Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Justin Jaffray on approximating domain knowledge

  Among the biggest challenges in IT hiring is finding people who have domain knowledge in your industry. You’re rarely doing IT for IT’s sake, you’re probably designing, architecting, building, maintaining, upgrading, and/or replacing a system that interfaces with, or serves, a specific use case. A firm might not need a Perl programmer, they need a Perl programmer who understands geospacial data.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Launching my Retro Corner, thanks to Weslie Moore

  I woke up to this Mastodon post from Weslie Moore up in Queensland:

  This is a fun idea: a retro corner to your current website that is accessible to vintage machines as well as retro themed http://retro.rubenerd.com/ by @rubenerd

• Chris ☛ Neat Inventions

• University of Michigan ☛ When TV shows lose themselves

  Part of the beauty of long-form storytelling is getting to experience the complex lives of interesting characters alongside them. You get a glimpse of their boring office jobs, their petty friend drama and even their embarrassing losses. You get to know them on an intimate level, finding the comedy or sadness coloring their world.

• Hackaday ☛ Torment Poor Milton With Your Best Pixel Art

  One of the great things about new tech tools is just having fun with them, like embracing your inner trickster god to mess with ‘Milton’, an AI trapped in an empty room.

• Science

  • Hackaday ☛ 3D Scanning, Phone Edition

    It seems to make sense. If you have a 3D printer, you might wish you could just scan some kind of part and print it — sort of like a 3D photocopier. Every time we think about this, though, we watch a few videos and are instantly disappointed by the results, especially with cheap scanners. If you go the hardware route, even cheap is relative. However, you can — in theory — put an app on your phone to do the scanning. Some of the apps are free, and some have varying costs, but, again, it seems like a lot of work for an often poor result. So we were very interested in the video from [My 3D Print Lab] where he uses his phone and quite a few different apps and objectively compares them.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronauts Stranded With No Set Return Date For New Boeing Starliner

    Hang tight team.

  • Science Alert ☛ Record Discovery: 'Last Drink' For Dead Roman Found Still Wet in Ancient Tomb

    No, we are not drinking the bone wine.

• Education

  • ACLU ☛ The Oklahoma Supreme Court Just Rejected the Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School

    In a win for the separation of church and state, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma’s approval of the nation’s first religious public charter school violates the state constitution and charter-school statute, as well as the U.S. Constitution. The decision affirms what we already knew: A religious school can’t be a public school, and a public school can’t be religious.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Injection Molding Using A 3D Printer

    Recently [Stefan] of CNC Kitchen took a gander at using his gaggle of 3D printers to try injection molding (IM). Although the IM process generally requires metal molds and specialized machinery, 3D printers can be used for low-volume IM runs which is enough for limited production runs and prototyping before committing to producing expensive IM molds. In the case of [Stefan], he followed Form Labs’ guidance to produce molds from glass-infused Rigid 10K resin (heat deflection temperature of 218 °C). These molds are very rigid, as the ceramic-like noise when [Stefan] taps two together attests to.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Amstrad E-m@iler, The Right Product With The Wrong Business Model

    One of the joys of the UK’s Electromagnetic Field hacker camp lies in the junk table, where trash turns to treasure in the blink of an eye. This year I returned relatively unscathed from my few days rifling through the tables,but I did snag a few pieces. One of them is a wired telephone, which would be a fairly unremarkable find were it not for its flip-up LCD screen and QWERTY keyboard.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ When Sick Pets Need Blood, Animal ‘Superheroes’ Come to the Rescue

    Transfusions have become an important part of veterinary medicine, but cat and dog blood is not always easy to come by.

  • Reason ☛ Does Weed Cause Strokes and Heart Attacks?

    A widely cited study commits so many egregious statistical errors that it's a poster child for junk science.

  • Science Alert ☛ Deadly 'Flesh-Eating Bacteria' Is Surging in Japan. Here's What You Should Know.

    Don't cancel that Tokyo holiday yet.

  • Science Alert ☛ Do Anti-Cellulite Treatments Work? Expert Says We're Asking The Wrong Question.

    It's an "invented disease".

