AUGUST 28 AND 29, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT QUEEN ELIZABETH DID IN THE DAYS AFTER PRINCESS DIANA’S DEATH, AND APPARENTLY FOR THE SAME REASON – A DEEP LOSS OF PUBLIC APPROVAL. MAYBE YOU WILL REMEMBER THE STORIES OF QEII’S CONFLICTS WITH DIANA AND HER INITIAL REFUSAL TO LOWER THE FLAG ON BUCKINGHAM PALACE AFTER HER TRAGIC DEATH. AS THE MURMURINGS OF BRITISH CITIZENS AND CROWDS IN FRONT OF THE PALACE BECAME MORE OMINOUS, SHE LOWERED THE FLAG TO HALF MAST WITH NO COMMENT.

IN THIS CASE, TRUMP DIDN’T BACK DOWN ON HIS ISSUE OF PERSONAL PIQUE UNTIL THE VETERANS SPOKE OUT. THIS IS ONE MORE UNSURPRISING TRUMP MOVE. CONGRESS, IT’S YOUR TURN NOW.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/08/27/john-mccain-trump-flag-half-mast-nasa-iphone-jacksonville-shooting/1108802002/
Trump flip-flops, lowers White House flag back to half-staff
USA TODAY Published 5:01 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 9:40 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018

The White House flag is back to half-staff following national freak-out

The U.S. flag flying over the White House was abruptly brought back down to half-staff Monday afternoon after an outcry erupted when it was raised after the death of Arizona Sen. John McCain. Why the big deal? Flags are lowered by presidential proclamation, so the president decides who receives the honor. The recent tradition for senators who die in office has been to have flags lowered in their honor from their death until their burial. But the White House raised the flag two days after McCain's death. In his first formal statement on McCain's death, President Donald Trump said he respected McCain's service and ordered the flags back down. "Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment," Trump said. The move came after Veterans groups on Monday criticized Trump, saying he should show greater respect for the late Republican senator and issue a presidential proclamation in honor of the Vietnam War hero.

In case you missed it, here are some of our top stories about McCain:

John McCain may have lost the presidency, but still became larger-than-life
John McCain dies 9 years to the day after Ted Kennedy – of the same kind of cancer
'We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always.' John McCain's most powerful quotes
Six memorable moments when John McCain earned a reputation as a "maverick"
Sen. John McCain's farewell letter: "I lived and died a proud American"


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ABOUT CODY WILSON AND GUN CONTROL (A LAUGHABLE TERM IN THIS CONTEXT) – SEE THESE THREE ARTICLES. THERE’S MORE ON THE INTERNET TOO, IF YOU WANT TO READ IT.

JUST HAVING A 3D FILE IS NOT ENOUGH TO PRODUCE A GUN. THE LAST TIME THIS STORY CAME UP, THE ARTICLE SAID THAT CODY WILSON WAS ALSO SELLING 3D PRINTERS (OR SPECIALIZED PRINTER PARTS?) FOR THE HOME PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS. THIS IS LIKE THE INTERESTINGLY DRESSED FLOWER CHILDREN OF MY GENERATION, 1968, WHO SAT IN A LINE ON FRANKLIN STREET IN CHAPEL HILL, NC, SELLING HOMEMADE CANDLES FOR $10.00, AND GIVING AWAY A HASH PIPE WITH EACH. ILLEGAL? NOPE.

THE COURT ORDER WILSON FACES NOW STOPS HIM FROM GIVING THE CAD FILES AWAY HE SAYS, SO HE WILL NOW SELL THEM FOR ANY AMOUNT THE BUYER WANTS TO PAY. IS HE SOMETHING OF A PROPHET FOR A CULT OF GUN OWNERSHIP? I THINK MAYBE SO – THE ULTIMATE “GODLESS RELIGION.”

FOR MORE ABOUT WILSON HIMSELF GO TO : https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/28/3d-printed-gun-blueprints-cody-wilson-selling/, IN WHICH ARTICLE HE IS DESCRIBED AS A "CRYPTO-ANARCHIST*." LIKE MANY PEOPLE OF HIS LEVEL OF ARROGANCE, HE IS GENUINELY VERY CLEVER AND CREATIVE, BUT AMORAL. IN SHORT, I REALLY DON’T LIKE THE FELLOW AT ALL. I DON’T LIKE HIS SMUG LITTLE SMIRK, EITHER. THERE IS A BIT OF THE DEMON IN THAT TURN OF MIND. AM I AFRAID THAT HE IS ALSO GENUINELY DANGEROUS IN HIS WILLINGNESS TO DO HARM? VERY POSSIBLY SO IF HE THINKS HE WON’T END UP IN PRISON FOR IT.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/in-defiance-of-court-order-3d-printed-gun-pioneer-starts-selling-cad-files/
After court order, 3D-printed gun pioneer now sells pay-what-you-want CAD files
Defense Distributed's Wilson: "I’m happy to become iTunes of 3D guns if I can’t be Napster."
CYRUS FARIVAR AND NATHAN MATTISE - 8/28/2018, 12:18 PM

PHOTOGRAPH -- Enlarge / Cody Wilson (right), the founder of Defense Distributed, spoke to reporters on Tuesday.

AUSTIN, Texas—During what he called his first ever press conference, Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson announced Tuesday that he would continue to comply with a federal court order forbidding him from internationally publishing CAD files* of firearms. Wilson said he would also begin selling copies of his 3D-printed gun files for a "suggested price" of $10 each.

[CAD file – “CAD is an image file format used by AutoCAD. AutoCAD was created by AutoDesk, and creates 2-D and 3-D designs. CAD files hold information for these images, as well as drafting information. CAD stands for Computer Aided Design.” -- whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/CAD-AutoCAD-drawing-database-file]

The files, crucially, will be transmitted to customers "on a DD-branded flash drive" in the United States. Wilson also mentioned looking into customer email and secure download links.

ARS TRENDING VIDEO
How Searching Took a Different Approach to "Screen Movies"

Previously, Defense Distributed had given the files away for free, globally.

"I’m happy to become the iTunes of 3D guns if I can’t be Napster," Wilson said, adding that anyone can submit a file to sell on his platform, where they will receive 50 percent of the sales proceeds. Wilson said files uploaded to the platform must "be liquid info," or things like CAD files, blueprints, and schematics. He reiterated users cannot resell materials they don't possess the rights to and that Defense Distributed has already put the infrastructure in place to review user submissions.

Throughout the event, Wilson would periodically check his phone in order to see recent Defense Distributed pay-what-you-want sales. "I've seen a guy pay $15, lots of people paying $1, others are $10, $8 for the AR-15 file," he told the assembled press. "It's very generous, just people who want to support us. See, $0, a free-rider—give me a cent." He said the company has completed "a few hundred" pay-what-you-want transactions thus far.

Wilson reiterated the move to sell is not motivated in any way by profit and that Defense Distributed remains financially stable. "We’re not desperate for cash, we’re just covering costs," he said. "I remember when Radiohead did this, they said they didn’t make real money for this… I don’t expect to either. There’s plenty of people who don't want this, don't care, until they see the Attorney General of Pennsylvania doesn’t want you to have it."

Throughout his initial statement and while fielding questions from the press, Wilson maintained his main motivation was First Amendment-related. He called out companies like Facebook and Amazon for previously censoring users from posting Defense Distributed file links (the former) or taking down books for sale (the latter) that contained code for the Liberator, the company's blueprinted handgun.

"Today I want to clarify, anyone who wants these files will get them—I’ll sell them, I'll ship them," he continued. "The free exchange of these ideas will never be interrupted. I’m also inviting the public to share their own files and share the profit with me.

Starting pistol

As Ars has reported, Defense Distributed is a Texas-based company involved in a years-long lawsuit with the Department of State over publication of those files and making them available to foreigners. The company runs DEFCAD, perhaps the best-known online repository of gun files.

After a surprising June 2018 settlement with the Department of Justice appeared to end that five-year legal battle with the government, DEFCAD reposted the files on July 27, a few days earlier than the company had initially said it would restore them.

