genocide
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Facebook bans hundreds more pages relating to Myanmar conflict
Just a week after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted he "doesn't know enough" about the political situation in Myanmar, following his series of tone-deaf tweets applauding the country, Facebook has taken further action to stymy the calls to violence made on its platform. The network has now banned an additional 425 pages, 17 groups, 135 Facebook accounts and 15 Instagram accounts, adding to takedowns made in August and October.
Twitter's Jack Dorsey promotes Myanmar despite genocide reports
Unfortunately, social network leaders still appear to be tone deaf regarding Myanmar's reported atrocities. Twitter chief Jack Dorsey posted a series of tweets encouraging followers to visit Myanmar after he'd been there for a birthday meditation retreat, seemingly ignoring widespread evidence of the country's government committing genocide against the Rohingya people and forcing hundreds of thousands of them to flee. He focused solely on his trip, noting that the "people are full of joy" and celebrating the experience of listening to a Kendrick Lamar album after breaking silence.
Facebook accused of supporting 'ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar
Facebook stands accused of censoring information related to the ethnic cleansing currently taking place in the Republic of Myanmar. The Guardian reports that the social network has essentially blacklisted posts from, or supporting, insurgent group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Critics believe that this gives the appearance that the site is supporting the incumbent government, and by extension, its actions. The paper quotes activist Mohammad Anwar, who says that by suppressing dissent, Facebook is "colluding with the genocidaires."
The Game Archaeologist crosses Meridian 59: An interview with Brian Green (part 1)
Last week we began to examine one of the most significant MMOs in history: Meridian 59. While it never rose to the level of fame and subscriber numbers as its successors did, Meridian 59 was a daring pioneer that paved the way for all that followed. Its story is almost like a movie, with the title born from the fruits of two amateur programmers, surviving studio shutdowns and huge competition, and persevering from 1996 through today. As I'll recount over the next two episodes of The Game Archaeologist, I sat down with Brian Green, a blogger and game developer who oversaw the resurrection of Meridian 59 in the early 2000s and ran it for the better part of a decade. Green graciously agreed to participate, saying that he always loves talking about games -- and this one in particular. The Game Archaeologist: Hi! Please introduce yourself and your current position and project. Brian Green: I'm Brian "Psychochild" Green, a long-time MMO designer and programmer. I'm known for my professional blog and my work on Meridian 59. I'm currently working on the Storybricks project as the MMO Wizard. We're a startup, so that means I do whatever needs to be done at the moment.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a draenei
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the eighth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself.The draenei are one of Warcraft's more unique contributions to the realm of fantasy fiction, the one player race without no real precedent in earlier fantasy worlds. These are not your typical elves, orcs and dwarves borrowed from Tolkien or Dungeons and Dragons; the draenei are tall, with hooves, tails, horns and even face-tendrils -- but they are noble and spiritual people, the last remnants of an ancient civilization of magic and beauty.To begin thinking about what it must be like to live as a draenei, imagine how the human race might be many thousands of years into the future, maybe a quarter of a million years from now. Whatever technology those people might have would probably seem like magic to us. Our descendants might unravel the mysteries of biology to such a degree that they can halt the aging process and live as long as they want to. They may be able to tap on sources of power we haven't even imagined, and act with motivations and purposes we could scarcely understand.The draenei as a people were once like this, 25,000 years before the setting of World of Warcraft. Even at that time, they were already ancient in their history and advanced far beyond what you and I might understand. Their world, called Argus, was a prosperous society full of great achievements and magical wonders, quite unlike anything we see today. They had a different name then, however -- they were called, the "eredar" -- a name which now upsets the draenei as a painful reminder of everything they have lost, the corruption, the betrayal and the near extermination of everything they have ever known and loved.
RP Spotlight: Inadra's tale
RP Spotlight highlights little things people do to deepen their experience of the story of World of Warcraft, whether they are roleplayers or not. Inadra's voice chills you from the very outset of her story: "I have walked on the bones of my people," she begins, "on a path so long that I could not see where it ended, or where it began..." So have you. You remember walking on those same bones, on the Path of Glory in Hellfire Peninsula -- where the corpses of the draenei people that were killed in a genocide by the Old Horde paved the way for the orcs' march to the Dark Portal and into Azeroth. (For more on the background of this genocide, find out how the orcs became so bloodthirsty.) If you've done the quest called "Path of Glory" at Honor Hold, then you will have seen a glimpse of the tragedy in this story. Perhaps, like me, you felt touched at the cleansing of some draenei bones, reminded of real people who had suffered similar ends at the hands of merciless enemies. Phaedria, of the Venture Co. realm, must have been touched too. She drew on this element within the Warcraft lore to craft a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of her own, set on Draenor just as the genocide against the draenei was beginning. It's about how the draenei in families such as her own faced such a terror with bravery and sacrifice, and how a few managed to survive with hope alive in their hearts. Phaedria narrates her tale in the voice of her main character, Inadra, and sets the mood perfectly, with background music, and subtle changes in her tone of voice. It's a great piece of audiodrama; so give it about 10 or 20 minutes of your time. After listening to it, you may never see draenei, or the World of Warcraft, the same again. [Thanks Tyche, for letting us know!]
Will we ever see Imagination Is the Only Escape?
Imagination is the Only Escape is only in its early stages, and yet, the game is already causing controversy.This Holocaust-themed title is about a Jewish boy in Eastern France during WWII, when the Nazis occupied the territory. The game's world then becomes a fantasy land, imagined by the boy in order to "escape" the harshness of reality. The New York Times caused some alarm this morning, though, reporting that Nintendo wouldn't be releasing Luc Bernard's DS game to America. The article, however, might have been jumping the gun. It's true that Nintendo of America has no plans to distribute this title, but Bernard hasn't even approached the company yet. A representative from Alten8, Imagination's potential publisher, also told Eurogamer that no one has blocked the game and that it's still in its early stages.Does that mean the game is in the clear, though? Not necessarily.
Upcoming DS game described as 'Schindler's List meets Alice in Wonderland'
We never thought anything would ever fall under the category of "Schindler's List meets Alice in Wonderland," but that's exactly how Luc Bernard is describing his new DS game. Bernard, who is most known for the upcoming Wii Ware title Eternity's Child, is certainly a strange character. At least, we've gathered that much after he made the statement, "Yes games can be art and talk about important subjects like films can, and not just space rats in bondage suits that come down to whip you and put gags on your children while drinking all the vodka in the world."It can't be argued that he has an interesting mind, though, so our curiosity is piqued in regards to his DS game. Like Eternity's Child, it will deal with genocidal themes. If that alone wasn't enough to warn you that this game would be a heartbreaker, it's titled Imagination is the Only Escape. Yet, we won't find out more information about it until after GDC, according to Bernard.
