Leftovers

• University of Michigan ☛ Cities fall apart

  For years, there’s been a game I’ve liked to play with myself: What would I do if the apocalypse were to strike right now? It’s a great game for literally any situation or time of day.

• Standards/Consortia

  • [Old] Jason W Comeau ☛ A Friendly Introduction to SVG

    But SVGs are also pretty intimidating. The rabbit hole goes deep, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

    So, in this blog post, I want to share the most important fundamentals, to provide a solid foundation you can build on. I’ll show you why SVGs are so cool, and share a few tricks you can start using right away. ✨

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth Spun Faster Today. Here's How We Know.

    Wheeee!

  • Science Alert ☛ DNA Casts Doubt Over Theory on What Killed Napoleon's Forces

    Of lice and men.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Blood of Exceptionally Long-Lived People Suggests Key Differences

    The largest study of its kind.

  • Science Alert ☛ Switching Off For a Moment Lets Your Brain Do Something Wonderful

    Neuroscience says it's ok.

  • Science Alert ☛ Experiment Recreates The Universe's Very First Chemical Reactions

    This is how it all began.

  • Science Alert ☛ Dark Mirror of Our Own Universe Could Explain Quirks in Gravity

    We all have a dark side.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Hot Blob' Heading For New York Following Ancient Greenland Rift

    There's still time.

  • Science Alert ☛ Short, Brisk Walks Could Help You Live Longer Than Long, Slow Strolls

    Pick up the pace.

  • Science Alert ☛ 5 Things You Ought to Know Before Buying Supplements

    Are they worth it?

• Career/Education

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to offer free pre-school education from autumn

    Funding for the new measure would be shared between the central and local authorities.

  • Stanford University ☛ University Board chair Lily Sarafan faces lawsuit

    Dallas real estate executive Jared Caplan is suing Sarafan for alleged fraud, seeking monetary relief of over $1 million.

  • JURIST ☛ Report reveals Chinese influence on UK schools and students

    A new study released by a UK-based charitable organization on Monday revealed the pressures and threats faced by academics and students engaged in Chinese-related studies at British universities.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 One Hertz Challenge: Shoulda Put A Ring Oscillator On It

    Entries keep ticking in for the One Hertz Challenge, some more practical than others. [Pierre-Loup M.]’s One Hertz Sculpture  has no pretensions of being anything but pretty, but we can absolutely respect the artistic impulse behind it.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ TSMC employees arrested, could face up to 12 years in jail, $3 million fine over alleged attempt to leak 2nm chip details — first case under Taiwan's amended National Security Act cites 'serious suspicions of violating national security laws'

    Two employees of major semiconductor manufacturer and design company TSMC have been arrested over claims they stole proprietary technology.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ 14 ex-Huawei employees handed down prison sentences in China — accused face up to six years for taking 'chip-related business secrets' with them to form startup Zunpai

    China’s courts take tech secret pilfering seriously, if one of its homegrown companies appears to be the victim.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ AMD’s earnings fall short from China chip ban despite good traction in AI

    Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s stock headed lower in extended trading today after it delivered mixed financial results, with earnings coming up short of Wall Street’s targets.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • France24 ☛ Plastic pollution inextricably linked with numerous 'public health crises'

    Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza welcomes Dr. Bethanie Carney Almroth, Researcher and Professor of Ecotoxicology at University of Gothenburg.

  • Opinion | Only bipartisan investments can lead to a healthier Michigan

    Lansing need not follow the partisanship of Washington, DC; rather it should be the poster child for bipartisanship.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Where did your shrimp dinner really come from? This reporter surfaces hard details.

    From shrimp to squid, seafood’s journey from ocean to table is often fraught with labor and environmental abuses. Journalist Ian Urbina's work is shedding light on a largely unpoliced realm.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Have Brewed a 'Super Alcohol' Theorized to Exist in Deep Space

    Like interstellar mixologists.

