Leftovers

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ HKFP Lens: Cathay Camera Club’s ‘After Dark’ exhibition explores life and light

  Founded in 1982, Cathay Camera Club brings together a community of photography enthusiasts in Hong Kong. Its latest exhibition, called “After Dark,” showcases 31 artists’ interpretation of the phrase.

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korea turns to culture in search of next fillip for growth

  The home of industry giants Samsung and Hyundai is basking in the success of boyband BTS.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Scientists Split Giraffes Into Four Species. Three Are In Trouble.

    A reassessment of the iconic species has “some dramatic implications for how we view giraffe conservation across Africa,” a new study concludes.

  • France24 ☛ Mosquito-borne diseases: 'As world warms, parasites, diseases and viruses become more transmissible'

    Europe has registered a record number of outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses such as chikungunya and West Nile virus this year, the EU health agency said Wednesday, saying climate change was contributing to a "new normal". Europe is experiencing longer and more intense transmission seasons for mosquito-borne diseases, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Alison Sargent welcomes Thomas Churcher, Epidemiologist, Entomologist, Mathematical Modeller and Professor of Infectious Disease Dynamics in the School of Public Health - Faculty of Medicine at the Imperial College London.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Is it art? Or science? Yes.

    An engineering student has discovered a new family of intricate origami patterns. The ancient art’s infinite forms of precision and symmetry are helping invent new tools and technologies.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Cuts May Spell the End for America’s Only Antarctic Research Ship

    The decommissioning would leave the United States with no icebreaker to study the southern seas and cede scientific leadership to rival countries like China.

• Career/Education

  • Bruce Schneier ☛ I’m Spending the Year at the Munk School

    This academic year, I am taking a sabbatical from the Kennedy School and Harvard University. (It’s not a real sabbatical—I’m just an adjunct—but it’s the same idea.) I will be spending the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters at the Munk School at the University of Toronto.

• Hardware

  • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: Dell T320 H310 RAID and IT Mode

    The Problem

    Just over 2 years ago my Dell T320 server had a motherboard failure [1]. I recently bought another T320 that had been gutted (no drives, PSUs, or RAM) and put the bits from my one in it.

    I installed Debian and the resulting installation wouldn’t boot, I tried installing with both UEFI and BIOS modes with the same result. Then I realised that the disks I had installed were available even though I hadn’t gone through the RAID configuration (I usually make a separate RAID-0 for each disk to work best with BTRFS or ZFS). I tried changing the BIOS setting for SATA disks between “RAID” and “AHCI” modes which didn’t change things and realised that the BIOS setting in question probably applies to the SATA connector on the motherboard and that the RAID card was in “IT” mode which means that each disk is seen separately.

  • Hackaday ☛ Back To The 90s On Real Hardware

    As the march of time continues on, it becomes harder and harder to play older video games on hardware. Part of this is because the original hardware itself wears out, but another major factor is that modern operating systems, software, and even modern hardware don’t maintain support for older technology indefinitely. This is why emulation is so popular, but purists that need original hardware often have to go to extremes to scratch their retro gaming itch. This project from [Eivind], for example, is a completely new x86 PC designed for the DOS and early Windows 98 era.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Google switches from Samsung to TSMC — Pixel 10 and Tensor G5 chip use TSMC's N3P process

    Ahead of Apple, it seems.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China tells tech giants to halt Nvidia H20 orders after U.S. official’s ‘addiction’ remark — Chinese leaders call Lutnick's comments 'insulting'

    Sec. Lutnick’s remarks drew the ire of Chinese leaders who could have potentially drawn on historical parallels.

  • New York Times ☛ Nvidia Is Making a New Chip for China Amid Debate on Hey Hi (AI) Exports

    Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, said he plans to ask the Convicted Felon administration’s permission to sell a more powerful chip to Chinese companies.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New Yorker ☛ How Extreme Heat Affects the Body

    Dhruv Khullar, who reports on medicine for The New Yorker, investigates the medical effects of extreme heat.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Budget Office Is Withholding H.I.V. Funds That Congress Appropriated

    Lawmakers allocated $6 billion this fiscal year for PEPFAR, the H.I.V. prevention and treatment program, but the administration has indicated it will release less than half of that.

