riots
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After US Capitol assault, a different cybersecurity threat emerges
The insurrection at the Capitol had many worried about nation-state actors. It turns out, the real threat could be much closer to home.
Twitter can detect crime up to an hour faster than police
Twitter has repeatedly proven itself as an invaluable platform for information sharing during social crises. Now new research has shown its ability to detect serious incidents much faster than police reports -- up to an hour faster, in fact. By analysing data from the London riots in 2011, researchers at Cardiff University showed that computer systems could automatically scan through Twitter and identify potentially dangerous occurrences, such as windows being broken and cars being set on fire, long before they were reported to the Metropolitan Police Service.
Riot in the streets, at a desk, in your hand: An indie documentary game
"Riots are powerful. They are moments in which lots of different people blend into a unique and cohesive mass to fight for their freedom. It is something that you cannot pursue for yourself, but only for a greater good. How can that not be incredibly emotive?"Designer Mattia Traverso approaches rioting as an intense, human experience, from both sides of the kevlar: Rioters take to the streets for freedom and glory, while the authorities fight back in an equally fervid attempt to retain order. Riots are masses of thousands of stories about people, and Riot is a game about humanity.Traverso, creator Leonard Menchiari and programmer Ugur Ister's Riot has raised almost triple its $10,000 funding goal on Indiegogo, and it still has 10 days to pull in more money. Money that the Italian trio will use to travel the globe, seeking out and documenting riots in Italy, Greece, Egypt, Russia and other countries, interviewing rioters and law enforcement officers, gathering videos, photos and eyewitness accounts – then throwing all of that into the game."Phisically visiting these places and joining the live riots is fundamental," Traverso tells me. "One cannot describe something he does not know, and that is something that the 'serious' movie industry knows very well: You need research. How could we even claim to describe such an important topic without having lived it multiple times or having talked with the rioters or the police?"
Foxconn's Taiyuan plant faces worker unrest, "2,000 person" riot
A Foxconn facility in Taiyuan, China is the scene of ongoing disturbances as workers rioted in the overnight hours. Engadget's Richard Lai, monitoring the Chinese microblogging and social sites, sees unofficial reports that the trigger for tonight's events was when security guards struck a Foxconn employee. The plant is reportedly among those responsible for some iPhone 5 components, according to NBC; specifically, the aluminum back plate (original Chinese undercover report here). Harsh working conditions and pressure for overtime work in the run-up to the iPhone launch may have been contributing factors in the current unrest. While Apple has made efforts to diversify its supplier chain and ensure humane working conditions at its contract manufacturing partners, there is still much to be done. Early this year, Mike Daisey's monologue The Agony & The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs purported to expose bad labor practices at Apple suppliers in China, only to be exposed itself as inaccurate and exaggerated in some key details.
EVE Online monument commemorates the summer riots
Back in June, the EVE Online community reacted negatively to the release of a lackluster Incarna expansion and controversy over microtransaction prices. Complaints eventually erupted into in-game riots with the leak of a company newsletter on microtransactions and an internal memo from the CEO denouncing complaints as noise. Players got together in trade hubs across the game to protest EVE's development direction, attacking a pair of invulnerable monuments outside the systems' major stations. As a nod to players' refusal to accept the status quo and force change, CCP recently altered the Jita monument that was the main focus of the summer riots. The statue now stands destroyed, and its plaque congratulating Heinky and Shin Ra of Burn Eden for solving a riddle contest several years ago has been changed to the text below: "This was once a memorial to the winners of a riddle contest sponsored by late entrepreneur Ruevo Aram. After standing proud for half a decade, it was destroyed in late YC113 by capsuleers who were staging a mass uprising against an intolerable status quo of intergalactic affairs. Today, the ruins of this once-great work of art stand as a testament to the fact that change is the universe's only constant." The change is currently only live on the test server, but will likely come to the main server on November 29th when the Crucible expansion launches. Thanks to Drew for the tip!
