When The Elephants Scuffle...

The NY Times takes a long look at Facebook and won't be getting many likes from that quarter. Oliver Roeder of Vox has a nice summary:

Facebook seems to materialize in this column an awful lot. But when a service has “connected” more than 2.2 billion people, I suppose that makes sense. The New York Times published a deep dive into the company, based on interviews with “more than 50 people,” many of whom are anonymous. We learn, for example, that the company hired a Republican opposition-research group to discredit protesters by linking them to George Soros, and that it lobbied a Jewish civil rights group to label criticism of Facebook as anti-Semitic. Just normal, cool, I-started-a-company-in-my-Harvard-dorm-room stuff.

One of the mice that got trampled as the elephants battled is the Republican oppo-research firm Definers Public Affairs, which lost Facebook as a client amidst the hue and cry. Facebok's position: senior execs knew nothing and anyway, the media knew full well that DPA had Facebook as a client:

Late Wednesday, Facebook decided to terminate its relationship with Definers after the publication of the Times article prompted an outcry, said a person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Top Facebook executives including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg were not aware of the specific work being done by Definers, the person said.

In a statement, Facebook said it had not hidden its ties to Definers and disputed that it had asked the firm to spread false information.

“It is wrong to suggest that we have ever asked Definers to pay for or write articles on Facebook’s behalf, or communicate anything untrue,” a Facebook spokeswoman said in the statement.

“The relationship with Facebook was well known by the media — not least because they have on several occasions sent out invitations to hundreds of journalists about important press calls on our behalf,” the spokeswoman added.

Well. We wouldn't expect Facebook to stand up to a left-wing mob. With a different alignment of politics and players the Times follow-up headline would be "Republicans Kvetch About Business As Usual".

Just for example, the Times also included this detail in their original expose (with a picture of the offending poster):

By then, some of the harshest criticism of Facebook was coming from the political left, where activists and policy experts had begun calling for the company to be broken up.

In July, organizers with a coalition called Freedom from Facebook crashed a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, where a company executive was testifying about its policies. As the executive spoke, the organizers held aloft signs depicting Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Zuckerberg, who are both Jewish, as two heads of an octopus stretching around the globe.

Eddie Vale, a Democratic public relations strategist who led the protest, later said the image was meant to evoke old cartoons of Standard Oil, the Gilded Age monopoly. But a Facebook official quickly called the Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish civil rights organization, to flag the sign. Facebook and other tech companies had partnered with the civil rights group since late 2017 on an initiative to combat anti-Semitism and hate speech online.

That afternoon, the A.D.L. issued a warning from its Twitter account.

“Depicting Jews as an octopus encircling the globe is a classic anti-Semitic trope,” the organization wrote. “Protest Facebook — or anyone — all you want, but pick a different image.” The criticism was soon echoed in conservative outlets including The Washington Free Beacon, which has sought to tie Freedom from Facebook to what the publication calls “extreme anti-Israel groups.”

Hey, maybe the posters were meant to be anti-Semitic. Or maybe not! But it was lefties, so no biggie.

Comments

[Jim Eagle]

Howdy!

Welcome to the new and improved JOM.

Bravo Zulu, Mr. Tom Maguire!

[GUS]

We'll see, the PSYCHOPATH has strong hate.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Welcome Garden Gnerd and a very big thank you to TM for pressure washing the place.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--We'll see, the PSYCHOPATH has strong hate.--

But weak his mind is.

[hrtshpdbox]

Facebook is probably over anyway, no matter what steps they take to supposedly ensure non-bias whilst censoring. People are getting tired of being guinea pigs for advertisers.

[henry]

What happened to Sarbox? Executive ignorance is no longer an excuse under that law.

[henry]

Rabid leftist vs rabid leftist, which is which?

CNBC @CNBC
1m

Soros foundations chastise Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg for its alleged attempt to vilify the billionaire liberal donor.

[Jim Eagle]

Your Latin Phrase of the Day:

Infinitus est numerus stultorum.

Ironic, considering the exclusion of the troll.

