Leftovers

• Security Week ☛ UK Firm Think Cyber Raises $3.8 Million for Staff Security Nudging

  Startup says simple awareness training is not sufficient – users need to practice ‘good’ behavior beyond simply acknowledging poor behavior and bad intent.

• Techdirt ☛ Techdirt Podcast Episode 384: Cognitive Liberty Is The End Goal Of Decentralization

  Last year in September, we released a cross-post episode of Mike’s appearance on the DWeb Decoded podcast with Danny O’Brien. If you listened to that episode, you know that Mike and Danny go way back, and Danny played an important role in the founding of Techdirt. This week, we’ve got the inverse counterpart to that episode, with Danny joining Mike here on the Techdirt podcast for a discussion about decentralization and “cognitive liberty” (and a bunch of other topics).

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ 3D Positions of Atoms Mapped Precisely Using a Quantum Microscope

    Put on your 3D glasses now.

  • Hackaday ☛ How Does Time Work On The Moon?

    We’re looking to go back to the Moon. Not just with robots this time, but with astronauts, too! They’ll be doing all kinds of interesting things when they get there. Maybe they’ll even work towards establishing a more permanent presence for humanity on the lunar surface, in which case they’ll have to get up in the morning, eat breakfast, and get to work.

  • Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: Build Your Own Dune Buggy, 1970s Style

    The custom car phenomenon is as old as the second-hand car, yet somehow the decades which stick in the mind as their heyday are the 1960s and 1970s. If you didn’t have a dune buggy or a van with outrageously flared arches and an eye-hurting paint job you were nothing in those days — or at least that’s what those of us who were too young to possess such vehicles except as posters on our bedroom walls were led to believe. Periscope Films have put up a period guide from the early 1970s on how to build your own dune buggy, and can we just say it’s got us yearning to drive something just as outrageous?

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • European Commission ☛ Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by Zoetis over novel pain medicine for dogs

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 26 Mar 2024 The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether animal health company Zoetis may have breached EU competition rules by preventing the market launch of a competing novel biologic medicine used to treat chronic pain in dogs.

  • YLE ☛ PTT: Finland sees modest drop in food prices

    Prices are coming down slightly for some grocery items.

  • Reason ☛ Blaming Tech for Teen Troubles

    Jonathan Haidt’s clever, insufficient case against smartphones.

  • New York Times ☛ TikTok Bill Would Complicate ByteDance Investments if Passed

    Major U.S. investment firms such as General Atlantic, Susquehanna and Sequoia Capital own stakes in ByteDance, the parent of TikTok. Their investments are increasingly under fire.

  • Latvia ☛ State reimbursement rates for medicines to rise in Latvia

    To improve patients' access to medicines and reduce direct payments for medicines, from July 1, 2024, the amount of state reimbursement will be increased to 75% for medicines that currently have a 50% state reimbursement rate, the government decided on Tuesday, March 26.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Veterans Health Administration wins big award for surgical safety program

    A VA program known as Surgical Pause received a national patient safety award. The Pause is a way of screening surgery patients with high risk of complications.

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on whether contract support costs must be paid by Indian Health Services

    The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether Indian Health Services (IHS) should be reimbursed for “contract support costs” associated with third parties, such as Medicare and Medicaid. In a US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision, the court found that third-party reimbursements could not be excluded under its statute. >

  • University of Michigan ☛ UMich researchers find link between circadian rhythm misalignment and mood

    A University of Michigan and Dartmouth Health study published in January may just be the excuse you were looking for to hit the snooze button again.

  • Science Alert ☛ Modern Humans Thrived While Neanderthals Disappeared, But Not Due to Our Brains

    What gave us the upper hand?

  • Science Alert ☛ Misophonia May Actually Be Far More Common Than We Thought

  • Science Alert ☛ Drinking Coffee Dramatically Lowers The Risk of Bowel Cancer Coming Back

    It could be live-saving.

  • Science Alert ☛ Half of All Suspected Chickenpox Cases in The US Could Be Something Else Entirely

    This is actually a good thing.

