Leftovers

• Science

  • Federal News Network ☛ In a warning from inside the NSF, staff say science itself is under threat

    "We fight for employees as we fight for the mission of our agency in the same way," Dr. Jesus Soriano said.

  • Science Alert ☛ 50 Years After Discovery, Mysterious 'Eye of Sauron' Jets May Finally Be Solved

    The abyss is doing a LOT of gazing, hey.

  • Science Alert ☛ Brain Autopsies Revealed a Potential Culprit Behind Alzheimer's

    But is it cause or effect?

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Tea's Temperature Could Put You at Risk of Some Cancers

    Sip it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Our Ancestors May Have Walked Upright Long Before Leaving The Trees

    Just ask these chimps.

  • Science Alert ☛ Rogue Planets Floating in Space Appear to Be Forming Their Own Moons

    Sunless solar systems?

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Dog Has a Unique Ability to Read Your Mind. Here's Why.

    A very special gift.

• Gambling

  • France24 ☛ Kenya's growing gambling problem

    In Kenya, gambling is now considered a public health issue. More and more people drawn to games of chance or sports betting in the hopes of hitting the jackpot. But many punters are becoming trapped in addiction - and financial ruin.

  • Security Week ☛ Gambling Tech Firm Bragg Discloses Cyberattack

    Bragg Gaming Group says hackers accessed its internal systems over the weekend, but did not affect its operations.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Softbank reportedly considered buying Intel's foundry division outright before investing $2 billion into the company as equity

    SoftBank invested $2 billion into defective chip maker Intel today, but before that they considered buying the company's foundry division outright. Softbank, who already owns ARM, would've likely been blocked over monopolistic concerns, but CEO Masayoshi's relationship with Convicted Felon might've easedlocalapproval.

  • Hackaday ☛ Using Ultra-Wideband For 3D Location And Tracking

    Interested in playing with ultra-wideband (UWB)? [Jaryd] recently put together a fairly comprehensive getting started guide featuring the AI Thinker BU03 that looks like a great place to start. These modules can be used to determine distance between two of them to an accuracy in the order of 10 centimeters, and they can do so in any orientation and with obstacles in the line of sight. It is possible to create a network of these UWB modules to get multiple distance measurements at once and enable real-time 3D tracking for your project.

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 One Hertz Challenge: Atomic Decay Clock Is Accurate But Not Precise

    At this point, atomic clocks are old news. They’ve been quietly keeping our world on schedule for decades now, and have been through several iterations with each generation gaining more accuracy. They generally all work under the same physical principle though — a radio signal stimulates a gas at a specific frequency, and the response of the gas is used to tune the frequency. This yields high accuracy and high precision — the spacing between each “tick” of an atomic clock doesn’t vary by much, and the ticks cumulatively track the time with very little drift.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Solderless, Soluble Circuit Board

    Anyone who’s spent significant amounts of time salvaging old electronics has probably wished there were a way to take apart a circuit board without desoldering it. [Zeyu Yan] et al seem to have had the same thought, and so designed circuit boards that can be dissolved and recycled when they become obsolete. The researchers printed the circuit boards out of water-soluble PVA, with hollow channels in place of interconnects. After printing the boards, they injected a eutectic gallium-indium liquid metal alloy into these channels, populated the boards with components, making sure that their leads were in contact with the liquid alloy, and finally closed off the channels with PVA glue, which also held the components in place. When the board is ready to recycle, they simply dissolve the board and glue in water. The electric components tend to separate easily from the liquid alloy, and both can be recovered and reused. Even the PVA can be reused: the researchers evaporated the solution left after dissolving a board, broke up the remaining PVA, and extruded it as new filament.

  • Hackaday ☛ The VLF Transformation

    People have long been interested in very low frequency (VLF) radio signals. But it used to be you pretty much had to build your own receiver which, luckily, wasn’t as hard as building your own VHF or UHF gear. But there is a problem. These low frequencies have a very long wavelength and, thus, need very large antennas to get any reception. [Electronics Unmessed] says he has an answer.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia could be readying B30A accelerator for Chinese market — new Blackwell chip reportedly beats H20 and even H100 while complying with U.S. export controls

    Nvidia is reportedly preparing two China-specific Blackwell accelerators — the B30A for Hey Hi (AI) training and the RTX 6000D for inference — that will outperform the HGX H20 and L20 PCIe while staying within U.S. export limits.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Cases of Mosquito-Borne Chikungunya Virus Are Surging Globally: What to Know

    Chikungunya, which can disable victims for years, is spreading rapidly, including in China and other places that have not seen it before.

