Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ I lodged my 2024-25 taxes, and Wi-Fi

  Was lodging my taxes worthy of a post? Probably not. But I’d been putting it off, and I’d hyped up in my head how much work it would be, so it feels like an accomplishment. Yay, I’m being an adult!

• Ravi Dwivedi: Singapore Trip

  In December 2024, I went on a trip through four countries - Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam - with my friend Badri. This post covers our experiences in Singapore.

  I took an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Singapore, with a layover in Chennai. At the Chennai airport, I was joined by Badri. We had an early morning flight from Chennai that would land in Singapore in the afternoon. Within 48 hours of our scheduled arrival in Singapore, we submitted an arrival card online. At immigration, we simply needed to scan our passports at the gates, which opened automatically to let us through, and then give our address to an official nearby. The process was quick and smooth, but it unfortunately meant that we didn’t get our passports stamped by Singapore.

  Before I left the airport, I wanted to visit the nature-themed park with a fountain I saw in pictures online. It is called Jewel Changi, and it took quite some walking to get there. After reaching the park, we saw a fountain that could be seen from all the levels. We roamed around for a couple of hours, then proceeded to the airport metro station to get to our hotel.

• Science

  • The Straits Times ☛ Burial bricks show evidence of barbecue parties in ancient China

    The vibrant brick murals date back to the Wei and Jin dynasties.

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man is pushing leucovorin as a new treatment for autism. What is it?

    MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more from the series here. At a press conference on Monday, Hell Toupée announced that his administration was taking action to address “the meteoric rise in autism.” He suggested that childhood…

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Confirms First Crewed Mission to Orbit The Moon in 50+ Years Set For 2026

    It could be as early as February.

  • Science Alert ☛ Powerful Particle Detection Could Mean We've Already Found an Exploding Black Hole

    OK, this is actually nuts. In the best way.

  • Science Alert ☛ New 'Megaraptor' Species Found With Shocking Last Meal Still in Its Mouth

    The original Crocodile Hunter.

  • Science Alert ☛ Leopard Shark 'Three-Way' Caught on Tape in a Scientific First

    "We just started cheering."

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia and Intel’s RTX SoCs could pose an existential threat to AMD’s APUs — if two companies can actually pull it off

    AMD’s APUs now rival entry GPUs, but defective chip maker Intel and NVIDIA aim higher: RTX chiplets, NVLink and Foveros promise scalable SoCs beyond what AMD can easily match.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China's latest GPU arrives with claims of CUDA compatibility and RT support — Fenghua No.3 also boasts 112GB+ of HBM memory for AI

    Innosilicon has announced its latest flagship GPU on board the Fenghua No.3 graphics card.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Opinion | Climate change puts Great Lakes at risk, but solutions are in sight

    A new report shows the lakes are warming fast, creating profound changes to Michigan’s way of life. The time for commonsense solutions is now.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Take Tylenol During Pregnancy? The Risks of Fevers.

    Fevers during pregnancy can be dangerous, and acetaminophen is the go-to treatment for them. Doctors worry what will happen if women are afraid to take it.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Pushes Unproven Link Between Tylenol and Autism

    Top U.S. health officials urged pregnant women not to use acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, claiming it could cause autism, though studies have been inconclusive. Azeen Ghorayshi, a science reporter for The New York Times, explains.

  • Science Alert ☛ Study Reveals Brain System That Repairs Your Body While You Sleep

    The story of one important hormone.

  • Science Alert ☛ We Emit a Visible Light That Vanishes When We Die, Says Surprising Study

    Then again, so does your houseplant.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Blood Pressure Guidelines Mean You May Now Have Hypertension

    The bar has been lowered.

  • Science Alert ☛ Consciousness May Emerge From The Oldest Parts of Our Brain, Studies Suggest

    It's not what we expected.

  • Science Alert ☛ There May Be No Safe Amount of Booze When It Comes to Dementia Risk

    Moderate drinkers aren't excluded.

