🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️NewsHero | Judge rips DOJ claims in Flynn case; Activists say Trump rally 'slap in the face'; Biden pressures Facebook on handling misinformation; Advertisers pull out of Tucker Carlson
NewsHero | June 12, 2020 - Issue 116
Welcome to this edition of NewsHero for June 12, 2020.
Former Judge Reviews Flynn Case, Calls DOJ Claims ‘Preposterous’
ICC slapped with sanctions to impede its investigations
John Gleeson will serve in an unexpected role opposite the Justice Department in the Michael Flynn case. (Stephanie Diani for The New York Times)
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Former U.S. District Judge John Gleeson
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - The term “preposterous” in this context
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - International Criminal Court
Judge Emmet Sullivan, whose name you likely know for his hesitation to drop the Michael Flynn case—as the Justice Department wants—has appointed former Judge John Gleeson to review the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the charges against Flynn. Gleeson says claims made by William Barr’s DOJ “are not credible” and that “they are preposterous.” Sullivan also asked Gleeson to consider if he should hold Flynn in “criminal contempt for perjury.” Sounds like a good idea getting another set of eyes on this whole dismissal thing.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is now facing sanctions against its personnel, thanks to another eye-widening maneuver from Donald Trump, in what CNN calls “the latest attempt by the administration to strong-arm the international body out of an investigation into potential war crimes by U.S. military and intelligence officials.” So, hey, ICC, stop doing your job, you’re making us look bad—have some sanctions.
Community Leaders, Politicians Call Juneteenth Trump Rally In Tulsa ‘Slap In The Face’
Linick says he was pressed over his investigation into Pompeo, Saudi arms sales
A Broadside Announcing Emancipation June 19, 1865
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, ‘all slaves are free.’ This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.
The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
By command of Maj.-Gen. GRANGER.
F.W. EMERY, Major, and A.A.G.”
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Juneteenth
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Nike, companies pushing to make Juneteenth a holiday
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Former Inspector General Steve Linick
Of all the days, in all the cities…coincidence? Doubtful.
Juneteenth, recognized each year on June 19, is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. Guess what day Trump has chosen for his re-election campaign kick-off rally? Yes, June 19. Oh, and guess where? Tulsa, Okla., a city, that as The Associated Press put it, “in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black attack.” Black community leaders and political figures have called Trump’s choices a “slap in the face,” and are asking for at least a date change.
In Texas—where slaves learned of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the initial announcement—Juneteenth is a state holiday. Nike has joined a growing list of companies making Juneteenth an annual company-paid holiday. Swoosh!
Speaking of doing the right thing, former Inspector General Steve Linick, recently fired by Trump, says he was pressed over an investigation into Mike Pompeo and arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The former State Dept. watchdog’s comments appear in a transcript of interviews with congressional committees, released as Democrats seek answers for Linick’s removal.
Biden, Scientists Funded By Zuckerberg Urge Facebook To Handle Misinformation
Rights groups ask EU to keep surveillance technology away from ‘repressive governments’
Screenshot of an image some Facebook employees are adding to their internal profiles, with or without the hashtag, to protest company policy.
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Joe Biden, scientists, and anyone—including its own employees—pushing Facebook to deal with its misinformation problem
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Rights groups calling for monitoring cyber surveillance technology
Critics voicing concern that Facebook is too slow to act (aka doing nothing) to control misinformation and hate speech are growing in scope and number.
Joe Biden’s campaign will be urging Facebook to strengthen its rules against misinformation, while nearly 150 scientists funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) sent a letter to Zuckerberg saying his casual approach to handling false information is contrary to CZI’s mission to “build a healthier, just, and more inclusive future.”
Addressing misinformation in the form of COVID-19 fake news posts, Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said that Facebook and other social media groups were “shirking their responsibilities.”
The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights released a report Sunday that says Facebook needs to hire more moderators, and have them working in-house, to effectively oversee content.
And how’s this for scary? A report from The Intercept says that Facebook has developed a tool called Facebook Workplace, similar to what Slack does. Features include “content control,” which sounds like a step in the right direction until you learn that the “control” part can be used—and was likely created for—suppressing key terms such as “unionize.”
Another major issue is surveillance. Human Rights Watch, along with seven other rights groups, sent a letter to the European Union calling for “stronger regulations to prevent cyber-surveillance technology developed in Europe from being sold to repressive governments.”
The current Black Lives Matter protests have also underscored a need for monitoring the use of surveillance technology. A report from Wired points out that law enforcement has license plate readers, facial recognition, and text message interception all at its disposal.
Athletes Speak Out Against Olympic Rule Barring Protesting
Amnesty International says migrant workers building World Cup stadium in Qatar weren’t paid
Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos, right, after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze in the 200-meter run at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. The Australian Peter Norman is at left. (Associated Press)
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Tommie Smith, John Carlos for using their voices and their platform
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Athletes who use their public voices for good
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Amnesty International, for calling this one out
Remember that iconic photo of U.S. runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their fists raised at the ‘68 Summer Olympics?
Athletes are speaking out against a rule that says they “may not engage in protest or political propaganda while on the Olympic stage,” according to Canadian Running. The International Olympic Committee maintains its neutrality, though its Rule 50 has come under scrutiny amid current Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd.
