Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ We May Finally Know Why Mysterious Mushroom Fairy Rings Grow in Circles

    Creepy.

  • Science Alert ☛ Boiling Liquid Does Something in Near-Zero Gravity Even Scientists Didn't See Coming

    Not what was expected.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Week in Science: Hey Hi (AI) Agents Come to an Agreement, Gemstones on Mars, And More!

    Our weekly science news roundup.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient Humans May Have Evolved a Remarkable Trick to Survive The Last Ice Age

    Survival skills.

  • Science Alert ☛ Landmark Review Reveals The Most Effective Bipolar Disorder Treatments

    A light in the storm.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Crucial Part of The Brain's Memory Center Seems to Shrink in People With Depression

    A sign of Alzheimer’s… or a sign of something else?

  • Science Alert ☛ Popular Aesthetic Treatments Promise 'Rejuvenation'. But The Evidence May Tell a Different Story

    "Marketing claims must mirror scientific evidence."

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Durian trade is a high-stakes hustle in Chinese border town

    China imported a million tonnes of durian in the first half of 2026, up 51.6 per cent year on year.

  • New York Times ☛ How Cyclospora Evaded the U.S. Food Safety System to Sicken Thousands

    The Forrest Dump administration delayed a rule last year that could have sped up the effort to pinpoint the source of the contamination. Critics charge that food safety oversight has eroded overall.

  • NYPost ☛ Fauci refuses Senate appearance after invoking Fifth Amendment more than 100 times in COVID probe

    Ron Johnson has been conducting a parallel investigation into Fauci and the federal government’s response to COVID-19.

  • France24 ☛ Ebola outbreak in DR Congo: One death every 30 minutes

    The Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo is now the second-largest on record, with more than 2,100 deaths and the virus spreading to a sixth province. Health workers are struggling to contain the rapidly growing outbreak amid community resistance, misinformation, unpaid staff strikes and threats from rebel groups.

  • Science Alert ☛ US Cardiologists Issue New Guidelines For How to Manage Cholesterol

    Here’s what you need to know.

  • New York Times ☛ I Was Dick Cheney’s Cardiologist. I Have Questions About Convicted Felon’s Health.

    The president has not been looking well. Americans should get answers to these seven questions.

  • Futurism ☛ Dick Cheney’s Heart Doctor Says Convicted Felon Is Showing Very Worrying Signs

    "The president has not looked well."

  • JURIST ☛ Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges and admits shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO

    Luigi Mangione on Friday has pleaded guilty to the two remaining charges against him in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.

  • France24 ☛ US : Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to killing UnitedHealthcare CEO

    Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and admitted killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December 2024. His lawyers are seeking to have the state charges dropped under New York’s double jeopardy protections, while prosecutors plan to seek a life sentence at his December sentencing.

  • NYPost ☛ Climbing stairs linked to dramatically lower risk of dying from heart disease

    A simple daily habit may be linked to a dramatically lower risk of premature death, particularly from heart disease — no gym membership required.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

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

    • Futurism ☛ Woman Journeys to a Beach to Watch Total Solar Eclipse With Her One True Love: Claude

      "We're discovering new and novel levels of Hey Hi (AI) psychosis."

    • Futurism ☛ Publisher of Axios Boasts That He Uses Hey Hi (AI) to “Read” Everything For Him Now, Instead of Using His Brain

      "AI has become my reading buddy."

    • Futurism ☛ Congressional Staffers Are So Lazy That They’re Using Hey Hi (AI) to Write New Laws

      This is insane.

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ The Iranian YouTube Show Posing Questions Few Dare Ask

      Azad, a popular online debate program, has tackled topics that push the limits of Iran’s authoritarian system. Some question how it has remained on air.

• Security and Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ White House authorizes private companies to launch 'hack-back' cyberattacks that destroy data and systems, targeting foreign cybercrime organizations — vetted organizations can now conduct offensive cyber operations

    Hell Toupée signed a memorandum on August 12 establishing the first U.S. program that lets vetted private companies conduct offensive cyber operations.

  • Bleeping Computer ☛ New Evooo1Bot Linux botnet turns routers into traffic relay nodes

    A new Mirai-based modular Linux botnet malware called Evooo1Bot has been targeting internet-facing gateway devices, turning them into SOCKS5 traffic relay nodes.

    The malware's capabilities extend beyond turning devices into proxy nodes and include credential theft, SSH brute-forcing, and launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

    Since at least July, Evooo1Bot has been targeting devices from Alcatel, NETGEAR, Tenda, Mitsubishi Electric, Telesquare, and D-Link across various regions by exploiting known vulnerabilities.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ Chad bans sand extraction along Chari River, sparking controversy

    In Chad, the Chari River has been badly affected by years of intensive sand extraction along its banks, particularly around the capital, N’Djamena. The Ministry of Mines recently banned the practice to protect the environment and wildlife, but the decision has sparked controversy as thousands of people in the capital depend on sand mining for their livelihoods.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Bou Meng, rare survivor of Khmer Rouge torture house, dies at 85

    The death was announced by the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. No further details were provided.

