Leftovers

• William Durand: You can lead a horse to water but...

  It’s an unpleasant pattern, one I’m deeply aware of: the tendency to use my regular 1:1s with my manager as an outlet for pent-up frustration. While I strive for constructive dialogue, the reality is that the various challenges my team has faced over the past 3 years have created a reservoir of exasperation that sometimes spills over. It doesn’t happen every time but I wouldn’t exclude it happened more often than I am willing to concede…

  One particularly vivid discussion centered on the acute challenge of driving a project forward when the contributors appeared distracted, pulled in too many directions, or simply disengaged. I don’t remember the specifics but, as a tech lead, this is a recurring problem. I possess all the technical vision and planning responsibility, but none of the formal “authority” of a manager. I am tasked with orchestration, but lack the levers of performance reviews or task assignment to enforce focus.

• New York Times ☛ Mail Carriers Keep Making the Rounds, Despite a Murky Future

  As the much-derided agency loses billions, postal workers quietly, and sometimes heroically, serve their communities.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Supercomputers Just Revealed What Really Happens Near a Black Hole

    Our clearest look yet.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient 'Wet Lava Ball' Exoplanet Defies Expectations

    What is going on here?

  • Science Alert ☛ Ludicrous Lemon-Shaped World Is Like Nothing We've Ever Seen

    Everything about this is wack.

  • Science Alert ☛ There's Always Room For Dessert, And Science Can Explain Why

    Oh, go on then.

• Hardware

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US says China chip policies unfair but will delay tariffs to 2027

    US trade officials determined that China should be punished for employing unfair tactics to dominate the semiconductor industry, but will wait 18 months to impose tariffs, American authorities said Tuesday.

  • Futurism ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Chip Embargo Against China Is Backfiring Spectacularly

    Brilliant work, sir.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China's reverse-engineered Frankenstein EUV chipmaking tool hasn't produced a single chip — sanctions-busting experiment is still years away from becoming operational

    A reported attempt by a covert Chinese lab to reverse-engineer an EUV lithography scanner underscores that, despite access to scattered components, replicating ASML's EUV tools is effectively impossible without recreating the company's entire global supply chain, optics ecosystem, and proprietary software built over decades.

  • Standards/Consortia

    • Howard Oakley ☛ Explainer: UUIDs

      Since their introduction in the 1980s, UUIDs have adopted several versions, of which you should encounter just three in macOS and Macs: version 4, by far the most common, version 5 and special fixed UUIDs. You can tell these apart as in the first two the version number is given as the first character of the third block of hex numbers, M in xxxxxxxx-xxxx-Mxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.

    • [Repeat] Jeff Geerling ☛ NIST was 5 μs off UTC after last week's power cut

      If you were 5 microseconds late today, blame it on NIST.

      Their facility in Boulder Colorado just had its power cut for multiple days. After a backup generator failed, their main ensemble clock lost track of UTC, or Universal Time Coordinated.

      But even if you used the NTP timing servers they run, they were never off by more than 5 microseconds.

      5 μs might seem insignificant. But it is significant for scientists and universities who rely on NIST's more specialized timing signals.

      But no, you don't need to panic. And yes, they have it under control now.

      But I thought I'd go over what happened, what it means, and what we can learn from NIST's near-outage.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ From sambal to swank: Why a Malaysian food influencer’s upmarket move struck a nerve

    Observers say the issue isn't about fine dining as much as the loss of an everyman icon.

  • Science Alert ☛ Mouse Study Suggests Nose-Picking Has a Surprising Link With Alzheimer's

    Do you really need to pick it?

  • New York Times ☛ What Parents in China See in Hey Hi (AI) Toys

    A video of a child crying over her broken Hey Hi (AI) chatbot stirred up conversation in China, with some viewers questioning whether the gadgets are good for children. But the girl’s father says it’s more than a toy; it’s a family member.

  • New York Times ☛ Peng Peiyun, 95, Dies; Official Renounced China’s One-Child Policy

    She was given the “hardest job under heaven”: upholding birth limits enforced by often brutal local officials. She came to support softening the policy, then abolishing it.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China social control media thrashes one-child policy after population control czar dies

    The death of a former head of China's one-child policy has been met not by tributes but by castigation of the abandoned policy on social control media this week.