  • France24 ☛ Workers' health threatened by heatwaves, WHO claims

    The WHO and WMO warn that heatwaves are increasingly threatening workers, especially in agriculture, construction, and fisheries. Over 2.4 billion people are exposed, with work-related injuries rising and productivity dropping, prompting calls for heat-stress measures like cooling zones, hydration, and adjusted schedules.

  • Latvia ☛ Baby boxes exist, doctors remind public after baby found on street

    In connection with the case of the newborn girl found on the street in Ķengarags, doctors remind the public about baby boxes, which are meant for situations like these, Latvian Television reports on 21 August.

  • Science Alert ☛ These Are The Fastest-Spreading Diseases, According to Science

    The top spreader is making a deadly comeback.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Cloak of Sugar Molecules Could Help Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes

    A new hope to fight the disease.

  • Science Alert ☛ Denisovan Mucus Gene May Have Helped Humans Survive in The Americas

    "Something about this gene was clearly useful."

  • Science Alert ☛ I'm an Expert on Weight Loss. Here Are 5 Truths You Need to Know.

    This is important.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Parasitic Worm Can Turn Off Your Ability to Feel Pain

    We finally know how.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover a Hidden Switch That Makes Fat Burn Calories

    An end to counting calories?

  • Science Alert ☛ 5 Ways Ginger Is Good For Your Health, According to Science

    It's not just for nausea.

  • Science Alert ☛ Study Confirms 'Abrupt Changes' in Antarctica – And The World Will Feel Them

    What happens in the Antarctic doesn't stay there.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Congo Has Astronomical Rates of Sexual Violence. Now Victims Have Lost Access to Care.

    The conflict that has put rebels in control of much of the east of the country has left victims with no legal recourse and dismantled many of the clinics that offered care.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Kills Islamic State Operative in Rare Raid in Syria

    The Pentagon provided few details about the operation. But counterterrorism raids — as opposed to airstrikes — typically involve helicopter-borne commandos.

  • New York Times ☛ Pentagon Fires the Defense Intelligence Agency Chief

    The move comes weeks after the agency drafted a preliminary report contradicting Hell Toupée’s contention that U.S. strikes had “obliterated” nuclear sites in Iran.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Convicted Felon

    Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of U.S. damage to Iran nuclear sites angered The Insurrectionist.

  • France24 ☛ ‘I will be displaced once again’: Gaza City residents forced to flee as military operation begins

    As Israel announced its intention to seize Gaza City on August 20, amateur and satellite images from the previous days show intensified air strikes by the Israeli military, significant destruction, and the emptying of several displaced camps. Our Observers in the city prepare to face yet another displacement.

  • Security guards say they were fired for joining unions

    Services at the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and at the Department of Education offices in Cofimvaba were disrupted this week, as a security guards strike entered its seventh day. The guards work for Reliable Guards and Mantl Five.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Lee in Japan to shore up ties before meeting Convicted Felon

    Mr Lee has criticised past efforts to improve ties strained by resentment over Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

  • The Straits Times ☛ What issues are likely to be discussed at the US-South Korea summit?

    The Insurrectionist hosts South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Washington for their first summit meeting on Monday, after the countries struck a trade deal last month lowering U.S. tariffs on the Asian ally to 15% from a threatened 25%. 

  • The Straits Times ☛ Troop costs, China in focus when South Korea’s Lee meets Convicted Felon

    Questions over the future of the South Korea-US alliance will be a key part of discussions.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea calls South Korea’s warning shots in border region a provocation

    Since 2024, North Korea has been building barriers in the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.

  • The Straits Times ☛ History, triumph and trauma to take centre stage at China’s WWII military parade

    The highly choreographed parade will unveil cutting-edge equipment like hypersonic weapons.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China ‘firmly stands’ with India on Convicted Felon tariffs, envoy says

    The envoy criticised the US for using tariffs as “a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s Pooh-tin likely to skip Asean leaders’ October summit, sources say

    It would have provided an opportunity for him to meet with The Insurrectionist.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China slams ‘hegemonism and power politics’ ahead of world leaders’ summit

    China slammed “hegemonism and power politics” on Friday as it touted an upcoming summit it is hosting for more than 20 world leaders as promoting stability and peace.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, Australia to seal new defence pact as China tensions rise

    The pact would also support the development of defence infrastructure in the Philippines, with projects at 5 locations.

