Leftovers

• Science

  • Daniel Lemire ☛ We see something that works, and then we understand it

    “We see something that works, and then we understand it.” (Thomas Dullien) It is a deeper insight than it seems. Young people spend years in school learning the reverse: understanding happens before progress. That is the linear theory of innovation.

• Hardware

  • Science Alert ☛ Computers Made From Human Brain Tissue Are Coming. Are We Prepared?

    Is ‘organoid intelligence’ the next step in AI?

  • Hackaday ☛ Building A Microscope Without Lenses

    It’s relatively easy to understand how optical microscopes work at low magnifications: one lens magnifies an image, the next magnifies the already-magnified image, and so on until it reaches the eye or sensor. At high magnifications, however, that model starts to fail when the feature size of the specimen nears the optical system’s diffraction limit. In a recent video, [xoreaxeax] built a simple microscope, then designed another microscope to overcome the diffraction limit without lenses or mirrors (the video is in German, but with automatic English subtitles).

  • Hackaday ☛ Preventing A Mess With The Weller WDC Solder Containment Pocket

    Have you ever tipped all the stray bits of solder out of your tip cleaner by mistake? [MisterHW] is here with a bit of paraffin wax to save the day.

  • Hackaday ☛ Build A Pocket-Sized Wi-Fi Analyzer

    Wi-Fi! It’s everywhere, and yet you can’t really see it, by virtue of the technology relying on the transmission of electromagnetic waves outside the visual spectrum. Never mind, though, because you can always build yourself a Wi-Fi analyzer to get some insight into your radio surroundings, as demonstrated by [moononournation].

  • Hackaday ☛ Raising A GM EV1 From The Dead

    Probably the biggest story in the world of old cars over the past couple of weeks has been the surfacing of a GM EV1 electric car for sale from an auto salvage yard. This was the famous electric car produced in small numbers by the automaker in the 1990s, then only made available for lease before being recalled. The vast majority were controversially crushed with a few units being donated to museums and universities in a non-functional state.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia says the world will follow social control media ban as Meta starts blocking teens

    Meta’s Instagram, Facebook (Farcebook) and Threads began deactivating accounts from Dec 4

  • New York Times ☛ When Kids Adopt New Technologies, Hype Can Turn to Backlash

    The arc of mobile phones and social control media may foretell the future of artificial intelligence in schools.

• Proprietary

  • Qt ☛ Security advisory: Improper validation of img tag size in Text component parser in Qt declarative module impacts Qt

    Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input vulnerability in Text component parser of the Qt declarative module has been discovered and has been assigned the CVE id CVE-2025-12385 

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Anthropic’s “Soul Overview” for Claude Has Leaked

      "We want Claude to have the good values."

    • Futurism ☛ OpenAI Says ChatGPT’s Random Suggestion to Shop at Target Is Not an Ad

      "I honestly thought some of the ads claims were fake, but this is really bad and dumb."

    • European Commission ☛ Commission opens antitrust investigation into Meta's new policy regarding Hey Hi (AI) providers' access to WhatsApp

    • Futurism ☛ ChatGPT Encouraged a Violent Stalker, Court Documents Allege

      The man "stalked and harassed more than 10 women by weaponizing modern technology," prosecutors said.

    • Press Gazette ☛ OpenAI ordered to share 20 million Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot user logs with news publishers

      OpenAI must hand over Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot user logs representing less than 0.05% of its total database.

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ AI chatbots can sway voters better than political advertisements

      In 2024, a Democratic congressional candidate in Pennsylvania, Shamaine Daniels, used an Hey Hi (AI) chatbot named Ashley to call voters and carry on conversations with them. “Hello. My name is Ashley, and I’m an artificial intelligence volunteer for Shamaine Daniels’s run for Congress,” the calls began.

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australia says the world will follow social control media ban as Meta starts blocking teens

      Australia's internet regulator said a teen social control media ban would be the first domino to fall in a global push to rein in Big Tech, as Meta's Instagram, Facebook (Farcebook) and Threads began locking out hundreds of thousands of accounts ahead of a deadline next week.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Security Week ☛ Arizona Attorney General Sues Chinese Online Retailer Temu Over Data Theft Claims

      Arizona is the latest state to sue Temu and its parent company PDD Holdings over allegations that the Chinese online retailer is stealing customers’ data.

    • Security Week ☛ India Rolls Back Order to Preinstall Cybersecurity App on Smartphones

      The Ministry of Communications on had asked smartphone makers to install the government’s “Sanchar Saathi” app within 90 days and to prevent users from disabling it.

• Defence/Aggression

  • ADF ☛ Human Trafficking a Complex Threat to Nigerian Security

    In a dramatic six-hour operation, Nigerian authorities conducted a raid at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja, arresting five suspects and rescuing 24 victims of human trafficking. Recruiters targeted the victims, between the ages of 15 and 26, in Kano, Kastina, Oyo, Ondo and Rivers states.

