Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ US Startup Claims It Can Make Gold Using Fusion Technology

    Could alchemy be real?

  • Science Alert ☛ New Kind of Dental Floss Could Replace Vaccine Needles, Study Finds

    And keep your teeth clean too.

  • Science Alert ☛ Putting Makeup on Children Could Risk Their Health, Study Shows

    A wake-up call for parents.

  • Science Alert ☛ Stomach-Churning Theory Could Explain Mystery of Neanderthal Diet

    The secret ingredient.

  • Science Alert ☛ Markings on Strange Stonehenge Boulder May Not Be Natural After All

    An incredible feat of engineering.

  • Science Alert ☛ These 4 Distinct Patterns May Signal Alzheimer's According to Science

    A new hope for early diagnosis.

  • Science Alert ☛ One Weekend Habit May Cut Risk of Heart-Related Death by 33%, Study Finds

    It's how much exercise you do, not when you do it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Liver Cancer Predicted to Double by 2050, But There Is Hope

    It doesn't have to be this way.

  • JURIST ☛ US federal judge issues injunction halting Convicted Felon administration’s cancellation of NEH grants

    On Friday, a US federal judge in New York issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the government from mass-cancelling of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants, finding that President The Insurrectionist’s administration likely violated the First Amendment by rescinding NEH grants based on viewpoint discrimination.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Skateboard Wheels Add Capabilities To Plasma Cutter

    Although firmly entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist now, the skateboard wasn’t always a staple of popular culture. It had a pretty rocky start as surfers jankily attached roller skating hardware to wooden planks searching for wave-riding experiences on land. From those rough beginnings it still took decades of innovation until Rodney Mullen adapted the ollie for flatground skating before the sport really took off. Skateboard hardware is quite elegant now too; the way leaning turns the board due to the shape of the trucks is immediately intuitive for even the most beginner riders, and bearing technology is so high-quality and inexpensive now that skateboard hardware is a go-to parts bin grab for plenty of other projects like this plasma cutter modification.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ 'Food on table' outweighs health risks for Philippine e-waste dismantlers

    Work frequently involves burning away rubber wire casings, releasing a toxic brew of chemicals into the air.

  • Federal News Network ☛ ‘A never-ending nightmare.’ Federal workers detail mental health toll of government downsizing

    Federal employees say in a new survey that they are experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, anger outbursts and depression.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Tariffs on Medicines From Europe Stand to Cost Drugmakers Billions

    Many pharmaceutical products made in Europe will face a 15 percent tariff, pinching manufacturers and potentially leading to higher drug prices.

  • Federal News Network ☛ ‘A never-ending nightmare’: Federal workers detail mental health toll of government downsizing

    Federal employees say in a new survey that they are experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, anger outbursts and depression.

  • France24 ☛ 'To feed, not to poison': French chefs push back against pesticide law

    A backlash is brewing in France’s culinary world over the Duplomb law, which reauthorises a banned pesticide. Michelin-starred chefs, school canteen cooks, bistro owners and farmer-restaurateur collectives have spoken out, accusing lawmakers of endangering health, biodiversity and food quality.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia considering nationwide vape ban, says its health minister

    A committee from the Health Ministry will propose the ban to address the abuse of e-cigarettes.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Selangor gas pipeline fire in April not caused by excavation, says Malaysian minister

    The explosion was caused by underground soil movement and a later collapse that caused friction, he said.

  • Science Alert ☛ Study Reveals Key Way to Slow Chronic Illness in Old Age

    Makes a huge difference.

  • New York Times ☛ Healthy Lifestyle Can Help People at Risk for Dementia, Study Finds

    The study found that a combination of exercise, healthy diet and other behaviors led to cognitive benefits. How much intense guidance is required was unclear, experts said.

  • Hackaday ☛ Be More Axolotl: How Humans May One Day Regrow Limbs And Organs

    Although often glossed over, the human liver is a pretty amazing organ. Not just because it’s pretty much the sole thing that prevents our food from killing us, but also because it’s the only organ in our body that is capable of significant regeneration. This is a major boon in medicine, as you can remove most of a person’s liver and it’ll happily regrow back to its original volume. Obviously this is very convenient in the case of disease or when performing a liver transplant.

