Links 06/03/2024: Mass Layoffs at IBM and Apple Fines
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
- Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Ruben Schade ☛ Assuming a component is the whole system
A few years ago I’d come back from a trip with Clara to Hong Kong and Ōsaka, like a gentleman. It was my first trip to both Hong Kong and Japan, and still consider it one of the most special trips we’ve ever taken. But I digress.
I tapped my Opal card at the Sydney airport upon our return, and noted how much slower it felt for the turnstiles to open compared to the MTR, Ōsaka Metro, JR, and Hankyu. The MTR felt as quick as the Singapore MRT, and Japanese card readers felt instant. Sydney’s turnstiles take a solid second to register, requiring you to wait and hold up the people behind you. It doesn’t seem like much in isolation, but you really notice the difference in a crush of people in peak hour.
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Ruben Schade ☛ Most online marketplaces, in one screenshot
I’m down for Cory Doctorow’s description of modern web services having entered a state of enshittification. He’s discussed one prominent merchant example named for a South American rainforest, but I’ve noticed it among plenty of other stores.
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Hackaday ☛ Design Tips To Hide Layer Lines In 3D Printed Parts
[Slant 3D] knows a lot about optimizing 3D prints so that they can be cranked out reliably with minimal need for post-processing, and in this short video he uses a cube as a simple example of how a few design changes can not only optimize for production, but can even hide layer lines pretty effectively.
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Hackaday ☛ Goatee Pasta Maker Makes Us Hunger For Hair
Some hacks are pure acts of whimsy, and [Simone Giertz] is back to her roots with this Goatee Pasta Maker.
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Tracy Durnell ☛ Websites as gardens of the Internet ecosystem
This appeals to me, too, as a prompt: what do we want our websites to do for the Internet as well as ourselves? Being a gardener both creates a bond to your own nurtured space and puts you and your space as a part of the ecosystem at large. We plant gardens to create outdoor spaces we want, and construct websites to build the Internet we want. Creating our own sites according to the principles we value helps manifest a better web.
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Brandon ☛ The Three Brandons
I wanted to write about this, because I realize that I have these different parts that are fighting within me with different ideals.
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Adam Newbold ☛ Motive as a filter
Using email as an example, many people—even principled, well-meaning people—use Gmail. The evaluation criteria for Gmail might be as simple as “it’s free, it’s ubiquitous, and it’s easy to set up and use.” All totally fair. But when you run it through the motive filter, you begin to uncover some interesting stuff. What’s Google’s motive for providing free email? Is it that they just want people to be able to communicate easily with one another, or is it that a major advertising conglomerate with a twelve-figure annual revenue stands to benefit tremendously by consuming and using all of your inbound and outbound communication? In comparison, Fastmail is a company that has focused solely on email for 25 years. Fastmail’s motive is far more reasonable: to sustain a business that provides fast, reliable email. When I apply the motive filter to both Gmail and Fastmail, it’s pretty clear which service I’m going to use.
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The Straits Times ☛ India says train drivers in crash that killed 14 people were watching cricket on phone
The drivers of a train that missed a signal and ploughed into another train, killing 14 people, were distracted because they were watching cricket on a phone, India’s railways minister said on March 4.
The fatal crash in Andhra Pradesh state in October 2023 took place as hosts India played England during the World Cup.
“The recent case in Andhra Pradesh happened because both the loco-pilot and co-pilot were distracted by the cricket match,” Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
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New York Times ☛ ‘Dune: Part Two’ Gives Sci-Fi-Obsessed Silicon Valley a Reason to Party
In a season of layoffs and cutbacks, techies seized on the second installment of the Denis Villeneuve-directed science-fiction epic by taking over movie theaters.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ We May Finally Know How The First Cells on Earth Formed
A key step towards life.
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Science Alert ☛ Massive Review of Ultra-Processed Foods Confirms Just How Harmful They Are
32 harmful effects.
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Science Alert ☛ Flashing Lights And a Clicking Sound Cleared Toxic Proteins in Alzheimer's Mice
Here's how it might work.
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Science Alert ☛ New 'Water Batteries' Are Cheaper, Recyclable, And Won't Explode
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Science Alert ☛ Physicists Reveal a Strange Form of Crystal Where Electrons Can't Move
Quantum gridlock.
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Education
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Alex Ewerlöf ☛ 3L
Initially I didn’t have enough data points to see the pattern, but over time it was evident. I still didn’t know the reason until I got the advice I’m about to share. I wish I had known this earlier. It would have saved me so much pain and suffering, but that’s exactly why I’m sharing this with you.
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: The Free Piston Engine
We all know how a conventional internal combustion engine works, with a piston and a crankshaft. But that’s by no means the only way to make an engine, and one of the slightly more unusual alternatives comes to us courtesy of a vintage Shell Film Unit film, The Free Piston Engine, which we’ve placed below the break. It’s a beautiful period piece of mid-century animation and jazz, but it’s also an introduction to these fascinating machines.
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Hackaday ☛ Optical Guitar Pickup Works With Nylon Strings
Electric guitar pickups rely on steel strings interfering with a magnetic field, the changes in which are picked up with coils of wire. That doesn’t work with nylon strings, because they don’t tend to perturb magnetic fields nearly as much, beyond some infinitesimal level that some quantum physicist could explain. So what do you do? You follow [Simon]’s example, and build an optical pickup instead.
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CNX Software ☛ Renesas RZ/V2H Cortex-A55/R8/M33 MPU comes with 80 TOPS Hey Hi (AI) accelerator for robotics and autonomous applications
The RZ/V2H is the latest addition to the Reneasas family of 32-bit and 64-bit microprocessors. Renesas RZ/V2H microprocessor features four Arm Cortex-A55 application processing cores, dual Arm Cortex-R8 real-time processing cores, and one Cortex-M33 core for system management, as well as an Hey Hi (AI) accelerator with up to 80 TOPS (sparse) of performance.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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The antivax bizarro world view of vaccine safety studies
Last month month, a large multinational research group published a study in the journal Vaccine using the Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) to examine thirteen medical conditions that the group considered “adverse events of special interest” potentially associated with COVID-19 vaccination. In the study, they examined the records of more than 99 million vaccinated individuals in eight countries, with the intention of identifying higher-than-expected cases of one or more of these conditions after a COVID-19 vaccination. The vaccines investigated included the most commonly used vaccines, the mRNA-based vaccines distributed by Pfizer and Moderna, as well as nonreplicating adenovirus vector-based vaccines. and protein-based vaccines. The GVDN network includes Argentina, Australia – New South Wales, Australia – Victoria, Canada – British Columbia, Canada – Ontario, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, and Scotland, and the healthcare data studied was comprised of either individual- or population-level data, depending on the availability in the study sites. Overall, it was a massive undertaking that also belies the frequent antivax lie that vaccines aren’t studied for safety and efficacy.
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Science Alert ☛ There's a Surprisingly Simple Way to Remove Microplastics From Your Drinking Water
You may already be doing it.
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Harvard University ☛ Her friends’ parents were dying of cancer. Then her mom got sick.
