Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Your favourite doesn’t have to be the best

  I was mulling some feedback I received about my OM System OM-1 Mark II post, in which the mental brain genius claimed I was “retarded” for wanting something when a “full frame camera could be bought” for the “same cost”. They then gave me a link to an American retailer selling a full-frame Lumix camera body that was more expensive than the OM-1 Mark II, and not available in my locale. Whoops.

• Science

  • University of Michigan ☛ Political Science Department launches their first Spanish-language discussion section

    After four years of teaching POLSCI 347: Latin American Politics and Society, Edgar Franco-Vivanco, assistant professor of political science, will offer a discussion section in Spanish. Led by Rackham student Franshelly Martinez-Ortiz, this is the first time the University of Michigan’s Political Science Department has ever offered a discussion section taught in Spanish.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Distinguished University Professors present research on sustainability and social justice

    About 55 graduate students, faculty and community members filled Rackham Amphitheater Wednesday afternoon to watch the Distinguished University Professorship Lecture series.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Winter-Proof (And Improve) Your Resin 3D Printing

    Was your 3D printer working fine over the summer, and now it’s not? With colder temperatures comes an overall surge in print failure reports — particularly with resin-based printers that might reside in outbuildings, basements, or garages. If you think this applies to you, don’t miss [Jan Mrázek]’s tips on improving cold-weather print results. His tips target the main reasons prints fail, helping to make the process a little more resilient overall. [Jan]’s advice is the product of long experience and experimentation, so don’t miss out.

  • CNX Software ☛ Brodboost-C is a USB Type-C breadboard power supply board with adjustable 3.3V to 5V voltage (Crowdfunding)

    Axiometa BrodBoost-C is a USB Type-C breadboard power supply with a simple design that powers both rails of a breadboard with voltage adjustable between 3.3V and 5V. It also includes an on/off switch, an LED indicator, and built-in fuse protection.

  • Barry Kauler ☛ Replacement UPS on order

    I own a CyberPower Value1500ELCD, rated at 900W, I think purchased in 2018. Still on the original battery, actually two batteries, each lead-acid 12V 9AH, wired in series. The mains power dropped out for a few minutes recently, and the UPS did its thing, so the batteries are still working.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ New York Doctor Indicted in Louisiana for Sending Abortion Pills There

    The case opens a new front in the battle between states that ban abortion and states that support providing abortion anywhere in the country.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Faculty course on student mental health now available

    Instructors at U-M now have access to a self-paced course on role-appropriate ways they can support student mental health. The course is available on Canvas and features eight modules.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Troops can no longer have their travel costs covered to access reproductive care

    A memo rescinded the Biden-era travel policy that covered transportation, lodging, and food costs to access off-base reproductive health care.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: The rise of pineapple farming in Sarawak

  • The Straits Times ☛ Death of Lee’s pineapple juice, once served in homes every CNY, signals tough times for Johor farmers

    Perhaps by 2030, the pineapple I offer to my ancestors will be grown in Sarawak.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ How measuring vaccine hesitancy could help health professionals tackle it

    This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President

  • Pro Publica ☛ Trump Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid Still in Place, Despite Administration Claims

    On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy President Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and toddlers die.

    They chose the children.

• Proprietary

  • The Next Platform ☛ Azure Can’t Make Up For On Premises Profit Decline At Microsoft

    If you think it might be difficult to sell companies general purpose servers when they are frenzied about GenAI and trying to figure out how to get GPU-accelerated systems, you ought to try to convince the same companies to upgrade to backdoored Windows Server 2025, which launched last November.

  • Liliputing ☛ Lilbits: Apple scraps an AR glasses project, Linux app support for Android, and AYANEO’s handheld gaming PC with modular controllers

    The Apple Vision Pro has widely received positive reviews for offering an amazing mixed reality experience. But they’ve also been a niche device since launch, at least partially because of their $3,499 price tag.

  • Help Net Security ☛ CyberArk Identity Bridge manages user access and authentication for Linux environments

    CyberArk announced Identity Bridge, an endpoint identity security capability that will support identity and privilege sprawl reduction on Linux machines.

    Identity Bridge will enable organizations to authenticate to Linux systems using centralized accounts, minimizing dependence on outdated authentication methods. This helps modernize Identity and Access Management (IAM) without leaving Linux environments behind.

