Leftovers

• Science

  • Futurism ☛ Sun Fires Energy Blast Straight at Mysterious Interstellar Object Cruising Through Solar System

    Will it weather the storm?

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘A spectrum of hope’: A science writer puts life under a microscope

    In “Super Natural,” Alex Riley explores how species evolved to thrive in the most extreme climates on Earth.

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Say They May Have Just Detected a Wormhole From Another Universe

    Don't mess with colliding black holes.

  • Futurism ☛ Medical Examiners Found Something Grim About the Brain of the Gunman Who Shot Up the NFL Building

    This is awful — and not unexpected.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ancient skull from China may shake up timeline of human evolution

    A new analysis indicates the skull belongs to an early branch of a sister lineage to our species.

• Career/Education

  • Stanford University ☛ Incoming frosh in Korea form early friendships ahead of the school year

    Incoming Stanford freshmen in Korea spent their summer before college connecting with one another, forming early relationships and building a sense of community.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong janitor allegedly fined for littering while collecting trash on street

    A concern group has alleged that a Hong Kong janitor was fined for littering while collecting trash on the street, criticising the prosecution as “excessively harsh” and disregarding workers’ routines.

  • NYPost ☛ USDA issues health warning for Walmart heat-and-eat pasta meals over link to deadly listeria outbreak

    The precooked linguine and meatballs sold at Walmart may be contaminated with listeria, according to the USDA.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Alarming Boom in Height Surgery, And Why It's So Risky

    Is it really worth it?

  • The Straits Times ☛ Calbee makes 920m packets of chips in Japan in a year - what’s their secret?

    Calbee’s potato chips first hit the shelves on Sept 16, 1975.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Drug addiction affecting children in Malaysia as young as 10: DPM Zahid

    He highlighted a tactic where dealers offer free sweets laced with drugs to entice young children.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Utah Reinstates Nicholas LaFeber’s Dental License Despite “Alarming” Care Record

    The patients kept coming to the Utah oral surgeon’s office — one after another, year after year — with dental work that the surgeon said had gone wrong. He later recounted in a letter to state licensors that he had seen dental implants that had been the wrong size, patients with chronic sinus infections and one person whose implant had become lost inside their sinus cavity. These patients, he said, had all been worked on by the same dentist: Dr. Nicholas LaFeber.

    The surgeon, a 30-year veteran, wrote the letter in November 2022 after Utah’s licensing division asked for his opinion of work done by LaFeber, whose license was on probation after the agency determined he had provided substandard care to more than a dozen patients. His warning was blunt: He believed LaFeber wouldn’t improve as a dentist and should not be performing dental implant procedures. He had seen LaFeber make the same mistakes in patients for years, he wrote, causing “severe” and sometimes life-changing complications.

  • New York Times ☛ How Convicted Felon’s Latest Tariffs May Affect Your Medicines

    The president said he would impose a tariff of 100 percent on certain brand-name drugs. Here’s what we know so far.

  • JURIST ☛ US federal judge in Mangione case rebukes DOJ over possibly prejudicial comments

    A federal judge in New York stated Wednesday that no less than two senior US Department of Justice (DOJ) officials “appear[ed] to be in direct violation” of a local court rule when they issued out-of-court statements suggesting Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was guilty before trial.

  • JURIST ☛ UN welcomes ratification of ocean biodiversity protection agreement

    UN experts welcomed on Thursday the ratification of the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), first adopted in June 2023. This ratification is a significant advance for the conservation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ U-M study: Marijuana vapes increasingly popular among teens

    Marijuana vaping is becoming more popular among Michigan teens, according to new University of Michigan survey data. That’s raised health concerns and pushed schools to seek stricter policies.

• Proprietary

  • Qt ☛ Qt Jenny 1.0 Released

    Have you heard about Jenny? No, I do not mean, the girl next door, nor the Spinning Jenny that started the industrial revolution in England in the 17th century. This one is a modern information age revolution, a code generator, a cuter Jenny.

  • Qt ☛ Android 15 and 16 support

    Hey! If you have a Qt application published on Surveillance Giant Google Play Store, you might have recently received a few notifications that ask you to update your application with the latest features and requirements from Google. Let's take a look at the latest requirements and give you a quick way to get your application in a good shape.

