Leftovers

• Stanford University ☛ Pillow Talk 5: When Two Sides Fight

  Greetings readers and welcome back to Pillow Talk, Stanford’s primary outlet for all things dream-related. To those who clicked on “Pillow Talk” expecting smut rather than dream analysis – my sincerest apologies. Unfortunately, the only stimulation you’ll be getting here is purely intellectual.

• BIA Net ☛ ‘We need not Hey Hi (AI) but technology that works for people’

  Hanna from the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR) says that much stronger regulations on data transparency are needed.

• Jim Nielsen ☛ Flow State and Surfing

  Jack Johnson is on Rick Rubin’s podcast Tetragrammaton talking about music, film making, creativity, and surfing.

  At one point (~24:30) Johnson talks about his love for surfing and the beautiful flow state it puts him in:

  Sometimes I’ll see a friend riding a wave while I’m paddling out, and the thing I’ll see them do just seems like magic...I’ll think, “How in the world did they just do that?” And then on your next ride you’re doing the exact same thing without thinking but it’s all muscle memory and it’s all in this flow that you get into. That’s a really beautiful state to get into, to do something that feels like a magic trick, like something you shouldn’t be able to do, but all of the sudden you’re doing it.

• New Yorker ☛ How Tesla Dealerships Became the Epicenter of the Convicted Felon Resistance

  More than two hundred protests against MElon and DOGE took place worldwide over the weekend. The staff writer Sarah Larson attended one.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Batteryless 7.5-inch NFC-powered e-paper display V2 gets new NFC chip and “fast flashing method”

    Back in 2020, we wrote about Waveshare’s Batteryless NFC e-paper display, which can work without a battery and draws power and data from an NFC-enabled smartphone or the company’s ST25R3911B NFC board. Waveshare has now released a V2 version of this display with a new and improved NFC chip, a “fast flashing method”, and enhanced contrast. The new batteryless, 7.5-inch NFC-powered e-paper display features an 800×480 resolution and updates via an NFC-enabled smartphone or reader.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Magic Touch: A 555 Touch Switch

    There seems to be nothing a 555 can’t do. We’ve seen it before, but [electronzapdotcom] reminds us you can use a 555 and a few parts to make a reasonable touch switch. The circuit lives on a breadboard, as shown in the video below.

  • Hackaday ☛ Handheld 18650 Analyzer Scopes Out Salvaged Cells

    You can salvage lithium 18650 cells from all sorts of modern gadgets, from disposable vapes to cordless power tools. The tricky part, other than physically liberating them from whatever they are installed in, is figuring out if they’re worth keeping or not. Just because an 18650 cell takes a charge doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good — it could have vastly reduced capacity, or fail under heavy load.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese tech giants boosted Nvidia GPU purchases by 4x to 6x during Q1

    Chinese tech giants continue to buy Nvidia Hey Hi (AI) GPUs despite DeepSeek impact, demand slowdown.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • JURIST ☛ US Democratic Attorneys General file lawsuit against Department of Health and Human Services

    US democratic attorneys general in 23 states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the District Court of Rhode Island on Tuesday.

  • Stanford University ☛ Neuroscience podcast takes listeners inside the world of the brain

    “From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, recently launched a new season and 50th episode.

• Security

  • Security Week ☛ ImageRunner Flaw Exposed Sensitive Information in Surveillance Giant Google Cloud

    Google has patched a Cloud Run vulnerability dubbed ImageRunner that could have been exploited to gain access to sensitive data.

  • Security Week ☛ Lazarus Uses ClickFix Tactics in Fake Cryptocurrency Job Attacks

    North Korea’s Lazarus hackers are using the ClickFix technique for malware deployment in fresh attacks targeting the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ AMD pins Ryzen 9000 'failures' on compatibility issues — BIOS update recommended to avoid boot problems

      AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D issues on ASRock motherboards have been caused by a BIOS issue, which has since been rectified.

