"The first nationwide study to ask high school students about their sexuality found that gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers were at far greater risk for depression, bullying and many types of violence than their straight peers... The survey documents what smaller studies have suggested for years, but it is significant because it is the first time the federal government’s biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the gold standard of adolescent health data collection, looked at sexual identity. The survey found that about 8 percent of the high school population described themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, which would be about 1.3 million students... Dr. Elizabeth Miller, the chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said, “The intensity of homophobic attitudes and acceptance of gay-related victimization, as well as the ongoing silence around adolescent sexuality, marginalizes a whole group of young people.”... Dr. Miller, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said that self-acceptance can begin at home. “We have to start conversations early with young people about healthy sexuality, attraction, relationships, intimacy and how to explore those feelings in as safe and respectful a way as possible,” she said."
Friday, August 12, 2016
Gay and Lesbian High School Students Report ‘Heartbreaking’ Levels of Violence; New York Times, 8/11/16
Jan Hoffman, New York Times; Gay and Lesbian High School Students Report ‘Heartbreaking’ Levels of Violence:
Too Poor to Afford the Internet; New York Times, 8/12/16
Anthony W. Marx, New York Times; Too Poor to Afford the Internet:
"I know there are technological hurdles to providing universal broadband. But the commitment I’m asking for isn’t particularly novel. Early in the last century, the nation’s leaders decided, at no small cost, to bring clean water, then electricity, then phone service to all parts of our country. And from this foundation we built the wealthiest, most productive economy in the world. When New York City was founded by the Dutch, it had two great strengths: a population of varied backgrounds and ideas, and access to information, through its vibrant shipping industry. This is what made us a global city. Today’s technology revolution promises to provide more information, more widely than ever. Yet we have left almost two million New Yorkers in the digital dark. We can fix this. We can realize our city’s full potential in the digital age. And the kids in the Bronx can get their math homework done."
Should a Self-Driving Car Kill Two Jaywalkers or One Law-Abiding Citizen?; Slate, 8/11/16
Jacob Brogan, Slate; Should a Self-Driving Car Kill Two Jaywalkers or One Law-Abiding Citizen? :
"Anyone who’s followed the debates surrounding autonomous vehicles knows that moral quandaries inevitably arise. As Jesse Kirkpatrick has written in Slate, those questions most often come down to how the vehicles should perform when they’re about to crash. What do they do if they have to choose between killing a passenger and harming a pedestrian? How should they behave if they have to decide between slamming into a child or running over an elderly man? It’s hard to figure out how a car should make such decisions in part because it’s difficult to get humans to agree on how we should make them. By way of evidence, look to Moral Machine, a website created by a group of researchers at the MIT Media Lab. As the Verge’s Russell Brandon notes, the site effectively gameifies the classic trolley problem, folding in a variety of complicated variations along the way."
Here’s how I’ll teach Trump to my college students this fall; Washington Post, 8/11/16
Zach Messitte, Washington Post; Here’s how I’ll teach Trump to my college students this fall:
"...[W]e also need to listen and respect those students and professors who support Trump. That 19-year-old supporter just starting his sophomore year shouldn’t be dismissed automatically as a racist for supporting Trump. He’s a stand-in for our next-door neighbor, your child’s softball coach and my cousin’s spouse. Keeping the classroom open for discussion slows a student retreat to the anonymous online world of Yik Yak, where college-aged Trump supporters troll hate without ever directly engaging their classmates. That means that the possibility of ever broadening their perspectives organically will be lost. There will be tense points and tempers may well flare. Why are Trump’s most ardent supporters rural whites without a college degree? Why does he belittle those he disagrees with? Where does his worldview and his preoccupation with Vladimir Putin come from? But there is a way to have these discussions in the classroom with respect. It will be up to our professors to defend the right to hold an unpopular position, even one that we strongly disagree with. Because if colleges and universities want to remain a training ground for future leaders, an incubator for new ideas or a place where a future political consensus is forged, civil discourse is a fundamental part of that higher calling. This will not be an easy task, but it is a crucial one. While professors and administrators need to do everything they can to make sure that their campuses promote free speech, they also need to maintain civility and basic decency. And that’s tricky. Beyond higher education, how the nation wrestles with this same conundrum is important — and not just in the run-up to the election. In the weeks and months after Nov. 8, the country is going to have to understand what Donald Trump and Trumpism means going forward. Win or lose, it is critical that we study and interpret what his candidacy signifies beyond American politics. How the nation’s teachers integrate understanding Trumpism into their classrooms this fall, regardless of discipline, will go a long way toward finding some common ground with the 40-something percent of the voting population that supports him."
US Daily Beast website takes down article discussing Grindr dates with Olympic athletes; Guardian, 8/11/16
Elle Hunt, Guardian; US Daily Beast website takes down article discussing Grindr dates with Olympic athletes:
"Tyler Oakley, a gay social media personality, said something similar, accusing Hines and the Daily Beast of treating same-sex-attracted people as “zoo animals”."
Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio; New York Times, 8/12/16
Christopher Mele and Niraj Chokshi, New York Times; Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio:
"The article drew significant backlash from gay leaders and athletes. Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said on Twitter: “Thoughtless @thedailybeast piece puts LGBT athletes in danger. It should be removed & replaced w a real story about violence LGBT ppl face.”... Robert Drechsel, who retired last week as the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics and director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described the article as “thoughtless, insensitive and unethical.” He said it was good that the article had been removed but that it came too late. “It’s hard to find the words to describe,” he said. “Why in the world — why in the world of journalism — would anyone do this?”"
Thursday, August 11, 2016
A Note From the Editors; Daily Beast, 8/11/16
Daily Beast; A Note From the Editors:
"Today, The Daily Beast took an unprecedented but necessary step: We are removing an article from our site, “The Other Olympic Sport In Rio: Swiping.” The Daily Beast does not do this lightly. As shared in our editor’s note earlier today, we initially thought swift removal of any identifying characteristics and better clarification of our intent was the adequate way to address this. Our initial reaction was that the entire removal of the piece was not necessary. We were wrong. We're sorry. Today we did not uphold a deep set of The Daily Beast’s values. These values—which include standing up to bullies and bigots, and specifically being a proudly, steadfastly supportive voice for LGBT people all over the world—are core to our commitment to journalism and to our commitment to serving our readers. As a newsroom, we succeed together and we fail together, and this was a failure on The Daily Beast as a whole, not a single individual. The article was not intended to do harm or degrade members of the LGBT community, but intent doesn’t matter, impact does. Our hope is that removing an article that is in conflict with both our values and what we aspire to as journalists will demonstrate how seriously we take our error. We were wrong. We will do better."
Gay Olympian Amini Fonua Has Words for the Grindr-in-Rio Journalist; Slate, 8/11/16
J. Bryan Lowder, Slate; Gay Olympian Amini Fonua Has Words for the Grindr-in-Rio Journalist:
"The queer internet was dominated on Thursday by backlash to Nico Hines' exploitative Daily Beast story on athletes' use of sex apps in Rio, with condemnation from LGBTQ press-watchers (including us here at Outward) being universal. But, likely for reasons relating to safety and focus, we've heard relatively little from athletes themselves. That changed Thursday afternoon when Amini Fonua, an Olympic swimmer and gay man representing Tonga at the Rio games, let fly a tweet storm that powerfully captures the damage this story will cause... As of 5:30 p.m., the article was still posted on the Daily Beast site Update, 9:18 p.m.: Later on Thursday evening, the Daily Beast took down the piece entirely."
Augmented Reality Games Like Pokémon Go Need a Code of Ethics—Now; Wired, 8/11/16
Katherine Cross, Wired; Augmented Reality Games Like Pokémon Go Need a Code of Ethics—Now:
"THE WORLD IS full of Pokémon now. This should not be cause for moral panic, but celebration. Contrary to a few handwringing editorials and Twitter hot takes, Pokémon Go is not a triumph of the normalization of violence, the apotheosis of cell-phone zombification, or even gamification gone awry. Amid the neo-Luddite contrarianism, a shining truth rises above all the (Magi-)carping: Pokémon Go comes in peace. But it raises profound questions about ethics in this new overlaid world of augmented reality... Meanwhile, there are news reports that cannot be dismissed as ironically viral Luddism: Koffing appearing at the National Holocaust Museum, for instance, or women being sexually harassed as they play, or the risk posed to young black players in the US by trigger-happy police officers. The suddenness of Pokémon Go’s mass popularity signals that a technological revolution is upon us, and it is past time for an industry-wide set of ethical standards for augmented reality."
The Other Olympic Sport in Rio: Swiping; Daily Beast, 8/11/16
Nico Hines, Daily Beast; The Other Olympic Sport in Rio: Swiping:
"Editor's Note: A number of readers complained to The Daily Beast after the publication of the original iteration of this story. We take such complaints seriously because a central part of The Daily Beast's mission is to fight for full equality and equal treatment for LGBT people around the world. Publishing an article that in any way could be seen as homophobic is contrary to our mission. There was legitimate concern that the original version of this story might out gay male athletes, even by implication, or compromise their safety. This was never our reporter’s intention, of course. No names were ever used and some of the profiles described were of straight women. But there was a concern that even mentioning the home nation of some gay athletes could compromise their safety. We apologize for potentially jeopardizing that safety in any way. As a result, we have removed all descriptions of the men and women’s profiles that we previously described. The concept for the piece was to see how dating and hook-up apps were being used in Rio by athletes. It just so happened that Nico had many more responses on Grindr than apps that cater mostly to straight people, and so he wrote about that. Had he received straight invitations, he would have written about those. He never claimed to be anyone he was not, did not offer anything to anyone, and immediately admitted that he was a journalist whenever he was asked who he was. Some readers have read Nico as mocking or sex-shaming those on Grindr. We do not feel he did this in any way. But it’s up to us to deliver stories that are so clear, they can’t be misinterpreted—and we clearly fell short of that standard in this article. Accordingly, we have made some editorial changes to the article, responding to readers' concerns, and are again sorry for any upset the original version of this piece inspired." —John Avlon, Editor in Chief
This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical; Slate, 8/11/16
Mark Joseph Stern, Slate; This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical:
"Anyone who has heard of Grindr has also heard of the Wayback Machine. Nothing on the internet can be reliably deleted. Shortly after Hines’ article published, openly gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy tweeted that the author “basically just outed a bunch of athletes in his quest to write a shitty [Daily Beast] article where he admitted to entrapment.” That is correct, but it’s worth exploring why Hines embarked upon this weird, sleazy quest in the first place. I count two reasons. The first is that Hines simply enjoys tittering with condescension at all the gay athletes who take the bait and engage with him—a straight dude, as Hines emphatically reminds us. Why else zero in on Grindr? The second reason is more repulsive: Hines appears to take pleasure in luring in these Olympians then outing them to all the world. But the offensive purpose of Hines’ article is really the least of its problems. Far worse is the actual damage it will likely cause to real, live human beings—inevitable consequences that Hines blithely ignored. Several athletes who are closeted at home (and possibly to their own teammates) will wake up on Thursday morning to the news that the Daily Beast has outed them. Their teammates could ostracize and alienate them; their families could disown them; their countries could imprison them. And for what? A homophobic article about how a straight guy conned gay Olympians from anti-gay countries into hitting on him through Grindr? Hines’ article is a dangerous disaster, a wildly unethical train wreck that should be taken down immediately for the sake of its duped subjects. Hines may view his Grindr-baiting as all fun and games. For the victims of his unprincipled journalism, however, his nasty little piece has the power to ruin lives."
