When a country is ruled by a dictator, does it matter which party he belongs to?
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/NeoNachtwaechter
In Russia, they have only 1 party left, so the party clearly doesn’t matter. In Usa, it is not an official dictator yet. In other countries with a dictatorship, I don’t know about their parties. So do you know any examples where the parties still matter?
200 UK Companies Permanently Move To 4-Day Work Week Without Loss Of Pay
submitted by https://slrpnk.net/u/Anyone
In a landmark move reinventing the working week in the United Kingdom, at least 200 British companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees without any loss of pay.
Together, these 200 companies employ over 5,000 people, and among these charities, marketing and technology firms are the best-represented, a report by The Guardian said quoting the 4 Day Week Foundation.
…
The change was first adopted by around 30 marketing, advertising and press relations firms. The suit was followed by 29 charity, NGO, and social care industry-based organisations, and 24 technology, IT and software firms. Later, another 22 companies in the business, consulting and management sectors also joined the bandwagon and permanently offered four-day weeks to staff, according to The Guardian report.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/200-uk-companies-permanently-adopt-4-day-work-week-culture-7575355
Neurodiverse people on benefits to be helped into work in bid to cut welfare bill
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/thehatfox
Zehntausende Menschen demonstrieren gegen Kurs der Union
submitted by https://feddit.org/u/marv99
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/demo-migrationsabstimmung-union-100.html
When the bard as a whole excel database full of insults
submitted by https://mastodon.world/users/EmpeRohr
When the bard as a whole excel database full of insults
https://lemmy.world/c/dnd_memes
Nicole Shanahan Warns Senators: If You Vote Against RFK, I Will Personally Fund Challengers To Primary You
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/return2ozma
Nicole Shanahan Warns Senators: If You Vote Against RFK, I Will Personally Fund Challengers To Primary You
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/return2ozma
Elon Musk lackeys have taken over the Office of Personnel Management
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/MicroWave
Summary
Elon Musk allies have taken senior roles at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), raising concerns about political influence and mass firings.
Trump nominee Scott Kupor is set to lead OPM, but ex-xAI and Tesla employees, as well as a former NRA lawyer, have already assumed key positions.
Among them are a 21-year-old Palantir alum and a recent high school graduate with experience as a camp counselor and Neuralink intern.
OPM is advancing Trump’s “Schedule F” plan, which replaces career civil servants with political appointees.
Critics warn of AI-driven employee monitoring and mass layoffs, likening the situation to authoritarian purges.
Elon Musk Lackeys Have Taken Over the Office of Personnel Management
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/return2ozma
Trump's effort to withhold federal funding triggers constitutional showdown
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/MicroWave
Summary
The Trump administration’s move to withhold congressionally approved federal funds has sparked legal battles over the Constitution’s “power of the purse,” which grants spending authority to Congress.
Nonprofit groups and over 20 Democratic attorneys general have sued, citing violations of the Impoundment Control Act.
The administration argues the law is unconstitutional, potentially setting up a Supreme Court showdown.
Critics call it a “dangerous power grab,” while legal experts say past rulings limit presidential authority over spending.
Departing the New York Times | I left to stay true to my byline
submitted by https://slrpnk.net/u/silence7
Notably:
all Times opinion writers were banned from engaging in any kind of media criticism. Hardly the kind of rule that would allow an opinion writer to state, “we are being lied into war.”
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/departing-the-new-york-times
It's official: Research has found that libraries make everything better
submitted by https://lemmy.bestiver.se/u/rssbot
https://lithub.com/its-official-research-has-found-that-libraries-make-everything-better/
Anyone here use GrapheneOS??
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/Darth_Vader__
I am a long term GrapheneOS user and would like to talk about it. r/privacy on the redditland blocks custom OS discussions which I think is very bad for user privacy, and I hope this post will be useful to anyone who are in the hunt for better privacy.
Nowadays smartphones are a much bigger threats to our privacy and Desktop systems, and unfortunately manufacturers has designed them to be locked down devices with no user freedom. You can’t just “install Linux” on most smartphones and it is horrible. And most preloaded systems spy on us like crazy. That was why I specifically bought a pixel and loaded GOS onto it.
According to https://grapheneos.org/features
, they start from base AOSP’s latest version, imptoves upon it’s security and significantly hardens it. There’s hardened_malloc to.prevent against exploitation, disabling lots of debugging features, disabling USB-c data, hardening the Linux kernel and system apps etc. They even block accessing the hardware identifiers of the phone so that apps cannot detect whqt phone you’re using. That means with Tor and zero permissions given, apps are anonymous.
Compatibility with apps are best in Custom ROMs but there are still that can’t work, especially if they enforce device integrity. Very few apps usually enforce that tho. Also their community isn’t the friendliest but you can get help. Just don’t try and engage too much or have too many debates.
Anyone else here use GrapheneOS, or any other privacy ROMs? What is your experience? Do you disagree on any point? Let’s have a discussion!
Year of the Woman
submitted by https://lemmy.ca/u/masterofn001
[OC] Pencil on paper 2018 - a portrait of a friend using an old b&w photo I took of her from ~1996. Shirt says “l’annee de LA femme” - year of the woman
European Union imposes tariffs on Chinese EVs
submitted by https://lemmy.ml/u/Alsephina
The US has been in the lead with higher tariff barriers and controls on high-tech exports, initiated under the Trump presidency and markedly intensified by Biden.
It is now being joined by the European Union, which this week imposed an additional tariff of 35 percent on Chinese electric vehicles on top of a 10 percent tariff already in force.
The new measures, which will come into force next week, are to last five years. They were introduced on the basis that Chinese EV makers were benefiting unfairly from state subsidies.
The Chinese government rejected the claim of undue state support, saying it would “continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all Chinese companies.”
The decision to impose the tariffs came after eight rounds of talks aimed at trying to devise a mechanism through which a minimum price could be set along with the volume of Chinese exports. But the talks broke down with both sides saying the differences remained significant.
Further talks are to be held, with the EU accepting an invitation by China to send envoys to Beijing to see if some agreement can be reached on these mechanisms.
The divisions within the EU, which must rank as some of the most significant on trade issues in the history of the Union, were underscored by comments from Germany. Hildegarde Müller, the head of the German auto industry association, VDA, said the decision was “a setback for free global trade and so for prosperity and Europe’s growth.”
The chief executive of BMW Oliver Zipse said protectionism would only make cars more expensive for consumers and accelerate plant closures in Europe.
The interconnectedness of the global car industry was indicated by Roberto Vavassori, who told the Financial Times (FT) that “for many suppliers in the automotive industry, [the Chinese] are both the biggest threat and the biggest customer.”
He asked: “What did the Chinese do, what did the Japanese do and what did the Koreans do when they were behind on technology? They collaborated. The European industry needs to get the Chinese to localise in Europe and it needs to collaborate with them, particularly around battery technology in order to catch up.”
For workers in the auto industry, in Europe and internationally, neither path is the way forward in a situation where they face a wave of job destruction and wage cutting.
“Clearing Homeless Encampments” is a Horrific Euphemism for Actively Oppressing the Poor
submitted by https://lemmy.world/u/alphanerd4
