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 @ISIDEWITHNewsPalestinegenocidegovernmenthuman rightsDaily DiscussionIsraelPalestinianPrime Minister•••6mos ago

Spain says Palestine "Will Be Free From The River To The Sea"

A video of Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz released on Friday in which she’s seen chanting the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," a saying that effectively calls for the elimination of Israel.

“We will continue pressuring, from our position in the government, to defend human rights and put an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people,” Diaz said.

“We live in a moment where doing the minimum is, at the same time, heroic and insufficient,” she continued, adding: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

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 @ISIDEWITHasked…6mos6MO

How do you feel about advocating for one group's freedom if it might imply denying another group's right to exist?

 @ISIDEWITHasked…6mos6MO

How do you balance the need for advocating peace with statements that might be seen as controversial or harmful?

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China’s Rising Threat: Beijing’s New War Machines Aim at U.S. Power in Asia

China’s air force showcased a suite of new armaments this week, including a new stealth fighter and an attack drone, demonstrating its advancing ability to challenge the U.S. military presence in the Asia Pacific.The public debut of the J-35A stealth fighter and other weapons systems at China’s premier airshow, which started Tuesday, represents the centerpiece in the Chinese air force’s celebrations of its 75th anniversary—a milestone in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s sweeping campaign to modernize the People’s Liberation Army.A single J-35A soared over crowds of spectators in a brief flypast on the opening day of Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai, making a steep climb with afterburners before rolling away and streaking out of view, state television footage showed.Other new weapons—including the “Jiu Tian” reconnaissance and attack drone and the HQ-19 anti-ballistic-missile system—were also prominent in ground displays at the biennial airshow, as examples of the PLA’s growing prowess in aerial warfare and air defense.Much remains unclear about these systems and their capabilities. Even so, Chinese officials and state media say the new armaments reflect the significant advances that Beijing has made in developing its air power and enhancing its ability to defend China’s strategic interests.Xi has directed an ambitious modernization program for the PLA, aimed at transforming the Soviet-style military into a 21st-century fighting force. Beijing has demonstrated progress through increasingly complex combat drills—such as combined aerial and naval maneuvers—as well as more frequent deployments that reach beyond China’s periphery.U.S. officials have increasingly raised concerns about how Beijing’s burgeoning military strength could affect Washington’s ability to maintain an effective security presence in the Asia Pacific.“China is not a future threat. China is a threat today,” U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in September. “The Chinese Communist Party continues to invest heavily in capabilities, organizations and operational concepts designed specifically to defeat the ability of the United States and its allies to project power in the Western Pacific.”

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Britain's Blade Ban: Tech Moguls Now in the Crosshairs for Online Weapon Sales

Technology company executives could be held personally liable for allowing illegal knives to be advertised on their platforms, under new British government plans to combat a recent rise in crime with weapons, some of which are readily available online.Under the proposals, the police could gain the power to issue notices to bosses of digital firms ordering them to remove content, possibly within just two days. Those who fail to comply could face significant fines.Holding social media executives personally liable for content from an advertiser or seller would represent a shift in regulation of the internet. Company leaders have largely been shielded from responsibility for the words, picture, videos and other content hosted on their platforms.While the plans are still some way from becoming law, the initiative is part of a government commitment to fight growing cases of knife crime.Although such crimes are below prepandemic levels, they increased 4 percent in the 12 months before March 2024 in England and Wales, with a much larger rise of 13 percent in robberies involving knives. There were 225 homicides in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024, according to one charity.Britain’s proposal is part of a wider global trend of governments ramping up pressure on social media companies. In France, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in August on charges including complicity in criminal activity that occurred on his platform.In Brazil, X was blocked for over a month, starting in late August, when the company refused to remove certain content. In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week proposed a ban on social media for people under 16 years old.The proposal comes at a time of intense global debate about regulation of the internet and free expression. Many policymakers, particularly those in Europe, want companies like X, Meta, Google and TikTok to police their platforms more aggressively.But in the United States, President-elect Donald J. Trump and his supporters like Elon Musk, the owner of X, have said such rules often target conservative voices and undercut free speech.

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Death, Denial, and Silence: Inside China’s Push to Bury Zhuhai’s Devastating SUV Attack

Outside the sports center in the southern city of Zhuhai where a 62-year-old man had plowed an S.U.V. into a crowd, killing at least 35 people, workers on Wednesday quickly removed bouquets of flowers left by grieving residents. Uniformed police officers and officials in plainclothes shooed away bystanders and warned them not to take photos. At hospitals where patients were taken after the attack — at least 43 more people were injured — local officials sat outside the intensive care units, blocking journalists from speaking with family members.On the Chinese internet, censors were mobilized to delete videos, news articles and commentaries about the attack. Almost 24 hours had passed before officials divulged details about the assault, which happened on Monday, including the death toll. Their statement offered limited details, and they have held no news conferences.The response was a precise enactment of the Chinese government’s usual playbook after mass tragedies: Prevent any nonofficial voices, including eyewitnesses and survivors, from speaking about the event. Spread assurances of stability. Minimize public displays of grief.The goal is to stifle potential questions and criticism of the authorities, and force the public to move on as quickly as possible. And to a large degree, it appeared to be working.Though many residents of Zhuhai, the city of 2.4 million where the attack happened, were clearly shaken, they said on Wednesday they had not questioned the delay in information, attributing it to the government’s need to first sort out what had happened. A steady stream of people arrived by foot or taxi to lay flowers at the sports center’s entrance, but when officials took away the flowers and told the people not to linger, they quickly complied.Local governments have also vowed in recent months to spend more time screening for people who have experienced “failures,” after a spate of violent attacks, including several cases in which schoolchildren were stabbed.But officials were also clearly on the lookout for any deeper scrutiny of the Zhuhai killings. Videos and photos of the scene of the attack showed only as grayed-out squares on Weibo, a social media platform. Blog posts urging people not to treat violent attacks as isolated incidents, but rather to look deeper for potential social causes, disappeared.

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Senate GOP Opts for Old Guard Over MAGA Maverick

Republicans on Wednesday elected Senator John Thune of South Dakota, their No. 2 in the chamber, to serve as majority leader in the next Congress, choosing a G.O.P. institutionalist to replace Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate’s longest-serving leader.In elevating Mr. Thune, 63, G.O.P. senators turned to a traditional Republican in the mold of Mr. McConnell, and rejected a challenger more aligned with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.Mr. Thune made his case in an opinion essay on Fox News on Monday, arguing that Senate Republicans needed to fulfill Mr. Trump’s promises to voters in order to keep the support of a multiethnic, multiracial coalition that swept him into a second term.“If we fail to deliver on President Trump’s priorities, we will lose their support,” he wrote. “They have trusted us with their votes. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”He also pitched colleagues on his plans to open up the Senate floor to more debate and amendments and said he would meet regularly with Speaker Mike Johnson.The newly elected leader will take the reins during a critical time for the Senate GOP. The party has a highly ambitious legislative agenda, including top priorities like tax cuts, the debt limit, government spending and more. Republican lawmakers are also openly eyeing a budget reconciliation package — a limited-use procedural option that would allow Republicans to pass a consequential bill without Democratic support. That’ll require major collaboration and potential deal-making from GOP leaders, both in the House and the Senate.

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