  • CNBC ☛ Microsoft stock slumps more than 6% on disappointing revenue outlook

    Microsoft shares dropped 6.2% after issuing weak current-quarter guidance after the bell Wednesday.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • The Strategist ☛ DeepSeek may be cheap AI, but Australian companies should beware [Ed: The issue isn't the cost but the generation of lies]

      Amid the shocked reactions this week to the release of the Chinese artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek, the risk we should be most concerned about is the potential for the model to be misused to disrupt [...]

    • Gunnar Wolf ☛ ChatGPT is bullshit

      As people around the world understand how LLMs behave, more and more people wonder as to why these models hallucinate, and what can be done about to reduce it. This provocatively named article by Michael Townsen Hicks, James Humphries and Joe Slater bring is an excellent primer to better understanding how LLMs work and what to expect from them.

      As humans carrying out our relations using our language as the main tool, we are easily at awe with the apparent ease with which ChatGPT (the first widely available, and to this day probably the best known, LLM-based automated chatbot) simulates human-like understanding and how it helps us to easily carry out even daunting data aggregation tasks. It is common that people ask ChatGPT for an answer and, if it gets part of the answer wrong, they justify it by stating that it’s just a hallucination. Townsen et al. invite us to switch from that characterization to a more correct one: LLMs are bullshitting. This term is formally presented by Frankfurt [1]. To Bullshit is not the same as to lie, because lying requires to know (and want to cover) the truth. A bullshitter not necessarily knows the truth, they just have to provide a compelling description, regardless of what is really aligned with truth.

    • AI as a Form

      The terms and expressions "AI", "machine learning", "chatting to computers"...etc are being thrown about a lot lately. I would argue even with much lack of context, nuance or thought. Though that isn't my main point to discuss here. Instead, I want to focus at what I think people are seeing or at least seeking in these things, beyond the emotional aspect.

      I want to argue in these following lines that - at least in some intuitive sense - many people see the abstract concept of "Forms" come alive in "AI".

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines arrests 100 suspects in online scam farm raid

      The scam farm owners are suspected to be remnants of online gaming operators banned in 2024.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Scoop News Group ☛ WhatsApp says it disrupted spyware campaign aimed at reporters, civil society [Ed: Surveillance by Facebook ("Meta") sold to people as "protection"]

      The company linked to the campaign recently signed a deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    • EFF ☛ Mad at Meta? Don't Let Them Collect and Monetize Your Personal Data

      If you’re fed up with Meta right now, you’re not alone. Google searches for deleting Facebook and Instagram spiked last week after Meta announced its latest policy changes. These changes, seemingly designed to appease the incoming Trump administration, included loosening Meta’s hate speech policy to allow for the targeting of LGBTQ+ people and immigrants.

    • Cloudbooklet ☛ DeepSeek Data Leak: Million Records Stolen, Users at Risk

      DeepSeek data leak exposed a million records, compromising user data and Hey Hi (AI) secrets, raising major security concerns for AI-driven services globally.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Considers Sending Israel 24,000 Assault Rifles Held Back Under Biden

    Democratic lawmakers had expressed concerns to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken about the rifles possibly going to settler militias or being misused by the police.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines’ Marcos seeks reassurances from Convicted Felon over alliance

    Manila is seeking Washington’s enduring support in the face of threats from China.

  • South China Sea: Massive chunk of coral reef destroyed by island-building rivals

    U.S. think tank AMTI says claimants’ island building has destroyed vast areas of coral reef.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US charges former Fed official with spying for China

    US prosecutors announced Friday that they have charged a former Federal Reserve advisor with spying on behalf of China while posing as a part-time lecturer at a local university. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had charged John Harold Rogers, a 63-year-old US national, with spying for Beijing while employed as a senior advisor […]

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Melanie Hart testifies to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on China’s malign influence

    On January 30, Global China Hub Senior Director Melanie Hart testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing titled, “The malign influence of the People’s Republic of China at home and abroad: Recommendations for policy makers.” Below are her prepared remarks.

  • YLE ☛ Finland to build major TNT factory in Pori

    There is high demand for explosives in Europe, with only one plant now producing TNT.

  • Meduza ☛ Trump threatens 100-percent tariffs on BRICS countries over efforts to ‘replace the mighty U.S. Dollar’ — Meduza

  • Atlantic Council ☛ The foreign aid freeze poses risks to US interests in Syria

    Postwar Syria faces a precarious economic and security situation and the United States’ assistance—or lack thereof—will play an outsize role in its outcome.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Mark Kapo-berg Agrees to Turn Meta [Back] into a Pogrom Machine

    Mark Kapo-berg's $25 million agreement to lose to Convicted Felon in a lawsuit over Facebook's efforts to halt Convicted Felon's ongoing insurrection in 2021 is more than a bribe.

