Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Singles in Spain Look for Love in the Grocery Store, With Pineapples as Prop

  How the Spanish grocery chain Mercadona got a reputation as an unlikely dating hub, with its upside-down pineapples as props.

• Silicon Angle ☛ Google Search now links to ancient websites via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine

  Starting today, Google LLC’s search engine platform will provide direct links to cached articles within The Internet Archive‘s Wayback Machine, adding historical context to user’s search results.

• Sean Conner ☛ This could maybe explain some of the emails I received, but not all of them

  He also stated that people could just really be that bad with email addresses.

• Science

  • Defector ☛ Neither Elon Musk Nor Anybody Else Will Ever Colonize Mars

    Mars does not have a magnetosphere. Any discussion of humans ever settling the red planet can stop right there, but of course it never does. Do you have a low-cost plan for, uh, creating a gigantic active dynamo at Mars's dead core? No? Well. It's fine. I'm sure you have some other workable, sustainable plan for shielding live Mars inhabitants from deadly solar and cosmic radiation, forever. No? Huh. Well then let's discuss something else equally realistic, like your plan to build a condo complex in Middle Earth.

  • Vox ☛ How research grant applications are slowing scientific progress

    If you do get a grant, they usually expire after a few years — far less time than it normally takes to make groundbreaking discoveries. And most grants, even the most prestigious ones, don’t provide enough money to keep a lab running on their own.

    Between the endless cycle of grant applications and the constant turnover of early-career researchers in labs, pushing science forward is slow at best and Sisyphean at worst.

    In other words, science has a short-term memory problem — but there are steps funding agencies can take to make it better.

• Education

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ Why a ruling against the Internet Archive threatens the future of America’s libraries

    Then libraries must purchase each individual copy of each individual title that they want to offer as an e-book. These e-book copies are not only priced at a steep markup—up to 300% over consumer retail—but are also time- and loan-limited, meaning the files self-destruct after a certain number of loans. The library then needs to repurchase the same book, at a new price, in order to keep it in stock.

    This upending of the traditional order puts massive financial strain on libraries and the taxpayers that fund them. It also opens up a world of privacy concerns; while libraries are restricted in the reader data they can collect and share, private companies are under no such obligation.

  • Sandor Dargo ☛ The limits of a portfolio job

    I’m not saying that you must love all your tasks, but I do think that out of the three requirements of business need, skills and interest, at least two should be met. If only one is fulfilled, it’s not going to work out well.

  • Daniel Lemire ☛ The PhD Paradox: A Journey into Academia’s Upside-Down World

    Here’s the catch: this system works like a charm as long as universities are expanding. But what happens when they hit the brakes? You guessed it – a PhD glut. With more PhDs than professorships, the job market turns into a gladiatorial arena where only the most politically savvy survive. This isn’t just about competition; it’s about who can navigate the labyrinthine politics of academia.

  • The Verge ☛ This is the end of the influential XOXO festival for [Internet] creators

    Those shifts affected XOXO, too. The festival had scaled down because there were fewer sponsors. The tech companies that had been important for the creator economy stopped spending money on independent events like XOXO. Instead, they focused on their own events, which they could control. “In the last five years they’ve cut their, I assume, marketing budgets,” Baio says. “They’ve tightened their belts.”

• Hardware

  • New York Times ☛ China’s Huawei Unveils the Mate XT, Its $2,800 ‘Trifold’ Phone

    The latest announcement from Apple’s China rival came just hours after the unveiling of iPhone 16.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Why I won't buy an defective chip maker Intel Lunar Lake-powered laptop

    Intel’s new mobile chips promise better performance and longer battery life, but they snub power users like me.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel’s CHIPS Act fund delayed by officials — Washington reportedly wants more information before disbursing billions of dollars

    Intel's CHIPS Act funds are reportedly being delayed as Washington requests a more concrete manufacturing roadmap from the company.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake desktop CPU launch reportedly delayed to October 24

    Hong Kong media outlet HKEPC claims that Intel's Core Ultra 200-series desktop CPUs will be delayed until late October.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Australia Plans to Set Age Limits for Social Media

    The government is considering setting a minimum age for platforms like Fentanylware (TikTok) and Instagram that could be as high as 16.

  • New York Times ☛ Polio Vaccinations Begin in Northern Gaza After Israel Detained a UN Convoy

    The U.N. said that Israeli forces had held staff members at gunpoint for several hours. The Israeli military said that it had intelligence suggesting there were “Palestinian suspects” with the convoy.

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Arizona’s Medicaid Fraud Crackdown Hurt Native American Patients

    Before her fifth birthday, Rainy had experienced a lifetime of trauma. As an infant, she witnessed violence at home before child welfare authorities intervened and her parents were incarcerated. Night terrors followed. Then, she endured the death of her great uncle who had taken on the role of dad.

    She didn’t speak until she was nearly 5. Any separation from her great aunt-turned-adoptive mother, Lisa Enas, triggered panic attacks, and reminders of her great uncle’s death left her nearly inconsolable.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Former Medical Examiner Recants Testimony in Russell Maze Case

    The Nashville, Tennessee, medical examiner who determined 24 years ago that Russell and Kaye Maze’s young son, Alex, was the victim of homicide — a finding that helped persuade a jury to send Russell to prison for life — now says he was wrong.

