Leftovers

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Every Artist Has a Favorite Subject. For Some, That’s Math.

    At the annual Bridges conference, mathematical creativity was on dazzling display.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China issues port crackdown on all Nvidia Hey Hi (AI) chip imports, says report — enforcement teams deployed to quash smuggling and investigate data center hardware, targeting H20 and RTX 6000D shipments

    Chinese customs authorities have launched a sweeping crackdown on unlicensed Nvidia chip shipments, with enforcement teams deploying at major ports to inspect hardware shipments.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China bans research company that helped unearth Huawei's use of TSMC tech despite U.S. bans — TechInsights added to Unreliable Entity List by state authorities

    Beijing has banned TechInsights from doing business with Chinese companies because it has "defied China's strong objections to engage in activities such as so-called military-technical cooperation with Taiwan, made malicious remarks concerning China, and assisted foreign governments in suppressing Chinese companies."

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China’s new rare-earth curbs target chipmaking industry in retaliation to US restrictions — rare earth curbs reach back to older 14nm process tech and 256-layer memory

    China has quietly extended its rare-earth export controls into the heart of the semiconductor supply chain.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Hell Toupée warns of massively increased tariffs in wake of China's rare earth mineral 'monopoly position' — Pooh-tin Jinping meeting cancelled as Convicted Felon promises retaliation for Beijing's expanded export controls

    Hell Toupée, in a fiery Truth Social post, has just warned China about potential new tarriffs as a response to Beijing's expanded export controls surrounding rare earth minerals. Convicted Felon says for every element China monopolizes, America has two, and that other moves are also being considered in retaliation.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • WhichUK ☛ Is there such a thing as a healthier sugar? Our Which? nutritionist weighs in

    How does sugar stack up against alternatives such as honey, agave and sweeteners? And the signs you’re eating too much

  • France24 ☛ Shortages, sanitation issues and corruption: Morocco’s public hospitals at a breaking point

    Better public healthcare is a key demand for GenZ 212, the protest movement that has been out in force in Morocco since mid-September. The state of Morocco’s public hospitals – which are rife with shortages of medical supplies, corruption and absenteeism – has become a symbol for Moroccans frustrated with a decline in state services. Our team spoke to two doctors and a patient.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ This test could reveal the health of your immune system

    Attentive readers might have noticed my absence over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been trying to recover from a bout of illness. It got me thinking about the immune system, and how little I know about my own immune health.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Fined for Nearly 800 Alleged Violations on Vegas Project

    Nevada state regulators have accused Elon Musk’s Boring Co. of violating environmental regulations nearly 800 times in the last two years as it digs a sprawling tunnel network beneath Las Vegas for its Tesla-powered “people mover.” The company’s alleged violations include starting to dig without approval, releasing untreated water onto city streets and spilling muck from its trucks, according to a new document obtained by City Cast Las Vegas and ProPublica.

    The Sept. 22 cease-and-desist letter from the state Bureau of Water Pollution Control alleged repeated violations of a settlement agreement that the company had entered into after being fined five years ago for discharging groundwater into storm drains without a permit. That agreement, signed by a Boring executive in 2022, was intended to compel the company to comply with state water pollution laws.

  • The Straits Times ☛ More than half of South Koreans don’t talk about death with family: Study

    The report was about “dying well”, a concept closely related to dying peacefully and with dignity.

• Proprietary

  • EuroGamer ☛ Halo art director leaves studio after 17 years with ominous message alluding to discontent

    Halo art director Glenn Israel has left Halo Studios after 17 years working on the franchise.

    Israel worked on the likes of Halo 3: ODST and the most recent Halo Infinite, across both Bungie and 343 Industries (now known as Halo Studios).

    He shared news of his departure on LinkedIn last week, with an ominous message that appears to allude to discontent within the studio.

