Leftovers

• The Straits Times ☛ Australian firm produces heavy rare earth, first outside China

  Australian firm Lynas Rare Earths produced dysprosium oxide at its new facility in Malaysia.

• Hackaday ☛ This Extra-Large, Two-Stage Fume Extractor Really Sucks

  Solder fumes are not nice on the lungs; nor are fumes from superglue, epoxy, or a whole mess of other things we often find ourselves using on the bench. Some people might be able to go the fume hood route to toss that all outside, but for the rest of us, there’s fume extractors. [Raph] has produced an extra-large, carbon-filtering, two-stage fume extractor that by all accounts really sucks — it is effective at hoovering up solder fumes up to 10″ from its inlet.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Seismic Waves From Intense Storms Can Ripple Through Earth's Core

    Powerful stuff.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Recreated The Ancient Chemical Reactions That May Have Sparked Life

    "Hatcheries of life."

  • Science Alert ☛ Drinking Alcohol Before Hitting The Sauna Could Be a Deadly Combo

    A dangerous mix.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Secret to Happiness Seems to Depend Upon You, Study Finds

    Happiness doesn't work the same way for everyone.

  • Science Alert ☛ Song And Dance May Not Be Universal Human Behaviors, Study Shows

    Music doesn't have to move you.

  • Science Alert ☛ We're Still Slowly Learning How Polynesian Voyagers Navigated Entire Oceans

    Without a compass in sight.

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Is the pope a mathematician? Yes, actually – and his training may help him grapple with the infinite

• Career/Education

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Dispatch from Texas: The Billion-Dollar Heist of Public Education​

• Hardware

  • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: DDR4 RAM Size

    I’ve been looking at computer hardware on AliExpress a lot recently and I saw an advert for a motherboard which can take 256G DDR4 RDIMMs (presumably LRDIMMs). Most web pages about DDR4 state that 128G is the largest possible. The Wikipedia page for DDR4 doesn’t state that 128G is the maximum but does have 128G as the largest size mentioned on the page.

    Recently I’ve been buying 32G DDR4 RDIMMs for between $25 and $30 each. A friend can get me 64G modules for about $70 at the lowest price. If I hadn’t already bought a heap of 32G modules I’d buy some 64G modules right now at that price as it’s worth paying 40% extra to allow better options for future expansion.

  • Hackaday ☛ Zen Flute Is A Teensy Powered Mouth Theramin

    An intriguing mouth-played instrument emerged—and won—at the 2023 Guthman Musical Instrument Contest hosted by Georgia Tech. [Keith Baxter] took notice and reproduced the idea for others to explore. The result is the Zen Flute Mouth Theremin, a hybrid of acoustics, electronics, and expressive performance.

  • Hackaday ☛ Determine Fundamental Constants With LEDs And A Multimeter

    There are (probably) less than two dozen fundemental constants that define the physics of our universe. Determining the value of them might seem like the sort of thing for large, well funded University labs, but many can be determined to reasonable accuracy on the benchtop, as [Marb’s Lab] proves with this experiment to find the value of Planck’s Constant.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian boy, 4, dies after playing with lighter

    The child was found lying on the floor with burn injuries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Singapore-registered sports car crashes and catches fire in Malaysia

    The driver was a 34-year-old Singaporean man.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China, EU suspend chicken imports from Brazil over bird flu

    China and the European Union have suspended imports of chicken meat from Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter of the commodity, after an outbreak of bird flu on a farm in the South American country, officials said Friday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ From farms to butchers: Malaysia’s pork prices surge as local farms hit by African Swine Fever

    The latest outbreak in Tanjung Sepat, one of the country's largest pig-producing hubs, has seen a monthly loss of 30,000 swine as infected livestock had to be culled.

  • New York Times ☛ F.D.A. Approves Novavax Covid Vaccine With Stricter New Conditions

    The agency narrowed who can get the shot and added new study requirements that could cost the company tens of millions.

