Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Positive Results With Negative Resistance

  Try an experiment. Next time you are in a room with someone, ask them to name everything in the room. Only certain kinds of people will say “air” or “light.” For most people, those are just givens, and you don’t think about them unless, for some reason, you don’t have them. Resistance is like that in electronics. You use it constantly, but do you ever think much about what it is? For a resistor, the value in ohms really represents the slope of the line that describes the amount of voltage you’ll see across the component when it carries a certain amount of current. For resistors, that slope is — at least in theory — constant and positive. But [Void Electronics] made a video exploring negative resistance, and it is worth watching, below.

• Hackaday ☛ A Deep Dive Into Molten Bismuth

  Bismuth is known for a few things: its low melting point, high density, and psychedelic hopper crystals. A literal deep-dive into any molten metal would be a terrible idea, regardless of low melting point, but [Electron Impressions]’s video on “Why Do Bismuth Crystals Look Like That” may be the most educational eight minutes posted to YouTube in the past week.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Award-Winning Images Reveal Our Smallest Realms of Life in Epic Detail

    Awe-inspiring!

  • Science Alert ☛ The Moon's Largest Crater Has Something Odd Going on – And Astronauts Are Heading There

    A window into its mysterious innards.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Futurism ☛ Doctors Intrigued by Shot That Prevents Multiple Types of Cancer in Mice

    The results speak for themselves.

  • Latvia ☛ Emergency medicine stocks in Latvia still only halfway there

    The stock of medicines intended for hospitals in critical situations is currently only partially prepared. 230 medicines are listed as critical in Latvia, but no funding has been found to provide them. On Wednesday, 15 October, the Saeima Committee for Social and Labour Affairs decided to address the Prime Minister, Evika Siliņa (New Unity), to address these and other problems related to access to medicines, Latvian Radio reported.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Senate Democrats, holding out for health care, reject government funding bill for 10th time

    The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to permit organ donations after patient’s heart stops, amid nationwide shortage

    The country is facing a widening imbalance between organ transplant demand and donation rates.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Wave of bomb threats against South Korean schools sparks nationwide concern

    A school in Incheon was temporarily closed and about 930 students were sent home after a bomb threat.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Tiny Peptide Can Freeze Parkinson's Proteins Before They Turn Toxic

    A potential treatment emerges.

  • Science Alert ☛ 5 Shingles Myths Your Doctor Wants You to Stop Believing

    How do you 'catch' it?

  • Science Alert ☛ Just a Few Minutes of Daily Activity Can Boost Your Metabolism, Study Reveals

    Every little step counts.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover Hidden Pulse in The Brain That May Warn of Dementia

    The beat changes with age.

  • Science Alert ☛ Cancer Vaccine Blocks Multiple Tumors in Mice For 250 Days

    This could be a major breakthrough.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Hey Hi (AI) 'Twin' Could Soon Test And Treat Your Mental Health

    Like looking into a mirror.

  • Buttondown LLC ☛ The Phase Change

    I've been running for just over two years now. My goal was to run a mile, then three, then three at a pace faster than a power-walk. I wish I could say that I then found joy in running, but really I was just mad at myself for being so bad at it. Spite has always been my brightest muse.

    Looking back, the thing I find most fascinating is what progress looked like. I couldn't tell you if I was physically progressing steadily, but for sure mental progress moved in discrete jumps. For a long time a 5k was me pushing myself, then suddenly a "phase change" happens and it becomes something I can just do on a run. Sometime in the future the 10k will feel the same way.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 1 in 10 Hong Kong women struggles to afford menstrual products as group urges ‘period poverty’ awareness

    One in 10 Hong Kong women struggles to afford menstrual products and has to reduce their usage to save money, according to a study, prompting a group to call for greater awareness of “period poverty” in the city.

• Proprietary

  • Qt ☛ Qt Creator 18 RC released

    We are happy to announce the release of Qt Creator 18 RC.

  • Security Week ☛ Cisco Routers Hacked for Rootkit Deployment

    Threat actors are exploiting CVE-2025-20352, a recent Cisco zero-day, to deploy a rootkit on older networking devices.

  • MWL ☛ 104: Software RAID on backdoored Windows 3.1

    “Trust” seems to be a recurrent theme of the OpenZFS book. Here we discuss so-called hardware RAID. All RAID is software RAID. Your hardware RAID controller runs a custom operating system to perform RAID tasks, and in the process obscures the storage hardware from the operating system.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Study Finds GPT-5 Is Actually Worse Than GPT-4o, New Research Finds

      Another nail in the coffin for OpenAI's flagship model.

