I am sure most of you might be aware that Google plans to bans the simple act of sideloading [though I presume adb driven sideloading remains] on it's platform in name of security. At the same time Play Store itself remains riddled with malware. However, here I wish to throw light on a different rising case of apps, a set that actually deserves to be pirated.

With the start of the so called subscription driven economy where one time purchases are becoming a thing of the past,everything needs to be a subscription. Some things like a newspaper make sense, a music tracking app does not. Let us turn our eyes to Stats.fm. It aims to link to Spotify/Apple Account and present data in good format. It was a one time purchase back in the day when I barely used Spotify, so I got the legit version. Spotify usually retails for INR [Indian National Rupee] 1200 per year but was retailing for 500 as an initial promotional scheme last week. Fed up with the mess that YT Music is [Yes, I do hoard music via Soulseek as well], I thought why not give Spotify a try. So, I installed both the streaming app and this fancy scrobbling service which as I repeat, was a one time purchase linked to a Google account.

As soon as I open the app, I am told I need to subscribe [bait and switch]. To put salt on wound, their cheapest plans were INR 750 for 6 months, which ironically is equivalent to YT Premium [when equating to per year]. So, what is basically a Last.fm clone with little third party support [Last.fm offers a largely working free tier and has open APIs that make it work with third party plugins/clients] and now did a classic bait; is it not ethical to pirate such kind of stuff?

I would go on a limb and say that Google actually has a case for asking money for YT Premium since they offer 2 services : music and video streaming [yes, the apps are shit, I know that] which incur server costs. But am I to truly believe that equivalent server costs are incurred by err,a music tracking app that ONLY tracks one music client?

As Cory Doctrow coined the term enshittification, we are heading down that route. I am sure many more apps would have done that bait and switch. [I even saw an Wear OS watch face as a yearly subscription option once].

Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price. Unhappy with their meager profits, they meet one night in a smoke-filled tavern to discuss a secret plan: If they raise prices together instead of competing, they can both make more money. But that kind of intentional price-fixing, called collusion, has long been illegal. The widget merchants decide not to risk it, and everyone else gets to enjoy cheap widgets.

For well over a century, U.S. law has followed this basic template: Ban those backroom deals, and fair prices should be maintained. These days, it’s not so simple. Across broad swaths of the economy, sellers increasingly rely on computer programs called learning algorithms, which repeatedly adjust prices in response to new data about the state of the market. These are often much simpler than the “deep learning” algorithms that power modern artificial intelligence, but they can still be prone to unexpected behavior

The Game Theory of How Algorithms Can Drive Up Prices | Quanta Magazine

Recent findings reveal that even simple pricing algorithms can make things more expensive.

^{Ben Brubaker (Quanta Magazine)}

It's happening. On Thursday ICE agents are going to be stationed just outside of Oakland in the Alameda Coast Guard base.

Over the past few months planning for a resistance effort has been underway by Bay Resistance at bayresistance.org/

Bay Resistance

^{Bay Resistance}

Archived copy of the article

The paper is here

Earth’s Falling Reflectivity Means the Planet Is Getting Darker—And Hotter

The planet’s brightness is dimming—changing rainfall, circulation and temperature

^{Ryan Green (Scientific American)}

Ghosts, so many ghosts! Help the ancient spirit in the lobby to find them all and unlock the "Ghostbusters" title! Until November 6th

aes.land/

US journalist Jasper Nathaniel has accused the US embassy in Israel of failing to protect him after he was chased by Israeli settlers while reporting in the occupied West Bank, in what he called an ambush.

Nathaniel's posts on X have led to outrage online over not just the targeting of a journalist, but also the unabating Israeli settler attacks.

On Sunday, Nathaniel had been covering the first day of the olive harvest in the village of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, where he filmed a settler attack that left dozens injured - including an elderly Palestinian woman, a Swedish activist, and an Italian activist.

The attack was one of dozens reported this week. The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs recorded 71 incidents of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank in the span of just seven days.

Both Nathaniel and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said that Palestinian farmers were escorted by the Israeli military, ostensibly for protection from settler violence, but were instead led directly into an ambush.

The Swedish activist with ISM was attacked while trying to defend the elderly woman. “I felt that I could not watch, and I decided to get the attention of the settler because otherwise I didn’t know what would happen to this woman,” she said in an ISM press release, where she was not mentioned by name.

“I got some minor injuries myself, but I really don’t think they can be compared to the injuries that Palestinians suffer every day that this occupation goes on just for living their life, just for existing.”

