Links 04/04/2024: Intel Losses and Empty Offices
Contents
- Leftovers
- Science
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Transparency/Investigative Reporting
- Environment
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
- Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Quartz ☛ Office vacancies creep up to 19.8%, Moody's finds
Office sector vacancy set a new record last quarter, inching up to a 19.8% vacancy rate, up from 19.6% the prior quarter and surpassing two historic peaks of 19.3% in 1986 and 1991, according to a preliminary trend report by financial services firm Moody’s that was published Monday. This has dealt another blow to a property sector already in turmoil.
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Luke Harris ☛ Trees vs. Tags
I love tagging systems for all the reasons Garrit mentions. In particular, the ability to add multiple tags to make an item present in multiple groups, and how they reduce digging through directories.
Tags tend to pile up and eventually need organization. Garrit mentioned using a tree to organize the tags, which is cool because you get all the benefits of tags and you’ve got a tree again.
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The Register UK ☛ Security pioneer Ross Anderson dies at 67
His family broke the news to Anderson's friends and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, where he worked as a professor of security engineering and senior research fellow at Churchill College. He passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Thursday, March 28.
While it's difficult to label Anderson as a single type of professional since, like many great minds, his interests were as deep as they were broad, it would be fair to describe him as a decorated security expert and celebrated engineer – among the finest and most respected of his time.
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Gabriel ☛ For posterity?
Now I am sort of bothered by this "existential" question. Does everything needs to be out there for posterity? Why? I guess I can understand that for a book, historical news, and events but for a personal blog, and or random posts? Would my kids or anyone in a future generation would even care to read the nonsense I've posted? Would all this "content" will even be around 5 years from now?
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Standards/Consortia
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The Register UK ☛ FCC finally set to do something about SS7 vulnerabilities
The FCC appears to finally be stepping up efforts to secure decades-old flaws in American telephone networks that are allegedly being used by foreign governments and surveillance outfits to remotely spy on and monitor wireless devices.
At issue are the Signaling System Number 7 (SS7) and Diameter protocols, which are used by fixed and mobile network operators to enable interconnection between networks. They are part of the glue that holds today's telecommunications together.
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Science
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The Conversation ☛ 2024-03-27 [Older] The total solar eclipse in North America could help shed light on a persistent puzzle about the Sun
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Stephen Hackett ☛ NASA’s Solar Eclipse Explorer
I have two pieces of advice:
1. Don’t try to photograph it unless you’re an expert. Soak it in, and then download some sick wallpapers from NASA the next day.
2. Buy and use eclipse-ready glasses, and make sure your kids do, too.
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Education
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Frank Meeuwsen ☛ Embrace the messy beauty of note-taking
The way I see it, the value of these more comprehensive notes lies in their ability to capture the bigger picture. By allowing myself to jot down related thoughts and concepts within a single note, I can preserve the natural flow and connections between them. This, in turn, helps me better understand the overall context and see the bigger patterns emerging.
Sure, I could break these notes down into smaller pieces. But then I’d risk losing that holistic perspective and the serendipitous insights that can arise from having all the pieces in one place.
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Hardware
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Tech Central (South Africa) ☛ Intel's chip-making unit reports $7-billion loss
Intel has disclosed deepening operating losses for its foundry business, a blow to the chip maker as it tries to regain a technology lead it lost in recent years to TSMC.
Intel said the manufacturing unit had US$7-billion in operating losses for 2023, a steeper loss than the $5.2-billion in operating losses the year before. The unit had revenue of $18.9-billion for 2023, down 31% from $27.5-billion the year before.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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The Conversation ☛ 2024-03-28 [Older] A rare condition makes other people’s faces look distorted. Why a new case is important
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Dmitry Dolzhenko ☛ Accidental coffee hiatus
What did make a noticeable difference in my case is regular exercise. I spend most of my day sitting at a desk, staring at a monitor. Consequently, before I started running regularly, I often felt like a vegetable, both mentally and physically, especially in the morning.
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The Hill ☛ ‘Forever chemicals’ are pervasive. Here are 4 ways to avoid them in consumer products
Exposure to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) has been linked to a number of ailments, including kidney and testicular cancer and thyroid disease. The chemicals are also sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they linger in the human body and the environment instead of breaking down.
Most PFAS studies have focused on the effects of consuming the substances. The impact of coming into contact with them through the skin is less clear, but experts warn it could also be a concern.
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Futurism ☛ Scientists Inject Patient With Slurry to Make Them Grow a New Liver
Livers, like pretty much any human organ, are always in short supply. The waiting list for a liver transplant is nearly 10,000. Even ones that are received intact may not be suitable for a transplant.
But the researchers say that they can use these discarded livers, needing only a small number of extracted cells called hepatocytes for each treatment. That means that a single one of these discarded organs could provide enough material to treat up to 75 people.
