Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ A tiny cup handle

  Clara and I went to get some encouragement coffee and cake after the last couple of days of online adventures, and the cups have the tiniest handles I’ve ever seen. Note the small teaspoon on the saucer for reference:

  The best we could do is hold the handle between our index finger and thumb, as though the hole wasn’t there. It made us question why the hole, or indeed the handle, was there in the first place. I mean, it’s adorable, but still. Maybe we have our answer there.

• Ruben Schade ☛ An example of what I receive, from [redacted]

  Update: 18:47 Sydney time

  I’ve had a talk with someone who has more details, and have decided to take this post down in its entirety. I maintain the person involved was unreasonable, but am willing to look past this and move on.

• NYPost ☛ Kanye West and Bianca Censori ‘have no prenup’ amid rumors of divorce: This is how much the disgraced rapper is worth today

  The couple purportedly split earlier this week.

• Hackaday ☛ You Know This Font, But You Don’t Really Know It

  Typography enthusiasts reach a point at which they can recognise a font after seeing only a few letters in the wild, and usually identify its close family if not the font itself. It’s unusual then for a font to leave them completely stumped, but that’s where [Marcin Wichary] found himself. He noticed a font which many of you will also have seen, on typewriter and older terminal keys. It has a few unusual features that run contrary to normal font design such as slightly odd-shaped letters and a constant width line, and once he started looking, it appeared everywhere. Finding its origin led back well over a century, and led him to places as diverse as New York street furniture and NASA elevators.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronomers Reveal Our Best Glimpse Yet of Planets Being Born

    "Like seeing a family photo of our Solar System when it was just a toddler."

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Mirror Life' Is a Dangerous Scientific Vision. Here's Why.

    The consequences are serious.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient Objects From 50,000 Years Ago Reveal Mysterious Symbols

    Hidden patterns.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Just Found a Hidden Set of 'Modes' in The Human Ear

    Listen up.

  • Science Alert ☛ Woman Develops Kidney Injury From Menstrual Cup in Rare Case

    Something to be aware of.

  • Science Alert ☛ Meditation And Mindfulness Can Have a Dark Side That We Don't Talk About

    Adverse effects are not rare.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Adding USB-C (Kinda) To A PowerMac G4

    For those who’ve never bitten the Apple, the PowerMac G4 was a blue-tinted desktop Macintosh offered from 1999 to 2004. At the time, the machines were plenty fast — being advertised as the first “personal supercomputer” when they hit the market. But Father Time is particularly harsh on silicon, so they’re properly archaic by modern standards.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dictator is 'unlikely' to support TSMC running Intel's fabs — US gov't downplays chances of TSMC takeover

    The U.S. government will not support the joint venture between defective chip maker Intel and TSMC, and an American company will not be managed from Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ With Convicted Felon’s Help, defective chip maker Intel Could Hand Control of Chip Plants to TSMC

    The Silicon Valley giant is trying to cut a deal it hopes would help it pull out of a yearslong slump.

  • Standards/Consortia

    • SICP ☛ On Nostalgia for Physical Media

      And CD digital audio, the red book standard for encoding stereo sound quantised at 16 bits with 44.1kHz sampling, is good enough. HDCD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and HFPA Blu-ray may all be “better” on the spec sheet, but unless you’re sitting in the centre of a perfectly set up room listening to something that was mastered at very high fidelity, and are young enough that your ears can physically react to the higher frequencies, none of that matters.

      There are two downside to CD, the first is that the case problem took so long to solve. The standard jewel cases are too fragile for many applications, and the little tabs that hold the booklet in tend to damage the booklets. The other is that the ability to record to CD took so long to come about, and that the recordable discs are unreliable in many players. That probably worked in the format’s favour for adoption as a pre-recorded format, though, because the labels were very worried that “home taping is killing music” so a read-only delivery medium was their preference.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Federal News Network ☛ HHS to lose thousands of workers under Convicted Felon administration probationary job cuts

    Department of Health and Human Services officials expect most of the agency’s roughly 5,200 probationary employees to be fired. That’s according to a recording of a staff meeting shared with The Associated Press. Included in that tally are nearly 1,300 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The moves are part of the Convicted Felon administration’s bid to get rid of nearly all probationary employees.

