Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ An Undersung and Unruly Woodstock in Pictures, 30 Years On

  A new photography show celebrates the 30th anniversary of Woodstock 1994, middle child to the festivals of 1969 and 1999.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Jason Gorman on speed and productivity

  Chef’s kiss, via Mastodon:

  If I go by plane, it takes me 8 hours to get to my Dad’s house. If the plane flew at twice the speed, it would take 7 1/2 hours.

  In case you were wondering why producing code faster hasn’t made much difference to your team’s productivity.

  This works on so many levels!

  If you haven’t had the chance to travel much before, there’s an unwritten rule that short to medium haul flights often constitute the shortest part of a trip, for a few reasons: [...]

• Ruben Schade ☛ House inspections

  Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days; Clara and I have been on our feet all day every day doing house inspections! Well, apartments specifically. It’s a full-time job.

  We’ve narrowed down to a few suburbs, streests, and places which feels unreal. Among the smarmy and slippery estate agents, we’ve also hit it off with a couple who buck the trend and have been helpful.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's May Not Actually Be a Brain Disease, Expert Reveals

  • Science Alert ☛ The Color of Your Tongue Reveals a Lot About Your State of Health

    Say aaaahhh.

  • Science Alert ☛ We Finally Know How Bacteria Shimmer in Brilliant Colors Without Pigment

    The mystery of nature's tiny rainbows solved.

  • Tedium ☛ From Segments To Pixels

    Handheld calculators saw a massive amount of innovation in the 1970s—thanks in no small part to LCD screens and a primitive form of typography.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Categorizing Steel

    In the movie Conan the Barbarian, we hear a great deal about “the riddle of steel.” We are never told exactly what that riddle is, but in modern times, it might be: What’s the difference between 4150 and 1020 steel? If you’ve been around a machine shop, you’ve probably heard the AISI/SAE numbers, but if you didn’t know what they mean, [Jason Lonon] can help. The video below covers what the grade numbers mean in detail.

  • Hackaday ☛ Meta Doesn’t Allow Camera Access On VR Headsets, So Here’s A Workaround

    The cameras at the front of Meta’s Quest VR headsets are off-limits to developers, but developer [Michael Gschwandtner] created a workaround (Linkedin post) and shared implementation details with a VR news site.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Magdeburg politicians raise concerns about possible defective chip maker Intel fab cancellation — plans drawn up for anchor investor withdrawal

    Uncertainty regarding Intel's fab building plans in Germany has started to ratchet up in recent days. The PC chipmaker has been preparing a large site for two large advanced chip fabs near Magdeburg. However, given the context of recent weeks, the local Saxony-Anhalt state government is understandably worried.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Detailed specs for dozen defective chip maker Intel Arrow Lake desktop CPUs leaks ahead of touted October 10 launch date

    Leakers shared detailed specifications of the upcoming defective chip maker Intel Arrow Lake processors, points to an October 10 launch for the defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra Series 200 chips.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Flood damage in North Korea clearly visible from across border; UN agency warns of more rain, possible aricultural damage

    Recovery will take time while aid is still being delivered.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says Philippine vessel 'deliberately collided' with Chinese vessel in the South China Sea

    BEIJING - China's Coast Guard said a Philippine vessel that had ignored its repeated warnings "deliberately collided" with a Chinese vessel in an \"unprofessional and dangerous\" manner, according to statements on Monday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: A new train service to spur Malaysia-China trade

  • RFA ☛ China digs up the past to shore up official version of history

    Beijing pours money and experts into Central Asian archaeology to boost its image as a benevolent power.

  • JURIST ☛ US House Republicans launch probe into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s China ties amid vice-presidential candidacy

    The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee led by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) launched an investigation on Friday into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s alleged connections to China. Rep. Comer sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, demanding information on Chinese entities and individuals connected to Governor Walz.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 3 crew on Chinese boat missing after collision off Taiwan island

    Three crew members from a Chinese fishing boat were missing on Saturday after their ship collided with an unidentified vessel and sank off the coast of a Taiwanese island, Taiwan’s coast guard said. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and relations between the two have deteriorated in recent years.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • JURIST ☛ Belarus president pardons 30 political prisoners

      Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 30 people convicted of “crimes of the protest variety” Friday. Of those released, 14 were women and 16 were men, all retirement-aged or people who suffer from serious illnesses.

    • RFERL ☛ Volcano In Russia's Far East Erupts After Powerful Earthquake

      One of Russia’s most active volcanoes has erupted, spewing plumes of ash 5 kilometers into the sky over the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East.

    • New York Times ☛ Russians Fleeing Ukraine’s Advance Border Regions Rush to Kursk

      In the regional capital, those who left their homes as Ukrainian forces tore into western Russia are uncertain whether they can ever return to their old lives.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says Second Bridge Hit In Russia's Kursk Region

      The commander of Ukraine’s air force says a second bridge in Russia’s Kursk region has been struck as Kyiv tries to weaken Russia’s combat operations in the area.

