Republican senators push FCC to act on Trump social media order

0

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Four Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review whether to revise liability protections for internet companies after U.S. President Donald Trump urged action.

FILE PHOTO: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

Trump said last month he wants to “remove or change” a provision of a law that shields social media companies from liability for content posted by their users and directed a U.S. Commerce Department agency to petition the FCC to take action within 60 days.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Kelly Loeffler, Kevin Cramer and Josh Hawley asked the FCC to review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and “clearly define the criteria for which companies can receive protections under the statute.”

“Social media companies have become involved in a range of editorial and promotional activity; like publishers, they monetize, edit, and otherwise editorialize user content. It is time to take a fresh look at Section 230 and to interpret the vague standard of ‘good faith’ with specific guidelines and direction,” the senators wrote.

Trump signed an executive order that seeks to curtail their legal protections after Twitter added a notice that one of his tweets violated its rules for “glorifying violence,” shortly after it slapped a fact-check label on another of his tweets against voting by mail. It was the first time Twitter had challenged his posts.

Last week, an advocacy group backed by the tech industry filed suit asking a judge to block the executive order.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who in 2018 said he did not see a role for the agency to regulate websites like Facebook, Alphabet’s Google and Twitter, declined to comment on potential actions in response to Trump’s executive order. He told reporters on Tuesday it would not be appropriate to “prejudge a petition that I haven’t seen.”

The White House declined to comment.

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said on Tuesday the order poses a lot “of very complex issues.”

O’Rielly said earlier “as a conservative, I’m troubled voices are stifled by liberal tech leaders. At same time, I’m extremely dedicated to the First Amendment which governs much here.”

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Bill Berkrot

Source link

Forever 21 Sale: Up to 50% off Summer Styles


Forever 21 Sale: Up to 50% off Summer Styles | Entertainment Tonight


































Source link

‘Morally Impossible’: Some Advertisers Take a Timeout From Facebook

Facebook reacted differently, allowing the same statement to go unflagged.

Around the same time, companies were struggling with how and whether to address the worldwide demonstrations prompted by the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died last month in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned him to the ground. On June 2, in an effort that became known as Blackout Tuesday, many advertisers posted images of black boxes instead of paid ads, a gesture intended to show support for the protests.

“They began to realize that all of their messaging was off-target,” said Rishad Tobaccowala, a former advertising executive who is now an author and marketing adviser.

Facebook generates 98 percent of its revenue through ads. It netted $17.4 billion from advertising in its most recent quarter. The pandemic has hurt advertising sales in general, and some companies are still “incredibly challenged,” said Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s vice president for global marketing solutions. Blackout Tuesday “really had a very significant role on our platforms,” Ms. Everson added, with hundreds of companies pausing their spending.

Since then, ad revenue has mostly recovered for the company, she said, although several companies have been slow to return as they adjusted their messaging. Nike, Anheuser-Busch and others each slashed their daily Facebook and Instagram spending by more than $100,000 in early June, according to the advertising analytics platform Pathmatics.

Some smaller advertisers — including authors, therapy providers and payment companies — described their break from Facebook as a protest against the platform and its subsidiaries.

Simris, an algae-growing business in Sweden, wrote in a LinkedIn post that it was “vitally dependent on digital marketing” but unwilling to “continue to enable a sick system with our funds.”

“The current developments have now rendered it morally impossible for us to continue feeding the same hand that complacently offers its services as the major platform for hate-mongering, promotion of violence, and disinformation,” the company wrote.



Source link

President of Burundi dies after cardiac arrest, according to government

0

“The government of the Republic of Burundi present their most sincere condolences to the Burundian people in general and to his afflicted family. Burundi has just lost a dignified son of the country, the President of the Republic, a Supreme Guide of National Patriotism,” the statement said.

“He was an example for all Burundians, of someone who loved and respected God, the government of the Republic of Burundi asks the Burundian people to stay calm and serene and to guide his Excellence the President of the Republic with many prayers.”

The government of Burundi has declared seven days of mourning and the country’s flag will be flown at half-staff in memory of the late president, the statement read.

Nkurunziza was 55 and had served as president of the central African country since 2005, including a controversial third term that critics said violated the country’s constitution. Scores died in pre-election violence, as demonstrators rallying against Nkurunziza’s candidacy were met with deadly force by police.

Nkurunziza survived a failed coup attempt by an army general in 2015 while the President was in Tanzania.

