(2020-09-04). Six complexities of these pandemic times. mronline.org 
Social media, in March 2020, was awash with rumours. Swans and dolphins could be seen in totally deserted Venetian canals. A group of elephants marched into a village in Yunnan (China), drank corn wine, and went to sleep in a tea garden.
(2020-09-04). What to Expect in Trump's America. counterpunch.org "'The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected." — President Trump, Tweet President Trump is extending his narrative from Make Me Great Again to Law & Order and protecting suburban women from low renters. Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden wants to focus the narrative on the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn, both
(2020-09-04). Turkish foreign minister meets KRG head Barzani. yenisafak.com The Turkish foreign minister met with the President of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in the capital Ankara on Friday.In a Twitter post, Mevlut Cavusoglu said he hosted KRG President Nechirvan Barzani and his delegation.The Turkish minister said the two officials discussed bilateral relations and the joint fight against the PKK terrorist group.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also receive Barzani at the presidential complex.Prior to his arrival in Ankara, Barzani met with French President Emmanuel Macron and held a round of meetings with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad, including Prime Minister Mustafa Al-K…
(2020-09-03). Brazil: Federal Court Restitutes Disputed Land to Pataxo People. telesurenglish.net Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Thursday put out an order to cease the evictions of Pataxo people, an Indigenous community in Bahia state. | RELATED: | "Minister Gilmar Mendes of the STF has just decided in favor of the community, also suspending the decision of the judge from Eunápolis for not complying with the decision of the STF. Double victory of the Patax people!" tweeted Indigenous rights' activi…
(2020-09-03). Facebook Removes Right-Wing Disinformation Network. telesurenglish.net Facebook Tuesday informed it eliminated a U.S.-based disinformation network that was financed by Bolivia's Interim government as the company considered it a threat to democracy. | RELATED: | Besides posting information in favor of Bolivia's coup-born regime, such a network targeted Latin American users and offering them publications in support of political groups opposing Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and…
(2020-09-03). Wisconsin man who says he marched with Rittenhouse in Kenosha was immersed in White Supremacist propaganda. mronline.org 
Ryan Balch, a 31-year-old Wisconsin man who joined Kyle Rittenhouse and a contingent of militia conducting armed patrols in Kenosha, used his social media accounts to link to a Nazi propaganda video.
(2020-09-03). No joke zone: Twitter mob CANCELS Twenty One Pilots' frontman Tyler Joseph for visual pun on 'using platforms' for social issues. rt.com 
Tyler Joseph, member of the American pop band Twenty One Pilots, had to go through a round of self-flagellation for the crime of ridiculing the use of social media for public good, raising the ire of the online mainstream. | Joseph had employed a little bit of creativity to take a swipe at fans that apparently urged him to spread some socially-important message across various social media platforms. | The 31-year-old musician uploaded a pair of photos of himself wearing extremely high platform trainers. "You guys keep asking me to use my platforms. Feels good to dust these bad boys off," reads the caption to t…
(2020-09-03). Socialist Equality Group in Turkey condemns attack against Tƒ∞P deputy after threats from interior minister. wsws.org Sosyalist E≈üitlik unequivocally condemns the attack on Barƒ±≈ü Atay, who was physically assaulted by a mob in ƒ∞stanbul after Interior Minister Sàºleyman Soylu threatened him on social media.