  • Latvia ☛ Possible salmonella outbreak at kindergarten in Valmiera, Latvia

    The Disease Prevention and Control Centre (SPKC) has started and is currently continuing an epidemiological investigation into an outbreak of presumptive salmonellosis in a kindergarten in Valmiera from 28 July, the SPKC confirmed to LETA.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China allocates funds to support agriculture recovery in flood and drought-hit areas

    Funds were allocated to replant crops, drain farmland and repair flood-stricken infrastructure.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Lollapalooza 2025 Draws Massive Crowd of 115,000 Daily, Matching Pre-Pandemic Attendance Levels

    Lollapalooza’s 2025 edition drew crowds to Chicago’s Grant Park that matched the festival’s pre-pandemic records. Local estimates from organizers state that about 115,000 people attended each of the four days. Cleanup for the massive festival started early Monday morning, with workers clearing trash and beginning restoration efforts in Grant Park.

  • New York Times ☛ China Wages War on Chikungunya Virus With Drones and ‘Elephant Mosquitoes’

    In a citywide campaign to curb a mosquito-borne virus, residents of Foshan face inspections and warnings for failure to comply.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s mosquito crackdown tests a city’s post-Covid-19 patience

    The authorities’ way of combating the recent chikungunya outbreak is evoking unhappy memories for some.

  • New York Times ☛ Kennedy Cancels Nearly $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Contracts

    The vaccines, first used for Covid-19, can be developed quickly and altered as a virus changes. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been critical of the technology.

  • NYPost ☛ Christina Applegate hospitalized for painful infection as she continues MS battle

    "I sometimes fall into the nurse's arms like a freako, just like crying," she said about her traumatic hospital stay.

  • BIA Net ☛ Only 14,000 registered agricultural workers remain in Turkey, MP warns

    Farmers struggle to pay social security premiums for themselves, let alone for their workers.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Monsoon peaks in south China, unleashing landslides and a surge in virus cases

    Meteorologists link the shifting pattern to climate change.

• Proprietary

  • Pen Test Partners ☛ How to transfer files in proprietary trap AWS using SSM

    TL;DR The Problem You’ve done a build review on a host and need to get files from a host, or need to access an application, for example, a Nessus instance running internally.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Security Week ☛ Vibe Coding: When Everyone’s a Developer, Who Secures the Code?

      As Hey Hi (AI) makes software development accessible to all, security teams face a new challenge: protecting applications built by non-developers at unprecedented speed and scale.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Supermicro’s earnings, revenue and guidance all fall short, and its stock craters

      Artificial intelligence server maker Super Micro Computer Inc. posted a declining profit today as it missed expectations on both earnings and revenue, sending its stock south in extended trading. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of 41 cents per share, trailing Wall Street’s estimate of 45 cents.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australia regulator says YouTube, others ‘turning a blind eye’ to child abuse material

      The watchdog said YouTube in particular had been unresponsive to its enquiries.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Snap posts wider quarterly loss as revenue and user monetization miss targets

      Shares in Snap Inc. plunged more than 16% in late trading today after the company missed on earnings, revenue and global average revenue per user in its fiscal second quarter.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Ravi Dwivedi: Tricked by a website while applying for Vietnam visa

      In December 2024, Badri and I went to Vietnam. In this post, I’ll document our experiences with the visa process of Vietnam. Vietnam requires an e-visa to enter the country. The official online portal for the e-visa application is evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/. However, I submitted my visa application on the website vietnamvisa.govt.vn. It was only after submitting my application and making the payment that I realized that it’s not the official e-visa website. The realization came from the tagline mentioned in the top left corner of the website - the best way to obtain a Vietnam visa.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Surveilling Your Children with AirTags

      Skechers is making a line of kid’s shoes with a hidden compartment for an AirTag.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ Twelve-day war: Impact of Iran’s strikes censored by Israel

    A month after the end of the conflict between Iran and Israel, the damage caused by the Islamic republic remains unclear largely because of Israeli censorship. Images analysed by the FRANCE 24 Observers team show that Iran caused extensive damage and hit at least eight strategic and military targets.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Iranian hackers were more coordinated, aligned during Israel conflict than it seemed

    SecurityScorecard and the Middle East Institute said in separate reports this week that Iranian hacker operations during the 12-day conflict exhibited clear strategic intent.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Did the Israel-Iran war expose China’s Middle East policy?

