

I found a statement from an Australian official that claims to speak on behalf of Canada and New Zealand as well, but it’s from October 16th, so not sure if it’s the same reasoning.
Thank you Chair,
I have the honour to deliver this explanation of vote on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and my own country, Australia.
CANZ members are strong supporters of the right of all peoples to self-determination.
We will continue to promote the full implementation of Article 73 of the UN Charter.
CANZ continues to work across the United Nations’ decolonisation agenda.
We abstained from voting on this resolution for three reasons.
First, there are already a number of existing resolutions on colonialism under consideration by the Fourth Committee.
Second, the resolution contains proposals that go against the spirit and intent of the UN80 Initiative and the UN General Assembly Revitalisation process.
The Secretary General’s UN80 mandate report of 12 May 2025 called for ways to “avoid duplication and ensure strategic use of resources across the UN system”. The GA Revitalization resolution (A/Res/79/327) noted “with concern the significant increase in the number of proposals to proclaim international days” and called for restraint on new mandates. CANZ shares these concerns regarding the proliferation of international days and their resource implications.
Third, this resolution is being introduced by a sponsor whose voting rights are currently suspended in the General Assembly.
Chair, it must also be re-stated in this Committee that one of the co-sponsors of the resolution - a permanent member of the UN Security Council - is actively undermining the decolonisation agenda by waging an illegal war to reassert imperial control over an independent sovereign state.
Russia’s illegal war of aggression undermines the UN Charter which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
Our collective commitments to uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity are intrinsic to decolonisation.
Chair,
CANZ remains open to good faith discussions on innovative solutions to the complex issue of self-determination.
Thank you.
Here is Article 73: https://legal.un.org/repertory/art73.shtml


Here’s the article. It’s an excellent read: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-destroying-the-university-and-learning-itself


Sounds like Geoffrey Hinton got in Bernie’s ear and did a good job convincing him of the fears. Hinton is a good guy, but he’s drunk too much of his own kool-aid. I think the bubble will pop at some point, but I’d prefer the fear-mongering over the hype, because the AI companies and governments do need more scrutiny.


Already happened with Discord. 70,000 government IDs leaked. https://discord.com/press-releases/update-on-security-incident-involving-third-party-customer-service


Excellent read, thanks for sharing.


It was a reasonable assumption, but the distribution didn’t pan out that way.


It is 49% of the population. I did the math: https://lemmy.ca/post/56198025/20385158


I did the math and it’s 49.37% of the population, based on the 2024 census data, or 49.94% if you exclude Puerto Rico and D.C. I suppose mostly due to Texas and Florida being in the list, but also Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina with over 10M people each.
Based on the table from Wikipedia, and the list of states in the article.
| State | Population (2024) | Requires Age Verification | Population Requiring Age Verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 39,431,263 | 0 | |
| Texas | 31,290,831 | x | 31,290,831 |
| Florida | 23,372,215 | x | 23,372,215 |
| New York | 19,867,248 | 0 | |
| Pennsylvania | 13,078,751 | 0 | |
| Illinois | 12,710,158 | 0 | |
| Ohio | 11,883,304 | x | 11,883,304 |
| Georgia | 11,180,878 | x | 11,180,878 |
| North Carolina | 11,046,024 | x | 11,046,024 |
| Michigan | 10,140,459 | 0 | |
| New Jersey | 9,500,851 | 0 | |
| Virginia | 8,868,896 | x | 8,868,896 |
| Washington | 7,958,180 | 0 | |
| Arizona | 7,582,384 | x | 7,582,384 |
| Tennessee | 7,227,750 | x | 7,227,750 |
| Massachusetts | 7,136,171 | 0 | |
| Indiana | 6,924,275 | x | 6,924,275 |
| Maryland | 6,263,220 | 0 | |
| Missouri | 6,245,466 | x | 6,245,466 |
| Wisconsin | 5,960,975 | 0 | |
| Colorado | 5,957,493 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | 5,793,151 | 0 | |
| South Carolina | 5,478,831 | x | 5,478,831 |
| Alabama | 5,157,699 | x | 5,157,699 |
| Louisiana | 4,597,740 | x | 4,597,740 |
| Kentucky | 4,588,372 | x | 4,588,372 |
| Oregon | 4,272,371 | 0 | |
| Oklahoma | 4,095,393 | x | 4,095,393 |
| Connecticut | 3,675,069 | 0 | |
| Utah | 3,503,613 | x | 3,503,613 |
| Nevada | 3,267,467 | 0 | |
| Iowa | 3,241,488 | 0 | |
| Puerto Rico | 3,203,295 | 0 | |
| Arkansas | 3,088,354 | x | 3,088,354 |
| Kansas | 2,970,606 | x | 2,970,606 |
| Mississippi | 2,943,045 | x | 2,943,045 |
| New Mexico | 2,130,256 | 0 | |
| Nebraska | 2,005,465 | x | 2,005,465 |
| Idaho | 2,001,619 | x | 2,001,619 |
| West Virginia | 1,712,278 | 0 | |
| Hawaii | 1,446,146 | 0 | |
| New Hampshire | 1,409,032 | 0 | |
| Maine | 1,405,012 | 0 | |
| Montana | 1,137,233 | x | 1,137,233 |
| Rhode Island | 1,112,308 | 0 | |
| Delaware | 1,051,917 | 0 | |
| South Dakota | 924,669 | x | 924,669 |
| North Dakota | 796,568 | x | 796,568 |
| Alaska | 740,133 | 0 | |
| District of Columbia | 702,250 | 0 | |
| Vermont | 648,493 | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 587,618 | x | 587,618 |
| 343,314,283 | 169,498,848 | ||
| 49.37% |


