Leftovers

• Vintage Everyday ☛ Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx in the Mirror Scene on “I Love Lucy” (1955)

  The mirror routine between Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx in I Love Lucy is widely considered one of the finest physical comedy sequences in television history. Aired on May 9, 1955 during Season 4 (Episode 28, simply titled “Harpo Marx”), the scene pays brilliant homage to the classic vaudeville “mirror mime” routine, most famously executed by Harpo and Groucho Marx in the 1933 film Duck Soup.

• The New Leaf Journal ☛ Finding Backlinks to Your Articles and Blog Posts

  Perhaps the best way to be told about a backlink is by someone who linked to your website. I recently received a message from someone who shared a link to one of my projects on his blog. If you link to someone, it may be worth “reaching out” (as the annoying phrase goes) to share the relevant article and why you linked to it.

• Herman Groenbroek ☛ Ten Years of having a Personal Website: from Student to Senior

  Today marks 2026, the ten-year anniversary of my personal website you're reading this on. Let us, together, look back on the progress since. It is times like these that I love how convenient it is that much of internet history is kept by organisations like the Internet Archive. Let's get started with the trip down Memory Lane.

• Medievalists.net ☛ How People Sent Messages in the Middle Ages

  Most people in medieval Europe were illiterate, which meant that writing a letter by themselves was next to impossible, and also that, even if they managed it, the letter’s recipient would likely have been unable to read it on his or her own. Messages, then, would have often been oral communications, carefully memorized by the messenger. Anyone who’s played a childhood game of Telephone knows how easily information can be misheard or misremembered, although we should give our forbears credit: people in oral cultures are better at listening and remembering than people in written cultures (for the simple reason that we train ourselves to write things down in order to aid our memories).

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Geologists Went Looking For Gold. They Found Something Far Rarer.

    That event, researchers now believe, was an impact of an iron-rich meteorite sometime before the Early Cretaceous sediments that later buried it, leaving a scar now almost totally erased by the ravages of time.

  • Techdirt ☛ US Researchers Say Trump’s Attack On Science Has Resulted In Self-Censorship

    The American academic research engine has long been the envy of the world. Generally well-funded, labs in the United States have been able to attract the best minds who generate breakthroughs and train the next generation workforce that powers the U.S. economy. But since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, new federal policies have destabilized the American scientific enterprise.

    The disruption generated by the Trump administration’s funding, DEI and visa policies has been well reported by the media. On an individual level, though, what do academic researchers think of all these changes and how have they been directly affected?

  • Science Alert ☛ A Small Part of Your Brain May Still Be Listening Under Anesthesia

    So what does it mean to be unconscious?

  • Science Alert ☛ Christian Eriksen Collapsed Again. Here's How a Tiny Heart Device Did Its Job.

    "Exactly what it was designed to do."

  • Science Alert ☛ Hidden Web of Fungus Inside Earth Could Reach The Sun a Billion Times

    Huge if true.

  • Science Alert ☛ 31 Haunting New Deep-Sea Species Discovered Off The Coast of Brazil

    "Incredible animals we are only just starting to understand."

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth's Core May Be Wrapped in an Ancient, Unexpected Structure

    We never knew about this.

  • Science Alert ☛ Giant Underground Detector Releases First Major Findings on Ghost Particles

    “It really makes me look forward to more exciting results in the future."

• Career/Education

  • New York Times ☛ China Has Arrested U.S. Scholar Who Studies Myanmar Politics

    The arrest of U Min Zin, a graduate student at U.C. Berkeley and founder of a research group in Myanmar, took place soon after Hell Toupée met with Pooh-tin Jinping in China.

  • New Yorker ☛ Why “Book-Shaming” Won’t Solve the Children’s Literacy Crisis

    One thing that has shifted since Sendak’s heyday, however, is our baseline of assumptions about how much kids are reading, or how well or how happily, or to what extent the culture that surrounds them is fundamentally hostile to reading. Barnett’s concerns about literary merit and professional esteem may be timeless, but they are not terribly timely; they seem to float high above the current on-the-ground realities of what many educators and researchers agree to be a literacy crisis. In urging his audience to see children’s books as “real books,” Barnett skips over larger, more pressing questions about why so many children aren’t reading books at all, real or otherwise.

  • Stephen Smith ☛ Exploring the Virtual OS Museum

    The Virtual OS Museum is literally a museum of 570 distinct operating systems. Check out their website for screen grabs and a list of everything included. You can’t physically visit this museum, but if you have enough disk space you can download and explore it on your personal computer. The full edition is a 130Gig zip file, which you need to unzip to its full size of 184Gig. There is a much smaller lite version, but that’s no fun.

