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Sunday, October 27, 2013

Facebook works to warn users about violent content

FILE - This Feb. 8, 2012, file photo, shows a view inside Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook announced Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, it was working on new ways to keep users from stumbling across gruesome content on its website following an outcry over the discovery of beheading videos there. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

LONDON (AP) — Facebook announced Tuesday it was working on new ways to keep users from stumbling across gruesome content on its website following an outcry over the discovery of beheading videos there.

The controversy — which has drawn critical comment from British Prime Minister David Cameron — illustrates the difficulty of setting a universal standard across the social network used by 1 billion people. Facing sharp criticism, Facebook Inc. issued a statement clarifying that violent videos were only allowed if they were presented as news or held up as atrocities to be condemned.

"If they were being celebrated, or the actions in them encouraged, our approach would be different," the company said in a statement. "However, since some people object to graphic video of this nature, we are working to give people additional control over the content they see. This may include warning them in advance that the image they are about to see contains graphic content."

Facebook banned beheading videos in May but recently lifted the prohibition — a development flagged by the BBC on Monday. A few groups have since condemned the social network for potentially exposing users to the violent content.

Cameron, whose right-leaning government has unveiled several initiatives to censor objectionable content online, said Tuesday allowing the beheading videos back on Facebook was "irresponsible."

Facebook's administrators face constant pressure from interest groups trying to impose their own forms of censorship or fighting to lift restrictions they see as oppressive. Women's rights groups want the company to crack down on misogynistic content; others have ridiculed Facebook's ban on the depiction of female breasts. Some believers have urged the site ban what they see as blasphemous content, while others decry what they claim is Facebook's censorship of pages critical of one religion or the other.

Violent news content poses particularly thorny questions for a website that allows children as young as 13 to join. Should photos of heroic rescuers working during the Boston marathon bombings be banned because some people object to the sight of gore? While images of torture and abuse helped fuel the rage of the Arab pro-democracy demonstrators, should they have been banned for being too bloody?

One free speech group said the fact that content is hard to watch didn't mean it should be hidden.

"Films about beheadings may be deeply upsetting and offensive, but they do expose the reality of violent acts that are taking place in the world today," said Sean Gallagher of the London-based Index on Censorship. "When trying to draw a line about what should or shouldn't be allowed, it's important to look at context, not just content."

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-10-22-Britain-Facebook-Beheadings/id-e463b9288d964b0eb64dfa605dffde9b
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Georgia votes for new president at watershed poll

Tbilisi (AFP) - Georgia voted in a presidential poll Sunday with a loyalist of billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili favourite to replace his larger-than-life nemesis Mikheil Saakashvili at the helm of the ex-Soviet state.

The vote heralds the end of pro-Western Saakashvili's second and last term and a year of his painful political cohabitation with bete noire Ivanishvili, who has promised to also step down in the coming weeks.

"Today we show that we are true Europeans," Ivanishvili told journalists as he voted. "People can truly exercise their right to make a free choice."

Stakes at the poll in the Western-backed Caucasus republic of some 4.5 million are lower this time round as consitutional changes will see the next president hand over many key powers to the prime minister after the vote.

Voting was slow at polling stations around capital Tbilisi and official turnout stood at under 18 percent as at mid-day local time (0800 GMT), according to the election commission.

Giorgi Margvelashvili -- a previously obscure university dean from Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition – was well ahead of former parliament speaker David Bakradze of Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) in pre-election opinion polls.

Margvelashvili, 44, has said he is so sure of claiming the 50 percent needed to win the first round -- in which 23 candidates are running -- that he would withdraw if the vote goes to a second round.

"We are confident that the country will make the right choice," Margvelashvili said as he voted with his student daughter.

But with a combative challenge from 49-year-old former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze -- and up to 20 percent of voters undecided -- the poll could go to a second round.

'Completely different type of president'

At a polling station in a university in central Tbilisi, professor Serge Tsutskiridze said he voted for "reserved" Margvelashvili because he wanted to see a new style of leader after Saakashvili's divisive rule.

"I voted for him because he is a completely different type of person to Saakashvili. We don't need another emotional and headstrong president," said Tsutskiridze, 67.

Other voters said that they hoped to see Saakashvili's party remain a force in Georgian politics despite Saakashvili's exit.

"I voted for David Bakradze -- a moderate and experienced politician – because I don't want one-party rule in Georgia," said journalist Ketevan Kurdovanidze, 50.

