Lemdro.id

Bluesky

...eat as much [food item 1] as you want, without suffering any unwanted consequences

... always find [food item 2] at a bargain price, discounted or on sale (but you can't resell them)

...eat [ food item 3] and be sure it will always be be of excellent quality, rich and full of flavor

My three items would be chocolate, steak and cheese. Maybe. I'm not too sure about the steak, maybe I should say eggs instead.

What would be your three blessed foods?

src

France and India have responded to the “geopolitical risks” posed by Donald Trump’s aggression and instability by repatriating massive gold reserves from the US. In France’s case, it has taken back its entire US-held reserve – and made a huge profit in the process. The gold had been there since WWII.

Gold out of America

France used a ‘sell-rebuy’ manoeuvre to offload 129 tonnes of gold held at the US Federal Reserve in New York and used the funds to immediately buy new gold at a profit of almost €13bn. India, which had already started the process in 2025 has physically moved another 64 tonnes just since the beginning of 2026.

Although the French government claimed the repatriation was “technical”, the moves come against a background of a flailing Trump threatening to punish countries he feels have not been supportive enough of his disastrous and illegal war of aggression, alongside Israel, on Iran.

Other central banks are considering following suit, including Germany’s Bundesbank, which currently holds a huge 1,236 tonnes of gold in the US. It fears that Trump has his eyes on it and that even if he does not try to grab it directly his unpredictability and his international aggression make it unsafe. Michael Jäger, head of the German Taxpayers’ Federation, which represents wealthy and tax-averse members and would normally be aligned with Trump’s focus on the wealthy and corporations, said German gold is “no longer safe” under Trump:

Trump is unpredictable, and he does everything to generate revenue. That’s why our gold is no longer safe in the Fed’s vaults.

The withdrawal of gold reserves is a further blow to Trump, who has spent hundreds of billions attacking Iran only to be forced to concede most of Iran’s demands in his desperate search for an off-ramp from his and Israel’s illegal, losing war.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

From Canary via This RSS Feed.

https://archive.ph/satYN

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/8248619

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François-Philippe Champagne told Canadians in May 2024 that the country would “never” serve as a backdoor for Chinese EVs into North America.

He repeated the pledge in August, October, December, and again in March 2025.

Eighteen months later, as Canada’s Finance Minister, Champagne returned from a four-day trade mission to Beijing where he promoted deeper economic ties with the country whose vehicles he had vowed to keep out.

Canada’s 100% surtax on Chinese-made EVs — which Champagne helped design and publicly championed — was replaced in January with a quota allowing 49,000 vehicles per year at a 6.1% tariff.

...

Champagne’s public opposition to Chinese EV imports began on May 17, 2024 ... “Canada has never been and will never be a backdoor for China in the North American market ... it’s fair to say that everything is on the table to protect our industry and our workers.”

At the time, Ottawa had committed tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to attract EV manufacturing from Honda Motor Co., Stellantis, and Volkswagen Group.

Champagne framed cheap Chinese imports as an existential threat to those investments.

On August 26, ... Champagne ... cited 550,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada’s auto supply chain. “This is about securing the fair, prosperous future Canadians deserve,” he said.

In the government’s October 1 implementation notice, he said Ottawa was “taking further action to protect Canadian workers from China’s unfair, non-market practices” and pledged to foster domestic EV supply chains “from mining critical minerals to manufacturing batteries and vehicles right here at home.”

On October 18, he posted on X: “Tariffs on EVs, steel, and aluminum from China ensure a fair and competitive environment for everyone. But, we also know our businesses need time to adjust their supply chains away from Chinese products.”

The language signalled structural decoupling.

By December 2024, he was still on message, warning on X that “if you say no to Canada you are basically saying yes to China” on strategic supply chains.

As late as March 12, 2025 — ten months before the deal that reversed the tariff — Champagne was asked by CTV News whether Canada would soften its position.

“We’re not. Not with respect to the tariffs that we put because there was a good reason,” he said. “We will say we would never be a back door to cheap Chinese vehicles which are overly subsidized and where they don’t respect labour law and environmental laws.”

He added: “We want to protect our industry. We want to protect our workers. We want to protect our communities. And the reason why we impose the tariff still remains very valid today.”

...