“On one hand, I’m an epidemiologist who does statistics and who codes. But I also love deep listening and narratives. And on top of that, all of this research is totally insufficient to me without figuring out its applications,” she said. “That’s ultimately why I chose this program: It allows me to be quantitative and qualitative and to work with scientists and researchers who are actually implementing solutions.”
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El País ☛ Obesity has become the most common form of malnutrition in the majority of countries
The research published in The Lancet, which compiles data from more than 3,600 studies and analyzes the evolution of obesity and of being underweight in the world between 1990 and 2022, reveals a consolidation of two parallel phenomena: while the number of underweight individuals has fallen, obesity is gaining ground, both in rich and low-income countries.
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Pro Publica ☛ Syphilis Is Killing Babies. The U.S. Government Is Failing to Stop the Disease From Spreading.
Karmin Strohfus, the lead nurse at a South Dakota jail, punched numbers into a phone like lives depended on it. She had in her care a pregnant woman with syphilis, a highly contagious, potentially fatal infection that can pass into the womb. A treatment could cure the woman and protect her fetus, but she couldn’t find it in stock at any pharmacy she called — not in Hughes County, not even anywhere within an hour’s drive.
Most people held at the jail where Strohfus works are released within a few days. “What happens if she gets out before I’m able to treat her?” she worried. Exasperated, Strohfus reached out to the state health department, which came through with one dose. The treatment required three. Officials told Strohfus to contact the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help, she said. The risks of harm to a developing baby from syphilis are so high that experts urge not to delay treatment, even by a day.
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Democracy Now ☛ “Enraging”: Meet Abbey Crain, IVF Patient in Midst of Treatment Derailed by Alabama High Court
Reproductive health and medical groups are asking the Alabama Supreme Court to rehear the case in which the justices ruled frozen embryos should be considered children. The decision sent shockwaves through the world of reproductive medicine regarding potential effects on access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. We speak with Abbey Crain, a journalist and artist who had been undergoing IVF treatments for nearly two years when the court made its ruling. She says her clinic has paused fertility treatments after the decision. “My first reaction was just sheer rage. I was extremely angry and, honestly, fell apart for a little bit,” says Crain, who describes the impacts of this decision on patients and the politics of reproductive health in the state today. “These men down the street from me who serve on the Alabama Supreme Court have more say over when I choose to become a mother right now than me.”
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New York Times ☛ Powerful Psychedelic Drug Gains New Notice as an Opioid Addiction Therapy
New research is stirring interest in ibogaine, which appears to help ease the agony of detox and prevent relapse. Used in other countries, it remains illegal in the U.S.
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Press Gazette ☛ ‘Open up and talk about it’: ITN chief Rachel Corp on newsroom mental health
Rachel Corp said the news cycle has become “absolutely relentless”, with a toll on the wellbeing of journalists.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Men overestimate women’s sense of safety and access to services in Hong Kong, survey finds
Men tend to overestimate women’s sense of safety and access to education and health services, a survey on gender equality in Hong Kong has found.
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New York Times ☛ South Korea to Suspend Licenses of Thousands of Striking Doctors
The drastic step came after weeks of protests from interns and residents opposed to a government plan to increase medical school admissions.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea begins licence suspension process against striking doctors [Ed: The approach of, we don't have enough doctors, so let's ban them]
The striking trainees defied a Feb 29 govt deadline for them to return to work or face legal action.
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Latvia ☛ Healthcare industry points to necessity of medicine reserves in Latvia
Healthcare and pharmaceutical industry organizations are urging Latvia to start work on the establishment of a National Medicines Reserve Fund immediately because there is a high risk that chronic patients will be left without the necessary medicines in various risk scenarios and crises, Latvian Radio reported March 4.
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British MPs Want Data About UK Excess Deaths and Vaccine Data (Same Observation in Other Countries)
Problem solved? Or only worsened for the taste of "revenge"? ☞ https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/03/south-korea-to-suspend-medical-licenses-of-7000-trainee-doctors-who-have-not-complied-with-governments-back-to-work-order/
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Silicon Angle ☛ Former Ex-Twitter executives sue Elon Musk over severance payments
A group of former Ex-Twitter Inc. executives filed a lawsuit in a federal court today against Elon Musk and what is now called X Corp., arguing that the company owes them a total of $128 million in unpaid severance. -
France24 ☛ Former Ex-Twitter executives sue Musk for over $128 million in unpaid severance
Former top executives of Ex-Twitter sued Elon Musk on Monday saying he has failed to pay them nearly $130 million after the billionaire took over the social control media company and dismissed them.
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New York Times ☛ Former Ex-Twitter Executives Sue Elon Musk for $128 Million
The plaintiffs, including Parag Agrawal, the former chief executive, are asking for severance after they lost their jobs during Mr. Musk’s 2022 takeover of the company.
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Matt Birchler ☛ A computer I can’t use around my wife
Where does the Vision Pro fit in there? So far the answer has been upsettingly few spots. Movies on weekend mornings are still super compelling, but I’m finding myself most often than not forcing myself to do something in the headset rather than finding it organically be the computer I reach for to get something done.
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Daniel Miessler ☛ To Survive AI, We Must Become Creators
In other words, you want to think real hard about how to become a creator and not a worker. Meaning—you want to be the one coming up with the new things that solve problems, not the one writing the code, or filing the paperwork, or setting up the meeting.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia bans using translation layers for CUDA software — previously the prohibition was only listed in the online EULA, now included in installed files [Updated]
Nvidia has banned running CUDA-based software on other hardware platforms using translation layers in its licensing terms listed online since 2021, but the warning previously wasn't included in the documentation placed on a host system during the installation process. This language has been added to the EULA that's included when installing CUDA 11.6 and newer versions.
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International Business Times ☛ PornHub Chatbot Warns UK Users Against Searching Child Abuse Videos And Tells Them To Look For Help
Each time users search words or phrases that are linked to abuse, which was counted at 4.4 million times in 24 months, a rethink Chatbot appeared with a warning message that blocked the page.
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Gizmodo ☛ Google Co-Founder Unfazed by Question About ‘Woke’ AI From Attendee in Naked Woman Shirt
Brin has been an elusive figure since his retirement in 2019, but the tech pioneer is on the job at Google to aid in the company’s AI projects. Over the weekend, Brin made a rare appearance at an AI hackathon in San Francisco, where he spoke and took questions from the audience.
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Quartz ☛ Adobe tests AI music generation tool Project Music GenAI Control
Project Music GenAI Control will then create an initial tune based on the user’s prompt, which they can also edit using text. Adobe said users can, for instance, edit the generated music’s intensity, extend the length of the music clip, or create a repeatable loop, among others.
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Quartz ☛ Waymo robotaxis are coming to Los Angeles, more of San Francisco
Waymo’s greenlight in California comes less than a month after it issued an extensive software recall on Feb. 13. That came in the wake of an incident in which two Waymo cars crashed into the same truck being hauled by a tow truck minutes apart in Phoenix at the end of last year.
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The Register UK ☛ Indian government to approve AIs before they come online
India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued an advisory last Friday stipulating AI technology still in development acquire government permission prior to release to the Indian public.
