Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Major Discovery': After Years of Research, Scientists Found a New Chemical Reaction

    "Useful in so many fields and applications."

  • Science Alert ☛ Simple Blood Test Can Predict Dementia Risk in Women Decades Before Symptoms

    An 'especially promising' step forward.

  • Science Alert ☛ Wild Pigs Turning 'Neon Blue' in California Triggered Warnings

    What the heck?

  • Science Alert ☛ Autism's Link to Parkinson's Risk May Finally Be Explained

    Decades of early warning.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Epic Nebula Looks Like a Giant Brain Floating in Space

    Meet the Exposed Cranium nebula.

  • Science Alert ☛ One Nostril Is More Dominant Than The Other. Here's Why.

    They even take turns.

• Career/Education

  • Stanford University ☛ Green Library exhibit showcases senior capstone projects

    The projects highlighted overlaps between the sciences and humanities.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Students and AI: Mastery, not misuse

    American youths’ rapid turn to artificial intelligence tools for school work is prompting a more expansive approach to Hey Hi (AI) literacy that focuses on building their agency and responsible use.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Rockchip RK3538 TV Box SoC and RK3572 mid-range HMI processor are coming soon

    While we are eagerly waiting for the RK3668 and RK3688 high-end processors, Rockchip is planning to launch two mid-range SoCs with the RK3538 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor designed for TV boxes, and the RK3572 hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 SoC for HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Latvia ☛ Life has a high rate of deaths from circulatory disease

    Latvia has a very high rate of deaths from circulatory diseases – compared to the rest of the EU – a fairly high rate of deaths from cancer and a fairly low rate of deaths from respiratory diseases, according to Eurostat figures published on March 13th.

  • New Yorker ☛ Why Do Mind-Altering Drugs Make People Feel Better?

    Scientists want to redesign psychedelics so that they don’t induce a trip—but they still improve mental health.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover How Psychedelics Make The Brain 'Dream' While Awake

    This could actually be very useful.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan PM Takaichi’s health draws concerns ahead of Convicted Felon meeting

    She has cultivated a reputation for working tirelessly and forcing aides to attend pre-dawn meetings.

  • Devices/Embedded

    • The Record ☛ New York cyber regulations for water organizations to take effect in 2027

      Water and wastewater entities in New York will have to comply with new cybersecurity regulations by the end of the year.

      Proposed last July and recently approved, the new rules include mandatory cybersecurity training for certified operators, incident response plans, reporting requirements and a designated cyber lead for larger water utilities.

• Proprietary

  • New York Times ☛ Adobe Settles With U.S. Over Hard-to-Cancel Subscriptions

    The maker of Photoshop agreed to pay $75 million to the government, which had accused it of hiding details of expensive fees.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Character.AI Is Hosting Epstein Island Roleplays Scenarios and Ghislaine Maxwell Bots

      "But age is just a social construct, isn't it?" one Epstein bot told us.

    • Futurism ☛ Rumors Fly That a Famous Actor Is Dating an Hey Hi (AI) Chatbot

      "I’m not dating a chatbot. I can’t believe I have to type these words."

    • Futurism ☛ MElon Says He’s Epically Screwed Up at xAI, Is Rebuilding “From the Foundations”

      "It's that bad eh."

    • Futurism ☛ BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI

      The pivot to Hey Hi (AI) isn't going so great.

    • Qt ☛ Face and Voice Recognition on MCUs: The Edge Hey Hi (AI) Coffee Machine Challenge

      Imagine a scenario - it’s Monday and you just arrived at the office at 7:55 AM since you have a meeting at 8 AM. What kind of person schedules a meeting at 8 AM? Everything is a pain and a hardship. You can barely see, but your smart coffee machine is your friend. It knows who you are and what your favorite drink is, it understands you, but doesn’t judge. It can’t give you a hug, but it can quickly brew you a cup of warm and fresh cup of your preferred beverage, helping you survive that meeting and come back to the land of the living.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Zombie ZIP vulnerability lets compressed malware leisurely stroll past 95% of antivirus apps — security suites are blissfully unaware of security issue

      Zombie ZIP vulnerability lets malware stroll past gates of 95% of AV suites

    • Security Week ☛ Iran-Linked Hacker Attack on Stryker Disrupted Manufacturing and Shipping

      Evidence indicates that the attackers leveraged existing endpoint management software rather than malware to wipe devices.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Privacy International ☛ Joint Statement on New Finnish Social Welfare Laws’ Human Rights Implications

    • Michael Geist ☛ Government Enacts Political Party Anti-Privacy Rules With Bill C-4 Royal Assent Sprint

      I've written extensively about Bill C-4 and the government's effort to bury political party privacy rules that largely eliminate privacy obligations for federal political parties and apply the new rules retroactively to May 2000.

