Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Cruise Ship-Lengthening Surgery: All The Cool Companies Are Doing It

  The number of people going on cruises keeps rising year over year, with the number passengers carried increasing from just over 3.7 million in 1990 to well over 28 million in 2023. This has meant an increasing demand for more and also much larger cruise ships, which has led to an interesting phenomenon where it has become more economical to chop up an existing cruise ship and put in an extra slice to add many meters to each deck. This makes intuitively sense, as the segment added is fairly ‘dumb’, with no engine room, control systems, but mostly more rooms and cabins.

• Hackaday ☛ Misleading GPS, Philosophy Of Maps, And You

  The oft-quoted saying “all models are wrong, but some are useful” is a tounge-in-cheek way of saying that at some level, tools we use to predict how the world behaves will differ from reality in some measurable way. This goes well beyond the statistics classroom it is most often quoted in, too, and is especially apparent to anyone who has used a GPS mapping device of any sort. While we might think that our technological age can save us from the approximations of maps and models, there are a number of limitations with this technology that appear in sometimes surprising ways. [Kyle] has an interesting writeup about how maps can be wrong yet still be incredibly useful especially in the modern GPS-enabled world.

• Science

  • CS Monitor ☛ As Boeing falters, can SpaceX go where six far-reaching Apollo missions went before?

    The SpaceX rocket, blasting off early Sept. 10, will take astronauts farther than any other since 1972, when Apollo 17 completed the final NASA mission. The third day will bring the first privately funded spacewalk.

  • Science Alert ☛ Winds of Iron Discovered Circulating on Nearby Hell Planet

    Forecast: cloudy with a chance of metal.

  • Science Alert ☛ Watch Live: SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Launches For First Private Spacewalk

    It's finally happening!

  • Science Alert ☛ Top Theory on Moon's Formation Might Have No Evidence After All

    Nice idea though.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Are you being rude without knowing it?

    While we sometimes take our culture for granted, Mexicans can sometimes find the things foreigners do to be abrasive and impolite.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Khadas Mind 2 portable mini PC gets defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Ultra 7 155H update, USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 interfaces

    Khadas Mind 2 is an update to the Raptor Lake-powered Khadas Mind portable mini PC offered with either an defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Core Ultra 155H Meteor Lake processor.

  • CNX Software ☛ MSI MS-CF13 is a fanless mini-ITX motherboard powered by defective chip maker Intel N97, Core i3-N305, or Atom x7425E Alder Lake-N SoC

    MSI MS-CF13 is a low-profile, low-power, fanless mini-ITX motherboard offered with a choice of Alder Lake-N processors namely defective chip maker Intel Processor N97, defective chip maker Intel Core i3-N305, or defective chip maker Intel Atom x7425E SoC.

  • CNX Software ☛ AAEON introduces NXP i.MX 8M Plus Pico-ITX SBC and mini PC designed for Edge Hey Hi (AI) industrial applications

    AAEON PICO-IMX8PL is a Pico-ITX SBC built around the NXP i.MX 8M Plus Edge Hey Hi (AI) processor which the company has also released in an enclosed form as the SRG-IMX8PL mini-PC. Both are designed for industrial AIoT/IoT applications. The SBC features various connectivity options including dual Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, 4G LTE, CAN-FD, Audio, LVDS, and support for popular protocols like Modbus, MQTT, and OPCUA.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Former Samsung execs arrested for allegedly using stolen memory tech to build chip factory in China — suspects leaked $3.2B worth of Samsung secrets

    A former Samsung executive set up a factory in China and used stolen Samsung memory technology to make competing chips.

  • Hackaday ☛ Mobile Coffee Table Uses Legs To Get Around

    For getting around on most surfaces, it’s hard to beat the utility of the wheel. Versatile, inexpensive, and able to be made from a wide array of materials has led to this being a cornerstone technology for the past ten thousand years or so. But with that much history it can seem a little bit played out. To change up the locomotion game, you might want to consider using robotic legs instead. That’s what [Giliam] designed into this mobile coffee table which uses custom linkages to move its legs and get itself from place to place around the living room.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ ‘Imminent Threat’ Found at Boar’s Head Plant 2 Years Before Listeria Outbreak

    U.S. inspectors listed serious problems in 2022 that could have resulted in strict measures like a pause in production. But the plant continued operating, and some conditions persisted.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan’s waning pachinko industry seeks new market by focusing on seniors

    Playing the vertical pinball machines can be good for preventing dementia, one expert said.

• The Straits Times ☛ Pachinko-style gambling is helping seniors’ brains in Japan

  Pachinko players in their 70s had higher cognitive abilities than their average non-playing age group.

• CS Monitor ☛ Put the screen away, Sweden says. Could new policy spell the end of iPad kids?

  Sweden’s public health agency recommended children under 2 should not use digital screens. Research finding poorer sleep, depression, and developmental delays among 1-year-olds spurred the advisory.