To treat their human patient, the researchers funneled millions of hepatocytes into lymph nodes near the liver using a tube guided with a camera and ultrasound imaging. Lymph nodes, which form a key part of our immune system and number in the hundreds, are ideal growth sites because their cells can divide at rapid rates.
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Wired ☛ This Bag of Cells Could Grow New Livers Inside of People
These patients usually require a liver transplant, but donor organs are in short supply. LyGenesis is hoping to spur the growth of enough healthy liver tissue that patients don’t need a transplant. “We’re using the lymph node as a living bioreactor,” says Michael Hufford, cofounder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based LyGenesis. He says just 10 to 30 percent in additional liver mass could have meaningful effects for patients with end-stage liver disease.
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NDTV ☛ Explained: What Is Sugar And What Would Happen If You Stopped Eating It
It's hard to avoid sugar when it's become a normal part of diets and when we celebrate special times with sweet treats. But being more aware of what sugar is and how it can affect our health is the first step.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Jeff Geerling ☛ macOS Finder is still bad at network file copies
This blog post isn't about whether macOS is good or bad, but it is about network shares on macOS. And quantitatively, through the years, network shares on Mac OS, Mac OS X, and macOS have always been bad.
No matter what incantations I tried, with NFS, Samba, client, or server—and yes, I've even spoken to one of the Samba devs about it—there was no way to get beyond 100 MB/sec write speeds on the Pi from my Mac.
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Teleport ☛ Teleport is Partnering with Observa
For many years, we’ve been partnering with a security company called Doyensec and together we have published many security reports for our open core product, Teleport.
The Doyensec team has been our peer-review partner for critical security design documents and has been reviewing many of them in the public domain which I hope will become a common practice for security-minded projects.
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[Repeat] Security Week ☛ Hotel Self Check-In Kiosks Exposed Room Access Codes
Self check-in kiosks at Ibis Budget hotels in Germany and other European countries may have been affected by a vulnerability that exposed keypad codes which could be used to enter rooms, Swiss IT security assessment firm Pentagrid said on Tuesday.
The Ibis Budget brand is owned by French hospitality giant Accor. According to the company’s website, there are 600 Ibis Budget hotels across 20 countries.
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EDRI ☛ EU’s AI Act fails to set gold standard for human rights
For the last three years, EDRi has worked in coalition with a broad range of digital, human rights and social justice groups to demand that artificial intelligence (AI) works for people, prioritising the protection of fundamental human rights. We have put forward our collective vision for an approach where “human-centric” is not just a buzzword, where people on the move are treated with dignity, and where lawmakers are bold enough to draw red lines against unacceptable uses of AI systems.
Following a gruelling negotiation process, EU institutions are expected to conclusively adopt the final AI Act in April 2024. But while they celebrate, we take a much more critical stance. We want to highlight the many missed opportunities to make sure that our rights to privacy, equality, non-discrimination, the presumption of innocence and many other rights and freedoms are protected when it comes to AI. Here’s our round-up of how the final law fares against our collective demands.
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Tech Central (South Africa) ☛ Amazon pulls plug on cashierless grocery stores
The technology alienated some shoppers, who were put off by entry gates or the feeling that Amazon had turned a visit to the grocery store into a high-tech vending machine. Receipts, which arrived digitally a few minutes to hours after a shopper checked out, also weren’t practical for big shops.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Techdirt ☛ New Jersey Sued Again For Giving Cops Access To Newborn Babies’ DNA
It appears the New Jersey Department of Health still believes the state’s residents are better served by giving law enforcement another way to dodge the Constitution.
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Patrick Breyer ☛ Europol report: Insistence on data retention contradicts the threats presented
Patrick Breyer MEP (German Pirate Party / Greens/EFA) and digital freedom fighter, comments:
“Europol’s support for indiscriminate data retention does not reflect the facts. The agency’s report identifies real threats that can’t be addressed with data retention or any other means of blanket mass surveillance of all citizen’s communication data. It is time for Europol and the European Union in general to refocus on targeted investigations and strenghening civil society.”
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EDRI ☛ Europol and biometric “won” the Czech Big Brother Awards
The winners were selected by a jury of journalists, IT experts and lawyers. One of the most impressive cases the jury looked at was the Czech police’s facial recognition tool. The database of the tool contains 20 million passport and ID card photos, against which the police can identify people. With this, the police won the Official Snooper award. There’s more, the jury pointed to the police’s efforts to cover up the launch of the system and ignore their obligations to process the relevant Data Protection Impact Assessments. The jury also recognised that the police proceeded in a similar non-transparent manner when managing the DNA database or the traffic cameras.
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Bruce Schneier ☛ Class-Action Lawsuit against Google’s Incognito Mode
I was an expert witness for the prosecution (that’s the class, against Google). I don’t know if my declarations and deposition will become public.
