https://akko.wtf/objects/94fed664-1a30-48ba-8be9-600620be27c6

The WNBPA criticized the NBA for excluding WNBA players from a joint memo addressing sports betting-driven harassment.

Archived

Here is the full report: "Swept Under the Rug”: Systemic Failures to End Torture in the People’s Republic of China (pdf)

[...]

"In cases involving human rights defenders, it is normal for Chinese authorities to employ torture to extract confessions, fabricate evidence, violate legal procedures, manufacture wrongful convictions, and subject individuals to criminal persecution." - Family member of currently imprisoned rights activist, April 20261

Beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement: although the Chinese government signed the United Nations Convention against Torture forty years ago, and adopted some domestic prohibitions against these abuses, periodic reviews by international bodies and documentation from independent civil society demonstrate that torture by those authorities persists. Prisoners of conscience are at especially grave risk.

[...]

“The Chinese government’s ongoing reliance on torture isn’t a function of gaps in law or process—it’s a political choice,” said Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director of CHRD. “When every safeguard against torture is ignored—year after year, nationwide—impunity for police, courts, and officials is all but guaranteed.”

One in five of the cases CHRD examined included allegations of beatings by authorities. Others reported being subjected to electric shocks and solitary confinement. 35 percent described deprivation of adequate medical care—the most common form of torture—and 16 died in detention as an apparent result. More than half of prisoners of conscience alleging torture had been imprisoned for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge United Nations human rights experts have called vague and imprecise; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for it to be repealed.

[...]

Chinese authorities torture and ill-treat prisoners of conscience with near-total impunity, the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders said today in a new report. Drawing on 209 cases of alleged torture between 2016 and 2025 across the country, and interviews with 25 human rights defenders (HRDs), family members, and lawyers, the 53-page report, “Swept Under the Rug”: Systemic Failures to End Torture in the People’s Republic of China, finds that authorities persist in their use of torture, typically to extract confessions, and fail to investigate allegations of ill-treatment.

CHRD found reference to courts conducting investigations into torture allegations in only two of the 209 cases, those of rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi and journalist Huang Xueqin. Those courts subsequently claimed they found no evidence of torture. In the case of HRD Ji Xiaolong, the court agreed to exclude his confession on the grounds it was obtained through ill-treatment—the only such exclusion CHRD found among the 209 cases—but convicted him anyway, stating that his lack of a confession made him a “recidivist” deserving harsher punishment.

[...]

Despite having ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1988, Chinese authorities have failed to engage reviews with the goal of eradicating torture. At China’s last review, in 2015, the Committee against Torture (CAT) concluded that these abuses remain “deeply entrenched.” The Chinese government delayed submitting its most recent periodic report for five years and as a result is significantly overdue for review by the committee, one of the few remaining avenues of redress for torture survivors. Chinese authorities are increasingly combative in rejecting international scrutiny, telling the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2021 that “the risk of being ‘subjected to torture’… does not exist” in China.

[...]

“Chinese authorities have had four decades to make good on their promises to end torture,” Richardson said. “Must prisoners of conscience pay with their health—and, in some cases, their lives—for Beijing’s intransigence?”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11365521

Berlin’s hurried shift to actively defending against hybrid threats shows the danger of cumulative under-reaction to hostile state-backed activity. Underreaction can leave democracies more vulnerable to sustained coercion, interference and sabotage, ultimately making them preferred targets.

This is a warning for Indo-Pacific countries, which confront similar hostile activities but lack agreed frameworks, common terminology and shared threat assessments. Germany’s experience shows the need for stronger national resilience, clearer attribution thresholds, wider response options and expected action from partners.

The challenge is to build credible deterrence and regional mechanisms before hostile activity becomes normalised.

In August, three drones carrying explosives were found at Halle airport in Leipzig, a major hub for military supplies to Ukraine. A month later, the German government concluded that Russia was responsible, assessing that the operation bore the hallmarks of Moscow’s hybrid playbook seen in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.

What followed was the familiar European script: Berlin summoned the Russian ambassador, closed Russia’s consulate-general in Bonn and terminated the lease of the Russian cultural centre in Berlin. Germany also said it would seek additional EU sanctions, including tighter travel controls for Russian nationals and stronger action against the shadow fleet.

