Links 03/02/2024: Unified Patents Killing More Software Patents, Google Cache Phased Out
Contents
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Leftovers
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The Straits Times ☛ How North Korean eyelashes make their way to West as 'made in China'
Millions of dollars in sales of North Korean false eyelashes - marketed in beauty stores around the world as "made in China" - helped drive a recovery in the secretive state's exports last year.
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The Straits Times ☛ China launches powerful Jielong-3 rocket, paves way for more commercial missions
A small but powerful Chinese rocket capable of sending payloads at competitive costs delivered nine satellites into orbit on Saturday, Chinese state media reported, in what is gearing up to be another busy year for Chinese commercial launches.
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Hackaday ☛ Satellite Provides Detailed Data On Antarctic Ice
Ever since the first satellites started imaging the Earth, scientists have been using the data gathered to learn more about our planet and improve the lives of its inhabitants. From weather forecasting to improving crop yields, satellites have been put to work in a wide array of tasks. The data they gather can go beyond imaging as well. A new Chinese satellite known as Fengyun-3E is using some novel approaches to monitor Antarctic sea ice in order to help scientists better understand the changing climate at the poles.
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France24 ☛ ‘I'd rather die than stay here’: Unfit housing on the rise in Paris suburb hosting Olympic village
With broken windows and walls covered with mould, 49-year-old security guard Belkheir is desperate to move out of the tiny studio apartment he has lived in for the past 17 years. However, he is unable to afford anything more expensive on the private market and his requests for social housing have been repeatedly turned down. His apartment is just one of an estimated 4,500 unfit or substandard homes in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis – home of the Olympic village for the 2024 Paris Games – and the problem is only getting worse.
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Hackaday ☛ Electric Boomerang Does Laps
Boomerangs are known for their unique ability to circle back to the thrower, but what if you could harness this characteristic for powered for free flight? In a project that spins the traditional in a new direction, [RCLifeOn] electrifies a boomerang to make it fly laps.
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Tedium ☛ The Ballad Of Mark Discordia
Considering an infamous target of trolling in the early online era. Did the middle-aged Nintendo fan really deserve it?
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Education
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Latvia ☛ Ninth-grade exam requirements will stay same this year
This year, 9th grade centralized exam threshold for passing will remain the same as it was – at 10%, said Education and Science Ministry (IZM) on February 2.
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ A Wiper Motor 101
Need a powerful electric motor on the cheap? [Daniel Simu] and his friend [Werner] show us the ins and outs of using windshield wiper motors.
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Hackaday ☛ An Alternative Orientation For 3D Printed Enclosures
When it comes to 3D printing, the orientation of your print can have a significant impact on strength, aesthetics, and functionality or ease of printing. The folks at Slant 3D have found that printing enclosures at a 45° provides an excellent balance of these properties, with some added advantages for high volume printing. The trick is to prevent the part from falling over when balance on a edge, but in the video after the break [Gabe Bentz] demonstrate Slant 3D’s solution of minimalist custom supports.
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The Straits Times ☛ The puffed corn snack that keeps Taiwan’s tech devices in good working order
Putting them on top of machines and computers symbolises the hope for the devices to behave.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ New Aetina MXM GPU Series with NVIDIA Ada Technology
Aetina has unveiled its new MXM GPU series, leveraging the advanced NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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New York Times ☛ Alternative Therapies Like Meditation and Acupuncture Are on the Rise
More than one-third of American adults now supplement or substitute mainstream medical care with treatments long considered alternative.
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Latvia ☛ Latvia extends encephalitis vaccine interval
After extensive research, Latvian health authorities have extended the recommended interval for receiving the vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis, Latvian Radio reported on February 2.
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The Kent Stater ☛ UGood events work to promote mental health awareness among students
To prioritize mental health, the university has introduced UGood events, which are designed to involve and educate students to embrace healthful practices that contribute to their overall mental wellbeing.
