Rifts growing in the Taliban over the ban on girls' schooling
Summary
Divisions are deepening within the Taliban over the ban on girls’ secondary education, with some senior officials opposing the policy.
Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai publicly condemned the ban as unjust and left Afghanistan for the UAE in protest.
Despite internal dissent, Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and his loyalists continue to enforce strict restrictions. Around 2.2 million girls remain out of school.
Families risk fleeing the country, while new laws further limit women’s freedoms, solidifying Taliban control and making policy reversal unlikely.
Taliban officials remain divided over the ban on girls education
The Taliban's ban on girls' schooling has led to at least one minister leaving Afghanistan and forced families to move for their daughters' education.Astha Rajvanshi (NBC News)
Aid cuts could have ‘pandemic-like effects’ on maternal deaths, WHO warns
Summary
UN agencies warn that global aid cuts, particularly from wealthy countries like the U.S., could cause a surge in maternal deaths, with effects comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maternal mortality fell 40% from 2000 to 2023 but progress has stalled, with 260,000 deaths last year. Cuts have led to clinic closures, job losses, and medicine shortages.
Conflict zones remain most at risk. Poor countries face maternal death rates 35 times higher than rich nations.
WHO calls for urgent investment in midwives, healthcare workers, and sustained global funding to prevent further setbacks.
Aid cuts could have ‘pandemic-like effects’ on maternal deaths, WHO warns
Loss of funding could undo progress in reducing deaths in pregnancy and childbirth, especially in war zones, says UNKat Lay (The Guardian)
like this
'Your question is so stupid' Trump snaps when asked how much economic pain he'd tolerate
Summary
Trump snapped at a reporter who asked how much economic pain he was willing to inflict amid plunging markets triggered by his new tariffs.
Speaking after a weekend at his Florida resort, Trump dismissed speculation he was trying to crash the market, claiming tariffs would bring in "$1 trillion" and spur U.S. manufacturing.
When asked about a pain threshold for Americans, he called the question "so stupid," arguing economic “medicine” was necessary to reverse decades of "stupid leadership."
He insisted the strategy would make the U.S. "solid and strong again."
'Your question is so stupid' Trump snaps when asked how much economic pain he'd tolerate
President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked how much economic pain he would be willing to tolerate as his tariffs wreck the stock market.The president returned Sunday evening to Washington, D.C., as U.S.Travis Gettys (Raw Story)
like this
His motives may be unclear, but his actions are crystal clear. He’s tried to enact tariffs already and been stopped before they were implemented because everyone knows the level of damage they cause. He’s moving forward this time. He’s deliberately crashing the global economy.
Why? Who knows? His Silicon Valley overlords demand it? I doubt it’s Putin, because Russia’s economy is hanging on by a thread, and the last thing they need is a global downturn, especially when it craters oil prices. Is it just that Trump is stupid, maybe senile, and ultimately in charge?
Regardless, the leader of the biggest economy in the world has decided that it’s time for a global recession/depression, so unless that course is changed, that’s probably what’s going to happen.
VOTE
Nearly 90 million people didn’t vote in the 2024 USA election. If you don’t want to become an American, don’t act like one.
🇨🇦 ✊ 🇨🇦 GET OUT AND VOTE 🇨🇦 ✊ 🇨🇦
no excuses: (elections.ca/home.aspx/)
Elections Canada - Home page for the 2025 Federal Election
Find all the information you need to know to vote in the 2025 federal election. You will learn whether you are registered to vote, where to vote, what your riding is, who the candidates in your riding are, and more.Elections Canada
like this
Notes on Civil Society’s Quasi-War with A Renegade President
My biggest takeaway, with new examples just over this weekend is this: most people outside that world, indeed, most people even in that world outside of NIH, don’t grasp what’s happening to the world of disease research and cure-finding. And the biggest barrier to is not just speed of what’s happened and lack of good information. It’s that people have a very difficult time believing it. We know that some people don’t want to fund Medicaid that goes to poor people. You may not think that way but it probably doesn’t surprise you that many people do. It’s very hard to people to believe that anyone is trying to end research into finding cures for diseases that affect everyone. The richest people get cancer and Alzheimers and Parkinson’s. Just yesterday I heard second hand from a power player in our society saying, ‘That makes no sense. Who would go after cancer research?’ And yet it is happening.
Notes on Civil Society’s Quasi-War with A Renegade President
This post isn’t quite a post in the way I normally do them, more jotting down some of my brainstorming over the weekend. Universities are a core pillar of civil…Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)
like this
Bernie Sanders says U.S. under Trump is facing "unprecedented level of danger"
Bernie Sanders says U.S. under Trump is facing "unprecedented level of danger"
Across the U.S., tens of thousands have been attending rallies held by the Vermont Senator, who says that the nation is moving rapidly toward what he calls an oligarchy influenced by billionaires.Robert Costa (CBS News)
like this
like this
‘Fantastic Four’ Director Says Marvel Film Is Completely Standalone: ‘This Is Our Own Little Corner’
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/27818987
"Fantastic Four: First Steps" director Matt Shakman says he wanted the forthcoming, standalone Marvel film to feel like it was "made in 1965."