  • Science Alert ☛ Pregnancy Has a Strange Effect on Your Biological Age, Scientists Discover

    The costs and benefits of making babies.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ N. Korea says no interest in holding summit with Japan, rejects further talks

    North Korea said on Tuesday it had no interest in a summit with Japan and would reject any talks, state media KCNA reported, potentially worsening already-hostile relations between the two countries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, South Korea set up task force to block North Korea oil shipments

    SEOUL - The United States and South Korea this week launched a new task force aimed at preventing North Korea from procuring illicit oil, as deadlock at the United Nations Security Council casts doubts over the future of international sanctions.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran Confirms Death Of IRGC Quds Force Officer In Strikes On Syria

    Iran has confirmed the death of a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria following air strikes blamed on Israel.

  • ADF ☛ Regional Crisis Response on Display at Justified Accord

    With smoke grenades providing cover, a platoon of Soldiers from Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania exchanged fire with violent extremists and searched a makeshift village, building by building. A Kenyan Air Force F-5E Tiger II jet fighter flew close to the ground to discourage further fighting before helicopters arrived to evacuate a casualty.

  • ADF ☛ Nigeria Struggles to Keep Ex-Boko Haram Fighters in DDR Program

    Since its creation in 2016, Nigeria’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program has sought to rehabilitate former Boko Haram fighters and usher them back into society. However, a lack of funding and capacity have made it a struggle to keep the former militants from returning to the forest and to extremism.

  • ADF ☛ Burkina Faso Accounted for One Quarter of World’s Terrorism Deaths in 2023

    One quarter of all deaths related to terrorism globally in 2023 occurred in Burkina Faso making it the most severely impacted country in the world. Nearly 2,000 people were killed in 258 terror incidents, a rise of 68 percent from the previous year, according to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index (GTI).

  • Reason ☛ America's Drone Industry Is Trying To Ban the Competition

    Chinese camera drones are the most popular worldwide. American drone manufacturers argue that's a national security threat.

  • RFA ☛ China's 'military fans' could run afoul of national security laws

    The ministry of state security says reporting on military details could land nationalistic influencers in prison.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Presses On With Strikes in Gaza After U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution

    Its military said fighter jets had struck “over 60 targets” in the previous day. There were reports of strikes on residential buildings near Al-Shifa Hospital in the north and elsewhere.

  • The Straits Times ☛ At least seven killed in Israeli strike on Southern Lebanon, two security sources to Reuters

    BEIRUT - At least seven people were killed in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh in Southern Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters early on Wednesday.

  • New York Times ☛ Suicide Bomber Kills 5 Chinese Workers in Pakistan

    The assault comes amid a spate of terror attacks in Pakistan, as the country’s faltering ties to the Taliban affect regional security.

  • RFERL ☛ Suicide Car Bombing Kills 5 Chinese Workers In Northwestern Pakistan

    A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into a bus carrying Chinese workers in Pakistan, killing at least five of them, along with their Paksitani driver, police said.

  • RFA ☛ Filipino bishops battle Beijing in maritime dispute

    In an unusually combative exhortation, the Catholic priests also called on the Marcos administration to take a firmer stance.

  • RFA ☛ UN report: Migrants abused by ‘military, police, smugglers, criminal gangs’

    Investigators spoke to thousands of refugees, including Rohingya, in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Chinese hackers target family members to surveil hard targets

    To surveil security conscious politicians and dissidents, hackers linked to Beijing are increasingly targeting their spouses and relatives. 

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US, UK, NZ say China targeted ‘democratic institutions’ in cyber campaign

    The United States, Britain and New Zealand have accused Beijing-backed cyber groups of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions — allegations that prompted angry Chinese denials.

  • YLE ☛ NBI: China-linked group behind Finnish Parliament espionage

    The National Bureau of Investigation says it has identified one suspect in the ongoing probe.

  • The Strategist ☛ Don’t expect much from EU efforts in the Indo-Pacific

    Can the European Union facilitate a more stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific? Brussels believes so.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Why Crocus and not the Kremlin?’ Head of St. Petersburg cultural space resigns over husband’s provocative Facebook post about terrorist attack — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian artists release music video in style of ‘Rick and Morty’ to mark 40 days since Alexey Navalny’s death — Meduza

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Science Alert ☛ Baltimore Bridge Collapse: An Expert Explains How Disasters Like This Can Happen

      A nightmare on the water.

