internet/Gemini
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Playing with HTMX
HTMX is pretty awesome. We have a few Bluetooth LE sensors in various rooms of our apartment to keep track of temperature and humidity. They are sampled periodically, with readings written to an sqlite database. Up until now, I've just been showing the current data with a little command-line script. But tonight I wrote this stupid little CGI script in Fennel that displays a table of house data and then polls every minute to refresh the table. A dynamic webpage, with no JavaScript other than htmx.min.js! It's so refreshingly simple, and I hope HTMX gets some wide adoption.
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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.