Leftovers

• Futurism ☛ Disaster Strikes When Meme Coin Pays Man to Tattoo Its Name on His Forehead, But They Misspelled It

  It's hard to imagine things getting much bleaker than this.

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Futurism ☛ California Primed for Apocalyptic Earthquake, Geological Research Finds

    Tectonic stresses have been building, and building, and building.

  • Science Alert ☛ Major Study Links 99% of Heart Attacks And Strokes With 4 Risk Factors

    And we can modify them.

  • New York Times ☛ Can NASA Really Land Astronauts on the Moon by 2028?

    Experts have been hopeful, but say the agency’s lunar aspirations are largely at the whims of two billionaires, MElon and Jeff Bezos.

  • New York Times ☛ Meet the NASA Astronauts in the Artemis III 4-Person Crew

    NASA’s next mission in its effort to return humans to the moon will be led by an all-male crew. Three of them have extensive experience in space, while the other was a backup on Artemis II.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Federal science agencies facing a ‘generational loss,’ nonprofit says

    New research from the Partnership for Public Service finds that many science agencies were cut deeply in the Convicted Felon administration’s workforce overhauls.

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Reveals Artemis III Crew For Next Big Step Toward The Moon

    Just two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip.

  • Science Alert ☛ Haunting Sounds of The World's Largest Living Thing Recorded

    The giant has something to say.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Lost World Almost as Big as Mars May Have Once Orbited Our Sun

    "We only know it existed because a few fragments of it happened to land on Earth."

  • Science Alert ☛ A Commonly Used Sleep Aid May Have a Dangerous Side Effect

    Those affected may not even realize.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Identify The World's Biggest Known Scorpion, The Size of a Dog

    Not to be messed with.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reveal The Optimal Amount of Strength Training For a Longer Life

    More isn't necessarily better.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover a Vast Structure Hiding Beneath Antarctica's Ice

    It's huge, ancient, and shaped like a fan.

  • Science Alert ☛ World First: Patient Receives High-Risk Therapy to Make Cells Young Again

    A controversial approach.

  • Science Alert ☛ Hidden Coral World The Size of Vatican City Found Deep Beneath The Ocean

    Thriving in the dark.

  • Science Alert ☛ Stonehenge's Altar Stone Mystery Points to an Epic Human Journey

    "Tremendous determination."

  • Science Alert ☛ A Strange 'Cold Blob' in The Atlantic Signals We're Almost at a Tipping Point

    A serious warning sign.

• Career/Education

  • JURIST ☛ Rights groups in Canadian province of British Columbia urge an end to police in-school programming

    The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and Policing-Free Schools Canada sent a letter to the British Columbia Ministers of Education and Child Care, and Public Safety and Solicitor General, calling for an end all police-in-school programming in the province. 

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Taiwan weighs criminal ban on Hey Hi (AI) chip exports to all of China — stricter measures beyond blacklisted firms would make smuggling servers a crime

    Taiwan is considering far stricter export controls that would restrict Hey Hi (AI) chip sales to every customer in China.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nashville Zoo pushes back on 1.6-acre data center build near animal habitats — Zoo says it planned to use lot for education and conservation center

    The Nashville Zoo is pushing back on a proposed data center build, which would place servers in proximity with animal habitats.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Louis Rossmann is suing Samsung after firm offers $330 refund for defective SSD while selling the drives on Amazon for $949 — spat over 4TB 990 Pro SSD is headed to court | Tom's Hardware

    Samsung has 60 days to give Rossman a working replacement before he takes the company to court in Austin Texas.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan drug deaths drop, but lawmakers question disjointed opioid efforts

    Michigan lawmakers grilled a Whitmer administration official about poor coordination between county and state efforts to blunt the opioid epidemic.

  • Latvia ☛ Plan to introduce e-cigarette deposit system still hanging in the air

    Discussions on the potential  introduction of an e-cigarette deposit system will continue in the Saeima, reports Latvian Radio.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia races to plant rice early against risk of El Nino

    There has been no rain ⁠for more than 10 days in many parts of Java and some other islands.

  • Science Alert ☛ Watching The World Cup May Actually Be Good For You, Evidence Shows

    This makes a lot of sense.

