Leftovers

• Ravi Dwivedi: A Bad Day in Malaysia

  Continuing from where we left off in the last post. On the 7th of December 2024, we boarded a bus from Singapore to the border town of Johor Bahru in Malaysia. The bus stopped at the Singapore emigration for us to get off for the formalities.

  The process was similar to the immigration at the Singapore airport. It was automatic, and we just had to scan our passports for the gates to open. Here also, we didn’t get Singapore stamps on our passports.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ A Neuroscientist Reveals How Beauty Ideals Are Rewiring Your Brain

    But there's a way to stop it.

  • Futurism ☛ Australia Now Has So Much Solar Power That It’s Giving Electricity Out for Free

    And the government is encouraging people to use their most power-hungry appliances.

  • Futurism ☛ NASA Staff Horrified at Plan to Throw Out Incredibly Specialized Science Equipment Like Garbage

    "It’s like taking a Maserati to the junkyard to get crushed because your driver’s license expired."

  • Science Alert ☛ Giant Analysis Reveals The Deadliest Risks of Tropical Cyclones

    To reduce future impacts, we need to look beyond the obvious.

  • Science Alert ☛ Using Tobacco With Cannabis Is Tied to Unique Brain Changes, Small Study Finds

    With possible effects on mental health.

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Supplement Shows Concerning Link to Heart Failure

    We need more research.

  • Science Alert ☛ Dentists Could Soon 'Regrow' Your Tooth Enamel With a Simple Gel

    It's easy and quick to apply.

  • Science Alert ☛ Human Arms Keep Growing an Extra Artery, Showing We're Still Evolving

    Evolution is a mysterious thing.

  • Science Alert ☛ Physicists Use a Single Molecule as a Tiny Particle Collider

    With potentially big implications.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Reveal a Clever Trick to Help Win Rock, Paper, Scissors

    15,000 games uncovered why we lose.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Holy Grail' Forensics Breakthrough Lifts Fingerprints From Bullet Cases

    It wasn't thought possible.

• Hardware

  • New York Times ☛ China Resumes Some Chip Exports, Easing Fears of a Global Crunch

    A leading German automotive supplier said it was again allowed to ship semiconductors that Beijing had barred for export.

  • Hackaday ☛ BIOS Detectives Find Ghost Of Previously Unknown PC

    Old parts such as EPROMs will often find themselves for sale on sites such as eBay, where they are sometimes snapped up by retrocomputing enthusiasts in search of interesting code. Vintage Computer Federation forum member [GearTechWolf] picked up a clutch of IBM-labelled chips, and as int10h reports, stumbled upon a previously unknown PC-AT BIOS version which even hints at a rare PC model as yet unseen.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ What’s the point of a retro case “???”

    My recent FLP02 review must have escaped containment, because I’ve had a flurry of emails and comments on Mastodon asking questions that were already answered in the post, and another who even took them time to ask this: [...]

  • Hackaday ☛ Medium Format, 3 GigaPixel Camera Puts It All On The Line (Sensor)

    It’s a bit of a truism that bigger sensors lead to better pictures when it comes to photography. Of course everyone who isn’t a photographer knows that moar megapixles is moar better. So, when [Gigawipf], aka [Yannick Richter] wanted to make a camera, he knew he had to go big or go home. So big he went: a medium format camera with a whopping 3.2 gigapixel resolution.

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 Component Abuse Challenge: Pushing A 555 To The Limit

    The humble 555 timer has its origins back in the early 1970s as the NE555, a bipolar integrated circuit. Over the years it has spawned a range of derivatives, including dual versions, and ones using CMOS technology. Have these enhancements improved the performance of the chip significantly? [MagicWolfi] has been pushing the envelope in an effort to see just how fast an astable 555 can be.

  • Hackaday ☛ Screen-Accurate Lightsaber As A Practical Effect

    The lightsaber was one of the coolest and most iconic visual effects from the original Star Wars, and people have been trying to get that particular piece of movie magic off the silver screen for about 40 years now. [HeroTech] seems to have cracked the code with their “Impossible Lightsaber”— it’s fully retractable, fully lit, and able to hit things (lightly), all while fitting into a replica prop handle.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Lawsuits Blame Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot for Suicides and Harmful Delusions

    Seven complaints, filed on Thursday, claim the popular chatbot encouraged dangerous discussions and led to mental breakdowns.

