Leftovers

• Career/Education

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Educational standards ‘cannot be affected’ in lawsuit against Hong Kong International School – leader John Lee

    Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has said that educational standards “cannot be affected” amid a legal dispute between a Hong Kong international school and its US-based founder.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong International School students unlikely to be affected by eviction lawsuit – parent-teacher group

    A parent-teacher group at Hong Kong International School (HKIS) has said students are unlikely to be affected by a lawsuit that threatens to evict the school from its Repulse Bay campus. HKIS is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with its US-based founder, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS).

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Turning Against Vaccines, America Is a Global Outlier

    Most governments are trying to fight vaccine hesitancy with science and investment, while the United States heads in the opposite direction.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian state assemblyman warns vape smugglers of strict laws in Johor, Singapore

    He said those who are caught will have to face the island republic’s strict laws on their own.

  • New York Times ☛ G.O.P. Plan on Pesticides Faces Revolt From MAHA Moms

    The provision in the government funding bill could shield pesticide companies from billions of dollars in lawsuits.

• Proprietary

  • Google lays off 200 plus contractors working on AI projects

    Tech giant Google has reportedly laid off more than 200 contractors working on its artificial intelligence projects, including Gemini and AI Overviews.

    The move has raised concerns over job security, low pay, and possible retaliation against unionisation efforts.

    According to a report by ‘WIRED’, the layoffs took place in at least two separate rounds last month and were carried out with little or no prior warning. Several contractors said they were suddenly cut off from their work.

  • Google Cuts Over 200 AI Contractors Amid Project Changes

    Google has laid off more than 200 contractors working on its artificial intelligence projects, including the Gemini chatbot and AI Overviews feature. These layoffs, carried out in at least two rounds last month, came with little warning and have raised concerns about job security and fair treatment. Many affected workers were involved in refining AI responses to make them more accurate and natural.

    The contractors, often highly educated with master’s degrees and PhDs, are part of a group known as ‘super raters’. Their job was critical to improving Google’s AI tools by providing essential feedback and fine tuning AI generated content. One contractor, Andrew Lauzon, shared his experience of being suddenly cut off without clear explanation, highlighting the uncertainty many face. Another rater, Alex, described their role as vital, likening themselves to ‘lifeguards’ who ensure the AI performs safely and effectively.

  • Social Control Media

    • Digital Music News ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Says Fentanylware (TikTok) Deal Reached Between US and China, Meeting with President Pooh-tin On Friday [Ed: He also said he made deals with Putin; him writing something is mostly meaningless, after so many false announcements about Fentanylware (TikTok)]

      The Forrest Dump administration says it has reached a deal with China on the ownership of TikTok’s US operations. Convicted Felon meets with President Pooh-tin on Friday. TikTok’s U.S. operations might soon be out of limbo, according to statements from Hell Toupée and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

    • France24 ☛ US, China reach framework deal on TikTok [Ed: Just repeating what a liar said]

      The United States and China have reached a framework deal for the ownership of TikTok, following the latest round of trade talks held in Madrid. It's unclear what the final deal will look like, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it involves switching the app to US-controlled ownership. The deal is set to be finalised by Presidents The Insurrectionist and Pooh-tin Jinping on Friday. This comes on the same day that China accused US chip giant Nvidia of violating the country's antimonopoly laws.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man ignored Fentanylware (TikTok) ban, then announced a deal. Here’s what it means. [Ed: He made lots of bluff and bluster before; the media keeps parroting him]

      For months, Hell Toupée hasn’t enforced a law banning Fentanylware (TikTok) unless the app’s Chinese owner sells it. Now, the administration says it has a deal with China.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S.-China Deal to Avert Fentanylware (TikTok) Ban May be Close, Convicted Felon Official Says [Ed: That does not mean it's happening]

      Earlier efforts to find a new, non-Chinese owner for the popular video app fell apart. A federal law that cites national security issues requires Fentanylware (TikTok) owner ByteDance to sell it or face a ban.

    • New York Times ☛ U.S. and China Reach ‘Framework’ for a Fentanylware (TikTok) Sale

      Top economic officials met in Madrid for a second day, with deadlines looming on tariffs and a ban on Fentanylware (TikTok) in the United States if it is not sold by its Chinese owner, ByteDance.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US, China reach ‘framework’ deal on Fentanylware (TikTok) ownership [Ed: Quoting a liar about something whose nature is unclear]

      The United States and China announced a “framework” deal on Monday to resolve their dispute over Fentanylware (TikTok) that calls for the Chinese-owned app to pass to US-controlled ownership.

