Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ The wide world of TCG card folders

  I am a massive nerd, just in case it wasn’t obvious. One way in which this expresses itself is through the collection, sorting, and organising of trading card game cards, also known as flat dust collectors. I grew up playing Magic: the Gathering and Pokémon, because of course I did.

  The most recent culprit of my cardboard capers though have been those Japanese [sic] Weiß Schwarz cards, and those fan cards for your favourite characters and vtubers.

• Futurism ☛ As Saudi Arabia’s 100-Mile Skyscraper Crumbles, They’re Replacing It With the Most Desperate Thing Imaginable

  How original.

• Viktor Löfgren ☛ You should probably tell your audience what your blog posts are about as early as possible

  Being clear about what your blog posts are about lets people who are interested in what you have to say find your writing more easily. The more paragraphs you spend getting to the point, the bigger the odds they’ll lose patience and click on something else before you’ve presented your thesis.

  When publishing articles online, no matter how obscure the subject matter, there is almost always some people who will be into what you have to say. The main thing that keeps them from finding your writing is that they need to discover that it exists. Discovery isn’t made a lick easier by vague titles and long rambling introductions.

• Vidit Bhargava ☛ Tech’s homogeneity is a scale problem

  Scale is the enemy of creativity. Indie apps that have to make an app for one platform, and do it well, have much more fun app icons and interfaces than bigger players. Pre-industrial revolution furniture looked nothing like the sleek boring industrialized furniture of today because billions of units weren't being shipped to people.

  When conformity is the norm there’s little room for soul, creativity or fun. Fun is aberrant, uncouth, rebellious. This is what using technology feels like today. It’s scaled to a billion people, but those billions of people are being drowned in notions of conformity, some dictated by mass production, others by product managers and dysfunctional software economies.

• Blake Watson ☛ blakewatson.com - New: link blog and RSS feeds

  A bit of website housekeeping. I’m constantly finding cool things on the web. Usually I end up sharing them with different group chats or via direct messages. But I figured I’d start off the new year by finally adding a link blog to my website—something I’ve been itching to do for a while.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Another Top Kennedy Center Official Resigns

    Kevin Couch, who was announced as senior vice president of artistic programming less than two weeks ago, is the latest to leave since Hell Toupée took control of the center last year.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Amazing Maser

    While it has become a word, laser used to be an acronym: “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. But there is an even older technology called a maser, which is the same acronym but with light switched out for microwaves. If you’ve never heard of masers, you might be tempted to dismiss them as early proto-lasers that are obsolete. But you’d be wrong! Masers keep showing up in places you’d never expect: radio telescopes, atomic clocks, deep-space tracking, and even some bleeding-edge quantum experiments. And depending on how a few materials and microwave engineering problems shake out, masers might be headed for a second golden age.

    Simplistically, the maser is — in one sense — a “lower frequency laser.” Just like a laser, stimulated emission is what makes it work. You prepare a bunch of atoms or molecules in an excited energy state (a population inversion), and then a passing photon of the right frequency triggers them to drop to a lower state while emitting a second photon that matches the first with the same frequency, phase, and direction. Do that in a resonant cavity and you’ve got gain, coherence, and a remarkably clean signal.

  • Science Alert ☛ 10,000 Brain Scans Reveal Why Your Memory Gets Worse With Age

    There's a lot going on here.

  • Science Alert ☛ Rare Octopus 'Bloom' Struck UK Waters in 2025, And Now We Know Why

    It won't be the last.

  • Science Alert ☛ Stunning Fossil Site Reveals Life Rebounding After Major Extinction Event

    60% of the species there are new to science.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Identify an Epigenetic Switch That Can Slow Production of Fat Cells

    A better understanding of fat.

  • Science Alert ☛ US Cancer Survival Has Reached a Milestone High of 70%

    "We can’t stop now. There is still much work to be done.”

  • Science Alert ☛ Major Study Links Being a Night Owl to Higher Heart Attack And Stroke Risk

    Here's how to mitigate it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Did Edison Make a 'Wonder Material' 125 Years Before Its Official Creation?

    A light bulb moment.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Congatec conga-TCRP1 COM Express Type 6 module features AMD Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) Embedded P100 SoC with 50 TOPS NPU

    Congatec conga-TCRP1 is a COM Express 3.1 Type 6 Compact module powered by the newly announced AMD Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) Embedded P100 Series processors, which feature AMD’s latest Zen 5 architecture, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and an XDNA 2 NPU for 59 TOPS of combined Hey Hi (AI) performance, including up to 50 TOPS from the NPU.