I’m not sure if there are protests specific to each of these companies, but if you’re near one of them, it may be worth trying to start something local.
I’ve mostly been attending the protests run by Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto who had a hand in writing these reports. https://linktr.ee/pymtoronto also check out https://www.findaprotest.info/


The latest report names these companies for using the loophole to route parts through the US.
https://armsembargonow.ca/nomoreloopholes/
The previous report (July 2025) had a longer list. They shipped parts to Israel, often via European countries and as cargo on passenger flights.
https://armsembargonow.ca/report/
Plus 19 other companies not explicitly researched in that report, but known to ship military parts to Israel: Apex Industries, Arconic / Howmet Aerospace / Kawneer Company Canada, ASCO Aerospace Canada Ltd., ATP / Veryon / Casebank, BAE Systems, Ben Machine Products, Collins Aerospace, Curtiss-Wright, Cyclone Manufacturing, Excelitas, Gastops, GeoSpectrum Technologies, Héroux-Devtek, Honeywell Aerospace, Inkas, Kraken Robotics, Magellan Aerospace, PCC Aerostructures Centra, TTM Technologies Inc. (formerly Viasystems Toronto Inc.),


I don’t use Instagram, but I check in on the profile for the Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto every so often https://www.instagram.com/pymtoronto
More info about them here: https://linktr.ee/pymtoronto
There’s also https://www.findaprotest.info/


Here’s the video on PeerTube: https://video.canadiancivil.com/w/s9BYtH94oZj1hMyQhg8VY5


Nice! Thanks for sharing.


Good call, I’ll mention Patreon in my future emails.


Yup, that’s why I’m asking them to use the alternative as a secondary, not a primary platform. I just want the option for now, we’ll have to see how things shake out in terms of monetization a few years from now.


It’s fine to call this out, but please consider judging the article on its content. Here’s an archive link: https://archive.is/2NfW7


People who care about privacy, myself included, should not shy away from the real consequences of the technology, especially when the profit motives of big tech are involved. I’d recommend listening to the podcast series in my other comment. I think there’s a lot that can be done to hold SnapChat and Meta accountable for their lax protection systems that do not require draconian anti-privacy laws. So if you care about privacy, you should at least support that approach to reducing real and devastating harm.


Related: TVO did an excellent six-episode podcast series featuring CCCP’s “Project Arachnid” software which scans the web for CSAM. It’s a tough subject, but really good journalism: https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/arachnid-hunting-the-webs-darkest-secrets


There ought to be a legal fund for these deepfake lawsuits so we can sue every one of these scummy companies out of existence. I’d donate to it.
They posted a series of other AI-related blogs in July, August, and October: