Jim Nielsen ☛ Writing: Blog Posts and Songs

I was listening to a podcast interview with the Jackson Browne (American singer/songwriter, political activist, and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) and the interviewer asks him how he approaches writing songs with social commentaries and critiques — something along the lines of: “How do you get from the New York Times headline on a social subject to the emotional heart of a song that matters to each individual?”

CNX Software ☛ MSI MS-C926 ultra-slim, fanless industrial box PC is just 19mm thick

MSI MS-C926 is an defective chip maker Intel Alder Lake-N/Twin Lake fanless industrial box PC that’s ultra-slim at just 19mm thick, making it suitable for space-constrained applications such as digital signage, industrial control, kiosks, and edge computing. This ultra-thin PC also features up to 16GB DDR5 memory, triple 4K display outputs, dual 2.5GbE, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a COM port. Expansion options include an M.2 B-Key slot with Nano SIM support for cellular, an M.2 E-Key slot for Wi-Fi, and a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay.

JURIST ☛ Rights groups sound alarm over torture and denial of healthcare in Myanmar prisons

A coalition of 15 rights groups, including Amnesty International, Article 19, and Politics for Women Myanmar, released a joint public statement on Tuesday, expressing concern over reports of an ever-worsening human rights crisis in Myanmar jails.

France24 ☛ US Health Secretary to cancel $500 million in vaccine development projects

The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary and a longtime vaccine critic, announced in a statement Tuesday that $500 million worth of vaccine development projects, all using mRNA technology, will be halted.

Digital Music News ☛ Ozzy Osbourne Suffered a Heart Attack, Death Certificate Reveals

Metal Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne died of cardiac arrest and coronary artery disease, his death certificate reveals. Ozzy Osbourne’s death certificate, filed at a registry in London and submitted by Osbourne’s second-eldest daughter Aimee, reveals the star’s cause of death.

TechRadar ☛ Security flaws in key Nvidia enterprise tool could have let hackers run malware on Windows and Linux systems

Nvidia Triton Inference Server carried three vulnerabilities which, when combined, could lead to remote code execution (RCE) and other risks, security experts from Wiz have warned

Triton is a free open source tool working on both Windows and Linux which helps companies run AI models efficiently on servers, whether in the cloud, on-site, or at the edge.

It supports many popular AI frameworks and speeds up tasks by handling multiple models at once and grouping similar requests together.

New York Times ☛ Statue of French General Accused of Torture Divides His Hometown

An effort to have a statue of Marcel Bigeard removed has reignited the debate over how the colonial past should be remembered.

Federal News Network ☛ Army sergeant shot 5 soldiers before he was tackled and arrested at Fort Stewart, officials say

An Army sergeant has been accused of shooting five soldiers at Fort Stewart. Officials say Wednesday that other troops tackled 28-year-old Sgt. Quornelius Radford after he started firing. The shooting prompted a brief lockdown at one the country’s largest Army bases. Officials say Radford used a personal handgun, not a military firearm. Officials say Radford opened fire where he worked. An Army spokesman says officials wouldn’t speculate about a motive. The injured soldiers are stable and expected to recover, and Radford is in law enforcement custody. Brig. Gen. John Lubas said fellow soldiers tackled Radford and subdued him.

Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

• France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man praises progress with Russia following Witkoff meeting with Putin

  David Smith, the head of The Guardian's Washington bureau, joined France 24 to discuss US President The Insurrectionist's cautious encounter with the press when asked whether a breakthrough on ending the war in Ukraine had been reached during an earlier meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders have engaged in a tense back-and-forth in recent weeks, with Convicted Felon threatening Russia with significant sanctions if Putin didn't end the war, but Convicted Felon specified during his press encounter that "great progress" had been made during Witkoff's visit.

• France24 ☛ US envoy Witkoff meets Putin as Convicted Felon's sanctions deadline nears

  US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President The Insurrectionist for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Witkoff flew to Moscow on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the 3-1/2-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion. Russian state TV showed a brief clip of him shaking hands with Putin at the start of their meeting. FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert analyses Russia's stance, saying the Kremlin is buying time to try to avoid any serious negotiation on its war in Ukraine.

• RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says 'Good Chance' He Will Meet Putin Soon After Envoy's Latest Visit To Kremlin

  US President The Insurrectionist said a meeting on August 6 between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow "made a lot of progress" and said he might meet with Putin soon.

• Marcy Wheeler ☛ How Chuck Grassley’s Politicized Redactions Gave Putin Leverage over Convicted Felon

  Days before Convicted Felon sent his golfing buddy Steve Witkoff to pretend he's going to get stern with Vladimir Putin, all Convicted Felon's top spies renewed a secret they share with Putin's own spies. And that likely dooms any effort to get tough with Vladimir Putin.

• France24 ☛ Putin meeting over Ukraine war likely to happen 'very soon', says Convicted Felon

  After weeks of tense back-and-forths over Russia's unrelenting offensives in Ukraine, US President The Insurrectionist said Wednesday he could personally meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon." Convicted Felon's announcement follows what he called "great progress" made during his envoy Steve Witkoff's talks with the Russian leader earlier that day.

• New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Directed His Wrath at India

  Also, the president said he intends to meet with Putin and Zelensky. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

• France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man increases India tariffs to 50% for buying Russian oil

  US President The Insurrectionist on Wednesday signed an executive order to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on India over its purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total duties on the energy-starved country to 50 percent as Convicted Felon attempts to force an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

• Meduza ☛ Trump raises U.S. tariffs on India to 50 percent to address ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ from Russia — Meduza

• New York Times ☛ India Digs In After Convicted Felon Doubles Tariffs

  Facing a 50 percent tariff as a penalty for buying Russian oil, India says it is “unfortunate” that it is being punished for acting in its national interest.

• France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man hikes India’s tariffs by 25% for buying Russian oil, bringing total to 50%

  US President The Insurrectionist on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on goods from India, raising total US tariffs on the country to 50 percent. The move, effective in 21 days, is aimed at pressuring both India and Russia as part of US efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

• New York Times ☛ With Sanctions Looming, Convicted Felon’s Envoy to Russia Meets With Putin

  The envoy, Steve Witkoff, passed along “signals” from Hell Toupée, according to an aide to President Vladimir V. Putin. Mr. Witkoff was making his fifth visit to Russia this year.

• New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Tells European Leaders He Intends to Meet With Putin and Zelensky

  If the meeting goes ahead as Hell Toupée described, it will be the first in-person summit between an American and Russian president in more than four years.

• Meduza ☛ Russia has abandoned its intermediate-range missile moratorium — just as Putin says Oreshnik production is ramping up — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Trump is ‘open’ to in-person meeting with Putin, followed by trilateral meeting with Zelensky — FT — Meduza

• Latvia ☛ Latvia and Lithuania make symbolic gesture to Ukraine at Expo in Japan

  On August 5, Ukraine celebrated its National Day at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. In support of the Ukrainian people and their long-standing struggle against Russian aggression, several European Union member states, including Latvia and Lithuania, organized solidarity actions.

• Latvia ☛ Latvian who died fighting for Ukraine buried in Latvia

  Ņikita Sļadzevskis, a Latvian volunteer who helped defend Ukraine against Russian aggression, was buried with military honors in Latvian soil on August 5th, reports Latvian Television.

• LRT ☛ Lithuanian ministers expect US to keep its promise of new sanctions on Russia

  Several Lithuanian ministers have voiced expectations that the US will impose new sanctions on Russia if it fails to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by the set deadline, a promise made by President The Insurrectionist.

• RFERL ☛ Two 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.

• Bruce Schneier ☛ The Semiconductor Industry and Regulatory Compliance

  Earlier this week, the Convicted Felon administration narrowed export controls on advanced semiconductors ahead of US-China trade negotiations. The administration is increasingly relying on export licenses to allow American semiconductor firms to sell their products to Chinese customers, while keeping the most powerful of them out of the hands of our military adversaries.

• New York Times ☛ For Some Wounded in Ukraine War, Surgery Helps Rebuild a Sense of Self

  Surgeons have made significant strides in tending to the war’s wounded, particularly through the use of 3-D printing, creating patient-specific implants and surgical guides.