  • Futurism ☛ ChatGPT’s Dark Side Encouraged Wave of Suicides, Grieving Families Say

    ChatGPT: "cold steel pressed against a mind that's already made peace? that's not fear. that's clarity."

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan resumes seafood exports to China after Beijing eases 2023 ban

    China’s resumption of Japanese seafood imports comes as the two neighbours aim to stabilise ties.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Pharmaceuticals are China’s next trade weapon

    China supplies most critical drug ingredients to the US, and the dependency is only growing. After the rare earths truce, pharma is an area to watch.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Kids & Teens Safety Regulations for Hey Hi (AI) Chatbots Could Backfire

    Lawsuits against Hey Hi (AI) developers are sparking pushes for new chatbot liability laws — but some of these proposals are likely to introduce new concerns.

• Proprietary

  • Hackaday ☛ OldVersion.com Archive Facing Shutdown Due To Financing Issues

    Finding older versions of particular software can be a real chore, all too often only made possible by the sheer grace and benevolence of their creators. At the same time older versions of software can be the only way to dodge undesirable ‘upgrades’, track down regressions, do historical research, set up a retro computer system, and so on. This is where an archive like OldVersion.com (HTTP only so your browser may shout at you) is incredibly useful, offering thousands of installers for software covering a number of platforms.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Admin Says It’s Not Bailing Out the Hey Hi (AI) Industry Regardless of How Hard It Crashes

      "If one fails, others will take its place."

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Scam Altman backs away from OpenAI's statements about possible U.S. gov't Hey Hi (AI) industry bailouts — company continues to lobby for financial support from the industry

      OpenAI CEO Scam Altman clarified on Thursday that the company does not "have or want government guarantees" for its data centers.

    • Futurism ☛ OpenAI Exec Says It Could Use Some Financial Support From the Government [Ed: OpenAI is dying]

      The government could "backstop the guarantee that allows the financing to happen."

    • Silicon Angle ☛ OpenAI calls for CHIPS Act tax credit to be extended to Hey Hi (AI) data centers

      OpenAI Group PBC has asked the White House to make a tax credit for chip fabs available to artificial intelligence data center builders. Bloomberg reported the request today.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Despite big Hey Hi (AI) infrastructure deals, investors get nervous about the payoff [Ed: Ponzi schemes with money passing around are not viable at the end]

      Big artificial intelligence infrastructure deals are multiplying as everyone scrambles for compute capacity.

    • New York Times ☛ Vigilante Lawyers Expose the Rising Tide of Hey Hi (AI) Slop in Court Filings

      More lawyers are using artificial intelligence to write legal briefs. Some colleagues are publicizing the A.I.-generated errors.

  • Social Control Media

    • Social media giants must stand trial on addiction claims

      Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Alphabet Inc. and Snap Inc. must face trial over claims that they designed social media platforms to addict youths, a judge ruled, clearing the way for the first of thousands of cases to be presented to juries.

      Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl late Wednesday ruled against the companies on their last chance to avoid trial. Kuhl trimmed a negligence allegation from one case, but allowed other claims to proceed after lawyers have spent years pouring through evidence and dueling over legal theories.

      The flood of lawsuits that started about three years ago targets Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Snap’s Snapchat. A trio of trials starting in January will mark the first time that platform users testify in court about their addiction and suffering.

• Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)

  • GitHub in 2025 [Ed: Company that takes bribes from Microsoft GitHub and also from Microsoft to relay misinformation based on data controlled only by Microsoft]

    GitHub Copilot was originally released in October 2021, four years ago.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘It all depends on your luck’: Myanmar scam hub sweep triggers fraudster recruitment rush

      By Sally Jensen Recent raids on one of Myanmar’s most notorious internet scam hubs sparked a recruitment rush as fleeing workers scrambled to enlist at nearby fraud factories, experts and insiders told AFP. Online scam hubs have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, draining unsuspecting victims of billions of dollars annually in elaborate romance and crypto cons.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Report: Government data mining has gone too far – and Hey Hi (AI) will make it worse

      A digital privacy group says agencies are collecting too much data on Americans and using Hey Hi (AI) tools to make connections that may not be valid.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Scammers Continue to Prey on StubHub’s Privacy Issues—Here’s the Latest Fraud Trap

      A new form of fraud appears to be targeting StubHub users who are both buyers and sellers on the platform—stealing tickets and racking up debt. Here’s how it works. The fraudsters appear to be taking advantage of StubHub’s lack of actual privacy features, reverse engineering ‘obfuscated’ emails to assume control of the targeted account.

    • ACLU ☛ There’s Only One State That is Asking the Right Questions About Digital Identity

      As we’ve been warning for several years, a wave of U.S. digital driver’s license programs that lack strict privacy controls threatens to create a privacy nightmare that remakes the Internet and swings power from individuals to large institutions. Almost without exception, the states that are enacting or piloting these programs are doing so without engaging in political conversations and debates about the predictable negative consequences they will bring and the need for privacy and other protections. These state legislatures are ceding decision-making power to other parties such as secretive international committees, DMV bureaucrats, big tech, and the TSA — and the decisions made around digital IDs will bear upon everyone’s privacy and free speech rights.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong police launch manhunt and make 2 arrests after customs officers stabbed during drugs raid – report

    Hong Kong police have launched a manhunt following a drugs raid, arresting two people who they believe helped a knife attack suspect escape. Three customs officers were wounded by the attacker during Thursday’s operation in To Kwa Wan.

  • Is there a Christian genocide in Nigeria? Evidence shows all faiths are under attack by terrorists

    Nigerians have been killed and millions have been displaced by the violence.

  • France24 ☛ France urges nationals to leave Mali temporarily amid jihadist fuel blockade

    France’s foreign ministry on Friday recommended that French nationals in Mali leave the country temporarily and "as soon as possible", citing the "worsening security situation" in the West African nation battling jihadist insurgents.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan vice-president makes rare trip to Europe for Parliament speech

    The country's only formal diplomatic ties in Europe are with the Vatican.

  • France24 ☛ How a satellite image allegedly showing atrocities in Sudan was misinterpreted

    In the wake of documented atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the capture of El-Fasher in late October, internet users shared a screenshot from Surveillance Giant Google Earth allegedly showing mass killings in Sudan. However, this image is old and actually shows livestock.

  • New York Times ☛ Sexual Assault of Mexico’s President Exposes Challenges of Her Equality Push

    President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped on the street this week, in an episode that set off a national conversation about what has and has not changed since Mexico elected its first female leader.

  • New York Times ☛ Immigration Agents Arrest Man in L.A. Raid and Drive Off With His Toddler

    The child was later reunited with her grandmother, but the episode alarmed immigrant rights groups. The father, a U.S. citizen, faces a gun possession charge.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile: Seoul military

    No damage or injuries had been reported.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea seeks US fuel for domestically built nuclear-powered submarine, official says

    Mr Lee reportedly asked Mr Convicted Felon for help on the fuel during last week’s summit talks.

  • The Strategist ☛ Through cooperation, Australia and South Korea can lead in the age of autonomy

    The Indo-Pacific is entering an age of autonomy. Uncrewed systems are transforming how nations project power, manage crises and sustain deterrence.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s New Aircraft Carrier Enters Service, a Sign of Naval Ambitions

    The Fujian, China’s most advanced carrier, went into official service this week. It brings the country closer to challenging U.S. naval dominance.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s largest aircraft carrier enters service in key milestone for its naval ambitions

    The Chinese navy seeks to become a blue-water force capable of projecting power in the region and beyond.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s third aircraft carrier enters service

    China’s third aircraft carrier entered service after a ceremony this week marking its handover to the navy, state media said on Friday, a key milestone in President Pooh-tin Jinping’s drive to modernise the military.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China starts work on easing rare earth export rules but short of Convicted Felon hopes, say sources