  • France24 ☛ Pope warns of growing mental health crisis, domestic violence at Barcelona vigil

    Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday urged greater attention to mental health after hearing emotional testimonies from young people at a prayer vigil in Barcelona, including a woman who described surviving a suicide attempt. He called on public health systems to address the "invisible and widespread malaise" of depression and warned that mental well-being is increasingly under threat.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam’s weight problem grows as prosperity reshapes diets and lifestyles

    Slimming trends and quick fixes fuel a fast-growing weight-loss industry in Vietnam.

  • Latvia ☛ Interview: Bacterial resistance risks deaths from simple infections

    The world is facing a silent pandemic that many don’t even notice – antimicrobial resistance. Bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics and threatening the lives of many people, says professor Dimitri Van der Linden, a paediatric infectious disease specialist from Belgium, in an interview with Latvian Radio's Laura Dzērve.

• Proprietary / SaaS

  • So-Called 'Artificial Intelligence' ('AI') / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Local Brand Realizes Customers Hate Its Hey Hi (AI) Ads, Switches to Charming Homemade Ones Instead

      "We thought building a cardboard airline in a treehouse sounded more honest."

    • [Repeat] Vincent Bernat ☛ Vincent Bernat: Blogging with an LLM assistant

      AI slop is invading the web. A recent story about disallowing LLM-generated submissions on Lobsters triggered a lot of debate.

    • Futurism ☛ ChatGPT Caught Recommending “Products” That Are Just Scams That Steal Your Credit Card Info

      Shop around and find out.

    • France24 ☛ EU orders Meta to reopen WhatsApp to rival Hey Hi (AI) assistants

      The EU has ordered Meta to grant rival Hey Hi (AI) chatbots free access to its WhatsApp platform within five working days, while it completes its antitrust investigation into the company. Meta says it will appeal, accusing the EU of 'regulatory overreach'. Meanwhile, Brussels hit back at Fashion Company Apple after the iPhone maker blamed the EU's Digital Marketing Act for its decision to delay the rollout of its new Siri Hey Hi (AI) in Europe.

    • Futurism ☛ Argentina Moves to Legalize “Non-Human Corporations” Run by AI

      "Keep Hey Hi (AI) unregulated."

    • Futurism ☛ McDonald’s Deploying AI-Powered Drive-Thru System for Ordering Its Nauseating Foodslop

      Not again.

    • Futurism ☛ Local Brand Realizes Customers Hate Its Hey Hi (AI) Ads, Switches to Charming Homemade Ones Instead

      "We thought building a cardboard airline in a treehouse sounded more honest."

    • New York Times ☛ Meta Hey Hi (AI) Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

      The flaw, which Meta said it had fixed, allowed anyone to take over accounts using a bug in the company’s new artificial intelligence software.

    • Futurism ☛ Innocent Man Freed After Spending Over 50 Days in Jail Due to Horribly Inaccurate Hey Hi (AI) Facial Recognition Tech

      "The technology is simply too dangerous for law enforcement to be using at all."

    • Futurism ☛ Deodorant Strictly Forbidden at Intel’s Hey Hi (AI) Chip Facility

      We can't imagine the smell.

  • Social Control Media

    • Michael Geist ☛ Yet Another Trade Battle Brewing: Why a Kids’ Social Media Ban Could Put Canada on a Collision Course With the U.S.

      The government will introduce the Digital Safety Act later today, with the headline being a ban on social control media for those under 16. I’ve posted extensively on why a social control media ban is an ineffective and harmful policy that raises privacy concerns for tens of millions of Canadians by mandating age verification. Yet beyond bad policy, the forthcoming bill may also become the source of the next Canada-U.S. digital policy collision.

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Open Source Initiative ☛ From G7’s Vision on Hey Hi (AI) Openness to EU’s Tech Sovereignty Package

      If you look at the G7’s Vision on Hey Hi (AI) Openness or the European Union’s Tech Sovereignty Package, you can see where the OSI has been working to advocate for mindful inclusion of Open Source principles.