    The region’s importance in Beijing’s foreign policy is limited and, thus, not much energy and resources are invested in long-term planning.

  • Defence Web ☛ Mali receives CS/VP14 armoured vehicles from China

    The Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) have taken delivery of a batch of CS/VP14 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from China’s Norinco, with more apparently on the way. Images shared on social control media showed at least half a dozen of the vehicles being offloaded from a ship at the port of Conakry in Guinea on 30 July.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Bangladesh grapples with fraught politics a year after former PM Hasina fled

    However, analysts say freedom of expression has expanded since Ms Hasina’s exit.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania’s military intelligence chief agrees to quit, ministry drops abuse probe

    Elegijus Paulavičius, Lithuania’s military intelligence chief who was suspended last June, is leaving military service by mutual agreement with the defence leadership, and the official inquiry into his treatment of subordinates is being terminated, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Far-right German lawmaker’s ex-aide on trial for spying for China

    Two suspected spies for China, including a former assistant to far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Maximilian Krah, went on trial in the eastern city of Dresden on Tuesday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia to buy 11 advanced warships from Japan

    Australia is bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian Foreign Minister Wong says foreign interference not tolerated after Chinese woman arrested

    Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that Australia would not tolerate surveillance of its community by foreign governments, after a Chinese woman was charged with foreign interference and denied bail by a court.

  • The Strategist ☛ Nuclear weapons hang in a complex balance

    On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, there is renewed focus on nuclear weapons in international security.

  • The Strategist ☛ Friends to all: Solomon Islands juggles security partners in search of maximum support

    Somewhere in Solomon Islands lies a security agreement with China that has never been made public, despite assurances from the government of greater transparency.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese government has ‘final say’ in Dalai Lama reincarnation, CPC’s Tibet official says

    China has been wanting to bring Tibetan Buddhism under its control.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson rejects China’s ‘bullying’ of Taiwan, urges West to deepen Taipei ties

    His trip comes at a time when Britain and China are seeking to further stabilise ties.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s transactional foreign policy fuels ‘US scepticism’ in Taiwan

    There are concerns that Taiwan is being used as a bargaining chip in US trade talks with China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, India shore up ties amid China tensions, US tariff risks

    President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s visit signals Manila’s pivot to middle-power allies.

  • New Yorker ☛ How to Prevent More Starvation Deaths in Gaza

    As Israel refuses to let in sufficient humanitarian aid, a leading expert on famine explains why even “flooding the zone” with food won’t be enough.

  • Meduza ☛ Kadyrov’s son to supervise Gaza aid collections in Chechnya — Meduza

  • New York Times ☛ UN Security Council Meets to Discuss Israel-Gaza War and Hostages

    The Israeli government said it had allowed some private businesses to resume importing goods into Gaza, which has been gripped by severe hunger.

  • ADF ☛ 2 Years After Niger Coup, Terrorism Surges

    It has been two years since Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president and pledged to restore security to the country. However, the latest data shows Tiani has made little progress against a rising tide of terrorist violence.

  • France24 ☛ Hiroshima marks 80 years since atomic bombing amid escalating nuclear tensions

    Against the backdrop of rising Russia-US tensions, Japan held a ceremony on Wednesday morning commemorating 80 years since the United States' atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Speakers warned the representatives of 120 countries and regions in attendance that escalating threats of nuclear warfare "blatantly disregard" the horrifying legacy of the 1945 attacks that killed over 240,000 people.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Hiroshima marks 80 years as US-Russia nuclear tensions rise

    The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime.

