Leftovers

• Standards/Consortia

  • DJ Bernstein ☛ 2026.02.19: NSA and IETF, part 5

    Remember how IETF claims that its decision-making "requires achieving broad consensus"? And claims that "anyone can participate" in IETF by simply "signing up to a working group mailing list", the list that carries out all "official work" of the working group? Also, remember how IETF/IRTF chairs claim to be "little more than group secretaries"?

    In reality, IETF chairs decide when to call votes, what to call votes on, and whether they can get away with declaring that the vote results qualify as "consensus". If a controversial document that they're pushing receives an overwhelming number of objections, they can simply wait and try again, issuing another "last call" for objections. Dissenters are forced to again and again spell out their objections in detail. Proponents who think they have majority support—not from the majority of the public; rather from the majority of those who can afford to keep showing up to IETF—tend to issue only cursory explanations, sometimes simply casting "+1" votes with no explanation at all.

    This brings me to current events: Joseph Salowey, one of the chairs of the IETF TLS working group, has issued another "last call" for objections to non-hybrid ML-KEM in TLS. The call was issued last week (12 February 2026), with a deadline next week (27 February 2026). In this blog post I'll look at what's going on.

  • Ryan Goldstein ☛ The Perils of ISBN

    I was complaining about my situation to my partner; xe informed me that librarians think of this through the FRBR model. In short, there’s a distinction between the work (the book The Last Unicorn), the expression (a given edition of the book), a manifestation (a given physical format for an expression, such as paperback or hardcover), and an item (an individual object in a collection)[4].

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ On an Ambitious Antarctic Quest, One Nation Is on the Sidelines

    None of the main research on the voyage of the Araon was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, a sign of the difficult times for American science.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Comet Mysteriously Reversed Its Spin After Passing The Sun, But Why?

    We've never seen this before.

  • New York Times ☛ Investigators Blame NASA and Boeing for Starliner Failures

    Technical and oversight problems left two astronauts aboard the International Space Station for months longer than had been expected.

  • Science Alert ☛ Some Brain Cells Resist Dementia, And Scientists Finally Know Why

    They screened nearly every gene in the human genome.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Record-Breaking Drill Beneath Antarctic Ice Revealed a Big Surprise

    Peering back 23 million years into history.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Grew Mini Brains, Then Trained Them to Solve an Engineering Problem

    A step toward studying how disease changes the brain’s ability to learn.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astonishing Spinosaur Unearthed in The Sahara Is Unlike Any Seen Before

    "This find was so sudden and amazing."

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Retries Crucial Fueling Test For Moon Rocket After Dangerous Leaks

    The outcome will decide if astronauts launch in March.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronomers Say They've Found Their Strongest Dark Galaxy Candidate Yet

    So few stars it was detected in a whole new way.

  • Science Alert ☛ California's Death Cap Mushrooms Are Making New Compounds, Scientists Discover

    A versatile killer is rapidly evolving.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Tiny Glass Square Could Store 2 Million Books of Data For 10,000 Years

    'Written' with femtosecond laser flashes.

• Hardware

  • Peter 'CzP' Czanik ☛ New toy in the house for AI, gaming, Linux, backdoored Windows and FreeBSD

    There is a new toy in the house. It is a miniature workstation from HP, built around AMD’s Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) Max+ PRO 395 chip. If you are interested in the specifications and other details, check the HP product page at https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/z2-mini-a.html. In the long run, this box will serve many purposes: [...]

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ MAHA Moms Turn Against Convicted Felon: ‘Women Feel Like They Were Lied To’

    Hell Toupée’s executive order aimed at spurring production of a pesticide has infuriated leaders of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian Medical Association calls for stronger action against illegal clinics in Kuala Lumpur

    Foreign nationals were found to be allegedly posing as doctors and dispensing controlled medicines.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan panel approves stem cell medical products to treat heart disease and Parkinson’s

    The products now await a final green light from the Health Ministry.

• Proprietary

  • India Today ☛ After 11,000 layoffs, Accenture says use AI at work or else no appraisal for you [Ed: Mass layoffs masked by Ponzi scheme rhetoric]

    Accenture has reportedly informed senior employees that their promotions will now be linked to AI usage

  • Neowin ☛ Sony is shutting down Demon's Souls remake developer Bluepoint

    Ever since the launch of the hugely well-received Demon's Souls remake for PlayStation 5, fans have been clamoring about giving the same treatment to other series in Sony's gaming portfolio. However, it seems the PlayStation maker has other plans, as the developer behind the remake, Bluepoint Games, is now being shut down.

