Leftovers

• Futurism ☛ Startup Raises $60 Million to Artificially Cool the Planet

  Not everybody's convinced of its plans.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Paul Simon, Train in the Distance

  I had a horrendous headache for much of the weekend, but this was one highlight. Yes its Music Monday time, which today takes us back to 1983, and this lovely song from Paul Simon’s Hearts and Bones album.

• Science

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Discover Remnants of Cataclysmically Destroyed Planet That Became Earth

    "This is maybe the first direct evidence that we've preserved the proto Earth materials."

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Shiitake-powered computer demonstrated by researchers — mushroom-infused chips a surprising alternative to using rare earths in memristors

    Ohio researchers successfully demonstrate 'fungal computing via mycelial networks.'

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • France24 ☛ Nigerian regulator wants more control of TikTok: 'It eats our youth's time'

    Nigeria’s technology regulator says the country must wield more power over TikTok, setting their own rules rather than relying on global content policies.

• Proprietary

  • Social Control Media

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Mastodon: if it could happen, doesn’t mean it did

      You know the line that you shouldn’t ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence? To use the Australian colloquialism: yeah, nah, Mastodonians think it must always be malicious.

      This is a basic (and I would think obvious) fallacy, but it’s near universal on Mastodon to an extent it never was on the former Twitter, or even Bluesky (for all their other problems). Here are just a few examples from the last week: [...]

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ New police plan to expand AI-enabled CCTV blanket to public housing estates raises questions over privacy

      A new Hong Kong police plan to expand its AI-enabled SmartView CCTV system to places managed by other departments – including at 10 public housing estates – has provoked privacy concern among residents. The city’s police force said last Sunday that it will expand the SmartView system by the end of 2025.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man strikes deals on trade, critical minerals in South-east Asia

    The US is looking to address trade imbalances and to diversify supply chains.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Burevestnik Nuclear Missile Tests Successful, Russia Says

      Because of its power source, the Burevestnik can remain airborne far longer than other nuclear-armed missiles.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia will respond harshly in event of strikes deep inside its territory, Kremlin says

      MOSCOW - Russian armed forces will respond forcefully in the event of strikes deep inside Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published on Sunday.

    • New York Times ☛ The Russia-Ukraine Energy War

      Both sides are targeting energy assets to try to break the deadlock on the battlefield.

    • New York Times ☛ 3 Years Ago It Was a Casting Agency. Now It Has $1 Billion in Drone Contracts.

      Among the flood of Ukrainian defense start-ups, one stands out to both its supporters and its critics: the drone maker Fire Point.

    • The Straits Times ☛ India and China resume direct flights as ties improve

      Mr Convicted Felon’s aides have accused India of fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying Moscow’s oil.

    • JURIST ☛ Croatia reintroduces compulsory military service

      The Republic of Croatia on Friday reintroduced compulsory military service following fears over the escalating Russia-Ukraine war and destabilization in the Balkans. With an 84 to 11 vote, the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) approved changes to the country’s Defense Act and the Armed Forces Service Act, reintroducing basic military training.

    • The Straits Times ☛ What is Russia's Burevestnik missile?

      President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia had tested its Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile. Here are some key facts about the weapon.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Kremlin: Wrong to talk about cancellation of Putin-Dihydroxyacetone Man summit, agencies report

      MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Sunday it was wrong to talk about cancellation of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President The Insurrectionist, but added that preparation for it was needed, state television Vesti reported on its Telegram channel.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man: Won't Be 'Wasting My Time' Meeting Putin If Deal Not Likely

      US President The Insurrectionist said he is not going "to be wasting my time” by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin if the Kremlin leader is not ready to make a deal to end his war on Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Putin Touts Successful Tests Of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Missile

      President Vladimir Putin said Russia has successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-weapon capable Burevestnik cruise missile.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Rules Out Meeting Putin Without Progress On Ukraine Peace Deal

      US President The Insurrectionist said he is not going "to be wasting my time” by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin if the Kremlin leader is not ready to make a deal to end his war on Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Troops Reported Inside Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Forces Maintain City's Defenses

      Elements of Russia’s ground forces have entered the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Kyiv acknowledged, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeling the situation there as “difficult” with “fierce” battles flaring in and around the regional center.

• Finance

  • WhichUK ☛ Are banking hubs the answer to disappearing branches? I visited one to find out [Ed: banks being reduced to foreign-owned clown games]

    Community hubs could save in-person banking, but you won't get the full range of bank services

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • BIA Net ☛ The Beloved from Halabja

    It is a novel of longing—for the region, for its voice—woven out of magical realism and modern epic.

  • New York Times ☛ ‘No Idea How Long People Can Hold Out’: Federal Workers Feel Brunt of Shutdown

    As more than one million government employees go without pay, many are turning to side jobs and food banks to make ends meet.

  • New York Times ☛ Food Banks in U.S. Brace for Surging Demand as SNAP Aid Cutoff Looms

    Growing need and decreased resources are squeezing the charitable food system beyond its capacity, leaders say.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Asia Pacific charts the course for WTDC-25

    Key highlights from the final preparatory meeting for WTDC-25.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Cooler Master's new PC case with 5.25-inch drive bay launches in Japan as optical drive boom hits due to backdoored Windows 10 upgrade cycle — MasterBox CM695 addresses the country's reluctance to ditch physical media

    Cooler Master is defying convention by launching a new midtower case in Japan that features a 5.25-inch optical drive bay up front. The MasterBox CM695 features a suitably-vintage design that also has space for up to four 3.5-inch hard drives, while still rocking a 20Gbps Type-C port at the top, along with a mesh front, and an option for a glass side panel.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Instacart Challenges USPTO’s Discretionary IPR Denials in Seventh Pending Mandamus Petition

    In re Maplebear Inc. (d/b/a Instacart), No. 26-105 (Fed. Cir., petition filed Oct. 21, 2025), adds another voice to the chorus of technology companies asking the Federal Circuit to rein in the Patent Office's increasingly restrictive approach to IPR institution. The mandamus petition was filed a few days after the USPTO published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that further curtails access to inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, and argues that the denial of its institution was improperly based upon grounds not supported by the statutory framework.  The petition argues that Dir. Stewart's novel denial criteria were imposed without the notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act, exceed the Director's statutory authority under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), and were applied retroactively to Instacart's petition in violation of due process.