  • New York Times ☛ Turning 26 and Struggling to Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.

    The New York Times and KFF Health News are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Officials Pressed Trans Medical Group to Change Guidelines for Minors, Court Filings Show

    Newly released emails from an influential group issuing transgender medical guidelines indicate that U.S. health officials lobbied to remove age minimums for surgery in minors because of concerns over political fallout.

  • NIH award funds new center on genomics of infectious disease pathogens

    A new $10 million award to Michigan Medicine from the National Institutes of Health will help accelerate the understanding of pathogens that threaten human life.

  • Science Alert ☛ Garlic Could Be a Secret Weapon to Keep Down Your Glucose And Cholesterol

    Does wonders against vampires too.

  • Reason ☛ FDA Belatedly and Arbitrarily Approves Menthol Vapes

    The agency's inscrutable approach to harm-reducing nicotine products sacrifices consumer choice and public health on the altar of youth protection.

• Latvia ☛ Midsummer in Latvia was calmer than usual, says emergency team

  This year there were relatively few "traditional" Midsummer injuries and the celebrations passed without major accidents or serious consequences, said Laura Bērziņa, public relations specialist of the Emergency Medical Service (NMPD) on June 24.

• Latvia ☛ Doctors, police emphasize scooter safety again

  Compared to bicycles, scooters cause fewer injuries but more serious ones, the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) and the State Police (VP) told Latvian Television, while reminding the public of some basic safety requirements.

• New York Times ☛ Fire Exposes Harsh Work Conditions Migrants Face in South Korea

  Foreigners do dirty, hazardous work, and advocates say the blaze that killed 23 at a battery plant shows that they need better protection.

Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Digital Music News ☛ Sean Parker Steps in to Save Stability Hey Hi (AI) with Emergency Funding as Losses Balloon [Ed: Hey Hi (AI) bubble]

  As startup Stability Hey Hi (AI) gains a new CEO, the company also gets emergency funding from a group of investors, including Sean Parker of Napster fame. Though Stability Hey Hi (AI) successfully rode the generative artificial intelligence boom to the tune of a $1 billion valuation, the startup quickly turned belly-up after hemorrhaging finances and losing employees.

Security

• Privacy/Surveillance

  • Science Alert ☛ Cashless Payments Are Changing Our Spending Behavior, Study Reveals

    Convenience has an impact.

  • NYPost ☛ Why do Americans prefer social control media shopping? Could spend upwards of $59B online

    Based on their shopping habits on social control media, Americans have the potential to spend upwards of $59 billion, according to a new study.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Former deputy national cyber director DeRusha lands at Surveillance Giant Google Cloud

Defence/Aggression

• The Strategist ☛ How to equip the US Coast Guard against China’s grey-zone operations

  America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific are getting pretty familiar with China’s grey-zone maritime behaviour, but the United States itself is ill-prepared for dealing with it.

• Site36 ☛ Greek coast guard again abandons children in the Aegean: No response from Frontex to reports of deadly pushbacks

  Several recent investigations show how the Hellenic Coast Guard is driving refugees to their deaths.

• Site36 ☛ The list gets longer: Head of the German Ministry of Education ignored warning about violation of fundamental rights

  The transparency platform “Frag den Staat” published further emails from the Ministry of Education led by the liberal FDP. The ministry took offence at the criticism of “police violence”.

• BIA Net ☛ Reports: Turkey increases military buildup in Iraqi Kurdistan

  A pro-government newspaper reports that Sulaymaniyah International Airport has turned into a “logistics center” for the PKK and Turkey will strike the airport if such activities continue.

• New York Times ☛ Strike in Gaza Kills Sister of Hamas’s Political Leader Haniyeh

  Hamas confirmed the death of a sister of Ismail Haniyeh and her family. The Israeli military said it was aware of the reports but could not “currently confirm” that it had struck the Haniyeh family home.

• ADF ☛ Sudanese Armed Forces Agrees to Russian Red Sea Base in Exchange for Weapons

  ADF STAFF Mired in their fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appears ready to grant Russia a long-sought foothold on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons.