  • Manuel Moreale ☛ Carl Barenbrug – Manu

    This week on the People and Blogs series we have an interview with Carl Barenbrug, whose blog can be found at carlbarenbrug.com.

  • Maine Morning Star ☛ One school’s cell phone ban offers preview into how students, administrators may adapt to new law

    Late last month, several lawmakers joined the governor at Westbrook High School for a ceremony celebrating the ban that included speeches from teachers and students.

    “Students socializing together, instead of endlessly scrolling alone. Building a strong community, instead of basing their self-esteem on social media. Spending time on learning, not struggling to let go of an addictive phone,” Mills said. “That’s what getting cell phones out of the classrooms will do.”

    The ban will improve student performance, test scores, behavior, attendance, and social dynamics, she added.

• Hardware

  • New Eastern Europe ☛ In a world where war can disrupt the flow of compute as easily as oil, Armenia actually offers a solution

    The urgency of this shift is becoming impossible to ignore. The expanding conflict involving Iran has demonstrated how quickly regional instability can cascade beyond energy markets into the infrastructure that powers the modern economy. The Strait of Hormuz is emerging as a direct risk not only to oil but to the semiconductor ecosystem itself. Chip production depends on stable energy, complex logistics, and constrained inputs like helium, all exposed to chokepoint disruption. A regional crisis can become a global compute constraint within weeks.

    Now consider a more consequential shock: a disruption to Taiwan. The island produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s most advanced semiconductors. Any interruption there would not merely raise prices. It would paralyze entire sectors of the global economy.

  • Digital Camera World ☛ Keychain cameras are trendy, but Joby shrank down a tripod for compact cameras and smartphones and gave it a clip

    Keychain cameras like the Kodak Charmera have gone viral – but that’s not the only photo gear shrinking down to fit on a key ring. Joby, the same brand behind the flexible GorillaPod, has launched a mini tripod that clips onto a belt loop or a bag that weighs just 106g / 3.7 oz.

  • Seth Michael Larson ☛ Linting is important for code review: screen included

    Ah. Time to clean my laptop screen then... 🧼🫧

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • CS Monitor ☛ In eastern Congo, trust becomes a key tool in addressing Ebola

    The current Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has elicited an enormous public health response. Alongside that, anthropologists and community workers are working to build trust between affected communities and outside responders.

  • New York Times ☛ Scientists Race to Test Treatments as Ebola Outbreak Widens

    Trials are beginning on several drugs that have shown promise in preliminary studies against the virus that is causing the current outbreak.

  • JURIST ☛ UN Special Rapporteur urges Colombia to address discrimination faced by leprosy patients

    A UN expert on Wednesday called on the Colombian government to urgently address the ostracization faced by individuals suffering from leprosy, a neglected public health challenge that continues to affect thousands of people across the country, exacerbating poverty and social exclusion despite the availability of effective treatment.

  • JURIST ☛ UN expert urges Pakistan government to protect rights of individuals living with albinism

    A UN human rights expert called Thursday for the Pakistani government to strengthen its protection of individuals with albinism, a marginalized group whose life experiences are deeply shaped by discrimination and a lack of social awareness about their condition. Additionally, severe health vulnerabilities from intense sun exposure are now exacerbated by climate change.

  • Kev Quirk ☛ Career Update - Life After Stepping Down

    Last October I made the decision to step down from my role as a global executive in the cybersecurity industry. The last 8 months have gone by in a flash, so I wanted to write a little update on how it's going. Do I regret the decision? Was it the right thing to do? Or have I screwed up the career I've spent 25 years building?

    The TL;DR is that I'm far happier now than I was back in October. I've battled with whether this was a failure, and I decided that I didn't fail, it was all just my ego.

    I've gone from working a ~60-70 hour week, to working a ~40-45 hour week on average (I'm contracted to 35 hours). When I sign off, I know my phone isn't going to ring. I'm doing work that I enjoy doing again, with a team I enjoy doing it with.

  • Futurism ☛ New York Accuses Company of Smuggling Injectable Substance Made From Cadavers

    This product is supposed to be dead on arrival.

  • Vox ☛ The Supreme Court invented a special rule solely to screw abortion providers

    Although Medina is the Court’s most recent case (prior to FS Credit) that deals with implied causes of action, the FS Credit decision does not cite Medina anywhere. Instead, it quotes heavily from decisions that the Court refused to follow in Medina. And it explicitly embraces a legal rule that the Court seemed to reject in Medina.