    “I recant my trial testimony that Bryan Maze suffered from shaken baby syndrome,” Dr. Bruce Levy stated in a sworn affidavit, which used the child’s legal name. “If called to testify now, I would assert Bryan Maze’s brain, at the time of his death, showed no indication, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, of prior trauma or abuse. Instead, the residual brain lesions viewed at autopsy more likely than not resulted from a natural disease process.”

  • NYPost ☛ Fox News’ Janice Dean gives heartfelt take on Cuomo’s DC appearance over COVID nursing-home deaths

    I'm grateful for the subcommittee because now there's all sorts of documentation. There's paperwork. There's evidence that he lied and denied and should be held accountable.

  • NYPost ☛ Cuomo branded ‘lying sack of s—t’ by furious families, lawmakers as he repeatedly deflects blame for NY COVID nursing home deaths during House hearing

    Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) added to The Post: “It just confirmed that Andrew Cuomo is a lying sack of s—t.”

  • Off Guardian ☛ A Plausibility Probe of 9/11 and COVID-19 as ‘Structural Deep Events’

    We are pleased to announce that the Journal of 9/11 Studies has published a new article by Dr. Piers Robinson and Kevin Ryan entitled “A Plausibility Probe of 9/11 and COVID-19 as ‘Structural Deep Events’.” In this article, Robinson and Ryan develop a new framework for examining major crisis events.

  • European Commission ☛ Remarks via Video Message by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the Conference on Long Covid

    European Commission Speech Brussels, 10 Sep 2024 Distinguished Guests,

    I am delighted to join you today to close the Conference, marking the launch of a new project focusing on supporting Long-COVID patients.

  • LRT ☛ Suicide remains grave problem among Lithuania’s elderly

    While the overall number of suicides in Lithuania is decreasing and more young people are seeking emotional help, the problem persists among people aged over 60.

  • Latvia ☛ Suicide remains a Europe-wide problem

    September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.

  • The Conversation ☛ Why we haven’t evolved better knees – new research

    Many of the knee problems we face today are new problems our ancestors did not experience. For example, in 2017, research suggested that the sedentary lifestyle of the post-industrial world may have led to a 2.1-fold increase in the rate of knee osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis of the knee. When the researchers studied the remains of hunter gatherers who lived up to 6,000 years ago, they discovered that knee osteoarthritis was probably not a problem at all back then. In the UK today over a third of people over 45 in the UK, have sought treatment for osteoarthritis – primarily for the knee.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Sweden advises parents to ban digital screens for toddlers

    Sweden suggests that toddlers should not have any exposure to digital screens, including television. The recommendations ease slightly as the children age: From 2 to 5 years old, they should have a maximum of one hour a day in front of a screen, while for youngsters aged 6 to 12 it’s two hours. Teenagers should have no more than three hours of screen time a day.

    Sweden’s suggestions came after research found that children reported negative effects like poorer sleep, depression, and limited physical activity with high use of digital devices.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Neowin ☛ Samsung is reportedly planning to announce some major layoffs worldwide

    Samsung Electronics may be about to join the list of major technology companies that have cut their workforce in 2024. According to a report from Reuters, via unnamed sources, Samsung will be cutting a number of sales and marketing jobs by as much as 15 percent worldwide. In addition, it is reportedly going to cut its administration staff by as much as 30 percent worldwide.

    The sources also told Reuters that the job cuts would be made by the end of 2024. At the moment, there are no specifics on how many of Samsung"s employees will be affected by these layoffs.

    Samsung sent a statement regarding these reports. It says that "workforce adjustments" in its operations were "routine." It added that there were no specific business targets for these "adjustments," and they would not affect any of Samsung"s production team members.

  • The Register UK ☛ Dell says biz transformation continues. Translation: More layoffs

    Dell reported a smashing quarter, and employees should be prepared for what that means: Layoffs.

    In its latest 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, published in the wake of its fiscal Q2 2025 earnings report, the systems maker admitted that those sparkling sales numbers don't change the fact that AI means "business transformation" will continue.

    "We remain committed to disciplined cost management in coordination with our ongoing business transformation initiatives and will continue to take certain measures to reduce costs, including limitation of external hiring, employee reorganizations, and other actions to align our investments with our strategic priorities and customer needs," Dell said in its SEC filing.

  • 404 Media ☛ Stalker Allegedly Created AI Chatbot on NSFW Platform to Dox and Harass Woman

    “The Victim’s name, image, and personal information was also used to create at least three (3) artificial intelligence-driven chatbots on two different platforms between approximately September 2023 and July 2024,” the court records state.

    “The chatbots were programmed with the Victim’s personal and professional information which would then inform the chatbot on how to respond to users during a chat,” it adds. “This information included the Victim’s date of birth, home address, employment information, education, hobbies, typical dress, the names and employment of her husband and a close friend, and even the date of her mother’s death. For example, based on my review of subscriber information associated with one of the chatbots and my conversation with a chatbot administrator, if another user interacting with the chatbot asked the ‘Victim’ where she lived, the chatbot could provide the Victim’s true home address followed by ‘Why don’t you come over?’”