With the settlement, the federal government essentially agreed to modify the relevant export laws. Defense Distributed would be allowed to publish, the DOJ would pay $40,000 of DD's legal fees, and the case would be over. The Second Amendment Foundation announced the settlement on July 10.

But earlier this month, a group of states led by Washington sued the Department of State, claiming that allowing the files to be made available violated a federal administrative law.

That settlement was then overturned in a ruling by a Seattle judge, US District Judge Robert Lasnik. On Monday, Judge Lasnik ordered that the files must stay offline in order to comply with American export law.

FURTHER READING
3D-printed (and CNC-milled) guns: Nine questions you were too afraid to ask

By selling them only to people in the United States, Wilson and Defense Distributed have found a way to still comply with the judge's order.

"That's the easiest thing for us to do, the legal thing for us to do, that's always been our mission as a company," he said. "You have a right to have these things; we have a right to give them."

A press representative for Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment.

"Hysterical"

Wilson remained seated at a table for the duration of the press conference with an unnamed Defense Distributed employee by his side. He said in a matter-of-fact tone that he has been successfully fundraising off these recent efforts to shut him down. He has already raised $200,000 (about half of which he said came via cryptocurrencies) and expects more to come. Defense Distributed's stated fundraising goal is $400,000.

"The judges yesterday, besides being hysterical and all that, did not suspend [our operation] but wanted to unauthorize it," he said. "Many attorneys have been saying we’ve been stopped; no one can print a gun at home. This is the stuff I had to read yesterday. But of course you can download this stuff, all this press coverage ensured it’ll be online forever. So the point I’m going to make: this order stopping us from giving away [files], prevented us from selling, emailing, et cetera—I will be doing all those things. My congrats to the attorneys general for saving America. A lot of this to me is principle. For many years I chose not to sell these files, because I’m an open source activist. I believed in demonstrating there’s a right to put this in the public domain."

When a reporter asked why the Seattle judge's order was "hysterical," Wilson noted that Judge Lasnik seemingly did not understand that the files are already out there.

"He accepts the plaintiff's article that the world would end if he didn’t act," Wilson added. "But this already happened—we’ve lived in a world where you can download these files from anywhere. His description that 'some cybernaut can find these in the dark recesses in the Internet,'—they’re discoverable within 30 seconds of Googling."

Wilson vowed to appeal the Seattle ruling at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

"You can read our briefs to see our arguments, and we're confined to those in the appeals court—pretty standard stuff regarding the First Amendment, Second Amendment," he said. "It's pretty easy stuff to understand if you're a federal judge, though maybe not."


WILSON CLAIMS THAT HE HAS BEEN BARRED FROM “GIVING THESE AWAY” BY POSTING THEM ABROAD, NOT FROM SELLING THEM, SO HE IS “SELLING” THEM AT WHATEVER PRICE HIS FOLLOWERS WANT TO PAY, DOWN TO ONE CENT. READ HIS COMMENTS. HE SOUNDS TO ME LIKE AN ENTHUSIAST OF A POTENTIALLY INSANE SORT ON THE CHURCH OF THE INTERNET, ESPOUSING ABSOLUTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AS A NECESSITY IN ITSELF, AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT FOR GUN LOVERS; BUT HE IS NOT A BUSINESSMAN. THE MOST TROUBLESOME THING TO ME IS THE FACT THAT HE SEEMS SERIOUS ABOUT IT, EVEN SO. ONE MORE CULT, I SUPPOSE. YOU WILL NOTE THAT THE WEAPONS ONCE MADE ARE UNTRACEABLE – GREAT FOR CRIMINALS AND POLITICAL RADICALS, AND NOT GOOD FOR HONEST ORDINARY CITIZENS WHO DON’T WANT A LOCAL RACE WAR. HIS GIVEAWAY OF UNTRACEABLE WEAPONS IN THIS WAY KEEPS HIS HANDS CLEAN, BECAUSE ALL HE DID WAS PROVIDE THE KNOW-HOW.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/3d-printed-gun-industrys-cody-wilson-selling-blueprints-for-untraceable-weapons-despite-court-order/
CBS/AP August 28, 2018, 1:56 PM
A judge said this man couldn't post blueprints for 3D-printed guns. He started doing it anyway

AUSTIN, Texas — The owner of a Texas company that makes untraceable 3D-printed guns said Tuesday that he has begun selling the blueprints through his website to anyone who wants to make one, despite a federal court order barring him from posting the plans online. Cody Wilson said at a news conference that he'll make the plans available to anyone who wants them at any price.

Wilson said sales started Tuesday morning and that he'd already gotten nearly 400 orders.

That follows a federal judge in Seattle blocking Wilson's company from posting the blueprints online.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had sought an injunction to stop a settlement that the federal government reached with Wilson's Austin-based Defense Distributed. The states argued that online access to the undetectable plastic guns would pose a security risk and could be acquired by felons or terrorists.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik agreed Monday, saying the government's actions "not only impact national security but have domestic repercussions as well."

The State Department reached the deal with the company after the agency***moved the 3D gun-making plans from a list of weapons or technical data that are not allowed to be exported.

Wilson said he anticipates that states may try to sue to stop him from selling the plans, but that he is raising money for his legal defense.

CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil spoke to Wilson last month about his goal of making blueprints available to anyone online.

"If I allow you to download an AR-15, the full plans for an AR-15, I don't believe that I provide you with anything other than the general knowledge of what an AR-15 is," Wilson said at the time. "I am no different from a publisher of information."

Wilson said he will continue to challenge the federal court order.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


CRYPTO-ANARCHISM (1992):

https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/crypto-anarchy.html
From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)
Subject: The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 12:11:24 PST

Cypherpunks of the World,
Several of you at the "physical Cypherpunks" gathering yesterday in Silicon Valley requested that more of the material passed out in meetings be available electronically to the entire readership of the Cypherpunks list, spooks, eavesdroppers, and all.

Here's the "Crypto Anarchist Manifesto" I read at the September 1992 founding meeting. It dates back to mid-1988 and was distributed to some like-minded techno-anarchists at the "Crypto '88" conference and then again at the "Hackers Conference" that year. I later gave talks at Hackers on this in 1989 and 1990.

There are a few things I'd change, but for historical reasons I'll just leave it as is. Some of the terms may be unfamiliar to you...I hope the Crypto Glossary I just distributed will help.

(This should explain all those cryptic terms in my .signature!)

--Tim May

The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto
Timothy C. May tcmay@netcom.com

A specter is haunting the modern world, the specter of crypto anarchy.

Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange messages, conduct business, and negotiate electronic contracts without ever knowing the True Name, or legal identity, of the other. Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via extensive re- routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect assurance against any tampering. Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today. These developments will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interactions, the ability to keep information secret, and will even alter the nature of trust and reputation.

The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to be trade freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy.

Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions. Combined with emerging information markets, crypto anarchy will create a liquid market for any and all material which can be put into words and pictures. And just as a seemingly minor invention like barbed wire made possible the fencing-off of vast ranches and farms, thus altering forever the concepts of land and property rights in the frontier West, so too will the seemingly minor discovery out of an arcane branch of mathematics come to be the wire clippers which dismantle the barbed wire around intellectual property.

Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!

Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments.
Higher Power: 2^756839 | PGP Public Key: by arrangement.


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THIS WILL BE A CASE TO WATCH, CONSIDERING THAT THE CONVICTIONS OF POLICE OFFICERS IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES ARE SO RARE. I WOULD EXPECT THAT HIS PARTNER WOULD HAVE NO REASON TO CLAIM OLIVER HAD NO NEED TO SHOOT IN HIS VIEW, IF THAT WEREN’T TRUE. BRIBERY? PROBABLY NOT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roy-oliver-former-texas-police-officer-guilty-of-murder-in-fatal-shooting-of-black-teen-jordan-edwards/
CBS/AP August 28, 2018, 3:35 PM
Ex-Texas police officer found guilty of murder in fatal shooting of black teenager

DALLAS — A white former Texas police officer has been found guilty of murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager as he left a house party in a car full of teenagers.