  • The Strategist ☛ If China’s tactic is blockade, the USN needs lots of frigates. It’s not getting them

    If China ever makes good on decades of threats and invades Taiwan, it could succeed or fail in the span of a few hours—the hours it would take to sail an invasion force [...]

  • The Strategist ☛ Ditch AUKUS Pillar One. It involves Australia too much in US strategy

    Defence Minister Richard Marles said in June that if war broke out between the US and China, Australia would inevitably be involved. This is an unacceptable situation for any sovereign nation to be in.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Police bust illegal cigarette factory in Kaunas, Belarusians among 11 detainees

      Lithuanian authorities said Friday they have dismantled an underground cigarette factory in the city of Kaunas and arrested 11 suspects, including Belarusian nationals employed in the tobacco industry.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian Justice Ministry designates prominent pro-Kremlin pundit Sergey Markov as ‘foreign agent’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Pyongyang’s ‘overseas heroes’ Kim Jong Un honors officers returned from Russia, fueling speculation that North Korea’s military intervention may be over — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian officials charge Kursk teenager with ‘rehabilitating Nazism’ for slipping gay porn star Billy Herrington into veterans collage — Meduza

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim decorates soldiers from Russia, consoles children with hugs

      The leader laid a flower at a memorial wall for soldiers fallen overseas.

    • France24 ☛ Russia rejects Zelensky talks, Convicted Felon says setting up summit like mixing ‘oil and vinegar’

      Russia on Friday ruled out an immediate meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, despite a claim by US President The Insurrectionist earlier this week that he was arranging a summit. Convicted Felon on Friday said setting up a Zelensky-Putin summit was as hard as mixing "oil and vinegar".

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says He'll Decide Within 2 Weeks On Next Steps To End War In Ukraine

      US President The Insurrectionist says he will decide his position on Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in the next two weeks and still open for a three-way meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ending the war.

    • New Yorker ☛ What It Would Actually Take to End the War in Ukraine

      With Ukraine drained by more than three years of fighting, time is on the side of Vladimir Putin.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China's Pooh-tin to host Putin, UN's Guterres at regional summit

      Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is also scheduled to attend the summit.

    • New York Times ☛ ‘No Meeting Planned’ Between Putin and Zelensky, Top Russian Diplomat Says

      It was the clearest sign yet that Hell Toupée’s push for an imminent summit was faltering.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘He didn’t plan to overthrow Putin’: Two years after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, his mother says in a new interview that she warned him against marching on Moscow — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Putin visits home of USSR’s nuclear weapons program after Trump hints at allowing ‘Ukrainian offense’ — Meduza

    • European Commission ☛ EU delivers over €4 billion to Ukraine ahead of its Independence Day

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 22 Aug 2025 Ahead of Ukraine's 34th anniversary of independence on 24 August, the EU delivers another strong signal of unwavering support by disbursing €4.05 billion to the country.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian-made freeze-dried meals find their way to Ukrainian soldiers

      The campaign "In thoughts and deeds together with Ukraine" by the Latvian public media and Ziedot.lv continues. The aim of the campaign is to use the donated money to deliver Latvian-made goods to Ukrainian soldiers at the front. The company "Roga-Agro" in Salaspils produces 30 different types of freeze-dried meals, and the money donated will also be used to send them to soldiers, Latvian Radio reported on 22 August.

    • JURIST ☛ UN experts warn of systematic sexual torture by Russia forces in Ukraine

      UN Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Jill Edwards, alongside other human rights experts, delivered a dossier on Thursday of sexual torture allegations to the Russian Federation detailing the cases of 10 Ukrainian civilians abused in occupied regions of Ukraine, including Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

    • JURIST ☛ Ukraine dispatch: amid peace talks, July and August see sharpest rise in civilian deaths

      My time in Ukraine coincided with one of the most lethal periods in the country yet. Russia’s assaults on Ukraine escalated sharply this summer, producing the deadliest civilian tolls in more than two years and intensifying just as peace negotiations were being prepared abroad.

