Leftovers

• Standards/Consortia

  • IT Wire ☛ iTWire - Why the SIM card is an endangered species

    But the preference to use a physical SIM card when travelling overseas shows a clear generational gap, with just 21% of 18-26 years old exclusively using a SIM card, compared to 56% for over 65’s. The use of just an eSIM is clearly preferred by 18-26 years old, with 55% preferring this, with the remainder using both. This compares to just 23% of over 65’s using an eSIM exclusively when travelling overseas.

  • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

    • Jan Lukas Else ☛ My current multi-phone strategy

      In response to a question a commenter named Jerry asked, I want to briefly explain my multi-phone strategy.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia cops foil bid to smuggle in nearly 1 tonne of fentanyl

    This is the first known attempt to smuggle fentanyl into Malaysia, the police said.

  • New York Times ☛ Autism Has Never Been One Thing

    We’ve come too far to go back to a time when autism was defined solely in terms of deficits and mothers were made to feel guilty.

  • New Yorker ☛ A New Era of Vaccine Federalism

    As confidence in the C.D.C. wanes, states are asserting more control over their vaccine policies, creating a fragmented public-health system.

  • Pro Publica ☛ For-Profit Hospitals Continue to Violate EMTALA With Few Repercussions

    As the share of U.S. adults receiving mental health care treatment steadily grows, for-profit companies are playing an increasingly important role.

    More than 40% of inpatient mental health beds were operated by for-profit entities as of 2021, according to unpublished data from Morgan Shields, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies quality in behavioral health care. That’s up from about 13% in 2010. (The number of mental health beds held relatively constant during that time.)

  • New York Times ☛ Defense Department Delays Cleanup of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Nationwide

    The new timeline could slow cleanup in some communities by nearly a decade. The chemicals, widely used in the military, are linked to cancers and other health risks.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Obamacare Bills May Double Next Year

    Extensive subsidies that reduce premium costs for millions are set to expire, unless Congress extends them.

  • France24 ☛ Sudan conflict fuels cholera outbreak

    The conflict in Sudan is escalating, causing greater suffering for civilians. Half a million people have fled El Fasher with no access to shelter, while a cholera epidemic has spread across all 18 states, overwhelming health workers. The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that unless violence against civilians ceases, the humanitarian crisis will worsen dramatically. Patrick Youssef from the ICRC was FRANCE 24's guest to discuss the ongoing crisis, urgent needs on the ground, and efforts to control the cholera outbreak.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ The critical minerals boom is an opportunity to integrate public health into mining operations

    Africa is central to the global push for cleaner energy, including the continent's stocks of critical minerals that power green-energy technologies. But a race to extract more minerals poses public health risks, from the occupational hazards miners suffer to new disease outbreaks in mining camps. There’s a better course for investors and African governments.

  • NYPost ☛ Silent disease could be a ticking time bomb for your legs — beware these red flags

    People "may mistake symptoms like leg fatigue or discomfort for normal signs of aging," Jennifer Jones-McMeans, divisional vice president of global clinical affairs for Abbott's vascular business, told The Post.

  • Latvia ☛ Blood donor centre to open doors on some Saturdays

    The State Blood Donor Centre (VADC) will also be open on Saturdays once a month in autumn, the VADC said.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • EDRI ☛ Open Letter: The European Commission and Member States must keep Hey Hi (AI) Act national implementation on track [Ed: Mindless hype; participating in the Ponzi scheme]

      EDRi, along with a broad coalition of civil society organisations, demands urgent action from the European Commission and Member States to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Hey Hi (AI) Act do not remain hollow promises, but that the Commission and Member States act decisively and immediately to ensure the timely national implementation of the Hey Hi (AI) Act now.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Apple’s New Memory Integrity Enforcement

      Apple has introduced a new hardware/software security feature in the iPhone 17: “Memory Integrity Enforcement,” targeting the memory safety vulnerabilities that spyware products like Pegasus tend to use to get unauthorized system access.