  • Futurism ☛ Uncles Tremble as Man Invents Vaccine Delivered by Beer

    Talk about a beer and a shot!

  • Science Alert ☛ Holidays Can Break Your Routine: Here's How to Keep Exercising

    No gym needed.

  • Federal News Network ☛ VA in 2026 looks to get EHR rollout back on track, embark on health care reorganization

    VA is planning for its new EHR from Oracle-Cerner to go live at 13 sites in 2026 — starting with four sites in Michigan in April 2026.

  • BIA Net ☛ Who holds the largest share in health expenditures in Turkey?

    The current financing model of health services can be described as a “neoliberal public health insurance model.”

  • France24 ☛ Why all the running? Sporting craze draws in record numbers

    It's one of those New Year's resolutions often blurted out after a big family meal. "I'm going to run a marathon!" But like the cautionary saying "puppies aren't for Christmas, they're for life", one wonders how many realise the error of their ways when they're gasping for air during that first January training run. Or not.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Urban VPN Proxy Surreptitiously Intercepts Hey Hi (AI) Chats

      This is pretty scary:

      Urban VPN Proxy targets conversations across ten Hey Hi (AI) platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok (xAI), Meta AI.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Administration Downplays Hey Hi (AI) Risks, Ignoring Economists’ Concerns

      The administration has downplayed concerns — from mass job losses, to a potential financial bubble — as Hell Toupée cheers soaring stock prices and faster growth.

    • Futurism ☛ Grimes Says She Has Hey Hi (AI) Psychosis, Recommends You Should Get it Too

      Uh, come again?

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Federal News Network ☛ Harmonizing compliance: How oversight modernization can strengthen America’s cyber resilience

      Compliance alone won’t suffice if agencies continue to interpret and implement critical infrastructure security mandates in isolation.

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Researchers say Eurostar accused them of blackmail over Hey Hi (AI) chatbot flaw disclosure

      Eurostar International Ltd., the operator of the Eurostar trains that cross the English Channel, has been accused of mishandling the responsible disclosure of security flaws in its customer-facing artificial intelligence chatbot after security researchers were allegedly told their actions could be viewed as blackmail.

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

      • MIT Technology Review ☛ Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone

        Deibert directs the Citizen Lab, a research center he founded in 2001 to serve as “counterintelligence for civil society.” Housed at the University of Toronto, the lab operates independently of governments or corporate interests, relying instead on research grants and private philanthropy for financial support. It’s one of the few institutions that investigate cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, and in doing so, it has exposed some of the most egregious digital abuses of the past two decades.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Site36 ☛ Anti-fascist Gino released in Paris – but must appear in court again on 28 January

    Following his arrest in France, anti-fascist activist Gino has been released from custody. He faces extradition requests from both Hungary and now also Germany. A further court hearing is scheduled for late January. Anti-fascist activist Gino, who had been held in extradition custody in France, has now been released.

  • NYPost ☛ Inflammatory Times Square billboard proclaiming ‘Jesus is Palestinian’ slammed by holiday tourists: ‘A divisive message’

    "It's probably not a good time in the world to have that up. It's inflammatory."

  • France24 ☛ EU warns of possible action after the US bars five Europeans combating online hate

    The European Union, France and Germany have slammed US visa bans on European citizens combating online hate and disinformation, with Brussels saying it could "respond swiftly and decisively" against the "unjustified measures". The highest profile person targeted by the visa restrictions is former European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton – who helped drive EU legislation that's recently targeted top US tech companies. The Forrest Dump administration has accused Breton and four other anti-disinformation campaigners of censoring US social control media platforms. For more information, Carys Garland interviews Nathalie Loiseau, MEP and former French Minister of European Affairs.

  • New York Times ☛ China Is Shifting Its Nuclear Forces to Swifter Footing, Pentagon Says

    The country’s production of nuclear warheads has slowed, but its missiles may be poised to strike back fast in case of an attack, an annual assessment found.