    • RFERL ☛ Claims Poland Involved In Nord Stream Sabotage 'Groundless,' Says Presidential Aide

      Suggestions that Ukrainian authorities supported by Poland were behind planning and executing the sabotage attack on Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 are groundless, the Polish president's aide said on August 18.

    • RFERL ☛ Belarusian Leader Says One-Third Of Army Deployed To Ukraine Border

      Belarus has deployed nearly one-third of its troops to the border with Ukraine, the country’s authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka told Russia’s state-run Rossia-1 television channel on August 18.

    • RFERL ☛ Hungary Says Worries Over Loosened Entry Restrictions For Belarusians And Russians Unfounded

      Hungary has responded to a letter sent by Nordic and Baltic countries expressing concern about Budapest’s decision to make it easier for Russian and Belarusian citizens to enter Hungary.

    • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Zelensky says Ukraine's offensive in Russia's Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone

      The incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Kursk region is aimed at “creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory“ to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday. Ukrainian forces struck another bridge over the Seym river in the Kursk region, the country's air force said.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Arrives In Azerbaijan On Visit To Shore Up Kremlin's Ties With Baku Amid Souring Relations With Armenia

      Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Azerbaijan for a two-day state visit, the Kremlin’s press service said on August 18.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Antiwar Activists Remember Navalny, Criticize Putin At Demonstration In Montenegro

      A group of Russian antiwar activists held a gathering in the Montenegrin city of Budva on August 18 in memory of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and to express their opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • New York Times ☛ ‘Bad Blood’ Stalks a Lithium Mine in Serbia

      A Rio Tinto mine that Europe sees as a critical source for electric vehicle batteries has been the target of enormous protests. “I don’t need green cars. I need green apples and green grass,” said one opponent.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Temporary halt in Hokkaido Airport security checks due to lost scissors causes flight delays and cancellations

      The temporary suspension in security checks caused 190 flight delays and 35 cancelled flights.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong leader John Lee says global economic engine has shifted to the East amid uncertainties

    The engine for global economic growth has shifted to the East amid uncertainties underpinned by the upcoming US presidential election, a volatile interest environment, and regional conflicts, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has said.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ A time to be bold: as traditional business strengths are eroded, Hong Kong must reinvent itself to survive

    In my 25 years living in Hong Kong, I have seen the city perennially struggle with its position as a global financial centre.

  • Breach Media ☛ Liberals and Tories perfected the exploitation of migrants for big business

    For everyone from Donald Trump to the United Nations, Canada’s system is seen as a highly effective way to control and manage migration for the needs of the corporate class

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Pro Publica ☛ Georgia Counties May Get More Say in Delaying Vote Certification

    Georgia’s GOP-controlled State Election Board is poised to adopt a rule on Monday that would give county election board members an additional avenue to delay certification of election results, potentially allowing them to throw the state’s vote count into chaos this fall.

    A former Fulton County election official who submitted an initial draft of the rule told ProPublica that she had done so at the behest of a regional leader of a right-wing organization involved in challenging the legitimacy of American election systems. That organization, the Election Integrity Network, is led by Cleta Mitchell, who helped orchestrate attempts to overturn the 2020 election and spoke on the call in which former President Donald Trump demanded that Georgia’s secretary of state “find” him 11,780 votes to undo Joe Biden’s victory.

  • New York Times ☛ Monday Briefing: The Democratic National Convention

    Plus, the dark side of Shen Yun

  • New York Times ☛ Social Media Influencers to Speak at the Democratic Convention

    While they have millions of followers on platforms like Fentanylware (TikTok) and Instagram, this week they will share the podium with the top tier of Democratic politics.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Reason ☛ When Attacks on Anarchists Accidentally Improved Free Speech Law

    After the crackdown on anarchists died down, it became more difficult to imagine anyone could go to jail in America solely for political heresy.

  • JURIST ☛ X announces closure of its Brazil operations following Brazil Supreme Court Justice Moraes’ content orders

    Media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced on Saturday the closure of its operations in Brazil following what it called “censorship orders” by Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • CS Monitor ☛ California tightens laws on retail theft, targeting repeat offenders

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bipartisan package of 10 bills aimed at curbing retail theft, targeting professional crime rings, and repeat offenders. The new laws, signed on Friday, focus on cracking down on repeat shoplifters, auto thieves, and those reselling stolen goods.

  • JURIST ☛ US appeals court rejects challenge to NYC George Floyd protest curfews

    A US federal appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of protest curfews in New York City. The curfews, established in response to demonstrations surrounding the murder of George Floyd by then-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, were implemented for a one-week period in 2020.

  • JURIST ☛ UNHRC accuses Bangladesh of ‘unnecessary’ use of force in student-led protests

    The UN Human Rights Office (UNHRC) said that there is a credible probability of “unnecessary” use of force by the Bangladeshi security forces against the student-led protesters that ousted the last government from power, in a report released on Friday.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Quirks of discarded traffic reporting on JunOS

    Guest Post: Why discarded traffic monitoring is so important and how major vendors deal with it.

Monopolies/Monopsonies