Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ “Useful” university subjects

  This is a retelling of an old debate I got into on Ex-Twitter back in the day, paraphrased in the style of a Clarke and Dawe skit. I miss their banter dearly.

• Hackaday ☛ How Magnetic Fonts Twisted Up Numbers And Saved Banking Forever

  If you’ve ever looked at the bottom of a bank check, you probably glanced over some strangely formed numbers? If you’re a fan of science fiction or retro computers, you’ve probably spotted the same figures on any number of books from the 1980s. They’re mostly readable, but they’re chunky and thin in places you don’t expect.

• Hackaday ☛ Make Custom Shirts With A 3D Print, Just Add Bleach

  Bleach is a handy way to mark fabrics, and it turns out that combining bleach with a 3D-printed design is an awfully quick-working and effective way to stamp a design onto a shirt.

• Robert Birming ☛ Hit the Blog Button

  The point is that one thing leads to another. This is a fact easily forgotten. We sometimes think we're standing still, when in reality, we're moving forward.

  We sometimes need to make mistakes to get things right, endure difficulties to gain valuable experience. And occasionally, we need to start without a clear plan for the best strategy to reveal itself.

• Pedro ☛ Writing is back!

  Well, here I am again. Why? Glad you asked. Because I don’t want a second blog. Managing two would be a hassle, and honestly, it would just confuse me.

• Jim Nielsen ☛ The Art of Making Websites

  In his slides he has lots of bullet points that attempt to define what art is, and then in the talk he spends time covering each one. Here’s a sampling of the bullet points: [...]

• Jan Lukas Else ☛ What’s minimalism?

  What fascinates me about minimalism isn’t the idea of owning nothing – it’s the freedom that comes with owning less. It’s like the difference between traveling with a heavy suitcase versus a simple backpack.

• James G ☛ Designing technology

  How do we design tools for the next decade of the web? I keep coming back to this question. At the root of this question is a yearning to reflect on what we have learned from the technology we have today and figuring out what we can make better. Given what we know, what should we do next?

• Andy Hawthorne ☛ How To Write Blog Posts That Convert

  A good blog post—one that converts—doesn’t just exist. It does something.

• Hackaday ☛ Blinds Automated With Offline Voice Recognition

  Blinds are great for keeping light out or letting light in on demand, but few of us appreciate having to walk over and wind them open and shut on the regular. [DIY Builder] resented this very task, so set about creating an automated system to do the job for him.

• Bryan Lunduke ☛ Great Tech Industry Survey of 2025

  Help answer the most pressing questions within the world of computing, ranging from technical to political.

• Science

  • Rlang ☛ Dealing with correlation in designed field experiments: part II

    With field experiments, studying the correlation between the observed traits may not be an easy task. For example, we can consider a genotype experiment, laid out in randomised complete blocks, with 27 wheat genotypes and three replicates, where several traits were recorded, including yield (Yield) and weight of thousand kernels (TKW). We might be interested in studying the correlation between those two traits, but we would need to face two fundamental problems: [...]

  • New York Times ☛ Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway.

    Now key experts who worked on the report, called the National Nature Assessment, are figuring out how to finish and publish it outside the government, according to interviews with nine of the leading authors.

    “There’s an amazingly unanimous broad consensus that we ought to carry on with the work,” said Howard Frumkin, a professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Washington School of Public Health who was leading a chapter on nature’s effects on human health and well-being.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronomers Capture Breathtaking Image of Newborn Star Taking Shape

    Simply mind-blowing.

  • Science Alert ☛ Radical Study Proposes a Single Cause to Explain Alzheimer's Disease

    Could this be the key to a cure?

  • Science Alert ☛ New Strain of Bird Flu in Nevada Reveals a Concerning Mutation

    "This is not what anyone wanted to see."

  • Science Alert ☛ There's Never Been a More Dangerous Time to Use Street Drugs. Here's Why.

    Fifty times more potent than heroin.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronomers Amazed by Perfect 'Einstein Ring' Gleaming in Space

    No one expected this.

  • Science Alert ☛ Earth's Inner Core Is Mysteriously Changing Shape, Study Reveals

    We've never seen this before.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Strange New Cosmic Explosion May Have Just Been Discovered

    Sometimes the stars align.

  • Science Alert ☛ Two Major Studies Agree Earth Is Entering Frightening New Climate Phase

    Crossing the threshold.

