cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6124970

Archived version

Hong Kong’s High Court ... pronounced publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai guilty on trumped-up national security and sedition charges for his work at the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.

The verdict delivers yet another blow to Hong Kong’s press freedom and underscores the extent to which the Hong Kong authorities have eroded the city’s rule of law.

Lai was convicted by three handpicked judges, having been denied his constitutionally protected right to a jury trial, for “colluding with foreign forces” and for “conspiracy to publish seditious material.”

“Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. His release should be a condition of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s planned trip to Beijing in January,” the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation writes in a statement.

Prior the the verdict, Starmer has called the release of Lai, a British citizen, a priority. ...

Several rights groups have called the conviction "a cruel judicial farce" ...

...

According to reports, Lai will learn his sentencing on a later date. A mitigation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

Lai has yet to decide on whether to appeal the verdict, according to his lawyer Robert Pang.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/13486

Comedian and writer Robin Ince has announced his resignation from the award-winning and long-running BBC Radio 4 science show The Infinite Monkey Cage over the BBC’s restrictions on free speech imposed to protect far-right figures and opinions. Ince had made the popular show with co-presenter Brian Cox since 2009.

In a message “From the desk of Robin Ince”, he explained his sadness at the decision and his reasoning for it:

This is the saddest day of my professional life.

Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage.

I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until I dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys.

However, I resigned back in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show; a show I named and helped develop over all those years.

Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for some time, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump and numerous other outlandish opinions including once gently criticising Stephen Fry.

These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter.

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices.

Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices.

I chose the latter.
It broke my heart.

I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make.

I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn’t pamper myself with the luxury of silence.

One of my many privileges is that I can resign and I can speak out.

Robin Ince — ‘Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire.’

He goes on:

I have thought a lot about some of my heroes; Sinead O’Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more.

I think of Sinead’s words, “The job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost”.

James Baldwin has said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice.

And Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences.

I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness, in kindness and in justice.

Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire.

I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal.

I am so sorry to let you down.

I hope that you can understand my reasoning.

Well done to Ince for making a stand. At the time of writing, his former co-star Cox does not appear to have commented publicly.

Featured image via Twitter

By Skwawkbox

From Canary via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://suppo.fi/post/9484611

What happened

Going against policy, the UK's EHRC chose to not record (or perhaps even destroy) the meeting minutes for a 2023 consultation with trans groups after one of its worst acts towards their rights.

This meeting was the day after the EHRC sent its now infamous letter to Kemi Badenoch, suggesting the Government to rewrite the Equality Act by redefining the words sex, man, and woman to mean “biological sex"

Context for Americans etc.

For context, the EHRC is the UK's primary human rights organisation. However, since Kishwer Falkner's takeover in 2020, the organisation has taken a clear trans-exclusive direction that has only gotten worse over time.

They offer guidance to businesses and the government on how to interpret human rights laws. That guidance authority has been used to twist the meaning of legislation intended to protect minority groups, against all legal precedent, to instead use as a basis for removing the rights of trans people specifically.

The EHRC has since rarely met with trans organisations when deciding how to advise on their rights. Instead, they frequently meet with trans hate groups like Sex Matters. This is to the point that their views closely mirror these hate groups.

Back to the article

Looking at the meeting notes, it's clear why they chose to hide them, as it's clear that they were entirely unable to justify their change in definition of sex and gender, and they knew that it went against the stances of most other human rights organisations.

Have a read for yourself. The long pauses are wild.

Hackney Coalition Against Palantir, formed last month, has been protesting after learning that Palantir’s NHS approved software could be used by Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/35635879

Robin Ince forced to quit Radio 4 over pro-trans views - Comic leaves Infinite Monkey Cage after pressure from bosses

Offering screening for neurodivergence to people detained by the police could help ensure access to appropriate support and fairer treatment in the criminal justice system, say Cambridge researchers. A study from the team suggests that one in two individuals arrested and detained in London may have undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and one in 20 may have undiagnosed autism.

Emma Kamio, whose daughter Leona is a political prisoner, made a desperate plea to the hunger strikers as the situation worsens

Web archive link

A high-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in the UK has been the target of a harassment campaign involving letters containing fake, sexually explicit images of her sent to her neighbours.

Carmen Lau, 30, told the BBC she was "shocked" as the letters, delivered to addresses in Maidenhead from China, included her name and images made to look like she was either naked or in underwear and offering sexual services.

"The letters had a couple of very unpleasant images, AI-generated or photo-shopped... portraying me as a sex worker," she said.

Ms Lau is among thousands of Hong Kong residents to seek sanctuary in the UK following the imposition of a controversial new national security law.

The city had been a British colony until 1997, when it was handed to China on the proviso it retained its democratic autonomy for the following 50 years.

...

Ms Lau moved to the UK in 2021 and has continued her advocacy work, frequently criticising China's Communist leadership and speaking out about China's controversial plans to build a "mega embassy" in London, warning that it could become a base for trans-national repression of China's critics abroad.

...

"When I was in Hong Kong, pro-Beijing agents were trained to use gender-based harassment targeting pro-democracy activists," she said.

"But AI technology has enhanced this sort of intimidation. It is beyond just transnational repression - as a woman, it is very worrying."

Last year, up to a dozen of the same neighbours in Berkshire had received letters sent from Hong Kong, purporting to come from the police, offering a bounty payment of £95,000 to anyone who would hand Ms Lau over to the Chinese embassy in London.

The new letters - the existence of which was first reported by the Guardian - were sent last month from the Chinese territory of Macau, close to Hong Kong.

Another activist, Ted Hui, and his wife, who now live in Australia, have also been targeted with similar letters, the newspaper reports.

...

Reynolds told the BBC that the government needed "to be very clear that this is not acceptable, we cannot have these letters sent to UK residents".

"We need to find out who sent these letters," he said, adding: "Officials in Beijing need to be held accountable."

Reynolds said he had raised the issue with both the Home Office and the Foreign Office.

A government spokesperson said: "The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance."

Thames Valley Police, meanwhile, said it was investigating reports of a malicious communications offence involving digitally altered images.

"We are engaging with the victim and, at this time, no arrests have been made," a spokesperson said.

...

The UK government has previously insisted that any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities would not be tolerated.

It has said the UK continues to raise concerns about transnational repression directly with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, and has publicly condemned the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties by the Hong Kong Police Force.

...

GB News recently did an "interview" (if you could call it that) with Donald Trump which was full of misinformation, lies and was very one sided.

I saw this petition going around and thought I would share it. I will note that with petitions they can help a little but I believe it's best to also contact whoever you're trying to petition yourself. The people in organizations you're protesting, or want change from need to "feel it". Please consider giving Ofcom a call and demand they investigate this horrible interview: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-we-do/contact-us you can mention that there's a petition that has already got loads of signatures.

The number of people in hospital in England with flu is at a record high for this time of year

No electric gadgets are in the list of the 10 most popular requests

Rachel Reeves has received over £200k from the Zionist lobby over the years - how the fuck is this a functioning democracy?