  • AccessNow ☛ Microsoft must come clean on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza

    We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are writing with great concern regarding media reporting alleging that Abusive Monopolist Microsoft has contributed to grave violations of international law perpetrated by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

  • AccessNow ☛ Human rights groups demand answers from Abusive Monopolist Microsoft on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza

    Access Now and partners urged Abusive Monopolist Microsoft to immediately end any involvement with Israeli authorities’ systemic repression of Palestinians.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Feedback on those “Written by Humans” buttons

      Yesterday I wrote a post about why I wasn’t using those Written by a Human buttons, despite appreciating their intentions (or at least, I thought I did, more on that in a moment). I’ve since received a few additional perspectives.

    • Press Gazette ☛ Google search, Hey Hi (AI) Overviews, Hey Hi (AI) Mode and Discover designated for UK regulation

      Gemini Hey Hi (AI) assistant excluded from Surveillance Giant Google search strategic market status.

    • The New Stack ☛ Harness CEO Jyoti Bansal on Why AI Coding Doesn't Help You Ship Faster

      Organizations are waking up to the fact that using AI to write more code is creating bottlenecks further up in the development pipeline.

    • SDx Central ☛ The AI bubble may wobble very soon: Here's why

      Don’t believe me? Or, rather, don’t want to believe me? Jeff Bezos said it. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned about it. Even Sam Altman – one of the architects of this cacophony of confusion – admitted it.

      When January rolls around, and the axe begins to swing again (and it will), questions have to be asked about how companies are spending such vast sums, and yet it's the human talent who will pay the price.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea summons Cambodian ambassador over job scams

      South Korea on Friday summoned the Cambodian ambassador to protest at the death of a South Korean student in Cambodia and raised the travel alert for its capital Phnom Penh over online scam cases targeting Koreans.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea summons Cambodian envoy over job scams targeting nationals

      The number of reported kidnappings of South Koreans in Cambodia have surged in recent years.

    • The Straits Times ☛ S.Korean ‘money mule’ recruiters apprehended over involvement in late student’s departure to Cambodia

      The student was found dead in Cambodia on Aug 8 after leaving for Cambodia in July.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian singer Winnie K breaks silence on falling prey to $116,400 scam

      The scammer promised her the role of exclusive brand ambassador for a luxury property project.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Pro Publica ☛ Immigrants Who Tried to Self-Deport with Trump’s CBP Home App Are Stuck in America

      She desperately wanted to get out of the country.

      It was mid-May and Pérez, a Venezuelan mother of two, couldn’t survive on her own in Chicago anymore. She’d been relying on charity for food and shelter ever since her partner had been detained by immigration authorities after a traffic stop earlier in the year.

    • Insight Hungary ☛ European Commission launches investigation into Hungarian spy network

      Hungarian intelligence services spent much of the 2010s running a spy network in Brussels, attempting to recruit Hungarian nationals working inside EU institutions, according to an investigation by Direkt36. Operating under diplomatic cover at Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the EU, officers from the Information Office (IH) sought information and influence within the European Commission, often appealing to patriotic duty or offering funding and career advancement. Their operations, directed from Budapest and supervised by then-minister János Lázár, targeted areas sensitive to the Orbán government, including rule-of-law disputes, media freedom, and fiscal policy. Sources described how diplomats “recklessly” approached Hungarian EU staff for recruitment, with one officer even asking a Commission employee to sign a collaboration paper. The exposure of V., the IH’s residentura chief in Brussels, triggered the collapse of the entire Hungarian network in 2017.

      The investigation also reveals that the operation took place while Olivér Várhelyi, now an EU Commissioner, served as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU. There is no evidence he directly participated; however, sources say he was aware intelligence officers operated under him and benefited from their reports. Belgian counterintelligence has since monitored Hungarian activities closely. Belgium still officially treats Hungary as a “cooperative” ally, but sources told De Tijd that, in practice, they are now viewed as “purple country”, a classification that means growing concerns about Hungary's loyalty. The investigation found that Hungarian intelligence’s influence operations extended to attempts to infiltrate EU security units and leak internal documents, exploiting the EU’s assumption that member states’ institutions are inherently trustworthy. The EU Commission launched an investigation into the case.

