Leftovers

• The Nation ☛ Home. School.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Technology Is Secretly Stealing Your Time. Here's How to Reclaim It.

    There's a dark side to efficiency.

  • Science Alert ☛ We've Finally Seen in Exquisite Detail How Human Fingers And Toes Grow

    A remarkable process revealed for the first time.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth on Brink of Five Catastrophic Climate Tipping Points, Report Warns

    With frightening consequences for human societies.

  • Science Alert ☛ Evidence in Humans Shows Stress Really Can Turn Hair Gray. But It Could Be Reversed.

    Huh.

  • Hackaday ☛ When Nearly Flat Isn’t Really Flat

    From where I am sitting, the earth is flat. The floor that runs the length of the unit my hackerspace sits in is flat, the concrete apron behind it on which we test our Hacky Racers is flat, and a few undulations in terrain notwithstanding, it remains flat as I walk up the road towards Stony Stratford.

  • Hackaday ☛ Wio Terminal Makes Passable Oscilloscope

    There was a time when getting a good oscilloscope not only involved a large outlay of capital, but also required substantial real estate on a workbench. The situation has improved considerably for the hobbyist, but a “real” scope can still cost more than what a beginner is looking to spend. Luckily, plenty of modern microcontrollers are capable of acting as a basic oscilloscope in a pinch, provided there’s a display available to interface with it. Combined with the right software, the Wio Terminal looks like a promising option.

• Standards/Consortia

  • CoryDoctorow ☛ An adversarial iMessage client for Android

    Adversarial interoperability is one of the most reliable ways to protect tech users from predatory corporations: that's when a technologist reverse-engineers an existing product to reconfigure or mod it (interoperability) in ways its users like, but which its manufacturer objects to (adversarial): [...]

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Anthrobots: Tiny Robots From Tracheal Epithelium Cells That Can Fix Neural Damage

    Although we often regard our own bodies and those of the other multicellular organisms around us as a singular entity, each cell that makes up our body is its own, nano-robot. One long-existing question was whether these cells can be used for other tasks — like biological robots — after they have specialized into a specific tissue type, with a recent study by [Gizem Gumuskaya] and colleagues in Advanced Science (with Nature news coverage) indicating a potential intriguing use of adult human epithelial cells recovered from the trachea.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Fully-Transparent Air Bubble Display

    We all have good intentions when starting a new project, but then again, we all know where those lead. Such is the case with [RealCorebb]’s BBAir project, a completely transparent air bubble display. Although the plan was to spend about three months on it, the months slowly added up to a full year of tinkering.

  • Hackaday ☛ Japan’s JT-60SA Generates First Plasma As World’s Largest Superconducting Tokamak Fusion Reactor

    Japan’s JT-60SA fusion reactor project announced first plasma in October of this year to denote the successful upgrades to what is now the world’s largest operational, superconducting tokamak fusion reactor. First designed in the 1970s as Japan’s Breakeven Plasma Test Facility, the JT-60SA tokamak-based fusion reactor is the latest upgrade to the original JT-60 design, following two earlier upgrades (-A and -U) over its decades-long career. The most recent upgrade matches the Super Advanced meaning of the new name, as the new goal of the project is to investigate advanced components of the global ITER nuclear fusion project.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Revolution In Vehicle Drivetrains?

    Power delivery in passenger vehicle drivetrains hasn’t changed much since the introduction of the constant velocity (CV) joint in the 1930s. Most electric vehicles still deliver power via the same system used by internal combustion cars. Hyundai/Kia has now revealed a system they think will provide a new paradigm with their Universal Wheel Drive System (Uni Wheel). [via Electrek]

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Most Extensive Real-World Study on HIV Prevention Drug PrEP: The Results Are in

    Life-changing for so many people.

  • BIA Net ☛ 137 workers killed on the job in November

    The sector most affected by workplace accidents in November was construction and roadworks, where 40 workers lost their lives, according to the Health and Safety Labor Watch.

  • New York Times ☛ White House Delays a Decision on Banning Menthol Cigarettes

    The proposal has elicited mounting opposition from tobacco companies, Black activists worried about police enforcement and small businesses, as President Biden moves into an election year.