  • Pro Publica ☛ USAID Dismantler Peter Marocco Secretly Met With Christian Nationalists Abroad in Defiance of U.S. Policy

    Before Peter Marocco was selected to dismantle America’s entire foreign aid sector on behalf of President Donald Trump, he was an official with the State Department on a diplomatic mission.

    In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Marocco was a senior political appointee tasked with promoting stability in areas with armed conflict. That summer, he made a two-week trip to the Balkans, visiting several Eastern European countries in what was advertised as an effort to “counter violent extremism” and “strengthen inter-religious dialogue.”

  • Breach Media ☛ Media, politicians are rebranding coercion against drug users as ‘care’

    Governments are using forced abstinence to hide their failures—and our biggest papers are helping them

  • NYPost ☛ The 6 foods you need for a long, healthy life, according to science

    Experts say adopting a plant-based, fiber-rich diet that focuses on whole foods can pave the way to a longer, healthier life. Start by making just two simple meal swaps each week to kick off your journey.

  • New York Times ☛ Pope Francis Is Admitted to Hospital for Bronchitis

    The 88-year-old pontiff, who has been battling health problems for years, is being treated in a Rome hospital.

  • New York Times ☛ New Insights Into Older Hearts

    Heart disease is more common in people over 65, but treatments are better than ever. That can complicate decision-making for older heart patients.

  • New York Times ☛ A Crisis at Planned Parenthood: What to Know

    Planned Parenthood clinics around the country are facing complaints of substandard health care and poor morale amid chronic funding problems, a New York Times investigation found.

  • New York Times ☛ Planned Parenthood in Crisis as Patients Report Botched Care and Tired Staff

    The health care provider ​of last resort is working to shore up affiliate clinics that are in dire financial straits. Patients report failed abortions, misplaced IUDs and inadequately trained staff.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Manpower crunch hits Hong Kong’s public healthcare sector

    This has led to lengthy A&E wait times and medical blunders.

  • France24 ☛ Nigerian lawmakers approve $200 million to offset shortfall from US health aid cuts

    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with more than 200 million people, was among the top ten recipients of aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2023. USAID's funding has been frozen for 90 days by the Trump administration.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Citizen Lab ☛ China’s DeepSeek Hey Hi (AI) is watching what you type: Ron Deibert on NBC News

      China’s DeepSeek Hey Hi (AI) chatbot has raised serious privacy concerns. Speaking with Kevin Collier at NBC News, The Citizen Lab’s director, Ron Deibert, remarks that the privacy problems regarding DeepSeek are not limited to Chinese platforms, and that personal information is also used by U.S. artificial intelligence platforms.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ Tech giants support Indonesia’s plan to restrict children from social control media

      Indonesia's Communications and Digital Minister was at the Surveillance Giant Google office in Paris to court its support

    • NYPost ☛ NJ teacher allegedly threatened Convicted Felon on social control media in disturbing posts

      "I think we are at the moment where assassination is at least a talking point" is the offending post allegedly shared on Facebook (Farcebook) by Fred Wilson, an 11th grade special education and social studies teacher at Egg Harbor Township High School.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ TikTok returns to US app stores following ban suspension

      Apple Inc. and Surveillance Giant Google LLC late Thursday returned Fentanylware (TikTok) to their respective app stores following a nearly month-long suspension. The social control media platform’s app store listings were removed on Jan. 19 in response to a law the Congress passed last April. The legislation requires Fentanylware (TikTok) parent ByteDance Ltd. [...]

