Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ An unintentional LED night light

  I got a new wireless charger for the bedside table, so I could stop fiddling with USB cables before going to sleep. The wireless charger on my computer desk works great, so I figured why not?

  Well, it was about to give me a reason. I turned off the lights and placed my phone on the pad… and an LED flooded the dark room with a flashing blue glow, thereby proving itself completely useless in its intended purpose.

  It was so bright, I could make out words on the spines of the books on my shelf. It was so bright, pedestrians ten floors down were blinded as they had a late night stroll. It was so bright, people in Yerevan on the other side of the world asked us to cut it out. At least two of those were false, but I’ll let you decide which.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ A Clinical Psychologist Explains How to Stop Overthinking Things

    Break the loop.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ The CHIPS Act: America's semiconductor industry, reborn?

    America's semiconductor industry, reborn?

  • Science Alert ☛ Radical New Discovery Could Double The Speed of Existing Computers

  • The Conversation ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] Demand for computer chips fuelled by AI could reshape global politics and security

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Thousands of Pregnant Women in Gaza Suffer From Malnutrition, Health Authorities Say

    The U.N. has warned that famine is looming in the enclave, and an obstetrician there said that pregnant women face particularly high risks of malnourishment.

  • New York Times ☛ What to Know About California’s Proposition 1 for Mental Health Care

    Proposition 1 was expected to be widely approved, but the vote is close. Here’s what the measure is and what’s at stake.

  • Science Alert ☛ FDA Approves Wegovy For Heart Conditions in Game-Changing Move

    This could radically expand access.

  • Science Alert ☛ Experimental Weight-Loss Pill Twice as Effective as Ozempic, Trial Shows

    Remarkable early results.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reveal Optimal Number of Daily Steps to Offset Sitting Down

    "An important public health message."

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea doctors’ walkout leaves patients in limbo

    Ms Lee Kyung-ja’s sister is caught in the middle of a labour dispute between South Korean doctors and the government, and her life is at risk.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea deploys military, public doctors to strike-hit hospitals

    Twenty military surgeons and 138 public health doctors will be assigned to 20 hospitals for four weeks.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] South Korea: Striking trainee doctors face prosecution

  • CBC ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] This St. John's mother says her 2-year wait for an MRI is a 'typical Newfoundland story'

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • SANS ☛ What happens when you accidentally leak your proprietary trap AWS API keys

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Microsoft engineer who raised concerns about Copilot image creator pens letter to the FTC [Ed:Even Microsofters admit their products aren't just rubbish but outright dangerous ]

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Microsoft Copilot Generates Demons When Prompted for Abortion Rights Images, Employee Says

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] Microsoft’s Copilot AI Calls Itself the Joker and Suggests a User Self-Harm [Ed: We had to wait 80 years and invite Microsoft to spend BILLIONS in electricity bills for Microsoft chatbots that tell people to kill themselves. Amazing innovation. Truly amazing. Bravo, Microsoft.]

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Microsoft accuses the New York Times of doom-mongering in OpenAI lawsuit

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Amazon Slaps Apple iPhone Case With 'Frequently Returned' Warning

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-01 [Older] Apple backtracks on plans to get rid of web apps on iPhones in the EU

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-01 [Older] Engadget Podcast: Farewell, Apple Car

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-03-02 [Older] The inside story of Apple’s $15 billion ‘Titanic’ disaster

    For the past decade, many Apple employees working on the company’s secretive car project, internally code-named Titan, had a less flattering name for it: the Titanic disaster. They knew the project was likely to fail.

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-03-02 [Older] Wendy's Surge Pricing, AI Willy Wonka Sham, R.I.P Apple Car and More Fun With Phones

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-03 [Older] Proposed class action lawsuit accuses Apple of monopolizing cloud storage for its devices

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] EU fines Apple nearly $2 billion for 'blocking' alternative music apps

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] EU fines Apple $1.8 billion over music streaming competition

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Apple bans Epic’s developer account and calls the company ‘verifiably untrustworthy’

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia plans improvements to joint video surveillance system

      Following the attack on the Museum of the Occupation, plans are underway to speed up the establishment of a comprehensive video surveillance network throughout Latvia. The first step is to identify what is already there and what can be used. Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) has been tasked to do this within a month, reports Latvian Television's "De Facto" on March 10.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Spain halts Worldcoin crypto project over privacy concerns

• Defence/Aggression

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Senators Warily Allow F-16 Sale to Turkey as Part of NATO Expansion Agreement. 'A Deal's a Deal'

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] US Senate Defeats Bid to Stop F-16 Fighter Jet Sale to Turkey