  • Federal News Network ☛ VA watchdogs raise alarms about steps missed screening hires with drug felonies

    Federal watchdogs have found several gaps in how VA screens candidates for healthcare jobs — including identifying when it hires employees with a drug felony.

  • Latvia ☛ Average in-patient stay in Latvia lasts well over a week

    The average length of an in-patient stay in a Latvan hospital is 8.6 days, according to Eurostat data published December 4.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Suspected student suicides reach 10-year high as Hong Kong gov’t receives 31 reports in first 11 months of 2023

    The number of suspected student suicides in Hong Kong has reached a 10-year high, with the Education Bureau receiving 31 reports in the first 11 months of 2023.

  • RFA ☛ China restarts COVID-19 testing in hospitals, airports

    Official directives highlight the coronavirus as one of several respiratory illnesses ripping through the country.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Everyone’s talking about that GAO report on empty federal offices

    The most talked about Government Accountability Office report confirmed what a lot of people suspected: Federal offices are largely unoccupied. It is a continuation of the situation during the pandemic. For more on the report, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu spoke with GAO's Acting Director of Physical Infrastructure, David Marroni.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Euphoria of Cold-Water Immersion in “Swimming Through”

    In Samantha Sanders’s documentary short, a group of Chicago women find pandemic solace, in a death-defying winter ritual.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Simplilearn, Backed by Blackstone, Terminates 200 Employees Citing Performance Issues

    Bengaluru-based edtech startup Simplilearn has reportedly terminated approximately 200 employees, citing poor performance as the reason, according to sources familiar with the matter. The layoffs affected employees across various levels, with the sales team being the most impacted, alongside other departments such as marketing and operations. The downsizing initiative commenced last week, starting with layoffs at the vice-president level.

    While Simplilearn communicated to the affected employees that their termination was based on performance issues, some of those impacted claim the layoffs were sudden, and the startup had not conducted recent performance reviews. Employees were reportedly called in for one-on-one interactions with the human resources department, where they were informed of their termination.

  • TechCrunch ☛ Tidal is cutting 10% of its staff as parent company Block seeks to reduce headcount

    Music streaming service Tidal is laying off more than 10% of its staff, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The move comes as Tidal’s parent company, Jack Dorsey’s Block, recently told investors in a letter that it plans to cap the number of people at the company at 12,000. The layoffs news was first reported by Bloomberg.

  • Over 240K tech employees have been laid off in 2023

    This past year has not been kind to many workers in the tech space. TechCrunch reported that more than 240,000 jobs have been lost in 2023 throughout the industry, a total that is 50% higher than last year and continues to grow.

    Massive layoffs became headlining news from major companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Meta, and Zoom. Startup tech companies also experienced staff cutbacks in the year’s first six months. The layoffs slowed down in the summer and fall, but the cuts are picking back up speed this winter.

  • Bloomberg ☛ Salesforce Signals the Golden Age of Cushy Tech Jobs Is Over

    Marc Benioff’s famously employee-friendly company is becoming more Darwinian—and providing a new model for Silicon Valley.

  • Techdirt ☛ Even If You Hate Both AI And Section 230, You Should Be Concerned About The Hawley/Blumenthal Bill To Remove 230 Protections From AI

    Over the past few days I’ve been hearing lots of buzz claiming that either today or tomorrow Senator Josh Hawley is going to push to “hotline” the bill he and Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced months back to explicitly exempt AI from Section 230. Hotlining a bill is basically an attempt to move the bill quickly by seeking unanimous consent (i.e., no one objecting) to a bill.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • ACLU ☛ New Point-and-Shoot Chemical Detectors Raise Privacy and Constitutional Issues

      The TSA has begun testing a new handheld device that purports to be able to quickly identify the substance that someone is carrying just by pointing a laser at it. This kind of device raises serious privacy issues — including constitutional issues — and it’s not clear whether the agency has seriously grappled with them. As a result, we’re filing a Freedom of Information Act request to find out more.

      The device being tested by the TSA is called a “handheld standoff chemical detector,” or HSCD. The TSA is testing one from a company called Pendar. Resembling a bulky hairdryer, the operator points it at a powder, liquid, gel, or solid, and presses a button which shoots a laser at the substance. The device then measures the wavelengths of light that are reflected back, which differ by substance due to a phenomenon of physics called the Raman Effect. In a company demonstration video, an operator points the device at a white powder, and the device reports that it is a mix of sugar and ibuprofen, for example. The company says the device can identify any of about 7,500 unique chemicals, usually producing results in seconds from a distance of up to 6 feet, and that it works through glass or other transparent barriers.

