Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Leftovers

  • Chris ☛ ACX 2024 Prediction Contest Halfway Review

  • Hackaday ☛ Hack On Self: Sense Of Time

    Every now and then, a commercial product aims to help you in your life journey, in a novel way, making your life better through its presence. Over the years, I’ve been disappointed by such products far more often than I have been reassured, seeing each one of them rendered unimaginative and purposeless sometimes even despite the creator’s best intentions. The pressures of a commercial market will choke you out without remorse, metal fingers firmly placed on your neck, tightening with every move that doesn’t promise profit, and letting money cloud your project’s vision. I believe that real answers can only come from within hacker communities, and as we explore, you might come to see it the same way.

  • Digital Music News ☛ OnePlus Commissions Finnish Metal Band Lordi to Write a Song

    The Nord 4 is the only 5G metal unibody phone currently on the market. To maximize their collaboration, Lordi has also been spotted posing with a number of other OnePlus devices, including the OnePlus Pad 2. The tablet, which also features a metal body, serves as another device to which the band could serenade in their new song.

  • Medevel ☛ Mint language, Write and Deploy your first Mint SPA app, Build a Todo List and Deploy to Vercel

    A Beginner's Guide to Mint: Creating and Deploying a To-Do List App

  • Hackaday ☛ Benchy In A Bottle

    Making something enjoyable often requires a clever trick. It could be a way to cut something funny or abuse some peripheral in a way it was never designed for. Especially good tricks have a funny way of coming up again and again. [DERAILED3D] put a 3d printed benchy in a bottle with one of the best tricks 3d printing has.

  • Science

    • Science Alert ☛ Astonishing Videos Capture Chimpanzees Saying Actual Human Words

    • Science Alert ☛ Venting Doesn't Reduce Anger, But Something Else Does, Study Says

    • Science Alert ☛ Fossils From The Heart of Greenland Reveal a Greater Threat of Rising Seas

      It really was once green.

    • Science Alert ☛ One Group of People Might Benefit From Taking Fish Oil to Slow Alzheimer's

      Is this you?

    • Science Alert ☛ Hormone Discovery Could Explain Why Migraines Are Worse When Menstruating

      It could also point to a solution.

    • Science Alert ☛ Smallest Known Species of Human May Have Had an Even Smaller Ancestor

      What's smaller than a hobbit?

  • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

    • New York Times ☛ E.P.A. Pulls Pesticide Dacthal From the Market Over Health Concerns

      The herbicide, used widely on crops including broccoli and onions, can cause low birth weight and impaired brain development, regulators said.

    • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Rising temps, rising anxiety: Climate change creates emerging mental health challenge

      Academic researchers and practicing psychologists have identified climate anxiety as an increasingly common stressor.

    • LRT ☛ Fears and bureaucracy slow down progress of 5G development in Lithuania

      Lithuania wants to bring 5G connectivity to all households in the country by 2030. However, network development is hampered by concerns about health effects and “visual pollution” of communications towers.

    • Latvia ☛ Swimming still not recommended in many areas of Latvia

      Last week's high rainfall affected the quality of bathing water in Jelgava, Jūrmala, Rīga, and elsewhere. The Health Inspectorate urges people not to swim at 15 official bathing sites and bans swimming altogether at five, Latvian Television reported August 5.

  • Security

    • Privacy/Surveillance

      • AccessNow ☛ From surveillance to doxxing: Venezuelan authorities must end their violent crackdown on dissent

        Read in Spanish More than 100 civil society organizations, academics, and individual human rights defenders have issued an urgent call to action in response to the alarming use of technology

  • Defence/Aggression

    • RFA ☛ US historian found guilty of working as Chinese spy

      The case against Shujun Wang is part of a broader US campaign against China’s espionage operations.

    • The Strategist ☛ Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders

      It isn’t clear whether Hanwha Ocean is still interested in buying Australian shipbuilder Austal [...]

    • RFA ☛ To guard against Chinese buildup, Philippines will not leave Sabina Shoal

      Chinese ships have gathered near the reef in the Spratly Islands, a Philippine Navy official said.

    • RFA ☛ Myanmar rebels claim capture of town on road to China

      The defeat of junta forces in Kyaukme would be a second big blow for the military in days.

    • ADF ☛ U.S. Hands Over Agadez Base as Niger Withdrawal Nears Conclusion

      The U.S. is on track to withdraw forces from Niger more than a month ahead of schedule.

    • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of October 7 attacks, as new political leader

      Hamas said on Tuesday it had chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the October 7 attacks, as its new leader. Sinwar replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike, sending regional tensions soaring. Sinwar's appointment comes after Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed a "strong and effective" response to the killing of its military commander by Israel last week no matter the consequences, adding that Hezbollah would act either alone or with its regional allies.

    • France24 ☛ UN calls for 'urgent de-escalation' as tensions mount in Middle East

      UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Monday pleaded for “all parties” to “urgently de-escalate what has become a very precarious situation” amid growing fears of an Iranian attack on Israel. Regional tensions have soared since last week's assassination of Hamas's political leader in Tehran and Israel's killing of Hezbollah's military chief in Beirut.

    • New York Times ☛ Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? Here’s What to Know.

      Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran last week, an attack for which it has blamed Israel.

    • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

      • Meduza ☛ Why I Swam Upstream See the trailer for a new documentary about Soviet sexologist Igor Kon — and support Meduza to watch the film early — Meduza

      • Atlantic Council ☛ Russia’s Black Sea defeats get flushed down Vladimir Putin’s memory hole

        Vladimir Putin's readiness to flush Russia's Black Sea naval defeats down the memory hole is a reminder that the Kremlin propaganda machine controls Russian reality and can easily rebrand any retreat from Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

      • Latvia ☛ Paris protest, Latvian insight: Street art and disinformation

        This June, five coffins filled with plaster, draped in French flags, and inscribed with "French soldiers in Ukraine" were discovered near the Eiffel Tower. At first, it seemed like an anonymous protest by the French against their government’s consideration of sending military personnel to Ukraine. But police soon detained three foreign nationals who had been paid 400 euros to deposit the coffins.

      • NYPost ☛ War is fraught but winnable in Ukraine —if West steps up against Russia: retired general

        The war in Ukraine is still not stalemated. Ukraine can regain strategically vital ground. But the Russians can also still win if the West’s will to continue supporting Ukraine falters.

      • LRT ☛ A hedgehog in Russia’s throat? Understanding Lithuania's citizen army

        During the opening stage of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s army devastated Russian forces through the use of drones, ambushes, and society-wide mobilisation. Lithuania is now aiming to prepare its population to do the same.

      • RFERL ☛ Hugo Boss Exits Russia Over Ukraine Invasion

        Hugo Boss has completed the sale of its Russian business, the German luxury fashion brand has announced, the latest Western company to exit Russia over its unprovoked war in Ukraine.

      • RFERL ☛ At Least 1 Killed, Several Wounded In Latest Exchange Of Strikes Between Russia, Ukraine

        Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 drones and 4 out of 6 missiles over the Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolayiv and Khmelnytskiy regions early on August 6, Ukraine's air force said.

      • New York Times ☛ Long Battle for a Ruined City Takes a Desperate Turn

        Ukrainian troops are engaged in a harsh struggle for Toretsk, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine that has been under relentless assault by Russian forces.

      • New York Times ☛ As Ukraine Collects Medals in Paris, Its Sports Pipeline Is in Tatters

        Facilities have been battered. Coaches are in short supply. Children have moved abroad. Ukraine faces a long hard road toward rebuilding its athletic programs.

      • RFERL ☛ Russia Says Hundreds Of Ukrainian Troops Attacked Border Region Of Kursk

        The Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian military of attacking its positions in Russia's Kursk region on August 6, while Ukraine said its forces shot down drones, a missile, and a helicopter over the Sumy region on the other side of the border.

      • Meduza ☛ Border breach: Moscow says fighting ongoing as troops repel Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region — Meduza

      • Meduza ☛ Buried alive: POW lists published by Ukraine include dozens of Russian soldiers Moscow declared dead or missing — Meduza

      • RFERL ☛ Another Former Russian Defense Official Detained On Corruption Charges

        Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 6 that another former Defense Ministry official has been arrested on corruption charges amid an ongoing crackdown on defense officials.

      • RFERL ☛ Russia Expels Moldovan Diplomat In Tit-For-Tat Move

        The Russian Foreign Ministry said on August 6 it summoned Moldova's charges d'affaires and informed him that an employee of the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow had been declared persona non grata in response to a similar move by Moldova last week.

      • RFERL ☛ Former Moscow City Official's Appeal Against Pretrial Detention Rejected

        The Moscow City Court on August 6 rejected the appeal filed by Aleksandr Kibovsky, a former member of the Moscow municipal government, against his pretrial detention on charges of fraud and bribe-taking.

      • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Doctor Who Criticized Lukashenka Flees To Lithuania After Arrest In Russia

        Belarusian activist Andrey Stryzhak said on August 6 that noted physician Uladzimer Martau, who is wanted in Minsk on extremism charges, has fled to Lithuania.

      • RFERL ☛ 3 Years In Prison Over Online Comments In Russia's Bashkortostan

        A court in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan sentenced a resident of the city of Neftekamsk on August 6 to three years in prison over six comments he made in private online conversations.

      • RFERL ☛ Russian Journalist Kolezev Sentenced To 7 1/2 Years In Absentia

        A Moscow court on August 6 sentenced in absentia Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev to 7 1/2 years in prison on a charge of "distributing false information about the Russian military motivated by political hatred."

      • RFERL ☛ Thousands Of Tajik Migrant Workers Deported From Russia Since Deadly Crocus Attack

        Thousands of Tajiks were deported from Russia in the first half of the year, with the exodus accelerating after authorities began carrying out sweeping checks of immigrants in the aftermath of a March terror attack by gunmen, four of whom are suspects from Tajikistan.

      • RFERL ☛ 3 Killed In Blast At Weapons Factory In Russia's Bashkortostan

        Three people have been killed in an explosion at a weapons factory in Sterlitamak, in Russia's Bashkortostan, authorities said.

      • CS Monitor ☛ Russians used to love the Olympics. This year, not so much.

        Most Russian athletes are stuck outside looking in at the Paris Olympics. That has dissuaded the Russian public from paying the Games any heed.

      • New York Times ☛ Can Freed Russian Dissidents Help Energize Opposition Movement?

        The release of activists like Ilya Yashin gives new hope to an movement in which various groups are often at war with each other. But many have doubts.

      • Meduza ☛ Russian authorities inform local Internet service providers that most YouTube access is now capped at a piddling 128 kbps — Meduza

      • Meduza ☛ ‘Everything is better’: Why a growing number of migrant workers from Uzbekistan are choosing Poland over Russia — Meduza

      • Meduza ☛ ‘A deliberate policy’: How reverence for Stalin stopped being a fringe view among Russian politicians — Meduza

      • Latvia ☛ Lithuania sends border guards to assist Latvia

        Nine Lithuanian border guards traveled to Latvia on Monday, August 5, to help protect the country's border with Belarus, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service told newswire LETA.

  • Environment

    • Ruben Schade ☛ The importance of trees

      I was talking with fellow Australian BSD gentleman Jason Tubnor on Mastodon yesterday, and he said this:

      You need green in your life to make you feel real.

    • DeSmog ☛ Between Optimism and Despair: The Messy Middle Paths Through Climate Breakdown

    • Energy/Transportation

      • DeSmog ☛ Two-Thirds of People in Climate Denier Nigel Farage’s Constituency Are Worried About Rising Temperatures

  • Finance

    • Tech Tremors: 125,000 Jobs Lost as Industry Giants Tighten Belts | Microsoft, Intel, Tesla

      In July 2024 alone, the tech industry experienced significant layoffs, affecting over 8,000 professionals across 34 companies

      1 lakh 25 thousand jobs lost!Most of you won't be shocked to hear that.

      In July 2024 alone, the tech industry experienced significant layoffs, affecting over 8,000 professionals across 34 companies.

      This has taken the tally of layoffs for the year to a staggering one lakh twenty-five thousand, spread across 384 companies worldwide.

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ Sheinbaum says Mexico’s economy is ‘strong’ while preparing for ‘every scenario’

      In response to global market uncertainty and a possible U.S. recession, the president-elect highlighted Mexico's "healthy" public finances and stability.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan has one-year debt rollover commitments from key lenders, Bloomberg says

      KARACHI - Pakistan has secured commitments from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to roll over debt for a year, a boost for Karachi as it awaits final approval of a new $7 billion loan programme with the IMF, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

    • RFA ☛ China wants people to eat out and take in more trips and shows

      The State Council orders local governments to offer incentives and deals to encourage consumer spending.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s indebted property giant Evergrande seeks to recover US$6 billion ‘dividends and remuneration’

      China’s heavily indebted real estate giant Evergrande said Monday that it and its liquidators were seeking to recover about US$6 billion in dividends and remuneration from seven people or entities, including its founder.

    • JURIST ☛ UK government to repeal legislation allowing minimum service level requirements in public sector during strikes

      The new UK government announced Tuesday its plan to invalidate the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which the previous parliament passed to sustain a minimum level of work in critical public sectors during strikes.

  • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • New York Times ☛ To Save His Shrinking City, a Mayor Turns to Koreans Uprooted by Stalin

      Like many South Korean cities, Jecheon is being eroded by rapid aging and rock-bottom birthrates. Can ethnic Korean migrants from Central Asia turn it around?

    • RFA ☛ Harris’s VP pick has extensive China ties

      Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz taught in China in 1989 and later became an outspoken critic of its government.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ VP pick, has a notable record on cyber

      The Democrat signed a cyber executive order for Minnesota, a data privacy law and more.

    • JURIST ☛ Venezuela president rejects EU election verification call amid election controversy

      Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced the EU’s call for election verification as a disgrace on Monday after the controversial elections in July.

  • Censorship/Free Speech

    • Reason ☛ D.C. Circuit Strikes Down Automated Filtering of Supposedly "Off-Topic" Comments on NIH Site

      In last week's People for Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Tabak, the D.C. Circuit (in an opinion by Judge Bradley Garcia, joined by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson and Patricia Millett), held that NIH's automated filtering of comments on Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram pages was unconstitutional.

    • Medevel ☛ Blocking Instagram in Turkey and Its Impact on Business and Marketing

      Social media platforms like Instagram play a crucial role in modern communication, business, and marketing. However, in some countries, these platforms face restrictions or complete blocks, affecting millions of users.

    • ACLU ☛ High School Students Explain Why We Can’t Let Classroom Censorship Win

      In U.S. classrooms and libraries, a coordinated attack on students’ right to learn is underway.

      Since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills or taken other steps to restrict how teachers can teach about racism and sexism in the classroom. These unlawful efforts impact students as young as five or six, and exist throughout the education system, reaching high school students and those at higher education institutions. In addition to censoring classroom conversations, lawmakers and school boards have also enacted sweeping book bans that further restrict access to diverse viewpoints.

  • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Press Gazette ☛ BBC plan to cut TV news in Scotland cleared by Ofcom

      BBC allowed to cut evening news on BillBC Scotland from one hour to 30 minutes.

    • Press Gazette ☛ News media job cuts 2024 tracked: 50 layoffs at Axios and 20% payroll cut at Tampa Bay Times

  • Civil Rights/Policing

    • ACLU ☛ How Kamala Harris Can Secure Federal Abortion Protection Once and For All

      The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade set off a wave of new attacks on abortion, causing a catastrophic public health crisis and rapidly eroding our civil liberties and reproductive freedom. So far, 14 states have banned abortion completely, and others have severely limited access to abortion by criminalizing it after the earliest weeks of pregnancy.

      Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party’s nominee, has already indicated her support for abortion access and other forms of reproductive health care. At one of her first campaign events, she stated that if Congress “passes a law to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States I will sign it into law.”

  • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

    • APNIC ☛ Bytes from IETF 120 — deep-space networking

      Can we (or why can’t we) use the IP suite in space?

    • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Welcomes New Policy Analyst To Bolster Policy Efforts [Ed: After adding a Microsofter they add a Google person; what does this make an institution like that?]

      Public Knowledge is pleased to announce one addition and two changes to our staff.  First, Public Knowledge welcomes Morgan Wilsmann, Policy Analyst, to the team. Ms. Wilsmann will focus her policy work on content moderation and platform regulation.

    • Internet Society ☛ Connectivity is a Team Sport: Bridging the Digital Divide

      While many of us take for granted the ability to watch live Olympic events, many fans around the world are excluded due to a lack of connectivity.

  Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • JUVE ☛ R2 Semiconductor and HSF unsuccessful with lawsuit against defective chip maker Intel in London [Ed: A patent monopoly from EPO, which breaks the law and breaks the rules to grant many fake patents]

      Intel has prevailed in the UK with its revocation counterclaim against R2 Semiconductor’s EP 3 376 653 B1. The UK High Court under presiding judge Richard Hacon declared the patent monopoly invalid at the end of July (case ID: HP-2022-000031). R2 Semiconductor develops high-frequency semiconductor technology for power management.

  • Trademarks

    • TTAB Blog ☛ CAFC Affirms TTAB in Genericness Refusal of MODULAR GABION SYSTEMS for . . . . Guess What?

      In a nonprecedential decision, the CAFC upheld the Board's affirmance [pdf here] of a refusal to register the proposed mark MODULAR GABION SYSTEMS for "Gabions of steel wire" on the grounds of genericness or, alternatively, mere descriptiveness and lack of acquired distinctiveness. In re C.E. Shepherd Company, LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1308 (Fed. Cir. August 1, 2024).