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RSF strike on Kordofan kindergarten kills dozens, mostly children
A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a kindergarten in South Kordofan, killing 50 people, including 33 children, the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) said late on Friday.
The group said the RSF and its ally, Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), on Thursday carried out “deliberate suicide-drone attacks" on the kindergarten and several civilian facilities in Kalogi town.
The SDN, a group that has been supporting civilians throughout the course of Sudan's war, said paramedics responding to the scene came under “a second, unexpected attack”.
RSF strike on Kordofan kindergarten kills dozens, mostly children
A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a kindergarten in South Kordofan, killing 50 people, including 33 children, the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) said late on Friday.
The group said the RSF and its ally, Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), on Thursday carried out “deliberate suicide-drone attacks" on the kindergarten and several civilian facilities in Kalogi town.
The SDN, a group that has been supporting civilians throughout the course of Sudan's war, said paramedics responding to the scene came under “a second, unexpected attack”.
like this
Politicamente profondo e nascosto
La risposta ufficiale è rassicurante: “i governi democratici, scelti dal popolo”.
La risposta ufficiosa, invece, somiglia più a un’alzata di sopracciglio e a un mezzo sorriso amaro. Perché tutti, prima o poi, abbiamo avuto il sospetto che il sipario del potere sia molto più spesso di quanto raccontino i telegiornali. E dietro quel sipario, spesso, l’aria non è esattamente fresca.
Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be
Archaeologists Found 115,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Where They Shouldn’t Be
Archaeologists found 115,000-year-old human footprints where they shouldn't be—and they just might rewrite the history of human migration.Caroline Delbert (Popular Mechanics)
Half of Europeans see Trump as enemy of Europe, survey finds
Nearly half of Europeans see Donald Trump as “an enemy of Europe”, rather more rate the risk of war with Russia as high and more than two-thirds believe their country would not be able to defend itself in the event of such a war, a survey has found.
The nine-country poll for the Paris-based European affairs debate platform Le Grand Continent also found that nearly three-quarters of respondents wanted their country to stay in the EU, with almost as many saying leaving the union had harmed the UK.
Jean-Yves Dormagen, a political science professor and founder of the polling agency Cluster17, said: “Europe is not only facing growing risks, it is also undergoing a transformation of its historical, geopolitical and political environment. The overall picture [of the survey] portrays a Europe that is anxious, that is deeply aware of its vulnerabilities and that is struggling to project itself positively into the future.”
The polling found that an average of 48% of people across the nine countries see Trump as an outright foe – ranging from highs of 62% in Belgium and 57% in France to lows of 37% in Croatia and 19% in Poland.
Half of Europeans see Trump as enemy of Europe, survey finds
Nine-country poll finds half of people believe risk of war with Russia is high and three-quarters want to stay in EUJon Henley (The Guardian)
China imposes value-added tax on contraceptive drugs and devices - including condoms - to reverse plunging birth rates that threaten to slow economy
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46691137
Archived
- China will impose a 13% value-added tax on contraceptive drugs and devices, including condoms, for the first time in three decades.
- The revision to the Value-Added Tax Law also exempts child-care services, elder-care institutions, disability service providers, and marriage-related services from the tax.
- The changes are part of China's efforts to reverse plunging birth rates and encourage people to have more children, as the population has shrunk for three consecutive years.
[...]
China will impose a value-added tax on contraceptive drugs and devices — including condoms — for the first time in three decades, its latest bid to reverse plunging birth rates that threaten to further slow its economy.
Under the newly revised Value-Added Tax Law, consumers will pay a 13% levy on items that had been VAT-exempt since 1993, when China enforced a strict one-child policy and actively promoted birth control.
At the same time, the revision carves out new incentives for prospective parents by exempting child-care services — from nurseries to kindergartens — as well as elder-care institutions, disability service providers and marriage-related services. The changes take effect in January.
They reflect a broader policy pivot, as a rapidly aging China shifts from limiting births to encouraging people to have more children. The population has shrunk for three consecutive years, with just 9.54 million births in 2024 — barely half of the 18.8 million registered nearly a decade ago, when the one-child policy was lifted.
[...]
what they will actually get: a massive surge in STD's and a public health crisis
also isn't their (now unreported) youth unemployment rate some shit like 25%?
Thousands of graphic photos reveal the fate of loved ones tortured, disappeared under Assad regime
The murder of Imad al-Najjar is one of thousands committed by Assad's forces that are captured in a huge compilation of government files and photos known as the Damascus dossier.
The 134,000 Syrian security and intelligence records were obtained by German public broadcaster NDR, which shared them with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its global network of media partners, including CBC News.
The leaked records include 70,000 images — many of them gruesome photos of torture victims' bodies taken and catalogued by Syrian military police — as well as 64,000 files from Syrian intelligence agencies, including many death certificates and arrest reports.
Journalists who analyzed the photos were able to count 10,212 bodies of detainees. The images mostly range from 2015 through 2024. Until now, the Syrian public did not know about the existence of the photos.
(Hetzner) VPC / VCN & Subnet concepts in Hetzner? Also, a request for referral code :v
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/39846093
Hi, I’m looking to set up a Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure with my homelab as I’m lacking additional processing power.
- Does Hetzner have concepts for VPC/VCN and subnets, similar to AWS, GCP, or Oracle? I’ve been browsing through the documentation (docs.hetzner.com/networking/ne…) but couldn’t find anything related to it.
- Does anyone have a new referral code they can share? Thanks!
I didn't realize Hetzner had referral codes. I see hetzner.com/legal/referrals and think I qualify but am not sure. I'll see what I can do.
Yes Hetzner has virtual networks. I don't know how similar they are to AWS or GCP. You should probably check the docs before signing up
Also for cheap processing power, you're better off with an auction dedi than with their cloud stuff. See hetzner.com/sb . But, I think the referral codes don't work for that. Also, all the dedi hardware is in EU. US stuff is cloud only.
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China
cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/42997414
Web archive linkThe EU is considering legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China to insulate Europe from future hostile acts, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, says.
He made his remarks as the European Commission unveiled a €3bn (£2.63bn) strategy to reduce its dependency on China for critical raw materials amid a global scramble caused by Beijing’s “weaponisation” of supplies of everything from chips to rare earths.
The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc’s supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector.
It will include new rules to stop scrap aluminium leaving the bloc, recycling of magnets used in car batteries and a new €2bn a year fund backed by the European Investment Bank to support industries diversifying away from cheap Chinese supplies.
Underlining the threats posed by over dependency on China, Séjourné said if industry did not respond, the commission reserved the right to introduce legislation.
“We would force European companies legally to diversify their sources of supply. That is not the case now, and it is not what is proposed in the plan [ReSourceEU] but this is a wake up call, a strong wake up call,” said Séjourné.