    • Science Alert ☛ 2017's Total Eclipse May Have Caused a Spike in Road Fatalities

      Let's do better this year.

    • ADF ☛ Islamic State Group Uses Cryptocurrency to Fund Attacks in Africa

      The Islamic State group (IS) has turned to cryptocurrencies to move money from places such as Somalia and South Africa to fighters elsewhere on the continent. Private donations, known as “sadaqah” in Arabic, make up one of IS’s largest sources of revenue.

    • YLE ☛ Neste: Fuel supplies can no longer be guaranteed

      Some petrol stations are running low on supplies and the situation will become increasingly difficult the longer the ongoing political strike continues, the Finnish fuel company says.

  • Overpopulation

    • YLE ☛ Tuesday's papers: Finland's child-free adults, Finnish colonialism and saying hello

      Is 'hello' the hardest word to say?

• Finance

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ With new steel tariffs, Mexico attempts to balance US-China trade tensions

    President López Obrador told reporters on Monday that the steel issue hasn't caused any "protest" from China.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ex-China football chief Chen Xuyuan given life sentence for ‘huge’ US$11m bribery

    By Matthew Walsh The former chairman of the Chinese Football Association has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes worth US$11 million, state media said Tuesday, as a string of sports officials were jailed for corruption.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Are China’s Nationalists Attacking the Country’s Heroes?

    Online vitriol has targeted the country’s richest man, erasing billions of dollars of his company’s market value, despite Beijing’s courtship of entrepreneurs.

  • European Commission ☛ EU and Republic of Korea reaffirm their partnership for an inclusive and resilient digital transformation

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 26 Mar 2024 Today, the EU and the Republic of Korea held the second Digital partnership Council in Brussels.

  • YLE ☛ Unemployment in Finland rises by over 30,000, year-on-year

    Finland's unemployment rate stood at 7.7 percent last month.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Updated: Dell reduces its global workforce by 13,000 jobs

    Enterprise technology company Dell Technologies Inc. revealed in a filing today that it has slashed its workforce by about 13,000 employees, as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative that also included putting limits on external hiring.

  • TechCrunch ☛ A comprehensive list of 2023 & 2024 tech layoffs

    From major layoffs at Google, Amazon and Microsoft to small fintech startups and apps

  • Forbes ☛ Sega Employees Ratify First-Of-Its-Kind Gaming Union Contract Following Industry Layoffs

    Sega of America employees secured a union contract Tuesday that provides wage increases and establishes them as the first workers of a major U.S. video game company to ratify a union contract—a milestone that comes a few months after a wave of layoffs impacted thousands of video game company employees.

  • Fast Company ☛ Unionized Sega employees reach a bargaining agreement with game maker

    Less than a year after Sega recognized a group of its workers as a union, the group has ratified its first contract with the company—the first with a major publisher in the industry.

    The contract, which was ratified Tuesday, will cover 150 workers who are members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and includes a number of protections, ranging from higher salaries to Just Cause protections in the event of layoffs.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • YLE ☛ Survey: 55% in Finland say they'll 'definitely' vote in EU elections — and that's an improvement

    In 2019, voter turnout in the EU parliamentary elections was just 42.7 percent.

  • New York Times ☛ Trump’s Newest Venture? A $60 Bible.

    His Bible sales pitch comes as he appears to be confronting a significant financial squeeze, with his legal fees growing while he fights a number of criminal cases and lawsuits.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hongkonger shot by police during 2019 demos withdraws appeal against conviction and 6-year jail term

    Chow Pak-kwan, who was injured by police live round during the 2019 extradition bill protests, has decided not to challenge his conviction and a six-year jail term for attempting to snatch the officer’s gun. Chow confirmed with Justice of Appeal Derek Pang on Tuesday that he had decided to withdraw his bid to appeal.