  • PR Newswire ☛ CLO Launches Marvelous Designer for Linux, Expanding Support for Professional Pipelines

    Designed with an emphasis on stability and simulation accuracy, the Linux release for Marvelous Designer delivers a smooth user experience and seamless integration into professional 3D workflows. It also includes a Python API, enabling users to write and run scripts directly within Marvelous Designer, batch import and export files, adjust simulation parameters, and more.

  • Beckhoff launches TwinCAT for Linux with virtualized PLC capabilities

    Beckhoff is extending automation and operating system options with TwinCAT for Linux, allowing efficient, virtualized deployment of TwinCAT software applications. The TwinCAT PLC runtime and TwinCAT functions packaged as containers can run locally on the controller or in a data center. Using the EK1000 EtherCAT Coupler, decentralized I/Os remain fully connected, maintaining communication across the system.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ OpenAI's significant investments raise more questions than answers — CEO Scam Altman remains tight-lipped about how the company will deliver

      OpenAI has promised hundreds of billions in investments. The only catch is, it doesn't have anything like that to hand. Indeed, all the investment funds it has received in its entire history wouldn't pay for a single year of its flagship deals. So where is the money going to come from?

  • Social Control Media

    • JURIST ☛ US and China finalize Fentanylware (TikTok) deal under new ownership structure

      In an executive order issued on Thursday, US President The Insurrectionist formalized a deal with Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping to operate Fentanylware (TikTok) as a “newly established joint venture” in the United States.  ByteDance Ltd., TikTok’s parent company, and its affiliates will own less than 20 percent of the US-based entity.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man allies to control Fentanylware (TikTok) under new US deal, cutting China ownership to 20%

      The Insurrectionist on Thursday signed an executive order laying out a proposed deal for a US version of Fentanylware (TikTok) that would see Chinese ownership reduced to 20 percent and put control in the hands of the president’s allies.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Signs ‘Saving TikTok’ Executive Order, Clearing the Way for US-Based Spinoff; Fentanylware (TikTok) America Valued at $14 Billion by White House [Ed: Probably illegal, but nobody seems to care in this rogue regime anymore]

      Dihydroxyacetone Man signs an executive order declaring that his deal for US investors to acquire TikTok’s US operations will meet national security requirements.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Investors Flabbergasted by Fentanylware (TikTok) USA’s $14 Billion Valuation; Report Claims ByteDance Will Retain 50% Of all Profits

      Hell Toupée signed the ‘TikTok executive order’ yesterday, certifying that a deal to transfer majority ownership of Fentanylware (TikTok) to American stakeholders is a go. But the supposed valuation at $14 billion has investors reacting. The executive order mandates Chinese parent ByteDance to reduce its U.S. ownership stake below 20%.

• Security

  • Security Week ☛ New XCSSET macOS Malware Variant Hijacks Cryptocurrency Transactions

    The malware now uses a four-stage infection chain, has an additional persistence mechanism, and also targets Firefox browser data.

  • Google ☛ Pointer leaks through pointer-keyed data structures

  • Silicon Angle ☛ CISA instructs federal agencies to patch new flaws in Cisco firewall devices

    The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has instructed federal agencies to patch two zero-day or unpatched vulnerabilities that affect certain Cisco Systems Inc. devices.  CISA officials issued the directive on Thursday. The zero-day vulnerabilities in question, CVE-2025-20362 and CVE-2025-20333, affect some systems in Cisco’s ASA 5500-X Series family of firewall appliances.

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • 260 suspected scammers arrested in pan-African cybercrime operation

      Authorities in 14 African countries have arrested 260 suspects and seized 1 235 electronic devices in a coordinated international operation against cyber-enabled crime. The crackdown targeted transnational criminal networks exploiting digital platforms, particularly social control media, to manipulate victims and defraud them financially, Interpol said.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • New York Times ☛ Digital IDs Are Being Introduced in the UK. Here’s How They’re Expected to Work.

      The government said the new system would help to curb illegal migration, but opponents said it would infringe on citizens’ privacy.

    • It's FOSS ☛ Proton Mail on Android and iOS is Now Faster and More Beautiful

      Proton has revamped the Android and iOS apps for Proton Mail.

