Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reconstruct The Face of a 3.7-Million-Year-Old Human Relative

    See 'Little Foot' in amazing detail for the first time.

  • Science Alert ☛ Second Pregnancy Does Something Unique to The Brain, Study Reveals

    "Each pregnancy leaves a unique mark."

  • Science Alert ☛ The Blood of Centenarians Reveals 37 Proteins Linked With Slower Aging

    Is this the secret to their longevity?

  • Science Alert ☛ Microplastics May Be Fueling Parkinson's Disease, Scientists Warn

    A major threat.

  • Science Alert ☛ Tinnitus Is Somehow Connected to a Crucial Bodily Function

    We need to know more.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Cut Amyloid Plaques by 50% in Mice With Engineered Cells

    "This study marks the first successful attempt."

  • Science Alert ☛ It's Official: NASA Confirms Asteroid 2024 YR4 Will Fly Past The Moon

    Impact risk is now zero!

  • Science Alert ☛ Babies Are Exposed to 42 'Forever Chemicals' Before Birth, Study Finds

    "Far more PFAS chemicals before birth than we previously realized."

  • Science Alert ☛ One 10-Minute Exercise Can Reduce Depression, Even a Month Later

    A surprisingly small first step, and it's free.

• Career/Education

  • Stanford University ☛ From the Community | Stanford needs free expression reform now

    Gauri Kathula '29 writes on behalf of Stanford Education and Democracy United (EDU) and Stanford Abundance, calling for reform to the current free speech and expression policy on campus.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ STM32U3B5/C5 ultra-low-power MCU features 640 KB RAM, 2 MB Flash, and HSP accelerator to run Hey Hi (AI) without batteries

    STMicroelectronics has added two members to the STM32U3 ultra-low-power Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller family: the STM32U3B5 and STM32U3C5 MCUs get more resources with up to 640 KB SRAM and 2 MB flash, as well as an HSP (hardware signal processor) accelerator to run AI/ML workloads without batteries, just using energy harvesting. The new chips are still clocked at up to 96 MHz, benefit from a near-threshold design (down to 0.65 V), allowing a power consumption of just 117 Coremark/mW in active mode, and can operate up to 105°C ambient temperature.

  • CNX Software ☛ Grinn ReneSOM-V2H is a tiny LGA SoM based on Renesas RZ/V2H processor for vision Hey Hi (AI) applications

    Polish embedded systems company Grinn has recently introduced ReneSOM-V2H, a tiny vision Hey Hi (AI) SoM built around the Renesas RZ/V2H vision Hey Hi (AI) processor. Measuring just 42.6 x 37 mm, Grinn claims it is the world’s smallest module based on this specific Renesas MPU, and targets space-constrained Edge Hey Hi (AI) applications such as smart cameras, robotics, and industrial automation. The RZ/V2H SoC features a heterogeneous architecture with 4x Cortex-A55 cores, 2x Cortex-R8 cores, and 1x Cortex-M33 core, along with a DRP-AI3 accelerator with up to 8 TOPS.

  • CNX Software ☛ ADLINK Express-PTL Panther Lake COM Express Type 6 module supports up to defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra 7 368H, 128GB DDR5

    ADLINK Express-PTL COM Express Type 6 computer-on-module is built on defective chip maker Intel Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake-H” SoCs up to the 16-core Core Ultra 7 368H processor delivering 180 TOPS of Hey Hi (AI) performance. The module pairs up to 128 GB DDR5 memory with IBECC support, features high-speed I/O such as PCIe Gen4, multiple display options, USB4/Thunderbolt capability, and industrial features such as TSN Ethernet, TPM 2.0, and advanced power management.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s food supply stable despite Middle East tensions, says agriculture minister

    Most key imports coming from other Asean nations, as well as India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Over 40% of Hong Kong’s ‘Gen Z’ suffer from moderate to severe depression, survey finds

    Over 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s “Generation Z” population, or those aged 18 to 24, suffer from moderate to severe depression, a survey has found, with researchers identifying excessive screen time as strongly linked with emotional distress.

  • New York Times ☛ Fewer Pregnant Women Received Acetaminophen in E.R.s After White House Warnings

    A new analysis of prescription data found that emergency room orders for acetaminophen for pregnant women fell for weeks after the federal warning.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ AI vibe-coded operating system is so bad it can't even run Doom — Vib-OS can't connect to the internet, browser app is an image viewer [Updated]

      A new vibe-coded operating system performed as woefully as expected during a 9-point check process.