  • New York Times ☛ A Devastating Fire Has Fueled a National Security Crackdown in Hong Kong

    The authorities quickly arrested critics demanding accountability, signaling an expansive use of the security law to silence dissent over nonpolitical tragedies.

  • CS Monitor ☛ In Arizona, a Democrat and a Republican fight to free an ICE detainee

    For political opponents to find common ground on immigration matters seems rare. Yet, in Arizona, a progressive activist and a Republican district party chair are uniting around a detained woman who has been a positive force in her community.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Pete Hegseth and the Radical Queer Wing of Al-Qaeda

    Where Murder Dances With Law A while back, maybe a decade and change ago during the Obama administration, I was drinking with some nerdy friends in a San Francisco hackerspace. We got to talking about National Security law, hacktivism, and terrorism.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US halted plans to sanction Chinese spy agency to maintain trade truce, FT says

    The United States has halted plans to impose sanctions on China's ministry of state security over a massive cyber spying campaign to avoid derailing a trade truce struck by both countries this year, the Financial Times said on Wednesday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan to ban China’s Xiaohongshu app for one year on fraud concerns

    The ministry cited security risks and its alleged involvement in over 1,700 fraud cases since 2024.

  • JURIST ☛ US federal judge blocks warrantless immigration arrests

    A US federal judge on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing its policy of warrantless civil immigration arrests without probable cause of escape risk.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Displaced residents wish to return to Wang Fuk Court after fatal fire but face uncertain future

    Residents of the only block that escaped the deadly blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court have said they would like to return to their homes in the future, but the prospect is clouded by uncertainty.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Tai Po fire: Beijing vows to pursue ‘hostile external forces’ who use 2019 protest ‘playbook’ against relief effort

    Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) has again warned that foreign forces which are alleged to have attacked, and incited opposition to, the Tai Po fire rescue and relief efforts will be pursued. It is the second such statement in a week, neither of which named any groups or individuals.

  • France24 ☛ Israel had opportunity to normalise with Arab world, beyond since Arab Peace Initiative 20 years ago

    Israel and Lebanon are engaging in their first direct talks in decades. And while it's 'quite symbolic', Dr H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) for Defence and International Security Studies in London. argues that the meetings are less a diplomatic breakthrough than a symbolic reflection of American pressure amid ongoing Israeli military actions inside Lebanon. According to Dr. Helyer, the region’s political actors are navigating deep currents of mistrust shaped by repeated violations of ceasefires, a lack of credible guarantors, and long-standing unresolved territorial and political disputes.

  • AccessNow ☛ War profiteers: online ads and the machinery of propaganda for war

    As governments deploy propaganda for war using online ads, Access Now examines the application of international human rights law and explores digital platforms' responsibility to respect human rights.

  • AccessNow ☛ War profiteers: online ads, propaganda for war, and a call to reprioritize human rights

    Access Now’s latest report examines how propaganda for war and online ads intersect with the international human rights law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea's nuclear submarine gamble raises prospect of underwater arms race in Asia

    South Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines is gaining traction following President The Insurrectionist's endorsement, ending decades of U.S. resistance in a move that could reshape Asia's security landscape and escalate an underwater arms race.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Kamakura City to suspend Slam Dunk manga licence plates as measure to help combat overtourism

    The Kamakura government also deployed security personnel to ensure the safety of local residents.

  • CS Monitor ☛ With shuttle diplomacy, Convicted Felon echoes Kissinger. Sort of.

    The Insurrectionist shares with Henry Kissinger a predilection for shuttle diplomacy to resolve crises. But he does not display Kissinger’s patience.

  • France24 ☛ DRC-Rwanda accord: 'Another episode of Convicted Felon comedy show disconnected from reality on the ground'

    US President The Insurrectionist is hosting the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for a deal-signing aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening access to the region's critical minerals for the US government and American companies. The moment provides Convicted Felon, who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world's most entrenched conflicts, another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker extraordinaire on the global stage and make the case that he's deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, François Picard welcomes Thierry Vircoulon, Associate Researcher in the Africa Centre at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). Mr. Vircoulon warns the pomp and circumstance in Washington is strikingly detached from reality, namely the political-military landscape in Kivu, where fighting continues and local actors reject the relevance of the so-called peace deal.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Russian initiative turns stray dogs into WiFi hotspots to keep people online during blackouts — Meduza

    • NYPost ☛ Douglas Murray: Europe must step up it’s own defense spending and deter Putin, Russia from any more invasions

      There have always been a lot of jokes about the European military.