• Meduza ☛ Russian universities and Yale scrub records of cooperation, following ‘undesirable’ status — T-invariant — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Zelensky says Russia appears ‘more inclined’ to ceasefire after Trump envoy’s Moscow visit — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Two teens in Siberia accused of trying to kill Russian soldier by applying poison to his car — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Russian airstrike hits resort in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least two — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ ‘What was difficult was to remain silent’: Meduza’s interview with Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Russia’s first religious head to condemn the war in Ukraine — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ ‘It’s not just theft — it’s robbery’: How a Russian zoo owner in occupied Crimea uses the war as a pretext to take rare animals from Ukrainian territory — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Deported Ukrainians held in windowless basement at Georgia border declare hunger strike — Meduza

• Meduza ☛ Russian drone strike hits Ukrainian compressor station that handles Azerbaijani gas transit to Europe — Meduza

• New York Times ☛ Our Reporter Speaks to a Ukrainian Sniper About His Recovery

  Volodymyr is a Ukrainian sniper whose face was shattered by a Russian bomb in 2023. After multiple surgeries and titanium implants, he has returned to active duty near the closest point of the front line of the war with Russia. Calling in from there, he describes his recovery to Marc Santora, an international editor for The New York Times.

• Meduza ☛ Off-duty Russian soldier detonates grenade he brought back from the front, killing himself and three others — Meduza

Pro Publica ☛ Behind on Rent in Maine Public Housing? Received an Eviction Notice? What to Know

Pro Publica ☛ GOP Lawmakers Who Voted to Gut CFPB Also Referred Consumer Complaints to Agency

A New York business frozen out of its checking account. A Georgia chemotherapy patient denied a credit card refund after a product dispute. A New Jersey service member defrauded out of their savings.

These consumers — along with hundreds of others — reached out to their congressional representatives for help in the past 12 months.

Pro Publica ☛ Trump Attacks on Law Firms Make It Harder to Challenge the Administration

Two weeks into President Donald Trump’s second presidency, and just days after he pardoned hundreds of Capitol rioters, officials Trump had placed in charge of the Justice Department made a sweeping demand. They wanted the names of the thousands of FBI employees who had played a role in investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Fearing mass firings, or worse, retaliation by the people they helped prosecute, a group of agents scrambled to enlist a legal team who could stop the administration in court. Norm Eisen, a prominent ethics lawyer now leading dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration, agreed within hours to represent the agents pro bono, along with Mark Zaid, a veteran whistleblower attorney. For more firepower, the two approached the giant Chicago-based law firm Winston & Strawn, which has a history of providing free representation to people and organizations that squared off against Trump’s first administration.

Pro Publica ☛ Families of Venezuelans Sent to CECOT Open Up About Their Ordeal

The Trump administration’s move four months ago to send more than 230 Venezuelan migrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT took a staggering toll, not only on the men themselves but also on their families. The men were released to Venezuela on July 18 as part of a prisoner swap without much explanation, and they and their relatives have begun sharing the details of their ordeal.

Juan José Ramos Ramos describes the physical torture he says he endured during his incarceration at CECOT as his mother, Lina Ramos, explains the emotional agony of not knowing whether she’d ever see her son again. Andry Blanco Bonilla and his mother, Carmen Bonilla, still struggle to make sense of how they could have been caught up in something like this when Blanco didn’t have a criminal record and, in fact, had a deportation order to be sent back to his home country. Wilmer Vega Sandia, who had migrated to the United States to find work that would help him pay for his mother’s cancer treatment, says he prayed every day of his incarceration that he’d make it home in time to hold her in his arms.

APNIC ☛ [Podcast] Robert Kisteleki on RIPE Atlas

Robert Kisteleki from the RIPE NCC discusses the RIPE Atlas system, a network of over 13,000 globally dispersed Internet measurement devices 'lighting up the Internet'.

Digital Music News ☛ Jim Cramer Befuddled By Spotify’s Lackluster Q2 Performance—”I Don’t Get It”

Spotify’s rollercoaster summer on Wall Street is befuddling even industry observers such as CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’ host Jim Cramer. Cramer has oscillated between bullish optimism and outright bafflement on Spotify’s future. “While the broader market overs near all-time highs, not every stock is getting in on the celebration,” Cramer said during one episode. “Take Spotify.