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Patrick Breyer ☛ Full chat control proposal leaked: attack on digital privacy of correspondence and secure encryption
“As the Council’s legal service has confirmed, the latest move does not change the nature of detection orders. Millions of private chats and private photos of law-abiding citizens are to be searched and leaked using flawed technology, without them being even remotely connected to child sexual abuse – this destroys our digital privacy of correspondence. Despite lip service being paid to encryption, client-side scanning is to be used to undermine previously secure end-to-end encryption in order to turn our smartphones into spies – this destroys secure encryption.
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EDRI ☛ New EU health data law endangers medical secrecy
From the start, EDRi, many other organisations and over 112,000 people across Europe demanded a clear obligation to ask patients for their consent before this kind of health data sharing for secondary purposes takes place. While this has not found a majority, we successfully pushed EU parliamentarians to adopt at least a right for patients to opt out. Unfortunately, this opt-out right as a bare minimum level of protection has now been watered down with so many loopholes and exceptions by member states and the conservative lead negotiator, Tomislav Sokol, that the result can barely be called ‘opt-out right’ at all. As a result, even data from people who have opted out can now be shared for secondary use if requested by public authorities or other parties commissioned by public authorities.
Moreover, the amount of data that can be shared under the new ‘secondary use’ clause is still way too extensive – including data from wellness apps and genetic data – despite some important successes by more critical parliamentarians to remove problematic data categories from the list.
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EDRI ☛ Mandatory fingerprints on IDs will be up for re-negotiation
According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment in case C-61/22, the EU regulation (2019/1157) enacting mandatory fingerprints on ID cards has been adopted on an incorrect legal basis and is therefore invalid.
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Defence/Aggression
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Pro Publica ☛ A ProPublica Lawsuit Over Military Court Access Moves Forward
A federal judge ruled in March that ProPublica’s lawsuit against the secretary of defense should move forward, as the news organization seeks to increase public access to the military’s court proceedings and records.
ProPublica sued in 2022, claiming the Pentagon has failed to issue rules ensuring that the services comply with a law that was supposed to make the military justice system more transparent.
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Defence Web ☛ Mine Action Day to be marked worldwide
Tomorrow (4 April) is the United Nations (UN) accredited International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action with nine events globally – five of them in Africa – to raise awareness of the necessity to rid the world of mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
A multi-media exhibition at UN headquarters in New York opens at 19h30 (United States Eastern Daylight Time) with images and interviews of people affected by UXO (unexploded ordnance). The exhibition, a statement has it, will highlight the need for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 2475 (2019), which calls on member states and Security Council members to take into account the needs of persons with disabilities in conflict situations.
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The Kent Stater ☛ Billionaire whose firm backed Trump’s $175 million bond reveals how the deal came together
CNN–Don Hankey, the chairman and majority shareholder of Knight Specialty Insurance, told CNN on Tuesday that the deal to underwrite former President Donald Trump’s $175 million bond in New York came together quickly and that Trump posted all cash as collateral.
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Democracy Now ☛ Haitians Resist Foreign Intervention as U.S. Pushes for Unelected “Transition Council” to Rule Island
We get an update on the crisis in Haiti, where deadly violence has continued to escalate between armed groups and police fighting for control of the capital Port-au-Prince. The country’s political future remains unclear, with recently resigned Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is stranded outside of Haiti, raising questions this week over the constitutionality of a “transitional council” formed to serve as an interim governing body until elections are scheduled. Meanwhile, Canadian forces have been sent to Jamaica to train troops from Caribbean nations to join the U.N.-authorized mission to Haiti. Haitian American scholar Jemima Pierre says the transitional council is essentially a front for U.S. interests, and warns there will be “inevitable war crimes” if foreign troops are deployed to Haiti. “It’s a terrible situation, but I think the idea that there’s a Haitian-led solution coming is actually a false one,” says Pierre. We are also joined by Kim Ives, editor of the English section of Haiti Liberté, who says Haiti is in the midst of a “revolutionary process,” led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier. Ives says that far from being a gang leader, Chérizier has built a coalition to fight the criminal groups in the country and was central to the ouster of Ariel Henry. “They always have to demonize, criminalize the people’s resistance, and that’s what we’re seeing today when they try to put all the armed groups of Haiti’s popular classes into one bag called 'the gangs,'” says Ives.
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New York Times ☛ Food Aid for Gazans Was Sent Back to Cyprus
Also, Ukraine lowered its draft age. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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New York Times ☛ NATO Weighs Taking Over Ukraine Defense Contact Group
The proposal faces several obstacles, including whether all members would agree to the changes. But the alliance is worried about wavering American support for Kyiv.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s Belarusian volunteers create headaches for Putin ally Lukashenka
Thousands of Belarusians are currently fighting for Ukraine and make no secret of their ambitions to eventually topple pro-Kremlin Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka, writes Alesia Rudnik.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s allies divided over drone campaign targeting Russian refineries
Ukraine's expanding campaign of drone strikes on Russian refineries has inflicted significant damage on Putin’s oil and gas industry while also revealing divisions among Ukraine’s allies, writes Giorgi Revishvili.
