Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ The Mull of Kintyre

  Today’s Music Monday is another Paul McCartney-adjacent tune, this time with Linda and Denny Laine again in their Wings days. May they rest in peace.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ A Sweeping Ban on D.E.I. Language Roils the Sciences

    President Convicted Felon’s executive order is altering scientific exploration across a broad swath of fields, even beyond government agencies, researchers say.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Matthias Wandel Hates CNC Machines In Person

    Prolific woodworking YouTuber [Matthias Wandel] makes some awesome mechanical contraptions, and isn’t afraid of computers, but has never been a fan of CNC machines in the woodshop. He’s never had one either, so until now he couldn’t really talk. But he had the parts on hand, so he built a wooden CNC router. It’s lovely.

  • Hackaday ☛ Powerful Flashlight Gets Active Air Cooling

    LEDs were once little more than weedy little indicators with low light output. Today, they’re absolute powerhouses, efficiently turning a flow of electrons into a searing beam of light. Despite their efficiency, they can still put out a fair whack of heat. Thus, if you’re building a powerful flashlight like [CrazyScience], you might wanna throw some active cooling on there just to keep things happy. Check out the video below.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Twin-Lens Reflex Camera That’s Not Quite What It Seems

    The Camp Snap is a simple fixed-focus digital camera with only an optical viewfinder and a shot counter, which has become a surprise hit among photography enthusiasts for its similarity to a disposable film camera. [Snappiness] has one, and also having a liking for waist-level viewfinders as found on twin-lens reflex cameras, decided to make a new Camp Snap with a waist-level viewfinder. It’s a digital twin-lens reflex camera, of sorts.

  • HowTo Geek ☛ Do You Really Need to Safely Eject External Drives?

    We’ve all seen those “Safely Remove Hardware” prompts when unplugging external drives. But in modern computing, do they still matter? It depends on your OS, file system, and write caching. Let’s break down when it’s necessary and when you can safely skip it.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ 2 Million Baked Goods Are Recalled Over Listeria Risk

    The recall, which was initiated on Jan. 7 and upgraded on Wednesday, includes several Dunkin’ products, federal safety officials said.

  • Science Alert ☛ Eating 30 Plants a Week: A Healthier Diet or Just a Gimmick?

    Here's what the evidence says.

  • Science Alert ☛ Several Psychiatric Disorders Share The Same Root Cause, Study Reveals

    How are they linked?

  • Science Alert ☛ Can a Supplement Really Help You Control Your Pesky Eye Floaters?

    A look at the science.

  • Science Alert ☛ Revealed: Women Face Much Higher Risk of Long COVID, But Why?

    One step closer to solving the puzzle.

  • New York Times ☛ How Much Does a Dog’s Breed Affect Its Health and Behavior?

    Here’s what scientists have learned about how a dog’s breed affects its health and behavior.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Business People: Chris Bent to lead Midwest autism services provider

    HEALTH CARE MAC Midwest, a Minnetonka-based provider of autism services in the Midwest, announced the appointment of Christine (Chris) Bent as chief executive officer, effective Feb. 6. Bent succeeds Jeff Nichols, who has served as CEO since 2018. Bent has held executive roles at Allina Health Group, Prime Therapeutics and InnovAge. ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS McClung PR and […]

  • The Straits Times ☛ Some flu shots out of stock but don’t panic, says Malaysia’s health minister

    Malaysia’s health ministry said there is no rising trend of influenza cases in Malaysia.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • France24 ☛ Paris Hey Hi (AI) Summit: From Hey Hi (AI) safety to commercial development

      As Paris prepares to host a global artificial intelligence (AI) summit next week, experts are voicing concerns over the focus of the event, which has according to Stuart Russell – professor of computer science at UC Berkeley – moved away from managing the risks that Hey Hi (AI) poses to the industry's "commercial opportunities".

    • France24 ☛ AI and inequality: Women most likely to be affected in Africa, expert says [Ed: More Hey Hi (AI) nonsense, adding up to the hype]

      Founding CEO Global Center on Hey Hi (AI) Governance Rachel Adams spoke to FRANCE 24 about how artificial intelligence could exacerbate inequality across Africa, with women likely to be the most affected. “One of the major routes of inequality is around people’s access to work and labour opportunities”, Adams said. Highlighting Africa’s largely informal economy, Adams said “those most likely to be impacted by Hey Hi (AI) job displacements are those with least formal skills and particularly women”.

  • Social Control Media

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ No plans to acquire TikTok’s US operations, Elon Musk says

      Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and a top advisor to US President The Insurrectionist, said he has no interest in acquiring social control media platform TikTok’s operations in the United States, in comments released Saturday.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Dictator appoints VP JD Vance to oversee Fentanylware (TikTok) negotiations as US ownership talks intensify

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist has reportedly tapped Vice President JD Vance to oversee negotiations on a deal that could save the operations of Fentanylware (TikTok) in the U.S., as more tech companies have reportedly taken an interest in acquiring the U.S. operations of the company.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • New York Times ☛ Cyberattack Disrupts Publication of Lee Newspapers Across the U.S.

