Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • France24 ☛ Parts of Spain plunged into darkness as eclipse moves across Europe

    Parts of Spain were briefly plunged into darkness on Wednesday as a solar eclipse that began in Iceland and the Arctic progressed across the continent. It was the first total eclipse to be seen from mainland Europe in two decades. Read our blog to see how the event unfolded.

  • New York Times ☛ See the 2026 European Solar Eclipse, in Photos and Videos

    People gathered across the continent to watch the total solar eclipse on Wednesday.

  • France24 ☛ In pictures: Partial to total eclipse sweeps across much of Europe

    The total eclipse in Spain – and partial eclipse seen across much of Europe – gave rise to a host of incredible photos.

  • New York Times ☛ Here’s how to stay safe watching the solar eclipse.

  • New York Times ☛ A Space Expert Hoped to Use the Eclipse as Science Class. The D.J.s Had Other Plans.

    Mar Carretero-Castrillo, an astrophysicist, returned to her remote village in Spain to be in the path of totality. Hundreds of partygoers came too.

  • France24 ☛ What can we learn from eclipses?

    A total solar eclipse will sweep across northern Spain on August 12 in one of Europe's most anticipated astronomical events of the decade. From the Sun's corona to animal behaviour and human emotions, these rare celestial events continue to provide scientists with valuable insights more than two millennia after they were first observed. Head of Space Science at the Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Olivier Joie-La Marle, shares further insights.

  • New York Times ☛ A Special U.S. Navy Squadron Photographed the Last Total Solar Eclipse in Spain in 1905

    Three American warships were sent to Valencia to capture pictures of the sun’s corona with a high-definition camera that would cost over $34,000 in today’s money.

  • France24 ☛ Partial eclipse seen from North and West Africa

    In tonight's program, across parts of Africa millions lifted their eyes skywards for a rare celestial event, a partial solar eclipse. Also, in Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema hopes for a second term his main rival, says that it's been a tough campaign in part because of deliberate obstruction from the government. And finally, Nigerian driver are increasingly turning to electric vehicles, as the country grapples with a decade long fuel crisis but challenges remain.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Pregnant Teenager's 9,000-Year-Old Burial Was Just Uncovered in a Swedish Cave

    An ancient tragedy.

  • Science Alert ☛ A 10-Second Treatment Can Stop Tooth Decay in Kids Without Drilling

    A new way to treat cavities.

  • Science Alert ☛ There's One Genetic Variant That Makes The Body Burn Fat Instead of Storing It

    Revealed by a study of over a million people.

  • Science Alert ☛ Engineers Create a Strange 'Lying Mirror' That Could One Day Hide Objects in Plain Sight

    You had ONE JOB.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Found a Surprisingly Simple Way to Cut Your Type 2 Diabetes Risk

    It should be accessible to all.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Very Unexpected': NASA Rover Zapped a Rock on Mars And Found a Gemstone Surprise

    How did it get there?

  • Science Alert ☛ Metal From Beyond Our World Found in Rings Worn by Ancient Mediterranean Elites

    Fancy!

• Career/Education

  • CS Monitor ☛ Parents push for less YouTube, more books in schools

    Parent groups across the country are pressuring schools to rethink the rapid advancement of technology in the classroom, due to concerns over the impact of rising screen time on student development.

• Hardware

  • Steinar H Gunderson ☛ Steinar H. Gunderson: The PSX GPU is wild

    Inspired by some recent reverse-engineering, here are some things I find wild by the original PlayStation GPU: [...]

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Air quality in parts of Sarawak hits unhealthy level

    Unhealthy air quality readings have been recorded in Serian and 11 other localities.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Clinical trials need participants, are the rules about compensation helping or hurting?

    "In some industries it's acceptable to reward those who refer business to you, but healthcare paid for with our tax dollars is another matter," said Turnbull.