  • Wired ☛ An AI Bot Named James Has My Old Local News Job

    James and Rose are, you may have noticed, not human reporters. They are AI avatars crafted by an Israeli company named Caledo, which hopes to bring this tech to hundreds of local newspapers in the coming year.

    “Just watching someone read an article is boring,” says Dina Shatner, who cofounded Caledo with her husband Moti in 2023. “But watching people talking about a subject—this is engaging.”

  • The Atlantic ☛ The Real AI Threat Starts When the Polls Close

    Politicians and public figures have begun to invoke AI-generated disinformation, legitimately and not, as a way to brush off criticism, disparage opponents, and stoke the culture wars. Democratic Representative Shontel Brown recently introduced legislation to safeguard elections from AI, stating that “deceptive AI-generated content is a threat to elections, voters, and our democracy.” Others have been more inflammatory, if not fantastical: Trump has falsely claimed that images of a Harris rally were AI-generated, and large tech companies have more broadly been subject to his petulance: He recently called Google “a Crooked, Election Interference Machine.” Roger Stone, an architect of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has denounced allegedly incriminating audio recordings of him as “AI manipulation.” Right-wing concerns about “woke AI” have proliferated amid claims that tech companies are preventing their bots from expressing conservative viewpoints; Elon Musk created a whole AI start-up in part to make an “uncensored” chatbot, echoing how he purchased Twitter under the auspices of free speech, but functionally to protect far-right accounts.

  • New York Times ☛ When Self-Driving Cars Don’t Actually Drive Themselves

    If a Zoox car is unable to navigate a construction zone it has not seen before, for instance, a technician at the command center receives an alert. Then, using the computer mouse to draw a line across a digital road map on a computer screen, they give the car a new route to follow around the construction zone.

  • Marty Day ☛ blast-o-rama.

    Twenty-five years ago today, the Sega Dreamcast hit North American shelves.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Time to give X the bird

    Of the many websites and apps that dot the digital landscape, few are as notorious as X, formerly known as Twitter. The app — which has only grown in infamy since Elon Musk acquired it — has built a reputation of being a vicious and angry place, where chronically online individuals express themselves without the accountability of in-person discourse. Mix this with increasingly high political tensions and a tight upcoming election, and you have a recipe for disaster. If social media users want to remain sane, smart and open-minded, it’s time they axe X.

  • Bruce Schneier ☛ Evaluating the Effectiveness of Reward Modeling of Generative AI Systems - Schneier on Security

    New research evaluating the effectiveness of reward modeling during Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF): “SEAL: Systematic Error Analysis for Value ALignment.” The paper introduces quantitative metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of modeling and aligning human values: [...]

• Defence/Aggression

  • ADF ☛ Benin Grapples With Spread of Sahel Violence

    Benin recorded its first incident of extremist violence in 2019, and the number of recorded attacks by Sahelian terror organizations on Beninese soil has risen every year since.

  • ADF ☛ Nigeriens Struggle After Year of Military Rule

    July 26 marked one year since Niger’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government.

  • ADF ☛ AI-Powered Drones Carry Deadly Potential in Africa

    From Ethiopia to Libya to Mali, armed drones have become an increasingly important part of the battlefield arsenal. The rapid rise of drones powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is raising concerns among experts about how they might be used by security forces and extremist groups.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Jewish extremists harm Israel, official warns. Are Israelis listening?

    Can reason overcome emotion during a national emergency? Warnings from Israel’s security and judicial establishments that Jewish extremists are causing the country great harm are struggling to be heard amid a barrage of heartbreaking news.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Two rockets fall near US forces in Baghdad, sources say

    CAIRO - Two rockets fell near U.S. forces stationed near Baghdad airport at the Camp Victory base, security sources said early on Wednesday, with reports of material damage but no casualties.

  • RFA ☛ Vietnam defense minister Phan Van Giang visits US to boost ties

    Defense trade and information sharing are high on the agenda as Hanoi seeks to strengthen maritime security.

  • JURIST ☛ Germany introduces temporary checks at internal borders

    The German Ministry of Interior announced  plans on Monday to introduce border controls with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark for six months starting September 16 to curb irregular migration and strengthen internal security.

  • Defence Web ☛ Maritime security conference in Stellenbosch highlights urgent need for regional cooperation

    The third international Conference on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea and the Red Sea brought together maritime experts, policymakers, and military leaders to address pressing security challenges in the region, particularly piracy, illegal fishing, and smuggling, and highlighted the urgent need for African nations to collaborate regionally and internationally [...]

  • The Strategist ☛ Fuel under fire: insights from the 2024 Defence Fuel Symposium

    The 2024 Defence Fuel Symposium, held in early September in Canberra, highlighted the urgent need for a strategic overhaul of Australia’s fuel security in response to increasing global instability.

  • Defence Web ☛ Pre-Operation Corona deployment training completed at CTC

    In South Africa September heralds the onset of spring and for the landward component of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) its rotation time for soldiers on the border protection tasking, Operation Corona.

