Leftovers

• IT Jungle ☛ As I See It: Digital Coup

  “If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.” Those dire words were spoken in the 17th century by Cardinal Richelieu, the perfect deadly blend of Church and State, who served as chief minister to King Louis XIII of France.

  To maintain power, Richelieu employed eerily familiar methods notably censorship, forbidding discussion of political matters in public places, suppressing dissent and, most important, data collection. Richelieu employed a vast network of spies who gathered information on dissenters and potential enemies.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reveal The Hidden Danger of Deflecting Asteroids

    We've only got one shot at this.

  • Science Alert ☛ These Spots Could Signal Life on Mars – An Astrobiologist Explains Why

    It's what they were hoping for.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Enthusiast builds entire PC setup with Lego-style bricks — Includes desktop terminal-style OLED monitor & keyboard, with an iPhone 6-powered desk clock

    An enthusiast has showcased a workstation built using Lego-style bricks. Featuring a PC case, a desktop terminal with an OLED monitor, and a mechanical keyboard, this setup is truly unique in its creativity. It only has a 5600G inside with no dedicated GPU, however.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Policy Address 2025: Hong Kong may allow pet dogs to enter eateries under new licencing regime – reports

    Hong Kong may relax a decades-old rule that bans pet dogs in restaurants, with the city’s leader expected to announce the measure in Wednesday’s Policy Address. The move may involve a new licencing regime, local media have reported. Chief Executive John Lee is set to deliver his fourth annual policy blueprint on Wednesday.

  • Science Alert ☛ Parkinson's Disease Could Be Ignited by Burned-Out Brain Cells

    A new way to unlock treatments?

  • Science Alert ☛ The Sound of a Baby Crying Can Make Adults Physically Hotter

    Unbearable on purpose.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Time of Day You Eat in Later Life Could Foreshadow an Early Death

    A concerning link emerges.

  • Science Alert ☛ 10 Key Reasons Dementia Is Linked With Diabetes

    The connection is increasingly clear.

  • Science Alert ☛ Giant Loops of DNA Discovered in Our Mouths Could Shield Us From Cancer

    How did we miss this?

  • Science Alert ☛ Protein That Pokes Holes in Cells Could Explain Parkinson's Decline

    "Like watching a molecular movie in slow motion.”

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Penske Media sues Surveillance Giant Google over Hey Hi (AI) summaries, claims abuse of search monopoly

      Penske Media Corp., the company behind media brands such as Rolling Stone and the Hollywood Reporter, has filed a lawsuit against Surveillance Giant Google LLC claiming that Surveillance Giant Google is abusing its monopoly in general search to coerce publishers into handing over their content for free in ways that bolster Google’s own artificial intelligence products.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean hackers used Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot to help forge deepfake ID

      The group, dubbed Kimsuky, is a suspected North Korea-sponsored cyber-espionage unit.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia asks Surveillance Giant Google for help investigating sex video blackmail threats

      At least nine MPs received the threat via Gmail: Communications Minister

• Defence/Aggression

  • Digital Music News ☛ Smokey Robinson Sexual Assault Accusers Allowed to Remain Anonymous

    Smokey Robinson’s four sexual assault accusers are allowed to stay anonymous, a judge ruled last week. The women filed a sexual misconduct suit in May, and Robinson filed a countersuit.

  • France24 ☛ Qatar PM urges end to 'double standards' and hold Israel accountable

    Qatar’s prime minister urged the international community on Sunday to reject “double standards” and hold Israel accountable after an unprecedented strike on Hamas members in Doha. The attack, condemned even by President The Insurrectionist, prompted an emergency summit, though Washington sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel in support.

  • New York Times ☛ ​Kim Seongmin, Defector Who Pierced North Korea by Radio, Dies at 63

    As a military propagandist, he fled the North by jumping off a train. In the South, he broadcast forbidden outside news to isolated North Koreans.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US diplomat expresses regret over immigration raid on Korean workers

    Some 300 South Koreans working at a Hyundai plant in Georgia were detained for about a week.

  • The Straits Times ☛ 5 Malaysia immigration officers nabbed in anti-graft raids, over $600k of gold and jewellery seized

    The officers were attached to the airport.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says its nuclear weapons state is irreversible

    Pyongyang said its nuclear weapons were an “inevitable option” to defend from US nuclear threats.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean Foreign Minister to visit China this week, Yonhap reports

    This would be his first trip to China since he became foreign minister in June.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea foreign minister to visit China September 17-18

    SEOUL - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China between September 17 and 18, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese military warns Philippines against provocations in South China Sea

    It said it had conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan police trial crowd-easing measures at famed manga Slam Dunk tourist hot spot

    The persistently large crowds are caused by tourists, primarily from overseas.

  • France24 ☛ Final stage of Spain's Vuelta abandoned after police clash with pro-Palestinian protesters

    The final stage of Spain's Vuelta cycling race was abandoned on Sunday afternoon as cyclists were entering Madrid after police clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in the Spanish capital's centre. Police fired tear gas at the crowds as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters knocked down security barriers and surged onto the course.

