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☆ Belarus detains former presidential candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 12 (Reuters) - An opposition politician who stood against long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko in the controversial 2020 presidential election has been detained, his team said. There was no comment from authorities in Belarus on the detention. His announcement of victory over leading opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya triggered weeks of mass protests in which hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets urging Lukashenko to step aside. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, violently quashed the protests and has since stepped up a campaign of repression to silence domestic political opposition. Rights groups estimate there are about 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus as a result of the crackdown.

☆ 'Effective Altruism' has been touted by tech stars from Sam Bankman-Fried to Elon Musk. Here's how it started and how it's going after FTX's implosion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Effective altruism is a social movement that relies on evidence and reasoning to figure out the best ways to help others. Its supporters include major Silicon Valley tech personalities like Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Peter Thiel. He drove a Toyota Corolla, ate vegan food, and lived with several roommates — presumably due to his belief in a social movement called effective altruism. For many, it's brought the principles of effective altruism into question. Here's a closer look at the ideas behind effective altruism and what philosophers and followers are saying in the aftermath:

☆ The world's in a 'polycrisis' — and these countries want to quash it by looking beyond GDP
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. "Which I think is why we're seeing such growing interest in the well-being economy approach, both here in Scotland and around the world." A post-growth society is one that resists the demand for constant economic growth. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. 'GDP is not a way to measure richness'The push to look beyond economic growth comes at a time of growing calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide.

☆ Former Twitter employees launch Spill, a refuge for 'Black Twitter,' after hate speech soars under Elon Musk's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The former Twitter employees are catering to "culture drivers," especially Black and queer creators. Terrell told TechCrunch. Since Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October, hate speech and slurs against Black users have skyrocketed and popular users from Black Twitter have used comedy to mourn the loss of their online community. Following the announcement of the app, Terrell tweeted that Spill had received 20,000 reservations for handles within 12 hours. Terrell, Brown, and Spill advisors April Reign, DeRay Mckesson and Dantley Davis did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Activists take Qatar workers protest to FIFA boss's home town
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Arnd Wiegmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The protest by the Avaaz campaign group included an Infantino impersonator holding a World Cup trophy. Qatar, where foreigners make up most of the 2.9 million population, has faced intense criticism from human rights groups over its treatment of migrant workers. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported last year that at least 6,500 migrant workers -- many of them working on World Cup projects -- had died in Qatar since it won the right in 2010 to stage the World Cup. Qatari World Cup organisers have said that there have been three work-related fatalities and 34 non-work-related deaths among workers at World Cup 2022 sites. Amnesty and other rights groups have led calls for FIFA to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for human rights abuses by setting aside $440 million, matching the World Cup prize money.

☆ Iranian city shops shut after strike call, judiciary blames 'rioters'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Iranian shops shut their doors in several cities on Monday, following calls for a three-day nationwide general strike from protesters seeking the fall of clerical rulers, with the head of the judiciary blaming "rioters" for threatening shopkeepers. Amini was arrested by Iran's morality police for flouting the strict hijab policy, which requires women to dress modestly and wear headscarfs. Iran's public prosecutor on Saturday was cited by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency as saying that the morality police had been disbanded. Security forces would show no mercy towards "rioters, thugs, terrorists", the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the guards as saying. Kurdish Iranian rights group Hengaw also reported that 19 cities had joined the general strike movement in western Iran, where most of the country's Kurdish population live.

Despite police, county executives and national pundits falsely labeling bail reform a disaster, in the few places like New York state that have tried it, bail reform has been a win for freedom. Bail reform has been a win for fiscal responsibility, saving taxpayers millions of dollars by avoiding the costs of unnecessary mass detention. Laura Gillen, a Democrat and fierce opponent of bail reform who lost her Long Island congressional race, took to Twitter to argue that bail reform was a reason Democrats lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats lost because they ran from the truth about bail reform, amplifying lies instead of championing what should have been their policy win. The truth about bail reform isn’t just a political game — it is a moral imperative.

☆ Chinese protesters are reacting to a broken social contract
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Diana Fu | Diana Fu Is Associate Professor Of Chinese Politics At The University Of Toronto | Non-Resident Fellow At The Brookings Institution. She Is Author Of The Book | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

However, a deeper cause for this unrest is that the protesters are responding to a broken social contract between the Chinese Communist Party and the people. Despite swift censorship, a Chinese social media post referencing the incident had been viewed 180,000 times before it was deleted. With 20% youth unemployment, businesses closing, migrant workers left homeless and preventable deaths mounting, some Chinese citizens are withdrawing their consent to be ruled. Chinese protesters normally avoid such rhetoric, preferring to stick to bread-and-butter economic or local issues, which are more likely to yield concessions. It is significant that this time, Chinese protesters are borrowing a tactic from Hong Kong protesters in 2020 — holding up pieces of blank paper.