  • Barry Kauler ☛ Bluetti AC70 power box

    Sometime ago, I think getting onto a year, my car got written off. A lady accelerated out of a car park, straight into the side off my car. She was looking the other way, seeing if the road was clear so she could turn onto the road. Her fault, but my car was assessed as unrepairable and I got cash from the insurance company. A bit of a disappointment how low they assessed it; anyway, water under the bridge.

  • The Straits Times ☛ EU, Vietnam to agree to boost work on minerals, chips and ‘trusted’ 5G, says draft document

    The document includes indirect criticism of the strategies of the US, China and Russia.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Futurism ☛ Wave of Suicides Hits as India’s Economy Is Ravaged by AI

    "Very alarming."

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Opinion | Don’t be fooled: The school smartphone bill won’t do much

    If students have their phones in their pockets, the temptation to look at them in class will remain. The second issue is that allowing smartphones at lunch and in-between classes robs students of crucial face-to-face socialization.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Bridge Lunch Break recap: Experts call for tougher nursing home regulations

    During a discussion Wednesday with Bridge readers, two experts called for tougher regulations and laws around nursing homes.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Cheap Daily Supplement May Have Surprising Health Benefits For Women

    Here's what the research shows.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Explainer-What to know about Nipah virus after cases emerge in India

    Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus in India have prompted authorities in Thailand and Malaysia to step up airport screening to prevent the spread of the infection. But what is Nipah virus, and how worried should people be?

  • Inside Towers ☛ Is Cell Phone Service Safe or Not?

    As a junior RF engineer just starting out in the telecom business many years ago, I was told by the veterans, “Never walk in front of the antenna!” They were warning me about the bad effects that direct exposure to RF energy can have on the human body. It is important to understand that RF energy is emitted by all wireless technologies, including cell sites on towers, WiFi routers, and mobile phones.

    Discussions about health risks often focus on the power output of radio transmitters installed on cell towers. From a scientific and regulatory standpoint, however, transmit power alone does not determine health risk. What matters is how much RF energy actually reaches and is absorbed by the body.

  • YLE ☛ Most young Finns think smartphones are harmful to their wellbeing

    Nearly 80 percent of young adults pointed to the use of social media as a significant reason for the increased distress of people in their age group.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Far-Right Dweebs Are Getting Scammed by an AI-Generated Waifu

      Who could have guessed?

    • Futurism ☛ Anthropic CEO Warns That the Hey Hi (AI) Tech He’s Creating Could Ravage Human Civilization

      "Humanity needs to wake up."

    • Scoop News Group ☛ ICE drives AI use case growth within Homeland Security

      ICE added 25 AI use cases since its disclosure last summer, including to process tips, review mobile device data relevant to investigations, confirm identities of individuals via biometric data and detect intentional misidentification. Of the newly added uses at ICE, three are products from Palantir, which has been a notable — and at times controversial — technology partner for the U.S. government under the Trump administration.

    • The Register UK ☛ Claude Code ignores ignore rules meant to block secrets

      Don't you hate it when machines can't follow simple instructions? Anthropic's Claude Code can't take "ignore" for an answer and continues to read passwords and API keys, even when your secrets file is supposed to be blocked.

    • Cyble Inc ☛ Grok AI Faces EU Investigation Under DSA

      The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation into X under the Digital Services Act (DSA), intensifying regulatory scrutiny over the platform’s use of its AI chatbot, Grok. Announced on January 26, the move follows mounting concerns that Grok AI image-generation and recommender functionalities may have exposed users in the EU to illegal and harmful content, including manipulated sexually explicit images and material that could amount to child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

    • 404 Media ☛ Amid Backlash, Massive Porn Platform ManyVids Doubles Down on Bizarre, AI-Generated Posts

      In the past few months, as 404 Media reported last week, ManyVids has increasingly turned to posting bizarre, clearly AI text and videos about imaginary conversations with aliens, French as an astronaut floating toward a black hole, and photos of hand-scrawled plans to convert the site to a tiered safe-for-work funnel, versus what makes it popular today: access to adult content from sex workers. French also recently changed her website to state she doesn’t believe the adult industry should exist, causing many online sex workers to question whether the site will remain a viable option for their income.