  • France24 ☛ Ari Aster's COVID-era Western 'Eddington' gets mixed reception at Cannes premiere

    Ari Aster's COVID-era Western “Eddington,” about a 2020 America quickly losing its mind to conspiracy theories, Fentanylware (TikTok) and political extremism, premiered to a mixed reception at the Cannes Film Festival. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Cannes, Eve Jackson.

  • 2025-05-15 [Older] Mapping forever chemicals in Canada: Is there a hotspot near you?

• Proprietary

  • Make Tech Easier ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] How to Install Arch Linux in Windows Subsystem for Linux [Ed: WSL is using Windows, that's basically losing all the major advantages]

  • HT Digital Streams Ltd ☛ After ‘25 yrs’ at Microsoft, employee sacked on his 48th birthday; wife pens emotional post

    Microsoft's layoffs impacted three percent of its workforce, sparking emotional responses online. A wife shared her husband's story of being let go after 25 years, highlighting his dedication and contributions, while also noting the impersonal nature of the decision made by an algorithm.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Lost 256 KB Japanese ROM For The MacIntosh Plus Has Been Found

    The Apple MacIntosh Plus was one of the most long-lived Apple computers and saw three revisions of its 128 kB-sized ROMs during its life time, at least officially. There’s a fourth ROM, sized 256 kB, that merges the Western ROMs with Japanese fonts. This would save a user of a Western MacIntosh Plus precious start-up time & RAM when starting software using these fonts. Unfortunately, this mythical ROM existed mostly as a kind of myth, until [Pierre Dandumont] uncovered one (machine-translated, French original).

  • Hackaday ☛ Animated Widgets On Apple Devices Via A Neat Backdoor

    If you’ve ever looked at widgets on your iPhone, you’ve probably noticed they’re largely static, save for a few first-party apps. By and large, third party developers are not supposed to be able to animate them. However, [Bryce Bostwick] found a workaround.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean police bar use of Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot for sensitive data amid leak concerns

    The directive emphasises that investigative or work-related data should not be entered when working with generative AI.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] Can India help Apple diversify away from China?

  • Google-backed tech unicorn VerSe Innovation to lay off 350 staff

    This mirrors previous industry-wide transitions when companies like IBM, Intel, and Cisco collectively laid off tens of thousands of employees between 2016-2019 while pivoting toward cloud computing and software-based solutions 1.

    Companies typically justify these restructurings as necessary for long-term survival, despite research showing that mass layoffs can increase voluntary turnover among remaining employees by up to 31% 2.

    VerSe’s 51% reduction in EBITDA burn (from Rs 1,448 crore to Rs 710 crore) demonstrates the financial pressure driving these decisions, similar to how IBM and HP implemented strategic workforce reductions to optimize their cost structures during previous technology transitions.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Scoop News Group ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Official Indiana .gov email addresses are phishing residents

    • CNBC ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data and are demanding $20 million ransom

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • International Business Times ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Apple's £75m Siri Scandal: How to Claim Your Share in the Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement

  • Confidentiality

    • CBC ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] N.W.T.’s medical record system under the microscope after 2 reported cases of snooping

• Defence/Aggression

  • NYPost ☛ ‘We were very scared’ New Yorkers watch in horror as Mexican Navy ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge

    Joyous singing turned to screams Saturday night as New Yorkers who turned out to Pier 17 for a send off of a Mexican navy ship on a goodwill tour watched in horror as the vessel slammed into the Brooklyn Bridge.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Lightning strike at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat leaves three dead, dozens injured

    The incident occurred during a traditional spiritual ceremony held by Cambodians atop the temple.

  • RFERL ☛ UK Charges 3 Iranian Nationals In Alleged Attack Plot Against Journalists

    British authorities have charged three Iranian nationals with "engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service" in connection with what prosecutors described as a plan to "commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom."