• Proprietary

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Microsoft’s software licensing playbook is a national security risk

    The tech giant’s model is built around anticompetitive practices, the head of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing argues.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Researchers flag flaw in Google’s Hey Hi (AI) coding assistant that allowed for ‘silent’ code exfiltration

      The findings are part of a growing list of instances where “agentic” Hey Hi (AI) software has taken actions that are more akin to a malicious hacker than a helpful Hey Hi (AI) assistant. 

    • Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 242: Sukesh Kamra on Law Firm Adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Technologies [Ed: Slop does not improve speed and in many cases it is illegal too, as they defraud clients and courts]

      The pressure to adopt new legal technologies, notably including AI, continues to increase as lawyers, law firms and their clients look for new efficiencies and tools to improve the practice of law.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ Woman caught live-streaming while drink-driving in South Korea

      It was reported that the suspect drank two bottles of soju alone until early morning.

    • Pro Publica ☛ Social Media Posts Are Leading to Criminal Charges Under Tennessee’s School Threats Law

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Security Week ☛ NASCAR Confirms Personal Information Stolen in Ransomware Attack

      NASCAR says names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information was stolen in an April 2025 ransomware attack.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ That Time Tom Lehrer Pranked the NSA

      Bluesky thread. Here’s the paper, from 1957. Note reference 3.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Sen. Hassan wants to hear from SpaceX about scammers abusing Starlink

      It’s time for SpaceX to take strong action against scammers abusing the company’s Starlink internet service, Sen. Maggie Hassan said in a letter to CEO MElon on Monday.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Pro Publica ☛ Court Overturns Pedro Hernandez’s Conviction in Etan Patz Case

  • The Strategist ☛ Taking stock of the WPS agenda

    Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is at a critical juncture, facing significant challenges to its relevance. Every major anniversary of the WPS agenda has renewed attention to the agenda in both research and policy circles.

  • European Commission ☛ Commission preliminarily finds Temu in breach of the Digital Services Act in relation to illegal products on its platform

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 28 Jul 2025 Today, the Commission preliminarily found Temu in breach of the obligation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to properly assess the risks of illegal products being disseminated on its marketplace.

  • France24 ☛ Rajab’s Ramp: A skateboarder’s call from a starving Gaza

    Disclaimer: This video contains images that may be distressing to some viewers.As starvation tightens its grip in Gaza, one man, Rajab Alreefi, is doing everything he can to bring moments of relief to children. An active skateboarder, father, and founder of the Gaza Skateboard Team, Rajab wants to raise awareness of the situation in Gaza through skateboarding. However, hunger is forcing him to stop.Our journalist Yu He spoke to Rajab -who managed to find a place with a solar-powered generator to access the internet- about his message to the world.

  • New York Times ☛ Shooting at Bangkok Market Leaves Several People Dead

    The gunman killed five people at Or Tor Kor market, which is popular with tourists, before dying by suicide, the authorities said.

  • France24 ☛ Multiple dead, including suspect, in shooting at New York office building

    A gunman killed at least five people, including an off-duty New York City police officer, in a shooting at a Manhattan office building on Monday, sources told AP. The suspect, Shane Tamura of Nevada, died by suicide, two sources said.

  • JURIST ☛ France court overturns arrest warrant against former Syria president Bashar Al-Assad

    The French Cour de Cassation, on Friday, annulled an arrest warrant against the former president of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, holding that sitting foreign leaders are immune from prosecution.

  • JURIST ☛ Israel detains 21 international activists following interception of Gaza-bound aid vessel

    The Israeli military on Sunday intercepted a civilian vessel, detaining 21 international activists and journalists who were aiming to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Truce between Cambodia and Thailand secured under Asean chair Malaysia, but can it hold?

    The deal reflects Asean's reliance on external pressure and proactive chairmanship, say observers.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Woman stabbed in carpark in South Korea, attacker caught by civilians

    The victim sustained severe injuries.

  • New York Times ☛ ​North Korea Rejects New South Korean Leader’s Peace Overtures

    In its first comment on President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea, North Korea dismissed a call for dialogue, dampening hopes of a new chapter in relations.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Furore in S. Korea after college art contest asks entrants to ‘depict pilot’s face before crash’

    The subject sparked uproar as it reminded many of the crash of a Jeju Air flight on Dec 29.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Migrant worker in South Korea tied to forklift for ‘giggling’, suspect says

    The migrant worker initially hesitated to report the abuse out of fear he wouldn’t be able to find another job.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean police under scrutiny over delayed response in fatal family shooting

    The Korean National Police Agency has launched an internal investigation into how officers handled the incident.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says Convicted Felon must accept new nuclear reality

    The personal relationship between Kim Jong Un and US Hell Toupée “is not bad”, said the Korean leader's sister.

