🇺🇸🇺🇸⚠️🇧🇷🤡⚖️ — American Senator Ted Cruz comments on the blocking of the social network 𝕏 in Brazil:

Brazil is banning X for one reason: to suppress free speech and thought. Unsurprisingly, Lula supports this decision, because he too seeks to ban free speech and thought. Biden courted Lula, celebrated his election, and called him a personal friend. That too is unsurprising. The Biden-Harris administration has shown nothing but contempt for free speech here in the United States.

Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) on 𝕏 🖇

🇨🇳❌🇵🇭 — In a new wave of provocations by Mainland China authorities against Philippines, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel has rammed a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) near the Escoda Shoal, which is in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, for three times intentionally and deliberately

➡️ The provocations by Chinese authorities against Southeast Asian nations are escalating since the start of 2024, as the PLA-N activities in the South China sea increase

🇧🇷⚖️🤝❌ — The Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court, despite the Ban on X by Supreme Federal Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes (which used to be President of such court until earlier this year), still posting on the social media platform to promote its apps for the elections

➡️ Noteworthy that the municipal elections in Brazil are set to happen in 1 month from now and the ban took place just in time for the campaigns to start

🔗 TSE (@TSEjusbr)

🇮🇳🏳️‍🌈 India allows LGBTQ persons to open joint bank accounts and nominate partners as beneficiaries

Union finance ministry issued an advisory on Wednesday, August 28, clarifying that persons from the LGBTQ community face no restrictions in opening joint bank accounts or nominating their partners as beneficiaries.

This advisory follows the Supreme Court's order dated October 17, 2023, in the case of Supriyo@Supriya Chakraborty and another vs Union of India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also issued a clarification to all scheduled commercial banks on August 21, 2024, regarding the same matter, advisory said.

In 2015, the RBI had already directed banks to include a separate column for 'third gender' in their forms and applications, enabling transgender persons to open bank accounts and access related services.

Subsequently, several banks have introduced services specifically designed for the transgender community. For instance, ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd launched the 'Rainbow Savings Account' in 2022, offering exclusive features such as high savings rates and advanced debit card facilities to transgender customers.

🔗 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/lgbtq-persons-can-open-joint-bank-accounts-nominate-partners-as-beneficiaries/amp_articleshow/112911015.cms

🇧🇷⚖️❌❌ — Documents leaked by Twitter/X Administration shows that Brazilian Supreme Federal Court asked, in a unconstitutional move, for Twitter Support to remove the account of Rightist Senator & Brazilian Army Veteran, Marcos do Val

👤❌❌🇧🇷⚖️ — Alexandre Files: The official profile on the social network 𝕏 promises to reveal all the unlawful directives issued to 𝕏 by Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF)

Today, we begin shining a light on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes.

We have been forced to share these orders because there is no transparency from the court, and the people who are being censored have no recourse to appeal. Our own appeals have been ignored.

And now the people of Brazil are denied access to X.

Secret justice is no justice at all. Today, we say that must change.

Alexandre Files (@AlexandreFiles) on 𝕏 🖇

Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan 🔹

Geliştireceğimiz 'Çelik Kubbe' projemizi inşallah tüm unsurlarıyla hayata geçireceğiz. Birilerinin demir kubbesi varsa bizim de çelik kubbemiz olacak.

President Erdoğan 🔹

We will hopefully realize our 'Steel Dome' project with all its elements. If someone has an iron dome, we will have a steel dome.

🇩🇪🗳📃 — Key notes about the Thuringian elections:

➡️ In Thuringia, where the most radical sector of the party is based, the AfD has just won the first state election in the party's history.

➡️ For the first time since 1933, a Nationalist Party is set to have been elected to control a German region

➡️ This marks the first time since World War II that a German State east of the Zonengrenze is under control of German nationalists

➡️ If, indeed, AfD takes power in Thuringia, it will be, as expected so far, none other than Bjorn Hocke, the most right-wing figure in post-Cold War German mainstream politics to be sworn in as local Governor

We made a quick post about Mr. Hocke a year ago, but recapitulating:

📝 His grandparents were some of the millions of ethnic Germans who were expelled from East Prussia during the Post-WW2, today divided and part of Russian Federation, Poland and Lithuania, by the Soviet & Polish authorities

📝 Hocke defends the replacement of Post-WW2 Liberal German values for a Nationalism-based Prussian virtues, and promotes very natalist views, specifically the idea of "three-child family as a political and social model."

