Category Archives: Fail!

Facebook takedown: Social media censorship in Philippines? – IFEX – Two faced Facebook fails users…

News broke on June 1 that Facebook had deleted veteran journalist Ed Lingao’s May 24 post that criticized Duterte’s statement that he would allow the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Lingao said the post was deleted for allegedly violating Facebook’s “community standards.” A follow-up post documenting the comments he received from social media users was also deleted. Lingao posted an edited version of his original post but it was also taken down. Facebook restored it later, apologizing for the “mistake.” Lingao, however, was not the only affected Facebook user. Journalists Nonoy Espina and Inday Espina-Varona were barred from posting and commenting in their own Facebook accounts. Espina-Varona said “some other friends in the media, some artists and social activists” had also been suspended from using their account. The Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ (EJAP) official Facebook account, Ejap Pilipinas, was also taken down on June 4 for allegedly violating Facebook’s “authenticity policy.” On June 3, prior to the takedown, EJAP released a statement criticizing Duterte’s remarks about the killing of journalists. Following its removal, the statement circulated in other social media accounts and pages, including that of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

Source: Facebook takedown: Social media censorship in Philippines? – IFEX

British rock band Radiohead slams Islamist attack on fans in Istanbul | News | DW.COM | 18.06.2016

Similar attacks like those on the Velvet IndieGround record store and altercations during gay pride events have taken part also at art galleries in the area in the past. Critics say that Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government under the leadership of the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) has been undermining the country’s secular tradition, culminating in the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013, which resulted in 22 deaths without leading to any change.

Source: British rock band Radiohead slams Islamist attack on fans in Istanbul | News | DW.COM | 18.06.2016

Rebel US diplomats won’t be heard on Syria, ex-ambassador says – France 24 – “51 Neo-Cons in US State Department attempting – along with Neo-Con elements in the press – to con public that US should go to war with Syria!”

It is a message telling Secretary of State John Kerry that the current policy is failing and that it cannot succeed, that it will continue to fail. It is a memo that says that more must be done to put pressure on the Assad government. It is suggesting that we need limited American strikes against Assad government targets so that Assad understands the ceasefire must be respected, and that there must be compromises and more acceptance of the moderate Syrian opposition in the negotiations.

Source: Rebel US diplomats won’t be heard on Syria, ex-ambassador says – France 24

Zakia Jafri’s Fight Isn’t Over: Only 11 Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Gulbarg Massacre – The Ladies Finger

On 28th February, 2002, during the infamous Gujarat riots, 69 people living in Gulbarg Society, a Muslim locality in Ahmedabad, were dragged out of their homes by a Hindu mob. At least 35 were burnt alive, and 69 were killed in total. Over 14 years later, on 2nd June, 2016, a Special SIT Court convicted 24 people of the murders, and yesterday, completed their sentencing. Eleven people convicted for murder were sentenced to life imprisonment. Of the remaining 13 convicted on charges like arson and rioting, 12 were sentenced to a term of seven years imprisonment, while one was sentenced to 10 years. The Court has requested the Centre not to remit the sentences of those accused to life imprisonment even after they complete a term of fourteen years in prison, at which point the Centre has the discretion to remit the sentences. Amongst those brutally murdered in this massacre was Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. His widow Zakia Jafri has been relentlessly fighting for justice for him and the other victims of this massacre for 14 years. In June 2006, she filed a complaint alleging that the police refused to register an FIR against Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and several other ministers and top administrative officials. Her plea went unheard by the Gujarat High Court in 2007. In 2008, the Supreme Court took cognisance of the matter and ordered the Narendra Modi-led government in Gujarat to re-investigate some cases from the riots, including the Gulbarg Society one.

Source: Zakia Jafri’s Fight Isn’t Over: Only 11 Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Gulbarg Massacre – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Back home alone: ​​the viral short narrating street harassment – Red Harvest

The short French ‘Au bout de la rue “(” At the end of the street’), shown in a very simple and clear.   That was published in March on Youtube and in the last hours began viralizarse. The film, directed by Maxime Gaudet shows in just three minutes and seconds how a woman can feel harassed at night if walking alone. And, in a very subtle way, how that live in fear is naturalized.

Source: Back home alone: the viral short narrating street harassment – Red Harvest

Old New York Police Surveillance Is Found, Forcing Big Brother Out of Hiding – The New York Times

“It’s the whole mother lode,” said Gideon Oliver, a civil rights lawyer who two years ago filed a lawsuit on behalf of a historian seeking records about a group that was a target of surveillance. The boxes, according to a written index, contain extensive files about the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam and the Young Lords, as well as public demonstrations and civil unrest. Files on individuals are also among the documents; at least 15 boxes primarily contain photographs, Mr. Oliver said. The city’s Records Department, in a statement, said it was working to develop rules regarding public access to the documents, though no timetable or process has been set.

Source: Old New York Police Surveillance Is Found, Forcing Big Brother Out of Hiding – The New York Times

Russia’s Track and Field Team Barred From Rio Olympics – The New York Times – Let those who test clean now to compete!

Russian authorities have vehemently disputed Dr. Rodchenkov’s account, calling it the “slander of a turncoat.”It is unclear whether the I.O.C. can or will overturn the I.A.A.F.’s blanket ban when it meets on Tuesday. The I.O.C.’s president, Thomas Bach, has emphasized in recent weeks “the difficult decision between collective responsibility and individual justice,” suggesting the possibility that the I.O.C. can allow Russian athletes with clean histories to make it to Rio.

Source: Russia’s Track and Field Team Barred From Rio Olympics – The New York Times

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Alleged killer of British MP was a longtime supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance | Southern Poverty Law Center

According to records obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center Mair was a dedicated supporter of the National Alliance (NA), the once premier neo-Nazi organization in the United States, for decades. Mair purchased a manual from the NA in 1999 that included instructions on how to build a pistol. Mair, who resides in what is described as a semi-detached house on the Fieldhead Estate in Birstall, sent just over $620 to the NA, according to invoices for goods purchased from National Vanguard Books, the NA’s printing imprint. Mair purchased subscriptions for periodicals published by the imprint and he bought works that instruct readers on the “Chemistry of Powder & Explosives,” “Incendiaries,” and a work called “Improvised Munitions Handbook.” Under “Section III, No. 9” (page 125) of that handbook, there are detailed instructions for constructing a “Pipe Pistol For .38 Caliber Ammunition” from components that can be purchased from nearly any hardware store. The NA may be best-known for the work of its now-deceased founder, William Pierce, a former physics professor who also wrote racist novels. One, The Turner Diaries, tells the post-apocalyptic fictional story of a white man fighting in a race war that may have provided inspiration for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The Daily Telegraph also reported that Mair was a subscriber to S. A. Patriot, a South African magazine published by White Rhino Club, a pro-apartheid group. The club describes that magazine’s editorial stance as opposed to “multi-cultural societies” and “expansionist Islam.” According to the Daily Telegraph, a January 2006 blog post attributed to the group described Mair as “one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S. A. Patriot.”

Source: Alleged killer of British MP was a longtime supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance | Southern Poverty Law Center