Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ A day dashing around Brisbane

  Yesterday I posted from a Brisbane coffee shop. My recent Japan travel adventures were among the best received posts I’ve ever written, so I thought I’d do another silly one for this day trip :). I only had my camera phone on me and almost no time, so the pictures were mostly taken from the back seat of a car as we hurridly went from one place to the next.

  Occasionally some of at the company fly interstate to catch up with clients, or to meet new ones. This trip was up to Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city and one with significantly nicer weather than what we’ve been having in Sydney of late. I brought several coats and a scarf, and not to get all Malcolm Gladwell on you, but turns out I didn’t need any of them.

  But first though, this view! We flew out of Sydney at dawn, and we caught sight of the city waking up for the morning. My colleague did a handheld timelapse on his phone: you can just make out the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the middle right:

• Hackaday ☛ Simulating Empires With Procedurally Generated History

  Procedural generation is a big part of game design these days. Usually you generate your map, and [Fractal Philosophy] has decided to go one step further: using a procedurally-generated world from an older video, he is procedurally generating history by simulating the rise and fall of empires on that map in a video embedded below.

• France24 ☛ Bezos' Venice wedding party moved to isolated area on security concerns

  A celebrity wedding party for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice this week has been moved to an isolated, less accessible part of the lagoon city on security concerns and to prevent the risk of protests, sources said. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports.

• Science

  • Hackaday ☛ Static Electricity Remembers

    As humans we often think we have a pretty good handle on the basics of the way the world works, from an intuition about gravity good enough to let us walk around, play baseball, and land spacecraft on the moon, or an understanding of electricity good enough to build everything from indoor lighting to supercomputers. But zeroing in on any one phenomenon often shows a world full of mystery and surprise in an area we might think we would have fully understood by now. One such area is static electricity, and the way that it forms within certain materials shows that it can impart a kind of memory to them.

  • Science Alert ☛ Semen Allergies Aren't Rare After All (And Yes, Men Have Them Too)

    Why don’t more people know about this?

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Biological Age' Test Kits Are Popular, But They May Not Be Worth The Cost

    Here's what you need to know.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth Is Pulsing Beneath Africa Where The Crust Is Being Torn Apart

    Drums in the deep.

  • Science Alert ☛ Has Dementia Risk Declined Over Generations? Here's The Science.

    Dementia is complicated.

  • Science Alert ☛ Smallest Alien World Ever Seen Spotted by JWST in Stunning First

    The telescope that keeps on giving.

  • Science Alert ☛ Sea Slugs Steal Body Parts From Prey to Gain Their Powers

    Here's how they do it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Blood Type Affects Your Risk of an Early Stroke, Study Finds

    It's important to know.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Compulab MCM-iMX95 – A solder-down NXP i.MX 95 SoM

    Compulab MCM-iMX95 is yet another NXP i.MX 95 system-on-module (SoM), whose main selling point is being offered as a solder-down QFN package with SMD pads. The hexa-core Cortex-A55 Edge Hey Hi (AI) module ships with 4GB to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, 16GB to 128GB eMMC flash, an NXP PF0900 PMIC, and an RTC. All I/Os are exposed through 180 QFN SMD pads, including LVDS and MIPI DSI display interfaces, two MIPI CSI camera interfaces, two Gigabit plus one 10 Gbps Ethernet MACs, two PCIe Gen3 x1 interfaces, and more.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Tao Of Bespoke Electronics

    If you ever look at projects in an old magazine and compare them to today’s electronic projects, there’s at least one thing that will stand out. Most projects in “the old days” looked like something you built in your garage. Today, if you want to make something that rivals a commercial product, it isn’t nearly as big of a problem.

  • Hackaday ☛ Homebrew Pockels Cell Is Worth The Wait

    We haven’t seen any projects from serial experimenter [Les Wright] for quite a while, and honestly, we were getting a little worried about that. Turns out we needn’t have fretted, as [Les] was deep into this exploration of the Pockels Effect, with pretty cool results.

  • Hackaday ☛ Ceramic Printing Techniques For Plastic

    [Claywoven] mostly prints with ceramics, although he does produce plastic inserts for functional parts in his designs. The ceramic parts have an interesting texture, and he wondered if the same techniques could work with plastics, too. It turns out it can, as you can see in the video below.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Federal News Network ☛ Naval Hospital Bremerton shortages reflect broader failures in military health system

    “DHA has repeatedly ordered the base’s hospital to cut critical staff and medical care, which has been devastating for our service members," Sen. Murray said.

  • Latvia ☛ How far has Latvia come with mental health in past three years?

    In order to improve access to mental health care, in 2022 the Ministry of Health developed a plan to improve mental health care services for the next three years. This period is now coming to an end. In a series, Latvian Radio freelance journalist Anna Apīne analyses the real-life experiences of both patients and specialists.