(2020-09-03). Facebook to block new political ads before US election. yenisafak.com Facebook said Thursday it would not accept new political ads in the week before the US presidential election.The move announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg aims to "help secure the integrity of the US elections by encouraging voting, connecting people to authoritative information, and reducing the risks of post-election confusion," according to the company.It said it would remove posts that claim people will get COVID-19 if they take part in voting."We'll attach a link to authoritative information about the coronavirus to posts that might use COVID-19 to discourage voting," the company said in a statement. It will als…
(2020-09-03). Facebook's Business Model Thrives on the Virality of Hate. counterpunch.org A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, "Facebook's Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics," has blown the lid off Facebook's unholy alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the right-wing ruling party in India. In the August 14 article, WSJ reporters Newley Purnell and Jeff Horwitz detail how Ankhi Das, Facebook's high-flying public policy director
(2020-09-02). US Embassy Lies about Funding Thai Protests. thealtworld.com 
The US Embassy in Bangkok has boldly lied about extensive US government funding and support for current, ongoing protests in Thailand as public awareness grows of unrest's real agenda. | Khaosod —
(2020-09-02). NYT columnist goes for a jog, sees no mayhem and declares that New York's alleged surge in crime is a 'nonexistent crisis'. rt.com 
Paul Krugman, the Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, has figured out that the doom and gloom over rampant violence and lawlessness in the largest US city is unfounded hysteria over a "nonexistent crisis." | All he needed to find the truth of the matter and prove the alarmists wrong was to go for a jog in the city Wednesday morning. "Am sorry to report that I saw very few black-clad anarchists," Krugman tweeted after his run. "Also, the city is not yet in flames." | I went for a belated NYC run this morning, and am sorry to report that I saw very few black-clad anarchists. Also, the cit…
(2020-09-02). 'Inconsistent' with city's values? DC mayor seeks to remove, relocate & rename dozens of memorials, including WASHINGTON Monument. rt.com 
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has ordered a reevaluation of public spaces and monuments to ensure their names and 'legacies' are consistent with modern values, sharing the results soon after warning the US is headed for a "race war." | The list of properties for consideration was posted to Bowser's Twitter on Tuesday, all named after major US historical figures. The reevaluation was intended to determine whether any of the namesakes "in some way encouraged the oppression of African Americans and other communities of color or contributed to our long history of systemic racism." | This July, I tasked the DCFACES Workin…
(2020-09-02). Elementary school students forced to use Taco Bell parking lot for internet in Salinas, California. wsws.org Photos circulated on social media this week showing children sitting in a parking lot in order to use their internet to do homework.
(2020-09-02). Facebook Threats and News Opportunities. globalresearch.ca News and information can only go so far. Despite the utopian fluffiness about having multiple platforms, the consumers of news want only one thing: the reassurance that their prejudice is secure and their world view left unchallenged. The reader of …
(2020-09-02). Good Riddance: Facebook Threats and News Opportunities. dissidentvoice.org News and information can only go so far. Despite the utopian fluffiness about having multiple platforms, the consumers of news want only one thing: the reassurance that their prejudice is secure and their world view left unchallenged. The reader of Rupert Murdoch's Sun would dare not venture into the sinned waters of The Guardian. Those …
(2020-09-01). Social justice warriors pillory GameSpot for National Guard ad; didn't they hear the military backs Biden now? rt.com 
Progressive-minded social justice gamers are up in arms over the videogame website GameSpot's ad partnership with the Army National Guard, apparently unaware the military is supposed to be on "their" side in the upcoming election. | Woke videogamer Twitter melted down on Tuesday over two tweets by GameSpot — not to be confused with the retailer GameStop — in which an Army National Guard sergeant talks about upcoming games, followed by a link to their esports page. | So this is what everyone is freaking out on
(2020-09-01). Facebook threatens to block Australians from SHARING NEWS, as Big Tech & media battle for ad revenue. rt.com 
Australian Facebook users may soon find themselves unable to share news, the social media giant has warned, citing a new law which has pitted Big Tech firms against major media outlets demanding a cut of their revenue. | The draft regulation, proposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), would mandate that platforms such as Facebook and Google give news organizations a piece of their digital marketing earnings. While supporters of the law argue the platforms unduly benefit from hosting news content, Facebook insists the ACCC "misunderstands the dynamics of the internet," and that the r…