  • Zimbabwe ☛ China is Building Robots with Artificial Wombs to Carry Human Babies

    Alright, you probably aren’t ready for this but there’s some wild news coming out of China that could seriously change how we think about making babies.

  • Hackaday ☛ Food Irradiation Is Not As Bad As It Sounds

    Radiation is a bad thing that we don’t want to be exposed to, or so the conventional wisdom goes. We’re most familiar with it in the context of industrial risks and the stories of nuclear disasters that threaten entire cities and contaminate local food chains. It’s certainly not something you’d want anywhere near your dinner, right?

  • Silicon Angle ☛ AI chatbot scrutiny intensifies: Texas AG launches probe of Meta and Character.AI over misleading mental health claims

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced plans to launch a probe into Meta Platforms Inc. and Character.AI over the companies’ chatbots being used by young people as mental health tools. Paxton (pictured) believes that the Hey Hi (AI) tools could be utilized by vulnerable children who may believe the bots represent professional care.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • New York Times ☛ Kapo-berg Again Overhauls Meta’s Hey Hi (AI) Efforts

      Meta internally announced a new restructuring of its artificial intelligence division amid internal tensions over the technology, people with knowledge of the matter said.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ No decline in online scam cases in Malaysia despite campaigns, says minister

      Job, parcel and love scams remain among the most rampant forms of cybercrime in Malaysia.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Privacy International ☛ Privacy International's submission on Artificial Intelligence in counter-terrorism

    • Privacy International ☛ Privacy International's submission on discrimination and the right to privacy

  • Confidentiality

    • Security Week ☛ Gabbard Says UK Scraps Demand for Fashion Company Apple to Give Backdoor Access to Data

      Britain abandoned its demand that Fashion Company Apple provide backdoor access to any encrypted user data stored in the clown.

    • New York Times ☛ Britain Drops Request That Fashion Company Apple Create a Back Door

      The Forrest Dump administration said law enforcement organizations in Britain would back off asking the company for a tool for access to customers’ data.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ US spy chief says UK has dropped backdoor order for Apple

      The U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said earlier today that the U.K.’s controversial order to mandate Fashion Company Apple Inc. to open a backdoor to user data has been dropped.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ UK abandons Fashion Company Apple backdoor demand after US diplomatic pressure

      The United Kingdom has withdrawn its demand that Fashion Company Apple create a backdoor to its encrypted cloud systems following months of diplomatic pressure from the United States, according to a statement from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

    • Federal News Network ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man administration revokes security clearances of 37 current and former government officials

      Many of those whose clearances were revoked only learned of the decision after early news reports on DNI Tulsi Gabbard's announcement.

    • Federal News Network ☛ House Homeland plans CISA 2015 markup with expiration looming

      The House Homeland Security Committee will mark up a reauthorization bill for CISA 2015, a key information sharing law that expires at the end of September.

    • Security Week ☛ Australia’s TPG Telecom Investigating iiNet Hack

      TPG Telecom has disclosed a cybersecurity incident after discovering unauthorized access to an iiNet order management system.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, Australia, Canada navies hold joint sail in South China Sea

    The activity is part of the ongoing military drills between the Philippines and Australia.

  • Defence Web ☛ ‘Bogus’ military veteran contractors highlight need for a reliable database

    Further evidence of the necessity for a properly compiled and managed military veterans’ database comes from the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR).

  • The Strategist ☛ Not just a bigger budget. Here’s how to reform Defence procurement

    Oft-repeated, because it is true, Australia faces the most complex strategic circumstances since World War II. Instability and near-term risk of major armed conflict in our region are real.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim calls for rapid nuclear build-up amid US-South Korea exercises

    South Korea and its ally the US kicked off joint military drills this week.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong says South Korea has ‘dual personality’ over military drills

    North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea and its President Lee Jae Myung had a \"dual personality\" by talking about wanting to pursue peace while continuing joint military drills with the U.S., state media KCNA said on Wednesday. 

  • NYPost ☛ California man admits to shipping weapons to North Korea — sentenced to 8 years in prison

    Shenghua Wen, 42, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he admitted to shipping weapons to North Korea for a surprise attack on South Korea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former South Korean minister indicted over alleged role in martial law crisis

    Lee Sang-min is the second member of former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s Cabinet to face indictment over the crisis.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia scraps plans to buy Black Hawk helicopters derided by its King as ‘flying coffins’

    Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar said those deciding on military acquisitions must be transparent.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to stage massive military parade marking WW2 surrender of Japan

    BEIJING - China will stage a massive military parade next month involving tens of thousands of people in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War Two following the surrender of Japan. 

