Leftovers

• Science

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] Earth’s inner core: nobody knows exactly what it’s made of – now we’ve started to uncover the truth

  • Neowin ☛ Your days are indeed getting shorter and scientists now know why

    On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, Earth will complete its rotation 1.33 milliseconds earlier than the standard 24-hour day, making it one of the shortest days of the year at 86,399.99867 seconds. The change is too small to be noticed without highly precise instruments, but it is measurable with modern technology.

    A sidereal day — Earth’s true rotation period relative to distant stars — lasts 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds and 90.5 milliseconds. The solar day, which is the basis for civil time, is about four minutes longer because Earth must rotate slightly more than 360 degrees for the Sun to appear in the same position in the sky.

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Alien: Earth – how realistic are the extraterrestrials? Three experts rank them

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-10 [Older] NASA rover discovers potential signs of ancient life on Mars

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] When insulation goes wrong – the science behind why botched retrofits can be so damaging

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Smell triggers the same brain response as taste does – even if you haven’t eaten anything

• Career/Education

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-10 [Older] Why some German schools are banishing smartphones from classrooms

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] Farmers are in Trouble: How to Turn Things Around

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Spanish legal case leads fight against livestock pollution

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Well-Preserved Amazon Rainforest on Indigenous Lands Can Protect People From Diseases, Study Finds

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Protecting Amazon Forests May Also Protect Human Health, Study Finds

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] Amazon Spends $1 Billion to Increase Pay and Lower Health Care Costs for US Workers

  • Pro Publica ☛ Local Officials Waver on Water Fluoridation in Michigan, Where It Started

    Just 15 months after receiving an award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for excellence in community water fluoridation, the city of Grayling, Michigan, changed course.

    With little notice or fanfare, council members voted unanimously in May to end Grayling’s decadeslong treatment program. The city shut down the equipment used to deliver the drinking water additive less than two weeks later.

  • New York Times ☛ RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Committee to Vote on Hepatitis B and Covid Shots

    The members voted against the combination shot for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. Guidelines on vaccines given separately to prevent those infections remain unchanged.

  • New York Times ☛ In Texas, Parents Fighting Vaccinations Say Their Movement Is Winning

    Public health advocates hoped that the measles outbreak might persuade the reluctant to get shots. That has not turned out to be true.

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Photos of Luigi Mangione as Judge Drops Terrorism Charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder

• Proprietary

  • 2025-09-15 [Older] Brian (bex) Exelbierd: Day 1: Microsoft Hackathon — Building a Focused Summarizer for Upstream Linux [Ed: "Disclaimer: I work at Microsoft on upstream Linux in Azure. These are my personal opinions." Microsoft EEE inside GNU/Linux.]

  • 2025-09-17 [Older] Brian (bex) Exelbierd: Day 3: Microsoft Hackathon — Thread Heuristics, Importance Signals, and Agent Editing [Ed: People who help Microsoft attack Linux from the inside]

  • 2025-09-16 [Older] Brian (bex) Exelbierd: Day 2: Microsoft Hackathon — Distractions, Brainstorming, and Infrastructure [Ed: They view "Linux" as just some commodity with which to build a Microsoft mass surveillance and censorship platform with back doors]

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Microsoft Workers Now Need Special Clearance To Enter Executive Buildings After Brad Smith Office Occupation [Ed: Put another way, Microsoft can never do even the most basic security, so why trust it with data, systems etc.?]

  • Social Control Media

    • Press Gazette ☛ Publishers ‘should be making £1m a year’ from a successful Youtube channel

      Youtube "feels different" to other third-party platforms in terms of monetising publisher relationships.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Asus is 'actively investigating' ROG gaming laptop stuttering woes — Models released / sold between 2021 - 2024 affected by 'performance interruptions'

      Asus has acknowledged reports of stuttering issues with its ROG gaming laptops from 2021 through 2024 and has confirmed it is investigating the issue, though stopped short of admitting any kind of fault.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Valve to drop Steam support for 32-bit backdoored Windows versions next year — says it's no longer compatible with core client features, only 0.01% of players actually used it

