xkcd #3314: Vulnerability

Title text:

Other numbers are largely unaffected, but anyone using '4' for their certificate key is urged to upgrade to '5'.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3314/

explainxkcd for #3314

Former President George W. Bush’s brother, Neil Bush, has revealed he voted for Democratic candidate James Talarico for U.S. Senate in Texas, calling Donald Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election "an affront to our democratic institutions."

"I voted early today, and I voted for James Talarico for the United States Senate," the Texan businessman wrote in a post on Facebook on Tuesday in a snub to Republican candidate Ken Paxton.

The 71-year-old son of former Republican President George H. W. Bush and chair of his father's nonprofit Points of Light, wrote that while he has been a Republican for most of his life, character “matters more than party affiliation.”

New tagline dropped

https://explosm.net/comics/ass

As a candidate positioned at the center of what researchers say are the worst Islamophobic attacks seen since the aftermath of 9/11, many would expect Abdul El-Sayed to simply defend himself and move on.

Instead, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan has repeatedly demanded those who question his positions on Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood and his faith, explain the premise of their inquiry. Rather than let others put his loyalties on trial, he has tried to put their assumptions on trial.

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Author comment:

GIMME.

Went shopping yesterday, feeling like myself for the first time in months. Am I out of my slump?

After some delay I'm back to working on The Megazord!

Bloc also assesses safeguards against personal data misuse for phishing, payment fraud

BRUSSELS

The European Commission on Wednesday opened formal proceedings against Booking.com to investigate whether the online travel platform breached the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately address fraudulent listings, phishing scams and advertising transparency.

The investigation will assess whether Booking.com properly identified and mitigated risks associated with fake accommodation listings, including non-existent properties, impersonation fraud and non-compliant offers, according to a statement.

The EU executive will also examine whether the platform took sufficient measures to prevent fraudulent listings from appearing on its service and protect consumers from potential scams.

A second focus of the investigation will be phishing attacks targeting Booking.com users through reservation and guest data.

The bloc will assess whether the platform adequately evaluated risks arising from the sharing of reservation information with accommodation providers, and the design and operation of its messaging service.

It will also examine whether sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent personal data from being misused to send phishing messages and solicit fraudulent payments.

The commission said it would conduct an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority, gathering further evidence through requests for information, interviews and inspections.

It may also impose interim measures, adopt non-compliance decisions or accept commitments from Booking.com to address the concerns under investigation.

Related articles:

• Booking.com’s parent company is officially a gatekeeper, EU monopoly watchdog says

• Commission designates Booking as a gatekeeper and opens a market investigation into X

Summary: UK Domestic Beef consumption projected to drop 8% since 2024 on rising prices, per capita consumption down 2/3 since the 1980s

UK beef consumption is set to fall for a second year in a row in 2026. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) forecasts total volumes 3% lower than in 2025 and 8% below 2024 levels.

Price is the main driver. Over the past 52 weeks, higher average prices pushed retail spending on beef up 7.1%. But the volume bought fell 4.6% in shops and 2.9% in restaurants, takeaways and other out-of-home outlets. Shoppers are paying more and getting less.

AHDB doesn't expect a turnaround next year. Its retail and consumer insight manager, Emma Wantling, expects consumer confidence to stay weak through 2027, with food inflation and energy bills squeezing household budgets and shoppers looking for value. Mince, the mainstay of retail beef, is expected to stay subdued as families switch to cheaper options. Steaks and roasting joints are increasingly kept for special occasions. Fast-food chains are expected to push smaller, cheaper burgers.

Supply won't ease the pressure. AHDB senior analyst Becky Smith said global beef supply is likely to stay tight in 2027 as Australia, Brazil and the US rebuild their herds, which will keep prices high.

The latest fall continues a long decline. According to Defra's Family Food survey, household beef purchases fell from 14.5 kg per person a year in 1980 to 5.0 kg in 2022. Taking the 2025–26 decline into account, the figure is now estimated at about 4.5 kg, roughly two-thirds lower. Over the same period, chicken has replaced red meat as Britain's staple protein.

Past price shocks suggest some of the losses will stick. After the 2022–23 cost-of-living squeeze, AHDB forecast that 2024 beef volumes would be only 1% up on 2023 and still 6% below 2019 levels. Beef never returned to pre-pandemic consumption before the current price spike began.

Sources: Agriland / AHDB 2027 UK beef market outlook (18 October 2026); AHDB, Long term protein trends explored; AHDB Agri Market Outlook 2024.

The State of the Map Latin America conference is taking place 27-29 October in Mexico City. If you want to help participants to find their way around town, we will do one more map generation on the 25th, so there's still time to add to OpenStreetMap or review POI via Mangrove Reviews/MapComplete.

Our contributor Bastian will be there to give a talk about CoMaps and distribute some of our stickers. If you'd like to meet up, get in touch via our community channels: https://www.comaps.app/community/

Action needed to avoid disastrous overshoot of climate targets, according to organisation’s environment body

The world needs to cut carbon emissions by nearly a fifth in the next four years, and by close to half within a decade, to avoid overshooting climate targets by a disastrous margin.

Although the “window has closed” on holding temperature rises to 1.5C, in line with scientific advice, limiting the “overshoot” of that target is still possible, according to the UN Environment Programme (Unep).

But countries are failing to translate their long-term targets on reducing emissions into short-term actions, a report on the “emissions gap” between climate goals and policies has found.