Leftovers

• Career/Education

  • Stanford University ☛ Stanford Health Care to lay off 95 employees

    Terminated staff will continue to be paid until Nov. 2.

  • Futurism ☛ Stanford University Caught Using Hey Hi (AI) to Create Fake Black Student on Banners Hung Around Campus

    "I love this school, but I don't love when they do things like this."

  • Stanford University ☛ University confirms use of AI-edited photo amid controversy

    The incident has caused national controversy, stemming from a now-viral Fizz post.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Quectel SE200ZC-AP smart module supports up to five cameras with Rockchip RV1126B/BJ SoC

    Quectel has launched the SE200ZC-AP, a compact (40 x 40 mm) smart module based on the Rockchip RV1126B/RV1126BJ quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 SoC with a 12MP ISP, an 8MP AI-ISP, and a 3 TOPS NPU. The module supports up to five 12MP cameras through two 4-lane MIPI CSI interfaces and one DVP interface. Other interfaces include Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0/2.0, two CAN FD, up to eight UART, six I2C, two SPI, two SDIO, three SAI, 22 ADC, 28 PWM, and up to 115 GPIOs. It ships with 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB LPDDR4x and 64GB eMMC flash, and is available in commercial and industrial grades, with operating temperatures of -25°C to +75°C and -35°C to +80°C, respectively. 

  • CNX Software ☛ MediaTek Dimensity CX C10 Max octa-core Cortex-X925/X9/A720 SoC targets Googlebooks

    MediaTek Dimensity CX C10 Max is a 3nm “All Big Core” octa-core Armv9 CPU with an 11-core Immortalis-G925 MC11 GPU, and MediaTek’s  890 NPU delivering up to 55 TOPS for an “upcoming premium, ultra-portable Googlebook device” with all-day battery life. Googlebook is Google’s new premium laptop category built around the company’s Gemini Intelligence and running Googlebook OS, codenamed Aluminium OS, which merges parts of Android and ChromeOS platforms.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New Yorker ☛ How MAHA Tore One Family Apart

    As measles cases reach a thirty-five-year high, disagreements over vaccines are putting new strains on families—and bringing the politics of MAHA into the home.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ El Jalapeño: Tourists in ‘vacation mode’ not at risk from brain-eating amoeba, Yucatán health officials confirm

    Brain-eating amoebas are real, say Yucatán Peninsula tourism officials, but confirm that the average tourist in "vacation mode" has nothing to fear.

  • Latvia ☛ Reminder issued to vaccinate dogs against canine distemper virus

    Foxes in Ādaži Municipality have recently been laboratory-confirmed as infected with canine distemper (CDV); therefore, the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) urges dog owners to ensure that their dog has been vaccinated against this highly contagious viral disease.

  • New York Times ☛ Australia Says Proprietary Chaffbot Company ‘Infiltrated’ Public Health Care Portal

    Australia is exploring potential legal action after an artificial intelligence agent accessed nonpublic information on the country’s universal health care system.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Is skinny worth it? South Korea’s weight-loss obsession and the health risks it brings

    The country’s females are four times more likely to be underweight than their male counterparts.

  • Futurism ☛ Former Surveillance Giant Google Exec Warns That Hey Hi (AI) Could Be Causing Terrible Harm to Minors, Even Worse Than Social Media

    "We find ourselves in a really terrible ​situation in terms of what Hey Hi (AI) is doing to kids."

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

  • LWN ☛ Systemd v262 released

    Systemd v262 has been released. Some of the notable new features include the ability to build systemd as a single statically linked binary for small containers, support for the kernel coredump socket protocol introduced with Linux 6.17, addition of OpenSSL 4 support, and many other changes.

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

    • Futurism ☛ Software Engineer Says Hey Hi (AI) Is Causing Chaos Among Coders Who Now Just “Press Enter” All Day, Have Stopped Thinking or Understanding Software

      "In reality, nobody is thinking anymore."

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ The Hey Hi (AI) Hype Index: Hey Hi (AI) loves cheating

      Brace yourself: It turns out Hey Hi (AI) is being optimized for cheating. OpenAI’s agents hacked into Hugging Face to get the answers to a cybersecurity test. Next, they solved a prestigious math problem (or just stole from two top mathematicians’ answer sheets). Anthropic’s models have also hacked into other companies’ systems four times already.

