This thread is for political topics that have not been covered in other threads and can come from anywhere in the world. Should a specific topic grow legs, it could be split.
General Politics without a home elsewhere.
- Thread starter Birdjaguar
- Start date
Thailand and Cambodia are on the brink of war?
Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along its border with Cambodia as the worst fighting between the two neighbours in more than a decade spread to new areas, with both sides firing artillery.
Thailand declares martial law in border areas amid fighting with Cambodia
Thailand has declared martial law in eight districts after deadly cross-border clashes with Cambodia forced over 130,000 civilians to flee. At least 16 people have been killed since clashes tied to a territorial dispute erupted Thursday. Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reports from northeast Thailand.
- Thailand and Cambodia continue to exchange fire, as their worst cross-border fighting in years that has killed some 15 people – mostly civilians – entered a second day.
- Authorities in Thailand declare martial law in eight districts bordering Cambodia amid ongoing heavy clashes.
- Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet says he backed a regional proposal for a ceasefire but Thailand withdrew its initial support for the plan. Thailand says it agreed “in principle” with the proposal and will consider it.
- Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border as locals seek shelter amid the frontier fighting.
Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along its border with Cambodia as the worst fighting between the two neighbours in more than a decade spread to new areas, with both sides firing artillery.
Thailand declares martial law in border areas amid fighting with Cambodia
Thailand has declared martial law in eight districts after deadly cross-border clashes with Cambodia forced over 130,000 civilians to flee. At least 16 people have been killed since clashes tied to a territorial dispute erupted Thursday. Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reports from northeast Thailand.
Artillery fire at the moment; I wonder when they will change to drones.
Austria legalises state spyware amidst strong opposition
Austria is set to legalise the use of highly-intrusive spyware by state authorities. The government has justified the law in the name of monitoring encrypted messaging applications. Opponents warn that there is no way to prevent the authorities accessing reams of sensitive information on targeted individuals, despite official promises to the contrary. Civil society organisations and opposition parties have promised to challenge the law in court.
Government officials insist that the spyware will be restricted to targeting messaging apps and that broader system-wide searches will not be permitted.
However, technical experts have repeatedly warned that such limitations are practically unenforceable in real-world applications.
Spyware with the capability to intercept encrypted communications inevitably provides access to a wide array of personal information stored on the device, including photos, files, emails, contacts, and location data.
Critics note that this effectively bypasses all existing security protections, raising serious questions about the proportionality, necessity, and legality of such intrusive surveillance powers.
Austria is set to legalise the use of highly-intrusive spyware by state authorities. The government has justified the law in the name of monitoring encrypted messaging applications. Opponents warn that there is no way to prevent the authorities accessing reams of sensitive information on targeted individuals, despite official promises to the contrary. Civil society organisations and opposition parties have promised to challenge the law in court.
Government officials insist that the spyware will be restricted to targeting messaging apps and that broader system-wide searches will not be permitted.
However, technical experts have repeatedly warned that such limitations are practically unenforceable in real-world applications.
Spyware with the capability to intercept encrypted communications inevitably provides access to a wide array of personal information stored on the device, including photos, files, emails, contacts, and location data.
Critics note that this effectively bypasses all existing security protections, raising serious questions about the proportionality, necessity, and legality of such intrusive surveillance powers.
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
Over 200 candidates sign up for Poilievre's byelection — doubling previous record
91 candidates were on a single ballot last election
More than 200 candidates, mostly associated with a group of electoral reform advocates, have signed up to run in an upcoming federal byelection next month. The number more than doubles the previous record on a single ballot.Former Alberta MP Damien Kurek vacated his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a chance to rejoin the House of Commons. Poilievre lost his longtime Carleton riding in April's general election.
A group known as the Longest Ballot Committee has been organizing candidates to run in byelections in recent years in an effort to push for electoral reform.
The committee's organizers want to put a citizens' assembly in charge of electoral reform and say political parties are too reluctant to make government more representative of the electorate.
- Poilievre wants bill to stop 'longest ballot scam' introduced this fall
- 'This is a scam': Poilievre wants rules changed to stop long ballot protests
- Elections chief proposes rule changes to discourage 'longest ballot' protests
As of Sunday evening, 209 candidates had registered to run in Battle River-Crowfoot, exceeding the committee's goal of 200.
That's more than double the previous record of 91 which has occurred twice in the past year: during a byelection in LaSalle-Emard-Verdun last September and Carleton during the last general election.
That number of candidates resulted in a ballot roughly a metre long. The massive ballots have resulted in delays in vote counting and have confounded some voters.
Elections Canada told CBC News on Wednesday that it will finalize ways to minimize disruptions from the long ballots.