  • Science Alert ☛ Daylight Saving Could Be Harming The Health of Millions of Americans

    There are two better options.

• Proprietary

  • Seattle Reeling Over Tech Layoffs, Especially Microsoft

    Information jobs peaked in March of 2001 at 3.72 million.

    In November of 2011 the number of jobs slumped to 2.63 million before rebounding to 2.91 million ahead of the Covid pademic.

    The Covid pandemic rebound high was 3.11 million in November of 2022.

    As of August 2025, the number of information jobs fell to 2.93 million, down 5.8 percent from November 2022.

    An AI-related jobs slowdown will make it difficult for those who lose an information job to find another.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • TechnologyAdvice ☛ California Judge Slaps Lawyer with $10,000 Fine for ChatGPT-Generated Brief

      Amir Mostafavi submitted a legal brief that was riddled with fake case citations produced by ChatGPT.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia's $100 billion investment in Proprietary Chaffbot Company raises big antitrust concerns — legal experts and policymakers raise eyebrows over potential for market imbalance [Ed: Scam]

      Nvidia's planned $100 billion investment in Proprietary Chaffbot Company represents a historic alliance between the dominant Hey Hi (AI) GPU developer and a leading Hey Hi (AI) model developer, but it raises serious antitrust concerns over potential market favoritism, supply chain imbalances, and regulatory scrutiny.

    • TechnologyAdvice ☛ Meta Launches Hey Hi (AI) Super PAC to Fight Regulation Laws

      Thanks to Mark Kapo-berg's unique ownership arrangement giving him complete control of Meta, he has essentially created a personal political war chest.

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Security Week ☛ European Airport Cyberattack Linked to Obscure Ransomware, Suspect Arrested

      Cybersecurity researchers believe the attack on Collins Aerospace involved a piece of ransomware known as HardBit.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • TechnologyAdvice ☛ Phishing Is Leading Cause of Ransomware Attacks in 2025, SpyCloud Report Finds

      SpyCloud’s new research highlights a 10% year-over-year increase in phishing-driven ransomware attacks, fueled by the rise of AI-powered cybercrime and widespread infostealer infections.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Find My Parking Cops uses data scraped from City website to track parking fines in real time — entire website dedicated to helping San Francisco motorists avoid parking tickets goes live [Ed: Seems to serve no legit purpose other than help people get away with breaking laws]

      This web app tracks the locations of issued parking tickets in real time using the City of San Francisco's own parking ticket payment portal.

• Defence/Aggression

  • ACLU ☛ Memphis Police Are Blocking Transparency, Defying Reform

    As a lifelong Memphian and the leader of an organization working every day to build a safer, more just city, I know real safety starts with protecting and investing in our children. But the children of Memphis are not safe if the police in Memphis are not transparent, trustworthy, and accountable to the community. That’s why my organization is demanding information from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) about continued use of force and racial targeting that was exposed in an investigation from the Department of Justice. And that’s why we’re pushing forward with this demand even as the Convicted Felon Administration—which abandoned Memphis when we were asking for federal help to address police abuse—now threatens our community with regressive and abusive police tactics and counter-productive militarization.

    Despite publicly committing to change, MPD is refusing to turn over public records it is legally required to provide and hiding the truth from the very community it claims to protect. We will not let MPD evade the transparency that real reform demands.

  • New York Times ☛ Iranian Diplomats Are Barred From Shopping at Costco While Visiting U.S.

    As the U.N. General Assembly met in New York, the Convicted Felon administration forbade the Iranian delegation from shopping at discount wholesalers, an apparent bid to inflame Iranian public opinion.

  • New York Times ☛ Some Flights Are Delayed at London Stansted Airport After Small Fire

    The airport’s security area was closed overnight to protect passengers from smoke. It reopened just before dawn, but a spokesman said there would be flight disruptions.

