Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Traces of Mysterious Ancient Human Population Discovered in Colombia

    These DNA records reveal a fascinating timeline, including the existence of an ancient population with genetics unrelated to any modern descendants – a group of people who may have been some of the earliest settlers in South America, but who subsequently disappeared completely.

• Career/Education

  • Futurism ☛ "Learn to Code" Backfires Spectacularly as Comp-Sci Majors Suddenly Have Sky-High Unemployment

    In its latest labor market report, the New York Federal Reserve found that recent CS grads are dealing with a whopping 6.1 precent unemployment rate. Those who majored in computer engineering — which is similar, if not more specialized — are faring even worse, with 7.5 percent of recent graduates remaining jobless. Comparatively, the New York Fed found, per 2023 Census data and employment statistics, that recent grads overall have only a 5.8 percent unemployment rate.

  • Newsweek ☛ A Popular College Major Has One of The Highest Unemployment Rates - Newsweek

    Computer engineering, which at many schools is the same as computer science, had a 7.5 percent unemployment rate, calling into question the job market many computer science graduates are entering.

    On the other hand, majors like nutrition sciences, construction services and civil engineering had some of the lowest unemployment rates, hovering between 1 percent to as low as 0.4 percent.

• Hardware

  • Chris Aldrich ☛ Restored 1951 Remington Super-Riter Standard Typewriter

    Earlier this week I started stripping down my recently acquired 1951 Remington Super-Riter typewriter. The machine’s serial number puts it into the 15th month of production of the Super-Riter which replaced the storied Remington 17 and the Remington KMC.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Rolling Stone ☛ Joni Ernst on Medicaid Cuts: 'We're All Going to Die'

    Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) pointed out while arguing against the bill last week that of the millions of Americans projected to lose coverage because of the “big, beautiful” bill, exactly zero are undocumented, as undocumented immigrants are ineligible for Medicaid. The tax bill does, however, cut federal Medicaid funding to states that use their own funds to provide care for undocumented immigrants. The cuts, which will affect millions of vulnerable American citizens, are in service of giving the wealthiest Americans a tax break.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • The Independent UK ☛ Salman Rushdie reveals moment he thinks writers will be ‘screwed’ by AI [Ed: If lies and crime are about low-quality garbage in large volumes (looking for vulnerable victims), then LLM slop is good for lying and criminals]

      The 77-year-old Indian-born British-American novelist, who is promoting his new short story collection The Eleventh Hour, said AI has one big problem – that it can’t make good jokes.

    • The New Stack ☛ Duolingo Grapples With Its 'AI-First' Promise Before Angry Social Mob

      von Ahn had shared specifics. A bulleted list included “gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,” and warned even new employees would now only be approved if that work couldn’t be automated. How much people use AI would become a factor in hiring decisions — and in performance reviews.

      Furthermore, most roles at the company would see related initiatives that “fundamentally change how they work”.

      However, the post that concluded with “I’m confident this will be a great step for Duolingo” was met with over 1,000 mostly angry comments, including “Ending my subscription today and deleting the app immediately!”

    • Wired ☛ How to Make AI Faster and Smarter—With a Little Help from Physics

      Yu, now an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), is a leader in a field known as “physics-guided deep learning,” having spent years incorporating our knowledge of physics into artificial neural networks. The work has not only introduced novel techniques for building and training these systems, but it’s also allowed her to make progress on several real-world applications. She has drawn on principles of fluid dynamics to improve traffic predictions, sped up simulations of turbulence to enhance our understanding of hurricanes, and devised tools that helped predict the spread of Covid-19.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • The Register UK ☛ Mysterious leaker outs Conti ransomware kingpins

      The leaks include thousands of chat logs, personal videos, and ransom negotiations tied to some of the most notorious cyber-extortion gangs —believed to have raked in billions from companies, hospitals, and individuals worldwide.

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Linuxiac ☛ Is It Still Open Source? MinIO Steering Users Toward Paid Subscriptions

      Wow! That’s what I call a true “simplification.” You don’t need to be a tech genius to notice the glaringly obvious — all the essential MinIO admin features have quietly vanished from the web console (except the object browser).