• Proprietary

  • Hackaday ☛ Revealing The Last Mac Easter Egg

    A favourite thing for the developers behind a complex software project is to embed an Easter egg: something unexpected that can be revealed only by those in the know. Apple certainly had their share of them in their early days, a practice brought to a close by Steve Jobs on his return to the company. One of the last Macs to contain one was the late 1990s beige G3, and while its existence has been know for years, until now nobody has decoded the means to display it on the Mac. Now [Doug Brown] has taken on the challenge.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Researchers uncover weak encryption in SAP user interface for backdoored Windows and Java

      SAP SE today addressed two newly disclosed vulnerabilities in its SAP Graphical User Interface client applications following their discovery in coordinated research by Pathlock Inc. and Fortinet Inc.

• Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)

  • Neowin ☛ Microsoft employee behind AnduinOS releases more updates, here's how to upgrade [Ed: Highly suspicious distro]

    AnduinOS, a new GNU/Linux distribution designed to look like backdoored Windows 11, has just received its latest point release updates. Here's how to upgrade your system.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Many data brokers aren’t registering across state lines, privacy groups say

      An analysis of four states with data broker registry laws found that hundreds of brokers are registered as such in one state but not in others.

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ The Bank Secrecy Act is failing everyone. It’s time to rethink financial surveillance.

      The US is on the brink of enacting rules for digital assets, with growing bipartisan momentum to modernize our financial system. But amid all the talk about innovation and global competitiveness, one issue has been glaringly absent: financial privacy.

    • EDRI ☛ Joint civil society response to the Commission’s call for evidence: Impact assessment on data retention by service providers for criminal proceedings

      Last week, the EDRi network expressed shared concerns about the introduction of new rules at EU level on the retention of data by service providers for law enforcement purposes.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Pro Publica ☛ A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime

    The Trump administration has launched a major reorganization of the U.S. fight against drug traffickers and other transnational criminal groups, setting out a strategy that would give new authority to the Department of Homeland Security and deepen the influence of the White House.

    The administration’s plans, described in internal documents and by government officials, would reduce federal prosecutors’ control over investigations, shifting key decisions to a network of task forces jointly led by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, the primary investigative arm of DHS.

  • The Strategist ☛ Unintended consequence: a bombed Iranian nuclear program may become harder to watch

    The 22 June strike by the United States on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan risks replacing known quantities—monitored, visible sites—with a dangerous blind spot.

  • The Strategist ☛ Beijing’s economic playbook for Taiwan: big carrots and small sticks

    Beijing’s approach to economic coercion against Taiwan is less about brute force and more about baiting.

  • JURIST ☛ International community urged to address persisting violence in Haiti

    Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged the international community to address escalating violence and human rights abuses in Haiti, noting that conditions have been steadily deteriorating one year after the deployment of the first personnel under the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran Detains Hundreds On Suspicion Of Spying For Israel

    Amid rising concerns about Israeli infiltration of Iran’s security and intelligence services, Iranian forces have detained more than 700 people on suspicion of espionage.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ ‘He couldn’t have been nicer’ Trump and Zelensky give positive signals after meeting on NATO summit sidelines — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘We need more voices in the conversation’ Artist Pilvi Takala on Finland’s militarization and the role of art in a time of national crisis — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Polish lawmakers vote to withdraw from landmine ban treaty — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Belarus border logging sparks outcry – officials cite security concerns

      Forests along Lithuania’s southeastern border with Belarus are being clearcut, prompting public outcry in local communities. In the Lazdijai District – part of a region that borders the authoritarian-ruled Belarus – residents have reached out to LRT expressing concern over the scale of the logging.

    • Latvia ☛ Enhanced Latvia-Belarus border guarding to continue

      On Wednesday, 25 June, the government decided to extend the enhanced border guard system in Ludza, Krāslava, Augšdaugava and Rēzekne municipalities, as well as in the city of Daugavpils, until 31 December this year.

    • Meduza ☛ LGBTQ activist says members of ‘homophobic group from Russia’ showed up at her home in Vilnius after threatening her — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Russian far-right group visited LGBTQ activist's home in Vilnius – media

      Sasha Kazantseva, a sex educator and prominent LGBTQ+ activist, said on Tuesday that individuals linked to the Russian far-right Telegram channel The Healer’s Empire came to her residence in the Lithuanian capital, after issuing threats online, reports Meduza.

