From left of field

futurejournalismproject:

The Olympics Are Coming

Welcome to Russia.

Committee to Protect Journalists: Media suffer winter chill in coverage of Sochi Olympics
In the run-up to the Sochi Winter Games, official repression and self-censorship have restricted news coverage of sensitive issues related to the Olympics, such as the exploitation of migrant workers, environmental destruction, and forced evictions.

Index on Censorship: A complete guide to who controls the Russian news media
In early 2000s various state agencies took financial or managerial control over 70 percent of electronic media outlets, 80 percent of the regional press, and 20 percent of the national press. As a result, Russian media continued to be used as tools of political control but now these “tools” were no longer distributed among competing political parties and businesses, but remained concentrated in the hands of a closed political circle that swore loyalty to President Putin.

Radio Free Europe: Russian Media Tests Boundaries Of State Censorship
It’s not easy being a journalist in Russia, where attacks against reporters have made it one of the most dangerous places to work, and the government has sidelined much of the free press. Still, some media outlets remain highly critical of the authorities. Their journalists say their main difficulty isn’t so much that they’re not able to report about the country’s problems, it’s that no one’s listening.

Freedom House: 2013 Russia Country Report
Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech, vague laws on extremism grant the authorities great discretion to crack down on any speech, organization, or activity that lacks official support. The government controls, directly or through state-owned companies and friendly business magnates, all of the national television networks and many radio and print outlets, as well as most of the media advertising market. Only a small and shrinking number of radio stations and publications with limited reach offer a wide range of viewpoints. In December 2013, Putin abolished the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, which had developed a reputation for objective reporting, and folded it into a new entity called Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today), which would be run by pro-Kremlin television commentator Dmitriy Kiselyov and Margarita Simonyan, the head of RT, the Kremlin’s propagandistic international television network. The Kremlin has also increased pressure on formerly outspoken outlets, such as the business newspaper Kommersant, which is now considered to be a progovernment publication.

Image: Cover, The Economist. The Triumph of Vladimir Putin.

starkinglyhandsome:

gallowstyphoon:

idiaz:

New cover for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. “The spine is screen-printed with a matchbook striking paper surface, so the book itself can be burned.”

WHO THE FUCK WOULD BURN A BOOK

have u read fahrenheit 451

(via silverview)

sistahmamaqueen:

phinasays:

shezzainblue:

wrynny:

fullpraxisnow:

Maybe the Most Orwellian Text Message a Government’s Ever Sent | Vice

“Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”

That’s a text message that thousands of Ukrainian protesters spontaneously received on their cell phones today, as a new law prohibiting public demonstrations went into effect. It was the regime’s police force, sending protesters the perfectly dystopian text message to accompany the newly minted, perfectly dystopian legislation. In fact, it’s downright Orwellian (and I hate that adjective, and only use it when absolutely necessary, I swear).

But that’s what this is: it’s technology employed to detect noncompliance, to hone in on dissent. The NY Times reports that the “Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cell phones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters early on Tuesday.” Near. Using a cell phone near a clash lands you on the regime’s hit list. 

See, Kiev is tearing itself to shreds right now, but since we’re kind of burned out on protests, riots, and revolutions at the moment, it’s being treated below-the-fold news. Somehow, the fact that over a million people are marching, camping out, and battling with Ukraine’s increasingly authoritarian government is barely making a ripple behind such blockbuster news bits as bridge closures and polar vortexes. Yes, even though protesters are literally building catapaults and wearing medieval armor and manning flaming dump trucks.

Hopefully news of the nascent techno-security state will turn some heads—it’s right out of1984, or, more recently, Elysium: technology deployed to “detect” dissent. Again, this tech appears to be highly arbitrary; anyone near the protest is liable to be labeled a “participant,” as if targeting protesters directly and so broadly wasn’t bad enough in the first place.

It’s further reminder that authoritarian regimes are exploiting the very technology once celebrated as a vehicle for liberation; last year, in Turkey, you’ll recall, the state rounded up dissident Twitter users. Now, Ukraine is tracing the phone signal directly. Dictators have already proved plenty adept at pulling the plug on the internet altogether.

All of this puts lie to the lately-popular mythology that technology is inherently a liberating force—with the right hack, it can oppress just as easily.

(Reach this writer at brian.merchant(at)vice.com and on Twitter, at bcmerchant​ | Photo Credit: Wikimedia)

This is ridiculous.

This is scary as hell is what it is. 

This situation is terrifying.

Nooooooooooooooo

(via womyn-inherits-the-earth-deacti)

(via solthree)

takealookatyourlife:

iamthebatfan:

charliehadalittlewolf:

tuhhveit:

elsiesmarina:

themightyquinn666:

sorry everyone

Excuse me.

• One of the first women to start her own independent production company.
• Earned her way to stardom without sleeping with executives for roles.
• Refused to date people for publicity just because 20th Century Fox wanted her to.
• Left 20th Century Fox because she refused to let them get away with treating her badly and paying her a tiny wage, just because of her “dumb blonde” image.
• Was only paid a fraction of her co-star’s wage even though she was the star of the movies and the biggest box office pull, but still went ahead with the movies because she was so passionate about acting.
• Studied method acting at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg, who said that she was one of his best students along with Marlon Brando.
• Had a personal library of over 500 books and rarely read fiction - she was desperate to learn and educate herself.
• Was sexually abused as a child but then went on to encourage the sexual liberation of women in the 1950s. 
• One of the first people to speak openly about sexual abuse.
• One of the first people to openly support gay rights.
• Supported many charities such as the Milk Fund, March of Dimes, Arthritis and Rheumatism foundation.
• Donated her time and money to these charities.
• Visited orphanages and hospitals on her own time to surprise the people there.
• Married one of the greatest literary minds of the 20th century
• Suffered two miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy and still put on a brave face for her fans.

Sorry, did you say she wasn’t a role model? 

marilyn is my biggest role model so don’t even go there

and let’s not forget this

Ella Fitzgerald was not allowed to play at the popular Mocambo, in Hollywood, because of her race. Marilyn, who loved her music and supported civil rights, called the owner of the Mocambo and told him that if he booked Ella immediately, she would take a front table every night. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. After that, Ella never had to play in a small jazz club again.

“She was an unusual woman – a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it." - Ella Fitzgerald about Marilyn Monroe

I wish people would idolize her for this stuff instead of just her image and appearance. I feel like not enough people know about this stuff

Apart from that I think people can idolise her for whatever reason makes them happy

(via mariacallous)