Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Monday's Microscope Mystery: What Is This Pink And Red Oddity?

    What do you see?

  • Science Alert ☛ Water Detected Surprisingly Close to Our Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole

    "It shows that molecular material can survive in an environment dominated by intense radiation."

  • Science Alert ☛ Job With Highest Risk of Radiation Cancer Revealed Out of Over 500 Occupations

    It's more dangerous than you think.

  • Science Alert ☛ Just One Intense Sunburn Can Change Your Health Forever, Research Shows

    How was your summer?

  • Science Alert ☛ Review of Over 120 Trials Challenges The Advice to Always Finish Antibiotics

    Shorter courses of antibiotics are not always a bad idea.

  • Science Alert ☛ Our Survival Might One Day Rely on Nuking a 'City Killer' Asteroid. Scientists Just Tested Whether It'll Work

    Things got weird.

• Hardware

  • MWL ☛ Changing Language for Storage Capacity

    Back in the 90s a notably pedantic coworker informed us ignorant peasants that, according to International Electrotechnical Commission standard IEC 80000-13:2008, disks and memory were now to be measured in “bi” units such as kibibyte and mebibyte.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • France24 ☛ DR Congo Ebola outbreak becomes country’s deadliest

    The DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak has killed 2,325 people, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak on record. Nearly 5,000 cases have been confirmed as the virus spreads to a sixth province, while health authorities work to tackle mistrust and contain transmission. Two vaccines have also entered early human trials.

  • Futurism ☛ Americans Are Tossing Salad in Unprecedented Numbers

    It's not the toughest decision to make.

  • Science Alert ☛ Doctors Found 4 Autoimmune Diseases in One Woman at One Time

    An unusual case.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Judge clears Nine PBS to retrieve 70 years of archival TV data — court rules station owns 50TB of data in Iron Mountain servers after host went under

    There’s light at the end of the tunnel for Nine PBS after a judge has cleared the way for it to retrieve archival data and programming from Iron Mountain.

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

    • Futurism ☛ The Economy Has Spoken: Stuff That’s AI-Generated Has Almost Zero Value

      "Buyers are voting with their wallets, and AI-generated content is struggling to compete."

    • Futurism ☛ Kentucky Middle School Sends Students Home on First Day of Class With AI-Generated Educational Materials Full of Inexcusable Hallucinations, Including a Map Labeled With “North Dahota” and “Olkchoma”

      "Planetary distance are temporatory earth, equater the elenonts and regnestiom org toed dishlign."

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Alibaba is selling its gaming studio for at least $1.5 billion to help fund Hey Hi (AI) buildout, mirroring Micron's exit from consumer business — dumps entire stake in Lingxi Games, which made 'Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition' [Ed: Excuse for dumping something that does not make money but loses money]

      Alibaba has agreed to sell its game development unit, Lingxi Games, to Asian private equity firm Trustar Capital, according to an internal staff memo.

  • Social Control Media

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Meta faces mammoth fine in landmark social control media trial

      Meta Platforms Inc. will head to trial Tuesday over the allegation its social control media applications are addictive and have harmed young users, a trial that could potentially see Meta paying a more than trillion-dollar fine and redesigning Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram.

    • Digital Music News ☛ YouTube is Shaking Things Up (Again) With Changes to Long-Form Video View Counts

      YouTube is changing the way it counts public views on long-form videos, with a view being registered the moment a video begins playing. YouTube is implementing changes to the way it counts public views on long-form videos. Starting on August 24, a view will be registered as soon as a video begins playing.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Site36 ☛ Secret services in some countries operate explosive drones via SIM cards. Now the technique hits Germany

      Explosive drones are increasingly being controlled via mobile networks, making them harder to detect. Ukraine demonstrated the technology in Operation “Spiderweb”, Israel in Iran. Now the threat appears for the first time in Germany.

    • Futurism ☛ New Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Feature Collects Every Keystroke You Make

      "It lets Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot learn from everything you do on your computer."