    • New York Times ☛ Amid Russian Sabotage, U.K. Points Finger at Putin Over Novichok Death

      A British woman died from exposure to a nerve agent because of a botched assassination plot that the Russian leader must have authorized, an official report found.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Warily watching US-Russia talks, Ukrainians vow not to surrender

      As U.S. and Russian negotiators met, and European leaders scrambled to make a peace deal palatable to Kyiv, Ukrainians were wary bystanders to talks over their future. But their view is firm: Yes to compromise, No to capitulation.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Putin questions US punishing India for buying Russian oil

      The US has put pressure on India to shun Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russia's Putin to hold summit talks with India's Modimir in Delhi

      NEW DELHI, Dec 5 - Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modimir in New Delhi on Friday, aiming to boost trade with the top buyer of Russia's arms and seaborne oil as Western sanctions squeeze their decades-old ties.

    • France24 ☛ Defence, oil and trade imbalances: Putin arrives in India to boost economic ties

      Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed in India for talks with Narendra Modimir for the first sime since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the aim of strengthening their economic ties. Italian police visit the headquarters of thirteen major fashion brands as part of an investigation into luxury good supply chains. Plus, hundreds queue up in Auckland this Thursday for Ikea's grand opening.

    • BIA Net ☛ Ukrainian refugee child abuse allegations reach Turkish parliament

      MPs question whether the Ukrainian charity implicated in the abuse of refugee children was adequately investigated.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukraine’s warning to the West: A bad peace will lead to a bigger war

      It is delusional to think that sacrificing Ukraine will satisfy Russia. Instead, a bad peace will only lead to a bigger war, while the price of today's hesitation will ultimately be far higher than the cost of action, writes Myroslava Gongadze.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Russia has learned from Ukraine and is now winning the drone war

      Ukraine's more agile army and vibrant tech sector initially gave the country an edge in the drone war against Russia, but Moscow has now regained the initiative thanks to an emphasis on mass and training, writes David Kirichenko.

    • France24 ☛ US envoys to meet Ukrainian negotiators for peace talks in Florida

      US envoys will meet with Ukrainian negotiators for the third time in two weeks on Thursday in Florida to press ahead with a plan to end the war as President The Insurrectionist eased economic pressure on Russia by removing some sanctions on the Russian oil giant Lukoil.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia blocks Snapchat, along with Roblox and FaceTime — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Belgian-Russian dual citizen charged with treason after trying to visit father in St. Petersburg following a heart attack — Meduza

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • France24 ☛ Inside Epstein’s island at the heart of sex abuse allegations

    Democrats in the US Congress released photos and videos showing the luxury island home where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly forced underage girls into sex with powerful men. The island, Little St. James, is often nicknamed Pedophile Island.

    The images could add pressure on the Convicted Felon administration to comply with a requirement to release all the investigative files compiled during years of probes into Epstein's activities -- with potentially embarrassing and politically explosive repercussions.

  • Futurism ☛ New Photos Show That Epstein’s Island Contained the Creepiest Dentist’s Facility We’ve Ever Seen

    What the.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Biogas Production For Surprisingly Little Effort

      Probably most people know that when organic matter such as kitchen waste rots, it can produce flammable methane. As a source of free energy it’s attractive, but making a biogas plant sounds difficult, doesn’t it? Along comes [My engines] with a well-thought-out biogas plant that seems within the reach of most of us.

    • New York Times ☛ Stellantis Is in Default for Moving Jeep Production to U.S., Canada Says

      The automaker switched production from Ontario in a bid to please Hell Toupée. But the company defaulted on contracts covering hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance, Canada said.

    • Hackaday ☛ That Power Bank Isn’t Quite So Sweet

      An unlikely hit of the last few months’ consumer hardware has been a power bank branded by the German confectionery company Haribo. It first gained attention in backpacking circles because of its high capacity for a reasonable weight, and since then has been selling like the proverbial hot cakes. Now Amazon have withdrawn it from their store over “A potential safety or quality issue”. The industrial imaging company Lumafield have taken a look at the power bank with a CT scanner, to find out why.

• Finance

  • Federal News Network ☛ Federal judge blocks imminent State Dept layoffs, as unions seek to reverse RIFs at other agencies

    The emergency request is part of an ongoing lawsuit unions filed on the eve of the government shutdown that blocked widespread federal employee layoffs.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Florida Republicans Start Redistricting Talks, but Some Aren’t in a Rush

    Redistricting talks in Florida got off to a slow start on Thursday, as state lawmakers grapple with political and legal questions amid internal power struggles.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian MP Žemaitaitis found guilty of antisemitic hate speech

    A Lithuanian court on Thursday fined lawmaker Remigijus Žemaitaitis €5,000 for inciting hatred against Jews and grossly downplaying Nazi Germany’s crimes.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Federal News Network ☛ Fired EPA employees challenge agency, alleging free speech violations

    Six former EPA employees who signed a letter criticizing the Convicted Felon administration are now appealing their subsequent terminations to the MSPB.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Future takes action on ‘Google Zero’ as revenue declines

    Future focusing on engaging audience without relying on Google.