  • Defence Web ☛ Suicide bombings in Nigeria: tactic is back after a four-year break – security researcher offers 3 possible reasons

    Nigeria’s first suicide bombing since 2020 took place in June 2024 with four coordinated attacks that killed at least 30 people. The attacks took place in Gwoza, a town in Borno State, north-east Nigeria. Gwoza was once the seat of the Islamic Caliphate declared by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014.

  • Pro Publica ☛ NYPD Kills Hundreds of Misconduct Cases Without Reviewing Evidence

  • Scheerpost ☛ At Least Two Saudi Officials May Have Deliberately Assisted 9/11 Hijackers, New Evidence Suggests

    Already, though, information put forward in the plaintiffs’ case — which includes videos, telephone records and other documents that were collected soon after the attacks but were never shared with key investigators — argues for a fundamental reassessment of the Saudi government’s possible involvement with the hijackers.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Saudi Officials May Have Deliberately Assisted 9/11 Hijackers, New Evidence Suggests

    But now, 23 years after the attacks, new evidence has emerged to suggest more strongly than ever that at least two Saudi officials deliberately assisted the first Qaida hijackers when they arrived in the United States in January 2000.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ The teenage terrorists of the 'Islamic State'

    But after finding nothing else, police now believe that in the intervening months, the teenager was radicalized [sic] online.

  • EDRI ☛ Croatian TikTok: A battleground between pro-EU and anti-EU

    Gong, a Croatian democracy watchdog organisation and EDRi member, published an analysis of the political narratives on TikTok during the national 2024 election campaign. The research explores the political narratives and environment on TikTok in the pre-campaign and campaign period for the Croatian parliamentary elections. It highlights a vibrant and intricate political landscape on TikTok in Croatia, marked by a division between democratic and anti-democratic narratives aimed at swaying the platform’s younger audience.

  • The Barents Observer ☛ Neo-Nazi mercenaries to help FSB guard border with Finland

    The terrifying Russian far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary ‘Rusich Group’ claims it has entered an official agreement with FSB Border Service to conduct intelligence activities and strengthen the border with Finland.

  • The Korea Times ☛ My brother’s grave is not a campaign trail

    The use of Arlington as a political prop by any candidate is despicable. It breaches tradition and, for me, is a personal infringement on my family’s privacy because my brother’s grave is not on the campaign trail.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ 🔴Live: In Kyiv, Blinken pledges $717 million in new economic aid to Ukraine

      US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced $717 million in new economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, including $325 million in energy support to help repair and restore power generation facilities hit by Russian strikes. The package includes $290 million in humanitarian help and $102 million for demining work. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Why Zelenskyy should visit India (and what he should focus on once he is there)

      A visit by the Ukrainian president would be sure to capture a lot of attention. But to make substantive progress in developing Ukraine-India relations, the agenda will need to zero in on three specific areas.

    • France24 ☛ ‘This place is excellent’: Russians fleeing war make new home in Serbia

      Tens of thousands of Russians have settled in Serbia’s Belgrade since fleeing their homeland following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many of them to avoid conscription, conflict or the politics of President Vladimir Putin. Russian restaurants, clubs and kindergartens have since sprung up across the Serbian capital. But while some have adapted well to their new life, others have struggled to integrate.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia had one of the world’s highest life expectancy gender gaps. Then Putin sent hundreds of thousands of men to war. — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ To tackle Russia’s ‘demographic problem’ schools prepare to teach children the virtues of home, marriage, and reproduction — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president urges Russia to release illegally detained Ukrainians

      Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, currently on a visit to Ukraine, has called for the immediate release of all Ukrainian citizens who remain illegally detained and imprisoned by Russia.

    • LRT ☛ President’s delay in denouncing Russia, Belarus treaties raises concerns in Lithuania

      Following Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania has terminated almost all bilateral agreements with Russia and its supporter Belarus. However, President Gitanas Nausėda has yet to submit to the Seimas a decision on the denunciation of the treaties with the two countries on investment promotion and protection.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Forces Reportedly Attack Ukrainian Troops In Kursk, Claim Recapture Of Some Villages

      Russian forces have begun a significant counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region and have retaken some territory, pro-Moscow war bloggers and Ukrainian military analysts said on September 11.

    • RFERL ☛ Memorial To Victims Of Genocide Of Crimean Tatars Unveiled In Kyiv

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev unveiled a memorial to honor Crimean Tatar victims of genocide in Kyiv's Peace Park on September 11.

    • RFERL ☛ Girkin's Wife Denies Jailed Russian Nationalist Fighting In Ukraine

      Miroslava Reginskaya, the wife of imprisoned Russian nationalist Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov), has rejected reports saying her husband was released and allowed to join the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Former Russian Lawmaker Jailed For 10 Years In Absentia

      A Russian military court on September 11 sentenced former Russian opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, who opposed the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, to 10 years in prison on charges of justifying terrorism and spreading false information about Russia's military.