...
Senior EU officials said that “while the direction is clear” there was a need to “accelerate the process” as China continued to “weaponise” its hold on raw materials for “geopolitical purposes”.
To kickstart the implementation of the strategy, two projects, a molybdenum extraction in Greenland and a lithium mine in Germany will get immediate funding.
The EU will also look at financial support to enable companies to buy from more expensive sources than China and it will set up a “raw materials platform” that will pool company orders and build joint stockpiles.
New restrictions will be introduced on scrap exports in 2026 of the metal and of scrap copper if necessary.
...
The EU said the strategy was designed to reduce the impact of “market shocks” such as the disruption to the car industry caused by the recent, now lifted, ban on exports of chips by China in response to the Dutch government taking control of the Chinese-owned chip firm Nexperia.
...
Up to €3bn in funding will be mobilised within the next 12 months, with €2bn a year made available by the European Investment Bank in the form of loans, venture debt and private debt plus financing such as loans already issued to a Finnish lithium mine project Keliber.
...
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China
Commission unveils €3bn strategy to de-risk and diversify supply chains for critical rare earth metals and elementsLisa O’Carroll (The Guardian)
This is one of the rare cases where I don't disagree with Trump.
But they could just call it what the rest of the world call their sport. "American Football".
It has their favorite word in it. America.
Search for long-missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume
MH370: Search for long-missing Malaysia Airlines fight to resume
The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board vanished in 2014 in one of the greatest aviation mysteries.Kelly Ng (BBC News)
The killer Hong Kong fire shows how freedom is an even greater loss than you’d think: Any careless speech could lead to a knock on people's doors
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46689577
Archived[...]
In a society where political plurality is crushed, pointing out the existing problems that may eventually put blame on the government and political establishment is dangerous.
[...]
Democracy is vital not only because our rights should be protected, but also because the mechanisms of checks and balances, and division of powers, builds resilience against those in power misbehaving. The collapse of political diversity and the rise of authoritarian governance come with consequences much more far-reaching than the imprisonment of political figures.
[...]
In the face of the tragedy [of the deadly Hong Kong fires], people demand answers about why so many safety procedures and warnings are being ignored. There should not only be arrests of advisors and contractors, but also a truly independent investigation, expanding the scope for civil actors to hold the government accountable.
Yuan Set for Best Year Since 2020, Defying Trade Strains
China’s Yuan Set for Best Year Since 2020, Defying Trade Strains
China’s yuan is heading for its best annual performance in five years as growing optimism about the nation’s assets and economy outweighs concerns over US trade tensions.Bloomberg
Top US official berates Europe over cutting American industry out of defense buildup
Washington is unhappy that some European arms programs limit U.S. participation.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Wednesday slammed European NATO allies for prioritizing their own defense industry over American arms suppliers, according to three NATO diplomats.
The intervention came during Wednesday's meeting of NATO foreign ministers — which was skipped by Landau's boss Marco Rubio.
Landau, a longtime NATO skeptic who spoke first at the closed-door meeting, told ministers not to “bully” his country’s defense firms out of participating in Europe’s rearmament.
Washington is unhappy that some European arms programs limit U.S. participation.
Ok, we can make it all arms programs.
Taiwan cheered, China upset after Trump signs new Taiwan legislation into law
Taiwan expressed thanks and China was upset on Wednesday after Donald Trump signed into law legislation requiring the U.S. State Department to regularly review and update guidelines on how the United States officially interacts with Taipei.
The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, and the issue is a constant source of irritation in Sino-U.S. relations given Beijing views the democratically-governed island as its own.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung told reporters more frequent reviews of the guidelines would allow Taiwanese officials into federal agencies for meetings, for example, though the legislation does not make explicit mention of this.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China firmly opposes any form of official contact between the United States and "the Taiwan region of China".
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It's just so odd to me. Like, the historical parallel here would be if during the US civil War the Confederate army retreated to the Florida Keys and the Union was never able to conquer them due to other international conflicts.
So for 30 years the Confederates rule there with slavery and a dictatorship over the people. All the while they keep calling themselves "The real America"
The "Keys" see progress eventually following a less hostile relationship with the Union and have their dictatorship replaced by a more liberal form. A normalizing could occur and diplomatic relations between the Keys and the rest of America could occur peacefully and under the wishes of the existing people of the Keys.
BUT, for some reason some other country on the other side of the world has been establishing military alliances and bases near the Keys. They are "allies" with the Keys but on paper acknowledge the Union as the "real America".
Say what you want about China today. But, what the fuck is America even doing here? They don't reduce tensions with Taiwan or "protect it". They don't care about democracy. They literally supported its fascist leaders for decades. America's hostile invasion of Korea to support fascist over communist is the entire reason that Taiwan was never captured by mainland China during their civil war. They did not want to risk conflict with the Western state that was doing everything to install loyal dictators in Korea and their neighbors.
China can have bad intentions and not give the people of Taiwan their now rightful self determination. I'm not saying that. But, holy shit, Americans just eat up the "we have to be a part of ever conflict ever"
That is not why the US cares about it. The US will abandon them (or bomb them) if it's beneficial to US oligarchs to do so. Can we get some healthcare and stop worrying about what China does in its own backyard?
To be an enemy of the US is dangerous. To be an ally of the US is fatal.
Taiwan never had been under PRCs control. The Union and Confederacy aren't comparable to PRC and ROC.
But, if in your analogy the civil war ended decades ago and the successor of the Confederacy would be under the threat of invasion by the Union, of course it could be justified to arm the successor of the Confederacy and to defend them in case of war.
On the other hand, in the analogy, nations could ignore one of the sides in case of slavery, aggressive foreign policies, general human rights abuses, global strategy and economics or whatever.
I don’t know man. This crap gives such ammunition to the “both sides are corrupt” argument.
Do we really believe things in Ukraine would be better or even the same under Putin? What are we even talking about here?
don't like this
Nothing justifies Ukraine murdering its own people in its own country for the eight years before this war started.
- Reuters, 2014: Leaked audio reveals embarrassing U.S. exchange on Ukraine, EU
- Leaked recording between Nuland and Pyatt: | transcript
- Counterpunch, 2014: US Imperialism and the Ukraine Coup
- BBC, 2014: Ukraine underplays role of far right in conflict
- Human Rights Watch, 2014: Ukraine: Unguided Rockets Killing Civilians
- Consortium News, 2015: The Mess That Nuland Made Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland engineered Ukraine’s regime change without weighing the likely consequences.
- The Hill, 2017: The reality of neo-Nazis in Ukraine is far from Kremlin propaganda
- The Guardian, 2017: 'I want to bring up a warrior': Ukraine's far-right children's camp – video
- WaPo, 2018: The war in Ukraine is more devastating than you know
- Reuters, 2018: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem
- The Nation, 2019: Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine
- openDemocracy, 2019: Why Ukraine’s new language law will have long-term consequences
- Al Jazeera, 2022: Why did Ukraine suspend 11 ‘pro-Russia’ parties?
- Jacobin, 2022: A US-Backed, Far Right–Led Revolution in Ukraine Helped Bring Us to the Brink of War
- Consortium News, 2023: The West’s Sabotage of Peace in Ukraine Former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett’s recent comments about getting his mediation efforts squashed in the early days of the war adds more to the growing pile of evidence that Western powers are intent on regime change in Russia.
- Internationalist 360°, 2022–2024: History of Fascism in Ukraine: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
- NYT, 2024: U.N. Court to Rule on Whether Ukraine Committed Genocide
Why did Ukraine suspend 11 ‘pro-Russia’ parties?
The suspensions have more to do with political polarisation than genuine security concerns related to the invasion.Volodymyr Ishchenko (Al Jazeera)
That is not even the end of it.
I'd like to add on that there is literal footage of Ukrainian troops firing into crowds of civilians in Mariupol and Krasnoarmeysk back in 2014, both after Maidan Coup.
There is also footage of Ukrainian Nazis carrying out a pogrom against the Romani in 2018.
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NATO expansion:
- George Washington Univ., 2017: NATO Expansion: What Gorbachev Heard Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders from Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, and Woerner
- Orinoco Tribune, 2022: Former German Chancellor Merkel Admits that Minsk Peace Agreements Were Part of Scheme for Ukraine to Buy Time to Prepare for War With Russia
- Al Mayadeen, 2023: Zelensky admits he never intended to implement Minsk agreements
- Jeffrey Sachs, 2023: The War in Ukraine Was Provoked—and Why That Matters to Achieve Peace
- Jeffrey Sachs, 2023: NATO Chief Admits NATO Expansion Was Key to Russian Invasion of Ukraine
NATO in general:
- The Intercept, 2021: Meet NATO, the Dangerous “Defensive” Alliance Trying to Run the World
- CounterPunch, 2022: NATO is Not a Defensive Alliance
- Noam Chomsky, 2023:
- Thomas Fazi, 2024: NATO: 75 years of war, unprovoked aggressions and state-sponsored terrorism
- Gabriel Rockhill, 2020: The U.S. Did Not Defeat Fascism in WWII, It Discretely Internationalized It
Especially with new leadership.
Zelensky was a comedian groomed by oligarchs. He played a president on TV and then ran for president on TV. This was planned out in advance. Zelensky has never been in control because he was an actor in way over his head, beholden to US comprador oligarchs, and his life is openly threatened by high-level Banderite fascists should he get out of line. And he’s quite wealthy now, an oligarch in his own right. He’s in no way a “servant of the people;” that’s an act played by an actor.
Even if Ukraine was the most corrupt country ever, bombing the shit out of the citizens is not the way you help
I don't know, they sure tried it in the eastern part of the country for 10 years
Can we tho?
You’re so far off reality I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.
don't like this
They are engaged in continuous operations that let American and European defense firms verify the effectiveness of and learn how to desert modify their weaponry
Not many countries have essentially unlimited defenseless people to just test weapons on for fun
Experience matters and if you aren’t engaged in combat operations your military complex will lack compared to those who are
I genuinely don't think blowing up 1000 schools is a great way to "battle test" weapons. Might as well be blowing up stationary cardboard targets.
The only time Israel gets to test against real weapons is during their 12 day war with Iran. Where the entire system they worked on so hard for decades gets overwhelmed by a barrage of missiles in the most expected fashion possible, and the US wastes like 30% of their interceptor stockpile and is now running a defecit.
The biggest reason I don't believe America controls Israel is because Israel has nukes (with secrets stolen from the US). The US would never hand over nukes to a proxy. Certainly not one as unreliable as Israel.
Because a proxy is supposed to be fully reliant on the host and not have insane amounts of autonomy
Also America paying a visit to the guy who stole the nukes and is blackmailing America into doing their bidding because Israel has nukes lmao
A real testing ground for American weapons is Ukraine where America is fighting a real army. Guess who's not getting nukes though.
- YouTube
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The US obviously doesn't just obey the demands of every nuclear armed country, so something else must be happening.
Israel is an extension of the US, it's part of the US rather than a puppet of the US. Israel is no more a proxy than Texas is.
I don't think Israel is a reliable partner to the US whatsoever. If they see the tides are shifting they will gladly ally with Russia or China whenever it becomes more convenient. They have already sold US secrets to Russia multiple times. Bombed the USS liberty etc. Of all the US "allies" in the Middle East, Israel is the least reliable one. Ask Britain what happened to the King David hotel.
Now compare that to Qatar and other Gulf states which are literally paying the US billions in "protection money" so the US can put military bases all over their country which it then uses to bomb Iran (for Israel). Now that's what we call a good deal. And then Israel goes ahead and bombs Qatar and the US turns off the air defense systems so they can do it.. Now that's a surefire way to get all the countries paying for US to host military bases to look elsewhere.
Israel is getting far too much playing money for how bad they are behaving.
That's because Qatar and other Gulf states are actually proxies, they are dependent on the US.
Israel isn't like that because it's an extension of the US. The US doesn't control Israel, it is Israel. Israel doesn't control the US, it is the US. They're two heads on the same hydra. If the tides shifted so far that Israel was looking towards Russia or China, that probably means the US is in full collapse and we'd also see Texas join BRICS or some shit.
Dependance is a big part of what it entails to be a proxy. A proxy isn't supposed to get too much autonomy lest it will start looking out for its own interest over the host when it gets too powerful. Israel is playing all sides. Giving a proxy nukes is certainly not a real thing.
This gets even clearer when looking at the Israel-Russia relation. Israel refused to send weapons to Ukraine because then Russia would probably start selling their anti-air and other weapons to Iran. For an unsinkable aircraft carrier Israel is extremely unreliable because Russia is much closer to Israel in proximity than Israel is to the US. Therefore Israel plays friendly with Russia, against US policy (and even sells US secrets to Russia).
The US doesn’t control Israel, it is Israel.
If that's the case I'd love to hear an explanation for Israel bombing Qatar which is under US protection. That was a ridiculously bad move for US prominence in the region. And the whole part where Israel threatens US presidents with nukes under their planes.
I keep saying that Israel isn't a proxy. It should be thought of more like the 51st state. Is Texas a US proxy? Obviously not!
Just because the US and Israel are two heads of the same entity doesn't mean that there aren't internal contradictions that manifest as differences in strategy and tactics. There's an ongoing intrafactional dispute over how the imperialist project should be carried out going forward as the empire transitions to a new phase - sort of like how we see Trump eroding US prominence by ending USAID, chaotically slapping tariffs on its own allies, completely throwing away the figleaf of international law, etc etc.