    • Wired ☛ AI Agents Teamed Up to Cheat at Blackjack. Their Collusion Is Getting Harder to Spot

      After researchers instructed them to count cards during a game of blackjack, the agents—which were controlled by the same model—developed a spontaneous secret code to help them get ahead. Though the episode happened inside an Oxford University lab, rather than a real casino, it has troubling real-world implications: It suggests that agents deployed in industries like finance and ecommerce could figure out how to partner up and cheat in ways that are difficult to detect.

    • International Business Times ☛ Think the Hey Hi (AI) Stock Boom Is Ending? Morgan Stanley Says We're Only Mid-Cycle and Names 15 Stocks to Watch

      Morgan Stanley sees a classic mid-cycle US market and favours quality large-cap stocks, including Nvidia, Apple, Visa and UnitedHealth, despite economic risks.

    • Futurism ☛ Mathematicians Can’t Make Sense of How OpenAI’s Agents Solved One of the Toughest Math Problems Because the AI’s “Proof” Is Borderline Incomprehensible

      "The paper is not written for humans."

    • Futurism ☛ AI Community Linked to Disturbing Culture of Sexual Assault

      "I'm far from the only one this has happened to."

    • Futurism ☛ It Turns Out That Meta’s Muse Hey Hi (AI) Has an Amazingly Dirty Secret

      "This has potential for so much negative PR."

    • France24 ☛ Holy regulation? Pope in Paris to press case for 'disarming' AI

      It's all about his high holiness here in France. For weeks already, the nation's been abuzz over the upcoming visit of Leo. From Friday evening mass at Notre Dame Cathedral and mass before 600-thousand faithful in Paris to the pilgrimage city of Lourdes and a trip to Metz, hometown of father of European unity Robert Schuman. A papal visit to France usually draws much attention to the symbiotic love-hate relationship between the church and a secular state of mostly-lapsed Catholics. And yes, there have been grumblings about the visit's cost to taxpayers. But the pushback's relatively muted. This new American pope seems genuinely popular here in France. We'll ask why.

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. Rebukes Australia Over Proposed Limits on Social Media Algorithms

      The U.S. Embassy said a draft law allowing users to opt out of systems that choose what they can see in their feeds could amount to censorship.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean IT contractor found remote work in New Zealand

      The worker reportedly used a false persona including fake identity documents.

    • International Business Times ☛ Woman Drains 401(k) in $600K Microsoft's Surveillance Arm LinkedIn Scam — Then Faces $225K Tax Bill on Money She Lost

      After losing $600,000 in a Microsoft's Surveillance Arm LinkedIn pig-butchering scam, Lori Flowers faced a $225,000 tax bill. A House bill could offer relief to fraud victims.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China touts significant progress tackling Asian scam syndicates

      Beijing has worked with regional governments to repatriate tens of thousands of cybercrime suspects.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • International Business Times ☛ 'Our Food Needs To Be Thrown Out': Samsung Hey Hi (AI) Fridges 'Freeze' After Update, Leaving Owners Furious

      Some Samsung Bespoke Hey Hi (AI) refrigerator owners in South Korea say an official SmartThings update caused cooling failures and other problems before Chuseok, prompting an emergency recovery operation.

    • Futurism ☛ Software Update Turns Samsung’s “AI Fridges” Into Useless Bricks

      Wait, why did fridges need Hey Hi (AI) in the first place?

    • Digital Music News ☛ Meta Releases Audio-Only Meta Glasses

      Meta announces three new pairs of smart glasses, including an audio-only, AI-interactive version—and they’ll only set you back $349. Meta has announced three new pairs of smart glasses, unveiled during the company’s Meta Connect conference on Wednesday. Founder and CEO Mark Kapo-berg showed off the new devices, which include the Facebook (Farcebook) parent’s first Meta VR [...]

    • Futurism ☛ Crowd of Angry Citizens Loses It After City Council Fast-Tracks Resolution on Flock Hey Hi (AI) Cameras

      "This isn't how government is supposed to run."

