Leftovers

• Science

  • CS Monitor ☛ Infinite prizes for ideas on progress

    This year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences – like many in the past – spotlights theories about causes for growth. One key: an openness to new and often challenging ideas.

  • Futurism ☛ Police Arrest Mad Scientist

    I'm sorry, I thought this was spooky season.

• Career/Education

  • Pro Publica ☛ Why Idaho Schools Continue to Be Inaccessible For Students With Disabilities

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Latvia ☛ Flu vaccination begins in Latvia

    Vaccination against seasonal influenza has started in Latvian general practitioners' offices and vaccination clinics. Any child from six months to less than two years of age and those aged 60 years and over can get the vaccine free of charge. Chronic disease patients of any age are also eligible, Latvian Television reported on 14 October.

  • BIA Net ☛ Maraş thermal plant linked to thousands of deaths 'still running without filters'

    An engineer living in Maraş claimed that air pollution and health problems caused by the plant's operations are clearly observable, and that the coal field poses a threat to fertile agricultural land.

• Proprietary

  • Social Control Media

    • Press Gazette ☛ Mail invests heavily in creating content for Tiktok and Instagram

      'You are not selling around the content, you're selling the content.'

• Security

  • APNIC ☛ Understanding stealthy BGP hijacking risk in the ROV era

    Guest Post: Analysing the mechanics of stealthy BGP hijacking with a topology-aware risk assessment and long-term monitoring.

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • New York Times ☛ South Korea Targets Cambodia’s Scam Industry After Kidnappings, Torture and a Death

      South Korea’s efforts are part of a widening international crackdown on criminal groups running online fraud schemes from Southeast Asia.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Syrian leader seeks reset in Russia relations in Putin meeting

      Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday he wanted to "redefine" relations with Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted him in their first meeting since key Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted last year. In front of the television cameras, Putin greeted Sharaa warmly at the Kremlin, but behind closed doors the Syrian leader was expected to push for Moscow to extradite Assad, who fled there after being toppled.

    • France24 ☛ Syria and Russia vow to 'redefine' relations between the two countries

      Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he wanted to 'redefine' relations with Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted him in their first meeting on October 15, 2025 since key Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted last year. The Syrian leader was expected to push for Moscow to extradite Assad, who fled there after being toppled, and to discuss the status of Russia's prized military bases in Syria. FRANCE 24's Philip Turle looks into what that redefinition might mean.

    • New York Times ☛ Syria’s New Leaders Are Talking to Russia, a Former Enemy

      President Ahmed al-Shara is making his first trip to Moscow, which backed the regime his rebels overthrew. Both sides have reasons to put the past aside.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin Welcomes Syria’s New President in Moscow, While Still Harboring al-Assad

      The meeting in Moscow between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria showcased the adaptability of two leaders once at odds.

    • France24 ☛ Syria's Sharaa tells Putin he will respect past deals with Moscow

      Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he would honour all past deals struck between his country and Moscow, a pledge  suggesting Moscow's two main military bases in Syria are safe.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says He's 'Very Disappointed' With Putin As He Weighs Providing Ukraine With Tomahawks

      US President The Insurrectionist again expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow's war in Ukraine as he prepared to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.

    • France24 ☛ US and Ukraine in talks for Tomahawk missiles

      A Ukrainian government delegation has met with prominent American weapons manufacturers during a US visit, before President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with President The Insurrectionist. Convicted Felon reiterated the possibility of the US supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles on October 14, 2025, as well as his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has warned that sending Tomahawks would trigger an escalation in the war.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia To Expand Use Of Active Reservists In Ukraine

      Russia will be able to deploy members of its active reserve to fight in Ukraine if needed under amendments drawn up by Russia’s Defense Ministry and likely to be formally approved by parliament.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Allies Push to Bolster Putin-Backed Balkans Leader

      An influence campaign has relied on allies of the president, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, to cast a Serbian politician as a victim of political persecution.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ How the US and Europe can deter and respond to Russia’s chemical, biological, and nuclear threats

      A willingness to use chemical weapons has long been a feature of Russian aggression, on the battlefield in Ukraine and on the streets of Europe. Will Russia escalate to the use of biological weapons? And what about the country’s nuclear saber-rattling? An in-depth study of how Russia uses these threats calls for a strong NATO response.

    • France24 ☛ Russia has 'captured' the Georgian state, EU 'too complacent', President says

      Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili says that Russia has captured the Georgian state through election meddling, propaganda and financing, and that this is a message to the European Union that while Brussels is engaged in its support for Ukraine, Moscow is 'silently taking over Georgia'.

    • JURIST ☛ UN condemns Russia drone strike on aid convoy

      The UN on Tuesday condemned a Russian drone strike on one of its convoys delivering aid to Bilozerka, a town 9 kilometers from the front line in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.