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New York Times ☛ 6 Reasons That It’s Hard to Get Your Wegovy and Other Weight-Loss Prescriptions
An array of obstacles makes it difficult for patients to obtain Wegovy or Zepbound. Finding Wegovy is “like winning the lottery,” one nurse practitioner said.
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Techdirt ☛ Kids Don’t Think Congress Has Their Best Interests In Mind With Their Grandstanding ‘Protect The Children’ Hearing
We’ve covered a few stories this week related to the Senate hearing on “kids safety” and there’s going to be a lot more in the coming weeks as those same Senators grandstand and yell about “protect the children!” and generally make fools of themselves. I think Casey Newton’s summary of the spectacle is about right:
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Meduza ☛ An organic movement grows in Kyrgyzstan Farmers in this heavily agricultural nation are embracing chemical-free crops — Meduza
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NYPost ☛ Stop drinking ginger ale for an upset stomach — it could be doing more harm than good
Ale, no.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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EFF ☛ What is Proposition E and Why Should San Francisco Voters Oppose It?
Proposition E is a “kitchen sink" approach to public safety that capitalizes on residents’ fear of crime in an attempt to gut common-sense democratic oversight of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). In addition to removing certain police oversight authority from the Police Commission and expanding the circumstances under which police may conduct high-speed vehicle chases, Proposition E would also amend existing laws passed in 2019 to protect San Franciscans from invasive, untested, or biased police technologies.
Currently, if police want to acquire a new technology, they have to go through a procedure known as CCOPS—Community Control Over Police Surveillance. This means that police need to explain why they need a new piece of technology and provide a detailed use policy to the democratically-elected Board of Supervisors, who then vote on it. The process also allows for public comment so people can voice their support for, concerns about, or opposition to the new technology. This process is in no way designed to universally deny police new technologies. Instead, it ensures that when police want new technology that may have significant impacts on communities, those voices have an opportunity to be heard and considered. San Francisco police have used this procedure to get new technological capabilities as recently as Fall 2022 in a way that stimulated discussion, garnered community involvement and opposition (including from EFF), and still passed.
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Techdirt ☛ FBI Looking To Use Amazon’s Facial Recognition Tech To ‘Recognize’ Stuff That Isn’t People’s Faces
A half-decade ago, Amazon was an emerging player on the facial recognition scene. Its proprietary blend was called “Rekognition.” At the outset, Amazon was definitely interested in getting it in the hands of as many cops as possible. Documents obtained by the ACLU showed the company was courting law enforcement agencies, seeking to sell them a high-powered facial recognition variant capable of doing things its competition couldn’t.
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Techdirt ☛ We Shouldn’t Allow A New Super Secret Surveillance Court Cover Up The Civil Liberties Problems Of The Old Super Secret Surveillance Court
For years now we’ve been covering the big ongoing fights between the US and the EU regarding the transfer of user data across the Atlantic. The main issue was that due to somewhat different data protection/privacy laws between the EU and the US, the two keep trying to work out a “deal” that allows (mostly) US companies to stores data from EU users on servers in the US. This transatlantic data flow agreement is important. It would be difficult for many US companies to offer services to EU citizens without it.
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Defence/Aggression
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Site36 ☛ Refugee helpers in danger: The EU wants to pass new laws against „migrant smuggling“
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Defence Web ☛ South Korea donates MD500 helicopters to Kenya
South Korea is giving Kenya 16 retired MD500 helicopters to be used on United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, with the first six being refurbished ahead of delivery to the East African nation.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea tested firing cruise missiles on Feb 2: KCNA
February 03, 2024 6:03 AM
The barrage of launches for weapons is aimed at enhancing its defence capabilities.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Global China Newsletter: A paper leader – China’s inaction in the Middle East dashes misplaced hopes
The first 2024 edition of the Global China Newsletter.
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YLE ☛ Finnish Defence Minister calls resigning reservists "unpatriotic", plans law change
A record number of reservists applied to switch to the civilian service in 2022.