      The media company Lee Enterprises said a “cybersecurity event” had created havoc at dozens of its newspapers, prompting some to publish shorter editions or not print at all.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • dwaves.de ☛ SmartPhones + Geopolitics: Yes Surveillance Giant Google is officially evil and working an Hey Hi (AI) weapons and 1984 dystopia now

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia police identify suspect involved in Setia Alam mall shooting

    The motive of the incident is still under investigation.

  • New York Times ☛ Federal Courts Are the Frontline for Those Opposing Convicted Felon Executive Orders

    With a compliant Congress and mostly quiet streets, the president’s opponents are turning to the judicial branch with a flurry of legal actions. But can the courts keep up?

  • The Straits Times ☛ Security forces gun down 31 Maoist rebels in India's Chhattisgarh state

    Indian security forces gunned down 31 Maoist rebels in the forests of country's central state of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, police said, in its biggest encounter this year.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hundreds protest in London against Beijing’s plan for ‘mega embassy’

    Hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday protested at a site earmarked for Beijing’s controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns. The new embassy — if approved by the UK government — would be the “biggest Chinese embassy in Europe”, one lawmaker said earlier.

  • France24 ☛ New Orleans revelling in Super Bowl after terror attack

    Never a city short on color, New Orleans has been looking positively brightly adorned in recent days, as the city undergoes its makeover for Super Bowl LIX. Security in the city is on high alert due to the deadly vehicle attack that killed over a dozen people.

  • Defence Web ☛ Naval collaboration and bridge-building are the watchwords of Exercise Aman 2025

    With a surge in maritime insecurity, and increasing regional tensions, the Pakistan Navy is urging international cooperation and partnerships at multinational naval exercise Aman 2025, which is seeing 60 nations take part under the slogan of ‘Together for Peace.’

  • Pro Publica ☛ Trump Administration’s USAID Takeover May Have Broken the Law

    It was the week President Donald Trump had signed a sweeping executive order shutting off the funding for foreign aid programs. Inside the U.S. Agency for International Development, his political appointees gathered shell-shocked senior staffers for private meetings to discuss the storied agency’s new reality.

    Those staffers immediately raised objections. USAID’s programs were funded by Congress, and there were rules to follow before halting the payments, they said. Instead of reassuring them, the agency’s then-chief of staff, Matt Hopson, told staff that the White House did not plan on restarting most of the aid projects, according to two officials familiar with his comments.

  • The secret jungle hospital where Myanmar’s rebels are treated

    A small group of doctors assists rebels fighting the Myanmar military in Kayah state.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Hackaday ☛ Moving Power Grids In A Weekend, The Baltic States Make The Switch

      A significant event in the world of high-power electrical engineering is under way this weekend, as the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, disconnect their common power grid from the Russian system, and hook it up to the European one. It’s a move replete with geopolitical significance, but it’s fascinating from our point of view as it gives a rare insight into high voltage grid technology.

    • Latvia ☛ Sunday synchronization with European electricity grid going according to plan

      Everything is still going to plan Sunday morning as the Baltic states prepare to synchronize their electricity grids with the rest of the European Union after cutting connections with Russia and Belarus on Saturday.

    • Latvia ☛ Baltic states have joined European electricity network

      Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania successfully synchronised their electricity systems with the Continental Europe Synchronous Area on February 9 2025 at 14:05, meaning they are now permanently free of the former 'BRELL' network which also included aggressor states Russia and Belarus.

    • European Commission ☛ Baltic States join the European continental electricity grid after fully disconnecting from Russian and Belarussian networks

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 09 Feb 2025 As of today, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are fully independent from Russia's and Belarus's electricity systems.

    • New York Times ☛ An American Teacher Went to Ukraine. Now He’s in a Russian Prison.

      Stephen Hubbard was a wanderer. But when he moved to Ukraine, the war brought arrest, torture and imprisonment. He turns 73 this week.

    • RFERL ☛ North Korea's Kim Vows Continued Support For Russia's Military Amid Heavy Losses

      North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on February 8 vowed to maintain his country’s support for Russia in its war with Ukraine and threatened to bolster his nuclear forces to counter U.S. military cooperation with Japan and South Korea in the region.

    • LRT ☛ Ukraine races to bring back refugees as labour crisis deepens

      Amid a military manpower shortage that is hampering Ukraine’s efforts to stave off Russia’s grinding invasion in the east, the country is also grappling with a critical lack of workers in vital industrial sectors, such as energy, defence, and construction.