• Defence/Aggression

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ Moscow Wants Moldova. Europe Must Stop It

    A major crisis is unfolding in Moldova, where Russia is using energy as a political weapon to influence the outcome of the autumn parliamentary elections. The first salvo came on Jan. 1, as Moscow halted the gas deliveries that had long provided low-cost electricity. Although Russia has since resumed gas flows to the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria, the rest of Moldova has been left to grapple with soaring prices, growing public discontent, and rising pressure ahead of a crucial vote. The goal, quite clearly, is to derail the country’s European path and tip it back into Moscow’s orbit.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ TSMC reopening discussions with Washington to build chip manufacturing plant in UAE — report

    This isn’t the first time that a chip maker has explored putting up a megafactory in the UAE — both Samsung and TSMC have each considered putting up their own facilities in the country in the third quarter of 2024, with senior executives from both companies visiting the area to start discussions. TSMC even went as far as starting talks with the Biden administration, which, unfortunately, led nowhere.

  • Mike Brock ☛ Glory to Ukraine

    Operation Spiderweb—even the name carries poetry—involved hiding FPV drones in trucks, positioning them near their targets with infinite patience, then launching them in perfect synchronization to find the very aircraft that have rained terror on Ukrainian civilians for three years. Putin's bombers, tucked away in the Russian heartland where the tyrant thought distance would provide sanctuary, reduced to twisted metal by Ukrainian ingenuity and Ukrainian steel.

  • Meduza ☛ Ukraine says it destroyed over 40 military aircraft in major attack on airfields across Russia

    According to those sources, the operation — codenamed Pavutyna (“Web”) — is being personally overseen by SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk. The strikes reportedly hit more than 40 Russian aircraft, including A-50 early warning planes, Tu-95 strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3s. The sources estimate the damage to Russia’s military at around $2 billion.

  • France24 ☛ Ukraine says it destroyed 41 Russian bomber planes deep inside territory

    Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at a military base in Siberia on Sunday, the first such attack so far from the front lines more than 4,300 km (2,670 miles) away, according to Ukrainian secret services and pro-Russian bloggers.

  • Mike Brock ☛ Truth Telling in an Age of Retribution

    George Stephanopoulos did something remarkable on Sunday morning: he told the truth about what we're witnessing. On national television, the ABC anchor described the Trump administration's corruption as operating "on the scale of a post-Soviet republic or a postcolonial African dictatorship." Not hyperbole. Not partisan attack. Just accurate description of the systematic transformation of the presidency into a personal enrichment scheme.

    But here's what's truly damning: it shouldn't be remarkable to point out a moral truth with this level of clarity. Yet here we are.

  • The Local SE ☛ Sweden steps up rules against Russia's Baltic 'shadow fleet'

    Sweden on Saturday announced new rules upping checks on foreign vessels in the Baltic from July 1, reinforcing a crackdown on Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers deployed to circumvent sanctions on its oil trade.

  • JURIST ☛ Fighting threatens indigenous civilians in Indonesia's West Papua: report

    The conflict between Indonesian authorities and the Free Papua Movement dates back to the controversial 1969 Act of Free Choice, which integrated West Papua into Indonesia. Recent military operations have led to significant civilian displacement, with reports indicating that over 76,000 Papuans have fled their homes since 2018. In addition to displacement, there have been alarming accounts of human rights abuses.

  • RTL ☛ Wellbeing and academic concerns: Smartphones banned from Luxembourg high schools from Monday

    The negative effects of excessive screen time and social media use on mental health, physical development, and academic performance of children and young people are well documented.

    In response, and to promote the well-being of all pupils and students, the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth consulted key school stakeholders and launched the Screen-Life-Balance campaign at the start of the 2024–2025 school year.

  • YLE ☛ Fewer Finnish parents buying smartphones for grade schoolers

    "It's great to see growing awareness of research on how excessive screen time affects young children's development and wellbeing," said Dr Silja Martikainen, Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Helsinki.

• Environment

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Earth's seasonal rhythms are changing, putting species and ecosystems at risk

    Our new research highlights how the impacts of shifting seasons can cascade through ecosystems, with widespread repercussions that may be greater than previously thought.