Straight Writer Blasted For ‘Outing’ Olympians In Daily Beast Piece; Huffington Post, 8/11/16
Curtis M. Wong, Huffington Post; Straight Writer Blasted For ‘Outing’ Olympians In Daily Beast Piece:
"The backlash from other media outlets, predictably, was swift. Blasting Hines’s article as a “dangerous disaster” and “a wildly unethical train wreck,” Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern wrote, “Hines may view his Grindr-baiting as all fun and games. For the victims of his unprincipled journalism, however, his nasty little piece has the power to ruin lives.” Many were specifically concerned that Hines’s piece was outing athletes, especially those from countries like Russia and Jamaica where it’s dangerous for people to be openly LGBT. Added Mic’s Mathew Rodriguez: “Sure, queer sexuality can be a fascinating topic for journalism — when it’s done respectfully and, hopefully, by someone with ties to the community. But just booting up an app and seeing that people like sex isn’t journalism, and the tone stigmatizes gay sexuality even further.”... After the story was published, a note by Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief John Avlon appeared at the bottom of the piece, noting that “all descriptions of the men and women’s profiles that we previously described” had been removed."
Gay and Transgender Egyptians, Harassed and Entrapped, Are Driven Underground; New York Times, 8/10/16
Liam Stack, New York Times; Gay and Transgender Egyptians, Harassed and Entrapped, Are Driven Underground:
"Mr. Long said that online entrapment had become especially effective in the last two years, because the shutdown of gay-friendly spaces had left many with no place to go. “There aren’t many queer places left in downtown or in the rest of the city, so people become more reliant on apps and social networks,” he said. “People are lonely and they meet someone who seems like they’re interested, and bang, they’re arrested.” Ali agreed that despite the dangers, the internet was one of the few public spaces left for gay and transgender people. “There is no other way,” Ali said. “It is Egypt.”"
Why Are The Media Obsessed With Trump's Controversies And Not Clinton's?; NPR, 8/11/16
Ron Elving, NPR; Why Are The Media Obsessed With Trump's Controversies And Not Clinton's? :
"The question is repeated in one form or another millions of times a day in social media and random conversation. It comes primarily from the backers of Donald Trump, but also from others — including the simply curious: Why are the media obsessed with Trump's controversies and not Clinton's?"
‘Politically incorrect’ ideas are mostly rude, not brave; Washington Post, 8/11/16
Alyssa Rosenberg, Washington Post; ‘Politically incorrect’ ideas are mostly rude, not brave:
"But what if the things people have held themselves back from saying for fear of social censure aren’t inherently meaningful? The sad thing about so much supposed truth-telling is that their supposed transgressions aren’t remotely risky. They’re just rude... Presenting commonplace unpleasantness as an act of moral courage is a nifty bit of reframing. This formulation allows its practitioners to treat their own laziness, meanness and self-indulgence as ethically and politically meaningful, when in fact they’re anything but. We may not be able to afford the suppression of important ideas in the public sphere. But people who rail against political correctness need better examples if they’re going to insist that kindness and decency are threats to the republic."
John Oliver has given us the best defense of newspapers ever; Washington Post, 8/9/16
Kathleen Parker, Washington Post; John Oliver has given us the best defense of newspapers ever:
"My point — shared by Oliver — is that only newspapers are the brick and mortar of the Fourth Estate’s edifice. Only they have the wherewithal to do the kind of reporting that leads to stories such as “Spotlight.” What happens to the “news” when there are no newspapers left? We seem doomed to find out as people increasingly give up their newspaper subscriptions and seek information from free-content sources. And though newspapers have an online presence, it’s hard to get readers to pay for content... And then there’s Sam Zell, erstwhile owner of the Tribune Co., who summed up the sad trajectory of the nation’s interests and, perhaps, our future while speaking to Orlando Sentinel staffers in 2008. When he said he wanted to increase revenues by giving readers what they want, a female voice objected, “What readers want are puppy dogs.” Zell exploded, calling her comment the sort of “journalistic arrogance of deciding that puppies don’t count. . . . Hopefully we get to the point where our revenue is so significant that we can do puppies and Iraq, okay? [Expletive] you.” Yes, he said that."