      Steam will stop supporting 32-bit versions of backdoored Windows from next year. Valve says the libraries and drivers needed for core client features are no longer compatible with 32-bit architecture, and therefore need to be left behind. Upgrade to backdoored Windows 10 64-bit, or backdoored Windows 11, to keep receiving timely updates and assistance.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] Microsoft seizes websites linked to Nigeria-based phishing [Ed: This is a task for the state/police, not Microsoft]

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Protect Your Inbox: How to Avoid Email and Text Scams

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • RTE ☛ RTÉ Prime Time investigation uncovers location data of thousands of smartphones in Ireland for sale

      – Individual phones could be tracked back to specific residential addresses  – Smartphone owners would have given permission for the sale of the location data through the terms and conditions of installed apps – Do you know what permissions you have agreed to on your smartphone?

    • Make Tech Easier ☛ 2025-09-10 [Older] X’s New Encrypted Messaging: Smart Move or Security Mirage? [Ed: Surveillance by fascists]

• Defence/Aggression

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Jewish life in Germany: Merz gives emotional speech

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] South Sudan's first vice president charged with murder, crimes against humanity

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-09-14 [Older] Nepal's First Female Prime Minister Vows to Honour Protesters' Demands After Deadly Uprising [Ed: Installed by coup?]

  • BIA Net ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Turkey's İmamoğlu to be defended by jailed lawyer in 'university diploma' case

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Turkey: Erdogan rival Imamoglu stands trial

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] Turkey Orders Detention of Istanbul District Mayor, Others in Corruption Probe, State Media Says

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-14 [Older] Turkey's largest opposition party, CHP, set for showdown

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] Why Germany, German language is becoming popular in Turkey

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Policy Address 2025: Include ‘affirmative consent,’ NGO urges, as city leader vows to amend sexual offence laws

    An NGO has urged the Hong Kong government to reform its “outdated” rape laws after the city’s leader announced in the Policy Address that legislative amendments on sexual offences would be completed within his tenure.

  • New Yorker ☛ How Bad Is It?: Political Violence in the U.S., and What We Can Learn from Brazil

    Brazil’s reckoning with authoritarianism may hold lessons for a U.S. system under strain.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Charlie Kirk's Shooting Death Exposes Security Gaps at Political Events

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini's Team Tightens Security After Charlie Kirk Shooting, WSJ Reports

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] The Latest: Pentagon 9/11 Ceremony Moved Inside Due to Security Concerns

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] The Killing of Charles James Kirk: Violent Speech Leads to Violence

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] New Bill Would Allow Rubio to Strip US Citizens’ Passports Over Political Speech

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] New ‘Thought Policing’ Bill May Let Rubio Strip Passports from US Citizens Over Political Speech

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] After Charlie Kirk's Death, Workers Learn the Limits of Free Speech in and Out of Their Jobs

  • Vox ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] The third Red Scare

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Policy Address 2025: Greenpeace urges climate initiatives as lawmakers heap praise on leader’s annual speech

    Environmental NGO Greenpeace has called for climate initiatives after the Hong Kong leader said in this year’s Policy Address that the city would fast-track a widely criticised development plan in the north.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] Move Over, Green Lawns. Drier, Warmer Climate Boosts Interest in Low-Water Landscaping

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] National Academy of Sciences Rebuffs Cheeto Mussolini EPA's Effort to Undo Regulations Fighting Climate Change

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] As Prisons Deal With Heat Waves, Climate Crisis Makes Abolition Even More Urgent

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Coalition divisions erupt as more MPs urge leader to dump climate pledge

  • Vox ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Inside Texas’s grand laboratory of dangerous mosquitoes

  • Vox ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] The great mosquito resurgence

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Australia: Climate report reveals rising oceans threat

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Experts fired by President Cheeto Mussolini revive popular climate website

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Australia Warns of Cascading Climate Risks Ahead of Emissions Target Announcement

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] This Researcher Studied How Climate Change Hurts Children — Cheeto Mussolini Shut Her Down