  • BIA Net ☛ bianet editor Tuğçe Yılmaz's trial begins: 'My profession is put on trial'

    Yılmaz, who described the lawsuit filed against him due to his news report as "an intimidation against journalism," said, "I have always tried to be the voice of those whose voices are not heard, including both people and animals."

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong gov’t hits out at news agency AFP, says media mogul Jimmy Lai being cared for in prison

    Hong Kong authorities have hit out at news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) over an article about pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, currently detained as he awaits the verdict of his national security trial.

  • Michael Geist ☛ CRTC Says No Regulatory Action Planned Against Meta For Blocking News Links

    In the months leading up to the effective date of the Online News Act, then-Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge urged the CRTC to investigate Meta’s decision to block news links on its Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram platforms as its method of compliance. Pointing to reports of people screenshotting news articles and the use of other workarounds the blocking of news links that came in response to the Online News Act (Bill C-18), St-Onge said “I cant wait to see what the CRTC will do when the law is fully enforced on Dec. 19.” As the law took effect and the issue grew, the CRTC did indeed send Meta a letter in October 2024 asking for information on how the company was complying with the legislation.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Guest Post: The Supreme Court Should Clarify How to Apply Loper Bright in the Patent Law Case of Lynk Labs, Inc. v. Samsung Co. Ltd.

    Prof. Hsieh argues Lynk Labs offers the Supreme Court a chance to show Loper Bright has teeth - before lower courts revive Chevron deference by another name.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Mythic Source of USPTO Institution Discretion?

    Federal Circuit petition challenges whether 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) grants Director discretion to create new IPR institution denial standards.

  • Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 awarded for Adeia Technologies mixed media patents prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $4,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by Adeia Technologies Inc, an NPE. The patents generally relate to various mixed media technologies. They have been asserted against Disney.

    We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on these patents. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests. Visit PATROLL today to learn more about how to participate.

  • Unified Patents ☛ $4,000 awarded for Key Patent Innovations entity, Malikie Innovations, video streaming patents prior art

    Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners below totaling $4,000 in cash prizes. The patents are owned by Malikie Innovations Limited, an NPE and entity of Key Patent Innovations. The patents generally relate to various video streaming and media delivery technologies.

    We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on these patents. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests.

  • JUVE ☛ InterDigital and Bird & Bird challenge UK High Court jurisdiction in Amazon case

    The dispute between InterDigital and Amazon over a licence to InterDigital’s video streaming portfolio is still in its early stages, but the two opponents have already met several times in court. So far, the main issues have centred on anti-interim-licence injunctions and anti-suit injunctions at the UK High Court and the UPC’s Mannheim local division.

  • JUVE ☛ EPO finally revokes Stada sunscreen patent monopoly in battle with German drugstores [Ed: EPO granted fake patents again]

    A dispute over sunscreen that began in spring 2023 is drawing to a close this winter. Patent holder Stada initiated the dispute while the opposition period for the patent monopoly at the EPO was still ongoing. The patent, EP 2 233 127, covers the use of antioxidants to prevent sun damage from infrared rays.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ JUVE Patent discloses nominees for UPC Firm of the Year 2026 [Ed: UPC is illegal, but JUVE was paid to promote and glamourise this illegality, in effect media complicity]

      Ever since the European court opened its doors, JUVE Patent has closely observed the emergence of a UPC litigation market. On 10 December, JUVE Patent will publish its second ranking for UPC litigation.

    • JUVE ☛ JingAo and Astronergy case takes a turn following UPC decision [Ed: UPC is illegal, but JUVE does not care, as it gets paid to play along in/with it]

      The UPC’s decision could have barred Astronergy from Western European markets for much of its current product range. After an unfavourable first-instance EPO ruling in October, the tide turned for JingAo. Both parties subsequently agreed to a licence deal.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Is WISHBONES for a Casino Bar Confusable with WISHBONE FARMS for Restaurant Services?

    The USPTO refused to register the mark WISHBONES for "bar services provided in a casino,” finding confusion likely with the registered mark WISHBONE FARMS (standard characters) for "“restaurant, catering and restaurant carryout" [FARMS disclaimed]. Applicant Caesars did not dispute the relatedness of the services but argued that the marks have "clearly different" connotations because the word FARMS suggests that registrant’s services are associated with a farm at a specific location where registrant provides its services or sources food. How do you think this appeal came out?

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Deceit and Disrobing: The Schefer Maqāmāt (BNF Arabe 5847, ca. 1237)

    Illustrations of Abū Zayd and his adventures in double meaning.