📝 Hocke was the figure behind the idea of Re-migration and large scale deportations out of Germany, which caused a controversy after holding a meeting with major politicians, activists and even large corporation owners to promote this idea, causing AfD to be banned from the ID Party group in EU for "Right-wing extremism" and triggering a wave of mass protests calling for the outlawing of AfD

📝 German media claims that Mr. Hocke is closely tied to National-Socialist Movements all over Germany, specially the National Democratic Party of Germany, the "most significant neo-NS party to emerge after 1945"

📝 In 2014, talking to party colleagues, Hocke advocated the abolition of section 86 of the German Criminal Code, which "outlaws spread of propaganda by unconstitutional organizations" (As German Ultranationalist groups) and section 130 of the German Criminal Code, which "criminalizes incitement to hatred towards other groups". This, technically, would make Holocaust Denial and Anti-Muslim hate speech legal in Germany

📝 In January 2017, Mr Hocke caused a major controversy in German society and even inside AfD for "calling to the Monument in Memory to the Murdered Jews of Europe to be entirely demolished and torn apart", which almost caused to him to be banned from AfD by the then-Party President Frauke Petry, which later left the party for saying that "Right-wing radicalism within the party was hopeless big"

📝 In 2023, a movement started by the German left, which considers him as the "Hitler of 21st Century", started a petition to revoke Höcke's eligibility to run for parliament based on article 18 of the German Federal Constitution, because supposedly Höcke is too dangerous to be left close to power. The petition gathered 1.7 Million signatures.

🇨🇳🛰🇺🇸 Chinese researchers assess U.S. space situational awareness, call for boost in China’s capabilities

Chinese researchers are calling for improved space situational awareness, following an assessment of U.S. capabilities and trends.

An article noscriptd “A Review of Space Situational Awareness Satellites: Silentbarker,” published in the journal ACMSR, provides an in-depth review of the development, status and future trends of space situational awareness (SSA) satellites.

It focuses in particular on four significant programs developed by the United States. These are the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX), the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS), the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) and Silentbarker.

In light of the assessment, the authors, many of whom are attached to the Space Engineering University in Beijing, call for expanded Chinese SSA.

“The impact of space situational awareness satellites extends far beyond the protection of space assets to a wide range of other applications,” the report states.

Space Situational Awareness refers to the ability to detect, track, catalog, and understand objects and activities in outer space.

SSA can help “monitor and maintain national space security, thereby promoting national defense security and foreign policy implementation,” the report states, while adding that SSA can support international cooperation, and, on the commercial front, optimize the location and orbit of satellites. It also outlines benefits for academic purposes.

China is already at work in this area, says Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation.

“China is developing a sophisticated network of ground-based optical telescopes and radars for detecting, tracking, and characterizing space objects,” Samson told SpaceNews.

“Like the United States and Russia, several of the Chinese SSA radars also serve missile warning functions. While China lacks an extensive network of SSA tracking assets outside its borders, it does have a fleet of tracking ships and is developing relationships with countries that may host future sensors,” Samson says.

“Since 2010, China has deployed several satellites capable of conducting RPO on orbit, which likely aids in its ability to characterize and collect intelligence on foreign satellites.”

However, the researchers are calling for greater commercial capabilities. These can assist optimizing satellite operations, improving service coverage, and managing space traffic.

The U.S. is currently leading the way, the article says. It notes that its “deployed satellites and mature technology provide many learning opportunities for other countries.”

🔗 https://spacenews.com/chinese-researchers-assess-u-s-space-situational-awareness-call-for-boost-in-chinas-capabilities/

🇩🇪🗳❗️ — In Saxony State, according to the State election projections by Research Group Elections/ZDF, 6:30 p.m, the Christian Democratic CDU leads over the German Nationalist AfD by only 0.6%!

✝️ CDU (Center-Right | Christian Democrats | EPP)

➡️ 31,9% (-0,2)

🇩🇪 AfD (Far-Right | Right-wing Nationalist | ESN)

31,3% (+3,8)

🇩🇪 BSW (Left | Left-wing populists | Non-Inscrits):

11,6% (NEU)

🌹 SPD (Center-Left | Social-Democrats | PES):

7,8% (+0,1)

🌳 GREENS (Center-Left | Green politics | Greens/EFA):

5,2% (-3,4)

✊ Left Party (Left | Democratic Socialists| GUE/NGL):

4,5% (-5,9)

Other:

7.7% (-6.0)

🔗 Deutschland Wählt (@Wahlen_DE)