Leftovers

• Tim Bray ☛ Moved

  I’m sweeping a lot of drama under the rug. Banking drama and real-estate drama and insurance drama and floor-finishing drama and Internet-setup drama and A/V drama and storage drama. And of course moving drama. Month after month now, Lauren and I have ended more days than not exhausted.

• Scott Smitelli ☛ The “No, But” Engineer

  It really does seem as though every team can use no-but engineers to some extent. Even teams that already have one, that person could always use another set of eyes and ears. I believe that anybody who wants to become one, can become one. It takes time and effort, you’ll have to find ways to make it rewarding, and it can also drive you crazy if your organization doesn’t value that way of thinking. But you know what? Somebody else out there does, and they would be lucky to have a no-but engineer like you.

• Ness Labs ☛ The Liberating Effect of Uncertainty

  Until I realized… None of us really knows what we want, at least not with the certainty we pretend to have. We think we do. We make plans as if we do. But research consistently shows that humans are surprisingly poor predictors of their future desires and happiness.

• Lee Peterson ☛ My struggle with a physical notebook for planning

  There’s no right or wrong answer you just need to find what works for you. For me, at this point I’m pretty sure that’s a mix of things.

• Jacky Alciné ☛ Why and how do I blog?

  I found blogging to be as useful as journaling but available to the world and not needing to buy a book or journal. Of course, now I'm paying more to blog than I did when I started out. I used a sub-domain name from co.cc when that was cool, leaned on a subdomain on Blogspot for some time and then moved to a couple different domains. That taught me first hand of the fungability of a domain name and how it's not as reliable as the community would claim — despite the cost, its usefulness outside of an Web address bar is small compared to the usability of an e-mail address. That merits a whole separate post of discussion!

• Science

  • VOA News ☛ 2 lunar landings in a week for NASA's private moon fleet

    Now, starting Sunday, two more missions are set to follow within a single week, marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make moon landings a routine part of space exploration.

  • Fabian Beuke ☛ The Ekpyrotic Universe

    To understand this concept, it is helpful to think about the idea of extra dimensions. In string theory, space is not just the three dimensions we experience, but may also include additional dimensions that are not directly observable. Within this framework, our universe can be thought of as a three-dimensional surface, a “brane”, embedded in a higher-dimensional space.

• Career/Education

  • Futurism ☛ A Cancer Scientist Got Fired and Replaced Their Research Data With Wildest Thing You Can Imagine

    So the former researcher indulged in a costly romp through the digital garden, falsifying patient records with nonsense information, insulting clinical doctors, and launching a diatribe at her boss.

    When Stanford launched an investigation into the breach of a protected database, Mangi's former coworkers noted she was "very angry" about the firing. Now, after a lengthy investigation by the Secret Service, the researcher is facing a max of 21 years in prison after causing "thousands of dollars in financial loss" to the University.

• Hardware

  • Computers Are Bad ☛ 2025-03-01 the cold glow of tritium

    I have been slowly working on a book. Don't get too excited, it is on a very niche topic and I will probably eventually barely finish it and then post it here. But in the mean time, I will recount some stories which are related, but don't quite fit in. Today, we'll learn a bit about the self-illumination industry.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Creating the Om System OM-3 Wikipedia page

    It didn’t exist, so I added what I could: [...]

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Vox ☛ How Big Pharma helped build the factory farm meat industry

    The pharmaceutical industry helped build factory farming. Now it’s muddying the debate over meat’s carbon footprint.

  • CNN ☛ FDA meeting to choose flu vaccine composition canceled without explanation

    He said it wasn’t clear who directed the meeting to be cancelled or why, and said it’s also not clear now how flu vaccine manufacturers will get guidance on the composition of seasonal flu vaccines - “relying on WHO recommendations? What’s the plan?” he said.

  • Futurism ☛ There’s a Vape With a Tamagotchi Inside It That Dies If You Stop Puffing

    Through one lens, the Tamagotchi vape could be interpreted as an exploration of sacrifice, or maybe even mutual destruction; studies continue to show that vaping is terrible for you — and so, to ensure the life of their beloved Tamagotchi, the vaper must offer up their own health for that of their pet. Or, given that Tamagotchis are generally regarded as a children's toy, it's a poignant meditation on how the tobacco industry's turn towards vaping reignited nicotine addiction amongst young people, as cigarettes continue their steady, decades-long decline. Zooming out, it could even be regarded as a general rebuke of young people's tech dependency.

  • MB ☛ Researching Standing Desks

    After my medical discovery the other day, my doctor strongly advised me not to sit any longer than 60 minutes at a time, and to walk around 10–15 minutes after. I barely get 5 minutes between meetings on most days, and many can go back-to-back for hours. So, I’ve been researching standing desks for my home office. Not as easy as I thought.