  • New York Times ☛ Photos: What Atomic Bombs Did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    What the world’s only atomic bombings, carried out by Americans, did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  • New York Times ☛ Rwanda Agrees to Accept 250 Migrants as Part of Convicted Felon Deportation Plan

    The African nation is the latest country to strike a deal to take in deportees from the United States.

  • New York Times ☛ Stella Rimington, First Woman to Lead U.K.’s MI5, Dies at 90

    Widely regarded as the inspiration for the recast of the James Bond character “M,” she was the first British spy chief to be publicly named and photographed.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Press Gazette ☛ Dubious UK local news websites, Russian links and cash for coverage

      London-based local news websites provide extensive coverage of obscure Russian business figures.

    • France24 ☛ Lithuania urges NATO to boost air defences after Russian drone incident

      Lithuania has called on NATO for urgent support to strengthen its air defences after discovering a Russian drone carrying explosives had violated its airspace last week. The drone, found in a military training area near Vilnius, was successfully neutralised, prompting concerns over escalating threats in the region.

    • New York Times ☛ Officials Move to Open Inquiry on Convicted Felon’s ‘Russia Hoax’ Grievance

      Such an investigation would have to overcome a number of legal and practical hurdles, but an order by Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for a grand jury inquiry in Florida accomplishes political objectives.

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Russia’s Useful Idiom, John Ratcliffe: Lost in Two Translations

      The July 26 SVR email that discusses framing Hillary Clinton is almost certainly the first of the emails about a plan cited in John Durham's classified annex. And John Ratcliffe may not know this, but there are at least two translations.

    • The Straits Times ☛ India accuses EU and US of double standard over Russian trade

      India's criticism followed a renewed threat by US President The Insurrectionist on Aug 4 to raise tariffs.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s sharp India criticism on tariffs, Russia oil corner Modi as rift deepens

      Strain in US-India ties a challenge for Indian PM, who faces domestic pressure.

    • NYPost ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man envoy Witkoff urged to take tough approach with Putin in make-or-break meeting to end Ukraine war before sanctions

      The Forrest Dump administration is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin one more chance to show he's serious about ending his 41-month-old invasion of Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ US Envoy Heads To Moscow As White House Deadline Looms For Cease-Fire Progress

      US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet senior officials in Moscow on August 6 as rumors swirl over what message he will deliver just two days before a deadline from the White House for Russia to make progress on a cease-fire with Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Medvedev vs Convicted Felon: Russian ex-president becomes Putin's provocateur-in-chief

      Dmitri Medvedev, the former Russian president who is today best known as a Kremlin provocateur on social control media, managed to goad US President The Insurrectionist into redeploying two US nuclear submarines on Friday. Once the face of Russian openness to the West, Medvedev now promotes an ultra-nationalist agenda to his millions of online followers.

    • Meduza ☛ U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Moscow two days before Trump’s ceasefire deadline — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Explosive device found in drone from Belarus that crashed in Lithuania

      An unmanned aerial vehicle that entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus and crashed at a military training ground last week was carrying an explosive device, officials said Tuesday.

    • Meduza ☛ India defends Russian oil imports and calls out Western trade with Moscow — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Under new anti-spam law, Russian mobile carriers also blocking bank alerts and verification codes — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Former Russian Navy radio engineering chief imprisoned for bribery — Meduza

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Poland’s new president could become a major European ally for Convicted Felon

      Conservative Karol Nawrocki, who takes over as Poland's president on August 6, may help convince the US president of the danger posed by Russia.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘A justified perception of Russian interests’: Unearthed German memo reveals Putin laid claim to parts of Ukraine and Kazakhstan back in 1994 — Meduza

    • ADF ☛ Amid Protests, CAR Questions Reliance on Russian Mercenaries

      Recent protests in the Central African Republic (CAR) could have the government reconsidering its relationship with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Digital democracy is the key to staging wartime elections in Ukraine

      With no end in sight to Russia's invasion, Ukraine cannot afford to postpone all elections indefinitely. With this in mind, it is time to start the process of digitalizing Ukraine’s democracy, writes Brian Mefford.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms are more vital than ever during wartime

      The recent wave of nationwide protests in defense of the country’s anti-corruption reforms served as a timely reminder that Ukraine’s democratic instincts remain strong, even amid the horrors of Russia’s invasion and the escalating bombardment of Ukrainian cities, writes Olena Halushka.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine: Several Dead in Strikes on Northeast Region and Railway Infrastructures

      At least three people were killed and twelve others injured in Russian strikes overnight targeting the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.

      Among the damaged targets were key railway infrastructures, including Lozova station, where a train driver was killed and four railway workers were wounded, according to the national rail company Ukrzaliznytsia.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man threatens 'substantial' tariff hike on India over Russian oil deal

      US President The Insurrectionist has announced plans to sharply increase tariffs on Indian imports, citing India's continued purchases of Russian oil as a key concern. In a televised interview, Convicted Felon criticised India's trade practices and warned that supporting Russia's energy sector fuels its war in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ 2 Dead In Russian Missile Strike Targeting Key Ukrainian Railway Hub

      Russian military strikes early on August 5 severely damaged critical infrastructure in the city of Lozova, Kharkiv region, killing two people and injuring at least 10 others, including two children.

    • Meduza ☛ Lines of defense The Ukrainian military has a powerful new tool against Russian drone attacks: fishing nets — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Off the rails Ukrainian drones are increasingly targeting Russia’s rail network, delaying hundreds of trains — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ISIS and a ‘Ukrainian connection’ Inside Russia’s closed-door trial over the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Police watch idly as pro-Kremlin activists disrupt annual memorial service for Stalinist terror victims — Meduza

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • New York Times ☛ House Committee Issued a Subpoena for the Epstein Files

    Also, Tennessee executed a prisoner despite ethical health concerns. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Torrential Rain Batters Hong Kong, Flooding the Waterlogged City

    Record-setting rain has brought chaos to parts of Hong Kong, with submerged streets, stranded buses and landslides. Residents were advised to avoid going out.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • New York Times ☛ Jeju Air Plane Crash Highlights Decades of Blunders and Deadly Runway Wall

      The New York Times identified a series of missteps that made a Jeju Air flight’s catastrophic end much more deadly.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand’s foreign tourist numbers fall 6% as regional competition intensifies

      China has reclaimed its position as Thailand’s largest source of tourists, narrowly edging out Malaysia.

    • ADF ☛ Ghana Crackdown on Illegal Gold Mining Puts Focus on China

      Ghanaian authorities are promising to punish Chinese nationals involved in illegal gold mining as the government tries to reduce the environmental and societal damage being caused by the small-scale mining known as galamsey.

    • Holland ‘community carbon fund’ promises hyper-local carbon reduction

      Recent investigations into carbon offset programs have revealed inflated carbon reduction promises and unsustainable growing practices. Two west Michigan groups are giving residents an alternative.

    • Hackaday ☛ Student Drone Flies, Submerges

      Admit it. You’d get through boring classes in school by daydreaming of cool things you’d like to build. If you were like us, some of them were practical, but some of them were flights of fancy. Did you ever think of an airplane that could dive under the water? We did. So did some students at Aalborg University. The difference is they built theirs. Watch it do its thing in the video below.

    • Meduza ☛ Southern Kamchatka shifted nearly two meters (almost 7 feet) in July 30 quake — Meduza

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ New York City Carriage Horse Collapses and Dies on Manhattan Street

      The death of the 15-year-old mare named Lady was being investigated by the city’s health department, officials said.