    • Omicron Limited ☛ Government funding for AI jobs did not produce more jobs, research finds

      In the report, researchers examined the long-term results of a government-backed subsidy program in Sweden that provided funding to small- and medium-sized businesses investing in AI for the first time.

      One of the study's biggest findings is that although the government funding resulted in firms posting more job advertisements, it did not translate into the creation of more jobs, Khanna explained.

    • Futurism ☛ Trump Department Responsible for Airline Safety Using AI to Write New Regulations, So They Can Be Churned Out as Fast as Possible

      His focus, disturbingly, was explicitly that AI is fast, even if it isn’t particularly accurate.

      “We don’t need the perfect rule on XYZ. We don’t even need a very good rule on XYZ,” DoT general counsel Gregory Zerzan said, according to the recent meeting notes obtained by ProPublica. “We want good enough,” he said. “We’re flooding the zone.”

    • Pro Publica ☛ Trump DOT Plans to Use Google Gemini AI to Write Regulations

      These developments have alarmed some at DOT. The agency’s rules touch virtually every facet of transportation safety, including regulations that keep airplanes in the sky, prevent gas pipelines from exploding and stop freight trains carrying toxic chemicals from skidding off the rails. Why, some staffers wondered, would the federal government outsource the writing of such critical standards to a nascent technology notorious for making mistakes?

    • Society for Scholarly Publishing ☛ Why Authors Aren't Disclosing AI Use and What Publishers Should (Not) Do About It

      With 62% of researchers reporting using AI at some point in their research and publication process, we would expect editors to see a plethora of AI declarations and disclosures. Yet, only a negligible percentage of authors seem to actually be disclosing their AI use. Emerging research seems to show that there is a wealth of published papers in which authors use AI without disclosure. One study randomly reviewed 200 articles and only found two author declarations. This early research reveals a vast gulf between guidelines and compliance.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Bandcamp Banned AI Music. For Everyone Else, 'It's Complicated'

      The responses to all of this have been all over the place, though Bandcamp has now officially banned music generated by AI, wholly or even partially.

      And to enforce this new policy, the company is encouraging its community to flag suspicious content for review – with a rallying cry to preserve Bandcamp as a haven for independent creators.

      Beyond that, bright lines are harder to find.

    • Raspberry Pi ☛ Streamline dataset creation for the Raspberry Pi AI Camera

      Starting an AI project often begins with building a quality dataset, which can be a complex and time-consuming task. This dataset contains the data you want to use to train, test, and verify that your AI model works. This tutorial introduces a practical approach to help simplify the process.

      With the Sony IMX500 sensor on the Raspberry Pi AI Camera, you can use your own datasets to improve your AI models. Whether you’re an experienced maker or just beginning to explore the world of edge AI, this guide will help you organise, refine, and export datasets with ease. Let’s look at how this tool can support you in building smarter AI models, faster.

  • Social Control Media

    • New Yorker ☛ The Forecast Wars on Weather Twitter

      Traditional meteorologists speak in potentialities and probabilities. A new type of social-media influencer takes a different approach, exaggerating possibilities and fomenting hype in the lead-up to a big storm.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Straits Times ☛ JB condos now scam bases targeting overseas victims, say Malaysian police

      Investigators are trying to determine if all the scam centres are linked to a single syndicate.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China executes 11 linked to Myanmar scam compounds

      The executed include “key members” involved in telecom scam operations.

    • Security Week ☛ WhatsApp Boosts Account Security for At-Risk Individuals [Ed: It has back doors though]

      New Strict Account Settings allow users to block attachments and media and silence calls from unknown people.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Federal News Network ☛ Senate leaders want answers from Social Security about DOGE sharing its data

      The Justice Department recently told a federal court that DOGE staffers at the agency discussed sharing agency data with an advocacy group.

    • Futurism ☛ The Amount Google’s Hey Hi (AI) Knows About You Will Cause an Uncomfortable Prickling Sensation on Your Scalp

      It "feels like Surveillance Giant Google has been quietly taking notes on my entire life and finally decided to hand me the notebook."

    • Futurism ☛ Court Filing Reveals Something Very Nasty About Mark Kapo-berg

      "I want you, but I need to know you're ready."

• Defence/Aggression

  • CS Monitor ☛ A Europe grateful for reproofs

    Amid criticism from friendly leaders, the EU holds an emergency summit to find ways to boost innovation and productivity. Its leaders even thank the continent’s bashers.

