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Bad Guys

Media watchdog blames hostility toward media on populist, authoritarian leaders

Fiachra Gibbons
AFP
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 21:54 UTC
Honest journalism protester
© teaparty.org
Hatred of journalists whipped up by populist and authoritarian leaders is degenerating into violence across the world, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned Thursday.

And the number of countries where journalists can work safely is plummeting, its annual World Press Freedom Index revealed.

Political leaders' hostility towards the media "has incited increasingly frequent acts of violence that have fuelled an unprecedented level of fear and danger for journalists," the report added.

"If the political debate slides towards a civil war-style atmosphere, where journalists are treated as scapegoats, then democracy is in great danger," RSF chief Christophe Deloire said.

Comment: This 'warning' from Reporters Without Borders is obvious propaganda for why the MSM has faced such immense failure over the past several years. Lies can only exist for so long until a state of collapse is experienced. We are witnessing this state of collapse and it has nothing to do with 'political leaders hostility' toward the media. The general public's hostility toward the media comes from being repeatedly lied to and deceived. This report is just more of the same tone-deaf deflection, which is why it will not recover any credibility that the media has lost. Own up to your incredible failings. Then we'll talk.

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Bad Guys

Analyst: Sri Lankan officials 'unprepared' for Easter Sunday attacks


RT
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 21:43 UTC
sri lanka church bombings
© Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Soldiers outside St Anthony's Shrine in Colombo
While it's early to draw conclusions, it seems clear that Sri Lankan authorities were unprepared for a series of deadly terrorist attacks, political and geo-strategic expert Javed Rana told RT.

The officials were completely "caught off guard" by the well-planned and coordinated attacks on Sunday morning, the Pakistani-based analyst told RT, because it was "something they didn't expect after 2009 when the Tamil Tigers insurgency was over."
"The Sri Lankan government was in a comfortable zone thinking that the terrorism was all over."
Three packed Catholic churches were targeted by explosions, and three luxury hotels were also hit. Later, two additional blasts struck near the nation's largest city, Colombo. More than 150 people died in the attacks, and hundreds were injured, police said.
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Handcuffs

3 police killed in raid, several suspects in custody in Sri Lanka bombing crackdown


RT
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 21:30 UTC
sri lanka soldiers church attacks
© Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Sri Lankan military stand guard in front of the St. Anthony's Shrine.
Sri Lankan authorities have taken seven suspects into custody, who they believe may be connected with a series of bombings on Easter Sunday. Three police officers were reportedly killed in the raid.

The law enforcement deaths happened when they stormed a safehouse in Dematagoda, an area outside Colombo where the eighth explosion happened, a defense official said. A total of seven people were taken into custody in connection with the bombings.
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Newspaper

Discriminatory Hiring? Microsoft staff are openly questioning the value of diversity

Dave Gershgorn
Quartz
Fri, 19 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Microsoft Diversity
Some Microsoft employees are openly questioning whether diversity is important, in a lengthy discussion on an internal online messaging board meant for communicating with CEO Satya Nadella.

Two posts on the board criticizing Microsoft diversity initiatives as "discriminatory hiring" and suggesting that women are less suited for engineering roles have elicited more than 800 comments, both affirming and criticizing the viewpoints, multiple Microsoft employees have told Quartz. The posts were written by a female Microsoft program manager. Quartz reached out to her directly for comment, and isn't making her name public at this point, pending her response.

"Does Microsoft have any plans to end the current policy that financially incentivizes discriminatory hiring practices? To be clear, I am referring to the fact that senior leadership is awarded more money if they discriminate against Asians and white men," read the original post by the Microsoft program manager on Yammer, a corporate messaging platform owned by Microsoft. The employee commented consistently throughout the thread, making similar arguments. Quartz reviewed lengthy sections of the internal discussion provided by Microsoft employees.

Comment: Diversity and harm: How identity politics is threatening fields where competence is vitally important

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Fire

UK: 3 arrested over West Yorkshire moorland fire on hottest day of year so far


BBC
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 20:31 UTC
Ilkley Moor
© David Shepherdson
A wide area of Ilkley Moor, pictured here at 22:15 BST on Saturday, was well alight
Three men have been arrested after a large fire took hold on moorland in West Yorkshire.

Firefighters tackled flames covering 25,000 sq m on Ilkley Moor on Saturday, with helicopters making water drops.

West Yorkshire Police said the men, aged 19, 23 and 24, remain in custody for questioning while inquiries continue.

Bradford Council reiterated a warning for walkers to stay off the moors as crews were damping down.

A police spokesperson said a smaller fire took hold on a different section of the moor on Saturday, with investigations under way to see if it is connected to the larger blaze.

