Links 01/03/2024: Misuse of Surveillance Against UK-Based Journalism, EPO Conflict Now in the Media
Contents
- Leftovers
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Leftovers
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Ruben Schade ☛ “Sus” isn’t new!
America’s Today Show put together an article last month about the word sus. It’s taken on a new life since the advent of Among Us, a brilliantly fun game that’s also popular with streamers and vtubers.
The article gets into the latest generations’ use of the word:
It was the No. 1 slang word used by teens in 2023, according to a survey of more than 600 parents by the language learning platform Preply. In the survey, 62% of parents said “sus” is the most common word they hear from their teens and 65% of all parents surveyed said they understand what it actually means.
And what does it mean?
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RFA ☛ Illegal nighttime markets pop up in North Korea
New laws forbid selling goods that merchants did not produce themselves, all but killing daytime commerce.
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David Revoy ☛ Ballpen point training
A recent photo of my sketchbook, still training with ballpoint pen directly, a cruel training. But I am beginning to get a better ability to imagine perspective grids without tracing them, and I can even begin to plan full-page compositions. It takes a while to build these new skills, but they are worth it.
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New York Times ☛ A K-Pop Star’s Lonely Downward Spiral
Goo Hara’s life was a struggle from the start. She ended it at 28, isolated and harassed online.
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Off Guardian ☛ AUDIO: Kit Knightly on the Patrick Henningsen Show – 28 February 2024
Kit Knightly joins guest host Basil Valentine to discuss the dystopian new French law on “sectarian abuse”, the rise, danger and purpose of vague laws around the world, and much more.
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New York Times ☛ Cat Janice, Singer With Cancer Who Left Her Son a Dance Track, Dies at 31
TikTok rallied around the singer, who revealed during her cancer treatment that she had transferred the rights to her final song to her son, as an inheritance of sorts.
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Federal News Network ☛ Agencies get details on how to better recruit, retain military spouses
A new strategic plan from OPM and OMB comes as part of an executive order to support military spouses’ employment in the federal workforce.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Empathy Could Be Socially Transmitted, Scientists Discover
Hang out with kind people, if you can.
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Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's Was 'Exceptionally' Rare in Ancient Greeks And Romans, Study Suggests
Why did their aging minds stay sharp?
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Science Alert ☛ Yoga Found to Boost Cognition in Older Women at Risk of Alzheimer's
Better than memory exercises.
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Science Alert ☛ Just Look at All These Insane New Species Discovered in Underwater Mountains
Who needs aliens with life like this?
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Science Alert ☛ Hiroshima's Nuclear Fallout Could Hold Clues on Our Solar System's Formation
Cosmic scale forces on Earth.
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Science Alert ☛ A First-of-Its-Kind Signal Was Detected in The Human Brain
Our brains could be more powerful than we thought.
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Science Alert ☛ Camera Inside Varda's Space Capsule Captured Its Wild Trip Back to Earth
It feels like you're really there.
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Science Alert ☛ Genes That Took Away Our Ancestor's Tail Put Us at Risk of a Spinal Disorder
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ Flux Is Your Friend For Archiving Old Floppy Disks
Nothing screams retrocomputing quite like floppy drives. If you want to preserve some of your favorite computing memories like that paper you wrote about the joys of the Information Superhighway, [Shelby] from Tech Tangents has a detailed dive into how to preserve the bits off those old floppies.
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Hackaday ☛ Restoring Starlink’s Missing Ethernet Ports
Internet connectivity in remote areas can be a challenge, but recently SpaceX’s Starlink has emerged as a viable solution for many spots on the globe — including the Ukrainian frontlines. Unfortunately, in 2021 Starlink released a new version of their hardware, cost-optimized to the point of losing some nice features such as the built-in Ethernet RJ45 (8P8C) port, and their proposed workaround has some fundamental problems to it. [Oleg Kutkov], known for fixing Starlink terminals in wartime conditions, has released three posts on investigating those problems and, in the end, bringing the RJ45 ports back.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Semiconductor Firms, Having Outsourced Production Overseas, Struggle To Trace Evasion
U.S. semiconductor firms must strengthen oversight of their foreign partners and work more closely with the government and investigative groups, a group of experts told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
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Hackaday ☛ Ethernet For Hackers: Equipment Exploration
Last time, we talked about the surface-level details of Ethernet. They are fundamental to know for Ethernet hacking, but they’re also easy to pick up from bits and pieces online, or just from wiring up a few computers in your home network. Now, there’s also a bunch of equipment and standards that you will want to use with Ethernet – easy to find whether used or new, and typically as easy to work with. Let’s give you a few beacons!