• Defence Web ☛ Sudan – the world’s “forgotten war” – condemned by AU

  More than a year ago in April hostilities in Sudan were escalated to the level of war with the African Union (AU) this week demanding an immediate stop to the fighting. The demand came in a communique issued after an AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting late last week.

• ADF ☛ Sudan War Putting Children at Risk of ‘Generational Catastrophe’

  Amid the violence and chaos of Sudan’s civil war, 13-year-old Hadeer, her mother and three younger siblings fled their home in Omdurman to a displacement camp in Atbara, about 320 kilometers to the northeast. Hadeer’s aunt and uncle were killed, her cousins fled the country, and her family lost contact with her father.

• JURIST ☛ WHO chief condemns Sudan hospital attack and calls for ceasefire

  Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned on Sunday a “shocking and appalling” attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, and urged parties to implement “an immediate ceasefire.”

• Atlantic Council ☛ A global strategy to secure UAS supply chains

  China exercises substantial control over the commercial drone market, which poses a security challenge for the United States and its allies and partners. What strategy will help the United States and its allies and partners counter China’s drone-market dominance?

• France24 ☛ 'Much-needed relief': Kenyan police force arrives in Haiti for UN-backed security mission

  The first wave of Kenyan police disembarked a plane at the Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti on Tuesday as part of a security mission backed – but not managed – by the UN to help restore order to the violence-wracked nation.

• ADF ☛ Kenya to Prosecute Pirates Detained by Operation Atalanta

  Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to help prosecute suspected pirates and other sea criminals amid roiling insecurity sparked by a recent surge in Somali pirate attacks and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

• The Straits Times ☛ UKMTO flags missile near vessel south of Yemen's Aden

  CAIRO - The captain of a merchant vessel reported a missile hitting the water near the ship 52 nautical miles south of Yemen's port of Aden, security information provider the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday.

• ADF ☛ U.N. App Helps Peacekeepers Preserve Institutional Memory

  The United Nations has deployed new technology designed to help peacekeepers pass along valuable lessons and key experiences from the field to build a collective understanding of the risks and best practices in countries where they are deployed.

• ADF ☛ Somalia’s Tubsan Center Has ‘Whole-of-Society’ Counterterror Approach

  In more than 15 years of fighting al-Shabaab, Somali leaders have discovered they cannot defeat the terror group by military means alone.

• ADF ☛ Somalia Locked in Battle Against Digital Extremism

  Somalia and the al-Shabaab terrorist group are fighting a war within a war — a constant battle to prop up and take down websites and social control media accounts that disseminate extremist propaganda and disinformation.

• ADF ☛ Countries Use an Alternative Counterterrorism Approach: Economic Development

  After years of fighting terrorism in the Sahel, experts say one counterterror tool has been badly neglected: economic development. >

• The Straits Times ☛ Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manele in Canberra to discuss ties

  CANBERRA - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele met Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss security and development ties, as the United States and China vie for influence in the Pacific Islands region.

• Defence Web ☛ First UH-1H ‘Huey’ helicopters arrive for Nigerian Army’s new aviation wing

  Nigerian Army Aviation has received its first aircraft – two Bell UH-1H ‘Huey’ helicopters – which were formally handed over in a ceremony last week at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

• Defence Web ☛ AMD calls on new defence minister to renew investment in South Africa’s defence capabilities

  In an open letter to a new Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, the South African Aerospace Maritime, and Defence Industries Association (AMD) calls on Thandi Modise’s successor to renew investment in the country’s national defence capabilities.

• RFA ☛ North Korea holds nationwide anti-US rallies on 74th Korean War anniversary

  Residents of one city were forced to cram into a stadium and chant slogans and listen to speeches for hours.

• The Straits Times ☛ North Korea missile launch appears to have failed, South Korean military says

  The apparent failed missile launch originated from around Pyongyang, said South Korea.

• RFA ☛ Taiwan says Beijing has no jurisdiction over independence supporters

  President Lai Ching-te says China has no right to punish Taiwanese for their opinions.

