Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 7-5-16 Online Edition

National
Red Cross Apologizes
Poster about swimming safety called racist.
#OscarsSoWhite Sparks Largest Voting Class In Academy History
HOLLYWOOD, CA --- Fol- lowing the viral hashtag, #Os- carsSoWhite created by @ReignofApril on Twitter, the push for increasing diverse rep- resentation in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci- ences (AMPAS) was addressed and met with controversy from all sides.
The Academy responded to the criticism by vowing to im- plement a new set of require- ments to increase diversity and diminish the contempt that surrounds their secretive voting process. Newly invited voters were revealed Wednesday, with a record breaking 683 new members, including female representation capping at 46 percent, and people of color being represented at 41 per- cent.
The list features the who’s who of music, entertainment and film across the globe. Some of the names include, An- thony Anderson, Idris Elba, Nia Long, Regina King, Ryan Coogler, Vivica A. Fox, Mary J. Blige, Tessa Thompson, Nate Parker and Gabrielle Union. While membership isn’t guaranteed, if all invited members do elect to join, it could drastically change the previously too male, too old and predominantly white demographic makeup of the voting committee.
Leaders Of The Black Press Call Out Facebook
The Red Cross is apologizing after a poster depicting pool safety rules was circulated on Twitter and flamed for being "super racist."
The poster, which shows a crowd of cartoon children com- mitting an array of poolside do's and dont's, was spotted at the Salida Pool and Recreation Department in Salida, Col- orado.
A Twitter user put a picture of the poster online, where peo- ple debated whether it was, in fact, offensive or not.
Though there were those that thought the interpretation was a bit of an overreach, the Red Cross swiftly apologized, reply- ing to the original tweet and later issuing a statement.
"We deeply apologize for any misunderstanding, as it was absolutely not our intent to of- fend anyone. As one of the na- tion's oldest and largest humanitarian organizations, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do, every day," it wrote on its web- site.
WASHINGTON, D. C. ---The trade organization represent- ing the Black press called out Facebook Monday as the latest threat to its existence, declar- ing that because of its in- scrutable choices about stories what to display, “Our readers are at the mercy of powers un- heard and unseen as never be- fore.”
Denise Rolark-Barnes,
chairperson of the National Newspaper Publishers Associ- ation, and Benjamin F. Chavis, the NNPA’s president and CEO, wrote in an op-ed:
“It is time regulators took a hard look at Facebook and its news aggregation and promo- tion practices in an effort to bring some much needed transparency to the new media king. The democratization of the media could be on a colli- sion course with decidedly anti-democratic and arbitrary forces. Think of the proverbial tree that falls silently in the for- est because no one is there to hear it. Will Facebook have the power to allow entire forests to fall without much notice?”
Rolark-Barnes and Chavis wrote, “Like many other pub-
Denise Rolark-Barnes and Benjamin F. Chavis.
lishers who have recently writ- ten on Facebook’s growing power over the media and what Americans read, we too are alarmed with one company having such dominance in news aggregation.
Apple Has Created Technology To Prevent Filming At Concerts
Mom Arrested For Beating
Apple has been granted a patent to disable smartphones from taking pictures and recording footage at concerts.
The house that Steve Jobs built has been granted a new patent for technology that can keep people from recording concert footage on their phone.
The way it would work is that iPhone cameras will de- tect infrared signals sent out by devices set up at the venue by concert organizers and per- formers. These signals will block any attempts at taking pictures or filming.
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle the tech- nology could also apply water- marks to detected images as an alternative to completely disabling a recording function.
“For example, a device may receive infrared signals with encoded data that includes a command to apply a water- mark to detected images,” says the ABC. “In such an example, the device may then apply the watermark to all detected im- ages that are displayed or stored.”
So pretty much, this new ap- proved technology can either keep people from recording al- together or it can allow record- ing and put a watermark on all footage captured, similar to geotagging on Snapchat. In other words, Apple has patented another way to con- trol the phone in your pocket. Remember when they put that
Her Children After They
Apple Has Created Technol- ogy To Prevent Filming At Con- certs
U2 album on everybody’s phone without asking and then made you jump through hoops to get it removed?
In the last decade the pres- ence of smartphones has both enhanced and ruined the con- cert experience. Many per- formers have become annoyed by the sea of blue screens and flashing lights in the audience. As a concert goer it can be equally annoying to be stand- ing behind people who insist of holding up their phones to record parts of the show, blocking the view. On the flip- side, recording footage and posting it to social media has helped spread awareness of some artists and their music.
No word on when the tech- nology will be applied and rolled out.
BATON ROUGE, LA — Schaquana Spears, 30, was recently booked into prison on felony cruelty charges after she beat her three children with a belt when she found out that they burglarized a neighbor’s house.
Authorities say that her chil- dren, ages 10, 12 and 13, were beaten so badly with an RCA cord that it left cuts and scratches on their legs, shoul- ders, backs and stomachs.
Apparently, the children’s bruises were reported to the local Department of Children and Family Services, and de- tectives were dispatched to the home for her arrest.
According to the police re- port, “[She] admitted hitting the child and her two other sons multiple times as they were moving and running away.
Her arrest, however, sparked a national controversy in Spears’ favor where many are saying that she should not have been taken into police custody for disciplining her own chil- dren.
Spears, whose husband is already in prison, says she wanted to do everything to en- sure her children did not end up in the same situation.
Meanwhile, District Attorney Hillar Moore said his office
Schaquana Spears was charged with felony cruelty charges.
will review the degree of physi- cal discipline used in the case. He released a statement saying: “The law does not allow exces- sive pain or cruelty but does allow physical parental disci- pline. Parents have a right and obligation to discipline and teach their children.”
John Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer and U.S. Sen- ate candidate, also spoke out saying, “In biblical times, spar- ing the rod led to a spoiled child. In modern times, sparing the rod leads to an imprisoned child. If the state tries to keep or take these children away from their mother simply be- cause she disciplined them for stealing, that would be a ludi- crous step to take.”
Burglarized Neighbor’s House
PAGE 16 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2016