Leftovers

• Adam Young: Chord Analysis of All the Things You Are

  Eventually I want to be able to smoothly recall the chords at speed. However, when memorizing them, it helps to have a series of mnemonics, and to chunk them together. Just as you practice a song slow before you play it fast, you memorize the chords slow.

• Career/Education

  • JURIST ☛ Federal agencies target Duke for allegedly incorporating race in applications

    The US Departments of Education (DOE) and Health and Human Services (HHS) launched parallel civil rights investigations into Duke University on Monday, citing potential violations of key federal anti-discrimination statutes. The investigations center on allegations that Duke has used race-based criteria in student journal selection, medical admissions, hiring, and programming.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ DIN rail-compatible industrial relay board features 4 outputs, 4 analog/digital inputs, RS-485 interface

    The ESC3B04 is a compact DIN rail-compatible relay board built around the ESP32-C3 Super Mini module for building Wi-Fi remote switches, voltage monitoring systems, motor control, timed automation, and RS-485-based setups.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ My favourite GUI software, from the kitchen

    Oh hi, I didn’t see you there. I was just reading R.L. Dane’s thoughts about his favourite graphical software, and was such a spectacularly sublime software sojourn, I wished my own dear readers could also partake in a similar experience. I’ve thus collated an incomplete but otherwise enjoyable list of my own favourite graphical software, in the hopes that it’ll be as equally entertaining and enjoyable.

    Let’s begin, as all good things do, in the kitchen of my NEC APEX 486.

• Proprietary

  • The Strategist ☛ Bookshelf: How China became Apple’s Achilles’ heel

    When Patrick McGee decided to write Fashion Company Apple in China, he wanted to focus on the company’s weaknesses rather than its strengths. Reviewing the evidence, he soon realised that it all pointed to Apple’s China strategy.

  • SANS ☛ Apple Updates Everything: July 2025, (Tue, Jul 29th)

    Apple today released updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. This is a feature release, but it includes significant security updates. Fashion Company Apple patches a total of 89 different vulnerabilities. None of these vulnerabilities has been identified as exploited.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Press Gazette ☛ Google Hey Hi (AI) Mode goes live in the UK

      New search experience described as "lose-lose" for sources of trusted news.

    • Press Gazette ☛ AI Overviews cutting publisher clickthrough rates by 50%, new report finds

      New research on Hey Hi (AI) Overviews has been submitted as part of a legal complaint on its impacts.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ genAI bills coming due

      David Gerard shared a great post on the Orange Peanut Gallery from Anthropic, an “AI” company. They’re throwing weekly rate limits onto their code generator, and it has people concerned.

      They should be! Generative Hey Hi (AI) tech is exquisitely expensive to run. Only private investment, venture capital funding, and hubris is keeping the ship afloat, and only the latter is an infinite resource. Expect to see more announcements like this.

• Security

  • Scoop News Group ☛ CISA says it will release telecom security report sought by Sen. Wyden to lift hold on Plankey nomination

    The Oregon Democrat has vowed to place a hold on the nomination to lead the agency until CISA releases the report.

  • The Strategist ☛ Enough to drive a cybersecurity officer mad: one rule here, a different rule there

    In April, more than 50 chief information security officers called on G7 and OECD member states to address the growing divergence in cybersecurity regulatory requirements.

  • Security Week ☛ Apple Patches Safari Vulnerability Flagged as Exploited Against Chrome

    Tracked as CVE-2025-6558, the flaw was found in Chrome’s ANGLE and GPU components and was flagged as exploited by Surveillance Giant Google TAG.

  • Ravi Dwivedi: How to paste your password on your bank's website

    If your bank is like mine, its website doesn’t allow you to copy your password and paste it by performing a simple Ctrl+V. I tried the Don’t Fuck With Paste extension in Firefox, which could paste my bank account’s profile password but not the login password.

    Therefore, I asked on Mastodon a couple of days ago and got some responses. The solution that worked for me was to use Shift+Insert to paste the password. It worked for me in LibreWolf and Firefox, and that’s all I needed.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian watchdog raises alarm over human rights as spy agency defies court order

      The Intelligence Ombudsperson in Lithuania has raised concerns over human rights protections after the State Security Department (VSD) refused to hand over information requested as part of an ongoing investigation – despite a court order compelling it to do so.

    • University of Michigan ☛ UMich has no record of camera surveillance oversight meetings, despite policy requirement

      The University of Michigan has no records of the dates, agendas nor individuals who participated in meetings held by its campus surveillance oversight committee, despite a university policy requiring the committee to meet at least once annually.

    • LRT ☛ One of NATO’s most powerful surveillance aircraft spotted over Kaunas

      On Tuesday, one of NATO’s most powerful reconnaissance aircraft, the Boeing E-3A Sentry, was spotted flying over Kaunas.

  • Confidentiality

    • OpenRightsGroup ☛ Google Refuses to Deny UK Encryption Demands

      US Democrat Senator Ron Wyden has written to the Director of National Intelligence Tulso Gabbard asking for increased pressure on the UK over its attacks on encrypted services, as reported in the Washington Post.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Even New York’s Strict Gun Laws Couldn’t Prevent the Midtown Shooting

    New York City has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. But Monday’s mass shooting showed their limits, security experts said.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New York officer killed in Manhattan shooting remembered as hero in Bangladesh, US

    Didarul Islam, 36, was working on a paid security detail in the building when the shooting occurred.