    • Futurism ☛ It Sounds Like Proprietary Chaffbot Company Really, Really Messed Up With Hollywood

      "You quite literally set the bridge on fire."

    • Futurism ☛ People Are Using OpenAI’s Sora to Mock the Dead

      "Please stop."

    • OpenSSF (Linux Foundation) ☛ A New Course on Secure AI/ML-Driven Software Development

      The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) has launched a new free course, Secure AI/ML-Driven Software Development (LFEL1012), authored by David A. Wheeler.

    • Futurism ☛ If You Were Bankrolling OpenAI, the Percent of Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Users Willing to Pay for It Might Make You Break Out in a Cold Sweat

      It's looking grim.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong phone scams triple since real-name SIM card registration required

      The number of phone scams in Hong Kong has tripled since a real-name SIM card registration system was implemented in 2022, despite the government’s claim that it would help crack down on fraud.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to require social control media platforms to enforce age limit for users

      Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the move aims to protect children online.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s QR code clearance for motorcyclists at JB checkpoints hits snag on first day

      Many motorbike lanes with the new system were not functioning properly due to possible technical issues.

  • Confidentiality

    • Internet Society ☛ Our Voices Are Making a Difference in the Fight for Strong Encryption

      In the global movement to protect encryption, our voices matter. When we raise our voices together, we inspire and enable others, including those in power, to make the choice to defend encryption. 

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ Researchers find much Mexican satellite data is unencrypted and easily hacked

      Data from the government, military, banks, private and public companies such as Walmart and CFE, and private citizens is accessible with simple, cheap equipment.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former US Marine pilot who trained Chinese flyers appeals extradition from Australia

    Former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan appealed in an Australian court on Thursday against extradition to the United States on charges of violating U.S. arms control laws in relation to China, with his lawyer arguing that his conduct was not an offence in Australia at the time.

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court hears oral arguments on probable cause standards for emergency home entries

    The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that examines the standards police must meet before entering a home without a warrant. Case v. Montana arises from a 2021 incident where Montana police entered Trevor Case’s home during a welfare check and shot him.

  • The Straits Times ☛ How an anti-theft feature in Taiwan homes became the island’s ‘biggest eyesore’

    Such window cages took off from the 1950s, as Taiwan developed economically and home security became a concern.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Are Taiwan’s cities ugly? Look closer for hidden art in the ubiquitous window cages

    Such window cages took off from the 1950s, as Taiwan developed economically and home security became a concern.

  • CS Monitor ☛ In the Middle East, does Turkey hold the key to peace?

    The next stage of the Convicted Felon peace plan for Gaza requires Hamas to pass security responsibility to an international force. Will Turkey take the role?

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘Lawfare’ hits new levels, as Convicted Felon pursues those who pursued him

    Thursday’s indictment of former national security adviser John Bolton is the latest example of the Convicted Felon Justice Department going after people President The Insurrectionist says have done him wrong.

  • France24 ☛ Former Convicted Felon adviser John Bolton indicted for mishandling US defence secrets

    John Bolton, The Insurrectionist’s former national security adviser and one of his fiercest critics, was indicted Thursday on charges of retaining and transmitting classified national defence information. The move marks the third time in recent weeks that the Justice Department has brought criminal charges against a high-profile Convicted Felon opponent.

  • JURIST ☛ SCOTUS dispatch: the Supreme Court’s showdown over Louisiana’s voting map

    Joshua Villanueva is JURIST’s Washington, D.C. Correspondent and an LL.M. candidate in National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law at The George Washington University Law School.  There is a certain intensity to watching US Supreme Court arguments live that recordings simply cannot capture.

  • JURIST ☛ Côte d’Ivoire urged to end repression of peaceful protests ahead of presidential elections

    Amnesty International called on Ivorian authorities on Thursday to end the repression of peaceful protests ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, following the dispersal of a demonstration by security forces in Abidjan on October 11 and the subsequent arrest of 255 individuals.

  • France24 ☛ Peru: Gen Z stands firm against security forces

    Protests have been escalating across #Peru for the past month, with a tense confrontation overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday leaving at least one dead and dozens injured. Following the removal of Dina #Boluarte, José #Jerí, president of the Peruvian Parliament, is now acting as interim head of state, but the anger of #GenZ shows no signs of easing.

