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It was one of the first protests in Hong Kong after a feared national security law came into effect.

Among a dozen or so lunchtime demonstrators at a luxury mall in the Central business district, a man raised a poster that when viewed from afar read in Chinese, Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.

The government had just banned the slogan, saying it had separatist connotations and so ran afoul of the new security law's prohibition of secessionist acts.

Shortly after, riot police entered the mall, shooing away onlookers. They detained the man, telling him the slogan was banned. But when officers looked at the poster up close, no words could be made out. It merely had circular shapes against a contrasting background. They snapped a few photographs of the poster and let him go.

Since the imposition of the security law which bans secessionist, subversive and terrorist activities, as well as collusion with foreign forces, with penalties of up to life imprisonment anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and those supporting the movement, have adapted their methods to try to make their voices heard without violating the legislation.

Before the law took effect on June 30, protesters often held up colorful posters plastered with slogans that ranged from condemning the Chinese government to calling for Hong Kongs independence. Since then, they have become creative in obscuring their messages.

Many of the protesters at the luxury mall held up blank pieces of white paper to protest against Chinas white terror of political repression. Other posters are designed to circumvent bans on slogans. The government has not yet made clear if such forms of expression are illegal.

The law has had a chilling effect on yellow shops that support the protest movement. Many have removed protest artwork and sticky notes bearing words of encouragement from customers, out of fear that they could land them in trouble with the authorities.

Some shop owners, like Tan Wong, have instead put up blank sticky notes to show solidarity with the movement.

We are doing this right now because (the shop) is private property. We are trying to tell Hong Kong people that this is the only thing that we yellow shops can do, said Wong, who runs Kok Kok Chicken, a Korean fried chicken store.

If we do not persist, we would no longer be able to deliver our message to others, he said.

Yu Yee Cafe, a Hong Kong-style diner that serves fast food, has covered its windows with blank sticky notes and even displays an origami figure of Winnie the Pooh, a playful taunt of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese censors briefly banned social media searches for Winnie the Pooh in China after Xis appearance was compared to the cartoon bear.

I wonder if theres still rule of law if sticking a (blank) piece of paper on the wall is illegal, said Eddie Tsui, one of the diners customers. Its just using a different way to express our demands. If you dont allow us to protest that way, well find another way.

The use of blank paper or sticky notes to protest is a changing form of resistance, according to Ma Ngok, an associate professor of politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

They put up blank notes so that even if the government wants to prosecute them, there is nothing that can be used against them, he said.

Protesters in Hong Kong have also come up with alternative slogans to circumvent the ban on Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.

Some users quote the initials of the romanisation of the eight Chinese characters in the banned slogan - GFHG, SDGM. Others have changed the words entirely to terms that sound similar but mean very different things. One alternative slogan now reads Patronise Hong Kong, Times Square, a reference to a popular shopping mall in the city.

A popular protest anthem, Glory to Hong Kong, has had some of its lyrics changed, with protesters replacing the words with numbers in Cantonese that sound approximately like the lyrics.

The circumventing of bans on slogans is reminiscent of how mainland Chinese internet users come up with creative ways and similar-sounding words to talk about sensitive issues without triggering censorship under the Great Firewall of China, where censors delete posts containing sensitive terms and make such keywords unsearchable on online platforms.

There is a long history of censorship where we know that people will find ways to circumvent the system, no matter how you regulate, said Fu King-wa, associate professor at the University of Hong Kongs journalism school.

Sometimes, censorship can backfire, triggering more people to discuss an issue because they think that if it is censored, then it must be something important, he said.

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Hong Kong protesters get creative with signs and slogans to skirt new security law - Euronews

Some players out there give it their all for the love of the sport. Doug Censor Martin is one such player who has been giving it his all for Call of Duty but has had a bad time in the League and has now decided to back out of it for a while.

In his career, Censor has been a part of some major teams, including Team Envy and FaZe. Censor was a substitute for the New York Subliners and was picked by the affiliate team but he was benched once again.

Censor took to Twitter to announce that hed be taking a break from the game. He has stated that hed not play Modern Warfare and would rather wait for the next Call of Duty title to drop.

I will not be playing at the Modern Warfare challengers champs. If you guys dont know I went on Triumph, we got fourth. I was not able to join another team. I was struck on Triumph for another week and a half. I had offers from top 5 teams. I couldnt accept it because I was still on Triumph.

I will be ready day one on the next Call of Duty. And hopefully, this never happens again because this was the worst and most stressful year ever as a Call of Duty competitor. And I know I got it, I know I can play in the top level. I couldnt literally prove it this year. I was forced to sit on the bench the entire year and there is nothing I can do about it.