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France24 ☛ 'They put us all in front': Nepalese men recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, hundreds of Nepalese men – many with no military experience – have been enlisted by Russian recruiters. President Vladimir Putin has publicly promised citizenship and a high salary to those who sign up to fight for Russia.
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Meduza ☛ Putin spokesman says warnings from U.S. about Moscow terrorist attack fall outside Kremlin’s purview — Meduza
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Atlantic Council ☛ NATO at 75: The Alliance’s future lies in Ukraine’s victory against Russia
As NATO turns seventy-five, the Alliance’s future as a credible deterrent hinges on whether it is successful in helping Ukraine defeat Russia.
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France24 ☛ French defence minister Lecornu holds rare phone talks with Russia's Shoigu
The defence ministers of France and Russia on Wednesday held rare phone talks, their first such contact since October 2022, discussing the attack in Moscow claimed by Islamic State and Russia's war against Ukraine, Paris said.
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JURIST ☛ Ukraine lowers age of military conscription to bolster armed forces in war with Russia
Ukraine lowered the age of military conscription on Wednesday from 27 to 25 in an attempt to reinforce their army admist the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky signed the bill outlining the change which had already been passed by the country’s parliament.
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JURIST ☛ Ukraine nationals begin filing claims for damages following Russia invasion
Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, announced Tuesday that Ukrainian people are now able to file claims for damages incurred following Russia’s invasion, through a newly-established register in the Hague. The announcement came during the Minister’s speech at the “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” conference, attended by delegates from 57 countries, being held in the Hague.
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LRT ☛ Number of Ukrainians declines in Lithuania, migration from Central Asia on steep rise
The largest number of resident foreigners in Lithuania come from Ukraine, although it is decreasing. Meanwhile, migration from Central Asia has grown several-fold in recent years.
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LRT ☛ EU must do more for Ukraine – Charles Michel in Vilnius
European Council President Charles Michel says that stepping up support for Ukraine, including military assistance, is a top priority for the EU’s next political cycle.
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RFERL ☛ French, Russian Defense Ministers Discuss Terrorist Attack, War In Ukraine In Rare Phone Call
The French and Russian defense ministers spoke by phone on April 3 in a rare call that touched on the war in Ukraine and the terrorist attack at an entertainment venue outside Moscow nearly two weeks ago in which more than 140 people died.
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RFERL ☛ Disabled Russian Anti-War Teen Loses Appeal Against Long Prison Sentence
A Russian court on April 3 rejected an appeal filed by a 17-year-old against a six-year prison term he was handed in November for throwing Molotov cocktails at recruitment centers in St. Petersburg and Kirovsk to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy's Predecessor Poroshenko Says He Plans To Run For President
Ukraine's fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, told Al-Jazeera television on April 2 that he plans to run for president again after Russia's ongoing invasion of his country is over.
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RFERL ☛ Japan Says It 'Will Not Waver' In Its Support For Ukraine
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country's support for Ukraine was unwavering during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on April 3, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said.
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RFERL ☛ Kyrgyzstan To Stop Processing Russian Payment Cards Over U.S. Sanctions
Kyrgyzstan's Elkart Interbank Processing Center said on April 2 that the Central Asian country's banks will stop processing transactions with Russian Mir payment cards as of April 5 due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
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RFERL ☛ NATO Ministers Mull Ways To Provide 'Reliable, Predictable' Support For Ukraine
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela was in Brussels on April 3 as NATO foreign ministers discussed a proposal to stabilize military support for his country by creating a 100 billion-euro, five -year fund that would give the alliance a strong role in the provision of critical military aid.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Shakes Up Navy Command Amid Ukrainian Successes In Black Sea
Russia's Defense Ministry has confirmed a shake-up in the leadership of the navy in the wake of several successful Ukrainian attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
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teleSUR ☛ Zelensky Issues Decrees to Get Soldiers for Ukrainian Forces
Men of combat age avoid updating their contact information to remain "invisible" to military authorities.
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YLE ☛ Stubb, Halla-aho visit Kyiv as Finland signs defence deal with Ukraine
The defence deal does not entail Finland sending soldiers to Ukraine.
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New York Times ☛ Zelensky Lowers Draft Age for Ukraine’s Depleted Army
The idea of requiring more men to join the fight against Russia’s invasion has become toxic, but Russia is not relenting in its assault.
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New York Times ☛ ‘The Russian Language Is Everywhere Again’: Exiles Cause Unease in Lithuania
An influx of exiled Russian activists and refugees from Ukraine and Belarus is stirring fears in a country that fought to preserve its language and culture under Soviet occupation.
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New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing: Ukraine Lowers the Draft Age
Also, dozens remain trapped after the earthquake in Taiwan.
