Links 01/01/2024: Cluster Bombs and Rising National Debts
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- 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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Terence Eden ☛ Tech Predictions for 2024
It is obvious that Large Language Models are based on stolen material. I suspect that a lawsuit will determine that at least one of the major players has to delete all copies of their AI.
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Chris Hannah ☛ My Projects in 2023
I wanted to wrap up 2023 with another post looking back at the projects I worked on over the year, and also have a think about what 2024 could bring.
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Björn Wärmedal ☛ Hey, 2024! No promises.
The next few months are by no means a new start or a pivoting point. Life continues on its merry path and keeps changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. Stability isn't something I expect to fully have for quite some time, if ever again. But I believe I'm learning to navigate the currents a little better each day.
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Science Alert ☛ One Simple Technique Will Help You Stick to Your New Year's Resolutions
A secret weapon for lasting change!
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Hackaday ☛ DIY Tube Lights Look Amazing For Just $50 A Piece
It’s the future. We should have weird glowy lights everywhere, all over our homes, cars, and businesses. In the automotive world, luxury automakers are doing their part with LED ambient lighting systems, but the rest of us have to step up. [Super Valid Designs] has developed an excellent modular DMX lighting rig that’s fit for this purpose; the rest of us just have to get to work and build our own! (Video, embedded below.)
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Hackaday ☛ Paddling Help From Electric-Assisted Kayak
Electric-assisted bicycles, or ebikes, are fundamentally changing the way people get around cities and towns. What were once sweaty, hilly, or difficult rides have quickly turned into a low-impact and inexpensive ways around town without foregoing all of the benefits of exercise. [Braden] hoped to expand this idea to the open waters and is building what he calls the ebike of kayaking, using the principles of electric-assisted bicycles to build a kayak that helps you get where you’re paddling without removing you completely from the experience.
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Justin W. Flory: Storytelling: 2023 was a quiet blog year. In 2024, I recommit to storytelling.
2023 is almost over. It was a busy year. When I was a student, I used to write about what I was learning. But after finishing my studies, I stopped writing regularly. Now I want to focus on the future and adopt a storytelling theme for 2024. This post summarizes my intentions of committing to storytelling.
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Reflecting on my 2023
I figured I’d write a post about this last year, maybe to crystalize thoughts I’ve been having, and to help figure some things out for the times ahead.
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Hackaday ☛ An Electronic Orchestra Baton
The conductor of an orchestra may look unassuming on the street, but once they step onto their podium, they are all powerful. If you’ve ever wanted to go mad with power in the comfort of your own home, try this electronic orchestra baton by [Larry Lu] and [Kathryn Zhang].
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Chris ☛ Estimating Standard Deviation From Timeseries
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Decades Ago a Huge Noise Roared in The Ocean. For Years It Was a Mystery.
Scientists called it the Bloop.
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Science Alert ☛ Neurons in The Brain Appear to Follow a Distinct Mathematical Pattern
This is no accident.
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Education
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RFERL ☛ Girls' School Torched In Northwestern Pakistan
Unknown perpetrators have set a girls' secondary school on fire overnight in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, police officials in the Bannu district said. [...]
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Hardware
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The Verge ☛ Vizio agrees to pay $3 million for alleged ‘false’ refresh rate claims
If you bought a Vizio TV in California after April 30th, 2014, Vizio may owe you some money. The company has agreed to pay out $3 million after a 2018 class action lawsuit alleged that its marketing of 120Hz and 240Hz “effective” refresh rates was “false and deceptive.” Vizio denies that it did anything wrong, according to the agreement. The deadline for filing claims is March 30th next year, and requires some sort of evidence of ownership, including proof of purchase or the serial number, to qualify.
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How a Cray-1 Supercomputer Compares to a Raspberry Pi
And this week — now at age 87 — Longbottom has created a web page titled "Cray 1 supercomputer performance comparisons with home computers, phones and tablets." And one statistic really captures the impact of our decades of technological progress.