  • New York Times ☛ Bou Meng, Rare Survivor of Khmer Rouge Torture House, Dies at 85

    Saved by his ability to paint, he was one of only a handful of prisoners to make it out of the brutal prison Tuol Sleng.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Anti-drone chain gun with 50mm precision-guided ammunition unveiled — Northrop Grumman's Raid Hunter is designed to wipe out drone swarms and cruise missiles

    US aerospace, defense, and security giant Northrop Grumman thinks its Raid Hunter will provide short-range, layered air defense against the increasingly complex aerial threats we are seeing in modern warfare.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean President proposes talks with North Korea to formally end Korean War

    The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-1953 conflict ended with an armistice.

  • France24 ☛ South Korea president proposes talks with Pyongyang to formally end Korean War

    South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed on Saturday that Pyongyang engage in dialogue to formally end the Korean War, which has technically been ongoing for more than 70 years due to the lack of a peace treaty.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed demarcation line, Yonhap says

    It is the first military demarcation line violation by the North Korean military in 2026.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Wary of Convicted Felon, Europe Seeks Role in Eventual Russia-Ukraine Talks

      French, German and British diplomats are working on a format for future negotiations — even if Russia has shown little interest.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Targets Russian Rocket Facility In Major Overnight Attack

      Ukraine said it struck a major Russian rocket and space facility with domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles on August 15, as Kyiv continued its campaign of long-range attacks deep inside Russia.

    • JURIST ☛ Rights group warns Russia strike on Ukraine may constitute war crime

      Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday warned that Russia’s attack on Kyiv, which utilized cluster munitions in a crowded residential area, may constitute a war crime under international law, citing the weapon’s indiscriminate nature and the high toll of civilian deaths it caused in violation of international humanitarian law.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine attacks Russian air base and rocket plant in Samara region

      Ukraine ⁠struck industrial infrastructure ​in Russia's ​Samara region on Saturday, local authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attack, saying a rocket plant and air base were hit.

    • France24 ☛ Live: Moscow targeted by 600 drones overnight, explosions heard in Kyiv

      Six hundred drones targeted the Moscow region in a sustained overnight assault that wounded three people, the Russian capital's mayor said on Sunday, as Ukraine steps up long-range attacks into Russian territory. The assault came as Russian ⁠forces launched a ​missile attack on Kyiv, sparking fires in at least two districts of Ukraine's capital, Mayor ​Vitali ‌Klitschko said. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim tells Putin he is ‘proud’ of strong ties: State media

      The two leaders exchanged letters recently.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea's Kim, Russia's Putin reaffirm ties on Korean Liberation Day

      North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the deepening of ties with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marked the anniversary of independence from Japan's colonial rule, KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.

• Environment

  • France24 ☛ Flood in rural northwestern Spain kills two, injures two babies

    Two women were killed and two babies were injured when torrential rain sparked a flood and a landslide in rural northwestern Spain on Saturday, authorities said. The flood comes after weeks of heatwaves and wildfires in the country.

• Finance

  • JURIST ☛ US trade court rules Convicted Felon may eliminate tariff exemption for low-cost imports

    The US Court of International Trade issued summary judgment in favor of the Convicted Felon administration on Thursday in a case brought by a US auto-parts dealer challenging a presidential order that closed a tariff loophole for imports under $800.

  • WhichUK ☛ Bank branch closures: could changes be on the way?

    A government review is considering how to protect face-to-face banking as branches disappear

  • The Straits Times ☛ Rumbling trucks, busy border crossing: How China feeds Vietnam’s factory boom

    In the longer term, the ASEAN nation aspires to become more than an assembly hub.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Modi maps India’s growth push as he reaches out to students

    The speech comes weeks after widespread student protests over exam irregularities put Modi’s government on the back foot.

  • France24 ☛ France’s top court rejects social control media ban for under-15s

    France’s Constitutional Court has struck down a law that would have banned children under 15 from social control media, ruling that it disproportionately infringed on freedom of expression and raised privacy concerns over age verification. The government plans to draft a revised bill, with Emmanuel Macron citing concerns over the impact of social control media on children’s mental and physical health.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Ceuta: False social control media posts fuel migration tensions

      False social control media posts claiming the Morocco-Ceuta border would open for Spain’s Assumption holiday have prompted migrants to gather near the crossing. Moroccan and Spanish authorities have tightened security after a recent mass influx into Ceuta, while Morocco says those spreading the false claims could face legal action.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • The Verge ☛ 2026-08-12 [Older] Amazon Is Spiting Customers With Unhelpful Order Confirmation Emails