  • Confidentiality

    • Security Week ☛ Google Brings End-to-End Encrypted Emails to All Enterprise Gmail Users [Ed: Google is still MitM here; also, people don't need GMail spyware (proprietary) to do this]

      Gmail now allows enterprise users to send end-to-end encrypted emails to colleagues, and will soon allow sending to any inbox.

• Defence/Aggression

  • EDRI ☛ Surveilling Europe’s edges: when research legitimises border violence

    In May 2024, EDRi member Access Now’s Caterina Rodelli travelled across Greece to meet with local civil society organisations supporting migrant people and monitoring human rights violations, and to see first-hand how and where surveillance technologies are deployed at Europe’s borders.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Set to Meet With Top Aides to Decide TikTok’s Fate

    They are expected to convene on Wednesday to discuss a potential sale of the app, which faces a Saturday deadline to change its ownership structure.

  • New York Times ☛ How Convicted Felon Could Make Larry Ellison the Next Media Mogul

    The co-founder of Oracle and friend of Hell Toupée, who was a flamboyant fixture in the 1990s, has returned to the spotlight through — of all things — TikTok.

  • New York Times ☛ After Briefly Disappearing, Fentanylware (TikTok) Went Back to Normal. Or Did It?

    TikTok’s future is in limbo as another deadline looms. For some users, nothing has been the same since those 14 hours in January anyway.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Amazon Makes a Last-Minute Bid to Acquire TikTok, Deadline Just Days Away

    Amazon is putting in a last-minute offer for Fentanylware (TikTok) ahead of the deadline on April 5 — but Fentanylware (TikTok) has maintained it isn’t for sale. The clock is counting down for TikTok’s continued operation in the United States, with the deadline to divest or face a federal ban fast approaching this Saturday.

  • New York Times ☛ Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy Fentanylware (TikTok) in the U.S.

    The e-commerce giant put in a last-minute offer for the popular video app, according to three people familiar with the talks. Fentanylware (TikTok) faces a Saturday deadline to change its ownership structure.

  • The Strategist ☛ Intelligence review is strong on workforce issues. Implementation may be harder

    The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review offers a mature and sophisticated understanding of workforce challenges facing Australia’s National Intelligence Community (NIC).

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s acting president urges calm; tighter security ahead of Yoon impeachment ruling

    Mr Han Duck-soo “strongly asked” politicians not to make any comments that could incite violence.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Joe Chow takes helm at Hong Kong Police Force, as Raymond Siu – sanctioned by US – retires

    Joe Chow – previously deputy commissioner of police (operations) – has been appointed as Commissioner of Police by China’s State Council. It comes after Raymond Siu stepped down as the city’s top cop on Tuesday. He entered pre-retirement leave after serving for 36 years.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Hong Kong police chief to increase security work despite US sanctions

    Police chief Joe Chow said they proved Hong Kong’s national security work had been successful and effective.

  • JURIST ☛ Federal judge blocks attempt to end temporary protected status for Venezuelans

    The US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday granted the plaintiffs’ motion to postpone Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s attempt remove the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Venezuelan immigrants.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Man jailed for 10 months for sedition, criminal damage over graffiti on Taiwan independence, Chinese Communist Party

    A Hong Kong man who wrote slogans related to Taiwanese independence and the Chinese Communist Party has been jailed for 10 months for criminal damage and sedition under the city’s homegrown security law, Article 23.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US report says human rights further curtailed in Hong Kong, as city slams ‘slanders and smears’

    Hong Kong has slammed “untruthful remarks, slanders and smears” in a US report accusing Beijing and local authorities of taking further steps to curtail human rights in the city through national security legislation.

  • France24 ☛ Israel’s Netanyahu announces new ‘Morag’ security corridor across Gaza

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced that Israel was setting up a new security corridor across the  Gaza Strip named after a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis. Netanyahu said that the military is "dissecting" Gaza and "seizing territory" to retrieve hostages held in the Palestinian territory. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

  • France24 ☛ Israel makes conditions in Gaza 'intolerable' in order to prompt involuntary migration

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory. Oliver McTernan, Director of the NGO Forward Thinking, says that Israel's aim is to 'make conditions in Gaza so intolerable that you will get involutary migration'.