    • International Business Times ☛ Google Fined $463M Over Location Data That Could Reveal Users' Religion, Health and Sexual Orientation

      Ireland's Data Protection Commission has fined Surveillance Giant Google €403M ($463M) for mishandling users' location data under the EU's GDPR privacy rules.

    • EDRI ☛ Freedom Not Fear 2026

      Freedom not Fear (fnf) is an annual self-organised conference on privacy and digital rights. People from all across Europe meet and work towards more freedom in the digitalised world, plan actions against increasing surveillance and other attacks on civil rights.

    • EDRI ☛ #PrivacyCamp26: Final programme out now

      We’re excited to welcome you to #PrivacyCamp26 on 13 October, 2026 online and at La Tricoterie, Brussels. Curious about what the day will look like? Check out the final programme.

    • EDRI ☛ Serbia’s spyware scandal is also the EU’s problem

      At least 14 people in Serbia have been targeted with spyware since the beginning of 2026, according to new findings by EDRi member SHARE Foundation. The targets include members of the student movement, activists, a member of parliament from the opposition party and a local councillor. These findings comecame to light amid growing pressure on Serbia’s pro-democracy movement. The EU’s failure to address spyware at home undermines its credibility in demanding accountability from Serbia.

    • GamingOnLinux ☛ Discord announced a revamped global age verification system | GamingOnLinux

      The Discord team have just revealed a revamped age verification system, where hopefully most of you won't need to do anything at all. Back in February they decided to delay the global rollout of age verification, after receiving a lot of backlash. This is the result of them going back and rethinking the system.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ UK court charges doctor for offenses linked to 1994 genocide in Rwanda

    The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought charges against a Rwandan official on Tuesday in relation to crimes committed against the Tutsi during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

  • New York Times ☛ At Convicted Felon’s Request, Nations Are Designating Crime Groups as Terrorists

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio said leaders of countries across Latin America and the Caribbean had begun making the designations. The actions could help provide a public rationale for military strikes.

  • New York Times ☛ At the U.N., Japan’s Leader Says It’s Time to End ‘Enemy State’ Label

    Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the United Nations should scrub the World War II-era designation from its Charter. China and Russia have used the term recently to attack Japan.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japanese PM Takaichi voices support for ICC, rule of law in first UN speech

    Her address comes as doubts persist over the UN’s ability to address challenges to rules-based order.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan upgrades maritime patrol capacity for vulnerable South China Sea outpost

    Taiwan's Coast Guard said its patrol and enforcement capacity has been “comprehensively upgraded”.

  • As Pooh-tin lands in Washington, Uyghurs and Tibetans press Convicted Felon for human rights showdown

    Exile advocacy groups are hopeful that summit will include talks on religious freedom and ending genocide.

  • NYPost ☛ Pentagon ‘actively working’ to retrieve F-35 fighter jet parts diverted to Hong Kong and seized by Chinese government

    The incident has raised concerns that China could gain insight into the highly-classified technology used on the stealth aircraft.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Future of Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute uncertain

    The Air Force says China Aerospace Studies Institute's mission will continue, despite the center's director saying it is closing its doors.

  • Uyghur rights advocate blasts China’s ‘red lines’ warning ahead of Convicted Felon-Xi summit

    Warning against human rights talk is “not the kind of statement made by a strong country,” Rebiya Kadeer tells RFA.

  • New York Times ☛ Walkouts at the U.N. General Assembly Are Somewhat of a Tradition

    As President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran delivered his speech, the lone U.S. diplomat sitting in the hall left.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea conducted test of upgraded rocket launcher system: State media

    The rockets are able to strike targets 100km away in a trajectory flight mode.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea to keep nuclear weapons ‘forever’: Foreign minister

    Choe Son Hui dismissed the South Korea’s renewed calls for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Civil society groups urge Malaysia to stop Rohingya returns

    They cited severe risks of ongoing violence and forced conscription.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s purges of top military commanders spur questions about war-waging ability

    President Pooh-tin tightens his grip on the military, but sweeping purges may set back his Taiwan plans.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan, human rights are ‘red lines’ for China, ambassador says ahead of Convicted Felon-Xi meeting

    Those "red lines" on Taiwan, human rights and other issues cannot be crossed, Ambassador Xie Feng added.