  • New York Times ☛ ​North Korea Unveils the Completed Hull of What It Calls a Nuclear Submarine

    The debut followed the North’s first test of a new surface-to-air missile and the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered attack sub for a port call in South Korea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US warned Japan of N. Korean contingency during 1994 crisis, archives show

    Pyongyang had refused to accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China strongly warned Japan not to send official to Taiwan in 1994, archives show

    The records underscore how the Taiwan issue has long been a potential source of friction in Sino-Japanese ties.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim Jong Un views submarine construction, oversees missile launch: KCNA

    A KCNA photo showed Mr Kim at a submarine construction site with his daughter, Ju Ae.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Key to the White House’: South Korea President Lee receives golden key from Convicted Felon

    In October, S. Korean President Lee had given US Hell Toupée an Silla-era gold crown replica.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Man in South Korea investigated after fiddling with airplane emergency door

    During questioning, the man reportedly said he touched the cover playfully.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia cancels British man’s visa after charges that Nazi symbol was displayed

    The man also advocated for violence against the Jewish community on social control media platform X.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Christmas celebrations muted at Bondi as Australians grieve after deadly shooting

    The attack on Dec 14 has prompted calls for stricter gun laws and tougher action against anti-semitism.

  • New York Times ☛ Australian State Passes ‘Extraordinary’ Gun and Protest Laws After Bondi Attack

    While the new restrictions on firearms have broad support, new police powers to crack down on some protests were criticized as limits on civil liberties.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia’s New South Wales passes tougher gun, anti-terror laws after Bondi Beach shooting

    Most individual gun licences will be capped at four firearms, while farmers will be permitted to own up to 10 guns.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Christmas celebrations muted at Bondi as Australians grieve after deadly shooting

    Christmas celebrations were muted at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach on Thursday in the aftermath of a terror attack that killed 15 people there more than a week ago, as the community continued to grapple with the country's deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Car with Hanukkah sign set ablaze in Melbourne

    The Australian authorities are stiffening laws and penalties for hate crimes after the Dec 14 mass shooting.

  • JURIST ☛ Belgium applies to intervene in ICJ genocide case against Israel

    Belgium filed Tuesday a declaration of intervention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case against Israel in relation to the situation in the Gaza Strip. In the declaration, Belgium expressed its understanding of the term “genocidal intent” contained in the Genocide Convention.

  • Starvation as a weapon of war: how Ethiopia created a famine in Tigray

    Famine – the extreme scarcity of food – devastated Ethiopia’s Tigray region during and after a two-year war [...]

  • JURIST ☛ UN Security Council alarmed by worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan

    UN officials warned on Monday that the war in Sudan is reaching a deadlier phase as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gain territories in the Kordofan region.

  • France24 ☛ Several killed in blast at mosque in northeast Nigeria

    At least seven people were killed on Wednesday when an explosion tore through a crowded mosque in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri during evening prayers, according to witnesses and security sources. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the suspected bombing in a city that has endured years of insurgency but has been largely calm in recent years.

  • New York Times ☛ Why China, a One-Party State, Is Backing Elections in This Country

    The vote in Myanmar, widely seen as a sham, is a bid for legitimacy by the military government. It is also a way for Beijing to exert its influence there.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwanese smugglers controlled vessel that damaged subsea cables, says China after probe

    China previously accused Taiwan of "manipulating" possible Chinese involvement in the case.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Police step up security ahead of Christmas and New Year in Indonesia

    The police have also deployed more than 11,000 personnel to disaster-affected areas.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • JURIST ☛ China condemns US seizure of Venezuela-linked tankers

      Chinese officials on Monday condemned the US seizure of oil tankers headed from Venezuela to the People’s Republic of China, calling the act a “serious violation of international law.” “Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ At UN, Russia and China blast US conduct toward Venezuela

      Russia and China on Tuesday criticized the United States for its military and economic pressure on Venezuela, telling the UN Security Council it was “cowboy behavior” and “intimidation.” Venezuela, which requested the emergency council meeting with the backing of Moscow and Beijing, accused Washington of “the greatest extortion known in our history.”