    • Meduza ☛ China renews interest in Russian gas pipeline as Israel–Iran war fuels energy concerns — WSJ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ NATO countries agree to raise defense spending target to five percent of GDP amid ‘long-term threat posed by Russia’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘We’ll teach them what a real sense of humor is’: Russian senator and ex-space chief Dmitry Rogozin threatens to send comedians to war over TV joke — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A waste of money’: Some Russian regions are giving payments to pregnant schoolgirls. Not everyone thinks it’s the right move. — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian photographer gets 16 years in prison for giving publicly available book to U.S. journalist — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ German aircraft may have entered Russian airspace from Lithuania

      A German citizen flying a light aircraft over the Curonian Spit may have briefly entered Russian airspace, Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) said on Wednesday.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian court convicts nearly 200 Ukrainian POWs captured in Kursk region of terrorism — Mediazona — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Toll From Russian Strike on Ukraine's Dnipro Rises To 18

      The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro rose to 18, officials said, as rescuers picked through the rubble of several buildings and a passenger train as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks to meet US President The Insurrectionist to secure further aid guarantees.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says US Will Push For More Ukraine Air Defense But Offers No Word On Further Aid

      US President The Insurrectionist said the United States would try to supply Ukraine more air defense systems to protect against deadly Russian attacks but would not commit to approving more aid to the embattled nation.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Signs Accord With Council Of Europe To Create War Crimes Tribunal

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 25 signed an accord with the Council of Europe for establishing a special tribunal to try top officials responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky and Council of Europe rights body sign accord for Ukraine war tribunal

      Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Council of Europe human rights body to establish a special tribunal to prosecute top Russian officials responsible for the "crime of aggression" in the invasion of Ukraine.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man warmed to NATO at The Hague. But what about Ukraine?

      Allies reiterated their commitment to collective defense. But absent from the communiqué was any mention of how Russia’s war against Ukraine should end.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin won’t travel to Brazil for BRICS summit due to ICC arrest warrant, Kremlin aide says — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Ukraine and Council of Europe sign agreement to create tribunal to prosecute Putin over war — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky, Europe rights body sign accord for Ukraine war tribunal

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed an accord with pan-European rights body the Council of Europe for establishing a special tribunal to try top officials responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The court would prosecute the "crime of aggression" in the invasion, which Russia launched in February 2022, and could, in theory, try senior figures up to President Vladimir Putin.

    • France24 ☛ NATO 76 years on: Grovel, grovel to 'reaffirm fundamental American commitment to European security'

      US President The Insurrectionist on Wednesday wrapped up participation in the annual NATO summit, a gathering notable this year for an atmosphere that was far chummier toward Convicted Felon than the tension-filled meetings of his first term. After less than 24 hours on the ground in the Netherlands, the Republican president headed back to Washington after securing a major policy change he's pushed for since 2017 as most NATO countries, except Spain, agreed to significantly increase their defense spending. The president also affirmed his commitment to NATO's mutual defense pledge. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza welcomes Ivo H. Daalder, President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and US ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.

    • France24 ☛ Flatterer-in-chief: NATO's Rutte handling of The Insurrectionist raises eyebrows

      All of NATO’s 32 leaders have endorsed increasing their defense spending to 5% of their GDP and reaffirmed their commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee. It comes just one day after the US president cast doubt on whether he’d come to the aid of fellow members if attacked. His comments have set off alarm bells for NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte who has been on an all out charm offensive to keep The Insurrectionist happy as Yinka Oyetade explains.

    • France24 ☛ Article 5: Convicted Felon reopens debate on NATO's mutual defence pledge

      NATO leaders on Wednesday agreed to hike defence spending and expressed their "ironclad commitment" to come to each other's aid if attacked, a day after US President The Insurrectionist appeared to cast doubt on the strength of the alliance’s core security guarantee, saying it had "numerous definitions".

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian military intelligence chief dismissed by defence minister

      The Lithuanian defence minister has dismissed Colonel Elegijus Paulavičius as chief of the country’s military intelligence.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Urges Senate to Reject Emil Bove’s Judicial Nomination, Renews Call for Misconduct Probe Amid Damning New Whistleblower Allegations

    New allegations that Bove suggested defying court orders to speed deportations, even telling DOJ employees to tell the courts "f— you," point to an alarming attack on the rule of law.

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Over 80,000 people flee severe flooding in southwestern China

    Flooding in China’s southwest has driven more than 80,000 people from their homes, state media said on Wednesday, as a collapsed bridge forced the dramatic rescue of a truck driver left dangling over the edge.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ Huge cable theft on French railway disrupts Eurostar and TGV services

      Eurostar services between the UK and the EU have been restored following a chaotic day of delays and cancellations, with dozens of TGV high-speed trains in northern France also affected. The major disruption was caused by the theft of more than 600 metres of railway cable near the city of Lille. Plus, the World Economic Forum, dubbed the "Summer Davos" is underway in China, with trade tensions and conflicts casting a huge shadow.