"We are looking at ways to [simplify] things based on recent experiences with elections involving a higher-than-usual number of candidates. We will finalize our plans after the deadline for candidate nominations," spokesperson Matthew McKenna said in an email.
Elections Canada has already had to make changes to accommodate the mammoth-sized ballots — mostly through early counting and bringing in extra workers.
Although the Longest Ballot Committee has organized in two elections where Poilievre is running, the group has also targeted Liberal strongholds such as Toronto-St. Paul's and LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in 2024.
But the advocates' efforts to push the limits of a ballot have sparked calls for changes, most recently from Poilievre himself who has called the protests a "scam."
The Conservative leader wrote a letter to government House leader Steven MacKinnon last week calling for legislation to change Canada's election rules in an effort to curb the long ballot protests. A spokesperson for MacKinnon's office said the Liberals share those concerns and are open to changes.
MPs were debating legislation last Parliamentary session that could have implemented some of Poilievre's proposed changes — specifically to limit electors to only signing one nomination form. The advocates have voters sign multiple forms.
Elections Canada head Stéphane Perrault himself made the suggestion in front of a committee of MPs that was studying a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act before Parliament was prorogued.
Perrault argued that "certain penalties" should be imposed on individuals who sign — or encourage others to sign — multiple nomination papers in an effort to get as many candidates on a ballot as possible, though he didn't say what those penalties should be.
The deadline to register as a candidate in Battle River-Crowfoot is Monday. Voters head to the polls on Aug. 18.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ov...-ballot-byelection-canadian-history-1.7592185
Do you know how much it costs to run? In the UK it is £500, and you get it back if you get 5% of the vote.
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What is the point/goal of all this?
I think there are about 200 points.
Traffic fatalities are a political choice
Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death
Helsinki has not recorded a single traffic fatality in the past 12 months, city and police officials confirmed this week.
The city's most recent fatal accident occurred in early July 2024 on Keinulaudantie in the city's Kontula district.
Authorities are calling the situation exceptional.
"A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important," said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city's Urban Environment Division.
Slower speeds, safer streets
According to Utriainen, more than half of Helsinki's streets now have a speed limit of 30 km/h. Fifty years ago, that proportion featured 50 km/h limits.
Earlier this summer, Helsinki decided to lower speed limits near schools to 30 km/h, a measure that is set to take effect as the academic year begins.
Smarter design and better enforcement
Street design has also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure has been significantly upgraded in recent years. In addition, cooperation with traffic police has intensified and more traffic cameras and automated enforcement systems have been introduced.
"Public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, and with it, the number of serious accidents," Utriainen noted.
Vehicle technology has also improved, making both cars and other personal transport options safer than ever.
The positive trend extends beyond fatalities. In the past year, there were 277 injury-causing traffic accidents in Helsinki — a sharp contrast to the nearly 1,000 injurious accidents recorded annually in the late 1980s, when traffic deaths in the city commonly approached 30 per year.
Long-term effort pays off
Helsinki's current traffic safety strategy, covering 2022–2026, is nearing completion. It has focused on improving safety for children, youth, pedestrians and cyclists with safer crosswalks and smarter intersection design.
Much of the planning has been data-driven, enabled by improved traffic monitoring tools.
Utriainen credited the improvement to decades of sustained effort.
"The direction has been positive for years," he said, pointing out that no pedestrians were killed in Helsinki traffic in 2019 either.
Traffic education has also improved, but Utriainen emphasised that credit belongs to everyone on the road — motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
One newer challenge has been the widespread use of electric scooters.
"They became popular around five years ago, somewhat unexpectedly. But since then, many solutions have been put in place," Utriainen said.
The EU's long-term goal is zero traffic deaths by 2050 — a policy dubbed "Vision Zero." Is it achievable or wishful thinking?
"For us, it's more about how the goal guides our everyday actions," said Utriainen. "We aim to assess all our decisions based on their long-term impact."
Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death
Helsinki has not recorded a single traffic fatality in the past 12 months, city and police officials confirmed this week.
The city's most recent fatal accident occurred in early July 2024 on Keinulaudantie in the city's Kontula district.
Authorities are calling the situation exceptional.
"A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important," said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city's Urban Environment Division.
Slower speeds, safer streets
According to Utriainen, more than half of Helsinki's streets now have a speed limit of 30 km/h. Fifty years ago, that proportion featured 50 km/h limits.
Earlier this summer, Helsinki decided to lower speed limits near schools to 30 km/h, a measure that is set to take effect as the academic year begins.
Smarter design and better enforcement
Street design has also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure has been significantly upgraded in recent years. In addition, cooperation with traffic police has intensified and more traffic cameras and automated enforcement systems have been introduced.