"In 1978, the Cray 1 supercomputer cost $7 Million, weighed 10,500 pounds and had a 115 kilowatt power supply. It was, by far, the fastest computer in the world. The Raspberry Pi costs around $70 (CPU board, case, power supply, SD card), weighs a few ounces, uses a 5 watt power supply and is more than 4.5 times faster than the Cray 1."
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ Shock Result Reveals The Fruit You May Want to Leave Out of Smoothies
"We were really surprised."
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New York Times ☛ When the World Feels Dark, Seek Out Delight
Taking time to notice life’s small joys can improve your health and your outlook.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Researchers train Hey Hi (AI) chatbots to 'jailbreak' rival chatbots - and automate the process
Researchers from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore were able to get Hey Hi (AI) chatbots to generate banned content by training other Hey Hi (AI) chatbots, with the ability to bypass any patches rolled out by respective Hey Hi (AI) developers.
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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University of Toronto ☛ Email addresses are not good 'permanent' identifiers for accounts
The biggest problem with email addresses as 'permanent' identifiers is that people's email addresses change even within a single organization (for example, a university). They change for the same collection of reasons that people's commonly used names and logins change. An organization that refuses to change or redo the email addresses it assigns to people is being unusually cruel in ways that are probably not legally sustainable in any number of places.
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Defence/Aggression
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim says armed conflict becoming reality because of US
January 01, 2024 8:13 AM
Mr Kim spoke of "hostile manoeuvres by the enemies including the United States".
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The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2023: ‘Australia must act now to develop a national security strategy’
Originally published on 14 December 2023.
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The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2023: ‘Australia needs a dedicated, autonomous national security adviser’
Originally published on 18 December 2023. The world is less stable and less predictable than it has been in generations, marked by profound and disruptive change, with the unsettling promise of more to come.
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US News And World Report ☛ Military-Led Sahel States Rally Thousands to Support Alliance
The juntas have all severed long-standing military ties with former colonial ruler France, dealing a blow to France's influence in the region and complicating international efforts to curb a decade-old Islamist insurgency that has destabilised the Sahel region.
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[Old] MEMRI ☛ Hamas Summer Camps For Children And Teens In Gaza Strip Provide Weapons And Military Training In Order To Raise 'Generation That Will Liberate Palestine'
As in previous years, the summer camps focus on familiarizing the youngsters with various weapons, including the AK-47, sniper guns, RPG launchers, mortars and machine guns. The campers practice assembling and disassembling the weapons, holding them and using them, and also train in urban warfare and tunnel warfare. Some of the lessons are taught by masked members of Hamas' armed wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and some are even held in Hamas military bases. A boy at one of the camps gave a demonstration of tunnel warfare for Younis Al-Astal, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on behalf of Hamas, who toured the camps with other Hamas officials. At some of the camps, Israeli flags were spread on the ground so that the campers would step on them. Terrorists who carried out deadly attacks against Israelis are presented to the campers as role models, and their portraits feature in the camps and in camp activities.
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India Times ☛ Social media firms gained $11 billion in ads from under-18 users' engagement in 2022, finds study
They found that while among users aged 12 and under, YouTube derived the greatest ad revenue of about $1 billion in 2022, among those aged 13-17 years, Instagram generated the highest revenue of about $4 billion.
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The Dissenter ☛ Israel’s War On Gaza: In Memory Of Palestinian Journalists Killed In 2023
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New York Times ☛ U.S.-Israel Relationship Shows Signs of Strain Amid War Against Hamas
No other episode in the past half-century has tested the relationship between the United States and Israel in such an intense and consequential way as the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.
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France24 ☛ North Korea's Kim Jong Un orders military to prepare for possible 'war'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that can “break out at any time” on the peninsula, state media reported Sunday.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea Kim Jong Un, China's Pooh-tin exchange message vowing closer ties - Yonhap
January 01, 2024 5:58 AM
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping vowed to further develop relationship of cooperation between the two countries, in New Year messages exchanged on Monday, South Korea's Yonhap news reported citing the North's state radio.
