cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5665932

Here is an Invidious link to the video (1 min).

Hollywood actor [and Tibet activist] Richard Gere says Canada should not pivot to a stronger relationship with China just because of its currently strained relationship with the United States.

He says he is worried about that strain but says that won’t last forever and it is problematic for Canada to make “corrections” in its relationship with China as a result of the issues with the U.S.

...

"If you look what's happened around the world with the arrangements the Chinese have made, [it is clear that] they haven't turned on well for anybody," Gere said. "I'd be very, very sceptical of these arrangements."

...

Gere was on Parliament Hill on what is known as Tibet lobby day, an annual event that advocates for the rights and freedoms of Tibetans.

Gere’s philanthropy work includes advocating for human rights in Tibet and supporting the Tibetan independence movement.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet and the head of Tibetan Buddhism who was forced into exile in 1959 after an uprising by Chinese troops.

Liberal MP James Maloney, whose Ontario constituency is home to the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, welcomed Gere in a statement before question period today, before most MPs gave the actor a standing ovation.

...

In the video, Gere warns of

A 14-year-old autistic boy from Jaffa, who is charged with security offenses, will continue to be held in prison, even after being sexually assaulted there, a Tel Aviv court ruled on Sunday.

In his decision, Judge Ala Masarwa ruled that the parties in the proceedings will appear in one week for a hearing where his defense attorney will propose alternatives to detention to him and the probation officer handing the case.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/45823936

Archived

Beijing has mastered the art of punching above its weight in multilateral organizations to wield substantially more influence than its membership positions otherwise entitle it to. This is true in a variety of organizations, from the World Health Organization to the multilateral development banks. But perhaps the best example is the United Nations (UN), which is treated by the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) less as a neutral forum and more as an arena to rewrite norms in its favour.

[...]

Over the last decade, Chinese diplomats have pursued a systematic campaign to place loyal nationals in senior UN posts, leveraging financial contributions, vote trading, and bilateral pressure. Since 2019, Chinese nationals have headed four UN specialized agencies—the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the UN Industrial Development Organization—each critical to setting international standards.

[...]

This concentration of influence gives Beijing disproportionate sway over how global norms are written, codified, and monitored. The heads of these agencies shape global standards for digital infrastructure, aviation safety, and industrial technology—fields central to China’s long-term economic and security strategy.

[...]

While China still casts fewer vetoes on the UN Security Council than Russia or the US, when it does, it is overwhelmingly in tandem with Moscow, shielding regimes accused of atrocities in such countries as Syria, North Korea, and Sudan. An analysis of voting patterns shows that China consistently backs states resisting Western-led resolutions on human rights and accountability.

Beijing has also mastered the UN’s procedural grey zones. An in-depth Washington Post investigation revealed how Chinese government-linked NGOs—many explicitly pledging loyalty to the CCP—exploit consultative status in Geneva to disrupt human-rights hearings, harass dissidents, and dilute references to abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Nearly half of all Chinese NGOs accredited at the UN are effectively extensions of the state. By weaponizing the openness of the UN system, Beijing converts what was meant to be a platform for civil society into a shadow arm of state influence.

[...]

While boasting of its growing contributions, Beijing has also become notorious for delayed payments to the UN, at times holding back dues for nearly a year and deepening the organization’s liquidity crisis. Simultaneously, its voluntary funding—directed toward specific programs in development, technology, or infrastructure—channels money into projects that amplify Chinese influence rather than universal priorities. The result is quiet leverage: financial dependency that deters criticism.

[...]

Leadership contests for key agencies are often uncontested by Western candidates, and funding cuts have left the field open to states willing to pay without any questions. Beijing fills the vacuum, not by brute force but by relentless attendance—showing up, lobbying, and organizing, while others retreat.

If this continues, the UN of the next decade may resemble something closer to a managed marketplace of state narratives than a rules-based community. The remedy is not abandonment but engagement: reclaiming influence by competing seriously for leadership posts, funding independent oversight, and building coalitions of democracies and reform-minded states that still believe in transparency and accountability. The UN cannot be saved by nostalgia. It will survive only if its largest non-Chinese stakeholders treat it as worth defending from within.

My family and I are going through very difficult days and any support even small would ease a big part of our burden Thank you please don’t forget us.”

Hello, yesterday i saw somewhere i think it was on lemmy, a picture where are 3 pigs, first is walkin on 4 legs, 2nd try to walk on 2 legs, and 3rd walks on 2 legs. I think its related to animal farm by Eric Blair. Does anyone have it? I think it woild be nice for shirt

Lobbyists representing industry responsible for a quarter to a third of global emissions participated in key talks at the UN climate summit

More than 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists have participated at this year’s UN climate talks taking place in the Brazilian Amazon, where the industry is the leading cause of deforestation, a new investigation has found.

The number of lobbyists representing the interests of industrial cattle farming, commodity grains and pesticides is up 14% on last year’s summit in Baku – and larger than the delegation of the world’s 10th largest economy, Canada, which brought 220 delegates to Cop30 in Belém, according to the joint investigation by DeSmog and the Guardian.

One in four of the big agriculture lobbyists (77) are participating at Cop30 as part of an official country delegation, with a small subset (six) with privileged access to the UN negotiations where countries are meant to hash out ambitious policies to curtail global climate catastrophe.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have increased since Japan suggested it could intervene in an attack on Taiwan. Both have issued warnings to their citizens over travel.

I always love it when some massive piece of web infrastructure goes down but most websites I use are self-hosted so the only real effect is I see lots of news stories that cloudflare is down.

https://www.cloudflarestatus.com/

Many websites are down, so much for decentralised internet.

Made a snarky, obviously sarcastic comment basically word for word: "Yeah, women didn't even exist until the 1920s and Asians are a myth" In response to a racist jerk complaining that a depiction of 1880s Chicago was "too diverse".

So 4 days later Reddit slaps me with a permanent ban for violating rule 1 "hate".

The really effed up part is the offending comment was summarily removed and therefore not even quoted in the ban notice. Meaning that after 4 days I didnt immediately recall the now missing comment and could only appeal based the general fact that I mock racists.

This is some absolute bullshit. And now that I recall the basic wording I cant even add to the appeal.

Is Reddit trying extra hard to suck now or what.

Any alternatives to force a response and ecpme action of this nonsense?

Short Summary

(in English - The original text is in Castilian)

In Barcelona, the protagonist (a successful Madrid architect living a secret double life) unexpectedly runs into his former lover Lisette and her colleague Kate at a charming neighborhood bakery. Forced into an awkward coffee meet-up, he struggles to maintain his old cover story—that he’s merely a soundproofing technician—while Lisette playfully corners him into a possible dinner invitation that threatens to expose or reignite his hidden past. Trapped between his two worlds, he leaves the café rattled, realizing his quick “confirmation” trip has just become dangerously complicated