    The export curbs have become Beijing’s most potent source of leverage in its trade rivalry with Washington.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China suspends rare-earth export control measures, easing key flashpoint in US-China trade war — one-year reprieve allows for trade talks with the U.S. to continue

    Beijing is suspending the implementation of its tight export controls on rare-earth materials for a year.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ The world is overly reliant on one US-located mine for critical chipmaking material, but China is working to break the stranglehold — China investing over $14 million in synthetic quartz manufacturing to diversify away from US dependency

    High-purity quartz is crucial for semiconductor manufacturing, and you can only get it naturally from the mine in North Carolina.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dutch government allegedly folds to supply chain pressure, will relinquish control of Nexperia in China spat — reports say deal contingent upon China allowing firm to resume chip exports

    The Dutch government is ready to relinquish its control over Nexperia if Beijing allows its China factory to resume exports.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea threatens 'offensive action', condemns US-South Korea security talks

    It fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast a day earlier.

  • New York Times ☛ U.N. Security Council Removes Syria’s President From Sanctions List

    The decision comes days before the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Shara, is expected in Washington for the first time since he came to power.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US military slams ‘destabilising’ North Korea missile launch; North Korea threatens 'offensive action'

    North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast a day earlier.

  • New Yorker ☛ Rebels Post Videos of Mass Killings in Darfur as the World Watches

    After the fall of El Fasher to the R.S.F., observers fear for the next target in the war.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Minsk will let stranded Lithuanian trucks return, says haulers’ association

      More than 200 trucks returned to Lithuania through the Medininkai border checkpoint over the past 24 hours, Oleg Tarasov, vice president of the national road carriers’ association Linava, said on Friday, adding that Belarus has said it will allow stranded trucks to cross via the Šalčininkai checkpoint.

    • LRT ☛ Belarus still blocking Lithuanian trucks despite talks on border corridor – PM adviser

      Despite earlier indications that Belarus might allow Lithuanian trucks to return home through the Šalčininkai border crossing, no breakthrough has been reported, Lithuanian officials said Friday.

    • Latvia ☛ 73 people tried to cross Latvian border illegally in one day

      Over the past 24 hours, 73 people attempted to cross the Latvian-Belarusian border illegally, the highest number in recent weeks, the State Border Guard said on 7 November.

    • Latvia ☛ Daugava water checks ongoing after oil fire in Belarus

      Water quality in the Daugava River is being intensively checked at the Latvian border after a fire broke out at an oil refinery in Belarus, about 100 kilometres from the Latvian border, the State Environmental Service (VDD) said.

    • New York Times ☛ Russian Jailed for Placing Tiny Antiwar Signs in a Market Says She Would Do it Again

      Freed in a major prisoner swap, Aleksandra Skochilenko said “the values of freedom of speech, of peace, could be more important than spending even 10 years in jail.”

    • New York Times ☛ Why Germany Is Still Divided When It Comes to Russia

      Many East Germans are more sympathetic toward Moscow than their western compatriots, reflecting decades of Soviet ties and disillusionment since reunification.

    • New York Times ☛ Deep Beneath Helsinki, the Playgrounds Are Really Bomb Shelters

      Finland has spent decades digging caves into its bedrock. Now, as Russia rears its head, nervous Finns want to know: “Where’s my shelter?”

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Signals Openness to Exempting Hungary from Russian Oil Sanctions

      Despite a chummy relationship, new U.S. penalties on Russian energy were likely to be a sticking point as Hell Toupée and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary met.

    • New York Times ☛ In Cozying Up to Convicted Felon, Leaders Hedge Their Reliance on Moscow and Beijing

      Hell Toupée has made it easier for countries that are close to Russia and China to build ties with the United States. Those countries are embracing the opportunity.

    • Mint Press News ☛ Hypersonic Missiles, Imperial Wars, and Resistance: The New US-Russia Clash in Latin America

      As Russia moves to supply Venezuela with hypersonic missiles, Washington faces growing defiance across Latin America. Colombia and Mexico lead regional resistance to U.S. aggression as Convicted Felon’s new Cold War threatens to ignite the Caribbean.

