IMEMC : The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) released a report, on Thursday, estimating that over 80 percent of Palestinian journalists were engaged in self-censorship.
The group released a report of its findings following two studies, along with a meeting on self-censorship and its impact on freedom of expression and media in Palestine, according to Ma’an News Agency.
Mousa Rimawi, general director of MADA, said that self-censorship is the most “serious and dangerous kind of censorship” journalists face, noting that the practice began during the Israeli occupation prior to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Rimawi said that direct censorship by Israeli authorities during the First Intifada, in the late eighties, led to self-censorship among Palestinian journalists as media outlets used different methods of skirting Israeli restrictions on media output.
Self-censorship continued after the creation of the PA, Rimawi said, and has escalated “concretely and dangerously” since the 2007 split between Hamas and Fateh.
Ma’an further reports that, during a meeting entitled “Self-censorship: Is there a way to get rid of it?”, dozens of journalists and media students were presented with the results of two studies by MADA which revealed that some 80 percent of journalists surveyed practiced self-censorship on some or all of the material which they had written or produced.
Over 68 percent of journalists claim that their work, or their colleagues’ work, had been banned from being published, at one time or another, by their employer.
They also explained that the practice of self-censorship was related not only to official institutions, but also to fears that society and publishers are not willing to discuss taboo subjects.
MADA released a statement, in December of 2013, which documented “worrying violations” against media freedoms in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The report noted several arbitrary arrests of journalists by PA forces in the West Bank, as well as Hamas security forces in Gaza.
In yet another curious coincidence surrounding the recent Ebola crisis, it appears that FEMA has been preparing for the appearance of a pandemic of deadly disease in the near future all along.
The Federal Executive Boards in New York City and Northern New Jersey in partnership with FEMA Region II, The Department of Health and Human Services Region II, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the Clearing House Association are sponsoring a two year series of pandemic influenza continuity exercises – tabletop exercise 2013 (complete), full scale exercise 2014 – to increase readiness for a pandemic event amongst Federal Executive Departments and Agencies, US Court, State, tribal, local jurisdictional and private sector continuity.
The exercise, having been underway since 2013 is scheduled to continue to December 4th 2014. The exercise will involve eight scheduled events and/or webinars which will discuss questions surrounding continuity of operations for essential services, transportation impacts, disruption in communications and internet connectivity, disruptions to power sources and other related possible damages to the normal function of societal life. The exercises also deal with the aftermath of the pandemic including “coping with the deaths of multiple coworkers/loved ones,” “replacing staff,” and “replacing personal protective equipment for a potential next wave.”
The fictional pandemic is designed as an influenza virus spreading from person to person worldwide. Sifma describes the setting for this exercise by peppering in statistics regarding the 1918 “Spanish Flu” and projected damage done to the U.S. population as well as the U.S. economy.
The stated objectives of the exercise are “to mitigate vulnerabilities during a pandemic influenza outbreak; to identify gaps or weaknesses in pandemic planning or in organization pandemic influenza continuity plans, policies, and procedures; and encourage private and public organizations to jointly plan for, and test, their pandemic influenza plans.”
The Sifma website provides an overall summary of the exercise as well as links to webinar presentations which can be viewed for free.
Regardless of the origins of the Ebola crisis, whether it be conspiracy or gross incompetence, there are a number of aspects to the entire situation which simply do not add up. While one would not argue that preparedness on the part of the federal government regarding a possible pandemic is a bad thing, its behavior thus far has exuded anything but preparedness. Considering America’s sordid history with national emergency exercises, the ongoing FEMA pandemic exercise cannot help but raise red flags.
“The End of Oppression” is a six-part series of videos which show what it will take for humanity to finally outgrow and escape its long history of violence and oppression.
Part Three (“Good Funding Evil”) illustrates how the legalized extortion known as “taxation” creates a situation in which millions of decent, productive people end up inadvertently funding and enabling mass injustice.
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I attended City Council to speak as part of Fluoride Free Houston. There was a large amount of people in attendance today so all speakers were limited to 1 minute. The Mayor told council members she was not encouraging the usual dialogue because of the lack of time.
After a couple hours it was FFH’s time to speak. A couple speakers were upset by the lack of respect being displayed by council and the general apathy we witnessed. As one of the speakers stormed out of the back of the hall he said aloud something along the lines of “city council is bullshit!”. He walked out the door and a cop ran after him. I began filming and followed outside. I witnessed the cop grab and accost him without communication as to what was happening. I filmed the whole thing and attempted to defend him and chill the cop out.
I was unsuccessful. I went back to council.
Moments later two officers entered the hall and I felt they were there for me so I began filming. One officer repeatedly told me to get up and come out to the hall. He would not tell me why or answer any questions. He kept telling me to leave my stuff behind. He grabbed me by the arm and attempted to drag me to the hall. I walked out to the hall and stood against a wall. My camera was smacked several times. I was shoved around. All of this before I was finally told I was being accused of flicking someone off.
When the cop got more aggressive I sat down and stopped cooperating. They forced me down the hall. Eventually someone confirmed that it was not me and the cop let me go. I looked him in the face and said “You owe me a fucking apology.” He grabbed me again and handcuffed me and said I was under arrest. I was shoved into the elevator and taken downstairs to be harassed some more. Eventually they let me go and wrote me a ticket for “disorderly conduct, abusive language”.
The Ebola outbreak is on full alert in Dallas Texas. Liberian national Thomas Duncan flew to the US from West Africa on September 20th. Several days later, Duncan walked into Texas Health Presbyterian hospital complaining about Ebola-like symptoms. He reportedly told the nurse he just came over from Liberia. They sent him home with a prescription for antibiotics. A few days later, he came rushing back to the same emergency room.
One neighbor living nearby says he witnessed Duncan vomit outside of his house, near the corner of an apartment building. We have an unconfirmed report from a source who works in the hospital. We’re working to confirm that source now, but there’s a rumor that Thomas Duncan not only vomited all over his apartment, but that he also puked INSIDE the ambulance and later all over the emergency room floor. Of course, this is BEFORE EMTs knew he was from Liberia.
We believe THAT ambulance was also used to transport other sick patients BEFORE it was cleaned. Now we know that the man’s family and several other people ARE in quarantine, with another 100 people being closely monitored by the CDC.
As the story continues to develop, Let’s turn to a regular guest on the broadcast, well-known homeopathic practitioner Robert Scott Bell.
Thomas Moore College in Belgium is experimenting with using remote controlled UAV to catch students cheating on their tests
A Belgian school has found a surprising new use for flying drones – making sure students don’t cheat on their exams.
Teachers at Thomas Moore College, in Belgium, are testing out the remote controlled aircraft to keep an eye on students during tests.
DJI Phantom drones are equipped with GoPro cameras to fly around the exam room, looking down on students as they work.
The technology has a way to go before being used for real, though as the drones only have a flight time of around 15 minutes – less than even the shortest exam.
There’s also the problem of the wind pushed out by the drone’s propellers – which could make a mess of exam papers.
by Brandon Turbeville
PN 