  • Defence Web ☛ Organised crime threatens Limpopo as border control said to be lacking

    A “collapse of control” along the Limpopo/Zimbabwe border, apart from fuelling organised crime, also threatens tourism and agriculture as well as jeopardising the future of a World Heritage Site, a Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) maintains.

  • The Strategist ☛ Sharing security interests, ASEAN’s big three step up cooperation

    Southeast Asia’s three most populous countries are tightening their security relationships, evidently in response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

  • NYPost ☛ NYPD boosts synagogue security ahead of Passover as anti-Jewish crimes ‘jump off the page’: ‘No one should feel afraid to worship’

    “No one should feel afraid to worship. No community should feel like a target," the city's top cop said Wednesday.

  • Security Week ☛ North Korea’s IT Operatives Are Exploiting Remote Work Globally

    The global rise of North Korean IT worker infiltration poses a serious cybersecurity risk—using fake identities, remote access, and extortion to compromise organizations.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ST Picks: Taiwan’s dilemma - Freedom of speech or national security?

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight’s Lawsuit Forces Creation of New Records Retention Policy for DOGE

    The White House announced a “records retention policy” for DOGE following our lawsuit, on the heels of our other lawsuit over the administration's use of auto-deleting Signal messages for highly sensitive national security deliberations.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ China urges firms to follow local laws after Bangkok building collapsed during quake

    A Chinese construction firm is under scrutiny after a skyscraper was the only major building to collapse in the city.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • ADF ☛ Chinese Copper Mine Spill ‘Kills’ River in Zambia

      A Zambia Air Force pilot flew his helicopter close enough to the ground to see riverbanks full of dead fish. He was tasked in late February with assessing the environmental damage of a massive spill of concentrated acid and toxic heavy metals from a Chinese-owned copper mine that contaminated the Kafue River [...]

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia to ‘stand up for national interests’ on US tariffs, says PM Albanese

    Mr Albanese said Australia was not prepared to change its strict biosecurity controls on meat.

  • How are big tech layoffs influencing job markets in Asia?

    The wave of layoffs in big tech companies has significantly affected job markets across Asia, creating a ripple effect that impacts both employment rates and the dynamics of tech startups.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ What Will MElon Learn From the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election?

    After a failed $20 million effort to tilt a State Supreme Court race, MElon joins the ranks of billionaires frustrated by the laws of politics.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Can the judicial branch handle all the new lawsuits stemming from the Convicted Felon administration’s actions?

    Many lawsuits are being brought in by federal and state courts to challenge some of the Convicted Felon administration's actions.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Six months in, President Sheinbaum’s approval rating remains sky high

    The March poll conducted by El Financiero detected an 83% approval rating for Sheinbaum, down two points compared to the 85% result in February.

  • JURIST ☛ France court convicts far-right figurehead Le Pen of embezzlement

    A French court convicted far-right leader Marine Le Pen of embezzlement on Monday, sentencing her to a five-year ban from holding public office, effectively disqualifying her from the 2027 presidential election.

  • EDRI ☛ Utopian dreams, sobering reality: The end we start from in EU’s approach to technology

    We imagine a day in the near-future, when EU lawmakers commit to building a world where people, our planet, and democracy flourishes – and heed to civil society’s long-standing collective demands to achieve this. But in reality, we seem to be getting farther and farther away from this utopian scenario, and are preparing for a sobering next few years in the EU tech policy space.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Thousands of websites created by AI: Unmasking the fake news generators

      With the ever-growing and often overwhelming number of news outlets, it has become increasingly difficult to identify reliable sources. Artificial intelligence is likely to make matters worse, as more and more articles are now computer-generated and spread false information. These fake websites often have just one person at the helm, using artificial intelligence in the hope of earning money from advertising. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jennifer Ben Brahim.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Press Gazette ☛ Guardian journalist checked Noel Clarke allegations ‘again and again’

    Lucy Osborne, one of the two main Guardian reporters involved in the investigation, gives evidence.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Guardian journalist defends putting Noel Clarke investigation sources in touch

