Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • NYPost ☛ Astronomers find biggest super-puff planets yet that are lighter than cotton candy

    The featherweight pair — orbiting a star 1,110 light-years away — are the biggest exoplanets found to have less density than cotton candy.

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Say New Method Turns Coffee Grounds Into High-Potency Renewable Fuel

    "This technology presents a new paradigm in which waste is no longer viewed as a disposal problem but as a valuable energy resource."

  • Science Alert ☛ Younger Adults May Be Aging Faster Than Previous Generations

    This could explain a worrying trend.

  • Science Alert ☛ Popular Bone Supplements May Not Prevent Fractures, Major Review Finds

    The nutrients remain essential for health.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth's Worst Extinctions May Have Had a Hidden Cosmic Trigger, Scientist Says

    A strange new hypothesis.

  • Science Alert ☛ Humans in The Andes Seem to Have Evolved a Strange Genetic Ability

    An unusual survival advantage.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Controversial Ancient Human Burial Site Just Got More Mysterious

    Could we be looking at an all-female burial chamber?

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists May Have Detected The First Signature of a Black Hole's Event Horizon

    We're getting closer to the brink.

  • Science Alert ☛ Perseverance Finds Complex Organic Compounds in Strange Mars Rocks

    Another potential ancient life sign on the red planet?

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient DNA Reveals a Genetic Surprise in The Last Neanderthals

    A major challenge to what we thought.

  • The Cyber Show ☛ Dumb Data: From child abuse in plain sight to the politicisation of science

    Politicisation is a tragedy for science.

    Here we go again. Another "study by psychologists" that makes me want to pound my head against the table until all my teeth fall out and fluid starts to seep from my ears.

    Below is an essay I wrote over seven years ago. It describes what "scientists have discovered" this week.

    My question: Are the authors of this article taking the piss out of anyone of even approximately nominal intelligence? Or are we supposed to nod along, clap, and be pleased that at last science has triumphed!?

    What's next? "Scientists discover kittens suffer when you set them on fire?" Am I living in some kind of parallel reality, a decade in the future? Is this some kind of cruel trick by the Gods, where like Cassandra nothing I see in plain sight can be communicated to people around me?

    As an ex-academic myself I am deeply embarrassed and ashamed to see science conducted purely for political motives. In case you wonder, I once sat a two semester Philosophy of Science module at UCL and taught research methods to post-docs for many years including a very comprehensive course on R and python data processing. But I am also a human being, with eyes and ears. So when I say that if people "need data" to know what any emotionally competent person can see in the eyes of another human being, that society has no future, I hope you'll appreciate that I'm protesting a disingenuous misuse of what I love.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Graperain GR1126MB development board features solder-on 3 TOPS Rockchip RV1126B Hey Hi (AI) Vision module

    Graperain GR1126MB development board is based on a 42x42mm GR1126B 160-pin stamp-hole system-on-module powered by a Rockchip RV1126B Hey Hi (AI) camera SoC with a 3 TOPS NPU designed for Hey Hi (AI) vision, machine vision, and edge Hey Hi (AI) applications.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ TSMC is reportedly hiking prices for 'all advanced nodes,' accounting for 74% of the company’s wafer business — Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Qualcomm, and others will face higher wafer costs

    TSMC has reportedly told customers to prepare for 5% to 10% price hikes across advanced chip nodes, extending beyond 3nm to include 7nm and some legacy processes.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China tops the list of fastest supercomputers with a CPU-only behemoth, ending US champion El Capitan's reign — 2.198 exaflops of performance without a single GPU

    China's LineShine supercomputer has taken the top spot on the 67th TOP500 list, posting 2.198 exaflops on the High Performance Linpack benchmark.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ California’s Plastic Law Goes to Court: Is It Too Strict or Too Lax?

    The sweeping legislation, fully enacted last month, has been challenged by Republican-led states. Environmental groups have their own complaints.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Don’t spit! Michigan’s strangest local laws trace back to bygone eras

    Spit, swear or read fortunes at your own risk in some Michigan cities, where old — but often unenforced — local laws remain on the books.

  • New York Times ☛ France Identifies Its First Case of Ebola

    A doctor who had traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo was infected, the French health ministry said. The authorities said the risk to the wider population was low.

  • The Straits Times ☛ H5 bird flu detected in second Australian state

    Officials say the H5 strain continues to be a low risk to human health.

• Proprietary / SaaS

  • Qt ☛ Qt Canvas Painter: Accelerated performance using paths

    For those who are not yet familiar with the new Qt Canvas Painter, please check the previous blog posts: Introduction, new features, and performance measurements. This blog post introduces paths and path groups to further improve the performance.

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

    • Press Gazette ☛ UK news industry backs law to stop deceptive Hey Hi (AI) scraping

      Follows New York state bid to stop deceptive bots which fuel '$1bn' content trading market.

    • Press Gazette ☛ Climate scientists say news coverage ignores cause of UK heatwave

      Connection between greenhouse emmissions and extreme heat in UK 'indisputable'.

