Leftovers

• Science

  • Hackaday ☛ Clockwork Rover For Venus

    Venus hasn’t received nearly the same attention from space programs as Mars, largely due to its exceedingly hostile environment. Most electronics wouldn’t survive the 462 °C heat, never mind the intense atmospheric pressure and sulfuric acid clouds. With this in mind, NASA has been experimenting with the concept of a completely mechanical rover. The [Beardy Penguin] and a team of fellow students from the University of Southampton decided to try their hand at the concept—video after the break.

  • Science Alert ☛ Nuclear Fusion vs Fission: A Physicist Explains The Difference

    Only one happens in the Sun.

• Hardware

  • The Straits Times ☛ China tightens its hold on minerals needed to make computer chips

    It is using export restrictions and its power over state-owned companies to further control access.

  • Hackaday ☛ A New Chinese Radio Breaks Cover, Is It Worth It?

    Scanning the firehose of new electronic kits and modules coming from the usual Chinese suppliers can be a rewarding experience, as sometimes among the endless breakout boards comes an item that looks interesting enough to try. As an example there’s a receiver kit being given a quick review by [Tech Minds], offering AM and HF multi-mode, FM broadcast, and air band alongside what appear to be digital streaming features.

  • Hackaday ☛ RF Detector Chip Helps Find Hidden Cameras And Bugs

    It’s a staple of spy thriller movies, that the protagonist has some kind of electronic scanner with which he theatrically searches his hotel room to reveal the bad guys’ attempt to bug him. The bug of course always had a flashing LED to make it really obvious to viewers, and the scanner was made by the props department to look all cool and futuristic.

  • Hackaday ☛ Geochron: Another Time, Another Timeless Tale

    The Geochron World Time Indicator is a clock that doubles as a live map of where the sun is shining on the Earth. Back in its day, it was a cult piece that some have dubbed the “Rolex on the wall.” Wired’s recent coverage of the clock reminded us of just how cool it is on the inside. And to dig in, we like [Attoparsec]’s restoration project on his own mid-1980s Geochron, lovingly fixing up a clock he picked up online.

  • Hackaday ☛ DIY Laser Tag Project Does It In Style

    This DIY lasertag project designed by [Nii], which he brought to Tokyo Maker Faire back in September, is a treasure trove. It’s all in Japanese and you’ll need to visit X (formerly Twitter) to see it, but the images do a fine job of getting the essentials across and your favorite translator tool will do a fair job of the rest.

  • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

    • The Scotsman ☛ ‘I’m a phone expert and your old mobile could be worth a fortune’

      Ben Wood is a mobile phone fanatic and both the founder and curator of the Mobile Phone Museum, which is home to some 2,800 unique devices spanning four decades. Starting with the very phone that launched his collection, Ben has outlined some of the mobile phones that are likely to hold the highest value.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] Big Tobacco Companies Reach Tentative Multibillion-Dollar Settlement With Canada

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] Poor mental health: a silent drain on Africa's workers?

  • Science Alert ☛ One Gram of Salt Is The Difference For Millions of Heart Attacks

    A simple change that could save so many lives.

  • Science Alert ☛ Weighted Blankets Really Can Do Wonders For a Good Night's Sleep

    Three key benefits revealed.

  • Science Alert ☛ Award-Winning Image Reveals a Hidden Culprit Behind Alzheimer's

    "After three years of research, we finally published our findings."

  • Science Alert ☛ New Hey Hi (AI) Breakthrough Can Finally Detect Parasitic Worm Infections

    New hope for hundreds of millions of people.

  • NYPost ☛ One in three adults say they’d sign a ‘Sex NDA’ — to keep kinks a secret

    We're naked and ashamed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ How a Singaporean doctor-scientist is transforming China’s healthcare system

    Besides a shortage of doctors, the Chinese healthcare system also faces inefficiencies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China capital Beijing suffers most severe pollution in more than five months

    Adverse weather conditions and manufacturing activities weigh on China’s efforts to clean up its air quality. 