  • JURIST ☛ UK threatens to recognize Palestinian statehood as Gaza famine spreads

    Amid worsening famine conditions in Gaza, the UK on Tuesday threatened to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire and to take immediate steps to allow unhindered aid shipments into the territory.

  • New York Times ☛ A Corner of ‘Fake Peace’ in Gaza, Torn Apart by an Israeli Strike

    The Israeli military said it killed at least three Hamas operatives at Al-Baqa Cafe. It also killed a journalist, an artist and two best friends reconciling after a fight.

  • JURIST ☛ Drone strikes on Iraqi oil fields threaten essential public services

    Drone strikes that have damaged oil fields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq potentially threaten public services that impact human rights including healthcare and education, according to a Tuesday release from Human Rights Watch. They also risk escalating an ongoing dispute between the regional and national government over oil revenues, the organization said.

  • France24 ☛ Four dead during protests against fuel price hikes in Angola

    In Angola, gunfire was reported again in Luanda on Tuesday, as the city faced a second day of looting. The unrest – sparked by a taxi drivers’ strike over fuel price hikes – has brought the city to a standstill, halting transport and forcing shops to close.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Germany ready to take responsibility for Europe's security – vice chancellor in Vilnius

      Germany is prepared to take responsibility for Europe's security and to develop a brigade in Lithuania, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said during a visit to Vilnius on Tuesday.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania holds inter-agency talks on drone threat response, as UAV search continues

      Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) convened an inter-institutional meeting on Tuesday to enhance cooperation and response to drone threats following a second alleged incursion from Belarus within a month on Monday.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania steps up drone defence as search continues for unidentified UAV from Belarus

      Lithuania has intensified its air defence measures and is continuing the search for an unidentified drone believed to have entered the country’s airspace from Belarus on Monday, amid growing concerns about threats from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian Armed Forces enter third day of drone search

      The Lithuanian Armed Forces entered a third consecutive day of searching for an unidentified drone believed to have crossed into the country from Belarus on Wednesday.

    • LRT ☛ From UK to Lithuania: Russia-linked networks recruit youth for sabotage in Europe – media

      Structures linked to Russia or its special services are increasingly recruiting young people abroad to carry out terrorist attacks and sabotage in Russia’s interests, often using these mercenaries “in the dark.” The scope of such sabotage over the past few years spans a wide geography, from London to the Baltic states.

    • JURIST ☛ UN experts call on Russia to end trafficking and forced labour exploitation of migrant women

      United Nations independent experts on Monday called on Russia to end long-standing trafficking and forced labor of migrant women, predominantly from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in the Golyanovo district of Moscow.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Strike on Prison Kills 16, Ukraine Says

      The attack, just hours after Hell Toupée gave the Kremlin a new deadline to work toward ending the war, was part of a wave across the country, the authorities said.

    • New York Times ☛ How Europe’s Leaders Coaxed Convicted Felon on Gaza and Ukraine

      A tactic of deference and praise, along with a studied attempt to avoid any public blowups, coaxed Hell Toupée into changes on key issues like Gaza and Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Admits Financial Penalties on Russia ‘May or May Not’ Work

      Hell Toupée’s threats have raised questions about how much leverage the United States has left with Moscow.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Ukraine strikes back at Russia — launches cyberattack on forces in Crimea as independent hackers target airline Aeroflot, grounding dozens of planes

      Ukraine's intelligence agency conducted a sustained distributed-denial of service attack on Russian forces in Crimea while independent hacking groups targeted the airline.

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Aeroflot Hacked

      Looks serious.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Sets 10-Day Deadline From 'Today' For Russia To End Ukraine War

      US President The Insurrectionist said a deadline for Russia to make progress toward ending its war against Ukraine is "10 days from today," or he will impose tariffs and other measures on Moscow.

    • LRT ☛ Sviatlana and Siarhei Tsikhanouskis join pro-Ukraine rally in Vilnius

      Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her husband, Siarhei, joined the 148th weekly rally in solidarity with Ukraine in Vilnius Cathedral Square on Monday, reaffirming that the three nations – Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians – are united by a common enemy.

    • France24 ☛ Deadly Russian air raids hit Ukraine as Convicted Felon warns of sanctions

      Russia launched overnight air strikes on over 70 Ukrainian cities, killing more than 20 people, according to President Zelensky. A pregnant woman died near a hospital in the southeast, while a prison strike killed at least 17. The attacks come despite The Insurrectionist’s renewed threat to impose sanctions and tariffs unless Russia ends the war—after shortening his previous 50-day deadline. Carys Garland reports.

