e-News bulletin 30 September 2016

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E-NEWS BULLETIN
Your weekly round up of alternative news you ought to know • 30 September 2016     
CONTENTS
SOUTH AFRICA:
1. R2K & ODAC welcome SCA’s ruling on signal jamming and open Parliament
2. SABC’s R5 billion hole
3. ANC rejects calls for early conference ‘out of hand’
4. Universities in crisis: Runs much deeper than free tuition, decolonisation. Expert analysis
5. South African universities in crisis: what we need to know

INTERNATIONAL
MIDDLE EAST:
1. Shimon Perez was a liberal Zionist, his death is a no loss at all – Prof. Jeff Halper
2. Shimon Perez: Israeli War Criminal Whose Victims the West Ignored
3. Was it Mutiny? U.S. Rulers Split Over Syria
4. How a church was smeared for an exhibition about Israeli occupation
5. Evidence of Feared Israel-Led Censorship as Facebook Bans Palestinian Editors

US:
1. Killing people, breaking things and America’s winless wars: Details of the dismal U.S. military record
2. Will the Left Survive the Millennials?
3. Police: Palace Guards and Counterinsurgents
4. Should Silicon Valley Really Be Allowed To Decide What Is and Isn’t Hate Speech?

LABOUR
SOUTH AFRICA:
1. No work, no pay for Amcu protesters
2. Saccawu to hold talks with Pick n Pay over self-help tills
3. SAfm Labour Show: The Robertson Winery Strike- Are farmworkers rising up again?

MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
1. Media24 appeals against tribunal’s predatory pricing finding
2. The Sneaky Way Amazon Is ripping You Off
3. Facebook Ordered to Stop Collecting Data on WhatsApp Users in Germany
4. Facebook Censors Refugee Photographs
SOUTH AFRICA: R2K & ODAC welcome SCA’s ruling on signal jamming and open Parliament
“Today the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down an important victory for transparency and the public’s right to an open Parliament. Setting aside an earlier judgement by the Western Cape High Court, the SCA has ruled that it was unconstitutional to censor the television feed as Parliament did at the 2015 State of the Nation Address. The judgement also ruled that the State Security Agency’s use of signal-jamming, which blocked the use of cell phones in the National Assembly that night, was unlawful.”  read more…http://www.r2k
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC’s R5 billion hole
” The auditor-general has blasted the SABC for failing to bring anyone to book for blowing more than R5-billion in irregular expenditure.

The Times has obtained a confidential report that reveals a litany of failings that the SABC’s acting CEO, James Aguma, neglected to mention at yesterday’s presentation of the corporation’s financial results in Johannesburg.

Aguma sought to downplay a loss of R411-million for the 2015-2016 financial year, up from R395-million last year.” read more…http://www.tim
SOUTH AFRICA: ANC rejects calls for early conference ‘out of hand’
“There will be neither an early elective nor consultative conference for the ANC, party spokesman Zizi Kodwa said on Thursday.

Kodwa said secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had told a gathering this week that structures had rejected the idea of an early conference “out of hand”. read more…http://www.bdl
SOUTH AFRICA: Universities in crisis: Runs much deeper than free tuition, decolonisation. Expert analysis
“South African universities are in deep crisis. A government announcement that university fee increases should be capped at 8% has not gone down well among student activists. Ultimately the demand is for free higher education. If the government can’t provide this, the next step is to demand that the public sector covers the costs of providing university tuition for all students. Violent protests have escalated to the extent that university authorities fear for the safety of their staff and students and are prioritising protecting property – including libraries. Normal learning and teaching activities can no longer continue.”  read more…http://www.biz
SOUTH AFRICA: South African universities in crisis: what we need to know
read more…https://fle
MIDDLE EAST: Shimon Perez was a liberal Zionist, his death is a no loss at all – Prof. Jeff Halper
“Prof. Jeff Halper is a director at ICAHD(The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions). He provides commentary on the reality of Shimon Perez who died at the age of 93.”   click here to listen…https://sou
MIDDLE EAST: Shimon Peres: Israeli War Criminal Whose Victims the West Ignored
“Shimon Peres, who passed away Wednesday aged 93 after suffering a stroke on 13 September, epitomised the disparity between Israel’s image in the West and the reality of its bloody, colonial policies in Palestine and the wider region.” read more…http://www.com
MIDDLE EAST: Was it Mutiny? U.S. Rulers Split Over Syria
“The American bombing of Syrian soldiers was no “mistake” – it was a mutiny by the War Party in the U.S. military and government, who want victory for the jihadists. “The war hawks have never forgiven Obama or ceased denouncing his failure to ‘finish off’ Assad” in 2013. They hope that a President Hillary Clinton “will launch the final, crushing strike” against Assad – “if the jihadists can just hang on until Inauguration Day.”  read more…http://bla
MIDDLE EAST: How a church was smeared for an exhibition about Israeli occupation
“When a Methodist church in central London decided to hold a small exhibition about life for Palestinians under Israeli occupation, its members probably did not expect to be smeared as antisemites in the pages of The Times.

