News 3/26

'Dark day for internet freedom': EU lawmakers approve controversial copyright reform
The European Parliament has voted to adopt the highly controversial Article 13 provision which would govern the production and distribution of content online under the auspices of increasing copyright protections.
rt.com/news/454782-eu-lawmakers-approve-controversial-copyright/

Algeria's Army Chief Calls for Removal of President Bouteflika
Algeria's army chief of staff, Ahmed Gaed Salah, said Tuesday that the country's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was unfit to rule calling for his removal and placing a caretaker government for 45 days. Based on the constitution, the upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah would serve as caretaker president.
telesurenglish.net/news/Algerias-Army-Chief-Calls-for-Removal-of-President-Bouteflika-20190326-0013.html

'Fascist, violent, dangerous': protests planned as Bolsonaro arrives in Chile
At the end of his first state visit to Washington DC this week, Jair Bolsonaro hailed his meeting with Donald Trump as a “historic moment”, claiming he was returning home with a sensation of “mission accomplished”. Today, Brazil’s far-right leader begins his second official trip – to Chile, where he is poised to receive a much less warm welcome.
theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/22/fascist-violent-dangerous-protests-planned-as-bolsonaro-arrives-in-chile

U.S. top court backs Sudan over American sailors in USS Cole bombing case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday prevented American sailors injured in the deadly 2000 al Qaeda bombing of the Navy destroyer USS Cole from collecting $314.7 million in damages from the government of Sudan for its alleged role in the attack.
reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-sudan/u-s-supreme-court-backs-sudan-in-uss-cole-bombing-lawsuit-idUSKCN1R71PQ

What Next? UK lawmakers seize control, aim to unblock Brexit
With the date and terms of Britain’s departure from the European Union mired in uncertainty, Parliament has seized control of the political process so lawmakers can try to hammer out a way forward. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May still hopes to win approval for her twice-rejected divorce deal with the bloc.
apnews.com/853efea74e4d456b897a32c89ad7c58f

Spanish politicians call Mexican president letter an 'offense'
Spanish politicians reacted with anger on Tuesday to a request by Mexico’s president for an apology for the wrongs committed by conquerors to indigenous peoples 500 years ago, calling it an affront to Spanish history.
reuters.com/article/us-mexico-spain/spanish-politicians-call-mexican-president-letter-an-offense-idUSKCN1R71UM

One Nation's James Ashby says he was 'on the sauce' when seeking $20m from NRA
Ashby and Dickson faced the media on Tuesday after an al-Jazeera investigation revealed the two men had sought millions in donations from the NRA during a trip to the US last year, in a bid to seize the balance of power and weaken Australia’s gun laws.
theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/26/one-nations-james-ashby-says-he-was-on-the-sauce-when-seeking-20m-from-nra

Thailand election result delayed with pro-junta party in lead
Early results showed Thailand's pro-military party taking a surprising lead over the main democratic opposition party. Both parties say they will try to form a government, though official results aren't due until Friday.
dw.com/en/thailand-election-result-delayed-with-pro-junta-party-in-lead/a-48043779

Snowden helper arrives in Canada after being granted asylum
A woman who helped shelter Edward Snowden in Hong Kong has been granted asylum in Canada.Vanessa Rodel and her seven-year-old daughter Keana arrived at Toronto Airport on Monday.
bbc.com/news/world-asia-47705770

The secretive German family behind the company that owns Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme, and Pret a Manger is donating more than $11 million after the discovery of its Nazi past
The family behind Krispy Kreme, Panera, and Caribou Coffee says it's planning to atone for its Nazi past.The Reimann family is one of the richest dynasties in the world, worth at least $19 billion, Forbes reported in 2015.
businessinsider.com/jab-holding-reimann-family-nazi-past-donates-millions-2019-3