[Jim Eagle]

Which reminds me, has anyone heard from Beasts?

[matt - deplore me if you must]

For the first time ever I had to register on Typepad. I'm here.

[henry]

a hidden bonus?

Ben Chapman @NYDNBenChapman
12m

EXCLUSIVE: NYC's Amazon deal will boot 1,000 public school employees from their offices

[henry]

Scott Thistle @thisdog
18m

"As it stands, the citizens of Maine have rejected the policy arguments Plaintiffs advance against RCV. Maine voters cast their ballots in reliance on the RCV system. " from the ruling.

[Michael (fpa P4F) Stop the WitchHunt-Stop the Coup]

[Willowed]

Meine liebe 'Frau' -
Happy Belated Anniversary to you and "Herr Frau.'
Yours is an occasion we can all admire.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

So, OGH has forced me to reg w/TyphusPad. :(
(First time posting under a login, with a new/test? avatar)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Many 'Thank You's' to TM/OGH for being willing to take the big step toward preventing the psychopath's malevolent bile from infecting JOM any longer.

And thanks, as always, for providing JOM for all of us.

[hrtshpdbox]

Unless I'm not understanding something, if the judge agrees with the White House's side of the argument vs Acosta, then they're also agreeing with the House lawyers that no newsmen need ever be allowed on WH property. Which, of course, is entirely correct, and something I'd expect Trump to start toying with, i.e. no more pressers, no more briefings, maybe just occasional questions answered while on the way to the helicopter. Very few in the press corps actually ask questions anyway and, if Trump changes the whole dynamic of getting info to the press, I'll bet it stays changed forever. Again, the press shoots itself in the foot, or maybe in the head.

[Old Lurker]

Yay! I made it in!

[Art in Newport]

I'm capitalized now?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Sobering and interesting analysis of the world economy;
Albert Edwards [of Société Générale]: "Time Has Run Out."

[D]

It says I am logged in thru Yahoo. Yahoo says "we can not verify any information about this site. We recommend you not share any personal information with this site".

[Art in Newport]

Hey, I have my avatar from Twitter... but I signed in thru typepad...?

But I like it.

[henry]

That reads like a long winded way to blame Brexit for everything. Except the part that can be blamed on Italy. But France didn't do it.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Poster calling itself D, please keep your hands where we can see them and identify yourself.

[Old Lurker]

When I saw in the overnights the reference to the EU asking the UK for $39B as a going away present, and knowing what we know about the status of the militaries on the continent, I am reminded of Stalin's question about the Pope: "How many divisions does the Pope have?"

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I confess I didn't read it that way at all, henry.
Seemed to me he was saying fiscal austerity is bad; fiscal profligacy is bad; China, the EU, Italy and everyone else is bad and there are no good ways out of what's coming.

[glasater]

I hope we haven't lost jimmyk with this new regimen of signing in.

The EU will break up is my prediction..

[Narciso79]

Except 'austerity' was one of those vizzini terms, it was mostly draconian tax increases, along with some budget cutbacks.

[henry]

narciso, note from Chitown Lurker:

Tell Narc that the EU imposed no budget cuts except on the PIIGS, everywhere else they spent more “To better weather the crisis”.

[Narciso79]

Societe Generale weren't they involved in a yuge scandal some years back.

[D]

Before I used to be able to post as Pagar.

[henry]

from Chitown Lurker:

Narc:

“Société General Aren’t they involved in huge scandals?”

FIFY.

[Jim Eagle]

Pagar, how come?

[jimmyk]

Am I in? Thanks, glasater.

That wasn't so terrible. But the registration doesn't seem to require e-mail confirmation, which is a bit worrisome.

No more blue slinky. That's Galileo saying "Eppur si muove."

Speaking of science: On that SMOD discussion, the NPR video at one of jim_nj's links, the narrator said something like, "The meteor could have arrived 12,000 to 20,000 years ago, or maybe as much as a million years ago." Hmm, very sciencey.