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YLE ☛ Finland joining Nato fighter jet operation in Black Sea
Finland is participating in the alliance's common defence drills this summer.
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New York Times ☛ Photo: Biden Sees Dignified Transfer of 3 Troops Killed in Jordan
What one image reveals about t
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New York Times ☛ U.N. Climate Chief Warns Countries Against ‘Hiding Behind Loopholes’
Simon Stiell used a speech in Azerbaijan to set expectations for global climate negotiations there this year.
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JURIST ☛ Australia imposes further sanctions on Myanmar military regime
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced Thursday that the government was imposing additional sanctions on five entities with direct links to the Myanmar military.
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France24 ☛ Torture in Azerbaijan: Europe looks away
In the run-up to February 7 presidential elections, repression has increased in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus that borders Iran and Armenia. Any opposition to President Ilham Aliyev is silenced. Human rights activists, journalists and political opponents are on the receiving end of the regime's wrath on a daily basis. Our reporters Karina Chabour and Roméo Langlois met victims of torture who are denouncing a violent system of repression. They also looked into the Council of Europe's ambiguous links to the regime in Baku.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Conducts Retaliatory Strikes Against Iranian Proxies as War Deepens
The strikes, in response to a drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan this week, were a sharp escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
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New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: U.S. Strikes Over 85 Targets at 7 Sites in Iraq and Syria Against Iran’s Forces and Proxies
President Biden had promised to respond to the drone attack that killed three American soldiers this week. “Our response began today,” he said, in an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
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France24 ☛ US launches strikes in Syria and Iraq in response to deadly drone attack
The US military on Friday said it launched air strikes on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias in apparent retaliation for the deadly drone strike that killed three US soldiers in Jordan on Sunday. Syrian state media said that “American aggression” on multiple sites had resulted in casualties. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Launches Retaliatory Strikes On Iranian-Linked Sites In Syria, Iraq
U.S. forces have launched multiple strikes against dozens of Iranian-linked sites in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials said on February 2, in retaliation for a drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members on January 28 and which Washington blamed on Tehran.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Hits Back at Iran With Sanctions, Criminal Charges and Airstrikes
The Biden administration used sanctions and criminal charges to punish the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s premier military force.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Atlantic Council ☛ Power Vertical Podcast: Five scenarios for Russia’s future
What will Russia look like in ten years, or twenty? Host Brian Whitmore speaks with Casey Michel, the author of a new Atlantic Council report on Russia's future.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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New York Times ☛ He’s Lost His Marriage, His Followers and His Lamborghini
Ben Armstrong, better known as BitBoy, was once the most popular cryptocurrency YouTuber in the world. Now his empire has collapsed.
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Finance
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s economic slowdown expected to last until 2028 amid population, productivity ‘headwinds,’ IMF says
China’s economic slowdown is likely to persist in the coming years as the Asian giant struggles with sagging productivity and a rapidly aging population, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. Leading Soft Landing for Global Economy
Economies all over the world are lowering inflation while avoiding serious recession — but growth in the United States stands out.
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Federal News Network ☛ AFGE expresses fears about future telework cuts for Social Security employees
In today's Federal Newscast: The American Federation of Government Employees expresses fears about future telework cuts for Social Security employees. The U.S. European Command is seeking federal employees and government contractors to participate in its first-ever Hey Hi (AI) hackathon. And agencies have until midnight to shut down software that has been hit with dangerous cyber vulnerabilities.
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CS Monitor ☛ Job gains confirm a US economy exceeding expectations
The latest economic numbers show an increasingly positive narrative: decelerating inflation, no recession in sight, and surprisingly strong job growth.
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Latvia ☛ Luminor says bank tax harmed its profits
Baltic bank Luminor generated increased pre-tax profits of 51.7 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 10.7% increase on the same period a year ago period – but said its profits would have been bigger if it didn't have to pay so much in tax.
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Pro Publica ☛ The Oregon Timber Industry Won Huge Tax Cuts in the 1990s. Now It May Get Another Break Thanks to a Top Lawmaker.