    • Latvia ☛ LSM's charity drive for Ukraine has raised €65,000 so far

      LSM in cooperation with "Ziedot.lv" is organising a charity campaign to deliver Latvian-made goods - night vision devices, clothing, food and other necessary resources - to Ukrainian soldiers at the front.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Says Signals From Russia 'Outrageous' As He Pushes Allies For Quick Security Plan

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians have signaled that they don't intend to negotiate peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine despite a US-Russia summit last week and high-profile talks in Washington with European leaders.

    • LRT ☛ LRT English Newsletter: Borders, drone walls, and Ukraine troops

      LRT English Newsletter – August 22, 2025.

    • New York Times ☛ Has Russia Advanced? Ukrainians Use This Online Map to Check Every Morning.

      The online DeepState map, based on geolocated combat footage and tips from Ukrainian Army sources, draws 900,000 views each day and acts as a counterbalance to the military’s omissions.

    • New York Times ☛ ​North Korea Honors Its Soldiers Who Fought in Ukraine

      The North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, publicly consoled bereaved families, as well as awarding medals to soldiers returning from the force he has sent to aid Russia.

    • New York Times ☛ ‘Flying Blind’: Convicted Felon Strips Government of Expertise at a High-Stakes Moment

      Hell Toupée has few sources of independent advice just as he is trying to broker an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, perhaps the trickiest negotiation of his presidency.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian oil flow to Hungary halted again after Ukrainian drone strike on Druzhba pipeline — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Kyiv brings home 65 Ukrainians stranded for weeks at Russian–Georgian border — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘We’ll write off your debt if you go fight’: How Russia is forcing thousands of people from Central Asia to fight in Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian soldier tells journalists he helped kill five Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk region — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Chechen woman forcibly returned after fleeing family may have been killed on Kadyrov ally’s orders — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘I wanted to save her from herself’: In a new memoir about her childhood in Chechnya, Lana Estemirova remembers the life, work, and assassination of her mother — Meduza

• Environment

  • France24 ☛ Cape Verde recovers from deadly floods caused by Storm Erin

    In the Atlantic islands of Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, recovery efforts are ongoing after Tropical Storm Erin brought torrential downpours. At least nine people were killed and hundreds more were displaced when the rainfall turned streets into raging rivers, triggering landslides and destroying vital infrastructure. Hundreds of families have lost their homes and livelihoods and are now wondering how they will get by.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Touts earning up to $1k a day for illegal JB-Singapore ride hailing go into hiding amid crackdown

      The Singapore operation targeted Malaysia-registered private vehicles.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Military jet crashes in a ball of fire at Pahang airbase, pilots ejected safely

      Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Lithium, EVs and now drones: How can China curb wasteful overcompetition?

      Overinvestment by local governments in sectors favoured by Beijing has led to cut-throat competition.

    • The Straits Times ☛ 10 dead, 4 missing after bridge collapses in China

      The cause was a steel cable failure, state news agency Xinhua said.

    • The Straits Times ☛ ADB to back Pakistan rail upgrade as China financing stalls, sources say

      The Asian Development Bank will fund upgrades to part of Pakistan's creaking railway system, replacing China, after prolonged delays in securing financing from Beijing threatened to put a strain on a strategic mining project, two sources said on Friday.

    • The Straits Times ☛ US lawmakers urge ICAO to oppose China move to extend flight route near Taiwan

      The lawmakers also urged the aviation authority to allow Taiwan to meaningfully participate as a guest in the assembly.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Boeing in talks to sell up to 500 planes to China – report

      US aviation giant Boeing is in talks to sell up to 500 aircraft to Chinese companies, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

    • Hackaday ☛ How’s The Weather? (Satellite Edition)

      When [Tom Nardi] reported on NOAA’s statement that many of its polar birds were no longer recommended for use, he mentioned that when the satellites do give up, there are other options if you want to pull up your own satellite weather imagery. [Jacopo] explains those other options in great detail.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Large Earthquake Strikes Drake Passage Near Argentina and Chile

      The epicenter of the 7.5-magnitude quake was in the Drake Passage, a body of water between the southernmost tip of South America and Antarctica.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Man in Malaysia finds 5m-long, 40kg python trying to eat chickens

      14 snake-related incidents have been recorded in the area in Kedah since Aug 15.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam island building in Spratlys may soon surpass China’s, report says

      Imagery showed Vietnam had undertaken dredging and landfill work at five reefs.