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Baidu to open-source its Ernie large language model series

      Baidu Inc. intends to open-source its Ernie series of large language models later this year. The company, the operator of China’s most popular search engine, announced the plan today. Reuters reported that the initiative centers on an upcoming family of Ernie models dubbed the Ernie 4.5 series.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Thailand deports 10 linked to actor cyber-fraud case back to China

      Thailand has deported 10 Chinese nationals linked to the high-profile alleged kidnapping of an actor who was rescued from a cyber-fraud centre in Myanmar, Thai police told AFP on Saturday.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ Amnesty International and HRW say UK order for Fashion Company Apple cloud data undermines privacy rights

      Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Friday decried the UK government’s order directing Fashion Company Apple to give it access to cloud data, asserting the move “severely harms the privacy rights of users in the UK and worldwide.”

    • China denies Swiss allegations of surveillance on Uyghur, Tibetan diaspora

      A recent study suggests Tibetans, Uyghurs in Switzerland face surveillance and cyberattacks initiated by Beijing.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Federal News Network ☛ Treasury watchdog begins audit of MElon DOGE team’s access to the US government’s payment system

    The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General says it's launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system. That's after Democratic senators raised red flags about the access provided to Convicted Felon aide MElon’s Department of Government Efficiency. The audit will also review the past two years of the system’s transactions as it relates to MElon’s assertion of “alleged fraudulent payments.” That's according to a letter from Treasury’s deputy inspector general obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

  • JURIST ☛ 14 US attorney generals challenge MElon-led DOGE control over US federal agencies

    14 US attorney generals filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court against MElon, the Department of Government Efficiency Service (DOGE), and President The Insurrectionist Thursday.

  • JURIST ☛ Pennsylvania governor sues Convicted Felon administration over federal aid freeze

    Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit Thursday against President The Insurrectionist and his administration over the federal aid freeze policy, claiming that it is unconstitutional for the executive branch to suspend money that Congress has already approved.

  • New Yorker ☛ The A.C.L.U. vs. Convicted Felon 2.0

    Anthony Romero, the head of the A.C.L.U., says that the United States is on the brink of a constitutional crisis. “We’re at the Rubicon. Whether we’ve crossed it remains to be seen.”

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ NY police find body of missing man from MN they say was tortured for more than a month

    The victim, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man originally from Minnesota, was reported missing on Feb. 9.

  • France24 ☛ Germany's Scholz rebukes Vance, defends Europe's stance on hate speech and far right

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to U.S. Vice President JD Vance's attack on Europe's stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do. Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticising German mainstream parties' "firewall" against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). France 24's Douglas Herbert tells us more.

  • RFERL ☛ Vance Warns Europe About Free Speech And 'Unvetted' Immigration

    U.S. Vice President JD Vance on February 14 used his address at the Munich Security Conference to warn that free speech appears to be “in retreat” across Europe and that “unvetted” immigration represents a dire threat to the continent.

  • New York Times ☛ Vance and MElon Attack German Consensus on Nazis and Speech

    Vice President JD Vance and MElon have challenged decades-long approaches to political extremism that were designed to prevent another Hitler.

  • New York Times ☛ Vance Shocks Europe With Support for Far Right, in Message Familiar to U.S.

    The vice president’s speech in Munich, expressing support for far-right, anti-immigration parties and criticizing suppression of conservative voices, was a global extension of his core political themes.

  • New York Times ☛ Trans Man Killed in New York Was Tortured for More Than a Month, Police Say

    The body of Sam Nordquist, 24, was found in a field after he had been reported missing. The district attorney in Ontario County, N.Y., called the circumstances surrounding the death “beyond depraved.”

  • RFERL ☛ Afghan Detained In Munich Attack Sparks Fears Among Rest Of Community

    Police in Munich arrested an Afghan asylum seeker after he rammed a car into a crowd in the German city, injuring 28 people and leaving many Afghans in the country on edge amid calls during an election campaign for tougher immigration laws.

  • India’s Modi, Convicted Felon discuss China border tensions and upcoming Quad summit

    The two leaders spoke to reporters after Thursday’s meeting at the White House.