"Public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, and with it, the number of serious accidents," Utriainen noted.
Vehicle technology has also improved, making both cars and other personal transport options safer than ever.
The positive trend extends beyond fatalities. In the past year, there were 277 injury-causing traffic accidents in Helsinki — a sharp contrast to the nearly 1,000 injurious accidents recorded annually in the late 1980s, when traffic deaths in the city commonly approached 30 per year.
Long-term effort pays off
Helsinki's current traffic safety strategy, covering 2022–2026, is nearing completion. It has focused on improving safety for children, youth, pedestrians and cyclists with safer crosswalks and smarter intersection design.
Much of the planning has been data-driven, enabled by improved traffic monitoring tools.
Utriainen credited the improvement to decades of sustained effort.
"The direction has been positive for years," he said, pointing out that no pedestrians were killed in Helsinki traffic in 2019 either.
Traffic education has also improved, but Utriainen emphasised that credit belongs to everyone on the road — motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
One newer challenge has been the widespread use of electric scooters.
"They became popular around five years ago, somewhat unexpectedly. But since then, many solutions have been put in place," Utriainen said.
The EU's long-term goal is zero traffic deaths by 2050 — a policy dubbed "Vision Zero." Is it achievable or wishful thinking?
"For us, it's more about how the goal guides our everyday actions," said Utriainen. "We aim to assess all our decisions based on their long-term impact."
Ordnael
Emperor
Hard not to agree with that premise "Traffic fatalities are a political choice", but even somewhat far away from the big city I am also seeing a rise of electric scooters on the streets mainly tweens and young adults but also grown ups and guess what?...99% of sights without a helmet or any kind of joint protection zipping along road traffic or worst on the sidewalk at 30/40+ kph
...there'd better be safer political choices otherwise we will see a rise in serious injuries!
...there'd better be safer political choices otherwise we will see a rise in serious injuries!I am really really into electric bikes as a transport solution, but I do not see why anyone would choose a scooter over a bike. The whole physics thing with the centre of gravity so far above the axis of the front wheels seems to both massively limit your braking ability and make you highly vulnerable to going over face first if you hit any sort of obstacle. Perhaps they are a little cheaper to make, but the battery and electric motor are the same and they must be most of the cost.Hard not to agree with that premise "Traffic fatalities are a political choice", but even somewhat far away from the big city I am also seeing a rise of electric scooters on the streets mainly tweens and young adults but also grown ups and guess what?...99% of sights without a helmet or any kind of joint protection zipping along road traffic or worst on the sidewalk at 30/40+ kph
Canadian Bluebeer
King
Really silly way to go about it. Oh wait, look what party it came from. (rhino party)
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
Our Politics does have a certain amount of siliness to it, remember when the two conservative parties merged and called themselves the CCRA? Add party to the end of it and you get CCRAP.Really silly way to go about it. Oh wait, look what party it came from. (rhino party)
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
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Speed. I have several bikes, including an e-bike that tops out at approximately 30. It can go faster, but requires a few mods I've never bothered to make. It really is not a good idea to go faster than 30 anyway.
The scooters being made have top speeds of 55mph and little to no regulation surrounding them. They're really, really fast. Eventually, as accidents predictably start to pile up, that will change, but for now, there is nothing near that fast on the market outta the shop.
That seems a really bad idea for my above reasons, but it makes some sort of sense.
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
Good for Helsinki and I hope it works for them. To the extent it is a choice, I’d say it’s much more of trade-off: if you limited all powered road vehicles to 2-4 miles per hour (this happened in 19th century Britain!) you could probably greatly reduce injurious accidents, coupled with stringent fines for violators. The trade-off being the collapse of the economy in many countries. At the other end, we could further raise speed limits and maybe get a marginal boost, or get wherever we’re going that much faster.
Here in Japan the top speed for the expressway is a blistering 100km/hr, or 62mph.
Here in Japan the top speed for the expressway is a blistering 100km/hr, or 62mph.
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
How an anti-porn lobby on payment processors censored thousands of video games
But many of the games and digital artworks caught in the sweep were unnecessarily censored, developers say
Video game developers are speaking out after two popular PC games stores made it harder — even impossible — to purchase thousands of games and other digital artworks, as a result of pressure exerted by an Australian anti-porn advocacy group.The takedown came after Collective Shout successfully lobbied payment networks and processors to stop facilitating financial transactions from storefronts Steam and Itch.io until games with certain content were removed.
But developers say the range of affected works goes well beyond games with explicit sex scenes. Also caught in the sweep are a teen-rated romantic comedy game, some LGBT-themed games by award-winning developer Robert Yang, and a 1920s alternate-history art book that has no sexual content.