John Oliver’s newspaper rant hits a nerve: “We’ve watched it being not-so-slowly destroyed by forces beyond our control”; Salon, 8/10/16
Scott Timberg, Salon; John Oliver’s newspaper rant hits a nerve: “We’ve watched it being not-so-slowly destroyed by forces beyond our control” :
"So part of what’s interesting about Oliver’s bit — which looked at both the causes of the decline as well as the effects, with his usual combination of hyperventilating moralism and comic exaggeration — is that some seem frustrated with it. And not just people who hate the press, but people who value what it does. The most visible of these criticisms so far has come from the president of the Newspaper Association of America, who praised the segment’s opening. “But making fun of experiments,” David Chavern wrote, “and pining away for days when classified ads and near-monopolistic positions in local ad markets funded journalism is pointless and ultimately harmful.” Sullivan, who was once the executive editor of the Buffalo News and the public editor of the New York Times, hit back sharply in a Post piece: Actually, no. What Oliver did was precisely nail everything that’s been happening in the industry that Chavern represents: The shrinking staffs, the abandonment of important beats, the love of click bait over substance, the deadly loss of ad revenue, the truly bad ideas that have come to the surface out of desperation, the persistent failures to serve the reading public."
Journalism: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); HBO via YouTube, 8/7/16
HBO via YouTube; Journalism: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) :
"The newspaper industry is suffering. That’s bad news for journalists — both real and fictional."
Why Your Diversity Program May Be Helping Women but Not Minorities (or Vice Versa); Harvard Business Review, 8/8/16
Even Apfelbaum, Harvard Business Review; Why Your Diversity Program May Be Helping Women but Not Minorities (or Vice Versa) :
"When it comes to issues of race, gender, and diversity in organizations, researchers have revealed the problems in ever more detail. We have found a lot less to say about what does work — what organizations can do to create the conditions in which stigmatized groups can reach their potential and succeed. That’s why my collaborators — Nicole Stephens at the Kellogg School of Management and Ray Reagans at MIT Sloan — and I decided to study what organizations can do to increase traditionally stigmatized groups’ performance and persistence, and curb the disproportionately high rates at which they leave jobs. One tool at any organization’s disposal is the way its leaders choose to talk (or not to talk) about diversity and differences — what we refer to as their diversity approach. Diversity approaches are important because they provide employees with a framework for thinking about group differences in the workplace and how they should respond to them. We first studied the public diversity statements of 151 big law firms in the U.S. to understand the relationship between how organizations talk about diversity and the rates of attrition of associate-level women and racial minority attorneys at these firms. We assumed that how firms talked about diversity in their statements was a rough proxy for their firm’s approach to diversity more generally. Two findings were particularly intriguing."
Harassment Crisis Builds at Fox News, Despite Its Swift Response; New York Times, 8/10/16
Michael M. Grynbaum, Emily Steel, Sydney Ember, New York Times; Harassment Crisis Builds at Fox News, Despite Its Swift Response:
"Of particular issue is a $3.15 million settlement that Laurie Luhn, a former booker at the network, said she received in 2011. In an interview with New York magazine, Ms. Luhn said that Mr. Ailes forced her into a yearslong sexual relationship. Executives at 21st Century Fox have said they were only made aware of the settlement recently. On Wednesday, when asked to clarify exactly when it learned of it, the company declined to respond. “One would hope that a $3 million settlement for sexual harassment would flow up the line to somebody in corporate management,” said Kirk O. Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “At least today, that kind of settlement should come to the attention of the audit committee of the board.”"
Toxic white male nerd avengers: What’s really behind the “Suicide Squad” super-fan freak-out; Salon, 8/9/16
Matthew Rozsa, Salon; Toxic white male nerd avengers: What’s really behind the “Suicide Squad” super-fan freak-out:
"Beyond simply calling for diversity, though, we also must infuse our debate with an awareness that being a fanboy doesn’t entitle you to anything. The common thread linking the “Suicide Squad” petition to other nerd-based racist and misogynist incidents this decade is that, at their core, all of them betray an assumption that producers of popular entertainment are beholden to the nerd community. This misunderstands a basic principle of a free market society — while consumers have the right to invest or not invest their time and money as they see fit, they don’t have the right to demand that producers act as obedient servants to their will. It’s certainly nice when an author or actor or critic or film studio shows deference to the wishes of fans, but they are in no way ethically obligated to do so. Indeed, because many fans (like many people from all walks of life) harbor terrible social views, it is very often necessary for producers to disregard the will of the more vocal segments of their fanbases. Just because some gamers don’t want increased diversity doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen; just because a lot of moviegoers liked “Suicide Squad” (myself included) doesn’t mean the film critics aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes should agree."