(2020-09-01). Joe Rogan podcast fans cry 'censorship' as many episodes with conservative guests did not make it to Spotify. rt.com 
The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the most popular podcasts in the world, finally landed on Spotify, as part of a lucrative, exclusive deal. Now fans are wondering why some episodes featuring conservative guests are missing. | One of the Spotify-excluded guests, Mikhaila Peterson, the daughter of prominent self-help author Jordan Peterson, tweeted on Tuesday about her episode not being on the platform. She called the situation "straight up censorship," and pointed out that some other episodes were also nowhere to be found. | This is straight up censorship. This is absolutely ridiculous. My episode with Joe is #…
(2020-09-01). Zuckerberg to donate $300 million to ensure Covid-safe US elections as Facebook hunts for Russian disinformation. rt.com 
Mark Zuckerberg has said he will donate $300 million to help ensure a "secure" election process amid the Covid-19 pandemic, while Facebook remains on the prowl for alleged "foreign interference" from Russia. | Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced on Tuesday that they will donate the hefty pile of cash to "two non-partisan organizations" — the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the Center for Election Innovation & Research. The donation will help with the highly controversial mail-in voting system and go towards ensuring safety measures at polling stations. | "There will be historic levels of v…
(2020-09-01). Facebook Hires an Israeli Censor. thealtworld.com Israel's defenders both in the political realm and in the media have long used every weapon available to stifle any criticism of Israeli racism and its oppression of the Palestinians. In particular, the use of "anti-Semitism" as something like a tactical discussion stopper in deliberations about the Middle East has long been a staple of both American and European politics. It is freely employed to end all dispute while also condemning those accused of the crime to being somehow outside the pale, monsters who are consigned forever to derision and obscurity. But the Israelis and, to be sure, many diaspora Jews know…
(2020-09-01). China Claims US Abuses National Security to Ban Its Apps. telesurenglish.net China's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying denounced that the United States is abusing the concept of "national security" to veto more Chinese technology companies and mobile applications after actions against Huawei, TikTok, or WeChat. | RELATED: | This attitude "is not doing any good to the United States," said Hua, and showed his hope that Washington would reconsider its stance given that "Chinese co…
(2020-09-01). Joe Rogan's Chats With Conservative Guests Mysteriously Missing From Spotify Podcast Archives. sputniknews.com The golden age of podcasts is marred by the deplatforming of some voices. The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the most popular podcasts out there, hit Spotify on Tuesday without several high-profile guests.
(2020-09-01). Woman Catches Thieving Goat 'Red-Handed' With Mail From Letter box, Video Goes Viral. sputniknews.com A video of a goat stealing letters from a letterbox and chomping on it has gone viral and is garnering a lot of funny reactions. Posted by a woman named Ila Mazingo from Alabama, United States, she witnessed this sight in the middle of a road and couldn't resist capturing it in a camera.
(2020-09-01). US Congress hails Turkey's coronavirus aid to Maryland. yenisafak.com The US-based Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC) said US Congressional Record recognized the contribution of the committee and Turkey in fight against coronavirus."US Congressional Record recognizes TASC and Republic of Turkey in fight against COVID-19 in Maryland and the United States," the TASC tweeted late Monday."@RepDavidTrone @StateMaryland We Turkish Americans stands with American people. Be Negative on COVID, Stay Positive on Life," the commitee added.Trone addressed the House of Representatives to express his gratitude for the "generosity" of Turkish Americans and their "gracious" suppor…
(2020-09-01). Top EU diplomat meets with Libyan premier. yenisafak.com EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met on Tuesday with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and his government in the capital Tripoli.The leaders discussed how to advance with the political process to preserve the cease-fire announced by warring parties last month, Borrell wrote on social media. | Borrell and Sarraj also spoke about resuming negotiations between military delegations of the Libyan government and warlord Khalifa Haftar. | Borrell also mentioned the possibility of lifting the sanctions on oil trade, but he insisted on keeping the UN arms embargo, calling it a key "to bring the Libyan conflict to…