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Meduza ☛ Redirecting rage, reducing risk Political scientist Kirill Shamiev on what the Kremlin stands to gain by blaming Ukraine for the Moscow terrorist attack — Meduza
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Latvia ☛ Former MP Grevcova charged with justifying war crimes
The prosecutor's office has charged former Saeima deputy Glorija Grevcova (Alliance of Young Latvians) with justifying Russian war crimes, and proclaimed her wanted, LETA reports April 3.
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Latvia ☛ Russia-NATO relations in the context of confrontation
The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), one of Latvia's three security services, has published an English-language assessment of what it believes to be the current situation in Russia.
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Defence Web ☛ Chinese tanker targeted by Houthi anti-ship missiles
A Chinese owned and operated crude oil tanker, the 115 449-dwt Huang Pu (IMO 9402469) became the target of a number of Houthi-fired anti-ship missiles as the vessel transited the lower Red Sea. The tanker flies the Panama flag.
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JURIST ☛ Russia court extends pre-trial detention of Russian-American journalist until June 5
A Russian court in Kazan, Russia extended on Monday the pre-trial detention of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until June 5. The court declined her petition to be moved to house arrest. This is the second time the court has extended her pre-trial detention.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian farmers say Russian vegetables with fake documents undermine prices
Lithuanian vegetable farmers claim that Russian-grown cucumbers and tomatoes are entering Lithuania through Belarus and Poland with falsified origin documents. The country’s agriculture vice minister says EU restrictions could solve the problem.
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RFERL ☛ Far-Right German Lawmaker Asked To Clarify Report That He Got Money From Pro-Russian Portal
The leadership of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has asked one of its lawmakers to clarify a report that he received money from a pro-Russian news portal.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Alliances With North Korea, Iran Have Security Consequences, NATO Chief Warns
North Korea and Iran's military support for Russia has serious global security consequences that the 32-member NATO alliance cannot ignore, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on April 3.
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RFERL ☛ Kazakh Airline Suspends Flights To Tatarstan's Capital Following Drone Attacks
Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air has suspended flights for an unspecified period from the Central Asian nation's northwestern city of Aqtobe to the capital of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan.
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RFERL ☛ Media Watchdog Calls For Repeal Of Kyrgyz 'Foreign Representatives' Law
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Kyrgyz authorities to repeal a controversial "foreign representatives" law that the Central Asian nation’s President Sadyr Japarov signed on April 2, saying it is a replica of a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents."
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RFERL ☛ Head Of Memorial Rights Group's Successor May Face 3 Years In Prison
Prosecutors have asked a court in Perm to sentence Aleksandr Chernyshov, the chief of the Center of Historic Memory, the successor entity of the Nobel Prize-winning Memorial human rights group, to three years in prison on a charge of "attempting to smuggle cultural artifacts."
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RFERL ☛ Soviet-Era Dissident Skobov Detained In St. Petersburg On Terrorism Charge
Russian opposition activist and Soviet-era dissident Aleksandr Skobov was arrested late on April 2 in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, on a charge of promoting terrorism, his associates said.
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RFERL ☛ Georgia's Ruling Party To Reintroduce Controversial 'Foreign Agent' Bill
Georgia's ruling party says it will reintroduce a controversial "foreign agent" bill that was pulled last year amid massive protests over fears the legislation, which mirrored a similar law in Russia, would severely restrict dissent and the activity of civil society groups.
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RFERL ☛ U.S. Warning To Russia Reportedly Named Crocus Concert Hall
A U.S. intelligence warning to Moscow two weeks ahead of a deadly March 22 terrorist attack included a specific reference to the Crocus City Hall concert venue that was targeted, The Washington Post reported on April 2.
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teleSUR ☛ The US Did Not Warn Russia About Terrorist Attacks: Zakharova
"When and to whom did they transmit the information?" the Russian diplomat asked.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia-Japan Tensions Obstruct Peace Negotiations: Nozdrev
Moscow and Tokyo have failed to sign a peace treaty due to their rival claims to four islands.
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YLE ☛ Finland's eastern border to remain closed
The eastern border with Russia will not re-open on April 14, when the current closure ends.
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Meduza ☛ Pro-Kremlin bloggers share propaganda video featuring U.S. city councilor who joined Russian army after fleeing child pornography charges — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ In Russia’s Buryatia, authorities have revived a search for ‘separatists’ first launched under Stalin — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russia reports spike in army recruitment as citizens seek to ‘avenge’ Moscow terrorist attack victims — Meduza
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RFERL ☛ Belarusian Imprisoned For Sending Cash To Opposition Groups
The Vyasna human rights center in Belarus said on April 3 that the Minsk regional court sentenced a 57-year-old man to six years in prison for sending money to two opposition groups.
