(2020-09-05). Frenchman with incurable disease to livestream his death. yenisafak.com A Frenchman suffering from a rare and incurable condition is livestreaming his death on social media as he refuses to take food, drink or medicine after President Emmanuel Macron turned down his request for euthanasiaAlain Cocq, 57, who has been suffering from a degenerative disease for 34 years, has said he would livestream his death on Facebook from Saturday morning."So I have finished my last meal … I drink to your health one last time. The road to deliverance begins and, believe me, I am happy," Cocq said in a video posted on Friday night and shot from his medicalised bed at his home in Dijon, eastern Franc…
(2020-09-05). Pandemic Reflexes: Lockdowns and Arrests in Victoria, Australia. dissidentvoice.org Ugly. Rough. Police in the Australian state of Victoria muscling their way in. The father and children watching. It had all arisen because the pregnant mother in question had engaged in conduct defined as incitement. In a post on her Facebook page, Zoe Buhler had urged Victorians to protest the coronavirus lockdown rules over the …
(2020-09-04). Likes for chunks? Istanbul-based influencer caught using luxury Lamborghini as… watermelon-selling counter (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com 
If your strategy for social media fame isn't yet fruitful, try following the lead of this rising Instagram star, who deems a mid-engine sports car fit to sell watermelons from and has grown his followers base into the bargain. | Always there for his loyal fans, both online and offline, the Iranian influencer The choice…
(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). Coronavirus assistance for university students in Germany—a calculated fraud. wsws.org Since June, angry and indignant posts have been mounting on social media accusing the government of ignorance and inaction, disregarding the needs of roughly a million students in need of assistance.
(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…
(2020-09-04). The Boy Scouts Can Do Better Than Teaming up With Trump's EPA. commondreams.org Logan, Taaffe, BSA District Executive in Washington, D.C, recites the Scout Oath before EPA Administrator Wheeler and National Capital Area Council, BSA Scout Executive Craig Poland sign a Memorandum of Understanding at the Boy Scouts Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 17, 2020 (Photo: US EPA/YouTube screengrab) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bsa_epa.jpg …
(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). 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). 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). 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). What's behind the U.S. ban on TikTok? workers.org 
With more than 100 million monthly users in the U.S., nearly 70% of whom are ages 13-24, TikTok has quickly become a wildly popular, short-video social media app. Owned by Chinese corporation ByteDance Ltd., TikTok is the sixth most popular social media app worldwide, according to usage statistics compiled in . . . |
(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). 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). 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 …
(2020-09-02). 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). 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.
(2020-09-01). 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). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Health Care Personnel in the New York City Area. jamanetwork.com This seroprevalence survey study describes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seropositivity among health care workers at a New York City—based health system by age, sex, race, county of residence, and prior PCR-confirmed viral exposure.
(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). 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.