Category Archives: Transhuman News

Kathleen Anne OKeefe, co-founder of the Phnom Penh Post and mentor to a generation of Cambodian journalists, died in the United States on Monday. She was 54.

OKeefe had battled pancreatic cancer for nine months, which she faced with her customary backbone of steel, her family wrote in an obituary published in The Boston Globe.

In turns newspaper founder, media trainer, human rights worker and advocate for those with HIV/AIDS, OKeefe is remembered by family, friends and former colleagues as resilient, compassionate and deeply empathetic.

In 1992, with then-husband Michael Hayes, OKeefe moved to Cambodia from Bangkok, where she had been working for a refugee organisation, to launch the Post, which started as a fortnightly newspaper.

It was to be the first independent newspaper in any language in Cambodia since the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975.

The couple rented a three-storey villa opposite Wat Botum and lived on the first floor of a building that would house the newspapers offices, their home and various other guests, including foreign correspondent and early Post contributor Nate Thayer.

Those who worked at the paper as it was getting off the ground say the ambitious project would likely have foundered without OKeefes steady hand.

Kathleen OKeefe was the Phnom Penh Posts secret weapon a combination of General Patton and Mother Teresa, Thayer said.

There was never any question among anyone, from the get go, that it was Kathleen who was in charge, the irreplaceable glue that kept the very, very goofy idea of planting the flag of the Free Press in the headquarters of the belly of the beast, Phnom Penh, alive.

I cant tell you how many times Michael Hayes reiterated that the paper could simply not survive without Kathleen.

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Post co-founder Kathleen OKeefe dies at 54

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CON: My extended friendship circle doesn't get to see amazing moments like these.

In my Facebook newsfeed, it's common for brand-new parents to post pictures of their babies as a modern-day birth announcement. I love these posts. I love getting updates on how the baby and mother are doing, and I love cute pictures because I am a human being with a beating heart in my chest. But bad news for my Facebook friends: I won't be posting pictures of my baby on Facebook.

There are pros and cons to this policy.

Pro: The smugness of privacy

It always felt to me that people who really value their privacy are very important and also have a huge amount of self-control. Like the really cool celebrities. Or people who don't even have Facebook. Oh man, I wish I could be one of those people.

Instead, I periodically pretend like I don't have Facebook, feel like a million bucks for a week, then cave like that scene in Flight and binge on my newsfeed for a few hours. I am not important, and I constantly overshare. I have almost posted baby pictures a few times, but the thing that stopped me, more than my husband's insistence and my own fear of his image being misappropriated, is the delicious smugness I feel.

Con: What's the use of feeling smug if people don't even know how cute he is?

Beyonce probably feels great about people not seeing pictures of Blue Ivy because everybody knows about Blue Ivy. If nobody knows about my baby, there's no way for them to be impressed that I haven't posted pictures of him.

This reminds me of when I started college. I sent a lot of e-mails to my close high school friends, detailing all the new friends I was making and experiences I was having. I was obsessive about communicating the minutiae of my college experience because I felt like if my old friends didn't know about it, it didn't happen. Now this is true on a much larger scale. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to Instagram it, did it really happen?

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I refuse to post a picture of my baby on Facebook

Tamir Rice Attorney Timothy J. Kucharski via CBS affiliate WOIO

ST. LOUIS -- The chief of the St. Louis County Police Department apologized Thursday for a post on a precinct's Facebook page that referenced the police shooting death of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy who was carrying a pellet gun.

The post, titled "Kids Will Be Kids?" was published Thursday morning on the City of Fenton's Facebook page and removed hours later. It did not mention Tamir Rice by name, but implied that the boy's actions played a role in his death.

In part, the post urged to talk with their children about the Nov. 22 shooting and inspect any pellet guns they may own to make sure an orange tip was in place.

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In Cleveland, a black child shot to death by a white police officer was laid to rest today. As Dean Reynolds reports, the officer who fired the f...

"Your children should have rules for 'toy' guns that mirror the rules of a real weapon," the post read.

"Warn them that these 'toys' do look like real guns and could result in the police getting called on them. The police may get called to respond to 'a child with a gun,' 'maybe a toy gun,' it is important to know how officers are trained to respond," the message said, adding advice for children to follow if they are confronted by police.

Reaction on social media was swift, with people calling the post "insanity" and "tone deaf and dangerous."

Original post:
St. Louis County police chief apologizes for Tamir Rice Facebook post

Thumbs up for 2014!

Image: Chuck Burton/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-12-03 14:35:08 UTC

Let's be real: Nothing validates our pathetic human existences like a popular Instagram post.

Sports stars are, contrary to popular belief, humans as well so you know they fiend for likes just the same as the rest of us.

Instagram the company, not the app tracked down the year's most popular posts from many of the biggest stars in sports. Read on for a look at what athletes shared in 2014 and what resonated most with their fans.

The Brazilian soccer star's most popular post of the year featured him looking real cool with his young son.

Parceria

A photo posted by Nj (@neymarjr) on Jul 7, 2014 at 1:53pm PDT

The NBA star's most popular post of the year included a special message for fans in Cleveland.

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Sports stars on Instagram: Top 11 moments of 2014

In a Facebook post Thursday afternoon, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar apologized for an earlier offensive and insensitive post about the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a police officer in Cleveland.

The intention of the post was to inform citizens about the potential danger of airsoft or pellet guns resembling real guns, Belmar said. However, the post was a misguided communication strategy and was offensive to many people.

Belmar went on to apologize to Rices family for the insensitive post, and explained the original intent of the post:

The post conveyed the message that my officers respond to calls involving a child with a gun with indiscretion and little regard for life. I want to emphasize that my officers respond to calls with discernment, and have the highest regard for human life. We train officers to take all facts and circumstances into consideration when making decisions about using force.

I too was a kid, and I too would have done the same thing as Tamir Rice did, Aaron Dilks, the officer responsible for the post, told Mediaite. I was allowed to go play with guns, and have BB guns we didnt have Airsofts at the time. The point of the kids will be kids is thats what kids will doThe point of putting [the post] out was to educate and make sure something like this doesnt happen in the city of Fenton or in our area.

Heres the Facebook post in question from Thursday morning:

And the apology, also via Facebook:

[h/t TPM] [Featured image via screengrab]

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St. Louis Police Chief Apologizes for Offensive Tamir Rice Facebook Post