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s nuclear arsenal is growing, says Pentagon report

    However, its defence ministry says 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be waged'.

  • The Strategist ☛ What the South China Sea collision tells us about China’s growing aggression

    I was actually on Philippine television at the moment it happened on 11 August. I was updating Morning Matters host Gretchen Ho about China’s unusual deployment of coast guard ships around the northern Batanes Islands ...

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian Conservatives propose ‘drone wall’ for tech-first border defence, troop safety

      The opposition conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) have proposed bolstering the country’s defences with a so-called 'drone wall' – a system combining reconnaissance and combat drones, air defences, and artificial intelligence.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Modi hails ‘friend’ Putin and boosts China ties in tilt from US

      Once close ties between India and the US are fraying over tariffs and the war in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Russia's Lavrov says peace deal must ensure its 'security' amid Ukraine talks

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist said on Tuesday he hoped Russia's Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a "rough situation" for Putin. Russia has made no explicit commitment to a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow did not reject any formats for discussing the peace process in Ukraine but any meeting of national leaders "must be prepared with utmost thoroughness".

    • France24 ☛ The future of Donbas at stake in Ukraine negotiations

      Our colleagues at France 2 report from the Donbas. Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear in his meeting with US President The Insurrectionist in Alaska last week: full control of this strategic, symbolic territory is his condition to end the war.

    • New York Times ☛ Relief in Ukraine as Zelensky Avoids Disaster in Washington

      Ukrainian analysts watching their president’s return to the White House were braced for a “nightmare.” They took cautious encouragement from what they saw instead.

    • New York Times ☛ Macron Calls Putin an ‘Ogre at Our Doorstep’

      The remarks were a considerable shift for France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, who called Moscow a potential threat for many European countries.

    • New York Times ☛ Europe’s Leaders Headed Off Giveaway to Putin, but Emerged Without a Clear Path

      The leaders dropped everything to travel to Washington to ensure Hell Toupée didn’t force a bad deal on Ukraine. A road map for peace remains elusive.

    • New York Times ☛ White House Presses Meeting, Security Guarantees That Russia Has Yet to Accept

      A White House spokeswoman said Vladimir Putin had agreed to a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, but Russia has not confirmed. Hell Toupée said American troops would not be deployed in Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Diplomacy Reveals How Un-American Convicted Felon Is

      Dihydroxyacetone Man doesn’t feel any gut need to bring Ukraine into the West or understand that Putin’s invasion of that country was just his latest march to break up the West.

    • New York Times ☛ Will Putin Meet With Zelensky to End the Ukraine War?

      The Kremlin is keeping its options open, but analysts said the Russian leader would probably only meet with his Ukrainian counterpart to accept a capitulation.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin–Zelensky meeting could take place in Hungary — Reuters — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Switzerland says it won’t arrest Putin if he comes for peace talks with Zelensky — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin proposed meeting with Zelensky in Moscow — AFP — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Says He’s Ready to Meet Putin After Convicted Felon Talks

      President Volodymyr Zelensky emerged upbeat, but repeated that Ukraine will not cede land to Russia. There were few tangible signs of progress toward a peace deal.

    • New York Times ☛ How Europe Learned to Speak So Convicted Felon Would Listen

      The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and other supporters of Ukraine have come together in exceptional ways to help sway the U.S. president.

    • New York Times ☛ How Zelensky Made Progress With Convicted Felon

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had a remarkably different White House visit on Monday than the ambush he walked into six months ago. Michael Schwirtz, the global intelligence correspondent for The New York Times, explains how President Zelensky courted Hell Toupée and managed to put the ball back in Vladimir V. Putin’s court.

    • New York Times ☛ For Convicted Felon, Flashy Summits Come First. Grunt Work Comes Next.

      Diplomats scrambled to come up with detailed proposals for security guarantees and other sticking points following two high-level summits in Alaska and Washington.

    • LRT ☛ How Crimea has changed hands over the centuries

      Late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny once famously said that Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian control since 2014, is not "a ham sandwich" to be passed around.

    • New York Times ☛ European Leaders’ Rush to Convicted Felon-Zelensky Meeting Appears to Have Paid Off

      Jolted by Hell Toupée’s support for possible land swaps in Ukraine, they went to back President Volodymyr Zelensky, a move that appeared to have accomplished its goal.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Keeps Rejecting Idea of Western Peacekeepers in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Without U.S. Troops in Ukraine, Would a 'Security Guarantee’ Deter Russia?

