cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/29823642

Brett Wilkins
May 08, 2025

"Israeli occupation forces enforced a ban on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday by storming three schools in East Jerusalem, terrorizing children and staff as they shuttered the facilities and drawing condemnation from human rights defenders.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, heavily armed Israeli security forces raided the schools in the Shu'fat refugee camp in illegally occupied East Jerusalem, detaining one UNRWA employee and forcing around 550 children out of their classrooms as the invaders closed the facilities."

“Gaza will be entirely destroyed."

Same wifi network. On my laptop I can access the website, no issues without VPN. On my phone, there's just no way unless I activate my VPN.

I tried searching about it but the closest results I found say it's an ISP issue, some apparently block the Archive. If that was the case then I'd need VPN for both devices, right? So it's got to be another reason, yes?

I didn't find anyone saying they experience the same as I am, I suppose because I suck at searching I guess.

The CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, has drawn criticism following his participation in an online discussion workshopping ways to exploit Iran in the event of regime change. The event wad hosted by NUFDI, the main DC-based advocacy group for the monarchist movement surrounding Reza Pahlavi, whose father was the last reigning Shah of Iran.

The discussion, marketed by one prominent online Pahlavi booster as an effort “to present designs that could be quickly implemented in Iran after the fall of the Islamic Republic” and “the establishment of a sound government,” was held to cobble together a loose plan for the privatization of Iran’s economy following an apparently to-be-determined regime change scenario. It’s unclear whether the vision laid out by the two Iranian expats represents a concrete blueprint for toppling the government, but the content of the chat suggested the Uber CEO seeks lucrative gains in the event of a successful regime change operation.

NUFDI has longstanding ties to the Israeli government and works closely with hardline Israel lobby organizations such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. As a nexus of Iran’s monarchist movement, its agenda centers around the royal ascension of Reza Pahlavi, whose supporters believe is the natural heir to the Persian throne and should rule Iran as its king. They claim Pahlavi is the rightful successor of Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was forced into exile after the abolition of the monarchy during the Iranian revolution of 1979.

Thousands of people rallied in cities across Germany on Sunday to protest right-wing extremism and demand a ban on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The demonstrations were organized by the network Together Against the Right and other civil society groups.

In Berlin, protesters gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, with police estimating the crowd at around 4,000 by late afternoon, while organizers claimed approximately 7,500 participants. Around 2,500 demonstrators also took to the streets in Munich, with rallies announced in more than 60 cities nationwide.

Organizers urged political leaders to begin formal proceedings to outlaw the far-right AfD, Germany's largest opposition party.

In a statement, they argued that the issue of banning the party should be seen not as a political decision, but as a legal matter.

"To clarify this, politicians must find the courage to file a motion for a ban," it said.

The organizers are calling on the Bundestag and Bundesrat legislative bodies, as well as the new federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, to initiate ban proceedings against the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court.

[...]

The AfD is known for its anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, eurosceptic and nationalist rhetoric. The populist party has been a flashpoint in German political life for more than a decade. It has benefited in recent years by tapping into economic discontent and growing unease over refugees.

Archived

Lithuania said [...] that it will spend 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) over the next decade to fortify its border with Russia and Belarus, with the bulk of the funding earmarked for anti-tank mines.

Lithuania, which shares borders with Russia’s Kaliningrad region and northwestern Belarus, has raised concerns, along with fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia, that they could become future targets if Russia шы victorious in its war against Ukraine.

All three Baltic countries have stepped up defense efforts since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, including boosting border security amid what they describe as a Kremlin-backed influx of migrants.

Lithuania’s Defense Ministry said the new spending would “block and slow down the actions of hostile states,” adding that around 800 million euros of the total would go toward anti-tank mines.

The ministry said it was conducting “intensive” work to ensure the integrity of the planned “Baltic defense line,” and noted additional measures including stockpiling anti-tank weapons, bolstering electronic warfare and anti-drone systems, as well as enhancing early warning capabilities.

[...]

https://archive.ph/RVkh3

The US Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors is preparing to name David Steiner, a current member of FedEx’s Board of Directors, as the next Postmaster General (PMG), according to a report in the Washington Post. The selection is reportedly being made at the behest of Donald Trump.

The move signals a massive escalation of attacks on the post office, especially its privatization, which both Trump and Elon Musk, head of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE) support. But privatization would be the culmination of decades of bipartisan attacks, beginning with its demotion from a cabinet level department to an independent, self-funding agency under President Richard Nixon.

The situation urgently requires organized resistance by postal workers and their allies in the working class. As the USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee explained in a statement in March: “This requires new organizations, rank-and-file committees, to mobilize ourselves independently of Trump’s collaborators in the Democrats and the union tops. We must safeguard our own initiative and begin organizing now rather than waiting for ‘permission’ from the top which will never come.”

United States has pushed some nations facing tariffs imposed by Donald Trump to approve Elon Musk's Starlink, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing State Department cables.

The cables show how U.S. embassies and the department pushed countries to clear hurdles for satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name, the Post reported.

The documents do not show that the Trump administration has demanded favors for Starlink in exchange for lower tariffs, the newspaper reported. But they indicate that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has instructed officials to push for regulatory approvals for Musk's satellite firm, it reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed talks with China in Switzerland on Saturday, saying the two sides had negotiated "a total reset ... in a friendly, but constructive, manner."

"A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: "We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"

High-level talks between the United States and China have begun in Geneva, Switzerland, Chinese state media reported on Saturday, in a possible thaw in the trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs.

Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead the talks on the Chinese side, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be America’s chief representative, state broadcaster CCTV said in a brief report.

In testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirmed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now looking to fill critical positions, after agreeing to pay more than 15,000 employees' salaries and benefits through September in exchange for their resignations.

"We are actively looking and recruiting to fill those positions that are integral to the efforts and the key frontlines," Rollins told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

But the need to fill positions so soon after letting people go has raised questions, including from Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"So you let people go and you're looking for new people to fill the positions that they had experience in?" Murray asked.

I've recently moved from using my PC to emulate retro games to a R36S (game boy style but with 2 analogue sticks as well) handheld and have fallen in love with having them in a portable device.

I'm looking at purchasing a bigger and much newer and more powerful device so was looking for advice on things like what the pros and cons of some popular devices are, what OS people prefer, what emulators people use, etc. My R36S is running ArkOS which is ok.

I'm thinking a clamshell device would be nice, but a Switch-style would be fine as long as the controls aren't too snug. As close to "full size" analogue sticks would be ideal too, I hate and can't get used to tiny ones like on this R36S or sliders like on the 3DS.

Don't really have a set budget. Would like to be able to emulate up to and including Wii U via Dolphin if possible, but I know that's pushing it. PS2 or DC level would be acceptable too. Alternatively a really good "up to and including PS1" device would be an option.

Some that I've seen that look good:

• Retroid Flip 2

• Anbernic RG556 (I think the 557 isn't getting very good reviews)

• Retroid Pocket 5

• Anbernic RG Arc (because the Megadrive 6 button controller is the GOAT of the 8/16 bit generations.

• Anbernic RG CubeXX