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Netflix pulls episode of 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj' after Saudi complaint

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Hasan Minhaj

By Saphora Smith -nbcnews -- Netflix has removed a satirical comedy show from its service in Saudi Arabia following a complaint from authorities in Riyadh. The streaming service took down an episode of "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" which was critical of the kingdom’s rulers following the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Netflix said it had been told the episode breached Saudi Arabia’s anti-cybercrime law, which states that anyone who produces, prepares or transmits material “impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy” will be subject to imprisonment for a period of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $799,850. It was unclear which episode of the show had been pulled, but Netflix said it been available since October.

In one installment of the series, Minhaj criticizes Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who has been blamed by the U.S. Senate for being responsible for Khashoggi's death in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year. “It blows my mind that it took the killing of a Washington Post journalist for everyone to go, ‘Oh, I guess he’s really not a reformer,'” Minhaj said, referring to the royal who is widely known as MBS. “Meanwhile, every Muslim person you know was like, ‘Yeah, no s---, he’s the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.'” Minhaj goes on to raise questions about Washington’s relationship with Riyadh, which he said needs to be reassessed. “Saudi Arabia was basically the boy band manager of 9/11,” he said, referring to the fact that many of the September 11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Netflix did not confirm which episode it had taken down but said it did so to comply with local law. “We strongly support artistic freedom and removed this episode only in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal demand," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. Netflix is not the only media giant to encounter difficulties navigating the issue of censorship abroad in recent months. Google came under fire from rights groups and its employees in November for designing a censored search engine for the Chinese government. In an open letter to their employer, Google workers urged the company to drop the project known as Dragonfly and said they no longer believed the company was “willing to place its values above its profits.”

أبرز توقّعات ميشال حايك لعام 2019

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كعادته كل سنة، أطلّ ميشال حايك عبر شاشة "MTV" هذه الليلة وأطلق مجموعة توقعات للعام الجديد.
فما هي توقّعاته للعام الجديد؟

إليكم أبرز توقعات ميشال حايك 2019 عن لبنان:
- زعماء مهددون بأمنهم الشخصي كرئيس الجمهورية ميشال عون ورئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري والأمين العام لـ "حزب الله" حسن نصر الله ورئيس حزب "القوات اللبنانية" سمير جعجع وغيرهم يمشون في الشوارع والساحات.

POLL: TWO THIRDS OF AMERICANS SUPPORT HUMAN GENE EDITING TO CURE DISEASE

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by futurism.com -- The majority of U.S. adults support human gene editing to protect babies against disease, according to a new poll. But they wouldn’t support gene edits that make babies smarter or taller, according to the new research by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which polled about a thousand U.S. adults this month to learn about public attitudes toward genetic engineering. The AP research found that 71 percent of respondents support gene editing to protect a baby from an inherited condition, and 67 percent support reducing the risk of diseases like cancer. But just 12 percent would be okay with tampering with intelligence or athletic ability, and only 10 percent would consider altering physical characteristics like eye color or height.

Questions about using technologies like CRISPR to gene edit human embryos gained immediacy last month, when Chinese scientists claimed to have edited the genes of two babies in order to protect them against HIV — a move that prompted an international outcry, but also questions about when the technology will be ready for human testing. “People appear to realize there’s a major question of how we should oversee and monitor use of this technology if and when it becomes available,” Columbia University bioethicist Robert Klitzman told the AP of the new research. “What is safe enough? And who will determine that? The government? Or clinicians who say, ‘Look, we did it in Country X a few times and it seems to be effective.

Amazon dominated retail in 2018 — and no one else even came close to touching it

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by business-insider - Dennis Green- For retail in 2018, there was really only one word that was on everybody's lips: Amazon. Just a mere mention of the online shopping giant sends other companies into a flurry of speculation — whether Amazon competes directly or not. It's easy to see why: Amazon is seeing incredible growth for a company of its size, making it one of the biggest retailers in the US and the world both online and off. In the US, Amazon will close out the year nabbing nearly half of all online sales, according to analysis by Emarketer, up from a 43.5% in 2017. Amazon will generate $258.22 billion in online retail sales in the US by the end of the year, a staggering increase of almost 30% from the year prior.

But impressive sales aren't the only thing that Amazon got right in 2018. Amazon Web Services and Amazon Advertising are both also experiencing phenomenal growth, and its Alexa-enabled products remain the most popular smart devices. It's moving increasingly offline with Amazon Go stores, and its new 4-Star concept. As a company, it was able to perform to this impressive standard despite a growing set of detractors, both from elected representatives and the public. Despite a glitchy Prime Day that made customers upset. Despite HQ2 backlash. Despite competitors like Walmart nipping at its heels. Despite a trade war waged between China and President Trump and shipping costs becoming incrementally more expensive. Despite it all, Amazon will head into 2019 more confident than ever that nothing will hold it back. Now that is impressive.

Lebanese finance minister warns of financial crisis as political deadlock continues

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FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil speaks during a meeting in Beirut

By reuters -- BEIRUT: Lebanon's finance minister has said the heavily indebted country is in a state of economic crisis and warned it faces becoming a financial crisis, as politicians struggle to form a new government, state media reported. Nearly eight months since parliamentary elections, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has been unable to bring Lebanon's rival parties together into a national unity government that can deliver fiscal reform. The repercussions and consequences of the economic crisis today are at their highest. The crisis started to turn into a financial one," said Ali Hassan Khalil late on Saturday (Dec 29) according to the state news agency NNA. "We hope it will not become a monetary crisis," he said. With the world's third-highest ratio of debt to GDP, Lebanon has endured years of weak economic growth and was urged by the International Monetary Fund this year to carry out "urgent" measures to put public finances back on a sustainable footing. Efforts to finalise a government hit new snags last week after having looked close to a resolution. The parties are jostling over how many seats each faction will get in the cabinet and the distribution of the main portfolios. The banking system is the lynchpin of its economy and holds much of the government's debt.

When to abandon your career plans?

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While having a long-term career plan is important, there are times when a rethink might be needed. For instance, if your job is impacting your wellbeing or it no longer gives you a sense of pride, then it might be time to reassess. Your reputation is also a factor. If you find yourself developing a persona at your company or in your industry that you no longer want, it might be time to reinvent yourself — and your career.

The Problem With Dominant Mark Zuckerberg Types

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by bloomberg.com -- by Chris Hughes -- It irks investors in America, and now it’s irking them in Europe too. The U.S. stock market’s permissive attitude to initial public offerings that give founders super-voting rights is the subject of an international campaign. Rightly so. The U.S. new-issues market is the de facto standard setter for the rest of the world. Undemocratic voting structures are an unwelcome export. The “one-share, one-vote” principle is fair and gives outsiders some sway to hold management to account. True, Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s stock price has thrived with dual-class shares giving its founders control. But it’s the exception.

Shares in Snap Inc., Altice USA Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc. have performed terribly since going public in 2017. The controversies swirling around Facebook Inc. raise questions about whether founder CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg’s dominant position still benefits the company. Of course, no one is forcing investors to buy a stock with imbalanced voting arrangements. And removing super-votes would usually leave incumbent management with a controlling stake still. The tech companies argue that “founder control” supports long-term investment decisions. Index providers are creating separate indices that exclude stocks with bad voting structures. But academic research backs up fears that inequitable structures become a liability more often than not. It would be better if stock exchanges cleaned up the market overall.