In vilifying Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, Americans are splashing murky waters; Washington Post, 8/10/16
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post; In vilifying Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, Americans are splashing murky waters:
"Regardless of what anyone thinks of Efimova, it’s hard to see how the American censoriousness against her — or any individual athlete — is a solution to state-sponsored doping. And it’s just begging for anti-American backlash. King is just 19, and you would never want to curb her outspokenness or competitiveness. But it’s worth suggesting to her that a lot of beloved American athletes take supplements and use medical assistance not on the banned list. It’s also worth suggesting that she’s never walked a mile in the shoes of someone born in Grozny in 1992. “Usually in the Olympic Games, all wars stopping,” Efimova said."
Ethicists: Clinton team violated ‘spirit’ of pledge; Politico, 8/11/16
Katy O'Donnell, Politico; Ethicists: Clinton team violated ‘spirit’ of pledge:
"Ethicists tended to agree that while there may be no evidence of a deliberate violation of Clinton’s pledge, the emails underscored the blurry lines between the globe-spanning charity and Clinton’s work as the nation’s top diplomat. “The Clinton Foundation was taking money from anybody who would give it, and the biggest contributions were from people who had business before the State Department,” said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen. “They didn’t follow the pledge. … I don’t think anyone in the foundation sought to deliberately violate the pledge, I just don’t think they cared about it,” he added."
Political violence is no joke; Washington Post, 8/10/16
William Kennedy Smith and Jean Kennedy Smith, Washington Post; Political violence is no joke:
"By now, we have heard enough dark and offensive rhetoric from Trump to know that it reflects something fundamentally troubled, and troubling, about his candidacy. Trump’s remarks frequently, if not inevitably, spark outrage, which is followed by a clarification that, in lieu of an apology, seeks to attribute the dark undertones of his words to the listener’s twisted psyche. This fools no one. Whether you like what he is saying or, like a growing segment of the electorate, you reject it, it is easy to grasp Trump’s meaning from his words. But what to make of a candidate who directly appeals to violence, smears his opponents and publicly bullies a Gold Star family, a decorated prisoner of war and a reporter with a disability, among others? To borrow the words of Army Counsel Joseph Welch, directed at another dangerous demagogue: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” The truth remains that words do matter, especially when it comes to presidential candidates. On that basis alone, Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States."
Do menacing comments about Hillary Clinton cross the First Amendment line?; Washington Post, 8/10/16
James Hoefler, Washington Post; Do menacing comments about Hillary Clinton cross the First Amendment line? :
"Did Trump cross the First Amendment line with his comments? We look for guidance to the Supreme Court’s most recent case to test the limits of this sort of speech: Brandenburg v. Ohio. In that 1969 decision, the court set forth a three-part test to determine the contours of First Amendment sanctuary: Was criminal action (1) intended, (2) imminent and (3) likely?... We all celebrate the First Amendment and its broad protections of speech, as egregious and unpresidential as that language might sometimes seem. But all political liberties come with limits, and a case could be made that Trump’s brutal entreaties have exceeded that limit. Should he continue to exhort violence at his rallies, it may be his own legal defense needs, rather than those of his followers, that he will need to worry about."
CBS All Access' 'Star Trek: Discovery' to Be Captained By a Woman, Feature Gay Character; Hollywood Reporter, 8/10/16
Lesley Goldberg, Hollywood Reporter; CBS All Access' 'Star Trek: Discovery' to Be Captained By a Woman, Feature Gay Character:
"Fuller confirmed that his Star Trek also will feature a gay character after he received hate-mail during his time on Voyager following a rumor that speculated that one of the show's characters could be out. He noted that fellow executive producer Alex Kurtzman was the first to pitch the idea, which was already something Fuller had planned on including in the 10-episode series. While details about the cast are still yet to be determined, the news that it would be led by a woman comes as little surprise. Showrunner Fuller — who is openly gay — recently moderated a 50th anniversary Star Trek panel at San Diego Comic-Con where he used the platform to stress that the franchise could serve as an antidote to the current political upheaval. "Think about what’s happening in America, and think about the promise of Star Trek, and what we can all do to get there," he told the crowd before ending the panel by asking all the fans in attendance to take each other’s hands and “make a promise to leave this room with love, to leave this room with hope, to leave this room and take responsibility to craft a path to Gene Roddenberry’s vision.""
'No room' in Indonesia for gay rights, says president's spokesman; Agence France-Press via Guardian, 8/11/16
Agence France-Press via Guardian; 'No room' in Indonesia for gay rights, says president's spokesman:
"There is “no room” for the gay community in Indonesia, the president’s spokesman has said, as a new report criticised officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks. “Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement,” presidential spokesman Johan Budi said. Indonesia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups. But the community experienced an “immediate deterioration” in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations in the space of two months this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday."
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
TRUMP: A TRUE STORY; Washington Post, 8/10/16
David A. Fahrenthold and Robert O’Harrow Jr., Washington Post; TRUMP: A TRUE STORY:
"It was a mid-December morning in 2007 — the start of an interrogation unlike anything else in the public record of Trump’s life. Trump had brought it on himself. He had sued a reporter, accusing him of being reckless and dishonest in a book that raised questions about Trump’s net worth. The reporter’s attorneys turned the tables and brought Trump in for a deposition. For two straight days, they asked Trump question after question that touched on the same theme: Trump’s honesty. The lawyers confronted the mogul with his past statements — and with his company’s internal documents, which often showed those statements had been incorrect or invented. The lawyers were relentless. Trump, the bigger-than-life mogul, was vulnerable — cornered, out-prepared and under oath. Thirty times, they caught him."