...

Publicly identifying attackers is the first step in signalling that coercive behaviour will not go unnoticed or unanswered. The annual threat assessment from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation contributes to this.

Democracies need credible options in-between inaction and military escalation. These could include exposing proxy networks, pursuing criminal prosecutions and coordinating sector-specific responses in areas such as cyber, infrastructure security and economic coercion. Responses need not mirror the initial attack, but they should raise the cost of continued hostile activity while remaining lawful and proportionate.

...

Archived

untitled

04/08/2019

Samothrace, Greece

© Nikoleta Glykou

Also published in "yes we are magazine" on Tumblr years ago. Here is the link to it: https://www.tumblr.com/yeswearemagazine/187640683801/superb-greens-diversity-in-a-perfect-landscape-by?source=share&utm%5C_source=Pinterest&utm%5C_medium=organic

As you can see it was also published in "Vogue Italia", when I used to post on their site and this one had gotten accepted by them as well. I deleted my account, and thus I don't have the link to it. Either way, for me personally (even if I repost what was published by others), I really don't care if it was posted by NASA itself, or whatever. The important thing in art in general is that, whatever you do, to first of all make you feel good and fullfil you. All the rest is just "the extra mile your art can go", nothing else. Even if they were not published anywhere else, I've got so many other beautiful pictures that didn't get to my Vogue's profile, basically because they suck! Especially towards the end, if your picture wasn't showing a model, something to fashion for related, or whatever, your picture wouldn't make it to your profile, thus their site. The issue here is what "fashion" does to photographers. Because at the end, they didn't look at the photos as a photography related site would, but as "fashion ", which obviously that's not at all what photography is, or should be doing. And I get it, they are a fashion magazine or whatever, but who cares!? You decided to create this space for photographers and then you simply take it away from those who actually post real photography?! Anyway! I'd have seen extremely mad if they hadn't published this one because it's one of my favourites.

#nikoletaglykouphotography #nature #landscape #photography

@outdoor@fedigroups.social @nature@fedigroups.social @photography@fedigroups.social @hiking@fedigroups.social @photography@lemmy.world @Nature@lemmy.world @hiking@lemmy.world @joinin@fedigroups.social @tea@fedigroups.social

“Why would you even get into bestiality?” he asked. “We’re not into bestiality,” said Patel.

In a further exchange, Patel explained to Senator John Kennedy, the Louisiana Republican, that previously, regulations had barred anyone who engaged in bestiality “on either side of it.”

“Either side of what, the bestiality?” asked Kennedy. “So you disqualified the animal?”

“We have great canines, but we’re not going to disqualify them,” said Patel.

Weird that the loops app isn't on F-Droid. What's up with that?

Also how is the app community these days? Finally getting around to checking it out. Dead or gaining traction?

Washington (United States) (AFP) – The United States has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week, a source familiar with the case said Wednesday.

In a separate statement that did not mention Abbas by name, the State Department say it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials with the Palestinian Authority (PA), "as a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace."

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that the Palestinian Authority president, Abbas, was covered by the measure.

The Trump administration took the same step last year, forcing the Palestinian leader, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leadership by video.

In its statement Wednesday, the State Department said that the PLO and PA had "once again, failed to live up to their commitments."

"This includes initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments," the department also said.

Washington also accused the organizations of "taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition, and continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks."

The move puts the United States at odds with numerous countries, including France, that recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

A total of 142 UN member states endorsed it following the conference on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11365521

Berlin’s hurried shift to actively defending against hybrid threats shows the danger of cumulative under-reaction to hostile state-backed activity. Underreaction can leave democracies more vulnerable to sustained coercion, interference and sabotage, ultimately making them preferred targets.

This is a warning for Indo-Pacific countries, which confront similar hostile activities but lack agreed frameworks, common terminology and shared threat assessments. Germany’s experience shows the need for stronger national resilience, clearer attribution thresholds, wider response options and expected action from partners.

The challenge is to build credible deterrence and regional mechanisms before hostile activity becomes normalised.

In August, three drones carrying explosives were found at Halle airport in Leipzig, a major hub for military supplies to Ukraine. A month later, the German government concluded that Russia was responsible, assessing that the operation bore the hallmarks of Moscow’s hybrid playbook seen in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.