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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Rolling Stone ☛ Elon Musk Schooled for Boosting 'Incorrect' Voter Registration ID Claim
Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County Recorder, quote-tweeted Musk’s post with an eight-part response, offering the billionaire clearer insight behind how voter data is processed and presented. (Richer is a registered Republican and self-proclaimed “owner of many, many Musk-related products,” according to his post.)
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Wired ☛ He Emptied an Entire [Cryptocurrency] Exchange Onto a Thumb Drive. Then He Disappeared
Özer had vanished at a particularly precarious time in [cryptocurrency]’s annals: In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, so-called rug pulls—when a cryptocurrency exchange or altcoin developer absconds with investors’ funds—had [cryptocurrency] investors around the globe flabbergasted. The CEO of Mirror Trading International, a [cryptocurrency] trading company based in South Africa, defrauded users of more than $1 billion, then skipped town; TurtleDex, an anonymous decentralized finance storage project on Binance, reportedly vanished with $2.4 million; another decentralized finance project, Meerkat, reportedly fleeced investors out of $31 million (of which they paid back 95 percent). Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis ranked rug pulls as the primary scam of 2021, accounting for 37 percent of all cryptocurrency scam revenue that year, up from 1 percent the year before.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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The Conversation ☛ 2024-03-28 [Older] Baltimore Key Bridge: how a domino effect brought it down in seconds
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DeSmog ☛ Dozens of Ad & PR Industry Directors Have Ties to Heavily Polluting Industries
Half of the board members at the world’s six largest advertising and public relations companies have ties to polluting industries, DeSmog can reveal.
Of the 64 total board members at Omnicom Group, WPP, Interpublic Group (IPG), Publicis Groupe, Dentsu and Havas, 32 have significant experience in carbon-heavy sectors such as fossil fuels, fossil fuel financing, plastics, utilities, and aviation. Twenty-two are still serving in roles at such companies.
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DeSmog ☛ Chevron Owns This City’s News Site. Many Stories Aren’t Told.
This article, a joint reporting project of Floodlight and NPR, is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
Open flames shot upward from four smokestacks at the Chevron refinery on the western edge of Richmond, Calif. Soon, black smoke blanketed the sky.
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Wildlife/Nature
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda
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New York Times ☛ An A.I. Researcher Takes On Election Deepfakes
But in 2019 Dr. Etzioni, a University of Washington professor and founding chief executive of the Allen Institute for A.I., became one of the first researchers to warn that a new breed of A.I. would accelerate the spread of disinformation online. And by the middle of last year, he said, he was distressed that A.I.-generated deepfakes would swing a major election. He founded a nonprofit, TrueMedia.org in January, hoping to fight that threat.
On Tuesday, the organization released free tools for identifying digital disinformation, with a plan to put them in the hands of journalists, fact checkers and anyone else trying to figure out what is real online.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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The Register UK ☛ FTC boss on the Daily Show, told Apple tried to block her
It was going to be a tough fight, she said, since her watchdog agency has just 1,200 staff and Amazon has "monopoly money," and can throw ten times that number of lawyers at the case. "We're pretty out-gunned but not out-matched," she asserted.
But then Stewart dropped his bombshell: After a two-season podcast series with Apple he told Khan he wanted to get her on the show but Cupertino really wasn't keen.
"Apple asked us not to do it, to have you. They literally said 'please don't talk to her'... I didn't think they cared for you," Stewart said. Khan made an admirable, and nearly successful, attempt to keep a straight face.
Stewart also alleged that Apple refused to let his team make jokes about AI. He quit the podcast abruptly last October, reportedly citing Apple's heavy handed approach to censoring certain topics and guests.
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EDRI ☛ Win against Facebook. Giant not allowed to censor content at will
By blocking the accounts and groups of Społeczna Inicjatywa Narkopolityki (SIN, the Civil Society Drug Policy Initiative), Meta has infringed on the organization’s personal rights. On Wednesday, a Polish court issued a watershed decision in a case supported by the Panoptykon Foundation, thereby confirming that Internet platforms cannot block users at will. The court also confirmed that banned users have the right to sue in their own country.
The court has obliged Meta to restore the blocked content and publicly apologize to SIN for the wrongful blocking of its accounts and groups on Facebook and Instagram.
This marks a great success for Panoptykon and SIN, and an important day for online freedom of expression. For five years, two Polish organizations fought for access to a trial in Poland, for the right to have the moderators’ decisions explained and for the right to effectively contest such by the people and organizations wrongfully blocked on social media.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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EFF ☛ In Historic Victory for Human Rights in Colombia, Inter-American Court Finds State Agencies Violated Human Rights of Lawyers Defending Activists
The ruling is a major victory for civil rights in Colombia, which has a long history of abuse and violence against human rights defenders, including murders and death threats. The case involved the unlawful and arbitrary surveillance of members of the Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective (CAJAR), a Colombian human rights organization defending victims of political persecution and community activists for over 40 years.
