Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ A decluttering retrospective

  I spent a few years here blogging about my decluttering process. A post I wrote in December 2016 titled goodbye junk is illustrative. I grew up in households where things played an oversized role, so to be able to be more ruthless with junk in my own life felt liberating.

  Well it’s been a decade, and I have some Thoughts™ about the whole thing.

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Chinese Scientists Propose Turning Abandoned Coal Mines Into Farming Laboratories

    It makes more sense than you might think.

  • Science Alert ☛ Gone Too Hard? Regular Erectile Dysfunction Drug Use Raises Risk of Vision Loss, Study Finds

    It doesn't just affect systems below the belt.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Week in Science: Poop Concrete, Hot Ice, And More!

    Seven days of science, in one scroll.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Common Plastic Chemical in Pregnancy Is Linked to Autism And ADHD Symptoms – Here's The Full Picture

    "No single exposure like this is likely, on its own, to meaningfully change an individual child's risk."

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Found an Animal That Fixes Its Shattered DNA Across Generations

    "We thought that's impossible."

  • Science Alert ☛ Experiment Tested Out-of-Body Experiences. Two Reported Seeing Things Scientists Can't Explain.

    This is actually weird.

  • Science Alert ☛ For The First Time, Watch Cells Communicate Across an Entire Living Body

    We can finally see the whole system in action.

  • Science Alert ☛ Elephants Just Passed a Classic Psychology Test – With More Restraint Than Many Humans

    An inspiration to us all.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Renesas RZ/G3L & RZ/G3SE – Ultra-low-power Cortex-A55 MPUs for industrial HMI and IoT applications

    Renesas has expanded its RZ/G Series with the RZ/G3L and RZ/G3SE, two new 64-bit MPUs for HMI and IoT edge systems. Both devices integrate up to four Arm Cortex-A55 application cores clocked at up to 1.2 GHz and a 200 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 real-time coprocessor. The two chips are pin-to-pin compatible but target different applications. The RZ/G3L integrates an Arm Mali-G31 3D GPU and H.264 video codec for HMI applications like retail terminals and medical devices.

  • CNX Software ☛ Amlogic A123X and C305X2 Arm Cortex-A320 SoCs target industrial and low-power AIoT applications

    Amlogic has unveiled the A123X quad-core and C305X2 dual-core Arm Cortex-A320 SoCs for industrial and battery-powered Edge Hey Hi (AI) and IoT applications such as robots, dashcams, IP cameras, video conferencing equipment, and so on. The Arm Cortex-A320 low-power Armv9 CPU core was introduced in February 2025, and Amlogic is the first silicon vendor to announce Cortex-A320 SoCs. Details are sparse, with no full specifications or block diagrams and limited software information, but let’s see what we know so far.

  • CNX Software ☛ NeoEyes NE302 – A tiny USB-C-powered WiFi 6 Edge Hey Hi (AI) Vision camera based on STM32N6 MCU

    CamThink NeoEyes NE302 is a tiny WiFi 6 Edge Hey Hi (AI) camera based on an STM32N6 Arm Cortex-M55 MCU with Neural-ART NPU which the company says is “especially suitable for developers and makers”. I initially thought about it as a smaller version of the CamThink NeoEyes NE301 based on the same STM32N6 MCU and 4MP OS04C10 camera sensor.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Trading Keggers for ‘Wellness Darties’

    A new crop of college students is finding balance at daytime parties with yoga, saunas and cold plunges.

  • New York Times ☛ Colombia to Start Aerial Spraying of Coca Crops Despite Health Worries

    The plan — quickly challenged by a local court — came days after Colombia’s president and the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, discussed stronger measures against drug trafficking.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India court orders regulator to provide timeline for food warning labels

    NEW DELHI, Sept 11 - India's Supreme Court has ordered the federal government to provide a clear pathway for the implementation of food warning labels on packaged products within 10 days, ratcheting up pressure on New Delhi to implement the public health measure.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ FTC rescinds policy statement requiring health apps to notify customers after a breach

    The policy, passed under the Biden administration, forced health apps to disclose when users’ personal health records were exposed in a breach or shared without authorization.

  • BIA Net ☛ Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

    The ministry has been restricting access to hormone therapy through directives and de facto practices.

  • Latvia ☛ Mental health festival 'Ogle' becomes a tradition

    A family tragedy has given borth to something positive – an annual festival dedicated to mental health. The "Ogle" (Coal) festival has become a tradition, and this year, on September 11th and 12th, will be held for the sixth time in Rīga.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

  • So-Called 'Artificial Intelligence' ('AI') / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Many comments don’t mean many people’: Azalina cautions against Hey Hi (AI) perception attacks

      She was commenting on reports of the use of Hey Hi (AI) to influence political discussions in Malaysia.

