'I was devastated'

The man who invented the World Wide Web has some regrets. Tim Berners-Lee has seen his creation debased by everything from fake news to mass surveillance. And now he's got a plan to fix it.

US Ice officers 'used torture to make Africans sign own deportation orders'

Please read this and then write to Biden and his people and plead with them [yes, I said plead' ] to appeal to congress or whoever might be able to stop these people from being deported. If they are deported they will be tortured and murdered. These are innocent people. Immediate action is necessary. Remember, Trump still has TEN MORE WEEKS as president.

 

 

theguardian.com

US Ice officers 'used torture to make Africans sign own deportation orders'

Cameroonians say officers choke

 

Very Good News on Police Reform

 Police reform coast to coast. San Francisco voters passed a measure to increase oversight of the city’s sheriff department. San Francisco Examiner They also voted to abolish mandatory staffing levels for the police. The Appeal Voters in San Diego endorsed the creation of a new police review board. KPBS Voters in Columbus, Ohio, overwhelmingly approved more civilian oversight for the police department. Columbus Dispatch So did voters in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In Portland, Oregon, voters, by a large margin, passed a sweeping police reform measure. Willamette Week In King County, Washington, voters appeared to back a restructuring of the sheriff’s office. Seattle Times

Change comes to some DA offices around the country. George Gascón’s win in the high-profile race for district attorney in Los Angeles suggests a faster pace of reform there. Los Angeles Times In Oakland County, Michigan, Democrat Karen McDonald prevailed over Republican Lin Goetz for prosecutor. Detroit News Some incumbents were re-elected. In Chicago, Democrat Kim Foxx won another term as Cook County Attorney. Chicago Tribune And in the race in Arizona for Maricopa County Attorney, Republican incumbent Allister Adel had a small lead over Julie Gunnigle, the Democratic challenger. Arizona Republic

Georgia on their mind. Voters in the Peach State elected three black sheriffs to office—in Cobb, Gwinnett and Henry counties. All three will be the first Black occupants of the office. WSB Other races: Patrick beat Jerry in the battle of McDermotts in the sheriff’s race in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. MassLive Republican Bob Gualtieri won a third term as sheriff of Pinellas County, Florida. Tampa Bay Times Sally Hernandez won a second term as sheriff of Travis County, Texas. Austin American-Statesman Ed Gonzalez won a second term as sheriff in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. Houston Chronicle

Decarceration comes to New Jersey. State corrections officials released more than 2,500 prisoners Wednesday—those whose sentences were going to end anyway within a year—to stem the tide of the coronavirus behind bars. The New York Times More: “It’s over, baby,” said the sister of a woman newly released from a halfway house in Patterson. In a single day, the state’s prison population drops 15 percent. NorthJersey.com “The best birthday present I could ask for,” said a mother in Hunterdon County awaiting her daughter’s release. NJ.com

KING LEAR: Film Trailer

The film from award-winning director Alexander Barnett is streaming in the US http://bit.ly/KingLearAmazonPrime, UK, http://bit.ly/UKKingLear, Europe http://bit.ly/KingLearMovie, and libraries http://bit.ly/HooplaKingLear in the US and in Canada. https://www.facebook.com/KingLearFilm 

IMDb http://bit.ly/KingLearMovieInfo #Shakespeare #ShakespeareFilms

 

Wonderful story.

 From Munich terror attack to Voyager space mission: How an Olympic image achieved immortality.

 https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/09/sport/voyager-olympics-munich-spt-intl/

 

Jesmyn Ward

 Great writer.  Devastating story.

Behind the Scenes: The Eyes of Van Gogh

 Here are some behind the scenes stills from the film The Eyes of Van Gogh.

  Alexander Barnett (Vincent) and Roy Thinnes (Dr. Peyron) in Vincent's room at the asylum.

 

 

 

Keith Perry (Theodorus Van Gogh) Alexander Barnett (Vincent)

Director Alexander Barnett and DP Ian Dudley

Director Alexander Barnett and Keith Perry (Vincent's father)

 

Camera set-up Alexander Barnett director

Police Punish the ‘Good Apples’

Law enforcement needs to protect those who prioritize their sworn duties above loyalty to their peers.

 "Even as bad cops evade punishment for wrongdoing, those who stand up to corruption, report negligence or abuse, or decline to comply with bad orders are frequently marginalized, demoted, or outright fired," by Musa AlGharbi from the Atlantic

The Protests and the First Amendment.

 Don’t forget in this season of demonstration that you have a right, in most cases, to keep your phone and the video you’ve taken of police activity when the cops ask for it. The Washington Post More: How the NYPD “weaponized” curfew restrictions. The Intercept

Notes from the Field

Superb work from Anna Deveare Smith. Given what is happening today it is even more distressing that the play was done in 2015. Profoundly disturbing on many levels but a must see.

https://www.hbo.com/movies/notes-from-the-field

Kudos for The Eyes of Van Gogh

I am very pleased that my film The Eyes of Van Gogh has been included in this list of the 5 best movies about Vincent van Gogh

Watch the film on Amazon Prime.  

The Wanting Mare Premiere

I enjoyed working on this film very much and am delighted that people will now be able to see it starting with its premiere at the online version of the Chattanooga Film Festival. May 22-May 25 https://bit.ly/CFFWantingMare

“On the features side, CFF is thrilled to present the world premiere of Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s The Wanting Mare. This hauntingly beautiful film revolves around an imaginary world and a line of women that pass a recurring dream down through multiple generations. Bateman will also present World-Building in Independent Film: Visual Effects tools for Low Budget Filmmakers, in which he will trace the production process and the digital journey of bringing The Wanting Mare to life.”   

Great Atlantic Article

From the article: "I could have picked a dozen other examples over the past 10 days, but these five will suffice. They illustrate some of the essential traits of Donald Trump: the shocking ignorance, ineptitude, and misinformation; his constant need to divide Americans and attack those who are trying to promote social solidarity; his narcissism, deep insecurity, utter lack of empathy, and desperate need to be loved; his feelings of victimization and grievance; his affinity for ruthless leaders; and his fondness for conspiracy theories."

Perfect.

Lessons from New York’s Bail Battle

Extremely important issue.  Many thousands of people for many months if not years - including those charged with misdemeanors - are in jail because they cannot pay bail.  Reform is crucial.

From The Marshall Project: The sweeping bail reforms state lawmakers passed in 2019—abolishing money bail in many cases—were promptly undermined by conservative media outlets, law enforcement lobbyists and wobbly politicians who seized on disputed crime figures to argue the changes went too far. Now some of those changes have been rolled back, prompted by bad poll numbers and the political calculations that go with them. Bail reformers in other states are paying attention. They are trying to get more buy-in on the front end by police and prosecutors.