  • New York Times ☛ Arriving in Israel, Rubio Meets Netanyahu at Jerusalem’s Western Wall

    The secretary of state is visiting Israel to consult with officials on security issues including the war in Gaza, which is testing relations with the United States.

  • New York Times ☛ White House Seeks More Supreme Court Security Funding After Kirk Killing

    In a notice to Congress, the Convicted Felon administration said the additional $58 million would go to the U.S. Marshals Service. It also said it supported additional security for lawmakers.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ The White House Bid to Turn the Charlie Kirk Murder into Their Anti-Trans Jihad

    We don't yet know what allegedly motivated Tyler Robinson to kill Charlie Kirk. We do know the motivations of the White House sourcing claims about a trans roommate, so we should be very cautious about believing what they're peddling.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Global Starlink outage hits Ukrainian forces across the front — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Romania Says Russian Drone Entered Its Airspace

      It was the second time in less than a week that a Russian drone had flown through a NATO member’s airspace. Last week, NATO scrambled fighter jets to shoot down Russian drones in Polish airspace.

    • New York Times ☛ Pope Leo Says He Cannot Broker a Peace Deal for Ukraine

      Pope Leo XIV said that while popes can be advocates for peace, it was less “realistic” for them to serve as mediators.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Made Drone Production a Supreme Priority. Now It Swarms the Skies.

      Ukraine is struggling to defend itself against the growing number of attack drones that Moscow has started using in its onslaughts.

    • RFERL ☛ New Drone Attacks After Ukraine Hits Oil Facilities Deep Inside Russia

      Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said on September 14, a day after Romania reported that a Russian drone entered its airspace and Ukraine struck two major Russian oil refineries in part of Kyiv's effort to blunt Moscow's ability to wage war.

    • RFERL ☛ Romania Says Russian Drone Incursion Creates 'New Challenge' In Black Sea Region

      A Russian drone that penetrated Romanian airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine lingered above the NATO nation for 50 minutes before swerving back toward Ukraine, Romania's Defense Ministry said on September 14.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man calls on NATO members to stop purchasing Russian oil

      President The Insurrectionist said Saturday he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all NATO countries stopped buying oil from Russia and placed tariffs on China of 50 percent to 100 percent for its purchases of Russian petroleum. Since 2023, NATO member Turkey has been the third largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine intensifies drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, officials say

      Ukrainian drones on Sunday attacked the Kirishi oil refinery in the northwest Leningrad region, an official said, adding that debris from the shot-down drones caused a temporary fire. The refinery is one of Russia’s largest and is the second to be targeted in less than 48 hours.

    • France24 ☛ Romania summons Russian ambassador after drone breaches country's airspace

      Romania summoned the Russian ambassador to Bucharest on Sunday after a drone was observed breaching the country's airspace on its way to strike targets in Ukraine on Saturday. Poland also scrambled fighter jets last week to shoot down a number of Russian drones that had entered its airspace.

    • Meduza ☛ Polish president approves deployment of additional NATO forces in country for ‘Eastern Sentry’ operation — Meduza

• Finance

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China launches anti-dumping probe into U.S. analog chips used in PCs and routers

    China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into American-made analog chips, claiming U.S. manufacturers have undercut local vendors on price while flooding the market with mature-node parts.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Macau’s first ‘patriots only’ election sees low turnout

    Macau’s first “patriots only” legislative polls on Sunday saw one of the worst turnout rates in recent years, preliminary results showed, after authorities disqualified a dozen candidates and arrested a former opposition lawmaker.

  • New York Times ☛ Lina Khan Revamped Antitrust. Now She’s Pushing the Democratic Party.

    The youngest chair in the history of the Federal Trade Commission is campaigning for Zohran Mamdani and defending her brand of populism.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Straits Times ☛ Deepfake, other digital sex crimes by teens nearly double in South Korea in four years

      Deepfake crime increased ten-fold, from 52 cases in 2022 to 548 in 2024.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Notes from AusNOG 2025

    Network operations, BGP, post-quantum cryptography, and more from AusNOG 2025.

  • APNIC ☛ Resource delegation review update: Q3 2025

    Progress on APNIC’s resource delegation review program in Q3 2025 was reported during the APNIC Member Meeting at APNIC 60.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Genetic Patents Catch-22: Can Challenging a Patent Requires Risking Infringement?

    An interesting mandamus petition is pending from Inari Agriculture -- asking the Federal Circuit to overturn the PTAB institution denial in a PGR challenging Pioneer Hi-Bred's inbred corn patent. U.S. Patent No. 11,659,803.  In its decision, the PTAB denied Inari's obviousness challenge because it failed to sequence and analyze the genome of the deposited seed that defines the claimed plant variety. Inari argues this creates an unconstitutional "Catch-22" where challengers must risk patent monopoly infringement liability to file adequate PGR petitions, violating due process and separation of powers principles. [In re_-_ Inari Agriculture, Inc. Petition].