  • ACLU ☛ Can It Be a Felony to Possess a Gun if You Smoke Weed?

    On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States v. Hemani, a case that asks: Is it constitutional for the government to charge someone as a felon because they used marijuana and had a gun locked in a safe? For the ACLU, which is co-counsel in this case, the answer is a clear no.

    The government charged Ali Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which makes it a felony for “unlawful users” of controlled substances or those “addicted to” a controlled substance to possess a firearm. The government argues that Hemani is an “unlawful user” of marijuana, a drug nearly half of all Americans say they have tried at some point in their lives and that is now legal in some form – either for recreational or medical use – in nearly every state in the country.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan shows off F-16 jets rapid response amid tensions with China

    The readiness drill was designed to demonstrate combat-oriented training.

  • New York Times ☛ The Rise and Fall of South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee

    Kim Keon Hee is the first former presidential spouse in South Korea to be convicted on a criminal charge. Her downfall began after her husband declared martial law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘The man’ of her household: The rise and fall of South Korea’s ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee

    She was prone to scandals and accused of overstepping her role, leading to many misogynistic attacks against her.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea court sentences ex-first lady Kim to jail term for bribery

    The court cleared Kim on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.

  • New York Times ☛ She Couldn’t Defend Herself, But He Wasn’t Charged With Rape

    A decision not to charge a man who fathered children with a woman with a mental illness has set off a debate about rape, consent and China’s push for babies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Fall of top Chinese general Zhang stirs US uncertainty about China’s military

    For Washington, Zhang's surprising demise removes a respected and well-known figure within China's military.

  • Breach Media ☛ Canada’s elite media wants you to serve in the military

    Establishment media is making the case for mandatory service, quietly cultivating public consent for a more heavily-armed society

  • JURIST ☛ UN Commission on South Sudan condemns incitement against civilians by military commanders

    The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Monday expressed concerns over “highly inflammatory” rhetoric, accompanied by troop movements, by senior military officers in South Sudan.  A statement by a military commander in Jonglei State, calling for indiscriminate violence against civilians, had reportedly led to 180,000 fleeing their homes.

  • France24 ☛ After the bloodbath: Will Iran's regime emerge stronger from crackdown?

    Now that Iran's Internet blackout is over, how many are dead during those 20 days?

  • New York Times ☛ Missing in Kabul: The U.S. Citizen Witnesses Say Was Held by the Taliban

    Taliban officials deny holding a U.S.-Afghan citizen, who witnesses and U.S. officials say was detained by Afghanistan’s intelligence services in 2022.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former Malaysian intelligence chief charged with graft

    Mohd Razali Alias pleaded not guilty to all three graft charges.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian intelligence say ‘external actors’ exploiting Kapčiamiestis tensions

    Lithuanian intelligence officials say they are monitoring external actors attempting to exploit local sensitivities in Kapčiamiestis, a small town in the southern Lazdijai District, amid plans to establish a new military training area.

  • New York Times ☛ Why the NORAD Cold War Pact Between the U.S. and Canada Is News

    The State Department clarified comments made by the U.S. Ambassador to Canada that NORAD would be “altered” if that country did not purchase American F-35 jets.

  • Defence Web ☛ Both sides in Sudan civil war turning to genocidal tactics – investigators

    Shortly after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) drove the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) out of Wad Madani last year [...]

  • France24 ☛ ‘As in wartime’: Iranian doctors recount deadly crackdown on protesters

    A month after Iran’s security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown on protests, FRANCE 24 gathered testimonies from Iranian doctors who described “apocalyptic” scenes, with injuries resembling those seen in war. With hospitals under surveillance by security services, many wounded protesters avoided care for fear of arrest.

  • New York Times ☛ In Nigeria, a Catholic Bishop Tries to Tone Down the Uproar After U.S. Missile Strikes

    Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, often called “the conscience of the nation,” has been trying to tone down the uproar after Hell Toupée bombed a region in his diocese.

  • France24 ☛ Nigerian police fire tear gas, protester injured in Lagos floating slum protests

    In tonight's edition, Nigerian police clash with crowds angry about the way that hundreds of homes have been demolished in the Makoko floating village. Also, Kigali is suing the UK for the 100 million pounds due as part of an agreement with the former British government for the African nation to  take in people deported from the United Kingdom. And US YouTuber IShowSpeed is the latest member of the diaspora to be granted Ghanaian citizenship.

