Twitter no longer to allow political advertising
Jack Dorsey, of the social media platform Twitter, has said his app. will no longer carry political advertising on the platform that he created, citing the danger of false information undermining the democratic process. His move has been lauded by those who think that recent shocks in the political world, specifically the decision of Britain, through a referendum, to leave the European Union, and the election of Donald Trump, both of which occurred in 2016 were influenced by fake news. The amount of false information placed on social media is legend, much of it on Facebook. Unfortunately, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has refused to rule out accepting political advertisement, even if it is blatantly false. He claims users of Facebook will people able to surmise what is real or fake.
While media companies have to adhere to strict standards concerning the veracity of information they publish, social media companies are under no such restrictions. This has created a situation whereby fake news proliferates unhindered and does indeed influence the minds and decisions of many voters. Similarly, there are legal limits on how much money can be funneled towards campaigns, but no such limits are established for how much people can give towards political advertising on social media. Society always lags behind technological advances and has yet to adequately deal with the fake news phenomenon, which has had profound, and often nefarious, effects on the practice of democracy.
Official is whipped due to law he helped put into practice
In the Indonesian province of Aceh, an official who was instrumental in implementing Shariah (Islamic) Law there, received a dose of his own medicine. Convicted of having an affair with a married woman, he received 28 lashes with a whip while the married woman received 23.
Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The government is ostensibly secular and Aceh is the only province to adopt Shariah law. Breaching this law includes such offenses as stealing (amputation of hands), apostasy (crucifixion), illicit sex (public flogging or death by stoning), drinking alcohol (40-80 lashes) among others.
Flat Earth Convention in São Paulo
The city of São Paulo in Brazil will hold the first ever flat earth convention where people who believe that the earth is in fact flat will gather to exchange ideas and theories. According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, 7% of Brazilians believe that the earth is flat.
Adherents to this view, that most people might find incredulous, believe the fact that what we see in our daily lives, walk on, drive on, etc. proves the world is flat. Antarctica is believed to be a kind of wall which protects the earth and prevents the seas from spilling over to some other undefined place. The internet has given a boost to this belief, which has also been bolstered by conspiracy theories about NASA and the idea that the missions to the moon were staged in Hollywood studios to bilk taxpayers out of money.
Groups advocating theories based on faulty science, such as the anti-vaccination movement, have found fertile ground on the internet where the veracity of things tends to take second place to their impact or the impression they leave.
Trump impeachment
The House of Representatives of the US Congress has voted to impeach Donald Trump for conduct considered criminal. In a phone call with the president of Ukraine, of which a transcript exists, Trump suggested that US military aid to that country, close to US$400 million, would only be released if an investigation was launched into Hunter Biden, son of former vice-president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden. Soliciting help from a foreign government to investigate or destabilize a political opponent is illegal and it seems Trump has done this.
The Democrats were wary of launching this impeachment process since in an already polarized country, such a process could further divide people. They argued, however, that after this latest intervention by Trump, they had no choice. If found guilty in the House, the case moves to the Senate whereby the president would be tried by this body. In order to be removed from office, the senate must confirm his guilt with a 2/3 majority. In political terms, this is an almost impossible result since that would mean that 15 Republican Senators would have to vote affirmatively, an extremely unlikely outcome.
Proponents of impeachment argue that Trump’s ethical breaches are almost serial, his relationship with the truth tenuous, and his respect for the institutions that underlie US democracy non-existent. The latest Ukraine episode is just one in a series of the president’s attacks of democratic process which illustrates his unfitness to be president.
Defenders of the president say that from the start of his presidency, there has been a witch hunt to remove Trump from office from Democrats who cannot accept that he won the election in 2016. Even if there was “quid pro quo” in the Ukraine affair, that is not an impeachable offence according to Trump supporters. And they question how Hunter Biden, a lawyer with no experience in the energy sector, got a job on the board of one of Ukraine’s biggest energy companies. Did that have something to do with his father being vice president at the time?
The Trump saga continues.
Pollution in India
The government of the city of New Delhi, India’s second biggest urban center with over 11 million inhabitants, has distributed over 5 million masks to students in the school system due to the toxic pollution enveloping the city. Authorities have been forced to declare a public emergency. The pollution is 20 times that which the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization. According to the BBC, all construction work has been halted, the circulation of cars heavily reduced and fireworks banned.
Two factors have contributed to the current state of pollution. At this time of year farmers burn off crop stubble to clear their fields. This state is compounded by the Diwali Festival, an event accompanied by smoke spewing fireworks. The smoke is so intense that it is being picked up by satellite photos.
The no-fur queen
Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom´s longest reigning monarch, has decided to forsake using fur vestments, a move applauded by several animal rights groups as well as segments of the general population. This follows the move by two major fashion brands, Gucci and Prada, who have recently pledged to give up fur. The queen will now wear fake fur at any events she attends where the temperature requires heavier clothes.
For years, activists have been badgering the fashion industry and clamoring for it to give up using fur. Especially vocal and forceful in their actions has been PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) who have been known to throw fake blood on models who use fur. Opponents to fur cite the cruelty inflicted on animals to produce fur, and according to FAADA (Foundation for Counselling and Action in Defense of Animals), 45 million animals are slaughtered annually. It takes between 60-80 minks to make a mink coat. This is progress.
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