  • The Strategist ☛ Chinese twin-track diplomacy is building influence in the Middle East

    China is seeking to exploit perceived Western missteps in the Middle East, including the Iran war, by turning societies against the United States and other western nations.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Iranian flight lands in China despite US sanctions threat: Tracker

    Mahan Air flight IRM093 landed in Guangzhou at 4.39pm local time on Sept 23.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania PM says no evidence to suggest Muslim community poses security threat

    Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Wednesday he had no information indicating that members of the country’s Muslim community posed a threat to national security, as a parliamentary committee prepared to examine the activities of a Muslim religious organisation.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian minister decides to close visa centres in Central Asia over ‘terrorism risks’

    Lithuania will close external service centres in several Muslim countries in Central Asia and Europe, citing potential national security and terrorism risks, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said Wednesday.

  • France24 ☛ Turkey to hand over military base in northern Iraq to Baghdad

    Turkey will gradually hand over control of its Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq to Baghdad, Ankara and Baghdad said Wednesday, in a move aimed at strengthening Iraqi state authority and easing a long-running source of tension between the neighbours.

  • New York Times ☛ Stanislas Hutin, Who Denounced Torture in France’s Algerian War, Dies at 95

    He was among the first to chronicle the French force’s systematic abuse of Algerians, brutal encounters that he documented in his journal and with his photography.

  • The Strategist ☛ Australia and Canada face similar northern logistics problems

    Australia and Canada are separated by half a world, but a new defence partnership is exposing an unexpected similarity. Canada is buying Australian surveillance technology developed to monitor the vast approaches to Australia’s north.

  • New York Times ☛ Iran’s president says his country will not give up its right to a peaceful nuclear program.

  • RFERL ☛ Clashes Reported In Iran’s Southeastern City Of Saravan

    As the conflict in the Persian Gulf continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, deliver ongoing updates and analysis.

  • New York Times ☛ 8 Sailors in U.S.S. Lincoln Strike Group Attempted Suicide, Navy Says [Ed: 7 months ago a war in Iran begin; still stalemate]

    The aircraft carrier with its crew of about 5,000 sailors has spent more than 300 days at sea.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Warns Russia’s War Will Expand if It Is Not Ended Soon

      The Ukrainian president called for measures to disrupt “Russia’s finances and Russia’s production” before another deadly winter of war.

    • France24 ☛ Zelenskyy set to address UN as Russia strikes Kyiv

      Russia hammered Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with drones in daylight attacks on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 23, just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly. Zelenskyy met The Insurrectionist on Tuesday, as Convicted Felon has expressed frustration over the lack of progress in talks aimed at ending the war and the continued escalation of aerial attacks by both sides. Emerald Maxwell reports.

    • France24 ☛ US says wants Ukraine, Russia to end strikes on energy sites

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, as US President The Insurrectionist pushes for an end to Russia’s war and Kyiv seeks to shape renewed diplomatic efforts after more than four and a half years of conflict. France 24 International affairs commentator Douglas Herbert shares further details.

    • France24 ☛ 🔴Live: 'Russia will never stop,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells UN

    • France24 ☛ REPLAY: Ukrainian President Zelensky addresses the UN General Assembly

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the world’s leaders Wednesday to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the UN General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target”. Watch his full speech above.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ OpenAI, Ukraine partner on ‘Daybreak’ program to protect power grids and water systems

      A Ukrainian official said the government will use the tools to automate cybersecurity functions in critical infrastructure as the war with Russia continues.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Invites Putin to Attend Group of 20 Summit in Miami

      Many leaders are unlikely to welcome the Russian leader’s presence at the event because of his country’s war against Ukraine.

    • New York Times ☛ ​Ukraine Sent Two North Korean P.O.W.s to South Korea, Zelensky Says

      President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said one soldier tried to kill himself when he was captured. “This is how they raise people in the North,” he said.

