e-News bulletin 3 February 2017

SOUTH AFRICA

Statement by NUCWOSA on the Horrific Death of 94 Psychiatric Patients

As the newly formed union of community health care workers, we express our horror and disgust at the deaths of 94 psychiatric patients under the watch and care of the Gauteng Department of Health… wwmp.org.za/

Is our privacy all but gone?

We have become the victims of surveillance slavery. We are subject to privacy-stripping global responses to “terrorism”, citizen concerns around individual and residential safety and rising levels of organised criminal activity. All of these have been fashioned and framed by the explosion in communications and surveillance technology… dailymaverick.co.za/

amaBhungane: Another front in the perception war exposed – Kenny Kunene, founder and funder of Weekly Xposé

Flamboyant businessman and socialite Kenny Kunene is the latest prominent figure linked to an online campaign that appears designed to support the Gupta family and the narrative that they are victims of “White Monopoly Capital”… dailymaverick.co.za/

INTERNATIONAL

Steve Bannon: ‘We’re going to war in the South China Sea … no doubt

Only months ago Donald Trump’s chief strategist predicted military involvement in east Asia and the Middle East in Breitbart radio shows… theguardian.com/

President Trump: Nationalist Capitalism, An Alternative to Globalization

During his inaugural speech, President Trump clearly and forcefully outlined the strategic political-economic policies he will pursue over the next four years. Anti-Trump journalist, editorialists, academics and experts, who appear in the Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have repeatedly distorted and lied about the President’s program as well as his critique of existing and past policies… greanvillepost.com/

The Alt-Majority: How Social Networks Empowered Mass Protests Against Trump

In his first week in office, as the president’s aides won’t tire of reminding us, Mr. Trump has already put in motion plans to do much of what he promised to do while campaigning. But it’s not just the politician who is moving fast. It’s the population, too… nytimes.com/

Trump expected to sign cyber security executive order Tuesday

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on cyber security on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the situation said, marking the first action to address what he has called a top priority of his administration….reuters.com/

US border patrol is checking people’s Facebook for political views

Border agents are searching refugee’s Facebook accounts to ascertain their religious and political beliefs, according to Mana Yegani of the American Immigration Lawyers Association…usuncut.com/

Fear Materialized: Border Agents Demand Social Media Data from Americans

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently filed complaints against U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for, in part, demanding social media information from Muslim American citizens returning home from traveling abroad… eff.org/

Mexico’s misinformation wars: How organized troll networks attack and harass journalists and activists in Mexico

“On an average day, I see two or three trending topics generated by the trolls. Anywhere between 1000 and 3000 tweets a day. Many operate as part of organized “troll gangs” who are paid to make stories go viral or to launch campaigns discrediting and attacking journalists”… opendemocracy.net/

Reforming Work On-Demand in 2017

The NELP, a labor advocacy project based in New York City, issued “The On-Demand Economy & State Labor Protections,” a group of brief papers for lawmakers and policymakers. The aim is to broaden economic security for workers whose labor occurs under precarious employment conditions… populist.com

The 40-year-old Israeli document that forms the backbone of an apartheid state

Forty years after the publication of the Koenig Memo (or Koenig Document), a new look at this historic paper is necessary to answer a key question: is it the foundation for designating Israel as an apartheid regime in accordance with international law?… middleeasteye.net/

Disruptive Film: Everyday Resistance to Power

Anthology Film Archives’ three-day, three-program series “Disruptive Film: Everyday Resistance to Power” contains proficient demonstrations that effective political cinema cannot merely represent radical political movements, issues, or events. It must render them through forms that are themselves radically political. In drawing material from the three-volume Facets DVD collection they produced last year, filmmakers Sherry Millner and Ernest Larsen challenge expectations about what political cinema is and can be, and at its extremes “Disruptive Film” enlists the viewer’s understanding of social reality to complete the political cinematic experience… brooklynrail.org/