  • The Strategist ☛ Mapping a decade’s worth of hybrid threats targeting South Korea

    While Australia is coming to terms with the realities of hybrid threats, South Korea has long been on the front line.

  • France24 ☛ Thai army accuses Cambodia of violating truce as clashes resume

    Thailand’s army accused Cambodia on Tuesday of violating a ceasefire agreed hours earlier, saying clashes continued despite a truce to end deadly border fighting. Both sides had pledged after Monday’s talks in Malaysia to halt hostilities at midnight over disputed ancient temples along their 800-km frontier.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cambodia, Thailand agree to ‘immediate and unconditional ceasefire’ to de-escalate border row

    Malaysia and other members of Asean are ready to help monitor the ceasefire.

  • Truce takes effect in Cambodia, Thailand border dispute

    The deal to end five days of fighting came at a meeting in Malaysia and amid pressure from U.S. Hell Toupée.

  • France24 ☛ Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire to end deadly border row

    Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “unconditional” ceasefire starting at midnight, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on July 28, a significant breakthrough to resolve five days of deadly border clashes that have killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands of people.

  • New York Times ☛ Thailand and Cambodia Agree to Halt Fighting That Has Killed Dozens

    U.S.-backed talks to end the border war, in which militaries have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands, began on Monday in Malaysia.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand, Cambodia begin truce talks as fighting drags on

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US officials are on the ground in Malaysia, where the talks are held.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, China to launch new talks on tariff truce extension, easing path for Convicted Felon-Xi meeting

    Analysts say the US-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China opposes Czech president’s visit to Dalai Lama

    The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959.

  • France24 ☛ Hamas must surrender control of Gaza and disarm, Palestinian PM says

    Hamas must disarm and give up control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority to restore security in the war-torn territory, Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa said at a conference on the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians at the United Nations in New York Monday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New TV show imagines China invasion, gives Taiwan viewers wake-up call

    Zero Day Attack, the 10-episode series, is set to premiere on Aug 2 in Taiwan.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ St. Petersburg bans most foreigners, including Uzbekistani and Tajikistani nationals, from working as taxi drivers and couriers — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Indonesia: Controversy erupts as ex-soldier fighting for Russia calls for help

      A former Indonesian marine, who reportedly lost his citizenship after joining the Russian army to fight in Ukraine, has posted a Fentanylware (TikTok) video appealing to his country for help returning home. His plea has sparked controversy across Indonesia.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Heavy Rain and Flooding in China Kill at Least 30

    More than 21 inches of rain fell on the mountainous district where most of the deaths occurred, China’s state broadcaster said on Tuesday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Intense rain lashes China, swelling waterways and rivers; landslide kills four

    The authorities warned of intensifying conditions and heightened disaster risks in the coming days.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thousands evacuated, businesses closed in southern Taiwan as torrential rain continues

    Flooding triggered by a depression has submerged streets and buildings in several towns.

  • France24 ☛ Flooding kills 30 in Beijing as heavy rains sweep across China

    Torrential rains in Beijing have killed 30 people and forced 80,000 to evacuate, state media reported Tuesday. Severe storms have battered northern China, including Hebei, Jilin, and Shandong provinces, causing widespread disruption. Authorities are mobilizing rescue efforts amid ongoing downpours.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ This was supposed to be the year China started catching up with SpaceX

      One reason for the slow pace is that the Chinese firms have not cleared a key engineering hurdle.

    • The Straits Times ☛ The hidden hurdles behind building South-east Asia's $129b supergrid

      Reliable green electricity is critical for a region that aims to succeed China as the factory of the world.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ CK Hutchison eyes inviting Chinese ‘major strategic investor’ to Panama ports deal

      By Holmes Chan Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said Monday it was eyeing inviting a Chinese “major strategic investor” to join a US-led consortium negotiating the sale of its global ports business outside China, including operations at the Panama Canal.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Octopuses Fall For The Classic Fake Arm Trick – Just Like We Do

      Gotcha.

