The U.N.'s Universal Postal Union (UPU) said the global postal network saw postal traffic en route to the U.S. "come to a near halt" after Aug. 29, when the "de minimis" trade exemption that allowed small packages worth less than $800 to be exempt from tariffs ended. Data between postal operators shows that traffic dropped 81% on Aug. 29 compared to a week earlier, the union said. The UPU also said it is working on ways to get traffic flowing back to the country.

At least 88 postal operators have suspended some or all services to the United States until there is a solution, the union said.

After the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary, school leaders in Uvalde, Texas, initially planned to publicly defend district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, but officials instead chose to remain silent as investigations into police actions unfolded, newly released records show. Arredondo is now facing criminal charges over law enforcement’s delayed confrontation with the gunman.

The previously unreported details were revealed in over 25,000 pages of records the district has disclosed over the course of a week since Aug. 26 after a yearslong legal fight with news outlets, including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, which filed over 70 public information requests for the records in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

However, the district’s law firm may have again failed to disclose all of the requested information, according to Laura Prather, one of the attorneys representing the newsrooms in the records litigation. Prather sent a letter Friday demanding the district publish the remaining files, which could include details about the school maintenance issues with doors that failed to lock, Arredondo’s severance and additional communications among officials. Decker, the district’s lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment.

Uvalde School Officials Initially Planned to Defend Pete Arredondo, Records Show

The previously unreported details were revealed in the over 25,000 pages of records the school district has disclosed since Aug. 26 in response to a yearslong legal fight by news outlets, including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

^ProPublica

These People Deserve Each Other

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a heated confrontation with Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte last week at the Executive Branch, the MAGA-chic private club in D.C., Politico reports.

Bessent accused Pulte, the MAGA influencer ginning up mortgage fraud claims against Trump foes, of bad-mouthing him to Trump, leading to this diatribe from the sitting Treasury secretary: “Why the fuck are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you. I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.”

Co-owner Omeed Malik attempted to intervene in the confrontation, prompting this memorable exchange:

“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.”

“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”

“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”

“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”

Even Trump-world insiders described the scene to Politico as “bonkers” and “unhinged.”

Thousands of people took to the streets of Washington, DC, on Saturday to voice opposition to Donald Trump’s armed federal intervention in the city.

The demonstration, organized by a coalition of local activist groups and unions, demands the “immediate withdrawal” of federal troops from Washington and an end to Trump’s federalization of the city’s own police department.

Stamattina stavo (ri)guardando le immagini stock di Blogger, che vengono proposte da usare come sfondi decorativi sui siti dal pannello admin, e… mi è venuto in mente che dovevo pigniarli (e ci mancherebbe altro, ormai). In realtà, io pensavo fossero sfondi esclusivi di Google, anche se sotto sotto sospettavo di no… e infatti sono immagini […]

octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…

minioctt

2025-09-08 18:11:11

bloggistiche immagini rubacchiate alla gran G (immagini stock di Blogger salvate in Pignio)

Stamattina stavo (ri)guardando le immagini stock di Blogger, che vengono proposte da usare come sfondi decorativi sui siti dal pannello admin, e… mi è venuto in mente che dovevo pigniarli (e ci mancherebbe altro, ormai). In realtà, io pensavo fossero sfondi esclusivi di Google, anche se sotto sotto sospettavo di no… e infatti sono immagini stock premium normalissime, provenienti dai vari siti soliti… ma questo non vuol dire che non siano da salvare nella mia pineta multimediale, visto come possono sempre tornare utili nei momenti più casuali. 🙂

Sono ben 372 immagini uniche, molte JPEG e qualcuna PNG, quasi tutte in alta risoluzione, ma ovviamente tutte senza watermark, per cui evidentemente sono tutte state comprate da Google per permettere agli utenti di usarle gratis complementando i vari temi offerti (ma da almeno un decennio eh, non è roba recente, e lo si vede da come Blogger ancora usa il benedettissimo Material v1)… E certamente non sono state pagate da Google perché io potessi scaricarmele tutte e archiviarmele nella mia libreria dell’accumulo ordinato, quindi è servita indubbiamente un pochino di magia per compiere il misfatto, ma in pochi minuti ci ho messo comunque le mani sopra, su tutte (perché alcune mi piacciono tanto). 🪆