  • New York Times ☛ Facebook (Farcebook) Said to Explore Incorporating in a Different State

    The owner of Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram is incorporated in Delaware, but is considering a change. Its corporate headquarters would remain in Silicon Valley, people with knowledge of the matter said.

  • New York Times ☛ Army Withholds Identity of Helicopter Pilot Killed in Crash

    The names of two male crew members were released, but the family of the third aviator requested privacy.

  • JURIST ☛ Libya rescues 263 illegal immigrants from abusive group in Al-Wahat

    Libya Criminal Investigation Agency announced the rescue of over two hundred illegal immigrants in the Al-Wahat district from a gang that tortured, abused and mistreated them on Friday. The rescued came from countries such as Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, and were subject to horrific conditions, malnutrition, and sexual violence.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Visitor ban for South Korea’s Yoon to be lifted, lawyers expected to seek bail

    Right-wing politicians seek to take advantage of the eased restrictions to rally support for Yoon.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Dictator freeze on foreign aid stuns Belarus opposition, NGOs in Vilnius

      The United States halted all foreign aid projects for the next three months to review existing programmes, stunning Lithuanian NGOs and Belarusian opposition organisations based in Vilnius.

    • Meduza ☛ Norwegian police arrest ship suspected of involvement in damaging cable between Latvia and Sweden — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Investigation Begins Into Plane Crash That Killed Russian-Born Skaters

      Former Russian World Champion figure skaters Vadim Naumov and his wife, Evgenia Shishkova, are among scores killed in a mid-air collision between a passenger jet a military helicopter on a training flight over the Potomac River near the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian minister rejects idea that EU resume Russian gas purchases

      Amid media reports that EU officials are considering to resume buying Russian gas, Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas this option should not be under discussion right now.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The world of sports has suffered a great loss’: A look back at the lives of the Russian figure skaters killed in the D.C. plane crash — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘We’ll send you home in a body bag’: Mediazona investigation reveals rogue ‘private army’ inside Russian military that terrorized fellow soldiers — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Finnish nuclear power plant turns away high school student on field trip because of his Russian citizenship — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Kremlin Chokes YouTube Service, but Russians Find Ways Around It

      The Kremlin is trying to cripple YouTube in Russia, internet experts say, pushing some people to state-controlled domestic alternatives. But many Russians have found workarounds.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Japan scrambles jets as Russian bombers fly over high seas

      Tokyo has raised the issue with Moscow in the past through diplomatic routes.

    • RFERL ☛ Dictator Again Says He Wants To Talk With Putin About Ending War In Ukraine

      U.S President The Insurrectionist on January 31 said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon talk and announce something significant toward ending the conflict in Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Norway seizes ship suspected of involvement in Latvian cable damage

      Norwegian police have arrested a Russian-crewed vessel belonging to a Norwegian company at the request of Latvian authorities on suspicion of connection to the damage to Latvian submarine cable last Sunday, the Norwegian police said in a release on Friday, January 31.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian company named in investigation of illegal 'blood birch' trade

      After the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) banned timber imports from the aggressor countries Russia and Belarus. But imports are still happening and a Latvian company appears to be involved in circumventing the sanctions, reports Latvian Television.

    • Latvia ☛ Re:Baltica examines Baltic emigrants turned Kremlin propagandists

      Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its propaganda channels have claimed that residents of the Baltic states are fleeing en masse to Russia and Belarus to escape “russophobia.” However, a new Re:Baltica investigation reveals different reasons for these false narratives.

    • France24 ☛ Russia claims village in Ukraine's Donetsk region

      Russia on Friday claimed it had captured another village in its relentless offensive in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region and as it closes in on the critical Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk after almost three years of war. Russian forces have been trying for months to capture the key Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk in order to cut off Ukrainian forces' supply.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president ‘sceptical’ about ceasefire in Ukraine war

      President Gitanas Nausėda is sceptical about bids to end the war in Ukraine with a swift agreement, his office said after his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.

    • Press Gazette ☛ ‘It’s nice to feel wanted’ – Sun reporter defiant after Russian arrest warrant issued

      Sun editor Victoria Newton says Russian move is blatant attempt to suppress the free press.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Missile Attack Injures 7 In Odesa, Causes Serious Damage To Historic City Center

      Russian troops on January 31 attacked the historical center of the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, damaging buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list and injuring seven people, local officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Missile Attack Hits Historic Center Of Odesa

      Russian troops on January 31 attacked the historical center of the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, damaging buildings and injuring two people, local officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says It Hit Russian Refinery In Volograd

      Ukraine says it struck a major oil refinery in the Volograd region as part of its drive to target Russian infrastructure tied to Moscow's war effort.