Footage of a settler clubbing the elderly woman quickly went viral, alongside screenshots of Nathaniel’s text exchange with the US embassy in Israel. During the ambush, Nathaniel himself was attacked by settlers. Video shows him being chased by a mob before taking refuge in a car. A settler then smashed the car windows before turning to beat the woman, footage which Nathaniel captured on camera.

In the text exchange, an embassy representative told him that the US could not provide protection, saying it was the responsibility of the host nation, Israel, to safeguard the nearly 60,000 Americans living in the occupied territories.

The video and messages have intensified scrutiny of the US embassy’s role in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, while drawing renewed attention to the daily violence carried out by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank.

“This picture of an Israeli settler tormenting a Palestinian farmer on her land captures so much about the daily routine of living under occupation for over 70 years. Unprovoked, unhinged, unseen by the American public, and entirely protected by the American government,” Palestinian American Imam Omar Suleiman posted on X.

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese also condemned the rise in settler violence, asking where "decent" Israelis were.

"For 2 years, the world has seen scenes like this from the West Bank," she posted on X. "I wonder where decent Israelis are; those who protest in Tel Aviv. Hatred of Hamas is one thing, but do they not feel some obligation to act to stop their fellow citizens behaving like criminals on the loose?"

"America can send Israel billions to continue a genocide but can’t protect one of its citizens from being almost murdered by a pack of armed settlers," one social media user posted. "What an embarrassment."

Social media users also pointed out the hypocrisy in both the US embassy’s treatment of Nathaniel and the wider media’s lack of coverage of the attack.

"If an American tourist was being chased and attacked by masked & armed government-backed terrorists in any country other than Israel, it would be immediately become a major diplomatic crisis with wall to wall media coverage," journalist Jeremy Loffredo posted on X.

Palestinian-American political analyst Omar Baddar posted on X: "If there was an image of a Palestinian clubbing an elderly Israeli woman in the head and knocking her unconscious, it would be on EVERY SINGLE NETWORK as a main story. But the racist & often murderous brutality directed at Palestinians is deemed unworthy of attention."

Another social media user posted that if the attack had happened in Iran, "Washington would’ve called it an 'act of war'."

A video of an American man expressing outrage has circulated widely on social media. In it, he says that, had the attack occurred in the US, the perpetrators “would be killed immediately”. He adds that when Palestinians defend themselves, they are often labelled terrorists and brought before Israeli military courts.

A few online defended the US embassy's response to Nathaniel. "I'm going to be real here; this is what I would have said if I was this ACS officer. Because it is, technically, true; the host country is responsible and diplomats aren't bodyguards," one social media user posted on X.

"But what is unsaid here?" he continued, is "the US has unlimited leverage over Israel. Which it doesn't use."

Some also noted that the outrage surrounding the incident stems in part from Nathaniel’s identity as an American in the West Bank - an unfortunate reflection of how Palestinian oppression only gains wider attention when amplified by western voices.

"I appreciate Jasper for helping our farmers, but it’s sad that Palestinian voices need validation from an American journalist to be believed," one Palestinian social media user posted on X. "Settler attacks happen almost daily, yet they only make news when filmed by an American. Again, much appreciation to Jasper."

Chats with the US embassy

Warning: There are more photos and videos about the settler violence in the news but I won't post them because it is hard to watch and NSFW

The recruits have had criminal backgrounds or failed drug tests or were unable to meet physical or academic standards, raising concerns about the agency’s rush to hire immigration officers, sources told NBC News.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed new recruits into its training program before they have completed the agency’s vetting process, an unusual sequence of events as it rushes to hire federal immigration officers to carry out Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, a current and two former Homeland Security Department officials told NBC News.

ICE officials only later discovered that some of the recruits failed drug testing, have disqualifying criminal backgrounds or don’t meet the physical or academic requirements to serve, the sources said.

Staff members at ICE’s training academy in Brunswick, Georgia, recently discovered one recruit had previously been charged with strong-arm robbery and battery stemming from a domestic violence incident, the current DHS official said. They’ve also found as recently as this month that some recruits going through the six-week training course hadn’t submitted fingerprints for background checks, as ICE’s hiring process requires, the current and former DHS officials said.

Some new ICE recruits have showed up to training without full vetting

ICE has placed new recruits into its training program before they have completed the agency’s vetting process, officials told NBC News.

