Mastodawn

Katherine 1h ago

Video: British Remigration Activist, charlie kirk supporter Attacked in Manchester

https://lemmy.zip/post/66321974

Video: British Remigration Activist, charlie kirk supporter Attacked in Manchester - Lemmy.zip

After taking his Charlie Kirk-inspired “change my mind” stance to Manchester, an activist was physically assaulted…

xiao yun 3h ago

'Heartbreaking': Afghan govt staff abandon smartphones

https://sh.itjust.works/post/61967100

'Heartbreaking': Afghan govt staff abandon smartphones - sh.itjust.works

> Kabul (AFP) – Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed Wednesday that they told AFP came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. > A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court, which has not responded to AFP’s requests to comment. > > “All the heads of departments in their respective provinces are advised to inform their staff, higher-ranking or lower-ranking, that using smartphones is strictly banned effective 17 June,” said the letter. > >It referred to all employees of the military and civilian departments, mentioning that exemptions could only be granted by the supreme leader. > >As of Wednesday afternoon, multiple central government departments were still publishing information through their WhatsApp groups. > >Two spokesmen for the Afghan government did not respond to AFP’s requests to comment on the decision. > >In Ghazni province, located between the capital Kabul and the seat of the supreme leader, Kandahar, government employees started signing off from their smartphones on Tuesday evening. > >“It has been decided that from Wednesday, the use of smartphones inside all offices in Ghazni province is prohibited,” Irfan Andarh, an official from the mines and petroleum department, wrote in a WhatsApp group seen by AFP. > >Citing the supreme leader’s decision, he wrote that employees would be available “via telephone calls and email”. > >A municipal worker in Ghazni, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said they had been warned that anyone who uses a smartphone would be fired and face legal action. …

Truone 5h ago

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/17/is-it-bad-that-elon-musk-has-a-trillion-dollars-yes-and-heres-why
Arguments against extremely wealth
#politics #politician #news #globalnews #conflict #internationalnews #trump #elonmusk #gop #conservatives #usa #europe #eu #climate #climatechange #environment #democracy #musk #freedom #trillionaire

Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars? Yes, and here’s why

Just as the ‘poverty line’ determines what’s required for basic living, we need a ‘wealth line’ to show when extreme wealth becomes harmful, says economist and philosopher Ingrid Robeyns

The Guardian

Sepia 12h ago

MEPs urge EU crackdown on transnational repression, calling it threat to democracy

https://mander.xyz/post/53754363

MEPs urge EU crackdown on transnational repression, calling it threat to democracy - Mander

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/53751698 [https://mander.xyz/post/53751698] > The report [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20260611IPR45211/meps-demand-eu-action-to-fight-transnational-repression] was adopted on Tuesday by 434 votes in favour, 128 against and 104 abstentions, the parliamentary press service announced. > > Transnational repression was described in the text as deliberate acts or threats by states and authoritarian regimes — or state-linked entities and proxies — to threaten, silence, coerce or harm people living abroad, as well as their support networks and family members. > > MEPs said these actions pose a threat to democracy and the protection of human rights, and amount to foreign interference. > > … > > Targets can include dissidents, journalists, activists, academics and members of diaspora communities, as well as their families, according to the European Parliament. > > … > > They also called for measures to share best practice between member states and floated the appointment of an EU coordinator to help develop a wider strategy, including action against digital threats, abusive Interpol “red notices” — requests to locate and provisionally arrest people pending extradition — and “consular coercion”, which the report described as pressure from embassies and consulates. > > “For many people living in exile in Europe, distance doesn’t guarantee safety. Authoritarian regimes actively seek to silence critics beyond their own borders,” the report’s rapporteur, Hannah Neumann, said in the statement published by the European Parliament. > > …

Hotznplotzn 14h ago

Behind Bars: new report on China’s detention centres shows widespread abuse

https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/54776854

Behind Bars: new report on China’s detention centres shows widespread abuse - SDF Chatter

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/54775349 [https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/54775349] > Archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20260617013026/https://safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/behind-bars-new-report-chinas-detention-centres-shows-widespread-abuse] > > Report in English (pdf) [https://web.archive.org/web/20260617013256/https://safeguarddefenders.com/sites/default/files/2026-04/Behind%20Bars%20Detention%20comp.pdf] and Chinese (pdf) [https://web.archive.org/web/20260617012352/https://safeguarddefenders.com/sites/default/files/2026-04/Behind%20Bars%20Detention%20Comp%20CH.pdf] > > Police torture, violent cell mates, denied lawyer meetings, overcrowded cells and little to no outdoor time are common experiences for those locked up in China’s detention centres, according to a new report out today by Safeguard Defenders. > > Behind Bars: a survey on detention centre conditions in China, based on a survey of 84 former detainees, paints a grim picture with respondents reporting widespread abuses and violations of both international law and Chinese law and regulations. Its findings should be a stark reminder for foreign governments considering security agreements or extradition arrangements with Beijing that such cooperation is incompatible with fundamental human rights principles. > > […] > > The report’s primary research findings are: > > 1. Detention centres routinely violate domestic regulations and international standards leading to problems such as overcrowding, inadequate medical care and exposure to violence. > 2. Detainees’ rights to legal counsel are routinely obstructed with lawyer meetings blocked and inmates pressured to hire a pliant duty lawyer. > 3. Regulatory shortfalls and the widespread occurrence of abuses > indicate structural weaknesses in oversight. > 4. Of particular concern is the phenomenon of “cell bosses”, who > are often authorized or tolerated by detention officers to maintain > discipline among inmates through intimidation and abuse > > […] > > The report was officially released on 16 June at an event organized by Safeguard Defenders in Lisbon, Portugal on the risks of hostage diplomacy and arbitrary detention in China. Speaking at the event were Peter Humphrey from the UK, a former corporate fraud investigator who was imprisoned in China and now volunteers to help the families of foreigners arrested or sentenced in China and Canadian Grace Chen, an international human rights lawyer and former legal advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. > > In the days leading up to the event, China tried to cancel it [https://web.archive.org/web/20260617013026/https://safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/china-attempts-cancel-sd-event] by writing a letter to the venue urging them not to offer a “platform for actions that vilify China.” Also, an X account that impersonates Safeguard Defenders and is likely linked to Beijing posted our event announcement but changed the date, time and location. > > […]