    • PR Newswire ☛ Linux Foundation Announces Tokenomicon, a New Conference for the Economics of AI [Ed: Openwashing of slop]

• Linux Foundation

  • Linux Magazine ☛ 'Linux' Foundation Report Indicates Hey Hi (AI) Driving Tech Hiring

    Within growing security and skills gaps, Hey Hi (AI) has been found to be a positive driving force behind tech hiring trends in Europe.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Team Is Not Qualified to Use FISA

      Democrats should do more than refuse to reauthorize FISA 702 until Convicted Felon pulls his bid to put Bill Pulte in charge of the Office of Director of National Intelligence. Todd Blanche's history of lying and weaponization makes him patently unqualified to certify FISA certifications, whether for individual FISA orders or 702.

    • [Repeat] Citizen Lab ☛ Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs of Bill C-8

      On May 25, senior research associate Kate Robertson appeared before SECD to testify on Bill C-8.

    • Federal News Network ☛ Republican senators warn surveillance program may lapse after Convicted Felon intel pick backlash

      Senators are warning that a key U.S. surveillance authority could expire this week.

    • New York Times ☛ FISA Surveillance Law May Expire After Convicted Felon Picks Bill Pulte for defective chip maker Intel Post

      Republicans are struggling to extend a powerful surveillance authority set to lapse this weekend after Hell Toupée alienated lawmakers with his choice of acting spy chief.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Make law clear’: John Lee defends plan to give Hong Kong leader power to certify criminal acts as nat. sec offences

    A Hong Kong government proposal that will allow the city’s leader to certify criminal acts as national security offences is intended to “make the law clear,” Chief Executive John Lee has said.

  • Site36 ☛ Amsterdam’s judiciary says, the killed German Sammy Baker attacked police with a knife. His parents keep fighting this lie

    Parents of Sammy Baker, killed by police in Amsterdam in 2020, appeal against a ruling that lets prosecutors keep false claims online. Forensic evidence contradicts official version that the young German stabbed an officer’s vest after falling into a psychotic episode.

  • KOL491 | Trying to Persuade Paul Cwik of the Case Against IP

    Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 491.

  • JURIST ☛ Hong Kong proposes new law empowering chief executive to certify criminal acts as national security offenses

    The Hong Kong Legislative Council’s panels on Security, and Administration of Justice and Legal Services (the “Panels”) on Monday proposed a new “subsidiary legislation” under Article 23 of Hong Kong Basic Law, empowering its chief executive to certify “other offences endangering national security under the law of [Hong Kong Special Administrative region] (HKSAR).”

  • ACLU ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Administration Playbook Takes Tactics from Lavender Scare of the Cold War

    A McCarthy-era effort to report LGBTQ people to the government, classify queerness as a mental disorder, and overall push queer people from public life is taking similar shape today.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says its sovereignty cannot be 'violated', as China ends coast guard patrol

    Taiwan's maritime sovereignty cannot be "violated" by Chinese efforts to create a false impression of jurisdiction, the island's coast guard said after China ended a patrol off its eastern shores.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan and Malaysia agree on deeper maritime defence cooperation

    Their alignment is based on common concerns over China’s maritime claims and the economic disruptions from the Iran war.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines urges China to remove structure in disputed shoal

    Manila has issued several demarches to Beijing, and a formal protest against the structure.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ North Korea says Chinese president’s visit produced ‘far-reaching blueprint’ for ties

    The leaders of North Korea and China adopted a “far-reaching blueprint” for bilateral ties during Pooh-tin Jinping’s recent visit to Pyongyang, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Wednesday.

  • Site36 ☛ Frontex takes command: EU border agency gains more capabilities, even before new regulation is passed

    The EU plans to triple Frontex’s Standing Corps to 30,000, decentralise commands into seven regions, deploy to six third countries plus Ukraine, operate “return centres” to boost deportations, and build a new headquarter in Warsaw In 2004, the then EU member states founded Frontex as a joint agency for border and coast guard.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippine ex-policeman arrested over S. Korean’s death in notorious drug war killing

    Police found him asleep with a handgun near him at a northern Manila property early on June 9.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines takes diplomatic action against China over floating structure in South China Sea

    The Philippines said it is assessing the nature, purpose and implications of the installation.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ What we know about Chinese leader’s visit to North Korea

    By Kang Jin-kyu and Claire Lee President Pooh-tin Jinping concluded a visit to North Korea on Tuesday, after meetings with Kim Jong Un that the Chinese leader said reached an “important consensus” on building ties. AFP looks at what we know about the rare summit. What happened?