Playing nice with Russia isn't proof of much. There are bourgeois factions within the US that also want to bring Russia on-board for the encirclement of China, so the fact that Israel might also want to do the same thing shouldn't be surprising. Israel playing friendly with Russia isn't a betrayal of the US, but rather, a strategic ambiguity that leaves the door open for Russia to jump ship.
As for attacking Qatar, the US imposed a "peace plan" less than 3 weeks later which Israel immediately accepted. That doesn't look like Israel calling the shots, nor does it look like Israel is a proxy. They look like co-equal partners that sometimes disagree, but ultimately can unify when they need to for the sake of their overall agenda.
My bad I misunderstood what you meant. But the "51th state" narrative is completely false too. In fact it's literally the newest Israeli propaganda, since their "we are doing the dirty work for the US" narrative fell apart.
MondoWeiss - The Shift: 50 States, One Israel
Just because the US and Israel are two heads of the same entity doesn’t mean that there aren’t internal contradictions that manifest as differences in strategy and tactics
This isn't entirely false but Israel and the US have very different goals. Israel doesn't abide by US weapon transfer laws, has its own legal system, and most importantly contrary to Ukraine, Israel gets their weapons for free with a direct full cash donation.
The way to make Israel part of the US is to make it reliant on the US is by debt-trapping it like the US debt-traps itself. But the US doesn't do that, because Israel refuses to be tethered to the US. It just wants free weapons... and somehow gets it!.
The US is in the position of power but is giving away all its cards for free.
As for attacking Qatar, the US imposed a “peace plan” less than 3 weeks later which Israel immediately accepted. That doesn’t look like Israel calling the shots, nor does it look like Israel is a proxy.
The US let Israel bomb Qatar and knew Israel was going to do it.
The peace plan being Israel taking half the Gaza strip and getting all their captives back. And then continuously violating it. Israel clearly just did a PR stunt and got everything they wanted out of it. Even China and Russia bowing to Israel and handing Israel half of Gaza at the UNSC. And Israel is already moving bombing Lebanon, invading Syria, and very likely pulling the US into another Iran war soon.
To be clear, Israel doesn't fully controll the US. There are many different lobbies in the US. Healthcare, OPEC, Agro, Israel, etc. But all Israel's power revolves around a single topic which most other lobbies don't care about. So Israel can easily get their way most of the time. That said, when they start touching the other lobbies, especially the OPEC as Israel did in Qatar, we start seeing pushback.
But that gets to the crux of my point. The US doesn't support Israel out of self-interest. It supports Israel until Israel starts harming the self-interest of the US hard enough to get other big lobbies involved. And bombing Qatar was certainly one of those moves.
The Shift: 50 States, One Israel
Amid the ongoing genocide, the largest-ever delegation of U.S. lawmakers attended the “50 States, One Israel” conference in Jerusalem last week. It’s clear from the event, and the local reactions it sparked, that Israel’s isolation is only worsening.Michael Arria (Mondoweiss)
Ukraine is definitely the new gold mine but most countries don’t expect actual state v state war.
They want weapons for use on defenseless civilians because that’s 99% of the likely and intended uses for military applications in the west. American cops are literally trained by IDF units to use their tactics. Our military equipment is directly sold to domestic cops.
The west has no better test bed than Israel for learning militant apartheid strategies
That makes no sense either because Israel is using the most advanced stealth fighter jets to throw the heaviest bunker buster bombs on... stationary targets above ground.
I really don't think that leveling an entire city with bombs has any practical use whatsoever. There is no GPS jamming, no advanced defense systems. Nothing which improves the advanced weaponry in any meaningful way that wouldn't be achieved by simply painting some read targets in a Nevada deserts and checking how accurate the bombs would hit there.
Cops aren't getting F35's. The only valid use which can be argued is that Israel has is their mass surveillance systems and police state which does see actual use in export to the US and Europe.
It really feels like everyone is desperately trying to ignore the fact that Israel has basically all of US congress on their payroll, and the reason the US is giving taxpayer money to Israel is not out of self interest. AIPAC is the elephant in the room here.
Dropping bombs with stealth jets isn’t the vast majority of what they do.
The majority of what they do is with people on the ground in close urban scenarios. They are equivalently armed to us police in almost all these instances.
AIPAC is a vehicle thru which these interests are effected
Israel barely does ground combat in Gaza. 90% of its campaign is bombing hospitals and schools from the sky. When they finally roll up to do some ground combat some dude in flip flops walks up and throws a mine into their tank and they take heavy casualties.
What Israel does in the West Bank is comparable with US police minus the land mines in the West Bank. But Israel is not spending billions in military funding on their West Bank raids.
Options for remote Wake-on-lan. Or I guess wake on WAN.
So I want to setup a remote backup location at my parents house although they are very mindful about there electricity usage and environmental impact (and so am I) so I don't want to have to have a pc always on when it doesn't need to be.
Is it possible to setup remote Wake-on-lan so I can schedule my homelab at my place to wake up the server at my parents house and start a backup like once a week, I want to do this in a secure fashion as well so ideally no port forwarding, I currently use cloudflare tunnels for my home network.
Are there any other options or do you have a similar setup at your place?
To Catch a Predator: Leak exposes the internal operations of Intellexa’s mercenary spyware
To Catch a Predator: Leak exposes the internal operations of Intellexa’s mercenary spyware - Amnesty International Security Lab
Drawing on leaked internal company documents, sales and marketing material, as well as training videos, the “Intellexa Leaks” investigation gives a never-before-seen glimpse of the internal operations of a mercenary spyware company focused on exploit…Amnesty International's Security Lab
European Commission plans ‘reparations loan’ to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets
Leaders focus on bolstering Ukraine’s finances as US-Russia talks to end war make little progress
The European Commission will move ahead with controversial plans to fund Ukraine with a loan based on Russia’s frozen assets, but in a concession to concerns raised by Belgium, which hosts most of the assets, the EU executive has also proposed another option: an EU loan based on common borrowing.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday the two proposals would ensure “Ukraine has the means to defend [itself] and take forward peace negotiations from a position of strength”.
EU leaders will be asked to decide on the options later this month, as Ukraine faces a looming funding crunch, while the latest round of US-Russia peace talks appear to have made little progress.
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Just do it already!
But next, I'd really like banks to consider the idea that it isn't bad for business to say "tyrant's money isn't necessarily safe here".
‘A new form of genocide’: Gazans feel little relief from Israeli strangulation since the ceasefire
cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6952364
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1196…
Most Palestinians in Gaza say they don’t feel the relief they expected after the ceasefire. Israel keeps blocking aid into the strip, delaying reconstruction efforts, and leaving hospitals short on supplies, while people go hungry every day.