    • New York Times ☛ Blast Kills Three in Moscow Near Site of General’s Car Bombing

      Two police officers died in the explosion, the authorities said. Earlier this week a car bomb killed a military commander in the same area of Russia’s capital.

    • Security Week ☛ Pro-Russian Hackers Claim Cyberattack on French Postal Service

      Central computer systems at French national postal service La Poste were knocked offline Monday in DDoS attack.

    • Meduza ☛ 20 points to peace: Zelensky reveals revised U.S.-backed plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Lights under fire: A glimpse of Ukraine’s Christmas season amid another winter of war — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Here’s What Is in the 20-Point Peace Plan for Ukraine

      The blueprint covers a broad range of issues, including territory, security guarantees and postwar reconstruction. But Russia has indicated little willingness to end the war.

    • New York Times ☛ Zelensky Open to Pulling Back Troops in Eastern Ukraine to Reach Peace Deal With Russia

      The offer was the closest Mr. Zelensky has come to addressing the thorny territorial disputes in Donetsk that have repeatedly derailed peace talks.

    • New York Times ☛ Why Russia Is Likely to Reject the New US-Ukrainian Peace Plan

      The first draft essentially called for Ukraine’s surrender. The revised version includes the security guarantees Kyiv wants to prevent future Russian aggression.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean POWs in Ukraine seeking ‘new life’ in South

      North Korean soldiers are instructed to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, says South Korea.

    • RFERL ☛ Energy, Civilian Infrastructure Hit In Overnight Russian Strikes On Ukraine

      Russian forces launched one of their largest drone assaults in weeks overnight, striking multiple regions across Ukraine and inflicting more damage to the country’s energy network.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Unveils 20-Point Peace Plan With Security Guarantees And EU Path For Ukraine

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has unveiled the latest draft of a US-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine as it nears its fourth anniversary.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky unveils new US-backed, 20-point plan to end the war in Ukraine

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday revealed details of the latest US-backed 20-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying it has been sent to Moscow for feedback. Zelensky gave a point-by-point briefing to journalists in Kyiv, including details on the creation of demilitarised zones.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine: Zelensky reveals revised 20-point US plan to end Russian war

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed details of the latest US-led plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying it had been agreed between negotiators from Kyiv and Washington and sent to Moscow for feedback. Analysis by Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham. Story by Carys Garland.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky reveals US-Ukraine plan to end Russian invasion

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed details of the latest US-led plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying it had been agreed between negotiators from Kyiv and Washington and sent to Moscow for feedback. Zelensky said he was hoping for Moscow's answer on Wednesday. Story by Bryan Quinn.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine's Zelensky awaits Russian answer to revised US-peace plan

      Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky said he was hoping for Moscow's answer on Wednesday to the latest version of a draft proposal to end the war agreed between Washington and Kyiv. Ukraine won some concessions in the latest version of the US-led plan, but key questions remain over territory and whether Moscow could accept the new terms. Details by FRANCE 24 correspendent in Kyiv, Emmanuelle Chaze.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The art of war is undergoing a technological revolution in Ukraine

      Ukraine’s battlefield experience since 2022 confirms that in order to be successful in modern warfare, armies should model themselves on technological giants like Amazon and SpaceX, writes Oleg Dunda.

    • The Strategist ☛ Another lesson from Ukraine for Taiwan’s friends: the power of surveillance

      The notable thing was the timing. In back-to-back strikes on Russian air power from 18 to 20 December, the Ukrainian state security agency, the vaunted SBU, launched long-range attack drones at Russian warplanes at Belbek air base, in occupied Crimea 240 km from the front line.

      Imagery from the nighttime or early morning attacks indicates that the drones hit a Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor and two Sukhoi Su-27 fighters. The drone strikes on Russian warplanes were, from a certain point of view, unremarkable: Ukrainian drones have hit 14 Russian aircraft on the ground in Crimea since August.