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Geekom admits to shipping malware-laced network drivers for AMD mini PCs — company responds with guidance, removes malicious package

      Geekom admits to shipping malware-laced network drivers for AMD mini-PCs — maker requests takedown of report on the situation

  • Confidentiality

    • France24 ☛ French taxpayers warned after personal data stolen in major hack

      More than 670,000 French taxpayers are being notified after their personal and tax information was stolen and allegedly offered online. Authorities warn the data could be used for scams and identity fraud, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is holding a meeting on the digital security of government institutions.

    • Security Week ☛ 680,000 Impacted by French Tax Authority Data Breach

      Hackers used compromised credentials to access enterprise and personal tax-related data.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Strategist ☛ How cheap, simple building materials can protect strike drones from lasers

    As armed forces and their suppliers work on costly lasers to knock down cheap drones, the drone makers can easily reach for inexpensive responses from the building industry.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Orders Pentagon to Curtail Military Exercises With Ally South Korea

    In a social control media post, the president scolded South Korea for not helping denuclearize Iran, and also praised North Korea and its leader.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Why Convicted Felon ordered the Pentagon to slash joint exercises with South Korea

    President The Insurrectionist’s announcement that he is scaling back U.S. participation in long-standing, joint military drills in South Korea shows Washington’s willingness to turn away from traditional allies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man move to cut drills with South Korea shocks experts, analysts

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea President Lee backs stronger self-defence, says drills not aimed at North Korea

    Lee said civil defence exercises were aimed at safeguarding South Koreans’ lives and safety.

  • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man orders Pentagon to cut back military drills with Seoul hours before start

    Joint military drills between South Korea and US troops went ahead as planned on Monday despite US President The Insurrectionist's statement that he had ordered them to be scaled back out of respect for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Overture to North Korea Strains Alliance With the South

    Hell Toupée wants to curtail military exercises with South Korea, saying they were hostile to North Korea. But under Mr. Kim, the North has become increasingly belligerent toward the South.

  • New York Times ☛ Facing Quagmire in Iran, Convicted Felon Turns to a Familiar Face: North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

    Seven years ago, Hell Toupée failed to disarm North Korea and walked away. Could the same thing happen with Iran?

  • Proposed US-led tech hub in the Philippines will secure supply chains, create jobs

    The hub signals Washington’s symbolic return to the site of its largest overseas bases, analysts said.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan’s leader says government to propose record defence spending for 2027

    Taiwan’s government will propose record defence spending for 2027, President Lai Ching-te said on Monday, as the island democracy faces growing military pressure from China. Beijing claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex the island of 23 million people.

  • New York Times ☛ Family Presses for Information About Fatal ICE Shooting in Maine

    The Department of Homeland Security said there would be an investigation. But so far little has been disclosed about the killing last month.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India says it thwarted attacks by Pakistan-backed militants, arrested over 200 operatives

    MUMBAI, Aug 17 - Indian security agencies arrested more than 200 "terror operatives" linked to Pakistan, thwarting potential "subversive attacks" around the country's Independence Day last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday, in one of the largest such crackdowns in years.

  • JURIST ☛ Morocco authorities arrest hundreds of migrants trying to reach Spain

    Security forces in Morocco prevented nearly 300 “irregular migrants” from crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, and arrested hundreds of other would-be migrants in the city of Fnideq, northern Morocco, on Saturday, according to local media. The actions occurred amid a persistent migration crisis in the region.

  • France24 ☛ US-South Korea drills renew questions over North Korea’s military power

    US President The Insurrectionist called for US-South Korean military drills to be scaled back just hours before they were due to begin, describing North Korea as 'unthreatening and respectful'. South Korea said it hoped Convicted Felon’s personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could help bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. FRANCE 24’s Chloé Borgnon examines the real threat posed by North Korea, from its military capabilities and growing nuclear arsenal to its increasingly close ties with Russia amid Ukraine war.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man orders US-S. Korea military drills trimmed as he seeks to re-engage Pyongyang

    The move is unlikely to succeed given North Korea's closer ties with Moscow, say analysts.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine and Russia intensify attacks, several killed in Belgorod border region

      A ⁠Ukrainian ​missile ​strike killed six people ​and ‌wounded ⁠another ‌four, including a ⁠child, in ​Russia's border ‌Belgorod region, the ‌acting ​governor said on Monday. The assault came as Russia targeted port infrastructure in Ukraine's Izmail district in the southern region of ​Odesa ‌overnight.