In March 2019, the UN Human Rights office in Burundi was forced to close following concerted pressure from Nkurunziza’s government. He did not run for a fourth term in presidential elections held in May.

Nkurunziza was replaced in the May 2020 elections by a candidate from his ruling party, Evariste Ndayishimiye, after announcing he would not seek another term. According to the ruling party, Ndayishimiye won the election with more than 68% of the vote.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that outgoing Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Source link

NHK Apologizes For Clip Attempting To Explain Black Lives Matter Protests To A Japanese Audience

Japanese public broadcaster NHK apologized on Tuesday for a video that had been intended to explain the racial injustice protests in the United States, but depicted what critics called caricatures of Black people and a misrepresentation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The video was produced as part of a Sunday episode of NHK’s program “Kore De Wakatta! Sekai No Ima” (Now I Understand! The World Now), which explains international events to a Japanese audience. While the full episode was a “26-minute segment [which] reported that the protests in the U.S. were triggered by the death of George Floyd,” according to the English apology distributed by NHK, the offending clip, which made its way to the show’s Twitter account, was a cartoon which lacked this context and was blasted by viewers who said it featured racist stereotypes. 

Since deleted from the show’s official account but preserved elsewhere on Twitter and YouTube, the cartoon shows protesters destroying property and stamping their feet while a Black man facing the camera yells that the poverty gap in the United States, as well as the fact that “the average white person has seven times more assets than us” has caused racial tension. The man also mentions the COVID-19 epidemic disproportionately affecting Black communities as the Japanese characters for “corona” appear in an ominous sky above him.

NHK’s apology explained that the clip was “aimed to show the hardships, such as economic disparity, that many African Americans in the U.S. suffer.”

“However, we have decided to take the clip offline after receiving criticism from viewers that it did not correctly express the realities of the problem,” the statement reads. “We regret lacking proper consideration in carrying the clip, and apologize to everyone who was offended.”

The clip attracted condemnation from a variety of voices on both Japanese and English Twitter, including Joseph M. Young, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and Japanese professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, who has a Haitian father and has spoken out in support of Black Lives Matter in the past.

Harsh words were lobbed at the depiction of Black people in the clip, as well as the lack of mention of police brutality. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck as he repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” 

Japanese scientist and visiting Tokyo Institute of Technology professor Kenichiro Mogi, who has previously critiqued the quality of NHK’s programming on his YouTube channel, called the clip a “really ill-thought-out animation” in a new video, arguing that was emblematic of a recent trend of NHK “dumbing down” the presentation of politics.

“When they are dealing with such serious matters as the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, which has deep and complicated historical backgrounds, you really shouldn’t misrepresent the issue,” Mogi said. “This particular program misrepresented the whole movement … as if it was a confrontation between white people and Black people — the economically affluent and the economically underprivileged … This inequality itself was something the makers of this NHK program didn’t understand.”

On the same weekend that NHK’s video was released, hundreds of protesters in Tokyo and Osaka took to the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, according to The Japan Times. The plight of ethnic minorities facing police brutality within Japan was also highlighted, with demonstrators speaking out against the treatment of a Kurdish man who told Reuters he was shoved to the ground by Tokyo police on May 22.



Source by [author_name]

Burundi president dies of illness suspected to be coronavirus

The outgoing president of Burundi has died of a sudden illness, suspected by many to be Covid-19.

The cause of Pierre Nkurunziza’s death was described as a heart attack in a government statement. The 55-year-old was due to stand down in August following elections last month.

It was unclear exactly when he died. A government statement said the president, a keen sports enthusiast, had attended a game of volleyball on Saturday but fell ill that night and was taken to hospital. 

The former footballer’s health improved on Sunday but “surprisingly, on morning of Monday June 8, 2020, his health suddenly deteriorated and he had a heart attack”. The statement described Nkurunziza’s death as “unexpected” and asked people to remain calm. Seven days of mourning have been announced. 

Nkurunziza had refused to impose restrictions in the small and poor African country, allowing sporting events and mass political rallies to go ahead. 

Speculation about the cause of his death has been fuelled by unconfirmed reports that his wife was flown to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, 10 days ago after contracting Covid-19.

Authorities in Burundi have been accused of deliberately playing down the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected 197,000 people on the African continent and killed more than 5,000.

Source link

German defense chief: No ‘official’ word from Trump on troop pullout

0

Donald Trump hasn’t said anything to Berlin about withdrawing U.S. troops from Germany, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Tuesday.