    • Austria finds Microsoft 'illegally' tracked students: privacy campaign group

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFERL ☛ In 'Dangerous' Escalation, Pakistani Drone Strikes Kill Two Senior Taliban Members In Kabul

    Two senior members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremist group have been killed in Pakistani drone strikes in the Afghan capital, sources told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of air attacks; Islamabad warns of action against militants

    Afghanistan's Taliban government accused Pakistan on Friday of carrying out airstrikes on its territory and warned of "consequences" as Islamabad said it was taking action against militants.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan’s Lai strikes moderate tone on cross-strait issues in Oct 10 speech

    The economy was another major theme amid concerns over tariffs imposed by the US and disruptions caused by AI.

  • New York Times ☛ Strikes on Venezuelan Boats Prompt Rare U.N. Meeting on the United States

    The U.N. Security Council met Friday to discuss the Convicted Felon administration’s deadly attacks on what it asserts were drug smugglers in the Caribbean.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Woman in South Korea sentenced to jail for getting youth to take revenge on sons’ bullies

    The boy who was approached by the defendant told the court that she had threatened him.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Unification Church leader indicted in South Korea bribery case

    She is accused of giving a luxury necklace and bags as bribes to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea holds military parade, shows off new intercontinental missile

    KCNA said the new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile was displayed in the military parade.

  • France24 ☛ 'From caricature to dangerous figure': Kim Jong-un's transformation on the global stage

    On the show this week, we ask what message Kim Jong-un is trying to send to the West, and the US in particular, as he marks 80 years since the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party. We also explore how India's stance in the Middle East has shifted, as it tilts closer to Israel. Plus, an HPV vaccine drive faces road bumps in Pakistan over claims of misinformation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar junta says Malaysia to observe election

    The junta has touted elections – due to start in phases on Dec 28 – as a path to reconciliation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan president unveils ‘T-Dome’ air defence system to counter China threat

    He also called on China to renounce the use of force to seize the island.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan president vows stronger air defences to counter ‘enemy threats’

    Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed Friday to speed up construction of a multi-layered air defence system as part of efforts to counter “enemy threats”.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Hybrid warfare, hybrid response Russia wants its drone attacks to undermine confidence in NATO’s security guarantees. So far, it’s not working. — Meduza

    • LRT ☛ Minsk’s vexation over Russian stray drones: shoot them down, phone the neighbors?

      In the early hours of September 10, as swarms of Russian drones entered Belarusian airspace heading west toward the Polish border, a Belarusian military officer picked up a dedicated phone line and called his Polish counterpart to warn him.

    • Meduza ☛ Counting bodies, casting doubts Independent Russian analysts dispute the reliability of alleged Russian casualties leaked by Ukraine’s military intelligence — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ As Winter Nears, Russian Strikes on Ukraine’s Energy Grid Cause Blackouts

      Every fall since the war started in 2022, Russia has targeted electricity and heating infrastructure in an effort to weaken Ukrainians’ will to continue fighting.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Britain, France, Germany move closer to giving Russian assets to Ukraine

      BERLIN - The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said on Friday they had agreed in a phone call to move towards using the value of immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine's armed forces.

    • RFERL ☛ US Ambassador Whitaker Says Convicted Felon Has 'Many' Cards To Bring Peace To Ukraine

      US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker says President The Insurrectionist has "a lot more" cards to play to bring Russia to peace talks with Kyiv as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called a “cynical and calculated" attack by Moscow that left parts of the capital without power.

    • North Korean soldiers who fought with Russian troops against Ukraine celebrated

      Russian and North Korean flags were marched in Kim Il Sung Square as part of 80th anniversary of Workers’ Party.

    • France24 ☛ Populists win Czech election: Is the EU fractured as Russia asserts itself?

