Category Archives: Curated Stories

“Put the laptop down slowly”

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Internet Control against Turkish Leaks

Mine Gencel Bek

“Put the laptop down slowly from your hand”.

This was a reaction of a twitter user who makes a reference to American action films where we hear police saying “Put the gun down” against a suspect or a criminal with a gun. The slogan revealed the criminalizing official treatment on the  internet which was seen as a gun against the new Internet law numbered 5651 passed on the 6th February with the justification of privacy. The law approved by the President authorizes the Telecommunications Communications (TIB), to block access to websites without court authorization in 4 hours. A person who feels being insulted by a website will be able to apply to the court directly and ask for the blocking the access of the related part in 24 hours. If this timing is too late, the Minister or the Telecommunications Communications will be able to obstruct accessing the related parts in the websites.

The minister responsible of communication and transportation Lütfi Elvan defended the law by arguing that with the authorization of the Telecommunications Communications (TIB) the sufferings of citizens will end:

“Our citizens will not go door to door to the service providers. What will they do? The decision will go to the TIB which will take the necessary steps. Thus the torment of  our citizens will end”.

It was no wonder the PM was in a hurry to control internet with the law. A series of hidden telephone conversations revealed that the PM Erdogan ordered media companies what to write and what not to write, kept shouting at media owners following those news he did not like, many corruptions,  scandals…etc. PM Erdogan claimed these records were not his voice, and fake.

 

The law is not sufficient. What is next? Banning youtube and facebook?

 

After the law was enacted and series of scandals were revealed through internet, PM Erdogan increased the tone of anger in his speeches  “There are other steps we will take after the 30 March” (after local elections).

 

He declared that they may ban youtube and facebook soon. The Minister of Transport defended that as such:

 

“Think about this. Almost all things about your family, your private life are subjects. There are statements that you would be embarrassed even to read…These really do not suit us, especially to the nation’s moral values”.

(The assignment says no comment, so I should stop here).

 

Simona Halep match preview

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Simona Halep - Thinglink

Click the image to go to ThingLink and see what’s behind the bullets.

For this assignment I tried to use a different form of curation than the in-the-moment stream of Storify or Rebel Mouse, which are more popular (Carvin is on Rebel Mouse, for example). I was specifically looking for something more contained and less cluttered that wouldn’t give the impression of drowning in information.

As subject I chose to preview the fourth round match between Simona Halep, Romania’s top player and #7 worldwide, and Eugenie Bouchard, scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at 2pm EST.

I used ThingLink, which allows the use of a photo upon which one can overlay other information (YouTube videos, photographs, links to other information). It’s not perfect (I couldn’t embed it on the blog), and it does take you outside of the piece on almost every click, but I liked the idea of containing all relevant information in an interactive image. (The concept I guess is not unlike a static infographic).

I imagine this type of curation could work great as a preview or summary, and could then be supplemented by real-time work.

Rough Seas at SeaWorld by Tammy Drummond

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They call it the “Blackfish effect.” Things just keep getting worse for SeaWorld ever since the controversial documentary released in 2013 that accused the popular marine entertainment park of abusing the Orca whales in its care and showing reckless disregard for the safety of its whale trainers. Blackfish highlighted the killing of trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, who was mauled by a 6-ton Orca named Tilikum during a performance at SeaWorld Orlando. A whale that had killed at least twice before.

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The documentary has unleashed widespread protests outside SeaWorld’s entertainment parks and online over the welfare of the whales.

suck my balls

 

Howard Stern is one of a number of celebrities who have jumped on the anti-SeaWorld bandwagon.

howard stern twitter

Now, a California state legislator name Richard Bloom wants to put SeaWorld in San Diego out of the whale business entirely.

bill 1

 

If Bloom’s bill were to pass, SeaWorld would lose its most lucrative attraction.