    • RFERL ☛ Blinken, Lammy On Joint Visit To Kyiv Hear More Pleas To Lift Restrictions On Weapons

      U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart, David Lammy, arrived on September 11 in Kyiv on a joint visit that comes as Ukraine pushes its Western allies to drop restrictions that are keeping it from using long-range weaponry deep inside Russia.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Rolling Stone ☛ Republicans Struggle to Spin Trump's Disastrous Debate Performance

    Donald Trump imploded on the debate stage against Kamala Harris on Tuesday night. The former president fell for obvious bait presented by the vice president, delivered a series of angry diatribes in the style of his rallies, and told lies that repeatedly forced ABC News’ moderators to fact-check him in real-time.

  • NPR ☛ NPR fact checked the Harris-Trump presidential debate. Here's what we found

    With the candidates virtually tied in the polls, and just 55 days until Election Day, Trump and Harris sought to define their visions for America in front of a national audience, and deflect attacks from the other side.

• Environment

  • The Revelator ☛ Environmental Injustice: Dispatches From a Black Trauma Surgeon on Health Inequity

  • Tim Bray ☛ Standing on High Ground

    Which is what makes it fun. Five of our authors are Indigenous people. Another is Elizabeth May, leader of Canada’s Green party. There is a sprinkling of university professors and faith leaders. There are two young Tyrannosauri Rex (no, really). And then there’s me, the Internet geek.

  • Chris Coyier ☛ The West Just Burns Now

    When I think about human contribution to climate change, I always think about cars and how relatively recent there are in Earth’s history. We’ve only been producing cars for ~120 years and we’ve made over 2 billion of them. Two billion fossil fuel burning cars. Each car burns ~5,000 gallons of gas in its life.

  • Kansas Reflector ☛ Kansas State University researchers say carbon sequestration on farms can combat climate change

    According to a paper published in June in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, analysis from a no-till cornfield in Kansas showed that manure or compost fertilizer stored more atmospheric carbon and improved microbial diversity compared with commercial fertilizers.

  • Michigan News ☛ Ypsilanti wants your input for rain gardens, green infrastructure in two parks - mlive.com

    Rain gardens use plants and soil to absorb water and collect sediment that could otherwise close drains and pipes. A typical rain garden captures 600 gallons of water from one inch of rainfall, according to the county.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • DeSmog ☛ Trudeau’s Trans Mountain Expansion Hasn’t Delivered Tidewater Benefits

    • DeSmog ☛ Dems Say Big Oil Execs Failing to Come Clean on Trump’s $1 Billion Quid Pro Quo Offer

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan will be home to first Stellantis EV factory in US

      Adding electrification production capability to two additional Michigan factories will bring the automaker’s Michigan investment to $406 million

      The automaker has been struggling and offering Michigan salaried workers buyouts, but still aims to 50% EV sales in the U.S. by 2030

    • Wired ☛ The World’s Biggest Bitcoin Mine Is Rattling This Texas Oil Town

      “As a certified hippie and lifelong environmentalist, it was the stupidest, most disgusting waste of energy I’d ever heard of,” says Sawicky. But in Republican Navarro County, where environmental arguments hold little sway, Sawicky focuses her campaigning on the potential for the Riot facility to produce disruptive noise, pull from local water resources, and strain the power grid.

      That strain is potentially immense. Bitcoin mining is a process whereby computers race to solve a mathematical puzzle; the victor ends up with a handful of newly minted bitcoin. The level of competition among miners today means that large fleets of specialized, energy-guzzling hardware are required to stand a chance. The construction of the Corsicana facility will proceed in phases, but in April, Riot began to bring computers online for the first time. Once complete, it will draw up to one gigawatt of energy in any given moment, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.

  • Overpopulation

    • Los Angeles Times ☛ Book excerpt: 'Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question'

      The kid question. It comes up over and over again in the form of family questions and expectations. It arises in conversations with peers, partners and new dates. It appears in the quiet times, sitting in the spaces where our wildest hopes and deepest fears collide.

      American society feels more socially and politically polarized than ever. Is it right to bring another person into that?

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Randy Mastro Withdraws His Nomination for Top N.Y.C. Lawyer

    Randy Mastro, a former federal prosecutor and aide to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, said he had been denied a fair hearing by the City Council.

  • JURIST ☛ DOJ sues Maine for allegedly violating rights of children with behavioral disabilities

    The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the state of Maine for allegedly violating the civil rights of children with behavioral health disabilities.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Speaker Johnson pushes ahead on funding bill with proof of citizenship mandate despite dim prospects

    House Speaker Mike Johnson is vowing to press ahead with requiring proof of citizenship for new voters as part of a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown. He's doing so even though the measure appears likely to be voted down. Johnson says the issue of election security is too critical to ignore, though research has shown that voting by non-citizens is extremely rare. It’s also clear that Republicans see value in making House Democrats take another vote on the issue. Congress must pass some form of government funding legislation this month to avoid a partial shutdown starting in October.

  • France24 ☛ Pet-eating, infanticide: Fact-checking claims made during the Harris-Trump debate

    US Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump met on Tuesday for their first and so far only scheduled debate of the 2024 election campaign, trading claims about their respective records in office. Here is a look at the accuracy of statements made by both presidential contenders on key issues ranging from immigration and abortion to the war in Ukraine.