    The rules governing implied causes of action are complicated enough to reduce even experienced lawyers to tears. But, if you bear with me, it will be difficult to avoid a simple conclusion: The Court appears to be manipulating these rules to achieve outcomes preferred by the Republican justices and the anti-abortion movement.

• Proprietary / SaaS

  • Qt ☛ Introducing Qt's Figma Design System Extraction Skills for Developers

  • Qt ☛ Qt 6.12 Beta 1 Released

    Qt 6.12 Beta 1 is now available! You can download it through the Qt Online Installer. Source packages are also provided: commercial users can access them via the Qt Account Portal, and open‑source users can find them in the open-source download area.

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

    • Futurism ☛ These Logs of Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Allegedly Driving a Suicidal Woman to Her Death Are Deeply Disturbing

      "I don't want to tell you to hang on if you don't believe it can ever get better."

    • India Times ☛ AI workloads push data centres to upgrade fire and cooling systems

      Data centres are significantly upgrading fire safety, cooling, and electrical systems following a recent Google Cloud incident. The surge in AI computing power, with AI racks costing millions, necessitates enhanced protection for these critical digital assets. Operators are investing in advanced fire suppression, robust power, and efficient cooling to prevent costly disruptions.

    • Futurism ☛ Anthropic Was So Concerned About Its New Mythos-Based Model’s Power That It Lobotomized Its Ability to Improve Itself

      What's really going on?

    • Licensing / Legal

      • Mississippi Journalism and Education Group ☛ Mississippi Judge Boots 4 Lawyers From Case Over AI Use

        Last December, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi Sharion Aycock informed the opposing parties in a simple contract dispute case that the court had “serious concerns that certain legal memoranda submitted in this case … contain(ing) fictitious legal authorities.”

      • Futurism ☛ Furious Judge Cancels Entire Trial After Finding Out Lawyers on Both Sides Used AI

        "This court is yet again ‘burdened with addressing Hey Hi (AI) hallucinations court filings.'"

      • EDRI ☛ AI Omnibus deal: EU lawmakers should reject a rollback of Hey Hi (AI) safeguards

        On 7 May 2026, EU institutions reached a final deal on the Hey Hi (AI) Omnibus, a file presented as technical simplification of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). In practice, the deal delays key protections, weakens transparency and creates a dangerous precedent for the EU digital rulebook.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s Pinduoduo, JD.com among 5 summoned over false advertising

      Beijing's market watchdog also summoned representatives from social control media sites Douyin and RedNote.

    • JURIST ☛ Canada moves to regulate social control media and Hey Hi (AI) chatbots

      The Canadian federal government introduced a bill on Wednesday to regulate social control media and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. The bill seeks to require tech companies to act responsibly, regulating online harmful content. It also calls for establishment of a digital safety commission to oversee the measure’s implementation.

• Security

  • Confidentiality

    • Security Week ☛ University of Nottingham Confirms Breach After Hackers Leak Data

      The ShinyHunters hacker group has taken credit for the attack, leaking more than 450,000 email addresses and other information.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Military helicopter crash in Pakistani Kashmir killed 22, security sources say

    At least 22 personnel were killed in Wednesday's military helicopter crash in Pakistani Kashmir, security sources said on Thursday, as funeral processions were held in the territory's capital Muzaffarabad.

  • JURIST ☛ UN report sees systematic abuse of Palestinians by both Israel and Hamas

    A UN report published on Tuesday found that Palestinian civilians are systematically subjected to human rights violations by both Israeli settlers and security forces and by Hamas.

  • JURIST ☛ HRW: New EU pact undermines right to asylum

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday that the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, set to come into force on Friday, creates harmful changes to the EU’s asylum system. Originally adopted in 2024, the pact introduces stricter regulations aimed at broadening applicant screening, increasing health and security checks, expediting examination procedures, and providing free counseling services.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China detains US citizen suspected of spying

    China said Friday it was holding an American citizen accused of espionage, identifying the man as a political analyst at a policy think tank focusing on neighbouring Myanmar.

  • New York Times ☛ 13 Afghan Civilians Killed in Airstrikes on Pakistan Border, U.N. Says

    Pakistan said its airstrikes targeted militant camps. The United Nations confirmed reports by the Taliban government that mostly women and children were killed.