  • Kazakhstan man comes back from China beaten, in altered mental state

    Zhengis Zhanat’s family called for compensation after he claims he was poisoned and beaten by police in Xinjiang.

  • Sino-soft power

    A film about a mythical child deity has shattered box office records to become China’s highest-grossing film ever.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cook Islands says comprehensive strategic partnership deal signed with China

    New Zealand has said concerns over Mark Brown's visit to China stem from not having seen the pacts he plans to sign.

  • New York Times ☛ Cuts to U.S.-Backed Rights Groups Seen as a Win for China

    U.S. funding for the promotion of democracy has been frozen, disrupting the work of groups that expose abuses in China. Chinese nationalists are celebrating.

  • France24 ☛ Hamas frees three hostages: 'Some of the hostages are in critical condition'

    Three Israeli men, all dual nationals, who were abducted from the same kibbutz community during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack and have been held hostage by Gaza militants since, were released on February 15. Their health status still needs to be assessed. Our guest, Dr. Hagai Levine, is also concerned about the hostages still in captivity: 'Some of the hostages are in critical condition; they have injuries and illnesses, and may not survive the coming weeks,' he says.

  • France24 ☛ Second phase of Gaza truce negotiations to start next week

    Palestinian militants released three Israeli hostages on February 15 in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates freed by Israel, completing the latest swap despite fears the Gaza truce deal was near collapse. Negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire, meant to lay out steps towards a more permanent end to the war, are expected to begin next week. Eberhard Kienle, Research Professor at CNRS and Sciences Po Paris, was our guest.

  • JURIST ☛ UN denounces Israel offensive in West Bank amid violence and mass deportation

    The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) on Friday condemned Israel’s continuing offensive operation in the West Bank, urging Israel to immediately halt the “alarming wave of violence and mass displacement.” The OHCHR noted a resumption of unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians beginning on January 21, 2025.

  • New York Times ☛ British Couple on World Motorcycle Tour Is Detained in Iran

    The couple last posted online from Iran in early January. Britain’s foreign office confirmed their detention after Iranian reports about British nationals accused of “security crimes.”

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean opposition calls for investigation of Yoon’s wife over texts with spy chief

    The National Intelligence Service director admitted to having received text messages from the First Lady.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines’ Marcos puts China at centre of poll campaign

    Marcos is widely seen as having aggressively pushed back against Chinese claims.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China will ‘play along to the end’ with US, says its top diplomat Wang Yi

    China said it will “play along to the end” if the US is bent on suppressing the country.

  • North Korea must compensate for killing of South Korean official: Court

    Lee Dae-jun was shot under direct orders from North Korean authorities near the maritime border with the South.

  • In North Korea, rich women own taxis and young men compete for jobs driving them

    Women can't legally drive in North Korea, but they can earn a lot by converting their private vehicles to taxis

  • The Straits Times ☛ Rubio says U.S. wants stable relationship with South Korea, South Korean ministry says

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told South Korea's Foreign Minister that the United States wants to maintain a stable trust relationship with South Korea regardless of the domestic situation of either country, the South Korean ministry said in a statement on Friday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says U.S. should abandon military threats, KCNA says

    North Korea said on Saturday that the United States should abandon military threats if it has concerns about its mainland safety, state media KCNA reported, citing an official at North Korea's defence ministry.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ German Chancellor Scholz Rebukes Vance’s Support for Far-Right During Munich Conference

      At the Munich Security Conference, Olaf Scholz accused the U.S. vice president of unacceptable interference in Germany’s coming elections.

    • New York Times ☛ Diplomats in Munich Fear Convicted Felon Is Giving Up Leverage to Putin Before Talks With Ukraine

      Diplomats at the Munich Security Conference were uttering “appeasement,” with all its historical resonance, to describe the Convicted Felon administration’s approach to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

    • European Commission ☛ Speech by Commissioner Kubilius at the official Munich Security Conference Space Night

      Is space the next battleground? Space already is a battleground. War in Ukraine already is a space war. Fought on the Earth. The real question is: how will the space change the battleground? Europe is a global space power. Our space assets protect us. But we must not fall behind.