What followed was the familiar European script: Berlin summoned the Russian ambassador, closed Russia’s consulate-general in Bonn and terminated the lease of the Russian cultural centre in Berlin. Germany also said it would seek additional EU sanctions, including tighter travel controls for Russian nationals and stronger action against the shadow fleet.

...

Publicly identifying attackers is the first step in signalling that coercive behaviour will not go unnoticed or unanswered. The annual threat assessment from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation contributes to this.

Democracies need credible options in-between inaction and military escalation. These could include exposing proxy networks, pursuing criminal prosecutions and coordinating sector-specific responses in areas such as cyber, infrastructure security and economic coercion. Responses need not mirror the initial attack, but they should raise the cost of continued hostile activity while remaining lawful and proportionate.

...

Archived

Six hand soaps distributed across 15 states have been recalled over possible bacterial contamination. See the brands, lot codes and affected products.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/onion/p/1405899/study-rich-neighborhoods-more-likely-to-burn

Study.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59174859

Archived

Here is the full report: "Swept Under the Rug”: Systemic Failures to End Torture in the People’s Republic of China (pdf)

[...]

"In cases involving human rights defenders, it is normal for Chinese authorities to employ torture to extract confessions, fabricate evidence, violate legal procedures, manufacture wrongful convictions, and subject individuals to criminal persecution." - Family member of currently imprisoned rights activist, April 20261

Beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement: although the Chinese government signed the United Nations Convention against Torture forty years ago, and adopted some domestic prohibitions against these abuses, periodic reviews by international bodies and documentation from independent civil society demonstrate that torture by those authorities persists. Prisoners of conscience are at especially grave risk.

[...]

“The Chinese government’s ongoing reliance on torture isn’t a function of gaps in law or process—it’s a political choice,” said Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director of CHRD. “When every safeguard against torture is ignored—year after year, nationwide—impunity for police, courts, and officials is all but guaranteed.”

One in five of the cases CHRD examined included allegations of beatings by authorities. Others reported being subjected to electric shocks and solitary confinement. 35 percent described deprivation of adequate medical care—the most common form of torture—and 16 died in detention as an apparent result. More than half of prisoners of conscience alleging torture had been imprisoned for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge United Nations human rights experts have called vague and imprecise; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for it to be repealed.

[...]

Chinese authorities torture and ill-treat prisoners of conscience with near-total impunity, the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders said today in a new report. Drawing on 209 cases of alleged torture between 2016 and 2025 across the country, and interviews with 25 human rights defenders (HRDs), family members, and lawyers, the 53-page report, “Swept Under the Rug”: Systemic Failures to End Torture in the People’s Republic of China, finds that authorities persist in their use of torture, typically to extract confessions, and fail to investigate allegations of ill-treatment.

CHRD found reference to courts conducting investigations into torture allegations in only two of the 209 cases, those of rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi and journalist Huang Xueqin. Those courts subsequently claimed they found no evidence of torture. In the case of HRD Ji Xiaolong, the court agreed to exclude his confession on the grounds it was obtained through ill-treatment—the only such exclusion CHRD found among the 209 cases—but convicted him anyway, stating that his lack of a confession made him a “recidivist” deserving harsher punishment.

[...]

Despite having ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1988, Chinese authorities have failed to engage reviews with the goal of eradicating torture. At China’s last review, in 2015, the Committee against Torture (CAT) concluded that these abuses remain “deeply entrenched.” The Chinese government delayed submitting its most recent periodic report for five years and as a result is significantly overdue for review by the committee, one of the few remaining avenues of redress for torture survivors. Chinese authorities are increasingly combative in rejecting international scrutiny, telling the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2021 that “the risk of being ‘subjected to torture’… does not exist” in China.

[...]

“Chinese authorities have had four decades to make good on their promises to end torture,” Richardson said. “Must prisoners of conscience pay with their health—and, in some cases, their lives—for Beijing’s intransigence?”

[...]

I’ve always wondered how astronomers can actually observe galaxies that are millions or even billions of light-years away. What exactly are we seeing when we look at them?

And when scientists say there are hundreds of billions, or possibly trillions, of galaxies in the observable universe, how do they know that if we obviously haven’t seen and counted every single one?