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-01 [Older] Turkey Rejects Accusations by a Human Rights Group That It Committed Abuses in Syria

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-03-02 [Older] HRW: Turkey bears responsibility for abuses and crimes in occupied territories in northern Syria

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Uncensored Black History Offers Lessons in Global Struggles for Liberation

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-03 [Older] Zurich Steps up Security at Jewish Sites After Possible Antisemitic Attack

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] US Supreme Court Seeks Security Funding to Protect Justices, Homes

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] ASEAN Summit Focus on Maritime Security, Trade Amid South China Sea Tensions

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] UN Security Council Considering Call for Ramadan Truce in Sudan

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Maryland Abortion Clinics Could Get Money for Security Under Bill in State Senate

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] German police say detained man is not far-left RAF terrorist

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-28 [Older] Berlin police probe alleged harassment of Israeli ambassador

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Strasbourg Christmas market terror attack trial starts

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Zelenskyy calls for continued support and arms co-production with Balkan countries

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Houthi rebels claim deadly strike on cargo ship near Yemen

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Nigeria's ex-Boko Haram fighters weigh return to conflict

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Right-wing parties expected to gain ground in EU election

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] 'Rust' armorer guilty in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

  • JURIST ☛ Federal judge dismisses Texas lawsuit challenging Biden parole policy for migrants from four countries

    A US federal judge upheld on Friday the Biden administration’s program to grant temporary legal immigration status to up to 30,000 asylum-seekers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This initiative, also known as humanitarian parole, provides an avenue for people from these nations to avoid illegal entry into the US.

  • France24 ☛ Al-Qaeda in Yemen announces death of leader Khalid Batarfi

    Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen has announced the death of its leader Khalid Batarfi and named a successor, SITE Intelligence Group reported Sunday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China trying to ‘normalise’ military drills near Taiwan, island’s top security official says

    China has in recent years stepped up military activities near Taiwan.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US key to Philippine plan to tap oil, gas in South China Sea

    Manila is seeking to parlay its deepening security ties with Washington into broader economic benefits.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Cooperating with foreign groups ‘neutral’ and would not necessarily violate Hong Kong proposed security law, official says

    Cooperating with foreign groups is a “neutral” act and it will not violate Hong Kong’s proposed domestic security law unless it is done via “improper means” and causes an “interference effect,” security chief Chris Tang has said.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • AntiWar ☛ Four Myths That Are Preventing Peace in Ukraine

      If diplomacy is to have a chance at settling this bloody conflict, then four persistent myths about the war in Ukraine need to be exposed and refuted.

    • New York Times ☛ Oscars’ In Memoriam: Academy Honors Aleksei Navalny and Andrea Bocelli Performs

      Before paying tribute to the industry figures who died in the past year, a clip of the Russian opposition leader played as an introduction to the segment.

    • AntiWar ☛ Ukraine Has Received Mega-Billions From US, Other Countries

      As of mid-January, global aid to Ukraine has reached what the Kiel Institute for the World Economy described as the “staggering” amount of $278 billion. This means that Ukraine has actually had more money than Russia has been able to spend on this war.

    • PHR ☛ Maternity hospital bombing in Oscar-winning “20 Days in Mariupol” is one of 1350+ attacks on health care in Ukraine

      The Academy Award best documentary film win tonight for “20 Days in Mariupol” highlights how Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian hospitals and health workers as a barbaric war strategy, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). 

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine slams Pope's 'white flag' negotiation call, vows 'never' to surrender to Russia

      Ukraine on Sunday slammed Pope Francis's call to negotiate with Russia two years into its invasion, vowing "never" to surrender after the pontiff said Kyiv should "have the courage to raise the white flag".

    • RFERL ☛ '20 Days In Mariupol' Wins Oscar For Best Documentary

      Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol, a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the best documentary Oscar on March 10.

    • RFERL ☛ Operations Resume At St. Petersburg's Airport After Drone Shot Down In Nearby Region

      Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone was shot down on March 10 in the Leningrad region near the village of Fornosovo after operations were suspended at the nearby Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine, Allies Hit Back At Pope's Remarks On Peace Talks, Need For 'White Flag'

      Ukraine and regional allies on March 10 assailed reported comments by Pope Francis in which the pontiff suggested opening negotiations with Moscow and used the term "white flag," while the Vatican later appeared to back off some of the remarks, saying Francis was not speaking about "capitulation."

    • RFERL ☛ Kyiv Reports Deadly Russian Strikes As Ukrainian Drone Reportedly Sets Fire To Oil Depot In Russia

      The governor of Russia's southwestern Kursk region has said a fire broke out at a local oil depot due to a Ukrainian drone strike.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Could Deploy F-16s as Soon as July, but Only a Few

      Countries promised the fighter jets last year, but delivering them and training pilots have proved complex. Ukraine may start with as few as six, out of about 45 pledged.