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘I am very broken’: Hong Kong domestic workers speak up about mental health struggles amid financial, work pressures

    On some nights, sleeping pills were the only way Marilyn was able to get rest. Thoughts about her worsening relationship with her employer, the death of her aunt back in the Philippines and harassment over a loan to cover her mother’s hospital fees kept her up till the early hours.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Germany grapples with divisive impact of COVID pandemic [Ed: When you pressure people to become experiments for patent holders]

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] South Africa And the Import of Food Products

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • [Repeat] Don Marti ☛ Don Marti: personal Hey Hi (AI) in the rugpull economy

    Doc Searls writes, in Personal Agentic AI,

    Wouldn’t it be good for corporate Hey Hi (AI) agents to have customer hands to shake that are also equipped with agentic AI? Wouldn’t those customers be better than ones whose agency is merely human, and limited to only what corporate Hey Hi (AI) agents allow?

    The obvious answer for business decision-makers today is: lol, no, a locked-in customer is worth more. If, as a person who likes to watch TV, you had an Hey Hi (AI) agent, then the agent could keep track of sports seasons and the availability of movies and TV shows, and turn your streaming subscriptions on and off.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Cloudbooklet ☛ Thai YouTuber Nutty Arrested for £47 Million Forex Scam

      Thai YouTuber Nutty arrested for allegedly scamming 6,000 fans out of billions. Discover the shocking details.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ Venezuela opposition party leader found dead after state security detention

    Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular said Friday that local leader and party co-founder Edwin Santos was found dead after being detained by security forces in Apure state, marking an escalation in political repression following disputed July elections.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US approves potential $2.6 billion arms sale to Taiwan week after Chinese war games

    This proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests, said the Pentagon.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China vows ‘countermeasures’ after US okays $2.6 billion arms sale to Taiwan

    The US approved a potential $2.6 billion arms sale package to Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ The Man Who Shaped China’s Strongman Rule Has a New Job: Winning Taiwan

    Xi Jinping’s top adviser, Wang Huning, is credited with shaping the authoritarianism that steered China’s rise. But can he influence Taiwan?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Japan: Man targets ruling party headquarters with firebombs

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] The story behind the Netherlands' empty prisons

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] Warned by Police, Some of Canada's Sikhs Feel Threatened by India

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-10-24 [Older] Terrorist attacks multiply in junta-led countries

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-10-23 [Older] As Somali troops expand control, al-Shabaab increases IED attacks

  • Defence Web ☛ 2024-10-23 [Older] The revived Luanda Process – inching towards peace in east DRC?

  • New York Times ☛ Iran’s State Media Plays Down Israeli Attacks

    Explosions woke Iranians up and rattled their windows as strikes targeted sites in at least three provinces.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel’s Strike Marks New Phase of Conflict, but Stops Short of All-Out War

    Iran’s initial reaction suggested that the sides had once again averted an uncontrolled war, even if the prospect looms larger than ever.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Attack Puts Iranians on Edge: ‘The Vibe Is Not Normal’

    A sense of uncertainty prevailed in Iran after an Israeli retaliatory strike. Explosions kept some awake, while others hoped life would go back to normal.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Struck Air Defenses Around Critical Iranian Energy Sites, Officials Say

    Israeli attacks hit air-defense systems around important energy sites but avoided the facilities themselves, Iranian and Israeli officials said. The United States had urged Israel not to strike energy and oil facilities.

  • New York Times ☛ What We Know About Israel’s Strikes On Iran

    After military-on-military attacks, will Israel and Iran be able to contain their conflict? Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times, looks at an unprecedented new chapter in the Middle East.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Israel conducts airstrikes against Iranian military targets

    Israel launched missile strikes against Iranian targets in retaliation for Iran’s attack on Tel Aviv earlier this month. Iran said the strikes caused only “limited damage.”

  • New York Times ☛ In Deciding Whether to Retaliate, Iran Faces a Dilemma

    If Iran strikes back at Israel, it risks further escalation at a time when its economy is struggling and its military is vulnerable. If it doesn’t, it risks looking weak.

