Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Eurosphere agenda: “How much money is being spent on refugees?…

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German Vice-Chancellor and SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel has called for a package of social measures that benefit the German population so it doesn’t feel it is receiving less than the refugees. Are migrants being given too much?

Russia ‘weaponising Europe migration’

Nato’s top commander in Europe accuses Russia and Syria of deliberately using migration to destabilise Europe.

Improve refugee protection by managing it better

The disorder and tragedy inherent in large-scale, spontaneous refugee flows is not inevitable—what we need is a managed protection regime. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate on refugees. Français, Español

Brussels Briefing: Euro Trump

This is Wednesday’s edition of our Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

Europe is waking to news that Donald Trump has taken a huge, bounding leaptowards securing the Republican nomination for US president. It is not yet wrapped up; the Republican race will probably run through to the spring. But Mr Trump could barely have emerged in better shape from Super Tuesday and the Europe’s press are all a bit stunned. Before they could even deploy some withering headlines, Mr Trump beat them to the punch, blasting the bloc on terrorism and migration: “You look at Brussels, look at Sweden, you look at Germany – it’s like a disaster.” With an eye on the presidential race, he at least had the diplomatic courtesy to hold back on attacking Germany’s Angela Merkel, a leader he recently said would “be out if they don’t have a revolution”.

Is cohesion policy under threat?

Cohesion Policy, the European Union’s main investment policy tool, is soon to face a struggle for survival. One that could threaten the core values of solidarity and convergence of regional disparities on which the EU has been built up, write Nikos Lampropoulos and Francesco Molica.

The French state against sex workers: a security and racist logic

The French state ostensibly sees sex workers as victims, but its combined legal framework positions them first and foremost as offenders, especially when they are migrants.

 

It seems increasingly unlikely that François Hollande will have another shot at the French presidency; faced with dissent in his own ranks over proposed employment reforms and struggling in the polls, the incumbent has few options open. EurActiv’s partner Tagesspiegel reports.

Kosovo at the crossroads

Kosovo has made great progress since gaining independence in 2008, but it still has a long way to go to secure a European future and avoid being consumed by its past, writes Hashim Thaçi.
Construction workers have begun clearing the southern section of the “Jungle of Calais” using heavy machinery, while inhabitants and relief organisations continue to protest. The Administrative Court of Lille gave permission for the clearance last week. Commentators accuse the government in Paris of undemocratic behaviour.
Ahead of the ECB meeting on March 10 the markets are looking desperately for signs of further quantitative easing. Commentators call on ECB chief Mario Draghi to finally take effective steps to stop deflation.

Debate: Asylum policy dividing EU

Ahead of the EU summit at the end of the week the rifts over asylum policy are growing deeper. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has rejected the quota system for refugees advocated by Angela Merkel and the Visegrád states plan to seal the border between Macedonia and Greece. Europe could collapse as the result of selfish national interests, commentators worry.
A pope and a patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church have come together for talks for the first time since the Great Schism almost 1,000 years ago. Is the meeting between Francis and Kirill on Cuba a genuine sign of religious unity or is it more of a political move?

The troubling link between economic and political inequality in Europe

Trust in institutions is not equally distributed among populations. In general, people from higher social strata show most support for the political system, as they’re the ones who mostly benefit from it.

Trust in institutions is necessary for the well functioning of modern democracies and the maintenance of institutional arrangements. The euro crisis has been identified by several scholars as a major factor contributing to falling trust in various European institutions.[1] In a recent article we have investigated whether, as a result of the crisis, trust has declined equally across European countries, and whether the decline varies among individuals with different socioeconomic backgrounds.[2]

Ahead of the EU summit at the end of the week resistance is growing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s proposal of a quota system for distributing refugees. The fact that large and prosperous countries such as France have now stopped toeing the line leaves commentators increasingly sceptical about the future cohesion of the EU.
With borders being sealed in reaction to the flood of refugees, high unemployment, huge debts, and far-right parties and movements on the rise, Europe’s integration is grinding to a halt. Is this the end of the big peace project?
Ahead of the EU summit the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have stressed their intention to shut down the Balkan route. At a meeting on Monday the leaders of the Visegrád states Macedonia and Bulgaria agreed to support efforts to secure the borders. The plans provoke different reactions from the press.
The Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez wants to be elected prime minister in the Spanish Congress on March 2. It remains unclear which parliamentary groups will vote in his favour. Is Spain facing a phase of instability?
MEPs from France’s National Front have corrected 988 voting errors since July 2014, seven times more than members of the French Socialists or the British Conservatives. EurActiv France reports.