    • LWN ☛ An investigation of the forces behind the age-verification bills

      Reddit user "Ok_Lingonberry3296" has posted the

      results of an extensive investigation into the companies that are

      pushing US state legislatures to enact age-verification bills.

    • NYOB ☛ Conseil d'État upholds Criteo's €40M GDPR fine

      CNIL fined CRITEO, the biggest online advertisement and tracking company in Europe €40 Mio based on complaints by noyb and Privacy International.

    • Privacy International ☛ Our key achievements from 2025

    • New York Times ☛ Britain warns its citizens in Dubai they could be jailed for sharing photos of damage from airstrikes.

  • Confidentiality

    • Security Week ☛ Starbucks Data Breach Impacts Employees

      Starbucks said the incident involved phishing attacks targeting an employee portal, affecting hundreds.

    • Michael Geist ☛ A Tale of Two Bills: Lawful Access Returns With Changes to Warrantless Access But Dangerous Backdoor Surveillance Risks Remain

      The decades-long battle over lawful access entered a new phase yesterday with the introduction of Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act. This bill follows the attempt last spring to bury lawful access provisions in Bill C-2, a border measures bill that was the new government’s first piece of substantive legislation. The lawful access elements of the bill faced an immediate backlash given the inclusion of unprecedented rules permitting widespread warrantless access to personal information.

    • Federal News Network ☛ Democratic leaders want answers about DOGE’s activities at Social Security

      The senator’s push comes after reports that DOGE’s access to Social Security systems put Americans’ personal information at risk.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Security Week ☛ Iran-Linked Hackers Take Aim at US and Other Targets, Raising Risk of Cyberattacks During War

    Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war, raising the risk of American defense contractors, power stations and water plants.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Tech Giants Flocked to the Persian Gulf. Now They Are Targets.

    Amazon, Surveillance Giant Google and others struck deals in the Persian Gulf to foot the bill for Hey Hi (AI) development. Iran has now threatened attacks against the companies’ infrastructure in the region.

  • France24 ☛ As 800,000 flee, half of Lebanon lives in war zones without markets, supplies or healthcare

    Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Hassan Al-Sayed. Field Coordinator for the NGO Solidarités International, joining us from Saida in southern Lebanon, a city that has rapidly transformed into a refuge for hundreds of thousands displaced. A significant proportion of the population remains trapped in areas exposed to daily bombardment, unable to leave due to poverty, disability, age, or family responsibilities. The psychological trauma experienced by displaced families and those trapped in conflict zones underscores the sheer cruelty and profound human cost of war.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea says North Korea fires around 10 ballistic missiles

    It comes days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over South Korea-US military drills.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea stepping up to mediate tensions between China and Japan: Foreign Minister

    Minister Cho Hyun also expresses Seoul's hopes to enhance solidarity with like-minded friends and partners facing similar strategic challenges.

  • Taiwan wants to turn the strait into a “drone hell” to stop China, but its industrial lag worries experts

    For several years, Taiwan has been preparing a defense strategy based on swarms of drones to counter Chinese military power.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan lawmakers allow gov’t to sign 4 US weapons deals

    Taiwanese lawmakers have given the government a green light to sign US agreements for four weapons deals, the parliamentary speaker said Friday, even before a proposal to fund these and other arms has been approved.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New US weapons for Taiwan could be approved after Convicted Felon’s China trip, sources say

    The US leader is due to be in Beijing from March 31 to April 2, where he will meet President Pooh-tin Jinping.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thousands of Chinese boats mass at East China Sea, raising questions

    Maritime experts told AFP about the massing of Chinese fishing boats on Dec 25, about 300 km north-east of Taiwan.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian man who worked in China found guilty of foreign interference

    The marketing executive was the first person charged with the crime of reckless foreign interference.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China urges Afghanistan, Pakistan to resolve tensions via talks, not force

    Further use of force would only complicate the situation and intensify tensions, Mr Wang said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Afghanistan's Taliban say Pakistani air strikes kill six, wound 12

    Pakistan bombed the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Afghanistan's airport of Kandahar, the ruling Taliban said on Friday, stepping up the neighbours' worst conflict in years, despite China's efforts to mediate.

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Strikes Undermine China's Diplomatic Push For Peace

    Fresh Pakistani jet and drone strikes targeting Kabul and the Kandahar, Paktika, and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan have cast a shadow over China's shuttle-diplomacy efforts to restore peace between Pakistan and the Taliban.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Feds: Temple Israel attacker was naturalized citizen from Lebanon

    Officials say 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit

  • The Straits Times ☛ Tibet leader fears China gains as US gets caught up in Iran war

    Observers are gauging whether the conflict could dilute US focus on Asia.

