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0x815

@ 0x815 @feddit.org

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  • German island to end ritual of spanking women with cow horn

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  • This was perfectly on topic. Seems this is a biased moderation here.

  • UK: Supermarkets that appear to be selling products linked to slave labour in China may be “complicit in putting profits above human rights”, British lawmaker says

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  • @Che

    So it’s only slavery if it’s in China?

    Who says that?

  • German island to end ritual of spanking women with cow horn

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  • ‘Italian’ purees likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes

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  • As an addition on the topic:

    Modern slavery in China according to the human rights organization Walk Free

    Since 2018, evidence of forced labour of Uyghur and other Turkic and Muslim majority peoples has emerged in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Uyghur Region) [...] Forced labour imposed by private actors is also reported, in addition to forced marriage and organ trafficking, with vulnerability primarily driven by discriminatory government practices.

    The 2023 Global Slavery Index (GSI) estimates that 5.8 million people were living in modern slavery in China on any given day in 2021 [...] This estimate does not include figures on organ trafficking, which evidence indicates does occur in China.

    Forced labour is exacted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a means of racial and religious discrimination; political coercion and education; and as punishment for holding views ideologically opposed to the state. It is reported alongside mass surveillance, political indoctrination, religious oppression, forced separation of families, forced sterilisation, torture, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention in so-called “re-education camps” within the Uyghur Region [...]

    Forced labour is exacted under the guise of vocational training and poverty alleviation – a scheme promulgated by the CCP to raise living standards in “ethnic areas.”

    Globally, an estimated 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021. This is nearly one in every 150 people in the world. Walk Free writes:

    Modern slavery is hidden in plain sight and is deeply intertwined with life in every corner of the world.

  • ‘Italian’ purees likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes

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  • This is about products from China, produced with forced labour in China, wrongfully labeled as 'Italian'.

    And, yes, the conditions in the agri-sector might be bad, they must be improved, which is another reason why we need more transparency in supply chains.

  • Europe @feddit.org
    0x815 @feddit.org

    Georgia: Watchdog Details “Inhuman and Degrading Treatment” Against Protesters by Police

    civil.ge /archives/640792
  • World News @beehaw.org
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    Japan's fashion giant Uniqlo does not use Xinjiang cotton, boss says

    www.bbc.com /news/articles/c79zqdl7j2go
  • Feminism @beehaw.org
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    How a scandal over sanitary pads is shaping feminist activism in China

    theconversation.com /how-a-scandal-over-sanitary-pads-is-shaping-feminist-activism-in-china-244615
  • China @sopuli.xyz
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    Japan's fashion giant Uniqlo does not use Xinjiang cotton, boss says

    www.bbc.com /news/articles/c79zqdl7j2go
  • China @sopuli.xyz
    0x815 @feddit.org

    How a scandal over sanitary pads is shaping feminist activism in China

    theconversation.com /how-a-scandal-over-sanitary-pads-is-shaping-feminist-activism-in-china-244615

  • Germany's top diplomat accuses China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing

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  • ‘Italian’ purees likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes

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  • Yes, I agree. It's far from being perfect anywhere. I'd just say we shouldn't generalize. One thing we need is more transparency in our global supply chain I guess.

  • ‘Italian’ purees likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes

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  • This is not about Italian tomatoes but Chinese. Working conditions in agriculture may be worse than in other sectors, but here we apparently deal with slave-like conditions in Chinese prison-factories. Just read my other comment in this thread or the whole article.

    I also think that Italy delivers high quality products in a lot of industries, including in the food sector if I may say so. But this article is about China anyway in the first place.

  • ‘Italian’ purees likely to contain Chinese forced-labour tomatoes

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  • Mamutjan, a Uyghur teacher who was imprisoned in 2015 for an irregularity in his travel documentation, says he was beaten for failing to meet the high tomato quotas expected of him.

    “In a dark prison cell, there were chains hanging from the ceiling. They hung me up there and said ‘Why can’t you finish the job?’ They beat my buttocks really hard, hit me in the ribs. I still have marks.”