  • Federal News Network ☛ The FBI’s CAT has been stalking cyber rats for nearly 20 years

    The FBI’s Cyber Action Team has been in place for nearly 20 years. National concern about cybersecurity didn’t start last week or last year, after all. The CAT, as the FBI calls it, started because of the attacks on the FBI’s own systems. For an update on the 65-member CAT, we turn to Unit Chief Scott Ledford.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Army Contracting Command driving move to agile software

    The fourth initiative of the Army’s recent software modernization memo is to adopt a sustainment model that is focused on continuous improvement and development.

  • Cyble Inc ☛ India’s Cyber Commandos Won’t Be Enough, Say Experts

    A day after the Indian government unveiled a series of initiatives to combat cybercrime, cybersecurity experts and activists have welcomed the move, yet remain cautious about its practical implementation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on September 10, announced plans to train a special wing of 5,000 cyber commandos over the next five years to address rising cyber threats in India.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Verge ☛ Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris in response to fake AI Trump endorsement

      “Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post. “It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Democracy for the Arab World Now ☛ Saudi Arabia must free detainees jailed for online expression before UN [Internet] forum in Riyadh

    41 organizations, including DAWN, in a joint letter, said Saudi Arabia must free all individuals arbitrarily detained solely for their online expression before hosting the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh from December 15 to 19, 2024.

    The IGF adopted a thematic focus on advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age, and Saudi Arabia continues to prosecute, lock up, forcibly disappear, and intimidate people into silence for expressing themselves on social media.

  • The Register UK ☛ Malaysia's plan to block overseas DNS dies after a day

    Malaysia's telecom regulator has abandoned a plan to block overseas DNS services a day after announcing it, following a sharp backlash and accusations of government overreach.

  • Malay Mail ☛ Why is Putrajaya backing down on MCMC’s DNS redirection plan? Here’s what we know so far | Malay Mail

    After days of controversy, Putrajaya has instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to suspend its plan requiring all [Internet] service providers (ISPs) to implement public domain name system (DNS) redirection by September 30.

    According to a Bernama report, the directive was issued by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who had previously defended the initiative.

    Earlier, the plan sparked discussions on social network site Reddit with some comparing the DNS redirection order to China’s great firewall.

    The order required all ISPs to use public DNS redirection by the end of the month.

    Here are some key points that were behind the implementation and what led to its sudden halt.

  • CNA ☛ Malaysia defends web traffic re-routing plan against online censorship concerns - CNA

    Malaysia's communications regulator has defended a plan for local telecommunications firms to re-route web traffic through their own domain name system (DNS) servers, saying the move was meant to protect users from harmful online content.

    The directive, which takes effect on Sep 30, has prompted new concerns, including from some ruling party officials, of growing online censorship and fears that it could jeopardise the country's digital economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Despite Malaysia’s U-turn on web traffic rerouting, the ‘damage has already been done’ | The Straits Times

    The backlash came from not just industry experts and everyday consumers, but even lawmakers from Prime Minister Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. This was after word had spread on Sept 5 that all firms providing web connections – known as [Internet] service providers (ISPs) – would have to implement the DNS redirection by the end of the month.

  • Patrick Breyer ☛ New EU push for chat control: Will messenger services be blocked in Europe?

    ‘Instead of empowering teens to protect themselves from sextorsion and exploitation by making chat services safer, victims of abuse are betrayed by an unrealistic bill that is doomed in court, according to the EU Council’s own legal assessment,’ criticises Patrick Breyer, former Pirate Party Member of the European Parliament and co-negotiator of the European Parliament’s critical position on the proposal. ‘Flooding our police with largely irrelevant tips on old, long known material will fail to save victims from ongoing abuse, and will actually reduce law enforcement capacities for going after predators. Europeans need to understand that they will be cut off from using commonplace secure messengers if this bill is implemented – that means losing touch with your friends and colleagues around the world. Do you really want Europe to become the world leader in bugging our smartphones and mandating untargeted blanket surveillance of the chats of millions of law-abiding Europeans?’

  • ANF News ☛ Political woman prisoner dies in an Iranian jail after being denied treatment

    According to opposition media, one of Sara’s friends said that her condition worsened and she lost her life because prison authorities did not allow Sara’s wounds to be treated.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • DeSmog ☛ New Spectator Boss Paul Marshall in Business With ‘Carbon Bomb’ Fossil Fuel Investor

  • CPJ ☛ CPJ joins call for Turkey to ensure safety of threatened journalist Murat Ağırel

    The statement listed a number of incidents in which Ağırel, a columnist for the pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, has been threatened or harassed since late 2023 over his reporting on allegations of drug trafficking, money laundering, sports betting fraud, and the highly publicized murder trial of Sinan Ateş, the former chair of the far right group the Gray Wolves, which is the youth branch of the government-allied Nationalist Movement Party.

  • Doc Searls ☛ On Journalism and Principles

    But before I give up on the journalist label, let’s ask Perplexity.ai* to answer What is the purpose of journalism? Here’s the answer I just got: [...]