"The use of under-testing/unreliable Artificial Intelligence model(s) /LLM/Generative AI, software(s) or algorithm(s) and its availability to the users on Indian internet must be done so with explicit permission of the Government of India and be deployed only after appropriately labelling the possible and inherent fallibility or unreliability of the output generated," states [PDF] the ministry's notice.
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Jim Nielsen ☛ AI Is Like a Lossy JPEG
That’s something I’ve heard before — ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web — and it kind of made sense when I read it. But Paul Ford, writing in the Aboard Newsletter, helped it make even more sense in my brain.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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EDRI ☛ #PrivacyCamp24: Event summary
On January 24, 2024, we brought together policymakers, activists, human rights defenders, and academics from all over Europe for Privacy Camp 2024. We came together to explore the theme ‘Revealing, Rethinking, and Changing Systems’.
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EFF ☛ Celebrating 15 Years of Surveillance Self-Defense
On March 3rd, 2009, we launched Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD). At the time, we pitched it as, "an online how-to guide for protecting your private data against government spying." In the last decade hundreds of people have contributed to SSD, over 20 million people have read it, and the content has nearly doubled in length from 40,000 words to almost 80,000. SSD has served as inspiration for many other guides focused on keeping specific populations safe, and those guides have in turn affected how we've approached SSD. A lot has changed in the world over the last 15 years, and SSD has changed with it.
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EFF ☛ A Virtual Reality Tour of Surveillance Tech at the Border: A Conversation with Dave Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
After reading my daily news stories amid his declining health, my grandfather made it a habit of traveling the world—all from his desk and wheelchair. When I went on trips, he always had strong opinions and recommendations for me, as if he’d already been there. “I've traveled to hundreds of countries," he would tell me. "It's called Google Earth. Today, I’m going to Armenia.” My Abuelo’s passion for teleporting via Google Street View has always been one of my fondest memories and has never left me.
So naturally, when I found out that Dave Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave virtual reality tours of surveillance technology along the U.S.–Mexico border, I had to make it happen. I cover technology at the intersection of immigration, criminal justice, social justice and government accountability, and Maass’ tour aligns with my work as I investigate border surveillance.
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Techdirt ☛ Wyden’s Office Gets FTC To Protect The Data Of 1.6 Billion People Tracked By Now-Bankrupt Data Broker
There are two major reasons that the U.S. doesn’t pass an internet-era privacy law or regulate data brokers despite a parade of dangerous scandals.
One, lobbied by a vast web of interconnected industries with unlimited budgets, Congress is too corrupt to do its job.
Two, the U.S. government is disincentivized to do anything because it exploits this privacy dysfunction to buy data, dodge warrants, and expand surveillance.
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CoryDoctorow ☛ The real problem with anonymity
This isn't merely wrong, it's dangerously wrong. The idea that forcing people to identify themselves online will improve discourse is demonstrably untrue. Facebook famously adopted its "real names" policy because Mark Zuckerberg claimed to believe that "Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity": [...]
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EFF ☛ Privacy Isn't Dead. Far From It. | EFFector 36.3 [Ed: And so very ironically they put this on YouTube while taking money from a surveillance behemoth, Google]
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EFF ☛ Voting No on Prop E Is Easy and Important for San Francisco
Don’t be fooled by the misleading arguments of Prop E's supporters. A group of tech billionaires have contributed a small fortune to convince San Francisco voters that they would be safer if surveilled. They want us to believe that Prop E will make us safer and more secure, but the truth is that it will do the opposite. Prop E will allow the police to use any surveillance technology they want for up to a year without considering whether it works as promised—or at all—or whether it presents risks to residents’ privacy or safety. Police only have to present a use policy after a year of free and unaccountable use, and absent a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors rejecting the policy, this unaccountable use could continue indefinitely. Worse still, some technologies, like surveillance cameras and drones, would be exempt from oversight indefinitely, putting the unilateral decision about when, where, and how to deploy such technology in the hands of the SFPD.
We want something different for our city. In 2019, with the support a wide range of community members and civil society groups including EFF, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors took a historic step forward by passing a groundbreaking surveillance transparency and accountability ordinance through a 10-1 vote. The law requires that before a city department, including the police, acquire or use a surveillance technology, the department must present a use policy to the Board of Supervisors, which then considers the proposal in a public process that offers opportunity for public comment. This process respects privacy, dignity, and safety and empowers residents to make their voices heard about the potential impacts and risks.
Despite what Prop E proponents would have you believe, the city’s surveillance ordinance has not stopped police from acquiring new technologies. In fact, they have gained access to broad networks of live-feed cameras. Current law helps ensure that the police follow reasonable guidelines on using technology and mitigating potentially disparate harms. Prop E would gut police accountability from this law and return decision-making about how we are surveilled to closed spaces where unproven and unvetted vendor promises rule the narrative.
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EDRI ☛ Webinar: “Tracked, scraped, destroyed: smartphones of people on the move in the focus of state authorities”
Brot Für Die Welt and the Border Violence Monitoring Network are promoting a webinar to mark the launch of the study "Smartphones and people on the move”.
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Confidentiality
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Nicholas Tietz-Sokolsky ☛ Building a demo of the Bleichenbacher RSA attack in Rust
Recently while reading Real-World Cryptography, I got nerd sniped1 by the mention of Bleichenbacher's attack on RSA. This is cool, how does it work? I had to understand, and to understand something, I usually have to build it.
Well, friends, that is what I did. I implemented RSA from scratch, wrote the attack to decrypt a message, and made a web demo of it. Here's how I did it, from start to finish.
If you're here for the demo, feel free to peruse it before, during, or after reading this post! It's a lot of fun. Otherwise, buckle in for a fun ride.
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Defence/Aggression
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The Kent Stater ☛ Red Sea cables have been damaged, disrupting internet traffic
Damage to submarine cables in the Red Sea is disrupting telecommunications networks and forcing providers to reroute as much as a quarter of traffic between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including internet traffic.
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YLE ☛ FDF Commander: Nato's national defence budget target falls short
General Timo Kivinen says that Nato's defence spending level of two percent of member countries' GDP is insufficient for Europe's needs.
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The Nation ☛ The Supreme Court Just Rejected the Constitution to Help Donald Trump
Article 14, Section 3 of the US Constitution is blunt and direct. It declares, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
“The plain text of the Constitution could not be any clearer,” says Maryland US Representative Jamie Raskin, the constitutional law scholar who served as lead impeachment manager for the second trial of former President Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, and who then joined the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. “If you’ve sworn an oath to support the Constitution and you violate that oath by engaging in insurrection or rebellion,” explains Raskin, you’re disqualified. “That’s what the Constitution itself says.”