    • Philippine defense chief condemns Chinese activity near Second Thomas Shoal

      His remarks come as Manila and Australia conduct drills and aim to deepen cooperation in the South China Sea.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Jerome Powell Suggests Fed Will Soon Cut Interest Rates in Jackson Hole Speech [Ed: So that more people will toss their savings at the Wall Street Ponzi scheme?]

    Jerome H. Powell said the “balance of risks” across the economy had started to shift, raising the odds the central bank lowers borrowing costs at its next meeting in September.

  • New York Times ☛ Rising Cost of a Day at the Beach Angers Italians

    For Americans, the price of eggs became a rallying cry for consumers beaten down by high prices. For Italians, it’s the cost of beach umbrellas.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • JURIST ☛ New York appeals court rejects $465M award in Convicted Felon civil fraud case

    A divided New York state appeals court on Thursday unanimously struck down a nearly half-billion-dollar financial penalty against The Insurrectionist as unconstitutionally excessive, while issuing a fractured ruling on the underlying fraud allegations that produced no clear majority.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t to axe 6 defunct pro-democracy groups from societies registry

    The Hong Kong government says it is planning to axe six now-defunct pro-democracy groups from the city’s societies registry in three months unless they can prove their existence. The government on Friday gazetted notices to remove close to 300 groups from the societies registry, saying those organisations were believed to “have ceased to exist.”

  • Pro Publica ☛ Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s Push for Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center

    Marilyn Gooch was already skeptical about one of her newest neighbors, xAI’s supercomputing facility, when her cousin walked across the street in June with a blue mailer from the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce.

    Her cousin didn’t know what to make of the postcard featuring the logos of nine local, state and federal agencies and the chamber’s assurance that billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company operated “in full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and oversight.” The facility — part of Musk’s bid to dominate the AI market — opened at a breakneck pace almost a year before, brought to Memphis, Tennessee, largely due to the efforts of the local Chamber of Commerce.

  • New Yorker ☛ How Big Tech Sets the Agenda in Convicted Felon’s America

    Evan Osnos speaks with Wired’s Katie Drummond about the hype around artificial intelligence, and what tech moguls learned from MElon’s tenure in the White House.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia parties gear up for PAS congress and the Sabah elections

    The coming months will see several changes in the political landscape as parties make moves on various fronts. 

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian

    Guardian's editor in chief said the ruling is a "deserved victory" for "women that suffered".

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 10 arrests in crackdown on HK$4 million upskirt image sharing site

    Hong Kong police have arrested 10 people allegedly linked to an online platform selling upskirt photos and videos of women, which attracted close to 9,000 subscribers and generated about HK$4 million of suspected criminal proceeds.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ New Clothes for the Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents?

    Earlier in 2025, the Federal Circuit affirmed a TTAB’s refusal to register VETEMENTS (both standard-character and a block-letter stylization) for clothing and online retail store services for clothing.  Pardon my French, but the problem here is that “vêtements” directly translates into "clothing" -- rendering the word generic for goods and at least highly descriptive for clothing related services.  In re Vetements Group AG, 137 F.4th 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2025).  The case falls under the "Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents" (DFE) which the court was careful to characterize as a guideline rather than a firm rule.  Here, the Federal Circuit applied the guideline and concluded that an "appreciable" number of American consumers would likely "stop and translate" the word and recognize it as generic to the goods in question.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ When ‘Patented’ Becomes False Advertising: Crocs Takes Its Dastar Fight to the Supreme Court

    In July 2025, Crocs asked the Supreme Court to decide a seemingly clean legal question: whether the Lanham Act’s false advertising provision, § 43(a)(1)(B), covers misrepresentations about a product’s intangible attributes, such as its patent monopoly status. Two new filings complicate the story somewhat. The Accessories Council, in an amicus brief supporting Crocs, urges the Court to take the case to prevent what it sees as a chilling effect on both patent monopoly enforcement and routine commercial speech. Dawgs’ brief in opposition reframes the case entirely, insisting that this dispute is about false claims tied to tangible product attributes—not abstract questions about intangibles at all.