  • RFERL ☛ Biden Hopes For End To Mideast Escalation After Israeli Strikes On Iran

    U.S. President Joe Biden expressed hope Israeli air strikes on Iran would bring an end to the current chapter of escalation in the Middle East, even as Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles into northern Israel.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran Urges UN Security Council To Call Special Session, Condemn Israel

    Tehran has asked Switzerland, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, to call an extraordinary session to condemn Israel following its October 26 air strikes – which came in retaliation for Iranian rocket strikes earlier this month.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli strikes on Iran hit 'densely populated area' in Tehran

    Israel's overnight airstrike on Iran hit a "densely populated area" in south west Tehran and a sensitive nuclear site outside the capital says FRANCE 24's correspondent in Tehran Saeed Azimi. Details of the overnight attack are still emerging. "We have no knowledge of what Israel used. Israel said five fighter jets were involved, but we didn't see any fighter jets in the skies," Azimi added.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Several killed in overnight Russian missile strikes across Ukraine

      At least five people were killed in Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday evening, while two others were killed in attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region, officials said on Saturday. The strikes came less than 48 hours after Russia finished hosting the three-day BRICS summit, during which President Vladimir Putin faced calls from world leaders to end the conflict.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Elon Musk reportedly has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] German Peace Prize winner Anne Applebaum: A voice against autocrats

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] Moldova votes in presidential election, EU referendum

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Severe Tropical Storm Trami: Hong Kong hoists T3 signal as Trami skirts southern China

    The Hong Kong Observatory issued the Strong Wind Signal, No.3 at 10.40 am on Saturday as Severe Tropical Storm Trami moved westwards. The storm will move across the central and northern parts of the South China Sea, the Observatory said, towards the seas south of Hainan Island on Saturday.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] Germany: Will city of Wolfsburg survive Volkswagen's crisis?

    • CBC ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Crews removing oil from leaky WW II vessel shipwrecked in B.C.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Bomb threat on X forces Indian plane to land in Frankfurt

    • The Conversation ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Tech bosses think nuclear fusion is the solution to AI’s energy demands – here’s what they’re missing [Ed: This "HEY HI" BS is just an energy-wasting scam, they try to impress with grotesque energy use, just like BitCoin; Wall Street is now 'pulling a BTC' to delay its collapse]

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ 2024-10-17 [Older] Mexican Senate approves energy sector reform bill

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Cuba struggles to restart power after second grid collapse

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] US: Georgia ferry dock accident kills 7, several injured

    • Spirit Airlines Layoffs: Budget Carrier Plans To Lay Off Employees, Sell Planes To Reduce Costs and Raise Cash

      Spirit Airlines is reportedly planning to make changes to its operations, which may include layoffs. As per reports, the budget carrier is looking to reduce costs and raise cash by selling planes. Multiple reports indicate that the budget airline has been facing challenges ever since its planned merger with JetBlue was cancelled in March.

      Earlier in January, a Federal judge reportedly halted the merger due to anti-competition concerns. As a result, the airline company is said to be working to find ways to overcome these obstacles and improve its situation. Tech Layoffs in October 2024: Meta, Nokia, Intel, Kaspersky and Others Announce Layoffs of Hundreds of Employees This Month Amid Restructuring and Cost Saving.

    • Spirit AeroSystems Considers More Layoffs If Boeing Strikes Continue

      Spirit AeroSystems is considering hundreds more furloughs or layoffs if the ongoing strike by Boeing machinists extends beyond November 25.

      The company, which supplies key aircraft components such as fuselages for Boeing’s 737 MAX, is facing increased pressure as the strike reaches its sixth week.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ A Skeleton Bank of Understudied Species

      With a new database of medical images, zoo and wildlife vets can finally see what healthy uncommon animals, from rhinos and tamarins to pangolins and sea stars, should look like on the inside.