• Career/Education

  • Doc Searls ☛ On Regrets and Their Absence

    Somebody just gave the 31st upvote to my answer to the Quora question “What do you regret as you get older?” So I thought it might be worth repeating.

  • The Atlantic ☛ A New Kind of Crisis for American Universities

    In practical terms, this means that every $1 million grant given to a school could have been transformed, at the stroke of midnight, into one that’s worth about $700,000. Imagine if your income, or the revenue for your business, was cut by nearly 30 percent, all at once. At the very least, you’d have a cash-flow problem. Something would have to give, and fast. You’d need to find more money, or cut costs, or fire people, or cease certain operations—or do all of those things at once.

• Hardware

  • Digital Camera World ☛ The forgotten magic of CCD sensors: Why I won’t give them up!

    CCD (charge-coupled device) sensors were the gold standard of digital photography before CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) took over.

    Unlike CMOS sensors, which read data from each pixel individually, CCD sensors transfer image data across the entire chip in a more unified manner. This results in less digital noise at lower ISOs, a unique rendering of tonal gradations, and most importantly – at least to me – a richer, more film-like color response.

  • Hackaday ☛ Tiny Mouse Ring Uses Prox Sensors

    A traditional computer mouse typically fits in the palm of your hand. However, with modern technology, there’s no need for mice to be so large, as demonstrated by [juskim]’s neat little mouse ring. Check it out in the video below.

  • Hackaday ☛ Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The SEGA Pico Keyboard

    It’s been a minute since I featured a tiny keyboard, and that’s okay. But if you want to get your feet wet in the DIY keyboarding community, making a little macro pad like [Arnov Sharma]’s Paste Pal is a great place to start.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ The OM SYSTEM OM-3 is the camera of my dreams

    Oh hi, how are you today? Something happened last night which has me so excited I can’t sit still. I saw something new announced while on the train, and the shaking poor Clara had to endure as I took her shoulders and exlaimied they did it! could probably be felt on the upstairs deck of the carriage.

  • Hackaday ☛ Upgrading RAM On A Honda Infotainment System

    Car infotainment systems somehow have become a staple in today’s automobiles, yet when it comes down to it they have all the elegance of a locked-down Android tablet. In the case of the Honda infotainment system that [dosdude1] got from a friend’s 2016/2017-era Honda Accord, it pretty much is just that. Powered by a dual-core Cortex-A15 SoC, it features a blazin’ 1 GB of RAM, 2 GB of storage and runs Android 4.2.2. It’s also well-known for crashing a lot, which is speculated to be caused by Out-of-RAM events, which is what the RAM upgrade is supposed to test.

  • CNX Software ☛ Radxa ROCK 5T SBC packs ROCK 5 ITX mini-ITX motherboard’s features onto a 110x80mm PCB

    Radxa ROCK 5T is yet another Rockchip RK3588 SBC whose main selling point is to pack most features of the ROCK 5 ITX mini-ITX motherboard (170x170mm) into a much smaller 110x80mm board. The board features up to 32GB RAM, M.2 2280 sockets for NVMe SSDs, four independent display outputs via HDMI, USB-C, and MIPI DSI, HDMI input and camera interfaces, two 2.5GbE RJ45 jacks, on-board WiFi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5.x, and an M.2 Key-B socket for cellular connectivity.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Dictator and MElon Bring Vast Aid Machinery to a Halt in Africa

    The collapse of U.S.A.I.D. at the hands of President Convicted Felon and MElon is already leaving gaping holes in vital health care and other services that millions of Africans rely on for their survival.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia launches $247m free health screening to prevent early deaths

    All Indonesians will eventually be entitled to a free screening on their birthdays.

  • Stanford University ☛ Stanford to lose $160 million in NIH funding change

    Shifts in the National Institute of Health’s funding structure will take effect Monday and limit funding for the indirect costs of research.

  • Latvia ☛ More witnesses come forward in alleged 'sexual hypnosis' case

    Despite criminal proceedings initiated by the police against the neurologist Leonīds Viškers and penalties imposed by the Health Inspection, his  certificate has not been suspended and he could continue to see patients if he wanted to, the Latvian Television program "de facto" reported on Sunday, February 9.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong proposes ban on vaping in public by mid-2026

    Hong Kong will ban the possession and use of e-cigarette cartridges in public by mid-2026, the city’s top health official said on Sunday as the government pushed ahead with its anti-tobacco agenda.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia hopes to join organ transplant network

    This year, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS) hopes to finally join Scandiatransplant, an ambitious transplant network where Nordic countries and Estonia exchange donor organs between hospitals when there is a mismatch between the donor and recipient at home, Latvian Television reported February 9.