In the 1990s, Oregon’s powerful timber industry used its influence to win a series of tax cuts that have cost local governments a cumulative $3 billion. Once-vibrant communities were left struggling to pay for basic services without the taxes that once came from logging the valuable forests that surround them.
Now the industry is in line for another tax break, thanks to a key ally.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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JURIST ☛ Malaysia pardons board halves ex-PM Najib Razak’s corruption sentence
News agency CNA revealed Wednesday that the top pardons board in Malaysia halved former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 12-year sentence for corruption, embezzlement and money laundering through Malaysia’s state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The board has also reduced the imposed fine to 50 million ringgit ($10.6 million) from 210 million ringgit. >
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New York Times ☛ Malaysia Halves Sentence of Najib Razak, Fallen Ex-Prime Minister
His release has been set for August 2028 and his fine reduced to a quarter of its original amount, a move that has drawn criticism from observers and citizens.
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RFA ☛ Three arrested over anti-junta ‘silent strike’ in Mandalay
The arrests came alongside a spate of bombings in the commercial capital Yangon.
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France24 ☛ How 'Myanmar Witness' proved a deadly air strike denied by state-owned medias
A number of photos and videos that circulated on social control media and were picked up by pro-democracy media outlets show the aftermath of an air strike on the village of Ka Nan, in the west of Myanmar on January 7, 2024. While the state television outlet claimed that reports of the air strike were “fake news”, a visual investigation published by "Myanmar Witness" documented the attack and proved the Myanmar Air Force's involvement. Seventeen civilians are believed to have been killed.
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JURIST ☛ 131 escape Malaysia immigration detention center leading to one casualty
Ruslin Jusoh, Director-General of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, announced Thursday that 131 primarily Rohingya men from Myanmar escaped from the Bidor Immigration Detention Center in Perak, Malaysia, with one being killed.
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RFA ☛ Suspected Chinese spy pigeon released after 8-month detention in India
The bird was caught last May with two rings tied to its legs featuring words that appeared to be Chinese.
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New York Times ☛ Pigeon Was Cleared of Being a Chinese Spy, but Served 8 Months Anyway
Birds, be careful: Loitering at an Indian port with a microchip on your leg can make people nervous and get you locked up.
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The Straits Times ☛ China says Philippine vessel "illegally" landed on disputed atoll
China said on Saturday a small civilian vessel from the Philippines had \"illegally placed itself on the beach\" of an atoll in the South China Sea that both countries claim.
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RFA ☛ US, Thailand to hold annual military drills with troops from 30 nations
The Cobra Gold war games will be conducted in the Gulf of Thailand from Feb. 27 to March 10.
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RFA ☛ UK relaxes partner rules for its BNO visa scheme for Hong Kongers
The move could prompt a renewed wave of interest in emigration to the United Kingdom.
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JURIST ☛ Hong Kong court convicts 4 activists over rioting on anniversary of handover
The District Court of Hong Kong convicted Hong Kong activists Gregory Wong, Ng Chi-yung, Ho Chun-yin and Lam Kan-kwan on Thursday over rioting at Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Complex on July 1, 2019.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Beijing warns Washington that tech restrictions will ‘come back to bite them’
Beijing on Thursday warned the US that restrictions on its industries would “come back to bite them”, after Washington added a number of Chinese firms to a list of companies linked to its military.
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New York Times ☛ Prosecutors in Documents Case Reject Trump’s Claims of Bias
The office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, pushed back on the former president’s assertions that his prosecution was motivated by animosity toward him in intelligence agencies.
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New York Times ☛ How X Is Trying to Win Over Influencers
Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of the platform formerly known as Twitter, is relying on her TV industry ties to recruit established stars to the site.