Central Park Five Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Donald Trump
Central Park Five Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Donald Trump
The lawsuit, filed in a Pennsylvania court, accuses the former president of making "false and defamatory" comments. Five men wrong...Blogger (pagesixuk)
like this
cbsnews.com/news/central-park-…
Central Park Five members file defamation lawsuit against Trump over debate comments
The lawsuit argues that Trump's statements are "demonstrably false," since the Central Park Five — all of whom are plaintiffs in the case — never pleaded guilty.Melissa Quinn (CBS News)
like this
Central Park Five members file defamation lawsuit against Trump over debate comments
The lawsuit argues that Trump's statements are "demonstrably false," since the Central Park Five — all of whom are plaintiffs in the case — never pleaded guilty.Melissa Quinn (CBS News)
How Europe hopes to turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine”
How Europe hopes to turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine”
Investing in Ukraine’s defence industry is the best way to keep it in the fightThe Economist
like this
Macron to EU colleagues: Stop buying American, buy European
Macron to EU colleagues: Stop buying American, buy European
“Those who buy Patriot should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale,” French president says.Giorgio Leali (POLITICO)
like this
Non au transfert des données de santé de 10 millions de Français dans le cloud de Microsoft
Le 11 mars, la Cnil a donné son feu vert au projet Darwin EU qui prévoit un transfert massif d’informations de la Cnam vers le géant de la Tech domicilié aux Etats-Unis et sous la coupe des autorités américaines.Un collectif (Libération)
China Just Turned Off U.S. Supplies Of Minerals Critical For Defense & Cleantech
China Just Turned Off U.S. Supplies Of Minerals Critical For Defense & Cleantech - CleanTechnica
In response to new Trump tariffs, China cut dysprosium, terbium, and tungsten exports—hitting U.S. EVs, wind, and military systems hard.Michael Barnard (CleanTechnica)
like this
It’s not a big deal. Rare earth minerals aren’t that rare.
It’s the refining of rare earth minerals which is energy intensive and causes a great deal of pollution.
It was nice that China was destroying their own environment and spending the capital to build power plants. Now we will have to invest the capital to do it ourselves.
The Economist Trashes Trump’s ‘Flat-Out Nonsense’ Tariffs in Scathing Editorial: Most ‘Unnecessary Economic Error in the Modern Era’
The Economist Trashes Trump’s ‘Flat-Out Nonsense’ Tariffs in Scathing Editorial: Most &# ...
The Economist on Thursday published a scathing editorial criticizing Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on virtually all of the United States' trade partners.Ahmad Austin Jr. (Mediaite)
They haven't encouraged this, they've been pretty critical of trump.
They're openly capitalist and liberal.
Liberal in the British 19th-century sense: in favor of free trade abroad and rule of law at home-- the kind of political philosophy that would suit a Manchester factory owner.
The Guardian had similar origins, but has drifted slightly leftward since its founding. It's still more sympathetic to the LibDems than towards Labour, and its discomfort with socialism could be seen in their vitriolic hatred of Corbyn.
can
in reply to qnfo • • •like this
gregs_gumption and TxzK like this.
macarthur_park
in reply to qnfo • • •Alright I’ll bite. I don’t think this is AI drivel, I do think this article comes from a place of a serious lack of understanding of the standard model and quantum mechanics.
Yes, prior to the discovery of quantum mechanics some physicists realized that if they made certain assumptions, the math “just worked out”. They did not understand why this was the case, and being good scientists they sought to. They were also clear about their lack of a model to justify this math.
The development of quantum mechanics not only solved all these problems, but also predicted additional physics that has since been verified (solid state mechanics for example is just applied quantum mechanics, and predicted and described the transistor).
The reason quantum mechanics and the standard model of particle physics are treated as the best description of reality we currently have is because they are in fact. Attempts to describe cosmology and observational physics based in alternative models all do a worse job, either failing to account for observations or making
... show moreAlright I’ll bite. I don’t think this is AI drivel, I do think this article comes from a place of a serious lack of understanding of the standard model and quantum mechanics.
Yes, prior to the discovery of quantum mechanics some physicists realized that if they made certain assumptions, the math “just worked out”. They did not understand why this was the case, and being good scientists they sought to. They were also clear about their lack of a model to justify this math.
The development of quantum mechanics not only solved all these problems, but also predicted additional physics that has since been verified (solid state mechanics for example is just applied quantum mechanics, and predicted and described the transistor).
The reason quantum mechanics and the standard model of particle physics are treated as the best description of reality we currently have is because they are in fact. Attempts to describe cosmology and observational physics based in alternative models all do a worse job, either failing to account for observations or making unphysical predictions.
A quote from the article:
This is incorrect. MOND is generally dismissed because as the article admits, it fails to account for all observed behavior. If you have to pick a model that describes more observed phenomena, which do you choose: the model that matches nearly all empirical data, or the one that only matches a subset but maybe could do better if someone could come up with the right formalism? If one insists that MOND is the path forward, then it is they who are dogmatically blinded by their choice of model.