• Defence/Aggression

  • ACLU ☛ Border Communities Face New Risks Under Convicted Felon’s National Defense Areas

    In April, the Convicted Felon administration began declaring parts of the U.S.-Mexico border region as “National Defense Areas” (NDAs), as if they were restricted-access military bases.

    These NDA declarations aim to give the Department of Defense (DOD) new enforcement powers along the border. For immigrant communities, the stakes are especially high: crossing into an NDA now means risking federal trespassing charges in addition to immigration charges. U.S. citizens, too, may face prosecution if they enter poorly marked areas while traveling, hiking, hunting, or working near the border.

    The creation of NDAs is part of a broader pattern in President The Insurrectionist’s anti-immigrant strategy and his efforts to push toward an unprecedented deployment of military power throughout the country. Communities are effectively cut off from access to public lands, while states are forced to grapple with heightened enforcement and diminished transparency.

  • Meduza ☛ ‘Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing,’ Zelensky tells U.N. Security Council — Meduza

  • Meduza ☛ The fall of ‘Putin’s point man’: Meduza’s Andrey Pertsev charts the political demise of Dmitry Kozak, the only senior Russian official believed to oppose the war against Ukraine — Meduza

  • Daniel Miessler ☛ Thoughts on Charlie Kirk's Assassination

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s former first lady faces bribery trial as ‘Dior bag’ scandal widens

    A scandal over a bag she was seen accepting from a pastor came to overshadow her husband's presidency.

  • NYPost ☛ South Korea’s ex-first lady faces bribery trial as ‘Dior bag’ scandal widens

    In brief remarks to the court she confirmed her personal information and asked for a trial by judge, rather than a jury, but did not address any of the charges.

  • New York Times ☛ Unification Church Leader Is Arrested on Corruption Charges in South Korea

    Han Hak-ja — the widow of the church’s founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon — was accused of bribing a former first lady for business and political favors.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Leader of South Korea’s Unification Church jailed after court issues warrant

    She has been accused of directing the church to bribe former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

  • New York Times ☛ Woman Is Convicted of Killing Her Children and Leaving Them in Suitcases

    Years after Hakyung Lee left New Zealand for her native South Korea, the bodies of her children were found in Auckland. She faces life in prison.

  • New York Times ☛ South Koreans Describe Fear and Anger After Georgia ICE Raid

    Some of the workers arrested this month at a Hyundai-LG factory said that although they had entered the United States under murky circumstances, they had always planned to return home.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Top diplomats from US, South Korea, Japan voice concern on Taiwan Strait

    They also discussed the three countries’ continued commitment to ending North Korea’s nuclear programme.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Man in South Korea arrested for calling police 60,000 times with nonsense complaints

    In one particular spree, the man called the police 1,882 times in four days.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea, US see progress on military control transfer as Pyongyang tensions simmer

    The two sides had assessed overall military cooperation to develop the alliance into a future-oriented one.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ What to do if your company discovers a North Korean worker in its ranks

    Experts say companies often struggle to manage the aftermath when they discover an employee’s true identity is not what it seemed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim Jong Un says he will strengthen ties with China more vigorously: KCNA

    China is a major backer and an economic lifeline for North Korea.

  • New York Times ☛ In Rare China Visit, U.S. Lawmakers Call Lack of Military Talks ‘Dangerous’

    The bipartisan delegation said more conversations were necessary to avoid accidental “miscalculations and misunderstandings” that could lead to conflict.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Train targeting Russia is bombing railroads to prevent Western weapons from reaching Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Running dry How Ukrainian drone attacks have forced gas stations across Russia to tape up their pumps — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Trump calls Russia a ‘paper tiger,’ says Ukraine is strong enough to take back all occupied territory — Meduza

    • European Commission ☛ Speech by President von der Leyen at the Conference ‘Restoring Childhood and Humanity – Advancing Peace in Ukraine Through the Return of Ukrainian Children'