Roy Oliver was fired from the Balch Springs Police Department days after the April 2017 shooting. Oliver killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards after the then-officer fired into a moving car carrying five black teenagers leaving a local house party. Edwards was in the front passenger seat.

Oliver was found not guilty of lesser charges manslaughter and aggravated assault, CBS DFW reports.

Oliver testified during the Dallas County trial that he opened fire after seeing the car move toward his partner. He says he thought his partner was in danger. But his partner told jurors he didn't fear for his life and never felt the need to fire his weapon.

170501-cbs-en-jordan-edwards.jpg
Jordan Edwards CBS NEWS

The shooting launched the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs into a national conversation on issues of law enforcement and race. Experts said ahead of the trial that securing convictions against an officer was challenging, in part because criminal culpability in on-duty shootings is subjective and jurors are more inclined to believe police testimony.

In closing arguments, defense attorneys told the jury they needed to evaluate the circumstances from Oliver's viewpoint and from what the former officer knew at the time. But prosecutors described Oliver as out of control and looking for a reason to kill. They argued that his firing into the car wasn't reasonable.

The shooting came after Oliver and his partner, Tyler Gross, had broken up a large house party following a report of underage drinking. Both officers were inside the residence when they heard gunfire outside and responded. Authorities later determined the shots were fired near a nursing home in the area.

roy-oliver-mugshot.jpg
Roy Oliver's mugshot after he turned himself into authorities in Parker County, Texas. PARKER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Oliver retrieved his rifle and went toward Gross, who was ordering the car carrying Edwards to stop. Oliver testified that he saw the car back up and stop for a second before moving forward and going toward Gross.

Testifying in his own defense, Oliver told the jury the car was about to hit his partner. Oliver said he felt he had no other option but to fire.

Gross, however, testified that he did not fear for his life and never felt the need to fire his weapon. He also said he didn't feel like the vehicle was trying to hit him.

Prosecutors said Oliver fired after the vehicle passed Gross. Investigators also said no guns were found in the teens' vehicle.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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AMAZON’S VERY DISTURBING BUSINESS PRACTICES – TWO ARTICLES

BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES, ONE FROM THE HILL, ANOTHER FROM TECHCRUNCH WHICH IS AN INTERVIEW WITH SANDERS, AND A THIRD FROM BUSINESS INSIDER AT THEIR WEBSITE. ALL ARE VERY GOOD. SEE THE TEXTS BELOW.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/28/bernie-sanders-problem-with-amazon/
BERNIE SANDERS PROBLEM WITH AMAZON
By Brian Heater
August 29, 2018 15 hours ago

In an interview with TechCrunch, the Vermont senator discusses legislation aimed at unfair warehouse wages.

Photograph – Bernie Sanders speaking

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is seeking additional information about the working conditions in Amazon warehouses in advance of legislation he’s preparing to introduce on September 5.

Income inequality was, after all, the centerpiece of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. It was a populist message that resonated strongly with voters, giving the dark horse candidate a boost among concerned progressives and independents during a tooth and nail primary battle.

But while the message, perhaps, wasn’t enough to put him over the top, it’s a mission that’s remained central to Sanders’ work on Capitol Hill, finding him taking aim at some of the world’s largest corporations. In recent months, Amazon has been in the senator’s sights.

Earlier today, Sanders tweeted out a link asking employees of the online retail giant to share their experiences working for the company. The form allows current and former Amazon employees to share their stories either on the record or anonymously. It asks whether workers “struggle[d] with the demanding working conditions,” and whether they required public assistance.


Bernie Sanders
✔
@SenSanders
Are you a current or former Amazon employee? Please share your experiences with Sen. Bernie Sanders. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/share-your-experiences-working-at-amazon …

9:56 AM - Aug 28, 2018

Share Your Experiences Working at Amazon
Are you a current or former Amazon employee? Please share your experiences working at Amazon with Sen. Bernie Sanders.

sanders.senate.gov
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802 people are talking about this
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In a phone call today, Sanders told TechCrunch that his office already knows enough about the working conditions in Amazon warehouses, but is seeking additional information as it prepares to introduce legislation on September 5.

“We know that the median salary for Amazon employees is about $28,000,” the Senator told TechCrunch. “And about half the workers who work for Amazon make less than $28,000 a year.”

It’s easy to see why the company has become a prime target for Sanders. A recent SEC filing put the median salary at $28,446 — less than owner Jeff Bezos makes every 10 seconds.

“We have every reason to believe that many, many thousands of Amazon workers in their warehouses throughout the country are earning very low wages,” Sanders explained. “It’s hard to get this information. Amazon has not been very forthcoming. From what information we’ve gathered, ONE OUT OF THREE AMAZON WORKERS IN ARIZONA, as we understand it, are on public assistance. They are receiving either Medicaid, food stamps or public housing.”

The Senator acknowledges that nothing about what Amazon is doing, on the face of it, is breaking any laws. But the discrepancy between its highest and lowest wage earners is enough for him to call into question why government subsidies are required to buoy those on the bottom rung. This is precisely what the proposed legislation aims to address.

Put simply, Sanders says we have every reason to believe that the richest man in the world can afford to pay employees more.

“The taxpayers in this country should not be subsidizing a guy who’s worth $150 billion, whose wealth is increasing by $260 million every single day,” said Sanders. “That is insane. He has enough money to pay his workers a living wage. He does not need corporate welfare. And our goal is to see that Bezos pays his workers a living wage.”

While Amazon is notoriously tight-lipped about matters these matters, the company has been on the defensive since the senator made it a kind of pet project. Amazon won’t comment directly on the forthcoming legislation until it’s made official, but the company did provide TechCrunch with comment regarding the blowback.

“We encourage anyone to compare our pay and benefits to other retailers,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Amazon is proud to have created over 130,000 new jobs last year alone. These are good jobs with highly competitive pay and full benefits. In the U.S., the average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers, including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses, is over $15/hour before overtime. That’s in addition to our full benefits package that includes health, vision and dental insurance, retirement, generous parental leave, and skills training for in-demand jobs through our Career Choice program, which has over 16,000 participants.”

Amazon further suggests that those interested in learning more about warehouse conditions book a tour of one of its fulfillment centers to “see for themselves.”

A representative from Sanders’ office tells TechCrunch that Amazon invited the senator on a tour of a fulfillment center, and he plans to take the company up on the offer.

SAN FERNANDO DE HENARES, SPAIN – 2018/07/16: General view of the Amazon warehouse in San Fernando de Henares.

Of course, the concerns over Amazon’s treatment of workers aren’t new. Mother Jones ran an exposé of what it was like working as an Amazon warehouse slave in 2012. In 2013, Gawker published a series of emails from employees discussing life in fulfillment centers citing things like “unrealistic goals,” “very short breaks” and “below zero temps” in warehouses. A protestor cited by The Guardian in 2014 said it was better to be homeless than work for the retailer. And, most recently, Business Insider documented the “horror stories” faced by the Amazon warehouse workers, including nonstop surveillance and so little ability to take breaks, they couldn’t even use the facilities, when needed.

Amazon has since been on something of a charm offensive in response to those PR headaches.

Last week, there was the odd phenomenon of an army of Twitter accounts claiming to be warehouse workers who were serving up similar talking points.

“Hello!” one wrote, cheerfully. “I work in an Amazon FC in WA and our wages and benefits are very good. Amazon pays FC employess [sic] ~30% more than traditional retail stores and offers full medical benefits from day 1. Working conditions are very good- clean/well lit- Safety is a top priority at my facility!”

That Amazon positions its own offerings as “highly competitive” can, perhaps, be seen as something of an indictment of larger issues with warehouse fulfillment. While the company is an easy target, it’s certainly not alone. And Sanders notes that his office is casting the net wider than just Amazon. Disney and Walmart have also been targeted by the senator.

In June, Sanders told a crowd at an Anaheim church, “I want to hear the moral defense of a company that makes $9 billion in profits, $400 million for their CEOs and have a 30-year worker going hungry. Tell me how that is right.”