      What was remarkable was when the drones struck. The MiG-31 and one of the Su-27s were fully armed and fuelled and their crews were in the cockpits at the moment the drones barrelled in. It’s rare for a Ukrainian drone to hit a Russian warplane when it’s fully loaded and most vulnerable to catastrophic secondary explosions. That the Ukrainians did it twice in three days indicates it wasn’t an accident.

    • The Strategist ☛ Editors’ picks for 2025: ‘Ukraine’s air force has survived. Taiwan’s almost certainly couldn’t’

      The Ukrainian air force went to war against invading Russian forces in February 2022 with just 125 combat aircraft concentrated at around a dozen large bases.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian electricity company sends fleet of vehicles to maintain Ukraine's energy network

      The Latvian Minister for Climate and Energy, Kaspars Melnis, and Ilze Znotiņa, Member of the Management Board of Latvia’s electricity transmission system operator AS “Augstsprieguma tīkls” (AST), together with other volunteer drivers of the “Twitter Convoy” organization, have delivered a fleet of AST-donated vehicles to Ukraine.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Putin hails ‘invincible friendship’ with N. Korea in New Year letter: KCNA

      A pact between the two nations includes a mutual defence clause pledging immediate military assistance.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • New York Times ☛ Redacted Material in Some Epstein Files Is Easily Recovered

    The ease of recovering information that was not properly redacted digitally suggests that at least some of the documents released by the Justice Department were hastily censored.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Tai Po fire: Remains of 5 more Indonesian domestic workers repatriated

      The remains of five more domestic workers who lost their lives in the massive Tai Po fire have been repatriated to Indonesia, with three more bodies expected to be returned by Thursday.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ US actions will not stop EU from moderating online hate and disinformation, commissioner says

      US visa sanctions will not stop the EU from enforcing its rules on online platforms, the bloc’s internal market commissioner said on Wednesday, after Washington imposed visa bans on individuals linked to the Digital Services Act, the EU law governing content moderation on social control media. The move underscores a growing transatlantic rift over free speech and digital sovereignty.

    • New York Times ☛ They Seek to Curb Online Hate. The U.S. Accuses Them of Censorship.

      The Forrest Dump administration said five regulators and researchers who work to tackle disinformation and abuse on the internet had been barred from entering the United States.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • France24 ☛ France slams US visa ban as row over European 'censorship' deepens

    France condemned on Wednesday a US visa ban on Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner who helped drive landmark online regulation that Washington believes censors free speech and unfairly targets US tech giants. The Forrest Dump administration imposed visa bans on Tuesday on Breton, one of the ​architects of the EU's Digital Services Act, and other anti-disinformation campaigners who it says were involved in censoring U.S. social control media platforms. The visa bans ‍underline growing divergences between Washington and some European capitals over issues including free speech, defence, immigration, far-right politics, trade and the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysis by FRANCE 24 international affairs commentator, Douglas Herbert.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China manga convention bars Japanese content amid tensions

    Organisers said there would be a “full-scale adjustment” of content towards “a new Chinese style” theme.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Meduza ☛ Gone too soon: Meduza remembers seven journalists the world lost in 2025 — Meduza

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ China police crack down on errant private cinemas over alleged sex services

    Such venues offer patrons private rooms to watch movies alone, as a couple, or in a group.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Audiocasts/Shows

    • The Verge ☛ It’s finally time to retire the word ‘podcast’

      So in 2026, instead of trying to define what a podcast is, I think we need to stop using the word altogether. “Podcast” is becoming an outdated or even a potentially cringe internet relic, similar to how the phrase “web series” faded from use online.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Trademarks

  • Three Trademark Cases That Mattered in 2025 and What to Watch for Next Year

    What do affiliated corporate entities, non-fungible token (NFTs) and cinnamon-flavored whiskey have in common? They each were the subject of significant trademark rulings in 2025. Below, we review three cases with big implications for trademark law and what’s on the horizon for 2026.  

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Mere Descriptiveness Appeals Turn Out?

    Affirmances in Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness cases are running at about 90% this year (as usual). Here are three recent appeals. No hints this time. How do you think they came out? [Answer in first comment].