    • The Register UK ☛ NTT Data to record hotel guests sleeping and sell that data • The Register

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFA ☛ Manila embarks on ‘name and shame’ strategy to counter Beijing

    Will neighboring countries follow the Philippines’ assertive transparency campaign in the South China Sea?

  • JURIST ☛ (UPDATED) Nevada dispatch: UNLV campus and law school remain on lockdown after 3 people fatally shot

    Elizabeth Haigh is JURIST’s Chief of Staff for the US and a 2L at the University of Nevada, William S. Boyd School of Law. She files this dispatch from Las Vegas, Nevada. This dispatch was initially filed at 4:40 PM EST/1:40 PM PST.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Congress should reauthorize Section 702

    “The intelligence community used Section 702 information to avert the 2009 attempted New York City subway bombing, the 2010 attempted vehicle bombing at a Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony … cyberattacks against critical U.S. infrastructure, and the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.”

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • AntiWar ☛ It’s Unanimous: Ukrainian Neutrality Could Have Brought Peace

      A leading Ukrainian politician said in a November 24 interview that as early as April 2022, Russia was “prepared to end the war if we agreed to…neutrality.”

    • France24 ☛ Russia's Putin meets leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE on whistle-stop Gulf tour

      Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday had hastily arranged talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on oil, Gaza and Ukraine, hours after visiting Saudi Arabia's Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Visits U.A.E., Saudi Arabia Seeking To Bolster Moscow's Mideast Clout

      Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on December 6 in an effort to raise Moscow's profile as a Middle East power broker, even as his war in Ukraine grinds on.

    • RFERL ☛ U.K. Announces Sanctions Targeting Those Seen As Aiding 'Putin's War Machine'

      The United Kingdom has imposed new sanctions on 46 groups and individuals in countries ranging from Serbia to China that it says are supplying and financing Russia's war against Ukraine by helping it circumvent international sanctions.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin arrives in Abu Dhabi for talks with UAE leader — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Putin Travels to U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia on Rare Trip to Mideast

      President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia stopped first in the United Arab Emirates and went on to Saudi Arabia. He said the Israel-Hamas war will figure prominently in his discussions.

    • teleSUR ☛ Russian President Arrives in the United Arab Emirates

      Vladimir Putin had a meeting with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahayan.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia's Putin told Saudi's MbS: We meet in Moscow next time

      December 07, 2023 2:10 PM
      
      

      President Vladimir Putin said that a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Russia had been changed at the last minute, prompting the Kremlin chief to visit Riyadh for talks with the leader of the world's biggest oil exporter.

    • The Strategist ☛ Stabilising relations with China mustn’t come at the expense of Australia’s security

      Geopolitics is driving the dangerous strategic realities that Australia faces.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Energy security as the foundation for Ukraine’s formula for peace

      Rebuilding Ukraine’s energy sector in line with the world’s best practices in sustainable development and decarbonization will help to finally break the grip of the fossil fuel dictatorship and strengthen the new energy model of the world.

    • France24 ☛ Pro-Russia Ukrainian politician shot dead near Moscow

      A former Ukrainian lawmaker regarded by Kyiv as a traitor was shot dead near Moscow on Wednesday and a Ukrainian source said he was killed by the country's security service.

    • France24 ☛ Biden willing to 'compromise' on US border policy as Senate Republicans block Ukraine aid

      As Senate Republicans blocked the advance of tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance for Ukraine Wednesday, President Joe Biden berated their tactics as “stunning" and dangerous. Yet he also signaled an openness to what GOP lawmakers ultimately want: border policy changes.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky cancels Senate address as US lawmakers row over Ukraine funding

      Several Republican senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine Tuesday as it descended into a row over the border crisis, after President Volodymyr Zelensky unexpectedly canceled a videolink appearance to appeal for continued US funding.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Drone Strike Targets Ukraine's Danube Port Infrastructure, Causing Death, Damage

      A Russian drone strike on critical grain export infrastructure at Ukraine's Danube port of Izmayil on December 7 killed a man and caused damage to port facilities, Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa region, said in a message on his Telegram channel.