  • Confidentiality

    • New York Times ☛ Hackers Steal Children’s Data and Photos from U.K. Nursery Chain

      Kido International, which runs nursery schools, reported the incident to the authorities after hackers posted sensitive data on the dark web and demanded a ransom.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ North Korea Sends Delegation From Pyongyang to General Assembly After Long Absence

    The last time North Korea sent officials directly from the capital was in 2018, a year before direct diplomacy between its leader, Kim Jong-un, and Hell Toupée collapsed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea begins new trial of former president Yoon over failed martial law

    The fresh charges against him stem from attempts to block investigators trying to arrest him in January.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim calls for sharpening nuclear ‘shield and sword’

    He said it was the country’s “essential top priority” to further develop a nuclear response posture.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Seoul official hints at US-North Korea meeting in 2025

    Ties between Pyongyang and Washington have been in deep freeze since 2019.

  • New York Times ☛ At U.N., China Casts Itself as Defender of International Order

    Li Qiang, China’s second-highest-ranking official, portrayed Beijing as stable leader at a time when Hell Toupée is pulling back from international institutions.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s Small Steps Look Bigger Next to Convicted Felon’s Retreat

    Beijing’s climate and trade pledges at the U.N. highlighted how modest moves can stand out when the United States is pulling back from global leadership.

  • New York Times ☛ As Convicted Felon’s H-1B Visa Fee Targets Foreign Workers, China Woos Them

    A new visa for science and engineering graduates is part of China’s effort to establish itself as the world leader in science and technology.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Tanks and missiles: The implications of China’s grand military parade

    Beijing’s message was clear: We are a great power and a force for good.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China at UN warns of return to ‘Cold War mentality’

    Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned Friday against a return to a “Cold War mentality” and defended multilateralism and free trade, in a veiled criticism of the United States from the United Nations. The Chinese premier made no explicit reference to US President The Insurrectionist as he addressed the UN General Assembly.

  • France24 ☛ MSF suspends Gaza City activity due to Israeli offensive

    Medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said Friday it had been forced to suspend its work in Gaza City because of the ongoing Israeli offensive there. The statement came after the Israeli military pressed its offensive against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza City, from which hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee. Story by Emily Boyle.

  • NYPost ☛ Bill Maher explores connection between internet memes and recent political violence

    Memes, or "historical documents" with various interpretations, were engraved on the shell casings of late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin, "Real Time" guest Aidan Walker said.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ The Saudi-Pakistan defense pact highlights the Gulf’s evolving strategic calculus

    In Riyadh’s multi-aligned policy, signing a mutual defense deal with Pakistan is complementary, not alternative, to US security guarantees.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pro-Palestine protests spill over to Malaysian petrol stations, Fashion Company Apple Store as Convicted Felon visit nears

    With the US leader due to visit in October, anger may yet boil over, with a major anti-US rally planned for the event.

  • New Yorker ☛ What Catherine Leroy’s Fearless Photographs Reveal About the Vietnam War

    Fifty years after its horrors, we know that the press helped to turn public opinion against the conflict. That’s because war is hell, and hell is photogenic.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thai and Cambodian troops clash in first breach of ceasefire

    Both countries' militaries said the other fired first.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indian police detain activist after deadly Ladakh protests

    Mr Wangchuk had been on a hunger strike.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Straits Times ☛ India rejects as ‘baseless’ Nato chief’s remarks about Modi-Putin talks

      India’s Foreign Ministry called the remarks speculative and said there was no such conversation.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man on Putin: Has the penny dropped? The downfall of President Sarkozy, Recognising Palestine

      In a week of coordinated, choreographed diplomacy, a number of western leaders formerly recognised Palestinian statehood. Benjamin Netanyahu said the move rewarded terrorism, insisting there would never be a Palestinian state.

      Meanwhile, Russian violations of NATO airspace have been a dominant theme of the UN summit.

      Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison. He's been found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case dubbed the Libya Connection.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ Judge Rejects Boilerplate “Congressional Records” Label Used to Shield Agency Emails from Disclosure

    American Oversight clears the way to uncover communications, as Congress and the Convicted Felon administration drive up health care costs and cut coverage.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ China : the tallest bridge in the world opens in the Province of Guizhou

      The Province of Guizhou is already home to almost half the world’s 100 tallest bridges, but it is about to be home to the tallest bridge in the world. Another example of China's infrastructure diplomacy, demonstrating technological prowess, and large scale ambition. Story by Emily Boyle and France 2.

