Virtual Fighting Becomes Physical

“It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K Le Guin

Facebook Incites Fear and Fighting: Facebook’s business strategy involves maximizing user time on its site and promoting whatever wins the most attention. Studies have found that what produces the highest engagement is that which taps into negative primal emotions like anger or fear. For Western countries, inflaming negative tribal emotions leads mostly to online arguments, angry identity politics, and polarization. Conversely, the same business strategy in developing countries, where institutions are weak and social instability historical, means those same inflammatory rumors become matters of life and death.

Facebook says it prohibits incitement and hate speech, but despite pleas of government officials and advocacy groups, the technology giant has refused to step in when violence-inspiring misinformation and hate-filled rumors have led to real-world attacks. In 2012 religious riots in India were linked repeatedly to Facebook misinformation. In 2017, Facebook rumors not only led to Indonesian locals lynching outsiders they thought were coming for their children, but also contributed to ethnic cleansing against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority. And in Sri Lanka, where the Facebook newsfeed is synonymous with the internet, extremists with wide followings on the platform have spread rumors of a Muslim plot to wipe out the country’s Buddhist majority, goading members of Sinhalese-language Facebook groups to carry out attacks on Muslims and Muslim-owned businesses and homes.

This proverb is clearly not true anymore when it comes to the digital and physical realm: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Additional Reads: “Aleksandr Kogan, the Cambridge University academic whose app has set off the firestorm about online user data, says he’s considering suing Facebook.”

Facebook hired Campbell Brown, a former news anchor for NBC and CNN, as head of news partnerships in 2017 as part of its efforts to repair a frayed relationship with the news media. Now people are wondering – “Is Facebook’s Campbell Brown a Force to Be Reckoned With? Or Is She Fake News?”

-For all the excitement over North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s announcement he will suspend nuclear testing and close up a major test site as a lead up to a summit meeting with President Trump, one cannot help but be reminded of the similar excitement surrounding former president Bill Clinton’s hoped-for visit with Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, in 2000. Back then all signs were go until the US learned North Korea would agree to stop making missiles, stop selling missiles, but absolutely would not give up the missiles it had. (CBS News and CNN)

-India’s economy runs mostly on a cash basis, so people were really frustrated when, for the second time in 18 months thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies, the ATMs were all empty. (NYT)

–Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he will write a $4.5 million check to cover this year’s US commitment to the Paris climate agreement. (The Guardian)

-The case of Swedish journalist Kim Wall’s murder has gripped Denmark and Sweden since last year. A verdict will soon be reached in the case against her accused killer, Danish rocket and submarine builder, Peter Madsen. (The Guardian)

-“Nut rage” has caused outrage and the resignation of two Korean Air employees. The chair of the airline, Cho Yang-ho, has apologized for the “immature actions” of his two daughters and announced they would both immediately resign from their company posts following two separate controversies. One incident involved his oldest daughter, who kicked a cabin member off a plane for serving her macadamia nuts in a bag instead of a bowl. Perhaps she missed her daily dose of the Pnut? (The Guardian)  

More News Reads:

–Mexico and EU reach new trade deal (CNN)

–Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 57 Afghans in Kabul (NYT)

–Trump, Macron to face differences on Iran, trade, as French visit begins (Reuters)

–Pentagon: U.S.-South Korea military exercises will not shrink despite potential Kim talks (Washington Post)

–Four presidents come together to pay tribute to Barbara Bush (CNN)

-US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, himself the focus of numerous critical presidential tweets, apparently leans heavily on his hand-picked chief deputy, Rod Rosenstein. Recently Sessions told the White House he might have to leave his jobif Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, is fired. (Washington Post)

-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is currently under investigation for allegations of unchecked spending, ethics lapses and other issues, including his interactions with lobbyists. But a review of real estate and other public records from Pruitt’s political career in Oklahoma show undisclosed relationships with people and entities that may have illegally benefitted Pruitt, and almost certainly violated state ethics laws. Two of those people have top positions in the EPA. And one of those, who was barred from working in the finance industry due to a banking violation, runs the country’s Superfund program. (NYT)  

-President Trump has promised many times to put “America First,” including twice during his inaugural address. The long and darkly disturbing history of that phrase, from the country’s brutal legacy of slavery and white nationalism, immigration and xenophobia, has been lost on mainstream America, but it is alive and well in underground fascist movements. (The Guardian)

The caravan of migrants from Central America has started arriving at the US border. On Friday about 50 people reached Tijuana, Mexico, across from San Diego, California. Only about half of the 1200 people who arrived at Mexico’s border weeks ago will make it to the US. Mexican officials deported about 400 who originally arrived for violating their country’s immigration laws, and gave others the option to stay in Mexico. Some did. Others continued northward. Most say they are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries and will turn themselves in to US authorities in hopes they can convince immigration judges to let them stay.

International law requires a country to consider the claims of people seeking asylum, which is a protected status allowing people fleeing persecution to live legally in another country. Earlier this month President Trump ordered National Guard troops to the border for added security. The administration agrees with immigration hard-liners who say existing asylum procedures in the US are rife with loopholes that essentially give people who claim fear of persecution a free pass into the country. Those claiming asylum will first be interviewed by immigration officials. If their fear is deemed credible their case will be referred to an immigration judge. As they await a hearing they will be held in a detention center anywhere from days to years, depending on the case. In the past some people with pending asylum cases were released on parole, something the president had railed against. There is no guarantee to an attorney for those pleading their case in immigration court, and statistics show most asylum seekers from Central America are sent back home.

Casper is celebrating its 4th birthday of helping people sleep better and helping them wake up feeling well rested, healthier, and ready to seize the day. Casper has perfected their “pillow-in-a-pillow” that is made of millions of fibers that are 1/20th the width of a human hair. The Casper pillow is resilient, supportive and soft. It’s universally comfortable, no matter what position you end up sleeping in.

And as part of Casper’s birthday party they are providing a special offer of 10% off any order that includes a mattress. This sale ends today so don’t miss out on this celebration!

–Every time you run a search online, the websites where you maintain an account can record that information. This data—collected and stored by Google, Facebook, and Amazon (to name a few)—won’t disappear when you erase your browser’s search history. (Popular Science)

–Florida detectives investigating the fatal shooting of a man by police went to a funeral home and used the deceased man’s finger to try to unlock his cellphone, but were unsuccessful. Most legal experts agree that what the detectives did was legal, but question whether it was appropriate. (The Guardian)

-Scientists are getting much closer to using genetic evidence to reconstruct past human migrations. Methods for extracting DNA from bones of ancient humans have improved, and due to the hard work and brilliance of Harvard geneticist David Reich and his colleagues, “we now have efficient methods for analyzing whole ancient human genomes, not just the few percent contributed by mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome.” (NYT)

-This year’s Boston Marathon unfolded with terrible weather conditions that included horizontal rain and freezing temperatures. The winning times for both men and women were the slowest since the 1970s, but finishing rates varied significantly by gender. For men, the dropout rate was up almost 80 percent from 2017; for women, it was up only about 12 percent. Overall, 5 percent of men dropped out, versus just 3.8 percent of women. Why? (NYT)

-“What It’s Like to Live in America Without Broadband Internet: In every single state, a portion of the population doesn’t have access to broadband, and some have no access to the internet at all.” (Motherboard)

–TIME’s Most Influential People 2018 (TIME)

–When to Wage War, and How to Win: A Guide by John Lewis Gaddis (NYT)

–Five ways China’s past has shaped its present (BBC)

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

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