A month later, he took to Twitter to call out CEO Bob Iger directly, writing, “Does Disney CEO Bob Iger have a good explanation for why he is being compensated more than $400 million while workers at Disneyland are homeless and relying on food stamps to feed their families?”


Bernie Sanders
✔
@SenSanders
Does Disney CEO Bob Iger have a good explanation for why he is being compensated more than $400 million while workers at Disneyland are homeless and relying on food stamps to feed their families?

10:23 AM - Jul 13, 2018
17.5K
6,693 people are talking about this
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Earlier this week, however, Disney reached an agreement with the Walt Disney World union to pay workers a $15 minimum wage.

“We’ve seen real progress at the Disney corporation,” Sanders told TechCrunch, “and I believe that Jeff Bezos can play a profound role in American society today if he were to say, ‘yes, I’m the richest guy in the world. I will pay my workers a living wage at least $15 and make sure all of my workers have the security and dignity they need. I will improve conditions.’”

Amazon and Walmart, meanwhile, remain the two key targets for the impending legislation. With Democrats in the minority in the U.S. Senate, it seems unlikely that a hearing will be called where Bezos would be asked to testify à la Mark Zuckerberg, but the senator plans to go ahead with the legislation next week, regardless.

“That legislation is pretty simple,” explained Sanders. “It says: if you are a large company of 500 or more employees and you’re paying your workers wages that are so low that they have to go on food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, etc., then you have to pay taxes commensurate to how much the government is now spending for that assistance. It’s going to be the employer – the Jeff Bezos, the Walton family – who will pick up the tab for these public assistance programs, rather than the middle class of the country.”



http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/403981-bernie-sanders-reaches-out-to-amazon-employees-please-share-your-experiences
Bernie Sanders asks Amazon employees to detail their working conditions
BY EMILY BIRNBAUM - 08/28/18 12:50 PM EDT

PHOTOGRAPH – SANDERS SPEAKING © Greg Nash

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is inviting Amazon employees to share their experiences working for the online retail giant.

"Amazon is one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, and its owner, Jeff Bezos, is the richest man on the planet, worth over $155 billion," Sanders said in a statement posted to his website.

"Despite this, Bezos continues to pay many thousands of his Amazon employees wages that are so low that they are forced to depend on taxpayer-funded programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing to survive."

He has invited current and former Amazon employees to fill out a form on his website sharing their experiences.

"Have you used public assistance, such as food stamps, Medicaid or subsidized housing, in order to make ends meet?" the form asks. "Did you struggle with the demanding working conditions at Amazon? Please share your story below."

Sanders has previously slammed Amazon and Jeff Bezos as part of a "rigged economy" that disenfranchises workers.

The Vermont senator, an outspoken critic of large corporations, specifically called out Amazon following reports that some workers claimed they received unlivable wages and worked in unsanitary conditions.

In a letter to Bezos in June, Sanders shared stories his staff had heard from struggling Amazon employees.

"My staff have spoken with Amazon workers who are homeless, who are hungry, who are suffering and in pain," Sanders wrote. "The people you employ who spend 10 or more hours a night running, bending, lifting, and packing up our new electronic gadgets, baby clothes, dog treats and kitchen appliances — many of these workers struggle to pay their rent, put food on the table, send their kids to college or afford their medical bills."

Sanders is reportedly planning to introduce legislation that would require large corporations such as Amazon, Walmart and McDonald's to cover the costs of food stamps, public housing and other federal assistance programs for their employees, the Post reported.

Recent studies have found that a disproportionate amount of Amazon employees are on food stamps.

A recent report found that nearly 1 in 3 Amazon employees in Arizona in 2017 was on food stamps or lived with someone who was, Business Insider reported.

In Pennsylvania, 1 in 10 Amazon employees was reportedly on food stamps.

An Amazon spokesperson in a statement to the Post disputed the claims, stating they are "misleading because they include people who only worked for Amazon for a short period of time and/or who chose to work part-time."



SOME FIVE OR MORE YEARS AGO, A NEWLY BUILT USA EMBASSY IN RUSSIA WAS REJECTED AND ABANDONED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE RUSSIANS, WHO HAD BUILT THE BUILDING WITH THEIR OWN WORKERS AND OVERSIGHT, HAD EMBEDDED LISTENING DEVICES ALL OVER IT – THE BETTER TO HEAR YOU WITH, MY DEAR.

OF COURSE, THESE TWO CASES MAY NOT BE PARALLELS, BUT THE INTEREST OF PRESIDENT TRUMP IN THE MATTER MAKES ME WONDER. THE TRUTH WITH TRUMP’S INVOLVEMENT IS EQUALLY LIKELY TO HAVE DIRECTLY TO DO WITH ACQUIRING YET MORE MONEY! SOME SAY HE’S ACTUALLY IN DEBT IN REALITY WHILE BEING, PRESUMABLY, A BILLIONAIRE ON PAPER. WHATEVER.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inspector-general-report-trump-involved-in-fbi-headquarters-decision/
CBS/AP August 28, 2018, 7:37 AM
Inspector general report: Trump involved in FBI headquarters decision

FBI headquarters building is viewed on July 5, 2016 in Washington, D.C. GETTY

President Donald Trump was directly involved in meetings where officials decided to move forward with a controversial plan to build a new FBI headquarters in the nation's capital, according to a government report issued Monday. The report from the General Services Administration inspector general cites two White House meetings in January and June of this year in which Trump participated.

Read the report here: GO TO WEBSITE FOR PDF.

In the first of those meetings, participants agreed to move forward on a proposal to demolish the existing J. Edgar Hoover building in downtown Washington and build a new headquarters in the same spot.

Constructed in several phases starting in 1967 and dedicated in 1975, the Hoover building was the first purpose-built headquarters of the FBI since its founding in 1908. According to the GSA, its location along Pennsylvania Avenue and placement directly across from the Department of Justice facilitated "easy communication" between the agencies and helped to revitalize D.C.'s downtown area.

While there is widespread agreement that the Hoover Building — a crumbling, sprawling piece of Brutalist architecture— does not meet the FBI's needs, the plan to keep the FBI in Washington scraps a long held plan to move the FBI to the Maryland or Virginia suburbs.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a northern Virginia Democrat who supports moving the FBI to the suburbs, called for additional congressional hearings to uncover the extent of Trump's involvement. He said the project is rife with conflicts of interest for Trump, whose Trump International Hotel is essentially across the street from the FBI headquarters.

"When we began this investigation, the prospect that President Trump was personally involved in the government-led redevelopment of a property in close proximity to the Trump Hotel was dismissed as a conspiracy theory," Connolly said.

The extent of Trump's involvement in the decision is unclear. The report indicates that while GSA employees confirmed the White House meetings with Trump, they received instructions not to divulge any statements Trump made at those meetings.

The first meeting in which Trump's participation was documented, according to the IG report, came in January 2018. That was before the GSA proposed a plan to raze the Hoover building and build a new headquarters in its place, but after the GSA announced in 2017 that it was scrapping its plans for a move to the suburbs.

The IG report also concludes that officials are greatly underestimating the cost of keeping the headquarters in Washington. In particular, the report concludes that GSA is not taking into account the money that could be realized by selling the land under the Hoover building to private developers*.

[COULD THAT PRIVATE DEVELOPER* BY TRUMP HIMSELF?]

The GSA issued a statement in response to the IG report saying its estimates "are accurate, transparent, and more representative of the full costs of the project than the analysis put forth in the IG review."

There is also some question about whether GSA Administrator Emily Murphy was forthcoming about Trump's role when she testified about the relocation decision to Congress.

When Murphy was asked whether the White House or Trump specifically was involved in the decision to abandon the suburbs and rebuild in Washington, Murphy said it was the FBI that decided it wanted to stay in Washington. She did not disclose the White House meetings and told the inspector general she was trying to answer the question as she understood it.

The IG's report concludes that Murphy's testimony to a House committee "was incomplete* and may have left the misleading impression that she had no discussions with the President or senior White House officials in the decision-making process about the project."