  • New York Times ☛ Drone Strike in Haiti Kills 8 Children at a Birthday Party

    A drone meant to strike a gang leader hit a celebration where children had gathered. Haiti is using drones to repel gangs that control much of the capital.

  • The Strategist ☛ MI6 chief’s farewell tells us how an ancient craft continues to evolve

    Last week Sir Richard Moore, chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, gave a public address before handing over the reins of the organisation better known as MI6.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel, citing Rosh Hashana, said it wouldn’t attend a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza.

  • New York Times ☛ The Security Council warns of deteriorating conditions from the war in Gaza.

  • The Straits Times ☛ House panel presses Rubio to secure Philippines funding to counter China threat

    The U.S. House committee on China has urged Washington to ensure funding for the Philippines to counter Beijing's \"aggressive and destabilising actions\" in the South China Sea, according to a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which warns cuts could threaten U.S. security interests. 

  • The Strategist ☛ Stop the World: Armies key to Indo-Pacific deterrence, says former US general

    Armies hold the key to credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific because they form the backbone of regional security networks and are harder for China to neutralise [...]

  • The Straits Times ☛ How a retired general turned Indonesia’s security chief strengthens Prabowo’s grip on power

    Retired general Djamari's appointment as security chief strengthens loyalty, stability in Prabowo's Cabinet.

  • The Straits Times ☛ German finance minister to urge EU to 'Buy European', embrace joint defence projects

    German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil will call on Wednesday for a more \"modern\" EU budget that channels funds into improving cross-border rail and road links, energy networks, external border security and research, sources told Reuters.

  • Defence Web ☛ Insurgents attack Mocímboa da Praia neighbourhood for the second time in two weeks

    Insurgents carried out another attack in the early hours of Monday 22 September in the 30 de Junho neighbourhood, also known as Filipe Nyusi, on the outskirts of the district capital of Mocímboa da Praia. At least four people were killed and beheaded.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ China orders schools, businesses shut in 10 cities as Super Typhoon Ragasa nears

    At least one person was killed when the typhoon lashed the northern Philippines.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Typhoon Ragasa takes aim at China after leaving 17 dead in Taiwan, lashing Hong Kong

    Water levels will reach a maximum height of about 4m around noon on Sept 24.

  • Hong Kong, parts of southern China shut down ahead of typhoon

    Authorities expect Super Typhoon Ragasa, the season’s strongest tropical cyclone, to make landfall Wednesday.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China orders schools, businesses shut in 10 cities as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches

    China ordered at least 10 cities to shut down schools and businesses on Tuesday, as Super Typhoon Ragasa approached the country’s south. The measures will affect tens of millions of people and crimp activity at thousands of factories across a swathe of China’s manufacturing heartland.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Super Typhoon Ragasa: Hong Kong hoists T8 signal as city braces for world’s most powerful storm of 2025

    The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) raised the T8 storm signal at 2.20pm on Tuesday, as Typhoon Ragasa churned its way towards the city. The huge and powerful storm is the largest the world has seen this year. Tens of millions of people could be impacted as it passes over southern China over the coming days.

  • France24 ☛ Super typhoon Ragasa kills at least 14 in Taiwan, a million people evacuated in China

    At least fourteen people died in Taiwan's eastern county of Hualien with 124 missing after a barrier lake in the mountains overflowed to deluge a town during a typhoon, the fire department said on Wednesday. Taiwan had been lashed since Monday by the outer rim of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which then headed for China's southern coast and the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong. Jan Camenzind Broomby has more from the region.