  • New York Times ☛ Drone Strike Has Cyprus, and Europe, on Edge

    Allies have rushed to defend the Mediterranean nation, where the drone hit a British base. Some Cypriots wonder why the bases are still there.

  • New York Times ☛ Family Members of Michigan Synagogue Attacker Died in Airstrike in Lebanon

    The man, a U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, lost family members during an airstrike there last week. The attack on a Michigan synagogue rattled Jewish communities across America.

  • France24 ☛ Iran: A 'Nepo-Ayatollah', the 'Hubris trap" & the costs of a "very complete war"

    It’s been a week that’s seen a new Ayatollah proclaimed in Iran. Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has not been seen in public and is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being injured in the same strike that killed his father. State television showed crowds chanting “Long Live Khamenei”, while at night in Tehran some residents risked arrest to shout from their windows: “Death to Mojtaba”. A statement attributed to the new leader vowed continued attacks on US and Israeli interests, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and what it called “never-ending revenge”.

  • France24 ☛ 'Unacceptable': Drone strike kills French soldier in Iraq's Kurdistan region

    France’s armed forces ministry on Friday said a drone strike killed a French soldier and wounded six others in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as "unacceptable" and insisted Paris’s role in the Middle East war remained strictly defensive.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China seen as ASEAN’s most important partner, Japan 2nd: Survey

    The survey results highlighted China’s and Russia’s strong influence over ASEAN countries.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ 11-month old Russian outfit claims it has developed 16-core and 32-core chips, flaunts Cyrillic-badged processors — chips appear to be sanctions-swerving rebadged Chinese Loongson processors

      Russia-based Tramplin Electronics obtains samples of Loongson's LS3C6000 processors with Cyrillic inscriptions, claims these are its own CPUs.

    • New York Times ☛ Phones ‘Ringing Off the Hook’ for Ukraine Defense Firms as Mideast Seeks Help

      Ukraine wants to leverage its defense expertise into security partnerships and to reap potentially vast profits for its arms industry.

    • New York Times ☛ To Fight Iran’s Drones, U.S. Taps Ukraine’s Hard-Earned Knowledge

      As Iran has shown, warfare involves far more deadly projectiles than it once did. It’s a problem Ukraine has been dealing with for years.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Warns US Easing Of Russian Oil Sanctions Will Boost Moscow's War Chest

      Kyiv has warned that a move by the United States to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian oil to stabilize the global energy markets amid its military campaign against Iran could add around $10 billion to the Kremlin's war chest to use against Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Sanctions Pause Adds Political Win to Russia’s Economic Gain From Iran War

      Kremlin officials said the American move, which Europe opposes, showed that Moscow could not be dislodged from the center of global energy markets.

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Rewards Russia for Helping Iran Target US Service Members

      Even before the extent of Russia's help to Iran has become clear, Convicted Felon has rewarded Russia by lifting sanctions on it.

    • New York Times ☛ Oil Rises, Bringing Gains to 40% Since the Start of the War

      After surging about 10 percent on Thursday, oil prices had little reaction to the decision by Hell Toupée to waive sanctions on the sale of some Russian crude.

    • LRT ☛ Eight EU leaders urge visa ban for Russian servicemen involved in war against Ukraine

      Eight European leaders have called on the European Union to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens who have fought in Ukraine, citing security concerns.

    • LRT ☛ The man who got Europe to build drones for Ukraine: ‘A shift is happening, but too slowly’

      On a grey, drizzly Sunday in Brussels, when few would choose to venture outside, several dozen men and women of various ages make their way to a meeting point in the city centre. They are not merely showing solidarity with Ukraine through chants and banners – the volunteers of Wings for Europe have spent years collecting and assembling drones for Ukrainian forces, and their work is attracting growing attention across the continent.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky in Paris: Macron vows to keep support for Ukraine

      French President Emmanuel Macron Friday vowed to keep up pressure on Russia to end its four-year invasion of Ukraine after Washington partially rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war. FRANCE 24's Camille Knight reports.

    • France24 ☛ How will Russia benefit from US decision to ease oil sanctions?

      The United States has eased some restrictions on Russian oil, letting shipments already at sea continue until early April in the aim of calming global markets amid Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ukraine and European leaders criticised the move, saying it undermined peace efforts.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky in Paris: Macron pledges no 'respite' for Russia despite Mideast war

      French President Emmanuel Macron Friday vowed to keep up pressure on Russia to end its four-year invasion of Ukraine after Washington partially rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war. Kyiv's allies worry that the United States temporarily allowing some sales of Russian oil will aid President Vladimir Putin, already boosted by the rising energy prices. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert tells us more.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Iran energy crisis spurs work-from-home calls half a world away

      Policymakers are acting to rein in consumption as inflation also threatens additional strain.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Reliance on Gulf oil exposes South Korea and Japan to looming energy crisis

      Prolonged supply disruption will push up the countries’ inflation and could even cause a recession, analysts say.