    • France24 ☛ France planning to host informal European summit on Ukraine, diplomatic sources say

      France is in talks with its allies about holding an informal European summit on Ukraine on Monday, diplomatic sources said Saturday. The Insurrectionist's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg earlier said that Europe would not have a role in Ukraine peace talks planned between the US, Ukraine and Russia.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky calls for European army to deter Russia, earn US respect

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on February 15 for the creation of a European army, saying the continent could no longer be sure of protection from the United States and would only get respect from Washington with a strong military.

    • France24 ☛ Volodymyr Zelensky calls for European army as US backing questioned

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on February 15 for the creation of a European army, as he insisted Kyiv and its backers on the continent must be listened to in peace talks with Russia. France 24's Nick Holdsworth tells us more.

    • France24 ☛ War in Ukraine: JD Vance tells Zelensky US wants 'lasting' peace

      US Vice President JD Vance pledged on February 14 that Washington sought to secure a 'lasting' peace as he held a first meeting with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss The Insurrectionist's push for a deal with Moscow.

      Vance also criticised Germany for blocking the far right from possibly sharing power in upcoming elections.

    • RFERL ☛ Europe May Not Be 'At The Table' For Ukraine Peace Talks, Convicted Felon's Envoy Says

      Europe may not be "at the table" if the United States brokers negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine, U.S. President The Insurrectionist's envoy for Ukraine and Russia said.

    • RFERL ☛ No Agreement On Rare Earths After First Rounds Of U.S.-Ukraine Talks In Munich

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign an agreement to grant the United States 50 percent of all future reserves of rare earth metals in Ukraine, according to news reports following a meeting between Zelenskyy and U.S. leaders at the Munich Security Conference on February 14.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Ukraine's senior officials discuss Kyiv's peace vision with China's foreign minister

      Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said late on Saturday that they had discussed Kyiv's vision of a path to peace in Ukraine with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China calls for all stakeholders in Ukraine war to be in peace process

      It has long backed dialogue and negotiation as "the only viable solution" to the Ukraine crisis.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Europe’s moment for self-governance

      American pressure and the prospects for talks over Ukraine force the continent to rethink the link between its values and its security.

    • New York Times ☛ Hegseth’s Bruising 72-Hour Debut Overseas

      It was a crash course in geopolitical realities as the new defense secretary stepped onto the world stage.

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Says Ukraine Is Unlikely to Survive the War Without U.S. Support

      His comments came on the first day of the Munich Security Conference, where anxious European officials had hoped to learn more about U.S. plans to broker peace talks.

    • France24 ☛ Russia orders US citizen arrested for drug smuggling to remain in custody

      A Moscow court on Saturday ordered a 28-year-old US citizen arrested at a Moscow airport on suspicions of drug smuggling to remain in custody for 30 days. Customs officers detained the man on Friday after finding cannabis-laced sweets in his luggage, court officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Holds American Drug-Smuggling Suspect In Custody For 30 Days

      A Russian court has ordered an American man to be held in custody for 30 days after he was arrested at a Moscow airport on drug-smuggling charges when customs officials said they found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage.

    • RFERL ☛ Romanian Opposition Welcomes Vance Comments On Election Annulment

      Romanian opposition politicians have welcomed comments made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, questioning the annulment of the country's presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling.

    • New York Times ☛ A Quick, Quiet Trip to Belarus Signals a Turn in U.S. Policy

      After years of the U.S. trying to isolate Russia’s closest ally, a meeting with Belarus’s president points to better relations, raising hopes of loosening his repression and his embrace of Moscow.

