Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Federal News Network ☛ Federal grants run on more than money; they run on predictable rules

    "What the Constitution directs is that it is really Congress who is supposed to be laying out the laws and these policies," said Jillian Blanchard.

  • Science Alert ☛ We May Already Have The First Hints of Quantum Gravity – Hiding in Plain Sight

    The expanding Universe has been holding clues.

  • Science Alert ☛ Paying Attention to Your Body Could Actually Change Your Immune Response

    Our bodies are amazing.

  • Science Alert ☛ Nobody's Talking About This Weak Link in The Hydrogen Economy: Metal

    It's showing cracks.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Futurism ☛ Hospitals Are Getting So Hot That Surgeries Are Getting Canceled and Staff Are Fainting

    Raincheck on that critical surgery?

  • Science Alert ☛ A Molecule Found in Citrus Fruits Could Be a Secret Weapon to Rejuvenate The Liver

    Be good to your liver!

  • Science Alert ☛ Parkinson's Link to Gut Bacteria Hints at Unexpectedly Simple Treatment

    We're getting closer to figuring it out.

  • Science Alert ☛ Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Linked to Stomach Cancer For The First Time

    Here’s what you need to know.

  • France24 ☛ Ebola in DRC: Deadliest outbreak on record ‘outpacing the response’

    Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome WHO Spokesperson Tarik Jašarević. His central concern is that we do not yet know where all the places the Ebola virus is circulating: infected people remain outside treatment centres, transmission chains go undetected, and patients who seek care too late face much poorer chances of survival. Conflict, population mobility and other humanitarian pressures make surveillance more difficult, but community engagement is equally crucial. Without trust and cooperation, testing, contact tracing, safe burials and early treatment cannot work effectively.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

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

    • Futurism ☛ Man Obliterated When Court Obtains His Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Transcripts

      We would simply never recover.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Judge allegedly outsourced entire ruling to Hey Hi (AI) and still can't be sued — federal court upholds blanket judicial immunity

      A U.S. federal court has ruled that a judge accused of relying entirely on Hey Hi (AI) to make a judicial decision can still retain judicial immunity from civil lawsuits, although the ruling does not determine whether such use of Hey Hi (AI) is legally or ethically permissible.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Cybersecurity concerns prompt Proprietary Chaffbot Company to pause some Hey Hi (AI) training runs

      OpenAI Group PBC recently paused some of its artificial intelligence training workloads over concerns that they could cause cybersecurity issues. The Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot developer disclosed the move in a blog post published today. According to the company, the pause is part of a broader initiative designed to improve its cybersecurity guardrails.

  • Social Control Media

    • Futurism ☛ Meta Declines to Remove Horrific Posts Calling for Violence Against Muslims, Calling Them “Cockroaches” and Saying It’s “Time for Hunting”

      A new low, even for Facebook.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Answering Hacker News: Retro motherboard rack [Ed: Social Control Media wasting bloggers' time, as usual]

      Back in March I wrote about my new retro motherboard rack using BILLY bookshelves, which someone submitted to the Orange Peanut Gallery. It was a bit of a silly post, but it did solve a real issue I had.

      The email responses I got were about what you’d expect. Two gentleman seemed irate that I’d “wasted” their time for “just” a shelf, as though I submitted the story myself, drove to their houses, and forced them to read my post over and over until they had opinions about i486 motherboards. The main character energy was real, as was my amusement.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Futurism ☛ If You Thought Pervert Glasses Were Bad, Wait Till You See Apple’s Leaked AirPods

      "You're the Flock camera now."

    • New York Times ☛ ICE Bars Its Workers From Wearing Meta’s Smart Glasses on the Job

      The agency joins a growing number of workplaces and groups to ban Meta’s devices, which have spurred privacy concerns.

    • Futurism ☛ In New Low, Flock CEO Insists His AI-Surveillance Cameras Could Have Solved the Nancy Guthrie Case

      "There's no doubt in my mind."

• Defence/Aggression

  • Site36 ☛ Turkey rivals Frontex and EU’s Irini mission with drones in Tripoli – the competition also concerns contacts with both Libyan camps

    Ankara is expanding its military and security role in Libya as the EU seeks to extend its own migration-control infrastructure to the country’s east. New drone operations in the Mediterranean highlight the growing rivalry.

  • France24 ☛ Middle East live: Turkey rejects Israeli claims after strike on Syria air base

    Turkey rejected on Wednesday Israeli allegations that it posed a threat by preparing to send troops to a base in Syria, which was hit in a strike that the United States blamed on Israel. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

  • BIA Net ☛ Turkey condemns Israeli airstrikes on military airbase in Syria

    Israel reportedly carried out several airstrikes on an abandoned airbase near the country's border with Turkey.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Strikes Air Base in Syria, Drawing Ire From the U.S.

    The attack was the latest in a series of Israeli military interventions in Syria over the past two years.