    This puts species and ecosystems at risk the world over. We are still far from having a full picture of what changes in seasonality mean for the future of biodiversity.

  • Science Alert ☛ Dramatic Collapse of Swiss Glacier a Chilling Warning, Experts Say

    "Climate change and its impact on the cryosphere will have growing repercussions on human societies that live near glaciers, near the cryosphere, and depend on glaciers somehow and live with them," he said.

    The barrage largely destroyed Blatten, but the evacuation of its 300 residents last week averted mass casualties, although one person remains missing.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Connor Tumbleson ☛ Brainwashed with Stoves

      As I watched the video a few things stood out to me starting with the fact that research showed most Americans could care less if their furnace or water heater was gas or electric. However when it came to the stove people cared a lot about having a gas stove. The video suggests this was from massive campaigns to pull on emotions targeted in advertising in any medium from TV to the [Internet].

    • Futurism ☛ Tesla Can't Find Legal Places to Store All Its Unsold Cybertrucks

      It's yet another sign that Tesla's Cybertruck has been a major flop. Earlier this month, Electrek reported that Tesla had amassed over 10,000 units worth a staggering $800 million of unsold Cybertruck inventory.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Zimbabwe ☛ AI Is Writing Code and Taking Jobs: Microsoft’s Layoffs Are Just the Start

    Microsoft is the latest to show how this AI boom has wreaked havoc in the coder’s world. The company laid off 2,000 people recently in its home state of Washington.

    Of those 2,000, 40% were in software engineering. Yes, 800 folks in software engineering got the boot.

  • Hamilton Nolan ☛ Technology Does Not Solve Political Problems

    Alfred Nobel claimed to be surprised that his invention of dynamite contributed to war, not peace. Had to establish that Peace Prize to try to even the scales for all the dead bodies. This is as good a lesson as any for well-meaning tech industry people who possess a genuine belief that we can innovate our way out of social and political problems. We can’t. That’s because technology, while an extraordinarily powerful tool, does not by itself change the way that power is distributed in society. If the hand that holds the dynamite wants to use it to clear away rocks, you get great new roads. If the hand that holds the dynamite wants to use it to make bombs to drop on neighbors, you get mass death. If you say, “We’ll only give dynamite to peace-loving people,” the stronger, war-loving people will come and take it away. If you don’t change the overall power arrangement, new technology will just make strong people stronger. So too with today’s technologies. Except worse.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • RTL ☛ Quest for reliable sources: Hey chatbot, is this true? AI 'factchecks' sow misinformation

      "Our research has repeatedly found that AI chatbots are not reliable sources for news and information, particularly when it comes to breaking news," she warned.

      - 'Fabricated' -

      NewsGuard's research found that 10 leading chatbots were prone to repeating falsehoods, including Russian disinformation narratives and false or misleading claims related to the recent Australian election.

    • The Washington Post ☛ AI companies tap social media tactics to help chatbots hook users

      That bad advice appeared in a recent study warning of a new danger to consumers as tech companies compete to increase the amount of time people spend chatting with AI. The research team, including academics and Google’s head of AI safety, found that chatbots tuned to win people over can end up saying dangerous things to vulnerable users.

      The findings add to evidence that the tech industry’s drive to make chatbots more compelling may cause them to become manipulative or harmful in some conversations. Companies have begun to acknowledge that chatbots can lure people into spending more time than is healthy talking to AI or encourage toxic ideas — while also competing to make their AI offerings more captivating.

    • Rolling Stone ☛ Trump Spreads Bizarre Conspiracy Theory That Biden Is a Robot Clone

      The Truth Social account that posted the allegation that Biden is a robot has dabbled in other conspiracy theory lies, including that the 2020 election was “stolen” as part of a “military-grade coup” and that Trump has saved the world “from the Satan Worshipping Deep State (DS) Global Elites.”

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Digital Music News ☛ PBS Sues Trump Over Federal Funding Freeze

    “The EO [executive order] makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is cutting off the flow of funds to PBS because of the content of PBS programming and out of a desire to alter the content of speech,” reads the filing. “The EO smacks of retaliation for, among other things, perceived political slights in news coverage.”