  • The Guardian UK ☛ ‘Now I owned a private war’: Lee Miller and the female journalists who broke battlefield rules

    The small and valiant minority who did make their way to the fighting showed exceptional courage and cunning. Not only were they given no access to military transport and accommodation, they were even denied official press briefings, which meant they were frequently in unnecessary peril. But because they were operating below the official radar, these women could get to stories their more privileged male colleagues might miss.

  • RFA ☛ Vietnam jails journalist for 7 years for ‘propaganda’

    According to Binh’s lawyers, the indictment against him said he told investigators the videos contained political, economic, and social news collected from newspapers, social media and the [Internet]. He said he commented on the clips in order to tell viewers the truth about domestic and international events.

    Prosecutors said Binh knew the YouTube channel TNT Media Live was created by a foreigner. The channel is owned by U.S.-based broadcasting outlet Tieng Nuoc Toi, or “My Country’s Language.”

  • CPJ ☛ Taliban label Afghanistan International an ‘enemy’ for reporting on alleged aid misuse

    The Taliban must stop harassing the popular London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International, which they accused of conducting a “propaganda war against us,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Digital Music News ☛ Diddy Slapped with $100 Million Default Judgment in Sexual Assault Complaint — Attorneys Vow to Fight Back

    Diddy is slapped with a $100 million default judgment in one of the many sexual assault complaints against him; his attorneys vow to fight back. It’s been a very busy year for Sean “Diddy” Combs, with numerous sexual assault lawsuits levied against him.

  • EFF ☛ Britain Must Call for Release of British-Egyptian Activist and Coder Alaa Abd El Fattah

    Alaa has over these five years endured beatings and solitary confinement. His family at times were denied visits or any contact with him. He went on a seven-month hunger strike in protest of his incarceration, and his family feared that he might not make it.

    But global attention on his plight, bolstered by support from British officials in recent years, ultimately led to improved prison conditions and family visitation rights.

    But let’s be clear: Egypt’s long-running retaliation against Alaa for his activism is a travesty and an arbitrary use of its draconian, anti-speech laws. He has spent the better part of the last 10 years in prison. He has been investigated and imprisoned under every Egyptian regime that has served in his lifetime. The time is long overdue for him to be freed.

  • EFF ☛ Stopping the Harms of Automated Decision Making | EFFector 36.12

    It can feel overwhelming to stay up to date, but we've got you covered with our EFFector newsletter! You can read the full issue here, or subscribe to get the next one in your inbox automatically! You can also listen to the audio version of the newsletter on the Internet Archive, or by clicking the button below:

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ There Is No Such Thing as Spontaneous Worker Organizing

    The 1930s saw the biggest labor upsurge in US history. Just like today, there was economic discontent and a general pro-labor atmosphere. But labor didn’t just passively benefit. Instead, it saw its opportunity to act, building unions for the long haul.

  • Johnny Decimal ☛ 22.00.0075 Increase contrast

    Give this a go for a couple of days. It's a single toggle in your system's Settings → Accessibility → Display → Increase contrast.

    I don't think I'll ever go back.

  • Advance Local Media LLC ☛ ‘It’s based on lie after lie’: Prosecutor slams ex-officer in raid deaths

    A former Houston police officer is responsible for the 2019 deaths of a couple during a raid of their home because his lies on a search warrant wrongly portrayed them as dangerous drug dealers, a prosecutor told jurors on Monday.

    An attorney for the former officer, Gerald Goines, admitted her client lied to get the search warrant but said his actions do not merit a murder conviction, and placed the blame for the deaths on the couple.

  • Los Angeles Times ☛ Sex tourism in Indonesia sells itself as Islamic temporary marriage

    The man paid a dowry of about $850, and after the agent and the officiant took their cuts, she was left with about half that.

  • Alabama Reflector ☛ Southern Poverty Law Center union expresses no confidence in nonprofit's leadership

    The union representing Southern Poverty Law Center employees said Monday members had approved a no-confidence motion in SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang.

    The SPLC Union said in a statement that the vote, which came at the end of August, reflected criticism of recent layoffs at the civil rights nonprofit, and accused leaders of having anti-union attitudes.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • AccessNow ☛ United Nations General Assembly 79th Session (UNGA79)

    Venue: United Nations Headquarters & surrounding  New York City area, New York, USA (and virtual) The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) will start on Tuesday 10

    The post United Nations General Assembly 79th Session (UNGA79) appeared first on Access Now.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Stock Draws Bullish Analyst Assessments Amid Profit Push

    As highlighted, that model, defined by significant layoffs, multiple podcast cancellations, and a heightened focus on near-term profitability, has taken center stage in 2024. Moreover, the efficiency push has brought with it substantial gains for SPOT, which, at $336.39, is up about 78 percent on the year and close to 114 percent from mid-September of 2023.

  • Digital Music News ☛ European Union Music Industry Revenue Hit $5.7 Billion in 2023

    European Union recorded music industry revenue totaled $5.73 billion (€5.2 million) in 2023, when nations including but not limited to Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Poland achieved double-digit year-over-year growth, according to a new report.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• KOL441 | The Bitcoin Standard Podcast with Saifedean Ammous: Legal Foundations of a Free Society, Property Rights, Intellectual Property

  Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 441.

