I Like Philosophy

So, if it has not been mentioned by the 'serious' press, how do you know it was a single student?

@Cierzo: Did you read the article you posted? The guy's name in mentioned there. He is part of the Student Union.

@Northwest: And how do you know he is not talking on behalf of the union? If it was not so, the union board would have stated that his words are just his personal opinion.

@Cierzo: How do you know he is? Again, from the article you posted a link to:

"The democracy and education union [b]officer responsible for the statement[/b], Ali Habib, is on SOAS’s governing board of trustees. He recently told a student newspaper that he is an admirer of Frantz Fanon, the Martinique-born Marxist thinker whose book The Wretched Of The Earth is a seminal work of revolutionary anti-colonialism."

The article said, that he declined to comment. This is also one of the many, many, student unions at the school. For all I know, it's a couple of people.

The way I see it, it's the 'oh my God, political correctness is running amok', people, grasping for straws and making mountains, our of ant hills.

@Northwest: They may not be many, but they are more into the matter like Meryl Streep is into politics, for instance.

Why should her words should be so amplified? Just because she is a celeb? She is not into politics at all. Her words matter as much as yours or mine would.

You talk about tabloids and serious press. I see papers and news sites of different ideologies, none of them telling the truth. And some of them nervous because they are losing influence and talking about 'fake news'

@Cierzo: This conversation is not about Meryl Streep, and using Meryl Streep, would be a false equivalency.

In this case, she is not simply a celeb, she is an activist. Her latest project, was not the movie she was nominated for, it was a series, produced by CNN, where she toured, along with some female journalists, parts of the developing world, to promote a better understanding of what it takes, to empower female students, in places, where religion (Islam) or society (Africa), may be obstacles. Michelle Obama traveled to some of these places, as part of the documentary.

"some of them nervous because they are losing influence and talking about 'fake news'"

Some of them are talking about fake news, because there is an industry, specializing in Fake News, and I've pointed it out to you, on more than one occasion, with some of the stuff you posted. These days, I verify, before I comment, or believe (for that matter).

So, I don't doubt that someone may challenge the syllabus, but it does not mean, despite what the sensational press wants you to believe, that the world is upside down. That same article quotes two educators (from that department), one for and one against.

The world is not going upaide down because of this, it is just another grain of sand.But I don't believe in an industry producing fake news. Or better said, all media are fake since they want to create opinion on simply giving information.

About Streep, she was at the Golden Globe ceremony as an actress, so her words have the relevance of an actress talking about politics. No more or less than a farmer from Iowa talking about politics.

@Cierzo: A farmer in Iowa, talking politics should be taken seriously. Trump built his brand, on the words of farmers from Iowa, among other places. So, if he wants to complain about it, he should look within. Why should Trump, using his name as a reality TV personality, be taken more (or less) seriously than Meryl Streep, who is an actress, but an activist as well. Why would any person's profession preclude them from being activists.

When he began his campaign, Trump was bragging about how did not have to spend on advertising, because the media was following him around, not because they thought he was a serious contender, but because they thought he was an interesting media phenomenon. He cannot have his cake and eat it too.

For instance, Trump did not mind it, when he invited the press to provide his position on the Obama birthplace issue. He spent 31 seconds on that, and 30+ minutes, promoting his new hotel.

Of course there is an industry producing fake news. What do you call Breitbart? What do you call that site, promoting a fake news story, that our Ambassador to Lybia, was tortured for 7 hours, gang raped and burned to death, and they published fake pictures to go with that story? the proprietor of that web site, has been appointed to the Trump White House, as his primary advisor.

There are people in Eastern Europe, who make a living creating fake 'Hillary' news. Google it, and if you cannot find it, I will be more than happy to provide references.

@Northwest: And how do you know that these news about this 'fake news industry' are real? Because it's NY Times who says it?
This is one of the tragedies of our time, that nothing we read can be truly believed

@Cierzo: I don't understand this question. The fake news industry, is documented by those who are in it. They're not shy about talking about it. It is reported on. I use and collect ad data, and how this works is simple: the ad provider does not care what the content is. It provides the content provider with a piece of computer code, that they insert in their web site. This is what's driving the ads you see on SW, and SW has very little control over it.

At some, people are capable of using their brains. Some don't.