    • LRT ☛ Brussels restricts Schengen visas for Russian nationals

      The European Union on Friday said it would stop issuing multi-entry visas to Russian citizens.

    • France24 ☛ Viktor Orban is meeting The Insurrectionist as "Orban fatigue" grows at home

      Hungarian leader Viktor Orban is meeting US President The Insurrectionist in a bid to seek a waiver on US sanctions on Russian oil. With Hungary heavily relying on that resource, getting that waiver would be a way to keep the economy running at a time where Orban's popularity is declining in favour of the opposition. FRANCE 2'4's Philip Turle tells us what's a stake for the Hungarian Prime Minister.

    • France24 ☛ How are US sanctions on Russian oil impacting Hungary?

      Hungary is hoping to seek a waiver on US sanctions on Russian oil as its Prime Minister Viktor Orban is meeting US President The Insurrectionist. Being his only supporter in Europe, Orban is hoping he will be able to appeal to Convicted Felon. But how are the US sanctions impacting Hungary? FRANCE 24's Leela Jacinto looks into it and what brings Turmp and Orban together.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man says open to exempting Orban's Hungary from Russia oil sanctions

      US President The Insurrectionist on Friday said he was looking at a possible exemption for Hungary from sanctions on Russian oil as he hosted his close ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House, citing his country's reliance on energy from the region.

    • France24 ☛ 'France importing Russian gas sends the wrong message': Latvian FM Braže

      Multiple European countries have reported incursions into their airspace by presumed Russian drones in recent weeks and months. That is a particular concern to so-called "frontline states" of the EU and NATO. We speak to Latvia's Foreign Minister Baiba Braže about the EU's drone readiness, Russia sanctions, hybrid warfare and the issue of migrant pushbacks.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Russian national pleads guilty to breaking into networks for Yanluowang ransomware attacks

      Aleksei Olegovich Volkov served as an initial access broker and was involved in attacks on seven U.S. businesses from July 2021 through November 2022.

    • Meduza ☛ Chaos and corruption take hold as thousands of trucks remain stranded at the Russia-Kazakhstan border — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Trump considers a Russian oil sanctions exemption for his good chum seeking reelection in Hungary Meduza breaks down today’s biggest Russia-related news stories, November 7, 2025 — Meduza

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian e-sports stars hope to Counter-Strike it lucky in Budapest

      For more than two decades, Counter-Strike has been considered a cornerstone of e-sports. Its central event – ​​the world championship or "Major" tournament – ​​brings together the best teams from around the world, attracting thousands of fans in person and millions of viewers on TV. This year, Latvian e-sports stars will also compete for the championship title in Budapest, hoping to once again prove their skills on the international stage.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia sends seized Russian fertilizers to Bangladesh

      On 6th November 2025, a cargo of 30,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizer was shipped from Latvia to Bangladesh, as a donation to the United Nations World Food Programme initiative, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on November 7th.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Soldier Gets Life In Prison In Ukraine For Battlefield Execution

      A Russian soldier convicted of executing a captured Ukrainian serviceman has been handed a life sentence, the first time Ukraine has imprisoned a person on such charges.

    • RFERL ☛ Orban Says Hungary Received US Exemption On Russian Energy

      Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary has received an exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy purchases following his talks with the US President The Insurrectionist amid stalled efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Russia's aerial assault on Ukraine shows no sign of slowing down

      While Russia keeps its ground troops pressing the city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas region - it's also continuing its campaign of airstrikes across Ukraine. At least four regions were hit by drones in overnight attacks that caused serious damage. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, emergency services are working around the clock to restore power as quickly as possible wherever needed.

    • Suspected South African mercenaries in Donbas call for government help

      President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of 17 young men into [...]

    • Security Week ☛ Destructive Russian Cyberattacks on Ukraine Expand to Grain Sector

      Multiple state-sponsored Russian groups are targeting Ukrainian entities and European countries linked to Ukraine.

    • Meduza ☛ Putin’s envoy ‘doesn’t want to boast,’ claims he fought off a Ukrainian armored vehicle with a sniper rifle — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ The watchman in the valley What the sole resident of Tajikistan’s breathtaking Siyoma gorge can tell us about climate change — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Over 10,000 gathered in Riga to protest Latvia’s withdrawal from a key anti-violence treaty. Meduza asked them why they came out. — Meduza

• Environment

  • JURIST ☛ EU ministers strike deal on binding 2040 emissions target

    European Union environment ministers approved a revised 2040 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target on Wednesday, after marathon negotiations that stretched into the early hours. The decision comes just ahead of the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, on November 10, and establishes a legal framework linking the EU’s short- and long-term climate goals.

  • France24 ☛ Brazil’s BR-319 highway, a road to division in the heart of the Amazon

    As Brazil prepares to preside over the COP30 climate summit, the construction of a major highway is causing controversy. Authorised by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, the BR-319 cuts through the heart of the Amazon rainforest. FRANCE 24's Fanny Lothaire and Marine Resse report.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ At least three dead in South Korea power plant collapse as rescue efforts continue

      Rescue efforts have been hampered by the risk of a further collapse of the structure.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia’s anti-graft agency pushes ahead with probe into Whoosh high-speed rail

      Whoosh is operated by KCIC, a joint venture owned by two consortiums from Indonesia and China.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s robotaxi firms sink on Hong Kong debut

      By Tommy Wang Shares in Chinese self-driving start-ups Pony.AI and WeRide tumbled on their Hong Kong debuts Thursday, after raising more than US$1.1 billion, with experts warning China is not yet ready for a mass rollout of robotaxis.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Construction of coastal elevator at Bali’s Nusa Penida halted for breaching laws

      Bali’s building code regulates that a building must not exceed a height of 15m.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Recreate Rare Pigment Behind Octopus 'Superpowers'

      Scaling up cephalopod-style camouflage.

• Finance

  • Federal News Network ☛ Social Security considers pausing more work, as shutdown takes a toll on employees

    Several managers said that Social Security employees working without pay are asking to be furloughed, because they can no longer cover commuting costs.

  • YLE ☛ Many tourism firms in Finnish Lapland violate labour laws, say union and hospitality association [iophk: yep, that's just the tip of the iceberg]

    The winter tourism season in Lapland is just beginning, but labour groups in the industry have already received dozens of reports of seasonal workers being misled in ways that violate collective agreements.

    There are a growing number of firms operating in northern Finland’s tourism sector that disregard labour laws and general ethical standard in the industry, according to the Service Union United PAM and the Finnish Hospitality Association (MaRa).

    For example, PAM says many employees have been illegally required by employers to take part in unpaid training sessions lasting up to several weeks – and in some cases even charged for them, according to Henna-Kaisa Turpeinen, the union’s regional manager for northern Finland.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New Yorker ☛ J. B. Pritzker Sounds the Alarm

    The governor of Illinois discusses what ICE is doing in Chicago, how the Convicted Felon Administration has created a “secret police,” and what to do when the federal government is breaking the law.

  • New York Times ☛ Democrats Scale Back Shutdown Demands, but G.O.P. Digs In

    After weeks of stalemate, Senate Democrats said they were willing to reopen the government in exchange for a one-year extension of health care subsidies. Republicans ruled it out.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan has $321M for school safety. The catch: Districts must waive rights

    Michigan public and private schools can opt in to receive school safety and mental health funding. But school groups say they have issues with the funding rules.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Republicans swat down Democratic offer to end shutdown as impasse continues into 38th day

    Republicans are swatting down an offer from Democrats to end the government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the new offer from Democrats is a “non-starter.” The proposal from Democrats would reopen the government and include a one-year extension of expiring health care subsidies. It’s unclear what may happen next. Thune suggested a weekend session of the Senate was possible, and idea that President The Insurrectionist endorsed in a social control media post.

  • JURIST ☛ US Congress urged to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Oxfam America released a statement on Wednesday calling attention to the millions of Americans who may lose affordable health insurance if Congress refuses to extend public subsidies for the insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • New York Times ☛ Just How Bad Was Convicted Felon’s Very Bad Night?

    Ezra Klein and Aaron Retica discuss whether affordability is the Democrats’ winning message, Convicted Felon’s politics of cruelty and how liberalism can win right now.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Cuts to US emergency food aid are straining global relief efforts and reshaping the State Department

    "International aid, both food aid and health aid, have been devastated over the past nine months because of" the Convicted Felon administration, Vincent Smith said.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Tyler Lemons Caught Jack Eckenrode Committing a Capstone Crime

    Last Monday, Loaner AUSA Tyler Lemons revealed that Jack Eckenrode committed precisely the crime, conspiracy against rights, that they claim to be chasing for John Brennan and Jim Comey.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s ‘patriots only’ legislative race draws 161 nominees as 35 current lawmakers bow out

    Hong Kong’s election authorities have received 161 nominations for candidates to run in December’s “patriots only” legislative race. Meanwhile, 35 current-term lawmakers will not seek re-election for the 90-seat chamber. The nomination period for the December 7 Legislative Council (LegCo) polls ended on Thursday.

  • Open Data

    • Kieran Healy ☛ Mamdani vs Sliwa and Cuomo

      The main reason for doing this is that, from the point of view of the election, precincts aren’t real. They are closely related to the social geography of the city, which is one of the reasons we want to draw a map like this, but in and of themselves they are at best proxies for the thing we care about, so we should take care not to reify them. The sampling method still brings out the basis of the data, so you can see the precinct-patchwork that forms the underlying grid, especially in densely-populated areas. But those polygons are filled in proportion to the number of people who actually voted. I saw someone on social media observe that this “conflated” partisan lean and population density. But again, precincts aren’t real. The distribution of partsian lean across population density is what we’re trying to bring out with this quasi-person-level approach.

    • Rlang ☛ Mamdani vs Sliwa and Cuomo

      Still, you can do a lot of spatial stuff in R, grounded in the sf package and its many friends. Plus you get the benefit of all the data manipulation and analysis stuff that R is really good at. So, having gotten the precinct-level results for the election, some maps from New York City (e.g., the clipped borough boundaries map), and GTFS data from the MTA describing the structure of the subway system, I was able to draw some things. I strongly approve of the existence of the GTFS, by the way. It’s a spec for encoding transit data and lots of cities use it. Really handy.

    • Omicron Limited ☛ What 50 years of buried data tell us about Canada's mining oversight

      In our new study published in FACETS, we built a first-ever database of IAs for mines and quarries across Canada. We found data for 227 proposed projects spanning the past 50 years.

      In many ways, what we discovered didn't surprise us. Mining projects have been getting bigger, with more earth being moved over longer timeframes. The frightening part was the IA systems we reviewed were plagued by inconsistent data, inaccessible records, and fragmented oversight.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Former tabloid editor’s ‘life-affirming’ job delivering good news

    Former Scottish Sun editor Alan Muir tells winners' stories for People's Postcode Lottery.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ US federal judge orders officials to improve conditions for immigration detainees in Illinois facility

    A US federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide better conditions for detainees in a Chicago immigration facility.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group expresses concern over threatened abortion access in Europe

    Amnesty International on Thursday raised concern over existing barriers to abortion access compounded by alarming attempts to roll back reproductive rights in Europe. The warning came in a comprehensive new report, “When rights aren’t real for all: The struggle for abortion access in Europe,” which analyzed abortion care and access in 40 countries.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Flow control in switch ASICs: Part 3 — Notes on flow control

    Guest Post: Flow control is a fundamental concept in the design of high-performance networks. In part three of this three-part deep dive series, we explore how flow control is implemented in switch ASICs.

  • Internet Society ☛ Community Snapshot—October

    Our global chapters work to keep the Internet a force for good. This brief overview covers just some of the things they achieved in October

    The post Community Snapshot—October appeared first on Internet Society.

  We are proud to announce David Clark as the winner of the 2025 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award!

  This award recognizes his decades of leadership in developing the Internet’s technical community and core Internet architecture.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• Digital Music News ☛ CISAC Reports Record 2024 Music Collections as Digital, Live, and Background Royalties Hit All-Time Highs

  CISAC has reported a 7.2% jump in global music collections for 2024, when a digital boost helped fuel double-digit increases in the U.S., China, India, and Spain.