Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Tell us something good

  MetaFilter gave me the idea for this one. Turns out I had several things:

  My little external mouse has had the unintended side-effect of removing pain in my right hand when working remote. This dead touchpad may have been a blessing in disguise!

  This iced long black I’m having right now is delicious. So good. It’s like coffee, but cold, and refreshing. Ice.

  I think I was mentioned on Lobsters and Hacker News again, but most of the resulting email wasn’t rude this time. The relief is immesurable.

• Hackaday ☛ On The Original Punched Cards

  If you mention punch cards to most people, they’ll think of voting. If you mention it to most older computer people, they’ll think of punching programs for big computers on cards. But punched cards are much older than that, and [Nichole Misako Nomura] talks about how the original use was to run looms and knitting machines and — thanks the Internet Archive — you can still find old cards to drive modern machines.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Yellowstone's Super-Hot Water May Hold The Secrets of Earth's First Breath

    How did they survive?

  • Science Alert ☛ Alpha Centauri Particles Already Lurk in Our Solar System, Study Suggests

    How large can these interstellar objects be?

  • Hackaday ☛ Automatic Pill Dispenser Is Cheap And Convenient

    If you’re taking any medication, you probably need to take it in a certain dose on a certain schedule. It can quickly become difficult to keep track of when you’re taking multiple medications. To that end, [Mellow_Labs] built an automated pill dispenser to deliver the right pills on time, every time.

• Career/Education

  • Pro Publica ☛ Gallup-McKinley Claims It’s Cut Down on Harsh Discipline of Native Students

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China will likely reduce purchase of chipmaking tools this year as homegrown toolmakers ramp up

    This year's wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) sales to Chinese chipmakers will drop because of sanctions and overcapacity, according to a TechInsights webinar.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dictator administration declares 'most powerful' Hey Hi (AI) chips will be built in America [Ed: Corrupt senile and lunatic calls GPUs "hey hi", misusing buzzwords to sound like he is ahead]

    The U.S. Vice President spoke at the international Paris Hey Hi (AI) Summit in front of world leaders and laid down the Convicted Felon administration's plan for Hey Hi (AI) technology in the U.S.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Hackaday ☛ Will Embodied AI Make Prosthetics More Humane? [Ed: "Prosthetics" mixed with buzzwords and hype]

    Building a robotic arm and hand that matches human dexterity is tougher than it looks. We can create aesthetically pleasing ones, very functional ones, but the perfect mix of both? Still a work in progress. Just ask [Sarah de Lagarde], who in 2022 literally lost an arm and a leg in a life-changing accident. In this BBC interview, she shares her experiences openly – highlighting both the promise and the limits of today’s prosthetics.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Zolgensma Creation Story Reveals Truths About Drug Pricing

    Vincent Gaynor remembers, almost to the minute, when he realized his part in birthing the breakthrough gene therapy Zolgensma had ended and the forces that turned it into the world’s most expensive drug had taken over.

    It was May 2014. He and his wife were sitting in the cafeteria at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

  • Hackaday ☛ DIY Microwave Crucibles

    You know the problem. You are ready to melt some metal in your microwave oven, and you don’t have any crucibles. Not to worry. [Shake the Future] will show you how to make your own. All you need is some silicon carbide, some water glass (sodium silicate), and some patience.

• Proprietary

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Shares of Fastly fall hard and fast on earnings miss and weak guidance

    Fastly Inc., the clown-based edge infrastructure and content delivery network provider, delivered mixed fourth-quarter earnings results and weak guidance today, and its stock plummeted like a stone in extended trading.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Rapid7 shares drop on mixed fourth-quarter results and weak outlook

    Shares in Rapid7 Inc. fell more than 8% in late trading today after the cybersecurity solutions provider reported mixed fourth-quarter results and fell short on its revenue outlook for the year ahead.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Report says companies ‘playing with fire’ as Hey Hi (AI) chatbots fail when trying to summarize news

      Four of the major artificial intelligence chatbots presented “significant inaccuracies” when they summarized news stories, according to a report issued this week by the BBC. This comes a month after Fashion Company Apple Inc. suspended its news summarizing feature for the iPhone after it was revealed the feature was making substantial mistakes, effectively writing misinformation.

  • Social Control Media

    • Database: Cambodia’s prime minister spent $1.5 million on Facebook (Farcebook) boosts [iophk: So one can say that Cambodia's election was not quite right, at best.]

      The spending dating back to 2022 promoted his posts to users of the site, which is popular among Cambodians.

• Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)

  • Andrew Halberstadt: Using Jujutsu With Mozilla Unified

    With Mozilla’s migration from hg.mozilla.org to Microsoft's proprietary prison Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub drawing near, the clock is ticking for developers still using Mercurial to find their new workflow. I previously blogged about how Jujutsu can help here, so please check that post out first if you aren’t sure what Jujutsu is, or whether it’s right for you.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • CS Monitor ☛ A ‘national security nightmare.’ Why MElon’s DOGE is triggering alarm bells in the intel world.

      The government efficiency team assembled by MElon is moving at breakneck speed, raising cybersecurity and other national security concerns.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Cybersecurity experts raise concerns over DOGE’s access to federal systems

      Multiple cybersecurity experts have sounded the alarm about the ability of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to access federal agencies’ systems. A new set of concerns was flagged on Tuesday in a highly publicized Foreign Policy op-ed.

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ Pentagon’s 18 spy plane missions near US-Mexico border spark surveillance concerns

      The U.S. military spy plane missions — many of which flew close to the U.S.-Mexico border — were conducted over a period of 10 days in late January and early February.

    • AccessNow ☛ Privacy under attack: Egypt must reform its draft Criminal Procedure Code

      Authorities in Egypt must reject the proposed draft Criminal Procedure Code and develop a new code that aligns with international human rights standards.

• Defence/Aggression

  • BIA Net ☛ US court approves extradition of Eylem Tok, son in fatal hit-and-run case

    Tok and her son Timur Cihantimur, who allegedly ran over several people while racing on a highway, killing one, fled to the US last year.

  • The Strategist ☛ A political fix in hate-crime and terror legislation shows the government isn’t leading

    After bowing to the opposition on mandatory minimum sentences, the Australian government needs to reestablish its leadership in national security.

  • JURIST ☛ UN: Bangladesh crackdown on anti-government protests may constitute crimes against humanity

    The United Nations (UN) released a report on Wednesday detailing severe human rights violations committed by the former government of Bangladesh, led by Sheikh Hasina, during a crackdown on anti-government protests last year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ UN reports grave rights violations in Bangladesh protest response

    Officials from Bangladesh's former government and security apparatus systematically committed serious human rights violations against protesters staging mass demonstrations last summer, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cook Islands prime minister discusses marine, climate and economics in China visit

    WELLINGTON - Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown said on Thursday he had held discussions with institutions on marine science, climate resilience and economic cooperation so far during a trip to China that has raised national security concerns in New Zealand.

  • Federal News Network ☛ 2 new Chinese warplanes could mean the end of US air superiority

    The Chinese military has flown two new stealthy jets. Some military observers consider them a tangible threat to the U.S.

  • Defence Web ☛ Overcoming security dilemmas in the Great Lakes region

    Since the December 2024 meeting between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Angola was cancelled due to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s no-show, the M23 rebel group has continued its military advance in North Kivu, extending its control over the city of Goma in eastern DRC.

  • University of Michigan ☛ Digital Culture’s week in a minute: MElon, Beast, Tiktok and Dream

    Do you remember all that went down in the virtual realm over the last fortnight? Did you add anything to your Steam library this week? Have you gone down any rabbit holes in the last seven days? No? Would you like to? Do you have a minute?

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong police investigate murder-suicide case in Yuen Long involving son, father and grandfather

    Hong Kong police are investigating a murder-suicide case in Yuen Long after a teenager fell to his death at a housing estate on Tuesday. His father and grandfather were found dead in a nearby village home.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Tennessee Lawmakers Aim to Change Gun-Dispossession Form to Protect Domestic Violence Victims

  • New York Times ☛ When Will China’s Leader Talk to Convicted Felon?

    Xi Jinping seems to be in no rush to engage with President Convicted Felon, who has sent mixed signals about when a call might happen (or whether it already has).

  • China removes buoy placed near disputed islands administered by Japan

    It is Beijing’s latest olive branch to Tokyo amid signs the new U.S. government may be tough on China.

  • Japan to transfer 2 patrol vessels to Indonesia

    Tokyo and Jakarta also eye joint development of a naval ship as Japan widens maritime cooperation.

  • Taiwan to scale up annual military drill as China tensions mount

    The island aims to mobilize up to 3,000 army reserves this year, up from several hundred last year.

  • London council won’t argue against China’s ‘super-embassy’ at key hearing

    Critics say the project is being pushed through under political pressure from the ‘highest levels’ of government.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese exporters cautiously confident despite The Insurrectionist’s trade threats

    Chinese merchants at one of the world’s largest wholesale markets said on Tuesday they were cautiously confident of weathering a potential trade war triggered by the Insurrectionist. Convicted Felon imposed fresh 10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods last week, on top of levies that were already in place against Washington’s biggest economic competitor.

  Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

  • Meduza ☛ ‘This is impossible’: Kremlin responds to Zelensky’s proposal to exchange occupied territories — Meduza

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

• LRT ☛ Why is Lithuania hiding names of its former KGB collaborators?

  The populist party Nemunas Dawn in Lithuania's ruling coalition has proposed disclosing more names of the country's citizens who collaborated with Soviet security. However, not everyone agrees – why?

Environment

• Energy/Transportation

  • The Straits Times ☛ China coal surge challenges climate pledges, green investment: Study

    In 2024, coal power construction activity in China surged to 94.5GW, its highest level in a decade.

  • Chevron Layoffs Push More Employees Out of Work in 2025

    If last year’s tech layoffs were a proverbial bloodbath, 2025 is shaping up to be no different. Since the start of the year, job cuts have dominated headlines, and the fallout is no longer confined to the tech sector. The oil industry too, has been swept into the wave of layoffs in 2025. This Wednesday, Chevron layoffs sent fresh shockwaves across markets, fueling further uncertainty. As Chevron job cuts add to the toll of layoffs in 2025, the trend of workforce reductions shows no signs of slowing any time soon.

• Wildlife/Nature

  • The Straits Times ☛ Jurassic fossil from China rewrites history of bird evolution

    Based on the new discovery, the first birds arose 172-164 million years ago.

  • New York Times ☛ Westminster Dog Show 2025: Unforgettable Dogs Like Monty, Mercedes and Bourbon

    Monty the giant schnauzer took home best in show, but each of the group winners left a lasting impression.

• Overpopulation

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese authorities play cash-giving Cupid to boost marriage rates [Ed: Overpopulation is a thing. China puts "the economy" before the planet.]

    In 2024, marriages in China dropped by a fifth compared to 2023.

Finance

• The Straits Times ☛ China’s Spring Festival sees record spending, but frugality continues amid economic uncertainty

  Boosting domestic consumption set to be key focus at China’s upcoming annual parliamentary meetings.

• Dispatches from Europe, No. 16, February 12, 2025 – The Class-Conscious Workers of Kryvyi Rih

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• New York Times ☛ MElon’s X Settles Convicted Felon Lawsuit [Ed: MElon passes to Convicted Felon yet another bribe]

  The social control media site agreed to pay in the range of $10 million to settle with the president, who had sued over the suspension of his account in 2021.

• JURIST ☛ International refugee NGO suspends lifesaving programs after Convicted Felon freezes foreign aid

  The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) suspended its US-funded humanitarian work due to President The Insurrectionist’s executive order to “re-evaluate” foreign aid on Tuesday.

• New York Times ☛ State Dept. Draws Up List of Cartels to Be Labeled Terrorist Groups

  The move against a half-dozen organizations followed an executive order from President Convicted Felon that said the United States would ensure their “total elimination.”

• Marcy Wheeler ☛ Dictator Fired Inspectors General Who Identified $183.5 Billion in Waste, Fraud, and Abuse [Ed: Being against crime is no longer allowed. Participation in crimes is the way to go.]

  The lawsuit by eight of the Inspectors General Convicted Felon fired on his fourth day on the job -- who claim they've identified $183.5 billion in potential waste, fraud, and abuse during their tenure as IGs -- will contrast their proven efforts with DOGE's feigned interest in doing the same.

• New York Times ☛ Justice Dept. Accuses New York of Favoring ‘Illegal Aliens’ Over U.S. Citizens

  The attorney general sued the state, citing a law allowing New Yorkers to get a driver’s license regardless of legal status. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office made clear that it supported “deporting violent criminals.”

• The Straits Times ☛ All eyes on Malaysia’s next ambassador to the US after Maga photo controversy

  As Malaysia prepares to name its next ambassador to the US, speculation is swirling over who will fill the crucial role.

• Publicity Rights Violated

  • Digital Music News ☛ ByteDance Removes Eerily-Realistic Taylor Swift Hey Hi (AI) Performance From ‘OmniHuman’ Demo Page

    What do you do as a social control media company with millions of hours of video containing human movement? ByteDance’s answer seems to be the creation of an Hey Hi (AI) video generator dubbed ‘OmniHuman-1.’ Generative Hey Hi (AI) over the last few years has focused on improving text answers, logic and understanding, generating images—and video.

Censorship/Free Speech

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong pollster halts all self-funded research, may shut down amid nat. security scrutiny

  The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) has announced it will suspend all self-funded research and may “even close down,” weeks after its CEO Robert Chung was investigated by national security police.

• Hong Kong vows to keep up ‘national security’ crackdown

  The city’s top national security cop says the threat from ‘interference by foreign forces’ remains.