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Bruce Schneier ☛ A Self-Enforcing Protocol to Solve Gerrymandering
In 2009, I wrote:
There are several ways two people can divide a piece of cake in half. One way is to find someone impartial to do it for them. This works, but it requires another person. Another way is for one person to divide the piece, and the other person to complain (to the police, a judge, or his parents) if he doesn’t think it’s fair. This also works, but still requires another person—at least to resolve disputes. A third way is for one person to do the dividing, and for the other person to choose the half he wants.
The point is that unlike protocols that require a neutral third party to complete (arbitrated), or protocols that require that neutral third party to resolve disputes (adjudicated), self-enforcing protocols just work. Cut-and-choose works because neither side can cheat.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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The Straits Times ☛ Fake news, online hate swell Indonesia anti-Rohingya sentiment
There were pushback, hate speech and attacks.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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RFA ☛ Detained blogger sees mother for first time since disappearance from Thailand.
Duong Van Thai’s mother said he looks pale, but is in good health overall.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Public interest defence in Hong Kong’s domestic security law ‘worth considering,’ Bar Association chair says
The suggestion of including a public interest defence against the offence of disclosing state secrets under Hong Kong’s new security law was “certainly worth considering,” a top barrister has said.
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Reason ☛ Brickbat: Royal Trouble
An appeals court in Thailand has sentenced democracy activist Mongkol Thirakot to 50 years in prison for Facebook (Farcebook) posts he made that were critical of the country's monarchy. A trial court had sentenced him to 28 years, but the appellate court found him guilty on 11 more counts during his appeal and gave him a…
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University of Michigan ☛ From The Daily: Students deserve more than vague free speech principles
On Jan. 16, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved and adopted a set of “Principles on Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression.” The 1 1/2 page document, initially drafted in October, outlines the University’s position on freedom of expression and creating inclusive environments.
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Reason ☛ Houston Faces First Amendment Lawsuit for Cracking Down on Feeding the Homeless
Food Not Bombs activists argue that feeding the needy is core political speech, and they don't need the city's permission to do it.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Techdirt ☛ ‘The Messenger’ Implosion Once Again Shows The Real Problem With U.S. Journalism Is Shitty Management By Visionless, Fail-Upward Brunchlords
Early last year new journalism outlet named “The Messenger” launched to great fanfare.
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RFERL ☛ Former Serbian Intelligence Officers Acquitted Of Journalist's 1999 Murder On Appeal
The Court of Appeals in the Serbian capital on February 2 overturned the convictions of four former intelligence officers on charges related to the murder of independent journalist and government critic Slavko Curuvija in April 1999.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Media mogul Jimmy Lai’s activism grew after Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong court hears as 2nd ex-publisher testifies
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai became more involved in political activism after the Umbrella Movement of 2014, a former publisher at Apple Daily has said as she began testifying against her former employer in his national security trial. Chan Pui-man, the former associate publisher at Apple Daily, began her testimony on Friday afternoon.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Democracy Now ☛ “Origin”: Ava DuVernay’s New Film Dramatizes “Caste,” from U.S. Racism to India’s Dalits to Nazi Germany
We speak with award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay about her latest feature film, Origin, which explores discrimination in the United States and beyond through a dramatization of the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, whose process of writing the book is a central part of the film’s story. DuVernay, whose previous projects include Selma and 13th, says she was captivated by the ideas in the book after reading it in 2020 amid mass protests over the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “Isabel Wilkerson writes it in a beautiful way, but it is pretty dense material. And so my goal was to attach character into that so that there could be a deeper empathy,” DuVernay tells Democracy Now! “The film follows Isabel Wilkerson in her pursuit of truth as she writes the book.”
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘A national security city’: Hongkongers question need for domestic security law, saying ‘more pressing matters’ at hand
Among the 500,000-odd Hongkongers who took to the streets to protest against planned security legislation on July 1, 2003, was a young man in his 20s. Now 46, he told HKFP that he did not see the need for such laws as, two decades on, authorities again sought to enact them.
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Stanford University ☛ Inside UG2 at Stanford: Surveillance, favoritism, intimidation
Custodial workers subcontracted by UG2 said their supervisors instilled a culture of intimidation and denied disability accommodations. "They don't have to treat us like animals — we're humans," said one night shift worker.