• Proprietary

  • Daily Mail ☛ Microsoft Outlook is DOWN: Millions left unable to access their emails as social media is flooded with complaints after 'global outage' | Daily Mail Online

  • Texas ☛ Thousands report outage affecting Microsoft services like Outlook

    Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers reported having issues with services like Outlook on Saturday.

    In a series of posts on the social platform X, the company said it was investigating the issue, which affected various Microsoft 365 services.

  • Lou Plummer ☛ Getting Untangled

    The five big tech companies have gotten so deep into our lives that at times it seems almost impossible to cut them out. If you overlook the bad stuff, they make life much easier. Facebook is is easy enough for the oldest seniors to figure out. Amazon will not only sell you the stuff you want, it will provide you with all kinds of entertainment — TV, music and books, both to read and listen to. Microsoft products are installed on most of the world's computer, even on Macs, many of which have a copy of office. Two companies, Apple and Google, managed to corner the cell phone market. They also handle your email, your files, your music, your viewing needs and more of your health information than you are probably aware of.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • Futurism ☛ Google Cofounder Exhorts Employees to Work 60-Hour Weeks to Create AI Designed to Replace Them

      Unfortunately for employees of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, the squeeze is just getting started.

      In an internal memo sent out Wednesday and obtained by the New York Times, Google cofounder Sergey Brin — who's been mostly absent from the company since 2019, except when issuing edicts about the importance of AI — made it clear he wants his peons to focus even harder on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), the long-promised "next step" in AI intelligence.

    • Simone Silvestroni ☛ If we want continued growth

      I just watched one of the creepiest videos ever — in terms of AI, robotics, and potential futures ahead. Like JP said in a few of his recent blog posts, 'I’m really happy to be on the back half of my life'.

    • Pivot to AI ☛ Feeding the dreams of AI venture capital: if you want the VC money, just promise magic

      The short answer is, as always: a techy-sounding handwave that will replace all those annoying and expensive human employees.

      Here’s the one for sustainable manufacturing: [...]

    • New Socialist ☛ AI: The New Aesthetics of Fascism

      It's embarrassing, destructive, and looks like shit: AI-generated art is the perfect aesthetic form for the far right.

    • Los Angeles Times ☛ Opinion: When unregulated AI re-creates the past, we risk losing our shared history

      While such disclosure may be important for feature films, it is clearly crucial for documentaries. In the spring of 2023, we began to see synthetic images and audio used in the historical documentaries we were working on. With no standards in place for transparency, we fear this commingling of real and unreal could compromise the nonfiction genre and the indispensable role it plays in our shared history.

    • Futurism ☛ Instagram Apologizes for Showing Stream of Horrific Real-Life Murders in Users' Feeds

      On Wednesday, Meta issued an apology for an "error" that led to many Instagram feeds suddenly being flooded with gore, animal abuse, dead bodies, and videos of real-life murders — triggering an outpouring of shocked complaints online.

    • 404 Media ☛ Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence

      “Today’s algorithm showed me around 70 murders, 100+ accidents, and around 115 violence videos, is anyone on Instagram noticing it?”

    • Idiomdrottning ☛ AI is dangerous

      It is dangerous for the environment and for the workforce, and speaking plainly about that exposes fundamental flaws in market capitalism that it’s urgent to speak plainly about because those bugs, even before AI, were wrecking the climate and breaking the backs of workers. That’s a conversation humanity is long overdue to resolve and address.

    • Hindustan Times ☛ World’s largest call centre uses AI to hide Indian accents: ‘Sometimes it’s hard to understand’

      The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancellation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. Teleperformance provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc., ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Moscow Times ☛ Denmark Monitoring ‘Possible’ Russian Meddling in Greeland’s Upcoming Elections

      Denmark’s intelligence service (PET) said Friday that it was monitoring possible Russian interference in upcoming parliamentary elections in Greenland, its autonomous territory.

    • The Record ☛ German government denies foreign election interference was successful

      Konstantin von Notz, a member of the Green Party, told the Financial Times newspaper on Friday that Germans had “to recognise that our elections are already being manipulated — and successfully manipulated.”

      Von Notz cited the surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party — which received a record 152 seats out of 630 during the elections — and the far-left Die Linke party, which won 64 seats.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • GreyCoder ☛ Surfshark VPN vs. ProtonVPN: Quick Comparison

      Surfshark operates from the Netherlands. This country is supportive of privacy. However, it also takes part in international intelligence-sharing agreements. ProtonVPN operates from Switzerland. This country has some of the strongest privacy laws globally.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Have you ever clicked on an ad?

      I clicked banner ads as a kid constantly. This was back in the day when ads were simple animated GIFs that a webdev would put on their page. Heck, I was so silly, I even collected the things!