  • The Straits Times ☛ Why Surveillance Giant Google Maps is still broken in South Korea: It might not be about national security anymore

    South Korea cites security. Surveillance Giant Google cites data restrictions. But the real story may be what neither side wants to admit.

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-05-10 [Older] Police release photo of suspect in deadly Rijswijk shooting

  • ANF News ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Bakırhan: No excuse left not to build a democratic Turkey

  • BIA Net ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] 'No excuse left not to build a democratic Turkey' after PKK lays down arms, says pro-Kurdish leader

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Turkey Says It Expects Syrian Kurdish Militia to Fulfil Damascus Deal

  • ANF News ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Syrian FM: PKK decision to disband is a "pivotal moment" for regional stability

  • BIA Net ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] PKK declares disbandment, ending four-decade armed insurgency against Turkey

  • BIA Net ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Turkey rules out Kurdish autonomy after PKK dissolution

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Turkey: PKK announces intention to disband

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Families in Turkey Await News of Loved Ones as Kurdish Insurgency Ends

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] The PKK Kurdish Militant Group Will Disarm and Disband as Part of a Peace Initiative With Turkey

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Factbox-Key Facts on Kurdish PKK That Has Ended Its Insurgency in Turkey

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Kurdish PKK Disbands and Ends 40-Year Turkey Insurgency

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] What does the end of the PKK mean for Turkey?

  • France24 ☛ Gaza: UK surgeon shares footage of hospital after Israeli strike

    Tom Potokar is a UK consultant surgeon working in the European Gaza hospital in Khan Younes in southern Gaza. He sent a video that he had filmed the moment after the hospital was hit by an Israeli bomb. He has said it is a snapshot of the reality there.

  • France24 ☛ Gaza: What is Israel's goal with the new military operation it just launched?

    Israel said Saturday that it has launched a major operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages, following days of strikes across the Palestinian territory that killed hundreds of people. Analysis by FRANCE 24 International Affairs Commentator, Douglas Herbert.

  • France24 ☛ World leaders urge Israel to stop its deadly military offensive in Gaza

    Leaders from Europe to the Middle East on Saturday called for Israel to stop its deadly military strikes on the Gaza Strip. Their statements came after Israel announced its new military offensive in the enclave to release remaining hostages held by Hamas.

  • France24 ☛ Gaza: Over 150 sites hit in 24 hours by Israel amid new military offensive

    At least 58 Palestinians were killed overnight in Gaza in Israeli strikes - as its army pressed on with a new ground offensive. More than 300 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes since Thursday, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March. Israel's military said on Saturday it is conducting extensive strikes and mobilizing troops as part of preparations to expand operations in the Gaza Strip and achieve "operational control" in areas of the Palestinian enclave. Story by Shirli Sitbon.

  • New York Times ☛ Apple’s Alibaba Hey Hi (AI) Deal Provokes Washington’s Resistance

    The Forrest Dump administration and congressional officials have raised concerns about a deal to put a Chinese company’s artificial intelligence on iPhones.

  • JURIST ☛ SCOTUS dispatch: justices grapple with nationwide injunctions blocking Convicted Felon’s birthright citizenship order

    Chloe Miracle-Rutledge is a JURIST Supreme Court Correspondent and a 2L at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. 

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Romania faces its most decisive presidential election in decades

      Romania heads to the polls Sunday to elect its next president. The first round saw the hard-right candidate secure an impressive 40 percent of the vote against the mayor of Bucharest, a champion of pro-Europe policies. Many view the outcome as a geopolitical choice between Russia and West after the shock cancellation of last year's election over allegations of Russian meddling.

    • Meduza ☛ Nine killed as Russian drone strikes minibus in Ukraine’s Sumy region — Meduza

    • The Straits Times ☛ Canberra slams Russian jailing of Australian who fought for Ukraine

      Oscar Jenkins was given a 13-year jail sentence on the charge of being a “mercenary”.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine: Russian strike on a civilian bus kills nine

      A Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from a front-line area in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region Saturday, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Moscow and Kyiv had held their first direct peace talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire. Story by Shirli Sitbon.