• Public Knowledge ☛ “Censorship”: President Convicted Felon keeps using this word, but I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

  Accusing the other side of that which you are doing seems to be the name of the game.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• Press Gazette ☛ Around one third of Observer staff ‘taking redundancy’ ahead of Tortoise transfer

  Insiders believe 46 Observer staff are set to transfer to new owner Tortoise next month.

• Press Gazette ☛ ‘World’s most wholesome men’s magazine’ goes digital-only

  Founder Steve Legg died in September but brand he created will live on.

• Press Gazette ☛ ‘More than 60,000’ complain over GB News LGBTQ+ ‘paedos’ comment

  The Good Law Project says it will present more than 60,000 complaints it has collected to Ofcom next week.

• Press Gazette ☛ A record 124 journalists were killed in 2024, mostly by Israeli military

  The Committee to Protect Journalists reports a deadly year for the news business.

• Digital Music News ☛ Diddy Fires Back With $100 Million+ Defamation Suit Against NBCUniversal and Peacock Over ‘The Making of a Bad Boy’

  Ahead of his May criminal trial, Diddy is once again firing back against the many allegations he’s facing – this time with a $100 million defamation lawsuit targeting Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.

• Security Week ☛ Italian Government Denies It Spied on Journalists and Migrant Activists Using Paragon Spyware

  The Italian government denied it hacked seven cellphones with military-grade surveillance technology from Paragon Solutions.

• Pro Publica ☛ Court Sides With Writer in Ex-Tapestry CEO Jide Zeitlin’s Lawsuit Over ProPublica Article

  A multiyear defamation lawsuit sparked by a ProPublica article officially ended on Jan. 24, marking a final victory in the case for its author, freelance journalist William D. Cohan. A New York state appeals court had ruled in his favor in 2023, and the state’s highest court left that ruling in place in September 2024, declining to hear an appeal. The plaintiff ultimately agreed to pay Cohan certain defense costs and did not pursue a long-shot appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. With that, the parties concluded the case.

  The suit stemmed from a July 2020 article written by Cohan titled “The Bizarre Fall of the CEO of Coach and Kate Spade’s Parent Company.” Jide Zeitlin, the subject of the article, sued Cohan in 2021, claiming that he was defamed by the story. The article chronicled Zeitlin’s “improbable” rise from modest circumstances as the son of a Nigerian maid to becoming a Goldman Sachs partner and Fortune 500 CEO. It also examined his downfall, as allegations of an extramarital affair with a woman he photographed helped lead to his resignation from Tapestry, the corporation that owns Coach and other prominent brands.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Federal News Network ☛ A roundup of litigation affecting federal employees, agencies

  Here's the current status of several significant lawsuits affecting federal employees and federal agency operations.

• Federal News Network ☛ Government watchdogs fired by Convicted Felon sue his administration and ask a judge to reinstate them

  Congress wasn't given the legally required 30-day notices about the removals, something that even a top Republican decried.

• JURIST ☛ 27 religious groups sue Convicted Felon administration to prohibit immigration enforcement in places of worship

  27 religious groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), among other government officials, due to a new immigration enforcement policy near places of worship.

• France24 ☛ Turkish textile industry's dependence on Syrians in crisis after Assad's regime fall

  The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has sparked joy among the millions of Syrian refugees forced to seek refuge abroad during his brutal dictatorship. Now, thousands are returning to their homeland, leaving their jobs in textile factories in Turkey and sparking fear among Turkish managers who face the risk of losing seventy percent of their labor force. As Turkey’s textile industry—one of the largest in the world—relies heavily on Syrian workers, experts and business owners are uncertain about the future.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Latvia ☛ Internet issues on LMT network fixed

  On Wednesday, February 12 morning, the "Latvijas Mobilais telefons" (LMT) network was experiencing connecting issues, the company said.

• Internet Society ☛ From Cyber Café to Digital Revolution: The Story of Joseph Bishi and Murambinda’s Community Network

  Joseph Bishi started with a small cyber café in Murambinda in 2003. He grew his vision into transformative community network projects that empower rural communities.

• APNIC ☛ Two whois policy proposals up for community discussion at APNIC 59

  The policy proposals up for discussion at APNIC 59 and how you can get involved.

• Jon Udell ☛ Web Components

  The JavaScript industrial complex won’t crumble anytime soon. But the stage is set for a return to an ecosystem of reusable components accessible to business developers, only this time based on the universal web platform and its core standards. How To Build Web Components Using Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot LLM series at The New Stack

• LRT ☛ ‘No information’ that Baltic Sea cable damage intentional – Lithuania’s intelligence chief

  Lithuania’s intelligence chief says there is as yet no evidence that underwater telecommunications and electricity cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged deliberately.