cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54562583

TL;DR: Mozilla’s translation bot on Support Mozilla (that is currently overwriting user contributions is based on the closed source, copyright infringing LLM, Google Gemini. This is in spite of Mozilla claiming that they are at the forefront of open source AI, and belies their exhortations to choose to build open source AI and data sets. Although Mozilla has experience in attracting open contributions for data sets in projects like Common Voice, Mozilla is using a closed data set to overwrite open contributions. Since (paid) Gemini queries do not train the model, Mozillians can expect to correct errors every time the bot automatically updates an article.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5998772

Japan has protested after Chinese fighter jets locked radars on Japanese aircraft as tensions between the two nations worsened.

Locking radar onto an aircraft is considered a threat because it can signal a potential attack. Japan said there were two such incidents Saturday off its southern Okinawa islands.

Japan said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the Chinese J-15 fighter jets, while Beijing accused Tokyo of "harassing" its forces during a training exercise. No injuries or damage were reported.

...

Last week, China and Japan's coast guards gave conflicting accounts of a confrontation near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

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A Japanese defence ministry official said the intention of the Chinese J-15 jets was "unclear", but added that ... the Japanese aircraft "did not do anything that could be considered a provocation".

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This comes two weeks after Japan scrambled aircraft when a suspected Chinese drone was detected off Yonaguni, island near Taiwan. Tokyo has said it is planning to deploy missiles from Yonaguni in a move that has angered Beijing.

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several months ago I wrote about leaving floor nursing for moving patients in beds. I also posted it would mean a 20% financial hit.

Turns out the financial hit is 2%. I took the job.

Several of my former colleagues, after seeing me now that I switched jobs cannot hide their disbelief and shock. Some of the things I've heard: "what a waste, you can do more." "You are a RN and you choose to move beds?", "Haven't you worked with us?", "Oh no, don't tell me you're moving beds now." and more.

I've always been very individualistic and never cared much about what others think about me. This new job means less stress and I can sleep better.

But it's not only other RNs who tell me this: doctors as well, very knowledgeable ones.

Am I doing something wrong, when so many people, some of them much smarter than me tell me what I'm doing is stupid?

Going back to my old job doesn't mean going back to my old department, just back to floor nursing.

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Truth and understanding sit at the heart of today’s debate about Taiwan.

[However, according to a] new report ... many Australians do not fully understand what’s at stake if Taiwan’s democracy is someday threatened by China. Indeed, many Australians don’t actually understand Taiwan at all.

...

However, ... a crisis in the Taiwan Strait would not be distant – it would affect Australia directly. It would shape our economy, our sea trading routes and the wider environment that supports our democratic life.

Another concern came specifically from our participants of Chinese heritage, with roots in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and elsewhere. Many worried about the social consequences inside Australia if the government were to support Taiwan in a conflict.

...

Decades of unclear Australian diplomacy have shaped this confusion. Since recognising the People’s Republic of China in 1972, Australia has maintained unofficial but substantial ties with Taiwan, often expressed in cautious and ambiguous language that obscures Taiwan’s reality as a self-governed democracy.

Public understanding is also filtered through a simplistic view of the great power rivalry between China and the United States, which tends to collapse Taiwan into a geopolitical chess piece.

This confusion affects how Australians view the “One China policy”. This policy acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but does not accept it. It allows Australia to maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan, while not taking a stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Many assume the policy means Beijing can decide Taiwan’s future. It does not. But this misunderstanding causes people to step back from thorny questions about Taiwan’s future at the very moment when deeper knowledge is needed.

Our participants frequently pointed to Australian news coverage of Taiwan as a major source of confusion. Taiwan usually appears only in stories about a possible war with China. Its democratic life, public debates, economic innovation, gender equality and green energy efforts rarely get covered.

One young Taiwanese Australian summarised it well: “My fear isn’t only invasion. It’s that Australians still don’t know Taiwan is already a separate political and economic society.”

...

