Leftovers

• Science

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s study of ‘ghost particles’ yields first results in country’s goal to be science powerhouse

    JUNO is one of three high-end facilities at the frontier of the detection and study of neutrinos.

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Find Evidence That Humans Made Out With Non-Human Creatures

    An ancient romance -- between unlikely lovers.

  • Futurism ☛ Fire Breaks Out at UN Climate Summit

    The irony is palpable.

  • Futurism ☛ Giant Chinese Orb Detects “Ghost Particles” While Buried Under Mountain

    Incredible orbs are oscillating in China.

  • New York Times ☛ Why That Whitney Houston Drum Beat Is So Addictive, Yet Hard to Match

    People online have been trying to nail the drumbeat before the final chorus of “I Will Always Love You.” It’s harder than it looks.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Daily Sprinkle of Cumin Seeds Can Help Lower Cholesterol, Study Finds

    Nature's medicine.

  • Science Alert ☛ Human Evolution Is Still Happening, And Here's The Evidence

    We never stopped.

  • Science Alert ☛ World's First Death From H5N5 Bird Flu Strain Reported in US

    "The risk to the public remains low."

  • Science Alert ☛ Genetic 'Ghosts' of a Long-Lost People Found in South America

    "A new group of people we didn't know about before."

  • Science Alert ☛ Breakthrough Simulation Maps Every Star in The Milky Way in Scientific First

    Astrophysicists have dreamed of achieving this for decades.

  • Science Alert ☛ We May Be Moving Faster Through The Universe Than We Thought

    This could have profound consequences.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Taste For Cheese May Reveal Your Future Risk of Dementia

    A tasty clue.

  • Hackaday ☛ Measuring Earth’s Rotation With Two Gyroscopes

    We’ve probably all had a few conversations with people who hold eccentric scientific ideas, and most of the time they yield nothing more than frustration and perhaps a headache. In [Bertrand Selva]’s case, however, a conversation with a flat-earth believer yielded a device that uses a pair of gyroscopes to detect earth’s rotation, demonstrating that rotation exists without the bulkiness of a Foucalt pendulum.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Retro computing enthusiast creates perforated tape reader designed 'from scratch' — reads data at about 50 bytes per second

    An electronics enthusiast has demonstrated a compact new perforated tape reader design.

  • Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: Computers In Schools? 1979 Says Yes

    The BBC wanted to show everyone how a computer might be used in schools. A program aired in 1979 asks, “Will Computers Revolutionise Education?” There’s vintage hardware and an appearance of PILOT, made for computer instructions.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Couple Of New DOS PCs Appear

    An interesting trend over the last year or two has been the emergence of modern retrocomputer PCs, recreations of classic PC hardware from back in the day taking advantage of modern parts alongside the venerable processors. These machines are usually very well specified for a PC from the 1980s, and represent a credible way to run your DOS or early Windows software on something close to the original. [CNX Software] has news of a couple of new ones from the same manufacturer in China, one sporting a 386sx and the other claiming it can take either an 8088 or an 8086.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ ASML allegedly offered to spy on China for the US — company proposed being 'Washington’s eyes and ears in China' after breaking gentlemen’s agreement on limiting DUV sales to country, says new book

    ASML allegedly offered to spy on its customers for the U.S. after it was caught breaking a gentleman's agreement that limited the number of DUV lithography machines it could sell to China.

  • The Strategist ☛ US can’t overcome manufacturing gap with China

    The United States should not kid itself. It will not recover its manufacturing position from China in any foreseeable future. According to World Bank data, in 2024 the US’s GDP of US$29.2 trillion was 60 ...

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to implement social control media ban for teens under 16

    This comes as part of the government's plan to improve children’s online safety.

  • New Yorker ☛ Ariel Levy on Emily Hahn’s “The Big Smoke”

    In 1969, the longtime foreign correspondent recalled a youthful adventure in which she moved to China, keen on becoming an opium addict.

  • Science Alert ☛ After 60 Years, Diabetes Drug Found to Unexpectedly Affect The Brain

    Scientists haven't been exactly sure how it works.

  • Science Alert ☛ Here's How to Avoid Food Poisoning This Thanksgiving

    Holiday meals can be riskier than you think.