EVERY TIME "BLACK MIRROR" MADE US HATE TECHNOLOGY; Comic Book Resources, 8/9/16
[Spoilers] Jesse Gormley, Comic Book Resources; EVERY TIME "BLACK MIRROR" MADE US HATE TECHNOLOGY:
"Since its debut in 2011, British anthology series "Black Mirror" has merged speculative sci-fi fiction with elements of "The Twilight Zone" and a dash of "Tales from the Crypt." The series focuses on the unrelenting intrusion of technology and how people interact with devices and innovations on both an individual and societal level, with often horrifying results. Creator Charlie Brooker named "Black Mirror" after the powered down devices in all our lives, staring back with a cold, shiny blank gaze. What makes "Black Mirror" so terrifying is the way it shines a light on the darker side of technologies we're already living with right now. There's no looking into a crystal ball or pontificating on "wouldn't it be great if..."; no dreams of warp drives, laser swords or teleportation. "Black Mirror" brings us the horror of technology that's either currently in the hands of the public, or in the R&D departments of companies like Google, Sony or Facebook. With Netflix recently announcing the third season's debut this October, CBR looks at the myriad ways "Black Mirror" made us question the computer we use at work, the phone we can't be without, and every time we wished technology could somehow make our lives better -- and how it's made us hate them."
Two Views On The Jim Crow South And Its Legacy Today; The Diane Rehm Show, 8/10/16
[Podcast] The Diane Rehm Show; Two Views On The Jim Crow South And Its Legacy Today:
"Historian Charles Dew was born in 1937 and grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. His parents, along with every white person he knew, believed without question in the inherent inferiority of black Americans and in the need for segregation. In a new memoir, “The Making of a Racist,” he describes what he learned as a child and how he gradually overthrew those beliefs. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson details the crushing realities of the Jim Crow South from the other side of the color line. In her 2010 book, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” she documents the migration of black families in the 1930s, 40s and 50s in search of better lives in the North and in the West. Charles Dew and Isabel Wilkerson join us to talk about racism in American, then and now. Guests Charles B Dew professor of history, Williams College; author of "The Making of a Racist: A Southerner Reflects on Family, History and the Slave Trade" Isabel Wilkerson Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; author, "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration"
Anyone who thinks Trump was "just joking" about shooting Clinton is missing the point; Vox, 8/9/16
Zack Beauchamp, Vox; Anyone who thinks Trump was "just joking" about shooting Clinton is missing the point:
"...[I]n a certain sense, it doesn’t really matter what Trump intended. This tweetstorm, from Dallas lawyer Jason P. Steed, explains why. Before becoming a lawyer, Steed was an English professor. He wrote his PhD dissertation on "the social function of humor" and found something important: Jokes about socially unacceptable things aren’t just "jokes." They serve a function of normalizing that unacceptable thing, of telling the people who agree with you that, yes, this is an okay thing to talk about. This, Steed explains, is why "it’s a joke" isn’t a good defense of racist jokes. By telling the joke, the person is signaling that they think racism is an appropriate thing to express. "Just joking" is just what someone says to the people who don’t appreciate hearing racist stuff — it shouldn’t matter any more than saying "no offense" after saying something offensive. Likewise, Trump is signaling that assassinating Hillary Clinton and/or her Supreme Court nominees is an okay thing to talk about. He’s normalizing the unacceptable."
Trump’s reckless call to ‘Second Amendment people’; Washington Post, 8/9/16
Editorial Board, Washington Post; Trump’s reckless call to ‘Second Amendment people’ :
"“You aren’t just responsible for what you say,” Gen. Michael Hayden, a former CIA director, said in response to Mr. Trump’s remark. “You’re responsible for what people hear.”... As is often the case, Mr. Trump was incoherent enough to permit more than one plausible interpretation of his words. If he had not so often celebrated violence and wielded dark innuendo against political opponents, minority groups, journalists and others, it would be easier to give him the benefit of the doubt in this case. Unfortunately, a spokesman’s after-the-fact explanation did not clear the bar of plausibility. “Donald Trump was obviously talking about American voters who are passionate about their Second Amendment rights and advocating they use that power at the ballot box,” the spokesman said. No; Mr. Trump was talking about what would happen if Ms. Clinton were elected."
Dan Rather Warns Donald Trump Supporters: ‘History Is Watching’; Huffington Post, 8/10/16
Ed Mazza, Huffington Post; Dan Rather Warns Donald Trump Supporters: ‘History Is Watching’ :
"“By any objective analysis, this is a new low and unprecedented in the history of American presidential politics,” Rather wrote. “This is no longer about policy, civility, decency or even temperament. This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival.” Trump not only went against the norms of politics, he may have even broken the law. “If any other citizen had said this about a presidential candidate, would the Secret Service be investigating?” wrote Rather. “To anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching,” he wrote. “And I suspect its verdict will be harsh. Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate. That is becoming woefully insufficient. The rhetoric is the candidate.”"