    • New York Times ☛ The Ezra Klein Show: The Hey Hi (AI) Revolt Is Here

      The Hey Hi (AI) giants weren’t prepared for this.

    • Breach Media ☛ As public backlash grows against AI, politicians have launched a new PR push

      Marcus Werner debunks the spin justifying public handouts to tech oligarchs.

    • Futurism ☛ Meta Releases Uber-Creepy Hey Hi (AI) Chatbot as Its Platforms Crumble Under Grotesque Child Abuse

      Stay far away.

    • NYPost ☛ Mom horrified after Meta Hey Hi (AI) starts asking about her young daughters, where family lives — and allegedly digs up old deleted photo

      Kalie Robins said the episode began when she shared what she called an “innocent” clip of herself singing in the car with one of her daughters.

    • The Straits Times ☛ AI influence operation targeting voters a threat to Malaysia, says MCA

      Anthropic said it disrupted an alleged commercial influence operation targeting Malaysia.

    • BIA Net ☛ Turkey-based company linked to Malaysian election influence operation using Claude

      The influence operation reportedly involved creating fake accounts to support politicians, fabricating news and smearing rivals.

• Linux Foundation

  • ARC ☛ Open Secure AI Alliance Finds a Neutral Home at the Linux Foundation [Ed: Openwashing pyramid schemes at LF]

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man administration to lend $100 million to telecoms firm Africell, countering Huawei in Africa

      The Forrest Dump administration will lend nearly $100 million to Africell, Africa's only American-owned telecoms firm, as the U.S. seeks to thwart the expansion of China's Huawei in Africa, according to a press release and a person familiar with the matter.

    • The Straits Times ☛ How China and Nepal are battling flood rumours online

      Beijing has suppressed eyewitness video footage and punished people challenging official figures.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

      • StokeonTrentLive ☛ 'Pay cash or drive away': Motoring expert explains why you should never scan a parking QR code again

        An increasing number of locations are transitioning to card or mobile-only parking payments, and this shift has spawned a fresh scam – dubbed 'quishing' – which dupes individuals into divulging personal information on fraudulent websites. The deception involves scanning what appear to be legitimate QR codes that criminals have fixed to parking machines, resulting in stolen funds while simultaneously exposing victims to potential fines for unpaid parking charges.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Lessons of 9/11 We Forgot After October 7th

    Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown tonight. This year, it falls at the same time as the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and weeks before the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks, offering an opportunity for reflection that extends beyond the past year. I’ve written about when I first learned about the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th, but not about 9/11.

  • New York Times ☛ C.I.A. Releases Intelligence Sent to Clinton and Bush on Al Qaeda Before 9/11 Attacks

    The spy agency released dozens of intelligence documents it had sent to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, outlining what was known about Al Qaeda.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Kim Jong Un wants North Koreans to have more (state-sanctioned) fun

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is orchestrating new ways for his citizens to spend their wealth.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s Lee to host Central Asia summit in Seoul next week

    He will host the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Seoul.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea fires projectile towards sea, says South Korea

    North Korea has launched an unidentified projectile toward the sea to the east of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea's defense ministry said on Saturday.

  • New York Times ☛ At BRICS Summit, China and India Vie for Influence

    China sees the BRICS group as a vehicle for challenging American power. India wants to keep the group broad enough to avoid choosing sides.

  • The Straits Times ☛ India-China relations, from conflict to cautious thaw

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modimir and Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping will hold talks on Saturday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan's vice president on rare Europe visit which China calls 'despicable'

    Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is making a rare visit to Europe, attending a forum on democracy in Italy along with Taipei's foreign minister, the presidential office said on Friday, as China condemned such overseas trips as "despicable".

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘People will be shocked and angry’: Relatives, friends of jailed Tiananmen activists decry ‘unjust’ sentences

    Relatives of three Tiananmen vigil activists sentenced on Friday for inciting subversion have decried their years-long prison terms as “totally unjust,” and have said that two of the defendants will appeal.

  • LRT ☛ President in shelter, and ‘armaggeddon’ on TV: here’s how Lithuania met 9/11 attacks

    It was early morning in the US. President Valdas Adamkus, who was visiting Washington, was hurried to a secure shelter, while in Vilnius, senior officials gathered for an unscheduled meeting to discuss the country’s security situation.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Macau to hold closed-door trial in first national security case against democrat

    Macau will hold its first national security trial behind closed doors next week, a court said on Friday, in a case against a former pro-democracy lawmaker charged with “subversion”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Why a Russian screening of an 81-year-old Soviet-era film to a tiny audience has alarmed Taiwan

    In a small meeting room in a downtown Taipei office building, Russian officials hosted an unusual screening of an old Soviet documentary called "Smashing Militarist Japan" for some 20 Taiwanese guests.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Explainer-Russia, China, Taiwan and Japan's World War Two legacy dispute

    Russian diplomats in Taiwan last week screened a film on Japanese "militarism" and World War Two, causing concern in Taiwan's government which thinks Russia is helping China push its narrative of a rising Japanese military threat and sow discord over Taipei's relations with Tokyo and other Western partners.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar airport shut after rebel drone attack: Security sources

    Six “suicide drones” attacked it on the afternoon of Sept 10, the military-backed government said.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ As Russia Again Draws Near, a Frontline City Fears Obliteration This Time

      The Ukrainian city of Izium still bears the scars of Russian occupation from four years ago. As Moscow’s forces approach, residents are bracing for the worst.