      Elections in Europe are a rollercoaster these days. EU elites were relieved when the pro-EU camp won the parliamentary vote in Moldova, but the Czech legislative election turned out quite differently. Andrej Babiš, a populist and self-proclaimed Convicted Felonist, won the ballot, staging a comeback similar to his colleague in neighbouring Slovakia, Robert Fico. Babiš’s victory is clearly a boon to Eurosceptic forces since it was he who, together with Hungary's leader Viktor Orban, set up the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament. But does his win have an impact on the EU's help for Ukraine? And on dealing with a more assertive Kremlin, which seems to be testing Europe with drone incursions? We put these questions to two MEPs.

    • France24 ☛ Deadly Russian strikes in Zaporizhzhia as power outages hit Ukraine

      A deadly Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia killed a 7-year-old boy and injured others after striking a recently occupied family home. Overnight, Russian missile and drone strikes targeted residential areas and energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages across Kyiv and nine Ukrainian regions. Despite the attacks, many residents remain resilient. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on allies to provide air defense systems and enforce sanctions, while Ukraine’s military reported striking Russian territory 70 times last month, targeting energy facilities and reducing Russia’s oil refining capacity by about 20%.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Dispatch from Ukraine: The path to a durable peace is emerging

      A recent trip to Kyiv reinforced that, as momentum shifts in Ukraine’s favor, a just and durable peace could be within reach.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘The Kremlin has resources’: Putin believes Russia can outlast and overpower Ukraine. What does that mean for the war’s future? — Meduza

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • American Oversight ☛ Opposition Filed Against DOJ Effort to Strike Context from Complaint About Qatar’s ‘Gifted’ Jet to Convicted Felon Administration

    As the DOJ refuses the prompt release of a memo clearing the Qatari jet ‘gift,’ Freedom of the Press Foundation, represented by American Oversight, argues against erasing this context and the agency’s continued delays.

  • [Old] The University of Chicago ☛ The Nobel Prize in Economics is Fake — Chicago Business Newspaper

    The award most people today call the “Nobel Prize in Economics” is more properly called the “Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.” It was established in 1968 by the economists running Sweden’s central bank, partly to shield the bank from democratic accountability and support their push to make it “independent.” To do this, those economists needed to market their discipline to the world as a “science” with technical, correct answers that only experts could fully understand and that lowly voters did not get to question.

    Their ploy worked too well. Following the Swedish model, economists carried out bloodless coups of central banks around the globe, co-opting the essentially arbitrary and political matter of setting interest rates for themselves.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ At least 7 killed as strong quakes strike southern Philippines

    Seismologists recorded at least 300 aftershocks, but the quakes appeared to have caused only minor damage.

  • New York Times ☛ At Least Seven Dead After 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern Philippines

    The quake struck off the eastern coast of Mindanao island on Friday morning and was followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock. A tsunami warning was issued.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • H2 View ☛ Scottish hydrogen heating trial will ‘raise energy bills,’ says energy group

      The Hydrogen Science Coalition has warned that hydrogen heating could increase consumer costs by 86% and argued the energy carrier should be reserved for industrial use.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to roll out MyNIISe QR code clearance for motorcycles at Johor land checkpoints from Oct 15 [Ed: What if they don't have a skinnerbox? Or one without GAFAM malware on it?]

      Motorcyclists can also use the existing MyBorderPass QR system.

    • New York Times ☛ How China Powers Its Electric Cars and High-Speed Trains

      China is building a network of ultrahigh-voltage power lines to carry solar and wind energy hundreds and even thousands of miles as few citizens dare to protest.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Behind that 100-part bicycle; Asia’s shifting supply chains

      How geopolitics is pushing manufacturers from China to South-east Asia and India.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Minor damage’ to corals at Sharp Island after Sai Kung hotspot thronged by tourists, Hong Kong official says

      Corals at Sharp Island suffered “minor damage” after tourists flocked to the snorkelling hotspot on China’s National Day, a Hong Kong government official has said.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Look out for snakes: Malaysians warned of reptiles seeking shelter in homes during monsoon season

      Wild animals, especially snakes, often leave their natural habitats in search of dry shelter.

