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Showing posts from September, 2017

Germany’s social media law may force Facebook to be judge, jury, and executioner of free speech

The German government’s controversial new law, which aims to crack down on hate speech on internet platforms, comes into force today (Oct 1). But while it seems like a progressive step towards combatting this issue, there are concerns that the move could lead to excessive censorship due to the level of fines social media platforms face. Passed earlier this summer, the law will financially penalize social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, if they don’t remove hate speech—as per its definition in Germany’s current criminal code—within 24 hours. They will be allowed up to a week to decide for comments that don’t fall into the blatant hate speech category. The top fine for not deleting hate speech within 24 hours is €50 million ($59 million)—though that would be for repeatedly breaking the law, not for individual cases. The hope is that the prospect of eye-watering fines will force the social media giants to tackle the problem, something they promised and have specta
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Catalans defy Spain, turn out for banned independence vote

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Thousands of Catalans gathered at designated polling stations on Sunday morning as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2yQxRBY October 01, 2017 at 10:23AM
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I’ve fallen for a married woman in my netball team | Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup tells a woman having an affair with a married woman that she should not get entangled any deeper The dilemma I have started a physical relationship with a woman I met playing netball a few years ago. I was attracted to her immediately, but she was aloof, though eventually we became friends. At a few socials she tried to kiss me, but I politely refused knowing she was married. Then we started working in the same company and one evening, drunker than usual, I made a move and we’ve progressed from there. It feels really good when I’m with her, we’re into the same things and I enjoy her company. Continue reading... The Guardian http://ift.tt/2x6Dl9O October 01, 2017 at 08:59AM
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Heather Heyer's mother on hate in the US: 'We're not going to hug it out. But we can listen to each other.'

Heyer was killed when a car plowed into counter-protesters after a white supremacist rally in Virginia. Her mother reflects on trying to build a global movement in her daughter’s name Related: Heather Heyer, victim of Charlottesville car attack, was civil rights activist Recently, someone sent Susan Bro a T-shirt and a stack of bumper stickers that read “Just be nice”. She gave the shirt to her mother, who had always told her that: be nice. Bro has no interest in being nice, and she has no interest, just now, in forgiveness. Her 32-year-old daughter, Heather Heyer, was killed seven weeks ago when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Nineteen other people were injured. The man charged with Heather’s murder was a 20-year-old from Ohio who had demonstrated that day alongside a white nationalist group and had, a former teacher recalled, a longstanding fascination with Hitler. Continue reading... The Guardian http
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Ox Club: ‘They know what they’re doing’ – restaurant review

This Leeds restaurant claims to be all about fire and smoke, but its kitchen is far more sophisticated than that Ox Club, 19a The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PU (07470 359961). Meal for two, including drinks and service: £80 Stacked up in front of the white tiled bar at Ox Club in Leeds are brown paper sacks of “British Barbecue Charcoal” alongside piles of kindling, both provided by the Leeds Coppice Workers . It’s a co-operative that manages woodland and sells the resulting kindling and logs. Three decades after I finished my degree in Leeds, the existence of the company makes my heart twang with nostalgia. Leeds is a big-boned city, full of Victorian heft; in the 80s the details of glowering façades were picked out in diesel grime. But even so you always felt the rugged presence of the countryside to the north, of the rocky outcropped hills and the clefted valleys. The existence of Leeds Coppice Workers suggests that the dialogue between town and country continues. As does this restaurant
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Will robots bring about the end of work?

Automation looks set to replace many jobs in the next few decades. What work will be left for humans to do? Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has a simple way to predict the future. The future is simply what rich people have today. The rich have chauffeurs. In the future, we will have driverless cars that chauffeur us all around. The rich have private bankers. In the future, we will all have robo-bankers. One thing that we imagine that the rich have today are lives of leisure. So will our future be one in which we too have lives of leisure, and the machines are taking the sweat? We will be able to spend our time on more important things than simply feeding and housing ourselves? Continue reading... The Guardian http://ift.tt/2fBUsd8 October 01, 2017 at 10:00AM
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Catalans gather to vote in referendum banned by Spain

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Thousands of Catalans gathered at designated polling stations on Sunday morning as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2yPe3z4 October 01, 2017 at 09:55AM
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we should all support women’s football | Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff

Women’s football is now the country’s fourth-largest participation sport. So why is it still so underfunded and ignored? When I started playing football as an adult, at the beginning of university age 17, I was having panic attacks. It would be perhaps midway through the game, when I was out of breath after a fast sprint and, usually, when I had either messed up a crucial play, or felt so tired that I was worried that I would mess up the next move. Each time, my teammates would rally around me, get me water, teach me how to breathe in a way that would reduce the symptoms. After a while, I stopped having panic attacks altogether. The Sunday afternoons I spent with my football team were some of the happiest and purest of my life so far – a genuine safe space filled with laughter and good exercise, plus a bit of drama when it came to taking on other university teams. I played 11-a-side matches for my full three years at university, leaving with stronger legs and friendships than many of
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Catalans queue early to vote in referendum banned by Spain