Sono servite due fasi per compiere l’opera. Fase 1: usare la console JavaScript del browser per copiare i metadati di tutte le immagini dalla pagina attiva ad un oggetto JSON, cliccando una sezione alla volta ed eseguendo per ciascuna il mio codicino che prende le immagini dal DOM… e poi fase 2: chiedere a Copilot di scrivere uno scriptino per scaricare tutte le immagini dal JSON su disco e creare i file INI corrispondenti per Pignio. (E, fase 3, suppongo: eseguire lo script e godere.) E poi in realtà ho dovuto spendere fin troppi minuti per filtrare a mano (con solo l’aiuto di Czkawka) le immagini duplicate che sono uscite fuori, perché svariate erano ripetute in più categorie, ma era comunque meno problematico fare così che sbattermi per avere uno script che tenesse conto già di questo schifo, vabbé. ✋

Adesso che ho anche aggiornato Pignio per mostrare le liste delle sottocartelle, collezioni di questo tipo lì sopra sono anche più epiche di prima, quindi ecco tutte queste belle (o quantomeno decenti) immagini stock con licenza non specificata (insomma, riutilizzabili solo a proprio rischio e pericolo, come piace a me): … e, qui ci sono gli appunti delle varie fasi, comprensivi di sloppa IA per gran divertimento: memos.octt.eu.org/m/nZo3BpL67C…. E ora, ancora, appena ho voglia, mi prenderò pure le immagini di Google Sites, che sono diverse (ma sono di meno, forse una cinquantina, quindi si fa subito anche solo a mano). 🎭

#Blogger #images #immagini #sfondi #stock

Memo by ██▓▒­░⡷⠂𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜⠐⢾░▒▓██

Czkawka, Multi functional app to find duplicates, empty folders, similar images etc: + https://github.com/qarmin/czkawka + Fake site with probably malware: https://czkawka.com — https://github.com/qarmin/czkawka/issues/1583 ![](https://user-images.

^Memos

Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, said in May that web publishing is not dying. Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, said in May that the web is thriving. But in a court document filed by Google on late Friday, Google's lawyers wrote, "The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline."

New Google Court Doc: Open Web Is In Rapid Decline

Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, said in May that web publishing is not dying. Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, said in May that the web is thriving. But in a court document filed by Google on late Fri

^{Barry Schwartz (Search Engine Roundtable)}

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-immigration-stops-los-angeles-trump-57cc1f85ceafda0f11052b326c8b7173

https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trump-linked-venture-fund-1789-capital-tops-1-billion-assets-2025-09-08/

The leading U.S. exchange for technology giants is moving toward blockchain-based listing and trading of stocks, filing a request with the SEC to pursue it.

Nasdaq Seeks Nod From U.S. SEC to Tokenize Stocks

^{Jesse Hamilton (CoinDesk)}

Forget scorecards and accountability assemblies. These polite tactics assume shame still works on politicians who've proven themselves shameless. That's bringing a pencil to a gunfight. This is political asymmetric warfare, and anti-authoritarians need to weaponize every legal mechanism available. Every tactic described here operates within existing law.

Consult local statutes and file only legitimate, good-faith complaints. But file them relentlessly.

Ethics complaints, criminal referrals, FOIA bombardments, bar complaints, IRS whistleblower reports: these are the tools that actually destroy political careers. Corrupt politicians have vulnerabilities: campaign finance violations, unreported income, conflicts of interest, misuse of office resources. These corrupt practices are often integral to their systematic exploitation.

Criminal complaints also work. Bob Menendez got 11 years. Duncan Hunter got 11 months in prison for stealing over $250,000 in campaign funds. File criminal referrals with state attorneys general. Even unsuccessful investigations drain resources. Politicians routinely spend six figures to millions on defense lawyers while under investigation. Trump spent over $100 million on legal fees during his criminal investigations and civil lawsuits from 2022-2024. Force them to lawyer up repeatedly.