    • New York Times ☛ A Word to the Wise: Don’t Trust Hey Hi (AI) to File Your Taxes

      The world’s smartest technology is no match for the U.S. tax code.

    • Futurism ☛ Even Tech Investors Are Getting Sick of All These Hey Hi (AI) Startups With Weak Ideas

      "The barrier to entry has dropped, which makes building a real moat much harder."

    • Futurism ☛ Jack Dorsey Isn’t Telling the Real Story About Block’s Hey Hi (AI) Layoffs, Insider Says [Ed: Right.]

      "This isn’t an Hey Hi (AI) story. It's organizational bloat wearing an Hey Hi (AI) costume."

• Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ OpenAI building Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub alternative after frequent platform outages and disruptions — a public Proprietary Chaffbot Company code repository would directly compete with one of its biggest investors

    OpenAI is building its own code repository, prompted by a rise in Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub outages and disruptions that left its engineers unable to work for hours at a time.

  • LWN ☛ A Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub Issue Title Compromised 4,000 Developer Machines (grith.ai)

    The grith.ai blog reports

    on an LLM prompt-injection vulnerability that led to 4,000 installations of

    a compromised version of the Cline utility.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Mint Press News ☛ X Users Find Their Real Names Are Being Googled in Israel After Using X Verification Software “Au10tix”

      A wide range of anonymous X (Twitter) users have reported that their real names are suddenly being Googled in Israel shortly after they began criticizing the country for its actions in Palestine.

    • MoneyControl ☛ Meta sued over AI smart glasses privacy after workers reviewed nudity, sex and other sensitive footage

      Meta is facing a new US lawsuit over its AI-powered smart glasses after reports revealed overseas contractors reviewed sensitive user footage, raising questions about privacy claims and how captured data is handled.

    • [Repeat] Futurism ☛ Meta Lied About Its Smart Glasses Protecting User Privacy, New Class Action Lawsuit Claims

      These are serious allegations.

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan would regulate police license plate cameras under bipartisan bill

      Michigan municipalities are increasingly turning to license plate readers as a public safety tool despite public outcry over privacy and data sharing concerns. Some lawmakers are pitching statewide oversight, but local law enforcement agencies are worried too much regulation could make the readers less effective for solving crimes.

    • Futurism ☛ The Rage at Proprietary Chaffbot Company Has Grown So Immense That There Are Entire Protests Against It

      "What Proprietary Chaffbot Company is doing in terms of building legal mass surveillance technology for the government... is frankly, insane."

    • Scoop News Group ☛ FBI targeted with ‘suspicious’ activity on its networks

      The bureau didn’t provide any further details on the incident, which reportedly targeted a network for managing surveillance activity.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFERL ☛ Aliyev Calls Iran Drone Strike In Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Region 'Act Of Terror'

    Drones launched from neighboring Iran struck Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan autonomous region, injuring two people. One drone struck Nakhchivan Airport on March 5, damaging the facility. A second drone landed near a school building in the Shekerabad area, the ministry said.

  • [Repeat] Bruce Schneier ☛ Hacked App Part of US/Israeli Propaganda Campaign Against Iran

    Wired has the story:

    Shortly after the first set of explosions, Iranians received bursts of notifications on their phones. They came not from the government advising caution, but from an apparently hacked prayer-timing app called BadeSaba Calendar that has been downloaded more than 5 million times from the Surveillance Giant Google Play Store.

  • New York Times ☛ China Bets on Technology to Resist U.S. Pressure

    China announced a 7 percent increase in military spending and a five-year plan to try to reduce its military and industry’s reliance on Western technology.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to boost tech self-reliance in next 5 years as rivalry with US deepens

    The country will also expand domestic demand with a notable increase in household consumption.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China's top chip execs claim ASML alternative 'small, fragmented, and weak' — Chinese industry titans call for national effort to invest in advanced chipmaking tools

    China's most senior semiconductor executives issued a public call this week for a consolidated national effort to build a domestic alternative to Dutch lithography giant ASML.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China boosts military spending with eyes on US, Taiwan

    China announced a seven percent boost to its defence budget for 2026 on Thursday as it steadily increases spending to counter the United States and enforce its claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippine resupply mission data leaked to Chinese intelligence, security official says

    This comes after the Philippine said it apprehended some of its citizens suspected of spying for China.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man fires Homeland Security Secretary Noem after mounting criticism over her leadership

    Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin says he has no idea how quickly his nomination to replace Noem at the Department of Homeland Security will move.