    • WhichUK ☛ As Britain celebrates 200 years of passenger train travel, I visited the railway where it all began

      Where to see the 26 miles that changed the world and the UK's best heritage railways

    • Science Alert ☛ NASA: Nuclear Explosion Could Save Moon From Asteroid Strike in 2032

      This is the situation.

    • New York Times ☛ Fire at South Korean Data Center Causes Government Service Outages

      Hundreds of state services were offline the day after a lithium battery exploded during maintenance work at a data center, officials said.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea scrambles to restore services after major state data centre fire

      Key IT systems, including some post office services, were all hosted in that one data centre.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Fire at South Korea's state data centre halts online government services, Yonhap reports

      A fire at South Korea's data infrastructure centre on Friday interrupted dozens of online government services including websites and email, according to media reports.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Teen suspected of holding $1.8 million in bitcoin from hacking Vegas casinos is out on bail — alleged perp could be tried as an adult, face possible prison time

      A 17-year-old alleged hacker has been released into the custody of his parents, as prosecutors hunt for his involvement with a multi-million dollar cyberattack and heist on a slew of Vegas casinos. The attack, attributed to the Scattered Spider group, affected MGM and Caesar's Entertainment casinos on the Vegas Strip.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Drones used to help catch abalone poachers

      The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has welcomed the seizure of abalone worth an estimated R5 million and the arrest of nine people at Robben Island.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man says South Korea, Japan will pay billions ‘upfront’ in investment

    South Korea has balked at US demands for control over the US$350 billion pledged toward US projects.

  • New York Times ☛ Government Sets the Stage for a Labor Showdown at Canada Post

    The government’s decision to end door-to-door mail delivery rekindled a walkout by postal workers and may affect thousands of jobs.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s National Assembly passes law overhauling finance ministry, prosecutors’ office

    Mr Lee Jae Myung said during his election campaign that some public agencies had too much power.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia asks US for zero tariff rate on furniture, automotive and aerospace parts

    Washington imposed a 19 per cent levy on Malaysian imports in August.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Big dreams, shiny projects and regional inequalities in China’s inland cities

    Large metropolitan areas in central and western China are powering ahead, but will the benefits of their growth spill over?

  • New York Times ☛ Argentina’s President Vowed to Fix Its Economy. Then Came a Crisis.

    President Javier Milei slashed inflation and spending, but it wasn’t enough to stave off an economic crisis. Hell Toupée has offered him a lifeline.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Central bank cuts interest rate to 7.5%, lowest since May 2022

    It was the 10th straight Banxico meeting that ended in a rate cut despite inflation creeping up in August.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong retains title as world’s freest economy in global ranking by Canadian think tank

    Hong Kong has retained the top spot in a global economic freedom ranking released annually by a Canadian think tank. The Fraser Institute, a public policy think tank based in Vancouver, released the 2025 edition of its annual Economic Freedom of the World index on Thursday.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Bots targeting the r/GamingLaptop's subreddit with blatant MSI advertising in posts — mods allege marketing bots are flooding the forums with MSI-promoting posts

    The r/GamingLaptop subreddit is under attack from a coordinated strike involving spammers promoting MSI products exclusively to its members.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked FEMA Funds for Naples After Donor Intervened

    For months, the complaints have rolled in from parts of the country hit by natural disasters: The Federal Emergency Management Agency was moving far too slowly in sending aid to communities ravaged by floods and hurricanes, including in central Texas and North Carolina. Many officials were blaming Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, whose agency oversees FEMA.

    “I can’t get phone calls back,” Ted Budd, the Republican senator from North Carolina, told a newspaper this month, describing his attempts to reach Noem’s office. “I can’t get them to initiate the money. It’s just a quagmire.” The delays were caused in part by a new policy announced by DHS that requires Noem’s personal sign-off on expenses over $100,000, several news outlets reported.

  • New Yorker ☛ Ezra Klein Argues for Big-Tent Politics

    The writer and podcast host on the Charlie Kirk discourse, Barack Obama’s distance from politics, Bari Weiss’s Gaza coverage, and the Democratic Party’s future.