    • New York Times ☛ Director of ’20 Days in Mariupol’ Says He’d Rather Have No Oscar and No War

      ‘20 Days in Mariupol,’ Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing first-person account from the early days of Russia’s invasion, won for best documentary feature.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Replaces Yevmenov As Navy Commander With Moiseyev, Says Russian Media Report

      Russia has appointed Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev as acting commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, replacing Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the Fontanka news outlet and the Izvestia newspaper reported on March 10, citing unidentified sources.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • YLE ☛ Military vehicle involved in fatal Tampere taxi accident

      The Central Finland Police Department suspects the driver of the FDF Toyota Hilux of aggravated drink-driving, aggravated endangering of traffic safety and manslaughter.

    • CBC ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] First Nation sues Alberta Energy Regulator over tailings leaks from oilsands mine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Senate Committee Advances Bill to Create a New Commission to Review Kentucky's Energy Needs

    • NL Times ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Dutch Cabinet must consider four large nuclear energy plants, not two, says Parliament

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Cuba Turns off Some Public Lighting as Energy Crisis Worsens

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-03-02 [Older] China’s energy transition inspiring European investments

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-02 [Older] Xcel Energy Utility Equipment Started Texas Wildfire, Homeowner Says in Lawsuit

    • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-03-01 [Older] Conspiracy Theorists Falsely Claim Biden ‘Admitted’ Wildfires Started by Directed-Energy Weapons

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] OECD highlights water, energy as challenges for nearshoring in Mexico

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Biden Nominates Two Democrats, One Republican to Federal Energy Regulator

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Arson near Tesla's Gigafactory: Who is the Volcano Group?

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Germany: Tesla plant targeted in 'deliberate arson' — police

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ 100 New Marine Species Discovered Off Coast of New Zealand

      The findings, from the largely uncharted waters of Bounty Trough, show that “we’ve got a long way to go in terms of understanding where life is found in the ocean,” a researcher said.

    • Science Alert ☛ The 'Largest Creature of All Time' May Have Been a Physical Impossibility

      A gargantuan mystery.

    • Troy Hunt ☛ Weekly Update 390

      Presently sponsored by: Kolide can get your cross-platform fleet to 100% compliance. It's Zero Trust for Okta. Want to see for yourself? Book a demo.

      Let me begin by quoting Stefan during the livestream: "​​Turns out having tons of data integrity is expensive". Yeah, and working with tons of data in a fashion that's both fast and cost effective is bloody painful.

    • Science Alert ☛ Spring Flowers Bloom Weeks Earlier Than Just Decades Ago, Study Finds

      A monumental shift is taking place.

    • Science Alert ☛ Giant Plague Grave Could Be Largest Mass Burial Site Ever Seen in Europe

      An astonishing, tragic discovery.

    • YLE ☛ Flying squirrel poop may cause roadblock for Pori development

      The City of Pori is spending 30,000 euros to determine the presence of the protected Siberian flying squirrel on the Yyterinniemi peninsula.

    • Science Alert ☛ Bees Reveal a Human-Like Collective Intelligence We Never Knew Existed

      Don't underestimate them.

• Finance

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] China commits to 5% growth target despite shaky economy

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Cuba seeks UN food aid as economic crisis deepens

  • The Straits Times ☛ Tackle low wages, lack of quality investments to stem Malaysia’s brain drain: Analysts

    Over 80 per cent of Malaysians working in Singapore and Brunei fall into the skilled and semi-skilled categories.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Weak yen upsets Japan’s historic defence plans as funding gulf with China widens

    The gulf between the defence budgets of Japan and China has widened.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China ambassador says Australia wine tariff review on track

    China's review of tariffs on Australian wine is progressing well, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian said on Monday, but he stopped short of confirming an Australian government claim the dispute would be resolved this month.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ageing in style: Luxury retirement homes on the rise in Malaysia

    These homes boast plush suites, jacuzzis and even karaoke rooms for residents.

  • CBC ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] 2024 Just for Laughs comedy festival cancelled, company seeks creditor protection

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Millionaires Stopped Contributing to Social Security on March 2, 2024

  • CBC ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] Body Shop Canada to lay off 200 workers after parent company took its cash, court docs show

  • International Business Times ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] BA Worker 'Made Millions' Charging Indians £25k To Illegally Fly Into Canada To Claim Asylum

  • Business Insider ☛ Tech workers reported feeling increasingly dissatisfied with their salaries. Layoffs may be fueling the frustration.