FOIA functions as a powerful tool. Scott Pruitt's career ended after Sierra Club's relentless FOIA campaign exposed his secret calendars and industry meetings. Hillary Clinton's email scandal started with a FOIA request filed by journalist Jason Leopold. File requests for calendars, emails, text messages, visitor logs. Appeal every denial. Litigate when necessary. Organizations like CREW maintain hundreds of active FOIA requests and lawsuits, creating constant pressure.

The Red State Resistance Blueprint

Asymmetric Political Warfare

^{Christopher Armitage (The Existential Republic)}

President Donald Trump is swiftly implementing his vision of the military as an all-powerful tool for his policy goals.

Archived version: archive.is/newest/apnews.com/a…

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/opinion/universities-science-trump-china.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kU8.c67B.XfmGnjZXKR8P

cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/37090037

::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::

Pro

2025-09-08 13:55:29

ICEBlock handled my vulnerability report in the worst possible way

::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::

ICEBlock handled my vulnerability report in the worst possible way

Last week, I wrote about how Joshua Aaron's ICEBlock app, which allows people to anonymously report ICE sightings within a 5-mile radius, is – unfortunately, and despite apparent good intentions – activism theater.

^{Micah Lee (micahflee)}

Torniamo più carichi che mai dalle lunghe ferie

Il libro di Settembre 2025 è Le venti giornate di Torino

Tempo fino al 1 ottobre, poi vediamo

Discutine sul nostro forum.

Court-appointee Gursel Tekin entered CHP base with riot police after clashes, as party denounces political 'coup'

Archived version: archive.is/newest/middleeastey…

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

Turkish opposition Istanbul HQ seized under police guard

After hours of clashes with protesters, a court-appointed interim head of the Istanbul branch of Turkey's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) entered the party’s building under police protection.

^{Ragip Soylu (Middle East Eye)}

Linus Torvalds has grown frustrated enough with seeing "Link: " tags within Git commits/patches that often times they are of no value and he's had enough of it. For Linux kernel activity moving forward he's going to be more strict over "useless" link tags in Git commit messages.

Linus Torvalds Grows Frustrated Seeing "Garbage" With "Link: " Tags In Git Commits

Linus Torvalds has grown frustrated enough with seeing 'Link: ' tags within Git commits/patches that often times they are of no value and he's had enough of it

^{www.phoronix.com}

Norway’s radical-left party, Rødt, has recruited thousands of members in recent years and looks set to boost its scores in Monday’s election. Seher Aydar, MP, told Jacobin about how it’s building on discontent with the established parties.

Norway’s Red Party Offers a Working-Class Alternative

^jacobin.com

Right wingers at the Telegraph are lining up to defeat each other in the hypocrisy awards as they criticise Rayner while doing worse

Telegraph somehow out-does Farage on hypocrisy over tax dodge

^{James Wright (The Canary)}

⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show online platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp have been restricted in #Turkey on multiple networks; the incident comes as main opposition party CHP calls for rallies after police blockade its Istanbul headquarters

Y'all, I'm a big fan of Lemmy, and looking to get out of the walled gardens and into the fediverse as much as I can.

I'm wondering about a few things, so let me know before I go signing up for everything if I'm doing this right or what.

I'm looking for some sort of blog/html hosting site, and I think that Hubzilla is appropriate for this, but I'm not sure. Primarily, I just want some space for some webgames and assets. Nothing crazy. That might also be Codeberg (OSS, not federated AFAIK), but I'm not sure about Hubzilla since it seems to do everything. Federating from Wordpress won't work because they seem to have their direct HTML editing access locked down to the point that it's not what I need.

I understand that pixelfed is the IG parallel (I don't use IG more than seeing what my spouse and 1 friend sends me), but are there multiple options for FB replacement? Or just Friendica? I genuinely don't think I'll have any IRL friends on Friendica if I go look, but I'm not going to have to provide an ID. But hey, there's always my 500th overlapping Linux enthusiast group to join.

Thanks in advance - all advice appreciated!

Access options:
* gift link
* archive.today

I'll note that one of the key battery factories which was to spin up probably won't because the Trump adminstistration arrested all the workers who weren't US nationals — even if they had visas::

“They stormed the place, detaining everyone, no matter who they were,” Camila had told him.

Santiago, who had worked at the plant in the past and knew the hiring procedures well, told CNN, that everyone trying to get a job has to show legal documentation before they can start work.

“My wife told me that when they were processing her, they asked each person what documentation they had.”

But Santiago says that when Camila showed them her documents, the officer in charge marked her paperwork saying she had “nothing” and sent her to the ICE detention bus.

Their accounts concur with that of Mauricio, another migrant who asked not to give his full name and whose wife has been detained since the raid.

“They were calm because her and her brother had their documents in order,” Mauricio told CNN. But he said when the ICE agents arrived, they quickly ran over to people, and “they didn’t accept any documents.”

“Even though they were able to verify them, they were told that nothing was valid, that they would all be arrested,” Mauricio said.

South Korea chartered a plan to take their experts home later this week.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday announced a permanent ban on the sale of weapons and ammunition to Israel as part of a package of measures aimed at "stopping the genocide" in Gaza.

ships carrying fuel destined for Israel's armed forces will be prohibited from docking in Spanish ports, while aircraft known to be transporting military material will be forbidden from entering the country's airspace.

forbids people who have "directly participated in genocide, human rights violations and war crimes in the Gaza Strip" from entering Spain.

a total ban on products imported from occupied territories.

MADRID, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Spain will increase pressure on Israel by banning Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from calling at Spanish ports or entering Spanish airspace, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.

Spain will also increase aid to the Palestinian authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and will impose an embargo on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, he said.

Spain will also ban anyone who has participated directly in what Sanchez qualified as "genocide" from entering the country.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-ban-israel-bound-shipping-aircraft-carrying-weapons-its-ports-airspace-2025-09-08/

At least 10 people have been killed in Nepal after protests over a government ban on dozens of social media platforms – including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and X – led to violent clashes with police.

The government, led by the prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, has faced mounting criticism after imposing a ban on 26 prominent social media platforms and messaging apps that it says have failed to comply with new regulations.

At least 10 people killed during protests against Nepal’s social media ban

Free speech demonstrations came after government said Facebook and others failed to follow new regulations

^{Hannah Ellis-Petersen (The Guardian)}

ISRAEL’S SUPREME COURT has ruled that the government has failed to provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence, and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition.

The decision was a rare case in which the country’s highest court ruled against the government’s conduct in Gaza in recent years.

Since October 2023, Israel has seized thousands of people in Gaza that it suspects of links to Hamas. Thousands have also been released without charge, often after months of detention.

Rights groups have documented widespread abuse in prisons and detention facilities, including insufficient food and health care, as well as poor sanitary conditions and beatings.

Israel also routinely detains children and prosecutes them in military courts, a practice long-condemned by human rights organisations and the United Nations. The most common charge is for throwing stones, which can carry a 20-year sentence.

Israeli Supreme Court orders government to stop starving Palestinian prisoners

Judges found that inmates were denied enough food for “basic subsistence” after a far-right minister cut rations to the legal minimum.

^{TheJournal.ie}

cross-posted from: reddthat.com/post/49607175

• Missed Opportunity: Some Social Security officials said they welcomed DOGE — the agency needs a technological overhaul — only to see DOGE ignore them and prioritize quick (often empty) wins.
• Internal Revolt: Leland Dudek, the agency’s then acting chief, helped DOGE at first, then tried to resist when he saw what it was doing, Dudek said in 15 hours of candid interviews.
• DOGE Lives On: Multiple former DOGErs have taken permanent roles at the Social Security Administration, and Senate-confirmed Commissioner Frank Bisignano has embraced its approach.

Inside DOGE’s Takeover of the Social Security Administration

DOGE has ignored urgently needed reforms and upgrades at the Social Security Administration, according to dozens of insiders and 15 hours of candid interviews with the former acting chief of the agency, who admits he sometimes made things worse.

^ProPublica