EVE Online controversy erupts in protests
Over the past few days, our inboxes here at Massively have been positively overflowing with tips and comments from readers about the ongoing turmoil in EVE Online. It all began with the Incarna update, which added an item shop to the long-running sci-fi sandbox. Players began to voice their concerns over the bizarrely high prices of items in the shop, with one particular item reaching an insane $68 US. Before this hullabaloo had the chance to so much as come to a simmer, an internal newsletter from CCP was leaked to the internet. The document outlined the introduction of microtransactions into EVE and mentioned that at some point, ships, ammunition, and so forth may be available for purchase with real-world currency. This naturally sent players into even more of a frenzy. The whole ordeal came to a head yesterday when CCP Zulu attempted to douse the flames by addressing the issues directly in a dev diary. The play backfired, however, as players took issue with the dev blog's tone and attitude toward the upset players. Not long after that, an internal CCP email was leaked explaining the reasoning behind the controversial blog post, which only added fuel to the flames. The result of this blazing hellstorm of controversy? Riots, of course. Players have gathered en masse at Rens, Jita, and Amarr to show their displeasure. As of the time of this writing, the protests are still going strong and show few signs of stopping. What will come of these protests, though? Hopefully we'll be finding that out soon enough. Be sure to stick with Massively in the coming days as our resident EVE expert will be covering the topic in his column this Sunday while we await response from CCP Zulu. Until then, be sure to go check out Brendan's appearance on EVE Radio for an in-depth discussion of the issues at hand.
Age of Conan video walks players through new Tarantia Commons zone
This has been a really big week for Age of Conan. They released Update 5, "Gangs of Tarantia", which has introduced new zones and content, but more than that, completely reworked some of Age of Conan's existing game mechanics. The amount of written content that Funcom has put together on these changes is substantial -- in fact we linked to all of it in our post on Update 5 earlier this week. Funcom can write all they want about the new changes to the game, but when it comes down to it, actually seeing these places they've described may have a stronger impact. With that in mind, Funcom released a video tour of the Tarantia Commons zone today, narrated by game director Craig Morrison.Tarantia Commons is what he describes as "the urban underbelly" of the capital city of Tarantia, a place Morrison says is "wracked by gang warfare and civil unrest." In other words, there's always a lot going on in Tarantia Commons and the video walkthrough shows this, revealing how players will choose which side to take in riots -- either aid the city guards or stick it to the man with fellow rioters. The riots then trigger other events. Specific quests become available and certain bosses spawn, depending upon the general state of chaos in the streets of Tarantia Commons. There are two warring gangs in the new gameplay area, The Wharf Rats who exist at ground level in the streets of Tarantia Commons, and The Crows whose area of influence shows off a different aspect of the game: rooftops. Interacting with The Crows above Tarantia Commons gives a different perspective on the city, with some impressive views of the zone. Of course there's content on the outskirts of Tarantia Commons for players to experience as well, including a leper colony where NPCs will lash out at you, intentionally trying to infect you with disease. As an added bonus, or spoiler depending upon your point of view, the walkthrough also shows off a boss encounter and the tactics he'll employ against players. If you're on the fence about returning to Age of Conan to see the new content, this Tarantia Commons walkthrough might just be the tipping point. We've got a video embed for you after the jump:
WoW Moviewatch: Rioting across the realms
Well, some players have decided that in-game riots may be the answer. The answer, at least until GMs started mass sleeping players participating and handing out three hour bans. This video (which is not entirely safe for work) covers rioting on Dentrag, but there are similar happenings on Warsong, Stormscale, and perhaps other realms. However, while many priests don't feel they're being listened to elsewhere, I'm not sure this is the solution -- at least unless your goal is to get your account banned.[Thanks, Adam]
Air Force chief proposes testing "pain guns" on unruly Americans
It's a good thing that military personnel are not elected officials, because if Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne were up for re-election, we doubt that his proposal to test non-lethal weapons on American citizens before deploying them abroad would win him many votes. Specifically, Wynne told The Associated Press: "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation, (because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press." That would certainly be a shame, Mr. Secretary, as it would really tarnish the US's hard-earned reputation as a nation beyond reproach in the eyes of the international community. So, next time you're looting or rioting or otherwise participating in organized chaos and you happen to inexplicably drop to your knees in horrific pain, you can thank Secretary Wynne for ensuring that America's enemies will be receiving just the right dose of incapacitating waves, beams, or pulses when the time comes.Update: Upon reading all of the comments so far (some insightful, some not) and re-reading the CNN article, it's clear that the AP reporter may have taken Secretary Wynne's statement out of context, and that the Secretary may actually be advocating against any use of these types of weapons at all -- a notion that's further supported by claims that the Air Force is withholding funding for this research pending additional medical inquiries. Therefore, please disregard any barbs herein made at the expense of Secretary Wynne, as they may turn out to be completely unwarranted.