  • Science Alert ☛ How Well Is Your Gut Working? There's a Grossly Simple Way to Check.

    Here's why the answer is important.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Shocking Number Still Don't Know The Risk of Taking Aspirin Each Day

    Here's what you need to know.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Virus disinformation drives anti-China sentiment, lockdown fears

    The falsehoods and fearmongering could jeopardise the public response to a future pandemic, researchers warn.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Trial for alleged ringleader in $250M Feeding Our Future fraud scheme begins

    Aimee Bock, 44, and her co-defendant Salim Said, 36, face charges connected to the pandemic aid fraud case.

  • Latvia ☛ Gambling companies claim €7.3 million from state for Covid-time decisions

    Almost five years after the first decisions of the Parliament on the Covid-19 containment measures, the State will have to open its wallet to compensate interactive gambling operators. The companies have filed claims for €7.3 million, Latvian Television's "de facto" program reported on Sunday, February 9.

• Proprietary

  • XDA ☛ Microsoft is pulling a bait-and-switch by offering a fake “Uninstall Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Edge” page

    If you’re not a huge fan of Microsoft Edge, you may have looked up ways to get rid of it. Sure enough, if you use a search engine to look for a way to remove the browser, you’ll find an official Microsoft webpage that claims to tell you everything you know. Except, the webpage doesn’t actually tell you anything about uninstalling it, making it a pretty sneaky bait-and-switch.

  • Forbes ☛ Microsoft Tells backdoored Windows Users—Do Not Use Surveillance Giant Google Chrome

    Just weeks after Google accused Microsoft of tricking its own users, asking “how low can they go,” we await Google’s latest response to a new Microsoft attack, as it launches a controversial new campaign that “highlights several reasons” not to use Chrome. The campaign is controversial, because it comes disguised as a “fake” support page, which “lies about ‘how to uninstall Edge’.”

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania mulls restrictions on DeepSeek use

      Lithuania is considering a ban on key organisations and government institutions accessing DeepSeek, an Hey Hi (AI) chatbot developed in China.

    • New York Times ☛ What DeepSeek’s Success Tells Us About China’s Ability to Nurture Talent

      China produces a vast number of STEM graduates, but it hasn’t been known for innovation. Cultural and political factors may help explain why.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese auto giant BYD to integrate DeepSeek, broaden self-driving tech

      Shares in Chinese automaker BYD jumped on Tuesday after it unveiled plans to unroll advanced self-driving technology on nearly all its cars, including budget models priced below US$10,000. The company also said it would integrate Hey Hi (AI) startup Deepseek’s software into its cars, following domestic peers such as Geely, Great Wall Motors, and Leapmotor.

    • Security Week ☛ Trump’s Hey Hi (AI) Ambition and China’s DeepSeek Overshadow an Hey Hi (AI) Summit in Paris

      French organizers said “the summit aims at promoting an ambitious French and European Hey Hi (AI) strategy” as advances in the sector have been led by the U.S. and China.

    • New York Times ☛ Macron Pitches Lighter Regulation to Fuel Hey Hi (AI) Boom in Europe

      But many attendees at a summit in Paris worry that the risks of Hey Hi (AI) will be overlooked as the continent rushes to keep up with the United States and China.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Pairwise Authentication of Humans

      Here’s an easy system for two humans to remotely authenticate to each other, so they can be sure that neither are digital impersonations.

      To mitigate that risk, I have developed this simple solution where you can setup a unique time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) between any pair of persons.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Setia Alam shooting: Training for guards, auxiliary cops at Malaysian malls to be enhanced

    A male cleaner at the shopping centre was injured by the shooter on Feb 8.

  • Myanmar junta blocks fuel to eastern border scam center town

    Scam centers under pressure after international alarm; China thanked Thailand for crackdown.

  • Beijing announces $4.4 million in funding for landmine clearance in Cambodia

    The grant comes just after the U.S. suspended aid to global demining programs, including projects in Cambodia.