  • Reason ☛ Can't Sue In-Laws for "Undermining" Marriage and Thus Tortiously Inducing Breach of Marriage Contract

    This used to be possible under the old "alienation of affections" tort, but all but a handful of states have abolished it, and the tortious inducement of breach of contract tort can't fill that gap.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ US court: Mexico’s suit against Arizona gun stores can proceed

    A Tucson federal judge rejected arguments by the five Arizona retailers that a U.S. arms commerce law protects them from Mexico's lawsuit.

  • France24 ☛ France's Macron heads to Brazilian Amazon in three-day trip to restore ties

    French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday kicks off a visit to Brazil in the Amazon city of Belem, the host of 2025 UN climate talks, where he and Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will seek to reset frayed ties.

  • RFERL ☛ Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Dodges Imprisonment Over Statute Of Limitations

    The leader of the United Kyrgyzstan opposition party, Adakhan Madumarov, was found guilty on March 26 of financial fraud and "ignoring Kyrgyzstan's interests" while signing a Kyrgyz-Tajik border deal in 2009 when he led the country's Security Council.

  • Reason ☛ Squatters' Rights Laws Violate the Takings Clause

    Where these laws allow squatters to occupy houses without the owner's consent, they qualify as takings of private property that require payment of compensation under the Fifth Amendment.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFA ☛ Under new security law, Hong Kongers fear ‘saying the wrong thing’

    ‘I won't be inviting people to my home for dinner any more,’ says one resident. ‘I don't know if I can trust everyone I meet up with.’

  • AccessNow ☛ A step in the right direction: Meta Oversight Board’s opinion on the term “shaheed”

    Access Now welcome the Oversight Board’s opinion urging Meta to end its blanket ban on the term "shaheed" when referring to individuals designated as dangerous.

  • Reason ☛ Social Speech and the Supreme Court

    Episode 497 of the Cyberlaw Podcast

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Google and Facebook (Farcebook) blocks hit revenue for The Tab publisher Digitalbox

    Entertainment Daily was "blocked" by Surveillance Giant Google for months while one of The Tab's Facebook (Farcebook) pages was suppressed.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • YLE ☛ Court dismisses assault charges against daycare workers, orders child to pay legal costs

    As the child was the plaintiff in the case, the court ruled the child is liable to pay the defendants' legal costs of more than 35,000 euros.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong activist denied early release days after new security law axed eligibility

    Hong Kong activist Ma Chun-man has been denied early release after being jailed in 2020 over a national security case. He is the first prisoner to be made ineligible for early release after a new domestic national security law was enacted on Saturday.

  • RFA ☛ Vietnamese man dies in custody, body indicates torture, family says

    Vu Minh Duc fainted during questioning and was rushed to the hospital, police say.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Automated assurance on a path to becoming practical

    Guest Post: Cloud native architecture is a game changer for security at scale. How long before we see automation through attestation, built-in at scale?

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ A Family Tree: Hippolyte Hodeau’s Trench Art (ca. 1917)

    A form of WWI trench art in which soldiers carved names and images into leaves.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Technology and Free Software

    • updates, and slow starts

      Before I knew it, it's now been a month since I last posted here - nearly more than that, as I'm cutting it close to midnight right now. Time truly does fly. I don't have anything particularly special planned to show today, but a third post is long overdue. It's just a slow start, like anything else.

    • Internet/Gemini

      • Who Controls Presentation? Presentation vs. Semantics

        For the past three articles, we covered more concrete aspects to Gemtext, so this post will focus on something more conceptual. While real-life usage is important and must inform our decisions, we cannot forget about our conceptual ideas; they are both important. Our conceptual ideas inform our real-life usage and our real-life usage informs our conceptual ideas. They are inter-related.

      • On Mastodon, Again

        It's been a while, geminispace. There was a point where I had considered writing out a post related to the fediverse but I also worried that it might come back and bite me in the ass. So I opted not to write about it.

        Anyway, I decided to give Mastodon another try. Partly because the instance of Firefish (formerly Calckey) was misbehaving and I recall Mastodon instances being fairly stable. The instance I was on felt too empty too. It didn't really help me feel engaged in any way. In fact, I had forgotten about it for a while until I started the gemini capsule. Then I forgot about it again until I set up my Keyoxide. Seems like the only time I cared to remember its existance was when I'm trying to set up and expand my online presence.