Yeah, I was wondering the same, but didn’t want to edit the original title. Maybe there are some details that are new, I don’t know. What the CCP has been doing for a long time now is a shame.

Yep. Why China censors banned Winnie the Pooh

And the next whataboutism! What a waste of time.

Yeah, these are the ‘tankies’ who got banned on Reddit, right? I guess it takes time until they get a minority, but it’s good that the community grows steadily.

One thing that’s obvious here on Lemmy is that whataboutism works only in one direction. If an article is critical of China, Russia, Iran, or other dictatorships, you’d read, “But about U.S./EU/the West”. But there are tons of articles here critical of Western countries, and it’s accepted. Why is this? Just wumaos?

It raises some good points. It’s also said that there is ‘nothing people can do’ about surveillance. For those interested, there is a good documentary what happens if and when someone tries to do somethong about it:

Total Trust

Total Trust is an eye-opening and deeply disturbing story of surveillance technology, abuse of power and (self-)censorship that confronts us with what can happen when our privacy is ignored. Through the haunting stories of people in China who have been monitored, intimidated and even tortured, the film tells of the dangers of technology in the hands of unbridled power. Taking China as a mirror, Total Trust sounds an alarm about the increasing use of surveillance tools around the world – even by democratic governments like those in Europe.

If this is the present, what is our future?

The real change in retail pricing might be discrimination pricing (or ‘surveillance pricing’ as it is now called sometimes). Simply speaking, it uses personal data to personalize prices not just for each customer, but also for each customer depending on actual circumstances such as day time, weather, an individual’s pay day, and other data, collected through apps, loyalty cards, …

As one article says, there is One Person One Price:

"If I literally tell you, the price of a six-pack is $1.99, and then I tell someone else the price of a six-pack for them is $3.99, this would be deemed very unfair if there was too much transparency on it,” [University of Chicago economists Jean-Pierre] Dubé said. “But if instead I say, the price of a six-pack is $3.99 for everyone, and that’s fair. But then I give you a coupon for $2 off [through your app] but I don’t give the coupon to the other person, somehow that’s not as unfair as if I just targeted a different price.”

The linked article is a very long read but worth everyone’s time. Very insightful.

I am thinking the same. Must be some sort of Streisand effect :-)

Israeli activists battle over Gaza-bound aid convoys

Months after some Israelis started to protest against aid lorries entering Gaza at the main Kerem Shalom crossing, the battle has moved to other key junctions, where rival groups of activists do their best to block or protect aid convoys […]

Right-wing activists, including Jewish settlers living in the occupied West Bank, have uploaded dozens of videos of crowds, including some very young children, hurling food onto the ground and stamping on boxes of aid.

You’ll find a short video embedded in the linked article.

I doesn’t seem so given Israeli officials’ statements. But it will have a long-term political impact if Israel ignores that imho. It could lead to a higher degree of ‘diplomatic isolation’ for Israel and its allies for a long time. That’s just my opinion. And there’re arrest warrants, too.

As international support for an independent Palestine grows, here’s what Israelis and Palestinians now think of the two-state solution

With the announcement by Norway and Ireland that they have recognised Palestine as an independent state, and Spain expected to follow suit by the end of May, it appears that international momentum for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is growing.

The concept has long been supported by the US and its allies, as well as most Arab states and the United Nations […] Could things be different under different leadership? To answer this, we need to know whether the Israeli and Palestinian people could be persuaded to accept such a plan. Here it’s worth taking a look at what polling tells us.

You can’t build and scale a start-up fast enough, say, in case of a crisis. Furthermore, China will use such investments to gain political influence in the foreign country -in that case Canada-, and they won’t stop in this particular industry. Countries must think more in vertically-integrated supply chains and strategic clusters rather than in industries, and they must include geopolitical issues.

Here’s an alternative link: https://www.eurasiareview.com/02052024-gazans-face-new-terror-threat-from-booby-trapped-cans-of-food

BUT: It seems that the UN deleted the article.

When looking for an alternative link, I found also this: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/01/instagram-posts/no-viral-footage-doesnt-show-explosives-disguised

Social media posts claim footage from Gaza shows explosives disguised as food cans, but there are no visible labels or pictures on the metal cylinders to suggest they contain food.

Experts on military strategy and the Middle East said the metal cylinders seen in photos and videos online are likely containers for M603 fuzes, which are designed to detonate landmines. Footage shows one of the cans is labeled “fuze mine.”

The fuzes are not designed to explode if a person opens the container. It requires 140 to 750 pounds of force to ignite the fuze and trigger an explosion.

I’m sorry, seems that you can’t trust the UN news?

Iran charges journalists after BBC report on teen protester’s death

Iran’s judiciary has filed charges against “a number of journalists and activists” after the publication of a BBC report alleging men working for the security forces sexually assaulted and killed […] 16-year-old protester Nika Shakarami.

Yeah, but it’s not only the west. It seems there is no such thing as politics if and when enough money is involved.

Yeah, his name is Abdulaziz Alwasil.

Human Rights Watch says about women’s rights in Saudi Arabia:

The Personal Status Law [in Saudi Arabia] requires women to obtain a male guardian’s permission to marry, codifying the country’s longstanding practice. Married women are required to obey their husbands in a “reasonable manner.” The law further states that neither spouse may abstain from sexual relations or cohabitation without the other spouse’s consent, implying a marital right to intercourse.

While a husband can unilaterally divorce his wife, a woman can only petition a court to dissolve their marriage contract on limited grounds and must “establish [the] harm” that makes the continuation of marriage “impossible” within those grounds. The law does not specify what constitutes “harm” or what evidence can be submitted to support a case, leaving judges wide discretion in the law’s interpretation and enforcement to maintain the status quo.

Fathers remain the default guardians of their children, limiting a mother’s ability to participate fully in decisions related to her child’s social and financial well-being. A mother may not act as her child’s guardian unless a court appoints her, and she will otherwise have limited authority to make decisions for her child’s well-being, even in cases where the parents do not live together and judicial authorities decide that the child should live with the mother.

As one user in this thread said, it might be a feature required by the CCP.

Here’s another one: https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/p/naomi-wu-and-the-silence-that-speaks-volumes

“Guaranteeing security and privacy” could a strong argument imho.

As you don’t like reading, watch a documentary.

Forced Labour - SOS from a Chinese Prisoner

A desperate cry for help written in Chinese was discovered in a pregnancy test sold in France and made in a Chinese factory. It revealed a hidden world of Chinese prison-companies where prisoners are forced to work for 15 hour days manufacturing products for export. This documentary tries to find out who wrote the letter.