    Some tech workers don't seem to be too happy making an average salary of a little over six figures, a recent Dice study found, and industry job cuts may be one reason they're becoming increasingly frustrated with their compensation.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • JURIST ☛ Venezuela opposition leader claims campaign manager kidnapped by secret service

    Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado claimed Saturday that the regime of President Nicolás Maduro has kidnapped her campaign manager Emill Brandt in the State of Barinas and that another of her campaign managers has been kidnapped and is currently being held in El Helicoide, calling the prison “the largest torture center in Latin America.”

  • YLE ☛ Labour federation buys personal newspaper ad directed at Orpo: 'Petteri, isn't it time we agreed?'

    As a two-week political strike looms, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has issued a public plea to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to find common ground.

  • Project Censored ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] The Growing Legal Fights Against Israel & Many Voices For Assange

  • HRW ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] Türkiye: Big Tech Should Protect Online Expression, Resist Censorship

  • Project Censored ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Corporate Media Say No On Ceasefire, Want To Cease “Uncommitted” Voters Instead

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] International organisations call for protection of free speech against state censorship in Turkey

  • CPJ ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] CPJ, 21 other groups, call on social media firms to resist censorship ahead of Turkey elections

  • CPJ ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Musk's X Asks Judge to Penalize Nonprofit Researchers Tracking Rise of Hate Speech on Platform

  • CBC ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] U.S. presidents are older than ever while Canada's PMs are getting younger. Why?

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ UK High Court dismisses Trump ‘Steele Dossier’ lawsuit and orders payment of legal fees

    Former US President Donald Trump must pay £300,000 in legal fees to Christopher Steele following the UK High Court’s dismissal of his claim against Steele’s company for reputational damage and breach of right to data protection.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian writer sentenced to death in China may never be executed, says Chinese ambassador

    A Beijing court in February 2024 handed him a suspended death sentence on espionage charges.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Article 23: ‘Reasonable defence’ needed for keeping ‘seditious publications’ like Apple Daily at home, Hong Kong security chief says

    Hongkongers will need a “reasonable defence” for keeping “seditious publications” at home, security chief Chris Tang has said as a lawmaker brought up the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper during a fast-tracked discussion about the city’s impending domestic security law.

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] DFG: 42 journalists are behind bars in Turkey

  • ANF News ☛ 2024-03-07 [Older] ‘Deterioration of freedom of expression in Turkey has reached new, deeply worrying levels’

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Male sexual harassment victims on the rise in Malaysia

    On average, data showed nearly a 1 per cent increase in male victims since 2021.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] RECOMMENDED — More than 1,000 victims freed from scam factories in Myanmar after DW investigation reveals brutal exploitation.

  • HRW ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers’ Long Overdue Wages at Risk

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-04 [Older] Amazon's AWS to Launch Saudi Arabia Data Centers, Invest Over $5.3 Billion [Ed: How many women will be hired to work there?]

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] FIA Confirms Whistleblower Complaints Against President Regarding Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas Races

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Canada Backtracks on Euthanasia for the Mentally Ill

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Improving Regional Internet Registry alignment in the RPKI space

    Working toward a robust, coordinated, and secure RPKI service.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China tightens grip over internet during Two Sessions meetings

    China has intensified efforts to block software that enables internet users to access banned websites during a top political meeting this week, a leading provider of firewall-leaping software told AFP.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • 2024-02-28 [Older] Netflix Will No Longer Accept Payments From App Store Billing for Legacy Accounts

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Newly Released CBP Ruling Reveals Fashion Company Apple Watch Pulse Oximetry Redesign

    In January 2024 a then-secret order from US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) had a major impact in the Masimo v. Fashion Company Apple case. That opinion from CBP’s Exclusion Order Enforcement (EOE) Branch has now been released in redacted form and provides some insight into how Fashion Company Apple was able to quickly modify its Fashion Company Apple Watch designs to avoid the ITC’s limited exclusion order that would have blocked import of the infringing devices. The CBP EOE ruling determined that Apple’s redesigned watches, which disabled the infringing pulse oximetry functionality, were sufficiently modified to fall outside the scope of the ITC’s exclusion order, allowing them to be imported and sold in the US.

• Copyrights

  • Engadget ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] More news organizations sue OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright infringement

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-02-29 [Older] “El TORO LOCO”: when a Monster truck show amounts to both trade mark and copyright infringement

  • IP Kat ☛ 2024-03-06 [Older] Long walk to copyright reform #8: South Africa's Parliament passes the revised Copyright Amendment Bill

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-03-05 [Older] Elon Musk's X Escapes Most of Lawsuit Over Copyrighted Songs