  • France24 ☛ Kenya: Panic breaks out during a tribute to Raila Odinga

    In this footage, tens of thousands of people are seen fleeing in panic as Kenyan security forces open fire in a stadium in #Nairobi on October 16. The crowd had gathered to pay tribute to opposition leader Raila #Odinga. Several people were injured.

  • France24 ☛ Kenyan police fire tear gas at mourners during former PM Odinga's public viewing

    At least three people were killed at a stadium in Nairobi after security forces opened fire on large crowds who had gathered to view the body of the late Raila Odinga. The 80-year-old's remains had been returned from India, where he had died earlier that week. Supporters flocked to the Kasarani Stadium to pay their respects and have accused the police of taking an unnecessarily heavy-handed approach.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian school stabbing victim was polite, liked helping others, says friend

    “She never raised her voice and she liked helping others," said the classmate.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s crime rate up 11% in 2024

    According to the Statistics Department's data, property crimes remained the most prevalent.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China blames US for trade tensions, warns against decoupling

    But Foreign Minister Wang Yi struck a more diplomatic tone during a meeting with Blackstone’s Schwarzman.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Immigration Agents Have Held More Than 170 Americans Against Their Will, ProPublica Finds

    When the Supreme Court recently allowed immigration agents in the Los Angeles area to take race into consideration during sweeps, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that citizens shouldn’t be concerned.

    “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote, “they promptly let the individual go.”

  • New York Times ☛ She Self-Deported. Now She and Other Crime Survivors Are Suing ICE.

    Lawyers argue that the agency’s new policies have led to the detention and removal of victims of domestic violence and trafficking, despite their legal protections.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ How City of Chicago Beat Back Stephen Miller’s Shoddy Propaganda … So Far

    How the efforts of everyday Chicagoans managed to defeat Stephen Miller's propaganda ... so far.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Military Killed Venezuelan Fisherman in Suspected Drug Boat Attack, Family Says

    For the first time, one of the 27 people killed in U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug vessels has been publicly identified.

  • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man confirms the CIA is conducting covert operations inside Venezuela

    US President The Insurrectionist indicated Wednesday he had authorized covert CIA action against Venezuela and said he was considering strikes against alleged drug cartels on land in the South American country. Speaking with FRANCE 24, Philip Gunson, Senior Consultant for the Andes region at the International Crisis Group, says that the announcement is 'intended to intimidate Maduro' and that neither Maduro nor Convicted Felon are looking for an escalation.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Warns Hamas of Strikes if Violence in Gaza Continues

    The president later clarified that the United States would not be involved in such an action.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Unilateral Spending Cuts Complicate Shutdown Deal

    Democrats want guarantees that Hell Toupée will not continue to claw back spending, ignoring any agreement they strike. But he has promised to keep defying Congress.

  • The Straits Times ☛ How do Pakistan and Taliban Afghan militaries stack up as clashes escalate?

    Dozens of people have been killed in airstrikes and ground fighting between South Asian neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan this month - their deadliest confrontation since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Militant leader at heart of Afghan-Pakistan conflict survived strike that provoked clashes

    The leader of the Pakistani Taliban appeared in a video Thursday to prove he was still alive, a week after an apparent attempt to assassinate him with an airstrike in Afghanistan provoked the most serious clash between the neighbours in decades.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan says it’s ready for talks with Afghanistan, Kabul residents recall air strike shock

    Although the neighbours have clashed in the past, the latest fighting is their worst in decades.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Laughing all the way to the Central Ban:k How skyrocketing gold prices support the Kremlin’s war machine — Meduza

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Xiaomi driver death adds to China push for new EV door designs

      Flush door handles were popularised by EVs as a sleek, futuristic design.

    • Hackaday ☛ After Trucking Them Home, Old Solar Panels Keep On Trucking

      The fact that there exist in our world flat rocks that make lightning when you point them at the sun is one of the most unappreciated bits of wizardry in this modern age. As hackers, we love all this of techno-wizardry–but some of us abhor paying full price for it. Like cars, one way to get a great discount is to buy used. [Backyard Solar Project] helped a friend analyze some 14-year-old panels to see just how they’d held up over the years, and it was actually better than we might have expected.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Laos plans to pull plug on crypto miners by early 2026

      The government now aims to prioritise power for sectors such as artificial intelligence data centres.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Jeju Air crash victims’ families file lawsuit against Boeing

      An official investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Father of pilot in Air India crash asks top court for independent probe

      The lawsuit comes weeks after he criticised the government's investigation into the June crash that killed 260.