  • Federal News Network ☛ GSA’s CMMC-like rules raise concerns in industry

    GSA's new guide is raising concerns about an increasing patchwork of contractor cybersecurity rules across government.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ US and Middle East countries seek Ukraine's support in drone protection

      The United States asked Ukraine for help to fend off Iranian drone attacks in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, adding that he had ordered expert support to be given. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative.

    • New York Times ☛ Fallout From Mideast Swirls Over the War in Ukraine

      Three-way peace talks are on hold, and Kyiv fears that U.S. air defense systems it needs to counter Russia could be diverted to the Iran conflict.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian FM worried Iran war may divert attention from Ukraine

      Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys on Wednesday said the US and Israeli war with Iran’s must not divert the international community’s attention from Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Does anything need to be done about Belarusian radio broadcasts along Latvia's border?

      One of the consequences of shutting down the Latvian Radio 4 Russian-language channel formerly operated by Latvian Public Media (LSM) appears to be that in parts of Latvia it has been replaced by Belarusian state media.

    • Latvia ☛ Gone fishing: Latvian angler floats from Estonia to Russia

      A fisherman from Latvia crossed the control line between Estonia and Russia on Lake Peipus and entered Russian territory without permission, where he was detained by Russian border guards, LETA reports on 5th March.

    • CS Monitor ☛ How Ukraine’s strength has uplifted Europe

      Four years of Russian aggression have shown that the EU’s values are not abstract but are tangible assets for aiding Ukraine and driving the bloc’s unity.

• Environment

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ You’ve Never Seen Ants Like This Before

      The Antscan database captures the tiny insects’ diversity and shows how the world’s living things could be rendered in three dimensions.

    • New York Times ☛ Superfood Fuels Mating Frenzy for Critically Endangered Kakapo

      Kakapos, which are reclusive and flightless and can live as long as humans, are found only in New Zealand. They feed on the fruit of the rimu tree.

    • New York Times ☛ Nature Report, Killed by Convicted Felon, Is Released Independently

      A draft assessment of the health of nature in the United States is grim but shot through with bright spots and possibility.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ Feeling the Effects of 260,000 Federal Jobs Lost

    One year in, assessing budget cuts to federal climate and science jobs.

  • JURIST ☛ Minnesota sues Convicted Felon administration for withholding millions in Medicaid funding

    The state of Minnesota sued US President The Insurrectionist’s administration on Monday to prevent it from withholding $243 million in Medicaid funding, warning it may have to cut health care for low-income families if the funding is held back.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group says Germany social security bill undermines human rights

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that Germany’s proposed amendment to the basic income program for job seekers would undermine fundamental human rights and violate the country’s constitution, urging parliament to reject the bill.

  • Futurism ☛ Gas Prices Spiking After Convicted Felon’s War in Iran

    "He promised to bring prices down, but he never did."

    /blockquote>

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Is China training an army of robots? Nope, it’s an AI-generated video

      Some media users have been sharing videos that they claim are proof that China has started training humanoid robot soldiers. It turns out, however, that these videos were – surprise surprise – created by AI.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan scholar barred from testifying in Tiananmen vigil trial over ‘irrelevant’ expertise, Hong Kong court says

    A Taiwanese academic was barred from testifying in Tiananmen vigil activist Chow Hang-tung’s national security trial as the evidence he planned to give was “irrelevant” to the case at hand, a Hong Kong court has said.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • JURIST ☛ South Korea doctors jailed for performing abortion at 36 weeks

    The South Korea Central District Court on Wednesday jailed two doctors for performing an abortion on a woman who was in her 36th week of pregnancy. The court held that the hospital director and the operating surgeon are both guilty of murder, sentencing them to prison terms of six and four years, respectively.

  • OpenRightsGroup ☛ Board Election Results

    The votes have been counted and we’re really pleased to be sharing the results of the Board Election 2025. Thank you to all our members who took the time to vote.

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court rules NJ Transit cannot claim state sovereign immunity

    The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is not an “arm of the State” of New Jersey, and it cannot claim sovereign immunity against personal injury lawsuits filed out of state.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ BREAKING: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal nat. security conviction, 20-year jail term, lawyer says

    Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal against his national security conviction and 20-year jail term, his lawyer has said.