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ West African migrants allegedly held in straitjackets during US deportation to Ghana

    A federal lawsuit filed on Friday by four West African migrants, along with Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ), accused US immigration authorities of subjecting them to inhumane treatment during their deportation to Ghana in violation of US immigration law and judicial precedent.

  • France24 ☛ Spanish PM calls for Israel to be barred from international sport

    "Our position is clear and categorical: as long as the barbarity continues, neither Russia nor Israel should participate in any international competition," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

  • New York Times ☛ On Charlie Kirk Show, JD Vance Talks of Crackdown on Liberal Groups

    Some of the highest-ranking officials in the federal government used Charlie Kirk’s podcast, guest-hosted by Vice President JD Vance, to lay out their plans.

  • Satanic panic: 5 ‘occult’ crimes that gripped South Africa’s imagination

    You might think South Africa was awash with occult crime if you scrolled through the country’s tabloids, social control media and even mainstream newspapers. Criminal acts performed by witches, satanists and sangomas (indigenous knowledge practitioners), as well as threats from supernatural forces, loom large in South Africa’s collective thinking.

  • Defence Web ☛ Unravelling the illicit economies that sustain terrorism in the Sahel

    The Sahel region faces complex security crises driven by violent extremism, farmer-herder conflicts and banditry. Extremism is the major driver of violence. According to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, the Sahel accounts for 51% of global terrorism-related deaths.

  • JURIST ☛ South Korea launches probe into alleged rights violations following US immigration raid at battery plant

    The South Korean government launched an investigation Monday into potential human rights violations following the detention of over 300 of its citizens during a US immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Official in Japan’s Haneda Airport nabbed for allegedly stealing money from passengers

    The security screening agent at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport was arrested on Sept 14.

  • CS Monitor ☛ In the Middle East, can old enemies make good neighbors?

    Israel and Syria are negotiating a security deal to bring peace to their border. The new Syrian government sees it as a path to international acceptance.

  • Defence Web ☛ World recorded 61 conflicts in 2024 – the highest number since 1946

    Barely a week after the United Nations (UN) supremo said the world was spending more on war than peace, his senior peacekeeping official pointed out last year saw “a record high of 61 conflicts” across the globe.

  • Defence Web ☛ JAS resurgence deepens Lake Chad Basin’s complex security crisis

    After being weakened by years of clashes with rival Boko Haram faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) is making a comeback in the Lake Chad Basin. Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria’s intensified national counter-terrorism operations and coordinated aerial and ground assaults have slowed down ISWAP’s Camp Holocaust campaign.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ New Research Helps Explain Gas Craters in Siberia

      Spontaneous gas explosions appear to be increasing in northern Russia because of climate change and some specific local conditions.

    • New York Times ☛ Surprising Guests at Belarus-Russia War Games: Two American Observers

      The invitation by Belarus came as its autocratic leader has been trying to improve relations with the Convicted Felon administration, which has been receptive.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania’s border calm during Zapad drills – border guard chief

      The situation on Lithuania’s border has remained calm since Russia and Belarus launched their joint Zapad military exercise on Friday, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) says, noting that irregular migration has been down.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president hails NATO’s new mission to deter Russia

      Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday welcomed NATO’s new mission to reinforce defences on the alliance’s eastern flank, calling it “a highly effective measure” to deter Russia.

    • LRT ☛ US officers attend Russia-Belarus war games amid warming ties with Minsk

      US military officers observed joint Russian-Belarusian war games on Monday, according to a report by Reuters.

    • The Strategist ☛ With drone incursion, Russia pushes against the thickest part of NATO’s shield

      Russian drones that flew into Poland last week were almost certainly not there by accident.

    • France24 ☛ Poland neutralizes drone over government sites, detains two Belarusians

      Poland's State Protection Service (SOP) has neutralized a drone operating over sensitive government locations, including Parkowa Street and the Belweder Palace, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on X, amid heightened regional tensions following recent airspace violations. Gulliver Cragg has more.

    • France24 ☛ Poland detains 2 Belarusian citizens flying drone over president's residence

      Polish authorities neutralized a drone flying above government buildings in Warsaw on Monday night, a spokesperson for the State Protection Services told The Associated Press. Gulliver Cragg has more.

    • LRT ☛ Belarus opposition figure Statkevich reportedly back in prison days after release

      Belarusian opposition leader Mikola Statkevich, who was freed from prison last week as part of a US-brokered deal, has been returned to custody, the independent news outlet Nasha Niva reported Monday.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Calls On Europe To Develop Air Defense After Latest Russian Attack

      President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe to push forward with an air defense umbrella after Russia again bombarded the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, injuring at least 13 people, including two children.