  • New York Times ☛ Former News Anchor Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Pandemic Fraud

    The former anchor, Stephanie Hockridge, who once worked for a Phoenix station, participated in an elaborate scheme that illegally obtained more than $63 million, prosecutors said.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Bolsonaro's conviction is 'justice' for some Brazilians who lost family in pandemic

    Simone Guimarães, a retired 52-year-old teacher in Rio de Janeiro, lost at least five relatives to COVID-19: her husband, sister, two brothers-in-l

• Proprietary

  • Futurism ☛ Windows Users Furious at Microsoft’s Plan to Turn It Into an “Agentic OS”

    "Great, how do I disable literally all of it?"

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Scientists Discover Universal Jailbreak for Nearly Every AI, and the Way It Works Will Hurt Your Brain

      It's Hey Hi (AI) versus verse.

      >

    • New York Times ☛ What Proprietary Chaffbot Company Did When Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Users Lost Touch With Reality

      In tweaking its chatbot to appeal to more people, Proprietary Chaffbot Company made it riskier for some of them. Now the company has made its chatbot safer. Will that undermine its quest for growth?

    • New York Times ☛ How OpenAI’s Changes Sent Some Users Spiraling

      OpenAI adjusted ChatGPT’s settings, which left some users spiraling, according to our reporting. Kashmir Hill, who reports on technology and privacy, describes what the company has done about the users’ troubling reports.

• Linux Foundation

  • LWN ☛ The 2025 'Linux' Foundation Technical Advisory Board election [Ed: GAFAM front]

    The call for

    candidates for the 2025 election for the 'Linux' Foundation Technical

    Advisory Board has been posted.

  • Unicorn Media ☛ 'Linux' Foundation Is Seeking Technical Advisory Board Candidates

    This year’s 'Linux' Foundation TAB election is in its nominating phase, with seats open to kernel developers and contributors who meet the commit‑based voting requirements.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • New York Times ☛ One Undocumented Worker Used a Stolen Identity. Two Men Paid the Price.

      Thousands of undocumented workers rely on fraudulent Social Security numbers. One of them belonged to Dan Kluver.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ China to boost trade, investment with Tajikistan, Wang says

    China will expand imports of high-quality agricultural products from Tajikistan and encourage Chinese companies to invest in the landlocked country, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to the capital, Dushanbe.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says Japan sent ‘shocking’ wrong signal on Taiwan

    China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Japan was crossing a red line that must not be touched.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Myanmar junta says nearly 1,600 foreigners arrested in scam hub raids

    Video published by local media showed a steamroller crushing hundreds of computer monitors.

  • France24 ☛ Israel kills Hezbollah chief of staff in deadly strike on Beirut

  • France24 ☛ 'Haytham Ali Tabtabai had been wanted by both the US and Israel for years'

    Israel killed militant group Hezbollah's top military official in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, the Israeli military said, despite a US-brokered truce a year ago. "Haytham Ali Tabtabai had been wanted by both the US and Israel for years," said FRANCE 24's correspondent in Beirut, Lebanon, Rawad Taha.

  • France24 ☛ Israel kills a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut strike

    Israel killed Hezbollah's chief of staff in an air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday. Lebanese officials said the air strike killed at least five people and wounded 28 more.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Says It Assassinated Top Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon

    Escalating its attacks on the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, Israel killed Hezbollah’s military chief of staff in an airstrike on an apartment building.

  • France24 ☛ Gaza civil defence says 21 killed in Israeli strikes

    Gaza's civil defence agency said 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian territory on Saturday, further straining the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas. Shirli Sitbon has this story.

  • The Straits Times ☛ 14-year-old in S. Korea sets home ablaze after row over smartphone; avoids arrest

    The teenager allegedly started the fire by using a lighter in her third-floor bedroom.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Is Under Pressure from Convicted Felon and Domestically

      Over nearly four years of wartime leadership, analysts say the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly played weak hands wisely. A U.S. peace plan may be his biggest test.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine, U.S. Will Meet About Convicted Felon’s Peace Plan to End War With Russia

      Hell Toupée lashed out at Ukraine even as the talks on his peace proposal were still taking place, accusing the country’s leadership of being ungrateful for American support.

    • CS Monitor ☛ US senators slam Convicted Felon’s Russia-Ukraine peace plan as rewarding aggression

    • RFERL ☛ Rubio Praises Geneva Talks With Ukraine, Says Convicted Felon 'Pleased' With Progress

      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said there has been "tremendous progress" at talks on ending the war in Ukraine, and that President The Insurrectionist was "pleased" when he briefed him on the discussions.

    • RFERL ☛ US Says Peace Framework 'Updated, Refined' To 'Fully Protect' Ukraine, But Details Scarce

      Ukrainian and US officials plotted their next steps after hailing “progress” at Geneva talks aimed on ending the long war in Ukraine, with a quick US visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy potentially under discussion.