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Hackaday ☛ The Strange Metal Phase And Its Implications For Superconductivity
The behavior of electrons and the exact fundamentals underlying the phenomenon we call ‘electricity’ are still the subject of many competing theories and heated debates. This is most apparent in the area of superconducting research, where the Fermi liquid theory — which has has formed the foundation of much of what we thought we knew about interacting fermions and by extension electrons in a metal — was found to break down in cuprates as well as in other metals which feature a state that is a non-Fermi liquid, also called a ‘strange metal phase’.
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Zimbabwe ☛ Itel P55, P55+, P55 5G, the ultimate buyer’s review
These are all the Itel P55 models coming to Zimbabwe. The p55, p55+, and p55 5g. That’s a lot of fives. What is odd is there is a 4th one that’s not coming to Zimbabwe which comes with the biggest battery. Seems we are not worthy but at least we got the 5G version right?
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Hackaday ☛ The Photodiode You Never Knew You Had
Optoelectronics hold a range of possibilities for the hardware experimenter — indeed who among us hasn’t added LEDs aplenty to our work? What many of us may be unaware of though is that an LED is also a photodiode, and can even be persuaded to generate usable quantities of power. [Voltative] takes a look at this phenomenon with a series of experiments.
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New York Times ☛ Intuitive Machines Releases New Images From Moon Lander
The commercial spacecraft’s builder, Intuitive Machines, released new images from the moon’s surface as the company described plans to try to wake it up in two to three weeks.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD confirms bug with recent Radeon gaming GPU — RX 7900 GRE overclocking limit will be removed in a future driver
AMD has confirmed to the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed that the extremely limited overclocking of the Radeon RX 7900 GRE is a bug, and a fix is coming.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ SolidRun’s First x86-based COM Express 7 Module Taps Ryzen V3000 Embedded V3C48 Processor
SolidRun’s latest Ryzen V3000 CX7 COM Module, with an 8-core/16-thread Ryzen Embedded V3C48 Processor and AMD’s 6nm ‘Zen3’ architecture, marks their entry into x86-based COM Express 7 modules, combining high performance and energy efficiency.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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New York Times ☛ Frequent Marijuana Use May Raise Risk of Heart Attack
A new study analyzed several years of surveys on increases in marijuana and cannabis consumption.
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New York Times ☛ Biden’s Doctor Says He Is ‘Fit for Duty’ After Physical and Neurological Exam
President Biden, the oldest president in the country’s history, is facing concerns over his age as he campaigns for a second term.
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Pro Publica ☛ We're Investigating Mental Health Care Access. Share Your Insights.
About one in five people in the United States have a mental illness. Yet for many, accessing care can be extremely difficult. Our team of investigative reporters plans to spend the next several months digging into the reasons behind these persistent issues.
To identify and report important stories, we need to hear from people throughout the mental health care system. Those we’ve spoken to so far have shared details about common problems. Many seeking care can’t find a provider or program with availability, with some waiting months — or even years — to get the care they need. Meanwhile, insurance companies have refused to pay for necessary care while those in crisis often land in overcrowded emergency rooms. On top of that, systemic pressures can cause providers to misdiagnose patients, especially women and people of color.
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CS Monitor ☛ In France, a new prescription for mental health: Museum visits
Can going to a museum be therapeutic? A partnership of therapists, health care workers, and educators in France is creating pathways for doctors to “prescribe” museum visits and art interactions to those needing mental health care.
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Latvia ☛ Twelve reports of healthcare workers not speaking Latvian in 2023
The State Language Centre (VVC) received 12 submissions last year regarding the fact that a medical practitioner does not use the official language in professional and official duties, the agency LETA reported February 28.
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YLE ☛ Finns' well-being wanes — more working sick, planning to switch jobs
A follow-up study by the occupational health institute paints a gloomy picture of working life in Finland.
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CS Monitor ☛ Treaty on pandemics: Why nations seek it. Why it’s so hard. [Ed: After what it did years ago nobody can trust it anymore; it's funded by the private sector to serve its financial interests.]
World Health Organization talks seek to address pandemic prevention and response. But consensus is difficult to reach.
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New York Times ☛ Older Americans Should Get a Covid Booster This Spring, CDC Advisers Say [Ed: CDC is pushing people to take what already proved to be of low efficacy and not much safety either]
The agency recommended another round of vaccinations for Americans ages 65 and older.
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New York Times ☛ Long Covid May Lead to Measurable Cognitive Decline, Study Finds
People with long Covid symptoms scored slightly lower on a cognitive test than people who had recovered. But long Covid patients who eventually got better scored as well as those whose symptoms did not last long.
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YLE ☛ Six victims in Espoo footbridge collapse left with permanent injuries
Finland's Safety Investigation Authority noted that no one properly planned the pedestrian bridge prior to its construction.
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YLE ☛ Brewing lobby says government's alcohol reform plans are too limited
Under proposed changes to the Alcohol Act, most alcopops with more than 5.5 percent alcohol would still only be available at state-owned Alko outlets.
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YLE ☛ THL announces savings plan, looming job cuts
The Institute for Health and Welfare is aiming to save 12 million euros.