    • RFERL ☛ G7 Leaders Agree To Restrictions On Imports Of Russian Diamonds

      The leaders of the Group of Seven countries have agreed to restrict imports of Russian diamonds in another tightening of sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Two 'Traitors Of Ukraine' Killed In Separate Incidents

      Two Ukrainians who collaborated with Russian authorities have been killed -- one in a shooting in a village southwest of Moscow and the other in a car bombing in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Luhansk region.

    • RFERL ☛ U.S. Files War Crimes Charges Against Four Russians Accused Of Torture In Ukraine

      The United States has charged four Russian soldiers with torture and other war crimes in connection with the alleged abduction and interrogation of an American during the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in April 2022.

    • RFERL ☛ At Least 10 People Detained In Nepal On Charge Of Recruiting Jobless People To Ukraine War

      Reuters cited police officials in Nepal on December 6 as saying that they detained 10 people on suspicion of sending Nepalese citizens to Russia, where they were recruited to Russian armed forces involved in Moscow's war in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Rights Defender Located In Prison In Russian-Occupied Luhansk Region

      Well-known Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych, sentenced by a Moscow-installed court in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region to 13 years in prison in March, has been located in the Russian-occupied region after going missing for more than three months.

  • New York Times ☛ Republicans Block Aid to Ukraine, Jeopardizing Its Fight Against Russia

    The vote spotlighted waning support in Congress for backing Ukraine in the war, and left the fate of the effort uncertain.

  • New York Times ☛ Despite McConnell Legacy Push, Ukraine Funding in Increasing Jeopardy

    The minority leader, who many believe could step down next year, has found himself out of step with many fellow Senate Republicans on the question of keeping money flowing to the U.S. ally.

  • New York Times ☛ China and E.U. Leaders Meet as Tensions Rise over Russia

    The European summit with China’s leader comes as relations have cooled over Beijing’s alignment with Russia in its war on Ukraine and a surge in Chinese exports.

  • New York Times ☛ Russia’s Latest Disinformation Tactic Exploits American Celebrities

    Videos from Elijah Wood, Mike Tyson and others have been used — unknowingly to them, it seems — in social control media posts and Russian news coverage critical of Ukraine’s leader.

  • New York Times ☛ Illia Kyva Is Killed Near Moscow

    The lawmaker, Illia Kyva, called for Ukraine to surrender after Russia invaded. He was living in Russia, but Ukrainian authorities had sentenced him to prison in absentia on charges including treason.

  • Meduza ☛ Former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva found dead in Moscow region — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva found dead in Moscow region Ukrainian media say Ukraine’s Security Service was behind it — Meduza

  • New York Times ☛ As Political Turmoil Intensifies in Ukraine, Opposition Leader Calls for Unity

    Tensions between Ukrainian leaders, including between President Volodymyr Zelensky and his military chief, come as the country seeks emergency aid from Washington.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Charges 4 Russian Soldiers With War Crimes Against an American

    The Justice Department also said it had begun investigating the “murder of more than 30 Americans” by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Calls on Congress to Approve Aid to Ukraine: ‘This Cannot Wait’

    The administration has already alerted Congress that money for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year.

  • France24 ☛ Moscow police raid LGBTQ nightclubs: ‘My life was hanging by a thread’

    Moscow police carried out raids on nightclubs hosting LGBTQ events on December 1, just two days after Russia’s Supreme Court banned the “international LGBTQ movement” and classified it as an extremist movement. The police forced people in attendance to strip to their underclothes and took photos of their identity cards in what’s being described by activists as an “act of intimidation”.

  • JURIST ☛ US justice department charges 4 Russia soldiers with war crimes

    The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) formally unsealed war crime charges against four Russian soldiers on Wednesday. The soldiers charged with three war crimes each—unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment—and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes. The defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison. None are currently in custody. 

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Presidential Election Set For March 17

    Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has set March 17 for a presidential election.

