The 227th Block: Of monkeys and men
Orange ones, too
This week…
Your reading time is about 5 minutes. Let’s start.
Late last week, there were numerous reports about an orangutan at the Toronto Zoo who briefly escaped. The reports were generic, but included information about the primate’s age (16 years old), sex (male), and name (Kembali). The reports described the escape that included “acrobatic moves” before the orangutan returned to his enclosure “without incident.”
There were various other tidbits offered as fun facts, but not a single one told the most interesting one of all: That his name, Kembali, means to return (verb) in Bahasa Indonesia and Malaysia, which are the languages spoken in the countries orangutans are native to. That would have made a kicker of an outro, it practically wrote itself.
The other fun fact I can throw in is that while orangutan means forest person (orang hutan) in Bahasa Indonesia and Malaysia, locals who live in the primates’ habitat (i.e. not Peninsular Malaysia or Java island) more typically call them mawas or maias—at least up until my father’s generation. A wildlife biologist from my generation, June Rubis, has in recent years reinvigorated efforts to decolonising conservation and focus on indigenous-led conservation research.
Anyway, it was probably some Dutch coloniser who read some old Javanese text about some orange jungle dweller and decided to make orangutan the mainstream term. I hope this is the petty, tit-for-tat reason why one of the many local names for another ape species endemic to Borneo, the proboscis monkey, is orang belanda (Dutch person).
Sources: Trust me, bro. (No, seriously, I studied primates for my postgraduate research, and my father is a retired wildlife biologist who worked mainly in Borneo.)
And now, a selection of top stories on my radar, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
ICYMI: The Previous Block was about a little bit of problem. FWIW:
Scholz urges firewall against far right after election win by Damien McGuinness and Laura Gozzi for BBC.
Deepfake porn scandal: Telegram apologises to South Korea by Kelly Ng for BBC.
CORRECTION NOTICE: None notified.INTERNET & PROPAGANDA
Georgia’s Orthodox bishops are fueling a resurgent Stalin-worship on TikTok
Will Neal for New Lines Magazine:
Though myths about Josef Stalin’s purported superpowers—describing a man who read tens of thousands of books and managed to control time—have existed for decades, it is only in recent years, as the country’s foreign policy pivots toward Russia, that such perceived saintliness has regained momentum.
From Stalin’s supposed powers to the Georgian patriarch’s alleged ties to the Soviet security services, or KGB, the reasons for one of the world’s oldest churches taking an interest in reinventing the image of an atheistic, authoritarian communist who massacred millions are as complex as they are bizarre.
But experts say this campaign’s growing traction of late also serves as a wider sign of the times in the South Caucasus nation. Earlier this year, Georgian Orthodox bishops started trending on the social media platform TikTok, in videos that further reflect an accelerating spread of misinformation and anti-Western propaganda that has, amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, accompanied the growing thaw in Tbilisi’s relationship with the Kremlin after more than a decade of frozen diplomacy.
Loosely linked:
Russian propaganda celebrates German far right by Sergei Satanovskii for DW.
Chinese and Russian disinformation flourishes in some African countries – anti-US sentiment helps it take hold by Dani Madrid-Morales (University of Sheffield), Herman Wasserman (Stellenbosch University), and Saifuddin Ahmed (Nanyang Technological University) for The Conversation.
The right-wing Canadian influencers accused of collaborating with an alleged Russian propaganda scheme by Jonathan Montpetit and Aloysius Wong for CBC.
Meta oversight board asks firm not to automatically remove pro-Palestinian phrase by Akash Sriram for Reuters.
Want to fight misinformation? Teach people how algorithms work by Myojung Chung for Nieman Lab.
DEAD & THREATENED MEDIA
The Internet Archive just lost its appeal over ebook lending
Emma Roth for The Verge:
The Internet Archive has long offered a system called the Open Library, where users can “check out” digital scans of physical books. The library was based on a principle called controlled digital lending, where each loan corresponds to a physically purchased book held in a library — avoiding, in theory, a piracy claim. It’s a fundamentally different system from programs like OverDrive, where publishers sell limited-time licenses to ebooks on their own terms.
However, the Internet Archive expanded its library project during the covid-19 pandemic. It launched the National Emergency Library, allowing an unlimited number of people to access the same copies of ebooks. That’s when the publishers banded together to file the lawsuit, targeting both online libraries.
The Second Circuit Court’s decision acknowledges the benefits and drawbacks of the Internet Archive’s digital library in its decision. But it ultimately sides with publishers.
Loosely linked:
How will Mexico (and the world) sustain journalism in the face of digital and physical security threats to journalists? by Mariana Alvarado for LJR.
The threat and possible solutions to Latin America’s foreign donor-funded journalism by Francisca Skoknic for GIJN.
Big tech is painting itself as journalism’s saviour. We should tread carefully by Mathias-Felipe de-Lima-Santos (Macquarie University) for The Conversation.
Dealing with the threat of war has become the “new normal” for these Middle East newsrooms by Matthew Leake for RI.
ERROR ANALYSIS
Crucial information missing in Elle Macpherson breast cancer story, experts warn
Melissa Davey and Natasha May for The Guardian:
News organisations, including this publication, reported that after Macpherson was diagnosed with HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma in 2017, she decided not to follow standard medical advice from doctors.
She told the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine that she instead followed “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” and rejected surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
But Macpherson says she did undergo a lumpectomy, which is a type of surgery that involves removing a breast lump. In itself, a lumpectomy may in some cases be an appropriate, standard medical treatment for the condition, said Prof Chris Pyke, the director of medical services at the Mater private hospitals in Brisbane.
Loosely linked:
Fake Ozempic: How batch numbers help criminal groups spread dangerous weight loss drugs by Patrick Wingrove for Reuters.
No basis for claim that 80% of biodiversity is found in Indigenous territories by Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares et al. for Nature.
Truth telling or economic development? To deliver for Indigenous people, the government must do both by Heidi Norman (UNSW Sydney) for The Conversation.
Armed with AI and cash, Nigerian farmers act before floods by Bukola Adebayo for Context.
Other curious links, including en español et français
PHOTO ESSAY | In Brutal Presence: the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster by Nicola Muirhead for Hypen.
Advertiser exodus from X gathers pace with 26 per cent ‘planning to cut spending’ by Mark Sweney for The Guardian.
US, UK and EU sign on to the Council of Europe’s high-level AI safety treaty by Ingrid Lunden for Tech Crunch.
Por decreto, Milei restringe el acceso a la información pública de su Gobierno por Pagina 12.
No hay derechos culturales sin justicia social por Santiago Eraso Beloki en CTXT.
Adiós al Premio Nacional de tauromaquia: una decisión histórica con el 90 por ciento de respaldo popular por Agustín Millán en Diario16+.
La carte interactive des groupuscules d’extrême droite en France : une inflation de bandes racistes ($) par Maxime Macé et Pierre Plottu dans Libération.
Choix du premier ministre : de gauche à droite, les 22 noms évoqués jusqu’à la nomination de Michel Barnier par William Audureau et Pierre Breteau dans Le Monde.
Le NPD a aussi utilisé une séquence d’archives provenant de Russie dans une vidéo par La Presse Canadianne / Radio-Canada.
What I read, listen, and watch
I’m reading Imagination (2024) by Ruha Benjamin.
I’m listening to a Click Here podcast about how an app that provides real-time emergency information to locals is struggling to survive under the Taliban.
I’m watching a Bloomberg Original on Nvidia’s AI origin story.
Chart of the week
As the 79th United Nations General Assembly opens on Sept. 10, people across 35 countries have a favorable view of the organisation, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted this spring, wrote Moira Fagan.