    • New York Times ☛ Securing Postwar Ukraine, Even With Convicted Felon’s Pledge to Help, Is Complex

      Russia seems unlikely to agree to Western troops in Ukraine as part of any deal to end the war.

    • New York Times ☛ Sabotage Shows How Russia’s Hostility Toward Europe Goes Beyond Ukraine

      The Kremlin’s goal is to destabilize Europe, and attacks on infrastructure are a preferred weapon, a new report said.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Said He Would Not Send Troops to Ukraine

      Also, hundreds more troops are headed to Washington. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.

    • CS Monitor ☛ At White House, Europeans make case they have role to play on Ukraine

      Accompanying Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a business-like gathering with President The Insurrectionist, seven European leaders showcased a united front that made Europe a party that henceforth can’t be easily ignored on the Ukraine issue.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia's Medvedev says 'coalition of the willing' failed to outplay Convicted Felon

      Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that European leaders had failed to outplay The Insurrectionist, but that it was unclear how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would present the issues of territory and a security guarantee.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Tokyo to consider role in security guarantees provided to Ukraine, says Japan PM Ishiba

      Mr Shigeru Ishiba praised The Insurrectionist’s efforts to bring peace by holding talks with Ukraine’s leader.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Responds To Washington Talks With Mass Drone And Missile Strikes On Ukraine

      Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles against Ukraine on August 19, just hours after President Zelenskyy met with U.S. Hell Toupée and European leaders in Washington to discuss security guarantees. The strikes killed 15 people and wounded at least 76.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president welcomes US security guarantees for Ukraine

      Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has welcomed US commitments to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine during a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.

    • France24 ☛ Security guarantees for Ukraine still unclear after Washington summit

      A day after Convicted Felon pledged security guarantees to help end the war in Ukraine at an extraordinary White House summit, the path to peace remained uncertain as the US and allies prepared to work out what military support for Ukraine might include.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Was Convicted Felon’s summit with Zelenskyy and European leaders a turning point for Russia’s war in Ukraine?

      Our experts share their perspectives on what the White House summit means for efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine and provide security assurances for Kyiv.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Europe needs to keep up the momentum for Ukraine after its White House show of force

      Among other steps, European leaders should press forward on defining what security guarantees for Ukraine look like.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ A strong Ukraine is the only realistic security guarantee against Russia

      Ukraine's Western partners are preparing to offer security guarantees as part of efforts to prevent further Russian aggression, but it far from clear whether Western governments would actually fight Russia on behalf of Ukraine, writes Peter Dickinson.

    • Latvia ☛ Invitation to join Ukrainian 'Sunflower Road' parade

      The charity association "Your Friends" (TaviDraugi) together with the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia will continue the tradition of the "Sunflower Road" support march on Sunday, August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day.

    • Latvia ☛ Appeal to help hard-pressed Latvian and Ukrainian families with school supplies

      Until 29 August, shoppers are being asked to help low-income families in Latvia and Ukrainian refugee families by filling children’s school bags with everything they need for the new school year.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian President visits eastern border

      Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs travelled to the north-east of the country on August 19th to look at how infrastructure projects are coming along and to talk to various officials who help patrol and secure the border with Latvia's aggressive neighbours, Russia and Belarus.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian university developing system for measuring students’ ‘traditional values’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Kyrgyzstan’s mountains turn deadly Russian climber is stranded in Kyrgyzstan with broken leg and no food as weather thwarts rescue attempts — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Trump’s all theater, Europe’s a broken record, Zelensky wore a coat, and the war goes on: Meduza summarizes how Russian Z-bloggers reacted to Monday’s Washington summit — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Northern exposure: A journal published by Russia’s Foreign Ministry prints an article warning that the Baltic Sea could become a military theater — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky says security guarantees for Ukraine will include a ‘strong army,’ U.S. weapons deal, and domestic drone production — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Entire occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region loses power, Russian-installed official says — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ About 10 countries ready to send troops to Ukraine as part of peace agreement — Bloomberg — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania puts limits on Belarus bus services

      Lithuania has sharply reduced the number of buses travelling between the capital Vilnius and Belarus, which followed restrictions imposed last year as part of the state of emergency declared on the country’s border.

