Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ English speakers don’t say: So do I?

  British English Teacher Roy put out a video last year regarding words that English learners may have been taught, but that aren’t commonly used in the real world. As a native Australian/Singaporean English speaker, I was curious to see if his experience mirrored mine. These are the ones he started with.

• Ruben Schade ☛ A retail dark pattern worked on me

  Last September I’d had my eye on a specific electronic diagnostic tool at a $LargeRetailer for several weeks, to the point where I had put it in my “cart” and taken it out several times. It would make my life significantly easier in one key area, but I couldn’t justify the cost. The problem was, there were precious few of these devices available. Turns out, this is fertile ground for some retail dark patterns.

  (I write in vague tones because the device itself isn’t that important to the lesson; maybe I’ll talk specifics one day).

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Mars: Scientists Have Figured Out How Blue The Red Planet Used to Be

    Where did it all go?

  • Science Alert ☛ Lightning Comes in Many Strange Forms. Here's The Science.

    Illuminating!

  • Science Alert ☛ The Ocean Is Still Reeling From a Single Massive Heat Wave Decades Ago

    "Unlike any observed before."

  • Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's Might Not Actually Be a Brain Disease, Reveals Expert

    Are we looking at this the wrong way?

  • Science Alert ☛ The World's Longest-Running Lab Experiment Is Almost 100 Years Old

    And it's still going.

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA's Giant New Moon Rocket Is Finally on The Launch Pad

    Humans are about to fly past the Moon again for the first time in 50 years.

  • Science Alert ☛ Major Review Confirms There Is No Link Between Acetaminophen And Autism

    It is safe and effective.

  • Science Alert ☛ Contraception May Extend The Life of Some Mammal Groups by 10%

    What's happening?

• Career/Education

  • The Straits Times ☛ Recent studies suggest South Korean students are rethinking Seoul universities, STEM and medicine

    Applications to medical schools began declining steadily from the 2022 academic year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia teacher transferred after being accused of cutting off student’s headscarf

    Several female students at the school allegedly had their hijabs cut off because of their length.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Erroneously assembled 1974 Altair 8800 computer gets fixed and enjoys first run in 2026 — defective chip maker Intel 8080 powered machine ran its first program 52 years later

    A computer historian has documented the moment a 1974 kit computer successfully ran its first ever program – in 2016. Altair 8800 kit needed a new PSU.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Just Discovered Something Horrid About Those Disposable Coffee Cups You’ve Been Slurping

    As if we needed even more reasons to use reusable cups.

  • New York Times ☛ Buttigieg, Booker Lead Midterm Democratic Health Care Push

    The potential 2028 presidential candidates showcased a Democratic midterm strategy that would assail G.O.P. votes in favor of cutting Medicaid and allowing health care subsidies to expire.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Over 3 million South Koreans opt out of life-sustaining treatment

    People aged 65 or older accounted for more than two-thirds of all registrants.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian rapper Namewee claims trial for possessing ED drug, meth

    The court has set the case for mention on March 5, 2026.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian PM Anwar given clean bill of health after routine check-up

    The findings indicate that he is fit to continue with his official duties.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Electronics and shrimp: Analysts cautious despite India’s export growth to China

    The increase has done little to reduce the massive trade imbalance in favour of China.

  • Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Planning to Tighten Up Age Checks in Europe as Regulatory Pressure Intensifies

    TikTok plans to roll out its new age-detection system across Europe in the coming weeks amid heightened scrutiny over child safety issues. After testing its new age-detection system in Britain over the last year, Fentanylware (CheeTok) will start rolling out the tech across Europe in the next few weeks, according to a new report from Reuters.

  • Futurism ☛ Man Gets Clean Bill of Health From Super-Expensive MRI Scan, Then Gets Horrible News

    Verdict: be careful for what you pay for.

• Proprietary

  • Futurism ☛ Something Wild Happens to ChatGPT’s Responses When You’re Cruel To It

    "You poor creature, do you even know how to solve this?"

  • Redmond Magazine ☛ Microsoft Advances SQL Server 2025 with Broader Linux Support and First Cumulative Update [Ed: Piggybacking "Linux" without even porting it to Linux and then using proprietary spyware on it]

    Microsoft has taken two steps to mature SQL Server 2025 for enterprise deployment [...]

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Sean Heelan ☛ On the Coming Industrialisation of Exploit Generation with LLMs

      Recently I ran an experiment where I built agents on top of Opus 4.5 and GPT-5.2 and then challenged them to write exploits for a zeroday vulnerability in the QuickJS Javascript interpreter.

    • The Guardian UK ☛ AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage

      I am a science-fiction writer, which means that my job is to make up futuristic parables about our current techno-social arrangements to interrogate not just what a gadget does, but who it does it for, and who it does it to.

      What I do not do is predict the future. No one can predict the future, which is a good thing, since if the future were predictable, that would mean we couldn’t change it.