  • Overpopulation

    • Pro Publica ☛ New Study Spotlights a Drying Planet, Driven by Disappearing Groundwater — What You Should Know

      The continents are rapidly drying out and the earth’s vast freshwater resources are under threat, according to a recently released study based on more than 20 years of NASA satellite data. Here are the report’s key findings and what they portend for humankind:

      The study, published in the journal Science Advances, examined changes to Earth’s total supply of fresh water and found that nearly 6 billion people live in the 101 countries facing a net decline in water supply, posing a “critical, emerging threat to humanity.”

    • The Straits Times ☛ China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate

      Parents will get subsidies to the tune of US$500 (S$640) per child under the age of three per year.

• Finance

  • New Yorker ☛ “No Tax on Tips” Is an Industry Plant

    Dihydroxyacetone Man’s “populist” policy is backed by the National Restaurant Association—probably because it won’t stop establishments from paying servers below the minimum wage.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea in push for US trade deal to offer package including shipbuilding tie-up

    SEOUL - South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday he would seek a mutually beneficial trade deal when he meets U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for talks this week, just days before an August 1 deadline expires to avoid punishing tariffs.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. and China Meet as Trade Truce Nears Expiration

    Top American and Chinese officials are meeting for two days of talks in Stockholm as the Convicted Felon administration tries to complete trade deals.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan’s Lai set to push back US stopover as US-China trade talks continue, sources say

    Mr Lai had considered stopping in New York and Dallas on the way to and from Latin America.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man eases China export restrictions to aid trade talks — White House seeking face-to-face with Pooh-tin Jinping as dissenters warn H20 reversal is a dangerous mis-step

    The U.S. administration has removed technology-based export restrictions to China in an effort to ease trade negotiations, prompting swift responses from industries announcing a resumption of sales and shipments.

  • NYPost ☛ Extension of US-China tariff pause ‘likely’ –  South Korea eager to get trade pact signed, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says

    “They're talking right now, but the decision-maker, of course, is Hell Toupée,” Lutnick said of the state of negotiations with China.

  • Federal News Network ☛ How the DOGE-driven reductions at the Social Security Administration are playing out now

    The DOGE-driven reductions at SSA "is threatening customer service for all the retirees, survivors and people with disabilities," Kathleen Romig said.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ The EU Trade Deal: Playing for Time

    The purported trade agreement between the EU and US doesn't address how much VOS Selections -- the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Convicted Felon's tariffs -- will have to pay to import wine from at least eight EU countries, over a hundred days after they challenged Convicted Felon's tariffs for being capricious.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Shaolin’s ‘C.E.O. Monk’ Accused of Embezzlement, Affairs With Women

    China’s famed Shaolin Temple said its celebrity abbot, Shi Yongxin, was under investigation over misuse of funds and “improper relations” with women.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Shaolin Temple head removed over embezzlement claims

    By Mary Yang The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for “extremely” bad behaviour, Beijing’s top Buddhist authority said Monday, after allegations of embezzlement saw him placed under investigation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Head of China’s Shaolin Temple to be removed over embezzlement claims

    Abbot Shi Yongxin was known as the "CEO monk" for establishing dozens of companies abroad.

  • The Straits Times ☛ High-level delegation of US executives to visit China this week: Sources

    The delegation will be led by FedEx chief executive Rajesh Subramaniam.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 3 democrats released after serving jail terms in Hong Kong’s largest nat. security trial

    Three Hong Kong pro-democracy figures have been released after serving four years and five months in prison – the latest democrats convicted in the city’s largest national security case to be freed.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong slams countries over ‘smears’ against bounties targeting overseas activists

    The Hong Kong government has said it “strongly opposed and disapproved of smears with distorted facts” after countries such as the US, Canada, and Australia criticised the city’s fresh bounties targeting overseas activists.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Freelance photographers near KL twin towers facing backlash for harassment

    Some individuals have turned walkways and even parts of the road into makeshift studios

  • Press Gazette ☛ ‘Anti-clickbait’ Facebook (Farcebook) page relaunches after Ladbible complaints led to takedown

    Ladbible opposed the "clear infringement of our intellectual property rights".

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Call for commemoration to Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who uncovered Holodomor famine

    Journalist Gareth Jones is known for uncovering the Holodomor famine in the 1930s.