    • LRT ☛ Baltic medical teams return from Ukraine after two-week training mission

      Medical professionals from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia returned Sunday from Ukraine after a two-week mission to train and exchange expertise with Ukrainian medical staff working amid the war.

    • France24 ☛ Russia’s Supreme Court upholds ban on anti-war party Yabloko

      Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld the exclusion of liberal opposition party Yabloko from September’s legislative elections, eliminating the country’s only explicitly anti-war party from the ballot, as dozens of the party's supporters were detained outside the court. The decision comes amid a wider crackdown on critics of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ Barred From Ballot, a Party Becomes a Vessel for Russians’ Discontent

      The spotlight on the country’s only antiwar party has brought a spark to what had looked like another dull, tightly controlled election campaign.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Court Rejects Anti-War Party's Appeal Over Election Ban

      Russia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Yabloko party, the sole officially registered party to openly oppose Moscow's war on Ukraine, against its removal from the ballot for September parliamentary elections.

    • New York Times ☛ How Ukraine’s Satellites Help Drive Its War Drones

      Ukrainian drone teams have a powerful new tool: near real-time information on troop movements and locations.

    • Latvia ☛ Rinkēvičs: Latvia lacks border guards

      Significant progress has been made in the construction of infrastructure along the Latvian–Belarusian border, but there are serious problems with human resources – this was the conclusion reached by President Edgars Rinkēvičs during a visit to Piedruja, a village on the border with Belarus, on August 18.

    • Latvia ☛ Drone that was shot down in Latvia entered from Belarus

      The drone shot down in the Balvi region on Friday flew into Latvian airspace from Belarus, Defence Minister Raivis Melnis said in an interview on Latvian Television on Monday morning.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania’s border guard chief resigns after cover-up claims over migrant attack

      The head of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Rustamas Liubajevas, has resigned amid mounting questions over how his agency handled, and reported, a violent incident on the Belarusian border last month, in which migrants allegedly tried to drag one of his officers across the frontier into Belarus.

    • France24 ☛ Russian strike on Kyiv book market: 'An attempt to annihilate Ukrainian identity'

      A central book market in Kyiv was hit by a Russian strike on Sunday. FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Ukraine, Emmanuelle Chaze, describes the strikes as an attack on "Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian identity”. She says that “since the beginning of the summer, Russia has already destroyed millions of books” in strikes, while churches and other key cultural sites have also been targeted in what she describes as an attempt to weaken Ukrainian identity.

    • LRT ☛ Moscow court sentences Lithuanian man for removing plaques on Soviet burial site

      A Moscow court has sentenced Lithuanian citizen Romas Liutkus to seven years in prison in absentia for allegedly damaging the graves of Soviet soldiers in Lithuania, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said.

    • LRT ☛ Integration or electioneering? Vilnius’ clampdown on Russian language sparks debate

      Vilnius is tightening the use of Russian in municipal services, a move the capital’s mayor says is part of a consistent effort to strengthen Lithuanian as the country’s official language. However, it only targets Russian and critics warn the policy could hinder the integration of migrants and Russian-speaking residents.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing heads to Russia for official visit, state media reports

      Aug 17 - Myanmar junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing left for Russia on Monday for his first official visit to the country since he assumed the presidency in April, according to state media.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Restocking US missile interceptors will take years. China and Russia are watching.

      America’s stockpile of key defensive missiles is low because of the Iran war. Production is expected to ramp up, but the shortage is challenging the U.S. military.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam aviation body says passenger plane returned to Munich after tail strike, tyre-pressure warnings

      The Hanoi-bound aircraft circled for more than two hours to burn fuel before returning to Munich.

    • New York Times ☛ Houthis Claim Strike on Saudi Vessel as Red Sea Violence Escalates

      The armed group, based in Yemen and backed by Iran, said it had launched missiles near the vital maritime trade route, in a conflict that shows no sign of abating.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Mandatory drug screening for MAS pilots completed, all results negative, says MAG

      The next phase of the programme involves 2,840 Malaysia Airlines cabin crew.