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Other urls found in this thread:

wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/25/spai-m25.html
businessinsider.com/chuck-schumer-slams-ilhan-omar-comments-israel-2019-3
metro.co.uk/2019/03/26/whitewash-justice-chicago-mayor-blasts-decision-drop-jussie-smolletts-charges-9032478/
archive.is/C84zf
wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/26/rose-m25.html
reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-emergency/u-s-house-to-vote-on-overriding-trump-veto-of-resolution-ending-border-emergency-idUSKCN1R70ZN
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47709546
npr.org/2019/03/26/705887181/trump-administration-flips-switch-on-energy-efficient-light-bulbs
markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bed-bath-beyond-stock-price-activist-investors-attack-2019-3-1028059725
nakedcapitalism.com/2019/03/profile-of-a-scam-how-rick-singer-built-a-college-entrance-cheating-machine.html
wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/26/glob-m26.html
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/26/thirty-years-after-exxon-valdez-the-response-to-oil-spills-is-still-all-wrong
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

Spain’s fascist Vox party enlists former generals, calls for banning Marxist parties
This week, the deputy secretary of international relations of the Spanish far-right party Vox, Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, declared that the “ultraleft and [Catalan and Basque] nationalism are the enemies of Spain” and that “between us all we have to finish them off.” He said that Vox would propose outlawing parties that “don’t believe in the unity of Spain and those who don’t renounce Marxism.”
wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/25/spai-m25.html

'We must call it out!' Chuck Schumer slams Ilhan Omar, comparing her comments about Israel to Trump's remarks on neo-Nazis
Schumer, who is himself Jewish, appeared to compare Omar's argument that lobbyist money influences US lawmakers' support for Israel to President Donald Trump's remark that there were "very fine people" among neo-Nazi marchers in Charlottesville in 2017.
businessinsider.com/chuck-schumer-slams-ilhan-omar-comments-israel-2019-3

‘This is a whitewash of justice’: Chicago mayor blasts decision to drop Jussie Smollett’s charges
The actor had been accused of falsifying a report about a hate crime.He gave a blistering statement calling the state’s attorney’s decision to drop all the charges as a ‘whitewash of justice’.He said: ‘My personal opinion is that you all know where I stand in this. Do I think justice was served? No. I think this city is still owed an apology.
metro.co.uk/2019/03/26/whitewash-justice-chicago-mayor-blasts-decision-drop-jussie-smolletts-charges-9032478/
archive.is/C84zf

Pittsburgh high school students protest acquittal of killer cop
Hundreds of high school students and others took part in a noontime rally in downtown Pittsburgh on Monday, in the fourth day of protests following the acquittal of the police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose, Jr. on June 18, 2018 in the suburb of East Pittsburgh.
wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/26/rose-m25.html

U.S. House fails to override Trump veto of resolution to end border wall emergency
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Donald Trump’s first veto, leaving in place the “national emergency” he declared last month to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall that Congress has not funded.
reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-emergency/u-s-house-to-vote-on-overriding-trump-veto-of-resolution-ending-border-emergency-idUSKCN1R70ZN

Yale revokes student's admission over '$1.2m bribe'
Yale University has revoked the admission of a student whose family is accused of spending $1.2m (£907,000) in a bribery scheme to ensure admittance.
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47709546

Trump Administration Dims Rule On Energy Efficient Lightbulbs
Thanks to a 2007 law signed by President George W. Bush, shelves these days are largely stocked with LED bulbs that look more like the traditional pear-shaped incandescent version but use just one-fifth the energy.A second wave of lightbulb changes was set to happen. But now the Trump administration wants to undo an Obama-era regulation designed to make a wide array of specialty lightbulbs more energy efficient.
npr.org/2019/03/26/705887181/trump-administration-flips-switch-on-energy-efficient-light-bulbs

