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The huge protests in Hong Kong were planned long in advance, but their scale seems to have taken many by surprise: The city was in chaos over the weekend after thousands took to the streets, and there are many signs that the Occupy Central demonstrations may not be over yet.

For Chinese state media, the protests present a conundrum: how to cover a story that is now too large to ignore without challenging the official narrative. Their response, at times, seems awkward.

According to the China Media Projectat the University of Hong Kong, more than 20 mainland newspapers have run astory from China's state news agency, Xinhua, in response to the protests. That report is based largely on an official statement by theHong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council and contains little explanation for the protests, which it calls "unlawful occupation actions." A later report from Xinhua, featured on the English-language China Daily Web site, describes the disruption caused to Hong Kong daily life in neutral terms.

In op-eds, however, there's a more noticeable negative sentiment. State newspaper Global Times, known for taking a stronger, more controversial stance on issues, published oneeditorial that says people should feel"sorrow over the chaos" caused by "radical opposition forces."

That editorial has since been deleted from the paper's Chinese-language Web site but still appears online in English, perhaps an indication of its target audience. "U.S. media is linking the Occupy Central movement with the Tiananmen Incident in 1989," the editorial says. "By hyping such a groundless comparison, they attempt to mislead and stir up Hong Kong society."

In another, now-deletedop-ed published byGlobal Times,Wang Qiang,a professor at the Peoples Armed Police college, suggested that if Hong Kong's police could not control the protesters, mainland China's paramilitary group should be sent in. Events that "damage the fundamental interests of a sovereign country cannot be tolerated indefinitely," the article says, according to an archived version.

Meanwhile, the People's Daily published an op-ed Monday that expressly linked the protesters to "foreign anti-China forces" and alleged intervention by the United States and Britain. "No one is more concerned about the future and destiny of the Chinese people in Hong Kong" than the Chinese government, the op-ed states. It also accuses"some of the Western media" of creating "a big fuss," noting rolling live coverage of the protests.

That rolling coverage is certainly in marked contrast to how the story is being covered by Chinese broadcasters. The protests have been featured little, if at all, on China's largest state broadcaster, CCTV, and George Chen, a columnist at the independent South China Morning Post, points out that Shanghai's state television channel appears to be portraying the large crowds in Hong Kong as pro-state nationalists:

For mainland users looking online, the informationisn't much better, unfortunately.China's large Web portalsseem to be giving the protests little attention.

Social media is being restricted, too: The China Media Project's Weiboscope tool shows a remarkable spike in the number of posts censored on Chinese social networks, and, as my colleague William Wan notes, one of the few available Western social networks, Instagram, appeared to be blocked Monday.

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WorldViews: Chinese state media points to foreign hand in Hong Kong protests

Are we allowed to have ideas and opinions? Or must they be state-endorsed to be valid?

COMMENT

The rise of social media has been uneasy in more ways than one. From privacy concerns to ethics, there are many shades of gray that need to be explored before we truly come to understand and integrate it in our daily lives. One such complication is very prominent here in Malaysia freedom of speech in a semi-democratic society.

Autocratic regimes such as China have long been wary of social media, a useful tool for organising and disseminating information, but one that could spread news of a governments missteps within seconds of their happening.

China has implemented a set of tools to curb free speech as much as possible while still being able to dubiously claim democracy, such as having proprietary social media platforms more readily available than Facebook or Twitter. But wily Internet users have devised their own workarounds to deliver news to each other on government misdeeds. However, if discovered, they can be arbitrarily taken from their homes and locked up, beaten and abused by secret police, and more. Sounds like a familiar story, really.

Indeed, Chinas efforts have not escaped the sight of our esteemed ruling government of the day. Facebook and Twitter have been bugbears for our politicians, as the slightest gaffe is magnified under the spotlight of social media, and free speech runs rampant in forums, without a way for the government to hold it in check. This is mostly due to guarantees made by Mahathir Mohamad when he was the Prime Minister, that is that the Internet would be unrestricted in Malaysia.

Observe these delicate, probing remarks to elicit a response on the idea of banning Facebook:

The greatest threat so far, however, has been the use of the colonial-era law, the Sedition Act, to silence dissent under the guise of national security. The charges against Adam Adli, Safwan Anang, N. Surendran, Tian Chua, David Orok, Azmi Sharom, Susan Loone and more were called a fear-instilling tactic by Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. No one is safe from the long arm of the Sedition Act.

A score of people have been charged under the act since August, leading even the United Nations to make a statement. We are concerned about the recent increase in the use of the Sedition Act 1948 to arrest and prosecute people for their peaceful expression of opinion in Malaysia, said the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville. We call on the government to quickly initiate a promised review of the act and to repeal or amend it in line with its international human rights obligations.

But what, dear reader, does all this mean for you and I?