    • France24 ☛ Elections in Russia: the 1001 tricks to remove inconvenient candidates

      The Russian authorities are using dubious claims to disqualify candidates previously cleared to run in the parliamentary election from September 18 to 20. The war in Ukraine is making the Kremlin even more cautious about who is allowed to campaign.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky urges Convicted Felon to impose new Russia sanctions 'now', after deadly Ukraine strikes

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged US President The Insurrectionist to impose new sanctions on Russia over deadly strikes on Ukraine, as Kyiv and Moscow step up attacks and US-led efforts to end the war remain deadlocked.

    • Security Week ☛ Ukrainian Conti Ransomware Developer Sentenced to 4 Years in US Prison

      Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko has been sentenced to 4 years in prison after he was arrested in Ireland in 2023.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian public media charity drive for Ukraine continues until Sunday

      To mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, Latvian Public Media, in collaboration with the charity organisation “Ziedot.lv”, is organising a fundraising campaign entitled “In thoughts and deeds together with Ukraine”.

    • European Commission ☛ Commission approves €6.1 billion to support Ukraine's air and missile defence and other defence needs

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 11 Sep 2026 Today, the European Commission has approved an additional €6.1 billion for Ukraine to procure different defence products in the field of air and missile defence, ammunition, drones and electronic warfare.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Modi, Putin seek stronger ties as Russia calls for BRICS to counter West

      Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modimir and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Friday to deepen their countries' longstanding ties, with Putin saying the BRICS grouping should build a new platform for global growth free from Western rules.

    • RFERL ☛ US House Set To Take Up Russia Sanctions Bill Amid Fight Over Convicted Felon Tariff Powers

      The US House of Representatives is preparing to take up legislation next week that is intended to impose tougher economic pressure on Russia, setting up what could be a heated fight between Republicans and Democrats over how far Congress should go in expanding President The Insurrectionist's tariff powers.

• Environment

  • JURIST ☛ Nepal calls for international financial compensation following deadly floods

    Nepal on Wednesday appealed for emergency assistance from a UN fund designed to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change. The appeal comes in the aftermath of floods caused by an August 26 glacier collapse on the border with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Bridge Michigan ☛ Court strikes Convicted Felon order that forced Michigan coal plant to stay open

      A federal court ruled the Convicted Felon administration overstepped its authority when it forced Consumers Energy’s Campbell coal plant to keep running past its planned closure date. But for now, the coal will keep burning.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Death toll from cargo ship fire in China rises to 25 – state media

      The death toll from a fire that erupted on Thursday on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked in a Chinese port has risen to 25, including five people who had been listed as missing, state media said.

• Finance

  • An inheritance for everyone, paid for by inheritance

    Every year, Europe's parents leave their children between 1,500 and 2,000 billion euros, mostly at 60, to a few. What if each family kept a first share and the rest went to every young European, at 20, 25 and 30? A radical proposal to open a debate Europe has avoided for a century.

  • WhichUK ☛ First Halifax, now TSB? Why are banks disappearing?

    Bank branches are closing at rapid speed – and more are set to close too

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • JURIST ☛ UN Security Council welcomes Libyan election deal as ‘important step’ toward national reunification

    The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) issued a press statement Tuesday, hailing the August 30 agreement between Libya’s rival political factions as “an important step” toward facilitating the country’s first national elections in more than a decade.

  • France24 ☛ Hate speech against Rohingya refugees on the rise in Malaysia

    Hostile social control media content, disinformation campaigns, and a petition calling for their expulsion: in Malaysia, a wave of hate speech has been targeting Rohingya refugees, a Muslim minority driven out of Myanmar. The rising hostility has already led to the eviction of more than 100 people from a village and forced the temporary closure of schools serving refugee children.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Emerging Powers Keep Joining BRICS, Even When They Disagree

    The leaders of China, Russia, India, Iran and other nations in the BRICS club gather in New Delhi this weekend, but wars and soaring energy prices divide them.

  • New York Times ☛ As Oil Prices Rise, BRICS Leaders Have What U.S. Doesn’t: Iran at the Table

    Even so, finding unity among the loose grouping of emerging economies will be difficult as the war in the Middle East strains their own interests.