The court found that since at least 1999, Colombian authorities carried out a constant campaign of pervasive secret surveillance of CAJAR members and their families. That state violated their rights to life, personal integrity, private life, freedom of expression and association, and more, the Court said. It noted the particular impact experienced by women defenders and those who had to leave the country amid threat, attacks, and harassment for representing victims.
The decision is the first by the Inter-American Court to find a State responsible for violating the right to defend human rights. The court is a human rights tribunal that interprets and applies the American Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty ratified by over 20 states in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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The Register UK ☛ Uber Eats getting rid of those pesky drivers with Waymo deal
Placing an order on the Eats app automatically opts you into using a driver-free delivery, if one's available, although there is an opt-out option at checkout. From the screenshots Uber shared, the app will also remind buyers that any tips will be removed from the cost of autonomous delivery.
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Reason ☛ ‘Defending Pornography’ on Feminist Grounds: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen
When Nadine Strossen's book Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights was first published in 1995, America was in the grips of a major cultural schism over erotic expression. Conservatives and an influential cadre of feminists had teamed up to promote porn censorship, with some success. The radfem contingent claimed the existence of legal porn was an affront to women—hindering their fight for equality and driving violence against them—and thus argued that free speech was incompatible with feminism. But feminists like Strossen didn't accept this. A New York Law School professor who headed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1991 to 2008, Strossen argued that opposing censorship was not only important as an abstract liberal principle but was in itself good for promoting women's rights.
Nearly a quarter century later, Strossen's arguments are still a vital antidote to much of what one hears from prominent feminists. And as the left-right anti-porn alliance continues to wield influence in statehouses and in Congress, a brand new reissue of Defending Pornography is a must-read for a new generation of free speech defenders and libertarian feminists.
I talked to Strossen last week about why she originally wrote the book and why it's still relevant today. I'll be publishing our chat in two parts in the Sex & Tech newsletter this week, so stay tuned for the second part on Wednesday. The following transcript of our conversation has been mildly edited for length and clarity.
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NDTV ☛ Who Was Savannah Graziano? Kidnapped US Girl Shot Dead By Cops
A 15-year-old girl in California whose father was believed to have kidnapped her in September 2022 was fatally shot by police officers as she followed their command and didn't appear to be wearing tactical gear, as previously claimed by cops, a new footage shows. According to The Guardian, Savannah Graziano was abducted by her father, Anthony John Graziano, after he allegedly killed his wife and Savannah's mother on September 27, 2022. An Amber Alert was issued for the 15-year-old after the homicide was discovered. When the deputies found Mr Graziano's truck, a car chase and a shootout followed, resulting in the deaths of Savannah and her father.
At the time, police claimed that it was unclear whether the 15-year-old was shot by deputies or her father. They also said that deputies didn't realise it was her when she got out of the vehicle, and they refused to release the footage of the shooting.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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RTL ☛ Country cut off from [Internet]: Smuggled Starlink dishes throw lifeline to some in war-torn Sudan
But the system, which can bring connectivity where there is no land-based network, is not officially available in Sudan.
Instead, the kits have made their way into the country "illegally via Libya, South Sudan and Eritrea", one device reseller told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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Tech Central (South Africa) ☛ Undersea cables: the unseen backbone of the global [Internet]
Undersea cables, also known as submarine communications cables, are fibre-optic cables laid on the ocean floor and used to transmit data between continents. These cables are the backbone of the global [Internet], carrying the bulk of international communications, including e-mail, web pages and video calls. More than 95% of all the data that moves around the world goes through these undersea cables.
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The Register UK ☛ FCC will vote to reinstate net neutrality later this month
The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed proposals to vote on rules to restore net neutrality in the United States later this month – whether it'll stick this time is anyone's guess, though.
The FCC announced that it would hold a vote to restore net neutrality at its April 25 open meeting yesterday after declaring plans to reinstate the directive last September. The objective, as stated [PDF] last year, is largely to undo Trump-era elimination of net neutrality and return to the 2015 rules passed under President Barack Obama.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Digital Music News ☛ Spotify's 1,000 Streams Royalty Limit Now In Effect
Spotify says it found three drains on the royalty pool that “reached a tipping point” — demanding changes to how royalties are distributed. The idea behind these changes is to deter artificial streaming, better distribute small payments to artists, and rein in bad actors attempting to game the system with noise.
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Thomas Rigby ☛ Quoting David Pierce on The Google Cycle
There was some chat recently around "core competencies" — how McDonald's is "a real estate company that happens to make burgers". Garden centres in the UK have cafes because they make money year round and not just at the two peak "gardening seasons" of Spring and Christmas; arguably garden centres are hospitality companies that also sell plants.
This is the crux of the whole "Google Cycle". Google isn't a technology company.