Amnesty International reports that migrant workers who worked on a construction project for a FIFA World Cup stadium in Qatar labored for up to seven months without pay. “This case is the latest damning illustration of how easy it still is to exploit workers in Qatar, even when they are building one of the crown jewels of the World Cup,” said Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International.
FCC Fines Robocallers $225 million
Major advertisers dump Tucker Carlson show
A diagram from the Apple patent filing showing how "synthetic group selfies" would work.
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Anyone that does anything to stop robocalls—even if it’s the FCC
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Congress, for doing something
🦸♀️- FCC
🦸♀️- Advertisers pulling their budgets from Tucker Carlson’s show (would be 🦸♀️🦸♀️ but they’re still spending elsewhere on Fox News)
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Human editors and journalists
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - Scientists working on treatments and cures for COVID-19
The FCC may be handing out fines worth $225 million to the two people behind nearly a billion robocalls. Not that they’d ever have to pay that amount, but the effort is appreciated.
Several companies have pulled advertising from Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News after his gross comments regarding Black Lives Matter. Good choice. Now if they’d just pull advertising from Fox News entirely.
While we’re discussing racists, Merriam-Webster’s revised definition of “racism” now includes systemic oppression. Now to revise reality.
Human journalists were fired by Microsoft and replaced with AI code. It hasn’t worked out so well. A news story on MSN.com about racism used a photo of the wrong mixed-race member of the band Little Mix.
Mink, by the tens of thousands, most of them just pups, were exterminated in the Netherlands after coronavirus infections at farms. In an effort to prevent a human outbreak, the mink, raised for their fur, were gassed.
So, maybe hire back the humans and stop farming mink? No? Too radical an idea?
And with the having-your-priorities-in-order award, Apple has been granted a patent for software that would allow for “synthetic group selfies,” or socially distant group selfies. Say cheese (loud enough that we can hear you from six feet away)!
‘Are you immune?’ The new class system that could shape the Covid-19 world - The Guardian
Tear Gas: An Investigation - Amnesty International
France Should Halt Arms Exports to Saudi Arabia, Egypt - Human Rights Watch
Shigeru Yokota, Tireless Fighter for Daughter Abducted, Dies - Human Rights Watch
Nigerian women take to the streets in protests against rape and sexual violence - CNN
Zoom Blocks Activist in U.S. After China Objects to Tiananmen Vigil - The New York Times
How to Feed Crowds in a Protest or Pandemic? The Sikhs Know - The New York Times
Sources:
Ex-judge says push to dismiss Flynn case is abuse of power - AP News
Flynn brief says judge 'exceeded' power in not dismissing case: 'This Court should order the umpire to leave the field' - Fox News
Appeals Court To Hear Michael Flynn's Bid To Get Case Dropped - NPR
'Preposterous': Court-appointed lawyer in Michael Flynn case slams DOJ attempt to drop it - NBC News
Pompeo, Esper, Barr announce authorization of sanctions against International Criminal Court officials - Fox News
US Sets Sanctions Against International Criminal Court - Human Rights Watch
Trump authorizes sanctions against International Criminal Court officials - CNN
Nike joins the companies making Juneteenth an annual paid holiday - CNN
Trump picks Tulsa on Juneteenth for return to campaign rallies - NBC News
Trump rally on Juneteenth in Tulsa called ‘slap in the face’ - AP News
Trump campaign selling 'Baby Lives Matter' onesie on website - CNNPolitics
Ousted State Department Watchdog Says Official Pressed Him Over Probe of Saudi Arms Sales - Wall Street Journal
What Is Juneteenth? - The Witness
Biden Prepares Attack on Facebook’s Speech Policies - The New York Times
New Facebook Tool Allows Employers to Suppress "Unionize" in Workplace Chat - The Intercept
Scientists funded by Zuckerberg sent him a letter calling Facebook’s practices ‘antithetical’ to his philanthropic mission - The Washington Post
NYU study: Facebook's content moderation efforts are 'grossly inadequate' - VentureBeat
Social media firms fail to act on Covid-19 fake news - BBC News
EU: Strengthen Rules on Surveillance Tech Exports - Human Rights Watch
The Protests Prove the Need to Regulate Surveillance Tech - Wired
IOC maintains stance against protests during the Olympics - Canadian Running Magazine
Qatar: Migrant workers unpaid for months of work on FIFA World Cup stadium - Amnesty International
Robocallers face $225M fine from FCC and lawsuits from multiple states - TechCrunch
Tucker Carlson Fox Advertisers Quit After Black Lives Comment - Bloomberg News '
Tucker Carlson Tonight' loses Disney, T-Mobile ads after host's Black Lives Matter comments - USA Today
Merriam-Webster changes “racism” definition to include systemic oppression - Vox
Microsoft's robot editor confuses mixed-race Little Mix singers | Technology - The Guardian
Coronavirus rips through Dutch mink farms, triggering culls to prevent human infections - Science
Apple granted patent for socially distant group selfie software - CNN
“We're paying you, aren't we?
"The pleasure is all on this side of the table"
"That would be great."