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The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan president says ties with China must be decided by will of the people
Taiwan will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections this month.
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France24 ☛ China's Pooh-tin says reunification with Taiwan is 'inevitable' in New Year's address
China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Pooh-tin Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader.
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The Straits Times ☛ China's Xi, US President Biden exchange congratulations on 45th year of diplomatic ties
China's President Pooh-tin Jinping exchanged congratulations with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
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The Straits Times ☛ Xi says willing to work with US for stable relationship
Both sides should "take practical actions", said China's President.
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The Straits Times ☛ China unlikely to cave under pressure to stop sending North Korean defectors back: Observers
A change in stance might spark a mass exodus and possible collapse of Kim's regime.
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France24 ☛ US sinks Houthi boats used to attack merchant vessel in the Red Sea
US Navy helicopters sank three small boats used by Iran-backed Houthi militants to attack a Maersk merchant vessel in the Red Sea, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Yemen-based Houthis said 10 militants were “killed or missing” following the US strike. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Read our blog for all the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Meduza ☛ After shelling in Belgorod, officials in several Russian cities cancel New Year’s fireworks — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ At least 23 reportedly dead from missile strike on Kyiv warehouse during Russia’s December 29 attack — Meduza
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LRT ☛ Lithuania‘s boycott of Miyazaki film draws attention to ‘politically incorrect’ film distribution patterns
Lithuanian cinemas have refused to the Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s last film because of the distributors’ links with Russia. The bigger problem is that film rights are often packaged regionally, lumping the Baltic states together with Russia.
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New York Times ☛ Monday Briefing: Ukraine Steps Up Sabotage
Plus the beloved cats of a Chilean prison.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine Intensifies Guerrilla Tactics, Targeting Trains
As conventional forces struggle to break through defensive lines, both sides are increasingly turning to guerrilla tactics.
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The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia steered Asean well through global crises, but progress limited on regional issues: Experts
Indonesia ensured bloc's voice was heard in high-profile conflicts like Russia-Ukraine war.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Ushers In 2024 As Deadly Missile Strikes Hit Both Sides Of Border
Ukrainian authorities braced for further attacks as they ushered in another difficult year on January 1, with death and destruction from Russian missile strikes continuing to terrorize Ukrainian cities and dampening any New Year's celebrations.
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JURIST ☛ Russia accuses Ukraine of using cluster munitions in Belgorod strikes
Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of using internationally prohibited cluster munitions in strikes on the city of Belgorod in Russia. The country’s Permanent Representative the UN Security Council called the strikes “indiscriminate” and said they killed 18 people, including three children, in addition to injuring 108 others.
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France24 ☛ Russia pounds Kharkiv with missiles after accusing Ukraine of killing dozens in Belgorod
Russia pounded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles and drones in the hours leading into New Year's Eve, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly air assault just across the border on nearby Belgorod.
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Meduza ☛ Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers annual New Year’s address to the country — Meduza
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New York Times ☛ Putin and Zelensky Address Their Citizens on New Year’s Eve
The message of resilience offered by Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky’s message, contrasted sharply with that of President Vladimir V. Putin, who glossed over the war in an effort to project a sense of normality.
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RFERL ☛ Putin Praises Military In Brief, Low-Key New Year's Address
A brief New Year's address by Russian President Vladimir Putin has been broadcast on state television as the country’s eastern regions usher in 2024.
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Environment
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LRT ☛ Spectacle and environmental hazard: fireworks are falling out of fashion
While fireworks have been an essential attribute of New Year’s celebrations, scientists warn their effects on the environment and the health of people and animals may outweigh the benefits. b
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Eesti Rahvusringhääling ☛ Rare saltwater inflow in Baltic Sea could have 'widespread' environmental impact
TalTech marine scientist Urmas Lips said several specific events must take place for a saline pulse to occur.