The White House has put forward a plan that would reduce U.S. forces in Germany by nearly 28 percent — from roughly 35,000 to a maximum of 25,000, following through on threats that Trump and his team have issued repeatedly in recent years while accusing Germany and other NATO allies of not spending enough on their militaries.

The proposed drawdown, which is widely viewed as beneficial to Russia, was not recommended by U.S. military commanders, current and former U.S. officials said. And numerous European officials and former U.S. officials have spoken out against the plan, saying it could severely undermine NATO’s deterrence efforts and noting that the troops in Germany also serve U.S. security interests.

But in an interview on Tuesday for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a U.S.-headquartered think tank, Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted that Germany had no confirmation of Trump’s plan, which was reported first by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, and then confirmed by POLITICO and other news organizations.

“First of all, there’s no official confirmation of these plans,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said when asked about the plan during the live-streamed interview on Tuesday. “The story has only been published in one media outlet, and as long as we don’t have an official confirmation, no reaction is needed.”

Her remarks were surprising because NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Trump by telephone on Monday, and a NATO official said that they had discussed the “U.S. military posture in Europe as they always do.”

There was no indication that Trump consulted or briefed NATO officials or allies about his plan beforehand. And Trump’s penchant for blindsiding allies with unilateral action, such as his announcement of a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria in November, has drawn criticism from other leaders.

In response to the Syria pullout, which put the U.S. in conflict with Turkey, another NATO ally, French President Emmanuel Macron said that NATO was experiencing “brain death.”

During the German Marshall Fund interview, Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted that Germany remained in contact with other allies.

“We are of course in close communication with our partners at all levels, especially with the Pentagon,” she said. “For us, it is quite clear that the presence of American troops is important for Germany. It is important for NATO. But it is likewise important for the United States’ own security and this has always been an asset to the White House policy and so far nothing has changed.”

Germany’s top defense official did not explain why these contacts had not provided official clarity on such an important matter.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said she did not doubt the U.S. commitment to NATO but noted that it was a presidential election year in America, and suggested that was a factor in recent developments.

“We assume the loyalty of all NATO partners,” she said. “There is no question about that, and we see some common interests that still apply. These are the interests that the Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon in particular both share. We participate jointly in numerous missions, for example in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.”

She added, “Yes, we can see at the moment that the election campaign is gaining momentum in America, and this is also a time of some very special domestic political discussion at the moment in the U.S.”

A senior State Department official said the plan to pull troops out of Germany was pushed by former U.S. ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell. “It was not an inter-agency discussed, broadly socialized decision,” the official said.

Current and former U.S. military officials in Washington and in Europe said the Department of Defense had not been notified in advance of Trump’s decision to withdraw the troops from Germany. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army Europe, called the decision a “colossal mistake.”

A White House read-out of the call between Trump and Stoltenberg on Monday made no mention of the issue of troop levels in Europe, but referred to Trump’s desire for NATO to increase its operations in the Middle East, which he has pushed for since the targeted killing by the U.S. of the Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.

“The president and the secretary general discussed close cooperation between NATO allies on defeating the coronavirus pandemic and strengthening our resilience,” a White House spokesman said. “The two leaders also discussed progress on NATO increasing its role in counterterrorism and stabilization efforts in the Middle East, as well as the latest developments in Afghanistan. The president and the secretary general agreed that the Taliban must reduce violence and all parties should move swiftly to begin intra-Afghan negotiations toward a political settlement.”

Stoltenberg, asked about Trump’s plan during a public event before the phone call on Monday, said he would not comment on “media leaks” or “media speculation” and then reverted to a point he has repeatedly made, that the U.S. military presence in Europe has increased during Trump’s time in office.

A NATO official said U.S. force levels have shifted periodically over the years.

“In general, we have seen that the U.S. presence in Europe has been constantly adjusted over the last decades,” the official said. “It went down after the Cold War, but over the last few years, the U.S. has strengthened its military presence in Europe, and not just in Germany.”

Nahal Toosi and Lara Seligman contributed reporting from Washington. 



Source by [author_name]

‘Topple the racists’: statue wars escalate in Britain

“This cannot continue. We must ensure that we celebrate the achievements and diversity of all in our city, and that we commemorate those who have made London what it is – that includes questioning which legacies are being celebrated.”

The Canal and River Trust announced on Tuesday morning that it would remove from London Docklands a large statue of Robert Milligan, a slave owner who founded the city’s once-booming West India Docks. A crane hoisted the statue off its plinth by the evening.