  • BBC ☛ Solicitor regulator censured for 'systemic failures'

    A legal oversight body has criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for failing to protect consumers affected by the collapse of a Sheffield-based law firm.

    The Legal Services Board (LSB), which oversees approved regulators to ensure they operate in the public interest, has issued a formal public censure against the SRA.

    It said the SRA had "repeatedly failed to act" over concerns about SSB Group which specialised in "no win, no fee" cases, where clients pay nothing if their case is unsuccessful.

    Catherine Brown, interim LSB chair, said SSB's clients received unexpected bills for "life-changing" sums when it went into administration in 2024, with up to 1,400 people affected.

  • Law Society Gazette ☛ SRA returns £9m to clients of closed firm PM Law

    Former clients of firms in the PM Law Group have already been paid £9m as regulators grapple with thousands of unresolved cases.

    One month since the Solicitors Regulation Authority intervened to take charge of the affairs of PM Law, the regulator said today it has received more than 250 applications to the compensation fund and paid out on 38 of the most urgent. These mostly relate to property transactions that were potentially going to collapse without money being returned.

    Of the £9m, around £5.6m was paid out of client money held by PM Law at the time of the intervention, with a further £3.69m paid from the compensation fund, which is resourced through contributions from law firms and solicitors.

  • SRA pays out £9.3m to PM Law clients in month after collapse

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has already paid out £9.3m to clients of the collapsed PM Law Group, it revealed today.

    This is made up of £5.6m was paid from the statutory trust – which is how the SRA holds money that was in the firm’s client account at the time of intervention – and £3.7m from the SRA compensation fund.

    Most of the money relates to property transactions.

    The SRA said it has received more than 250 applications to the compensation fund and has paid out on 38 of the most urgent ones.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Community Snapshot—February

    Our global chapters work to keep the Internet a force for good. This brief overview covers just some of their activities in February.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Warns Against Bills Limiting Children’s Internet Access, Barring States from Protecting Kids Online

    Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up a series of kids’ online safety bills limiting young people’s autonomy and internet access.  Many of these bills – including “Sammy’s Law” and the “App Store Accountability Act” – shift responsibility for product safety from the very platforms designing unsafe products onto families.

  • Digital Music News ☛ WNYC and the Internet Archive Invite Musicians to ‘Reimagine the Public Domain’

    WNYC’s Public Song Project teams up with the Internet Archive to invite musicians to adapt, remix, or reimagine works in the public domain. WNYC has teamed up with the Internet Archive for this year’s Public Song Project, inviting musicians to “reinterpret the public domain.”

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Two Rejections Per Allowance

    USPTO office action data from 2005-2026 reveals a dramatic halving of the rejection-to-allowance ratio, with Acting Director Stewart's backlog push visible in late 2025.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Patently Unreasonable: Hyatt’s Return to the Supreme Court and the Fight Over Prosecution Laches

    Does prosecution laches survive SCA Hygiene? Hyatt v. Squires asks the Supreme Court whether equity can override the Patent Act's statutory timing rules.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Broadcom and Grünecker initiate litigation against Deutsche Telekom at the UPC [Ed: UPC is totally illegal and here it is leveraged by a malicious American company against a European one]

      It has been a long time since Germany’s largest telecommunications provider, Deutsche Telekom, hit the headlines due to patent monopoly disputes. After less favourable experiences in the 2010s against IPCom and other NPEs, the German company changed its litigation strategy and reorganised its in-house department.

    • JUVE ☛ Medium-sized, French, large patent monopoly attorney team seeks… [Ed: Now JUVE is publishing pure SPAM as 'articles']

      Bandpay & Greuter, a medium-sized French patent monopoly attorney firm, is a firm that did not particularly advertise for UPC work.

• Trademarks

  • New York Times ☛ Iceland Defeats Iceland: A U.K. Supermarket Ends a Trademark Dispute

    Can a company trademark the name of a country? In the case of Iceland, the British grocery store, the answer is no.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Apple Music Now Requires Hey Hi (AI) ‘Transparency Tags’ for All Uploaded Music—Here Are the Guidelines

    Apple Music is introducing new metadata requirements aimed at providing better transparency around AI-generated content on the platform. Fashion Company Apple Music has launched “Transparency Tags,” a new system of metadata requirements aimed at disclosing content on the platform.

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland (1915)

    A utopian novel where men are no longer necessary.