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New York Times ☛ One in Six Abortions Is Done With Pills Prescribed Online, Data Shows
The first nationwide count of telehealth abortions includes pills mailed to states with abortion bans by clinicians in states with shield laws.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Scoop News Group ☛ Biden executive order seeks to cut China off from Americans’ sensitive data
The order aims to bar the sale of large datasets containing sensitive data to six countries of concern.
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Security Week ☛ White House Issues Executive Order on International Data Protection
A coming White House Executive Order seeks to protect personal information by preventing the mass transfer of Americans' sensitive data to countries of concern.
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Press Gazette ☛ Guardian makes apology and payment to Dan Wootton after privacy complaint
Commentator Marina Purkiss now also facing privacy complaint over Dan Wootton social control media post.
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Federal News Network ☛ Biden EO aims to safeguard sensitive data on fed employees, facilities
The new EO will target areas like biometrics, geolocation data, personal health information, and other sensitive data.
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Security Week ☛ US Bans Trading With Canadian Network Intelligence Firm Sandvine
The US has restricted trade with Canadian company Sandvine for aiding the Egyptian government’s web monitoring operations.
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Public Knowledge ☛ FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Moves To Prevent Abusers From Tracking Victims Through Connected Cars
Today, the Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek comment on how the agency can help prevent abusers from using connectivity tools in vehicles to harass and intimidate their partners.
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New York Times ☛ U.S. to Ask Court to Reauthorize Disputed Surveillance Program for a Year
As Congress stalls in considering an expiring warrantless surveillance law known as Section 702, the Biden administration has decided not to risk a lapse.
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ ORG submits complaints about intrusive LiveRamp adtech system
Today, Open Rights Group has submitted complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Commission Nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL) about LiveRamp, an online advertising and data broking company.
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ Report: Pervasive identity surveillance for marketing purposes
A technical report on personal data processing for LiveRamp’s “RampID” identity graph system based on an analysis of software documentation with a focus on Europe.
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Defence/Aggression
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Tuvalu’s new gov’t vows to continue ‘special’ Taiwan links, amid concerns of diplomatic switch to China
Tuvalu’s new government on Wednesday vowed to keep up its “special” relationship with Taiwan, ending speculation that the Pacific island nation was poised to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
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RFA ☛ Tuvalu reaffirms ties with Taiwan, signals review of Australia security treaty
Tuvalu’s new government released a list of priorities that underline the challenges facing the isolated country.
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RFA ☛ Marcos plans to discuss South China Sea security while in Australia
The Philippine president expects to establish a common vision of 'peace and security of the region.'
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Atlantic Council ☛ Irregular migration starts well before the US southern border. Focus on the driving causes of the problem.
The United States must work with other countries in the hemisphere to address the economic and security factors that drive migration.
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European Commission ☛ Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on strengthening European defence in a volatile geopolitical landscape
In the last years, many European illusions have been shattered. The illusion that peace is permanent.
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BIA Net ☛ Male spouse having committed acts of torture during marriage will be punished
The 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittal decision of the 36th Primary Criminal Court of Anatolia, which acquitted the man systematically torturing his wife despite the evidence. Lawyer Fatma Hoşgör believes that this decision will set a precedent.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Latvia ☛ Latvian cosmetics brands expand exports markets
The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have had an impact on the cosmetics industry, and now cosmetics manufacturers face new challenge. Businesses are still looking forward to the future, Latvian Radio reported February 28.
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New York Times ☛ Macron Unsettles NATO Allies Even As He Seeks to Rattle Putin
The French president’s openness to Western troops in Ukraine signaled a quest for military resolve. But some allies felt blindsided.
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France24 ☛ Ilya Gambashidze: Simple soldier of disinformation or king of Russia’s trolls?
He may not be a household name, but Ilya Gambashidze appears to be involved in almost all of the latest Russian disinformation operations across the world. His disruptive cyber actions earned him a spot last year on the European sanctions list. But a FRANCE 24-RFI profile of Russia’s mystery man of manipulation reveals an operative with a far smaller disinformation stature than the Kremlin’s previous troll czar, the late Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
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Latvia ☛ Latvia joins appeal to U.S. House of Representatives by 19 European parliaments
Speakers of the parliaments of 19 European countries have sent a joint letter to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson, calling on him to help efforts to assist Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its defense against Russian aggression.
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Federal News Network ☛ Congressional leaders reach a tentative deal to avoid government shutdown. But Ukraine aid stalls
Congressional leaders have announced a tentative agreement to prevent a government shutdown, for now. Wednesday's deal comes days before an end-of-the-week deadline that risked shuttering some federal operations. Under the plan, Congress would temporarily extend funding for one set of federal agencies through March 8 and for another through March 22.
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Reason ☛ Biden Administration Lets Migrants Who Entered Under Uniting for Ukraine Apply to Stay in the US For Another Two Years
It's a step in the right direction. But a better solution would be for Congress to allow them to stay permanently.