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow Intensifies Deadly Drone Strikes Ahead Of Potential Convicted Felon Calls With Putin, Zelenskyy

      Moscow stepped up its campaign of deadly drone strikes on Ukraine, with the latest assaults hitting near Kyiv and in the city of Sumy, even as US President The Insurrectionist said he will speak with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders in separate calls in hopes of a cease-fire breakthrough.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Troops Are War-Weary, but Want to Conquer More of Ukraine

      Many Russian soldiers say they would see a cease-fire along the current front lines as a failure, hinting at the nationalist discontent the Kremlin could face in accepting a cease-fire.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man and Putin Say They Will Discuss Ukraine Peace Proposals on Monday

      Hell Toupée announced plans for the call after a Russian drone attack killed nine on a civilian bus in northeastern Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Plans Calls With Putin, Zelenskyy As Russian Drone Strike Kills 9 In Ukraine

      US President The Insurrectionist said he will speak with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in separate calls on May 19 as a deadly Russian drone attack killed nine minibus passengers in Ukraine a day after the first direct peace talks in three years produced no breakthrough.

    • France24 ☛ The Kremlin fixes conditions for new Ukraine talks, Convicted Felon to speak with Putin on Monday

      A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin was "possible" provided the two sides first reached certain "agreements", a Kremlin spokesperson said Saturday. US President The Insurrectionist said he will speak with Putin on Monday followed by calls with Zelensky and NATO allies to discuss stopping the war in Ukraine.

• Environment

  • CBC ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Tourists watch as a massive chunk of ice breaks off Argentinian glacier

  • Truthdig ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] The Government Just Killed an Essential Database To Assess Climate Risk

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Push to Make Big Oil Pay for Climate Damage Losing Steam in California Legislature

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Facing Lawsuit, USDA Says It Will Restore Climate Change-Related Webpages

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini’s Race for Green Energy Resources Isn’t About Climate — It’s About Greed

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-11 [Older] Climate Justice Organizers Hold Mock Funeral for 1.5ºC Paris Agreement Target

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-10 [Older] Hawai’i Isn’t Backing Down From Its Lawsuit Against Big Oil Over Climate Crisis

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-05-10 [Older] How climate change is altering bird migration

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-05-10 [Older] Election won, time to act on climate, PM

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini Administration Decommissions Sea Ice Data That Sounded an Alarm on Arctic Climate Change

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Climate Crisis Wildfires Caused 15,000 Smoke Inhalation Deaths in 15-Year Span

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini White House Terminates Climate Tracker Examining Billion-Dollar Disasters

  • CBC ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Plant communities in the Arctic are changing along with the climate, study finds

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] To Keep Millions Alive After Aid Cuts, Pull Climate and Other Funding in Richer Nations, Group Says

  • Vox ☛ 2025-05-08 [Older] Can Democrats win over Cheeto Mussolini voters with this one issue?

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ Strike at New Jersey rail system idles New York-bound commuters

      New Jersey commuter rail engineers walked off the job on Friday after marathon contract talks deadlocked, idling a train system that serves some 350,000 passengers a day, including tens of thousands bound for New York City. Story by Nicholas Rushworth.

    • New York Times ☛ New Jersey Transit Strike: Negotiations Resume a Day Earlier Than Expected

      Agency executives and union representatives met Saturday afternoon, a day earlier than expected. A meeting with the National Mediation Board is scheduled for Sunday.

    • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] Tech-Backed Dems May Endanger California’s Clean Energy Laws

    • CBC ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] GM, LG Energy Solution to make new, lower-cost battery cells for future EVs

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] House GOP budget proposal targets clean-energy tax credits, pollution rules

    • New Yorker ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Why End Energy Star?