    • Meduza ☛ Norway reports three airspace intrusions by Russian warplanes in 2025, condemns Moscow’s ‘irresponsible and unacceptable conduct’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ The numbers are in, and Russian viewers prefer Eurovision to its replacement, Intervision — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘I want him to come home’: Eleven Russian police officers arrest the mother of a mobilized soldier for holding a sign with only a date — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ See you in court: Power struggle erupts in Russian judicial system as Prosecutor General accuses senior judge of amassing criminal hotel empire — Meduza

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ At U.N., Convicted Felon Says Green Energy Is a Scam and Attacks Climate Science

    In a remarkable United Nations address, the president lashed out at wind turbines, environmentalists and allies around the world while dismissing the dangers of climate change.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Typhoon Ragasa slams into southern China after killing 17 in Taiwan

    By Peter Catterall with Joy Chiang in Taipei Fierce winds, pounding rain and rough seas battered southern China on Wednesday as powerful Typhoon Ragasa made landfall in Guangdong province after killing at least 17 in Taiwan.

  • New York Times ☛ Typhoon Ragasa Slams Into China After Deaths in Taiwan and the Philippines

    One million residents of Guangdong, in southern China, were evacuated before the powerful storm made landfall on Wednesday. At least 21 people have been killed along its path this week.

  • France24 ☛ Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong and south China after Taiwan and Philippines

    Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest in years, whipped waves taller than lampposts onto Hong Kong promenades and turned seas rough on the southern Chinese coast on Wednesday after leaving deadly destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines.

  • New York Times ☛ One Million Evacuated in China as Typhoon Ragasa Barrels Toward Coast

    The storm left 14 dead in Taiwan, and flooded Hong Kong and Macau, disrupting flights.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia court jails three men for seven years over dead tiger found in car

      The three men called for leniency in their sentencing, saying they have health issues.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Parrot in China with separation anxiety melts hearts on social control media

      The hyacinth macaw named Er Bao is about one year-old and comes from a zoo.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man's immigration curbs make Indian students rethink the American Dream

    BENGALURU/HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI - Paridhi Upadhaya was packing her bags after securing a computer science scholarship in the U.S. until headlines of President The Insurrectionist's H-1B visa crackdown last week prompted her family in Lucknow, India to scrap the plan.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia anti-graft body expands probe into Mahathir’s assets to Switzerland

    The 100-year-old former Malaysian PM has alleged that the probe is politically motivated.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China pledges to not seek WTO developing-nation benefits, casting itself as ‘defender’ of free trade

    China wants to maintain its developing country status and leadership position in the Global South.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • BIA Net ☛ ‘De facto detentions’ without court orders becoming increasingly common in Turkey

    Lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz said the detention procedure is clearly defined in law, and that practices outside these limits amount to a violation of the right to liberty and security.

  • The Ruby community doesn’t have a DHH problem

    A response to another blog post that states that the Ruby community as a DHH problem.

    If we look at every individual claim, it's obvious that it doesn't.

  • BIA Net ☛ Queer singer Mabel Matiz given travel ban in ‘obscenity’ probe over song lyrics

    Earlier this month, the Family and Social Services Ministry requested a court order to block access to the song "Perperişan," citing potential harm to “public order and general health.”

  • JURIST ☛ Egypt releases leading activist and ‘prisoner of conscience’ Alaa Abd al-Fattah

    Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd al-Fattah was released from prison on Monday, ending a six-year detention on charges widely decried as politically motivated, after the Egyptian government pardoned him and dropped all charges.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ APNIC / FIRST Security 1 at APNIC 60

    This post shares insights from the #APNIC60 joint session with FIRST about targeted espionage, SEO spam, and academic network vulnerabilities.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Software Patents

    • JUVE ☛ Netflix still refuses DivX licence as battle moves to UPC [Ed: UPC is illegal and software parents are also illegal; Europe is now run by corrupt gangsters who intentionally violate the law]

      In September, the German Federal Court of Justice dismissed DivX’s appeal against the Federal Patent Court’s first-instance judgment invalidating the disputed EP 2 661 696. Sources say the reasoning is not yet available. Previously, the EPO Boards of Appeal had dismissed DivX’s appeal against the Opposition Division’s decision to revoke EP 3 467 666.