  • Latvia ☛ Jēkabpils doctor attacked while on duty

    A doctor at Jēkabpils Regional Hospital has been attacked by an aggressive visitor who had accompanied a patient. The doctor has suffered a concussion and stresses that he no longer feels safe at his workplace, Vidusdaugava Television reported on August 12.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Online pharmacies aid rural health care but threaten Michigan drugstores

    While mail-in prescription orders have been an answer for growing pharmacy deserts, officials say the companies behind those services help cause closures.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts as ban enforcement looms

    The Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram owner promised more action in the face of possible regulatory intervention.

  • France24 ☛ Meta faces $1.4 trillion lawsuit

    Mark Kapo-berg’s tech giant Meta is facing a $1.4 trillion lawsuit over allegations that it deliberately designed addictive features on its platforms to keep children hooked. Parents have long raised concerns about the impact of Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram on young people’s mental health, and jury selection begins this Wednesday.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

  • It's FOSS ☛ SimpleX Chat Wants Its 400K+ Users to Become Investors Too [Ed: This appears to be proprietary]

    The funds will go towards keeping the project up and running.

  • So-Called 'Artificial Intelligence' ('AI') / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ OpenAI’s “Head of Ethics” Suddenly Leaves Company Under Mysterious Circumstances

      The timing couldn't be worse.

    • Science Alert ☛ 'Virtually Absent': Hey Hi (AI) Models Practically Erase Female Characters From Kids' Stories

      “They’re not only amplifying our human biases, but they’re twisting them in strange, unexpected ways.”

    • Futurism ☛ Internal Surveillance Giant Google Document Reveals That Its HR Hey Hi (AI) Has Been Throwing Résumés From Qualified Applicants Straight Into the Trash

      "PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS DOC WIDELY."

    • CS Monitor ☛ AI is making daily life more expensive, at least for now. Here’s why.

      The Hey Hi (AI) boom is driving up prices for energy, chips, and software, boosting inflation and complicating the Federal Reserve’s targets.

  • Social Control Media

    • Digital Music News ☛ K-pop Influencer and Superfan Commits Suicide on Livestream After Harassment from ENHYPEN Fans

      A Japanese K-pop influencer died seemingly by suicide during a Fentanylware (CheeTok) livestream in Seoul. Police received an emergency call after concerns about her safety arose during the broadcast. A 26-year-old Japanese K-pop influencer living in South Korea has died, seemingly by suicide during a Fentanylware (CheeTok) livestream after she suffered online harassment.

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Open Source Initiative ☛ The Hey Hi (AI) Era Arcs Toward Openness [Ed: Microsoft OSI is still openwashing slop plagiarism]

      A surge of openness in Hey Hi (AI) has defined 2026. Amid calls for both caution and support, prevailing trends point to a future in which models are built and released openly.

• Linux Foundation

  • Yarken joins Linux Foundation push on AI token costs [Ed: Pyramid scheme or scam promotes with the brand "Linux"]

    Yarken has become a founding member of the Linux Foundation's Tokenomics Foundation, a group of 30 companies working to develop standards for measuring AI costs and value.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean gambling ring used sexual exploitation videos to lure millions of users

      The organisation allegedly managed two illegal pornography sites and 18 gambling sites.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Doing the Australian 2026 Census

      uBlock Origin also reported blocking 311 requests, which I found rather amusing. Perhaps the Australian Bureau of Statistics were attempting to perform a census of my browser as well.

• Defence/Aggression

  • LRT ☛ Sexual assault survivors in Lithuania face long waits for help – and lost evidence

    People who have survived drug-facilitated sexual assault in Lithuania say they are being let down by a system with too few specialist services, no reliable way to preserve evidence, and long waits for care. The country's social security ministry says changes are coming, but for now, campaigners say, survivors are often left to navigate the process largely on their own.

  • ACLU ☛ Veterans Share Why the Military Is Stronger When Women Can Serve in Ground Combat Roles [Ed: ACLU: sending women to die in the frontline is good]

    Veterans reflect on their military service, the requirements of ground combat occupations, and the decade-long integration of women into those roles.

  • Futurism ☛ ICE Reveals Horrific Plan to Outfit Agents With Electrocution Torture Gloves

    "This is a rogue agency with an $80 billion slush fund that allows them to concoct and fund new ways to visit cruelty upon our communities."