  • Police stop family members visiting ethnic Mongolian dissident Hada

    Hada was rushed to hospital last month after being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New Zealand voices renewed concern as Cook Islands PM eyes agreement with China

    WELLINGTON - New Zealand expressed renewed concern on Monday about the Cook Islands' prime minister travelling to China this week to sign agreements without properly consulting with Wellington despite the two nations' constitutional ties.

  • New York Times ☛ Woman Files First U.S. Lawsuit Against Andrew Tate and His Brother

    A woman who gave testimony to Romanian prosecutors accused Andrew and Tristan Tate in a lawsuit of conspiring to traffic her for sex work. The brothers have sued her for defamation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia general to head state food procurement company, sparking concerns on military role

    Indonesia's appointment of an army general to run the national food procurement company has raised concerns about the expansion of military roles under President Prabowo Subianto, with a rights activist saying it also violated military laws.Major General Novi Helmy Prasetya was named chief executive of Bulog, a powerful state logistics company in charge of government-controlled imports of rice and other important food staples, on the weekend, becoming the first active duty general in the role since the authoritarian regime of General Suharto.

  • Digital Music News ☛ R. Kelly Still Hasn’t Paid His Victims Nearly $10 Million in Damages, New Lawsuit Claims

    R. Kelly’s victims are suing the incarcerated R&B icon for the nearly $10 million in damages he still owes them. Six victims who won a $10.3 million judgement against disgraced R&B artist R. Kelly in 2022 say he still owes them more than $9.9 million of it.

  • Federal News Network ☛ AFGE sees surge in new members as its lawsuits stall Convicted Felon’s federal workforce policies

    AFGE is adding new members at record rates at time when the Convicted Felon administration is looking to downsize the federal workforce.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ US cyber agency puts election security staffers who worked with the states on leave

    The employees worked with election officials to provide assessments dealing with a range of threats.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ From COBOL to chaos: MElon, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem

    In trying to make sense of the wrecking ball that is MElon and President Convicted Felon’s DOGE, it may be helpful to think about the Evil Housekeeper Problem. It’s a principle of computer security roughly stating that once someone is in your hotel room with your laptop, all bets are off.

  • Defence Web ☛ Traditional maritime threats being compounded by emerging set of issues – expert

    An emerging set of maritime security challenges, including cyber threats and the targeting of undersea cables, is joining the traditional threats of terrorism, piracy, and smuggling, according to Dr Christian Bueger, Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Anti-crime sweep shutters over 300 barbershops in México state

    Hundreds of hair stylists marched in protest in the capital on Monday, alleging that security agents planted drugs in their establishments to justify the closures.

  • ACLU ☛ Trump's Attempt to Unilaterally Control State and Local Funding is Dangerous, Dumb, and Undemocratic

    The Convicted Felon administration has not been subtle in its desire to use federal funding for political punishment. Whether threatening to cut off grants to sanctuary cities, to block financial assistance to states that push back against the president’s demands, or to freeze all federal grants and loans for social services across the country, Convicted Felon and his allies want us to believe they can wield the federal budget like a weapon. The reality is that the administration’s ability to withhold or condition funding is far more limited than they let on. The Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, and long-standing federal law stand firmly in the way of this brazen abuse of presidential power.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Dictator fires top government ethics, whistleblower officials

    The Office of Special Counsel protects federal employee whistleblower rights, while the Office of Government Ethics prevents conflicts of interest.

  • Latvia ☛ Internal Security Bureau takes over investigation of two boys' death

    The suspect in connection with the death of two boys in an apartment in Rīga has been given a non-custodial measure, the Internal Security Bureau (IDB) said on February 10.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardons and Purges Are Upending U.S. Terror Focus

    The day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a surprise visitor joined the crowd outside the D.C. Jail, drawing double takes as people recognized his signature eyepatch: Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers movement.

    By the cold math of the justice system, Rhodes was not supposed to be there. He’d gone to sleep the night before in a Maryland prison cell, where he was serving 18 years as a convicted ringleader of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Yale-educated firebrand who once boasted a nationwide paramilitary network had seen his organization collapse under prosecution.

  • New Yorker ☛ Letters from Our Readers

    Readers respond to Michael Schulman’s piece on Monica Barbaro, Dhruv Khullar’s article on ultra-processed foods and nutrition science, John McPhee’s latest installment of “Tabula Rasa,” and Jordan Salama’s investigation into TikTok-fuelled migration from Ecuador.