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New Yorker ☛ The Supreme Court Keeps Donald Trump on the Ballot
Colorado courts had relied on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which deals with disqualifying people who have been officeholders—specifically, those who had previously taken an oath to support the Constitution—who engaged in insurrection from holding any office “under the United States, or under any State.” Section 3 was ratified in 1869, in the wake of the Civil War, and was originally aimed at Confederates. The case had been brought by a group of Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, who prevailed in a 4–3 ruling in the state’s Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court’s key finding in overturning the state-court ruling was that “States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.” The key word is “federal”—the Supreme Court also ruled that states can disqualify insurrectionists from holding state offices. Notably, the Court offered no opinion on whether Trump engaged in insurrection.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Donald Trump’s lawyers fight DA’s request for a gag order in his hush-money criminal case
By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers warned Monday that a gag order sought by New York prosecutors ahead of his March 25 hush-money criminal trial would amount to unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on the former president’s free speech rights.
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The Telegraph UK ☛ Vladimir Putin's Russia weaponising immigration to destabilise Europe
The Kremlin has influence over a number of the main routes into the continent and border police are warning that, with the arrival of spring, Russia is likely to “intensify” its efforts to move migrants.
It has been widely feared that Vladimir Putin is using the tactic to destabilise Europe.
The Telegraph has now seen intelligence documents detailing plans for Russian agents to set up a “15,000-man strong border police force” comprising former militias in Libya to control the flow of migrants.
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The Straits Times ☛ North Korea denounces South Korea-US military drills, warns of consequences
The Freedom Shield exercises come as North Korea pushes to develop its nuclear capabilities.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea, US prep early talks on defence costs ahead of election
Some 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines says crew hurt, vessels damaged by China Coast Guard
The incident happened in waters near a grounded warship on a shoal manned by Philippine troops.
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RFA ☛ Myanmar junta, resistance officials attend China-brokered peace talks
Representatives discussed strengthening a ceasefire and reopening the border with China, an Arakan Army official said.
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RFA ☛ Australia pledges new funds for maritime cooperation as ASEAN summit begins
The South China Sea and Myanmar crisis are likely to be high on the agenda at meetings in Melbourne.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, US to hold military drills in islands facing South China Sea, Taiwan
The Philippines and the United States will carry out annual military exercises next month in key locations including Philippine islands facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, as tensions with China in the region continue to simmer.
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The Straits Times ☛ Maldives signs China defence deal as India prepares exit
The Maldivian defence ministry said the agreement was “gratis”, or without payment or charge.
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The Strategist ☛ Is Australia-Japan defence cooperation about to be throttled up?
Defence cooperation between Australia and Japan has yet to find its top gear but, after a cautious start, that relationship is in pole position among Australia’s regional security partnerships.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japan says China's rapidly rising military power 'serious concern'
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday that China's rapidly expanding military power was a "serious concern" for Japan and the international society. REUTERS
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The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan to increase missile drills amid China threats
Taiwan's armed forces will increase the number of missile drills they hold this year, defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Tuesday, amid China's ramped-up military pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty claims.
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Defence Web ☛ Somalia-Turkey maritime security partnership faces stormy waters
Somalia and Türkiye have forged a new defence and economic partnership. The agreement is one part of an intricate web of maritime pacts involving Somali sovereign rights, and signals maritime governance’s growing role in regional peace and security.
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Defence Web ☛ Rubymar becomes first vessel to sink after Houthi attack
Over the last four months, Houthi forces have attacked dozens of vessels in and around the Red Sea, with the first recorded sinking taking place on 2 March.
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RFA ☛ Ukraine military official: half of all North Korean shells are duds
North Korean artillery shells cannot be accurately aimed, South Korean military expert says.
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RFERL ☛ German FM Pushes For EU Enlargement To Include Western Balkans
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to step up the pace of EU enlargement to include Western Balkan countries such as Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the face of Russian and Chinese attempts to exert influence in the region.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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RFERL ☛ Russian Actor In Prison For Deadly Drunk Driving Accident May Get Early Release
Russian actor and Kremlin critic Mikhail Yefremov, who is serving a prison sentence for killing a man while driving under the influence, may be granted an early release.
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RFERL ☛ Relatives Of Imprisoned Former Russian Lawmaker Handed Lengthy Prison Terms
A court in Moscow has handed lengthy prison terms to two relatives of a former member of the Russian parliament's upper chamber who along with his father is serving a life sentence for masterminding the murder of two officials in the North Caucasus region of Karachai-Cherkessia.
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RFERL ☛ Poland Urges EU Sanctions On Russian, Belarusian Farm Products
Poland, seeking to meet the needs of protesting farmers, plans to ask the European Union to put sanctions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a visit to the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
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RFERL ☛ Explosions Heard In City Of Kerch In Occupied Crimea; Bridge Connecting Peninsula To Russia Closed, Says Report
Explosions were heard early on March 5 in the Crimean city of Kerch, and the bridge connecting the occupied peninsula with Russia was closed, according to RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities project.
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Meduza ☛ Ukraine reports successful naval drone attack on Russian ship in Crimea — Meduza
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New York Times ☛ Russia Intensifies Air War, Enabling Ukraine to Shoot More Planes Down
Moscow’s recent gains in the east have been aided by risky close air support on the front lines. But that also has helped Ukraine shoot down enemy planes in the past two weeks.
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RFERL ☛ Ukraine Downs 18 Russian Drones Over Odesa Region, Says Military
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 18 out of 22 drones launched by Russia at the southern region of Odesa early on March 5, the military said.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Forces Battle To Advance Beyond Eastern City Captured Last Month, Ukrainian Military Says
The Ukrainian military says its forces have contained an advance by Moscow's forces outside the eastern city of Avdiyivka as Russian drones carried out another attack on Odesa, the Air Force said.
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RFERL ☛ Report Documents 223 Incidents Of Damage To Ukrainian Power Grid
The Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab says it has documented 223 incidents of damage to Ukraine’s electric power infrastructure between October 2022 and April 2023.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Issues Warrant For Ukraine's Ex-Ambassador To Kazakhstan
A court in Moscow has issued an arrest warrant for Petro Vrublevskiy, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan, on a charge of inciting hatred.
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RFERL ☛ Berlin, Moscow Dispute Whether Ambassador Summoned Over Leaked Military Talks
German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Lambsdorff spent about an hour at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on March 4 amid a dispute between the two countries over the publication of a discussion on Ukraine by German military officials.
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New Yorker ☛ Alexei Ratmansky and Tiler Peck Bring Fine New Work to City Ballet
Ratmansky’s dance in response to the war in Ukraine is a work of harrowing interiority, and Peck’s mercurial début as a choreographer demonstrates skill and range.
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The Straits Times ☛ China spurns Ukraine diplomats at home, undermining peace push
Support for Ukraine in the broader Beijing diplomatic community is mixed.
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CS Monitor ☛ Amid Western aid cuts, Ukraine families wonder how they’ll get by
With billions in U.S. aid to Ukraine held up in Congress, the impact is being felt not only by soldiers at the front, but also by civilians displaced by war and dependent on generosity.
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New York Times ☛ Now It’s Germany’s Turn to Frustrate Allies Over Ukraine
First President Emmanuel Macron of France, then Chancellor Olaf Scholz, exposed divisions among Western countries trying to avoid direct hostilities with Russia.