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalans started to form queues early on Sunday morning as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2xLDMsh October 01, 2017 at 09:01AM
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70,000 Balinese volcano evacuees had no need to leave, Indonesia says

Unnerved by daily tremors, and uncertain about the exact danger zone, more than half of those who fled could have stayed More than half the 140,000 Balinese who have fled to shelters from a rumbling volcano had no need to evacuate and should return home, Indonesian authorities have said. Unnerved by daily tremors, and uncertain about the exact border of the danger zone – between 9-12km from the summit of Mt Agung – tens of thousands more than necessary have fled. Continue reading... The Guardian http://ift.tt/2yh6mor October 01, 2017 at 08:37AM
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Build Incredible Websites Without Actually Coding, 50% Off Today!

Whether you need a website to spotlight your latest business venture or just want to share your passion project with the world, you can develop a beautiful, modern site with Blocs 2 for Mac. [ more › ] Gothamist http://ift.tt/2fBucjm October 01, 2017 at 09:00AM
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Trump says 'very important' NFL players stand for national anthem Sunday

(Reuters) - On the eve of a host of National Football League games, President Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted that it was "very important" that players stand during the national anthem, following an ongoing controversy over athletes and others kneeling in protest. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2yOQwOE October 01, 2017 at 08:14AM
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Catalans form pre-dawn queues to vote in banned referendum

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalans started to form queues early on Sunday morning as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2g144yI October 01, 2017 at 08:04AM
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Beware the red peril: Indonesia still fighting ghosts of communism

National paranoia resurfaces for anniversary of failed 1965 coup, with anti-communist film revived and mobs rallying against invisible threat Beware the evil communists, warn fearful hoax messages spreading on WhatsApp. Should people come to your village offering free blood tests, they are really trying to infect you with HIV. In some circles in Indonesia it is like the cold war never ended. Even the military is on board with a paranoid campaign against the old red peril. Continue reading... The Guardian http://ift.tt/2g0wvwW October 01, 2017 at 05:30AM
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Trump lays blame on Puerto Ricans for slow hurricane response

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday placed blame squarely on Puerto Ricans for the slow recovery from Hurricane Maria after critics and the mayor of San Juan complained his administration's response to the U.S. territory's plight was insufficient. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2xHgdmO October 01, 2017 at 06:13AM
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Honoré: 'The mayor's living on a cot'

Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré drew a stark distinction Saturday when asked about President Donald Trump's tweets accusing San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of "poor leadership" in her response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero http://ift.tt/2xRQfN8 September 30, 2017 at 08:51PM
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Monty Hall, Host Of 'Let's Make A Deal,' Dies At 96

The unctuous, ingratiating game host was, always, in on the joke, which proved the secret to the his enduring appeal. News : NPR http://ift.tt/2xKAB44 October 01, 2017 at 05:35AM
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San Juan mayor on Trump: No time for this

After President Donald Trump criticized San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz via Twitter, she told CNN's Anderson Cooper she has no time for "small politics" amid Hurricane Maria recovery efforts. CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero http://ift.tt/2fHsgJQ October 01, 2017 at 04:26AM
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Daddy Yankee goes where Uncle Sam isn't

Eyleen Gonzalez lost everything in her home after Hurricane Maria. CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero http://ift.tt/2hEHobj October 01, 2017 at 05:06AM
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Engine breaks up on Air France A380, forcing emergency landing in Canada

Airbus plane taking 520 people from Paris to Los Angeles was diverted to Goose Bay, Newfoundland, following ‘serious damage’ to engine An Air France A380 superjumbo jetliner taking more than 500 people from Paris to Los Angeles made an emergency landing in Canada on Saturday following “serious damage” to one of its four engines, the airline said. “Flight 066 landed without further damage at the Goose Bay military airport in Canada and all of the 520 people on board were evacuated with no injuries,” an Air France spokesman in Paris said. Continue reading... The Guardian http://ift.tt/2wqQWJI October 01, 2017 at 04:23AM
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Brazil's Lula extends lead in 2018 vote despite graft conviction: poll

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva extended his lead in the run-up to the 2018 presidential election despite a corruption conviction that could bar him from running, a poll showed on Saturday. Reuters: Top News http://ift.tt/2x5DMGo October 01, 2017 at 04:08AM
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