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New photo from Facebook March 02, 2016 at 03:09PM

Sanırım devlet bizi şapıyor. via @smtklksz via Facebook Pages http://ift.tt/1heKubC

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Tuesday, March 1, 2016

New photo from Facebook March 01, 2016 at 09:38PM

Bu arada Vancouver, Kanada…via Reddit. via Facebook Pages http://ift.tt/1heKubC

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Cyberculture agenda: “Big Data techniques may be killing thousands of innocents…

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skynet-courier-detection-via-machine-learning-p3-normal

Researchers have taken a second look at the NSA SKYNET leaks, as well as theGCHQ data-mining problem book first published on Boing Boing, and concluded that the spy agencies have made elementary errors in their machine-learning techniques, which are used to identify candidates for remote assassination by drone. (more…)

13 Ways to Generate Revenue on Twitter

Twitter is a fantastic tool that can help your business achieve a variety of objectives, from brand awareness to networking to increasing website traffic. But, as with all marketing efforts, if you dig deep enough the main objective isusually tied to the bottom line.

Tracing the 50-Year Love Affair Between Art and Computers

Electronic Superhighway, a new exhibit at London’s Whitechapel Gallery, traces the impact of computers and the Internet on art.

Hacker Lexicon: What Counts as a Nation’s Critical Infrastructure?

When Sony was hacked in 2014, many were surprised that the government considered it critical infrastructure, worthy of federal protection. What else is?

Why Wall Street Is Embracing the Blockchain—Its Biggest Threat

The organization that ensures stocks traded on the market actually change hands is bullish on the blockchain. Here’s why.

Linguists Not Exactly Wow About Facebook’s New Reactions

Linguists Not Exactly Wow About Facebook’s New Reactions

Be nice to your grammar-obsessed Facebook friends right now. They are having a rough week. The post Linguists Not Exactly Wow About Facebook’s New Reactions appeared first on WIRED.

Facebook Reactions: What Marketers Need to Know

kh-facebook-reactions-560Have you seen the new Facebook reactions? Wondering how they’ll affect your Facebook page? Facebook reactions let Facebook users go beyond liking a post by allowing them to choose from six emojis that show different emotions. In this article I’ll explore how Facebook reactions work, and how your Facebook page can get the most from them. Facebook Reactions for […]

Fbemoji

 

Now that Facebook Reactions are live for everyone, we share our thoughts on the positives and negatives of the new feature and how it fits into the larger Facebook landscape on this episode of MashTalk.

 

Facebook Reactions Are Not Wow

Last year, Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, sent a document to a team of Facebook researchers called “Mapping the Hierarchy of Emotional Reactions.”

Whither Twitter?

My comment piece in today’s Observer.

If there’s one thing Wall Street and the tech industry fears, it is the idea that something potentially profitable might peak or reach some kind of equilibrium point. Endless exponential growth is what investors seek. Whereas you or I might think that a company with more than 300 million regular users that pulls in $710m in revenues is doing OK, Wall Street sees it as a potential zombie.

Apple is fighting the wrong encryption case

Apple chief executive Tim Cook is such a respected figure that it’s easy to overlook the basic problem with his argument about encryption: Cook is asserting that a private company and the interests of its customers should prevail over the public’s interest as expressed by our courts.Read full article >>

The Blockchain Gang

Bitcoin is passé. But if the buzz is to be believed, the “block chain” technology behind bitcoin is going to revolutionize your toaster, the banking system, andeverything in between. Block chain boosters often proclaim that it will transform the annoyance of buying a car—especially the part at the end where you have to write down a large number on a special piece of paper and hand it to the seller, and both of you have to anxiously wait to make sure the “check” “clears” while hoping you don’t get ripped off.