    • LRT ☛ Swamp defence? Lithuania plans to restore border marshes as part of new defence line

      As part of a broader defence line being developed across the Baltic states – Lithuania is planning to restore marshes along its borders. Russian propagandists have already mocked the initiative, despite Russia’s own losses of heavy military equipment in Ukraine’s wetlands.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says India Has Pledged To Stop Buying Russian Oil

      US President The Insurrectionist said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modimir has assured him that India will stop buying Russian oil after the United States announced a doubling of tariffs on Indian goods over the purchases.

    • RFERL ☛ Odesa Mayor Trukhanov Vows Legal Battle After Losing Ukrainian Citizenship Over Alleged Russian Passport

      Longtime Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov has vowed to sue to get back his Ukrainian citizenship after it was stripped over intelligence agency claims that documents had emerged proving he has a Russian passport.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russian strikes knock out power in parts of Ukraine

      KYIV - Russia struck Ukrainian power infrastructure with drones overnight, knocking out electricity supplies in several areas including in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said on Wednesday.

    • Meduza ☛ The Kremlin’s latest red line: Trump may be close to sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Could they change the course of the war? — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Hegseth Warns U.S. Will Impose ‘Costs’ on Russia if Peace Efforts Falter

      Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered unusually strong criticism of Russia, just as Ukraine seeks American Tomahawk missiles.

    • Latvia ☛ REMINDER: New crossing rules in place on Latvia's eastern border

      From 15th October 2025, the Latvia-Russia and the Latvia-Belarus border crossings at Grebņeva, Terehova and Pāternieki can only be crossed with prior registration in the Electronic Queue Reservation System (ERRS).

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australia must deploy ‘unconventional’ means to deter China, Russia: Think-tank

      ASPI pointed to Beijing’s growing use of so-called “grey-zone” tactics as evidence that Australia needed a more dynamic policy.

    • New York Times ☛ A Repressive Russian Ally Feels a Mysterious Thaw From the U.S.

      Analysts say they are unsure what the Convicted Felon administration hopes to get out of its gifts and concessions to Belarus’s autocratic leader.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘You can never expect them to tell the truth’: Estonian defense minister comments on recent appearance of armed Russian men near border — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Demonstrably fake’: Odesa’s mayor had a Russian passport — but not the one published by the SBU, The Insider says — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Modi’s promise, the Nord Stream bombers, and suspicious plates: Meduza breaks down today’s biggest Russia-related news stories, October 15, 2025 — Meduza

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Futurism ☛ Crypto Kingpin Turns Up Dead in Lamborghini After Market Crash

      A grim mystery.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • France24 ☛ Outpouring of grief as ex-Kenyan PM Raila Odinga dies in India

    Kenya has lost one of its most prominent political figures with the passing of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The 80-year-old spent much of his career in opposition and unsuccessfully ran for president five times. However, his ability to form strategic partnerships with former adversaries earned him the nickname 'Agwambo' (the mysterious one). Current President William Ruto is among those with whom Odinga reconciled, and he was among those who paid their respects upon news that Odinga had died at a health retreat in India.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece [Ed: Well, it didn't go the way they had planned; maybe learned to stop engaging with Microsoft Lunduke instead?]

    But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them (and the Open Source Antifa supporters) look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ Reparations Movement Loses Steam in California

    Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed bills that would have provided tangible benefits to descendants of slavery, though he approved a state agency to determine who qualifies for potential reparations.

  • ACLU ☛ How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use "Domestic Terrorism" to Target Nonprofits and Activists

    Nonprofits, their donors, and activists striving for a more equal, just, and fair country and world are core components of American civil society. Yet on September 25, President The Insurrectionist issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) called “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” essentially adding them to an ever-growing list of what he calls the “enemy within.”

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ APRICOT 2026 registration is now open, with discounts for APNIC Members

    Register today to participate in APRICOT 2026 from 4 to 12 February 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

  • APNIC ☛ Principles of flow control: Part 1 — Notes on flow control

    Guest Post: Flow control is a fundamental concept in the design of high-performance networks. In part one of this three-part deep dive series, we look at the principles of flow control.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Professor Curtin Files Petition for Certiorari in RAPUNZEL Consumer Standing Case

    Professor Rebecca Curtin had filed a petition for writ of certiorari, seeking Supreme Court review of the Federal Circuit's ruling in Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc., 2025 USPQ2d 784 (Fed. Cir. 2025) [precedential]. [TTABlogged here]. The CAFC affirmed the Board's holding that "only commercial actors affected by the mark’s registration fall within the zone of interests to oppose the registration as generic, descriptive, or [failing to function as a trademark]," and it upheld the Board's dismissal of mere consumer Curtin's opposition to registration of the mark RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures on the ground of lack of statutory standing. [Petition for certiorari here: Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc., No. 25-435 (October 3, 2025)].