Thousands also defied social distancing rules to gather at the University of Oxford and demand the removal of a statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes, which narrowly survived a campaign for its relocation in 2016. Historians claim the businessman and politician harboured racist and colonialist views and was an early architect of apartheid.

Oxford council leader Susan Brown wrote to the university’s Oriel College on Tuesday encouraging them to seek planning permission to take down the Grade II-listed statue and put it in a museum.

She said the removal of a significant statue would ordinarily be allowed only “in the most exceptional circumstances”.

“But these are exceptional circumstances, and as a city council we are keen to work with Oriel to help them find the right balance between the laws that protect our historic buildings and the moral obligation to reflect on the malign symbolism of this statue.”

Thousands demonstrate outside the University of Oxford’s Oriel College, demanding the removal of statue of Cecil Rhodes.Credit:Getty

Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott – a Rhodes scholar – has previously said Oxford should be “clear-eyed about Rhodes’ faults and failings” but warned removing the statue would reflect poorly on the famous university.

Other critics of the anti-statue campaign argue the movement represents an airbrushing of history and is a distraction from Britain’s deadly coronavirus emergency. 

Police are on alert ahead of major demonstrations planned for this weekend. The statue of Colston – a 17th century slave trader whose philanthropic activity has been commemorated on buildings and streets throughout Bristol – was torn of its plinth, dragged through the street and thrown into the harbour following years of debate over its future. A statue of former prime minister Winston Churchill in central London was also vandalised on the same day.

Loading

A group of activists involved in the UK’s Stop Trump Coalition have now set up a website where 60 targets are identified on an interactive map.

The website, titled ‘Topple The Racists’, does not directly encourage the toppling of statues but suggested it was “up to local communities to decide what statues they want in their local areas”.

There is particular pressure to remove a prominent statue of Sir Thomas Guy, a businessman who made his fortune selling slaves to the Spanish colonies. Guy funded the creation of the London Bridge hospital, which still bears his name.

The London mayor conceded his review into the city’s statues, monuments and street names could be hampered because many are under private ownership but insisted it would create momentum for change.

The statue of Sir Thomas Guy outside Guy's Hospital in central London.

The statue of Sir Thomas Guy outside Guy’s Hospital in central London.Credit:Getty

‘When you look at the public realm – street names, street squares, murals – not only are there some of slavers that I think should be taken down, and the commission will advise us on that, but actually we don’t have enough representation of people of colour, black people, women, those from the LGBTIQ community,” he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have condemned the destruction of statues.

Most Viewed in World

Loading

Source by [author_name]

Who was George Floyd, the man who sparked a movement?

As George Floyd is laid to rest in Houston, family members and friends remember the man who spawned a movement.

According to those who knew him, he was a man who drew people in with his kindness, in the Third Ward of Houston where he grew and everywhere else he went. 

More:

Floyd was remembered by family members as a man everyone wanted to be around. Philonise Floyd, George’s brother, said he was like “a general” that everyone wanted to follow.

Growing up in a single-parent household, Floyd was remembered as a loving, supportive and guiding presence by his siblings at a memorial in Minneapolislast week.

“He was like a big brother,” Terai Lawson, who grew up in Houston, told National Public Radio in an interview that aired on Tuesday morning.

Terai is the younger brother of Ortierre Lawson, Floyd’s friend and former football team mate.

Terai said Floyd took an interested in his sports life. “I always mysteriously see him in the stands, watching me play basketball all the way through high school,” Terai said.

An avid sportsman

Ortierre, who played football with Floyd at Yates High School, remembered him as a man who carried the team through challenging times with his good nature and support.

At practices in the blistering Houston heat, their football coach would not allow water breaks, Ortierre said. To help his team get through the tough practices: “Someone like Floyd would bust out singing,” Ortierre remembered in conversation with NPR.

“When he would start singing and the whole team would start singing.”

Floyd helped the football team make the state championships during his time at Yates High School. State championships are a monumental accomplishment in Texas, where football is often considered a second religion for residents.

Floyd was an avid sportsman. He was 6’4″ (194cm) and loved basketball. He was a huge fan of LeBron James, star player for the Los Angeles Lakers who made his mark on basketball with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“He was the biggest LeBron James fan,” Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams recalled at his eulogy service in Minneapolis. When James won the championship with the Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA finals, Floyd was elated.

“When the [Cavaliers] came back on the Golden State Warriors in the Finals, and I remember the very first phone call. I told him, ‘You’re too happy. You sound like you won a championship.’ “

Floyd responded: “Man, you know how I feel about LeBron. I did win a championship”.