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The Strategist ☛ How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacts global food security
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates how conflict impacts food security.
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France24 ☛ Zelensky to rally for support, weapons at Albania security conference
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet with leaders from southeast Europe in Albania on Wednesday, seeking to keep support and weapons flowing to Kyiv as Russia makes gains on the battlefield two years after invading its neighbour.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian FM echoes Macron on sending troops to Ukraine: ‘No option can be rejected’
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says he welcomes discussions unleashed by French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting that NATO does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine. According to Landsbergis, “no option can be rejected out of hand”.
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LRT ☛ Macron’s remark on sending troops to Ukraine ‘a taboo break’ – Lithuanian speaker
French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial intimation that Ukraine’s Western allies could send their troops to fight Russia “sends a signal” to both Kyiv and Moscow, says Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament.
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RFERL ☛ Western Balkan Countries Reaffirm Support For Ukraine At Summit In Tirana
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 28 urged unity among the Western Balkan countries as he sought the continuation of military and financial aid to Kyiv at a summit of Western Balkans countries at which he also warned of the dangers they face if Russia is not stopped.
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RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Forces Withdraw From Two More Villages In East
Ukraine's military said its forces have withdrawn from two more villages near the eastern city of Avdiyivka, which was captured earlier this month by Russian forces, marking further losses for Ukraine as its troops continue to struggle with shortages of equipment, especially ammunition.
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University of Michigan ☛ New U-M website documents war crimes in Ukraine
U-M's Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia has created Ukraine Testifies, an online digital archive of documented human rights violations, war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Transdniester Separatists Ask Russia For 'Protection' At End Of Meeting Chisinau Rejects As 'Scam'
The leadership of Transdniester has called on Russia to take measures to "protect" the breakaway region from what it said was increasing pressure from Moldova's pro-Western government that amounted to an "economic war."
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New York Times ☛ Transnistria, Breakaway Region of Moldova, Asks Russia for Protection
Transnistria declared independence in 1992 but is not recognized internationally. The request by the territory’s legislature could fuel regional tensions as the war in Ukraine rages.
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New York Times ☛ Ukraine Charges Key Figure in Arms Trade With Corruption
A Times investigation showed how the war helped Serhiy Pashinsky rehabilitate a troubled reputation. Now he faces charges related to accusations about his past.
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The Straits Times ☛ Western powers tangle over Russian assets at G20 finance meeting
SAO PAULO - Western powers butted heads over how to handle frozen Russian assets on Wednesday as G20 finance ministers kicked off a discussion of challenges for the global economy, trying to set aside deep geopolitical divisions.
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New York Times ☛ Divisions Among Finance Ministers Flare Over Seizing Russian Assets
France’s finance minister, Bruno LeMaire, said there was no legal rationale for giving the Russian central bank funds to Ukraine.
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AntiWar ☛ Japan-Russia Relationship Is US-Russia Relationship
The reason why Japan and Russia have not settled the territorial dispute is Washington’s influence over Tokyo throught the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement. Northern Territorial Day February 7th is Northern Territorial Day in Japan.
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JURIST ☛ Sixth person charged with espionage for Russia in UK
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK authorised charges Tuesday against a sixth person suspected of conducting espionage for the Russian Federation.
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RFERL ☛ Sixth Bulgarian Charged In Britain With Spying For Russia
A sixth Bulgarian citizen has been charged in Britain with allegedly being a member of a Russian spy network operating in the United Kingdom, British prosecutors said.
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LRT ☛ Russia dismisses Lithuanian diplomat’s remarks on ‘neutralising’ Kaliningrad as ‘information warfare’
Lithuanian ambassador to Sweden and former foreign minister Linas Linkevičius said on Tuesday that Russia’s Kaliningrad region “would be neutralized” if Moscow challenged NATO in the Baltic Sea. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called his statement “information warfare” and PR.
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RFERL ☛ Nobel Committee Calls Imprisonment Of Veteran Russian Rights Defender 'Politically Motivated'
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has called the imprisonment of Oleg Orlov, the co-chairman of the Russian rights group Memorial, which shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, "politically motivated."
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RFERL ☛ Activists In Several Countries Demand Whereabouts Of Woman Forced Back To Chechnya
Activists in several countries around the world rallied on February 27 to demand Russian authorities find Seda Suleimanova, who has not been heard from for more than 150 days since she was detained in St. Petersburg and sent to her native Chechnya, which she had fled because of domestic violence.
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The Straits Times ☛ Armenia to boycott meetings of Russia-led alliance after membership freeze: Tass cites PM
Armenia said on Wednesday it would not attend meetings of a Russian-led military alliance and that it had no permanent representation at the bloc under a "de facto freeze" of its membership, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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Hackaday ☛ Making A Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Is Almost DIY-able
We see plenty of solar projects here on Hackaday, but they primarily consist of projects that use an off-the-shelf solar panel to power something else. We see very few projects where people actually create their own solar panels. And yet, that’s precisely what [Shih Wei Chieh] has done!
