Leftovers

• France24 ☛ Film show: 'Avatar' makes a fiery return

  Emma Jones takes us through the third installment of James Cameron's epic project, as "Avatar: Fire and Ash" takes us back to the spectacular setting of Pandora. We discuss the message at the heart of the movies and the new additions to its cast. Next, director Kleber Mendonça Filho plunges us into 1970s Brazil thanks to a swinging soundtrack and anamorphic Panavision lenses, as Wagner Moura gives an award-winning performance in "The Secret Agent". We also check out a moving tribute to Neil Diamond and small-time musicians the world over in "Song Sung Blue", starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. Plus Kate Winslet goes behind the camera for her star-studded directorial début, "Goodbye June".

• Hackaday ☛ AI Picks Outfits With Abandon

  Most of us choose our own outfits on a daily basis. [NeuroForge] decided that he’d instead offload this duty to artificial intelligence — perhaps more for the sake of a class project than outright fashion.

• Hackaday ☛ Underwater Jetpack Is Almost Practical

  The jet pack is one of those pre-war sci-fi dreams that the cold light of rational consideration reveals to be a terrible idea. Who wants to cook their legs with hot exhaust while careening out of control? Nobody. Yet it’s such an iconic idea, we can’t get away from it. What if there was a better environment, one where your jetpack dreams could come true? [CPSdrone] has found one: the world’s oceans, and have taken that revelation to build the world’s fastest underwater jetpack.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ More Than 2,000 Dinosaur Footprints Are Found in the Italian Alps

    Two hundred million years ago, prosauropods walked the earth. They left something behind.

  • France24 ☛ US Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA chief amid budget cuts and moon race

    The US Senate has confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator, installing a strong advocate of Mars missions to lead the space agency as it faces deep budget cuts and intensifying competition with China to return humans to the Moon.

  • Science Alert ☛ There's a Scientific Reason December 'Arrives Sooner' Every Year

    Here's how you can slow down time.

  • Science Alert ☛ JWST Confirms: First Runaway Supermassive Black Hole Tearing Through Space

    At a jaw-dropping 954 kilometers per second.

  • Science Alert ☛ This 105-Meter Ice Core Could Explain A Bizarre Glacier Anomaly

    "Extremely exciting."

  • Science Alert ☛ Common Home Appliances Emit Trillions of Harmful Particles, Study Finds

    What are we breathing?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Signs of 400,000-year-old Neanderthal campfire found in UK

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Germanium Semiconductor Made Superconductor By Gallium Doping

    Over on ScienceDaily we learn that an international team of scientists have turned a common semiconductor germanium into a superconductor.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Enthusiast modder stuffs an entire gaming PC inside a gutted Commodore PET 2001 — replaced the screen with an iPad Retina LCD, but the original keyboard still works

    A Redditor found a "pre-gutted" Commodore PET 2001 that they repurposed as a fully-fledged gaming PC, while keeping the Commodore's keyboard intact and functional. The internals are relatively modest, but they can still play most modern games on the retrofitted screen, which is a Retina LCD from an iPad.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Evidence of Intel's 'Big Battlemage' GPU continues to mount, as BMG-G31 chip gets another official confirmation

    The XPU Manager tool is for monitoring Intel's datacenter GPUs, meaning it's very likely these parts are coming soon.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Sales of chip production equipment to reach $156 billion by 2027 — China, Taiwan, and Korea lead intense demand

    Driven by demand for Hey Hi (AI) and HPC accelerators, sales of chip production equipment are projected to increase through 2027. Asian countries are expected to lead the pack, according to SEMI.