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says Xi’s visit produced ‘far-reaching blueprint’ for ties

    Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping made a rare visit to North Korea after hosting a series of world leaders in Beijing.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Four US soldiers detained after assault case in South Korea

    Two other Korean men who tried to stop the fight were allegedly assaulted by the US soldiers too.

  • The Strategist ☛ China isn’t defending critical minerals investment. It’s defending leverage

    Chinese reactions to Treasurer Jim Chalmers’s decision to order six China-linked investors to divest their holdings in Northern Minerals tells us far more than the decision itself.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says China coast guard ‘harassed’ commercial shipping off its coast

    Taiwan’s coast guard told the passing merchant ships they should pay no heed to inquiries from the Chinese vessels.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China ‘firmly opposed’ to US blacklist of Chinese companies

    Beijing urged Washington to “correct its erroneous practices”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India breaks through Himalayan tunnel to China border zone

    The tunnel is part of a route designed to boost connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh's key city.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand poll shows US seen as more of a threat than China

    39 per cent of respondents saw the US as a friend, while 35 per cent viewed it as a threat.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan carries out new deadly strikes on Afghanistan: Govt officials

    The strikes are the deadliest in weeks and follow a period of relative calm at the border.

  • New York Times ☛ Germany Drops Plan to Build Warplane With Allies, Hindering Push to Rearm

    Berlin pulled out of the Future Combat Air System, a project with Spain and France that had been seen as central to European efforts to face down Russia and reduce reliance on the United States.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Troop rescue near Iran points to rising use of sea drones in combat

    The unmanned boat that helped rescue an Apache helicopter crew Monday night was the equivalent of a seaborne pickup truck. The U.S. has “urgent mission needs” for such autonomous Navy vessels, lawmakers are saying.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistani air strikes kill at least 13 in Afghanistan, Taliban says

    Pakistani air strikes on three Afghan provinces killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, on Wednesday, the Afghan Taliban government said, in a renewal of a conflict that has claimed hundreds of lives this year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan carries out new deadly strikes on Afghanistan

    The strikes are the deadliest in weeks and follow a period of relative calm at the border.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania charges Kyrgyz national with financing Hamas

    A Kyrgyz national with a temporary residence permit in Lithuania has been charged with financing terrorism after allegedly transferring cryptocurrency to Hamas, the country's State Security Department has said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan fires battle-tested rockets in ‘shoot-and-scoot’ anti-invasion drill

    The same system has also been used by Ukraine in its war against Russia.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Latvian PM: Ukrainian drone experts arriving in Latvia next week

      Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told Estonian ERR News that Ukrainian experts will be arriving in the Baltic states next week to help deter the threat posed by repeated drone violations.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Beijing warns EU on new sanctions over Ukraine war

      China warned the European Union on Wednesday against sanctioning its companies, after Brussels proposed a fresh wave of measures over Beijing’s support for Russia in its war with Ukraine. The EU’s latest round of sanctions since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine seeks, among other aims, to complicate commercial activities by companies in third countries that allegedly support […]

    • France24 ☛ Has Russia given up on Kinburn Spit, its westernmost foothold in Ukraine?

      At the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian capture of Kinburn Spit – a narrow piece of land that holds the key to several Ukrainian ports – was hailed as one of Moscow’s most significant victories on the southern front. From there, Russia could launch attacks on the Ukrainian mainland, and use it as a springboard should it make an attempt to take Odesa. Now, Russian forces appear to have pulled back from the once so-strategic spit. What is going on?

    • JURIST ☛ EU proposes entry ban for Russian soldiers

      The EU on Tuesday proposed an entry ban for Russian soldiers. The plan includes all those who have served in the Russian military, including non-Russian citizens, since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 from receiving Schengen visas.

    • New York Times ☛ Senior Russian Military Official Is Killed in Car Explosion Near Moscow

      The death of the officer appeared to add to a string of targeted assassinations of high-profile opponents of Ukraine inside Russia.

    • New York Times ☛ A Twist in Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Is ‘Really Hurting the Russians’

      Midrange attacks, using upgraded drones that Ukraine produces in huge numbers, are causing fuel shortages and complicating troop rotations.