What Australia can do

• to improve public literacy about Taiwan beyond the frame of conflict, emphasising the fact its democracy is distinctive and hard-won
• to avoid treating Chinese Australians as a single group
• to clarify the meaning of the One China policy for the Australian public, and
• to better prepare Australians for the social impacts of a crisis, not only the strategic ones.

Taiwan’s democracy is not a burden for Australia; it is a reminder of the values we say we stand for.

But Australia cannot defend what it does not understand. Our interviews show that gaps in public knowledge about Taiwan are giving room for Beijing’s authoritarian narratives to slip into Australian debates – and go unquestioned.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43232410

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Russia has ramped up its recruitment of foreign fighters through a targeted social media campaign, offering citizenship and money to those who join its fight.

...

The promise of roles away from the front line are aimed at enticing people to sign up, but experts [like] Sascha Bachmann, a professor in law and security at the University of Canberra, said the promise of safe service was "not true".

"Russia is trying to close a manpower gap. They sign people up for a promised non-combat role but they then end up as part of Moscow's meat grinder," he said.

"It is deception."

Data sourced by OpenMinds, a defence tech company, shows that by mid-2025, one in three contract announcements posted by Russian government pages was aimed at foreigners.

In total, the number of these posts has risen to more than 4,500 a month from less than 100 in early 2024.

...

Dr Bachmann believed the main reason Russia had increased recruitment efforts abroad was because it "has real problems recruiting from within its population".

Dr Bachmann called it "cognitive domain propaganda", which he said refers to military activities that are designed to affect the attitude of the public.

"Russia is very interested in having more foreign volunteers … because then they can say they have common power, more boots on the ground. It helps them form a fresh narrative," he said.

...

In one of the social media posts, a phone number is provided and people in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Africa, India and others are encouraged to call.

However, residents of other countries have been targeted too, including China, India, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Bangladesh and others in Asia, and the Middle East.

...

...

Russia has ramped up its recruitment of foreign fighters through a targeted social media campaign, offering citizenship and money to those who join its fight.

...

The promise of roles away from the front line are aimed at enticing people to sign up, but experts [like] Sascha Bachmann, a professor in law and security at the University of Canberra, said the promise of safe service was "not true".

"Russia is trying to close a manpower gap. They sign people up for a promised non-combat role but they then end up as part of Moscow's meat grinder," he said.

"It is deception."

Data sourced by OpenMinds, a defence tech company, shows that by mid-2025, one in three contract announcements posted by Russian government pages was aimed at foreigners.

In total, the number of these posts has risen to more than 4,500 a month from less than 100 in early 2024.

...

Dr Bachmann believed the main reason Russia had increased recruitment efforts abroad was because it "has real problems recruiting from within its population".

Dr Bachmann called it "cognitive domain propaganda", which he said refers to military activities that are designed to affect the attitude of the public.

"Russia is very interested in having more foreign volunteers … because then they can say they have common power, more boots on the ground. It helps them form a fresh narrative," he said.

...

In one of the social media posts, a phone number is provided and people in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Africa, India and others are encouraged to call.

However, residents of other countries have been targeted too, including China, India, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Bangladesh and others in Asia, and the Middle East.

...

Exclusive: Campaign urges PM to show independence from US and push to rein in development of superintelligence

The Open Rights Group warns the government's digital ID plan is a "surveillance infrastructure" leading to "unprecedented tracking." They point to the faulty eVisa scheme.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43231856

International Criminal Court [ICC] arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and five other Russians accused of war crimes in Ukraine will stay in place even if a blanket amnesty is approved during U.S.-led peace talks, ICC prosecutors said on Friday.

Deputy prosecutors Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal and Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, who have been responsible for investigations at the court since the chief prosecutor went on leave, said a United Nations Security Council resolution would be required to suspend court-issued warrants.

...

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the other five over their alleged roles in atrocities during the war that began with Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Putin and Russian Child Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova face allegations of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

...