They don't make apps or software; they're an advertising broker. Their revenue comes from advertising so their primary aim is to put ads in your eyeballs with the least amount of friction possible.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ Viatris and Schertenleib invalidate Allergan glaucoma treatment patent
Following pharmaceutical company Allergan making an infringement claim against Viatris, the Paris Judicial Court has invalidated a patent monopoly owned by the former which covers an eye-drop treatment for glaucoma (case no. RG 21/02570).
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Trademarks
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Right of Publicity
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The Verge ☛ AI George Carlin case settled as performers demand better protection
George Carlin’s estate has reached a settlement with the media company that purportedly used generative artificial intelligence to imitate the late comedian. The decision arrives as a group representing artists like Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Stevie Wonder calls for performers to be better protected against being mimicked by AI technology.
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Copyrights
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Digital Music News ☛ 86% of Australian Musicians Say the Industry Treats Them Unfairly
A new survey finds that 49% of Australia’s working musicians earned less than $6,000 AUD ($3,900 USD) last year, just 15% of the national minimum wage, with 64% earning $15,000 AUD ($9,800 USD) or less during the 2023 financial year.
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Digital Music News ☛ A Look At Inflation-Adjusted US Recorded Music Industry Revenue
Late last month, the RIAA pointed to $17.1 billion in U.S. recorded music revenue for 2023, with the total representing “the highest topline number the annual report has reported.” But how does the figure stack up against prior years’ revenue when adjusted for inflation?
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Society for Scholarly Publishing ☛ Kitchen Essentials: An Interview with Tracey Armstrong of CCC
Continuing our Kitchen Essentials series of interviews with leaders of infrastructure organizations, today we’re hearing from Tracey Armstrong, CEO of Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), the information solutions provider to organizations around the world.
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Torrent Freak ☛ U.S. Calls Out EU Member States For Piracy Failings in Trade Barriers Report
The Foreign Trade Barriers Report published by the office of the USTR outlines "significant barriers" to exports, investment, and commerce. On IP-related matters, the latest report features criticism of China, several countries in South America, Russia, and other permanent fixtures in the annual publication. However, at the heart of the EU, Germany is also accused of not doing enough to protect U.S. interests, and has Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania for company.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Russians Pirate Premier League, Add Their Own Graphics & Commentators
Russia's full-blown invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a Western rightsholder exodus. For the English Premier League, a £43m deal with Match TV was suspended but Russians wasted no time exploring other options. Pirate IPTV services, web-based streaming portals, and streams on betting apps filled the void. HD presentations on the social networking site VK also hit the spot, complete with homegrown commentary teams and custom graphics.
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Torrent Freak ☛ Publisher Reinforces Paywall With Sci-Hub Blockade in Germany
As part of a voluntary agreement with copyright holders, German Internet service providers block a list of structurally infringing websites. This blocklist has recently expanded with the first publisher-related target; popular shadow library, Sci-Hub. After a careful review, the responsible “clearing body” concluded that a country-wide blockade is a reasonable and proportionate measure.
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Techdirt ☛ Fox Station Copyright Strikes YouTuber’s Documentary Over Use Of 1 Minute Clip
I’m going to kick this post off by stipulating to a couple of facts. First, the primary subject of this post is YouTuber Andrew Callaghan. Callaghan has both something of a checkered past as a YouTuber, having had his most recent channel briefly taken down over claims of spreading COVID-19 misinformation, but in which he’s also produced some interesting content. Callaghan has also had allegations made against him in the past by several women as to inappropriate sexual advances and pressuring, with the YouTuber disputing many of those allegations alongside an apology for some of his behavior. He is, as they say, a complicated character.
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Gemini* and Gopher
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Personal/Opinions
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33 years ago
March 31, 2024 (Originally published on Substack)
Last Sunday, March 24, held a special meaning to me. It was not my birthday. Most people around me do not know about this.
Thirty-three years ago, on the morning of Sunday, March 24, 1991, I was baptized at an independent fundamental Baptist church in Nagoya, Japan, where I spent my middle school years. As middle schools in Japan run from 7th to 9th grades (unlike in the United States, where it is from 6th to 8th) and their school year from April 2 to the following April 1, it took place a few weeks after I was done with the middle school.
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🔤SpellBinding — CEHIMNY Wordo: MOULT
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Technology and Free Software
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Throwing robots at it
One of the problems with ANN/ML is that compared to other algorithms, their results can be improved by adding more electronics and electricity. Since those things are undercosted due to the broken economics of market capitalism, that means that it’s “cheaper” to throw more robots at it than to actually think of a more efficient solution.
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Internet/Gemini
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smolZINE — Issue 41
Long time no see geminispace. Ok, I've been around just not in smolZINE. As promised these issues are coming out sporadically and when I get around to it. Life and priorities are ever changing and meatspace things have been rather time consuming of late. No promises on when the next one will come but I hope you enjoy this rather short one for now. If you'd like to see issues published more frequently, encourage yourself and your friends to submit hidden gem picks or essays/articles for a future issue. More information on submissions at the end of this issue.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.