[D]

JIB, I signed in using Yahoo.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Need help from the JOM wine lovers..
I want to spend about $100 on a Christmas present of wine for my bro and SIL... so any suggestions for a winery from which I can select some bottles to give them?

I was thinking I wanted to select one winery and select a few selections that would showcase that winery's wares. I'd like to send at least 4-6 bottles so nothing too expensive per bottle.

[sbwaters]

Assuming you do not have Pagar on another account, D, you should be able to click on the “Account” link at the upper right and change your account name from “D”.

[Tom Maguire]

Again, the press shoots itself in the foot, or maybe in the head.

In the foot would be a problem because they couldn't walk. In the head? Damage to an unused organ.

[Narciso79]

Carbon dating, how does it work?

[MissMarple2]

When you guys have time, I recommend listening to this Tucker Carlson speech from the Nixon Library:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7uVQJqVgM

Most insightful observations: The nasty reaction we are hearing from the left now reminded him of watching a video of Nicolai Csecsesceau's execution. As they were leading him out to stand against the wall and be shot, he was barking orders to his executioners.

Why? Because it was what he had done for 40 years and he didn't know any other way to react.

He said the reaction now is the sign of a dying order.

[henry]

Is a pox on all their houses too much to ask? BTW, SalesForce.com mines it's customers' CRM data for ad sales (and lists sales). Nothing benign or civic about that business.

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, is another critic, among the many now sharply criticizing Facebook and its executives.

He was interviewed by Kara Swisher, co-founder of tech news website Recode, for MSNBC’s “Revolution” series. He said that big tech’s leaders need to move from a money-centric worldview to one that focuses on civic improvement. He singled out Facebook as having a negative impact.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/tech-leaders-losing-faith-in-facebook-saying-its-had-a-devastating-effect-on-the-world/

[henry]

RIP Roy Clark.

Fox News Alert @foxnewsalert
2m

Roy Clark, country music legend and 'Hee Haw' star, dead at 85

[MissMarple2]

henry,

I quit using Facebook for a number of reasons:

1. I got tired of reading inane stuff from classmates in Florida such as "Jerry and I are
going to the seafood buffet in St. Pete today."

2. I couldn't separate politics from other things as far as organization. In other words, if I posted something about Trump on my rime line I was going to get grief from my democrat side of the family.

3. The way it operates became too confusing. Too many pages, links. posters popping up out of nowhere that I didn't know, etc.

4. I don't want my data mined, although they probably already have stuff on me.

It seems to me that they have tinkered with the format and meddled with censorship-type stuff so much, that the site is useless.

[jimmyk]

Is a pox on all their houses too much to ask?

Not at all, none of them can be trusted. If they're ganging up on FB it's (a) to damage a competitor, and (b) to virtue signal by pretending that FB allowed the Russians to elect Trump.

[Extraneus]

NYT: Chuck Schumer Lobbied Senators to Stop Criticizing Facebook, Where His Daughter Works

In one incident, Schumer reportedly lobbied Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) to stop criticizing Facebook and instead focus on tackling “right-wing disinformation.”

“In July, as Facebook’s troubles threatened to cost the company billions of dollars in market value, Mr. Schumer confronted Mr. Warner, by then Facebook’s most insistent inquisitor in Congress,” the Times claimed. “Back off, he told Mr. Warner, according to a Facebook employee briefed on Mr. Schumer’s intervention. Mr. Warner should be looking for ways to work with Facebook, Mr. Schumer advised, not harm it. Facebook lobbyists were kept abreast of Mr. Schumer’s efforts to protect the company, according to the employee.”

“A Senate aide briefed on the exchange said that Mr. Schumer had not wanted Mr. Warner to lose sight of the need for Facebook to tackle problems with right-wing disinformation and election interference, as well as consumer privacy and other issues,” the Times continued.

Schumer’s daughter, Alison, works for Facebook as a product marketing manager, and according to Open Secrets, Schumer received $38,900 from the company in 2016 — making him the second largest recipient of donations from Facebook, surpassed only to failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

[Tom Bowler]

You might try Stag's Leap, Stephanie.