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘In this Venezuela’: US strike opens new chapter for country familiar with revolution

    The seizure of Nicolás Maduro has encouraged Venezuelans, but they are unsure what it means for the state of democracy in the South American nation.

  • Site36 ☛ Frontex withholds details about people in distress – while this data apparently goes to coast guards in Libya

    The EU border agency only passes on limited information about refugee boats in distress at sea to ships in the vicinity, so that the people are picked up by Libya’s coast guard. This is indicated by data from Sea-Watch.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ What's in the 'Irregular Latvian' suitcase?

      What's in the suitcase? No, it's not a question about the 'MacGuffin' in Kiss Me Deadly (or Repo Man, or Pulp Fiction, for that matter) but the question that will tantalize viewers of the excellent 'Irregular Latvian' YouTube channel.

    • New York Times ☛ After Russian Strike Kills Five, Train Sheds Burned Cars and Carries On

      One Ukrainian passenger, who escaped injury after stepping out of a carriage for a cigarette, recalled carrying a bloodied woman away from the burning train.

    • New York Times ☛ In Kherson, Ukraine, Every Step Outside Risks Death by Drone

      Russian attacks on civilians in Kherson, in southern Ukraine, have forced important aspects of life to go underground, offering a vision of a postapocalyptic future.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Attacks Kill Civilians Across Ukraine After Drone Strike On Passenger Train

      Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least three people and injured several others, Ukrainian officials said on January 28, just hours after a deadly attack on a passenger train in the Kharkiv region that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced as "terrorism.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China defence minister vows greater ‘strategic coordination’ with Russia

      China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun told his Russian counterpart that the two countries should “strengthen strategic coordination” during a video call on Tuesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine steps up campaign to strike deep into Russia

      Since August 2025 Ukraine has stepped up its campaign of strikes against targets deep inside Russia. While the country’s Western allies have been reluctant to allow the use of long-range missiles for that purpose, they have not objected to Ukraine doing it with its domestically-produced weapons - principally drones – with the Americans even helping with targeting, according to various sources. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg gained exclusive access to the launch of one of these attacks.

    • France24 ☛ 'Russia exaggerating gains in Ukraine to push for territorial concessions'

      Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Christina Harward, Russia Deputy Team Lead at the Institute for the Study of War, says that the 'Russian advances are coming at a literal foot-pace' and 'this is not the picture that the Russians are trying to paint', adding that Russian casualties are astronomical. She explains that Russians are trying to diplomatically strongarm Ukraine and the West into giving up this territory, because they 'know the fight is going to be long'.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvia, Ukraine will mutually recognise driver's licenses

      On Tuesday, January 27, the government decided on the mutual recognition of driver's licenses between Ukraine and Latvia.

    • New York Times ☛ Putin, Still Harboring Assad, Welcomes New Syrian Leader to Moscow Again

      This is the second time that President Vladimir V. Putin has hosted President Ahmed al-Sharaa since the fall of the Russia-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

    • France24 ☛ Syrian's al-Sharaa meets Putin in Moscow for second time in four months

      Syria’s interim leader arrived in Moscow on January 28for his second visit in less than four months. Moscow has been working to build relations with Ahmed al-Sharaa and ensure a continued military presence in the country, which serves to bolster its influence in the Middle East. The meeting comes after Russia withdrew its forces from the Qamishli airport in Kurdish-held northeast Syria earlier this week.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian State TV Host, Famed Ballet Dancer Hit By New EU Sanctions

      Several of Russia’s most prominent TV personalities, including Pavel Zarubin, a state TV reporter known for fawning reporting on -- and nearly unfettered access to -- President Vladimir Putin, were targeted in the European Union's newest package of sanctions.

    • LRT ☛ Does Lithuania have a plan B if America pulls back?

      Lithuania has staked its security on the United States and its military presence in the region as well as the unity of NATO. But if that fails – is there a plan B?