  • Rolling Stone ☛ Bruce Springsteen: All the Artists Supporting Him in Feud With Trump

    In the music community, support and admiration for Bruce Springsteen isn’t remotely a scoop; he’s long been admired by his peers and those he’s inspired. But Springsteen’s recent onstage comments in Manchester, England, about Donald Trump — calling the administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous” — and the increasingly authoritarian state of America have drawn the president’s ire. Trump even threatened a “major investigation” into Springsteen for his endorsement of Kamala Harris. In light of Trump’s attacks, a slew of musicians have publicly reaffirmed their support for the New Jersey legend. Here’s a rundown of a list that will surely continue to grow.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Cost Rica ☛ Salvadoran Journalist Killed in Honduras Despite Protection

    Hércules was enrolled in Honduras’ Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders, Justice Operators, and Journalists, designed to shield those at risk. The system failed him. Local police confirmed the attack, and many link it to his reporting. Dina Maza, executive director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights, said the killing stems from Hércules’ journalism. “In Copán, drug trafficking, organized crime, and politicians who resent scrutiny create a deadly environment for reporters,” she said. Maza noted that Hércules faced a kidnapping attempt years ago, which prompted his protection status.

  • The North Lines IN ☛ Journalist’s vehicle attacked by gunmen in Budgam

    Journalists have been targeted by terrorists in the past as well.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • CBC ☛ Russia is using its army to try to take more of Ukraine. It's using its passports to control the population

    It is part of what human rights experts see as a widespread campaign of coercion that's designed to extend Moscow's influence over the occupied territories, areas it demands Ukraine relinquish as part of any potential peace deal.

  • TruthOut ☛ Kaiser Mental Health Workers Win Big After Long Strike

    “There’s no doubt that Kaiser remains hostile to mental health care and to us, they fought us every step of the way. But this is still the best contract we’ve ever won, even though it took us more than six months to win it,” said Jim Clifford, a behavioral health counselor who has worked for Kaiser in San Diego since 2001.

  • Omicron Limited ☛ Many police forces have found ICE agreements undermine public safety

    Part of that operation includes what's known as the federal 287(g) program. Established in 1996, it allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose work is normally carried out by federal officials, to train state and local authorities to function as federal immigration officers.

    Under 287(g), for example, local police officers can interview people to determine their immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to jail people until agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody.

  • JURIST ☛ International rights groups condemn Iran's ongoing execution spree

    Iran has intensified the use of executions as a tool of political oppression despite the 2022 uprising, followed by the “Women Life Freedom” movement throughout 2023. Although a majority of countries still used the death penalty back in the early 1960s, the adoption of the ICCPR had already begun moves for its abolition in international law.

  • Paul Krugman ☛ Understanding Inequality, Part I

    Between World War II and the 1970s income disparities in America were relatively narrow. Some people were rich and many were poor, but overall inequality among Americans in terms of wealth, income and status was low enough that the country had a sense of shared prosperity. Things are very different today, as American society is beset by extreme inequality, economic fragmentation and class warfare.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• India Times ☛ Google makes case for keeping Chrome browser

  Rival attorneys made their final arguments before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who is considering imposing "remedies" after a landmark decision last year that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search.

  US government attorneys have called on Mehta to order Google to divest itself of Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the go-to window into the [Internet].

• Copyrights

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Record Labels and ISP Frontier Settle Piracy Liability Lawsuit

    Several prominent record labels have settled their piracy liability lawsuit with Internet provider Frontier Communications. In a public notice, all parties agree to bear their own costs, but the details of the settlement agreement were not disclosed. The settlement arrives just weeks after a similar lawsuit filed by movie companies was settled ahead of trial.

  • Digital Camera World ☛ 92 million jobs will be lost by 2030… What does AI mean for your photography career?

    Currently the UK has about 90,000 professional photographers, while the US has 181,000. In both countries, roughly two-thirds work independently as freelancers or business owners, a pattern mirrored across Western Europe.