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Cryptocurrency ATMs

      CNN has a great piece about how cryptocurrency ATMs are used to scam people out of their money. The fees are usurious, and they’re a common place for scammers to send victims to buy cryptocurrency for them. The companies behind the ATMs, at best, do not care about the harm they cause; the profits are just too good.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Little Fliers Everywhere

      They’re not just for missing pets or yard sales. Fliers these days are for internet memes, self-promotion and extremely esoteric messages.

    • New York Times ☛ Armed With Anemones: How Some Young Fish Survive in the Sea

      Photos taken by blackwater divers offered a new glimpse into the early life stages of marine fishes and their interactions with other animals.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ China Fans Patriotic Sentiment as Trade War With U.S. Heats Up

    Chinese state media is rallying the public and posting old propaganda footage, but officials are also careful to leave room for talks with Hell Toupée.

  • New York Times ☛ The Small Company in Europe Caught in the Big Trade War Between the U.S. and China

    Nexperia, a computer chip maker based in the Netherlands, was taken over by the Dutch government after pressure from officials in Washington.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China's latest round of rare-earth export controls gives the country dominion over precious resources — regulations have far-reaching implications for the semiconductor industry

    China has expanded its rare-earth export controls to cover not only raw materials but also to mining equipment, and foreign-made products containing Chinese-origin rare earths, effectively globalizing its licensing regime.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s Rare Earth Restrictions Aim to Beat U.S. at Its Own Game

    Beijing’s latest effort to weaponize global supply chains is modeled on the American technology controls that it has long criticized.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Tensions over rare earth controls rise as US and China trade barbs

    The US and China have been embroiled in a war of words since a September telephone call between their two leaders.

  • France24 ☛ Death of kidnapped South Korean student spurs talks with Cambodia to tackle online scams

    Seoul has banned travel to parts of Cambodia after a South Korean student died from cardiac arrest, after being kidnapped and tortured by a criminal gang in the country. Criminal networks are believed to lure victims to Cambodia with the promise of well-paid jobs, but on arrival they are taken prisoner, and forced to work on phishing scams. Cyberscams in South East Asia, including in Cambodia and Myanmar, are believed to be worth billions of dollars annually.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Cambodia’s Prince Group, China-born businessman targeted by US-UK sanctions

    US and UK authorities unveiled sanctions this week against Chen Zhi, a British-Cambodian tycoon accused of running cyberscam operations where workers, some trafficked, carry out transnational fraud schemes that have netted billions of dollars. AFP takes a look at the man, indicted in the US, and his sanctioned company, Prince Group.

  • Security Week ☛ US Charges Cambodian Executive in Massive Crypto Scam and Seizes More Than $14 Billion in Bitcoin

    In an indictment, federal prosecutors charged Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

  • New York Times ☛ Renting a San Francisco Apartment in the Hey Hi (AI) Boom? Good Luck.

    The artificial intelligence gold rush has pushed San Francisco’s residential rents up by the most in the nation, as Hey Hi (AI) companies lease apartments and offer rent stipends to employees.

  • Futurism ☛ Goldman Sachs Says Gen Z Is Pretty Much Permanently Screwed

    "History also suggests that the full consequences of Hey Hi (AI) for the labor market might not become apparent until a recession hits."

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Our twelfth mortgage payment [Ed: "Our twelfth mortgage payment" and "buying our own apartment together" are contradictions; those cannot be yours until the mortgage is fully paid]

    As an aside, I empathise once again with people learning English as a second language. Why is it twelfth and not twelve-ty?

    This time last year Clara and I were celebrating finally buying our own apartment together. Fast forward to today, and I reconciled our twelfth mortgage payment and calculated our monthly offset in our budget spreadsheets. The anniversary came and went without us even noticing.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean high court partially overturns SK Group chairman’s near US$1b divorce settlement

    The case would have been the country's largest divorce settlement.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cambodia to deport 59 South Koreans linked to scam centres: Police

    Seoul said about 1,000 South Koreans are working in scam operations in Cambodia.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cambodian ministry posts videos of South Korean residents defending country’s image

    The ministry said the clips were aimed at showing the world the experience of living in Cambodia.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Seoul’s senior officials meet Cambodian PM over return of South Korean detainees

    The two sides discussed the rise in scam-linked kidnapping and confinement cases.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar elections unlikely to see credible outcome, EU human rights rep says

    The European Union's Special Representative for Human Rights Kajsa Ollongren said on Thursday that the grouping had no plans to send observers to an election in military-ruled Myanmar, as it was unlikely to result in a credible outcome.