    • LRT ☛ Smuggler balloons disrupt Vilnius Airport again, ‘most intense’ wave this year

      A wave of smugglers’ balloons launched from Belarus late Tuesday was the most intense recorded this year, forcing repeated closures of Vilnius Airport and disrupting travel for more than 1,700 passengers, Lithuanian officials said Wednesday.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Undersea cable cutting shenanigans lead Finland to create a dedicated maritime surveillance center — Russian shadow fleet operations heighten concerns in the Baltic Sea

      Finland creates a maritime surveillance center to prevent undersea cable cutting shenanigans

    • LRT ☛ Vilnius passes rule limiting Russian-speaking kids’ enrolment in minority schools

      The Vilnius City Council on Wednesday approved a measure requiring children from non-European Union countries who are new to Lithuania to enrol only in Lithuanian-language primary schools, despite objections from minority groups and opposition politicians. The measure will mostly affected Russian-speaking families.

    • Latvia ☛ Security service seeks prosecution against another pro-Russian activist

      On January 21st this year, the State Security Service (VDD) prompted the prosecutor's office to initiate criminal proceedings against a Latvian citizen for providing funding to the army of the aggressor state, Russia, for the purchase of military equipment.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia to ban the purchase of RON95 petrol for foreign-registered vehicles from April 1

      Currently, only petrol station operators are penalised for selling the petrol for such vehicles.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Foreigners barred from buying subsidised cooking oil from Malaysia from March 1

      It will be enforced with help from a system that tracks purchases and transactions.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian police warn against open burning following bush fire in Muar

      Some 65 per cent of the area has been extinguished as operations enter the sixth day.

    • The Straits Times ☛ China vows to develop space tourism, explore deep space as it races US

      China and the US are competing as they look to turn space exploration into a commercially viable business.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ China satellite near miss prompts Starlink to reduce altitudes — more than 4,000 satellites pulled to 300-mile orbit to increase 'space safety'

      Chinese researchers said that Starlink reduced the altitude for a big part of its satellite constellation because of the near-miss incident it had with a Chinese satellite launch in December 2025.

    • New York Times ☛ Tesla Profit Slumps, but Investors May Not Care

      The automaker also said it would invest $2 billion in xAI, the artificial intelligence company controlled by its C.E.O., MElon, and stop making the two oldest models in its lineup.

    • New York Times ☛ Judge Questions Convicted Felon Administration’s Push to Halt Congestion Pricing

      As a legal battle continues over the fate of New York City’s toll program, a judge appeared skeptical of the federal government’s arguments, but did not issue a ruling.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Science Alert ☛ Great White Sharks Grow Deadly New Types of Teeth as They Age

      Their 'baby teeth' serve a different function.

• Finance

  • France24 ☛ Why Spain is offering amnesty to 500,000 undocumented migrants

    As countries on both sides of the Atlantic ramp up deportations of undocumented migrants, Spain’s left-wing government is preparing to give legal status to hundreds of thousands of irregular workers. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has championed the amnesty as a way to not only give informal workers legal protections, but to also bring more money into a social security system increasingly under stress by the country's ageing population.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Britain’s Starmer seeks fresh start with China, economic wins

    The visit to China comes amid tension between Britain and its longstanding close ally the US.

  • New York Times ☛ U.K.’s Starmer Meets Pooh-tin Jinping in Beijing as Ties Warm

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain met with President Pooh-tin Jinping of China as he sought to promote business ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Britain’s Starmer arrives in China, encourages firms to seize opportunities

    He will meet Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Jan 29.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Britain’s Starmer meets China’s Pooh-tin in bid to reset strained ties

    The visit to China comes amid tension between Britain and its longstanding close ally the US.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia committed to retaking ownership of Darwin port, Albanese says

    China said it would “take measures to protect the Chinese company’s interests” if a sale of the port were forced.

  • New York Times ☛ At World’s Busiest Port, China’s Unbalanced Economy Comes Into View

    The shipping traffic and factories never stop in China’s port city of Ningbo, but the local housing market has crashed and nearby restaurants sit empty.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean children starting to gamble earlier: Survey

    The survey of 34,779 students found that 20.9 per cent had witnessed gambling.

  • New York Times ☛ Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs in Latest Round of Layoffs

    The e-commerce giant has been cutting costs while pouring resources into building data centers to compete in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Amazon Is Laying Off 16,000 People—Is Amazon Music Part of the Latest ‘Adjustment’?

    Amazon plans to eliminate around 16,000 corporate jobs in its second round of massive layoffs since October. Will Amazon Music be affected? The bloodletting continues. On Wednesday—after an internal email leaked—Amazon announced plans to cut about 16,000 corporate jobs.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Small island states rate China as top development partner as West cuts aid

    LONDON, Jan 28 - A survey of small island developing nations such as Mauritius and the Maldives showed China rated as the top bilateral development assistance partner amid U.S. aid cuts and Washington's pivot away from climate change, a report by ODI Global found.