    • JURIST ☛ Meta sued over targeted advertising practices in Europe

      The complaints are grounded in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU, due to which Meta had introduced ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram that require users to purchase a paid subscription while other users continue to receive a free service funded by revenues from advertising. Eko aims to prompt regulatory actions through its complaint filings.

    • The Record ☛ California shuts down data broker for failing to register | The Record from Recorded Future News

      The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) on Thursday announced that a data broker must shut down its business for three years for failing to comply with the state’s Delete Act, which requires certain brokers to register with the state.

      The requirement that the company, Background Alert, close its doors for failing to register is unprecedented. Background Alert, which is based in California, agreed to the settlement terms.

    • Dedoimedo ☛ Android System SafetyCore prude filter nonsense

      Here I was, a decadent European minding my own European business, pondering art and chocolate and the price of diesel, when, just a day ago, I accidentally came across an article that mentioned something called Android System SafetyCore being installed on people's phones without consent. I read more about this app, and it turns out, among other things, it's a crappy, intrusive prude filter for idiots. It enables a "safety" framework for the "classification" (shh, don't call it scanning) of potentially "sensitive" content. And of course, this would be nudity, a forbidden word across the pond.

      I checked my phones, and yup, on one of these, this little turd had indeed been installed without my consent. So, we might have a privacy violation on our hands, which I'm going to examine in detail and, if needed, report to the relevant regulatory bodies. Second, I can't even begin to express my disdain about this feature and its intended purpose of tech-imposed moralism. But I'll try. Let's have an article.

    • [Old] Forbes ☛ Leaked NSA Doc Says It Can Collect And Keep Your Encrypted Data As Long As It Takes To Crack It

      Since 29-year-old systems administrator Edward Snowden began leaking secret documentation of the NSA's broad surveillance programs, the agency has reassured Americans that it doesn't indiscriminately collect their data without a warrant, and that what it does collect is deleted after five years. But according to a document signed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and published Thursday by the Guardian, it seems the NSA is allowed to make ambiguous exceptions for a laundry list of data it gathers from Internet and phone companies. One of those exceptions applies specifically to encrypted information, allowing it to gather the data regardless of its U.S. or foreign origin and to hold it for as long as it takes to crack the data's privacy protections.

  • Confidentiality

    • Cryptography Engineering ☛ Dear Apple: add “Disappearing Messages” to iMessage right now

      Sometimes I have to remind my colleagues that out in the real world, our job is not to solve exciting mathematical problems: it’s to help people communicate securely. And people, at this very moment, need a lot of help. Many of my friends are Federal employees or work for contractors, and they’re terrified that they’re going to lose their job based on speech they post online. Unfortunately, “online” to many people includes thoughts send over private text messages — so even private conversations are becoming chilled. And while this is hardly the worst thing happening to people in this world, it’s something that’s happening to my friends and neighbors.

    • DJ Bernstein ☛ 2025.01.18: As expensive as a plane flight

• Defence/Aggression

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] NYC McDonald's Bans Customers Under Age 20 Amid In-store Violence: 'No Parent and ID, No Entry' [Ed: What TikTok did]

  • RFA ☛ North Korean tour guides know about soldiers dispatched to Ukraine war, tourist says – Radio Free Asia

    A French travel blogger who was among the first group of Western tourists to visit North Korea in five years told Radio Free Asia that his tour guides knew that the country’s soldiers were fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine -- something the government has kept largely a secret from the public.

  • Sightline Media Group ☛ DOD civilians ordered to respond to ‘what did you do last week?’ email

    In a memo to all civilian defense employees, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that all staff members will receive a new request for a five-point summation of their weekly accomplishments on March 3. Workers will have 48 hours to reply.

  • Wired ☛ The Trump Administration Is Deprioritizing Russia as a Cyber Threat

    After years of Russian cyber aggression against the United States and its longtime allies—including repeated election meddling, hack and leak operations, disinformation campaigns, elaborate espionage, and brazen, disruptive cyberattacks—multiple recent actions from the Trump administration have recast the US stance on the cybersecurity threats posed by the Kremlin, downplaying the risks of Russian hackers as US adversaries. The about-face comes as Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin have increasingly strengthened their ties. Consistent US intelligence community assessments of Russia's activity in cyberspace and the threat it poses to the US would indicate, though, that such a change in approach could put the US at risk.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Minneapolis Man Charged With Trying to Join the Islamic State Group

    A Minneapolis man who allegedly expressed admiration for the truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people has been accused of trying to join the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

  • RFERL ☛ U.S. Arrest Of Tajik Suspect Highlights Mounting Islamic State Concerns

    His arrest comes just months after U.S. authorities deported eight Tajik citizens with alleged IS ties, and amid ongoing efforts by the Tajik government to tackle what it calls the mounting threats of religious extremism and terrorism.