    • CS Monitor ☛ With war slowing Saudi food imports, hydroponics provide a homegrown solution

      Hydroponic farms in import-reliant Saudi Arabia are good for business – and for national security as well. With the arid kingdom facing blockades and disruptions on both its coasts, growing food in water, surprisingly, is providing a green line of defense.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Futurism ☛ Internet-Connected Pet Feeders Go Down, Leaving Kitties Hungry

      "I am on vacation and cannot tell if my cats are being fed or not."

• Finance

  • New Yorker ☛ A Convicted Felon Grift Too Far?

    A scheme to charge Wall Street traders for an early look at the President’s comments on Truth Social has generated outrage and a lawsuit.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Cloudbooklet ☛ Wyoming Woman Files Grok Hey Hi (AI) Lawsuit Over Explicit Photos

      The Grok Hey Hi (AI) Lawsuit takes a disturbing turn as a Wyoming woman alleges her childhood photo was used to create thousands of explicit fake images.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ After Jason Arday’s Death, Mistaken Calls for Censorship

    Some who once championed Arday seem to be trying to deflect from their own embarrassing credulity.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Science Alert ☛ The Quantum Internet Just Passed Its Toughest Real-World Test Yet – Over 38 Miles of Ordinary Cable

    This could actually work.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Digital Music News ☛ Ellie Goulding Sues Former Managers Over Alleged Conflict of Interest — Have Her Claims Already Fueled a Client Exodus?

    Ellie Goulding is suing her former managers, TaP Music co-founders Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, for allegedly failing to disclose Live Nation’s ownership stake in their business. Hereford-born Goulding just recently submitted the complaint to a UK court, weeks after joining WME and returning to Sarah Stennett’s First Access.

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Rejected, With a Road Map: Allowable Subject Matter in the First Action

      About 13.5% of first actions are allowances, but nearly 40% either allow or point the applicant to allowable subject matter.

    • Unified Patents ☛ PulseLink networking patent monopoly prior art found

      The team at Unified used Pearl to successfully identify and chart prior art against U.S. Patent 7,941,677, owned by PulseLink Systems, LLC, an NPE. The ‘677 patent monopoly relates to a network device that intelligently manages power from multiple sources, including Power over Ethernet and an independent power supply.

  • Trademarks

    • Digital Music News ☛ A Little Venue In Vermont Drags StubHub Into a High-Stakes David vs. Goliath Legal Battle

      Independent Vermont venue The Stone Church has sued StubHub for trademark infringement, false advertising, and deceptive marketing practices under the Lanham Act.

  • Copyrights

    • France24 ☛ France enters literary season amid publishing industry crisis

      Back to school in France also means “rentrée littéraire”, the annual period when thousands of new books hit shelves across the country. For FRANCE 24, French bookseller Isabelle Claret Lemarchand, who runs a bookshop in London, discusses the style and trends of this year’s new releases, compares the French and British trends, and reflects on the challenges facing the publishing industry.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Round Hill Music Fires Off Copyright Suits Against Suno and Anthropic, Says Each Case’s Damages Could ‘Conceivably Exceed $1 Billion’

      When two Hey Hi (AI) copyright monopoly lawsuits end, two more begin: Round Hill has fired off high-stakes infringement complaints – each involving sought damages that could “conceivably exceed $1 billion”– against Suno and Anthropic. Round Hill submitted the actions to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California today.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Jamendo Abruptly Drops Their Suno Copyright Infringement Lawsuit — With EDM Duo The American Dollar Also Ending Their Litigation

      Just months after being filed, two copyright monopoly infringement lawsuits against Suno – one submitted by artists The American Dollar, another by Jamendo – have abruptly ended.

    • Digital Music News ☛ MPA Strikes Deal with ByteDance for IP Protections in Hey Hi (AI) Models

      The Motion Picture Association and ByteDance have inked a deal for IP protections across ByteDance’s Hey Hi (AI) products, including Seedance and Seedream.