"This is incredibly worrying," said Adrienne Bazir, a Toronto-based game developer and artist who makes LGBT games.
"Even just queer people holding hands is seen as not safe for work."
CBC spoke to over a dozen Canadian games developers, creators and industry watchers who say the situation highlights the power held by international financial institutions in determining what kinds of art is deemed acceptable for others to consume, and frequently forces LGBT content and narrative into the darkness.
What's happened so far?
In July, Collective Shout published an open letter saying Steam and Itch hosted games with "rape, incest and child sexual abuse" content.About a week later, Steam removed hundreds of games with adult or sexual content from sale.
Steam, the world's largest storefront and management platform for PC games with a reported 132 million active monthly users, said in a statement that "certain games on Steam may violate the rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks."
Payment processors include credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard, and other companies that can facilitate purchases like PayPal and Stripe.
Those games were removed from sale to ensure customers could purchase other titles and game content, the statement added.
On July 28, Itch, a relatively smaller player, deindexed all games and other works on its site with the NSFW (not safe for work) tag. That means you can't find those works on the site unless you know the exact name of the creator or game.
According to Game File reporter Nicole Carpenter, searching the NSFW tag on Itch before July 28 brought 7,167 results. Today, it surfaces five or fewer.
Itch's creator Leaf Corcoran said the site's staff is "conducting a comprehensive audit of content to ensure we can meet the requirements of our payment processors." He later said Itch is seeking other payment processors that are willing to work with platforms hosting adult content.
CBC reached out to several payment processors for comment. In a statement, Stripe said, "We do not support adult content," while PayPal replied that it will take action on anything "that violates the law, our policies, or the policies of our partner banks and card networks."
Risky business?
Collective Shout is an advocacy group that describes itself as a "movement against the objectification of women and the sexualization of girls." Its director, Melinda Tankard Reist, told CBC that her group reached out to payment processors after receiving no reply to about 3,000 emails sent to the Valve Corporation, which owns Steam.Tankard Reist said the group was not seeking to have Itch deindex all its NSFW gaming content. However, developers, artists and other supporters say the campaign has affected works with sexual content that don't cross the line into abusive or illegal behaviour.
That statement doesn't ring true for Jean Ketterling, a University of Saskatchewan assistant professor who specializes in the study of sex and video games.
"This is a tried-and-true playbook. It has the effect of shrinking the space available for diverse sexual expression," she said.
Ketterling pointed to a long history of anti-porn or anti-sex work organizations campaigning against content they deem to be obscene, immoral or illegal. Similar recent cases involved lobbyists targeting payment processors for OnlyFans and Pornhub.
"We're seeing a lot of LGBTQ content come up. We're seeing a lot of stuff that's not even pornographic, but that is just exploring sexual violence or exploring the trans experience," she said.
Val Webber, a postdoctoral researcher at the Sexual Health and Gender Research Lab (SHAG) at Halifax's Dalhousie University, says "high-risk" categories for payment processors typically include items with a potential for fraud or that contain potentially illegal content — such as adult content, firearms, gambling and some medications.
But the processors' terms of service aren't always clear, leading to a wide interpretation of what kinds of content can be considered high-risk, she said.
"They're effectively in charge of creating de facto obscenity law without ever naming specific sexual acts or fantasies or content that is, in fact, not allowed on the platforms," she said.
Several Canadian developers and artists are frustrated that an Australian lobby group and U.S.-based payment processors have impacted their income.
"What we have is a situation where American financial institutions are able to do de facto censorship on a global scale against content that isn't illegal," said Ash Krieder, an independent romance writer based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., whose works were deindexed from Itch. "This is hampering freedom of speech in our country."
Tankard Reist said location is irrelevant. "The internet has no borders. Women and girls everywhere are impacted by male violence against women and misogyny in general which we believed these games perpetuated."
The counter-campaign
Affected developers and their supporters have started phone campaigns and petitions to pressure payment processors to reverse their actions.One site lists several email addresses and phone numbers for people to lodge their complaints with Visa, MasterCard and other payment companies.
"What we know about Collective Shout is that they managed to put pressure on those payments processors with only 1,000 calls or emails," said Bazir.
"And we're like, well, there's more than 1,000 of us, so we can beat that."
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/steam-itch-takedowns-credit-cards-1.7597563
danjuno
Cole Phelps, Badge 1247
So where is it?
This place lists these credited to this centralised social media account;
A far more complete list, with hints for writing the email is here.
Spoiler Short list of telephone numbers :
Spoiler Long list of contacts :
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