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Embedding Forbidden Text in Spyware to Discourage Hey Hi (AI) Analysis

      At least one malware developer is adding text about nuclear and biological weapons to their spyware, in an effort to stop automatic Hey Hi (AI) analysis.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • WhichUK ☛ Face recognition on phones easily fooled [Ed: Worthless gimmicks]

      Think face lock secures your phone? Why a simple photo could expose your phone.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea launches app to give stalking victims real-time access to suspects’ location

      The system allows victims to see a suspected stalker’s current location and direction of movement.

    • The Strategist ☛ Five Eyes, Hey Hi (AI) warnings are not separate. Nor should our response be

      Australians received two security assessments on separate days this week but need to see them as directly related.

    • Futurism ☛ Amazon Investigating Its Own Employees for Daring to Oppose Hey Hi (AI) Data Center

      "If we allow corporations to decide which speech is or is not allowed, that absolutely hurts democracy."

    • ACLU ☛ Surveillance is Driving a Corporatization of Police Departments

      What are the implications of having for-profit companies at the heart of American police departments?

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says it has a right to target people overseas with new ethnic unity law

    It says this was in line with international practice, and was legal and necessary.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China says it has ‘legitimate’ right to apply new ethnic unity law against people beyond its own borders

    China has the “legitimate” right to target people beyond its borders under a new “ethnic unity” law, a top judicial official said on Wednesday, after overseas rights advocates warned it could be used to further marginalise minority groups.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Can India and China finally resolve their Himalayan border dispute?

    The main focus of the dispute is on two stretches of territory, both of which are mountainous and sparsely populated.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US says China trying to discourage states, businesses from engaging with Taiwan

    The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Britain, France, Germany raise alarm about Chinese activities off eastern Taiwan

    China sent coast guard ships into the waters off Taiwan’s east coast.

  • New York Times ☛ ICC Judges Sue Convicted Felon Administration Over Sanctions

    Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court, and two colleagues are suing the administration, saying the sanctions were a form of retaliation.

  • PHR ☛ US: Deaths in ICE Custody Surge Under Convicted Felon

    52 people died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during the first 500 days of Hell Toupée’s second term, reflecting a soaring mortality rate.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Gadi Eisenkot, the straight-talking Israeli former general taking on Netanyahu

    As Israelis prepare for fall elections, Gadi Eisenkot is surging in polls to edge out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The retired general’s security credentials and perceived integrity appear to resonate with voters.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia’s spy chief warns of rising terror, cyberthreats

    He cited anti-Semitic attacks, neo-Nazi threats and foreign cyberattacks as key security priorities.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia's security environment degrading, spy chief warns

    Australia faces multi-faceted threats from autocratic regimes, hackers and antisemitic extremists that present a systemic challenge to national security and are degrading the security environment, the country's spy chief said.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Police raid independent bookstore, ex-pro-democracy district councillor arrested for alleged sedition – report

    Hong Kong national security police have arrested a former pro-democracy district councillor and raided her Sham Shui Po bookstore for alleged sedition and money laundering, according to local media reports.

  • France24 ☛ US in 'panic' at prospect of Gulf States going it alone, analyst says

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised the United States' Gulf allies that Washington would protect their interests as it seeks to hammer out a final settlement of the Middle East war in talks with Iran. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, independent journalist and author of the newsletter Badlands Borzou Daraghai says that the White House is experiencing "panic" at the prospect of Gulf countries creating an alternative security arrangement in the region that could undermine the Abraham accords.

  • [Repeat] Turtle power: how China uses scientific research to try to bolster territorial claims

    Analysts say an environmental survey in disputed waters is really meant to normalize Beijing’s presence there.

  • France24 ☛ Europe leaders reaffirm unity on defence ahead of Ankara NATO summit

    European leaders met Wednesday in Berlin ahead of next month's NATO summit in Ankarai to discuss European defence and security guarantees for Ukraine, following tensions with the United States and among the main European members.

  • RFERL ☛ Rubio Announces New Iran Technical Talks, Seeks To Reassure Gulf Allies On Security

    - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a new round of US-Iran technical negotiations will resume in Switzerland at the end of June, as he wrapped the second day of a high-stakes Persian Gulf tour aimed at calming regional concerns over Washington’s tentative accord with Tehran.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ The Ukraine War Amputees Embracing Wake Boarding and Jujitsu

      As the number of amputees in Ukraine soars, many are bonding by learning new sports, challenging both their bodies and their ideas of what they can do.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia assures Malaysia of long-term oil, gas, diesel supplies, says PM Anwar

      He said securing energy supplies was part of efforts to safeguard the interests of future generations.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ See Record-Breaking Extreme Heat Wave Across Europe in Photos

    Temperature records were broken in several European countries on Wednesday.

  • Futurism ☛ Mass Deaths Attributed to Brutal Heat Wave

    A "tragic scourge."

  • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam urges consumers to save power as heatwave drives record demand

    Vietnam's state utility EVN called on firms and households to conserve energy on Thursday to ease the strains on the country's power grid, with intense heat driving electricity consumption to record highs.