Ivanishvili, 57, wrested power from Saakashvili's party in parliamentary polls last year, marking Georgia’s first orderly transition.

Observers from non-governmental organisation Transparency International said in a midday statement that the vote was being held in a "calm environment" but that the number of procedural violations was up on last year's vote.

Ivanishvili's coalition will remain in control of the government whatever the result of Sunday's vote, but the tycoon has promised to stick to a pledge to name a successor as premier and step down.

Georgia under Saakashvili has made joining NATO and the European Union a main priority, and Ivanishvili's coalition has pledged to press on with this drive.

They have also promised to try to mend ties with Moscow shattered by a brief 2008 war between the two that saw Georgia effectively lose two breakaway regions, where Russia has now stationed thousands of troops.

Western allies have expressed concern over perceived selective justice that has seen a string of Saakashvili's close allies arrested since his party lost power.

Saakashvili, 45, has said he wants to remain active in politics but Ivanishvili -- who denies that there has been a political witch-hunt -— has labelled him a "political corpse" and warned that he could face prosecution once his immunity ends when he leaves office.

During a tumultuous decade under Saakashvili -- who came to power after ousting Eduard Shevardnadze in the 2003 "Rose Revolution" -- Georgia cut corruption, built new infrastructure and revived the country's devastated economy.

However, Saakashvili's reforms angered many who felt left out by the rush to change and police brutality used in crushing opposition protests tarnished his image as a pioneering democrat.

Over 3.5 million people are eligible to vote in the election which is monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Polls close at 1600 GMT and preliminary results are expected to begin coming out overnight.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/georgia-set-elect-president-watershed-poll-021712281.html
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For Obamacare To Work, It's Not Just About The Numbers

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Relatively few people have enrolled in new health insurance plans since the Affordable Care Act exchanges launched this month. But some health care experts say it's early days yet — and that getting the right proportion of healthy, young new enrollees is just as important as how quickly people sign up.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NprProgramsATC/~3/V06nQ6bSc6Y/for-obamacare-to-work-its-not-just-about-the-numbers
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Poll: Congress, tea party take hits from government shutdown (cbsnews)

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Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: fall 2013 edition

Fall is the season of change, and tablet makers are embracing this concept with gusto -- Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and others have all refreshed their lineups. In many cases, , even, these refreshes are actually giant upgrades. The iPad mini finally has a Retina display, for example, while the ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8ww5uUs6A8Q/
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The Next Three 'Avatar' Sequels Already Have A Villain

Thus far, all of the official details about the stories for "Avatar 2," "Avatar 3," and "Avatar 4" involve people coming back from the dead. First, we heard that Signourey Weaver will be back, and now we know that a villain is getting the same favor from James Cameron Deadline is reporting that Stephen Lang, […]Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/10/22/avatar-villain-sequels/
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Tori Spelling Talks Pregnancy Woes in REDBOOK November 2013 Feature

Fresh off the release of her new book "Spelling It Like It Is," Tori Spelling landed a feature in the November 2013 issue of REDBOOK magazine.

During her interview with the publication, the 40-year-old actress/author dished about her new book and revealed the struggles she faced during her pregnancy of her youngest son Finn.

Check out a few highlights from Miss Spelling's interview below. For more, be sure to visit REDBOOK!

On her pregnancy:

"In my book, I talk about how I felt lonely a lot during the pregnancy, because I didn't believe I could tell the public that i was going through. Instead, I would quietly go online to comment on boards and read about other moms who were sharing stories about their pregnancies. It gave me some kind of comfort, some peace of mind, to know that there were others having these experiences. But it would have been so much more helpful to be able to connect with them in person."

On writing "Spelling Like It Is":

"When I was in the hospital on bed rest with Finn [for fifty days], I literally wrote chapters of my book on my phone. I created a daily journal of everything happening."

On her new show "Mystery Girls" with Jennie Garth:

"The show is about two girls who were on a hit show in the nineties - a little bit of a wink at '90210' and our real lives - then went their separate ways. They played detectives on TV, and when they come back together it's because a crime needs to be re-solved. They end up figuring out that the crime-solving is what they were good at. I watched 'Charlies' Angels" growing up, and that's what 'Mystery Girls' is pretty much based on. The characters solve crimes, but they always do it in fabulous heels."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/tori-spelling/tori-spelling-talks-pregnancy-woes-redbook-november-2013-feature-949735
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