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Democracy Now ☛ “Alexei Navalny Taught Russia’s Opposition How to Mobilize”: Historian on Putin’s “Dictatorship”
Thousands gathered Friday in Moscow for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on February 16. The funeral was live-streamed on Navalny’s YouTube channel to millions of his supporters, who suspect President Vladimir Putin is behind the dissident’s death. “We live in an open dictatorship where any forms of public disobedience are forbidden,” says Russian historian and political theorist Ilya Budraitskis, who says Navalny’s death has galvanized public opposition for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. With the war enabling the Kremlin to suppress political freedom, Budraitskis says Russian leaders are “ready to continue” their invasion and are openly advocating for the dismantling of Ukraine. “If Ukraine will be not supported from the West, Russia will continue its offensive and realize its final goal: the elimination of Ukraine as a state.”
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France24 ☛ Russian dissidents in France: The price of exile, far from Putin's Russia
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, upending the lives of millions of Ukrainians. But the conflict also changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Russians opposed to the war. Some left for Armenia, Georgia or Turkey, while others requested asylum in France. It was the start of a long road, far from the country they were born in, but which had left them no choice but to leave. We met Alexei, Ernest, Nastia and Dmitri – four Russian dissidents who have sought refuge in France. They told us about their decision to flee Vladimir Putin's Russia and start a new life in exile in a foreign land.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian PM to change Putin-echoing presidential campaign slogan
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, who is running for president on the ruling Homeland Union’s ticket, has come under fire after her campaign slogan was likened to the one used by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Issues Warrant For Self-Exiled Former Putin Speechwriter
A Moscow court on March 4 issued an arrest warrant for Abbas Gallyamov, the self-exiled former speechwriter of Vladimir Putin, on a charge of distributing false information about Russia's military.
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Latvia ☛ Public media campaign raises over 350 thousand for Ukraine
Latvian residents and companies have donated a total of EUR 354,977 in the campaign by Latvian public service media – Latvian Television, Latvian Radio and LSM.lv – in support of Ukraine, Rūta Dimanta, head of the charity platform Ziedot.lv, told Latvian Radio on March 4.
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Reason ☛ National Guardsman Gets 16 Years for Leaking Pentagon Docs Over Discord
Jack Teixeira shared documents on the war in Ukraine to a gamer group on Discord.
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Security Week ☛ Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty Under a Deal That Calls for at Least 11 Years in Prison
The 22-year-old Air National Guard member admitted illegally collecting some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord.
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Federal News Network ☛ Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty under a deal that calls for at least 11 years in prison
A Massachusetts Air National Guard member has pleaded guilty in federal court to leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security secrets. Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty in Boston’s federal court Monday to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors say Teixeira “callously disregarded the national security of the United States” and they plan to seek nearly 17 years in prison for him. An attorney for Teixeira says he'll push for a sentence of 11 years.
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AntiWar ☛ The Stories You’re Not Hearing About the Russo-Ukrainian War…
Several, seemingly small events in the Russo-Ukrainian War went largely unnoticed in western media recently. But each of them, in their own way, may be significant. The Fall of Avdiivka On February 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia invaded his country two years ago.
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AntiWar ☛ NATO’s Undeniably Corrupt Ukrainian Client
When Russian forces expanded their military presence in Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. officials and most of the Western news media portrayed the development as a brazen act of aggression by a dictatorship against a peaceful democracy. The reality was much more complex.
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AntiWar ☛ Patriot Games: The Ideologies of American Warmongers
Just how stupid do they think we are? The balance of evidence provided by the public statements of senior Biden administration officials would suggest, very.
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Meduza ☛ Dmitry Medvedev says ‘Ukraine is definitely Russia,’ presents map showing Ukraine divided between neighbors — Meduza
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Atlantic Council ☛ “Ukraine is Russia”: Medvedev reveals imperial ambitions fueling invasion
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has underlined the imperialism fueling the invasion of Ukraine by rejecting Ukrainian statehood and declaring "Ukraine is definitely Russia," writes Taras Kuzio.
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France24 ☛ Ukraine claims responsibility for Russian railway bridge blast
Ukraine said it blew up a railway bridge in Russia's southwestern Samara region on Monday because it was being used to transport "military cargo".
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teleSUR ☛ Railway Workers Resume Strikes in Protest
Railway Workers do not feel identified or protected by the Deutsche Bahn
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LRT ☛ Lufthansa cancels 8 Vilnius-Frankfurt flights
German airline Lufthansa has cancelled all flights between Vilnius and Frankfurt scheduled for Thursday and Friday due to a strike by its employees.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian farmers say they have problems with Russian grain, not Ukrainian
Most of the cheap Ukrainian grain imports have been concentrated in Poland, which led to the farmers’ partial blockade on the Polish-Lithuanian border. The Baltic farmers, meanwhile, say they are more troubled by the Russian grain imports.
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LRT ☛ Polish farmers’ enthusiasm for checking trucks at Lithuanian border waning – official
Polish farmers’ enthusiasm for checking whether Ukrainian or Russian grain is being shipped from Lithuania to Poland appears to be waning, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), has said.
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Meduza ☛ Said without enthusiasm: The ‘Forever War’ on Ukraine is chipping away at anti-war Russians’ morale — Meduza
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Latvia ☛ Latvia plans to expand list of banned Russian import products
The Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) has expanded the list of Russian and Belarusian goods subject to a possible import ban. It is planned to see the relevant regulations in the Cabinet on Tuesday, LETA reports.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian president backs proposals to ban Russian grain imports
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he supports proposals to ban imports of Russian grain into Lithuania.
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LRT ☛ Russia-registered cars must leave Lithuania by March 11
Cars with Russian registration plates must leave Lithuania and the European Union by March 11.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Signals Nordic Response Military Manoeuvres as Provocative
The military exercise will take place from 4 to 15 March 2024 and has the participation of more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 NATO member countries.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Summons German Ambassador After Missile Audio Leak
"Germany is not concerned about conversations on an attack on the Crimean Bridge, but about their leakage," FM Lavrov said.
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YLE ☛ Monday's papers: Finland's 'miracle elections', border escalation, and the Finnish Las Vegas
The European Commission for Values and Transparency VP praised how Finland has deflected Russian interference in its elections.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ Russia’s Flipping Focus: Alexander Smirnov Is No Exception
Alexander Smirnov is nothing new. Exploiting past and present FBI informants has been a key part of Russia's assault on the US for over a decade.
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CS Monitor ☛ Moscow plans its own mini-Olympics. Will Russians be satisfied?
Isolated by the West, Moscow has hustled to create alternatives to global commodities. But with Olympic-level athletic contests, Kremlin proxies may not satisfy Russia’s public.
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Meduza ☛ Railway bridge damaged by explosion in southwestern Russia — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ ‘People don’t want to vote’: How the Kremlin plans to compensate for Russians’ record-low interest in the country’s upcoming election — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian authorities label jailed opposition figure Ilya Yashin ‘person inclined to spread extremism’ as fear grows over fate of Kremlin’s remaining political prisoners — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian priest suggests distributing ‘virginity shirts’ and ‘purity rings’ to promote chastity among youth — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Española’s patrons revealed Russian battalion of far-right soccer fans reportedly funded by railway official with ties to billionaire Rotenberg brothers — Meduza
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Latvia ☛ Latvia-Belarus border to be under enhanced surveillance again
Once again, the flow of migrants from Belarus to Latvia is increasing. Less than a month after an increased border protection mode was suspended, the Ministry of the Interior will encourage it to reinstate it, Latvian Radio reported Monday, March 4.
