Fact and Friction: Reporting on Hong Kong's Protests AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 11:32 pm)

Mass protests in Hong Kong put a team of journalists to test as they face intimidation and growing pressure from China.
Fact and Friction: Reporting on Hong Kong's Protests AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 11:32 pm)

Mass protests in Hong Kong put a team of journalists to test as they face intimidation and growing pressure from China.
SpaceX Launches Another 60 Starlink Satellites, Sets Two Rocket Reuse Records Slashdotby BeauHD on communications at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at November 11, 2019, 11:24 pm)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: SpaceX launched another 60 of its internet satellites on Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a mission that set two new company records for reusing its rockets. Starlink represents SpaceX's ambitious plant to create an interconnected network of as many as 30,000 satellites, to beam high-speed internet to consumers anywhere in the world. This was the second full launch of Starlink satellites, as SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 in May. The company sees Starlink as a key source of funding while SpaceX works toward its goal of flying humans to and from Mars. Monday's launch also represented the fourth mission for this SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster, which landed and was reused after three previous launches, making this the first time the company landed a rocket booster four times. The booster, the large bottom portion of the rocket, previously launched satellites and then landed successfully for missions in July 2018, October 2018 and February 2019. Additionally, SpaceX used a fairing (the rocket's nosecone) that the company fished out the Atlantic Ocean after a mission in April -- the first time a company has refurbished and used that part of a rocket again. The company has been working to catch the fairing halves in a net strung above the decks of two boats, using parachutes and onboard guidance systems to slowly fly the fairings back into the nets. SpaceX caught its first fairing half on a boat in June. "We deployed 60 more Starlink satellites. This puts us one step closer to being able to offer Starlink internet service to customers across the globe, including people in rural and hard to reach places who have struggled to access high speed internet," SpaceX engineer Lauren Lyons said on the webcast.

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WeWork In Talks To Hire T-Mobile CEO John Legere Slashdotby BeauHD on business at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at November 11, 2019, 11:06 pm)

According to The Wall Street Journal, WeWork is in discussions with T-Mobile CEO John Legere to take over leadership of the troubled office-sharing startup (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). From the report: WeWork's parent, formally known as We Co., is searching for a CEO who can stabilize the company following the erratic tenure of its co-founder Adam Neumann. After WeWork's failed attempt at an initial public offering, SoftBank Group Corp. bought a majority stake in the company last month in a bailout, severing most ties with Mr. Neumann. The startup is looking for a new leader who could join as soon as January, some of the people said. There is no guarantee that Mr. Legere, who stands to receive a windfall if T-Mobile completes its proposed takeover of Sprint Corp. next year, would accept the position or that another candidate won't emerge. Like Mr. Neumann, Mr. Legere is known as an unconventional executive. The 61-year-old has spent the past six years running T-Mobile with a pugnacious style, trashing his rivals on Twitter as "Dumb and Dumber," using foul language and dressing in the company's signature magenta. He has turned around T-Mobile's operations, luring millions of cellphone customers from larger players and initiating the pending takeover of Sprint. Two WeWork executives, Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, have served as co-CEOs since September when Mr. Neumann resigned under pressure as chief executive. SoftBank executives are seeking to replace the duo with a high-profile candidate who they hope can turn the company around with an eye toward potentially taking it public in the future, the people said.

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Twitter Proposes Flagging Deepfakes, But Would Only Remove Content That Threatens Ha Slashdotby msmash on twitter at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at November 11, 2019, 10:48 pm)

Twitter is proposing a handful of new features designed to help its users spot "synthetic" or "manipulated" media, including deepfake videos. From a report: The social networking giant last month announced plans to implement a new policy around media assets that have been altered to mislead the public. Today heralds Twitter's first draft proposal, alongside a public consultation period, as it works to refine the rules and how they will be enforced. "When you come to Twitter to see what's happening in the world, we want you to have context about the content you're seeing and engaging with," said Twitter VP of trust and safety Del Harvey in a blog post. "Deliberate attempts to mislead or confuse people through manipulated media undermine the integrity of the conversation."

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Why Macron's remarks on Bosnia are dangerous AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 10:31 pm)

Portrayals of Bosnia as a source of 'Islamic threat' echo anti-Muslim narratives that led to the genocide of the 1990s.
Why Macron's remarks on Bosnia are dangerous AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 10:31 pm)

Portrayals of Bosnia as a source of 'Islamic threat' echo anti-Muslim narratives that led to the genocide of the 1990s.
Why Macron's remarks on Bosnia are dangerous AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 10:31 pm)

Portrayals of Bosnia as a source of 'Islamic threat' echo anti-Muslim narratives that led to the genocide of the 1990s.
Climate change: Bigger hurricanes are now more damaging BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition(cached at November 11, 2019, 10:11 pm)

The most damaging tropical cyclones are three times more frequent now than they were 100 years ago.
Study of Over 11,000 Online Stores Finds 'Dark Patterns' on 1,254 sites Slashdotby msmash on internet at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at November 11, 2019, 10:00 pm)

A large-scale academic study that analyzed more than 53,000 product pages on more than 11,000 online stores found widespread use of user interface "dark patterns" -- practices meant to mislead customers into making purchases based on false or misleading information. from a report: The study -- presented last week at the ACM CSCW 2019 conference -- found 1,818 instances of dark patterns present on 1,254 of the ~11K shopping websites (~11.1%) researchers scanned. "Shopping websites that were more popular, according to Alexa rankings, were more likely to feature dark patterns," researchers said. But while the vast majority of UI dark patterns were meant to trick users into subscribing to newsletters or allowing broad data collection, some dark patterns were downright foul, trying to mislead users into making additional purchases, either by sneaking products into shopping carts or tricking users into believing products were about to sell out. Of these, the research team found 234 instances, deployed across 183 websites.

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Can Cambodia's opposition keep pressure on PM Hun Sen? AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 9:53 pm)

Opposition leader Kem Sokha has been released from house arrest but the crackdown on dissent continues.
Why French left has a problem with Islamophobia AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 9:50 pm)

Recent anti-Islamophobia march in Paris has exposed deep divisions among French leftists on Islam.
US judge sides with New York AG in Trump tax return lawsuit AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at November 11, 2019, 9:47 pm)

Judge says Trump can't sue New York officials in a federal court in Washington, DC, to stop tax return release.
Ice loss causing Arctic to reflect less heat BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition(cached at November 11, 2019, 9:27 pm)

A loss of snow and ice cover are the main reasons for the reduction of the Arctic's albedo effect, not soot as had been previously thought.
Ice loss causing Arctic to reflect less heat BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition(cached at November 11, 2019, 9:27 pm)

A loss of snow and ice cover are the main reasons for the reduction of the Arctic's albedo effect, not soot as had been previously thought.