• Defence/Aggression

  • CS Monitor ☛ How does a reporter in Uganda cover elections when the internet goes out?

    Reporter Sophie Neiman describes the experience of covering Uganda’s presidential election in the midst of a country-wide internet shutdown.

  • France24 ☛ UN's probe finds 'hallmarks of genocide' in El-Fasher

    In tonight's edition, a new UN report warns that atrocities in El Fasher may bear the hallmarks of genocide. Also, Zimbabwe rolls out a new HIV prevention drug, targeting more than 46,000 people at high risk of contracting the virus. And award-winning author Chimamanda Adichie lost a child during medical care in a hospital,  a tragedy  that echoes cases faced by many families across Nigeria and is now drawing renewed attention to the country’s healthcare crisis.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean citizens recommended for Nobel Peace Prize over martial law resistance

    The non-violent movement was described as a “Revolution of Light".

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol: From rising star to jailed ex-president

    A panel of judges sentenced him to life in prison after finding him guilty on Feb 19.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim opens 9th Party Congress citing economic achievements

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the economy had overcome recession.

  • France24 ☛ Kim Jong Un opens North Korea’s 9th party congress, highlights economic gains

    North Korea has opened a major ruling party congress in Pyongyang, state media said on Friday, a rare gathering held roughly every five years that analysts say will set national priorities, including nuclear policy. The Workers’ Party congress is the regime’s top political event and often signals policy shifts or leadership changes.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia condemns foreign threats after claim of China interference

    This comes after a media report alleged Chinese police had pressured food delivery riders in Australia.

  • The Straits Times ☛ With somersaults, nunchucks, China’s humanoid robots thrill at CNY show – but can they make coffee?

    The aim is for robots to do real work, and enter homes and shopping streets in pursuit of mass-market consumers.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Five children among victims of China fireworks shop explosion

    Five children were among the 12 people killed in an explosion at a general store selling fireworks in China during the Lunar New Year holiday, state media said Thursday. Setting off fireworks and crackers is common during holiday celebrations in China, especially around Lunar New Year.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania wants to balance ties with Taiwan and China, says president after policy meeting

    Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Thursday that while Lithuania wants to restore normal diplomatic relations with China, it also aims to better harness the economic potential of cooperation with Taiwan.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Beijing slams US appointment of Tibetan rights envoy Riley Barnes

    Beijing accused the United States on Wednesday of “interfering in China’s internal affairs”, after Washington announced an envoy to promote Tibetans’ rights. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, would serve as US special coordinator for Tibetan issues.

  • France24 ☛ As Board of Peace meets, 'every day is worse than the one before' for Gazans

    As the newly formed Board of Peace gathered for its first meeting in Washington to discuss the next stage of the ceasefire, everyday Gazans await their fate, as thousands continue to live in dire conditions. Emily Boyle takes a look at the situation on the ground.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

      • The Kyiv Independent ☛ Russian 'mothership' drones prompt Ukraine to weigh passport requirement for SIM card sales

        Ukraine is considering requiring passport verification for the purchase of local SIM cards in response to Russia's latest use of FPV (first-person-view) drones, Serhii Beskrestnov, adviser to Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, wrote on Feb. 18 on Telegram.

• Finance

  • Retail Delivery Fees: A Regressive Approach to Modern Commerce

    Policymakers must always consider the broader economic impacts that may result when they consider new revenue sources [...]

  • Press Gazette ☛ Most national newspaper sales figures now secret as Reach takes auditing private

    Reach pulls out of public ABC circulation reporting for Mirror, Express and Star titles.

  • Press Gazette ☛ New subs technology helps Spectator reach 198-year sales high

    Full breakdown of UK current affairs magazine sales for 2025.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Strategist ☛ France strikes to address misinformation weakening Western alliance

      The key destabilising feature of today’s information environment is no longer simply that democracies are targeted by adversaries’ misinformation and disinformation. Increasingly, the danger is coming from uninhibited partners in the allied ecosystem itself.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • BIA Net ☛ Children detained over Rojava protests subjected to strip searches, complaint reveals

    A DEM Party MP filed an official complaint with the parliament’s Human Rights Investigation Commission, calling for an on-site investigation

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • IP Kat ☛ 2026-02-14 [Older] [Guest Post] What the Inari vs. Corteva case really tells us about enablement of plant inventions [Ed: Nature is not an "invention"; this is obscene]

• Trademarks

  • IP Kat ☛ 2026-02-13 [Older] H 15 - Too unusual to be used as a trade mark?

  • IP Kat ☛ 2026-02-16 [Older] From ‘Quad God’ to ‘Milk God’:The 'milk' ban in Dairy UK v Oatly