Among other high-profile Russian suspects sought by the International Criminal Court are Sergei Shoigu, the former defence minister, and Russian general Valery Gerasimov, who are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for attacks on civilians.

...

"If there is a peace deal which then leads the Security Council to ask us to defer an investigation, then that's a matter - that's a political process for the Security Council. But as far as we're concerned...at the end of the day, it does not stop the way that justice is delivered," Deputy Prosecutor Khan said, citing the court's founding Rome Statute.

...

Deputy Prosecutor Niang said that "apart from the bracket we mentioned in respect of the Security Council route, we are obligated to observe our statute, which does not give weight to some of those political arrangements".

...

Ukraine's ambassador to the Netherlands, Andriy Kostin, who previously served as its prosecutor general, dismissed the idea of a blanket amnesty. "...With such mass atrocities committed in the course of these years, it's impossible to grant impunity for all those responsible, all those who committed these crimes and who ordered the commission of these crimes," he [said].

...

International Criminal Court [ICC] arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and five other Russians accused of war crimes in Ukraine will stay in place even if a blanket amnesty is approved during U.S.-led peace talks, ICC prosecutors said on Friday.

Deputy prosecutors Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal and Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, who have been responsible for investigations at the court since the chief prosecutor went on leave, said a United Nations Security Council resolution would be required to suspend court-issued warrants.

...

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the other five over their alleged roles in atrocities during the war that began with Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Putin and Russian Child Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova face allegations of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

...

Among other high-profile Russian suspects sought by the International Criminal Court are Sergei Shoigu, the former defence minister, and Russian general Valery Gerasimov, who are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for attacks on civilians.

...

"If there is a peace deal which then leads the Security Council to ask us to defer an investigation, then that's a matter - that's a political process for the Security Council. But as far as we're concerned...at the end of the day, it does not stop the way that justice is delivered," Deputy Prosecutor Khan said, citing the court's founding Rome Statute.

...

Deputy Prosecutor Niang said that "apart from the bracket we mentioned in respect of the Security Council route, we are obligated to observe our statute, which does not give weight to some of those political arrangements".

...

Ukraine's ambassador to the Netherlands, Andriy Kostin, who previously served as its prosecutor general, dismissed the idea of a blanket amnesty. "...With such mass atrocities committed in the course of these years, it's impossible to grant impunity for all those responsible, all those who committed these crimes and who ordered the commission of these crimes," he [said].

...

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43231602

Web archive link

The regime of North Korea has continued to exploit the war in Ukraine to spread its propaganda. This week we learnt that Ukrainian children, abducted by Russia, are being sent to an infamous North Korean summer camp. The children have reportedly been taught to ‘destroy Japanese imperialists’ and heard from North Korean soldiers who destroyed the USS Pueblo, a spy ship captured and sank by North Korea in 1968.

This Ukrainian children have been at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp, located near the port city of Wonsan on the country’s east coast. Well known as a popular tourist hotspot for North Korean elites, Wonsan has recently gained infamy for the newly-opened Wonsan-Kalma tourist resort, which has been not-so-affectionately nicknamed ‘North Korea’s Benidorm’. Wonsan, too, has a significant place in North Korean history. It was where Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un spent much of his childhood.

The children’s camp is hardly a new creation. Established in 1960 amid the backdrop of the Cold War, the camp became one additional facet of North Korean cultural diplomacy, as Pyongyang sought to develop ties with communist and communist-friendly countries. Whether from North Korea’s Cold War patrons of Russia and China or communist-sympathising states further afield, such as Laos, Tanzania and even Syria, children would be sent to the camp to engage in a range of activities, including cooking, swimming, rock climbing, or marathon running. For the North Korean regime, the goal was simple: spread the virtues of socialism, North Korea-style, and become friends with like-minded states.

...