• RFA ☛ China-backed hackers step up spying on Taiwan: security firm

  Recorded Future said cyberespionage targeting Taiwan has intensified with a focus on its technology industry.

• RFA ☛ INTERVIEW: 'I played dumb and cute and said I was going to Disneyland'

  Two former students remember the 2019 Hong Kong protests as seen from democratic Taiwan.

• RFA ☛ Japanese mother and child stabbed in China

  Beijing called the attack ‘regrettable’ but ‘isolated.’

• RFA ☛ China deploys ‘monster’ ship near disputed shoal

  Deployment of China Coast Guard Ship 5901 follows tense sea encounter between Filipino and Chinese personnel.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s July 1 anniversary of return to Chinese rule will be ‘filled with joy,’ John Lee says

  The upcoming anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover to China will be “filled with joy,” Chief Executive John Lee has said. Addressing reporters at a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Lee said the 27th Handover anniversary next Monday would be “warmly celebrated” by Hongkongers.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe returns to Earth with world-first samples from dark side of Moon

  By Matthew Walsh A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.

• The Strategist ☛ China must not choose the next Dalai Lama

  As the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, visits the United States for medical treatment on his knees, concerns over who will succeed him have become acute.

• RFERL ☛ Kyrgyz Officials Say Leader, Members Of Banned Islamic Group Detained

  Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security said on June 25 that "a leader and nine members" of the Yaqyn Inkar Islamic group, which is banned in the Central Asian nation, were detained in the southern Batken region.

• Defence Web ☛ Bulletproof protection under one roof at SA Bullet Resistant Vehicle Co (SABRV)

  SA Bullet Resistant Vehicle Co, the trading name of Vehicle Security Glass Pty Ltd, has become a force in the armouring business.

• Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

  • RFERL ☛ Kyrgyz Jailed For Fighting For Russia In Ukraine Gets Early Release

    A Kyrgyz man who was sentenced to five years in prison last year for joining Russia's Wagner mercenary group to fight in Ukraine has been released due to a January presidential amnesty decree.

  • ADF ☛ Report: Kremlin Seeks to Use Libya as Base to Spread ‘Russian Colonialism’

    ADF STAFF Russia is exploiting politically divided Libya, with its abundant natural resources, to exert more influence on the continent, especially in the Sahel region, a recent report said. The Kremlin’s work will be headed by Africa Corps, formerly known as the Wagner Group, which will be based in Libya.

  • European Commission ☛ Remarks by Commissioner Várhelyi at the press conference with Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium and Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine following the first Conference on the Accession of Ukraine

  • European Commission ☛ Opening Statement of Commissioner Várhelyi at the first Conference on the Accession of Ukraine to the European Union (IGC)

  • European Commission ☛ Opening Statement of Commissioner Várhelyi at the first Conference on the Accession of Moldova to the European Union (IGC)

  • European Commission ☛ Remarks by Commissioner Várhelyi at the press conference with Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium and Dorin Recean, Prime Minister of Moldova following the first Intergovernmental Conference on the Accession of Moldova

  • European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen on opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, via video message

    European Commission Statement Brussels, 25 Jun 2024 It is very good news that today the European Union opens accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Historic day for Ukraine as EU launches official membership talks

    Ukraine began official membership talks with the EU on June 25, providing the embattled East European nation with a powerful morale boost as it continues to fight for survival against Russia’s ongoing invasion, writes Peter Dickinson.

  • France24 ☛ Pentagon chief speaks with Russia's defense minister via phone for first time

    Russian Minister of Defence Andrei Belousov and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin spoke by phone on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Moscow's defence ministry said.

  • France24 ☛ Ukraine kicks off 'historic' EU membership talks

    The European Union began accession negotiations with Ukraine on Tuesday, almost two and a half years since Russia launched the invasion that sparked the war between the two countries. Along with neighbouring Moldova, Ukraine is now on a long journey towards joining the bloc, a move deemed “historic” by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

  • France24 ☛ ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian officials over attacks on civilian targets

    The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for Russia’s former defense minister and its military chief of staff for attacking civilian targets in Ukraine.

