World
K-Pop fans mobilise to drown out racist tweets and hashtags

K-Pop fandom have weaponised their huge base and taken on the hashtags #WhiteLivesMatter, set up as a spoiler to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. But the huge fanbase of K-Pop has mobilised to spoil the spoilers. By flooding the hashtags with content, the K-Pop fans have been drowning out racist or offensive posts.
Instead they’ve used the hashtags to share pics of their fave K-Pop bands and performers, memes and lyrics that show support to the #BlackLivesMatter and the peaceful protests that are now spreading across the world.
The #BlueLivesMatter hashtag, often used in support of the police but also criticising #BlackLivesMatter protesters, has also been targeted.
After K-Pop fans flooded the hashtag with photos and videos, the term started trending on Twitter, reaching a much broader and global audience than its intended US base. Some fans are now focusing on other tags such as #AllLivesMatter.
The protests, and the social media storm, began following the release of a video showing African-American George Floyd being arrested, then killed, in the US city of Minneapolis. In the video four white police officers are seen arresting Mr Floyd. One officer, Derek Chauvin, is seen kneeling on the man’s neck even after he pleads that he cannot breathe. He was eventually taken to hospital, unresponsive, and pronounced dead on arrival. The four police officers have now all been charged; Mr. Chauvin with second degree murder.
George Floyd’s death has sparked huge protests in multiple cities across the US against racism and the police killings of black Americans. The protests, now in their eighth day in many locations, have been largely peaceful but also been politicised by both extremes of the US political landscape.
So if you click on the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag now you’ll be bombarded with thousands of K-Pop posts and messages of support for the US protesters, sometimes accompanied with lyrics and videos displaying messages of peace and anti-racism memes.
The most popular K-Pop band, indeed the most popular band in the world at the moment, BTS, released a rare political statement yesterday, standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The band has more than 26 million Twitter followers and their statement was posted in English and Korean.
“We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together. #BlackLivesMatter.”
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Politics
Japan may stop assistance projects to Myanmar in response to coup

Japan may stop assistance projects to Myanmar in response to the military coup, which has received major international backlash. As a major donor to Myanmar, Japan joins other advanced nations in condemning the coup which has seen security forces using violence against peaceful protesters.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was quoted as saying in a phone call that “Japan will strongly urge the Myanmar military to release Suu Kyi and other detained individuals, and to swiftly restore democratic government.”
But it may not impose sanctions like the rest of the other developed countries as its longtime ties with the armed forces, ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy and investment promoting policy in the country may serve as a barrier in doing so. Britan and the United States have imposed sanctions in recent days which include the US freezing military funds.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry official says stopping its support of building projects would give China a chance to move in, increasing its clout in Myanmar. Around 450 Japanese companies operate in Myanmar with Japan being the 5th largest investor in the Southeast nation. Singapore has the most companies, followed by China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The Foreign Ministry says Japan spent about US $1.8 billion in official development assistance in the fiscal year of 2019, making it the largest among the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But it is unknown what China has poured into it as it has refused to disclose its expenditures.
The Japanese government plans to continue coronavirus emergency assistance to Myanmar through international organisations and non-governmental organisations. The World Bank, however, has stopped payments to projects in the nation indefinitely, after the coup on February 1, which disrupted the democratic elections last November and saw the arrest of top leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party, the National League for Democracy, won the elections in a landslide victory.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Law
Australia sets worldwide precedent by passing pay‐to‐play legislation for social media giants

In a landmark decision, Australia is now requiring global digital giants, such as Facebook and Google, to pay for using local news content on their websites. The move sets a precedent that many global companies have been anticipating.
The law passed yesterday after Facebook and Google reached an agreement to pay local Australian news organisations for using their stories on their websites. 1 week ago, Australians woke up to a blackout after Facebook temporarily banned local news, which included emergency notifications. The blackout was in response to the legislation being put forth for approval, with Facebook spokespeople saying it seemed to be their only choice at the time.
Companies like Google and Facebook pushed back against the legislation, saying such a law could threaten their companies’ business models, with Google saying it could make their search engine website “unworkable.”
But local news organisations have rebuked the reasoning, citing that social media giants claim a large percentage of online advertisin, leaving local news companies out of the revenue game. Citing that news is gathered by reporting and fieldwork, the companies say it is unfair for social media companies to profit largely off of the work of local, smaller companies.
The law, called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, aims to protect such local companies and to sustain public interest journalism. Thousands of journalists have lost their jobs over the past decade as local media outlets have seen the bulk of their advertising revenues flow to digital companies’ sites after using their content.
Australia’s competition watchdog says that for every $100 invested by Australian advertisers, $49 is sent to Google and $24 to Facebook. Now, both online businesses say they will each invest around US $1 billion in local news content globally in the next 3 years. Facebook and Google now have 2 more months to reach solid agreements before being subjected to binding arbritations.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
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World
Lady Gaga offers US $500,000 reward for stolen bulldogs

Who knew that finding 2 french bulldogs would earn US $500,000? That is the case for the lucky person that finds Lady Gaga’s equally lucky stolen dogs. The dogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen in Los Angeles, California while out on a walk with their dog walker.
But that’s not all. The employee in charge of keeping the dogs healthy was shot and wounded by a gunman who left the scene in a car, but not before allegedly shooting another man in this 30s. That man was hospitalised according to LA police.
Asia, Gaga’s 3rd dog was luckily found by police at the scene and was taken home by the singer’s staff. It isn’t clear if the frenchies were targeted due to their owner’s famous status or if they were taken simply because they were an expensive pedigree breed that can be sold for thousands of dollars.
Gaga, however, has offered the hefty reward for their return with “no questions asked.”
SOURCE: CNN
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Brian
Friday, June 5, 2020 at 2:08 pm
This seems like an extraordinarily transparent attempt to capitalize on a tragedy. #WhiteLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter are not, in any way, racist.