[Tom Bowler]

Scratch that. Stag's Leap can be pretty pricey. If you were nearer, I'd suggest you visit the NH State Liquor stores. My most favorite shopping gets done there.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Thanks, TB. I don't drink enough wine any more to know what is what.

[Dave (in MA)]

👋 undermedicated screaming boor

[MissMarple2]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/15/report-florida-democrats-urged-voters-to-submit-absentee-ballots-after-election-day-using-altered-forms/

[Dave (in MA)]

.

[MissMarple2]

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/14/poll-trump-2020-reelection-support-990015

Only 1 in 3 support his re-election, according to Monmouth.

I do not believe it for a second.

[Account Deleted]

An unqualified MUST WATCH that will boost morale and inspire confidence in We, the American People:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7tyT4glkvBs

[Account Deleted]

i logged in two days ago to see if it would get my new avatar set...it did...and now my name is link highlighted and dint have to login again. okay by me.

bye bye Oily Discharge. thanks for the flush, Mr. M.

:D

back to our regularly scheduled salt mining.

[DrJ]

Hey! After some futzing, Typepad registration did work!

[MissMarple2]

Kev,

Thank you for that video, which I agree is a must watch.

Why isn't this family's name widely known?

[jimmyk]

Agree with MM on that video. Thank you, kk.

[Threadkiller]

When jimmy caved in I had no choice but to sign in..

[glasater]

Roy Clark and Hee Haw..

Lots of fun silly stuff but still fun.

[jimmyk]

Glad to have you here on the dark side, TK.

[Extraneus]

Anyone know why some people's profile link shows their name and others' show letters and numbers instead? (Hover over mine vs. glasater's, for example.)

[anonamom]

Boy oh boy, jimmy k, didn't take you long to cave. ;-)

[henry]

David Webb
‏Verified account @davidwebbshow

IRS Admits It Encourages Illegals To Steal Social Security Numbers For Taxes via @forbes

https://twitter.com/davidwebbshow/status/1063110495375446018?s=12

[Extraneus]

Lots of fun silly stuff but still fun.

The Hee Haw exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville is fun, too.

[henry]

That IRS link was old.

[Extraneus]

;-)

lol

[Neo]

WSJ: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office is exploring whether longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone tried to intimidate and discredit a witness who is contradicting Mr. Stone's version of events about his contacts with WikiLeaks, according to people who have spoken to Mr. Mueller's investigators.

... Stone now claims to have texts that prove his story, casting the blame on Randy Credico's friend, who is a lawyer working for WikiLeaks

[Threadkiller]

My guess, Ext, is that it has something to do with the age of the account. You signed up prior to the last typhus episode.

[Threadkiller]

Thanks, jimmy! :-)

[Neo]

Is David Webb the real name for Jason Bourne ?

[jimmyk]

Welcome, anonamom! To paraphrase Groucho? "These are my principles, but if JOM doesn't like them, I have others."

[DrJ]

Trying this again...

[Neo]

No more a pickin' and a grinnin'.
Roy Clark dead at 85

[Extraneus]

Is yours a newly registered profile, DrJ?

[MissMarple2]

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/laurettabrown/2018/11/15/pelosi-unfazed-by-speaker-challenge-tells-rep-marcia-fudge-come-on-in-the-waters-warm-n2536023

[DrJ]

Ext,

I don't think so. I had a user name already associated with the email address I used. I had to go back to change said user name, since it contained too much personal information initially.

[Jim Eagle]

Stephanie,

Go unique and give them Long Island wines. I suggest Wollfer Estates, Channing Daughters, or Bedell Cellars.

[Old Lurker]

See if THIS works

[Old Lurker]

OK now I am a kool kid too

[Extraneus]

Pretty small chip in your avatar, Jack. What is it?

[anonamom]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/why-doctors-hate-their-computers

rse, great article. Gawande nails the issue with the mandated EMR and its hijacking of health care. It came via my Twitter feed two days ago and I shared it with all my partners. They agree.