  • New York Times ☛ Deadly Israeli Strike on Gaza Raises Doubts About Convicted Felon Peace Plan

    A day after Hell Toupée’s envoy, Jared Kushner, visited Israel to advance a stalled plan for demilitarizing and rebuilding Gaza, the Israeli military said it targeted Hamas commanders.

  • PHR ☛ Drone Strikes, Hospital Attacks, and Violence Against Health Care Workers Push Ethiopia’s Health System Toward Collapse

    As the risk of renewed armed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region grows and conflicts in the Amhara and Afar regions continue, all armed forces must cease the deliberate attacks on hospitals and health workers that have nearly collapsed the health system, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice [...]

  • The Strategist ☛ North Korea is learning from war. The US–South Korea alliance must keep pace

    President The Insurrectionist’s instruction to the Pentagon on Sunday to ‘substantially reduce’ joint military exercises with South Korea comes at a particularly difficult moment.

  • New York Times ☛ Threatening Friends and Courting Enemies in Convicted Felon’s ‘Upside-Down World’

    The president’s hostility to allies like Oman, Canada and South Korea, and his affection for adversaries like North Korea, may still shock some. But it comes as little surprise after a decade of upheaval.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US commander discusses scaling back joint South Korea drills, media reports

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

  • The Straits Times ☛ Asian allies stress ‘critical’ cooperation as Convicted Felon slashes South Korea drills

    The joint exercises are designed to prepare for a possible war with North Korea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea denounces US-South Korea joint military drills: KCNA

    Pyongyang says it would continue exercising its right to self-defence to counter military threats from the two countries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US-South Korea to cut duration and scope of military drills after Convicted Felon order

    The Insurrectionist earlier ordered the Pentagon to scale back military drills with South Korea.

  • New York Times ☛ Pentagon Scales Back Major Training Exercises With South Korea

    The move to end the military training a week earlier than scheduled comes after Hell Toupée ordered the Defense Department to reduce joint military exercises with the key U.S. ally.

  • The Straits Times ☛ How U.S. military funding propelled China’s robot dogs

    China’s Unitree Robotics – among the world's biggest producers of humanoid and quadruped robots – based designs for its most successful robot dogs on innovations funded by the U.S. military, according to a former U.S. defense technology official and three top researchers involved in the project.

  • Futurism ☛ Department of Homeland Security Seeking Humanoid Robots to Patrol Southern Border

    "If drones and watchtowers were able to solve for everything, why do we still have humans at the border?"

  • JURIST ☛ HRW urges Thailand to halt deportation of Karen refugees to Myanmar

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thai authorities on Monday to halt the deportation of ethnic Karen villagers from Thailand’s Phetchaburi province to Myanmar, citing fears of grave risks to their safety if returned and urging their immediate release from immigration detention.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Navy seizes over 300 IEDs and 300 kg of explosives in Sinaloa

    This week's bust came just over two months after state and federal security authorities located more than 550 IEDs at another property in the same area of Sinaloa.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Straits Times ☛ Japan envoy answers Russian summons amid Putin isle visit spat

      Russia warned Japan of possible countermeasures due to its sanctions on Moscow and support for Kyiv.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia’s Putin hosts Myanmar leader, holds talks on energy projects

      Russia is the first non-neighbouring country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since becoming Myanmar's president in April.

    • BIA Net ☛ Turkey plans to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, US congress records show

      Ankara plans to send a military aid package containing 70 M39 ATACMS missiles to Ukraine as part of its efforts its legacy equipment.

    • Latvia ☛ Ukrainians plan to sing Latvian national anthem in Rīga

      At midday on August 22nd, at at the Freedom Monument in Rīga, the Latvian anthem will ring out, but this time it will not be sung by Latvians.

    • Digital Music News ☛ After Most of Europe Said No, Kanye West Heads to Russia

      Kanye will perform two shows in Russia in October, becoming the biggest act to play the country in four years since the start of the Ukraine war. Ye, the controversial rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is scheduled to perform two shows in St. Petersburg, Russia, this October.

    • RFERL ☛ Dismissed Ex-Defense Minister Says Ukraine Faces Crisis Of Governance, Elections Should Be Held Despite War

      A popular former Ukrainian defense minister whose dismissal last month sparked protests has assailed wartime corruption, warned of a crisis of governance in Ukraine, and said the country must find a way to hold elections despite Russia's continuing invasion.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Sergei Lavrov says Russia, North Korea fighting for ‘new, righteous’ world order

      North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia in late 2024 to support their ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ A Mother’s Quest to Rescue Her Son From Russian-Occupied Ukraine

      They made a risky bid to reunite after three years of separation, illness and deprivation — the kind of ordeal suffered by many thousands of families torn apart by the war in eastern Ukraine.

    • Federal News Network ☛ AI-assisted tool helped secure satellite communication system after 2022 Russian hacking

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia protests to Japanese ambassador over Takaichi's 'anti-Russian' remarks

      MOSCOW, Aug 18 - Russia delivered a strong protest to Japan's ambassador to Moscow on Tuesday over what it called anti-Russian remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in a dispute over a group of Russian-controlled islands off northeast Japan.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian presidential aide backs tighter controls on Russian transit

      A senior aide to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has backed a proposal to tighten controls on Russian citizens transiting Lithuania, saying stricter rules are warranted amid rising violations and a changed security environment.