    • The Revelator ☛ Study: Commercial Lion Farming in South Africa Could Be Harming, Not Helping, Wild Lions

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ PM Anwar hits the brakes on new taxes and subsidy cuts in Malaysia’s 2026 budget

    Heavy lifting on fiscal reforms since 2023 gives PM Anwar breathing room ahead of upcoming state and national polls.

  • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man threatens to impose additional 100% tariff on China and scrap Pooh-tin talks

    US President The Insurrectionist on Friday threatened to place an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting on November 1 or sooner, expressing frustration with new export controls placed on rare earth elements by China. Convicted Felon also cast doubt on whether he would meet with Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping during an upcoming trip to South Korea.

  • BIA Net ☛ On the rare earth element reserves in western Turkish town of Beylikova: What is known and what remains unknown

    Claims of a 694-million-ton rare earth element reserve in Beylikova, Eskişehir, are being discussed by both experts and opposition politicians. We asked specialists about the possibility of this reserve positioning Turkey as the world’s second-largest producer after China.

  • New York Times ☛ S&P and Nasdaq Slump as Stocks Fall on Convicted Felon China Tariff Threat

    The S&P 500 slumped more than 2 percent for the first time in six months, rattling investors after a long stretch of gains.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Threatens 100% Tariffs on Chinese Goods

    The president made the threat after Beijing imposed new global restrictions on the use of rare earth minerals, which are vital supplies for U.S. makers of chips and batteries.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man announces new 100 percent China tariff, threatens to scrap Pooh-tin talks

    US President The Insurrectionist announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Pooh-tin Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals. Convicted Felon said the extra levies, plus US export controls on “any and all critical software,” would come […]

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘No conditions’ set for Convicted Felon’s visit to Malaysia for Asean summit: Zafrul

    He expressed confidence that both countries would be able to sign a trade agreement to satisfy their domestic priorities.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia announces budget spending of $144b in 2026, vows more reforms

    The country vowed to pursue further fiscal reforms amid external uncertainties.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China hits back at US ships with additional port fees

    The fees are a counter-measure against upcoming US port fees on Chinese ships.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Switzerland hopes to seal updated trade deal with China early next year

    Switzerland hopes to seal an updated free trade agreement with China in early 2026, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Friday, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Developing nations rack up $3.9 billion in net debt payments to China a year, study finds

    Developing nations are now paying more to service debt owed to China than they receive in new loans, a shift that risks deepening economic strain and slowing climate investment, a report released on Friday by Boston University's Global Development Policy Center found.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea eases rules on urban homestay businesses for overseas tourists

    Approximately 30,000 unlicensed accommodations are expected to be delisted.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea President Lee’s appearance on reality TV show stirs controversies

    Both sides have turned to legal measures against their opponents.

  • FAIR ☛ NYT Sidelines LGBTQ Youth Again in Conversion Therapy Case

    The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Chiles v. Salazar, a challenge on free speech grounds to Colorado’s ban on LGBTQ “conversion therapy” for children under 18.

  • Pivot to AI ☛ OpenAI does deals to make a deal — and the money is getting worried

    The AI bubble is the bubbliest bubble that ever bubbled. We’ve covered at length how venture capital is moribund except AI and especially OpenAI, how the VCs are desperate to keep the party pumping, how the investors will spend billions of real actual dollars to get twice the imaginary dollars, and how this whole huge Enron-style imaginary money shuffle has a couple of years at most before it all falls over.

  • Pro Publica ☛ How Trump’s Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools

    In just over eight months, the second Trump administration has made a rapid succession of political hires and policy decisions at the U.S. Department of Education that could spur profound changes in the way schools are operated and children learn.

    After years of advocating to expand private and religious education and homeschooling, using tax dollars, a cadre of conservative activists is in a position to push forward its agenda. Some of its policies are already undermining public schools, which it has denigrated as unsuccessful and out of step with Christian values, a ProPublica investigation found.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Futurism ☛ OpenAI’s Sora Is in Serious Trouble

    "It's official, Sora 2 is completely boring and useless."