At least 24 ethnic Tibetans have burned themselves alive this month alone, in "a dramatic acceleration of the protests against authoritarian Chinese rule," and "a new phase in the Tibetan protests," according to the AP. Close to 100 have self-immolated since 2009, but what's different, in addition to the sheer numbers, is that most self-immolators now are lay people, not monks or nuns.
Two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire this month, in protest of Chinese rule
China: Unsecured facial recognition database leaks, thousands of kids from 20 schools, half are majority Tibetan areas
An unsecured facial recognition database that contained info on thousands of children from 20 schools in China, half of which are located in historically ethnic Tibetan areas, has been found online. READ THE REST
Son of Ghostnet: the mobile malware that targets Tibetans abroad
Citizen Lab (previously) is one of the world's top research institutions documenting cyber-attacks against citizen groups, human rights activists, journalists and others; ten years ago, they made their reputation by breaking a giant story about "Ghostnet," malicious software that the Chinese state used to convert the computers of the world's Tibetan embassies into spying devices. READ THE REST
Tibetan man gets five years in prison for speaking about his native language
For the crime of talking to a western media outlet about his native tongue, Tashi Wangchuk has been sentenced to prison. Back in 2015, Mr. Tashi spoke to the New York Times about his concerns that Tibetans were in danger of losing their native language. It was a problem that had been brewing for a… READ THE REST
The hand warmer in this portable heater might just make it your favorite item in your home office
Sometimes, you'd really rather just boost the temperature in your bedroom or home office by a few degrees without firing up your central heating and paying to pump that heat throughout the entire house. In that case, you just need a portable heater that can wrap a cocoon of warmth around a relatively small, contained… READ THE REST
The Sky Lite Laser Galaxy Projector can turn your bedroom ceiling into a beautiful night sky
Earlier this month, stargazers were dazzled by a rare celestial event as The Great Conjunction offered a view of Jupiter and Saturn huddled close together in the night sky. The planets themselves aren't actually in closer proximity to each other, but just the idea of seeing this optical convergence that hasn't been viewed from Earth… READ THE REST
This honeycomb-patterned gel cushion could be the answer to that nagging back pain
None of us are getting any younger. And while the ravages of time work differently on everyone, there seems to be one area where everyone from seniors down to the way-too-young start feeling discomfort first. Oh, that aching back. A lot of that may have to do with how many of us spend huge portions… READ THE REST