  • The Local SE ☛ How the Nordic countries are tackling the scourge of screens

    They pledged to do more at a Nordic level "to address how screen time affects the health and wellbeing of children and young people", setting up a joint working group aimed at reducing the damage, and vowing to "increase the pressure on tech companies to assume responsibility and take measures to minimise the negative effects their products have on children and young people".

    But each country is also acting to limit screen use at school and in the home at a national level.

    Here are the current laws, regulations and recommendations.

  • RFERL ☛ Taliban Declares End To Doha Agreement With The United States

    Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers say they no longer consider the Doha agreement -- a peace deal with the United States that paved the way for the withdrawal of Western forces from the country -- to be valid.

  • The Record ☛ Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter.

    Hegseth gave the instruction to Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh, who then informed the organization's outgoing director of operations, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage, of the new guidance, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Report: Defense Secretary Hegseth orders Cyber Command to halt Russia planning

    U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to halt “all planning against Russia,” The Record reported today.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Macron reopens debate on European nuclear umbrella after Convicted Felon-Zelensky showdown

      French President Emmanuel Macron said he is ready to start discussions on a nuclear deterrence for Europe, in an interview published Saturday. It came as more than a dozen European leaders are set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Sunday following Zelensky's extraordinary clash with US President The Insurrectionist in the White House.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man-Zelensky clash: ‘Lowest point’ in relations between US and Ukraine, expert says

      Friday’s shocking shouting match in the Oval Office between US President The Insurrectionist and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the “lowest point” in relations between the two leaders’ countries, said Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. Citing Ukraine’s high dependence on US aid, Seskuria said: “the question now is whether or not Europe would be able to sustain Ukrainian efforts to continue fighting in this war”.

    • France24 ☛ Republicans defend Convicted Felon after Oval Office row with Zelensky

      Many Republicans rushed to defend President The Insurrectionist following his public row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office Friday. Senator Lindsey Graham, who was an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, told reporters that he doubts the US can ever “do business” with Zelensky again as he called for his resignation. FRANCE 24’s Kethevane Gorjestani brings you this analysis.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man-Zelensky clash ‘violent’ and 'predictable’, analyst says

      US President The Insurrectionist and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s public row at the White House Friday was “violent” and “predictable”, said Christine Dugoin-Clément, geopolitical analyst and Russia specialist. The open altercation appears to be a “trap” for Zelensky to pressure him to accept an unfavourable deal with Russia, she said, citing the absence of some mainstream media at the event.

    • France24 ☛ European leaders voice support for Ukraine after White House row

      Ukraine's European allies, set to gather in London on Sunday, rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky after The Insurrectionist threw him out of the White House and accused him of not being "ready" for peace with Russia. Stunned by Friday's altercation in the Oval Office, which saw Zelensky depart the White House without signing an expected mineral deal, most European leaders rushed to his defense.

    • France24 ☛ Row between Convicted Felon and Zelensky erupts at White House

      US President The Insurrectionist erupted at Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, angrily sending the Ukrainian leader out of the White House after an extraordinary Oval Office meltdown because he was "not ready" for peace with Russia.

    • France24 ☛ Ukrainians 'in state of shock' after Convicted Felon-Zelensky Oval office spat

      Ukrainians were "in a state of shock" after seeing how President Volodymyr Zelensky was received on a visit to the White House which ended with US President The Insurrectionist launching an angry tirade at the Ukrainian leader says FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reporting from Kyiv. Ukrainians "are losing their people. They are giving their blood to defend their country and seeing their leader being insulted and disrespected the way he was at the White House yesterday didn't go down very well," Chaze said.

    • JURIST ☛ Detention of journalist in Russia over Ukraine conflict sparks international concern

      The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Thursday called on Russian authorities to halt legal action against a journalist who criticized the invasion of Ukraine and faces a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years.

    • RFERL ☛ European Leaders To Hold Crisis Talks In London After Zelenskyy’s Clash With Convicted Felon

      The lavish interiors of Lancaster House in London will host crisis talks on March 2 as European leaders seek to recover from collective shock and horror after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s disastrous visit to Washington this week.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Gets 'Warm' Welcome, Big Loan From British PM On Eve Of Summit

      Volodymyr Zelenskyy was welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for one-on-one talks, a day after the Ukrainian leader had an unprecedented White House clash with the U.S. president that threatened the future of U.S. support for Kyiv.

    • New Yorker ☛ The Imperialist Philosopher Who Demanded the Ukraine War

      For decades, Alexander Dugin argued that Russia had a messianic mission, and that destroying an independent Ukraine was necessary to fulfilling it.