  • JURIST ☛ ECHR finds Russia liable for multiple human rights violations in Crimea since 2014

    The European Court of Human Rights unanimously found Tuesday that Russia was guilty of a pattern of human rights violations since 2014 in Crimea under the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) and international humanitarian law, in its ruling on the case Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea).

  • JURIST ☛ ICC issues arrest warrants for top Russia defense officials

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants Tuesday for Russia’s former defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and its military chief of staff, General Valery Gerasimov. The two are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, specifically for allegedly attacking civilian targets in Ukraine.

  • Meduza ☛ International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russia’s Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov — Meduza

  • RFERL ☛ ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Russia's Ex-Defense Minister Shoigu, Top General Gerasimov

    The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Russian military's chief of staff Valery Gerasimov for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

  • JURIST ☛ EU foreign policy chief says bloc has ‘legal framework’ to provide Ukraine military aid over Hungary veto

    The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced Monday during the Foreign Affairs Council that EU ministers agreed on a “legal framework” to increase its military support to Ukraine and bypass Hungary’s opposition to the project.

  • JURIST ☛ Russia blames US for Sevastopol attack that killed four and summons ambassador

    The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the US on Monday for a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that killed four and injured more than 150, saying in a statement they had “no doubt” of the US involvements. Russia also summoned the US ambassador to the country to discuss the issue.

  • LRT ☛ Ukraine and Moldova start EU accession talks: what it means and what’s ahead

    Ukraine and Moldova start accession negotiations with the European Union on Tuesday. The first intergovernmental conferences in Luxembourg will mark the official start of the two countries’ path towards the Community, though the path is long, with years, if not decades, of work ahead.

  • Meduza ☛ A tale of two soldiers: A draftee’s funeral and an enlistee’s send-off party were held mere meters apart in a Russian village. Here’s how the day unfolded. — Meduza

  • The Straits Times ☛ US welcomes Vietnam minister for economic talks, days after Putin visits Hanoi

    WASHINGTON - The U.S. welcomed Vietnam's planning and investment minister on Tuesday for talks on enhancing economic cooperation, and said ties were stronger than ever, days after Hanoi upset Washington by hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  • LRT ☛ Belarusian activist turns to Strasbourg court over denial of asylum in Lithuania

    Olga Karach, a prominent Belarusian activist who heads the Nash Dom (Our House) NGO, has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over Lithuania’s refusal to grant her asylum.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia, Ukraine Exchange 90 Prisoners Each In Third Deal Brokered By U.A.E. This Year

    Russia said on June 25 it had exchanged 90 captive soldiers for an equal number of Ukrainian soldiers in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

  • RFERL ☛ Ukraine, EU Hail Official Start Of EU Accession Talks With Kyiv, Chisinau

    Ukraine officially opened accession talks with the European Union on June 25 in Luxembourg, a move that marks a watershed moment for the country's aspirations to eventually join the bloc.

  • RFERL ☛ European Court Rules Russia Guilty Of Human Rights Abuses In Ukraine

    The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia committed human rights violations in the Crimean Peninsula since its annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

  • RFERL ☛ Czech PM Says First Shipment Of Ammunition From Initiative Arrives In Ukraine

    Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says the first shipment of ammunition from an initiative launched by his country has reached Ukraine.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia Issues Arrest Warrant For Former Chechen Separatist Government Member Zakayev

    An arrest warrant has been issued for Akhmed Zakayev, a former top official of the short-lived independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria who resides in London, on charges of the "creation of a terrorist grouping in the interests of Ukraine's armed forces, and the justification of terrorism."

  • RFERL ☛ Russia Claims To Have Downed 30 Ukrainian Drones Over 2 Regions

    Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense systems shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Belgorod region and one over Voronezh region early on June 25.

  • New York Times ☛ I.C.C. Issues Arrest Warrants for Russian Officials Shoigu and Gerasimov

    Sergei K. Shoigu, a former defense minister, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the country’s highest-ranking military officer, were accused of directing attacks against civilians in Ukraine.

  • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Removes Gen. Yurii Sodol Amid Criticism of Excessive Casualties

    The announcement by Ukraine’s president on Monday came hours after a scathing social control media post implicitly accused the general of “killing more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general.”