The GSA, in its response to the report, states, "The IG review acknowledges an indisputable fact: the Administrator's congressional testimony was truthful."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


CENTIPEDE DROPS ANOTHER SHOE

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-priest-abuse-vatican-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-attorney-general/
CBS NEWS August 28, 2018, 10:47 AM
"Secret archives" on clergy abuse were shared with Vatican, Pa. AG says

In the latest revelation in the sex abuse scandal involving Pennsylvania Catholic clergy, the state's attorney general, who led the investigation, told "CBS This Morning" that the alleged cover-up stretched "all the way up to the Vatican." A bombshell grand jury report released Aug. 14 revealed more than 1,000 children were molested by 301 "predator priests" going back decades in six Pennsylvania dioceses.

"There are specific examples where when the abuse occurred, the priests would go, the bishops would go and lie to parishioners, lie to law enforcement, lie to the public, but then document all of the abuse in secret archives that they would share oftentimes with the Vatican. There are specific examples where the Vatican knew of this abuse and they were involved in the cover-up," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday.

Asked whether that included the pope, Shapiro wouldn't say.

"I can tell you that there is [sic] facts, there is evidence that takes this cover-up and what occurred in Pennsylvania directly to the Vatican," he repeated.

Pennsylvania reopens investigation into decades-old clergy sexual abuse claim
"They murdered something in me": Pennsylvania priest sex abuse survivors share stories

Shapiro said his office's clergy abuse hotline has been inundated with calls.

"We've received, as of late last night, 733 calls to our clergy abuse hotline in just the nearly two weeks since this report came out," Shapiro said. "I want every single survivor out there to know… if they call our hotline, we will listen and we will track down the truth."

The grand jury report cited 99 priests from the Pittsburgh diocese alone. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, former bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington, D.C., archdiocese, is under scrutiny for how he handled more than two dozen abuse cases. He told CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste a day before the report's release, "If there were allegations, we dealt with them immediately." He said allegations that he and others were conspiring to cover up the abuse is "totally false." CBS News reached out to Wuerl's representatives after the report's release, and they said he stands by those comments.

"I believe that statements made by bishops in Pennsylvania, by Cardinal Wuerl specifically, to deny this does further the cover-up. It covers up the cover-up," Shapiro said, adding that the church has documents to prove this.

Meanwhile, the current Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh diocese said in a statement: "The church of Pittsburgh today is not the church that's described in the grand jury report." Shapiro said he had two responses to Zubik.

"Number one, he's not telling the truth. And the church's own documents prove that. And second… child rape in 1970 is the same as child rape in 2018! It is unacceptable," Shapiro said. "And the idea that the bishop would just simply say, 'Oh, well, this was a long time ago,' is demonstrably false and it is absolutely the wrong response to this."

Shapiro wants to see the grand jury recommendations passed, including eliminating the criminal statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims.

"Right now we're limited in that time frame. About 40 other states have already done away with the statute of limitations. We should do that. We should give victims the opportunity, as the grand jury calls for, to go and get aid to help them with their counseling. These grand jury recommendations need to pass, and I'm putting every ounce of my being, the survivors are putting every ounce of their being to seeing it passed in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said.

Other recommendations include creating a two-year window for victims to sue who couldn't file before and clarifying penalties for failing to report child abuse.

In a statement, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference told CBS News: "We are devastated and outraged by the revelations of terrible sexual abuse crimes committed in the Catholic Church. The time to discuss legislation will come later. Our focus now is on improving ways that survivors and their families can recover."

In response to Shapiro's claims, the Vatican told CBS News: "If the prosecutor is referring to something outside the report, we'll have to wait for that."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


WHAT? WHY? FACEBOOK IS ON THE BALL ON AN IMPORTANT ISSUE, APPARENTLY AVOIDING EVEN MORE HOT WATER AS A RESULT OF REPEATED INACTIVITY. OUR 2016 ELECTION WAS A LESSON, I HOPE. CHOOSING DECENCY OVER PROFIT? GOOD GOING, MR. ZUCKERBERG!

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2178007-facebook-bans-myanmars-military-leader-in-unprecedented-move/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2018_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-Roost-FBMyanmar
DAILY NEWS 28 August 2018
Facebook bans Myanmar’s military leader in unprecedented move
By Alice Klein

PHOTOGRAPH -- Myanmar's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing* --
Facebook has banned Myanmar’s commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing
U Aung/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

Facebook has cancelled the account of Myanmar’s military chief as part of its commitment to tackling the spread of hate speech and misinformation.

The company announced on Monday that it had banned commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and 17 other individuals associated with Myanmar’s armed forces. “We want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions,” Facebook said in a statement.

The move follows the release of a report on Monday by the UN Human Rights …


SOME DETAILS ON MYANMAR'S MILITARY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, AND A DECISIVE ACTION BY FACEBOOK TO DO WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE USA WHILE RUSSIA WAS RAVAGING OUR ELECTION. THIS SHOWS THAT IS CAN BE DONE. FACEBOOK SAID SEVERAL OF THE SAME THINGS THAT THEY DID IN OUR CASE – THEY WERE “TOO SLOW” TO RESPOND, ARE HIRING MORE BURMESE SPEAKERS, AND ACQUIRING MORE AND BETTER TECHNOLOGY TO FIND THE PROBLEMS.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/facebook-removes-top-myanmar-official-social-media-10656906
File photo of Myanmar's military commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, during a military exercise at Ayeyarwaddy delta region in Myanmar, on Feb 3, 2018. (REUTERS/Lynn Bo Bo/Pool/Files
27 Aug 2018 05:16PM (Updated: 28 Aug 2018 08:07AM)

PHOTOGRAPH -- File photo of Myanmar's military commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, during a military exercise at Ayeyarwaddy delta region in Myanmar, on Feb 3, 2018. (REUTERS/Lynn Bo Bo/Pool/Files)

YANGON: Facebook said on Monday it was removing several Myanmar military officials from the social media website and an Instagram account to prevent the spread of "hate and misinformation" after reviewing the content.

It was the first time Facebook banned a country's military or political leaders, according to Facebook spokeswoman Ruchika Budhraja. She said the bans could not be appealed.

Facebook also said it removed dozens of accounts for engaging in a campaign that "used seemingly independent news and opinion pages to covertly push the messages of the Myanmar military."

Facebook's action came hours after United Nations investigators said the army carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with "genocidal intent." Their report said the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces and five general should be prosecuted for orchestrating the gravest crimes under the law.

Facebook's Budhraja said the United Nations findings as well as media reports and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch informed the company's decision. Facebook declined to make executives available for comment on the bans.

Facebook's action means an essential blackout of the military's main channel of public communication, with pages followed by millions of people no longer available to a population that sees the social media app as virtually synonymous with the internet.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay was not available for comment. He was quoted by local media as saying Myanmar had asked Facebook for further details on the reasons for the ban.

"Specifically, we are banning 20 Burmese individuals and organisations from Facebook — including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the military's Myawady television network," Facebook said in a blog post.

"We're removing a total of 18 Facebook accounts, one Instagram account and 52 Facebook Pages, followed by almost 12 million people," the Menlo Park, California-based company added.

The UN report said Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces, and five generals should be prosecuted for orchestrating the gravest crimes under law.

A preview of Min Aung Hlaing's Facebook page was still accessible immediately after the announcement and showed it had been "liked" by 1.3 million people. When Reuters attempted to return to it later it had been removed.

The U.N. investigators highlighted the role of social media in Myanmar in Monday's report. "Facebook has been a useful instrument for those seeking to spread hate, in a context where for most users Facebook is the Internet," said the report.

HATE SPEECH

Earlier this month, Reuters published an investigative report about how Facebook had failed to combat a campaign of hate speech against the Rohingya and other Muslims.

The piece, which found more than 1,000 posts, comments and images attacking Muslims on the platform, demonstrated that Facebook, despite repeated warnings, had devoted scant resources to controlling the problem in Myanmar, where it is the dominant social media force.