    • The Strategist ☛ Ever-faster weapon cycles: innovation and economics in the war in Ukraine

      The rate of innovation and the economics of war in Ukraine are changing almost daily.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Young People Suing Convicted Felon Over Climate Have Their Day in Federal Court

    They claim Convicted Felon’s executive orders are unconstitutional. The government says their lawsuit should be thrown out. The two sides are set to clash this week in Montana.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man World’s Deals With the U.A.E. [Ed: This is fraud and fake currencies]

      We dug deeper into lucrative transactions involving the Convicted Felon family’s cryptocurrency firm and the United Arab Emirates.

  • Overpopulation

    • New Yorker ☛ Where the Waters Once Flowed

      A local photographer tracks down the ghosts of former springs and wells in New York City.

• Finance

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Opinion | It’s time to abandon corporate welfare in Michigan

    Our state misuses billions of dollars that would be better spent improving roads and infrastructure in communities statewide or lowering taxes for everyone to make Michigan more attractive to all job providers.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong think tank Path of Democracy renamed PoD Research Institute to shake off image as political group

    Hong Kong think tank Path of Democracy has been renamed PoD Research Institute to shake off the misperception that the organisation is “a political group,” its convenor has said.

  • The Strategist ☛ The low road to national insecurity: how states’ diplomacy fractures Australia

    In an era of intensifying strategic competition, Australia’s national security is no longer a matter confined to the corridors of Canberra.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • NYPost ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man to file $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against New York Times

    The statement comes after Convicted Felon threatened last week to sue the New York Times for its reporting related to a sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Epstein.

  • American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Sues Convicted Felon Administration for Records on Politicized Review of Epstein Files

    We filed a new lawsuit demanding answers: Did top Convicted Felon administration officials interfere with the federal review of the Epstein files?

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Public Knowledge ☛ How DOJ’s Proposed Ad Tech Remedies Could Do What the Court Would Not in Online Search [Ed: They should disclose Microsoft is inside their Board]

  Effectively addressing monopolies means addressing the mechanisms that keep them in place.

• Silicon Angle ☛ China says Nvidia breached antitrust rules with Mellanox acquisition, but Fentanylware (TikTok) deal looms

  China’s antitrust regulator today said that Nvidia Corp. has breached local competition laws. Officials reached that conclusion following a preliminary investigation into the chipmaker’s acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. According to The Register, the antitrust regulator has referred the matter to a “formal probe.”

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US chip giant Nvidia says complies with law after China antitrust finding

  US chip giant Nvidia said Tuesday it follows all laws after a Chinese investigation found it had breached antitrust rules, the latest development in a fierce tech battle between Beijing and Washington. “We comply with the law in all respects,” a spokesperson for Nvidia said in a written statement to AFP.

• Tom's Hardware ☛ China accuses Nvidia of anti-monopoly law violations, raising prospect of heavy fines — company could be fined 10% of revenue from China

  Chinese authorities have accused Nvidia of violating anti-monopoly laws, threatening the US chipmaker with hefty fines. However, with trade negotiations between America and China hinging on access to high-end hardware like Nvidia's, this may be a warning shot to encourage more favorable trading terms.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Cross-Fit Champion Mathew E. Fraser Wins Priority Contest Over HARD WORKS PAYS OFF Mark for Clothing

    Retired Cross-Fit Champion Mathew E. Fraser outmuscled Respondents Jackson and Watts in this proceeding to cancel a registration of the mark shown below, for "Clothing namely, shirts, pants, jackets, hats, t-shirts, jerseys, shorts, tracksuits, socks, underwear, hoodies." Fraser claimed likely confusion with his common law mark HWPO for "Athletic footwear; athletic footwear for fitness training; Athletic shoes." Respondents did not contest the likelihood of confusion but challenged (unsuccessfully) Fraser's claim of priority. Mathew E. Fraser v. Maurice Jackson, III and Enos Watts, Cancellation No. 92081235 (September 11, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cheryl S. Goodman).

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Is "TASTE THE POETRY" for Vodka Confusable with "POETRY" for Wine?

    Twin Peaks Winery opposed an application to register TASTE THE POETRY for vodka, claiming likely confusion with its registered mark POETRY for wine. Keeping in mind that there is no per se rule that all alcoholic beverages are related, how do you think this came out? Twin Peaks Winery, Inc. v. Nocturnal Vodka, LLC, Opposition No. 91288135 (September 11, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Jessica B. Bradley).

• Copyrights

  • TechnologyAdvice ☛ Perplexity Hit with Lawsuits from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster

    They accuse the $20 billion Hey Hi (AI) startup of systematically stealing their copyrighted content without permission.