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Latvia ☛ Warmer weather brings back Latvian-Belarusian border crossers
In January and February, the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border was relatively calm, but the number of border violations is increasing, said Border Guard Chief Guntis Pujāts on the Latvian Television morning newscast on March 4.
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JURIST ☛ Belarus dispatch: activist accused of tax evasion faces extradition from Serbia to Belarus
Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Meduza ☛ Yulia Navalnaya thanks thousands coming to lay flowers at husband Navalny’s grave — Meduza
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RFERL ☛ UN Rights Chief Slams Russia's 'Repression' Of Dissent Ahead Of Election
The head of human rights for the United Nations has chided Russia for its throttling of "dissenting voices" prior to this month's presidential election, adding that the death of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny added to concerns over the state of human rights in the country.
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RFERL ☛ 43 Countries Demand International Probe Into Navalny's Death
More than 40 countries have demanded an independent international investigation into the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and said President Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility.
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Environment
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The Hindu ☛ Odisha bans single-use plastics inside sanctuaries, ecotourism places
Odisha Forest and Environment Department on Monday ordered prohibition of single-use plastic inside sanctuaries, national park, tiger reserves and ecotourism area of the State from April 1.
“Alternate drinking water facilities will be provided for the tourists at different places inside the Protected Areas and refundable plastic water bottles may be provided for them at the entry points,” says a notification issued exercising power under section 33(C) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972.
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Omicron Limited ☛ California is missing out on billions of gallons of stormwater each year, report finds
In a report released Feb. 29, researchers with the Pacific Institute determined that every year, 59.5 million acre-feet of stormwater go uncaptured across the United States—or roughly 53 billion gallons per day. The amount is equivalent to 93% of the water withdrawals for municipal and industrial uses in 2015, the most recent year for which national data were available.
"The numbers are clear. It's time to elevate the role of stormwater capture in the national water conversation," said Bruk Berhanu, the report's lead author and a senior researcher with the Pacific Institute, a California-based water-focused think-tank.
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CS Monitor ☛ John Kerry worked to restore US climate leadership. Was it enough?
John Kerry, who served as President Joe Biden’s special envoy on climate change, will step down on March 6. After the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Agreement, Mr. Kerry worked to restore climate ties with China and court private capital for climate action.
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WhichUK ☛ Which? Get Answers podcast: could a restaurant be more sustainable than your kitchen?
We reveal the greenest restaurant chains in the UK
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Energy/Transportation
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DeSmog ☛ Wood Pellet Giant Drax Targets California Forests
Plans by biomass giant Drax to manufacture wood pellets sourced from Californian forests will endanger natural habitats and increase toxic air pollution for rural communities, campaigners warn.
The British energy company has partnered with Golden State Natural Resources, a government-linked nonprofit which plans to build two industrial plants in rural California counties that would produce one million tonnes of compressed wood fiber pellets a year.One plant would be in Tuolumne County in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the other in Lassen County in the state’s far northeast. From there, pellets would be shipped by rail to the city of Stockton, exported internationally, and burnt as biomass fuel to create electricity.At its board meeting last Wednesday, Golden State Natural Resources ratified a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Drax.
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The Straits Times ☛ China sets tougher energy efficiency goal after falling behind on 2025 targets
China is aiming to cut its energy intensity by 2.5% in 2024, after it missed a 2% reduction goal in 2023.
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Wildlife/Nature
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The Revelator ☛ Building a Flock: How an Unlikely Birder Found Activism — and Community — in Nature
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LRT ☛ Lithuania’s oldest tree at risk of falling
Lithuania’s oldest tree – the Stelmužė Oak – is at risk of falling. The tree’s deteriorating condition is said to be caused by improperly installed branch supports.
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Overpopulation
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The Hindu ☛ Bengaluru water crisis: Shivakumar directs officials to take over irrigation, commercial borewells
Mr. Shivakumar said these water sources will be identified soon and water will be supplied through tankers. He further informed that of the 14,781 borewells in Bengaluru, 6,997 are dried up and 7,784 are functional. The crisis may worsen as already, close to 50% of borewells have dried up.”
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Public Policy Institute of California ☛ The Colorado River’s Hydrology is Changing. Can We Adapt? - Public Policy Institute of California
JB Hamby: In the summer of 2022, the Bureau of Reclamation told the basin states that despite prior plans to protect against drought, we could reach “dead pool” at Lake Powell and/or Lake Mead in just a few years. That meant that water levels in depleted reservoirs would get so low that water physically could not pass through the dams. This would significantly disrupt the lives of tens of millions of people who rely on the Colorado River in the lower basin states (Arizona, California, and Nevada), on Tribal lands, and in Mexico.
The last 20 years have demonstrated that hydrology is on a drier trajectory, and we have to adapt in real time to these new climate realities. As supply has dwindled, demands have decreased—but not enough. Moving forward, we have to resolve the supply-demand imbalance and prepare for a future in which climate change means even more variability and declining flows.
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The Straits Times ☛ China to improve childbirth policies and boost support for elderly
The measures come after China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023.
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Finance
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The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam PM expects to upgrade ties with Australia this week
The ties will boost political trust and cooperation in trade, science, education and culture.
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Latvia ☛ Wages forecast to continue growing this year in Latvia
Last year, compared to 2022, the average monthly wage increased by 164 euros or 11.9% and the average monthly wage after tax was 1,119 euros. Given inflation, real net wage growth was only 2.2% as prices grew faster than residents' incomes. This year the pace of wage growth will decrease, according to economists surveyed by Latvian Radio March 4.
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BIA Net ☛ Turkey's official inflation stands at 67% in February
According to the independent ENAG group, the inflation rate was 122%.
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IBM layoffs: Amid more job cuts, employees asked to volunteer if they want to leave the company
IBM, which announced 3,900 layoffs in January last year, is reportedly gearing up for further job cuts. This time, the company is implementing a different approach, encouraging employees to step forward and volunteer for layoffs.
As per The Register, IBM is urging employees interested in voluntary redundancy to express their willingness to leave the company. IBM is gearing up for another wave of job cuts in Europe.
In a Q4 earnings call last month, IBM referred to layoffs as a "resource action." The Register further adds that this initiative is being viewed as "transformative" rather than solely financial in nature.
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Massive Layoffs on Horizon: These 3 States Brace for Job Cuts
The U.S. labor market, despite its tightness in recent years, is on the verge of experiencing a notable loosening, caution experts.
In states like California, New York, and Washington, companies across various sectors, ranging from tech giants to hospitality and healthcare, are preparing for a significant number of layoffs. Approximately 25,210 employees in these states are slated for layoffs in the coming months, which will inevitably lead to an influx of new job seekers.