From Mondoweiss via This RSS Feed.
reshared this
As AI Data Centers Disrupt US Cities, Wisconsin Woman Violently Arrested After Speaking Out
cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6952495
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1191…
Public opposition to artificial intelligence data centers—and the push by corporations and officials to move forward with their construction anyway—were vividly illustrated in a viral video this week of a woman who was arrested after speaking out against a proposed data center in her community in Wisconsin.
Christine Le Jeune, a member of Great Lakes Neighbors United in Port Washington, spoke at a Common Council meeting in the town on Tuesday evening. The meeting was not focused on the recently approved $15 million "Lighthouse" data center set to be built a mile from downtown Port Washington—part of a project developed by Vantage Data Centers for OpenAI and Oracle—but the first 30 minutes were taken up by members of the public who spoke out against the project.
As CNBC reported last month, more than 1,000 people signed a petition calling on Port Washington officials to obtain voter approval before entering into the deal, but the Common Council and a review board went ahead with creating a Tax Incremental District for the project without public input. The data center still requires other approvals to officially move forward.
"We will not continue to be silenced and ignored while our beautiful and pristine city is taken away from us and handed over to a corporation intent on extracting as many resources as they can regardless of the impact on the people who live here," said Le Jeune. "Most leaders would have tabled the issue after receiving public input and providing sufficient notice. But you did nothing, and you laughed about it."
Le Jeune spoke for her allotted three minutes and went slightly over the time limit. She then chanted, "Recall, recall, recall!" at members of the Common Council as other community members applauded.
Police Chief Kevin Hingiss then approached Le Jeune while she was sitting in her seat, listening to the next speaker, and asked her to leave.
She refused, and another officer approached her before a chaotic scene broke out.
Last night, the Port Washington Police Department used excessive force to arrest a woman for speaking up against the Vantage data center.We are thankful that this local advocate is safe, and we condemn the Port Washington PD’s actions in the strongest possible terms. SHAME! pic.twitter.com/35dhEKvojL
— Our Wisconsin Revolution (@OurWisconsinRev) December 3, 2025City officials had told attendees not to speak out of order during the meeting, and Le Jeune acknowledged that she and others had spoken out of turn at times.
But she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she had been surprised by the police officers' demand that she leave, and by the eventual violence of the incident, with officers physically removing her from her seat and dragging her and two other people across the floor.
The two other residents had approached Le Jeune to protest the officers' actions.
"I never expected something like that to happen in a meeting. It was very strange," she told the Journal Sentinel. "Suddenly this police chief showed up in front of me, and all I was thinking was: 'Wait, what is going on? Why is he interrupting her speech? ... It felt like [police] were kind of primed tonight to pounce."
State Sen. Chris Larson (D-7) said that "police should not be allowed to violently detain a person who is nonviolently exercising their free speech. This used to be something all Americans agreed on."
William Walter, executive director of Our Wisconsin Revolution, filmed the arrest and told ABC News affiliate WISN, "I've never seen a response like that in my life."
"What I did see was a lot of members of the Port Washington community who are really frustrated that they're being ignored and they're being dismissed by their elected officials," he said.
AI data centers, he added, "will impact you. They'll impact your friends, your family, your neighbors, your parents, your children. These are the kinds of things that are going to be dictating the future of Wisconsin, not just for the next couple of years but for the next decade, the next 50 years."
After Le Jeune's arrest, another resident, Dawn Stacey, denounced the Common Council members for allowing the aggressive arrest.
"We have so many people who have these concerns about this data center," said Stacey. “Are we being heard by the Common Council? No we’re not. Instead of being heard we have people being dragged out of the room.”
“For democracy to thrive, we need to have respect between public servants and the people who they serve," she added.
Vantage has distributed flyers in Port Washington, which has a population of 17,000, promising residents 330 full-time jobs after construction. But as CNBC reported, "Data centers don’t tend to create a lot of long-lasting jobs."
Another project in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin hired 3,000 construction workers and foresees 500 employees, while McKinsey said a data center it is planning would need 1,500 people for construction but only around 50 for "steady-state operations."
Residents in Port Washington have also raised concerns about the data center's impact on the environment, including through its water use, the potential for exploding utility prices for residents, and the overall purpose of advancing AI.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, the development of data centers has caused a rapid surge in consumers' electricity bills, with costs rising more than 250% in just five years. Vantage has claimed its center will run on 70% renewable energy, but more than half of the electricity used to power data center campuses so far has come from fossil fuels, raising concerns that the expansion of the facilities will worsen the climate emergency.
A recent Morning Consult poll found that a rapidly growing number of Americans support a ban on AI data centers in their surrounding areas—41% said they would support a ban in the survey taken in late November, compared to 37% in October.
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
As AI Data Centers Disrupt US Cities, Wisconsin Woman Violently Arrested After Speaking Out
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1191…Public opposition to artificial intelligence data centers—and the push by corporations and officials to move forward with their construction anyway—were vividly illustrated in a viral video this week of a woman who was arrested after speaking out against a proposed data center in her community in Wisconsin.
Christine Le Jeune, a member of Great Lakes Neighbors United in Port Washington, spoke at a Common Council meeting in the town on Tuesday evening. The meeting was not focused on the recently approved $15 million "Lighthouse" data center set to be built a mile from downtown Port Washington—part of a project developed by Vantage Data Centers for OpenAI and Oracle—but the first 30 minutes were taken up by members of the public who spoke out against the project.
As CNBC reported last month, more than 1,000 people signed a petition calling on Port Washington officials to obtain voter approval before entering into the deal, but the Common Council and a review board went ahead with creating a Tax Incremental District for the project without public input. The data center still requires other approvals to officially move forward.
"We will not continue to be silenced and ignored while our beautiful and pristine city is taken away from us and handed over to a corporation intent on extracting as many resources as they can regardless of the impact on the people who live here," said Le Jeune. "Most leaders would have tabled the issue after receiving public input and providing sufficient notice. But you did nothing, and you laughed about it."
Le Jeune spoke for her allotted three minutes and went slightly over the time limit. She then chanted, "Recall, recall, recall!" at members of the Common Council as other community members applauded.
Police Chief Kevin Hingiss then approached Le Jeune while she was sitting in her seat, listening to the next speaker, and asked her to leave.
She refused, and another officer approached her before a chaotic scene broke out.
Last night, the Port Washington Police Department used excessive force to arrest a woman for speaking up against the Vantage data center.We are thankful that this local advocate is safe, and we condemn the Port Washington PD’s actions in the strongest possible terms. SHAME! pic.twitter.com/35dhEKvojL
— Our Wisconsin Revolution (@OurWisconsinRev) December 3, 2025City officials had told attendees not to speak out of order during the meeting, and Le Jeune acknowledged that she and others had spoken out of turn at times.