    • LRT ☛ Left in the dark: Ukrainians face another cold winter

      For each of the past three winters, Maria Morozova, her husband, and their daughter have prepared for tough conditions in eastern Ukraine created by Russia's war on its neighbour. But this year, they're bracing for the worst.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine-Russia peace talks under way as US insists it authored peace plan

      Fresh talks on the future of the war in Ukraine are underway in Geneva, with delegations from the US, Ukraine, and European allies participating. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “diplomacy has been activated” and expressed hope that the meetings would be constructive. The talks follow criticism from Western leaders of a 28-point peace plan promoted by US President The Insurrectionist, widely seen as favouring Russia. France24 correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze reports the latest from Kyiv, Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Europeans push for stronger deal for Ukraine as Geneva talks continue

      Washington signalled room for negotiation on a 28-point plan to end the Ukraine war, denying claims by some US senators that it is a Russian "wish list", as Kyiv and European allies criticised the proposal ahead of Sunday talks in Geneva. Caroline Baum reports.

    • France24 ☛ Allies meet in Geneva to rework US plan on Ukraine-Russia war

      Senior officials from the United States, Ukraine, and national security advisers from France, the UK and Germany are meeting in Geneva on Sunday to discuss Washington’s draft proposal to end the war in Ukraine. As Russia’s invasion enters its fourth year, the Ukrainian side and its European partners are pushing to significantly rewrite The Insurrectionist’s peace plan, which critics argue amounts to a capitulation to Moscow. France24 International Affairs Editor Philip Turle shares his insights.

    • France24 ☛ US, Ukrainian and European officials meet in Geneva for talks on peace plan

      Officials from the United States, Ukraine, and national security advisers from France, the United Kingdom and Germany are meeting in Geneva today to review Washington’s draft proposal to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia claims a major heat and power plant in the Moscow region was struck in a drone attack. Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative based in Kyiv, Ukraine, Peter Zalmayev, joins us for more insights.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky thanks Convicted Felon as US leader accuses Ukraine of showing 'zero gratitude'

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to win back US President The Insurrectionist's favour on Sunday, after the US leader slammed Kyiv amid crucial talks in Geneva to end the war with Russia.

    • France24 ☛ US, Ukrainian officials hail ‘good progress’ during Geneva talks

    • France24 ☛ 'The Ukrainians haven't said anything concrete about what has been changed in the plan'

      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boasted "tremendous" progress after a day of meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva on a proposal to halt the Ukraine war, but numerous uncertainties remain. "The Ukrainians haven't said anything concrete about what has been changed in the plan, nor did Rubio [ . . .] Clearly the Ukrainians are in a very difficult position," said FRANCE 24's correspondent in Kyiv, Ukraine Gulliver Cragg.

    • NYPost ☛ Harsh realities a weakened Ukraine must face as scandal, troubles loom over Zelensky’s regime

      For Zelensky, there is now a triple threat at home and abroad.

    • European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen on Peace Discussions for Ukraine

      Ukraine has been at the heart of many discussions over the past days.

    • NYPost ☛ Stand up for Ukraine and deliver a peace deal that doesn’t reward warmonger Putin

      Negotiators from the Convicted Felon administration gave Ukraine an ultimatum last week: Accept this deal, or the next one will be worse.

    • Latvia ☛ Podcast: 'Baltic Security – Is Europe Going To Be Ready Before It Is Too Late?'

      The Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA) is back with another of its topical geopolitical podcasts under the 'Riga Security Forum 2025' banner.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam flood death toll rises to 90: Environment Ministry

    More than 60 of the deaths since Nov 16 were recorded in mountainous central Dak Lak province.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian woman wades through floodwaters to buy food in Hat Yai

    The Malaysian government was mobilising efforts to bring back approximately 4,000 Malaysians affected by floods in Hat Yai.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian floods affect 11,000 people across 7 states

    60 temporary shelters have been opened in the affected states to house those displaced by floods.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Saving A Rental Ebike From The Landfill

      One of the hardest things about owning a classic car is finding replacement parts. Especially if the car is particularly old or rare, or if the parent company is now out of business, sometimes this can be literally impossible and a new part will have to be manufactured from scratch. The same is true of bicycles as well, and there are plenty of defunct bicycle manufacturers to choose from. [Berm Peak] found a couple old rental ebikes from a company that’s not in business anymore and set about trying to get them working again. (Video, embedded below.)