• Finance

  • CS Monitor ☛ Where a women’s tax is canceled, and businesswomen’s decisions valued

    Progress roundup: Malta brings free period products to schools, a study in Kenya and Senegal finds women’s decision-making superior to men’s, and more.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia probing video of influencers giving chicken bones as alms to homeless man

    The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission warned against disseminating content that insults human dignity.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Maine Renters Can Appear Evicted Despite Fulfilling Repayment Deals

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Threatens Federal Takeover of D.C. After Member of DOGE Assaulted

    Hell Toupée shared a photograph that appeared to show a 19-year-old software engineer shirtless and bloodied, after an attempted carjacking.

  • New York Times ☛ Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan Townhouse: Birthday Letters, First Edition ‘Lolita’ and More

    In his seven-story townhouse, the sex offender hosted the elite, displayed photos with presidents and showcased a first edition of “Lolita,” according to previously unreported photos and letters.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Latvia ☛ Fake stories and fraud are flourishing on fact-check-free Latvian Facebook

      Fake ads posing as news stories that deceive users by imitating Latvian media outlets continue to spread on the Facebook (Farcebook) platform.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 61

    There were more arrests and charges under Hong Kong’s national security laws in July. Four people linked to a Taiwan-based group were arrested for allegedly conspiring to subversion, while in a separate case, a waiter was charged with inciting subversion.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • ACLU ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man's Attacks on Press Freedom Escalate: NPR, PBS Funding Cuts Explained

    President The Insurrectionist lobbed a series of attacks aimed at dismantling the free press earlier this year. These attacks include a $1.1 billion cut in public broadcasting funds to NPR and PBS stations, as well as a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.

    Earlier this month, the ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in NPR v. Convicted Felon — a case that challenges the Convicted Felon administration’s executive order banning the use of congressionally-appropriated funds for NPR and PBS stations. The order, which accused the media outlets of failing to create “fair, accurate, or unbiased” reporting, clearly violates the First Amendment. Government officials should not be able to withhold taxpayer dollars, designated by Congress to promote private speech, from news outlets whose coverage they disapprove. Defunding NPR and PBS stations threatens to leave communities across the U.S. with limited access to local news and educational content, especially in rural areas.

    The federal government’s blatant attack on the media is unprecedented in recent history, but not unexpected from a president who has exhibited hostility toward the press for almost a decade. From banning The Associated Press from the White House press pool to suing media companies over their reporting, Convicted Felon’s personal and official track record with the media has proven that his administration is willing to dismantle our free press and violate the Constitution.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Rare protest in China over schoolgirl beaten by teens

    The case drew outrage online from some, lamenting the perpetrators' punishment was too light.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former CNOOC senior executive sentenced to 14 years in prison over corruption, China state media CCTV

    Former deputy Party secretary and general manager of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Li Yong, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption, state media CCTV reported on Tuesday.

  • Pro Publica ☛ The Trump Administration Is Pushing Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally

    It was meant to be a routine discussion on pollution. One by one, delegates at the United Nations expressed support for a new panel of scientists who would advise countries on how to address chemicals and toxic waste.

    But the U.S. delegate took the meeting in a new direction. She spent her allotted three minutes reminding the world that the United States now had a “national position” on a single word in the documents establishing the panel: gender.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Daniel Miessler ☛ Why Platforms Like Substack Won't Make Sense for Much Longer

    I think the future of Substack is self-hosting.

    Or—more directly—I don't think they have much of a future.

    I'm sure you've heard about their struggles—the $585M valuation after failing to raise a Series C in 2022, the 14% staff layoffs, the major creator exodus in early 2024 over content moderation failures, and the fact that prominent writers like Casey Newton's Platformer jumped ship to competitors.

    Substack is showing all the classic warning signs. But I care more about the fact that people had to go to Substack in the first place, and that they're now unhappy. To me it's part of a larger truth about the platforms in general.

  • APNIC ☛ SIEVE — a better algorithm than LRU?