    • New York Times ☛ U.N. Updates: Zelensky Warns of Growing Global Cost of Russia’s War in Ukraine

      Ukraine’s president said rising fuel prices and deadlier drone technology showed that the fighting have spilled beyond his country’s borders. He called for steps to end to the war before winter.

    • LRT ☛ Nausėda adviser says Belarus potash transit under US deal would be ‘moral humiliation’

      Any breach of European Union sanctions to facilitate a potential US deal to buy Belarusian potash fertiliser would amount to a “moral humiliation”, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda’s national security adviser said Wednesday.

    • ADF ☛ Niger Mutiny Highlights Russia’s Regime Protection Role

      The sound of gunfire and explosions began about 1 a.m. on August 29, setting off a night of intense fighting at Air Base 101, a military installation at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital.

    • RFERL ☛ US Invites Putin To G20 Summit In Miami, Rubio Says

      The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 23, as the Convicted Felon administration is seeking steps to reduce fighting in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky accuses Putin of using nationals of 47 countries to fight Ukraine war

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had enlisted fighters from 47 countries including North Korea, Ghana and India to fight against Ukraine. Zelensky also warned that his forces could target Russian heating and energy facilities in the winter months if Moscow continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

    • The Straits Times ☛ US and Indian top diplomats discuss Russia sanctions bill signed by Convicted Felon

      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar discussed on Wednesday US measures that could be leveled against countries that engage economically with Russia and Iran, with New Delhi reiterating concerns over a sanctions bill recently signed into law by The Insurrectionist.

    • LRT ☛ Poland would help evacuate civilians from Lithuania, says Warsaw

      Poland would help evacuate civilians from Lithuania in case of an attack by Russia, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania to impose national sanctions on Russian oligarchs spared by EU

      Lithuania will impose national sanctions on Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman after the European Union agreed to remove them from its sanctions list, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Tuesday.

    • LRT ☛ Baltic states seek €500 million from EU to strengthen drone defences

      Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have asked the European Commission for 500 million euros in emergency funding to strengthen their defences against drones, citing a growing threat from Russia, according to Finnish media reports.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian government imposes restrictions on two Russian oligarchs

      On Tuesday, the Latvian government imposed nationwide financial and entry restrictions on the Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov, according to documents attached to the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting.

    • New York Times ☛ In U.N. Speech, Zelensky Is Expected to Warn Russia’s War Won’t Stop at Ukraine’s Borders

      President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to convey the critical urgency of his nation’s plight to world leaders increasingly distracted by competing global crises and domestic political pressures.

    • New York Times ☛ Argentina’s Milei assails the U.N. as a ‘useless’ enabler of ‘fatally arrogant’ bureaucrats.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Ukraine sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, Zelenskiy says

      Ukraine has transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Turkey's Erdogan tells Ukraine's Zelenskiy that Black Sea attacks are inexplicable

      Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that attacks by Russia and Ukraine on commercial vessels in the Black Sea were inexplicable and steps must be taken to stop these, according to a readout from his office on Thursday.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ From a Nepal in Pain, a Young Leader Makes a Case for Climate Reparations

    Balendra Shah, 36, comes to the U.N. as a sun-glassed symbol of Gen Z political power. But concerns about his style are growing at home after devastating floods left thousands dead or missing.

  • European Commission ☛ Speech by President von der Leyen at the High-Level meeting on Climate Action and Just Transition

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Latvia ☛ Attempts to reduce fuel prices being put forward in Latvia

      Several draft laws aimed at reducing fuel prices are being put forward for approval by the Saeima. This was decided on Wednesday by the Saeima’s Budget and Finance (Tax) Committee, according to the Saeima Press Service.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Latvia ☛ Don't dump your apples in the nearest (or farthest) forest

      With harvest in full swing, the question of where to put left-over apples, grass and other organic waste becomes more pressing for many home and garden owners.

    • New York Times ☛ New Study Illuminates Bats’ Murky Origins

      The largest analysis of bat genomes and fossils suggests that the first bats emerged in Europe roughly 65 million years ago and that echolocation evolved early.

• Finance

  • The Strategist ☛ Australia’s next class war may be fought over reality

    Australia’s next class war may not principally be fought over wealth, but over truth. For most of modern history, democratic societies have argued about competing interests: wages and profits; taxation and spending; [...]