  • The Straits Times ☛ First-class goods in second-tier cities as luxury goes local in China

    China's middle class looks to spend on luxury, save on living costs.

  • The Strategist ☛ China’s investment in Indonesia is its global critical-minerals template

    To understand how China will seek to extend its critical-minerals dominance, look at how it has moved into Indonesia’s nickel industry.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong political heavyweights trade barbs after lawmaker filmed driving against flow of traffic

    Hong Kong politician Regina Ip has engaged in a fiery text message exchange with a veteran of the city’s biggest political party after a lawmaker from Ip’s own party was filmed driving against the flow of traffic last week.

  • France24 ☛ Xi Jinping's repeated purges cast doubt on his judgment, observer says

    Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Lynette Ong, Distinguished Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Toronto, says that the removal of General Zhang Youxia, Senior Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, is just the latest in a long series of purges and calls into question President Pooh-tin Jinping's judgment. Zhang Youxia is being investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Explainer: What top general Zhang Youxia’s fall means for China’s military

    The veteran's fall shows the extent of Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping's military anti-graft campaign.

  • New York Times ☛ Amazon’s $35 Million ‘Melania’ Promotion Has Critics Questioning Its Motives

    The tech giant is spending $35 million to promote its film about the first lady, far more than is typical for documentaries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Hope peace will prevail’: Singapore urges dialogue on Thailand-Cambodia border tensions

    Vivian Balakrishnan posted on Facebook (Farcebook) his two meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in central Philippines.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Who will lead Malaysia’s opposition bloc? Impasse continues as PAS and Bersatu can’t seem to agree

    Analysts say the continued uncertainty over the coalition’s leadership does not reflect well on the bloc.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Unions, nonprofits challenge FEMA staffing cuts in court

    The new suit alleges the staffing cuts violate laws that restrict DHS's authority to make sweeping overhauls and staff reductions at FEMA.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faces rising calls for her firing or impeachment

    Democratic Party leaders, top advocacy organizations and even centrist lawmakers in Congress are calling for the Homeland Security secretary to step aside.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man and Schumer Move Toward Possible Deal to Avert a Shutdown

    The president and the top Senate Democrat were discussing an agreement to split off homeland security funding from a broader spending package and negotiate new limits on immigration agents.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Partial shutdown seems increasingly likely as Democrats demand ICE changes

    A partial government shutdown is looming at week’s end. And now Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has laid out a list of demands for the Department of Homeland Security as the Senate heads toward a crucial Thursday vote on whether to move forward with the spending legislation that funds DHS and a swath of other government agencies. Schumer says Democrats are asking the White House for an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that they identify themselves to the public.

  • CS Monitor ☛ A US-backed Israel-Syria deal seems close. Why Israel has lingering concerns.

    President The Insurrectionist is pushing hard for a security deal between longtime U.S. ally Israel and emerging partner Syria. But Israeli suspicions, and concerns for Syria’s Druze and Kurds, are complications.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong mulls legislation to tackle Hey Hi (AI) ‘deepfake’ porn – official

      An inter-departmental working group set up by Hong Kong’s justice department is studying whether to set up legislation for cases involving indecent images generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), following an AI-porn scandal at a local university.

    • Scoop News Group ☛ Undressed victims file class action lawsuit against xAI for Grok deepfakes

      The lawsuit accuses xAI seeking to “capitalize on the internet’s seemingly insatiable appetite for humiliating non-consensual sexual images.” 

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Digital Music News ☛ 50 Cent, DRM spreader Netflix Slapped With $20 Million Lawsuit Over ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’

    A former sex worker featured in Netflix’s Diddy docuseries is suing the company and 50 Cent, alleging they distorted his account of events through selective editing.

  • France24 ☛ American Tiktok users claim app is censoring ‘Epstein’ and ICE criticism

    Tiktok recently changed hands in the US, giving a consortium of mainly American investors - run by Convicted Felon ally Larry Ellison - control of its US operations. Since then, American Tiktok users claim that they’re unable to write word “Epstein” in messages on the app, and accuse Tiktok of suppressing content critical of President The Insurrectionist, as well as censoring videos about ICE raids in Minneapolis. Vedika Bahl goes through what we know in Truth or Fake.