  • Press Gazette ☛ News UK COO and ex-Sun editor David Dinsmore to take Govt comms job

    Dinsmore appointed "permanent secretary for communications".

  • Press Gazette ☛ Longstanding Church of England newspaper closes after death of owner

    Church of England Newspaper is halting print amid challenges in an increasingly digital age.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Tech newsbrand Digital Frontier ‘pauses’ publication with 16-strong team made redundant

    Digital Frontier aimed to provide "more nuanced and optimistic view" of tech intersection with business and culture.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man to Rupert: If You Show Me Yours, I Won’t Show You Mine

    The Insurrectionist says he needs to depose Rupert Murdoch in his lawsuit right away in case the WSJ owner kicks the bucket before this case actually gets around to discovery.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Digital Music News ☛ Former Anti-Flag Vocalist Ordered to Pay Rape Accuser $1.9 Million After Failing to Respond in Court

    Former Anti-Flag vocalist Justin Sane was ordered to pay his rape accuser $1.9 million after failing to respond to her allegations in court.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Great Power Competition: Federal Circuit Reinforces Commerce’s Anti-China Trade Arsenal

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Jilin v. US underscores how US courts are fortifying legal foundations for aggressive trade enforcement against China as part of the ongoing global power competition between the two great nations.  In a unanimous ruling reversing the Court of International Trade (CIT), the Federal Circuit validated Commerce's decades-old presumption that all Chinese exporters are government-controlled unless they can prove otherwise. See Jilin Forest Industry Jinqiao Flooring Group Co. v. United States, No. 2023-2245 (Fed. Cir. July 28, 2025).  Some presumptions are easy to overcome, but this burden that has proven nearly insurmountable in practice.

  • Unified Patents ☛ AutoConnect Holdings vehicle app management patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On July 24, 2025, less than two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 9,098,367, owned and asserted by AutoConnect Holdings LLC, an NPE.

  • JUVE ☛ Another win for Tulip in battle against Sunwoda over battery technology [Ed: A patent soon to expire]

    The patent-in-suit EP 2 378 595 B1 protects an electrode arrangement and complex separator arrangement in a battery. It remains valid until December 2029. The panel at Munich Regional Court under presiding judge Oliver Schön has found the patent monopoly to be infringed (case ID: 7 O 9068/24) and granted claimant Tulip an injunction.

  • KOL469 | Haman Nature Hn 149: Tabarrok on Patents, Price Controls, and Drug Reimportation

    Tabarrok seems to be generally pro-free market and an Austrian or fellow traveler. However, although he sometimes criticizes existing IP law, he is not opposed to intellectual property (IP), unlike all the cool Austro-libertarians.

  • Pro Publica ☛ FDA Cracks Down on Indian Factory That Made a Drug Linked to U.S. Deaths

    The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a generic drugmaker that was the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year, citing problems with safety tests that delayed the recall of a medicine linked to deaths in the U.S.

    In December, ProPublica reported that a Glenmark Pharmaceuticals factory in central India was responsible for an outsized share of recalls for pills that didn’t dissolve properly and could harm American patients. Among the string of recalls, federal regulators had determined that more than 50 million potassium chloride extended-release capsules sold in the U.S. could be deadly. Yet, federal drug inspectors at that point hadn’t set foot in the Madhya Pradesh factory for more than four years, ProPublica found.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Is TENNISOS Merely Descriptive of Robotic Systems Software Platforms?

    The USPTO refused to register the proposed mark TENNISOS for Computer software platforms for presentation of data and communicating with robotic systems, deeming the mark merely descriptive under Section 2(e)(1). Applicant Tennibot argued that, since “[t]he language of tennis and the language of computers have not traditionally been associated,” the combined term TENNISOS creates an "incongruity" that requires some thought and imagination to "understand the nature" of Applicant’s goods. How do you think this came out? In re Tennibot Inc., Serial No. 98243344 (July 25, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas L. Casagrande).

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ TikTok and iHeartRadio Present ‘Next Up: Live Music’ Singing Competition [Ed: Exporting Western culture to CPP is a really dumb thing to do]

    TikTok and iHeartRadio are launching a singing competition, from now through September, to discover emerging talent on the short-form video app. In partnership with iHeartRadio, Fentanylware (TikTok) is launching Next Up: Live Music, a new singing competition kicking off today (July 28) through September.