• Finance

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] South African Click-And-Collect Firm Pargo Considers Continent-Wide Expansion

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Why this giant super fund is betting big on sheds

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-22 [Older] ASX extends losses as banks, property stocks fall; Wisetech rebounds

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] India's IPO record shattered with $5.5 billion launch

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-21 [Older] Palestinians Met Requirements for Israel to Extend Banking Waiver, Source Says

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] Africa's debt crisis: The need for multilateral solutions

  • ‘The rich will always get richer on the backs of others’: Microsoft CEO gets $30 million pay raise in year of staggering layoffs and closures

    2023 and 2024 have been tumultuous, heartbreaking years for the gaming industry. After receiving a huge boon of funding during COVID, around 23,000 people have been laid off industry-wide in the last two years. Around 10% of those layoffs—2,500 people—were from Microsoft’s gaming division. And yet, that pain is not being felt at the top.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: “The Endgame is a World State, Popular Resistance Has Set Them Back”

    Kit Knightly sits down with Hrvoje Morić of the Geopolitics and Empire Podcast to discuss what form the planned “World Government” might take, the aspects of capitalism and communism it would absorb, the role of regional conflicts, the potential collapse of the American Empire and much more.

  • New Yorker ☛ Living in the Shadow of an American Election

    A photographer took a road trip across the country during the Presidential race. What did he see?

  • France24 ☛ Immigration on voters' minds in New York as city struggles to house migrants

    Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in New York City this Sunday in a final push before the US presidential election. The economy and immigration are the two biggest issues on voters' minds. New York City has seen thousands of migrants arrive over the past few years – in part due to southern states bussing them up to the Big Fashion Company Apple via the Port Authority bus terminal – in a tit-for-tat between Republicans and Democrats. Trump has vowed to carry out the biggest mass deportation in American history if he returns to power, something which appears to resonate with much of his base. Yet the Democrats have focused on more positive messaging about immigration: emphasising border solutions, policy and helping immigrants adjust to life in the US. Our correspondent Jessica Le Masurier reports.

  • New York Times ☛ How Bad Do You Want It, Ladies?

    Donald, your insecurity is showing.

  • The Straits Times ☛ PM Ishiba’s coalition expected to be punished as Japan heads to the polls

    Voters are unhappy over an LDP funding scandal and inflation.

  • Dispatches from Europe #2, October 25, 2024: The Greens Party of Georgia (the country)

    As Kermit the Frog famously said, “It’s not easy being Green.” That is true in Georgia as well as America. Georgian Greens are as familiar with Kermit’s lament as we are.

    Just to reinforce what I said in my last dispatch about how most Americans don’t know there is a country called Georgia, besides customer service rep for my international phone plan, I also had the same problem with customer service from my bank, which will not do overseas transactions on my debit card unless I tell them beforehand.

  • New York Times ☛ Penny Hires Jury Consultant Who Aided O.J. Simpson and Kyle Rittenhouse

    The courtroom presence of Jo-Ellan Dimitrius illustrates the pressure on the 12 people who will decide if Daniel Penny is guilty of manslaughter for choking a man on a New York subway train.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Kiribati elects pro-China president Taneti Maamau for third term

    New Zealand congratulated Kiribati’s Taneti Maamau after the pro-China president was elected on Saturday to a third term in charge of the low-lying Pacific island nation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Beijing gets new Catholic bishop days after Vatican-China deal renewal

    Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin, 54, was named to the role by Pope Francis.

  • JURIST ☛ Malaysia denies house arrest law proposal targets jailed former PM Najib

    Malaysia Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated Friday that proposed house arrest reforms are part of broader justice system changes aimed at reducing prison overcrowding and recidivism, denying speculation the legislation was designed to benefit imprisoned former prime minister Najib Razak.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s national service 3.0 pilot to begin in Jan 2025

    About 500 recruits will be drafted in January 2025, with a bigger intake to follow later in June.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Commonwealth leaders say 'time has come' for discussion on slavery reparations

    APIA, Samoa - Commonwealth leaders, ending a week-long summit in Samoa, said on Saturday the time had come for a discussion on whether Britain should commit to reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-19 [Older] Germany: Socialist Left Party elects new leaders

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] Indonesia: Ex-general Prabowo Subianto sworn in as president

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-23 [Older] What could the US election mean for Africa?