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

    MElon, 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.

  • Citizen Lab ☛ The Fentanylware (TikTok) ban is already dead in the water: Jon Penney writes for the Globe and Mail

    Jon Penney, research fellow at The Citizen Lab and an associate professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, writes an insightful opinion piece in the Globe and Mail critiquing U.S. President The Insurrectionist’s attempt to delay the enforcement of the Fentanylware (TikTok) ban.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China complains to Japan about ‘negative’ China references in Japan, US communique

    Beijing says it was “open interference in China’s internal affairs”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's foreign minister to visit Britain on Thursday for talks

    China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to visit Britain on Thursday to hold talks with his British counterpart David Lammy in a sign that relations between the countries are normalising after years of tensions.

  • Hong Kong police question family members of overseas activist Carmen Lau

    Lau says the move was likely timed to coincide with protests against a new Chinese ‘mega-embassy’ in London.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Trade war escalation on the cards as China’s tit-for-tat tariffs on US goods kick in

    Both sides have signalled they are preparing to crank up the pressure instead of finding reconciliation.

  • France24 ☛ Next Gaza hostage exchange suspended as Hamas, Israel trade ceasefire violation accusations

    Hamas's armed wing has accused Israel of systematically violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including by targeting Palestinians with air strikes, and declared that the upcoming hostage release planned for this Saturday will be delayed until further notice.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Hostages’ Accounts of Abuse Raise Alarms for Remaining Captives

    Freed hostages have told of starvation, and relatives of others held in Gaza say officials have relayed accounts of torture.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea prosecutors indict 63 over courthouse rampage by Yoon supporters

    Hundreds of angry Yoon supporters stormed the Seoul Western District Court on Jan 19.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Child dies in South Korea after being stabbed in school

    A teacher found also stabbed beside the child is being held as a suspect.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean teacher admits to stabbing girl to death, police say

    The female teacher involved, who is being treated for self-inflicted wounds, has not yet been arrested.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea slams ‘hostile military act’ after US sub visits South

    The USS Alexandria, a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived at Busan naval base in South Korea on Feb 10.

  • North Korea vows to bolster nuclear forces as US, Japan hold summit

    Comments came after leaders of the US, Japan reaffirmed commitment to the ‘complete denuclearization’ of the North.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ Nearly 50,000 Ukrainians have found refuge in Latvia

      On 31 December 2024, nearly 4.3 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia to send Patria personnel carriers to Ukraine

      The Latvian Ministry of Defense announced February 10 that it has ordered an undisclosed number of "Patria" 6x6 armored personnel carriers, which will be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

    • NYPost ☛ Dictator says Ukraine has ‘essentially agreed’ to allow the US access to $500B in rare earth minerals

      “I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth [minerals], and they've essentially agreed to do that,” Convicted Felon said.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Now is Europe’s moment for decisive action on Ukraine

      Make Convicted Felon an offer he can’t refuse: European allies should propose deploying troops in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky to meet JD Vance at Munich Security Conference on Friday, Kyiv says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to discuss the Convicted Felon administration's push for an end to the almost three-year war between Russia and Ukraine with US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference this Friday, a source in the president's office said.

    • LRT ☛ Russia’s military power grows threefold since invasion, says Lithuanian minister

      Russia's military capabilities are three times greater than they were before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė has said.

    • LRT ☛ Ukrainian investments flood into Lithuania

      Investments from Ukraine are increasing in Lithuania. Now, a 60-million-euro animal feed factory is being built by Ukraine’s Kormotech firm, which is set to create over 200 jobs.

    • North Korea’s increasingly accurate missiles raise concerns

      Experts say North Korea has been using Ukrainian battleground to successfully test weapons

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Drones Damage Industrial Facility In Saratov Region Of Russia, Governor Says

      A Ukrainian drone attack damaged an industrial facility in Russia's Saratov region, the regional Governor Roman Busargin said early on February 11.

    • RFERL ☛ Germany's Scholz Reiterates Refusal To Send Taurus Missiles To Ukraine

      German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again ruled out sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, opposing actions that would “deliver destructive weapons” deep inside of Russia, and hitting out at his conservative political rival, who has expressed more openness to delivering such weapons to Kyiv.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian prison officials ordered guards to ‘be cruel’ to Ukrainian POWs from first weeks of war, encouraging torture — WSJ — Meduza

    • European Commission ☛ The Baltic countries switch off electricity reliance on Russia as they connect to the European grid

      Since yesterday, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are fully independent from Russia's and Belarus's electricity systems...