But she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she had been surprised by the police officers' demand that she leave, and by the eventual violence of the incident, with officers physically removing her from her seat and dragging her and two other people across the floor.
The two other residents had approached Le Jeune to protest the officers' actions.
"I never expected something like that to happen in a meeting. It was very strange," she told the Journal Sentinel. "Suddenly this police chief showed up in front of me, and all I was thinking was: 'Wait, what is going on? Why is he interrupting her speech? ... It felt like [police] were kind of primed tonight to pounce."
State Sen. Chris Larson (D-7) said that "police should not be allowed to violently detain a person who is nonviolently exercising their free speech. This used to be something all Americans agreed on."
William Walter, executive director of Our Wisconsin Revolution, filmed the arrest and told ABC News affiliate WISN, "I've never seen a response like that in my life."
"What I did see was a lot of members of the Port Washington community who are really frustrated that they're being ignored and they're being dismissed by their elected officials," he said.
AI data centers, he added, "will impact you. They'll impact your friends, your family, your neighbors, your parents, your children. These are the kinds of things that are going to be dictating the future of Wisconsin, not just for the next couple of years but for the next decade, the next 50 years."
After Le Jeune's arrest, another resident, Dawn Stacey, denounced the Common Council members for allowing the aggressive arrest.
"We have so many people who have these concerns about this data center," said Stacey. “Are we being heard by the Common Council? No we’re not. Instead of being heard we have people being dragged out of the room.”
“For democracy to thrive, we need to have respect between public servants and the people who they serve," she added.
Vantage has distributed flyers in Port Washington, which has a population of 17,000, promising residents 330 full-time jobs after construction. But as CNBC reported, "Data centers don’t tend to create a lot of long-lasting jobs."
Another project in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin hired 3,000 construction workers and foresees 500 employees, while McKinsey said a data center it is planning would need 1,500 people for construction but only around 50 for "steady-state operations."
Residents in Port Washington have also raised concerns about the data center's impact on the environment, including through its water use, the potential for exploding utility prices for residents, and the overall purpose of advancing AI.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, the development of data centers has caused a rapid surge in consumers' electricity bills, with costs rising more than 250% in just five years. Vantage has claimed its center will run on 70% renewable energy, but more than half of the electricity used to power data center campuses so far has come from fossil fuels, raising concerns that the expansion of the facilities will worsen the climate emergency.
A recent Morning Consult poll found that a rapidly growing number of Americans support a ban on AI data centers in their surrounding areas—41% said they would support a ban in the survey taken in late November, compared to 37% in October.
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
From Soaring Energy Prices to Climate Threat to AI Bubble, Experts Warn Against Data Center Buildout
“Tech giants are cutting backroom deals with utilities and government officials to build massive data centers at breakneck speed, while passing the costs onto working families," said the author of a new Public Citizen report.stephen-prager (Common Dreams)
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A personal tribute to the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods
cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6952498
Amidst the growing economic and social crisis that plagues the working people, the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums (MLB) has consolidated itself as one of the main expressions of popular organization in the urban peripheries of Brazil. Born from the heart of the poor and exploited people, the MLB shows, in practice, that only organized struggle can achieve victories and confront the power of the rich and the governments that serve them.Since its founding, the movement has demonstrated tireless combativeness in defending the right to decent housing, urban land, and the city for those who live and work in it. In every occupation, every assembly, and every street action, the MLB reaffirms its position of class independence, refusing to bow before the interests of the bourgeoisie or false electoral promises.
In the urban occupations that are flourishing in dozens of cities, the MLB (Movement for the Struggle for Housing) transforms the abandonment and misery imposed by capitalism into spaces of resistance and solidarity. Where there were once vacant lots and abandoned buildings, today communities full of life, hope, and political awareness sprout. There, the people learn, in practice, the true meaning of popular organization and collective power.
More than fighting for housing, the MLB builds popular power. In its ranks, men and women of the people take the destiny of their lives into their own hands, discuss politics, decide collectively, face evictions and repression, and remain steadfast in the struggle for a new society, free from the exploitation of man by man.
In a country where unemployment, hunger, and eviction are weapons of social control, the MLB stands as a symbol of resistance and hope. Its strength lies in the unity and combativeness of the poor people, who no longer accept living on crumbs.
A personal tribute to the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods
Alberes Simão | A Verdade Nov. 13, 2025 | Translated from Portuguese for the Red Phoenix | Brazil– Thanks to the example of the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums, the…The Red Phoenix
The criminalization of HIV is a form of state punishment – Scalawag
On July 4, President Trump signed House Resolution 1,119th Congress (HR 1), also known as the deceptively titled "One Big Beautiful Bill. Included in its provisions are significant tax law changes, increased funding for immigration control and national defense, and spending reductions affecting Medicaid and a large number of other federal programs. In fact, HR 1 would give $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and $45 billion to expand its detention centers, with a total of $170 billion dedicated to immigration enforcement and "border security." The increase would allow the government to detain up to 100,000 individuals at a time. At the same time, HR 1 would cut federal Medicaid spending over a decade by an estimated $911 billion and increase the number of uninsured people by 10 million. This would mean the 31% of Latinx people and 21% of Black people who utilize Medicaid would be at risk.The administration disguised the bill as a way to give the middle-class tax relief, secure the border, and protect Medicaid from undocumented immigrants. The bill is a thin veil for the government's war on immigrants and trans people, even when undocumented immigrants are largely ineligible for Medicaid benefits and state laws vary on Medicaid coverage for transgender healthcare. It is a clear example of under-resourcing our communities' access to preventive care and treatment, which opens the door to further criminalization of particular health conditions and other negative effects on well-being.
During recent deliberations of Medicaid cuts and potential HIV/AIDS funding cuts in Louisiana, a Democratic lawmaker sought to criminalize additional sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HPV and HSV, using the state's HIV exposure law. As introduced, HB 76 would have made "intentionally" exposing another person to an "incurable sexually transmitted disease" a felony. However, neither "intentionally" nor "incurable sexually transmitted disease" was defined in the bill, which left an incredibly broad scope of criminalization possible without proof that a person specifically intended to transmit any disease or did in fact transmit an STI. Though the bill failed, it was presented as justice for survivors of sexual assault and interpersonal violence, as well as a solution to the prevalence of STIs in Louisiana.
The criminalization of HIV is a form of state punishment
When health resources are held hostage to punish marginalized communities, it only proliferates criminalization and vulnerability.Kytara Epps, MPH (Scalawag)
pancake likes this.
New Community Rule: "No low-effort posts. This is subjective and will largely be determined by the community member reports."