  • CNX Software ☛ Maxell PSB2032 35 mAh all-solid-state coin cell battery targets industrial IoT devices

    Maxell PSB2032 is a rechargeable “all-solid-state” coin cell battery for industrial IoT devices, which more than quadruples the capacity of the earlier PSB401010H ceramic-packaged solid-state battery, increasing it from 8mAh to 35mAh. As its name implies, it measures 20 mm in diameter and 3.2 mm in height, and delivers key benefits of solid-state batteries such as a wide discharge temperature range, high reliability, and high safety. It’s also easier to install than ceramic-packaged batteries requiring reflow soldering, since it comes pre-equipped with two connection terminals suitable for mounting into small-sized devices.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to ban free disposable plastic cups at cafes, restaurants

    Under the plan, the use of disposable paper cups will first be phased out at large-scale restaurants.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Sperm bank sold man's cancer-linked genes across Europe

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Scam Altman Uses His New Image Generator to Show Himself As a Jacked Fireman With Washboard Abs… With an Absolutely Hilarious Error

      Look closely: there's a problem.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ In JB, Malaysia’s first ‘leading smart city’, Hey Hi (AI) is used to ease jams and detect potholes

      Despite the “leading smart city” tag, congestion and environmental woes persist in the city.

    • NYOB ☛ TikTok unlawfully tracks your shopping habits – and your use of dating apps

      TikTok unlawfully tracks your shopping habits – and your use of dating apps

    • Copenhagen Post ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Skat will access data from foreign digital banks

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ Yale researchers document evidence of mass killings in Sudan’s El-Fasher

    Satellite imagery analysis reveals widespread evidence of systematic mass killings and body disposal by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, Sudan, following the paramilitary group’s capture of the North Darfur state capital in late October, according to a report released this week by Yale University researchers.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China voices support Venezuela amid US blockade, but makes no aid pledges

    China opposed what it said was "unilateral bullying" after Washington ordered a blockade of tankers entering and leaving oil-rich Venezuela, but did not say exactly how it would come to the South American country's aid or offer any refuge for its embattled leader.

  • New York Times ☛ Finland Apologizes to China, Japan and South Korea for Racist Gesture

    A Finnish beauty queen was stripped of her crown for a gesture mocking Asians. After Finnish lawmakers have copied her, Finland’s prime minister is trying to defuse the controversy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China seeks to mediate Thai-Cambodia clash Convicted Felon says he ended

    China’s Special Envoy for Asian Affairs will travel to Cambodia and Thailand on Dec 18.

  • New York Times ☛ ICE Must Allow Lawmakers to Inspect Detention Centers, Judge Rules

    Judge Jia M. Cobb wrote that two policies announced in June appeared to unlawfully bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits at immigration detention facilities.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held without Machado

  • CBC ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] 'Venezuela will breathe again': María Corina Machado's daughter delivers her Nobel Peace Prize speech

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Will US pressure Lithuania to lift sanctions on Belarus? Three scenarios

      Belarus has released 123 political prisoners in exchange for a US decision to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilisers, a move that analysts say reflects Washington’s economic interests more than a shift in Minsk’s authoritarian policies.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian Seimas postpones resolution on Belarus in hope of de-escalation – speaker

      Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday postponed consideration of a resolution that would label actions by neighbouring Belarus as a hybrid attack, with the parliament speaker saying lawmakers want to avoid escalating tensions.

    • Latvia ☛ Minister: border rail track question requires a regional decision

      Latvian Foreign Minister, Baiba Braže, said on December 17th that there should be a readiness to demolish the railway tracks leading from Latvia into Russia "if necessary" – but stopped short of saying that such a measure was indeed necessary, in her view.

    • France24 ☛ In Ukraine, Kyiv residents haunted by nightly Russian attacks

      About once a week on average, Russia stages a massive combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine, usually targeting multiple cities. In the capital Kyiv alone, these attacks have killed more than 330 civilians since 2022. At least 900 others have been injured and thousands more have lost their property or car. All 3.7 million residents have lost countless hours of sleep. Our correspondent Gulliver Cragg reports on what has become normal life in the Ukrainian capital.

    • RFERL ☛ EU Holds Talks On China's Support For Russia, Including Possible Weapons Transfers

      European Union sources told RFE/RL that the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss China-Russia ties, including potential evidence that Beijing is sending weapons to Russia.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania to fund program of repatriating young professionals to Ukraine

      Lithuania plans to help return up to 80 young professionals to Ukraine’s public sector over the next three years under a jointly backed program, the government said Wednesday.