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Budget 2024: Costly transport subsidy schemes face review amid HK$100 billion deficit
Hong Kong will review two transport subsidy schemes that have resulted in significant expenditure over the years, the finance chief has said as he predicted a deficit of over HK$100 billion for the current fiscal year.
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DeSmog ☛ Chicago Takes Big Oil to Court, Adding Another Heavyweight to the Fight
Chicago last week brought the newest lawsuit against Big Oil companies for spreading disinformation about the climate-warming hazards of burning fossil fuels — adding the third largest city in the U.S. to the growing list of state and local governments pushing for oil and gas majors to be held accountable in court.
The case charges BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and the American Petroleum Institute with conspiring together and through front groups to run “tobacco-industry-style campaigns to deceive and mislead the public about the damaging nature of their fossil fuel products.” The fallout of those campaigns, according to the complaint, was a long delay in climate action that has come at an increasingly unbearable cost to Chicago residents — particularly in its low income neighborhoods and communities of color.
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DeSmog ☛ Anti-Renewable Group Says It Met Privately with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
With Alberta Premier Danielle Smith set to lift the province’s seven-month moratorium on renewable energy projects this week, wind and solar developers are urging the provincial government to refrain from introducing “punitive” and “arbitrary” regulations that impede the industry’s growth.
Smith nevertheless introduced sweeping new rules on Wednesday, including a minimum buffer zone of 35 km around protected areas or pristine views. She framed the regulations as good for wind and solar, saying “We must grow our renewable energy industry in well-defined and responsible ways.”*
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DeSmog ☛ NYC Pensions Are Sued for Shedding Fossil Fuels
Monica Weiss attended her first fossil-fuel divestment protest on a frigid February day in 2015. She joined college students, financial experts, faith leaders, and then-New York City Public Advocate Letitia James in front of the New York Stock Exchange to demand that the city’s five public pension funds factor the financial risks of climate change into their investment decisions.
Over the course of her two-decade career teaching first and third grade in New York City public schools, Weiss infused nature and sustainability into her lessons. Now newly retired, Weiss had taken a look at her own pension fund — and didn’t like what she saw.
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LRT ☛ Brussels Airlines cancels two flights from Vilnius on Wednesday
Brussels Airlines has cancelled two flights between Brussels and Vilnius on Wednesday due to a workers’ strike.
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Wildlife/Nature
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France24 ☛ Chinese copycats: Pet owners clone furry friends to give them 'second life'
If you've ever loved and lost a pet, you may have dreamt of being able to bring it back to life. In China, where animal cloning is legal, this already possible. Several companies offer cloning services to pet owners, using the DNA of the dead animal to create a new pet that's very much like the old one. The procedure can cost up to €45,000 depending on the size of the animal. Despite the ethical questions raised by cloning, business is booming. Our correspondents report.
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Defence Web ☛ KZN overtakes Kruger as rhino poaching destination of choice
What is now KwaZulu-Natal, previously Natal where the southern white rhino was brought back from the brink of extinction some 70 years ago, recorded the largest provincial loss of rhino to poachers last year.
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MIT Technology Review ☛ Learning and listening in Amazonia
We had just sat down to lunch with Dona Dada, an Indigenous Brazilian artisan, at her family farm in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. It was April of 2022, and my research colleagues and I were visiting to learn how she collects and processes plant fibers for use in her crafts.
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Finance
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New York Times ☛ Behind Apple’s Doomed Car Project: False Starts and Wrong Turns
Internal disagreements over the direction of the Fashion Company Apple car led the effort to sputter for years before it was canceled this week.
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Reason ☛ Apple Abandons Plans for Driverless Electric Car, Shifts Team to AI
While a disappointment to green-tech supporters, Apple's decision reflects the growing uncertainty in the E.V. market.
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Digital Music News ☛ EU Prepares to Drop $542 Million Hammer on Fashion Company Apple Following Spotify Complaint — As Another Investigation Takes Shape
Earlier this month, reports suggested that the European Union was preparing to fine Fashion Company Apple about $542 million (€500 million) in connection with an antitrust complaint levied by Spotify. Now, the expected date of the fine’s issuance has come to light, and the iPhone developer is reportedly facing a different investigation yet.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim seeks ‘industry revolution’ in rural areas amid widening inequality
Kim has been pushing for modernising the farming sector and rural communities.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysians struggle with weak ringgit
The increase in the sales and services tax to 8 per cent from 6 per cent will also make things worse.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Largest chip toolmaker receives multiple subpoenas from U.S government over China shipments — Applied Materials under the govt's microscope
Leading U.S. wafer fab equipment maker under investigation for supplying fab tools to Chinese chipmakers.