• Axios ☛ Apple must pay $14 billion tax bill to Ireland, European Union court rules

  Catch up quick: The tax case stretches back to 2016, when the European Commission (EC) ordered Apple repay Ireland roughly €13 billion of unpaid taxes.

  • The commission argued that the tech giant had received "illegal" tax benefits from Ireland over the course of two decades.

  • Apple had housed its European headquarters in Ireland and paid a corporate tax rate of less than 1% in some years, which the EC argued gave Apple an unfair advantage over other companies.

• The Verge ☛ Google dominates online ads, says antitrust trial witness, but publishers are feeling ‘stuck’

  Google’s tool that lets publishers sell ad space on their websites is ubiquitous, but that’s largely a testament to how hard it is for customers to get out of it, one former publishing executive testified in federal court on Tuesday.

• Wired ☛ Apple Must Pay $14.4 Billion to Ireland in Crackdown on ‘Sweetheart Deals’

  Apple has been ordered to pay €13 billion ($14.4 billion) of back taxes to the Irish state, in a court ruling that ended a decade-long fight between Europe and the big tech company.

  In a judgment handed down on Tuesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) agreed with a European Commission ruling in 2016, which found that for a period of more than 20 years Apple enjoyed illegal tax advantages that constituted state aid from the Irish government.

• Patents

  • Software Patents

    • Digital Music News ☛ Ford Seeks Patent for Tech to Listen to Drivers Conversations

      Ford is seeking a patent for technology that would allow it to serve in-car advertising by listening to conversations among occupants in the vehicle, in addition to analyzing the car’s historical location and other data. The patent application was published in late August, and Ford initially filed it in February.

      Labeled “in-vehicle advertisement presentation,” the tech would determine where a car is located, how fast it’s going, what type of road the car is driving on, and whether it’s currently in traffic. Further, it will predict routes, speeds, and destinations to customize ads to occupants.

    • The Record ☛ Ford seeks patent for tech that listens to driver conversations to serve ads

      By monitoring dialogue between vehicle occupants the ad controller system can determine when to deliver audio versus visual ads, providing ads to drivers as they travel “through a human-machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle,” the application said.

      “Such systems and methods provide maximum opportunity for ad-based monetization,” the application said. “These systems and methods may use knowledge of vehicle destination prediction to provide more relevant advertisements, for example, if a user is going grocery shopping, merchandise purchasing, etc.”

      The patent application does not describe how the collected data would be protected. The technology would be primarily software-based and would require no new hardware, according to the application.

    • PC Mag ☛ Ford Patents In-Car Advertising System That Listens to Passenger Conversations

      Along with so-called “audio signals,” the in-car advertising system also proposes harnessing destination data to serve relevant ads. For example, if the technology predicts your car is going to a supermarket, the infotainment system could display commercials for available products.

• Trademarks

  • Right of Publicity

    • US News And World Report ☛ James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader Voice Lives on Through AI. Voice Actors See Promise and Peril in That

      Voice actors say they fear AI could reduce or eliminate job opportunities because the technology could be used to replicate one performance into a number of other movements without their consent — a concern that led video game performers with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to go on strike in late July.

      To some, Jones' decision to allow AI to replicate his voice raises questions about voice acting as an art, but also potentially helps lay the ground work for transparent AI agreements that fairly compensate an actor for their performance with consent. Zeke Alton, a voice actor and member of SAG-AFTRA’s interactive media agreement negotiating committee, said it's “amazing” that Jones was involved in the process of replicating his voice.

    • Wired ☛ James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader Has Already Been Immortalized With AI

      A few years ago, when Jones provided a few lines of dialog as Vader for The Rise of Skywalker, he’d expressed interest in wrapping up his time as the Sith Lord, according to Vanity Fair. Lucasfilm, in need of a way to continue the character—and particular to continue having a version of the character’s voice as it sounded in those early Star Wars movies—turned to a Ukrainian company called Respeecher that used artificial intelligence to make a recreation of the Vader voice based on Jones’ past performances. (The actor signed off on the use of his archive to train the speech model.)

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Among the Moss Piglets: The First Image of a Tardigrade (1773)

    The very first drawing of the microscopic "water bear" by a theologian turned microscope explorer.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Namecheap Flagged for EU 'Piracy Watchlist' After Failing to Block Infringing Sites

    Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has submitted its recommendations for the EU's Counterfeiting and Piracy Watchlist. The group notes that its court-ordered site blocking efforts appear to be paying off but several intermediaries could be more cooperative. This includes domain registrar Namecheap, which refuses to block customers' sites without a U.S. court order.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Meta confirms it scrapes Australian users’ posts for AI training without opt-out option

    Meta Platforms Inc. is scraping Australian users’ Facebook and Instagram posts without providing an opt-out option, the company acknowledged today.

    Melinda Claybaugh, Meta’s global privacy director, detailed the practice during a hearing before the Australian Senate. The executive stated that the company uses the public posts of adult users in Australia to train artificial intelligence models. There is no opt-out option and the only way that users can prevent scraping is by setting a post to private.