Facebook said a day after publication of the investigation that it had been "too slow" to address hate speech in Myanmar and it was acting to remedy the problem by hiring more Burmese speakers and investing in technology to identify problematic content.

Colonel Zaw Min Tun, an official in the military's public information unit, told Reuters he was not aware the pages had been removed. He declined to comment further.

Some of the military's Facebook posts from last year included detailed accounts of clashes with Rohingya militants, often accompanied by pictures.

A year ago, government troops led a crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on 30 police posts and a military base.

As a result, some 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, according to U.N. agencies, bringing stories of rape, arson and arbitrary killings.

Myanmar has denied allegations made by refugees, saying its troops engaged in lawful counterinsurgency operations against Muslim militants.

Last week, Facebook, along with Twitter Inc and Google's Alphabet Inc , removed hundreds of accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation. Facebook also said it had removed pages that the U.S. government had previously named as Russian military intelligence services.

Russia and Iran rejected Facebook’s accusations.

"This is part of our effort to identify and disable networks of accounts that mislead others about who they are. We ban this kind of behaviour because we want people to be able to trust the connections they make on Facebook," Facebook spokeswoman Clare Wareing said.

Source: AFP/hs/de
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/facebook-removes-top-myanmar-official-social-media-10656906


OVARIAN CYSTS AND POSSIBLE PREVENTION

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2168705-cause-of-polycystic-ovary-syndrome-discovered-at-last/
DAILY NEWS 14 May 2018
Cause of polycystic ovary syndrome discovered at last
By Alice Klein

PHOTOGRAPH -- Polycystic ovaries are the most common cause of fertility issues in women
PROFESSORS P.M. MOTTA & S. MAKABE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The most common cause of female infertility – polycystic ovary syndrome – may be caused by a hormonal imbalance before birth. The finding has led to a cure in mice, and a drug trial is set to begin in women later this year.

Polycystic ovary syndrome affects up to one in five women worldwide, three-quarters of whom struggle to fall pregnant. The condition is typically characterised by high levels of testosterone, ovarian cysts, irregular menstrual cycles, and problems regulating sugar, but the causes have long been a mystery. “It’s by far the most common hormonal condition affecting women of reproductive age but it hasn’t received a lot of attention,” says Robert Norman at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Read more: We took his-and-hers fertility tests – this is what it was like

Treatments are available for helping affected women get pregnant, but their success rates are typically less than 30 per cent across five menstrual cycles.

Womb changes

Now, Paolo Giacobini at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research and his colleagues have found that the syndrome may be triggered before birth by excess exposure in the womb to a hormone called anti-Müllerian hormone.

The researchers discovered that pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome have 30 per cent higher levels of anti-Müllerian hormone than normal. Since the syndrome is known to run in families, they wondered if this hormonal imbalance in pregnancy might induce the same condition in their daughters.

To test this idea, they injected excess anti-Müllerian hormone into pregnant mice. As their female offspring grew up, they displayed many of the hallmarks of polycystic ovary syndrome, including later puberty, infrequent ovulation, delays in falling pregnant, and fewer offspring.

The excess hormone seemed to trigger this effect by overstimulating a set of brain cells that raise the level of testosterone.

Cure in mice

The team were able to reverse this effect in the mice using CETRORELIX, an IVF drug routinely used to control women’s hormones. After treatment with this drug, the mice stopped showing symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome.

The team is now planning a clinical trial of cetrorelix in women with the condition, which they hope to start before the end of the year. “It could be an attractive strategy to restore ovulation and eventually increase the pregnancy rate in these women,” says Giacobini.

“It’s a radical new way of thinking about polycystic ovary syndrome and opens up a whole range of opportunities for further investigation,” says Norman.

Read more: We’re heading for a male fertility crisis and we’re not prepared

If the syndrome is indeed passed from mothers to daughters via hormones in the womb, that could explain why it’s been so hard to pinpoint any genetic cause of the disorder, says Norman. “It’s something we’ve been stuck on for a long time,” he says.

The findings may also explain why women with the syndrome seem to get pregnant more easily in their late 30s and early 40s, says Norman. Anti-Müllerian hormone levels are known to decline with age, usually signalling reduced fertility. But in women who start out with high levels, age-related declines may bring them into the normal fertility range – although this still needs to be tested, says Norman.

Journal reference: Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/s41591-018-0035-5

Read more: Fertility facts: How late can you leave it to have a baby?


ANOTHER PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT IS ON THE MOVE IN A REPUBLICAN-ORIENTED STATE. ONE STEP AT A TIME, THE GOAL WILL BE REACHED.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/08/28/andrew-gillum-ron-desantis-mcsally-trump-primary-election-takeaway/1128944002/
Florida gubernatorial candidate poised to make history, and other takeaways from Tuesday's elections
Eliza Collins, USA TODAY Published 12:00 a.m. ET Aug. 29, 2018 | Updated 8:00 a.m. ET Aug. 29, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Andrew Gillum celebrates his victory as he wins the Democratic nomination for Governor Tallahassee Democrat

Three states held their primary elections Tuesday, cementing key match-ups for competitive races in November.

The biggest surprise was Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum winning the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida.

If Gillum, a Bernie Sanders-backed progressive, wins in November he’ll be the first African American to lead the state. Gillum will go head-to-head with hard-line conservative Rep. Ron DeSantis, who has the backing of the president and easily won his GOP nomination.

Meanwhile, Arizona is on the cusp of electing its first woman Senator. The state's Senate match-up will be two female House members both who have acted like centrists during their time in office. On the GOP side Rep. Martha McSally easily secured the nomination after a bitter primary and on the Democratic side Rep. Kyrsten Sinema rolled over her opponent.

So what else happened Tuesday night? Here are our key takeaways:

In Florida’s governor’s race, each party goes beyond establishment
In Congress, DeSantis is a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of far-right rebels who relish in taking on their party’s leadership. DeSantis and the roughly three dozen conservatives in the group have been known to sink – or at least threaten to – their own party’s legislation if they don’t believe it is conservative enough.

Some establishment Republicans had been hoping that Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam would be their nominee because they saw him as the stronger candidate in the general election. Florida went for President Trump by just one percentage point in 2016.

But nervous Republicans may be breathing a sigh of relief since Democrats chose progressive Gillum. Some establishment Democrats had thought that former Rep. Gwen Graham, a centrist, would have been a stronger competitor in a general election.

In an interview with CNN after his win, Gillum attempted to push back at being a far-left candidate by pointing out that despite the Sanders endorsement he had been a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton's in 2016 said he would be governor "not just for some, but for all."

Stan Swies, 75, of The Villages, Fla., attends an election party for Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Orlando, Fla.
Stan Swies, 75, of The Villages, Fla., attends an election party for Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (Photo: AP, Phelan M. Ebenhack))

Trump is still kingmaker in primaries

In the Florida governor GOP primary, Trump endorsed DeSantis over the state’s more mainstream agriculture commissioner. Trump’s early endorsement of DeSantis proved to be helpful, DeSantis won easily Tuesday. The congressman ran hard on Trump’s endorsement. He even had ad where he was seen building a wall with his daughter and reading Trump’s book to his son.

“Such a fantastic win for Ron DeSantis and the people of the Great State of Florida. Ron will be a fantastic Governor. On to November!” the president tweeted Tuesday night.

Trump had also endorsed current Florida Gov. Rick Scott for the GOP nomination for Senate. Scott did have a primary opponent, though it was not a serious challenge and he was always expected to win.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., stands at the international border with Mexico, with ranchers Jim Chilton, left, and Tom Kay, right, south of Arivaca, Ariz. McSally won the GOP nomination for Senate Tuesday.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., stands at the international border with Mexico, with ranchers Jim Chilton, left, and Tom Kay, right, south of Arivaca, Ariz. McSally won the GOP nomination for Senate Tuesday. (Photo: AP)

Meanwhile, in Arizona’s Republican Senate primary, no candidate got the official Trump blessing but all fought hard to tout their ties to the president.