"First of all, easterly winds must last for a while, as a result of which the water level of the Baltic Sea becomes a little lower than the North Sea. If after that another good westerly storm arrives, which raises the water level in the Kattegat Strait, then a lot of oxygen-rich salt water will enter the Baltic Sea at the same time," Lips told ERR.
"The Baltic Sea is a very enclosed sea, and salt water only enters through the narrow Danish straits. The water changes in the upper layers and interlayer, but not near the bottom. The Baltic Sea is such that there is no oxygen near the bottom in deep areas. The only way to access oxygen is to bring in large amounts of salt water, which is dense enough to sink into the deeper regions and squeeze out or mix with the oxygen-free water," he explained.
The inflow is considered a necessary phenomenon as it allows oxygen to be replenished in the deepest parts of the Baltic.
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YLE ☛ FMI warns of dangerous frosts
Temperatures dipping below -20 degrees Celsius are expected throughout Finland for the first week of 2024.
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Energy/Transportation
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NPR ☛ The rules of the road are changing, but not fast enough for everyone
Traffic fatalities in the U.S. are up sharply since the beginning of the pandemic — especially for pedestrians and cyclists. That's bringing attention to a previously obscure federal manual that's sometimes called the Bible of road design.
Since 1935, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices has set national standards for street signs and road design, with major revisions every decade or so. The latest version runs to more than 1,000 pages. And while the MUTCD doesn't get much attention outside of transportation circles, it has a major impact.
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Hackaday ☛ 3D Printing Your Own Triboelectric Generators
A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) certainly sounds like the sort of thing you’d need to graduate from Starfleet Engineering to put together, but it actually operates on the same principle that’s at work when you rub a balloon your head. Put simply, when friction is applied to the proper materials, charges can build up enough to produce a short burst of electrical energy. Do it enough, and you’re on the way to producing useful power.
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Wildlife/Nature
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NYPost ☛ Florida man arrested for deliberately hitting deer, filming it for TikTok: police
Geneva resident Clay Kinney, 27, was charged with five counts of animal torment and one count of animal torture. He was also charged with one count of a moving traffic violation.
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Overpopulation
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Science Alert ☛ Natural Selection Can Actually Slow Evolution, Scientists Say
Challenging a long-standing assumption.
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Science Alert ☛ Expert Reveals 5 Things That Can Help You Live a Longer Life
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Finance
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YLE ☛ PM Orpo's New Year address: Finland's debt level dangerous
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) points out that the economic outlook for the coming year has become even gloomier.
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YLE ☛ 2023 electricity prices down 64% from past year
There were 467 hours of negative electricity prices throughout the year, significantly more than ever before.
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New York Times ☛ Asian American Officials Cite Unfair Scrutiny and Lost Jobs in China Spy Tensions
National security employees with ties to Asia say U.S. counterintelligence officers wrongly regard them as potential spies and ban them from jobs.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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India Times ☛ Over 9,000 employees fired by video gaming firms in 2023
The video game industry saw several rounds of layoffs in 2023, affecting at least 9,000 employees globally.
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India Times ☛ Cybersecurity sector was not immune from job losses in 2023
As tech layoffs are set to continue unabated in 2024, the cybersecurity industry was not immune from job losses and more than 110 cybersecurity companies fired thousands of employees in 2023.
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EFF ☛ Taking Back the Web with Decentralization: 2023 in Review
In the past few years, there's been an accelerating swing back toward decentralization. Users are fed up with the concentration of power, and the prevalence of privacy and free expression violations, and many users are fleeing to smaller, independently operated projects.
This momentum wasn’t only seen in the growth of new social media projects. Other exciting projects have emerged this year, and public policy is adapting.