Comment: While irresponsible people (or arsonists) may be to blame for causing this fire, the unseasonably dry and warm conditions that enabled it to happen are quite unusual, and this is the case throughout particular parts of the world and which also seem to be a continuation from last year. Meanwhile in other parts of Europe are seeing much lower temperatures bringing snow, hail and flooding: And from last year: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: California Wildfires, Climate Change, And The Impossible Brexit

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Handcuffs

Yellow Vests, 'eco-anarchists', pot smokers: 750 arrested in one day by London police


RT
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 03:20 UTC
protest London
© Reuters/Kevin Coombs
Extinction Rebellion protest in London, Britain April 20, 2019.
London's jails are at capacity and officers are worked to the bone as police tried to maintain law and order at a range of different protests across the city, making hundreds of arrests.

Outside Westminster Palace, coppers grappled with pro-Brexit protesters, still incensed that Theresa May's government has made no discernible progress on exiting the European Union. Clashes were reported, as police wrestled one yellow vest-clad protester to the ground.

Far larger than the now-commonplace Brexit protest were the six-day, citywide 'Extinction Rebellion' climate demonstrations. Occupying intersections, holding yoga classes on bridges and forming impromptu drum circles, these demonstrators demanded that the British government "tell the truth about climate change" and cut carbon emissions to zero by 2025.

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Health

Massive resurgence of cholera hits Yemen


Sputnik
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 17:09 UTC
Yemeni baby
© AP Photo / Hani Mohammed
According to reports coming out of war-torn Yemen, a minimum of one-third of cholera cases reported in a new outbreak of the deadly disease are children under the age of five.

Charity organization Oxfam has released information detailing that Yemen is at risk of a "massive resurgence" of cholera, as an estimated 195,000 cases have been currently reported for 2019 alone.

"Fears that the world's worst cholera outbreak could be set for a massive resurgence are growing," noted the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam) relief organization on Thursday.

Aid agencies and medical outreach groups are struggling to reach those in need, the relief agency reported, even as a Saudi-led military coalition stocked with the most recent US weapons continued operation against armed Houthi force in the country.

Comment: From 2017: Saudi Arabia donates $66.7 million to stop Yemen cholera crisis as it continues to bomb and blockade it

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Pirates

ISIS claims responsibility for yesterday's attack on Afghan ministry


RFE/RL
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 17:20 UTC
ISIS in Afghanistan
The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an Afghan government building that killed at least seven people on April 20.

According to a statement published by the militant group's Amaq news agency on April 21, the assault on the Communications Ministry headquarters in downtown Kabul was carried out by four IS followers.

The Afghan affiliate of IS, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan, has been active in the war-torn country since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and U.S. forces.

Afghan officials said the attack on the ministry began with an explosion at the entrance of the building in a busy commercial area of the city, followed by gunfire.

Police said a bomber blew himself up outside the ministry, clearing the way for the other attackers to enter the building and the heavily guarded government compound in central Kabul.

Nasart Rahimi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said four civilians and three soldiers were killed during the attack, which lasted several hours. Eight civilians were wounded, he said.
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Eye 1

Well done, Zuck: Facebook used distraction of Mueller report to sneakily change information on Instagram password scandal - 'thousands' of accounts became millions


RT
Sun, 21 Apr 2019 16:15 UTC
instagram
© Energepic.com / Pexels
Facebook has been caught stealthily updating a weeks-old blog post regarding password security on Facebook and Instagram, on the same day the Mueller report was released.

The company admitted on March 21 that it had failed to securely store users' passwords, logging them and storing them unencrypted in plain text. The problem was initially detected as far back as January.

An hour before the Mueller report was released on Thursday, Facebook spin doctors amended the number of Instagram users affected from "tens of thousands" to "millions." Quick maths.

Comment: Facebook hack leaves 50 million accounts compromised; linked 3rd party apps affected too

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Mr. Potato

Crybaby #Resistance journalist has 453-tweet meltdown over Mueller: 'It was collusion, buy my book'


RT
Fri, 19 Apr 2019 03:56 UTC
Seth Abramson
© CNN
September 2017. Seth Abramson appears on CNN in happier days.
The Mueller report left some of President Donald Trump's conduct up for debate, but clearly stated no collusion with Russia took place. Not for one journalist, who launched a Twitter crusade to prove otherwise...with 453 tweets.

Beginning on the evening before Attorney General William Barr's pre-report press conference, Newsweek columnist and English professor Seth Abramson set out to live-tweet the report's release. Helpfully, Abramson pointed out that he's the bestselling author of Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America.

Clearly, he found some things to disagree with in the Mueller report - which showed the exact opposite - going on an epic rant in 453 tweets of anger, disbelief, and white-hot liberal rage, (condensed here for easy reading).

Comment: A #Resistance Lefty's mental desintegration chronicled in real time. Fascinating.

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