    • New York Times ☛ Shocked by Convicted Felon Meeting, Zelensky and Ukraine Try to Forge a Path Forward

      After Hell Toupée’s rebukes, President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to repair the relationship with his counterpart while also reaching out to European allies.

    • New York Times ☛ Oval Office Showdown

      A venomous public spat made it clear that Hell Toupée regards Ukraine as an obstacle.

    • New York Times ☛ How Johnson, Who Put His Job at Risk to Save Ukraine Aid, Flipped for Convicted Felon

      Many Republicans have made a reversal on Russia and Ukraine, falling in line behind Hell Toupée. No turnabout has been more striking than that of the Republican speaker.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Berates Zelensky in Fiery Exchange at the White House

      Hell Toupée and Vice President JD Vance castigated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine for not being grateful enough for U.S. aid. “You’re gambling with World War III,” Convicted Felon told Zelensky.

    • France24 ☛ Romanian far-right supporters hold protest rally ahead of election re-run

      A day after Romania's pro-European coalition government survived a no-confidence vote, anti-government protesters took to the streets of the capital Bucharest on Saturday. The demonstration by far-right groups was held to demand a second round of presidential elections after the first round, which was won by a far-right populist, was annulled due to Russian interference allegations.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Industry Minister seeks exemption from Convicted Felon’s tariffs

      South Korea and the US have also agreed to set up a working-level channel to discuss tariff-related issues.

    • New York Times ☛ I Loved ‘Anora,’ but I Still Hope It Loses at the Oscars

      “Anora” is neither pro-Russian nor anti-Russian. But its Oscar nominations have been portrayed as a national victory in Russia.

    • CBC ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] Ukraine's mineral riches could bankroll its postwar future. But what does Cheeto Mussolini's deal really mean?

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] White House Removes Russian State Media Reporter From Oval Office, Official Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Russia Offers to Restore Direct Air Links With the US, During Istanbul Talks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] The Latest: Cheeto Mussolini Meets With Zelenskyy as Ukraine Seeks an End to Russian Aggression

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] China and Russia Should Strengthen Coordination in International Affairs, Xi Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Deputy PM Accuses West of Destabilising Serbia After Meeting Russian Spy Chief

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Exclusive-Israel Lobbies US to Keep Russian Bases in a 'Weak' Syria, Sources Say

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Russia to Send New Ambassador to Washington in Sign of Progress With US

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] US Family in Kyiv Mourns Son Killed in War, Upset by Cheeto Mussolini's Lurch to Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] French Court Sentences Pair to Eight Months With Ankle Bracelet for Russian Consulate Attack

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] Russian and US Diplomats Meet in Istanbul for Second Round of Talks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging US-Russia Rapprochement

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] Ukraine's Army Chief Visits Eastern Front Heavily Pressured by Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] US Deports Russian Man Wanted for Armed Robbery, Moscow Says

    • CPJ ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Kulyk killed by Russian drone in Kyiv region

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Factbox-What Is the State of Russian and U.S. Diplomatic Missions?

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Putin Hosts Guinea-Bissau Leader as Russia Builds Africa Ties

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Ukraine Not on Agenda in US-Russia Talks on Diplomatic Missions, Says State Dept

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Russian security chief boosts ties with Indonesia's Subianto

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Hungary Seeks Removal of Eight People From EU Sanctions on Russia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Agent's arrest exposes Russian network in Bosnia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Germany's AfD: Proxies for Cheeto Mussolini and Russia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] How Russia's war in Ukraine is poisoning the environment

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Human toll of Russia's war in Ukraine explained in graphics

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Europe Must Raise Defence Spending, Use Russian Assets for Ukraine, Czech PM Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] New EU Sanctions Target Airlines Operating Domestic Flights in Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Putin's Envoy Dmitriev Says Russia Open for Economic Cooperation With US

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery Halts Operations After Drone Strike, Sources Say

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Turkey Offers to Host Possible Ukraine-Russia Talks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] UK Announces Sweeping Package of Sanctions Against Russia

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Does History Repeat itself? Nixon’s 1972 Moscow Trip and the 2025 U.S.-Russia Talks

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Ukraine: Odesa's push to erase Russian names, monuments

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] UK to announce new sanctions on Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini's Russian Rapprochement, Mars Musing and DOGE Dividends. and Is the Gold Gone? It's Week 5

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Russian Attacks Kill One in Kryvyi Rih, Damage Houses in Kyiv, Ukraine Officials Say

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Estonia in New Push to Get EU to Seize Russian Assets for Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Russia Launches War's Largest Drone Attack on Ukraine, Kyiv Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Russia Signs Memorandum to Build Port, Oil Refinery in Myanmar

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Russia's Lavrov to Discuss Turkish Role in Ending Ukraine War in Visit, Source Says

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] African Culture Consolidating Relations with Russia