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Social media and the age of sedition

In an in-depth interview in GQ, George Zimmerman's brother discloses that his family wanted to "rebrand" the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer after his murder acquittal and make him the star of a reality TV show.

"I learned a lot from watching 'Keeping up with the Kardashians,' " Robert Zimmerman Jr. told GQ in a story in its October editions.

George Zimmerman, 30, would not take part in the interview unless he was offered a week's stay in a luxury hotel, something the magazine would not do, it reported.

Still, the magazine reported some fascinating details about his pre- and post-trial life and that of his spokesman brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., and parents Robert Sr. and Gladys, who moved out of their Lake Mary home shortly after their son George killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old in Sanford Feb. 26, 2012.

Although a Seminole County jury acquitted George Zimmerman last year, he and his family continue to live in hiding and typically carry guns, fearful that they would be attacked, the magazine reported.

After the shooting but before his arrest, George and his now-estranged wife, Shellie, moved from the Lake Mary home of a close friend to a trailer on an island off the coast of Maryland, according to the report.

At the same time, his parents and adult sister, Grace, moved from Orlando-area hotel to hotel, trying to stay out of sight, always paid cash and tore up their garbage and distributed it to various Dumpsters.

They carried prepacked "go-bags" that included all their essentials such things as cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices should they need to flee an oncoming assault.

They gave each other code names and developed a warning system, the magazine reported. "Code blue" meant law enforcement was at the door. "Code brown" meant draw your weapon, and "code black" meant open fire. .

Gladys Zimmerman also carries a gun, the story reported.

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GQ: George Zimmerman's family hoped for reality show

In show business, the clich is no publicity is bad publicity. But George Zimmerman, who fatally shot unarmed teenager Trayvon MartinFebruary 26, 2012, in an event that outraged the world, might be an exception to the rule. In a GQprofile of the family, Georges savvier, more telegenic brother Robert said he envisioned George as leveraging his notoriety not only to market products, but also to become a reality television star. The profile provides a glimpse into the strange and sometimes delusional world of a family living in the shadow of one member's infamy.

In the wake of George Zimmermans fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, he and his extended family have gone into hiding. When theyre not the targets of death threats from outraged American citizens, or looking over their shoulders for people who want the $10,000 bounty the Black Panthers put on Zimmermans citizens arrest, theyre cooking up get-rich quick schemes and brainstorming reality television ideas.

Robert Zimmerman told GQ among the money-making ideas considered was George starting a line of home-security products aimed at women called Z Security Products. But his ultimate goal, writes Amanda Robb, was to turn George into a reality-TV star. His models were John Walsh, who made a career out of hosting Americas Most Wanted after his 6-year-old son was abducted and killed, and Kim Kardashian, who launched a media empire from a leaked sex tape.

"I learn a lot from watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Robert said to GQ. Like, use the sh*t you got. In the George Zimmerman version of reality television fame, Robert imagined episodes in which George would show up as a surprise guest, Candid Camera-style.

Robert Zimmerman has been on television quite a bit, including appearances on HBOs Real Time With Bill Maher in February 2013, Fox TV and Piers Morgan. (The $800 he was paid to be on Bill Maher, Robb notes, was the first bit of income hed received in 2013.) Recently, he talked George into being interviewed on Univision. Because it went smoothly, CNN invited the family, including George, to a taping in Miami. The network agreed to pay for two hotel rooms for three nights, but balked when the family ran up a $3,600 hotel bill for room-service, minibar use, clothes laundering, spa trips and a dinner for 10 to the hotel restaurant. When Robert called CNN, outraged he was presented with a bill, the producer, he alleges, screamed at him for being so extravagant. You and your brother are evil! he recalled her saying. CNN eventually relented and paid the bill.

If Keeping Up With the Zimmermans ever comes to fruition, it will be the first time George Zimmerman has been employed since he fatally shot Trayvon Martin. GQ reports the Zimmermans are broke and in debt -- George alone owes his attorneys $2.5 million. For most of the past two years, all three of the Zimmerman adult children have been unemployed. George still is, and his father Bob told GQ he can understand why. "[H]e may never be able to work. He may never be able to get Social Security. He may never get Medicare. If he buys a house, then people can go on the Internet and find out exactly where he lives."

While Robert brainstorms ways of rebranding the Zimmerman name, an uphill battle, says Robert, since "talking to George about media is like talking to the Pope about gay sex, George has resumed his self-appointed post as a neighborhood watchman. This summer, Amanda Robb reported, police found him sitting in his truck at night outside a friends gun and motorcycle shop, and the owner told police he had not asked Zimmerman to do so.

Excerpt from:
George Zimmermans Brother Models The Zimmerman Brand After Kardashians

Parenting the Adopted Child in the Age of Social Networking
This video is brought to you by Creating a Family! We are a non-profit organization that provides education and resources for adoption and infertility. Find ...

By: CreatingaFamily

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Parenting the Adopted Child in the Age of Social Networking - Video