  • The Strategist ☛ Keeping Defence above water on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

    The marine park around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands should be understood as a national security asset, not just a conservation zone.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese state-linked observatory sought NZ site, spy agency says

    New Zealand's security agency said it disrupted an attempt by a Chinese state-linked observatory to install satellite-tracking infrastructure in the country, highlighting the case in its annual assessment of an increasingly dangerous espionage environment.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea fires missile ahead of major US-South Korea drills

    South Korea’s military was maintaining readiness for possible additional launches.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea resumes naval base construction as it modernises fleet

    Additional construction around the base seems to indicate an expansion of the facility.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia says navy drill with China that angered Taiwan was routine

    China described the drill as a “navigation exercise”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India says border peace critical to ties with China amid reports of military tensions

    India's foreign ministry said peace along its disputed border with China is critical to ties between the Asian neighbours, amid reports of renewed military tensions between the two countries' troops in a remote corner of the Himalayas.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says it was targeted in AI-driven hacking campaign in July

    The island has in recent years complained about what it sees as China’s “hybrid warfare”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan holds anti-blockade naval drill during war games as China steps up maritime pressure

    The anti-blockade escort drill used realistic combat-oriented exercises to strengthen cross-agency coordinated response.

  • New York Times ☛ Six Killed in Houthi Strike on Red Sea Ship, Yemeni Government Says

    The Yemeni government said the ship was carrying food supplies to a port on the Bab al-Mandab Strait while the Iran-backed Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of transporting weapons.

  • New York Times ☛ Ecuadorean Fishing Boats Hit by Mystery Attackers

    Ecuadorean crews plying the waters of the Pacific have been targeted by a mysterious outfit equipped with drones. Some sailors appear to have lost their lives.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Ex-Marine Robert Gilman, Freed by Russia After 4 Years in Prison, Arrives in the U.S.

      Russia released Robert Gilman on “a humanitarian basis,” Hell Toupée said. Mr. Gilman’s family had said he was in dire physical condition.

    • New York Times ☛ Arabian Sea Bird and Turtle Habitat Threatened by Oil From Grounded Tanker

      The spill of Russian crude bound for India compounds the environmental damage from spills in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where tankers and oil facilities have come under attack.

    • RFERL ☛ Concern Grows Over Spread Of Spill From Grounded Tanker Carrying Russian Oil Off Oman

      As the conflict in the Persian Gulf continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, deliver ongoing updates and analysis.

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Ahead of Kash Patel’s Field Trip to Russia, He Promises Not to Investigate Russian Attempts to Frame Democrats

      In advance of Kash Patel's trip to Russia, he has made it clear he's going to target the people who found Russia's attempt to influence the 2020 election.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea may increase western Russia deployment to 50,000 troops

      Moscow is seeking reinforcements from North Korea to continue the war.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania expands border defences, extends timeline for counter-mobility measures

      Lithuania’s government on Wednesday amended its plan for counter-mobility measures, establishing a new defence zone along the country’s borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region.

    • France24 ☛ Live: Russian attack sets ablaze Ukraine’s Izmail port infrastructure

      Russia struck the area ​around Ukraine's largest Danube port of Izmail overnight, causing damage ​and setting ‌off a fire, ⁠regional authorities said Thursday. Meanwhile Moscow said it downed 362 Ukrainian drones overnight as an attack in Russia's Salavat area triggered a blaze at an oil refinery, according to local authorities. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Blockade of Major Ukrainian Ports Threatens Global Grain Supplies

      The deadly strikes are part of a long-running maritime battle with Ukraine and echo battles over other key shipping routes around the world.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Ukraine halts strikes on tankers using Russian port at US request, FT says

      Aug 12 - Ukraine has paused drone strikes on oil tankers using Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after a request from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the Financial Times said on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian officials.

