Leftovers

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] Alcohol abuse: Will liberal Germany ban teenage drinking?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Germany's ailing emergency healthcare service needs a revamp

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Ottawa pays First Nation in B.C. $147M for loss of water rights

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Canada's vaccine advisers now recommend 1 dose of HPV shot for younger groups

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Officials in P.E.I. 'working around the clock' to curb spread of oyster disease

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Nipah virus: A recurring, deadly threat in India

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] US bird flu outbreak: Interspecies transmission confirmed

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese Hey Hi (AI) built off open-source code matches American tech in chatbot benchmark tests

    Open-source Hey Hi (AI) code is fueling Chinese advancements in Hey Hi (AI) tech.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ DOJ Settles Privacy Act Lawsuit, Prepares for Peter Strzok’s Amended Complaint

      DOJ just settled the Privacy Act lawsuits of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFERL ☛ Belgium Orders 3 Chechens Jailed On Terrorism Charges

    Belgium was hit by suicide bombers in 2016, who attacked the country's main airport and its subway system.

  • New York Times ☛ Justice Dept. Defends Fentanylware (TikTok) Law That Forces App’s Sale or Ban

    In its first detailed response to a legal challenge, the agency said TikTok’s proposed changes wouldn’t prevent China from using it to collect U.S. users’ data or spread propaganda.

  • France24 ☛ Why Chinese Fentanylware (TikTok) is being accused of deleting Tibetan content

    It’s not new for the Chinese Communist Party to censor any social control media content about Tibet that has a political bent. However, in recent weeks, Tibetan users of Douyin, China’s Fentanylware (TikTok) equivalent, have said that any and all content in the Tibetan language is being censored, whether it is political or not. We spoke to a Tibetan woman in exile who also works for an NGO fighting to defend the human rights of Tibetans.

  • NYPost ☛ Plain Jane TikTokkers are proudly flaunting their ‘ugly privilege’: ‘I love that men don’t look at me’

    Sure, being pretty has it perks — but have you heard of "ugly privilege"?

  • France24 ☛ Israeli strike on Gaza school housing field hospital kills dozens, says health ministry

    An Israeli air strike hit a school housing a field hospital in central Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 30 people and wounding more than 100, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said its strike targeted Hamas "terrorists" operating from the school.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Strike on Israeli Golan kills at least 11 children, risking a broader war

    Hezbollah quickly denied any role in the attack, which Israel blamed on the militant group. The strike raises fears of war between the foes, who have been exchanging fire since the start of the Gaza invasion.

  • NYPost ☛ Trump blames ‘ineffective’ Biden, Harris for Hezbollah attacks on Israel that killed 12

    " I strongly condemn this bloodbath. We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation."

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Philippines and China reach South China Sea 'arrangement'

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] North Korea flies more balloons across border with South

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Pakistan complains over flag removal at Frankfurt consulate

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] EU funding to boost Benin defence force capabilities amid growing instability

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] ISIS SA cells named in US Treasury action against ISIS

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] DR Congo truce extended to early August as fighting continues

  • BIA Net ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Turkish, Syrian forces clash amid ‘normalization’ talk

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Taiwan holds drills simulating defense against China attacks

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Belgian police detain terror suspects and raid homes

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Nepal family holds out hope for son taken hostage by Hamas

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Niger: One year after coup, junta remains vague on future

  • New York Times ☛ Blinken and a Top Chinese Official in Talks on U.S.-China Tensions

    The U.S. secretary of state pressed China’s top foreign policy official on Beijing’s support for Russia’s efforts to rebuild its military industries during the Ukraine war.

  • New York Times ☛ What to Know About Kamala Harris’s Foreign Policy Positions

    Here is what we know about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s views on issues like migration and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Blinken reiterates to China US concern over ‘provocative’ drills around Taiwan

      Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Saturday discussed China’s “provocative” military drills around the self-ruled island of Taiwan and Beijing’s support for Russia’s defence industry on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional summit in Laos.

    • JURIST ☛ OHCHR declares Russia must immediately release activist Alexey Sokolov and drop all charges against him

      The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a press release on Friday stating that Russia must release activist Alexey Sokolov from detention and drop all charges against him.