    • Latvia ☛ Minister: No change in Latvia's electricity price after grid change

      Last weekend's disconnection of the Baltic States from the BRELL electricity supply network with Russia and Belarus and the connection to the European grid has not increased the price of electricity, the Minister of Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis (Greens and Farmers Union) said in the Latvian Television program "Morning Panorama" on February 10.

    • JURIST ☛ Romania president resigns amidst Russia election interference allegations

      Romanian President Iohannis Klaus resigned from his post on Monday to avoid what he called a political crisis due to alleged Russian election interference. President Iohannis issued a press statement announcing his resignation. He will leave office on February 12, 2025.

    • North Korea likely to produce drones with Russian support this year: report

      But reports indicate Russia is hesitant to support North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Thousands of North Korean workers sent to Russian construction sites: Seoul

      About 4,000 North Korean workers were already believed to be in Russia based on an October 2024 estimate.

    • Meduza ☛ Baltic countries successfully switch from Russia power grid to E.U. system — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Xi Jinping to attend Victory Day events in Moscow this May — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘No one will care about the cost’: Kursk region refugees fear a push by Moscow to retake Sudzha by May 9 could bring a wave of civilian deaths for those left behind — Meduza

    • Russia supports US-North Korea dialogue, envoy says

      Dialogue is better than a complete absence of contacts, according to the Russian ambassador to the North.

    • Meduza ☛ Explosion damages ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in Russian port — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ E.U. countries considering large-scale seizures of Russian ‘shadow fleet’ ships in Baltic Sea — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ North Korea will ‘invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army,’ says Kim Jong Un — Reuters — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Some people leave the country, others turn to explosives’ In letters from jail, a Russian-Italian anarchist recounts how he turned to sabotage to combat the Kremlin’s war — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian soldier reportedly sentenced to life in prison for shooting four fellow servicemen — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Moscow welcomes Trump’s campaign against USAID. ‘Russian propaganda turned out to be true,’ says U.N. rep. — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia’s war wounded are recovering in North Korea, while children of fallen soldiers attend summer camp there, ambassador reveals — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The grant money is cursed’: An exiled human rights lawyer describes how he lost faith in Russia’s opposition and found happiness in ‘honest work’ abroad — Meduza

    • RFERL ☛ Dictator Talked To Putin About Ukraine War But Details Remain Unclear

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist acknowledged he has spoken to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and that he believes “we are making progress” in ending the war int Ukraine, but he declined to specify if the talks were before or after he had resumed the presidency on January 20.

    • RFERL ☛ Envoy Will Visit Ukraine Soon, Convicted Felon Confirms As Munich Conference Meetings Are Set

      U.S. President The Insurrectionist said on February 10 that he will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week and his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia will go to Ukraine soon as a week of high-level diplomacy related to the Russia-Ukraine war got under way.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Files Emergency Lawsuit for Convicted Felon Classified Documents Report; Seeks Information About Role of FBI Nominee Kash Patel

• Environment

  • Harsh Siberian winter cripples North Korea

    Schools extend winter break, tap water stops running, hospitals operate in emergency mode.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia water regulator to set strict water rules for data centres as number grows

      The guidelines call for the use of alternative sources instead of drinking water for their operations.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China couple kicked off plane in KLIA for causing commotion

      The duo were examined at a hospital for suspected mental health issues.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ China Is at Heart of Convicted Felon Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

    Existing American tariffs already restrict steel and aluminum shipments from China, which is now flooding other markets with its exports instead.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico on alert as steel tariffs go into effect: Monday’s mañanera recapped

    Sheinbaum also discussed the role of the U.S. in the war on drugs and the current status of AMLO's 'hugs not bullets' security policy.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Convicted Felon’s Tariffs on China Might Not Be the Solution

    President Convicted Felon is tough on China when it comes to trade. He especially points to one number to say we’re being ripped off: our trade deficit. Ana Swanson, who covers trade and international economics for The New York Times, explains Convicted Felon’s approach to lowering the trade deficit with China and why some economists question his strategy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong will file complaint to World Trade Organisation on US tariffs, official says

    The US Postal Service last week suspended all inbound mail and packages from China and HK, but later reversed the decision.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dictator tariffs reportedly spark display panel stockpiling from monitor manufacturers

    Monitor manufacturers are stockpiling monitor panels in large quantities to combat China-imposed tariffs, increasing demand on panel makers.