The player only recently made the happy announcement and was rather very excited to play for his new team. Unfortunately, after the Call of Duty Challengers Circuit, Censor was dropped from the New York Subliners roster. The player even came out openly to say that his performance was underwhelming in that match.

The player is confident in his ability and would be looking forward to making his mark yet again. Tough times ahead for the player but the support from the community and his friends will surely assure his great comeback.

Source: Censor Twitter

Originally posted here:
Call of Duty Pro Announces Break From the Game - Essentially Sports

Two women lay in bed in a tight embrace, one is stroking the other's hair and whispers that she is in love with her.

These intimate scenes wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood movie, but in Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, they are near taboo.

But Nigerian filmmaker Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim says she is tackling the subject head-on in her new film titled "Ife," to create space for queer characters in the country's prolific movie industry.

"Ife'" means love in the Yoruba language, spoken in West Africa, and most prominently in southern Nigeria.

LGBTQ characters are described poorly in Nollywood and are viewed in problematic roles that encourage violence or judgment from viewers, Ikpe-Etim says.

"I'm queer so 'Ife' is dear to my heart. I wanted to represent LGBTQ characters in a different light than how they are shown in past stories, to change how heterosexuals view them," she explained.

Homophobia in Nigeria

The story centers on two women Ife and Adaora and the uncertainty surrounding their relationship. It is created in partnership with Equality hub, an NGO in Nigeria focused on fighting social injustices against sexual minorities.

"They come into problems when they are not certain of the future of their relationship considering that these two women live in Nigeria which is a homophobic country," she said of the storyline.

In the West African nation where homophobia runs rampant,Ikpe-Etim is anadvocate for the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria. The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2014 says anyone found guilty of homosexuality faces up to 14 years in prison.

A 2019 survey by The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS), a Nigerian human rights organization, found that 75% of people in the country support the continued enforcement of the anti-gay laws.

Censorship of queer films

Ikpe-Etim, 31, says "Ife" has no fixed release date yet but will be out before the end of the year.

What is certain is that it faces an uphill battle with Nigeria's film censors, who have said they may "go after the producers," if they find that the film promotes homosexuality.

Adedayo Thomas, executive director of the NFVCB, told CNN the board will not approve films that promote themes that don't conform with the country's "constitution, morals and traditions."

"We are monitoring the progress of the movie, and if it goes against the law by promoting homosexuality, we will be forced at some point to go after the producer and executive producer," he added.

According to Thomas, Ife was never submitted to the NFVCB before its trailer was released, making it impossible to classify or censor the film.

"We look at the content of the film and we look at the end. For example, in a movie that glorifies fraud, we look at how it ends, did the fraudster meet their waterloo? How the movie ends will determine our censorship. You wouldn't watch your kid to watch a film that glorifies fraud," he told CNN.

"Ife's" producer Pamela Adie says agencies like NFVCB suppress the creativity of filmmakers.

"If there is a demand for films like Ife and if people want it, and the censor's board does not approve then it means they are indirectly stifling the creative powers of filmmakers. To deny a film simply because of queer characters is discrimination," she said.

Stereotyping queer characters

Nollywood has always had a problematic relationship with its queer characters, portraying them as mentally ill, under the influence of witchcraft or troubled.

In Emotional Crack, a 2003 film, one of the lead characters, Camilla falls in love with Crystal, a married woman who suffered domestic abuse from her husband.

Both women kicked off a relationship that eventually ended when Crystal became unsure of remaining in a same-sex relationship.

While the film was one of the country's early introductions into LGBTQ relationships, it repeated damaging stereotypes like branding Camilla as violent, predatory, and suggested that Crystal's lesbianism was as a result of being mistreated by a man.

Similarly, in a 2010 film, "Men in Love," the affair of the lead couple was explained away by a "strong satanic bond."

Adie told CNN that she wants to challenge other filmmakers in Nollywood to create more nuanced queer stories devoid of the usual stereotypes.

"My hope is that Ife shapes things up, and mainstream Nollywood starts to think about stories that portray the reality of LGBT Nigerians," she explained.

The 36-year-old added that "Ife" is one of few films with a focus on lesbians in Nigeria, "a lot of representation has been geared towards gay men," she says.

Outpouring of support

Nigeria is not the only country with strict rules regarding films with strong LGBTQ representation.

In April 2018, Rafiki was banned by Kenya's Film and Classification Board (KFCB) because of its intent to "promote lesbianism," in the East African nation.

Despite the challenges around creating queer centered films in Nigeria, Adie says there has been an outpouring of support for "Ife" from audiences in the country.

"It is something that is groundbreaking. We have received support, from when we released the poster to the trailer. It feels like people didn't know they wanted this kind of content till now."