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow, Russian Church Lash Out At Olympic Kickoff In Paris

      Russian state officials and religious leaders have leveled bitter criticism at the opening ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, seizing on the wet weather and flamboyant first-night costumes to detract from global games where Russian participation is strictly curbed.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Warships Make Routine Visit To Cuba

      Havana residents watched from shore on July 27 as Russian warships arrived for the second time in as many months, in a visit that Cuba called routine.

    • JURIST ☛ Poland lawmakers approve bill allowing border guards to use firearms against migrants

      The lower house of the Parliament of Poland, known as Sejm of the Republic of Poland (SRP), approved a bill permitting the country’s Armed Forces, the Police and the Border Guard to use firearms against migrants attempting to illegally cross the Belarusian border.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Said To Claim Attack On Murmansk Airfield, Notes Russian Helicopter Losses

      Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) on July 27 claimed its drones attacked the Olenya airfield in Russia's far northern Murmansk region, saying it struck a TU-22M3 strategic bomber, and said three Russian army helicopters had been destroyed in Russian territory over the previous week.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Strikes Target Ukraine's Southern Kherson Region; Ambulance Hit By Drone

      Russian forces targeted more than a dozen settlements in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, an official said, and a Russian drone hit an ambulance, wounding its driver.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia takes control of Lozuvatske settlement in eastern Ukraine

      MOSCOW - Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had taken control of the settlement of Lozuvatske in the Pokrovsk sector of Ukraine's Donetsk region, site of some of the most heated frontline battles in the 29-month-old war.

    • New York Times ☛ ‘No One to Talk To’: The Lingering Trauma of Russian Rape in Ukraine

      Prosecutors in Ukraine are pursuing cases of sexual assault by Russian soldiers, but survivors say more financial and psychological support is needed.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] Belarus says in talks over German man sentenced to death

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] Belarus: Alexander Lukashenko has been in power 30 years

• Environment

  • RFERL ☛ In Iran, Record Heat Shutters Government Offices And Banks

    Government offices and banks throughout Iran were to remain closed on July 28 to avoid overtaxing power networks amid "extreme and unprecedented heat," which prompted similar shutdowns earlier this week, officials said.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] 'Extreme heat epidemic' hitting humanity, UN warns

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Explained: Extreme cold in Argentina’s Patagonia region

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Why typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones are getting stronger

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Plaintiffs Drop 5 Climate Cases at Europe's Human Rights Court

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Britain's Climate Change Plan Challenged in Landmark Court Case

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] US Targets Nitrous Oxide in New Phase of Climate Fight

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Climate Change Imperils Drought-Stricken Morocco’s Cereal Farmers and Its Food Supply

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Climate monitor records hottest-ever day in July

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] EPA Awards $4.3 Billion to Fund Projects in 30 States to Reduce Climate Pollution

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] What Would a Harris Presidency Mean for the Climate?

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] South Africa Passes Its First Sweeping Climate Change Law

  • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] ‘Wood Vaulting’ Explained: The Climate Solution You’ve Never Heard Of

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Germany: Climate protesters block Cologne/Bonn airport

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] The time we’ve wasted on climate inaction

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Explainer-Harris' Business Views: Friendly to Big Tech, Aggressive in Climate Fight

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] The Staggering Nihilism of the GOP’s Climate Policy Was on Display This Week

  • Vox ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] What Kamala Harris’s track record on climate makes clear

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Analysis-Nuclear Wildcard Reignites Australia's Climate Wars

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Biden Administration Announces $4.3 Billion in Climate Grants

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Would naming heat waves change how you respond to the threat of heat?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Typhoon Gaemi hits China after cargo ship sinks in Taiwan

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Surprise as S. Korea wins bid to build Czech nuclear reactors

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Creating wind energy using planes, trains and automobiles?