    • CBC ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Ukraine's homegrown drones have become increasingly lethal, critical tools in war with Russia

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] European leaders back Ukraine as Cheeto Mussolini reaches out to Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] One Woman Killed in Russia's Bombing of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Russia, U.S. Representatives to Meet Again Within Two Weeks, Senior Russian Diplomat Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Villagers in Russian-Controlled Ukraine Visit Homes Destroyed in Long Conflict

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] How Ukrainian schools keep running despite the war

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy, Cheeto Mussolini clash ahead of deal

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] What Ukrainian opinion polls say about Volodymyr Zelenskyy

    • The Local DK ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Danish PM to attend major Ukraine 'summit' in London

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] Family of US Marine Veteran Killed in Ukraine Tells Funeral He Died Fighting for Freedom

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-28 [Older] As Cheeto Mussolini and Zelenskiy Discuss Minerals Deal, Production in Ukraine Remains Years Away

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] The Consequences Within America of Abandoning Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-27 [Older] Ukraine's Zelenskiy Meets Irish PM on Way to Cheeto Mussolini Visit

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Ukraine updates: No security guarantee from US for minerals

    • The Age AU ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Countries tell Ukraine ‘you are not alone’ after UN adopts neutral stance on war

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Keir Starmer Heads to Washington With UK Defense Spending Pledge to Help Sway Cheeto Mussolini Over Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] TEXT-Framework Agreement of US, Ukraine on Developing Critical Minerals

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Factbox-Key Provisions of the US-Ukrainian Draft Minerals Deal

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] UK Plans Ukraine Talks and Cheeto Mussolini Debrief With European Leaders on Sunday

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Ukraine Set to Sign Minerals Deal, Cheeto Mussolini Confirms Zelenskiy Visit

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] Ukraine to Set up High-Level Courts as Part of Reform Drive

    • Vox ☛ 2025-02-26 [Older] A Ukraine ceasefire deal is starting to come into view. Would it work?

    • TruthOut ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini Demonstrates Profound Ignorance With Remarks on Ukraine War Anniversary

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] EU training for Ukraine forces doesn't always hit the mark

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Ukraine agrees to terms of US minerals deal, reports say

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Ukraine updates: Kremlin rejects Cheeto Mussolini peacekeeper claim

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Why some in Taiwan fear Cheeto Mussolini's approach to Ukraine war

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] Countries Tell Ukraine 'You Are Not Alone' After UN Adopts Neutral Stance on War

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-25 [Older] U.S.-Europe Rift Over Ukraine Reverberates at the U.N.

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Ukraine Solidarity Under the Cheeto Mussolini Administration

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini, Macron meet as Ukraine marks 3 years of war

    • The Local DK ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Denmark pledges 405 million kroner in humanitarian aid to Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Jam-Packed Week in Washington Includes House Budget Vote, Inflation Report and Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Europeans Win in UN Clash With US Over Rival Ukraine Resolutions

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] The Latest: Cheeto Mussolini Says Putin Would Accept European Peacekeepers in Ukraine as Part of Deal

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Democratic, Republican Lawmakers Propose Resolution Backing Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Finnish President to Cheeto Mussolini: if Putin Wins in Ukraine, the US Loses

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini, Macron Discuss Ukraine Peace Prospects at White House

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-24 [Older] Ukraine Could Join EU Before 2030 if Reforms Continue, Von Der Leyen Says

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Ukraine: Zelenskyy offers to quit in return for NATO entry

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Macron, Starmer to Meet Cheeto Mussolini as Europeans Flesh Out Ideas for Ukraine Guarantees

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] British PM Starmer Says There Can Be No Ukraine Talks Without Ukraine's Participation

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Swiss Could Contribute to Peacekeeping in Ukraine, Army Chief Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] The Leaders of France and Britain Head to Washington to Urge Cheeto Mussolini Not to Abandon Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-23 [Older] Wounded, Recovered and Back to War. Ukrainian Soldiers Are Returning to Battle After Amputation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Ukraine: How 3 years of war changed us

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Ukraine: How three years of war changed us

    • Spiegel ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Dolgopolov at the Front in Ukraine: "Tennis Prepared Me for War"

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Poland Is Paying for Ukraine's Starlink Subscription, Its Deputy PM Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Trudeau, Cheeto Mussolini Discuss the War in Ukraine, Fentanyl

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini Says US 'Pretty Close' to Minerals Deal With Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-02-22 [Older] In UN Duel With Europe, US Wants Security Council Vote First on Ukraine

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-02-21 [Older] RECOMMENDED — German historians argue that how Ukraine is being treated, is a worrying echo of WW2

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Vox ☛ Jeffrey Epstein files mess: How the release blew up in Trump’s face

    Naturally, the documents were a dud. One (Epstein’s contact book) had been published by Gawker 10 years ago. Another (a list of his masseuses) was entirely redacted. And the others had been previously released during the 2021 trial of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Nothing was new here.