    • LRT ☛ Seimas speaker: Vilnius must compromise on language services for Ukrainians, Belarusians

      Vilnius must find a compromise that allows Ukrainians and Belarusians to communicate with city authorities in their native languages, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said Wednesday, after the capital stopped accepting written requests and complaints in Russian.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine seeks closer cooperation with South Korea

      Earlier this week, Zelenskyy accused North Korea of stepping up its support for Russia, with ballistic missiles from Pyongyang reportedly used in another deadly attack on Zaporizhzhia. Let’s get more on this from France 24’s correspondent in South Korea, Chloe Borgnon.

    • France24 ☛ Putin visits disputed Kuril islands, sparking protest from Japan

      Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the far-eastern Kuril islands near Japan's Hokkaido island for the first time on Thursday. Tokyo issued a strong protest in response to the Russian leader's visit to the disputed territory claimed by Japan that was seized by the Soviet Union in 1945.

    • New York Times ☛ For Convicted Felon, Secret Flight Was a Stunning Ruse. For Putin, ‘a Regular Tuesday.’

      Hell Toupée’s Air Force One subterfuge pales in comparison to the secrecy surrounding Russia’s president, whose fixation on security has reached new heights in recent years.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Threatens To Seize European Ships Over Moves Against Russia's 'Shadow Fleet'

      President Vladimir Putin said Russia would seize ships belonging to European countries if they tried to sell cargo confiscated from Russia-linked vessels suspected of belonging to Moscow's so-called shadow fleet.

    • France24 ☛ Putin threatens to seize European ships

      Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened retaliation over the West’s seizure of commercial vessels. Speaking aboard a Russian warship, Putin described the measures targeting Russia as an act of piracy and robbery. France 24 International Affairs editor Philip Turle shares further insights.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Incheon overtakes London’s Heathrow as world’s busiest international airport

      Singapore's Changi Airport came in at third place.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s C919 jet makes first international commercial flight

      Beijing hopes the domestically produced plane will reduce China’s reliance on foreign technology.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Incredible Footage Shows Dolphins Hunting With Shells Off The East Coast of Australia – And Possibly Passing The Skill on

      "The second I saw that shell in the air, I immediately knew what was happening."

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea unveils package to boost housing supply, support young buyers

    It is part of efforts to stabilise a red-hot housing market.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • JURIST ☛ Rights groups take Convicted Felon administration to court over sanctions on the International Criminal Court

    Four human rights organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Convicted Felon administration challenging US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), alleging that the measures unlawfully restrict their monitoring, legal, and advocacy work.

  • JURIST ☛ Staten Island judge issues temporary block on NYC Mayor Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax rollout

    New York Supreme Court Judge Wayne Ozzi of Richmond County issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Monday blocking Mayor Mamdani’s  pied-à-terre tax, a surcharge targeting high-value residential properties owned by non-primary residents that was set to take effect this month.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Harmeet Dhillon’s Flunkies Move to Strike an Argument about the First Amendment

    Lawyers who have joined Harmeet Dhillon's project of enforcing the FACE Act against immigration protestors and not to protect abortion clinics want to suppress an argument Georgia Fort made pointing out that Harmeet refuses to protect Latino church-goers.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Teen gets 18-month probation for ‘seditious’ toilet graffiti, marking rare non-custodial sentence for nat. sec offence

    A Hong Kong man has been handed an 18-month probation order for writing “seditious words” in a Tsim Sha Tsui bathroom, marking a rare instance of a non-custodial sentence being handed down for a national security offence.

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ Students Punished for Silent Protest Sue Florida International U.

    They say the university violated their free-speech rights and that students who feel unsafe have the right to protest.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Grieving daughter says SCMP’s year-late apology over ‘reprehensible’ suicide coverage falls short

    A grieving daughter who lobbied the South China Morning Post (SCMP) to revise its policies on suicide reporting says a year-late apology and correction “falls short” and “changes nothing.” US-based sports journalist Sofia Schwarzwalder wrote to the SCMP’s reporters a year ago over their article about the suicide of her father Brian.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • Privacy International ☛ The Play That Taught Garissa Its Rights

  • NYPost ☛ Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife sues congressman over ‘nude image’ of their 2-year-old daughter

    The complaint, filed in a federal court in Ohio, argues that Miller and his lawyer, Aaron Minc, violated federal laws on the “disclosure of intimate images” when the congressman shared a link to an electronic Dropbox folder which included a photograph of the young child “depicting her genitalia” among a trove of documents.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Youth in Action: Contributing to a More Connected and Inclusive Digital Future

    On International Youth Day, we highlight young leaders within our community who are using the Internet for opportunity, inclusion, and positive change.