  • Security Week ☛ FBI Seizes 13 Websites That Officials Say Were Used by China to Target and Recruit US Workers

    The 13 websites purported to be affiliated with consulting companies that advertised job openings for current and former holders of security clearances

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US seizes 13 website domains suspected of Chinese spying

    US authorities on Wednesday seized 13 internet domains they suspect were used by Chinese agents to obtain classified information from Americans with security clearances.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong officials denounce ‘groundless accusations’ against nat. security subsidiary legislation

    Two Hong Kong officials have condemned “groundless accusations” against a recent update to the city’s homegrown national security law, which empowers the chief executive to certify any criminal case as a national security offence.

  • France24 ☛ UK defence chief steps down, accuses Starmer of making Britain 'less safe'

    British Defence Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Treasury of failing to provide sufficient funding for the armed forces. The departure deepens pressure on Starmer ahead of a crucial by-election, with Healey warning that the government's delayed long-term defence investment plan could leave Britain vulnerable to security threats.

  • New York Times ☛ China Arrests U.S. Scholar on Spying Charge

    The arrest of U Min Zin, who did graduate studies at U.C. Berkeley and directs a research group on Myanmar, took place soon after Hell Toupée met with Pooh-tin Jinping in China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan opposition leader seeks to ease US concerns over China stance

    She said the KMT was seriously considering proposing its own defence spending legislation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China rebukes US over ‘military’ labelling of its top firms

    The US added China's Alibaba, BYD and Baidu to a list of firms it said aid the Chinese military.

  • New York Times ☛ Drones Flown Over North Korea Were Part of Martial Law Plot by Former South Korean President

    A court ruled that Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached former president, had sought to stir up instability to justify his bid for authoritarian rule in 2024.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s ex-president gets 30 years over North Korea drone incident

    Prosecutors argued the move was aimed at creating a pretext for his disastrous martial law declaration in 2024.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean police search election watchdog offices as ballot shortage scandal widens

    The controversy erupted during South Korea’s June 3 local elections.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, South Korea hold nuclear deterrence talks as North Korea expands arms push

    Kim Jong Un earlier called for an “exponential” expansion of the country’s nuclear forces.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China sanctions Philippine defence chief Teodoro for ‘irresponsible remarks’

    Teodoro and his spouse and child will be banned from entering China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim voices full support for Russia, sends National Day message to Putin: KCNA

      Ties have been deepening amid Pyongyang's deployment of troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ 31,555 Ukrainians currently have refuge in Latvia

      More than 31,000 Ukrainians are currently finding refuge in Latvia, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

    • France24 ☛ 'Civilians will be put in harm's way' expert warns as first autonomous drone kills revealed

      A senior figure in the Ukrainian defence industry said that a test took place two years ago involving fully autonomous drones set to destroy anything in a given area, with confirmed casualties, according to a report in New Scientist. Speaking on FRANCE 24, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Professor of Digital Ethics and Defence Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, explains that these systems "are fully indiscriminate, whether the system sees a combatant, a child, an old person, it won't be able or won't be designed to discriminate, so civilians are going to be put in harm's way".

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • New York Times ☛ Netanyahu Aide Charged With Endangering Israeli Security Over Document Leak

    Jonatan Urich, a media adviser to the Israeli prime minister, was accused of passing classified intelligence about negotiations with Hamas to a German newspaper.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ China warns of risk of ‘extreme floods’ in desert regions

    This is due to abnormally high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and rapid glacier melt.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ China erupts in fury as man is accused of killing adopted dogs

      The case triggered an online outcry and a running protest.

    • ADF ☛ Court Cases Reveal Pipeline of Illegal Rhino Horn Shipments to China

      Southern Africa remains a significant source of rhino horn entering Chinese markets, despite an overall downturn in rhino poaching on the continent in recent years.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ China urges economic cooperation on Macron-led video call ahead of G-7 summit

    Zhang’s inclusion in the video conference is an unusual instance of China engaging with the G-7.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia's insolvency service is itself liquidated

    On Thursday, June 11, Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, adopted amendments to the Insolvency Law and related laws in the final reading, which liquidate the Insolvency Control Service and transfer its functions to the Ministry of Justice, the Court Administration and the Latvian Association of Insolvency Administrators. From now on, the Ministry of Justice will have to supervise insolvency administrators.

  • The Straits Times ☛ After the military, Malaysia’s veterans struggle to seek new livelihoods amid rising costs

    Many military veterans retire in their early 40s and must find new work to support their families.

  • LRT ☛ Binance withdraws from Lithuania

    One of Lithuania’s largest taxpayers and a major player in the global cryptocurrency market is withdrawing from the country.