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now X) at the end of 2022, many people moved to various corners of the “IndieWeb” at an unprecedented rate. It turns out those were just the cracks before the dam burst this year. 2023 was defined as much by the ascent of federated microblogging as it was by the descent of X as a platform. These users didn't just want a drop-in replacement for twitter, they wanted to break the major social media platform model for good by forcing hosts to compete on service and respect.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ When Michael Dreeben Accepted John Sauer’s Invitation to Talk about Speech and Debate
John Sauer added something to Donald Trump's immunity claims: That he should be entitled to the same immunities members of Congress are. That led Michael Dreeben to invoke Karen Henderson's past concurrence establishing that, "it is well settled that a Member is subject to criminal prosecution and process."
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RFERL ☛ Three More Serbian Opposition Leaders End Hunger Strikes Amid Expected Pause In Protests
Three additional opposition leaders associated with the pro-Europe Serbia Against Violence coalition have ended their hunger strikes that were launched to demand annulment of general elections that took place in the country earlier this month.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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ABC ☛ Ohio man nearly dies after eating poisonous mushroom found on his lawn
For generations, the Hickman family has foraged for mushrooms. Unlike his great-grandparents, who had to study which ones were safe to eat, Hickman thought he had an advantage: He pulled out his smartphone, photographed the fungi and uploaded the image to a plant identifier.
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[Old] Cleveland ☛ Beware of deadly wild mushrooms: Portage County man survives poisoning, thanks to experimental drug at UH
When the app matched his photos of the backyard mushrooms with an edible species, Hickman collected them, took them home, and sautéed them with onions, garlic and butter. Then he ate them on top of the mushroom tortellini his wife had made for dinner.
The meal was delicious, he recalls but, as he later discovered, it almost killed him.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Salon ☛ 2023 was the year the students fought back
With culture wars playing out in school districts across the nation, even unlikely communities find themselves embroiled in arguments over race, gender identity, sexual orientation — and, yes, cartoon buttocks.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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US News And World Report ☛ John Pilger, Australia-Born Journalist and Filmmaker Known for Covering Cambodia, Dies at 84
In more recent years, he campaigned for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has fought a lengthy battle against extradition to the United States.
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Craig Murray ☛ Farewell to John Pilger
Simply the greatest documentary maker of all time, and a rock of support for the Assange family.
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VOA News ☛ Iranian Diaspora Journalist on Plot to Assassinate Her: I Am More Motivated
ITV reported that agents of Iran’s top military force, the IRGC, offered $200,000 to a people-smuggler to try to kill Sabet and Fardad Farahzad late last year in the British capital, where Iran International is headquartered.
The British network said the plot was foiled because the people smuggler was a double agent who shared recordings of the plotters with a Western intelligence agency as well as with ITV. The network added that "multiple officials" verified the man’s account.
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[Old] John Pilger ☛ The True Betrayers Of Julian Assange Are Close To Home
This is an abridged version of an address by John Pilger in Sydney on 10 March to mark the launch in Australia of Davide Dormino's sculpture of Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, 'figures of courage'.
I have known Julian Assange since I first interviewed him in London in 2010. I immediately liked his dry, dark sense of humour, often dispensed with an infectious giggle. He is a proud outsider: sharp and thoughtful. We have become friends, and I have sat in many courtrooms listening to the tribunes of the state try to silence him and his moral revolution in journalism.
My own high point was when a judge in the Royal Courts of Justice leaned across his bench and growled at me: 'You are just a peripatetic Australian like Assange.' My name was on a list of volunteers to stand bail for Julian, and this judge spotted me as the one who had reported his role in the notorious case of the expelled Chagos Islanders. Unintentionally, he delivered me a compliment.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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JURIST ☛ South Korea Supreme Court orders Japan companies to compensate former victims of forced labor
The Supreme Court of Korea found on Thursday that shipbuilder Hitachi Zosen Corp. and heavy equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries owe 50 million won (approx. $39,000) and 150 million won (approx. $116,000), respectively, to victims of forced labor during World War II.