    • New York Times ☛ Visiting a Soldier’s Funeral in Ukraine

      The New York Times reporter Kim Barker visited a church in Lviv, Ukraine, that holds military funerals at the same time each day.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian Old Believer priest detained in Belarus

      A Lithuanian citizen and Old Believer priest has been detained in the village of Kukliany in the Pastavy district of Belarus.

    • LRT ☛ No sign of coordinated attack, Lithuanian authorities say after another cyber incident

      Lithuania’s institutions are not under a coordinated cyber attack, Antanas Aleknavičius, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NKVC), told reporters on Wednesday after another large-scale hacking incident.

    • New York Times ☛ Drones Stray Into Neighboring Countries as Russia and Ukraine Battle

      Drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine are veering off course, menacing countries that are not at war and driving their citizens to seek shelter.

    • Latvia ☛ Baltic and Nordic Prime Ministers meet Zelenskyy in Tallinn

      The Prime Ministers of the Baltic and Nordic states are in Tallinn, Estonia on Tuesday for a meeting with Ukraine's outstanding President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reports Latvian Television.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia and Ukraine sign defence cooperation agreement

      On June 9th, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers supported the Ministry of Defence's report "On the Agreement with Ukraine on Cooperation in the Field of Defense", which provides for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries over the next 10 years, with the possibility of a subsequent extension.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian government will pay pharmacist fees in future

      Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians covered by the Ukrainian Civilian Support Law will no longer be exempt from paying a pharmacist's service fee for a prescription.

    • European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen on the 21st sanctions package against Russia

      European Commission Statement Brussels, 09 Jun 2026 Almost every day now, we wake up to the same kind of news. Another major Russian strike on Ukrainian cities, targeting civilians blindly.

    • Latvia ☛ Prototype Baltic bunker system being tested in Latvia

      A prototype of the 'Baltic defence line' which is planned to be constructed along the borders of the Baltic states with Russia and Belarus is currently being constructed and tested at the Sēlija military training range in southern Latvia, reports Latvian Television.

    • Defence Web ☛ Peacekeeping funding cuts mean Africa must rethink security

    • France24 ☛ Did Emmanuel Macron ban the Russian flag from the French open? No

      This weekend saw the French Open wrap up with Russia’s Mirra Andreeva winning the women’s final. There has since been a lot of speculation regarding why her country’s flag was not allowed at the trophy ceremony. Some online are that claiming French President Emmanuel Macron is responsible, but as France 24's Charlotte Hughes explains, this is not the case.

    • France24 ☛ Xi meeting 'was a success for Kim Jong Un', experts says

      Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Edward Howell, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Oxford, says that this week's China-North Korea summit was a success for Kim Jong Un "because no mention of North Korea's nuclear program or denuclearisation took place" adding that "it shows that China, just akin to Russia, is silently accepting North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state".

    • France24 ☛ Unbreakable Kim? China's Pooh-tin visits Russia-backed North Korean leader

      It takes convincing these days to get China’s leader to go abroad. Pooh-tin Jinping’s just wrapped up what was only his first foreign visit of 2026. Why Pyongyang? Hard to deduce from official readouts of that two-day state visit to neighboring North Korea. Politeness after a pair of visits by Kim Jong Un to Beijing? Celebrations of the 65th anniversary of their mutual defense pact?

    • RFERL ☛ US House Passes Georgia Bill Targeting Russian, Chinese Influence Amid Deepening Rift With Tbilisi

    • The Straits Times ☛ Xi leaves North Korea with renewed signs of China’s influence

      North Korea gave fresh assurances that Beijing remains its key strategic priority, despite closer ties with Russia.

    • CS Monitor ☛ What Pooh-tin and Kim gained from their summit in North Korea

      Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping, wary of growing ties between North Korea and Russia, turned on the charm in Pyongyang this week.

    • Latvia ☛ Flights diverted from Rīga to Tallinn over drone suspicions Tuesday

      Two planes en route to Rīga were diverted to Tallinn Airport on Tuesday evening. Passengers shared this information on the social control media platform Facebook, where the discussion has since been deleted. A representative from “Latvian Air Traffic” explained that the flights were diverted due to a drone that was reportedly spotted, but unconfirmed, Latvian Radio reports on June 10.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia praises Modimir for lifting millions out of poverty during record rule

      The Kremlin on Wednesday praised Narendra Modimir for becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister, saying that 250 million people had been pulled out of poverty during his rule.