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-20 [Older] Africa’s Development Uncertainty

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] The Role of The African Union and Agenda 2063 in Paving the Future of Africa

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] South Africa Asks Taiwan to Move Its De Facto Embassy From Pretoria

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] South Africa asks Taiwan to move embassy out of capital

  • International Business Times ☛ 2024-10-18 [Older] 'Let The Children Die First': African Cult Leader 'Convinced' Over 400 People To Starve Themselves To Death For End Of The World

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ Missouri attorney general accuses Surveillance Giant Google of censoring conservative speech

    Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey launched an investigation into Surveillance Giant Google on Thursday, alleging that the search engine is censoring conservative speech during the presidential election period. In his statement on X (formerly Twitter), Bailey accused Surveillance Giant Google of “waging a war on the democratic process.”

  • Project Censored ☛ 2024-10-22 [Older] Media Literacy Week: Guide to Fake News and Voices from the Frontlines

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-24 [Older] Freedom of speech has its time and place

  • University of Michigan ☛ 2024-10-23 [Older] Political Speech and The Public Square series concludes with discussion on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza

  • The Age AU ☛ 2024-10-22 [Older] ‘I wouldn’t do anything differently’: Union boss defends anti-abortion graduation speech

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • JURIST ☛ Cambodia releases journalist on bail after apology for posts allegedly inciting unrest

    Cambodian journalist Mech Dara was released on bail Thursday, a day after he issued a public apology on a state media outlet. Authorities alleged that Dara’s social control media posts could “disturb social security” by inciting unrest, contravening articles 494 and 495 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ Alabama Prison Labor Program Faces Legal Challenges

    A work-release program for Alabama prisoners provides labor for corporations and income for the state. Lawsuits are challenging its constitutionality.

  • HRW ☛ 2024-10-22 [Older] African Rights Commission: Press Burkina Faso on Rights

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Hackaday ☛ The Glacial IPv6 Transition: Raising Questions On Necessity And NAT-Based Solutions

    A joke in networking circles is that the switch from IPv4 to IPv6 is always a few years away. Although IPv6 was introduced in the early 90s as a result of the feared imminent IPv4 address drought courtesy of the blossoming Internet. Many decades later, [Geoff Huston] in an article on the APNIC blog looks back on these years to try to understand why IPv4 is still a crucial foundation of the modern Internet while IPv6 has barely escaped the need to (futilely) try to tunnel via an IPv4-centric Internet. According to a straight extrapolation by [Geoff], it would take approximately two more decades for IPv6 to truly take over from its predecessor.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Hackaday ☛ McDonalds Ice Cream Machines Gain A DMCA Exemption

    An unlikely theatre for an act in the right-to-repair saga came last year in the form of McDonalds restaurants, whose McFlurry ice cream machines are prone to breakdown. The manufacturer had locked them down, and a franchisee with a broken machine had no option but to call them for an expensive repair job. iFixit and Public Knowledge challenged this with a request for a DMCA exemption from the Copyright Office, and now news emerges that this has been granted.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Truthdig ☛ 2024-10-23 [Older] We Need To End Government-Granted Patent Monopolies

• Copyrights?Art

  • Science Alert ☛ AI Detects Mysterious Detail Hidden in a Famous Raphael Masterpiece

    "The computer sees far more deeply than the human eye."

  • Jim Nielsen ☛ We’re All Content Creators for Machines

    Nicholas Carr, one of my favorite technology writers, has been blogging over on Rough Type since [checks archives] 2005. As of late his writing has gone quiet, but he’s got a new book due out early next year and I think he’s starting up blogging again to help drum up interest.

    However, he’s not blogging on Rough Type anymore. He has a new blog called New Cartographies. If you’ve not already subscribed, this is a public service announcement to do so.