September 2020 – Page 14

Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Ditches Facebook Over User-Data Profiteering

Amid continuing fallout over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and revelations of the vast reach of Facebook’s data-mining, Apple co-founder and privacy advocate Steve Wozniak said that he’s ditching the social media site over its profiting off of users’ personal information.

“Users provide every detail of their life to Facebook and … Facebook makes a lot of advertising money off this,” the man known as the Woz said in an email to USA TODAY. “The profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back.”

“Apple,” in contrast, “makes its money off of good products, not off of you,” Wozniak added. “As they say, with Facebook, you are the product.”

Before deactivating his account, he said he “was surprised to see how many categories for ads and how many advertisers I had to get rid of, one at a time. I did not feel that this is what people want done to them.”

“Ads and spam are bad things these days and there are no controls over them. Or transparency,” Wozniak added.

SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

Though only just now deactivating his account, Wozniak has levied similar criticism at Facebook in the past. He said in 2015, for example, “Companies like Google and Facebook are trying to make money off knowing things about you; they’re trying to funnel things to you and make money that way.” And last year he said, “I admire Facebook, but I’m a little scared of the power Facebook and Google get and I avoid them more than most people.”

Woz’s ditching of the social media platform—the latest departure by a high-profile user—comes as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg meets with lawmakers ahead of his hearings before Senate and House committees this week.

According to prepared remarks (pdf), Zuckerberg will tell the House Energy and Committee, “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”

Privacy advocates, however, are pointing out that “this problem doesn’t begin and end with Facebook,” and are urging all tech companies to protect users’ information from exploitation by backing a “Security Pledge.”

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

Click Here: Rugby league Jerseys

Watch: Sanders Responds to Trump's "Reckless" Decision to Violate Iran Nuclear Deal

In a live-streamed remarks on his Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon (watch below), Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a direct response to President Donald Trump’s decision to end the U.S. government’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JSPOA).

Calling Trump’s decision “reckless,” Sanders warned that the president has “put our nation on a dangerous path.”

“Real American leadership, and real American power, is not shown by our ability to blow things up, but by our ability to bring parties together.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)People should, Sanders continued, that the “JCPOA is not just an agreement between the United States and Iran, but one negotiated alongside other members of the international community including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, along with China and Russia.” He warned that it does more to isolate and undermine the credibility of the U.S. than it does Iran.

Reaching back into recent history, Sanders joined many other critics of the president’s decision voicing concerns that jettisoning the deal puts the U.S. closer to launching another unnecessary war abroad.

“Importantly,” he said, “I would remind my fellow Americans that the road to the Iraq war did not simply begin in 2003. It was laid down brick by brick over a number of years, with policy decisions that might have seemed relatively small at the time, but that ultimately led us to the worst foreign policy blunder in the modern history of our country. The Iraq war had enormous unintended consequences that we are still dealing with today, and will be for many years to come.”

Click Here: Rugby league Jerseys

Sanders said Trump’s decision is the opposite of the kind of leadership that is needed in the world.

“Real American leadership, and real American power, is not shown by our ability to blow things up,” argued Sanders, “but by our ability to bring parties together, to forge international consensus around shared problems, and then to mobilize that consensus to address those problems. That is what this agreement did.

Unfortunately, Sanders concluded, “today President Trump put us on a very different, more dangerous path.”

Watch:

Sanders had previously warned the president against pulling out of the agreement, arguing last year that such a move would “would irreparably harm America’s ability to negotiate future nonproliferation agreements.”

Read the full transcript of Sanders’ remarks on Tuesday:

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

Van de Beek pinpoints problem in ‘really bad’ Man Utd defeat

Donny van de Beek bemoaned Manchester United’s ponderous play after falling to a “really bad” home defeat to Crystal Palace on his debut.

The 23-year-old midfielder arrived from Ajax for a fee rising to £40million at the start of the month and made an immediate impression by coming off the bench to score on his first appearance.

F365’s early loser: Ed Woodward, witness to his own incompetence

But Van de Beek will not look back on his debut fondly as Palace deservedly won 3-1 at Old Trafford, where Andros Townsend’s early goal was complemented by a second half Wilfried Zaha brace.

The performance highlighted the need for improvements, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer calling for introspection after his players fell “short” of expectations on Saturday evening.

“My first match for the club and then you want to win,” Van de Beek said. “It doesn’t matter how you want to win.

“I’m really disappointed that we lose 3-1 at home. I think it’s really bad.

“Yeah (we did not have as much match sharpness as Palace) but last week in training we did really well.

“We trained good, so my feeling was really positive. But, yeah, today we played too slowly.

“We went too long with the ball and I think against an opponent like Crystal Palace you need to speed up the game to create something. That was not good enough.”

Not only was Van de Beek candid in his assessment but the Holland international clearly took no consolation in netting on his debut,

“To play for all the fans in stadiums like this it’s more nice to score,” he said.

“But still I scored but we lose and this is the most important thing, that we win.