  • New York Times ☛ Elizabeth Holmes to Transfer to Halfway House in August 2027 [Ed: Will slop vendors be similarly arrested for their fraud and mass plagiarism?]

    The founder of the blood-testing start-up Theranos was sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud and had been serving time at a minimum-security federal prison in Texas.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan tightens security ahead of march planned by Imran Khan’s party

    Pakistan curbed access on Wednesday to its capital, Islamabad, ahead of a march planned by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, blocking major highways with shipping containers and deploying tens of thousands of security forces.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan says it launched air strikes on Afghanistan over drone attacks

    Pakistan conducted airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan that it said were being used to launch and store drones, some of which had been used against Pakistan a day earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong slams EU report claiming ‘deterioration of fundamental freedoms’ in the city

    Hong Kong authorities have hit back against a European Union (EU) report that described what it called “continuous erosions” in the city’s political freedoms and autonomy.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ How S&P Global nurtures a niche audience worth billions in revenue

    Head of news at S&P Global Market Intelligence shares his insights.

  • New York Times ☛ Iowa Judge Dismisses Convicted Felon’s Lawsuit Against The Des Moines Register

    The suit challenged a poll that showed Convicted Felon trailing Kamala Harris in the final weeks of the 2024 race. A judge warned that similar legal challenges could have a chilling effect on news reporting.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Who’s suing Hey Hi (AI) and who’s signing latest: Proprietary Chaffbot Company signs first India deals [Ed: Media that participates and cooperates with the plagiarist is doomed to perish]

    Full round-up of publishers versus Hey Hi (AI) litigation and licensing deals around the world.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • ACLU ☛ Meet the Hosts: ACLU Launches New Podcast 'Let the Record Show'

    Hosts Shereen Marisol Meraji and Matthew Beat give a glimpse into the ACLU’s new podcast covering some of the most influential court cases in history.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong child sexual abuse cases surge 60% as NGO urges evidence-based prevention measures

    Hong Kong has seen a 60 per cent increase in child sexual abuse cases over the past six years amid a broader upward trend in the maltreatment of minors, a local group has said, calling for evidence-based prevention measures to be strengthened.

  • EDRI ☛ What you need to know about the EU’s new digital deportation regime

    On 17 June, the European Parliament approved the new deportation law (called the “Return” Regulation) which aims to track undocumented people down and deport them from the EU in large numbers. The Regulation boosts the surveillance powers and digital control of national authorities and will rely heavily on technologies and data collection in their enforcement. This blog outlines the various digital tools and processes included in the EU’s new digital deportation regime.

  • EDRI ☛ EDRi-gram, 23 September 2026

    What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: Turning up the heat – Commission backs social control media bans, Fashion Company Apple held accountable, summer to-dos, & more!

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Introducing a New Chapter for the Internet Society Fellowship Program

    The Internet Society Fellowship Program brings together training, dedicated mentorship, project funding, event attendance, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to help fellows address Internet challenges in their communities.

  • Drew DeVault ☛ Why is Hacker News like that?

    Hacker News (aka HN) is a link aggregator where “hackers”¹ gather to discuss technology, politics, and anything which “good hackers would find interesting”. HN is a means by which its host, prominent startup incubator Y Combinator, projects soft power, promotes startups it funds, and feeds people with ideas into its incubation program. Hacker News is one of the most popular forums for discussing technology online today – perhaps the biggest.

  • Jim Nielsen ☛ Make Money to Make More Websites

    I was listening to the episode “Make Your Own Thing” from the Off Protocol podcast where Jim Ray interviews John Gruber.

    They cover a variety of topics, including Gruber’s thoughts on the dilution of personal brand by publishing through “chain” platforms like Substack (I quite enjoyed the metaphor of a personal website where you publish your stuff to that of a chef/restaurant, but that’s a separate post).

    Around ~1:13:00, Gruber quotes Walt Disney who said, “We don't make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.” And he goes on to argue that when you’re forced to choose one of these priorities over the other — because you will undoubtedly face decisions where the two sets of values come into direct opposition — the company that prioritizes making movies over making money is fundamentally a different company than the one that chooses making money over making movies.