Further Into the Muck With Mr. Trump; New York Times, 8/9/16
Editorial Board, New York Times; Further Into the Muck With Mr. Trump:
"Just eight years ago, Senator John McCain of Arizona, then the Republican presidential nominee, told a man at a town hall session who said he was “scared” of an Obama presidency that Mr. Obama “is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared as president of the United States.” Twenty minutes later, a woman told Mr. McCain that she couldn’t trust Mr. Obama because “he’s an Arab.” “No ma’am,” Mr. McCain replied. “He’s a decent family man, a citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that’s what this campaign is all about.” Republicans would do well to summon the integrity that Mr. McCain showed in 2008, and not just to give some sense of decency to this ugly campaign. The time has come for Republicans — including Mr. McCain — to repudiate Mr. Trump once and for all."
From Trump’s controversial words, a pattern: Outrage, headlines and then denial; Washington Post, 8/9/16
Isaac Stanley-Becker and Sean Sullivan, Washington Post; From Trump’s controversial words, a pattern: Outrage, headlines and then denial:
"One common thread linking many of Trump’s more controversial comments and actions is that he denies having said or done them. Trump claimed never to have mocked a disabled New York Times reporter, despite a widely disseminated video clip showing him making jerking movements with his arms. He claimed that he never said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not a war hero, despite a Q&A in which he said just that... Trump also relies regularly on the turn of phrase “many people are saying” to make pronouncements without offering evidence backing them up. On Monday, for instance, he tweeted: “Many people are saying that the Iranians killed the scientist who helped the U.S. because of Hillary Clinton’s hacked emails.” “Mr. Trump’s tweets speak for themselves,” said Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks. Trump and his allies often blame the media for misconstruing his words. The statement issued by his campaign after his Tuesday comments appeared under the heading: “Trump Campaign Statement On Dishonest Media.”"
This is Donald Trump at his lowest yet: a man hinting at murder; Guardian, 8/9/16
Lucia Graves, Guardian; This is Donald Trump at his lowest yet: a man hinting at murder:
"Rebecca Traister has written brilliantly on the long history of powerful men like Trump who would delegitimize the ascent of women and minorities. But this – to have the nominee of a major party appear to encourage his supporters to assassinate his opponent – is unlike anything we’ve seen before, quite likely for the simple reason that we’ve never had a woman this close to the White House steps. Just as the birther movement that Trump helped lead was thinly-veiled racism rooted in the belief that a black man couldn’t possibly legitimately be the president, Trump’s insistence that “crooked Hillary” has “stolen” the election thrives among those who are angry that power could be taken from them by a woman, and specifically this one. It’s vulgar, un-American and undemocratic. And it was only a matter of time."
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Trump’s Ambiguous Wink Wink to ‘Second Amendment People’; New York Times, 8/9/16
Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times; Trump’s Ambiguous Wink Wink to ‘Second Amendment People’ :
"People are playing with fire here, and there is no bigger flamethrower than Donald Trump. Forget politics; he is a disgusting human being. His children should be ashamed of him. I only pray that he is not simply defeated, but that he loses all 50 states so that the message goes out across the land — unambiguously, loud and clear: The likes of you should never come this way again."
In the Olympic Pool, Contempt for Drug Cheats Rises to the Surface; New York Times, 8/9/16
Christopher Clarey and Karen Crouse, New York Times; In the Olympic Pool, Contempt for Drug Cheats Rises to the Surface:
"Where once there was polite, if sometimes awkward, silence, there is now direct confrontation. Much of it is along old political fault lines from the Cold War as, coincidentally or not, athletes from the West go after once-barred athletes from Russia and China. “Antidoping is all about trust: trusting your competitors, trusting the drug testers, trusting the sports admin types,” said Richard Ings, a former antidoping official from Australia. “What I believe you are witnessing is evaporated trust. Remember, nearly 100 positives have now been found at the Beijing and London Games.”... “They don’t belong in a sport,” Camille Lacourt, a star French swimmer, said Monday night in comments reported by the French newspaper L’Équipe. “They should make up their federation of dopers and have fun among themselves. It disgusts me to see people who’ve cheated standing on podiums. Sun Yang, in the 200 free, he pees purple.”"
UC Davis chancellor resigns following probe on ethical violations; Los Angeles Times, 8/9/16
Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times; UC Davis chancellor resigns following probe on ethical violations:
"“Janet Napolitano is a serious administrator who sees Katehi’s actions as character flaws that harm the university and they have to stop," said William G. Tierney, an education professor and co-director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at USC. “She is very clear about how she sees the world. The appearance of impropriety is almost as big of a problem as an actual impropriety.” “You don't want to wake up and find out that one of your campus leaders is in the news for alleged wrongdoings,” Tierney added. “At a time when UC is really having major financial issues and the Legislature and governor are asking for reforms, this gets in the way.”"
Alabama Chief Justice To Face Trial For Barring Same-Sex Marriage; Huffington Post, 8/9/16
Daniel Marans, Huffington Post; Alabama Chief Justice To Face Trial For Barring Same-Sex Marriage:
"A court has decided that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will face trial in September for violating judicial ethics after he ordered state judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses early this year. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which has the final say on complaints against state judges, rejected Moore’s motion to dismiss the charges on Monday, paving the way for a trial, AL.com reported. Moore is widely expected to be found guilty and removed from the Alabama Supreme Court as a result. The Court of the Judiciary did, however, reject a motion by the state’s Judicial Inquiry Commission to remove him from the bench right away."