Champagne visited the Chinese capital from Tuesday to Saturday last week ... When asked directly whether he had raised the issue of forced labour or human rights with his Chinese counterparts, [Champagne said], “We did speak about supply chain integrity. That was a core message. Canada puts a lot of importance on supply chain integrity and that our bilateral trade needs to be conducted in accordance with international standards.”

He did not use the words “forced labour” or “human rights” in his answer.

...

The vocabulary had changed. “Supply chain integrity” replaced “forced labour.” “International standards” replaced “Chinese labour abuses” while engagement “with eyes wide open” replaced “never a backdoor.”

...

The forced labour issue that Champagne navigated carefully in Beijing has intensified since his return.

On Wednesday, Canada’s auto manufacturing lobby seized on fresh allegations against BYD to renew its opposition to the Chinese automaker’s market entry.

Days after Brazilian authorities added BYD to a government blacklist over what labour inspectors described as “slavery-like” conditions at a factory in Camaçari, Bahia, an upcoming report by New York-based China Labor Watch found similar conditions at BYD‘s Hungarian plant in Szeged.

CVMA President Brian Kingston called the findings “deeply concerning.”

Speaking with CBC, he said: “Canada’s auto industry can compete and win, but the playing field must be level.”

It is the same argument Champagne made in 2024 to justify the tariff he now administers the reversal of.

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Three Russian submarines conducted a "covert" operation over cables and pipelines in waters north of the UK, Defence Secretary John Healey said.

A British warship and aircraft were deployed to deter the "malign" activity by Moscow and there was "no evidence" of any damage to UK infrastructure in the Atlantic, he added.

Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, Healey said: "We see you. We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences."

...

The UK is dependent on its undersea cables and pipelines for its data and energy.

There are around 60 undersea cables which come ashore at several points along the UK coastline, particularly around East Anglia and South West England.

More than 90% of the UK's day-to-day internet traffic travels via these undersea cables.

...

Author: Al Jazeera
Published on: 09/04/2026 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
LA28 said it sold more tickets in the first week than any previous Olympic Games had in their opening week. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4Bosnian ball boy hailed as hero after hiding Italian goalkeeper’s notes list 2 of 4Eritrea’s AFCON place in doubt after players disappear in South Africa list 3 of 4Will Arteta’s emotional intensity drive Arsenal to glory or another choke? hundreds of thousands of $28 tickets billed as the lowest-priced Olympic LA28 faces Olympic criticism of ticket prices Organisers acknowledged that some fans experienced sticker shock after a marketing push around the $28 entry-level tickets. Nearly half of all Olympic tickets are priced under $200, while more than three-quarters, including finals, are less than $400. Only about 5 percent of tickets cost more than $1,000.

Original: 549 words
Summary: 133 words
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Last year, the Canary reported how Daniel Harvey, activist and campaigner for disability justice, was denied access to Parliament on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, despite making all of the necessary arrangements.

Below, Daniel writes about his experiences and the lack of resolution, months later. In particular, he describes the lack of support offered by Scope, the charity for which he is an assembly member.

Approached for comment, James Taylor, executive director of strategy at Scope, said:

We are sorry for the experience Daniel had when he attended one of our events in Parliament last year and are grateful for his feedback. We have continued to engage with him since the event last December and with Parliament. We know there is more to do so that Parliament does not repeat the same mistakes. And we will look to improve our process for future events.

We are currently working to improve the experience our members have with Scope.

Our members are hugely valued and important to us, and we are currently engaging with all members to understand how we can improve their experience.

Dear Scope

When giving up your time to support one of the UK’s biggest disability charities, you would expect a sense of co-production.

I am currently an elected assembly member for Scope. We are involved in influencing Scope and how they connect with its members and the general public. During my time, I have entered two meetings: one centred around an icebreaker; the other on disability awareness training. The vast majority of us were already familiar with the latter, due to lived experience.

So, technically speaking, I haven’t actually achieved anything.

When I was invited to Parliament for a Scope event, I was denied entry. This was despite having clearance and an official invitation. Due to a governmental error, my invite and clearance was hidden from view. I was told by police officers at the gate that I had to try and resolve this amongst the hustle and bustle of Metropolitan London.

I made the decision to leave after an hour of attempting to call every staff member I could from Scope.

Experts in the systems that hurt us

I’ve received no agreeable resolution. Instead, the expectation was for me to work for free by providing my knowledge and insight to strengthen the government’s accessibility policy.