That prospect has been wildly applauded by animal rights activists on blogs:

peta blog

And on Twitter:

more twitter feed

 

SeaWorld has aggressively fought back, denouncing the Blackfish documentary and its allegations of animal maltreatment as lies. The company is appealing a $75,000 federal fine levied in the Dawn Brancheau case. It is also fighting the court’s ruling that trainers can no longer swim with the whales and must only work with them through a protective barrier.

huffpost barrier

SeaWorld is arguing that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which conducted the investigation has overstepped its bounds. The theme park’s lead attorney is Eugene Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

seaworld complaint1seaworld complaint2

SeaWorld is also going after OSHA investigator Lara Padgett. The company accuses her of being biased against SeaWorld and of collaborating with the documentary producers.

seaworld leak

 

A reported photograph of Padgett posing with the Blackfish cast on micechat.com

micheat photos laura padgett

For comparison purposes, a photograph of Padgett on her Facebook page:

lara padgett facebook page

OSHA has confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that the agency is investigating Padgett’s conduct.

orlando sentinel investigation

Not to be outdone in the court of public opinion, SeaWorld has mounted an aggressive attack online and in the media.

seaworld offensive twitter1

The company has employed some of its trainers who were interviewed in Blackfish to refute claims of animal maltreatment that were made in the documentary.

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In a move that has enraged animal rights activists, SeaWorld hired Steve Irwin’s daughter Bindi as an ambassador. Irwin the world famous Australian wildlife expert died in 2006 after a stingray stabbed him repeatedly in the chest.

 

steve irwin daughter

Dawn Brancheau seems all but forgotten in all the brouhaha over the whales. The video of her mauling was never made public at her family’s and SeaWorld’s request. Here is a summary that was released in court by the Orange County Sheriff’s department.

orange county sheriff's departmentn report

Brancheau’s family members it appears, are not among the Blackfish film supporters. They went about as far as they could to distance themselves from the documentary with this post on the Dawn Brancheau Foundation website.

tribune2

Stay tuned as the SeaWorld saga continues.

In Egypt, How Free Is Free?

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Egypt is experiencing a suite of problems at the moment. Economic hardship, political discourse and constant violence rattle the day-to-day lives of its citizens, even though the revolution supposedly ended two years ago. Freedom of speech and of the press has been one of these hot-button issues, with activists and journalists brought in for questioning on the grounds of defamation. On March 31st, popular comedian Bassem Youssef joined the ranks of the summoned for commentary on his TV show “El Bernameg” (“The Show”) similar in format to the United States’ “The Daily Show.” Youssef had taken on the government, and it started to feel uneasy about his jabs.

The next day, John Stewart, who interviewed Youssef several times, dedicated 11 minutes of his program unpacking the meaning of this media personality’s arrest with his charismatic sarcasm:

 

He ended the segment with a clip of President Morsi asserting his commitment to freedom of speech and the press, along with a direct plea for Morsi to reconsider the actions taken again Youssef (and democracy in general. “…the world is watching. No one wants to see Egypt plunge into darkness. A democracy isn’t a democracy if it only lasts until someone makes fun of your hat.”

After the show, the US Embassy in Cairo tweeted the segment to its followers much to the chagrin of the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling party. But activists commended the Embassy for their bold stance.

Unfortunately, some things were not to be.

The MB quickly countered, condemning the move.

Promptly, not only the offending tweet, but the entire @USEmbassyCairo account was taken down. Allegedly this was done without White House approval and soon after, the account was re-instated–minus the original tweet.

 

The next day, the MB continued a barrage of attacks on US policy and relations with the US, both on Twitter and their website.

“The FJP strongly and totally condemns these statements as made by the US State Department’s spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, because they will have only one interpretation in the Egyptian street: the US welcomes and defends contempt of religion by the media. At the same time, the FJP reiterates and reaffirms its deep respect for freedom of opinion and freedom to criticize executive leaders, including the head of state, within the bounds of the law and the Constitution, with respect for religious and cultural constants of this free revolutionary and independent people.” – excerpt from statement on the MB website

 

Morsi also released a statement (in English) regarding the incident. The President claimed that the accusations brought against Youssef were from a private citizen, and not the government.

“Egyptian Presidency Press Release on the Questioning of the Comedian The Presidency reaffirms that Egypt after the revolution has become a state of law with independent Judiciary. Hence, the Prosecution’s summoning of any Egyptian citizen regardless of his title or fame is the decision of the Prosecutor General, who operates independently from the presidency. The current legal system allows for individual complaints to be brought to the Prosecutor General. All the current well-publicized claims were initiated by citizens rather than the Presidency. The Presidency has not filed any complaint against stand-up comedian Basem Yousef. The Presidency reiterates the importance of freedom of expression and fully respects press freedom. All citizens are free to express themselves without the restrictions that prevailed in the era of the previous regime. The first legislation passed under President Mohamed Morsy was concerned with the prevention of pre-trial detention of journalists. This demonstrates the determination of the President to encourage press and media to operate in a free environment. We urge citizens to exercise their legal right to freedom of speech while respecting the rule of law.” People questioned it’s motive, considering it was written for a western audience.