Yet that is precisely what happened to the members of Hinde Street Methodist church in Marylebone, in response to its “You cannot pass today” event, held as part of an annual “World Week for Peace in Palestine/Israel.” read more…http://www.mid
MIDDLE EAST: Evidence of Feared Israel-Led Censorship as Facebook Bans Palestinian Editors
“Facebook on Friday disabled the accounts of multiple editors of two of the most widely read online Palestinian publications, The Electronic Intifada reports, fulfilling what civil liberties advocates had feared when news emerged earlier this month that the popular social media site would collaborate with the Israeli government to censor users.”  read more…http://www.com
USA: Killing people, breaking things and America’s winless wars: Details of the dismal U.S. military record
“This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch.

Winning: it’s written into the DNA of the U.S.A. After all, what’s more American than football legend Vince Lombardi’s famous (if purloined) maxim: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”?

Americans expect to be number one. First Lady Michelle Obama recently called the United States the “greatest country on Earth.” (Take that, world public opinion, and your choice of Germany!) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton went even further, touting America as “the greatest country that has ever been created.” Her rival, Donald Trump, who for political gain badmouths the country that made him rich and famous, does so in the hope of returning America to supposedly halcyon days of unparalleled greatness.” read more…http://www.sal
USA: Will the Left Survive the Millennials?
“Midway through my opening address for the Brisbane Writers Festival earlier this month, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, a Sudanese-born Australian engineer and 25-year-old memoirist, walked out. Her indignant comments about the event might have sunk into obscurity, along with my speech, had they not been republished by The Guardian.” read more…http://www.nyt
USA: Police: Palace Guards and Counterinsurgents
“Thanks to the ubiquity of cell-phone cameras, police racism is now apparent to even the most disinterested citizen. The recorded police murders of African Americans at work, in their cars, committing minor traffic violations, or at leisure, are widely known.

The unwarranted shootings of unarmed African American youth, women, elderly, or the impaired, have been seen via the media by nearly everyone. There is no longer much public denial of the existence of police violence against Black people. There remains, however, a continuing debate on the extent of the violence, its causes, and its meaning.” read more…http://mlt
USA: Should Silicon Valley Really Be Allowed To Decide What Is and Isn’t Hate Speech?
“As of now, it’s internet companies that determine how much hate speech, if any, circulates on their platforms.
Comedian Leslie Jones’ recent experiences in our digital environment—a barrage of viciously racist tweets and hackers posting her personal information and nude photos allegedly of her—are just the latest in the downward spiral of online hate speech, harassment and menace.” read more…http://int
SOUTH AFRICA: No work, no pay for Amcu protesters
“The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has vowed to continue with their protected strike until Sasol Mining meets their demands.

The wages strike began in August.

Amcu is demanding wages of R12 500 and Sasol Mining apparently offered seven per cent for the present and five per cent from January.

Mr Patrick Ndlovu, Amcu regional organiser, said Sasol is refusing to meet the demands of the workers.”

read more…http://rid
SOUTH AFRICA: Saccawu to hold talks with Pick n Pay over self-help tills
“The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) will hold discussions with members on the new self-service till points.

It’s expected to make a decision on what action is to be taken against Pick n Pay’s self- service till points.

The tills points have been tested at the supermarket chain’s Observatory store in Cape Town. This is the first of its kind in South Africa’s retail market.” read more…https://www.enc
SOUTH AFRICA: Workers’ On Wednesday
SAfm Labour Show

The Robertson Winery Strike
Are farmworkers rising up again?
  GUESTS
Deneco Dube
Regional Organiser
Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural & Allied Workers’ Union (CSAAWU)
 
Colette Solomon
Director
Women on Farms Project (WFP)

Emile Maseko
Robertson Striking Committee

 click here to listen …http://www.wwmp
SOUTH AFRICA: Media24 appeals against tribunal’s predatory pricing finding
“MEDIA24 has appealed against the Competition Tribunal’s finding that it used predatory pricing to drive an independent community newspaper out of business in the Welkom market.

It has also appealed against the tribunal’s order that Media24 provide 90-day credit facilities for the printing and distribution needs of current and new entrants into the market.” read more…http://www.bdli
USA: The Sneaky Way Amazon Is Ripping You Off
“One day recently, we visited Amazon’s website in search of the best deal on Loctite super glue, the essential home repair tool for fixing everything from broken eyeglass frames to shattered ceramics.

In an instant, Amazon’s software sifted through dozens of combinations of price and shipping, some of which were cheaper than what one might find at a local store.” read more…http://www.alt
USA: Facebook Ordered to Stop Collecting Data on WhatsApp Users in Germany
“When the messaging service WhatsApp announced last month that it was starting to share some of its users’ online information with Facebook, its parent company, many users expressed anger that their digital privacy could be at risk.

Now, a German regulator thinks so, too.”  read more…http://www.nyt
USA: Facebook Censors Refugee Photographs
“On August 28, 2015, a boat filled with Palestinian and Syrian refugees sank off the coast of Libya. As many as 150 were drowned. On August 29, Syrian artist Khaled Barakeh posted an album of seven photographs to Facebook, entitled Multicultural Graveyard. Six photographs showed drowned children and youths from the shipwreck, while one depicted a pile of orange body bags. He did not indicate their source.”  read more…https://wp