On October 30, 1974, 32-year-old Muhammad Ali becomes the heavyweight champion of the world for the second time when he knocks out 25-year-old champ George Foreman in the eighth round of the “Rumble in the Jungle,” a match in Kinshasa, Zaire. Seven years before, Ali had lost his title when the government accused him of draft-dodging and the boxing commission took away his license. His victory in Zaire made him only the second dethroned champ in history to regain his belt.

The “Rumble in the Jungle” (named by promoter Don King, who’d initially tagged the bout “From the Slave Ship to the Championship!” until Zaire’s president caught wind of the idea and ordered all the posters burned) was Africa’s first heavyweight championship match. The government of the West African republic staged the event—its president, Mobutu Sese Seko, personally paid each of the fighters $5 million simply for showing up—in hopes that it would draw the world’s attention to the country’s enormous beauty and vast reserves of natural resources. Ali agreed. “I wanted to establish a relationship between American blacks and Africans,” he wrote later. “The fight was about racial problems, Vietnam. All of that.” He added: “The Rumble in the Jungle was a fight that made the whole country more conscious.”

history.com

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Meta, Google, and TikTok: to Stop promoting election disinformation!

10/30/2022 Nativegrl77

BREAKING NEWS: We just found out Meta is profiting from violent ads calling for a military coup in Brazil – all while top execs get rich from it.

With the Brazilian presidential election just days away, Meta is approving ads inciting violence and spewing hate speech, and its algorithms are pushing users towards extremist conspiracy theories about election fraud.

The company’s top execs are terrified of being associated with another attempted coup like January 6th. Let’s use the power of our community to pressure Meta to crack down on election lies, and show it that the world is watching.

With only days to go until Brazil goes to the polls we have to act now! Sign and share:

Tell Meta: Stop promoting election disinformation and calls for violence in Brazil

Our research is clear. Meta’s toxic algorithms are not only failing to remove incitements to violence but are actively amplifying hate and election disinformation.

If users keep being pushed towards the most extreme and violent posts, there will be no stopping Brazil’s very own Stop the Steal movement.

Some will try to place the onus on the users creating the content. But there is no denying that these violent extremists wouldn’t have the platform they do without Meta holding them out a giant megaphone.

We will not let these tech giants keep profiting from hate, disinformation and calls for violence.

Meta: Protect our democracies, not your bottom line

When Meta tried to force users in Brazil into selling their data, SumOfUs members just like you banned together to stop the rollout of this abusive and illegal policy. Together, we can make Meta listen this time too.

SumOfUs is calling on Meta, Google and TikTok to immediately implement a series of actions exemplified below:

1) Hire more content moderators with sufficient understanding of the local political context and providing them with fair pay and decent working conditions;

2) Improve its ad account verification process so as to more effectively filter out accounts posting content that undermines the integrity of elections;

3) Assess, mitigate and publish the risks posed by their platforms to human rights in the countries in which they operate;

4) Publish details of the steps they’ve taken in each country and in each language to ensure election integrity and their progress;

5) Increase transparency by listing full details of all ads in the Meta ad library;

6) Allow verified independent third party auditing;

7) Adopt the recommendations of 90+ civil society groups in Brazil issued September 2022.

More information

The role of platforms in protecting electoral integrity in the Brazil 2022 election
Brazil civil society organizations. 1 September 2022.

Facebook Owner Meta Is Failing to Prevent Repeat of Jan. 6 in Brazil, Report Warns
Time Magazine. 5 September 2022.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Daily Holidays and Observances in October 2022

10/30/2022 Nativegrl77

By Shelby Deering and Amanda Garrity

When you think of October, Halloween is often the first thing that comes to mind — and understandably so.

The last day of the month is a real treat (pun very much intended), but don’t let the excitement surrounding the spooky season’s standout trick you into thinking it’s the only October holiday worth celebrating. In fact, there are tons of official (and unofficial) holidays, observance and awareness months from now through October 31.

Embrace all the food and fun that the season has to offer with holidays like National Pumpkin Day and National Apple Day. Or satisfy your sweet tooth before you get your candy fix on National Homemade Cookies Day, National Cinnamon Roll Day and National Dessert Day. (But since life is all about balance, don’t forget to celebrate National Kale Day and National Oatmeal Day, too.)

It’s not just about the treats, though: October is also a time to pick up some healthy habits that you can carry with you in the months ahead, whether it’s clearing out your inbox (Inbox Zero Day) or finding an organization to volunteer for (Make a Difference Day).

Speaking of health, carve out time to raise awareness for important causes, ranging from mental health (World Mental Health Day) to menopause (World Menopause Day). All month long, wear your pink ribbon with pride and encourage loved ones to book their mammogram appointments in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The list goes on — and on. Lucky for you, we’ve created a list of all the important dates in October, so you won’t miss a thing.