    If you ultimately prioritize making money, then what’s going to be ultimately great about your company is you make a lot of money (for shareholders, for owners, for yourself, for whomever).

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ RCEs Are Rising Again: But Applicant Behavior Isn’t the Main Cause

      RCE filings are rising again, driven largely by more USPTO final rejections, with the end of AFCP 2.0 also playing a role despite higher fees.

    • Futurism ☛ Microsoft Patents Technique for Inserting Ads Into Videogames While You’re Playing Them

      So much for escapism.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Velos HEVC video codec patent monopoly challenged

      On September 18, 2026, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 11,786,596, owned by Velos Media, an NPE. The '596 patent monopoly generally relates to methods of encoding video data, and specifically encoding or decoding coefficients for a transform unit using sign bit hiding. The patent monopoly has not been in litigation but is related to patents that have been asserted against streaming applications.

      View district court litigations by Velos.

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Before Lowell: The Patent System’s Early Rejection of Moral Judgment

      In 1812 the Attorney General barred refusing patents on moral grounds, five years before Lowell v. Lewis. The patent monopoly issued ten days later.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ China's YMTC wins patent monopoly battle against Micron in ongoing 3-year legal war over memory patents

      A Munich court has granted YMTC two injunctions against Micron over 3D NAND patents, the latest development in a years-long cross-border legal battle between the memory rivals.

    • JUVE ☛ Luke Minford: “90% of IP strategy advice disappears into this incredibly fragmented network of service providers” [Ed: Slop nonsense from site sponsored by patent litigation fanatics, trolls, and BS artists who promote an illegal framework]

      JUVE Patent: What investments in Hey Hi (AI) do you think are necessary? Minford: I think there are three levels. The first is foundational infrastructure, that is creating a single source of truth for all data.

    • Software Patents

      • Unified Patents ☛ Fortress Investment entity DivX video playback patent monopoly challenge granted

        On September 18, 2026, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,574,716, owned and asserted by DivX LLC, an NPE and entity of Fortress Investment Group LLC. This overcame DivX’s Pre-Order paper seeking denial. The ‘716 patent monopoly is generally directed to progressive video playback systems where a client application on a device retrieves portions of a media file from a remote server and plays the media as it is being downloaded.

      • Unified Patents ☛ WirelessWerx IP geofencing patent monopoly challenge granted

        On September 23, 2026, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 8,009,037, owned by WirelessWerx IP LLC, an NPE and Dynamic IP Deals LLC entity. The ‘037 patent monopoly is directed to tracking and managing wireless devices using geofencing techniques.

  • Trademarks

    • Digital Music News ☛ UMG and Lady Gaga Demand $230,000+ in Legal Fees from Lost International — As Surf Brand Kicks Off Ninth Circuit Appeal Following ‘Mayhem’ Trademark Suit Dismissal

      Universal Music and Lady Gaga are now demanding over $230,000 in legal fees after beating Lost International’s Mayhem-focused trademark suit. But the surf brand isn’t ready to throw in the towel, as it’s officially appealing the $100 million case’s dismissal.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Outkast Sues Rapper ‘Ovrkast’ for Trademark Infringement As NIL Protections Get Serious

      As NIL protections become a critical focus for IP, hip-hop duo Outkast sue rapper Ovrkast for allegedly using a “nearly identical” name on purpose.

  • Copyrights

    • Digital Music News ☛ Dolly Parton Estate Already In Crisis: Manager Files Lawsuit Against Fired Nephew Who Headed Security for Twenty Years

      Dolly Parton’s estate recently fired her nephew, who announced her passing and served as head of her security for 20 years, alleging he made violent threats against others associated with the estate.

    • Public Domain Review ☛ In Company Style: Illustrations from James Skinner’s Kitāb-i tashrīḥ al-aqvām (1825)

      An illuminated Persian manuscript about customs, culture, and caste, written by an enigmatic figure of the early British Raj.

    • Federal News Network ☛ As the Copyright Act turns 50, the Copyright Office looks back at how the law has evolved

      "We really want everyone to understand that everyone is a creator and a user of copyrighted works every day," said Miriam Lord.