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RFA ☛ Hong Kong axes all property curbs to revive sector, boost growth
Financial secretary announced more debt sales in annual budget, forecasting deficit will continue until 2026.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Budget 2024: City seeks to bring back 3% hotel tax to increase revenue
The Hong Kong government has proposed bringing back a three per cent tax on hotel accommodation almost 16 years after it was scrapped. If implemented, the levy could earn the government HK$1.1 billion annually.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Budget 2024: No consumption vouchers as relief measures scaled back
Hongkongers will not receive perks such as consumption vouchers as the government scaled back one-off relief measures offered to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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RFA ☛ Country Garden liquidation petition deepens China’s property crisis
The company says the petition won’t substantively impact its restructuring process and schedule.
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RFA ☛ China poised to become top trading partner of Laos in 2024
But some Laotians resent Chinese investment, saying they rarely see any benefits from it.
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YLE ☛ City of Helsinki announces salary hikes for 4,500 workers
Raises will go to early childhood education teachers, youth counsellors and others.
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Silicon Angle ☛ HP shares drop after falling short on revenue in first quarter
Shares in HP Inc. fell more than 3% in late trading today after the personal computer and printer company fell short of expected revenue in its fiscal 2024 first quarter.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong Budget 2024: Finance chief asks for ‘understanding’ over lack of sweeteners
Hong Kong’s finance chief has asked for the public’s “understanding” over a lack of sweeteners in this year’s budget, as a lawmaker said he was disappointed that the annual speech did not address societal problems.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong lawmakers praise ‘appropriate and pragmatic’ budget, as NGO criticises lack of support measures
Hong Kong finance chief Paul Chan on Wednesday delivered his eighth budget, scrapping long-standing property taxes to revive a depressed housing market and scaling back relief measures for residents against a deficit that exceeded HK$100 billion for the second consecutive year.
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The Straits Times ☛ China willing to enhance economic, trade cooperation with Egypt, commerce minister says
China is willing to further promote economic and trade cooperation with Egypt, and to continue to encourage and support its enterprises to invest and start businesses in the African country, the Chinese commerce ministry cited its minister as saying.
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The Straits Times ☛ China rolls over $2 billion loan to Pakistan, finance minister says
China has rolled over a $2 billion loan to Pakistan, caretaker finance minister Shamshad Akhtar confirmed in a response to Reuters on Thursday.
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RFERL ☛ Imran Khan's Party Urges IMF To Ensure Pakistan Election Audit Before More Bailout Talks
The party of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that an audit of the disputed February 8 elections is carried out before any more bailout talks take place.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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New York Times ☛ Fear the Economic Impact of Donald Trump 2.0
While Trump’s economic policy had serious flaws in his first term, the prospect of what he could do in a second term is frightening.
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New York Times ☛ McConnell to Step Down as Senate Republican Leader at the End of the Year
The long-serving Republican leader said he would step aside from the role at the end of his term but remain in the Senate, acknowledging that his views on national security had put him out of step with his party.
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New Yorker ☛ Does the Biden Administration Want a Long-Lasting Ceasefire in Gaza?
More than four months into the war, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, explains why U.S. support for an extended pause in fighting may not translate to an endorsement of an end of hostilities.
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New York Times ☛ Congressional Leaders Strike a Short-Term Deal to Avert Partial Shutdown
Top lawmakers agreed to vote on a temporary funding patch that would allow more time for spending negotiations.
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Pro Publica ☛ GOP Hatched a Secret Assault on the Voting Rights Act in Washington State
Republican Paul Graves’ work was about to come undone. In the wee hours of Nov. 15, 2021, he and his fellow Republican on Washington state’s independent redistricting commission had finally prevailed on their Democratic counterparts to agree to the maps voters would use in the upcoming election.
But then Latino voters sued the state, claiming the new legislative maps didn’t give them voting power commensurate with their population. Now, Graves worried, a federal judge was about to force the state to give Democratic-leaning Latinos more voting power.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Reason ☛ Texas and Florida Say the First Amendment Must Be Sacrificed to Save It
Supreme Court arguments about two social control media laws highlight a dangerous conflation of state and private action.
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Reason ☛ "The Future of Censorship Is AI-Generated"
An interesting article by Jacob Mchangama and Jules White (Time); an excerpt: The material of a long dead comedian is a good example of content that the world´s leading GenAI systems find "harmful." Lenny Bruce shocked contemporary society in the 1950s and 60s with his profanity laden standup routines. Bruce's material broke political, religious, racial, and sexual…
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Reason ☛ Supreme Court Looks Poised To Gut Restrictive Social Media Laws
The First Amendment restricts governments, not private platforms, and respects editorial rights.
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New York Times ☛ China Expands Scope of ‘State Secrets’ Law in Security Push
The legal change, which could further limit access to information, is part of an increasingly hostile environment facing foreign businesses in the country.