• Science Alert ☛ Cardiac Arrest And Heart Attacks Aren't The Same. Here's How to Tell Them Apart.

  They're not interchangeable.

• Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's And Heart Disease Share a Curious Fundamental Connection

  It's complicated.

• Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discovered An Amazing Practical Use For Our Leftover Coffee Grounds

  We shouldn't throw them out.

• Science Alert ☛ Lead Alzheimer's Risk For Under-65s Could Be Reduced With Good Curtains

  Over 65s could benefit too.

• Science Alert ☛ Amazing New Blood Cell 'Coats' Could Allow Cross-Species Transfusions

  This would save lives.

• Science Alert ☛ MSG Is Making a Kitchen Comeback. Here's What You Need to Know.

  Is it safe?

• Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's Drug Shows Promise For Treating Another Type of Dementia

  New hope for more families.

• New York Times ☛ White House and WADA in Bitter Fight Over Chinese Doping Cases

  World Anti-Doping Agency officials, furious at U.S. investigations into the handling of positive tests, have sought to exclude a Biden administration representative from its board meetings.

• RFA ☛ China’s big pitch to Malaysian tourists: Come visit halal-friendly places

  The Xinjiang region’s Islamic history is thought to have potential appeal, despite alleged treatment of Uyghurs.

• New York Times ☛ Orange County Leader Faces Scrutiny Over Charity’s Pandemic Spending

  Andrew Do, an Orange County supervisor, has been asked to resign after directing more than $13 million to a nonprofit run by his daughter and allies. The group was supposed to spend the money on meals for vulnerable residents.

Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• PC Mag ☛ Samsung Laying Off Thousands in Global Cuts Despite AI Chip Boom

  Samsung is starting to lay off staff globally, impacting up to 30% of employees in some divisions by the end of this year, according to three sources familiar with the scope of the layoffs, Reuters reports Wednesday.

• India Times ☛ Samsung plans global job cuts of up to 30% in some divisions

  The plan will be implemented by the end of this year and would impact jobs across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, one person said. Six other people familiar with the matter also confirmed Samsung's planned global headcount reduction.

• Dr. Disrespect's Former Studio Midnight Society Hit by Layoffs

  Midnight Society, the studio co-founded by disgraced YouTuber Dr. Disrespect, has announced "significant" layoffs in response to what it calls "multiple unexpected challenges in recent months".

Defence/Aggression

• New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: Rescuers Struggle to Reach Victims After Israel Targets Militants in Tent Camp

  Israeli forces said they struck at Hamas militants in an area crowded with civilians. The Gazan Health Ministry said at least 19 people were confirmed dead, and more were buried in the rubble.

• University of Michigan ☛ Ford School Center for Racial Justice hosts panel discussion on immigration policy

  The Ford School of Public Policy’s Center for Racial Justice hosted a panel discussion on the current landscape of United States immigration policy and its implications for the upcoming election Monday afternoon.

• Breach Media ☛ Student camps for Gaza faced negative bias in The Globe and Mail, study shows

  Protesters were frequently characterized as more ‘hateful’, ‘violent’ and ‘unsafe,’ while university administrations and police escaped similar criticisms

• RFA ☛ Kim Jong Un says North Korea to increase its arsenal of nuclear weapons

  Kim’s remarks came after the North unveiled a missile launcher capable of carrying bigger missiles.

• Defence Web ☛ Joint African peacekeeping exercise hosted at SA National War College

  Seven Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries were part of this year’s SA National War College (SANWC) annual combined joint African exercise with an eighth – Mozambique – an observer.

• New York Times ☛ These Venezuelan Election Observers Got Death Threats. Now They’re in Hiding.

  The New York Times spoke to several election volunteers for Venezuela’s opposition party who found that Edmundo Gonzáles defeated Nicolás Maduro in July. They fled the country after facing death threats from Maduro’s supporters.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US military warns Beijing against ‘dangerous’ South China Sea moves

  A senior US military official warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of self-ruled Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.

• New Yorker ☛ The War Crimes That the Military Buried

  The largest known database of possible American war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that the military-justice system rarely punishes perpetrators.

• JURIST ☛ HRW reports influx of foreign-made weapons in Sudan

  Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on Monday detailing the influx of foreign-made weapons to the warring parties in Sudan.

• ADF ☛ After 18 Months, Sudan’s Warring Generals Refuse Path to Peace

  More than 500 days after it began, Sudan’s bloody war between rival generals appears unlikely to end as both sides refuse to discuss peace and, instead, vow to continue fighting. “We will not put down our weapons as the rebellion continues.

• ADF ☛ Libya, U.S. Military Discuss Disaster Response, Cooperation

  Libyan military officials in August joined military officials from the United States for a three-day workshop in Malta aimed at enhancing cooperation. The officials shared experiences on mitigating crises and reducing harm to civilians during military operations.