  • France24 ☛ US President Convicted Felon plans new tariffs on global trade partners

    US President The Insurrectionist says all imported steel and aluminum will be hit with a 25 percent tariff, with new reciprocal tariffs to be rolled out for all global trading partners that tax American imports. China's retaliatory tariffs on American goods come into effect, and Nigeria faces the fallout from a lithium boom.

  • RFERL ☛ Dictator Announces 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.

  • BlackRock scrutinized for alleged China investment ‘misstatements’

    US state attorneys general say some major asset managers are failing to disclose key risks linked to China.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Report: DOGE staffers ‘effectively shut down’ CFPB

    The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has reportedly curtailed the activities of a federal agency that regulates financial services companies.  Bloomberg reported the development today, citing sources familiar with the matter.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia's annual inflation slowed down in January

    The latest data published on February 10 by the Central Statistical Bureau show that in January 2025, compared to January 2024, the average level of consumer prices increased by 3.0 %.

  • France24 ☛ French PM François Bayrou survives another no-confidence vote over social security budget

    France’s National Assembly on Monday rejected another no-confidence vote tabled by the left-wing France Unbowed party against the minority government of centrist Prime Minister François Bayrou. Bayrou had used Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass aspects of the budget by force.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Freeze civil servants’ salaries to tackle budget deficit, Hong Kong lawmakers suggest

    Two Hong Kong lawmakers have suggested a pay freeze for the city’s civil servants to tackle the ongoing fiscal deficit, ahead of the annual budget speech, set to be delivered at the end of this month.

  • Security Week ☛ Indiana Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Hacking, $37 Million Crypto Theft

    Evan Light was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for hacking an investment holdings company and stealing $37 million in cryptocurrency.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ China hopes Dalai Lama can 'return to right path', his team rejects preconditions

    BEIJING/NEW DELHI - China hopes the Dalai Lama can "return to the right path," and is open to discussions about his future as long as certain conditions are met, Beijing said on Monday, a proposal rejected by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in India.

  • INTERVIEW: US needs to recognize China’s genocide in Tibet

    Sam Brownback warns Beijing about interfering in the Dalai Lama’s succession.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Marriages in China down by a fifth in 2024, government says

    China last year saw a one-fifth decline in marriages, the latest sign of persistent demographic challenges as Beijing works to encourage births despite an uncertain economic outlook for young families.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Digital Music News ☛ MElon Urged to Ban Kanye West from X/Twitter

    ‘Friends’ star David Schwimmer asked MElon to ban Kanye West from the former Ex-Twitter after the disgraced rapper’s latest antisemitic tirade.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Prince Estate Nixes a Negative DRM spreader Netflix Documentary, Planning Its Own Instead

    Prince’s estate has officially pulled the plug on Ezra Edelman’s documentary about the late icon for Netflix, but plan to release their own instead.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • China hits back at Washington over call for Jimmy Lai release

    After 1,500 days behind bars, Lai stands accused of being the ‘main instigator’ of the 2019 protests.

  • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

    • CPJ ☛ Italian investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato targeted with Paragon spyware

      Cancellato said WhatsApp sent him a message on January 31 saying that the company had “interrupted the activities of a spyware company” which it believed attacked his phone and may have accessed his “data including messages saved on the device.”

      The journalist, known for his investigations into corruption, organized crime, and Italy’s far-right, said he felt “violated” but didn’t want to speculate who was behind the attack.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Bail denied for Hong Kong woman arrested by nat. security police for allegedly helping fugitive protesters

    A 26-year-old woman who was arrested on Saturday by the Hong Kong national security police and charged with perverting the course of justice has been denied bail.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Wanted Hong Kong activist Carmen Lau’s relatives taken in by nat. security police to assist investigation

    Hong Kong police have taken in two relatives of ex-district councillor Carmen Lau, who is wanted for allegedly breaching the national security law, to aid an investigation. National security police arrived at a residence in Tai Wai at around 7 am on Monday, local media reported, and took away Lau’s 66-year-old uncle and 63-year-old-aunt.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Anti-minority hate speech in India rose by 74 per cent in 2024, research group says