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YLE ☛ Strikes culminate with 13,000 gathering on Helsinki's Senate Square
Political walkouts hit a wide range of sectors from education and air travel to grocery stores.
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Pro Publica ☛ Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii Calls for Museums to Return Native American Remains and Belongings
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii demanded on Thursday that museums and universities move more swiftly in repatriating Native American remains and belongings plundered from Indigenous burial sites.
“Give the items back. Comply with federal law. Hurry,” Schatz, a Democrat who chairs the Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a speech from the Senate floor. He urged institutions to devote more resources to fulfilling tribes’ repatriation requests under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
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YLE ☛ Strike's final day stops public transport, grounds planes and quiets factories
Traffic on the capital area's usually busy Ring III motorway was actually quieter than normal on Friday morning.
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YLE ☛ Industrial Union announces 'large-scale' strikes in mid-February
Affecting around 60,000 workers, the union says the three-day strikes will bring a large part of Finland's industrial sector to a standstill.
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Pro Publica ☛ Police Turn to AI to Review Bodycam Footage
Over the last decade, police departments across the U.S. have spent millions of dollars equipping their officers with body-worn cameras that record what happens as they go about their work. Everything from traffic stops to welfare checks to responses to active shooters is now documented on video.
The cameras were pitched by national and local law enforcement authorities as a tool for building public trust between police and their communities in the wake of police killings of civilians like Michael Brown, an 18 year old black teenager killed in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. Video has the potential not only to get to the truth when someone is injured or killed by police, but also to allow systematic reviews of officer behavior to prevent deaths by flagging troublesome officers for supervisors or helping identify real-world examples of effective and destructive behaviors to use for training.
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New York Times ☛ Supreme Court Won’t Block Use of Race in West Point Admissions for Now
The court rejected an emergency request to temporarily bar the military academy from using race in admissions while a lower-court lawsuit proceeds.
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JURIST ☛ US court dismisses lawsuit accusing Biden of complicity in genocide in Gaza on jurisdictional grounds
The US District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that accuses President Joe Biden of being complicit in genocide in Gaza because of the president’s support for Israel’s military operation.
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Reason ☛ Texas Cops Held a Terrified Couple at Gunpoint After Raiding the Wrong House
Tyler Harrington has filed a lawsuit after four police officers burst into his home in the middle of the night.
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New York Times ☛ No One Is Happy About the Border. We Asked Mayorkas What Went Wrong.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Times, the secretary of homeland security defends his record and says the only path to real reform is through Congress.
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New Yorker ☛ The Immigration Battle in Washington, and the Real Crisis at the Border
Now that the border crisis has migrated into blue cities, it is becoming impossible for the White House to avoid addressing a political liability. Plus, the author Sheila Heti’s new book.
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ACLU ☛ The Danger of Abusing Impeachment
This week, the House Homeland Security Committee passed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on a party-line vote. To make the case for impeachment, the Committee majority has issued five impeachment reports and conducted two committee hearings, all dominated by the false claim that the border is “open.” These efforts have featured blatant scapegoating of immigrants for serious problems confronting the nation, including the fentanyl crisis.
The Committee majority has profound policy disagreements with the current administration’s immigration and border management, as do we. Robust congressional oversight of DHS—a sprawling agency we have called to dismantle–is appropriate. But impeachment is an inappropriate and dangerous mechanism to use as a weapon in policy disputes and has no place where, as here, no “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” are even conceivably on the table.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Off Guardian ☛ UK’s “Online Safety Act” OFFICIALLY grants MSM permission to publish lies
Welcome to the UK where it’s now official government policy that you CAN’T publish “misinformation”, but The Guardian, the BBC, Disney and DRM spreader Netflix CAN. Yes, it’s true – the recently signed “Online Safety Act” brands the publication of “false information” a criminal offense punishable by up to a year in prison… …unless you’re an MSM …
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Techdirt ☛ Los Angeles Passes Rule Banning Broadband Deployment Discrimination
We’ve well documented how giant telecom companies have taken billions of dollars in tax breaks, subsidies, and regulatory favors in exchange for fiber networks they only half deploy. We’ve also noted that when those big ISPs do finally deploy service, they tend to prioritize white, affluent neighborhoods — which generally see faster, cheaper, service than more diverse, poorer neighborhoods.