    It all was handled so incompetently that widespread bipartisan mockery ensued on social media. Meanwhile, the MAGA faithful, denied their promised revelations, started to feel they’d been taken for a ride, and began to wonder: Was this, in fact, part of the cover-up too?

• Environment

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Trump cuts hit Forest Service in Michigan; critics fear ‘catastrophic’ loss

    Richards, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was a tribal relations specialist at the Huron-Manistee National Forests. In mid-February, she found out she was one of the some 3,400 workers who had been targeted for layoffs — an estimated 10% of the workforce — as part of the Trump administration’s move to cut costs and shrink the federal government.

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ Purging Scientific Datasets to Fight “Wokeness” and “Waste”

    In early February, molecular astrophysicist Clara Sousa-Silva discovered something alarming: crucial scientific data she needed for her research had vanished from federal government servers. As a scientist who studies the atmospheres of other planets and moons using ground-based telescopes, Sousa-Silva relies on climate monitoring data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to filter out Earth’s atmospheric effects from her observations. What began as a personal research obstacle quickly revealed a much larger crisis affecting scientists across disciplines.

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Is Trump's war on climate science pushing us into a dystopian future?

    US President Donald Trump's latest war on the climate includes withdrawing support for any research that mentions the word.

    He has also launched a purge on government websites hosting climate data, in an apparent attempt to make the evidence disappear.

  • NL Times ☛ Extinction Rebellion disrupts Rijksmuseum attendance with mass no-show

    The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam saw significantly lower attendance Saturday after climate activist group Extinction Rebellion staged a so-called visitor strike, reserving thousands of tickets without showing up. The action was aimed at pressuring the museum to cut ties with its sponsor, Dutch bank ING, which the group accuses of funding fossil fuel projects.

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Yes, paper straws suck. Rather than bring back plastic ones, let's avoid single-use items

    Plastic pollution is an urgent problem for the environment and human health. Microplastics are everywhere, from Antarctica to our brains.

    Plastic is made from fossil fuels, and so contributes to global warming. What's more, plastic production is forecast to triple by 2050.

    But recycling is difficult. Less than 10% of the world's plastic has been recycled.

    So we need to reduce our use of plastic in the first place, rather than trying to clean it up afterwards.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Washington Post ☛ Minnesota denies Amazon attempt to exempt data center from energy rules

      The decision against Amazon by Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission comes in a state that, like many others, is grappling with a recent spike in data center construction, with projects also planned by Meta and Microsoft.

    • India Times ☛ Why a Chinese gadget company can make an electric car and Apple can't

      After nearly a decade of trying, Apple finally gave up its effort to produce an electric car last year, canceling a project that soaked up $10 billion.

      But last year in China, electronics maker Xiaomi launched its first electric car after just three years of development and delivered 135,000 vehicles. It has vowed to double that number in 2025.

    • Wired ☛ The US Solar Power Industry Is Trying to Rebrand as MAGA-Friendly

      Solar provided almost 6 percent of total US electricity generation last year, but it’s been growing fast and is expected to supply “almost all growth” in electricity generation this year, according to the pre-Trump Energy Information Administration. Many are hoping that the technology—which is broadly popular among Americans, with 78 percent supporting developing more solar farms—can manage to stay out of Trump’s culture wars over climate change. More so than wind power with its towering turbines, solar energy has an ability to bridge ideological divides, appealing to environmentalists and “don’t-tread-on-me” libertarians alike.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Smithsonian Magazine ☛ Chinook Salmon Are Swimming in This California River for the First Time in More Than 80 Years | Smithsonian

      The young spring-run Chinook salmon are part of a pilot project that may one day become a full reintroduction program, with the eventual goal of returning the fish to their historic spawning grounds in California’s mountains. The project is a collaboration between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Yuba Water Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and the U.S. Forest Service.

    • California ☛ CDFW News | Pilot Project Returns Spring-Run Chinook Salmon to North Yuba River

      Salmon are swimming again in the North Yuba River for the first time in close to a century. The fish are part of an innovative pilot project to study the feasibility of returning spring-run Chinook salmon to their historical spawning and rearing habitat in the mountains of Sierra County.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Annie Mueller ☛ Despite the horrors, the laundry must be done; Despite the laundry, the horrors must be faced. - annie's blog

    There are two steps I need to take when there’s something upsetting but complex to deal with: a situation outside of my scope, or a crisis, an emergency, financial issues, global changes or things I don’t understand or relational conflict or whatever.