Formal organizations like the Oath Keepers no longer define the American right-wing landscape. If Biden’s election was illegitimate, the Oath Keepers were ready to defend Trump’s legitimate one. And indeed, the trial has revealed the brazenness of the Oath Keepers, as well as some profound shifts happening in the American right. The evidence of a seditious conspiracy introduced in the Oath Keepers’ trial was damning, yet obvious. While certainly more polished, some of Masters’ talking points would not be out of place at an Oath Keepers meeting.

☆ Kremlin guards could be controlled by enemies with 'hypnotic abilities,' according to secret memo from Russia's intelligence agency: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A leaked memo describes Kremlin's fears that its guards could be hypnotized, The Insider reported. The memo proposes a plan overseen by a top security official to prepare against such attacks. The leaked memo contains details that could have easily come from the plot of Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" — with everything from theories that soldiers could be hypnotized, to efforts to prevent infection by "psycho-generators." The memo mentions enemies "capable of psychologically infecting personnel and possessing hypnotic abilities," without saying who these individuals are, according to The Insider. The Russian government's press service and Federal Protective Service did not respond to Insider's requests for a comment.

Her death, first reported by local news outlets in North Carolina and Black-centered blog sites, was heart-wrenching to Black social media users. Now, less than a month later, her family, social media users and experts are acknowledging the power of Black social media support, saying it was crucial keeping attention on her case. Black social media is extremely powerful.”Social media users have also used the #SayHerName hashtag when amplifying Robinson’s story. This isn’t the first time Black social media users have used their platform to draw attention to injustice. The professor, Ijeoma Opara, wanted to support the child’s interest in science, and social media users made it possible.

☆ Climate protesters are chucking food at priceless paintings. A social movements expert says these tactics only convince people who already think climate change is serious.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A string of climate protests this year involved throwing food at famous pieces of art. But disruptive tactics won't sway those who aren't already concerned about climate change, a sociologist told Insider. "What I've found is that these tactics are likely to be viewed as positive by people who already believe that climate change is a serious social problem," Dylan Bugden, a sociologist at Washington State University who studies global climate change protests, told Insider. In Bugden's research, he's found disruptive and confrontational tactics aren't effective on people who are not already concerned about climate change. Tomato soup on van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'The van Gogh painting was unharmed due to protective glass, in October.

☆ Salary transparency is a win for NYC job hunters, but some say workers still will need to push for pay equity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, a salary transparency law went into effect for most New York City companies. Starting Tuesday, employers in New York City have to include a "good faith" salary range in all job postings, following the lead of states like Colorado, Connecticut, and Nevada. According to recent Lattice surveys, 25% of employees know the pay range of their job while 9% knows the range of the next level. Although it's unclear where respondents worked, this number could increase as more people have access to salary range data. If you've just found out you're making less than others doing the same job, Williams and Carhart agree that you should not overreact.

☆ LGBT Representation in Ads Has Grown, but Many Consumers Find It Inauthentic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Still, marketing to LGBT consumers can be tricky due to political tensions as well as consumer skepticism, particularly when big companies roll out Pride Month campaigns in June but are seen as not following through on standing up for LGBT rights. Many marketers still treat LGBT consumers as more of a niche group than they are, some experts said. A 2021 Nielsen survey found that, outside of Pride Month, only 1% of ads included LGBT characters or topics. Harris found that 67% of consumers think Pride Month has become too commercialized. In the Disqo survey, 46% of respondents said advertising already has enough LGBT themes and characters, and some experts think brands might mistakenly conclude that representing LGBT consumers in ads is no longer a pressing issue.

☆ Italy's Meloni picks Nazi-armband lawmaker as junior minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Galeazzo Bignami, a lawmaker of the rightist Brothers of Italy party who sparked outrage in 2016 after a newspaper published a picture of him wearing a Nazi swastika on his left arm, was named junior infrastructure minister on Monday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who personally announced Bignami's appointment at a news conference, is the leader of Brothers of Italy, a group which traces its roots to the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). He has long been part of the Italian hard-right but has spent part of his political career in former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's more moderate Forza Italia. Bignami will serve under the right-wing League party leader Matteo Salvini, who is the infrastructure minister and deputy prime minister. Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil leftist Lula wins third presidential term to redeem tarnished legacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

His policies lifted millions from extreme poverty, expanded access to education and healthcare, and reduced Brazil's deep social inequalities during years of robust growth driven by a global commodities boom. GLOBAL PRESTIGEHis presidency also reinvigorated Brazil's oil and ship-building industries, while its economy rose to sixth-largest in the world. Brazil's global prestige hit new levels as it was chosen to host the Olympics and soccer World Cup. However, Lula's legacy was tarnished amid revelations of a vast kickback scheme on public contracts, benefiting leaders from major political parties, including his own. A heavy smoker for years, Lula was treated with chemotherapy for throat cancer in 2011, deepening his gruff baritone.

