Category Archives: Viva!

Powerful Winter Storm Pummels the U.S. East Coast : Image of the Day

A rapidly intensifying Nor’easter brought snow, ice, gusty winds, power outages, travel delays, and flooding to millions.

Source: Powerful Winter Storm Pummels the U.S. East Coast : Image of the Day

Report: 909 violations against Palestinian journalists in 2017

PNN/ Ramallah/

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced the summary of its annual report for freedoms 2017 in special press conference on Wednesday.

The report recorded 909 violations between 1-1-2017 and 31-12-2017, including 740 by Israeli and 169 local violation by Palestinian authorities in West Bank and Gaza.

PJS president, Nasser Abu Baker focused in his opening speech on the dramatic increase in the number and nature of these violations, he also mentioned that the FAJ will gather today in Cairo to discuss the Palestinian situation.

“With this sharp escalation in the Israeli violations against our journalists, it is shameful to see increase in violations by local authorities” Abu baker said.

The PJS president condemned Facebook step in closing 158 Palestinian accounts based on Israeli request.

To his part, president of the independent commission of human rights “ICHR” Ammar Dowik praised the role of journalists, mainly in field, as they face high risk of Israeli violations. He mentioned also the partnership between ICHR and PJS in following up the violations and dealing with its.

Deputy minister of the ministry of media Mahmoud Khalifah said that the Israeli violations against the Palestinian journalists targets their narrative and aims to prevent the truth.

The Head of freedoms committee in PJS Mohammed Allaham introduced the main indicators and numbers in the report. The report said the second half of last year witnessed higher percentage of violations, the highest months were December followed by July.

Allaham said that the nature of violations in 2017 was different. “October witnessed Israeli closure for 8 offices of 3 media production companies by military orders, with raiding and closing 2 radio stations, two journalists were sentenced by 2 years because of their professional activities as journalists, financial panelty targeted 25 journalist and 28 journalists still in Israeli jails”.

The main numbers and indicators in the report are:

– The total violations in 2017 were 909, with 37% increase from 2016 numbers.

– Israeli violations are 740 “81% of the total” and the Palestinian violations are 169 “19% of the total”.

– Israeli violations in 2017 are more than 2016 by 183 violation “33% increase”.

– Palestinian violations in 2017 are more than 2016 by 64 violation “61%” increase.

– The highest violations recorded in Jerusalem by 137 violations “18% of the total”, followed by Hebron and Ramallah.

– Last December witnessed 147 violations, all by occupation forces, “20% of the total”, with increase by 406% from December 2016.

– December Also witnessed organized incitement campaign by Israeli media and social media against Palestinian journalists.

– The journalists have faces new violations by Palestinian authorities in nature, mainly the electronic crimes law, blocking and prohibiting 29 websites since last June, arresting the journalists Foad Jaradah in Gaza for 2 months, and arresting 7 journalists in WB with sentencing some of them.

Mark Zuckerberg sets toughest new year’s goal yet: fixing Facebook

Just saying – what broke it? Loving the ad dollars and growing likes and members which drives ad dollars – Greed can’t be fixed.

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CEO reveals this year’s ‘personal challenge’ as site faces relentless criticism over spreading of misinformation and damage to users’ mental health

Amid unceasing criticism of Facebook’s immense power and pernicious impact on society, its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced Thursday that his “personal challenge” for 2018 will be “to focus on fixing these important issues”.

Zuckerberg’s new year’s resolution – a tradition for the executive who in previous years has pledged to learn Mandarin, run 365 miles, and read a book each week – is a remarkable acknowledgment of the terrible year Facebook has had.

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Melvin Carter : Mayor of St. Paul Swearing In Ceremony

Melvin Carter was sworn in yesterday as mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. He becomes the first African-American mayor in the city’s 164-year history. http://pic.twitter.com/Wyp5Jw6GAs

— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 3, 2018

FYI: Meet Sharon Sayles Belton. First African-American Woman Mayor of Minneapolis

PRESENT, FUTURE, HISTORY— PROGRESS

Tax cuts as a route to cutting Social Security

Pseudo-religions – GOP right wing – are alike in deluding themselves that they are caring folks and not vultures feeding on those with less buying power than them.

Systemic Disorder

Conservatives are fond of saying that if you give a man a fish you can feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish you can feed him for a lifetime. This is supposed to tell us that social benefits, such as government programs, are bad for people. A much better example of conservative thought would be to say if I put a fence at the entrance to the pier and don’t let anyone else have access to the water, I can have all the fish for myself.

Let those peasants starve! Such a privatization of fish isn’t distant from the actual mechanics of class warfare as it is practiced, unfortunately.

Take the latest salvo in the ongoing class warfare, United States edition, the coming assault on Social Security. Curious as to why the Republican Party’s mania for balanced budgets suddenly vanished? I mean, besides the…

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