    • Hackaday ☛ Deep Fission Wants To Put Nuclear Reactors Deep Underground

      Today’s pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are marvels of nuclear fission technology that enable gigawatt-scale power stations in a very compact space. Though they are extremely safe, with only the TMI-2 accident releasing a negligible amount of radioactive isotopes into the environment per the NRC, the company Deep Fission reckons that they can make PWRs even safer by stuffing them into a 1 mile (1.6 km) deep borehole.

  • Overpopulation

    • Futurism ☛ President of Iran Says It’s Forced to Move Its Entire Capital City

      "The reality is that we no longer have a choice; it is an obligation."

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Johor to implement RM3 hotel tax for overnight visitors from Jan 1

    The move mirrors other Malaysian states that have implemented tourist-related taxes.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ “Groceries,” and Other Secrets of Managing The Insurrectionist

    Three developments that have befuddled observers -- Convicted Felon's fawning praise of Zohran Mamdani, Kirill Dmitriev's latest success at manipulating Convicted Felon advisors, and Marjorie Taylor Greene's departure -- tell us a lot about how to manage Convicted Felon in a time of his diminishing power.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's Premier pitches to German Chancellor closer collaboration in strategic industries

    China's Premier Li Qiang pitched closer collaboration to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in new energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine and intelligent driving during a meeting on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Xinhua reported.

  • JURIST ☛ EU launches infringement procedure against Slovakia constitutional reform

    The European Commission on Friday formally launched an infringement procedure against Slovakia over constitutional reforms preserving its national identity in matters such as gender and family law. In reference of the decision, the Commission cited the amendments’ alleged violation of the fundamental principles of European Union (EU) law.

  • The Strategist ☛ Burying its head in the sand, Australia is worryingly complacent to catastrophic risk

    Despite our famed resilience against natural disasters, Australia still struggles to take catastrophic risk seriously. In this volatile security environment, the divide between short-term comfort and meaningful long-term preparedness remains worryingly wide.

  • France24 ☛ G20 confronts fractured world order, growing US disengagement as South Africa summit ends

    G20 leaders meeting in South Africa on Sunday hailed the virtues of multilateral cooperation even as they grappled with a splintering world order plagued by growing political rivalries and US disengagement. The final day of the weekend summit attended by leaders from the world's major economies began with talks on G20's future in a fragmented world.

  • NYPost ☛ New ‘NYC Noise’ app allows New Yorkers to police ear-piercing racket around the city

    The city received more than 700,000 311 noise complaints of all kinds last year, the most of any category of nuisance reported in the Big Apple.

  • New York Times ☛ Can the World Move On Without the U.S.? G20 Leaders Gave It a Shot.

    With the United States boycotting the summit, other nations sought to strike new deals, and some took a tougher tone with Hell Toupée.

  • JURIST ☛ Former Reform UK leader imprisoned for taking bribes from Russia politicians

    Former UK Reform Wales leader Nathan Gill was jailed on Friday after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from the Kremlin. The Central Criminal Court sentenced Gill to 10 years and six months imprisonment under Section 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.

  • New York Times ☛ Denmark’s Migration Model

    The country is getting attention for its tough asylum policies. Can they serve as a bulwark against the far right?

  • European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen at the G20 Summit, Session III: A Fair and a Just Future for All

  • France24 ☛ Slovenians vote in a referendum on legalising euthanasia

    Slovenia’s parliament approved the legalisation of assisted suicide in July, and this Sunday, a referendum will determine whether the public supports the change. The initiative is being led by conservative parties opposed to assisted dying. Shirli Sitbon reports.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong photojournalist group axes exhibition after university pulls venue, citing ’emergency maintenance’

    The Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA) has called off an exhibition after Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) pulled its venue, citing “emergency maintenance.”

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Building Unitel LLC’s custom API security monitoring system

    Guest Post: Why we developed our own API security monitoring system, how it works, and what benefits it delivers.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• France24 ☛ Brussels under fire for softening grip on Big Tech

  The European Commission triggered a political meltdown this week with proposals to loosen some of the EU's landmark digital regulations. The package, announced on Wednesday as part of a push to boost European innovation, drew condemnation from privacy advocates and lawmakers who accuse the Commission of capitulating to pressure from Washington and Big Tech.

• Patents

  • Software Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ 0% Institution Rate Holds, but Shows Signs of Potential Rise [Ed: Software Patents shielded by a Cheeto appointee]

      USPTO Director Squires denies 56 more IPRs, keeping institution rate at 0% (0 for 91). However, 31 cases remain under review, offering petitioners hope.