Read this article:
A Nollywood film about two women in love faces an uphill battle in a country where homophobia is rampant - The Philadelphia Tribune

Mr. Schiff, who is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Friday on MSNBC that he had been urging Bill Evanina and others in the intelligence community to level with the American people about whats going on. He said the warning gave a false sense of equivalence between what Russia is doing, what China is doing, what Iran is doing.

Mr. Schiff and the other three authors of the letter have been briefed extensively on the intelligence, and thus are prohibited from violating classification rules by describing what they have seen.

But Mr. Schiff, a frequent target of harsh criticism from Mr. Trump because he was the Democrats manager in the impeachment trial in the Senate, added, I think that our adversaries, in particular the Russians, are going to amplify the false messages that the president is putting out about, Well, you cant trust absentee ballots, even though thats how the president votes.

Some intelligence officials expressed surprise at the lawmakers letter and insisted they were not trying to play down the threat of interference from Moscow or signal that China was a greater challenge. They said Mr. Evaninas statement was meant to be the beginning of a series of public statements, according to an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The official said the statement did not play down the threat of Russian interference, but lawmakers had to understand that the 2020 contest would be different from 2016s.

It is unclear whether those statements, however, deter further action by American adversaries. But it is clear that 2020 will not be the same as 2016 the Russians know that they cannot use the same playbook, and Iran and China both seem poised to play a greater role.

The question is whether they will be on the same side, or working against each other.

After the 2016 election, American intelligence assessments concluded that the Russians ultimately intervened on Mr. Trumps behalf. But this year, Republicans and Democrats who have reviewed the intelligence have come to different assessments about whether Russia hopes to swing the election to Mr. Trump, or if President Vladimir V. Putin is simply intent on eroding confidence in the American electoral system.

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U.S. Warns Russia, China and Iran Are Trying to Interfere in the Election. Democrats Say Its Far Worse. - The New York Times

A Ukraine minister says a preliminary analysis of flight recorders has revealed that Iran illegally shot down a passenger jet from his country over Tehran.

Yevhenii Yenin, Ukraines deputy foreign minister, made the declaration in a Twitter post Friday.

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A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian embassy in Ottawa confirmed the legitimacy of the tweet but said her government had no further comment.

The declaration sheds light on what could become an opaque investigation, because Iran has become the official investigator even though its military shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8 shortly after it took off from Tehran.

All 176 people on board were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents and dozens of others with connections to Canada.

Under Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Iran becomes the lead investigator for the crash because it was the State of Occurrence.

That also gives Iran full control over what information is released publicly about the contents of the flight recorders.

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Yenins tweet appeared to clash with Annex 13 requirements, as it lifted the veil on what has been a long, stalled process by Canada, Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden _ the countries that lost citizens when the plane was destroyed _ to force Iran to co-operate.

Grateful to all partners who helped bring this moment closer, Yenin tweeted, saying the black boxes were read out and deciphered successfully. The transcript confirmed the fact of illegal interference with the plane. We are waiting for the Iranian side for the first round of talks next week.

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The tweet offered no additional explanation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is publicly pressing Iran to share the contents of the flight recorders.

That analysis now needs to be shared promptly with the international community to ensure a complete, credible and transparent flight safety investigation, Champagne tweeted on Thursday.

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Champagne said earlier this week the flight recorders would form one part of a flight safety investigation as well as an international criminal investigation to identify the people responsible for shooting down the plane.

Iran initially denied it shot down the plane but was forced to admit responsibility after video footage on social media showed a missile striking the jet. The tragedy unfolded as Iran fired missiles at American military bases inside neighbouring Iraq after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general.

Two investigators from Canadas Transportation Safety Board took part in examining a readout of the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from the downed plane after they arrived in Paris earlier this week after a long negotiation with Tehran.

That was a long-anticipated development due to what Champagne has branded as Iranian stalling.

Irans delegate to the International Civil Aviation Organization told the UN agency on March 11 that the flight recorders would be sent to Ukraines aviation investigators by March 25, but later blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a delay.

The TSB said in a statement on Friday that a team of international investigators had completed a preliminary analysis of the data from the flight recorders of the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down by Iran in January.

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The TSB noted international law prevented the sharing any specific information, but Canada is urging Iran to release factual information from the recorders as soon as possible.

In an interview earlier this week, TSB chair Kathy Fox said Canada wants Annex 13 changed but that is a long process that likely wont affect the current investigation.

The current law still permits Iran to ask for help from another country or designate another country to lead the investigation. That was the case when Ukraine turned to the Netherlands to lead the probe into the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels over eastern Ukraine six years ago.

Fox said in a statement on Friday that this initial review of the data is an important milestone, but she stressed the investigation is far from over.

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Fox said she knows families are seeking answers to the tragedy.

2020 The Canadian Press

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Irans shooting of plane that killed 176 was illegal: Ukrainian minister - Globalnews.ca