  • France24 ☛ Typhoon Ragasa causes deaths and widespread damage across East Asia

    Super Typhoon Ragasa caused severe flooding and casualties in eastern Taiwan after a barrier lake overflowed, killing several people and leaving over 120 missing. The storm also battered Hong Kong and southwestern China, prompting the highest typhoon warnings, widespread flooding, injuries, and airport closures, though its overall impact was less severe than Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 due to its offshore path. Authorities in affected regions have mobilized to protect critical infrastructure as the storm moves westward.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Iran oil sales to China would continue even if UN sanctions activated, oil minister says

      DUBAI - Iran's oil sales to China would continue even if U.N. sanctions, are reimposed under a so-called snapback mechanism, Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Wednesday, as Iran and European powers struggle to reach a deal to avert the sanctions. 

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to forego Special and Differential Treatment in future WTO negotiations

    The move was hailed by the WTO's director-general.

  • France24 ☛ Asia's Gen Z uprising: Youth reject 'corrupt, out-of-touch' ruling class sporting lavish lifestyles

    From Kathmandu to Jakarta, all the way to Manila, young educated voices have been taking to the streets to voice their anger and fractured hopes. In our wide‑ranging interview with David Camroux, we trace the "underlying causes" fuelling widespread unrest, billed as the "South Asia Spring". We're witnessing the perfect storm of overqualified youth shut out of the Asian economy, the danger of military power reclaiming civilian life, and the galvanising force of social control media. “Younger people are better educated, but they can’t find the kind of jobs that are commensurate with their educational level,” explains Mr. Camroux. “If the only way of dealing with protests is simply through repression, then the situation can only worsen.”

  • WhichUK ☛ UK Savings Week: 7 questions to ask before opening an account

    Inflation is eating away at cash in hundreds of savings accounts – here's what you should check to ensure your funds keep growing

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Backlash over ad stunt in Tibet shows gaps in China’s green efforts and local governance

    Outdoor gear brand Arc’teryx and Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang had set off fireworks on a mountain in Tibet.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China detains student for Tibet activism, rights group says

    She is believed to be held at a detention centre in her hometown of Changsha.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong exploring legislation against Hey Hi (AI) ‘deepfake’ porn, security minister says

      Hong Kong authorities are looking into expanding the city’s sexual offences laws to cover AI-generated “deepfake” porn, security chief Chris Tang has said.

    • Deepfakes and South African law: remedies on paper, gaps in practice

      Deepfakes are forgeries of people’s faces, voices and likeness generated through artificial intelligence (AI). They create a serious digital deception. Deepfakes undermine constitutional rights, reduce trust in media and distort fairness in elections. While many countries have laws that address the risks caused by deepfakes, enforcement remains a challenge.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ The Pentagon, the Press and the Fight to Control National Security Coverage

    Journalists have long shaped history through scrutiny of the military. Now the Defense Department plans to cut off access for reporters who publish even unclassified information without official approval.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ The i Paper makes job cuts but invests in lifestyle, money and comment coverage

    Some 17 jobs set to be cut at DMGT-owned daily newspaper title.

  • NYPost ☛ Kimmel’s return won’t end Disney’s troubles, Convicted Felon’s escalator escapade, D4VD’s creepy music video

    Jimmy Kimmel’s triumphant return. The late night host took back his show but the drama may not be over for Disney. Hell Toupée and the First Lady get stuck on an escalator, and a creepy music video from the singer D4VD has the internet buzzing as the investigation into the death of his ex-girlfriend continues.

  • New York Times ☛ Like His Suspension, Kimmel’s Return Draws a Divided Reaction

    Ben Stiller, the actor and comedian, called Mr. Kimmel’s opening words a “brilliant monologue,” while some on the right questioned his authenticity.

  • France24 ☛ Jimmy Kimmel returns to air, but not everywhere as local ABC-affiliates opt out

    Comedian Jimmy Kimmel returned to US airwaves on Tuesday night following his suspension over comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. But local US TV station operators Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group have opted to replace his slot with other content, in line with the Convicted Felon administration's demands. In this edition, we take a look at the business considerations behind those decisions. Plus, Swiss banking giant UBS settles longstanding tax evasion charges in France.