Justice Department orders more ethics training for lawyers; Politico, 8/8/16
Josh Gerstein, Politico; Justice Department orders more ethics training for lawyers:
"The Justice Department has ordered a large swath of its attorneys to undergo additional ethics training in response to a judge's findings that he was misled by federal government lawyers handling a high-profile lawsuit over President Barack Obama's immigration policies. The new training — a one-hour, one-time program on top of existing requirements — was ordered last month for the roughly 1,000 attorneys in Justice's Civil Division and disclosed in a court filing made public Monday afternoon."
There’s No Such Thing as Innocuous Personal Data; Slate, 8/8/16
Elizabeth Weingarten, Slate; There’s No Such Thing as Innocuous Personal Data:
"The way you walk can be as unique as your fingerprint; a couple of studies show that gait can help verify the identity of smartphone users. And gait can also predict whether someone is at risk for dementia. Seemingly useless pieces of data may let experts deduce or predict certain behaviors or conditions now, but the big insights will come in the next few years, when companies and consumers are able to view a tapestry of different individual data points and contrast them with data across the entire population. That’s when, according to a recent report from Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, we’ll be able to “gain deep insight into human emotional experiences.” But it’s the data that you’re creating now that will fuel those insights. Far from meaningless, it’s the foundation of what you (and everyone else) may be able to learn about your future self."
Show Trials in China; New York Times, 8/6/16
Editorial Board, New York Times; Show Trials in China:
"The campaign against legal activists is part of President Xi Jinping’s broad assault against any criticism of Communist Party rule. It has also included tough new controls on nongovernmental organizations, especially those with foreign connections, and a crackdown on religious organizations not sanctioned by the government. The pattern is dismally familiar in the annals of authoritarian governments. Mr. Xi’s efforts in the trials to portray the defendants as agents of “foreign hostile forces” working to foment a “color revolution” against the government echoes Vladimir Putin’s habit of identifying America as the architect of all of Russia’s problems. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has accused the West of supporting the plotters of the failed coup last month, and used it as a pretext for his crackdown."
How to Give Rural America Broadband? Look to the Early 1900s; New York Times, 8/7/16
Cecilia Kang, New York Times; How to Give Rural America Broadband? Look to the Early 1900s:
"“The technology is a little different but how we get broadband to homes is actually very similar to electric,” he said. Since broadband service has started, signs of economic vitality have appeared in the region."
How False Equivalence Is Distorting the 2016 Election Coverage; The Nation, 6/2/16
Eric Alterman, The Nation; How False Equivalence Is Distorting the 2016 Election Coverage:
" Journalistic abdications of responsibility are always harmful to democracy, but reporters and pundits covering the 2016 campaign will be doing the public a particularly grave disservice if they continue to draw from the “both sides” playbook in the months leading up to the November election. Now that Donald Trump has emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee for president, some simple facts about him and his campaign should be stated clearly and repeatedly, not obfuscated or explained away or leavened into click bait. Trump is a pathological liar and conspiracy theorist, a racist, misogynist, and demagogic bully with a phantasmagoric policy platform and dangerously authoritarian instincts. Hillary Clinton’s flaws and failures are many, and they should not be discounted, either. But they are of an entirely different order. Love her or hate her, at least we don’t have to wonder whether she believes in democracy. When it comes to sane and even semi-sensible policy proposals for America’s future in the 2016 presidential election, there is only one side."
How Do Journalistic Standards Apply When Covering Donald Trump?; Here & Now, 8/9/16
[Podcast] Here & Now; How Do Journalistic Standards Apply When Covering Donald Trump? :
"New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg wrote yesterday that Donald Trump is testing the standard of objectivity among the journalists who cover him. He says journalists have to throw out the textbooks they have used for decades in covering politics. Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Rutenberg and NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik about the challenges journalists face covering Trump."
Trump Is Testing the Norms of Objectivity in Journalism; New York Times, 8/7/16
Jim Rutenberg, New York Times; Trump Is Testing the Norms of Objectivity in Journalism:
"If you’re a working journalist and you believe that Donald J. Trump is a demagogue playing to the nation’s worst racist and nationalistic tendencies, that he cozies up to anti-American dictators and that he would be dangerous with control of the United States nuclear codes, how the heck are you supposed to cover him? Because if you believe all of those things, you have to throw out the textbook American journalism has been using for the better part of the past half-century, if not longer, and approach it in a way you’ve never approached anything in your career. If you view a Trump presidency as something that’s potentially dangerous, then your reporting is going to reflect that. You would move closer than you’ve ever been to being oppositional. That’s uncomfortable and uncharted territory for every mainstream, nonopinion journalist I’ve ever known, and by normal standards, untenable. But the question that everyone is grappling with is: Do normal standards apply? And if they don’t, what should take their place?"
Trump in trouble over 'Second Amendment' remark; Politico, 8/9/16
louis Nelson, Politico; Trump in trouble over 'Second Amendment' remark:
"Donald Trump on Tuesday said "the Second Amendment people" may be the only way to stop Hillary Clinton from getting to appoint federal judges if she wins the presidential election in November. “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” he said as an aside while smiling. “By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.”"
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