Mistitled though--I don't hate my computer. I hate lying politicians, which is how we came to have EMRs. That encompasses all Dems and plenty of Rs.

Burnout from EMR use has hit 57% of the people with MD after their names who now do the data entry job ward clerks and billing specialists used to do, while trying to make eye contact once or twice with a patient during the encounter.

[Marlene]

Good afternoon! Jared Golden (D) has defeated incumbent Bruce Poliquin (R) in the contested ranked choice count in Maine. Earlier this morning,Judge Lance Walker denied Poliquin's request for a restraining order to stop the count.

[Marlene]

Cheer up. I believe this leaves Susan Collins as the only Republican Senator/Congressman in the six New England states. :)

[Manuel Transmission]

OK, signed in for the first time.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Thanks, Jack. I'll look into those.. love the idea of a lesser known area for wines.

[Old Lurker]

"Susan Collins as the only Republican Senator"

Is that what she is?

Who knew.

[Old Lurker]

Marlene I should have deleted "the only" to make my Collins-snark work better.

[MissMarple2]

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1062706640112115712.html

This is a thread on why Larry Schweikhart thinks the GOP has a messaging problem.

I think the word he is looking for is authenticity.

[clarice]

stephanie for even less per bottle, Spanish flacco merlot wine (about $8 per)is a perfectly delicious table wine.

[clarice]

You can get them a case of half Merlot(fore red meats) and half tempranillo ( for cheese and white meats)

[boatbuilder]

test

[MissMarple2]

http://snip.ly/v1brb8/#https://phys.org/news/2018-11-scientists-patients-cells-materials-fully.html">https://phys.org/news/2018-11-scientists-patients-cells-materials-fully.html">http://snip.ly/v1brb8/#https://phys.org/news/2018-11-scientists-patients-cells-materials-fully.html

This is an article about how researchers in Tel Aviv have figured out a way to grow certain tissue implants personalized to a patient, using their own fat cells as the source.

The benefit is no tissue rejection.

[boatbuilder]

OK I'm in.

Took some creativity, though.

[Manuel Transmission]

From my iPhone

[Jim Eagle]

Stephanie,

I know the people at Channing Daughters. Allison Dubin is the GM. The have some inexpensive gift baskets. Great variety of wines and liquors. Boutique gin, vodka, and whisky seem to be the rage out here nowadays.

[daddy]

Morning JOM. I am blue!

Oh well, thanks for your great Blog, TM, no matter what we have to do to get on it.

I notice Miss M posted this 2 threads back:

We did not get the snow St. Louis got, Instead, we have ICE. There are power outages all over the city and surrounding counties. Fortunately, we have power. Schools are closed or on 2-hour delays, depending on where they are located.

I looked outside and my car is encased in ice, probably about 1/4 inch thick. I am going NOWHERE today!

So I pop open the company website and this is the 1st thing I notice:

An Operational Emergency in accordance with Section 12.A.3 of the contract was declared for Flight Operations in Indianapolis at 0700Z 15NOV18. Winter weather impacting the IND AM outbound operation is causing major delays.

Please take your time and ask questions when something does not seem right....

Yep!

Now if somebody would please post how to put some pic in that icon box I would be grateful.

[henry]

our latest FL fun may soon end:

NPR Politics @nprpolitics
14m

JUST IN: Federal judge Mark Walker has issued a denial to the request from Sen. Bill Nelson and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to extend the recount deadline. Counties are set to submit results of a machine recount by 3:00 PM today.

[henry]

daddy, click on your name, then edit the profile. you can upload a pic directly from whatever device you are on. (it turned mine sideways, but why not?)

[Extraneus]

Click on your name, daddy. That takes you to the profile page, and from there you can update the pic.

[Extraneus]

Missed it by that much...

[Pinandpuller]

Let Amazon take over the press office.

[Jim Eagle]

henry,

USMNT v. England (with Rooney's last cap). Starts any minute now on ESPN2. This may be the youngest team we hae ever put on the pitch.

[Porchlight]

Test...