    • Latvia ☛ Border guards still under high pressure at Latvian eastern border

      For four years now, border guards have had to work under increased pressure on the Latvian-Belarusian border due to the high level of illegal migration. The pressure remains. After a slight easing last year, this year it has increased again, with attempts to enter the territory of Latvia almost every day, Latvian Radio reports on 19 August.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Straight off Iranian production lines’: Moscow denies receiving weapons from Tehran. Shipping records tell a different story. — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ What happened in Latvia between August 18 and 21, 1991?

      On the night of August 18, 1991, a coup or putsch was attempted in Moscow. This event thirty-four years ago threatened to return the Baltic States to the dark times of the occupation by the Soviet Union. What happened in Latvia at that time?

    • Meduza ☛ Russia extends patriotic lesson series to preschools in occupied Ukrainian territory — Meduza

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ More rain in northern China takes death toll in floods to 13

    Heavier-than-usual downpours have battered parts of the country in extreme weather since July.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China promises to address India’s rare earths needs as border talks begin, Indian source says

    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting India for the 24th round of border talks.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chill in US ties prompts India to seek common ground with China during Wang visit

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Agreement summit.

  • France24 ☛ India's Modi to meet China's top diplomat as both powers rebuild ties

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with China’s top diplomat on Tuesday in a sign of easing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after several years-long standoff between the Asian powers. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in New Delhi, Navodita Kumari.

  • France24 ☛ India's Modi meets China's foreign minister as Asian powers rebuild ties

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met China’s top diplomat on Tuesday and hailed the “steady progress” made in improving the bilateral relationship after a yearslong standoff between the nuclear-armed Asian powers. Story by Emrald Maxwell.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ 2 dead, 5 injured after train hits railway workers in Cheongdo in South Korea

      Korail said the workers were en route to visually inspect flood-damaged infrastructure when the accident occurred.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s industry ministry to meet solar firms for more price war talks, state media reports

      Producers are in talks to create a S$9 billion fund to acquire and shut down a third of production capacity.

    • Breach Media ☛ Flight attendants at Air Canada defy government crackdown—and strike for dignity

      Flight attendants at Air Canada have shown workers acting in solidarity can defy a crackdown on their rights—and strike for a better deal, including ending unpaid work

    • New York Times ☛ Talks Restart as Air Canada Flight Attendants’ Strike Continues

      Negotiations between the airline and the flight attendants’ union resumed on Monday, hours after a labor relations board declared the walkout illegal.

    • New York Times ☛ After Defying Back-to-Work Orders, Air Canada Employees Reach Tentative Deal

      The airline planned to restart operations after a strike that disrupted half a million travelers. The agreement would reshape how flight attendants are paid.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • France24 ☛ Spain continues to battle destructive wildfires even as heatwave eases

      Spain was still battling several wildfires on Tuesday that have ravaged a record area of land, said to be more than twice the size of metropolitan London. The country has grappled with a 16-day scorching heatwave, which is just starting to ease.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese YouTuber builds a metro station for his cats

      The subway has a moving train, a functioning escalator and platform doors that open at the same time as the train doors.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong treasury chief admits ‘inadequacies’ in HK$52.9m water contract blunder

    The treasury chief has admitted to “inadequacies” by the government after it awarded a HK$52.9 million contract for supplying bottled water to an allegedly fraudulent company. The contract, whereby bottled water from China would be delivered to civil service offices, has since been suspended.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Calls to cut ties: Malaysia flag furore tests PH-BN relations

    Analysts suggest that this time, the disagreement may be more serious as Dr Akmal’s actions have deepened the existing rift between Umno and DAP.

  • New York Times ☛ Texas Rep. Nicole Collier Slept on the House Floor in Protest

    Nicole Collier, a state representative, slept in the Capitol rather than agree to police surveillance imposed by Republicans after a Democratic walkout. “I am resisting,” she said.

  • JURIST ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man announces plans for executive order to phase out mail-in ballots

    US President The Insurrectionist announced via social control media on Monday plans to issue an executive order eliminating mail-in voting and electronic voting machines, calling instead for paper ballots and hand counts. Convicted Felon wrote that “the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong summons UK, Australian diplomats after asylum granted to wanted activists

    Hong Kong has summoned the UK and Australian consuls general to express “strong opposition” over the two countries granting asylum to activists wanted by the city’s national security police.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Top 50 English-language news sites in the world: All but four report traffic declines in July

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Jimmy Lai’s nat. security trial: Judges question whether articles in pro-democracy Apple Daily ‘seditious’