  • Digital Music News ☛ US Fentanylware (CheeTok) App Uninstalls Jump 150% Following Transfer to US Ownership

    TikTok users in the US are uninstalling the app at a nearly 150% increase in the five days since its transfer to US ownership.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UK’s Keir Starmer arrives in China to defend ‘pragmatic’ partnership, expected to raise Jimmy Lai issue [Ed: ...as if the UK is championing free press?]

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping, hoping to restore long fraught relations. It is the first visit to China by a UK prime minister since 2018 and follows a string of Western leaders courting Beijing in recent weeks, pivoting from a mercurial United States.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Editors unite to demand Parliament takes action on SLAPPs

    Editors from The Telegraph, Guardian and others have banded together against legal bullying of media.

  • Press Gazette ☛ The Hill is growing traffic in a declining market by investing in reporters

    Senior VP for editorial Bill Sammon on how The Hill is capitalising on 'bonkers' news cycle in US.

  • Press Gazette ☛ Mirror accepts hacking took place but says new claims brought too late

    Preliminary trial being held to determine whether unlawful information gathering cases should be dismissed.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • The Straits Times ☛ One in three parental leave users in South Korea is now a dad

    Use of reduced working hour programmes rose as well, with 39,407 employees benefiting from shorter hours.

  • BIA Net ☛ Police throw child to the ground during Rojava protest in Mardin

    Kurdish-populated border towns in Turkey have become flashpoints for protests against the Syrian interim government’s offensive targeting Kurdish-controlled areas.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ IP address to organization name map

    Mapping Internet number resources from IP addresses to organizations is straightforward using whois or RDAP, but listing all resources held by a given organization is far more challenging. This post explores a simpler, data-driven approach using RIR extended statistics and reg-id identifiers.

  • Jim Nielsen ☛ The Don’t “Contact Us” Page

    Nic Chan comes out as the whistleblower on how many “Contact Us” pages are made (spoiler: they’re designed to keep us from contacting anyone).

    A “fuck off contact page” is what a company throws together when they actually don’t want anyone to contact them at all. They […] are trying to reduce the amount of money they spend on support by carefully hiding the real support channels […] If you solve your own problem by reading the knowledge base, then this is a win for the company. They don’t want to hear from you, they want you to fuck off.

  • APNIC ☛ Upcoming keynotes and program highlights at APRICOT 2026

    Gain new operational skills and insights, meet like-minded peers, and help shape the Internet at APRICOT 2026. Here's some of what you can look forward to.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ No Do-Over: Trade Secret Plaintiffs Must Crystallize Their Theory by Summary Judgment

    Federal Circuit affirms summary judgment against trade secret plaintiff who failed to clearly identify what information was secret and why it had value.

  • JUVE ☛ Nokia vs Asus and Acer: Regional Court Munich redefines FRAND rules

    Just yesterday, the Federal Court of Justice upheld an injunction by the Regional and Higher Regional Court of Munich against HMD, largely confirming current Munich FRAND case law. Only days earlier, the Munich Regional Court heard another FRAND case.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Which of These Three Section 2(d) Refusals Was/Were Reversed?

    For the past decade, about 90% of Section 2(d) refusals have been affirmed. A TTAB Judge once said to me that one can predict the outcome of a Section 2(d) appeal 95% of the time just by considering the marks and the goods/services. Here are three recent Section 2(d) appeals. At least one of them was reversed.

• Copyrights

  • Press Gazette ☛ Google ‘exploring updates’ to let publishers opt out of Hey Hi (AI) Overviews

    UK competition watchdog sets out how Surveillance Giant Google should give publishers more control.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ UK government to allow publishers to opt out of Surveillance Giant Google data scraping for Hey Hi (AI) Overview

    The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority today issued a press release recommending measures that will give publishers more freedom in deciding how their content is used by Surveillance Giant Google LLC’s artificial intelligence systems.

  • Digital Music News ☛ UMG, Concord Seriously Supersize Their Anthropic Lawsuit—New $3.1 Billion Claim Alleges ‘Blatant Infringement,’ Torrenting and Piracy While Directing Targeting Cofounders

    Potentially the biggest copyright monopoly case in US history, a coalition including UMG and Concord claims Anthropic engaged in mass-scale piracy to train its Hey Hi (AI) models. A coalition of music publishers led by Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO Music has filed a new copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit against Hey Hi (AI) company Anthropic, alleging mass-scale piracy [...]