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Techdirt ☛ Alito Wants To Weigh YouTube, And The Rest Of SCOTUS Wants To Make An Easy Case Hard
As Mike already noted, the weirdest moment of the nearly four-hour, double-case hearing at the Supreme Court on Monday in the NetChoice and CCIA legal challenges of Florida’s and Texas’s social media laws came maybe two thirds into the oral argument, when Justice Alito openly wondered, “If YouTube were a newspaper, how much would it weigh?” I was in the courtroom when he said it, but I have no more insight into what analytical issue he was wrestling with that could have prompted this inquiry to counsel than anyone who listened to the hearing remotely or read it in the transcript.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Non graduates are breaking through ‘paper ceiling’ to secure media jobs
Degrees no longer dominate in a shifting media landscape. Employers such as Surveillance Giant Google and the BillBC prioritise skills over qualifications.
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Press Gazette ☛ Police ‘mounted surveillance op’ after journalists’ arrest in bid to find source
Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney are still finding out new allegations of police surveillance against them.
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ Police must come clean about covert surveillance of journalists
ORG has joined with Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International UK, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders UK to express support for journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, who will attend a hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London this week in relation to claims they were targeted by the UK authorities [...]
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Techdirt ☛ Court: Turning A Minor Parking Violation Into A String Of Rights Violations Is A Great Way To Lose Your Evidence
No matter how minor the infraction, it still deserves the court’s full attention. That’s the ultimate lesson of this New York court decision, brought to us by FourthAmendment.com. It starts with an alleged window tint violation (always a favorite of cops on fishing expedition), morphs into a fire hydrant parking violation, and finally ends with a full inventory search of a car that didn’t need to be towed, solely for the purpose of some general rummaging.
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Reason ☛ Pennsylvania Police Settle Lawsuit With Woman Forced to Undergo 'Humiliating' Strip-Search
Even though police found no signs of drugs or other contraband, Holly Elish was strip-searched by Pennsylvania police officers.
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RFA ☛ Hong Kong's Article 23 law will 'damage rights,' hurt business: experts and activists
A UN expert adds her voice to a chorus of dismay over the new security legislation.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UK foreign minister David Cameron urges Hong Kong to ‘re-consider’ proposed new security law
Britain on Wednesday “strongly urged” the Hong Kong government to “re-consider” plans for a new national security law, as a month-long consultation over the legislation drew to a close. Massive pro-democracy protests rocked the finance hub in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for greater freedoms.
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JURIST ☛ Director of Australia domestic intelligence service announces disruption of ‘foreign spying network’
Director General of Security in the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Mike Burgess announced Wednesday that the Hey Hi (AI) uncovered a foreign spy network that recruited a former Australian politician to serve the interests of their foreign regime.
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RFA ☛ Locking down dissidents ahead of China’s parliamentary sessions
As delegates converge on Beijing, activists are forced to stay home or go on ‘vacations’ with police.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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Zimbabwe ☛ 5G has been underwhelming and globally, telcos have to reinvent to combat stagnating revenues
I was reading around and came across an interesting report by TM Forum titled – Telco revenue growth: time for operators to place new bets. It is quite an interesting read and we shall talk about some of the nuggets nestled within.
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Internet Society ☛ Everything You Need to Know to Build a Community Network
Accessing the Internet isn’t just challenging in many rural, remote, and low-income urban areas—it’s a significant hurdle. The digital divide looms large, it has many causes, and it affects people from diverse backgrounds all over the world.
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Kev Quirk ☛ Guestbook Spam is Fun
Since launching my guestbook yesterday, I've been hit with a bunch of spam entries. I forgot how much "fun" it is dealing with this shit.
My guestbook seems to have gone down a treat - since launching it, a lot of people have signed it (psst, go sign it yourself). This is great, but last night I noticed some spam start to filter in too. It was only a couple though, so no biggy. I deleted them, went about my business and went to bed.
This morning I checked and oh-my-fucking-god there was so much spam waiting for me. I'd delete them all, go away for 20 minutes, come back and a handful more would be there waiting for me. 🤦♂️
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Michael Geist ☛ Why the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act Provisions Should Be Removed from the Online Harms Act
Having a spent virtually the entire day yesterday talking with media and colleagues about Bill C-63, one thing has become increasingly clear: the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act provisions found in the Online Harms Act should be removed.
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APNIC ☛ China’s NXDOMAIN data: Part 3 — Differences across regions
Guest Post: Compare error response variations and their root causes in China's regional provinces.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Techdirt ☛ Sony Is Trying To Clean Up Its Crunchyroll Mess, But It’s Still Messy Indeed
The mess is getting a little messier. We had talked days ago about Sony’s decision to shutter its Funimation platform in favor of a more recent acquisition in Crunchyroll. Anyone with a Funimation account would be transitioned into a Crunchyroll account, which sounds all good until you realize that Funimation users had plenty of digital streaming copies of content they had bought and which were promised to be available “forever” which are instead simply going away. As in deleted. Another example of people thinking they were buying and owning something, only to find out that their purchases live solely at the pleasure of the seller that could disappear them.