    Guest Post: Introducing SIEVE — a simpler algorithm than LRU that delivers better efficiency and scalability for web cache workloads.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: IETF 123

    Geoff Huston presented at IETF 123, held in Madrid, Spain from 19 to 25 July 2025.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Opposes FCC Vote To Undermine Progress on Closing Digital Divide

    Today, the Federal Communications Commission voted to adopt a Notice of Inquiry ahead of the August Open Meeting to initiate an annual assessment to determine if high-speed broadband is being made available to all Americans in a timely and reasonable fashion.

  • APNIC ☛ Serving Indigenous communities with high-speed Internet through monsoons and desert

    Guest Post: Connecting remote Indigenous communities through desert and monsoonal rains required adaptations and improvements to battery-and-solar-powered Internet infrastructure.

  • Hackaday ☛ Why Names Break Systems

    Web systems are designed to be simple and reliable. Designing for the everyday person is the goal, but if you don’t consider the odd man out, they may encounter some problems. This is the everyday life for some people with names that often have unconsidered features, such as apostrophes or spaces. This is the life of [Luke O’Sullivan], who even had to fly under a different name than his legal one.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Digital Music News ☛ Amazon Cuts Wondery Staff Following $300M Acquisition, Rolls Podcasts into Audible

  Amazon is set to combine its Wondery podcast network with Audible in a new restructure that will also see 110 Wondery staff laid off. The move signals a significant shift in Amazon’s podcast strategy—with podcasts rolled into its Audible offering. Amazon’s acquisition of the Wondery podcast network in late 2020 was a landmark deal.

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Paris court invalidates crucial claim of Bayer’s sorafenib patent

    For years, Bayer has fought a fierce pan-European battle over its cancer drug Nexavar. The dispute concerns Bayer’s patent monopoly EP 2 305 255, which expired in December 2022. The patent monopoly protects the compound of a tosylate (a type of salt) of the active ingredient sorafenib.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Exception Meets Exception: The Federal Circuit’s Collateral Estoppel Morass

    The Federal Circuit has denied en banc rehearing in Kroy IP Holdings, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., leaving in place a February 2025 panel decision that significantly limits the collateral estoppel effect of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) unpatentability determinations. The denial includes contrasting from Chief Judge Moore and Judge Dyk.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Red-Lining Revelations: Edits between Patent Families Continue to be Highly Relevant to Claim Construction

    The Federal Circuit recently expanded its doctrine associated with specification changes in family member patent monopoly applications -- using minor changes in the specification justify differing claim construction across a patent monopoly family.  FMC Corporation v. Sharda USA, LLC, No. 24-2335 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 1, 2025).  This is helpful for careful patent monopoly attorneys, but also requires care when drafting non-provisional applications claiming priority back to a provisional. 

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ DANKEES Confusable with YANKEES for Clothing, Says TTAB

    The Bronx Bombers stumbled out of the batter's box but still managed to win this opposition to registration of the mark DANKEES for "Beanies; T-shirts; Hats; Hoodies; Socks; Sweatpants; Sweatshirts." The Yankees failed to get their pleaded registrations into evidence, but common law rights in the mark YANKEES saved the day. New York Yankees Partnership v. Matthew Kirschbaum, Opposition No. 91284783 (August 1, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cheryl S. Goodman).

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Shira Perlmutter Seeks Emergency Injunction Pending Appeal, Says Library of Congress Staff ‘Continue to Recognize’ Her As Register

    Right on cue, fired Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter has filed for an emergency injunction pending appeal that would, among other things, enable her to resume leading the Copyright Office. Perlmutter and her legal team submitted the corresponding motion yesterday, after a federal judge closed out July by rejecting the sought injunction.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Sony Music Sues Napster for $9.2 Million in Allegedly Overdue Royalty Payments — Company Says It’s ‘Committed to Rebuilding’ Major Label Relationships

    Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is suing Napster parent Infinite Reality (which rebranded as Napster Corp. in May) for allegedly failing to cough up north of $9 million in due licensing payments.