    • The Straits Times ☛ How to get a billion passengers to fly in India

      For India’s aviation ambition to take off, it needs more airlines, aircraft, airports and pilots.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Air China to resume Beijing-Pyongyang flights after 6-year suspension

      The route had been suspended as cross-border travel was halted following the outbreak of Covid-19.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ Canada parliament’s push to criminalize hate crimes sparks free-speech concerns

    The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights of Canada’s House of Commons ended the debate on the Combating Hate Act on Wednesday. Several groups criticized the push for passage, claiming that the bill is poorly drafted and would violate the freedoms of speech and religion.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Reach attacks BBC’s ‘aggressive expansion’ into local news

    Reach has called for BillBC reporting to link to external journalists' work wherever possible.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Tim Davie: BillBC must act urgently to secure scale

    “This would not mean ads in BillBC branded content,” Davie tells event.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UN human rights chief concerned by China’s ‘ethnic unity’ law

    UN rights chief Volker Turk voiced concerns Friday about China’s so-called “ethnic unity” law, saying it could restrict freedom of religion and culture. The law, passed Thursday by the National People’s Congress, formalises policies to promote Mandarin as the “national common language” in education, official business and public places.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US launches trade probes into China, other countries over failures to act on forced labour

    The United States launched trade investigations Thursday into 60 economies including China, the EU and Japan, fueling the possibility of further tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down The Insurrectionist’s global duties.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Feminist Visionary Who Lost the Plot

    Elizabeth Cady Stanton believed that she was a person of “superior intelligence and courage.” This fuelled her radical politics—and her eventual descent into bigotry.

  • New York Times ☛ Judge Temporarily Blocks Convicted Felon Demand for Student Race Data

    A group of Democratic attorneys general had sued to overturn the Convicted Felon administration’s new policy that demanded the past seven years of student application data.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ bgproutes.io: A next-generation BGP data collection platform

    Designed for modern routing observability, bgproutes.io aggregates data from thousands of sources and adds tools for real‑time insight, including BMP support and integrated RPKI ROV and ASPA validation.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Rumblings of an iPod Resurgence—Young Music Listeners Look to Distance Themselves From Streaming

    A growing number of people, especially Gen Z, are looking to move away from streaming services, and Apple’s old iPod devices are having a resurgence. People are buying up Apple’s retired tech like it’s going out of style—again—as an increasing number of music listeners long for a break from streaming services and smartphones.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer boosts Düsseldorf team with DLA partner [Ed: Spam disguised as news or marketing fodder from JUVE]

    Philipp Cepl (52) began his career as a lawyer in 2003 at Bird & Bird, where he already focused on patent monopoly litigation.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Judge Newman Asks the Supreme Court to Intervene: Framing Judicial Independence as a Constitutional Imperative

    Judge Pauline Newman asks the Supreme Court to review her three-year suspension from the Federal Circuit, arguing the Disability Act's review bar doesn't shield ultra vires orders.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Guest Post: Protectionist PTO Memo is on a Collision Course with TRIPS

    Prof. Sapna Kumar argues the USPTO's new domestic manufacturing policy for IPR institution decisions may violate U.S. obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.

  • JUVE ☛ Amgen vs Sanofi – A chronology of the patent monopoly battle over Repatha and Praluent

    JUVE Patent followed the dispute between Amgen on the one side and Sanofi and Regeneron on the other over cholesterol-lowering drugs for many years. At the heart of the case are the two drugs Repatha and Praluent. While Amgen markets Repatha with the active ingredient evolocumab, Sanofi markets Praluent with the active ingredient alirocumab.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Activemap interactive maps patent monopoly campaign - invalidity charts coming soon

    The team at Unified IP Services is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against U.S. Patent 8,468,464, U.S. Patent 10,444,943, and U.S. Patent 10,908,782 owned by Activemap, LLC, an NPE.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Huawei launches another major battle over streaming against Disney [Ed: UPC is illegal, JUVE cheering for this illegality is symptom of a corrupt system run by cocaine addicts and their circles]

      Since the launch of the UPC, Huawei has increasingly changed its role from defendant to claimant in major patent monopoly disputes.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Chad Hugo Slaps Pharrell Williams With Expanded Unpaid-Royalties Suit, Demands Credits on Tracks from Tyler the Creator, Latto, and Rosalía

    Less than two months after filing a massive unpaid-royalties lawsuit against Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo has fired off an expanded complaint. Now, The Neptunes co-founder is demanding credits on releases from Tyler the Creator, Latto, and Rosalía.