    • RFERL ☛ Dictator Tells New York Post He's Spoken With Putin About Ukraine

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist said he's spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, reportedly discussing ways to resolve Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is nearing its third anniversary.

    • France24 ☛ Dictator says he spoke to Putin, Kremlin can’t ‘confirm or deny’

      The Kremlin on Sunday declined to confirm or deny a US media report of a phone call between US President The Insurrectionist and Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ One dead, dozens missing in China landslide

    More than 900 rescuers are attempting to find the missing people.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • European Commission ☛ Baltic Energy Independence Day: Keynote speech by Commissioner Jørgensen at High level discussion on Security of the infrastructure and challenges in the region

    • The Straits Times ☛ Immigration officers removed, warnings put up at Jakarta airport after China tourists allege extortion

      Tourism business group and anti-corruption activists call for prosecution of those involved.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Thinking about clock batteries

      I’ve had it on my forever list of tasks to replace the battery on our fridge-mounted magnetic clock from Muji. It’s up there with grease the fire escape door hinge, sweep the balcony, and my personal favourite, set daylight savings time on my alarm-clock radio. It’s at the point where I’ve been mentally calculating an hours difference from it this entire time whenever I look at it, which is profound in its sillyness.

      Replacing this clock battery immediately resulted in three observations:

      Wow, replacing this battery was easy. I popped the back cover off, saw it was a standard coin-cell, and swapped it out.

      Wow, why had I been making such a big deal out of this, when it was that simple and straight-forward to do?

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ocean Park withdraws HK$36k animal skin luxury watch, as NGO accuses park of putting profit before animals

      An animal rights group has slammed Ocean Park Hong Kong for “not caring about animals,” after the theme park suspended the sale of a HK$36,000 panda-themed luxury watch following a backlash against its alligator leather strap.

• Finance

  • RFERL ☛ Dictator Set To Announce New Tariffs, Further Widening Global Trade War

    President The Insurrectionist said he will on February 10 announce 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum products entering the United States, threatening to further ignite the trade war that has shaken markets worldwide.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Reliable and politically stable’: Taiwan’s investments in Singapore surpass those in China

    The Republic is seen as an ideal gateway to the rest of South-east Asia, as Taiwan diversifies away from China.

  • France24 ☛ Macron says ready to respond to any US tariffs on Europe

    French President Emmanuel Macron warned in a CNN interview aired Sunday that US tariffs on Europe could fuel American inflation. Macron vowed to confront The Insurrectionist over his financial threats, suggesting that the EU should not be a top priority for the US, which has already imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.

  • France24 ☛ Paris Hey Hi (AI) Summit: Canadian fund Brookfield to invest €20 billion in France

    As Paris prepares to host a global artificial intelligence (AI) summit next week, Canadian fund Brookfield is set to invest €20 billion ($21 billion) by 2030 to help build data centres in France, according to a French media report.

  • Unredacted FINMA judgment into Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners / Justicia SA [TOP SECRET]

    In September 2023, Gaelle Jeanmonod at FINMA published a summary of the judgment against Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners and their successor Justicia SA.

    Madame Jeanmonod redacted the name of the company, the dates and other key details. We have recreated the unredacted judgment.

    Many paragraphs are missing. The document released by Madame Jeanmonod only includes paragraphs 55 to 65 and the paragraph 69.

    Some entire sentences appear to be missing and replaced with the symbol (...).

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong police arrest man in connection with helping 4 2019 protesters hide from authorities

    Hong Kong national security police have arrested a man on suspicion of helping four protesters charged with offences linked to the 2019 unrest to flee the city. Police apprehended Yu Hin-lam on Thursday over perverting the course of justice, according to a statement by the police force on Friday.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Opening statements to begin Monday in trial of alleged ringleader of Feeding our Future fraud case

    Federal prosecutors say the scheme exploited the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to steal $250 million from a program meant to feed children.

  • JURIST ☛ Hong Kong appeals court refuses to hear submission against RTHK satirical show

    The Hong Kong Court of Appeal (CA) dismissed on Thursday the government’s application for leave to appeal to the top court in a case concerning a satire show that criticized the police’s anti-epidemic efforts during the COVID-19.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • The Anarcat ☛ Antoine Beaupré: A slow blogging year

    Well, 2024 will be remembered, won't it? I guess 2025 already wants to make its mark too, but let's not worry about that right now, and instead let's talk about me.

    A little over a year ago, I was gloating over how I had such a great blogging year in 2022, and was considering 2023 to be average, then went on to gather more stats and traffic analysis... Then I said, and I quote:

    I hope to write more next year. I've been thinking about a few posts I sharing that with the world...

    What a load of bollocks.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s health regulator defends quality of local generic drugs

    An investigation into quality concerns had found them to be unsubstantiated.