The Twitter-verse was aflame with support for Youssef and his message.

 

However, one blogger for the Huffington Post spoke out against Youssef:

“Egypt stands at a critical juncture, and Bassem Youssef is taking advantage rather than playing a helping role. It only takes one deranged person to ruin the reputation of an entire nation. Bassem Youssef has entertained so many people and in the process has mocked all things that make Egypt the place loved by so many people. Bassem Youssef is milking his five minutes of fame, and his friends are talking about him as if he is some modern-day Martin Luther King Jr. MLK did not have a million-dollar contract. MLK did not insult people for money. MLK did not try to embarrass his foes. Let’s stop pretending Youssef is fighting the good fight. He is just fighting for a paycheck.” 

The post became its own center for debate, even being challenged by a fellow HuffPo blogger.

 

And the Muslim Brotherhood part was quick to defend Morsi’s motives:

Oddly enough, Youssef himself encouraged a redirection of this energy, claiming that others were more deserving and in more need of the attention.

The conversation was so popular, #BassemYoussef, #Cairo and #Egypt all became trending topics on Twitter. Later in the week, after Youssef’s showed aired, #BassemYoussef would again rise to the same level of attention.

But as is the achilles heel of social media, a vocal minority was acting as spokesperson for a nation when in fact, there was more to tell. One Eqyptian blogger set out to find the whole story. By combing the streets, she was able to determine a more even-handed and in-depth account of the debate. Here are some quotes from the “everyman” Egyptians she talked with:

‘ “Opinions should be expressed in a way acceptable to God. I shouldn’t knock people or use bad language.”

“I used to watch Bassem Youssef during the revolution and I used to love him. But I don’t like the opposition’s style now. I’m not with Morsi but I don’t like the opposition.”

“He is constantly attacking Islamists. Before he used to attack everyone but now he is constantly attacking Islamists”.

Note that all of these people watch B.Youssef’s show regularly and enjoy it, even one man who agreed that the satirist should be taken to task for crossing the line. ‘

On Friday night, Youssef’s show aired as scheduled, and the media personality was unphased by his recent arrest. In the show, he took on Qatar with a parody that would go viral later that night.

 

In general, activists were elated to see the comedian continue to “fight the good fight” against the oppression they felt against the regime.

The next day, Youssef was officially acquitted of charges and the investigation was dropped.

That wasn’t the end of the story, though.

“The small but inordinately wealthy emirate of Qatar issued a statement on Monday, condemning Youssef’s mockery of their “generours aid” and warning the economically dire Egyptian state that relations would cool over the coming months. “He added that satire was permissible when used to discuss relevant political issues, saying that he in fact agreed with much of what Bassem Youssef presents on his programme, adding, however, that restraint should be exercised when discussing issues of economic importance, as this was in the best interests of the country. ”

And this sentiment wasn’t limited to the government or the Business Council. Several citizens of the island also spoke out on Twitter, offended by the comedian’s commentary.

 

For a land as impoverished and desperate as Egypt, the push and pull of old-world and new-world values could prove fatal to many of its citizens in this ongoing struggle for democracy.

Red Sox Opening Day with Vine

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I put together a bunch of Vines shot by people who went to the Red Sox Opening Day on Monday. I found that there were things Vines were great for, and some Vines were really impossible for.

What Vine was great for:

  • Songs! People like singing at baseball games, and it’s great to actually hear and see people singing.
  • The flyover: People like fast planes. You can even enjoy Vines on the flyover without the sound turned on.
  • Watching the actual game: Again, another Vine you can watch and enjoy even without the sound.

What Vine was bad for:

  • Actually learning about what happened in the game: I didn’t see a single Vine that had the score in the caption. I had no clue what the final score was (although I knew the Red Sox had won).

Here’s a screenshot of how my Vineyard of Red Sox looked like (prototype running locally on my laptop — I’ll try to do a demo in class since screenshots of Vines is kind of sad…).