    • Federal News Network ☛ FAA air traffic controllers overstaffed at 30% of facilities, creating staffing shortages at other sites

      The report recommends the FAA should use “increased incentives” to convince more air traffic controllers to relocate from overstaffed to understaffed facilities

• Finance

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

    Brian Maloney Jr. was flummoxed when he was served with a lawsuit against his family’s business, Middlesex Truck and Coach, in January. Maloney and his father, also named Brian, run the operation, located in Boston, which boasts that it can repair anything “from two axles to ten.” A burly man in his mid-50s who wears short-sleeved polo shirts emblazoned with the company name, Maloney Jr. has been around his dad’s shop since he was 8. The garage briefly surfaced in the media in 2012 when then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney made a campaign stop there and the Boston Herald featured Maloney Sr. talking about how he had built the business from nothing in a neighborhood he described as having been a “war zone.”

    Now Middlesex was being sued by a New Jersey man who claimed he had been defrauded of $133,565 in a cryptocurrency scheme. The suit claimed Middlesex “controlled and maintained” a bank account at Chase that had been used to collect the fraudulent payment. The purported victim wanted his money back.

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Tennessee’s Flex Loan Law Failed to Protect Borrowers

    Jeanette Thomas had just made her first payment on a loan from payday lender Advance Financial when she said the company emailed her with “good news.” She could borrow $206 more.

    The solicitation was a relief to Thomas, a 62-year-old grandmother who had already exhausted the $783 disability check she receives each month since her health conditions render her unable to work.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Pro-Beijing district councillor withdraws from Miss Hong Kong Pageant after official reminder of duties

    Pro-Beijing District Councillor Angel Chong has decided to quit the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, one day after taking part in the first round of interviews for the beauty contest.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Did a ‘Harvard report’ reveal 377,000 Gazans are ‘missing’? The number has been misinterpreted

      Are 377,000 people “missing” in Gaza? This number has been shared by many internet users and media, who claim to be relying on a “Harvard report”. However, this figure misinterprets an Israeli study, which itself contains an error in the numbers at the root of the confusion. As of June 24, 56,077 Gazans have been killed since October 7, 2023, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong public libraries receive 140 reports on ‘objectionable content,’ including nat. sec violations

    Hong Kong public libraries have received around 140 reports from the general public about suspected national security violations and other potentially “objectionable content” since the reporting mechanism was introduced in 2023.

  • JURIST ☛ Hong Kong passes law barring national security offenders from organizing unions

    The Hong Kong legislative council passed a law on Wednesday that bans anyone convicted of a national security offence from creating or holding a leadership position within a union.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • BIA Net ☛ Press freedom and journalist organizations call for the release of journalist Fatih Altaylı

    IPI and the undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organizations today strongly condemn the arrest of Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı over his political commentary during a YouTube live broadcast and call for his immediate release.

  • AccessNow ☛ Bahrain: halt repressive amendments to the press law

    Access Now calls on Bahrain’s Shura Council to reject the government’s proposed amendments to the Law on Press, Printing, and Publishing.

  • JURIST ☛ Germany federal court lifts ban on right-wing Compact magazine

    The German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled on Tuesday in favor of lifting the ban on the right-wing Compact magazine. In the court’s view, although Compact’s publications and overall coverage present anticonstitutional ideals, the threshold to uphold a ban was not met.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 25 June 2025

    What has the EDRis network been up to over the past two weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: The case for a spyware ban, EDRi 2025-2030 strategy, EU must reassess Israel’s adequacy status, & more!

  • Michael Geist ☛ Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk

    The government’s inclusion of warrantless information demand powers in Bill C-2 has attracted mounting concern, particularly the stunning decision to target everyone who provides services in Canada which creates near limitless targets for warrantless disclosure demands.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Applauds Bill To Open Up App Stores [Ed: Public Knowledge is infiltrated by Microsoft though (conflict of interest)]

  Yesterday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the “Open App Markets Act” to reduce gatekeeper power and realize the promise of true competition in the app economy.

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ UK High Court grants interim licence to Samsung in dispute with ZTE

    The ruling in Samsung vs ZTE marks the first time the UK High Court has granted interim licence declaratory relief at first-instance level. Previous interim licence decisions such as Panasonic vs Xiaomi or Lenovo vs Ericsson were only granted at Court of Appeal level.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Scandinavia’s UPC gambit: High hopes despite sluggish start [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional, hence it should never have started at all and needs to be ended ASAP]

      According to recent UPC statistics, all three divisions in Scandinavia — the local divisions Copenhagen and Helsinki, and the Nordic Baltic regional division with its seat in Stockholm — account for only 3.5% of the current UPC caseload. The Nordic Baltic division currently has seven infringement cases.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ South Korean Government Drops the Hammer on Top K-Pop Agencies Following Subcontractor Abuses

    South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission reaches an agreement with major K-pop agencies over subcontractor violations. Today, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has announced the finalization and implementation of a consent decree with five major entertainment companies—Hybe, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and Starship Entertainment—over their violations of the country’s subcontracting act.