    • CBC ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Quebec investing another $413M in Airbus partnership to keep assembly line in the province

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Greener greenhouses promise more energy-efficient growing power

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] India Has Ramped up Its Wind and Solar Energy. It Now Needs to Expand Places to Store It

    • NL Times ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Dutch energy company to invest almost €8 billion in sustainable gas storage

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrested in Greenland

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-26 [Older] Canada: Raging wildfire destroys tourist town

    • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Positive news on several notable wildfires burning in B.C.

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Park Rangers in Canada Search for Stragglers in Evacuation Zone of Two Big Wildfires

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Wildfire Smoke Chokes Parts of Canada and Western US, With Some Areas Under Air Quality Alerts

    • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Refugee health-care workers bringing strong skills, full hearts as they take on new jobs in a new land

    • CBC ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Man punches grizzly in face during bear attack in northern B.C.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-26 [Older] Brazil court overturns Amazon highway decision

• Finance

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Ontario Booze Workers Strike Against Privatization

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] House committee to investigate purchase of Canada's new $9M condo in NYC

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Canada might struggle to rein in surge of temporary residents, Bank of Canada projects

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-24 [Older] Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate again, more cuts 'reasonable' if inflation keeps easing

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Can Venezuela finally reap its oil riches after election?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] German rail firm Deutsche Bahn plunges deeper into red

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] The Billionaires’ Party and the Union Leader

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Nashville Grapples With Lingering Neo-Nazi Presence in Tourist-Friendly City

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-07-18 [Older] J.D. Vance RNC Speech Rewrites History, Downplays Anti-Abortion Views

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • International Business Times ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] 'It's A Racist And Demeaning Facebook Post': Why Was Kamala Harris Accused Of Using Sex To Advance Her Career In 2020?

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Fact check: Any truth behind the viral Kamala Harris claims?

    • International Business Times ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Meta Takes Down 63K Instagram Accounts, 5,700 Facebook Groups And 1,300 Facebook Accounts Linked To Sextortion Schemes

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-25 [Older] Germany: Far-right magazine Compact appeals ban

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2024-07-18 [Older] Supreme Court Affirms Platforms’ First Amendment Right to Curate Speech

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Uganda detains dozens of anti-corruption demonstrators

  • HRW ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Decree in Cameroon Unjustifiably Censors Free Speech

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Germany issues advisory against travel to Bangladesh

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] Bangladesh: Military enforces curfew after protests

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-20 [Older] Bangladesh sees toughest civil unrest in decades

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-07-21 [Older] Bangladesh top court cuts back job quotas after unrest

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Unable to afford a burial, this mother's grief is compounded with her daughter lying in a freezer

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-23 [Older] Influx of anti-drag 'grooming' emails preceded N.B.'s pronoun policy review, documents reveal

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] With assisted death, Christian clergy face profound questions

  • CBC ☛ 2024-07-22 [Older] Struggling with infertility, Ottawa couple told they can't foster children, either

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Hackaday ☛ A History Of Internet Outages

    We heard a story that after the recent hurricane, a man noted that while the house was sweltering hot because the power was still out, his kids were more anxious for the internet to come back online. The Internet is practically a basic necessity for most people, but as you may have noticed with the recent CrowdStrike debacle, the Internet isn’t always reliable. Granted, the problem in that case wasn’t the Internet per se, but a problem with many critical hosts that provide services. [Thomas Germain] from the BBC took the opportunity to recall some of the more bizarre reasons we’ve had massive Internet outages in the past.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • Tenth Sunday After Pentecost (G)

      When I cried to the Lord He heard my voice, from them that draw near to me; and He humbled them, Who is before all ages, and remains for ever: cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

    • art shit

      i've been thinking about art and how i'm constantly experimenting and looking for something "real", instead of just leaning into what i know i like. as if what i like isn't real because? it's too easy? because it's mine? not Fancy enough?

      having gone to the art museum i've been reminded of the breadth of art. i miss that from art school, being surrounded by people who have such a broad understanding of what can be art. not just in a permissive way but in an appreciative way, curious and experimenting themselves. "regular" people who are "into art" for the most part enjoy... things "aesthetically pleasing" within certain standard parameters, standard media, expected themes. it's either classical enough to imagine among the ancient statues and the mona lisa, or it's the slop of algorithm, those are the two "good art" options.