    Handpicked judges presiding over jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial have questioned whether content in his pro-democracy paper amounted to “seditious publications,” as stipulated by the prosecution.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Workplace bullying cases of migrant workers in South Korea tripled since 2020, many more likely uncounted

    President Lee Jae Myung condemned the incident as “unacceptable violence” and pledged strong action.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Singaporean man gets 72 years’ jail and caning in Malaysia for murdering wife and stepson

    Shahrul Nizam Zuraimy, 36, had killed and dismembered his victims in October 2019.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian police boost 24-hour safety measures at KL hot spots

    High-traffic locations in the city include KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and the Tun Razak Exchange.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia weighs anti-bullying law after outcry over Sabah teen’s death

    The unsolved death of a 13-year-old schoolgirl sparked demands for justice.

  • Citizen Lab ☛ Ron Deibert Warns Cybersecurity Industry About U.S. Authoritarian Descent

    Ahead of his keynote at Black Hat USA, Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert spoke with TechCrunch reporter Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai about what he describes as a “descent into a kind of fusion of tech and fascism.”

  • Citizen Lab ☛ AUG 21 | The Vicious Cycle: Algorithmic Rage Farming, Privatized Subversion, Chilling Effects and the Spread of Authoritarian Practices

    On August 21, join Citizen Lab founder and director Ron Deibert as he explores the Lab's groundbreaking work on digital security, surveillance, and human rights, drawing insights from his book Chasing Shadows.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • AccessNow ☛ The Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025

    AICB Centre for Excellence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The Digital Rights in Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) 2025 is a pivotal gathering of digital rights advocates, policymakers, and tech experts dedicated to discussing

  • APNIC ☛ Research. Impact. APAC — Introducing the APNIC Foundation Research Fellowship

    The APNIC Foundation is awarding five grants of USD 10,000 to support four-month research projects that connect technical understanding with actionable policy insights. Apply by 23:59 (UTC+10) on 30 August 2025.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: APAN 60

    APNIC presented and delivered training at APAN 60, held in Hong Kong from 28 July to 1 August 2025.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• JURIST ☛ Australia consumer watchdog fines Surveillance Giant Google for anti-competitive practices

  Google admitted to engaging in anti-competitive conduct by pre-installing its search engine on certain manufacturers’ and telcos’ Android mobile phones on Monday, as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) initiated Federal Court proceedings against Surveillance Giant Google Asia Pacific. The company agreed to pay a total penalty of $55 million.

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ Two Xylene video codec patents (in Sisvel's and Access Advance's pools) revocations confirmed in Japan

    The Japan Intellectual Property High Court has affirmed the revocations of two patents, JP6768017 and JP6768110, owned by Xylene.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Nchain blockchain patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On August 19, 2025, four weeks 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 12,032,677, owned by Nchain Holdings Limited, an NPE. The ‘677 patent monopoly generally relates to consensus-based electronic ledgers, and in particular to blockchain implementations and technologies.

  • CAFC Affirms PTAB Finding that Glucose Sensor Patent Claims are Obvious

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) today affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruling that claims of DexCom, Inc.’s patent monopoly for implantable glucose sensors were unpatentable as obvious. The CAFC opinion was authored by Judge Nina Y. Wang of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, sitting by designation.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Gilead attacks remdesivir patent monopoly of Chinese research institute at UPC [Ed: UPC is not a real court and patents are monopolies, trying to remove monopolies isn't "attack"]

      The European Patent Office recently granted EP 3 854 403. The patent monopoly belongs to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences based in Beijing and protects the use of substituted aminopropionate compounds in the treatment of SARS-Cov-2 infections. This means it is potentially a threat to the sale of remdesivir.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Overturns 2d Refusal of "SIDECAR SLIDER BAR" for Restaurant and Bar Services Due to Extensive Third-Party Use of "SIDECAR"

    The Board reversed the USPTO's refusal to register the mark SIDECAR SLIDER BAR, in standard character and logo form restaurant services and bar services [SLIDER BAR disclaimed], finding confusion unlikely with three registered marks: SIDECAR for restaurant services; and SIDECAR SOCIAL, in standard character and logo form, for "bar services ancillary to entertainment services," the latter two registrations having the same owner. The Board found that, in light of the "highly suggestive nature of the common SIDECAR element, and the existence of extensive third-party marketplace use, the differences between the marks is sufficient that consumers would be able to distinguish Applicant’s marks from each of the cited marks." In re Restaurant Concept Management, LLC, Serial Nos. 98051196 and 98051234 (August 15, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Mary Beth Myles).