    India Hate Lab documented 1,165 instances of what it considered to be hate speech in 2024.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Right to be free’: Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on

    Last week, the latest attempt to introduce a divorce law evaporated.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Virus disinformation drives anti-China sentiment, lockdown fears

    The falsehoods and fearmongering could jeopardise public response to a future pandemic: Researchers

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Million-Dollar Mysteries: Recent Complex Patent Cases Lost to Rule 36

    by Dennis Crouch

    In a recent batch of Rule 36 summary affirmances, the Federal Circuit disposed of several complex patent monopoly cases without written opinions. This continues to raise serious questions in my mind about the court’s ongoing reliance on this practice. While some judges defend Rule 36 affirmances as appropriate for easy to see “losers,” an examination of these recent cases reveals sophisticated legal issues involving millions of dollars in dispute. For instance, in Lu v. Hyper Bicycles, the court declined to address important questions the quantum of evidence needed to survive summary judgment in design patent monopoly cases, while Wilson v. Corning presented novel issues regarding jury trial rights for hybrid legal-equitable claims under the Seventh Amendment.

  • Unified Patents ☛ SCOTUS amicus filed requesting to clarify broad scope of Section 285

    On February 10, 2025, Unified filed an amicus brief supporting Dish Network's petition requesting that the Court confirm the broad scope of Section 285. Specifically, the amicus brief discusses why third parties, including counsel, may be liable for fees under Section 285 and similar fee-shifting statutes. The brief also discusses the need for clarification regarding the standard for when fee shifting statutes apply to related administrative proceedings, explaining why inter partes review fees may be included in the scope of Section 285.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ USPTO After Final Practice: More Rejections, Fewer Appeals, and the Future of RCEs

    Over the past decade, the rate at which applicants file a Notice of Appeal (NOA) following a Final Office Action has steadily declined. This chart presents a quarterly snapshot of appeal activity by dividing the count of NOAs filed by the number of final rejections issued in that same period. Unlike a cohort analysis that tracks the fate of individual applications, this approach provides a broad view of how frequently applicants are choosing to challenge examiners' decisions via the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).  To control for distortions, this dataset is limited to published applications, ensuring that the numbers are not skewed by the fact that non-published applications are generally only accessible when a patent monopoly issues.  During this time, the USPTO has issued lots more final office actions 50% more at the end of calendar year 2024 as compared with 2021-2022.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Changes at Regional Court Mannheim as judge Dirk Böttcher moves to UPC full time [Ed: UPC is illegal, so this judge will effectively participate in an illegal system]

      Thomas Schmidt has taken over as presiding judge of Civil Chamber 14 at Mannheim Regional Court. It is responsible for patent monopoly proceedings together with the 2nd Civil Chamber. The change had become necessary after the previous presiding judge Dirk Böttcher moved completely to the Unified Patent Court on 1 February.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Eleven Third-Party Uses of "Cowbell" Not Enough to Overcome Cited COWBELL CREAM ALE Registration

    The Board upheld a Section 2(d) refusal to register the mark shown immediately below, for "Beer, ale, lager, stout, porter, craft beers, pale beer, flavored beers" [BLYTHE and BREWING CO. disclaimed], finding confusion likely with the registered mark COWBELL CREAM ALE for "Ales" [CREAM ALE disclaimed]. Since the goods overlap, the Applicant Blyth started out behind the 8-ball. Moreover, both of the involved marks are dominated by the word COWBELL. Blyth tried to end-run the cited registration by citing eleven third-party uses of COWBELL-containing marks, but the Board wanted more cowbell. In re Blyth Cowbell Brewing Inc., Serial No. 87411623 (February 7, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Martha B. Allard).

  • CS Monitor ☛ Anne Tyler’s trademark wit and empathy shine in ‘Three Days in June’

    In “Three Days in June,” Anne Tyler makes the case for forgiving people’s shortcomings and cutting each other slack.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Is It Time for Greater Public Performance Transparency? Copyright Office Launches PROs Inquiry in Response to Lawmaker Concerns

    Is it time for a public performance overhaul? Members of Congress expressed transparency concerns last year, and the Copyright Office has now launched an official inquiry.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s ‘Ne Zha 2’ Shatters Box Office Records With $1.2 Billion

    The runaway success of “Ne Zha 2” is another sign that Chinese audiences are choosing domestic movies over Hollywood blockbusters.