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The Straits Times ☛ China's NPC: What you need to know
China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), kicked off its annual session on Tuesday, with Premier Li Qiang delivering his maiden work report in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese official expresses ‘ample confidence’ in country’s economy ahead of key political meeting
By Oliver Hotham China’s leadership is confident the economy will improve, an official said Monday, ahead of a key political meeting in which Beijing is expected to unveil one of its most pessimistic growth targets in years.
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New York Times ☛ China Sets Economic Growth Target of About 5%
Premier Li Qiang targets growth of about 5 percent this year but signals continued reluctance to use deficit spending for economic stimulus.
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RFA ☛ China sets 5% GDP target for 2024 without big stimulus
Chinese premier speaks of global and regional ‘challenges’ as he unveils moderate measures to revive growth.
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The Straits Times ☛ China sets sight on around 5% growth in 2024, defence spending to rise
The world’s second-largest economy is seeking to maintain its growth momentum after hitting 2023's target.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Global China Newsletter: Two Sessions, zero reasons for economic optimism?
The second 2024 edition of the Global China Newsletter.
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The Straits Times ☛ China's Li vows more support for property market stuck in the doldrums
China will try to stabilise a property sector with targeted measures while providing financing to "justified" projects, Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday, as Beijing looks to resolve a glut of unfinished properties that have worried homebuyers.
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The Straits Times ☛ Why China’s Pooh-tin Jinping is pushing ‘high-quality development’
There's a desire to promote high-tech and green industries, and avoid unsustainable, debt-fuelled growth.
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Latvia ☛ Cash payments set to come under closer scrutiny in Latvia
Latvia's residents deposit approximately 2 billion euros into Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs or bankomāti) annually. Such a large amount raises suspicions that some of that cash may be part of tax avoidance measures.
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Latvia ☛ Former PNB depositors face August deadline
Former depositors of the insolvent AS PNB Banka who have yet to resolve any legal claims have been reminded of a looming deadline by the regulator, the Latvian central bank, Latvijas Banka (LB).
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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New York Times ☛ China Scraps Premier’s Annual News Conference in Surprise Move
The decision is a break from a decades-long tradition by the country’s No. 2 official and comes as Pooh-tin Jinping, the top leader, consolidates his power.
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The Straits Times ☛ Engaging Chinese diplomat, former anti-graft official tipped to be next foreign minister
As Beijing-based diplomats attend the annual session of China's parliament this week, one Chinese official drawing attention is a charismatic Oxford University graduate many expect to become the next foreign minister.
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The Straits Times ☛ China drops 'peaceful reunification' reference to Taiwan; raises defence spending by 7.2%
China will boost defence spending by 7.2% this year, the same rate as last year, but higher than the government economic growth forecast, according to an official work report reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
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YLE ☛ IS: Police asked to examine Finns Party MEP's income tax payments
A police spokesperson declined to confirm to Yle if the suspect in the probe is MEP Teuvo Hakkarainen.
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YLE ☛ HS, Wille Rydman could both face charges after police investigation
Prosecutors will consider charges over a Helsingin Sanomat story, along with two cases in which Rydman is a suspect.
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RFA ☛ China fires outspoken former Hong Kong envoy from top advisory role
Zhang Xiaoming is remembered as a hardliner who may have taken the fall for the 2019 protest movement.
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RFA ☛ China cancels premier’s annual news conference
Held since 1993, the event offered a rare chance for journalists to question a Chinese leader.
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New York Times ☛ Trump’s ‘Fake Electors’ Scheme Detailed in Newly Released Messages
Emails and texts unearthed in a lawsuit show how key figures intended their plan to create a “cloud of confusion” to help keep Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss.
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New York Times ☛ Trump Eligibility Ruling Elicits Mixed Reactions Ahead of Super Tuesday
Reaction to the ruling showed that the challenges to Donald Trump’s candidacy had reinforced partisan lines and angered Republicans who saw the lawsuits as antidemocratic.
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YLE ☛ Justice Chancellor demands answers from government on citizenship law reforms
Finland's right-wing government plans to introduce tighter laws on gaining Finnish citizenship.
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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Science Alert ☛ Conspiracy Theorists Are Profiting Off a Disease That Doesn't Exist Yet
Misinformation on Disease X is on the rise.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Reason ☛ #TheyLied Libel Case, Stemming from Allegations of "Mental and Physical Abuse[]" by Fellow High School Student, Can Go Forward
The culture of public accusation and shaming, in high school (and stemming from a relationship that apparently happened when the accuser and accused were sophomores).
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 8 jailed for up to 3 years and 9 months over 2019 protest in Hong Kong
Eight people have been jailed for up to three years and nine months over rioting and breaching anti-mask laws at a lunchtime protest in Central during the anti-extradition unrest in 2019.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t slams self-exiled democrat Ted Hui over ‘intimidating’ public officers
The Hong Kong government has said it “strongly condemns” self-exiled democrat Ted Hui over “intimidating” judicial personnel and police officers by posting their names online and calling for foreign sanctions against them.
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Off Guardian ☛ Technocensorship: When Corporations Serve As a Front for Government Censors
John & Nisha Whitehead “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.
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Reason ☛ Free Speech Unmuted: Deplatformed: The Supreme Court Hears Social Media Oral Arguments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moLCz7C6_gQ This episode is about the Netchoice cases, and was recorded right after the oral arguments. You can watch on YouTube, or subscribe on any podcast platform. It's put together by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where I'll be starting as the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow in May.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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The Strategist ☛ From the bookshelf: Assignment China: an oral history of American journalists in the People’s Republic
Journalists, it has been said, write the first rough draft of history. This is particularly true in China, where official sources and local media provide an incomplete picture and unofficial sources are scarce.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s Apple Daily stopped pursuing balanced reporting after security law enactment, court hears
Hong Kong’s defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily no longer pursued balanced reporting after the Beijing-imposed national security law came into force, a former editorial writer has said in a landmark trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Reason ☛ Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down Stop W.O.K.E. Act's Restrictions on Private Employers
From Honeyfund.com inc v. Governor, decided today by the Eleventh Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Britt Grant, joined by Judges Charles Wilson and Andrew Brasher: The State of Florida seeks to bar employers from holding mandatory meetings for their employees if those meetings endorse viewpoints the state finds offensive.
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OpenRightsGroup ☛ Response to Ofcom consultation: “Protecting people from illegal harms online”
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BIA Net ☛ Music Freedom Day: Freedom for Nudem Durak!
Many renowned intellectuals, writers, and musicians worldwide have called for justice for Nudem Durak, who has been imprisoned for 9 years. I'd like to remind this call on World Music Freedom Day: Freedom for Kurdish musician Nudem Durak!
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YLE ☛ Call to legalise euthanasia garners 50,000 signatures of support, proceeds to parliament
A previous attempt to legalise the practice via a citizens' initiative was rejected by MPs in 2018.