  • Elliot C Smith ☛ You can’t delete the default

    Every company has a default. It’s the set of things that happen when nobody is pushing in any particular direction. Usually, its the combined momentum of all the pushing you’ve been doing. There are times in a company where its useful to remove that default. You want to break habits because the standard way is no longer the way things should happen. If you get to this point you’ll need to remember, you can’t just delete a default.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Cost Rica ☛ Press Freedom Crisis: 300+ Nicaraguan Journalists Forced Into Exile

    The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described this Friday as a “shameful farce” the celebration on March 1 of Journalist’s Day in Nicaragua, as the government has “annihilated independent journalism” and forced about 300 communicators into exile. “It is a shameful farce,” emphasized a note signed by Artur Romeu, RSF’s director for Latin America, who demanded “that Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime end the persecution against the press.”

  • The Atlantic ☛ There Are No More Red Lines

    This is the second time in the past six months that Bezos has meddled in the editorial processes of the paper—and specifically its opinion page. In October, Bezos intervened to shut down the Post’s presidential-endorsement process, suggesting that the ritual was meaningless and would only create the perception of bias. Many criticized his decision as a capitulation to Donald Trump, though Bezos denied those claims. Several editorial-board members resigned in protest, and more than 250,000 people canceled their subscription to the paper in the immediate aftermath. Some interpreted this week’s announcement similarly, saying that the Amazon founder is bending the knee to the current administration; the Post’s former editor in chief, Marty Baron, told The Daily Beast that “there is no doubt in my mind that he is doing this out of fear of the consequences for his other business interests.” Bezos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ Jeff Bezos Is Scared to Have an Open Debate on Economics

    Jeff Bezos has finally dropped the pretense. The world’s third-richest man has decreed that the Washington Post, which he purchased back in 2013, will no longer publish opinions that challenge free market economics. With a casual diktat that would make William Randolph Hearst blush, Bezos has laid bare what critics have long suspected: when billionaires buy newspapers, they aren’t just after profitable investments — they’re buying ideological bodyguards.

  • The Nation ☛ MSNBC’s Death Rattle

    If it was really ratings, that does not explain why Morning Joe, whose numbers have cratered since Joe and Mika’s chastened trip to Mar-a-Lago after the elections, is secure. (The amount of newsroom demoralization that trip caused was something that I heard from multiple sources.) The only person on the network to speak out publicly was its biggest star—and the person one would think to be the safest—Rachel Maddow. The beloved Maddow, back to hosting every night for the first 100 days of the Trump reign and upon whose ratings the entire operation spins, said, “I will tell you it is also unnerving to see that on a network where we’ve got two—count them, two—non-white hosts in prime time, both of our non-white hosts in prime time are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend. And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them. That feels indefensible, and I do not defend it.”

  • Doc Searls ☛ Total News

    This is a working model for news production everywhere—from towns like Bloomington to cities like Los Angeles. I’d like to see us working out the prototype in both places—or anywhere anyone else wants to run with it.

    To be clear, Total News is not about how we produce news now, but how we prepare for news in the future, and how we keep archives that inform future news.

  • Nick Heer ☛ Apple News Remains a Bad Citizen of the Open Web

    There is no link to the article — certainly not on the publisher’s website, but also not even on Apple News. In MacOS browsers, I am prompted to open Apple News to view the article; if I decline, I have no next steps.

  • Press Gazette ☛ GB News wins Ofcom judicial review

    “It is notoriously difficult for claimants to succeed in a judicial review challenge against a regulator. The fact that GB News was successful is testament to the strength of its case.”

    Ofcom has been ordered to pay GB News’ legal costs. The broadcaster’s latest financial accounts, also published on Friday, show it more than doubled its revenues in the year to 31 May 2024 to £15.8m but its losses since launch now top £100m.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Jacky Alciné ☛ Tech Contractors Need to Recognize Class

    I technically work "multiple" roles right now. I have a soon-to-be declared organization I'm working with that's driving my creative passions largely around art and gaming. In the process of such work, I've been extremely clear with both my collaborators and vendors of baseline rules of engagement and the like when it comes to labor. This is a different navigation from working for an employer: negotiating working contracts that have statements around ethics tend to make lawyers very upset due to ambiguity, enforcability and whichever courts once wants to make said contract enforceable within. This cost me four different collaborations. I'm fortunate enough to not be tied to a particular deadline, which would put me at the mercy of these folks, but I'm noticing a parallel between these experiences and others when it comes to understanding the bylines for organizing power.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • The Register UK ☛ Internet governance is suddenly busy with big challenges

    A push to revisit policy came in late 2023 when the Number Resource Organization (NRO) – the peak body for the five RIRs – decided to initiate a review of a document called ICP-2 that defines the criteria for establishment of new RIRs.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • 404 Media ☛ The Digital Packrat Manifesto

    DRM and big tech's war on ownership has led me to make my own media libraries, and you should too.

Monopolies/Monopsonies