Twitter announced the creation of a body to deal with hate speech on the network. This approach, however, is more problematic than adequate.

From Motherboard, the Vice channels. Screen shot.On 9 February, Twitter announced the creation of the Trust and Safety Council, a body comprising 40 organisations and individuals from civil society and academia, tasked with “ensur[ing] that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter”. The move is clearly a response to specific criticism of Twitter and its perceived inadequacies in dealing with hate speech — a theme so popular and well-trodden that it recently spawned a parody account.

equip

A cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center’s computer system has locked up access vital patient data, and the hackers responsible are demanding payment of over 9000 bitcoins ($3.6 million) to unlock the data.

A beginner’s guide to learning Python

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New photo from Facebook March 01, 2016 at 02:20PM

via Jenny Hedlund in Ello.com- Painter based in Stockholm, Sweden… via Facebook Pages http://ift.tt/1heKubC

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Istanbul’s lost island… Istanbul news roundup..

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A team of Turkish archeologists are set to unearth a lost underwater island off the coast of Istanbul
The fourth edition of indie music festival IndieCity will be held at Salon IKSV in Istanbul on March 5

İstanbul ranks 122nd among 230 cities for quality of life

İstanbul ranks 122nd among 230 cities around the world in terms of quality of living according to the results of a global survey released on Tuesday.

An explorer of historic fountains in İstanbul

Despite his advanced age, Ali Baştuğ still tracks down historic fountains in İstanbulevery day. Baştuğ has visited hundreds of fountains in İstanbul and .
Today’s Zaman

!f İstanbul festival honors Turkey’s homegrown directors

Turkey’s very own up-and-coming filmmakers dominated the awards at this year’s 15th !f İstanbul International Independent Film Festival on Saturday

 Armenian musician in İstanbul clings to long-standing record store

Fifty-year-old Erol Yakar maintains Kalipso Müzik, a tiny record store on the main street of İstanbul’s Kurtuluş neighborhood, although he can no longer

[Photo Story] Life on the streets… skateboarding in İstanbul

This is a favored spot, especially on sunny weekend days, for skateboarders all overİstanbul. Places like Maltepe and Bayrampaşa have special runs

Istanbul public buses get panic buttons

Istanbul’s public transport operator has started fitting buses with panic buttons in an attempt to improve passenger safety. Buses running on the city’s

Berlinale winners to have Turkish debuts at İstanbul Film Festival

Italian director Gianfranco Rosi’s “Fuocoammare,” about the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, will be joined on the 35th İstanbul Film Festival’s bill …

Istanbul’s Suburban Dream Is Fueled by Debt

Forty-five years ago, a person could describe Istanbul, looking at its then-suburbs, as a place of gecekondu (informal or squatter) houses. The goal of

Political risks and unpredictability undermine Istanbul’s popularity for property investors: Report

While Istanbul has been named one of the 20 most popular cities for property investors in Europe, a number of political risks, judicial woes,

In Istanbul’s Ancient Gardens, A Battle for Future Harvests

Development pressures are threatening Istanbul’s centuries-old gardens, which have produced food for the city’s markets since Byzantine times
Today‘s Zaman

‘El Clan’ director Trapero to chair İstanbul Film Festival jury

Director Pablo Trapero poses for photographers as he presents “El Clan” during the 72nd Venice Film Festival in this Sept. 6, 2015 file photo.

An ultimate guide to Anatolian Istanbul

 CINEMA-TV >The cat’s meow: New documentary takes onIstanbul’s felines

If you want to get to know a city, they say you have to see it through the eyes of a local. In Istanbul, though, forget about any two-legged guide to the

İstanbul’s historic apartments under scrutiny after recent collapse

The sudden collapse of adjacent five-story apartment buildings near İstanbul’spedestrian shopping neighborhood of Taksim last week was only the

Activist groups react harshly toward use of city park for construction site

İstanbul’s Fındıklı Park is one of the few green coastal areas in the city center, and almost all of it has been cordoned off to make room for the

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