  • New York Times ☛ Photos: Earthquakes Strike Venezuela

    After two powerful quakes shook the South American country, concern is growing that the damage could be devastating.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Magnitude 6.9 quake strikes Japan's northeast, no tsunami warning

    An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ This flying solar-powered platform could deliver better internet from the air

      As soon as August, a giant silver bullet will cut its way through the dry air of the southwestern US and cross the Pacific to reach the coast of Japan.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ A Puppy-Abuse Case in China, Caught on Video, Prompts Rare Public Protest

      After a man was filmed torturing dogs, hundreds gathered in a rare demonstration that the police tried to break up. For many, the sit-in was their first civic action.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Hyundai car workers vote to back strike action

    Talks between workers and management have continued since May without yielding an agreement.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • [Repeat] OpenRightsGroup ☛ Dear Andy, we need a complete reset on digital policy

    Andy Burnham’s likely succession to lead the current Labour government gives him the chance to reset digital policy. There is a lot to be gained from a new approach. Here is our advice to him and the Labour party about where they can make changes which would benefit the UK, our democracy and our economy.

  • JURIST ☛ Supreme Court rules Rastafarian prisoner can’t sue Louisiana officers who shaved his head

    The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Damon Landor, a Rastafarian man imprisoned in Louisiana, could not sue the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LDOC) officials who restrained him and cut off his dreadlocks.

  • ACLU ☛ Fight for Abortion Rights Has Turned to States in Years Since Landmark Reproductive Rights Ruling

    Four years ago, the Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion. Since then, the fight has turned to the states.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Hunting stuck routes with the BGP Clock and the BGP Stuck Route Observatory

    Guest Post: BGP stuck routes remain an important problem for network operators. To help bridge this visibility gap, Cisco ThousandEyes introduced a methodology for measuring the prevalence of stuck routes: The BGP Clock.

  • APNIC ☛ [Podcast] What ‘name-based routing’ really means

    Internet routing is shifting from IP-based forwarding to name-based decisions, with DNS and intermediaries steering requests. How does this work in practice, and who decides where your request is served from?

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • JUVE ☛ PE house Consolid investing heavily in IP firms [Ed: Conflating patents (monopolies) with "IP" to shape up propaganda]

      The trend towards private equity-backed IP firms continues. Just a few days ago, it was announced that Consolid was investing in the leading Dutch patent monopoly attorney firm, Vereenigde Octrooibureaux (V.O.).

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Provisional Typo Spoils Priority Date

      Federal Circuit affirms that Enanta's Paxlovid patent monopoly lost priority: a provisional's C2-C12 alkyl range did not describe the claimed C1 species.

    • JUVE ☛ Munich Regional Court extends Infineon’s winning streak against Innoscience

      The 21st Civil Chamber of Munich Regional Court, under new presiding judge Hubertus Schacht, has found that gallium nitride (GaN) products offered by Innoscience and its European distributors CODICO and MEV Elektronik Service infringe Infineon’s German patent monopoly DE 10 2017 100 947.

    • Unified Patents ☛ UBQS-IP patent monopoly validity challenge coming soon

      The team at Unified is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against a patent monopoly owned by UBQS-IP LLC, an NPE and entity of Pueblo Nuevo LLC. Unified Patents, the top requester of ex parte reexaminations in recent years, will likely challenge its validity. The patent monopoly is generally related to a decentralized system allowing multiple users to edit the same document.

    • Kangaroo Courts

      • JUVE ☛ Asus and Nokia end litigation with patent monopoly licence [Ed: UPC is illegal and Nokia staff serves as "judges", so this is corrupt on many levels]

        The Taiwanese manufacturer Asus and Finnish company Nokia concluded a licence agreement on Monday. The deal mirrors the structure of the Acer arrangement: the parties have entered into a licence agreement that includes an arbitration clause, meaning the terms will be determined through arbitration.

  • Trademarks

    • Digital Music News ☛ Taylor Swift ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Trademark Lawsuit Resumes With Amended Complaint — Plaintiff Says the Alleged Infringement ‘Has Threatened to Overwhelm’ Her Brand

      Let the Life of a Showgirl trademark battle continue: Taylor Swift is officially facing an amended lawsuit from entertainer Maren Wade, who’s doubling down on far-reaching infringement and brand-confusion allegations. The self-described showgirl Wade (real name Maren Flagg) recently submitted the updated action to a federal court in her native California.

  • Copyrights

    • The Straits Times ☛ Fans or thieves? Webtoon piracy makes South Korean artists question global readers

      While large-scale webtoon piracy in Korea has been reduced, overseas piracy remains a challenge.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Gaming-Focused Licensing Platform Reactional Music Scores $2.8 Million EU Grant, Plots ‘Transition to Large-Scale Commercial Deployment’

      As it eyes a “transition to large-scale commercial deployment,” gaming-focused licensing platform Reactional Music has scored a €2.5 million ($2.8 million) European Innovation Council (EIC) grant.