^{Julia Ainsley (NBC News)}

Last year, we launched our first batch of plushies, and our community has embraced the #Plushtodon literally and figuratively. It sold out in Europe within a few weeks. Sadly, that means a lot of you missed out on the chance to get one. We’ve listened to your feedback and decided to bring the creature back with a few amendments: Size and color. For the first time, the #Plushtodon will be available in two flavourful colors, and half the size, making it much easier to fit within every household or mode of transport, while maintaining the delightful softness and squishiness that it’s come to be known for.

Jeff Merkley of Oregon gave address to make case that president is ‘violating the law’ through authoritarianism

Oregon’s Jeff Merkley gave a marathon, nearly 23-hour speech on the Senate floor that began on Tuesday and ended late Wednesday, pressing the case that Donald Trump is acting as an authoritarian by prosecuting political enemies and deploying the military into Merkley’s home town of Portland.

The 68-year-old senator began speaking around 6.20pm on Tuesday evening and continued until just after 5pm on Wednesday. Standing continuously on the Senate floor alongside placards that read “authoritarianism is here now!” and “Trump is violating the law”, Merkley paused only to take questions from fellow Democratic senators who joined him in the chamber to make their own points about the president’s conduct.

“I’ve come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells. We’re in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the civil war. President Trump is shredding our constitution,” Merkley said as he began his speech.

Democratic senator’s floor speech condemning Trump enters 19th hour

Jeff Merkley of Oregon gives address to make case that president is ‘violating the law’ through authoritarianism

^{Chris Stein (The Guardian)}

Amid backlash over partial demolition of East Wing, White House reportedly intends to send blueprints

The White House has not submitted plans for Donald Trump’s new ballroom to the federal agency that oversees construction of federal buildings, though demolition is already under way.

On Tuesday, the White House told Reuters it intended to send plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, an agency that typically approves and monitors construction on federal buildings. Demolition began earlier this week, with reporters taking video of a backhoe ripping out chunks of the White House’s exterior.

The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing a senior administration official, that the ballroom plans will mean the demolition of the entire East Wing.

White House hasn’t filed plans for Trump’s new ballroom despite demolition under way

Amid backlash over footage of East Wing being partly demolished, White House reportedly intends to send plans for new construction

^{Lauren Aratani (The Guardian)}

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-considering-curbs-exports-china-made-with-us-software-sources-say-2025-10-22/

Still not sure how I feel about him, but if lemmy.ml and Chuck Schumer are both trying to smear him that seems like good indications.

No idea why this wasn't suitable for !meanwhileongrad@sh.itjust.works. it seems obviously to fall under the "general tankie behavior" category and/or the tankie folks trying to weigh in on American politics to depress support for progressive-ish candidates which they periodically do.

Anyway, whatever, it was removed there, and it's posted here now.

Admittedly, yesterday's call was a bit light on information, but this set of quotes from various orgs provides firm ideas about where things go next.

The No Kings alliance, the left-leaning groups behind the mass days of protest last Saturday and in June, is building a nationwide rapid response network that will call on supporters to take new actions each week. Leaders of the organizations told the Guardian that there was energy for “some type of disruption”, and future actions could include targeted boycotts, campaigns at universities, more street protests, and electoral organizing in local communities.

After an estimated 7 million people took to the streets last weekend, tens of thousands joined a national call on Tuesday to hear what’s next for the growing movement. Leaders celebrated the broad turnout, saying it showed how much opposition to Trump there was in all corners of the US, and talked about how to sustain and grow a movement during an increasingly authoritarian moment for the country.

The next steps for this burgeoning resistance will show the durability of the movement and whether it can pressure Democrats or pillars of civil society to stand stronger against Trump, or whether it can force defections from Trump’s Republican allies to fracture his power.

What’s next for No Kings movement? Here’s what its organizers say

Leaders of left-leaning groups behind mass protests against Trump administration map out their vision

^{Rachel Leingang (The Guardian)}

Shock and dismay have already begun as Americans face next year’s health insurance costs—and it looks like everyone will be in for some grim numbers.

So far, much of the attention has been on the stratospheric prices that Americans might see on plans they buy from Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Critical tax credits for those plans are set to expire at the end of the year, and, on top of that, insurers have proposed a median 18 percent price increase for 2026. With the higher prices and a loss of credits, some Americans could see their monthly premiums more than double.

Health plan enrollment period is set to be horrifying for everyone this year

Some marketplace premiums could more than double. Employer-based plans are soaring.

^{Beth Mole (Ars Technica)}