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Digital Music News ☛ Exclusive: TuneCore vs. CD Baby Settlement Appears Possible Following ‘Temporary Restraints’ Implementation
Yesterday, we exclusively reported on a high-stakes lawsuit filed by TuneCore against CD Baby. Now, a new order concerning a settlement motion is providing additional insight as to the trade-secrets dispute’s direction.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Google is facing $2.3M lawsuit from dozens of European media companies over ad practices [Ed: Ads are also a bubble. Companies overpaying for what they erroneously assume will eventually pay off and bring them outcomes (income), based on wrong analytics and chronically false claims from companies like Facebook and Google.]
A total of 32 European media companies hit Surveillance Giant Google LLC with a €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) lawsuit today, alleging that the American search giant’s advertising practices have led to severe financial losses.
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Patents
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USPTO Guidance on Hey Hi (AI) is a Good Start [Ed: Hey Hi (AI) is meaningless nonsense that, in the patent context, should not even be in the lexicon, unlike maybe ML]
AI is catalyzing a sea change across our economy, particularly as it relates to innovation. It is critical that our laws and institutions keep pace with this rapid transformation.
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Unified Patents ☛ First post-sanctions IP Edge entity Communication Advances camera patent monopoly challenged
On February 23, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,823,826, owned by Communication Advances LLC, an NPE and entity of IP Edge.
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JUVE ☛ EPO staff petition Administrative Council to improve HR and patent monopoly quality
Reducing production tasks and work pressure, and improving human resources management, are the main demands of the Central Staff Committee (CSC) to EPO management. The CSC is also increasingly siding with the industry initiative Intellectual Property Quality Charter (IPQC), which is calling on the EPO to improve the quality of European patent monopoly grants.
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JUVE ☛ EU Parliament votes for new SEP regulation in Europe [Ed: EU Parliament needs to scuttle UPC, which is an ongoing violation of the law and several constitutions, but this system got hijacked by foreign corporations that just buy monopolies in Europe and sue European competitors]
The European Parliament has voted by 454 to 83 in favour of the European Commission’s proposal for a new regulation for SEPs. The legislation, which had previously been agreed with the EU Council, has now passed the first parliamentary hurdle. Parliament discussed the draft legislation on Tuesday.
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LG Again Tops Australian Patent Filings in 2023, as Most of the ‘Usual Suspects’ Return [Ed: Australian patent systems dominated by foreign companies, exists to serve other countries]
Over the past five years (i.e. since 2019) Korea’s LG Electronics Inc and China’s Huawei Technologies Ltd have consistently placed in the top five applicants for Australian patents. Indeed, for the past four years they were in the leading three.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Brazil – Important updates on the new rules regulating administrative appeals
The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO) has issued a new set of guidelines to clarify its recent regulations on amending patent monopoly claims during the appellate phase and help patent monopoly applicants adapt to the new policy.
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Kangaroo Courts
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Unified Patent Court of Appeal overturns preliminary injunction against NanoString [Ed: Unified Patent Court (UPC) is illegal and unconstitutional. It is not supposed to exist and this ongoing charade of a kangaroo court is a stain on the EU, which inherited lobbyism and EPO corruption.]
The Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court has overturned the preliminary injunction issued by the Munich local division against NanoString in its conflict with US biotech company 10xGenomics.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ First DuPont Factor Brings TTAB Dismissal of Monster Energy's Opposition to LAIKABEAST & Design for Mugs and Plates
Frequent TTAB litigant Monster Energy Company got mugged in this opposition to registration of the mark shown immediately below, for mugs and plates. Monster claimed a likelihood of confusion with various BEAST-formative marks for beverages, as well as a lack of bona fide intent. The Board concluded that the involved marks are "too dissimilar overall to warrant a finding of likelihood of confusion," and it found that Applicant Rodriguez had the capacity to market his products and had taken steps to create a small Internet business, thus defeating the lack-of-bona-fide-intent claim. This post will attempt to hit the highlights of the 53-page opinion. Monster Energy Company v. Victor Rodriguez, Opposition No. 91271109 (February 26, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Mark Lebow).
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Copyrights
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Notoriously litigious Nintendo sues maker of Yuzu Switch emulator, alleges it facilitates ‘piracy at a colossal scale’
In a typical Nintendo move against console emulation, Nintendo is suing the makers of the Yuzu Switch emulator — seeking damages and shutdown.
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New York Times ☛ Digital Media Outlets Sue Proprietary Chaffbot Company for Copyright Infringement
Raw Story, AlterNet and The Intercept sued for copyright monopoly infringement over the way the Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot creator trains its technology.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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