☆ Iranians appear to defy warning from powerful Guards with more protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Iran's Revolutionary Guards top commander warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, the harshest warning yet by Iranian authorities. Nevertheless, videos on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed confrontations between students and riot police and Basij forces in universities all over Iran. HISTORY OF CRACKDOWNSThe Guards and its affiliated Basij force have crushed dissent in the past. "So far, Basijis have shown restraint and they have been patient," the head of the Revolutionary Guards in the Khorasan Junubi province, Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mahdavi, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. A joint statement released by Iran’s intelligence ministry and the intelligence organisation of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday had accused Hamedi and Mohammadi of being CIA foreign agents.

☆ Iranian journalists demand that colleagues jailed for covering Amini's death be freed
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Niloofar Hamedi took a photo of Amini's parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma. A joint statement released by Iran’s intelligence ministry and the intelligence organisation of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday had accused Hamedi and Mohammadi of being CIA foreign agents. At least 40 journalists have been detained in the past six weeks, according to rights groups, and the number is growing. What began as outrage over Amini's death on Sept. 16 evolved into a popular revolt by people from all layers of society. CLERICS EXPECTED TO SURVIVEThe Revolutionary Guards and the volunteer militia Basij have crushed dissent in the past - in 2009 protests lasted six months.

☆ Claude Monet, Larry Fink, and Ted Cruz: Climate stunts grab headlines but can they get results?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That was an improvement over the previous year, but still not nearly enough given the threat the climate crisis presents for humanity, Hu told Insider. "I could spend 20 minutes talking about the destruction from climate change. "More people are aware of this climate crisis and that we have to do something about it because of our actions," Harris said. "Journalists don't report on the climate crisis like it is an emergency. Ridiculous stunts like the art action gets the climate crisis into the headlines and millions of people talking."

☆ Factbox: Key ministers in new Italian Meloni government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government was sworn into office on Saturday. Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. He held posts in centre-right governments led by Berlusconi and recently served as president of the influential parliamentary intelligence committee. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the ministry.

☆ Italy's first female prime minister leads the most far-right government since the fascist era of Mussolini
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Giorgia Meloni has become Italy's first female Prime Minister. Her new government is set to be the most right-wing since the era of Benito Mussolini. She's previously said, "No to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration." Her new government has already shown signs of political tensions, with the leader of the Forza party, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, having left a note in public view at the opening of Parliament calling the new prime minister as overbearing, domineering, arrogant, and offensive, according to Politico. League leader Matteo Salvini, Meloni's other far-right ally, has also long been seen as a Putin admirer, reported the BBC.

☆ (OFFICIAL) Key ministers in new Italian government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Italy's newly appointed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Giorgia Meloni's Italian government will be sworn in on Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the justice ministry.

☆ Low-key 'fixer' Giorgetti named Italy's economy minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Gavin Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

read moreTim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors, said "long-time League fixer" Giorgetti was a better fit. I don't know if I'd be able to be economy minister." As industry minister, he helped block a number of Chinese takeover bids in strategic sectors of Italy's economy. "He backed Maroni when he got rid of Bossi, he backed Salvini when he got rid of Maroni and then he backed Draghi who undermined Salvini," said the source, asking not to be named. Tellingly, when Meloni proposed Giorgetti as economy minister, Salvini said he should be counted as an external figure, rather than part of the League's quota of ministers, a party source said.

☆ Sexual assault-related ER visits increased more than tenfold since 2006, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The study authors said their research represents the largest longitudinal study of sexual assault-related visits to emergency rooms in the U.S. That could be because cultural understandings of what constitutes sexual assault have expanded beyond encounters involving extreme physical violence. In 2019, for example, there were more than 139,800 reports of sexual assault to law enforcement compared to 55,296 ER visits. Sexual assault overall makes up just 0.06% of emergency room visits, according to the study. The FBI data, meanwhile, relies on voluntary reports from law enforcement and narrow definitions of sexual assault, according to the study.

☆ Analysis: Method or madness? Berlusconi's Russia stance hurts Meloni and Italy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meloni, leader of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, has strongly defended Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February and has supported Western sanctions against Moscow. Berlusconi's pro-Putin remarks came in front of dozens of Forza Italia lawmakers and Napoli believed the risk of information being leaked to the press was obviously high. Some analysts believe there is no clear strategy behind Berlusconi's comments and that they could backfire and even jeopardise Tajani's chances of becoming foreign minister. Giovanni Orsina, a politics professor at Rome's Luiss university said Berlusconi has demolished his own argument that Forza Italia can be a moderating influence on the government. "It is hard to imagine that this is rational because Berlusconi and his party are the first to be damaged ...

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