Kenya spends USD 1 billion in a year to repay Chinese loans, burdening taxpayers — (archived version)

[…] cash sent to Beijing [by Kenya] comprised nearly 100.47 billion KES (703 million USD) in principal sums that fell due, and 52.22 billion KES (365.54 million USD) in interest ]…]

The total amount paid represents a 42.14 per cent jump in the previous year, ending June 2023 […]

[According to research lab] AidData, “The terms of Beijing’s loan deals with developing countries are usually secretive and require borrowing from nations such as Kenya to prioritise repayment of Chinese state-owned banks ahead of other creditors.” […]

Tankies do like to pretend that they don’t support fascism, but they really just ignore it and enjoy their brunches. Forced labour and other human rights violations in autocracies don’t effect them personally, therefore it doesn’t exist at all.

Sounds like whataboutism tankies do to users here on Lemmy.

There is a comprehensive report from 2022 by Safeguard Defenders (mentioned in the article):

Chinese offical corroborates 110 Overseas findings (here is the pdf)

And a folliw-up on Chinese Overseas Police Service Centers in 53 countries around the world (here is the report as pdf)

What’s irritating are the reactions by both the company and the authorities. Imagine you’re in China and your child or some family member gets hit by car, and then the car company says it was only a ‘mild’ collision because they had been jaywalking, and the officials add that you should not spread ‘rumors’.

They seem to go ahead with more licenses for such cars -if I understand the article correct- as if people’s lives don’t matter. That represents the worst of neoliberalism within an authoritarian system.

I haven’t read this article as the statement is simply wrong. AI is just a technology. What it does (and doesn’t) depends on how it is used, and this in turn depends on human decision making.

What Google does here is -once again- denying responsibilty. If I’d be using a tool that says you should put glue on your pizza, then it’s me who is responsible, not the tool. It’s not the weapon that kilks, it’s the human being who pulls the trigger.

Yeah, I was wondering the same, but didn’t want to edit the original title. Maybe there are some details that are new, I don’t know. What the CCP has been doing for a long time now is a shame.

Yep. Why China censors banned Winnie the Pooh

And the next whataboutism! What a waste of time.

Yeah, these are the ‘tankies’ who got banned on Reddit, right? I guess it takes time until they get a minority, but it’s good that the community grows steadily.

One thing that’s obvious here on Lemmy is that whataboutism works only in one direction. If an article is critical of China, Russia, Iran, or other dictatorships, you’d read, “But about U.S./EU/the West”. But there are tons of articles here critical of Western countries, and it’s accepted. Why is this? Just wumaos?

I suppose that’s the mechanism they’re using to centrally manage the economy, by controlling fund transfers to lower levels of government.

I would agree with this view. The local governments are responsible for the majority of spendings (including pensions, health care), but they can barely raise funds themselves.

The central government has already said that the new debt will be forwarded to the local government, and that it will be ‘off-budget’, meaning the money goes to LGFVs. The future will tell us how this ends up, but the risks are high imo given the country’s debt burden is so much higher than in most other countries as you suggested.

The real change in retail pricing might be discrimination pricing (or ‘surveillance pricing’ as it is now called sometimes). Simply speaking, it uses personal data to personalize prices not just for each customer, but also for each customer depending on actual circumstances such as day time, weather, an individual’s pay day, and other data, collected through apps, loyalty cards, …

As one article says, there is One Person One Price:

"If I literally tell you, the price of a six-pack is $1.99, and then I tell someone else the price of a six-pack for them is $3.99, this would be deemed very unfair if there was too much transparency on it,” [University of Chicago economists Jean-Pierre] Dubé said. “But if instead I say, the price of a six-pack is $3.99 for everyone, and that’s fair. But then I give you a coupon for $2 off [through your app] but I don’t give the coupon to the other person, somehow that’s not as unfair as if I just targeted a different price.”

The linked article is a very long read but worth everyone’s time. Very insightful.

I am thinking the same. Must be some sort of Streisand effect :-)

Yeah, and not to forget:

One interviewee admitted to paying for access to a data set. “I bought access to an official archive and altered the data to support my hypotheses.”

Myanmar soldiers cut off tattoos and gave detainees urine to drink, witnesses say

Eyewitnesses told the BBC the village [in the Rakhine State] was subjected to two-and-half days of terror as soldiers blindfolded and beat them up, poured burning petrol on their skin and forced some of them to drink their urine.

Warning: You may find some of the details in this piece disturbing

You can’t make such a decision based on simple financial calculations, not in the least as there is no way to make reasonable predictions in our current market environments. Ask any investment advisor, and they will tell you to buy your home if you can afford it.

This is off-topic: Why is the NYT accessing the camera when going to the linked article?

Israeli activists battle over Gaza-bound aid convoys

Months after some Israelis started to protest against aid lorries entering Gaza at the main Kerem Shalom crossing, the battle has moved to other key junctions, where rival groups of activists do their best to block or protect aid convoys […]

Right-wing activists, including Jewish settlers living in the occupied West Bank, have uploaded dozens of videos of crowds, including some very young children, hurling food onto the ground and stamping on boxes of aid.

You’ll find a short video embedded in the linked article.

Israeli activists battle over Gaza-bound aid convoys

Months after some Israelis started to protest against aid lorries entering Gaza at the main Kerem Shalom crossing, the battle has moved to other key junctions, where rival groups of activists do their best to block or protect aid convoys […]

Right-wing activists, including Jewish settlers living in the occupied West Bank, have uploaded dozens of videos of crowds, including some very young children, hurling food onto the ground and stamping on boxes of aid.

You’ll find a short video embedded in the linked article.

I doesn’t seem so given Israeli officials’ statements. But it will have a long-term political impact if Israel ignores that imho. It could lead to a higher degree of ‘diplomatic isolation’ for Israel and its allies for a long time. That’s just my opinion. And there’re arrest warrants, too.