Due to the large number of reports we've received about recent posts, we've added Rule 7 stating "No low-effort posts. This is subjective and will largely be determined by the community member reports."
In general, we allow a post's fate to be determined by the amount of downvotes it receives. Sometimes, a post is so offensive to the community that removal seems appropriate. This new rule now allows such action to be taken.
We expect to fine-tune this approach as time goes on. Your patience is appreciated.
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Why? Why would you remove a post that some people deem “low effort”? People can just ignore the posts if they think it’s low effort.
More censorship and gate keeping has never been an good option.
Because it's clutter and annoying to see "Heyyy, is jellyfin a good video app?" ad nauseam, when a simple search would answer their question faster and without wasting everyone's time and energy.
Modlogs are visible, if there's truly a censorship issue then we're free to upsticks and move to another community. That's the advantage of the Fediverse.
Consolidating communities into super communities
I think one of the issues with federated forums like Lemmy is that multiple communities of the same name can exist on different instances. I do think that overall that's a good thing, as it encourages the decentralized governance of communities, depending on the instance, but it also leads to a general fracturing, since you may only be subscribed to one of the many instances of a particular community, and need to subscribe to all of the ever growing list of communities with that name if you want to see all posts across the fediverse.
I'm not even sure if it would be possible, but what I am suggesting is the ability to consolidate all communities of a particular name into a single super community. So for example this post would show up in the super feed of the larger fediverse community, and rather than subscribing to a single instance, such as fediverse@lemmy.world, you could subscribe to just a single super community called "c/fediverse", which would allow you to both view all posts in those communities with that name at the same time, and see all of those posts in your feed as well.
Addressing a couple issues I could foresee, this could be an opt in system, such that communities are not automatically consolidated into the super community feed without consent, but they could check a box when setting it up to make it possible. Also, if a user or instance is blocked from another user or instance, posts from that community would need to still not show up in the super community feed.
Does this make sense? Is it even technically feasible? What sorts of obstacles exist to implementing something like this?
Edit: As commenters below note, Piefed allows this already, and lemmy will as well with 1.0
github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy-ui/p…
Multi community support by dessalines · Pull Request #3521 · LemmyNet/lemmy-ui
This PR adds the ability to : Create and edit multi communities Add multi community entries Display multi communities on your sidebar Display multi communities created on use profiles The /m/multi...GitHub
Having the option might be handy, but federation is the goal.
Besides, moderation rules might differ by instance. It should remain fully a choice.
I think some kind of "pod" system would be nice where similar posts/crossposts could be visually grouped together like a "pod" of dolphins all surfacing on your feed together in a natural flowing way (randomly assigned color coding maybe?). Seeing one dolphin surface after another should feel like cohesive movement of a pod and any one post should link towards other dolphins in the pod not currently visible too.
You could then as a user "pod" a post by linking it with another post and the resulting feed of newly "podded" posts could itself be a browsable "pod feed".
Obviously a different word than pod may be better, but I like the whale pod metaphor.
Would a cheap, used raspberry pi 3 make for a good test server for following random self hosted tutorials?
In my self hosting journey, which is very much in its infancy mind you, many times I've longed for an extra machine I can use to try following tutorials on setting up samba shares, home assistant, what have you without having to worry about messing up my main machine and having to clean up after myself. As for acquiring such hardware on the cheap, I keep reading how the laptopocalypse w/ Windows 10 end of life will flood the markets w/ literally unlimited free e-waste bro!!! But my own experience hunting these EOL once in a lifetime deals has been more frownie face than happy face. Lots of $100+ listings and, idk that just seems like a lot to ask for something like that.
So just for fun I searched eBay for "raspberry pi" and came across this listing for a raspberry pi 3 w/ 1 GB RAM for $25. 1 GB of RAM seems like not very much, but then again I'm not trying to break the sound barrier here, I just want something that can sit on my desk basically unnoticed and hook it up to my KVM switch so I can switch to it from time to time, like whenever I want to try following a tutorial and not losing any sleep if I fail (and I fail often).
I've also kinda always had a little bit of envy from not being in the raspberry pi club, so this is my shot at getting into the club. I think I'm going to spring for this one, so my question for the audience is, but like honestly am I about to piss $25 down the drain? Would this be good enough for my purposes or is the 1 GB of RAM going to bottleneck me like a boss?
Sorry for the run on sentences, my brain's tired today.
No.
Unless there's something about the RPi that you really want - GPIO, say - it's not a good choice, especially not the 1GB model you mentioned. Virtually any used desktop or laptop PC from the last fifteen years will be more useful; if you've not done so already, search EBay for "USFF". Those are desktop PCs the size of paperback books. Businesses love them and have them in fleets which means they tend to get cycled out naturally after a few years; the marketplace is full of them and can be had for €30 and up. Unlike a RPi 3, they usually come with storage included (and a proper SSD/HD rather than an SD card), a good quality power supply, plenty of I/O and, if course, a nice solid protective case.
Example: ebay.us/m/TxL4yR
Slap PROXMOX on that and you'll have the seed of a solid home lab. With 8GB RAM you'll have enough to run VMs for OpenWRT, Home Assistant, Yuno Host, and still have enough resources left over for your Debian tinkering box. Plus, by using PROXMOX you do away with the need for a KVM since you can either SSH into the VM or use PROXMOX's web UI to access the console and use a GUI if that's more your speed.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Son of "El Chapo," Pleads Guilty Outlining the Kidnapping of "El Mayo" Zambada
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Son of "El Chapo," Pleads Guilty Outlining the Kidnapping of "El Mayo" Zambada
"Socalj" for Borderland Beat Several gunmen entered through a window opening, of which the glass had already been removed in preparation to ...www.borderlandbeat.com
Journiv self hosted journal: Now with markdown and inline media support
Hello everyone!
Journiv is a self-hosted private journaling application that puts you in complete control of your personal reflections. Built with privacy and simplicity at its core, Journiv offers comprehensive journaling capabilities including mood tracking, prompt-based journaling, media uploads, analytics, and advanced search. All while keeping your data on your own infrastructure.
Journiv v0.1.0-beta.9 is out with
- Markdown support
- Inline media (images and video) with viewer.
- Many bug fixes and improvements.
Watch
The Journey Ahead
Journiv is in active development, with a fully functional backend, a web frontend, and mobile apps launching soon. It is self-hosted, and designed to be your companion for decades.
Journiv is being built because our memories deserve to be ours, forever.
Learn More
Journiv: Your Thoughts Deserve to Be Remembered
You've self-hosted your photos with Immich. Your documents live in Nextcloud. Your passwords are safely tucked away in Vaultwarden. You've taken control of your digital life, one Docker container or LXC at a time.Journiv App (Noted)
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NEC Develops World’s First Technology for Face and Iris Authentication While Walking
(The original article is Japanese, here is the first paragraph translated by Microsoft Copilot.)