  • Meduza ☛ New retail chain selling products from Adidas and Reebok, which left Russia in March 2022, opening in Moscow — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Russia reportedly arresting migrants attempting to enter Finland and recruiting them into army under threat of deportation — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Bill banning private clinics from performing abortions to be submitted to Russia’s State Duma in spring session — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ Captive audience How Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia are taught to love their ‘new homeland’ — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ U.S. charges four Russian soldiers with abducting and torturing American citizen in Ukraine — Meduza

Environment

• Energy/Transportation

  • The Straits Times ☛ China launches world's first fourth-generation nuclear reactor

    China is seeking to free itself from coal-fired power plants and reduce its dependence on foreign technologies.

  • Hackaday ☛ Operate Your Own Nuclear Reactor, Virtually

    If you’ve ever wanted to operate your own nuclear reactor, you probably aren’t going to get one in your backyard shop. However, thanks to the University of Manchester, you can get a simulated one in your browser. The pressurized water reactor looks realistic and gives you controls that — we are fairly sure — are greatly simplified compared to the real thing.

Finance

• YLE ☛ Unicef expert: Orpo government policies will increase child poverty

  A Unicef expert warns that planned budget cuts will hurt poor families with children, with knock-on effects including learning outcomes.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Moody’s downgrades Hong Kong credit rating outlook to negative, gov’t disagrees

  Hong Kong, China Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Hong Kong’s credit rating to negative from stable on Wednesday, following a similar change for China the day before.

• The Straits Times ☛ High inflation for Taiwan’s poorest poses election risk for DPP

  December 07, 2023 10:55 AM
  
  

  The govt is struggling to tame prices of key staples such as meat and eggs. 

• The Strategist ☛ A green economy requires more than subsidies

  In recent years, many policymakers thought they had found the perfect formula for implementing climate-friendly policies without facing difficult political trade-offs: massive subsidies.

• Vanity Fair ☛ “People Are Disgusted”: Why Washington Post Staff Walked Out

  More than 700 Washington Post staffers walked off the job on Thursday, a historic work stoppage to protest stalled union contract negotiations—and, for some, to voice grievances with leadership more broadly. “There’s just a lot of anguish about a lot of things,” one Post employee told me.

  The 24-hour strike—something that hasn’t happened at the paper since the 1970s, according to Post Guild leaders—kicked off at midnight on Thursday. The walkout is “in protest of the company’s efforts to bargain in bad faith” and “unilaterally end negotiations over the contract, and with the buyouts that were announced earlier this year,” said Post climate reporter Sarah Kaplan. “This is a declaration by hundreds of Washington Post staffers saying that the company has to work with us fairly,” and “respect the fact that this news organization does not work without all of us.” A picket line was erected outside the paper’s HQ in Washington, where participating staff, organizing in shifts, began demonstrating in the early morning.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• LRT ☛ Lithuania to turn to EC as Meta ignores calls to deal with scammers on social control media

  After failing to get a response from Meta, Lithuanian institutions are planning to turn to the European Commission about fraud and fake accounts on Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram.

• Silicon Angle ☛ Meta’s woes deepen after New Mexico says company failed to protect children from online sex abuse

  A lawsuit launched today by the New Mexico attorney general claims that Meta Platforms Inc. and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg failed “to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation, and human trafficking.”

• RFA ☛ Moon govt covered up, distorted 2020 official’s death by North: Audit

  Relevant South Korean agencies ‘sat idle and did not take any action,’ findings show.

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korea could go ‘extinct’ without proper immigration policy, minister says

  The minister said accepting more immigrants is no longer a choice but a necessity.

• The Straits Times ☛ China’s push to loosen Mao-era residence rules runs into hurdles

  One of the most coveted documents in China is an urban hukou, or residency permit.

• The Straits Times ☛ 30-day visa-free travel between Singapore, China to begin in early 2024

  
  

  This means citizens from both countries can visit the other for up to 30 days without the need for a visa.

• The Straits Times ☛ China’s Pooh-tin warns top EU officials not to engage in confrontation

  Mr Pooh-tin said China is willing to make the EU a key economic and trade partner.

• The Straits Times ☛ China's President Pooh-tin to visit Vietnam

  China's President Pooh-tin Jinping will visit Vietnam on Dec. 12-13, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry.

• RFA ☛ Papua New Guinea, Australia sign security pact aimed at regional stability

  The agreement underlines Australia’s security role in the Pacific at a time of China-U.S. rivalry in the region.