McSally, the establishment pick, had once distanced herself from Trump as the congresswoman running for re-election in a purple congressional district. But in an attempt to make it through the GOP Senate primary, McSally cozied up to Trump with visits to the White House and support for some of his policies. Meanwhile, former state senator and physician Kelli Ward touted a tweet the president had fired off last summer saying it was “great” to see her running. And former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio boasted about his relationship with the president, who pardoned him for criminal contempt of court last August.

In Oklahoma’s GOP primary runoff for governor – the state had its full primary earlier in the summer – former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and businessman Kevin Stitt both ran on support for Trump. Stitt won Tuesday.

Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, right, listens as his wife Casey introduces him at an election party after winning the Republican primary Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Orlando, Fla.

Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, right, listens as his wife Casey introduces him at an election party after winning the Republican primary Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (Photo: AP, Phelan M. Ebenhack)

A good night for House lawmakers

McSally, Sinema and DeSantis all made it through their primary for higher office this cycle. But they weren't the only ones who made it out of primaries Tuesday night, there were no primary upsets and some House members who had faced tough primary challenges came out far ahead.

In Florida’s District 7, Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy easily beat a challenge from the left. Democratic Rep. Darren Soto in Florida’s 9th District got double the vote against former Rep. Alan Grayson who ran for his old seat.

In Florida 26th District, Rep. Carlos Curbelo breezed past his primary challenger. In District 18, GOP incumbent Rep. Brian Mast took down his two challengers who mounted bids after Mast called for a temporary moratorium on assault weapon sales.

Could turnout be a sign of things to come in November?

Voter turnout in Arizona was expected to shatter the previous record with early indications that more Democrats were a major factor. That would be good news for Democrats hoping to capture Sen. Jeff Flake’s now open seat in the fall.

Meanwhile, Florida turnout did not appear to be record-setting, however it had been 16 years since more voters had gone to the polls for a primary, according to data from the Florida Secretary of State’s office. This year, early results showed Republicans narrowly leading Democrats in turnout in the purple state. If Republicans are able to keep that trend, that could mean victory in two competitive statewide elections in the fall - the Florida governor’s race and the Senate race. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (who ran unopposed Tuesday) is officially running against Scott.

Arizona's voting locations were a mess

Voters in Arizona’s largest county, Maricopa, ran into problems right away Tuesday with multiple reports of closed polling locations in the Valley, malfunctioning equipment and computers that weren't set up.

To respond to the widespread issues county recorder and secretary of state asked to keep polling places open later than the 7 p.m. closing time. But the Board of Supervisors ultimately shot down the request. In a statement the board said keeping polls open could “confuse voters, delay returns, and have other unintended consequences.”

But polling places in parts of Maricopa County stayed open anyway - sort of. Because of a rule that says you can vote as long as you’re in line before 7 p.m. voters continued to stand in line, in some places well after the official close time.


“I’VE BEEN CHEATED, BEEN MISTREATED, WHEN WILL I BE LOVED?”

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45331210
Technology
Trump warns Google, Facebook and Twitter in row over bias
28 August 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Trump jokingly shows a red card to the media during a meeting with the president of the world football body, Fifa

US President Donald Trump has warned Google, Twitter and Facebook they are "treading on troubled territory" amid a row over perceived bias.

He said they had to be "very careful", after earlier accusing Google of rigging the search results for the phrase "Trump news".

An aide said the administration was "looking into" the issue of regulation.

Google said its search engine set no political agenda and was not biased towards any political ideology.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said Google had "really taken a lot of advantage of a lot of people, it's a very serious thing".

Adding the names of Facebook and Twitter, he said: "They better be careful, because you can't do that to people... we have literally thousands of complaints coming in."

He gave no details of what action he might take.

However, when asked earlier about Google, Mr Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the administration was "taking a look" at whether it should be regulated and would do "some investigation and some analysis".

'Suppressed'

Analysts say there is little to back up Mr Trump's claim and that it is unclear how he could take action.

Some said attempts to alter search engine results could violate the First Amendment, although his administration could make it difficult for Google by looking into its dominance of the market.

In an earlier tweet, Mr Trump accused Google of prioritising negative news stories from what he described as the "national left-wing media".

He said most of the stories that appeared on the results page were negative and that conservative reporting was being "suppressed".

Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump@REALDONALDTRUMP
Report

Last week he said social media were "totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices" and that he would "not let that happen".

Google denied using political viewpoints to shape its search results.

It said: "Search is not used to set a political agenda and we don't bias our results toward any political ideology.

"We continually work to improve Google search and we never rank search results to manipulate political sentiment."

Image copyrightREUTERS Image caption
Google denied using political viewpoints to shape its search results

Mercedes Bunz, a senior lecturer in digital technology at King's College London, told BBC News it was highly unlikely that Google was deliberately ranking news according to political bias.

"Google's news algorithm is optimised for actuality and proximity of an event but it is generally not optimised to look for political orientation," she said.

"However, it has a tendency to rank web pages higher that a lot of people link to.

"For news, this does not seem to have changed with Google's last update of its search algorithm, which was rolled out on 1 August."

Twitter and Facebook have not commented directly.

In his tweets, President Trump claimed that 96% of the news articles presented by Google in response to the phrase "Trump news" were from left-wing news outlets.

He did not name the source of this figure - but The Verge website reports it appears to have come from analysis by Paula Bolyard at the conservative news site PJ Media.

Ms Bolyard reported the 96% figure and said CNN had the greatest number of featured links, which President Trump mentioned as well.

"I performed the search multiple times using different computers - registered to different users - and Google returned similar results," she wrote.

"While not scientific, the results suggest a pattern of bias against right-leaning content."



DONALD TRUMP AND JERRY FALWELL, JR. COMPARING NOTES.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jerry-falwell-jr-defends-trump-over-report-he-took-credit-for-repealing-johnson-amendment/
By GRACE SEGERS, SARA COOK CBS NEWS August 29, 2018, 8:01 PM
Jerry Falwell Jr. defends Trump over report he took credit for repealing law still on the books

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. is defending President Trump in the wake of a report saying Mr. Trump incorrectly told evangelical Christian leaders he repealed a law limiting political activity by churches. NBC News reported Tuesday that Mr. Trump told evangelical leaders in a closed-door meeting on Monday that he got "rid of" the Johnson Amendment*, a law prohibiting churches and charitable organizations from making political endorsements. The Johnson Amendment remains intact, despite recents efforts in Congress to repeal it. Mr. Trump did sign an executive order shortly after taking office allowing the IRS to exercise more discretion in enforcing the law.

"Now one of the things I'm most proud of is getting rid of the Johnson Amendment," the president said Monday evening, according to NBC News, citing recordings of the gathering. "That was a disaster for you."

In an interview Wednesday, Falwell, who attended the meeting, did not dispute the accuracy of the quotes in the NBC News story, but said the president's words were being misinterpreted.

"Everybody in the room knew exactly what he was talking about. He signed an executive order that gave leaders of nonprofits the right of free speech on political matters," Falwell told CBS News. Religious organizations are not forbidden from expressing political views under the Johnson Amendment.

Falwell claimed the story was "another example of fake news." He also responded to NBC News' report that Mr. Trump said evangelicals were "one election away from losing everything that you've got" if Congress changed hands, and that their opponents were "violent people" who would "violently" seek to reverse gains for evangelicals made during the Trump presidency.

Falwell said he couldn't recall if Mr. Trump used the word "violently," but that the president was "making it clear that they will be very diligent and they will act very comprehensively and quickly to undo everything he's accomplished in the past two years. Another speaker made the point they would try to impeach him."

He reiterated that "if he used the word 'violently,' he was referring to their attempts to impeach him."

Falwell also responded to a Politico report that he encouraged Mr. Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week. He told CBS News that Mr. Trump "didn't say anything one way or the other" in response to Falwell's suggestion.

Falwell had harsh words for Sessions, saying that the former senator always had ambitions to become attorney general.