      Now, not everyone understands the distinction. They think science-fiction writers are oracles. Even some of my colleagues labor under the delusion that we can “see the future”. A computer monitor showing a patient and doctor. The image is being broken up by scattered pixels.

      Then there are science-fiction fans who believe that they are reading the future. A depressing number of those people appear to have become AI bros. These guys can’t shut up about the day that their spicy autocomplete machine will wake up and turn us all into paperclips has led many confused journalists and conference organizers to try to get me to comment on the future of AI.

      That’s something I used to strenuously resist doing, because I wasted two years of my life explaining patiently and repeatedly why I thought crypto was stupid, and getting relentlessly bollocked by cryptocurrency cultists who at first insisted that I just didn’t understand crypto. And then, when I made it clear that I did understand crypto, they insisted that I must be a paid shill.

      This is literally what happens when you argue with Scientologists, and life is just too short. That said, people would not stop asking – so I’m going to explain what I think about AI and how to be a good AI critic. By which I mean: “How to be a critic whose criticism inflicts maximum damage on the parts of AI that are doing the most harm.”

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Strategist ☛ South Korea held data domestically—and lost it in a fire

      South Korea is digitally sophisticated, technically capable and deeply invested in modern digital government systems.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China tells Cambodia scam hub disappearances threaten ties

      China’s embassy in Cambodia said on Saturday that a recent spate of disappearances of Chinese nationals into cyberfraud compounds poses a “serious obstacle” to the allies’ ties.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Futurism ☛ AI Surveillance Systems Are Causing a Staggering Number of Wrongful Arrests

      "Sometimes you have to look at the trade for the greater good."

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ 2 killed in explosion at steel plate factory in China’s Inner Mongolia region

    Sixty-six people were hospitalised after the blast at a plate plant of steelmaker Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former Yoon administration staff linked to alleged North Korea drone intrusion

    Police said they were investigating whether both suspects conspired in operating the drone.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former Yoon staffers linked to alleged North Korea drone intrusion

    Police said they were investigating whether both suspects conspired in operating the drone.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s Defence Ministry launches probe into ‘yeye’ culture across all military branches

    Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the ministry will not tolerate any conduct that tarnishes military values.

  • The Strategist ☛ Hybrid risks rise as US withdraws from international organisations

    The United States’ 6 January decision to withdraw from many international organisations risks allowing Beijing and Moscow to further advance their undermining of global stability.

  • New York Times ☛ Iran’s Protests: What to Know About the Unrest and Death Toll

    The nationwide demonstrations that have roiled Iran for weeks appear to have been largely quelled after a brutal government crackdown.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian Parliament returns with moment of silence for Bondi mass shooting victims

    Parliament was recalled two weeks early to begin debate on gun control and hate speech reforms.

  • France24 ☛ Guatemala says gangs killed seven police in retaliation over prison transfers

    Guatemala’s interior minister said gangs killed seven police officers on Sunday in retaliation for the government’s refusal to move gang leaders to a lower-security prison. The attacks followed the taking of 46 hostages by gang-linked inmates in three prisons. Authorities said control of one facility was restored.

  • JURIST ☛ Libya authorities charge suspect with human trafficking after migrant remains found in mass grave

    Libya’s Attorney General’s Office on Friday announced the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 21 individuals. A prosecutor at the Benghazi Attorney General’s Office charged an individual with the initials (M.F.H.) with human trafficking in connection with the discovery.

  • New York Times ☛ Noem Denies Use of Chemical Agents in Minnesota Protests, Then Backtracks

    Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said officers had not used pepper spray and similar measures limited by a judge’s order, then was confronted with a video that showed chemical agents deployed.

  • New York Times ☛ After Convicted Felon Reignites a Trade War Over Greenland, Europe Weighs Hitting Back

    Europe’s dependence on the United States for NATO security limits its options. Its strongest response would be a trade “bazooka,” and other options are possible.

  • New York Times ☛ How a Screwdriver Salesman Helped Fuel U.S. Airstrikes in Nigeria

    Spotty research from a Christian activist has been used by Republican lawmakers to justify U.S. intervention in the country.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Ultimatum to Europe

      Dihydroxyacetone Man threatened heavy tariffs on countries standing between him and Greenland. E.U. leaders are scrambling for a response.

    • RFERL ☛ No Deal Announced After Latest US-Ukraine Talks, Further Discussions Set At Davos

      Kyiv concluded a fresh round of talks with US officials without announcing an agreement but said discussions on a plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine would resume at the upcoming World ⁠Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Severe weather warning issued as cold wave sweeps across China

    The National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert for cold waves.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Flash flooding eases in Australia’s largest city Sydney

    Residents at a suburb were earlier evacuated due to rising waters sparked by torrential rains.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong grows role as ‘stopover city’ with new high-speed rail routes to the rest of China

      The expansion could enhance Hong Kong’s growing “travel” role for both international and domestic visitors.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Fear that quantum computing is on the cusp of cracking cryptocurrency's encryption spurs a global investment firm to remove Bitcoin from recommendations

      Jefferies Global Head of Equity Strategy Christopher Wood said that quantum computing could break Bitcoin sooner rather than later, and that the debate between crypto developers and quantum computing will only be a "long-term positive for gold."

    • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia finds wreckage of missing surveillance plane, one body

      Nine others were on board the plane.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ San Francisco Mourns Its Beloved Alligator, Claude

      The 30-year-old albino resident of the California Academy of Sciences died last month. On Sunday, thousands paid tribute.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australian woman wakes up to find 2.5m python on her chest

      Ms Rachel Bloor initially thought it was her labradoodle when she felt a heavy weight on her chest and stomach.

    • Futurism ☛ Scientists Uncover Secret Landscape Hiding Miles Below Antarctica’s Ice

      We know more about Mercury than we do about what's trapped below Antarctica's ice.

  • Overpopulation

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s wedding dress sellers pin hopes on rise in marriages

      The rise in marriages in the first nine months of 2025 is a bright spot in China’s otherwise grim population landscape.

    • New York Times ☛ China’s Population Shrinks Again as Policies Fail to Reverse Decline

      With fewer babies and more deaths, China’s population fell for a fourth straight year as policymakers face a demographic crisis in the making.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China’s population falls for a fourth straight year

      The total number of births in China dropped to 7.92 million in 2025, its lowest in decades.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s 2025 economic growth among slowest in decades

    China’s economy grew at one of the slowest rates in decades last year, according to official data released Monday, as officials struggle to overcome persistently low consumer spending and a debt crisis in the country’s property sector.

  • New York Times ☛ Real Estate Crash Weighs on China’s Economic Growth

    Falling apartment prices have erased the savings of millions of Chinese households, but exports lifted the economy to 5 percent growth last year.

  • New York Times ☛ The Biggest Challenge in Venezuela Is Soaring Food Prices

    Economic instability in Venezuela after the U.S. raid to capture its president is deepening inflation and rattling the currency, sending grocery bills soaring for millions of people.

  • CS Monitor ☛ The Forrest Dump economy: No recession, but no boom either

    So far, predictions that Hell Toupée’s tariffs would drive up inflation have not been borne out. But expect to hear more political debate about affordability this year.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US lawmakers call for Hong Kong trade offices to be closed, as Beijing ministry slams ‘political grandstanding’

    China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong has condemned US lawmakers’ calls for Washington to strip the city’s trade offices of their privileges, slamming the move as evidence of “deep-seated ideological bias.”

  • New York Times ☛ At Davos, Global Leaders Gather to Ponder the Future of a Messy World

    At its 56th annual meeting in Davos, the World Economic Forum will wrestle with war, economics, artificial intelligence and other pressing issues.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Futurism ☛ Man Confused by AI-Generated Reports That He’s Dead

      "Just doesn't make sense. I always thought, like — usually you see that happen to high-profile celebrities."

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • WhichUK ☛ Meta mayhem: why does Facebook (Farcebook) keep censoring the Which? Scam Alerts group?

    Platform notorious for scam adverts has repeatedly threatened to close our fraud prevention community

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Futurism ☛ Media Execs Prepare for Hey Hi (AI) to Bring End of Journalism Industry

    Well folks, it was great while it lasted. For the most part.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • JURIST ☛ Greece acquits 24 humanitarian workers following 7 years of proceedings

    24 volunteers of the humanitarian NGO Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) were acquitted this Thursday after facing criminal charges for more than 7 years, following their arrest during search and rescue operations on the Greek island of Lesvos in August 2018.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia’s bet on non-jail punishments raises questions over fairness and misuse

    Analysts say community-based sentencing risks being misused if applied unevenly.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • RFERL ☛ Live Blog: Iranian Internet Connectivity Back To Almost Zero

    Triggered by soaring prices, inflation, and a plunging currency, Iranians have taken to the streets in what is the biggest threat to the Islamic regime in years. Journalists from RFE/RL’s Iranian service, Radio Farda, bring you the latest developments, analysis, and reporting from on the ground.

  • France24 ☛ Iran internet shutdown: activists warn of 'permanent' blackout

    Iran is 10 days into an internet blackout, which rights groups say is intended to prevent further protests and conceal the regime's deadly crackdown. What happens now is unclear. Iranian digital activists are warning the blackout may become "permanent," but local media report that the authorities are considering a gradual return to the internet.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Social Media Minefield Continues: Drew Barrymore Slapped With Copyright Infringement Suit Over Song Used In Instagram Post

    Drew Barrymore has now been sued for copyright monopoly infringement for using an uncleared song in an Instagram post promoting her beauty brand back in 2023. Drew Barrymore is the latest celebrity to get slapped with a copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit for using an uncleared sample in a social control media post promoting their brand.