Outpouring of support

James commented on Instagram about Floyd’s killing by former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin on May 26, juxtaposing the image of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck with that of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick protested against police brutality and racial injustice by taking a knee during the US National Anthem at football games starting in the 2016 season.

Kaepernick received support from many but was also criticised by the NFL and others, even Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for his protest.

James captioned his post with “Do you understand NOW”?


James also posted a photo of himself wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “I can’t breathe”, which were the last words of both Eric Garner, killed in New York in 2014, and Floyd.

Michael Jordan, another legendary basketball player, said his “heart goes out” to the Floyd family in a May 31 statement.

A life cut short

After graduating from Yates in 1993, Floyd wen tot South Florida Community College where he played basketball for two years. He then transferred to Texas A&M University in Kingsville, where played basketball until he dropped out.

Floyd was also a musician, rapping with a group called the Screwed Up Click in Houston’s hip-hop scene in the 1990s.






Mourners pay tribute to George Floyd

Floyd went to prison in 2009 after armed robbery and home invasion charges were brought against him.

He was paroled in 2013 and returned to Houston, where residents say he supported and upheld the community as a leader and mentor.

Floyd moved to Minneapolis in 2014 to look for employment. He worked as a truck driver and bouncer there, until he lost his job due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, shortly before his death.

Floyd was 46 when he died. He is survived by five children. 

Chauvin, the officer who held Floyd down, had his third-degree murder charge upgraded to second-degree murder and also faces a second-degree manslaughter charge.

The three other officers present when Floyd was killed face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four have been fired from the Minneapolis police force. 

Floyd’s death sparked a movement that is drawing calls to defund the police, but according to DJD, another Lawson brother and friend of Floyd who spoke to NPR, he cannot help but remember his “brother”. 

“To see one of your best friends on TV all day long … it’s just another person to everybody and a movement to everyone else. But it’s a friend to me. I don’t see George Floyd. I see Big Floyd.”



Source link

Fans mourn the death of Jarabe de Palo’s lead singer Pau Donés

Artist Pau Donés, lead singer of the popular Spanish rock band Jarabe de Palo, died Tuesday at the age of 53 after battling cancer, his family confirmed on social media.

“The Donés Cirera family reports that Pau Donés died on June 9, 2020, as a result of the cancer he suffered from since August 2015,” the family’s Instagram post said in Spanish while also thanking the medical team that helped treat Donés’ illness. “We ask for the utmost respect and intimacy in these difficult times.”

The singer-songwriter, guitarist and vocalist from Spain blessed fans worldwide with timeless hits such as “La Flaca,” (The Skinny Girl) “Depende,” (Depends) “Agua,” (Water) “Bonito,” (Pretty) among others.

A fan on Twitter said Jarabe de Palo was “one of my fave Spanish groups” and “loved” listening to Donés’ voice in hits such as “De vuelta y vuelta” (Around and Around) and “Depende,” which are “some of the most beautiful songs you’ll ever hear.”

In 2015, Donés said he was retiring from his musical career to seek treatment for colon cancer. A year later, it was announced that he was cancer-free.

Jarabe de Palo, a Latin Grammy-nominated band, had been largely absent from the stage and social media over the past few years — except two sold-out shows the band performed six months ago in Barcelona to raise money for cancer research and the band’s 20th anniversary tour in 2018, when Donés announced his official retirement.

However, Donés had announced a comeback by posting a video on YouTube last month titled “Vuelvo” (I’m Back). Jarabe de Palo released a new single titled “Eso Que Tu Me Das” (What You Give Me), two weeks before his death.

“Rock en español won’t be the same,” said María Magdalena, a fan, on Twitter.

“I’m absolutely heartbroken,” Stephanie Laterza, another fan, tweeted. “His music will live forever.”

“Fly high, Pau. His music is part of the soundtrack of my life. High school would not have been as fun without ‘La Flaca,'” said Mónica Feliú-Mójer on Twitter.

“We are saddened by the passing of Pau Donés. Our deepest condolences to his family, fans and Jarabe de Palo,” the Latin Recording Academy tweeted.

Fellow Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz wrote a heartfelt social media post to say goodbye to Donés and his legacy.

“Pau, I don’t know what to say to your family. Because I find it hard to hold back tears, I can’t imagine them. Thank you for the light you shed on your short but precious life and thank you for your friendship. A hug from the bottom of my soul to your family. Rest my friend,” said Sanz.

Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.



Source link