xiao yun 15h ago

Trump ballroom cost soars to $600 mn, half from taxpayers: report

https://sh.itjust.works/post/61943538

Trump ballroom cost soars to $600 mn, half from taxpayers: report - sh.itjust.works

> Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s ballroom project at the White House will cost as much as $600 million, with more than half coming from taxpayers, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. > Trump had previously estimated the cost at $400 million and repeatedly insisted that private donors – including himself – would foot the bill for the new building, a centerpiece of his drive to put his stamp on the US capital. > >The newspaper cited a copy of a detailed cost estimate prepared for the Trump administration by Clark Construction, the contractor hired to build the ballroom. > >The project began last year when Trump, with little warning and without consulting Congress, tore down the entire historic East Wing of the White House. > >The White House insisted in a statement to AFP Tuesday that Trump and the donors were bearing most of the cost. > >“President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come,” spokesman Davis Ingle said. > >An alleged plot to attack the White House during a cage fight attended by Trump and other top officials at the weekend “proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events,” he said. > >Ingle added that the ballroom project was “inextricably tied” to presidential security and other security assets, which Trump says include drone ports on the roof and a hospital in the basement. > >In late March, Trump reiterated to reporters that the project would cost up to $400 million, calling it “tax-payer free.” > >However, a summary prepared for the White House earlier that month already estimated the total cost at $600 million, with only $293 million coming from “private sources,” the Post said. > >And when Trump made those comments in March, the administration had already approved more than a dozen payments of public funds to Clark Construction totaling tens of millions of dollars, the Post said, citing a log of the contractor’s invoices which it obtained. > >When Trump first floated the idea of the ballroom he said it would cost $200 million. > >Democratic opponents of the president have pointed to the gilded ballroom and other costly renovation projects around the US capital as evidence that the billionaire leader is out of touch with everyday Americans. > >Republicans fear that continued concerns among voters about the cost of living – especially soaring fuel costs due to the Iran war – could spell disaster in the November midterm elections. > >“This is a gift to the United States of America,” Trump said last month as he took reporters on a tour of the building site, shouting over the noise of hammers and buzzsaws. > >“This is all my money and donors’ money. This is tax free,” Trump said. > >The builder was quoted by the Washington Post as saying details of the project are confidential. > >The project has prompted a legal battle, with a judge ruling in March that work above ground needed to halt. > >The ruling was put on hold as an appeals court considers the case. > >Trump’s administration has also argued that the need for the ballroom became more urgent after a man with a gun tried to break into a gala press dinner he was attending in April.

xiao yun 15h ago

Swamp Thing: Algae mess with Trump's pool project

https://sh.itjust.works/post/61943452

Swamp Thing: Algae mess with Trump's pool project - sh.itjust.works

> Washington (United States) (AFP) – One of President Donald Trump’s pet beauty projects for Washington was supposed to make the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool look blue, like part of the US flag. > Enter Mother Nature. Algae have proliferated in the water, turning it a swampy green. > >“Can you see it in my photos? Oh well, I’ll just use a filter to hide the algae,” said Farrah Lu, a 43-year-old tourist from China. > >The invasion comes just days after the completion of the pool repainting project, part of Trump’s drive to put his stamp on Washington with things like a ballroom at the White House and a huge arch by the Potomac River. > >Under Trump’s orders the long, rectangular pool, designed to capture reflections of the Washington Monument on the National Mall, was drained and painted in what he calls “American flag blue.” > >This is hallowed Washington real estate: it was from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famed “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 to several hundred thousand people gathered below around the pool. > >Alas, hot weather this past weekend apparently caused an algae bloom in the pool. > >“When I thought reflecting pool, I would see some reflection of the monument on the pool. That’s what the name says, so that didn’t meet my expectation,” said Ravi Desai, visiting from Australia. “But overall I still find it very beautiful. And we’re just tourists here.” > >The National Park Service said it is using pumps to treat the water with what it called nanobubble ozone technology to kill the algae, along with hydrogen peroxide, which it said is milder than chlorine. > >The pool project has faced scrutiny over its multimillion dollar cost and the process by which the contract was awarded – a no-competition deal favoring a company that had already done work for Trump at one of his golf clubs. > >Nicole Leguillow, a 66-year-old resident of neighboring Virginia, said she was not disappointed by the pool, saying algae will be algae. But she complained the funds spent on this Trump endeavor were “definitely not worth it.” > >“That money could have been spent much more wisely on things people in this country need,” Leguillow said.