    • JURIST ☛ UN experts: Belarus government committed crimes against humanity to suppress opposition

      The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus reported on Friday that the Belarusian government committed widespread human rights violations, including crimes against humanity against its civilian population to suppress opposition to President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

    • New York Times ☛ Even in Death, Navalny Is Seen by the Kremlin as an Enduring Threat

      Russian authorities have zealously prosecuted people with links to Aleksei A. Navalny’s organization inside Russia in the year since he died.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Heavy Rain Strikes Kentucky and Tennessee

    Excessive rainfall on Saturday was pounding parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, which could lead to “life-threatening” flooding, forecasters said. The Northeast can expect snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain.

  • New York Times ☛ High Above Chernobyl, Workers Grapple With Ice, Fire and Nuclear Fears

    After an apparent drone strike blew a hole in the protective shell, there is an urgent need to patch what covers the wreckage of the world’s worst nuclear accident.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • CS Monitor ☛ How Pakistan could undercut US efforts to curb China's EV boom

      Electric Vehicles have become a new battleground for the power struggle between China and the West. For Beijing, Pakistan could become an important ally.

    • Barry Kauler ☛ Maybe have hit a wall with SolveSpace

      Earlier posts, creating components in SolveSpace: [...]

    • Barry Kauler ☛ Wheel-knuckle designed in SolveSpace

      Continuing learning, constructing various trike parts, this time the wheel-knuckle. Earlier posts:

      Had a go at modeling the wheel-knuckle, but hit a problem, as extrusions are at 90 degrees to the work-surface; there is no mechanism to specify an arbitrary angle. I need extrusions to be 80 degrees, just off being a right-angle.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Futurism ☛ Animal Lovers Alarmed as Company Goes Dark After Putting Microchips in Tens of Thousands of Pets

      The pet microchipping process is a little convoluted. In most cases, the microchips themselves don't have any of the pet owner's data, as is sometimes assumed.

      Instead, a veterinarian scanning a chip will find an 8-12 digit string of numbers that can be used to find which microchip company's database the pet is registered to. Once a kennel or vet has the database, they can get ahold of that company which will then relay the pet's exact details.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ How Hong Kong got entangled in the US-China trade war, and why a complaint to the WTO may not work

    Hong Kong has unwittingly founds itself caught in the US-China trade war, with US President The Insurrectionist’s latest tariffs on Chinese goods targeting the city’s products.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘We’ll tough it out’: Small factories in China’s ‘Shein village’ braced for stiffer Convicted Felon import rules

    Still, small factory owners remain confident in the strength of the country’s garment supply chain.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Virus disinformation drives anti-China sentiment, lockdown fears across Asia

      By Tommy Wang with Anuj Chopra in Washington A deluge of disinformation about a flu-like virus called HMPV is stoking anti-China sentiment across Asia and spurring unfounded concerns of renewed lockdowns, despite experts dismissing comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago.

    • Digital Music News ☛ YouTube Quickly Expands Generative Hey Hi (AI) Capabilities In Shorts — Just Moments After ByteDance Pulls a Scarily-Close Taylor Swift AI-Generated Video

      YouTube is upgrading the YouTube Shorts experience with more generative Hey Hi (AI) features — but it looks like they’re already falling behind ByteDance. YouTube introduced Dream Screen last year, which is a feature that lets people generate unique Hey Hi (AI) backgrounds for Shorts with just a text prompt.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Community Snapshot—January

    The Internet Society community works tirelessly to defend the Internet locally, regionally, and globally. Here’s a brief snapshot of what’s been happening over the last month around the world. 

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ MLC Asks Court to Reconsider Spotify Bundling Lawsuit Dismissal, Warns of ‘Profound Financial Consequences on an Entire Creative Industry’

    The Mechanical Licensing Collective is officially asking a federal court to reconsider its January dismissal of a much-publicized lawsuit targeting Spotify’s bundling craze. The MLC just recently submitted that motion for reconsideration, after a federal judge about two weeks back tossed the relevant complaint with prejudice.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Breach Media ☛ The freakout about Canada’s ‘internal trade barriers’ is a corporate scam

  Business lobbyists and right-wing think tanks are exploiting Convicted Felon’s threats to push their deregulation agenda