E-News Bulletin Friday, 22 June 2012 A Start-Up Bets on Human Translators Over Machines By SOMINI SENGUPTA Language does not come naturally to machines. Unlike humans, computers cannot easily distinguish between, say, a river bank and a savings bank. Satire and jokes? Algorithms have great trouble with that. Irony? Wordplay? Cultural context? Forget it. That human edge in decoding what things mean is what a computer scientist turned entrepreneur, Luis von Ahn, is betting on. His start-up, Duolingo, which opened to the public on Tuesday, proposes to put armies of language learners to work translating text on the Web. Read report on: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/ Greece’s ailing economy grinds to a halt By JOSHUA CHAFFIN Last week, Medical Service Limited, a small Athens’ supplier of medical equipment that can no longer afford to pay its employees, received what should have been a blessing: an order from one of the city’s hospitals for a heart monitoring machine. But after thinking it over, Yannis Stamos, the company’s co-founder, turned the customer away. Filling the order would have meant reaching into Medical Service’s own pockets to cover the €35,000 cost of such a machine, since Greek banks have stopped lending and the company’s German suppliers now demand pre-payment in cash. Read report on: http://www.ft.com/ AFT Teachers’ Union to Open Lesson-Sharing Web Site By MOTOKO RICH Teachers seeking lesson plans on anything from fractions and multiplication tables to Shakespeare or the Civil War can take to the Internet for a boundless array of work sheets, reading lists and classroom tips, available free or for a fee. Now the American Federation of Teachers is forming a partnership with TSL Education, the British publisher of the weekly Times Educational Supplement, to create a Web site where teachers can share curriculum materials with one another. Read report on: http://www.nytimes.com/ The French Presidential Elections and the Future of the Françafrique Since the election of François Hollande, many people have written about the future of the Françafrique. Every action is scrutinized, every act in the direction of Africa is analyzed: Will he appointed a Mr Africa at the Elysee? What will be the first African President received at the Elysée? The determination of some African parties to join to the Socialist International was declared. Some go so far as to ask if François Hollande will dissolve the Françafrique, as if it was an institution created in a formal way that can be dissolved by Decree. Read report on: http//:www.csfdd.org Alice Walker refuses Israel permission to publish her novel, The Color Purple The world renown author, Alice Walker, has refused an Israeli company, Yediot Books, from publishing her award winning novel, The Color Purple, citing Israel's "apartheid policies". In a letter dated 09 June 2012, Walker says: "It isn’t possible for me to permit this [publishing] at this time for the following reason...Israel is guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories." Read report on: www.southafricanartistsagainstapartheid.com Greek Communist Party holds final election rally By CHRISTOPH DREIER and KATERINA SELIN The final election rally of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), held last Friday, resembled those of recent years. The various occupational groups within the party marched in a star formation with numerous party banners to a central rally in Pedion Areos Square, where General Secretary Aleka Papariga gave an hour-long speech. The political situation has changed fundamentally, however, in the past three years. The social counterrevolution launched in Greece under the auspices of the European Union (EU) has driven millions of workers into misery and strained social relations to the breaking point. Greek society is entering a pre-revolutionary situation Read report on: http://www.wsws.org/ Why the U.S. Capitalist Media Barely Covered Brutal Right-Wing Zionist Incited Race Riots in Tel Aviv By JOSHUA HOLLAND Several weeks back, Israel was rocked by a night of right-wing race-riots targeting African refugees in Tel Aviv. The thuggery was frightening – refugees were attacked, African-owned businesses and stores were vandalized and a community was forced to hunker down behind closed doors in fear for their lives. Perhaps more disturbing still was that the riots, which began with an anti-immigrant demonstration, were incited by Israeli politicians representing the increasingly influential hard-right. They fired up the crowd, calling the refugees “infiltrators,” and a “cancer,” and accusing them of violence and rape. It was a classic example of “othering” – eliminationist rhetoric that led directly to action by the xenophobic crowd. Read report on: http://www.alternet.org/ Report On London International Labour Film Festival The curtain went up on the 3. London International Labor Film Festival last night. The event in Stoke Newington Abney Hall, kicked off with the concert of Venge Dur performing Turkish and Kurdish songs. Afterwards, ‘Made in Dagenham’ was showed as the debut film. Directed by Nigel Cole, the film tells the story of the equal pay strike of women workers in Ford’s London factory in 1968. See PDF report. Support Spanish Miners An underground sit-in at a coal mine in northern Spain has won dramatic support in the region with thousands of workers going on strike, and establishing road-blocks because the Spanish government is refusing to talk to them and their unions. The workers involved in the sit-in are 600 metres underground, where temperatures reach 25°C with an 85% humidity rate. Read report on: http://www.industriall-union.org/support-spanish-miners