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] California Lawmakers to Decide on Extending Key Climate Program and Boosting Grid Reliability

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] US Appeals Court Hits Pause on Challenges to SEC Climate Rule

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] EU Countries Delay Deal on New Climate Goal, Diplomats Say

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-10 [Older] IAA: Why VW and other carmakers are changing their EV designs

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Vietnam opting for electric motorbikes over fossil fuel

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-13 [Older] US Electric Grids Under Pressure From Energy-Hungry Data Centers Are Changing Strategy [Ed: The current Ponzi scheme - slop - is causing severe issues]

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-17 [Older] How a fly sees the world – and why understanding its vision can help prevent disease

    • The Conversation ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Curious kids: do owls have bogies?

• Finance

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Democratic Senators Call for JPMorgan CEO to Testify on Bank’s Epstein Ties

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-09-14 [Older] Netherlands residents becoming less frugal with their spending, banks say

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Dutch leaders react sharply to King’s Budget Day speech, criticize caretaker cabinet

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Dutch King focuses on people's livelihoods, unity, and Defense in budget day speech

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] Full text of King Willem-Alexander's Prinsjesdag 2025 speech in English

  • Vox ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] How to save Social Security without screwing over poor people

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Vox ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Why free speech can be so contentious

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ Internet Shutdowns Hit Parts of Afghanistan

    Some provincial officials said the country’s leader instructed them to switch off Wi-Fi in their area to limit the “misuse of the internet” and diffusion of “immoral acts.”

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Condemns Censorship of Jimmy Kimmel

    Yesterday, ABC abruptly pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air, following backlash from conservatives in response to Kimmel’s statements about the reaction to the killing of right-wing activist and media personality Charlie Kirk.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Hails Kimmel Suspension After Criticizing UK on Free Speech

    Hell Toupée has accused Britain of mounting a crackdown on political expression. But he welcomed the ABC network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Speech

    Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and the little-noticed continued effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil for his speech demonstrates the urgency of setting up alternative media outlets to bypass the oligarch-owned and multinational media companies susceptible to Convicted Felon's censorship.

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] What Did Hannah Einbinder Say That Got Her Censored During Awards Speech? The Emmy's Political Leaning Underscored

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Emmys Host Nate Bargatze Pokes Fun at the TV Industry and Fails With Gag to Keep Speeches Short

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New Yorker ☛ “The Paper,” “The Lowdown,” and the Drama of Journalism

    Reporters were the undisputed heroes of such classics as “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight.” A new crop of shows—and a growing number of real-life skeptics and detractors—paint a different picture.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Scheerpost ☛ 2025-09-10 [Older] Teamsters Rally in NYC After Amazon’s ‘Illegal’ Firing of 150 Unionized Drivers

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] The Nest Is Empty: Parents Grapple With Mixed Emotions After Children Move Out

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-09-11 [Older] Keeping up with Belgian patent litigation: Year case law review 2024 and early 2025

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 [Ed: Innovation should not be conflated with monopolies, which are related to weather rather than wisdom]

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • IP Kat ☛ 2025-09-12 [Older] Walking the line between broad scope and lack of legal certainty (T 2387/22)

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ No Evidence = No Cancellation of Registration for CASUAL COMFORT for Pillows

    The Board denied a petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark CASUAL COMFORT for "Pillows, namely, bed pillows," because the petitioner failed to present testimony or properly introduce any other evidence during its initial testimony period to support its claims of abandonment, nonuse, and fraud. The Board rejected iEnjoy's construed motion to re-open its testimony period, filed some six months after the testimony period had closed, and then entered judgment in favor of Respondent Franktex. iEnjoy Ventures, LLC v. Franktex, Inc., Cancellation No. 92081122 (September 16, 2025) [not precedential].

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-09-15 [Older] Another brick in the wall - There is no special treatment for LEGO bricks under EU design law

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-09-16 [Older] [Guest post] Growing storm warnings and confused collaboration timelines, Missy Elliott settles SISTA-related drama with Terry Williams