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian FM slams EU’s new Russia sanctions as ‘watered down’

    New sanctions on Russia were watered down during discussions on their content, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said as the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council adopted the 14th sanctions package on Monday.

  • LRT ☛ ‘European nuclear deterrent wouldn’t work against Russia without US’ – interview

    Last year, Russia suspended its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US. China is significantly expanding its arsenal and is projected to have as many nuclear warheads as the US and Russia within a decade. However, countries, including China and Russia, should remain concerned about the spread of nuclear weapons, William Alberque told LRT.lt in an exclusive interview.

  • RFERL ☛ Daghestani Official Fired After Deadly Attacks Gets 10 Days In Jail

    The Supreme Court of the Russian North Caucasus region of Daghestan said on June 25 that the former governor of the Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov, who was fired this week after a deadly terrorist attack over the weekend, was sentenced to 10 days in jail on a "minor hooliganism" charge.

  • RFERL ☛ First Russian Transgender Politician Says She Was Forced To Detransition

    Yulia Alyoshina, the first Russian transgender politician, says her announcement in May about detransitioning was made under pressure.

  • New York Times ☛ Russia Committed Human Rights Violations in Crimea, European Court Finds

    The European Court of Human Rights listed multiple violations. Its findings paint a grim picture of life under a decade of Russian occupation.

  • New York Times ☛ Tuesday Briefing

    An attack in Dagestan rekindled Russian fears of terrorism.

  • New York Times ☛ Russia Tightens Grip on Wagner Units in Africa, Year After Failed Mutiny

    Moscow has largely taken over the African operations of the paramilitary group, once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed after leading an insurrection against Vladimir Putin.

  • LRT ☛ Ruling parties react to Lithuanian president’s speech: few specifics, no foreign policy

    After Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda delivered his 5th State of the Nation Address in the parliament on Tuesday, leaders of the ruling liberal parties called the speech “fair” but lacking in specific proposals.

  • The Strategist ☛ Putin’s latest stirring—in Asia and Europe

    June has been a busy month for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  • RFERL ☛ Kremlin Announces Preparations For Indian PM's Visit To Russia

    The Kremlin announced on June 25 that it was preparing for a visit to Russia by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- his first since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Environment

• Energy/Transportation

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Storms over Yucatán Peninsula bring flooding, power outages to Mérida

    Merida's popular Paseo de Montejo avenue has ended up completely underwater after two days of torrential rains.

  • DeSmog ☛ How America’s ‘Most Powerful Lobby’ Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president’s adviser quits to take up post at Ukraine’s nuclear energy co

    Jarek Niewierowicz, head of the Lithuanian president’s Environment and Infrastructure Group, is leaving the position after becoming an independent member of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom.

  • Security Week ☛ Hackers Steal Over $2 Million in Cryptocurrency From CoinStats Wallets

    CoinStats says North Korean hackers drained $2 million in virtual assets from 1,590 cryptocurrency wallets.

Finance

• RFA ☛ China tries to boost property sales with ‘farms for apartments’ deal

  Farming families often rely on their land as a last resort to keep everyone fed and housed.

• RFA ☛ Education, business expansion push Chinese nationals to buy Malaysian properties

  Nearly 25,000 Chinese have taken advantage of the Malaysia My Second Home program offering long-term visas.

• Mexico News Daily ☛ Is Mexico’s economy losing steam?

  The latest data shows a slowdown across the economy, with just 0.9% growth in annual terms in April, and a contraction compared to March.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Digital Music News ☛ YouTube Partners with US State Department to Promote World Peace [Ed: YouTube as m government asset]

  YouTube partners with the US State Department to promote world peace, with ambassadors Chuck D, Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, and more.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Premier Li Qiang calls on countries to ‘oppose decoupling’ during World Economic Forum speech

  China’s premier called Tuesday for countries to “oppose decoupling”, as economic tensions simmer between Beijing and the European Union, a key trading partner that is preparing to impose new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles next month.