  • World News @beehaw.org
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    Philippines' President said the presence of a Russian attack submarine in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea was "very worrisome"

    www.reuters.com /world/philippines-marcos-says-reported-presence-russian-submarine-very-worrisome-2024-12-02
  • World News @beehaw.org
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    European lawmakers urge international community to provide more military support for Ukraine amid the involvement of China and North Korea

    www.europarl.europa.eu /news/en/press-room/20241121IPR25543/more-military-support-for-ukraine-amid-the-involvement-of-china-and-north-korea
  • Europe @feddit.org
    0x815 @feddit.org

    European lawmakers urge international community to provide more military support for Ukraine amid the involvement of China and North Korea

    www.europarl.europa.eu /news/en/press-room/20241121IPR25543/more-military-support-for-ukraine-amid-the-involvement-of-china-and-north-korea

  • Germany's top diplomat accuses China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing

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  • China Is Studying Russia’s Sanctions Evasion to Prepare for Taiwan Conflict -- (Archived link)

    China has been supporting Russia’s economy since the start of the Ukraine war by buying its oil while supplying it with everything from microelectronics to washing machines.

    Meanwhile, Beijing has been getting its own strategic benefit: a real-world case study in how to circumvent Western sanctions.

    An interagency group, set up by China in the months following the full-scale invasion, has studied the impact of sanctions and produced reports regularly for the country’s leadership, according to people familiar with the matter. The goal is to draw lessons about how to mitigate them, particularly in case a conflict over Taiwan prompts the U.S. and its allies to impose similar penalties on China, the people said.

    As part of the effort, Chinese officials periodically visit Moscow to meet with the Russian Central Bank, the Finance Ministry and other agencies involved in countering sanctions, the people said.

    The Chinese study effort, which hasn’t previously been reported, is emblematic of the new age of economic warfare unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where the lines between economic policy and geopolitical strategy are increasingly blurred. That trend is only likely to be amplified by Donald Trump’s second presidential term, where he plans to turbocharge the use of tariffs as a tool for negotiation and coercion.

  • China @sopuli.xyz
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    China is studying Russia’s sanctions evasion to prepare for Taiwan conflict: Officials report back to Beijing with lessons it can use in the event of war and Western penalties

    www.wsj.com /world/china/china-is-studying-russias-sanctions-evasion-to-prepare-for-taiwan-conflict-5665f508
  • China @sopuli.xyz
    0x815 @feddit.org

    Germany's top diplomat accuses China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing

    www.bloomberg.com /news/articles/2024-12-01/germany-s-top-diplomat-bashes-china-s-weapon-supplies-to-russia
  • Europe @feddit.org
    0x815 @feddit.org

    Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania jointly agreed to impose sanctions on Georgian officials who undermine democracy in Georgia

    civil.ge /archives/640252
  • World News @beehaw.org
    0x815 @feddit.org

    Germany's top diplomat accuses China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing

    www.bloomberg.com /news/articles/2024-12-01/germany-s-top-diplomat-bashes-china-s-weapon-supplies-to-russia
  • Europe @feddit.org
    0x815 @feddit.org

    Germany's top diplomat accuses China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine, threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing

    www.bloomberg.com /news/articles/2024-12-01/germany-s-top-diplomat-bashes-china-s-weapon-supplies-to-russia

  • Eurobarometer survey: Europeans want a stronger, more independent and sustainable EU while nine in ten citizens support Ukraine aid, vast majority for sanctions against Russia

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  • I think we must help those Russians who openly speak out against Putin's regime and the war in the Ukraine, there are many.

  • Former Russian President Medvedev buys 3.5-million-pound luxury yacht made in UK

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  • This is, at least to a large part, Russian propaganda. The regime needs to create an enemy for covering up its own incompetence, find a reason to start a war, and sending the country's citizens to the meat grinder. But the 'elite' is enjoying Western lifestyle and sometimes even their 'golden passports'. Many live in the West if and when they are not (yet) sanctioned. And while schools at home are becoming more and more indoctrination camps, the political elite and the oligarchs send their own children to Western schools and universities (one of Putin's daughters lives in Paris, France, as media have reported these days, for example).

  • Technology @beehaw.org
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    Next Generation Internet (NGI) projects adopt platforms Mastodon and PeerTube as main communication channels

    ngi.eu /news/2024/11/29/ngi-projects-adopt-mastodon-and-peertube-as-main-communication-channels
  • United Kingdom @feddit.uk
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    Former Russian President Medvedev buys 3.5-million-pound luxury yacht made in UK

    www.themoscowtimes.com /2024/11/29/dmitry-medvedev-buys-44mn-british-made-luxury-yacht-a87175

  • Northvolt in Talks With China’s CATL on Partnership, DN Reports

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  • This is not very illuminating as 'talks' are almost the norm, especially if a company has filed for bankruptcy protection. They can almost not not talk.

    Whether they really engage in a closer partnership is a different question altogether. If so, it would not be good for Northvolt in the long run imo.