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Techdirt ☛ Error 402: Where’s The Crowd To Fund This?
As our Error 402 series continues, I swear that eventually we’re going to get to some of the more promising models and stuff that actually has been working in some cases shortly, but we’re still covering some of the stuff that hasn’t fully panned out (or, has only panned out in limited setups). For this article, though, we’re going to cover a few models that have worked for some, but not broadly enough to be super successful for most content: crowdfunding, affiliate ads, and data sales.
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Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Songbird Tech audio patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Mani Manikandan and Ekta Aswal, who split a cash award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 8,825,787, owned by Songbird Tech, LLC, an NPE. The ‘787 patent monopoly relates to an audio message-driven customer interaction queuing system for any public web page to allow web page visitors to utter questions into a browser-resident recorder application. It had been asserted against Samsung.
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Dialect telematics patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winner, Dinesh Swami, was awarded $2,000 for his prior art submission on U.S. Patent 8,195,468, owned by Dialect, LLC, an NPE. The ‘468 patent monopoly generally relates to a mobile system that includes speech-based and non-speech-based interfaces for telematics applications.
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Unified Patents ☛ Dialect communications patent monopoly prior art found
Unified is pleased to announce prior art has been found on U.S. Patent 8,140,327, owned by Dialect, LLC, an NPE. The ‘327 patent monopoly generally relates to a system and method for filtering and eliminating noise from natural language utterances to improve speech recognition and parsing. The patent monopoly has been asserted against Amazon and Samsung.
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JUVE ☛ Philip Morris and BAT end global patent monopoly clash over heat-not-burn cigarettes
In the agreement, which was announced today, Philip Morris and BAT waive claims from the previous lawsuits. They also waive their right to assert claims against each other over their own patents in the future.
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JUVE ☛ European Parliament looks set to ban patents for all NGT plants
The European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety has adopted an amended version of a European Commission’s proposal, to ban the imposing of patents and limit the effects of existing patents, on all NGT plants. It voted 47 to 31 in favour with four abstentions.
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JUVE ☛ EPO reduces fees for micro-entities to boost access to European patent monopoly system [Ed: Distraction from EPO crises]
The EPO’s Administrative Council has announced a 30% reduction in the filing and examination fees paid by micro-entities, including microenterprises, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $1,500 awarded for IP Edge entity Communication Advances video compression patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Ekta Aswal and Ken Parulski, who split a cash award of $1,500 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 8284839, owned by Communication Advances, LLC, an NPE and entity of IP Edge, LLC.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Is UNFORGETTABLE TRIPS Confusable With UNFORGETTABLE HONEYMOONS for Travel Agency Services?
The USPTO refused to register the proposed mark UNFORGETTABLE TRIPS for "travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for transportation" [TRIPS] disclaimed], finding confusion likely with the registered mark shown below, for the identical services [HONEYMOONS disclaimed]. Obviously, it all boiled down to the similarity of the marks. Applicant argued that the cited mark is weak in view of third-party uses and registrations in the travel field, and so confusion is not likely. How do you think this came out? In re Brunvoll and Associates LLC, Serial No. 90526989 (January 31, 2024) [Not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Robert H. Coggins).
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Copyrights
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Press Gazette ☛ Shutterstock acquires celebrity photo agency Backgrid
Shutterstock customers will gain access to Backgrid's 30 million photographs.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Google is axing cached webpages from search results, tells everyone to use Internet Archive instead
An official statement from Surveillance Giant Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan laments the change, but directly shouts out Internet Archive as an alternative.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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