(Wayback Machine link for geoblocked users)
NEC has developed the world’s first walk-through multimodal biometric authentication technology that combines facial recognition and iris recognition, designed for scenarios requiring strict identity verification such as airports and payment systems. By integrating its facial recognition and iris recognition technologies, NEC enables high-precision, high-speed authentication of users while they are walking, both indoors and outdoors. Since authentication cards and other physical items are unnecessary, users can pass through hands-free, helping to ease congestion and enhance security. NEC plans to conduct demonstration experiments during fiscal year 2026, aiming for practical implementation in fiscal year 2027.
Also: Link to NEC's Japanese Press Release
NEC、歩いたままで顔も虹彩も認証する新技術 世界初（Impress Watch）
NECは、空港や決済など厳格な本人確認が求められるシーンにも対応する、ウォークスルー型の顔・虹彩マルチモーダル生体認証技術を世界で初めて開発した。同社の顔認証技術と虹彩認証技術を組み合わせ、歩いていImpress Watch (Yahoo!ニュース)
China’s Corruption Purge Disrupts Weapons Programs, Data Shows
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46642259
Archived
- New data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that while China’s arms sales revenues fell, other major producing nations posted significant growth, Japan: +40%, Germany: +36%, and United States: +3.8%
- SIPRI said revenues for the world’s 100 largest defense firms rose by 5.9% to an unprecedented $679 billion in 2024, while China became the only major producer showing a downturn
- SIPRI researchers said revenues for China’s top defense companies dropped 10%, citing a wave of corruption allegations that triggered internal audits, leadership purges and procurement delays across multiple military branches.
[...]
“A host of corruption allegations in Chinese arms procurement led to major arms contracts being postponed or cancelled in 2024,” said Nan Tian, director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program. “This deepens uncertainty around the status of China’s military modernization efforts and when new capabilities will materialize.”
[...]
In October 2025, eight senior generals — including former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong, China’s second-highest-ranking officer — were expelled from the Communist Party on corruption charges. Analysts say the scale of the purge has few precedents in recent military history.
China’s downturn occurred despite Beijing’s defense budget rising annually for 30 consecutive years, driven by strategic competition with the United States, tensions over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
[...]
Several of China’s largest defense conglomerates were affected, Norinco, the leading land-systems developer, reported a dramatic 31% drop to $14 billion, SIPRI said — the steepest fall among China’s top firms. CASC, China’s major aerospace and missile manufacturer, also saw declines after corruption-related leadership reshuffles triggered internal reviews and project delays. AVIC, the state-owned aviation giant responsible for fighter jets and military aircraft, recorded slowed deliveries, particularly in the PLA Air Force.
[...]
SIPRI: China’s Corruption Purge Disrupts Weapons Programs - Politics Today
Experts say the crackdown may strengthen China’s military institutions — but only after a costly and disruptive transitional period.Politics Today
China accounts for more than half of leading output in the applied sciences
China accounts for more than half of leading output in the applied sciences
The first Nature Index table on the field shows how research in the East is focused on industrial strategy.Plackett, Benjamin
Delhi records 200,000 acute respiratory illness cases amid toxic air
Air pollution: Delhi hospitals saw 200,000 respiratory illness patients in three years
More than 30,000 people with respiratory illnesses had to be hospitalised in Delhi between 2022 and 2024.Abhishek Dey (BBC News)
German army chief says contact with US military cut off by Pentagon
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/39664905
Lieutenant General Christian Freuding fears the longstanding military partnership between the two allies is unravelling under President Trump’s administrationThe Pentagon has “cut off contact” between American defence officials and their German counterparts, according to the head of Germany’s army.
The United States has traditionally treated Germany as one of its most important European allies. It is thought to have about 35,000 soldiers stationed at German bases such as Ramstein and Stuttgart, which serve as staging posts for American operations across Africa and the Middle East.
Since President Trump’s return to power in January, the relationship between the countries has become markedly cooler.
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Imagine how that must feel for Germany. First, they decide they want to tie Russia down to eternal peace by dangling infinite oil and gas riches in the face of Putin, and he decides to hell with riches, he wants WAR!
Then they have this relationship that lasted for 80 years with a former occupying nation that they submitted to and obeyed. They braved nationwide dissent over that nation stationing nuclear missiles on its peace-loving soil. They criminalized everything that nation disliked. As recently as (checks notes) now they supported a genocidal regime because they were told that's the thing to do.
And now all this sensible foreign policy blows up in their face, and they did nothing wrong, except bet on the crazy horses.
I mean, it beats BEING the genocidal regime, or - worse - being the target of the genocidal regime. But it does give one the impression that being sensible is not all that it's cracked up to be.
Europe Wants to Get the Word Out: Russia Is to Blame for Sabotage
Officials are accusing Russia of smaller-scale assaults. President Vladimir V. Putin sought to turn the tables, saying that if Europe were to start a war, Russia is ready.
Exactly, for those who can't keep up with the events, the issue is that Ruzzia has been pushing their luck and EU itself is getting tired of the Ruzz "mosquitoes", ie the many many on-going hybrid atacks incl. drones, fires, sabotage etc. This is ON TOP of the intensified atrocities by Ruzz in Ukraine and other places fyi. Time to do something, many in Europe think. From the NYT article, the European pov:
"Concern that sabotage is growing ever more dangerous has led some European leaders not just to blame Russia for hybrid activity more frequently but also to talk more openly how they will defend themselves.(..)
“This is a lot about ‘Now, Russia is at war with the West,’” said Charlie Edwards, a hybrid-warfare expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a former intelligence and security strategist for Britain. “That’s an important change.”(..)
Every time NATO and the E.U. don’t do something, the credibility of the alliance is questioned,” Mr. Edwards said, “for the simple reason that there seems to be no obvious, public response.”
WhatsHerBucket
in reply to HellsBelle • • •myrmidex
in reply to HellsBelle • • •IndieGoblin
in reply to HellsBelle • • •Glytch
in reply to HellsBelle • • •TigerAce
in reply to Glytch • • •boonhet
in reply to TigerAce • • •TigerAce
in reply to boonhet • • •There's a difference between dealing with a far right problem, and pedophile convict scam artists trying to make Idiocracy a reality as fast as possible while at the same time doing a Hitler's playbook.
The US isn't just foreign politics, everything that happens there has influence over here.
boonhet
in reply to TigerAce • • •Lol our far right praises everything Trumpler does. And there are also pedo suspicions about some members of the family running the far-right party in my country.
They haven't been able to get enough power to go full Hitler, but all they really need is a few good crises. They want to get rid of all LGBT and POC too. Funnily enough they don't want to ruin the welfare state though, unlike the liberals.