The ghosts of 1968 are haunting Barack Obama, which is tremendously unfair, I say as his coeval, given that our cohort spent the Chicago Democratic Convention sticking baseball cards in our bicycle spokes rather than pelting Mayor Daley’s finest with porcine epithets. But guilt by association is ironclad in these days when American political discourse is controlled by hall monitors and tattletales. Obama’s friendship—acquaintance?—with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn is about to get extended play as the Republicans contrast Obama’s Weatherfriends with their nominee’s stint in the Hanoi Hilton.
When the Left Was Right
Tag: Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred
Roger Waters Draws Outrage From Israel Over Berlin Concert
Roger Waters has drawn outrage for wearing a uniform onstage this week that resembles those worn by Nazi SS officers—even though Waters’ outfit is from The Wall film and has been a key part of the former Pink Floyd frontman’s anti-fascist political commentary for years. Waters, 79, walked on stage in the black uniform featuring the two hammers logo from The Wall villain’s garb, while “In the Flesh,” the corresponding song from the film, played in the venue. He held a fake rifle and pretended to fire it; and the names of Anne Frank, Masha Amini, George Floyd, and Shireen Abu Akleh appeared on the Jumbotron overhead. The aggressive anti-establishment vibe culminated with Waters singing “Lay Down Jerusalem (If I Had Been God)” while the message “F$%& the occupation” showed onscreen behind him. It was a common display of political activism for Waters, but it sparked a slew of outrage online—particularly for Waters donning the outfit while in Germany and for using Anne Frank’s name in the performance. “Good morning to every one but Roger Waters who spent the evening in Berlin (Yes Berlin) desecrating the memory of Anne Frank and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust,” Israel’s official Twitter account posted Wednesday.
Roger Waters Draws Outrage From Israel Over Berlin Concert Outfit (archived)
‘Coincidentally’, he’s now being investigated.
To Be Updated: USAID is sponsoring YouTube channels
How Democracy Can Win: The Right Way to Counter Autocracy
The most important step the United States can take to counter foreign influence campaigns and disinformation is to help our partners promote media and digital literacy, communicate credibly with their publics, and engage in “pre-bunking”—that is, seeking to inoculate their societies against disinformation before it can spread. In Indonesia, for example, USAID has worked with local partners to develop sophisticated online courses and games that help new social media users identify disinformation and reduce the likelihood that they will share misleading posts and articles.
The United States has also helped Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. For decades, USAID has worked to enhance the media environment in the country, encouraging reforms that allow greater access to public information and supporting the emergence of strong local media organizations, including the public broadcaster Suspilne. After Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, our work expanded to help the country’s local journalists produce Russian-language programming that could reach into Kremlin-occupied territories, such as Dialogues With Donbas, a YouTube channel that featured honest conversations with Ukrainians about life behind Russian lines. We also helped support the production of the online comedy show Newspalm, which regularly racks up tens of thousands of views as it skewers Putin’s lies. And even before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, we worked with the government of Ukraine to stand up the Center for Strategic Communications, which uses memes [memetic warfare], well-produced digital videos, and social media and Telegram posts to poke holes in Kremlin propaganda.
I still need to look into Newspalm. I’ll update if I find anything. As I don’t know Ukrainian, or Russian, I’m using Google translate for the following information. Note, this is all speculation!
Speculation:
Read More »Ukrainian Hitlist Mirotvorets Using Facial Recognition Tech
French-Canadian journalist Guy Boulianne has reported on his website that the online database known as Mirotvorets (or Myrtvorets — meaning “Peacekeeper”) has been using a facial recognition technology known as NeuroIdentigraf to improve its search for “enemies of Ukraine” around the globe.
Ukrainian Hitlist Mirotvorets Using Facial Recognition Tech (archive)
Disinformation, Absolutely + Sharp wind from the Bundestag
By Patrick Lawrence / Original to ScheerPost
1. Everything you will read in this commentary is disinformation.
2. To say that this commentary contains disinformation is disinformation.
3. To say statements calling this commentary disinformation are disinformation is disinformation.
Disinformation, Absolutely
Related:
People who try to report on the war in Ukraine from the Russian side or who try to provide humanitarian aid to those in need in the new Russian territories are excluded from public discourse. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are becoming hollow concepts. In the future, anyone who says something that looks like a “playing down of Russian war crimes” can be punished for “incitement of the people” according to a legislative amendment passed by the Bundestag in summary proceedings on Thursday. By Ulrich Heyden.
The Flaws in the “Assessment” Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on China
By Alfred de Zayas
On 31 August 2022, the last day of Michelle Bachelet’s 4-year tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office released a 46-page document, which I believe should be discarded as propagandistic, biased, and methodologically flawed. This document, which was not mandated by the Human Rights Council and responds to pressures on OHCHR by Washington and Brussels, bears the superficially neutral title “Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region”
The Flaws in the “Assessment” Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on China
Related:
Xinjiang-Related Report Shows OHCHR ‘Serves US & EU Geopolitics,’ Ex-UN Independent Expert Says
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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