Although little is known about the Ukrainian abductees sent to North Korea, cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in areas beyond security looks to continue to grow, especially as peace in Ukraine looks evermore elusive. North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defence pact in June 2024, but these renewed ties were not limited to the domain of security. It was no coincidence that only a week after the ink was dry, Grigory Gurov, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, announced that around 250 Russian children, mainly from the Russian Far East, would visit Songdowon, making them one of the first groups to visit the camp following North Korea’s draconian three-year border closure, owing to coronavirus, in January 2021.

...

Russia and North Korea are yet to respond to the reports that Ukrainian abductees are being sent to Songdowon. Pyongyang will probably just say the children were participating in a cultural exchange – helping out an ally. We need only go back to February this year when Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, announced that how ‘hundreds of wounded [Russian] soldiers’ fighting against Ukraine were being treated in North Korean hospitals, epitomising the ‘brotherly attitude’ between the two Cold War allies.

By released I mean when the movie becomes available as a WEB-RIP, WEB-DL or a BluRay rip. I don't wanna set up Radarr because I am not that invested in movies. But there are some movies that I would like to watch. So being able to come to know when a movie is available in good quality would be nice.

I actually have Radarr installed but I only use it to get metadata. Radarr knows when a "not available" vs. when it is "missing". I am thinking of leveraging that to write a script that runs once a day and notify me about change from "not available" to "missing" using ntfy.

Web archive link

The regime of North Korea has continued to exploit the war in Ukraine to spread its propaganda. This week we learnt that Ukrainian children, abducted by Russia, are being sent to an infamous North Korean summer camp. The children have reportedly been taught to ‘destroy Japanese imperialists’ and heard from North Korean soldiers who destroyed the USS Pueblo, a spy ship captured and sank by North Korea in 1968.

This Ukrainian children have been at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp, located near the port city of Wonsan on the country’s east coast. Well known as a popular tourist hotspot for North Korean elites, Wonsan has recently gained infamy for the newly-opened Wonsan-Kalma tourist resort, which has been not-so-affectionately nicknamed ‘North Korea’s Benidorm’. Wonsan, too, has a significant place in North Korean history. It was where Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un spent much of his childhood.

The children’s camp is hardly a new creation. Established in 1960 amid the backdrop of the Cold War, the camp became one additional facet of North Korean cultural diplomacy, as Pyongyang sought to develop ties with communist and communist-friendly countries. Whether from North Korea’s Cold War patrons of Russia and China or communist-sympathising states further afield, such as Laos, Tanzania and even Syria, children would be sent to the camp to engage in a range of activities, including cooking, swimming, rock climbing, or marathon running. For the North Korean regime, the goal was simple: spread the virtues of socialism, North Korea-style, and become friends with like-minded states.

...

Although little is known about the Ukrainian abductees sent to North Korea, cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in areas beyond security looks to continue to grow, especially as peace in Ukraine looks evermore elusive. North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defence pact in June 2024, but these renewed ties were not limited to the domain of security. It was no coincidence that only a week after the ink was dry, Grigory Gurov, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, announced that around 250 Russian children, mainly from the Russian Far East, would visit Songdowon, making them one of the first groups to visit the camp following North Korea’s draconian three-year border closure, owing to coronavirus, in January 2021.

...

Russia and North Korea are yet to respond to the reports that Ukrainian abductees are being sent to Songdowon. Pyongyang will probably just say the children were participating in a cultural exchange – helping out an ally. We need only go back to February this year when Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, announced that how ‘hundreds of wounded [Russian] soldiers’ fighting against Ukraine were being treated in North Korean hospitals, epitomising the ‘brotherly attitude’ between the two Cold War allies.

I am Pagliacci.

After this, I think I'll read something by the "Irish Mabanckou" (i.e. Beckett) 🙄

Archived version

The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Trade Council of Denmark, Finland Trade Center and the Swedish Trade and Invest Council staged the 2025 Nordic-Taiwan Sustainable Energy Forum Dec. 3 in Taipei City.

Central to discussions at the meeting was energy transition, with specific focus on carbon reduction technology, geothermal energy and offshore wind power, the MOEA said, adding that over 200 experts, industry representatives and researchers participated in the event.

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