• Atlantic Council ☛ Atlantic Council launches 2024 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes

  The Indexes collectively measure 164 countries on 19 different indicators of freedom and prosperity, including measurements of political and economic freedom and the rule of law, as well as health, education, and the environment.

• ACLU ☛ What Voters Really Want for Immigration and Public Safety Reform

  When it comes to immigration and public safety, Republican and Democratic platforms have become virtually indistinguishable. Both sides are espousing a narrative that calls for harsher policies, more enforcement, and increased incarceration. Candidates have bought into the idea that to win votes, they must lean into “toughness.”

• JURIST ☛ Hunter Biden files motion to seek new trial on federal gun charges

  Hunter Biden filed documents on Monday seeking a new trial after his conviction on three felonies on June 11, 2024. He argued that the decision should be vacated since the trial began before an appeal for an earlier motion was concluded.

• RFA ☛ Canadian ambassador’s visit to Xinjiang draws China’s ire

  Jennifer May raised concerns about human rights violations against Uyghurs.

• Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

  • JURIST ☛ UN launches global principles to address misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech

    The UN launched on Monday the Global Principles for Information Integrity, aiming at tackling the misinformation, disinformation and hate speech spread at high scales in the new technological era. The proposal includes five principles. First is societal trust and resilience. Here, the confidence people have in different sources of information is key.

Censorship/Free Speech

• JURIST ☛ Russia bans 81 EU media outlets over EU restrictions

  Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that it is banning access to the broadcasts of 81 media outlets in response to the EU’s decision to sanction certain Russian media outlets for spreading propaganda. They also accused the EU based media outlets of disseminating false information about the war in Ukraine.

• RFERL ☛ Russia Bans 81 Media Outlets Based In EU Countries

  Russia on June 25 announced a ban on access to 81 different media outlets from 25 European Union countries, saying the action is in retaliation for an EU ban announced in May on several Russian media outlets.

• New York Times ☛ 2 Russian Women Put on a Play. Then the State Came for Them.

  The prosecution of a prominent playwright and a director in Russia over their work is a chilling sign of increased repression, cultural figures say.

• RFERL ☛ Belarus's Tsikhanouskaya Says RFE/RL's Losik Incommunicado For 16 Months In Prison

  Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, marking the fourth year that Ihar Losik has been in prison, said the RFE/RL journalist has been held incommunicado for some 16 months as he serves a 15-year sentence.

• Meduza ☛ ‘Only the most neutral titles’: As censorship tightens in Russia, some journalism students at St. Petersburg’s top university still find ways to write about the war — Meduza

• Reason ☛ Jay Bhattacharya on COVID, Social Media Censorship, and Trump vs. Biden

  "It’s not like public health is infallible," the Stanford professor and Great Barrington Declaration author tells Reason's Nick Gillespie.

• Meduza ☛ Russia announces ban on 81 E.U. media outlets, including Der Spiegel and Politico — Meduza

• AccessNow ☛ Authorities in Kenya must immediately restore internet access and #KeepItOn throughout protests and unrest

  Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition strongly condemn the ongoing disruption of internet access and increased crackdown on the people of Kenya amid protests.

• AccessNow ☛ Partial enforcement of India’s Telecom Act — a total eclipse of digital rights

  Access Now urges the Indian government to amend the Telecom Act 2023 and consult with civil society and experts before framing rules to implement the Act to safeguard people’s rights to privacy and free speech.

• Reason ☛ New California Precedent on Anti-Harassment Orders and Public Speech About People

  I was glad to see that the California Court of Appeal published its opinion in Luo v. Volokh, following a request by the First Amendment Coalition. (In California, any person or organization may ask a court to publish an opinion that was initially released as nonpublished.)

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong 47: Ex-legal scholar Benny Tai should get 2-year jail term for subversion charge, lawyer says

  Former Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai, a key figure in a landmark national security case involving 47 democrats, should receive a two-year jail sentence for taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion, his lawyer has argued as the mitigation hearings of those who pleaded guilty or were convicted began.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Police set up media zones away from Hong Kong’s top court as detained democrats arrive for hearing

  Photojournalists stationed outside Hong Kong’s top court were made to stand across the road in police-approved areas on Monday, when the court heard an appeal from seven high-profile pro-democracy figures.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• Press Gazette ☛ General election 2024 press endorsements: Daily Record backs Labour saying vote ‘is not about independence’

• Tedium ☛ The Northern Mariana Touchdown

  After years in a British prison, Julian Assange is going back to Australia—minus a short layover in one of the world’s most remote places. As day trips go, it’s fascinating.