• ADF ☛ Stakes High as Battle for North Darfur Capital Rages

  El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, remains in the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) after more than four months of assaults by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city has become strategically and symbolically important in the battle for control of Darfur.

• ADF ☛ Legal Advisors Hold Court in Zambia

  Whether serving in a complex multinational peacekeeping mission or rebuilding a military legal framework from the vestiges of outdated colonial and Cold War doctrines, military legal officers can benefit from their peers’ experiences.

• Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

  • RFERL ☛ Kazakh Fined Over YouTube 'Poll' Questioning Nuclear Plans

    A Kazakh activist has been fined for a YouTube clip questioning government plans for a nationwide referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant.

  • Meduza ☛ How one man cast four ballots in the St. Petersburg elections as part of the Kremlin’s carousel voting scheme — Meduza

Environment

• Energy/Transportation

  • Federal News Network ☛ The Defense Department explores how to make hydrogen fuel on the go

    "The unique solution that we've created combines atmospheric water generation where we suck the water from the humidity in the air," Lanson Jones said.

  • RFA ☛ Chinese buildings ban electric vehicles, citing safety concerns

    Local media have reported a slew of recent fires caused by spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles.

  • Science Alert ☛ Polaris Dawn Success: Civilian Astronauts Prepare For Record-Breaking Spacewalk

    "No room for error in our calculations."

Finance

• RFA ☛ Sluggish property revenues hit Hong Kong fiscal reserves

  Falling revenues are also hurting government agencies responsible for affordable housing and urban renewal.

• New York Times ☛ Inside the Funeral Home for New York’s Elite

  Everybody dies. But not everybody is embalmed at Frank E. Campbell, a discreet mortuary on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China issues lifetime football bans to 43 over gambling, match-fixing after 2-year probe

  Chinese football on Tuesday banned 43 people for life over alleged gambling and match-fixing, including three former China internationals and South Korean player Son Jun-ho, state news agency Xinhua said. Beijing has in recent years deepened a crackdown on corruption in Chinese sports, especially football, and jailed several top officials.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Marcy Wheeler ☛ Whatever Happens with the Debate, Kamala Harris’ Campaign Is Not Yet Half Done

  As you watch the torrent of news obsessing about the debate tonight, remember this stat:

  Trump's campaign is 92% done (665 of 721 days). Kamala Harris' campaign is not quite half done (48%, or 51 of 107 days).

  Lots can and likely will still happen in this race, but Trump is almost done and the Vice President is only halfway there.

• New York Times ☛ Firm Run by Brother of Top N.Y.C. Officials Is Focus of Bribery Inquiry

  Terence Banks opened a consulting firm and soon found work with companies that do business with the city agencies overseen by his older brothers.

• University of Michigan ☛ Foreign ambassadors discuss importance of current US-South Korea relations

  About 100 University of Michigan students and staff gathered in the Michigan League Monday evening to hear from current and former ambassadors on the importance of the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the United States.

• JURIST ☛ South Korea Truth Commission releases further findings on 1980s shelter abuses and forced adoptions

  The South Korean Truth Commission announced further findings this Monday on the human rights violations in the country’s adult homeless detention facilities, including the Seoul Metropolitan Rehabilitation Center in the 1980s.

• Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

  • University of Michigan ☛ See no evil: Regulate AI-generated images for Michigan

    Last month, former President Trump posted an image of pop star Taylor Swift holding a sign that says “Taylor Wants You To Vote for Donald Trump” on the social control media site Truth Social. Swift, who endorsed Biden in 2020, made no such statement; the photo was made by artificial intelligence.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Twice as many Brits got 2024 election news from TV as from social control media, Ofcom finds

    It also found women, working class and older people were more likely to switch off from news over the campaign.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• Press Gazette ☛ Paul Marshall pledges to fix ‘underinvestment’ in Spectator as sale goes through

  GB News investor acquires Spectator for £100m.

• Press Gazette ☛ Telegraph sale latest: Newspaper auction continues as Paul Marshall completes Spectator deal

  Lord Saatchi previously reported to have had Telegraph bid rejected.

• Press Gazette ☛ DPG Media investment in print technology helped it focus on digital

  Leading Dutch newspaper and magazine publisher invested in modular print/digital platform.

• Press Gazette ☛ BBC will ‘explore’ legal process to recoup pay from Huw Edwards if he refuses to return it

  Tim Davie admits it was "difficult getting the balance right" on what to do after Huw Edwards was arrested.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Citizen Lab ☛ Lex Gill at CBC Ideas at Crow’s Theatre: Making Justice Imaginable

  Lex Gill, a lawyer and fellow at the Citizen Lab, is scheduled to give a talk at the CBC Ideas event at Crow’s Theatre on September 15.