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] NRG Energy Bets on Growing Power Demand With $12 Billion Assets Deal

    • CBC ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Enbridge CEO 'completely enthused' by conversation around energy in Canada, U.S.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ Fans in Malaysia gather at Zoo Negara to bid an emotional farewell to two beloved pandas

      Malaysia is preparing to receive a new panda pair in August 2025.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ With his future on the line, Japan PM Ishiba stands firm against calls to cut sales tax

    Surging food and energy prices are straining household finances as wages fail to keep pace with inflation.

  • CBC ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Tariffs hitting shoppers in Canada and U.S., with some prices set to rise at Loblaw stores, Walmart

  • CBC ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Homeless Innu man died of hypothermia. Quebec coroner says system failed him

  • CBC ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] Union representing Air Canada's flight attendants files for conciliation as talks stall

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Mental Health Crisis Grows for Farmers as Federal Aid Runs Out

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • France24 ☛ Libyan protesters demand Prime Minister's resignation as three ministers resign

    Hundreds of Libyan protesters called on Friday for the ouster of the internationally-recognised prime minister and his government said one security force member was killed when some protesters tried to storm his office. Story by August Hakansson and Olivier Faissolle.

  • JURIST ☛ France sues Iran at ICJ for holding two French nationals hostage

    France filed a lawsuit against Iran at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday, seeking the release of two detained French nationals.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s ex-president Yoon leaves party ahead of snap election

    PPP members had been under pressure to expel him from the party.

  • New Yorker ☛ Joe Biden’s Decline: The Coverup and the Story Behind It

    The reporters Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson describe how the failure to acknowledge the President’s reduced cognitive powers pushed the country toward The Insurrectionist.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Unscientific’ Japan megaquake rumours spook Hong Kong tourists

      Unfounded online rumours warning that a huge earthquake will soon strike Japan are taking a toll on travel firms and airlines who report less demand from worried Hong Kongers. People from Hong Kong made nearly 2.7 million trips to Japan in 2024.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ City in Japan shuts down ‘postboxes’ that collected adult magazines, DVDs

    The aim was to keep such materials from being disposed of on riverbanks or at parks where children might see them.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: 6 new offences, 6 ‘prohibited places’ – what to know about Hong Kong’s Article 23 security law update

    Hong Kong enacted subsidiary legislation for its homegrown security law – known locally as Article 23 – this week to further facilitate China’s national security office in the city.

  • HRW ☛ 2025-05-08 [Older] Social Media Companies Should Resist Turkish State Censorship

  • Off Guardian ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] WATCH: UK Censorship and the Future of BitChute

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini’s Censorship Campaign Draws on Decades of Infrastructure Built by Big Tech

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Abortion-Rights Groups Denounce Censorship on Meta-Owned Apps in Latin America and Beyond

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] Corporate-Led Attack on Free Speech in Texas Meets Bipartisan Resistance

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-05-10 [Older] Rümeysa Öztürk Released From ICE Custody After Judge Cites Threat to Free Speech

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Pope Leo XIV Urges Release of Imprisoned Journalists, Affirms Gift of Free Speech and Press

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • The Local SE ☛ 2025-05-15 [Older] Swedish prosecutors deny that spy arrests are linked to journalist held in Turkey

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • HRW ☛ 2025-05-14 [Older] Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers Electrocuted, Decapitated, and Falling to Death at Workplaces

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Language as Liberation: One Man’s Mission to Teach ASL in Prison

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-13 [Older] Michigan’s Incarcerated Women: The Urgent Need for Resources

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-12 [Older] Behind Bars and Binaries: Music, Identity, and the Fight for Liberation

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• AppleInsider ☛ 2025-05-09 [Older] How Many Apps Used the Link-Out Policy That Apple Claims Complied With Judge Gonzales Rogers’s Original Anti-Steering Injunction?