    • France24 ☛ Russian strikes kill 27 across Ukraine

      Russian airstrikes killed 27 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, hitting a hospital and a prison shortly after US President The Insurrectionist said Russia would face new sanctions if it does not end its war on its neighbor in the next 10 to 12 days.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ US ambassador: China believes it is waging a proxy war through Russia

      US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker has attacked China for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused Beijing of waging a “proxy war” to distract the West, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Strikes Kill More Than 20 In Ukraine Hours After Convicted Felon Shortens Peace Deadline

      A fresh wave of Russian missile and drone strikes overnight left more than 20 people dead and scores wounded across Ukraine just hours after US President The Insurrectionist told Vladimir Putin he had 10-12 days to stop the attacks or face stiff sanctions and tariffs.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Missile Strike Hits Ukrainian Military Training Area, Killing 3 Soldiers

      Russian troops launched a missile strike on a Ukrainian military training unit, killing three and wounding at least 18, the Ukrainian military said on July 29.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The Russia pressure menu: Options to convince Putin to negotiate on Ukraine

      As the US president cuts his deadline for Russia to less than two week, there are several options for him to increase pressure on Moscow to pursue peace.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man offered Putin victory in Ukraine. Why did Putin refuse?

      Dihydroxyacetone Man thought he could get a peace deal in Ukraine by offering Putin generous terms that amounted to a Russian victory. But Putin rejected Convicted Felon's offer because he cannot accept anything less that Ukraine's complete capitulation, writes Peter Dickinson.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Shanghai grapples with twin threats of tropical cyclone, tsunami, relocates more than 280,000

    Forecasters expect Typhoon Co-May to make another landfall closer to Shanghai later on July 30.

  • The Straits Times ☛ In Japan, tsunami warning resurfaces memories of Fukushima disaster

    Residents across Japan's Pacific coast rushed to higher ground on Wednesday as tsunami warnings following a massive earthquake off Russia's Far East resurfaced painful memories and lessons from the devastating 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster.

  • New York Times ☛ Here’s the latest on the tsunami.

    The 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s coast led to warnings and advisories across a broad region. Officials in Hawaii told people to expect destructive waves.

  • France24 ☛ Massive earthquake off Russian coast sparks tsunami warnings across Pacific

  • France24 ☛ Japan’s Fukushima plant evacuates workers as Russian quake sparks tsunami warnings

    All the workers at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant have been evacuated and the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea was also halted as a massive Russian earthquake triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific, says FRANCE 24’s Gavin Blair reporting from Tokyo.

  • France24 ☛ Live: Huge earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula sparks Pacific tsunami warnings

    A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula triggered multiple tsunami warnings and evacuation orders across the Pacific on Wednesday. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for all the latest developments.

  • New York Times ☛ 8.8-Magnitude Earthquake Off Russia Could Be One of the Largest on Record

    It is the most powerful quake since the 2011 earthquake off the coast of Japan that triggered a 50-foot tsunami and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

  • New York Times ☛ Russia’s Far East Suffers Damage From Earthquake and Tsunami

    Regional authorities in Sakhalin Oblast declared an emergency after a tsunami hit the Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka region was watching for volcanic activity.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Powerful 8.8-magnitude quake in Russia’s far east causes tsunami; Japan, Hawaii order evacuations

    Several people were injured in the remote Russian Kamchatka region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard was ordered to evacuate.

  • RFERL ☛ Tsunami Waves Hit Pacific Coastlines After Massive Earthquake In Russia’s Far East

    A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East on July 30, sparking tsunami warnings and evacuations around the Pacific Ocean.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Apple Is Shutting a Store in China, Its First Closure in the Country

    The move speaks to slowing spending by consumers and Apple’s continuing struggles in China, its second-largest market.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ No extra budget disbursed to nat. security ‘special fund’ in 2024, Hong Kong gov’t says

    The Hong Kong government has said it did not allocate any extra budget to the national security “special fund” in 2024, after disbursing a total of HK$13 billion to the fund as of 2023.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong university student found guilty of insulting national anthem during World Cup qualifier

    A Hong Kong university student has been found guilty of insulting the national anthem during a World Cup qualifier football match between the city’s team and Iran in June last year.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Cyberattacks target email accounts of senior journalists

    Washington Post also suffered recent attack.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran Withdraws ‘Fake News’ Bill After Public Outcry

    The Iranian government has withdrawn a controversial legislation meant to counter fake news after critics charged that it would gut the already restricted freedom of expression in Iran.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Recognizing IXPs as critical infrastructure

    Guest Post: What happens when IXPs fail and why classifying them as critical infrastructure is a necessity.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Is This Our Future? Hey Hi (AI) Slop Song Drowns Out Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Don’t Tap the Glass’ Album Launch

    Tyler, the Creator’s ninth studio album, Don’t Tap the Glass, was set up for a massive summer impact. But the album release has been overshadowed by an Hey Hi (AI) song with the same name on TikTok./blockquote>

  • Digital Music News ☛ YouTube Music Joins TikTok’s ‘Add to Music App’ — Discovery Feature Has Driven ‘Well Over a Billion Track Saves,’ Platform Says

    Another day, another music-focused expansion from TikTok, which has confirmed YouTube Music’s “Add to Music App” integration. The ByteDance-owned video giant formally announced as much today, after rolling out Add to Music App in late 2023 and expanding the tool last year.