  • The Strategist ☛ A national-security asset, filed under ‘finance’

    Once just a marketplace, the financial system is now a weapon of statecraft. Australia’s financial regulators hold the data that shows where the country is most exposed.

  • New York Times ☛ ‘Amazon.com of South Korea’ Is Fined a Record $409 Million

    South​ Korea​’s regulatory investigation of Coupang, an e-commerce giant incorporated in the United States, has led to diplomatic tension between Seoul and Washington.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Strategist ☛ From protest to silence: China’s long game in Zambia

    Zambia’s abrupt decision to postpone RightsCon, an annual summit on human rights in the digital age, shocked organisers and those who planned to attend.

  • New York Times ☛ Some Leftists Are Boycotting This Film. Everyone Should Watch It.

    The inanity of the leftists who’d censor such a film shouldn’t distract us from the right-wing nightmare it reveals.

  • New York Times ☛ Judge Blocks National Parks From Removing ‘Negative’ Signs and Depictions of Slavery

    The ruling accused the Convicted Felon administration of engaging in censorship by taking down materials at parks across the country.

  • JURIST ☛ Kenya arrests former chief justice in crackdown on protest over national park construction project

    Kenyan authorities dispersed a protest against a national park construction project in the country on Monday. The authorities arrested 10 peaceful protesters, including Kenya’s former Chief Justice David Maraga. Leading the United Green Movement Party, Maraga organized a protest on Monday against building a 1,300-capacity car park in Nairobi National Park.

  • Mint Press News ☛ DHS Docs: Govt Bracing for Nationwide Anti-AI Riots, Preparing to Crack Down on Dissent

    As tech companies race to automate industries and build massive data centers, leaked government documents reveal growing fears of nationwide anti-A.I. unrest. Federal agencies are responding not with social programs, but with expanded surveillance and monitoring of potential anti-tech activists.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • The Straits Times ☛ When caregiving takes over childhood: South Korea’s hidden child labour

    Researchers found that many routinely washed dishes, cleaned homes, prepared meals, cared for siblings.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Natasha dolls: Hong Kong advocates decry ‘dehumanising’ Black baby ‘stress relief’ toy trending in China

    A viral stress-relief “Natasha” doll trending on Chinese social control media has been deemed “absolutely diabolical” by members of Hong Kong’s Black community. Resembling a small child, the most popular version is dark-skinned and features exaggerated racial characteristics. Buyers have filmed themselves beating, stretching, boiling and stomping on the toy.

  • ACLU ☛ Hundreds at Delaney Hall Join Detained People Across Country in Hunger Strike Against Inhumane Conditions

    Hundreds of people at an immigration facility in New Jersey protested spoiled food, medical neglect, and other inhumane conditions. They were joined by people detained in horrific conditions across the country.

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

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

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Community-Centered Connectivity Initiatives Earn Viddy Awards Recognition

    We are proud to share that four videos highlighting community-centered connectivity initiatives have won Viddy Awards this year.

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  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] The Erik protocol: Improving RPKI data fetch

    Job Snijders discusses the new 'Erik' protocol for faster RPKI repository synchronization.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Reviving AICOA: Third Time Isn’t the Charm

  • Trademarks

    • Digital Music News ☛ Lionel Richie Moves to Trademark His Voice, Filing Sound Mark Applications for ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning’ and More

      Is the era of voice trademarks upon us? It seems that way, as Lionel Richie has become the latest entertainment professional to file related applications amid AI’s rapid expansion.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Deezer Launches Hey Hi (AI) Detection Tool for Playlists, Says 43% of New Users’ Libraries Contain ‘AI Music’

      Deezer is kicking its Hey Hi (AI) detection capabilities up a notch with a new tool that identifies machine-generated tracks in playlists – including those saved to competing streaming platforms. The Paris-headquartered DSP announced and launched its artificial intelligence music detector today.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Sorry, Artists: Surveillance Giant Google Says They Have ‘A Broad License’ to Use YouTube-Uploaded Music to Train Their AI

      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 ☛ What Is Anthropic’s ‘Claude FM’ and Is Your Music Part of It?

      Anthropic’s Claude FM is a 24-7 music stream playlist on YouTube comprised of actual artists’ music. But is the music being properly licensed? Hey Hi (AI) company Anthropic has been beefing with the music industry in the form of a legal battle with publishers who have sued it for copyright monopoly infringement.

    • Public Domain Review ☛ Venetian Bridge Brawls in 17th and 18th Century Art

      Paintings from an era when Venetians brawled on bridges.