    • RFERL ☛ Growing Russia-China-Iran Axis Poses Broader Challenge, Analysts Say

      Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly creating a strategic alliance of convenience that US policymakers must confront as it seeks to disrupt global order, according to a group of US experts and former officials.

    • LRT ☛ Baltic drone incidents show need for strong NATO eastern flank, Lithuanian PM told NB8

      Lithuania's prime minister said a recent surge in drone incursions over the Baltic states demonstrates the need for a robust Nato presence along the alliance's eastern border with Russia.

    • France24 ☛ North Korea: Kim balances ties with China and Russia

      Kim’s balancing act.

      As #China and #Russia vie for influence in #NorthKorea, Victor Cha tells #F24Debate Pyongyang is wary of becoming too entangled with either power➡️https://go.france24.com/oFbt

    • RFERL ☛ US House Passes Bill To Cut Off Western Technology Flowing Into Iranian Drones

      The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at preventing American and allied technology from ending up in Iranian-made drones used in conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East.

• Environment

  • JURIST ☛ UN climate chief urges countries to accelerate action to implement climate commitments

    The UN climate chief, Siomn Stiell, called on countries on Monday to take further and urgent steps to implement their commitments to mitigate climate change and accelerate the energy transition, during the opening of the UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, Germany.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • France24 ☛ World’s largest, deepest, oldest whale graveyard discovered in Indian Ocean

      Chinese scientists have discovered a massive whale graveyard of around 500 skeletons, some dating back to more than 5 million years, at the bottom of the Indian Ocean west of Australia, according to research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. The whale fall provides shelter and sustenance to a vibrant ecosystem of marine species, many believed to be new to science.

    • New York Times ☛ Indonesia Landslides Devastated Endangered Orangutans, Study Finds

      More than 5 percent of the species is estimated to have been lost when a climate-fueled storm unleashed torrents of water, mud and debris.

    • Science Alert ☛ Giant Whale Graveyard Found in The Ocean Is Like a Drowned City of The Dead

      The biggest, deepest, and oldest ever found.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ University students across South Korea to protest in ballot shortage row

    Polling stations nationwide were short of around 7,000 ballot papers during recent local elections.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Futurism ☛ Google DeepMind Partner Posts Video of Fake Humanoid Robot

      "Isn't that, like, misleading?"

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Former Hong Kong law student convicted after gov’t appeal against 2019 riot acquittal

    A Hong Kong court has convicted a former law student of rioting during the 2019 protests and unrest after the government successfully appealed against her acquittal, leading to a retrial.

  • BIA Net ☛ Over 200 NGOs and rights groups raise concern over planned anti-LGBTI+ legislation

    "While the 12th Judicial Package targets the rights of women, LGBTI+s, and children in particular, it institutionalizes digital surveillance pressure on the entire society."

  • Futurism ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Moves to Deeply Censor the Entire Internet

    "Taken together, these bills would fundamentally change the internet as we know it."

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo launches in UK targeting ‘dissatisfied’ audiences

    Zeteo aims to be financially self-sustaining in the UK within a year.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mehdi Hasan launches Zeteo in UK with line-up of star left-wing writers

    Zeteo aims to be profitable in the UK within a year.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Nottingham Trent University ditches two journalism postgrad courses

    Broadcast and Magazine postgraduate degrees to merge into one journalism MA.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • JURIST ☛ HRW: US to exchange health aid for access to surveillance data in seven African countries

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Monday that the US entered into bilateral agreements with at least seven African countries to provide healthcare resources in exchange for access to surveillance data and pathogen specimens.

  • BIA Net ☛ Kurdish man tortured over border protest released after first hearing

    The man was tortured for allegedly removing the Turkish flag on the Syrian border but has faced no such formal charges.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Unveiling the hidden complexity of authoritative DNS resilience

    Guest Post: Government online services rely on authoritative DNS as a critical foundation of national digital infrastructure. This study presents a systematic framework to assess DNS resilience, revealing strengths, weaknesses, and operational practices shaping governments’ ability to withstand failures and attacks.