  • New York Times ☛ Federal Judge Poised to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging Convicted Felon’s Library

    The judge, in halting the pretrial fact-finding process, said Hell Toupée’s claim of immunity could “dispose of the entire case” involving the library to be built in Miami.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Who runs US elections? Why the Constitution puts states and Congress in charge.

    The crafters of the U.S. Constitution, wary of centralizing power, gave states and Congress oversight over national elections. The president’s role is to enforce federal laws, including voter laws. The Forrest Dump administration is now testing the boundaries of that enforcement power, in the name of rooting out voter fraud.

  • France24 ☛ REPLAY: Hegseth warns of 'Islamist threat' at 9/11 25th anniversary commemorations

    US defense secretary Pete Hegseth delivered remarks at a ceremony at the Pentagon on Friday on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Hegseth used his speech to turn to the ongoing conflict in Iran and sought to connect it to the 2001 attacks on America. ““Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, that cheered on 9/11, a regime that has sponsored terrorist attacks against Americans for decades, killing thousands, including our comrades in Iraq, in Afghanistan," he said.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Futurism ☛ Top Chinese Court Issues Sweeping Legal Crackdown on Hey Hi (AI) Deepfakes

      "AI face-swapping technology can indiscriminately harvest anyone's likeness, making ordinary people potential targets of deepfakes."

    • RFERL ☛ Anthropic Disrupts Iran’s Use Of Claude To Spread Propaganda, Spy On Dissidents

      Anthropic said it has disrupted attempts by Iran to use its artificial intelligence (AI) models to disseminate state propaganda and spy on ethnic minorities and dissidents.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • France24 ☛ 'My Feed My Way': Australia takes on the algorithm

    Australia, which became the first country to ban social control media for minors, is planning to crack down on Big Tech further. The government introduced new legislation to force social control media firms to allow users to opt out of algorithms. The proposed laws also aim to strengthen online child protection. Opposition lawmakers say such measures would amount to government censorship.

  • New York Times ☛ Organizers of Hong Kong Vigils for Tiananmen Massacre Sentenced to Prison

    Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho were given lengthy prison sentences under a national security law imposed on the city by Beijing.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Journalism job cuts in 2026 tracked: Latest from McClatchy, Channel 4, CNBC, USA Today Co

  • JURIST ☛ Lesotho authorities must investigate reported abduction and torture of journalist, Amnesty International says

    Amnesty International on Tuesday called on authorities in Lesotho to investigate the reported abduction and assault of journalist Kananelo Boloetse. Boloetse, who has widely covered human rights issues, was abducted from his home in Maseru on September 5, and apparently tortured and severely beaten as a result of his investigative journalism.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Patent Enforcement with DOJ Backing: Rare Breed’s Forced-Reset Trigger Campaign

      Rare Breed's trigger appeal at the Federal Circuit: why the O2 Micro misstep below may not matter, and how a DOJ deal fueled a 95-case patent monopoly MDL.

    • Unified Patents ☛ PulseLink networking patent monopoly being investigated

      The team at Unified is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against a patent monopoly owned by PulseLink Systems, LLC, an NPE and entity of PowerBridge Networks, LLC.

    • Kangaroo Courts

      • JUVE ☛ Abbot lands another PI for glucose-monitoring devices [Ed: Embargo before ruling, i.e. an injustice (no due process) at the illegal, unconstitutional tribunal they call UPC]

        The UPC’s Milan local division under presiding judge Pierluigi Perrotti granted Abbott a preliminary injunction (case ID: UPC CFI no. 1086/2026). As a result, SiBio may no longer offer its glucose-monitoring system (CGM) GS3-R or components thereof, or import or store it within the UPC’s jurisdiction.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ The EU Achieved ‘Revenue Growth Exceeding That of China’ During 2025 — When Its Paid Streaming Penetration Was Just Half the US Rate, IFPI Report Shows

      Thanks in part to double-digit growth across at least 10 member countries – and an overall revenue gain exceeding that delivered by China – the European Union generated nearly $7 billion from recorded music during 2025.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Independent Artist Group Signs deadmau5 for Worldwide Representation in All Areas

      Independent Artist Group has signed electronic music icon deadmau5 for worldwide representation in all areas. Independent Artist Group (IAG) has signed global electronic music icon deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) for worldwide representation in all areas.

    • Digital Music News ☛ T-Pain Once Again Sues Akon-Founded Konvict Entertainment, Seeking Nearly $500,000 In Allegedly Missing Royalties

      T-Pain is once again suing Akon’s Konvict Entertainment, this time for allegedly failing to cough up nearly $500,000 in due royalties. Tallahasse-born T-Pain (real name Faheem Najm) just recently submitted the in-depth complaint to the Fulton County Superior Court, naming Konvict Entertainment as the lone defendant.