    • France24 ☛ ISS: Sophie Adenot and Anil Menon conduct spacewalk to replace space-to-ground antenna

      Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency (ESA). According to Neuenschwander, this latest ISS mission demonstrates what makes the International Space Station exceptional: interdependence. European, American, Japanese, Canadian and Russian partners depend on one another to keep the station functioning, even when relations on Earth are more complicated. Replacing a 90-kilogram communications antenna is a technically demanding task in an environment where every system must function perfectly.

    • France24 ☛ Volodymyr Zelensky names new Defence minister after weeks of political crisis

      President ​Volodymyr Zelensky nominated ​Yevheny Khmara for parliamentary approval ​to become Defence minister. Khmara served ​as acting ‌minister following the abrupt dismissal of ‌his predecessor, Mykhailo Fedorov, in June, which ​sparked public outrage and a week-long ​political crisis ​for Zelensky. Details by FRACE 24 correspondent in Kyiv, Emmanuelle Chaze.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian businessman detained in Belarus

      A Lithuanian executive who previously headed one of Belarus’ largest wood-processing companies was detained and jailed in June, LRT RADIO has learnt from its sources.

• Environment

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Humans Love Having Pets. Seems Like Some Other Primates Do, Too.

      We aren’t the only animals that like to take care of other species. A new study finds that the roots of keeping a pet may stretch deep into our primate past.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia considering consumption tax reform, says PM Anwar

    Malaysia scrapped the goods and services tax in 2018, replacing it with a narrower sales and services tax.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ Universities Were Forced to Pay Up Despite Little Evidence of Antisemitism, Convicted Felon Whistleblowers Say

    A leading House Democrat on Tuesday called for an investigation into new allegations that the administration forced universities it deemed politically incorrect into settling cases.

  • Chronicle Of Higher Education ☛ The Case for Reticence

    'Institutional neutrality' needs an update.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong court orders now-defunct Apple Daily to pay HK$1.5 million to couple in defamation lawsuit over 2019 articles

    A Hong Kong court has ordered the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily to pay HK$1.5 million in damages to a couple that sued the outlet for defamation over articles published in 2019.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Digital Music News ☛ ABC/Disney Sues Convicted Felon’s FCC as Contentious Broadcast Licensing Dispute Intensifies

    ABC/Disney is suing the Convicted Felon-led FCC over challenges to its broadcast licenses, alleging violations of its First Amendment rights. Disney-owned ABC is suing the Convicted Felon administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over challenges to its broadcast licenses, saying the commission’s actions present an “existential threat” to the network and violate its First Amendment rights.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Cloudbooklet ☛ Amazon Uses Rare Books for Hey Hi (AI) Training, Destroys Copies

    Rare books for Hey Hi (AI) training are at the center of a surprising Amazon practice. Find out why copies are reportedly destroyed and what this means for rare books.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Secret tracking device placed in rare book ends up in Amazon processing facility — destroying books to train Hey Hi (AI) models is 'all' the Vegas warehouse does

    404 Media placed an AirTag inside a shipment of 1,000 books, which landed at an Amazon facility that reportedly spends all day cutting the spine off of, and scanning, books.

  • New York Times ☛ Apple Removes Some Fees for App Developers in European Union

    The move followed a long battle with regulators over the company’s tight controls of its App Store.

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Allowable, Not Allowed: What the First Action Predicts

      Applications told what is allowable issue 93% of the time; those told nothing allowable, 68%. The 2023 first-action cohort, tracked out.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ NLPatent rebrands as Clerq, launches agentic patent monopoly research workflows [Ed: Interjecting slop plagiarism into the patent system]

      Toronto patent monopoly research startup NLPatent rebranded as Clerq today and launched its first agentic workflows. The software runs a full patentability analysis in about 10 minutes. The company says every conclusion arrives with citations. 

    • Kangaroo Courts

      • JUVE ☛ The mRNA wars are escalating with new claims from Arbutus [Ed: Unified Patent Court is illegal and unconstitutional; here they are bickering over patents on controversial things, in a court that ought not even exist]

        Arbutus and Genevant Sciences, are no strangers to the Unified Patent Court. Last year, the two companies filed two claims against Moderna at the The Hague local division as part of a global litigation campaign. However, the dispute did not last long. In March 2026, the parties reached a settlement.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Paramount Pictures and Romans Officially Settle Their ‘Smurfs’ Songs Lawsuit — Studio Allegedly ‘Decided to Punish’ the Songwriter Because It ‘Was Mad at Rihanna’

      Seven months later, “Someone You Loved” songwriter Romans and Paramount Pictures have officially settled a lawsuit centering on the allegedly unauthorized use of two works – one recorded by Rihanna – in 2025’s Smurfs.