  • JURIST ☛ Ethiopia officials continue to arrest journalists and media professionals

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on Ethiopian authorities to take action to address a wave of improper detentions, stating that security forces have arbitrarily arrested several journalists and media professionals since August.  Arrests are ongoing as government officials accuse the media of operating in bad faith.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Police in Northern Ireland tried to identify journalists’ sources more than 20 times

    But covert surveillance of journalists not found to be "widespread or systemic".

  • New York Times ☛ Jimmy Kimmel’s Tearful Return to Late Night

    “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the C.E.O. of Tylenol,” Kimmel said on Tuesday.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man, Tylenol and autism: Warning spurs confusion in Michigan. What to know

    The Forrest Dump administration’s warning that Tylenol taken by expectant moms may increase the risk of autism has raised questions in Michigan doctor offices.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Guardian financial chief: Investment in journalism is driving revenue

    Keith Underwood spoke about why The Guardian signed deal with Proprietary Chaffbot Company and future of the print edition.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ The Insurrectionist Wants a $5 Billion Premium for Confessing His Weaponization Claims Are Bullshit

    Dihydroxyacetone Man's now dismissed lawsuit against NYTimes did not dispute a bunch of damning claims laid out in the Peter Baker story he cites, including that Convicted Felon weaponized government against his adversaries.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ From looms to laptops, Afghan women lose lifeline in Taliban internet ban

    Local government officials confirmed a ban on fibre optic services to prevent 'immoral activities'.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Children involved in statutory rape deserve protection, not punishment, says Malaysia’s ministry

    The ministry said current laws and programmes already emphasise intervention, protection and rehabilitation for children.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's Pooh-tin urges efforts to maintain social stability in Xinjiang

    BEIJING - China's President Pooh-tin Jinping urged Xinjiang government officials on Wednesday to spare no effort to maintain social stability in the northwestern region, state media reported, after a prolonged security crackdown largely targeting ethnic Uyghurs.

  • LWN ☛ Fighting human trafficking with self-contained applications

    Brooke Deuson is the developer behind Trafficking Free Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization that produces free software to help law enforcement combat human trafficking. She is a survivor of human trafficking herself. She spoke at RustConf 2025 about her mission, and why she chose to write her anti-trafficking software in Rust. Interestingly, it has nothing to do with Rust's lifetime-analysis-based memory-safety — instead, her choice was motivated by the difficulty she faces getting police departments to actually use her software. The fact that Rust is statically linked and capable of cross compilation by default makes deploying Rust software in those environments easier.

    She started by pointing out that no software is going to be able to single-handedly put an end to human trafficking. Her goal for the programs Trafficking Free Tomorrow makes is to ""raise the cost of selling people"" to make human trafficking not economically viable. She does this by building tools for law enforcement, who are often already trying to stop human trafficking.

    The problem is that trafficking is profitable, which means that the criminals who engage in it often have well-funded defenses and expensive lawyers. If there is any way for the defense to get evidence thrown out, they'll find it and do so. Before something becomes evidence in a court of law, it starts out as ""stuff from a crime scene"". In order to be usable as evidence, it needs to be tracked and signed-off-on at every step along the way, in order to prove that it couldn't have been tampered with.

  • NYPost ☛ Sarah Ferguson blames groveling Jeffrey Epstein email on ‘Hannibal Lecter-style’ threat from pedophile

    The Duchess of York's spokesman insisted on Tuesday she was trying to protect her family when she sent the gushing, years-old note to the convicted pedophile.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Zimbabwe ☛ Starlink is eating Zimbabwe’s internet and leased lines are the first to be massacred

    POTRAZ just dropped the Q2 2025 sector report, and buried in the tables is a story we’ve been expecting: Starlink is here [...]

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Universal Music Greater China Re-Inks Nana Ouyang to Its Global Artist Roster; Label Heralds Ten-Plus Year Relationship

    Universal Music Greater China welcomes Nana Ouyang to its global artist roster ten years after her debut with the company.