  • Myanmar junta admits it’s unable to conduct election across entire country

    As fighting continues, EU human rights representative says credible outcome unlikely, no plans to send observers.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese Customs seize 60,000 ‘problematic’ maps

    Maps have long been a sensitive topic for China and other countries due to competing territorial claims.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese customs seize 60,000 ‘problematic’ maps for ‘mislabelling’ Taiwan, omitting South China Sea claims

    Chinese customs seized 60,000 maps it deemed “problematic” over their labelling of Taiwan and omission of territory Beijing claims in the South China Sea, authorities said. China claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce using force to bring it under its control.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says jailed Swedish publisher is Chinese citizen

    China maintains that jailed Swedish publisher Gui Minhai is a Chinese national and it firmly opposes any country, organization or person interfering with its judicial sovereignty in any form, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

  • BIA Net ☛ The media landscape of the Western Balkans and Turkey: Stuck in transition

    The struggle of journalism is no longer only against politicians and tycoons, but also against the “unpredictability” of algorithms, censorship, and technology that is reshaping human attention itself.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ HRW condemns Morocco security forces’ violent response to youth-led protests

    Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned the excessive use of force by Moroccan security forces to disperse protesters, raising concerns over human rights violations during mass youth-led demonstrations demanding sweeping reforms to public services.

  • BIA Net ☛ Proposed judicial package introduces criminal penalties targeting LGBTI+ community

    The package includes provisions that criminalize public expression and promotion of LGBTI+ identities, raise the minimum age for gender reassignment surgeries from 18 to 25, and expand censorship of digital content.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for IP Investments Group entity, eComm Innovations, web layout patent monopoly prior art

    Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,409,635, owned by eComm Innovations LLC, an NPE and entity of IP Investments Group. The '635 patent monopoly focuses on advancements in data processing, specifically aiming at improving layout and rendering techniques in web and print publishing.

    The contest will expire on November 22, 2025.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ IPR Fact Findings Don’t Bind District Courts (What about IPR Legal Conclusions?)

    Issue preclusion (also called collateral estoppel) prevents parties from relitigating issues already decided in prior proceedings. To apply issue preclusion, courts generally require: (1) the issue was actually litigated and decided in the prior proceeding; (2) the determination was essential to the judgment; (3) the party against whom preclusion is asserted had a full and fair opportunity to litigate; and (4) the party against whom preclusion is asserted was a party (or in privity) in the prior proceeding. Issue preclusion can sometimes dispose of an entire case, but it can also apply more narrowly -- operating to prevent relitigation of any individual issue of law or fact that was already resolved in a prior proceeding.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ German and UPC rulings in Amazon case put pressure on UK proceedings [Ed: UPC is torally illegal and UK is not in the EU; EPO corruption is becoming widespread across the EU and beyond]

      The parties are embroiled in a pan-European patent monopoly battle over video coding and decoding technology. Earlier this month, the UPC and the Munich Regional Court both issued decisions prohibiting Amazon from seeking an interim licence at the UK High Court.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Precedential No. 9: Affirming GASPARILLA Section 2(d) Refusal, TTAB Rejects Flimsy Consent Agreement

    Consent agreements may carry great weight in the Section 2(d) analysis, but not this time. The Board affirmed a refusal to register the mark GASPARILLA on the Supplemental Register, for various goods, including glassware and shirts, finding confusion likely with the registered mark GASPARILLA TREASURES for, inter alia, beverageware and shirts. Applicant Ye Mystic Crewe did not contest the Board's findings regarding all but one of the DuPont factors, maintaining that, under the 10th factor, its Consent Agreement with the cited registrant sufficed to fend off the refusal. Not so, said the Board. In re Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, Serial No. 90522364 (October 14, 2025) [precedential] (Opinion by Judge Elizabeth K. Brock).

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Paramaribo and the Plantation: Gerrit Schouten’s Dioramas of Suriname (1810–30)

    Dioramas avant la lettre that depict local life in Suriname.