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Jacobin Magazine ☛ In 2023, the US Working Class Fought Back
More than 500,000 workers walked off the job this year, more than double the 224,000 that struck last year, which itself was double 2021’s numbers, according to Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. Baristas, journalists, actors, manufacturing workers, professors, autoworkers, health care workers: they all shared in the terrifying, exhilarating experience of walking off the job. More importantly, they won.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 42
In the 42nd month since Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong – criminalising secession, subversion, foreign collusion and terrorism – one of the most high-profile trials to date finally got underway following more than a year of delays and debate.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Pete Brown ☛ How about not having platforms so large that their policy decisions carry this much weight?
There is a way to solve this problem, and that is to not have companies this millions upon millions of users. Making a judgement about whether this post or that reply is offensive or abusive or gross is never easy, but it is made exponentially more difficult and consequential when your user base is larger than many countries.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese spy balloons ‘used a U.S. internet provider’ – as well as American hardware
Chinese spy balloons made use of connectivity supplied by an American internet service provider, according to a new report shared by NBC News citing insider sources.
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Patents
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EFF ☛ How To Fight Bad Patents: 2023 Year In Review
EFF’s longstanding project of fighting for a more balanced, just patent system has always borne free expression in mind. And patent trolls, who simply use intellectual property (IP) rights to extract money from others, continue to be a barrier to people who want to freely innovate, or even just use technology.
The inter partes review (IPR) process that Congress created about a decade ago is far from perfect, and we’ve supported a few ideas that would make it stronger. But overall, IPR has been a big step forward for limiting the damage of wrongly granted patents. Thousands of patent claims have been canceled through this process, which uses specialized administrative judges and is considerably faster and less expensive than federal courts.
And IPR does no harm to legitimate patent holders. In fact, it only affects a tiny proportion of patents at all. In fiscal year 2023, there were 392 patents that were partially invalidated, and 133 patents that were fully invalidated. That’s out of a universe of an estimated 3.8 million “live” patents, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) own data.
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Copyrights
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CBC ☛ For 100 years, this Mickey Mouse operation has thrived. Is Disney now losing its magic?
"Disney is struggling, to be candid," said Barnes. "It's sort of struggling to figure out where the future of entertainment is going, how to bridge the divide between the cable television era and the streaming era."
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Torrent Freak ☛ 2023 in Review: RARBG, Zoro, Z-Library, Flawless, IPTV and AI
Another year has flown by. As a tradition, we use the last day of the year to look back at some of the biggest stories of the past twelve months; from Afghanistan's cricket team to the takedown of Zoro.to. RARBG can't be forgotten either, and we certainly have to make a pause at the Flawless prosecution too.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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Rumours
A friend told me you could just ask strangers in a pub for rumours and they answer with enthusiasm. The midnight pub feels like no one is a stranger but I thought I'm just gonna ask anyway.
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A Boy's Fable (My Social Anxiety, Told in a Tale)
Long ago, in a faraway land, there lived an Elder Dragon. From his den he flew down to the river for a drink.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed something he didn’t expect; a basket with a loin cloth floating into the riverbank. Inside it was a mere baby boy. But his parents were nowhere to be found.
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Technology and Free Software
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Another day, another software "improvement"
This actually magically started happening maybe a month ago, but it annoyed me again a few minutes ago, and some gopher browsing on software development themes caused the experience to get stuck in the craw, so....
See, I play this simple "spider solitaire" game on my phone. And it permits move undo's via a leftward-facing arrow button. And I typically keep a count of "number of moves" I've made when starting from a place wherein I could have gone more than one route, so that I can back out of where I wound up by quickly tapping that number of times on said button, and then trying another possible path.
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Gemlog lady, ASCII lady.. typing slowly.. towards a post
That: An ice cream cone (just the cone)? An unlit torch? One dimensional spiral from the side? Icicle?
Perhaps the point of the story of "The Fall" is that Awareness found a way to seemingly hide from Itself: in description/representation/reflection? Pretending a description/representation/reflection is the referent?
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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.