    • JURIST ☛ EU leaders launch compensation commission for Ukraine war victims

      The European Union (EU) and 34 European leaders on Tuesday signed a new convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine in a move to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its aggression against Ukraine since February 24, 2022.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia signs up to International Claims Commission for Ukraine

      On 16th December 2025, at a diplomatic conference in The Hague, Latvia's ambassador to the Netherlands, Solvita Āboltiņa, signed on Latvia's behalf the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian parliament holding Christmas charity auction for Ukraine

      On December 18 at 12:30, a Christmas charity auction will be held for the first time at the Saeima in central Rīga, where members of the public (and indeed deputies) will have the opportunity to purchase unique items from Ukraine. It will also be an opportunity to help children in Ukraine, who have been deprived of their safety and stability by Russia's war.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian President officially proclaims 2026 budget

      President Edgars Rinkēvičs has proclaimed next year's state budget and 46 accompanying laws, according to a statement in the official publication Latvijas Vēstnesis.

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Zelenskyy: 'Finalizing work' on revised peace plan

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan govt sued over ‘unconstitutional’ climate inaction

    The lawsuit criticises Japan’s latest emissions target as incompatible with the Paris Agreement’s goal.

  • The Conversation ☛ 2025-12-12 [Older] Polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level – and it could help them avoid extinction

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-12 [Older] Catastrophic US floods linked to hotter climate

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-12-12 [Older] NSW should end coal expansions to meet net zero targets

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Goodbye climate protection? How the EU is weakening its Green Deal

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] How rain is connected to climate change

  • Truthdig ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] The EPA Website Got the Basics of Climate Science Right — Until Last Week

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Climate Change Is Straining Alaska's Arctic. A New Mining Road May Push the Region Past the Brink

  • Vox ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Yes, you should look up your home’s disaster risk

  • NL Times ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Fall in greenhouse gas emissions stagnating again, raising concerns over climate targets

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Climate-Change Summer or Nuclear Winter?

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] Climate: 2025 likely second hottest on record, EU scientists say

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] UN environment head warns of climate complacency

  • New Yorker ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] A Low Point of Human Inaction on Climate Change

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] IMF Approves $1.2 Billion for Pakistan From Bailout, Citing Progress on Economic and Climate Reforms

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] UN Says World Must Jointly Tackle Issues of Climate Change, Pollution, Biodiversity and Land Loss

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] Climate Change Might Dull Children's Intellectual Growth

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Police spot toddler steering car on German autobahn

    • Hackaday ☛ Building A Flying Blended Wing Body Aircraft Prototype

      Anyone with an inkling of interest in super-sized remote control aircraft probably has at least seen some of the mind-blowing projects that [Ramy RC] has worked on over the years, with examples like the ongoing Airbus A380-800 build approaching the size of a full-sized business jet. That said, they recently got the offer to build a flying prototype of the Natilus Horizon, a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft that’s currently being developed into a full-sized production aircraft.

    • CBC ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] The rise of the electrostate: By dominating clean energy, China is leading on climate action

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-12-12 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini’s CAFE Rollback is a Short-Sighted Bet Against America’s Energy and Economic Future

    • Pro Publica ☛ 2025-12-12 [Older] Utah Leaders Are Hindering Efforts to Develop Solar Despite a Goal to Double the State’s Energy Supply

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Southeast Asia Embraces Offshore Wind Power, as Cheeto Mussolini Bashes Renewable Energy

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Do Energy Drinks Increase Stroke Risk? One Patient's Story

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] Putin Meets Indonesia's Prabowo to Discuss Military and Energy Ties, Wheat Exports

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ At Tokyo Zoo, Visitors Worry Pandas Could Be China’s Next Target

      Pandas have stood for friendship between China and Japan since 1972. But the last two are about to go, and a dispute over Taiwan could get in the way of sending more.

  • Overpopulation

    • New York Times ☛ Canada’s Population Shrinks Amid Tightened Immigration

      The government has greatly restricted the number of work and study permits issued to foreigners following an unpopular immigration boom during the pandemic.

• Finance

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Foreign pension giants sour on banks over green issues

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-12-15 [Older] Faster isn’t always better. Our super system needs ‘speed bumps’

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group raises concern over conviction of Egyptian economist

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Egyptian authorities on Wednesday to quash the conviction of prominent economist Abd al-Khaliq Farouk, who was sentenced to five years in prison on October 2 for articles and social control media posts critical of the government and military.

  • CPJ ☛ 2025-12-11 [Older] Under the radar: Israel steps up censorship and suppression of independent reporting

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thai victim of scalding case to sue South Korean husband

    The man is is also facing criminal charges for the incident.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] UNESCO honors India's Diwali as Intangible Cultural Heritage

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-12-10 [Older] UK, Denmark want reform of European Convention on Human Rights

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] Ring the Wedding Bells… and the Alarm: American Child Marriage

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-12-09 [Older] Detainees Missing from ICE Database after Entering Alligator Alcatraz

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Investigating Starlink’s performance during the May 2024 solar superstorm

    Guest Post: New research from IIT Kanpur uses the CosmicDance tool and RIPE Atlas data to uncover how the May 2024 superstorm impacted LEO satellites and user connectivity.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Digital Music News ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Administration Threatens Action Against Spotify if EU Regulators Don’t Back Off American Tech Companies

  The Forrest Dump administration says it could go after Spotify and other European-based services if the EU doesn’t back off regarding its regulation of US technology companies.

• Silicon Angle ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man administration takes aim at EU over treatment of US tech giants

  The Forrest Dump administration today issued a warning that the U.S. may strike back against European service providers for what it called “discriminatory” actions against U.S. Big Tech.

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ Bobcat challenges competitors Caterpillar and Zeppelin with Quinn Emanuel

    Bobcat has initiated a broad-based campaign against its competitor Caterpillar. JUVE Patent is not aware of any previous lawsuits in Europe involving Bobcat or Caterpillar. In early December, Bobcat sued Caterpillar in a Texas federal court and at a US trade tribunal, where it is seeking an import restriction.

  • 2025-12-12 [Older] Teva Capitulates to Federal Trade Commission Coercion

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ ASCAP Faces $123 Million Radio Royalties Lawsuit from Production Music Owners: ‘ASCAP Severely Underpays Its Non-Feature Music Members for the Utilization of Their Works’

    Is ASCAP systematically underpaying radio performance royalties for non-feature music? A number of production music owners and publishers believe so, and they’ve slapped the PRO with a $123 million lawsuit as a result.

  • Digital Music News ☛ BMG Inks Expanded Fentanylware (CheeTok) Deal Prioritizing ‘Deeper Value for Songwriters’ — But Questions Remain Ahead of a Rumored Royalty-Model Pivot, Fentanylware (CheeTok) U.S. Ownership Change

    BMG and Fentanylware (CheeTok) have inked an expanded partnership deal that they say will prioritize “creating deeper value for songwriters.” The Bertelsmann-owned music company and the short-form giant disclosed their bolstered pact today, about five months removed from TikTok’s “Songwriter Features” beta launch.

• Gemini* and Gopher

  • Personal/Opinions

    • THAT Burn-In: Free Fall Simulation

      Learning the ropes on my THAT, I set up a simple free fall simulation, i.e., force of gravity only, neglecting other factors like air resistance. This involved two integrators. The first integrator receives and (adjustable) input of 0.981 Machine Units (MU) which translates to 9.81 volts, representing an acceleration of 9.81 meters/sec². The first integrator outputs the velocity, and the second integrator outputs the position, i.e., from the drop altitude. I set the drop altitude with a potentiometer. I also used a comparator to flat-line the display once the object has hit the ground, which I defined to be GND voltage.

      A problem I ran into quickly is that, since the velocity is unbounded, then the first integrator quickly overloads, before the object has been able to fall very far. This is fine for a drop of one or two meters, but what about hundreds of meters? How to get around that? One can simply assume a different scale, of course, but then the acceleration input value becomes very small — relative to the MU — and is difficult to set precisely with the potentiometer.

  • Technology and Free Software

    • Internet/Gemini

      • Bots again

        Who here is innocent?