• The Straits Times ☛ Australia signs security agreement with Papua New Guinea

  Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the country had signed a bilateral security agreement with neighbour Papua New Guinea.

• Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

  • Reason ☛ Jeff Kosseff: Why False Speech Deserves First Amendment Protections

    The former journalist defends misinformation in the Trump era and explains why so many journalists are against free speech.

Censorship/Free Speech

• EFF ☛ Speaking Freely: Alison Macrina

  Alison Macrina is an activist librarian and the director of Library Freedom Project (LFP). LFP is radically rethinking the library professional organization by creating a network of values-driven librarian-activists taking action together to build information democracy. LFP offers trainings, resources, and community building for librarians on issues of privacy, surveillance, intellectual freedom, labor rights, power, technology, and more—helping create safer, more private spaces for library patrons to feed their minds and express themselves.

• RFA ☛ Jimmy Lai’s lawyer says rape threats precede public events

  Congress is told Beijing is ‘the world leader on transnational repression’ that forces critics to 'shut up.'

• RFA ☛ Hong Kong protester shot by police appears in video 'confession'

  Tsang Chi-kin, whose shooting in 2019 made headlines, says he was 'incited' and 'instigated' to protest by others.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ New museum celebrating China’s achievements planned for Hong Kong Science Museum site, Heritage Museum faces axe

  The Hong Kong government plans to build a new museum celebrating China’s “grand development and achievements” on the site of Tsim Sha Tsui’s popular Science Museum, which will be moved out of the city’s prime tourist district.

• Techdirt ☛ Court Tosses Libel Suit Brought Against A Legal Doc Site For ‘Failing’ To Report On A Settlement Agreement

  We’ve seen lots of… shall we say… misguided libel lawsuits here at Techdirt. We’ve also seen plenty of lawsuits filed for the sole purpose of bullying someone into silence for reporting inconvenient facts.

• Mandatory AI face scanning is coming to adult-only websites to verify age

  A government regulatory body is pushing to implement mandatory artificial intelligence-powered face scanning technology on adult-only websites.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• Meduza ☛ Criminalizing information A new law could deal a huge blow to investigative journalism in Russia — Meduza

Civil Rights/Policing

• YLE ☛ Police detain Independence Day demonstrators in Helsinki

  At least four groups of demonstrators from across the political spectrum marched in Helsinki on Wednesday.

• The Straits Times ☛ Australia passes new detention laws for stateless convicts

  A court can order detention of offenders if they pose risk of committing serious offences.

• YLE ☛ Protesters criticise police for excessive use of force during Helsinki demonstration

  One member of the 'Helsinki without Nazis' protest said the police's actions were "aggressive and deliberate".

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Techdirt ☛ Congressional Incompetence Could Doom Key Low-Income Broadband Program

  Americans pay some of the highest prices in the developed world for broadband due to consolidated monopoly power and feckless regulators. It’s a problem the U.S. government lacks the competence or political integrity to fix. So what we usually get are strange Band-Aids that treat the symptoms of the underlying problem (unchecked corporate power muting competition).

• Techdirt ☛ Dumb, Telecom Industry Backed ‘Network Fees’ Drive Twitch Out Of Korea

  Twitch has announced that the company is shutting down in Korea after regulators there imposed a ridiculous new regulatory framework that drove the company’s operational costs through the roof.

• APNIC ☛ [Podcast] The ICANN DNS stats collector system

  How ICANN manages data capture from the IMRS (L Root) systems worldwide.

• Twitch begins to fall with the livestreaming platform shutting down in South Korea

  Twitch has announced its planning to shut down its livestreaming service in South Korea over expensive, unsustainable operating costs.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• Software Freedom Conservancy ☛ SFC joins amicus curiae in Green v. Department of Justice

  A news item from Software Freedom Conservancy.

  Large coalition against DMCA among right to repair, digital rights and advocacy groups speaks out

  In the case of Green v. Department of Justice, filed in 2016 concerning section 1201 of the DMCA, Software Freedom Conservancy — along with Public Knowledge, The Digital Right to Repair Coalition, iFixit, The Open Source Hardware Association, and Jonathan Askin, Aaron Perzanowski, and Anthony Rosborough — all joined an amicus curiae brief led by Charles Duan in support of the defendant.