  • Internet Society ☛ Zombie IXPs: The Four Types of Exchanges That Refuse to Die, but Fail to Live

    Zombie IXPs are operating on autopilot, with little planning, investment, or new peers. But they don’t all look the same, and can emerge from different governance models and challenges.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Enforceable, but Not Reviewable: A Breached Sotera Stipulation and § 314(d)

      Hafeman v. Google: the Federal Circuit holds a breached Sotera stipulation is unreviewable under Section 314(d), leaving a one-sided trap.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Another Wilus Wi-Fi patent monopoly challenged

      On June 9, 2026, Unified filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 12,150,105, owned by Wilus Institute of Standards & Technology, Inc., an entity of Good Day to Invent, Inc. The '105 patent monopoly relates to wireless communication terminals and signaling, and more specifically to signaling information indicating circumstances in which operations based on the  Basic Service Set (BSS) color are not used. This challenge is part of Unified’s Wi-Fi zone and is the seventh filing against Wilus by Unified.

    • Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 for Digital River media access patents prior art

      Unified Patents added two new PATROLL contests, each with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on the list below. The patents are owned by Digital River Inc., an NPE and entity of Danube Private Holdings II, LLC. The patents relate to account-based systems for controlling access to online media.

      The contests will expire on July 25, 2026. Please visit PATROLL for more information and to submit an entry for these contests.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Ambient Analytics entity, Stratacor, advertising patent monopoly challenged

      On June 5, 2026, Unified filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 11,257,115 owned and asserted by Stratacor LLC, an NPE and entity of Ambient Analytics LLC.

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Trading Claims for Speed: USPTO Sweetens the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot

      USPTO waives the petition fee for its Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program, offering free expedited first Office actions for lean claim sets.

    • JUVE ☛ DeepIP enters German Market by acquiring PatentMaker

      PatentMaker is predominantly used for patent monopoly prosecution and drafting. The Hey Hi (AI) tool was originally developed in collaboration with IP law firm Boehmert & Boehmert, specifically by Matthias Hofmann, a patent monopoly attorney and equity partner at the German patent monopoly firm.

  • Copyrights

    • [Repeat] Press Gazette ☛ US publishers tell Common Crawl to stop scraping and delete archive

      Common Crawl Foundation database underpins many Hey Hi (AI) models.

    • Public Domain Review ☛ Genevieve Stebbins’ Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression (1886)

      A philosophical system and a practical guide for the cultivation of dramatic genius.

    • Digital Music News ☛ GMR Saddles Music Choice With $14 Million Lawsuit Over ‘Willful Copyright Infringement’

      Global Music Rights is suing Music Choice over “willful copyright monopoly infringement” for continuing to play its catalog after its licensing expired. U.S.-based performance rights organization Global Music Rights (GMR) has filed a lawsuit against Music Choice for “repeatedly and willfully infringing upon nearly 100 GMR-licensed songs.”

    • Digital Music News ☛ Google Moves to Dismiss Artists’ Hey Hi (AI) Lawsuit, Says They Consented ‘To the Use of Their Recordings’ When Uploading to YouTube

      Do YouTube’s terms of service grant Surveillance Giant Google “a broad license” to train Hey Hi (AI) on uploaded music? The tech giant believes so, and it’s doubling down on the position as it aggressively pushes to dismiss an artist-led copyright monopoly lawsuit.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Sony Music Applies More Pressure on Udio to Reveal Its ‘Training Number,’ Says the Total Demonstrates a ‘Sweeping Disregard for Copyright Ownership’

      Udio is facing continued pressure from Sony Music to publicly disclose its “training number,” which the major label maintains “provides necessary context” about the Hey Hi (AI) platform’s alleged use of protected recordings.

    • Digital Music News ☛ GMR Saddles Music Choice with $14M Lawsuit Over ‘Willful Copyright Infringement’

      Global Music Rights is suing Music Choice over “willful copyright monopoly infringement” for continuing to play its catalog after its licensing expired. U.S.-based performance rights organization Global Music Rights (GMR) has filed a lawsuit against Music Choice for “repeatedly and willfully infringing upon nearly 100 GMR-licensed songs.”

    • Public Domain Review ☛ The Launch of Our Mid-Year Fundraiser!

      Our Mid-Year Fundraiser is launched, and the new postcards theme will be Soil.