Bed Bath & Beyond explodes by more than 25% after activist investors attack (BBBY)
CEO Steven Temeres has led the company since 2003 and is backed by founders Leonard Feinstein and Warren Eisenberg, who remain shareholders and co-chairmen of the board.The retailer has struggled to keep pace with online competitors and the investor group has contended that it has failed to adapt to the new retail environment while allowing costs to increase and margins to shrink, Fox Business says, citing people familiar with the matter.
markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bed-bath-beyond-stock-price-activist-investors-attack-2019-3-1028059725

OP/ED

Profile of a Scam: How Rick Singer Built a College Entrance Cheating Machine
The Wall Street Journal has an in-depth report on how William “Rick” Singer, the architect and head honcho of the college admissions cheating and bribery operation that has generated 50 criminal indictments, built up his network.One reason this scandal has attracted so much interest is that it’s another nail in the coffin of the legitimacy of the professional classes, the obsession with credentials as proof that their elevated position was well deserved. At some point, I hope to return to a topic I wrote about many years ago, about how meritocracy is an illusion (not simply that it isn’t observed much in practice, but that it is unattainable).But after looking at so many finance scams, such as many varieties of mortgage fraud, CDOs, Bernie Madoff, money laundering, private equity abuses, Wells Fargo stealing from depositors, it’s instructive to look at at how a little crime syndicate grew and prospered before it was busted.
nakedcapitalism.com/2019/03/profile-of-a-scam-how-rick-singer-built-a-college-entrance-cheating-machine.html

This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy: Why the lack of seriousness?
An Amazon Prime original, This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy is an eight-episode documentary series that purports to make sense of the complex global situation. An admirable goal.However, the political and social orientation of the writers and producers, who are distant from the conditions facing masses of people and circulate in the orbit of the Democratic Party, seriously limits if not fatally damages the series. In the end, This Giant Beast attempts to maintain or restore confidence in the ability of the existing economic and social order, perhaps reformed or recalibrated, to address the problems facing humanity.Suffice it to say this is a documentary that manages to discuss the world economy without serious reference to capitalism, the working class, social revolution or any other indispensable concept—and this at a time when great numbers of youth are consciously rejecting capitalism in favor of socialism. The overall result is unserious and misleading.
wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/26/glob-m26.html

Thirty years after Exxon Valdez, the response to oil spills is still all wrong
Thirty years ago, on 24 March 1989, communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska, awoke to horrific news: the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker, had run aground and leaked 11m gallons of oil into the sound. Chaos ensued. Fishermen desperately began collecting oil in five-gallon buckets. Exxon, meanwhile, responded by burning floating oil and dumping toxic oil-based chemicals called “dispersants”. Dispersants break oil apart into smaller droplets, and this was assumed to enhance natural dispersion and degradation of oil, thereby “cleaning up” a spill. Instead, the dispersants formed chemically enhanced oil particles that proved to be more toxic to humans and the environment than the oil alone.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/26/thirty-years-after-exxon-valdez-the-response-to-oil-spills-is-still-all-wrong

I think this is actually a positive turn of events. It will force people to create memes based on "copyleft" GPLv3 license, where essentially the intellectual rights to original media are donated to the public trust. And derivatives are required to be donated as well.
Screen cap this, porky will reverse these draconian copyright laws when copyleft culture takes off and people stop pirating Porky's OC altogether.
Same thing happened with the recording industry.

Is there really any difference between PODEMOS & Vox at this point?

It's kind of funny how dependent on corporate media amateur art and memes are right now. Disney and friends dominate public consciousness but are so self-absorbed they think if they deny people access that people will start paying instead of turning elsewhere and generating their own content.

IMO the big problem with this kind of thing is that you might get some analog to patent trolling where companies go around buying the rights to certain memes or public domain IP (like Disney effectively did by adapting folk tales).

I'm pretty sad that this happened tbh.

Which one?

This one.

Also that's a nice insight. I support this now. Have we finally arrived at rtrue meme freedom where shills can not apropriate the memes in exchange for monetary benefit? Will the rare pepe auction houses be closed or even better protected? In wierd times do we live in. It's not even clear what would benefit the nations as a whole.