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YLE ☛ PM Orpo invites trade unions, employer groups to negotiating table
Earlier talks between the government and labour organisations fell apart in December, resulting in an ongoing dispute over the government's proposed reforms.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UN rights chief says China violating ‘fundamental rights’ in Xinjiang and Tibet, urges release of detainees
UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday said China was violating fundamental rights in its Xinjiang and Tibet regions and called on Beijing to change course.
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RFA ☛ UN right chief calls on China to protect human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang
But activists blast Türk’s comments as weak and not backed up by action.
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New York Times ☛ Racial Profiling in Japan Is Prevalent but Unseen, Some Residents Say
Experts say the country’s first lawsuit about police discrimination against foreign-born residents highlights a systematic problem.
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RFERL ☛ Top Iranian Sunni Cleric Barred From Touring Flood Sites In Baluchistan
Iranian security forces have barred Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's top Sunni cleric, from visiting areas affected by recent floods in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, while also detaining two of his children, according to local media reports.
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EDRI ☛ Panel: “Technology and Decentralisation: What Futures for Independent Culture?”
In 2024, Reset! is heading to Brussels, returning to the network’s origins, at the Reset venue. Dedicated to championing independent cultural and media organisations throughout Europe, Reset! will delve into the challenges faced by independent cultural and media organisations across the continent through a series of open recorded discussions.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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APNIC ☛ Apply now for an APNIC Fellowship 2024
Apply now for the APNIC Fellowship Program 2024. The deadline to apply is 29 March 2024.
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APNIC ☛ Useful IP geo resources
Understanding geolocation's mechanics and sources is beneficial.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Digital Music News ☛ Move Over Audible—Spotify’s Standalone Audiobook Subscription Service Is Here
Move over Audible—Spotify has announced a standalone audiobook subscription aimed at breaking Amazon’s dominance in the audiobook market.
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New York Times ☛ How Regulations Fractured Apple’s App Store
As the App Store approaches its 16th anniversary, patchwork rules have turned what was a single store into different shops across many countries.
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European Commission ☛ Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the adoption of an antitrust decision against Fashion Company Apple over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers
European Commission Speech Brussels, 04 Mar 2024 Today, the Commission has fined Fashion Company Apple €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.
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New York Times ☛ Forced to Change: Tech Giants Bow to Global Onslaught of Rules
For years, Apple, Google, Meta and others operated unfettered. But new laws and regulations have finally compelled them to make major shifts to their products and businesses.
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Digital Music News ☛ Apple Faces $1.95 Billion EU Fine for ‘Abusing Its Dominant Position’ Over Music Streaming Apps, Preps Appeal
The European Commission has slapped Fashion Company Apple with a close to $2 billion fine for allegedly “abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.” The EU executive body unveiled the sizable penalty (specifically totaling $1.95 billion/€1.8 billion) today, after multiple reports suggested that the announcement would arrive on the 5th.
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European Commission ☛ Commission fines Fashion Company Apple over €1.8 billion over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers
European Commission Press release Brussels, 04 Mar 2024 The European Commission has fined Fashion Company Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users') through its App Store.
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New York Times ☛ Google Settles Smaller Lawsuits as It Prepares for More Antitrust Fights
The tech giant has recently spent more than $1 billion to resolve several legal claims as more battles with the Justice Department loom.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Celanese v. ITC: Can a Secret Manufacturing Process Be Patented After Sale of the Resulting Product?
The Federal Circuit held oral arguments on March 4, 2024 in the important patent monopoly case of Celanese Int’l. v ITC, 22-1827 (Fed. Cir. 2024).
The question: Under the AIA, does sale of a product by the patent monopoly applicant prohibit the patentee from later patenting the process used to make the product?
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ AI and Society: Government, Policy, and the Law at Mizzou
I am super excited to be part of a big interdisciplinary conference this week here at the University of Missouri where we’ll be focusing on AI and Society: Government, Policy, and the Law. Co-hosted by the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and the University of Missouri School of Law, this two-day event on March 7-8, 2024, will bring together a diverse group of experts to explore four main themes: Hey Hi (AI) in Government, Impact of Hey Hi (AI) on Democracy, Government Regulation and AI, and Creating an Hey Hi (AI) Ready Public Sector; and a collection of the papers will be published in the Missouri Law Review.
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Unified Patents ☛ $1,000 awarded for InfoGation navigation patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winner, Dinesh Swami, who was awarded $1,000 award for his prior art submission on U.S. Patent 8,898,003, owned by InfoGation Corporation, an NPE. The ‘003 patent monopoly generally relates to navigation systems.
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Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 awarded for Vision Works vehicle sensor patents prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $4,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by Vision Works IP, an NPE. The patents generally relate to acceleration sensors for use within moving vehicles. The patents have been asserted against Polaris, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz.
We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests.
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JUVE ☛ “Under no circumstances should the EU create a regulatory SEP monster” [Ed: Quotes as headlines, as JUVE Patents likes to do with corrupt sponsors which lobby for totally illegal agenda]
Fair and equal access to technology is an essential feature of a standard. Whether patent monopoly holder or implementer, whether SME or global player, whether Chinese, American or European, everyone should have access to the relevant technology.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Which of These Three Recent 2(d) Appeals Was/Were Reversed?
The rate of affirmance for Section 2(d) refusals is over 90% so far this year. That's on the high side in comparison to the past dozen years. Here are three recent TTAB decisions, at least one of which was reversed. How do you think they came out? Answers in first comment.
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ YouTube Music & Premium Cracks 100 Million Subscribers, Content ID Claims Up 25% in 2023
YouTube now has 100 million subscribers across its Premium & Music tiers (including free trials). That’s an increase of around 20 million subscribers since 2022. Content ID claims are also up 25% year-over-year—with rights holders choosing to monetize rather than ripping down user-generated content (UGC).
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New York Times ☛ Microsoft Seeks to Dismiss Parts of Suit Filed by The New York Times
The tech giant and its partner Proprietary Chaffbot Company were accused of infringing on copyrights to train Hey Hi (AI) technologies like the online chatbot ChatGPT.
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Market Watch ☛ Opinion: Why is Elon Musk suing Open Hey Hi (AI) and Sam Altman? In a word: Microsoft.
In a striking turn of events, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has initiated legal action against Proprietary Chaffbot Company and its leadership [...]
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Digital Music News ☛ Federal Judge Rejects Prager Metis Discovery Stay Motion in SEC-Filed Auditor Independence Lawsuit
A federal judge has rejected a request from Prager Metis to delay discovery in an auditor independence lawsuit filed against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Developers of Switch emulator Yuzu settle with Nintendo in court for $2.4 million less than a week after being sued
Nintendo defeats Nintendo Switch emulation in the form of a joint filing, with the emulator's developers agreeing to $2.4 million awarded damages.
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Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 194: CCH Turns 20 – Scott Jolliffe Goes Behind the Scenes of the Landmark Copyright Case That Ushered in Users’ Rights
Twenty years ago today the Supreme Court of Canada released CCH Canadian v. Law Society of Upper Canada, a decision that stands as perhaps the most consequential in Canadian copyright monopoly law history as it would firmly establish fair dealing as a users right and serve as the foundation for copyright monopoly law in Canada for decades to come.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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