  • New York Times ☛ Defiant Netanyahu Denounces Palestine Recognition, to a Mostly Empty U.N. Hall

    A Palestinian state would be “national suicide” for Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, but many of the diplomats and leaders at the assembly boycotted his remarks.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Leftist Podcaster Who Studies Online Radicalization

    Joshua Citarella sees his YouTube show “Doomscroll” as a “tactical media experiment” to funnel young internet users toward esoteric left-wing ideas.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mirror to lose five ‘general news reporters’ in Reach shake-up

    Staff are concerned by new rota with more late and weekend working.

  • Press Gazette ☛ 2025 journalism job cuts tracked: US and UK broadcasters make layoffs

  • New Yorker ☛ Jimmy Kimmel and the Power of Public Pressure

    The comedian has returned to late-night TV. What can the response to his suspension teach us about countering Convicted Felon?

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ DOJ sues six states for not complying with request for voter information

    The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that it is suing six states for failing to produce their statewide voter registration lists after they were requested.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group warns proposed Algeria bill further restricts association rights

    Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for Algerian authorities to put a halt to excessive control over civil society groups, and urged them to enact new laws based on accepted international standards for freedom of association.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ Spotify Pushes Back Against ‘False’ Claims About Its Terms of Service Update — As Artist Criticism and Exits Continue

    Amid an avalanche of controversy – and some more artist exits – Spotify has responded to purported “misinformation” about its newest terms of service update. According to multiple X posts, said controversy reignited closer to September’s beginning, when artists and observers resumed criticizing Spotify terms describing sweeping derivative-work authorizations.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• JURIST ☛ FTC settles Amazon Prime deceptive practices suit for $2.5B

  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Thursday a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon to resolve a lawsuit over alleged deceptive practices tied to Amazon Prime.

• Digital Music News ☛ Amazon Settles FTC Prime-Cancellation Investigation for $2.5 Billion — $1.5 Billion to Reach Consumers

  Amazon has officially settled an FTC investigation centering on “deceptive methods” used to drive Prime sign-ups and render cancellations “exceedingly difficult.” The Federal Trade Commission put out a formal release concerning the $2.5 billion settlement, which itself spans 26 pages.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Can Taylor Swift Single-Handedly Reverse the Vinyl Downturn?

    Taylor Swift is already reversing the fortunes of AMC movie theaters nationwide worldwide. So why not vinyl, which is now declining in the US? If you’re a hardcore Swiftie, you’re probably buying some Taylor Swift vinyl this year.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Mechanical Licensing Collective v. Spotify Rematch Moves Forward With Overhauled Arguments — Judge Says the MLC ‘States Multiple Plausible Claims’

    Can the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) successfully challenge Spotify’s bundling craze with an updated line of arguments? We’re about to find out, as a federal judge has revived the previously dismissed lawsuit. That noteworthy development arrives about eight months after the same court tossed the action with prejudice.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • Situations

      A an imaginary space means that there's a map and it has a map-like effect. Directions and distances don't contract to fit a story. Buildings don't shift around, inhabitants don't shift around. It's possible for players to place labels on the map.

      The map the referee uses can be explored. In other words, it already exists. It is not drawn on the fly, it doesn't take input by the players who do the exploring. Exploration means that there is a power imbalance: The referee knows the map and the players do not. Or the map the players have at their disposal is an incomplete map that still needs exploring to find the things placed on it.

      The spatial nature means it's possible to draw a map of a settlement or region and make reasonable decisions based on it. How to get from one place to another. How to avoid particular dangers. If the players don't want to cross the pass in winter, the map shows what the alternatives are. This also means that drawing a map of a building allows the referee to place markers on the map for rewards, guards and traps, and it allows the placers to navigate the map, finding some and avoiding the other.

  • Politics and World Events

    • Proving Identity

      I'm more interested in why anyone would think it's a good idea, and so spend a huge amount of money on it. What's the up side for anyone? You're going to have to produce it for employment, but any job I've ever had has already required me to produce some evidence of identity. Anyone who's happy to employ undocumented people is already breaking the law, and can carry on doing so.

      How is this different to other forms of ID? I have a passport and a driving licence. But both of those are things I chose. Plenty of people get by without a car or going abroad. Having a job is much less optional. It's something people need.