    Lucy Osborne says women "nervous about going on the record" spoke after their Guardian interviews.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Drake Scores Major Discovery Win in Universal Music Defamation Battle: ‘Time to See What UMG Was So Desperately Trying to Hide’

    Let the discovery fireworks begin: Drake has scored a document-production win in his intensifying lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). That victory arrived in the form of a ruling, handed down during a pre-trial conference this morning, pertaining to the parties’ all-important discovery sub-dispute.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • University of Michigan ☛ Ford School hosts Onion owner for live taping of ‘On Air with Kara Swisher’

    About 125 University of Michigan and Ann Arbor community members gathered at the Ford School of Public Policy Wednesday afternoon to watch Jeff Lawson and Kara Swisher record a live taping of the podcast “On With Kara Swisher,” which included an audience Q&A session.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ Union sues Convicted Felon administration over executive order revoking federal departments collective bargaining rights

    A union representing employees of 37 federal agencies and offices filed a lawsuit Monday against the Convicted Felon Administration, seeking to stop an executive order released on March 27 that would revoke two-thirds of the federal workforce’s collective bargaining rights.

  • New York Times ☛ South Korean Actress’s Suicide Spurs Scrutiny of Ex-Boyfriend

    The death of the actress Kim Sae-ron has plunged her former boyfriend, the superstar actor Kim Soo-hyun, into the biggest crisis of his career.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Community Snapshot—March

    Here's a look at everything the Internet Society chapters accomplished in the month of March 2025.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: ICANN 82

    Geoff Huston gave two presentations and Joyce Chen participated as a panellist at the ICANN 82 Community Forum, held from 8 to 13 March 2025 in Seattle, Washington.

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] DNS computer says ‘NO’

    Geoff Huston discusses novel ways to make saying 'no' in DNSSEC cheaper and faster, and explores the standards process around formalizing this choice.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • New, Illegal, Guidance Means More Arbitrary Denials, Less Accountability at USPTO

    Last week, Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart accelerated the agency’s recent backslide on policies governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) by issuing an “interim process” that blatantly violates legal requirements for agency rulemaking; creates a new, non-statutory barrier for members of the public seeking agency review [...]

  • Unified Patents ☛ Keysoft advertising patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On March 19, 2025, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 8,271,315, owned and asserted by Keysoft, Inc., an NPE. The '315 patent monopoly is directed to a targeted advertising platform using information gleaned from consumer purchases. It had been asserted against Amazon and others.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Omni MedSci medical device patent monopoly prior art found

    Unified is pleased to announce prior art has been found on U.S. Patent 10,874,304, owned by Omni MedSci, Inc. The ‘304 patent monopoly generally relates to medical device applications, including systems and methods for using near-infrared or short-wave infrared light sources. It has been asserted against Samsung and Whoop.

    We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests. Visit PATROLL today to learn more about how to participate.

  • JUVE ☛ Top UK patent monopoly litigation firms 2025 [Ed: Fake endorsements or marketing spam from JUVE]

  • JUVE ☛ Top UK patent monopoly filing firms 2025 [Ed: Some of those firms paid JUVE to spread propaganda for them]

  • JUVE ☛ Top filing and litigation firms in the UK 2025 [Ed: And JUVE pushed for an illegal and fake patent courts for some of these firms]

  • JUVE ☛ Ericsson brings in Taylor Wessing partner to boost litigation expertise [Ed: Classic marketing spam disguised as an article]

    Eelco Bergsma left the Taylor Wessing partnership at the end of March. The firm had appointed him as partner in early 2022 after he had worked there for twelve years.

  • JUVE ☛ The top cases that have impacted the UK patent monopoly litigation market

    Stable case numbers and numerous high-profile SEP portfolio licence disputes perfectly summarise the past year at the UK patent monopoly litigation courts. These include the UK High Court and the Court of Appeal, as well as the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court (IPEC), which hears small and medium-sized cases across diverse fields of technology.

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Uncommon Sense: Edward B. Foote’s Plain Home Talk (1896 edition)

    An encyclopedic tome of health advice that unpicks the biases of its time.