• Meduza ☛ Afghan journalist who was denied asylum in Russia reportedly returns to Afghanistan, where she could face death penalty — Meduza

• Reason ☛ Julian Assange, a Free Man

  Plus: In defense of cigarettes, independent voters in the Hamptons, IRS data-privacy settlement, and more...

• Press Gazette ☛ Tristan Kirk’s fight for open justice: ‘I was only reporter covering these cases’

  The latest Paul Foot Award winner warns more secret justice could be on the cards.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Pro Publica ☛ These Researchers Study the Legacy of the Segregation Academies They Grew Up Around

  One young researcher from Alabama is unearthing the origin stories of schools known as “segregation academies” to understand how that history fosters racial divisions today.

  Another is measuring how much these private schools — which opened across the Deep South to facilitate white flight after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling — continue to drain public school enrollment.

• Pro Publica ☛ New Report Recognizes the Harm of Columbia River Dams on Northwest Tribes

  The Biden administration released a report last week acknowledging “the historic, ongoing, and cumulative damage and injustices” that Columbia River dam construction caused Northwest tribal nations starting in the 20th century, including decimation of the salmon runs that Indigenous people were entitled to by government treaty.

  Across 73 pages, the report from the U.S. Department of the Interior concludes “the government afforded little, if any, consideration to the devastation the dams would bring to Tribal communities, including to their cultures, sacred sites, economies, and homes.”

• CS Monitor ☛ This Apache rite of passage was once banned. Today, it helps empower girls.

  At its heart, the Mescalero Apaches’ coming-of-age ceremony teaches girls to draw on their inner strength.

• University of Michigan ☛ Trash the junk fees

  312 S. Thayer St. is a three-unit apartment complex between the Diag and North Quad Residence Hall. The building itself is unremarkable with its plain, off-white siding, exposed concrete foundation and awkward, triangular profile which leans above the Jamaican restaurant next door.

• New York Times ☛ Kenya Police Force Has a Bloody Past With Protesters

  The combination of a bloody clash with protesters in Nairobi and the arrival of Kenyan officers in gang-ravaged Haiti draws new scrutiny to the Kenyan police.

• New York Times ☛ See Kenya’s Protests in Nairobi

  Across the country, outrage over proposed tax increases drives Kenyans to the streets.

• PHR ☛ 95 Percent of Deaths in ICE Detention Could Likely Have Been Prevented With Adequate Medical Care: Report

  A new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union, American Oversight, and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) exposes the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) flawed internal oversight mechanisms and failure to provide adequate medical and mental health care, resulting in preventable deaths of immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. 

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ After US downgrades Hong Kong to ‘watch list’ over response to human trafficking, gov’t rebuts ‘unfair’ report

  Hong Kong has been downgraded to a “watch list” over its response to human trafficking, with the US government saying that security laws enacted in the city in 2020 and in March had restricted the ability of NGOs to engage with officials to combat trafficking.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 29-year-old charged under Hong Kong’s new security law over ‘seditious’ bus graffiti

  A 29-year-old man has been charged with three counts of sedition under Hong Kong’s new security law over graffiti left on the back of bus seats.

• RFERL ☛ U.S. Designates Belarus 'State-Sponsor' Of Human Trafficking In 2024 Report

  The United States has added Belarus to its human-trafficking list, saying it has uncovered evidence that Minsk set up forced-labor centers and took part in the transfer of children from Ukraine, among other trafficking violations.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Jailed Hong Kong protester files first legal challenge against new security law after early release axed

  A Hong Kong protester convicted of inciting secession has filed the city’s first legal challenge against a new security law that saw his scheduled early release from prison axed on national security grounds.