    • RFERL ☛ At Least 9 Killed In Russian Drone Strike On Ukraine's Sumy

      A Russian drone attack that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called "a horrible tragedy" struck a residential building in the Ukrainian regional capital Sumy, officials said, killing at least six and injuring nine others, including a child.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Around 13,000 people once lived here’: Photos from Ukraine’s Chasiv Yar, a town turned to a ‘wasteland’ by Russia’s ongoing assault — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ North Korean forces pulled back from front lines after heavy losses — NYT — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ North Korean Troops in Russia Taken off Front Lines

      North Korea sent its best troops to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine. But after months of suffering severe losses, they have been taken off the front line.

    • Meduza ☛ Oscar-winning Ukrainian filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov has a new documentary Critic Elena Smolina explains how ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ returns lived experience to our conversation about Russia’s invasion — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Fire breaks out at Lukoil oil refinery in Volgograd after Ukrainian drone attack — Meduza

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Adapting to the climate crisis will require societal transformation, not least in China and Hong Kong

    By John Barkdull and Paul G. Harris Every day brings news of the effects of climate change on human communities. For example, low rainfall and other factors associated with climate change have exacerbated the fires that are now consuming neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area of California.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to begin on-site investigation of burnt Air Busan plane

      Baggage in the cargo hold was removed and will be returned to passengers.

    • H2 View ☛ South Korean researchers develop two-litre ammonia engine

      “This engine technology could serve as a breakthrough in addressing the challenges of hydrogen transportation and green hydrogen production.”

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia petrol dealers seek penalties for foreigners who buy subsidised fuel

      The issue has to be handled through systemic reforms and enforcement, said an industry player.

  • Overpopulation

    • Meduza ☛ Russian Education Ministry official calls for bringing back school discos to boost country’s birthrate — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia has started taking DNA samples from people charged with misdemeanors — like participating in protests and promoting ‘childfree propaganda’ — Meduza

• Finance

  • LRT ☛ EU once again asks to suspend WTO case over China’s trade with Lithuania

    Following a request from the European Commission, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has suspended the case over China’s alleged trade restrictions on Lithuania for the second time.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Malaysia border agency to oversee all checkpoints nationwide to improve efficiency

    A Home Ministry official said the agency's functions and roles would be similar to Singapore’s ICA.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ CDC Web Pages and Data Vanish Following Convicted Felon’s DEI and Gender Orders

    Vague federal directives have led to frantic action, and perhaps overreaction, before a Friday deadline.

  • How does DeepSeek answer sensitive questions about China?

    The chatbot refused to answer some queries, erased its replies or answered differently depending on language.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘Certain topics are temporarily restricted’: China’s DeepSeek is fairly straightforward about the war in Ukraine. But on sensitive Chinese issues, Russia’s chatbots are more cautious. — Meduza

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • AccessNow ☛ RightsCon 2025, Taipei and online

    Venue: Taipei International Convention Center Each year, RightsCon convenes business leaders, policy makers, general counsels, government representatives, technologists, academics, journalists, and human rights advocates from around the world to tackle

  • The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea voices regret after Japan’s Unesco report again fails to reflect forced labour

    Japan had promised earlier to take steps to remember the victims, including many Koreans.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Recent cases of watering hole attacks: Part 1

    Guest Post: Dissecting a recent watering hole and how to defend against them.

  • APNIC ☛ Recent cases of watering hole attacks: Part 2

    Guest Post: Dissecting another recent watering hole and how to defend against them.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ $5,000 awarded in first-ever Cloud-Native Heroes Challenge on PATROLL

    Unified Patents and Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) are pleased to announce the winning prior art submissions in the first ever Cloud Native Heroes Challenge, a patent monopoly troll bounty program, in which prizes exceeding $5,000 were awarded to winners from 3 different continents. The results of this contest demonstrate the benefits of engaging open source developers and technologists with domain expertise in the fight against patent monopoly trolls.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Which of These Three Section 2(d) Refusals Was/Were Overturned on Appeal?

    The TTAB affirmance rate for Section 2(d) appeals last year fell just under 90%. Here are three recent Board decisions, at least one of which reversed the refusal. How do you think they came out? [Answer in first comment].