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  • How a little-known far-right candidate manipulated TikTok to rise to the top in the Romanian election

    Georgescu’s unexpected gains are partly linked to his social media strategy. He has used platforms like TikTok effectively to sway voter opinion and spread propaganda. However, allegations that his campaign is using fake accounts to fabricate comments and manipulate social media activity have also surfaced [...]

    Georgescu [...] praised Romania’s former dictator and Nazi ally during the second world war, Marshal Ion Antonescu, referring to him as a “martyr” who also did “good deeds”. [...] He has also positioned himself as pro-Putin, praising the Russian president as one of the world’s few “true leaders”. He has criticised Romania’s support for Ukraine, claiming that Nato would not defend Romania if it were attacked. And he advocates for nationalist policies, aiming to reduce Romania’s reliance on imports and distance the country from the EU [...]

    His TikTok account, which was set up in 2022, has more than 400,000 followers and millions of views. Numerous accounts, groups and pages in his support have also proliferated on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) [...]

    He has also claimed in interviews that women are incapable of leading Romania, and that feminism is “absolute dirt”. In one video, he declared that “only a man can do this”, referring to the presidency. These videos come not only from Georgescu’s official TikTok accounts, but also from unaffiliated accounts using his name in profiles or bios to promote his election [...]

    These clips [on Tiktok] often rely on emotional appeals and misinformation [...]

    During Georgescu’s campaign, accounts displaying bot-like behaviours have been highly active in the comment sections on TikTok, YouTube and Facebook [...]

    Using bots to inflate a candidate’s social media popularity and spread misinformation is a tactic that has been used to influence elections elsewhere before [...]

    Reports suggest that thousands of fake accounts promoted Georgescu through videos and comments prior to Romania’s election [...]

    Valérie Hayer, a top EU lawmaker, has now called on TikTok’s CEO to appear before the European Parliament and address the platform’s possible misuse in favour of Georgescu’s campaign.

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  • @bungalowtill@lemmy.dbzer0.com Yah, I forget surveillance algorithms are only bad when they come from the West, right? (/s, just to be safe)

    In other related news:

    Romania orders election recount after TikTok bias claims

    A recount of the votes cast in Sunday's first round of presidential elections in Romania has been ordered by the country's top court following allegations that social media platform TikTok gave "preferential treatment" to the surprise winner, Calin Georgescu.

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  • @Ooops

    ... with social media as an innocent bystander just concidentally being there ...

    Social media - and Tiktok is no exemption, of course - is not an "innocent bystander". Their algorithms deliberately surveill and manipulate users, and pursue a commercial and/or political agenda. In case of Tiktok, this agenda serves the goal of the regime in China (and their allies).

    There is ample evidence for Tiktok and (almost) all other social media platforms pursuing a purpose. For the Romanian election case, there is an analysis by the European Media Observatory on the Romanian election -- (Archived link).

    On 'TikTok's role in Romanian politics' and the 'Candidate Performance Metrics', it says, among others:

    • Călin Georgescu: Notably surged in popularity, garnering 120 million views, particularly in the final two months. This increase was attributed to coordinated campaigns that used both direct promotion and indirect influence via unpaid influencers, often lacking appropriate labeling. A salient example is the #echilibrușiverticalitate campaign, which reached 2.4 million views through these tactics.

    The analysis also says:

    The lack of effective moderation allowed for widespread dissemination of unverified information, particularly affecting extreme-right candidates.

    Concerns around unlabelled or undeclared political content in the 2024 Romanian presidential elections, particularly on TikTok are significant. They emphasize a lack of transparency in political campaigns, notably involving candidates like Călin Georgescu, who used the platform without disclosing the funding and motivations behind their promotion. The employment of influencers without adequate disclosure raises ethical issues complicates voters’ understanding of the content.

    [...]

    The notable gap between projected poll figures (around 10%) and actual results (over 22%) raises concerns about potential external influences, including foreign interference.

    Emphasis mine.

    [Edit typo.]

  • European investigators say that a Chinese commercial ship purposefully cut critical data cables in the Baltic Sea

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  • Multilingual, open source and a 'distinctly European perspective': Germany's Fraunhofer Institute's OpenGPT-X research project releases large language model

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  • German carmaker Volkswagen to exit China's Xinjiang, sell factory

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  • I agree in principal with that view, but there was pressure from VW's top investors (Union Investment, Deka) to clarify the situation in Xinjiang. An audit turned out to be extremely flawed which put further pressure on the management. It's hard to tell how much this contributed to the decision, but at least some shareholders weren't indifferent about the situation.