I am personally fed up with hearing that age-old narrative where disabled people, who have experienced a barrier, are then expected to volunteer their expertise exploitatively. It’s an existential crisis that leaves a bitter taste to those of us who don’t have a choice in becoming experts in the systems that hurt us.

Our insights and experiences are extremely valuable, and to see this poor trend continue within a charity that I deeply respected has saddened me.

Silenced, not empowered

Scope has made multiple errors around supporting and safeguarding its assembly members. Staff members have left without reason. Changes have been made without our acknowledgement. Our current means of communication in WhatsApp has disappeared. Scope has now changed the platform without consulting us to Microsoft Teams, which is atrocious for accessibility amongst our community.

I am shocked by Scope’s approach and their lack of accountability. I’ve had informal meetings with various staff members, but it hasn’t gone anywhere. This isn’t the picture of inclusion I had in mind. Scope is meant to empower disabled people, but somehow I feel silenced.

The lack of communication from a disability charity that supposedly champions inclusion and accessibility has ironically created some very big barriers. There has been no paid staff member monitoring communications, which helps with safeguarding its members. We are also restricted when reaching out to the management team or board of trustees for support, due to a lack of engagement.

Undemocratic

Being an assembly member involves being able to share your perspective on any proposed changes. Instead, we are expected to legitimise the obstacles we are experiencing. That isn’t democracy.

I didn’t agree to sit in spaces where you feel unable to challenge. I am tired of being told to hold my tongue or be grateful when the very things we fight for daily are happening right in front of us. I will not be complicit with Scope if they cannot recognise the value of this assembly.

I spoke with another assembly member, Damian Bridgeman, for his perspective:

My relationship with Scope goes back to childhood. I re-engaged at a governance level where I went back onto the council as a volunteer. I gave up my skills freely.

Damian was later encouraged to become a trustee.

I went through the process despite inaccessible forms. Then I was told my skills didn’t fit the board’s matrix.

Still he remained…

‘Control dressed up as inclusion’

During his involvement with the council, Damian grew aware of proposed charity shop closures. He wrote a 13-page turnaround plan to help. However, he was told that his plan didn’t stack up.

In my career, I’ve developed assistive technology which is now being used by 250 million people globally. I knew I could deliver that turnaround.

Damian’s conclusion is extremely unambiguous:

We are being kept close enough to be visible, but not close enough to have real influence. That’s not inclusion. Instead, that is control dressed up as inclusion.

That last line in particular has hit me. For so many of us, we fight for change in a world where we come face-to-face with health battles, discrimination, physical and environmental barriers and economic exclusion.

Disabled people shouldn’t be expected to sit still with their feelings like it’s some performative act. We shouldn’t ever discourage anyone from the opportunity to engage and make change especially when it’s in reach.

Opportunities like being in the assembly were meant to be that for me. Unfortunately, it has turned out to be a story of deep disappointment.

Please do better.

Featured image via the Canary

By Daniel Harvey

From Canary via This RSS Feed.

The European Commission has approved €144 million in French state aid to support renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production for the fertiliser sector. The funding will back a project by HyforSeeds aimed at decarbonising ammonia production in eastern France.

Author: Al Jazeera Staff
Published on: 09/04/2026 | 00:00:00

AI Summary:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government is ready to hold direct talks with Lebanon. Israel and the US have said Lebanon was not included in the US-Iran truce, which aims to allow for negotiations on ending their more than monthlong war. Iran and mediator Pakistan have said Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. Lebanon’s cabinet instructed security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions. Netanyahu said Israel would continue striking Hezbollah “with force, precision and determination” Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Thursday that the Israeli army targeted the centre of Bint Jbeil city with heavy artillery shelling. At the same time, Hezbollah has announced at least 20 operations against Israel.

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Summary: 116 words
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cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/38067972

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also, wasps

Author comment:

We’re back from holiday! Germany was great. Our favourite city was probably Hamburg because a) Miniatur Wunderland, b) Planten un Blomen and c) Hamburg DOM (we rode the big ferris wheel and there were fireworks! :D)

German tv was also funny because they have a lot of dubbed english shows. I had a great night lying in bed watching dubbed Gilmore Girls.

The people we met were all really friendly and nice, we had an awesome time. Thanks Germany!