"That's why he supported him so early. He was gambling on the fact Trump would win," Falwell said about Sessions' early support for Mr. Trump. "It was a calculated move by a politician. That's all he cares about, the status of becoming attorney general. In my mind that's the only way I can make any sense of why he's done nothing to carry out the duties of attorney general except recuse himself and let the other side go after him."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


JOHNSON AMENDMENT* --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Amendment -- READ THIS WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE BECAUSE IT IS SHORT AND GIVES A GOOD DESCRIPTION OF THE AMENDMENT AND THE NEED FOR IT TO PRESERVE THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BY ITS’ OWN BELIEFS DOES NOT GIVE TO OR SUPPORT POLITICAL CANDIDATES, BUT THE EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS OF CERTAIN KINDS, THE BAPTISTS FOR ONE, HAVE BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED IN POLITICS IN RECENT YEARS. I HAD AN EYE OPENER A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN I FOUND A LIST OF ALL UNITED STATES CHURCHES ON THE INTERNET AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THEM. IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING. THEY REALLY RUN THE GAMUT OF ALL THAT IS IMAGINABLE TO ME, BUT THE SCARY ONE IS THE DOMINIONIST MOVEMENT.

THEIR OPENLY STATED GOAL IS TO ENSCONCE THEMSELVES AS HEAD OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA. YES, A THEOCRACY. THEY BELIEVE THAT IN THE END TIMES [WHICH IS NOW] THE CHURCH WILL OR SHOULD BE THE CENTER OF ALL LIFE AND (RIGHTFULLY, IT IS BELIEVED) TAKE OVER EVERYTHING, I.E. “HAVE DOMINION.” THE PURITANS DID MORE OR LESS THAT SAME THING WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO THE USA AND SETTLED IN NEW ENGLAND, AND THEY HAD MANY PROBLEMS, MOST FAMOUSLY THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS – WHICH DONALD TRUMP SO ENJOYS MENTIONING IN HIS TWEETS – SOMETIMES JUST BY ITSELF “WITCH HUNT! WITCH HUNT!”

THE PROBLEM WITH DEMOCRATIC POLICY IS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE MILES AWAY FROM THAT GOAL IN THEIR TRUE PERSONAL FEELINGS AND BELIEFS. MY SECOND HUSBAND, WHO HAS SINCE DIED, SAID SEVERAL TIMES, “THERE’S JUST THE WINNERS AND THE LOSERS,” SO YOU TRY TO MAKE IT UP TO THE TOP BY ANY MEANS SO YOU CAN BE ONE OF THE “WINNERS”. HE WAS A “CONSERVATIVE” BELIEVER. THEY DON’T WANT DEMOCRACY, BUT A LAYERED SOCIETY BASED ON MONEY, WITH “THE MANY” STAYING OUT OF THE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIKE OBEDIENT SERVANTS OR CHILDREN, AND DOING WHAT “THE FEW” TELL THEM TO DO.

I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IN A SECULAR GOVERNMENT WITH THE PERMISSION FOR ALL REASONABLE GROUPS TO WORSHIP AS THEY SEE FIT, AND ABSOLUTELY NO REQUIREMENT OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AT ALL. I DO NOT, HOWEVER, BELIEVE THAT ANY OPINION-BASED ORGANIZATION OF ANY KIND INCLUDING CHURCHES SHOULD HAVE TAX EXEMPT STATUS, FOR TWO REASONS. FIRST, CHURCHES JUST DON’T REALLY DO THE BULK OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES WORK THAT PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY DO, WHICH IS THE EXCUSE FOR THAT TAX FREE DESIGNATION. SECONDLY, THE BAPTIST CHURCH IS ALREADY PROBABLY THE SECOND SEAT OF POWER BENEATH THE KOCH BROTHERS. IF THEY HAD TO PAY TAXES, THEY WOULDN’T BECOME SO FINANCIALLY DISHONEST, BECAUSE THEY WOULDN’T HAVE AS MUCH POWER TO BEGIN WITH. MONEY, POWER, CORRUPTION. MONEY, POWER, CORRUPTION.

THE CHURCHES GET ON TV AND HAVE HUGE FUNDING DRIVES WHICH THEY DON’T HAVE TO PAY TAX ON. THAT IS TOTALLY UNFAIR, BECAUSE THE MOST WEALTHY CHURCHES HAVE BECOME A TAX-FREE ANTIDEMOCRATIC FORCE FOR THE CORPORATISTS WHO WANT TO INSERT THEIR CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE SEAMLESSLY INTO PLACE. THAT IS NOT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. REMEMBER THAT WHERE THE REALLY BIG MONEY IS, SO WILL THE CENTER OF CORRUPTION BE.



MSNBC MADDOW TIME



MONKEY, MUDDY, WHAT’S THE DIFF? I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS NOT A CAREFUL SPEAKER OF THE LANGUAGE. ONE OF HER FAVORITE METAPHORS WAS ABOUT WATER. SHE WOULD SOMETIMES SAY “WATER UNDER THE DAM,” AND AT OTHER TIMES, “WATER OVER THE BRIDGE.” SHE HAD A GOOD HEART, AND THAT’S MY MAIN CRITERION IN JUDGING PEOPLE. OF COURSE, ANYONE WHO REALLY DOES TRY TO SNEAK THE WORD MONKEY INTO A REFERENCE TO A BLACK MAN DOES NOT HAVE “A GOOD HEART.” IN THIS POLITICAL CLIMATE, HE IS ALSO NOT A WISE AND DISCERNING POLITICIAN. THEIR HERO DONALD TRUMP IS NOT WELL-REGARDED, OR LIKELY TO WIN ANOTHER TERM OF OFFICE BY HONEST MEANS. OF COURSE, HE DIDN’T WIN HIS FIRST BY HONEST MEANS EITHER. SO SAD.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/florida-republican-rankles-monkey-comment
Florida Republican rankles with ‘monkey this up’ comment
08/29/18 03:53 PM—UPDATED 08/29/18 05:38 PM
By Steve Benen

Florida’s gubernatorial race is likely to be a doozy. Both parties yesterday nominated candidates who excite their partisan bases: Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) flaunts his sycophantic support for Donald Trump, and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the first African American in Florida history to win a major party nomination, is an unapologetic progressive with a bold platform.

The first controversy arose on the first day of the general election.

Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor in Florida, faced a backlash on Wednesday for saying in a television interview that his state should not “monkey this up” by electing his Democratic rival Andrew Gillum, who is African-American.

DeSantis made the comment in an interview on Fox News when speaking about Gillum, a progressive who won his party’s nomination in an upset on Tuesday night.

“You know, he is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views and he’s a charismatic candidate,” DeSantis said. “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work. That’s not going to be good for Florida.”

First, “articulate” is probably word DeSantis should shy away from. Second, Gillum’s platform is filled with some pretty popular ideas, and nothing about his agenda could reasonably be described as “socialism.”

But it was the “monkey this up” phrase that stood out.

The Republican congressman’s communications director said in a statement, “Ron DeSantis was obviously talking about Florida not making the wrong decision to embrace the socialist policies that Andrew Gillum espouses. To characterize it as anything else is absurd. Florida’s economy has been on the move for the last eight years, and the last thing we need is a far-left Democrat trying to stop our success.”

I won’t pretend to know the true motivations behind DeSantis’ comment on Fox News. Maybe it was benign. Maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps the GOP nominee intended this to be bait so he could accuse Democrats of trying turn the campaign into a fight about race.

But while the speculation continues, it’s worth noting that Fox News’ Sandra Smith told viewers after the DeSantis interview, “We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that he has since clarified his statement.”


COMMENTS

BillO'Rights6 HOURS AGO
#6
comment author avatar

I have been on Fox commenting for years and the key phrases used to desribe Obama for 10 years has been Monkey.

Michelle is called an ape or moochelle.

This is a WELL KNOWN Fox racist speak for Unliked Blacks by Fox and their viewers

DeSantis has appeared on Fox dozens of times for free air time for this election as a favor to Trump

DeSantis used that Word Monkey as a shout out ti Trumps most fervent loyalists.

He is outright lying and why Fox shockingly apologized bc they know what he did