• Legal

  • Eesti Rahvusringhääling ☛ Bill proposes banning people convicted of serious crimes from changing their name

    One of the bill's most significant changes would permanently bar people who have committed particularly serious crimes from obtaining a new name by any means.

    Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) said the changes must meet society's expectations while helping ensure public safety and maintain trust.

  • Futurism ☛ Zuckerberg Under Fire After His Superyacht Declined to Help a Vessel in Distress

    What did catch attention was the fact that Zuckerberg’s yacht had been much closer to the stranded skiff than the cruise ship. So much so, in fact, that the Wilderness Legacy had to steam “around and past” the Launchpad on its way to render assistance, the Beacon reported.

  • Teamwork: an indulgement in cynicism.

    Before the company is big enough to even have teams, or even be a considered a startup, typically, one single person writes the actual software, gets the thing 90% there.

    After that, things become more and more formalized, and "teams" get thrown at the thing, work is broken up in tiny pieces, and nobody is allowed to make any real changes without discussing things to death.

    Work items / tickets/whatever methodology-du-jour calls them, are created from these pointless discussions, and developers work on the individual items, by themselves. There is no team work. Team work is a lie.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Sandpiper CDN patents being investigated

      The team at Unified is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against patents owned by Sandpiper CDN LLC, an NPE. Sandpiper has sued several companies accusing content delivery networks (CDN) and related services.

    • Kangaroo Courts

      • JUVE ☛ EPO Board of Appeal revokes Atlas Global’s wifi patent monopoly despite opponents’ withdrawal [Ed: UPC is illegal and JUVE knows why]

        Atlas Global Technologies, a US-based non-practising entity, owns the two patents EP 3 353 901 and EP 3 186 937. The patents relate to wireless communication technology in the wifi standard. The patent monopoly holder sued Singapore based TP-Link and French Vantiva for infringement of both patents at the UPC.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Beyoncé Hit With Infringement Lawsuit Over Allegedly Unauthorized Sample on ‘Alien Superstar’

      Beyoncé is being sued over an allegedly unauthorized sample on her 2022 hit “Alien Superstar” from Renaissance. A lawsuit has been filed against Beyoncé for allegedly using an unauthorized sample in the track “Alien Superstar” from her 2022 album, Renaissance.

    • Creative Commons ☛ Announcing Four Regional Events for CC’s 25th Anniversary

      We are excited to announce that we will be supporting four regional events for CC’s 25th Anniversary—representing regions around the world with groups who are working to advance open knowledge. We’re delighted to be working with a variety of trusted partners and look forward to sharing more about their plans and reporting back on how these events went. 

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Independent bookstores in Europe receive suspicious orders for thousands of books, prompting fears they'll be destroyed to train Hey Hi (AI) — sellers believe acquisitions are part of Hey Hi (AI) tech companies’ push to get more data

      Bookstores in Europe receive massive online purchases for obscure titles that haven't seen interest in years. They fear that these orders were made by Hey Hi (AI) firms looking to find more data to train their LLMs.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Claude will begin digitally watermarking marking AI-generated text and images — Anthropic details how it'll comply with the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act

      European users of Anthropic's Claude models can expect that future versions of those tools will begin embedding digital marks in generated text and images to identify them as the product of AI.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Does Stevie Wonder Oppose the Proposed Phono V Settlement? New Comment Says ‘The Extraordinary Gift of Songwriting Has Too Often Been Undervalued’

      The latest individual to weigh in on the proposed Phonorecords V settlement? Stevie Wonder, who may have submitted a comment to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) as part of the ongoing rate-determination proceedings. Like a significant number of others, that comment arrived soon before the CRB’s August 10th public-response cutoff.