“We lose but it’s always really nice to play for a club like this.

“I made my first game and I hope to help the team and next time that we win, for sure.”

United have precious little time to recover as a trip to Championship outfit Luton awaits in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday before next weekend’s Premier League match at Brighton.

“I mean, next week we need to step up and we need to win,” Van de Beek told MUTV. “Also for our feeling, we need to step up now.”

Click Here: camiseta seleccion argentina

Solskjaer urges Man Utd players to ‘look at ourselves’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says everyone at Manchester United needs to look at themselves in the mirror after his side’s feeble display was punished by Crystal Palace.

Having ended the Norwegian’s first full season in the hotseat with three cup semi-finals and a third-placed Premier League finish, the 2020/21 campaign got off to an alarming start at an empty Old Trafford.

United’s response to Andros Townsend’s early opener was poor, with the familiar face of Wilfried Zaha compounding matters after video assistant referee Jon Moss adjudged David De Gea to be off his line when saving Jordan Ayew’s penalty.

Zaha fired home that retaken spot-kick and the former United player impressively wrapped up a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford, where debutant Donny van de Beek had temporarily reduced the deficit.

“Yeah, you can see we’re short and they deserved the points,” Solskjaer said. “They were sharper than us in the challenges, tackles.

“We started off slowly and that had a knock-on effect for the rest of the game when they got the first goal.

“We had a long season last season and we didn’t finish until August 16, and we’ve not had enough preparation time to be sharper.

“Of course we’ve worked hard with the ones who have been here, there’s been a few players that have been away on internationals.

“But Roy (Hodgson) said they had four friendlies and this is their third competitive game, which is a bit different to our one against Aston Villa last week.”

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was at Old Trafford for the defeat on a day when he spoke of the need to be “responsible in our use of resources during this most extraordinarily challenging time”.

But the performance only highlighted the need to add to Van de Beek’s acquisition before the October 5 deadline, with fan consternation at the lack of signings palpable online in the absence of attending supporters.

Read: F365’s Early Loser: Ed Woodward – witness to his own incompetence

“We can play so much better than today,” Solskjaer said. “If you look at the players we’ve got on the pitch and on the bench and not here today, I think we all need to look within first.

“We need to look at ourselves and we know that we have to perform better.

“Then again, we’re always, always looking to improve if there’s something out there that’s available to the right price.

“We always want to strengthen but I think we can all look ourselves in the mirror today instead.”

Solskjaer did not believe Palace should have been awarded a penalty for handball against Victor Lindelof but understood why it was retaken, even if the United boss felt that decision was “harsh”.

Click Here: camisetas de futbol baratas

Bielsa admits that he is “worried” about Leeds United’s leaky defence

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has admitted that he is “worried” about his side’s defensive troubles.

The Yorkshire outfit grabbed their first victory since returning to the Premier League against Fulham on Saturday.

The goals came via Mateusz Klich, Patrick Bamford and a Helder Costa brace. Leeds led 2-1 at the break, with Alexander Mitrovic scoring from the spot for Fulham in between Leeds’ two goals.

Winners & Losers: Early winners: Everton’s truly electric front three…

Bielsa’s men asserted their dominance at the start of the second half, though. They scored twice in seven minutes through Costa for his brace and Bamford to seemingly secure the win.

But Fulham fought back and scored in the 62nd and 67th minute through Mitrovic again and Bobby De Cordova-Reid to thrust the game back into life.

Leeds held on however for an all-important three points. Despite only conceding 35 goals from 46 Championship games last season, they have let in seven goals from their opening two Premier League games.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Bielsa said his defence is concerning him, but he hopes to find a quick solution:

“We are worried. But as the competition goes on we will identify why these errors happened & try to prevent them from happening again.”

Despite struggling on the defensive front, they are not having any trouble up the other end of the pitch. Bielsa’s side were clinical in front of goal against both Liverpool and Fulham.

The newly-promoted side have had just ten shots on target in both games, but from that have come seven goals.

Bielsa added: “It was a game where we couldn’t really show ourselves. In the first half, we defended better but didn’t really create much danger. In the second half, we attacked better, but didn’t finish things off.”

“Winning is always important. That does not need explaining. All wins are important.”

“The match showed we must continue to do the things which made us successful rather than put men behind the ball. It is a mistake to think otherwise.”

Click Here: Putters

Leeds United’s next game is a Yorkshire derby at Brammall Lane against Sheffield United.

Former Marine pilot wins Dem primary for competitive Kentucky House race

Amy McGrath is the projected winner of Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District Democratic primary, a victory for the former Marine pilot that clears her path to run in the state’s only competitive general election. The Associated Press called the race around 8 p.m. McGrath appears to have bested Lexington Mayor Jim Gray in what would have been called an upset months ago. Many saw Gray, an experienced and popular politician from the district’s largest city, as the heavy favorite when he jumped in last year. But the race tightened down the stretch as McGrath leaned on her personal story and her national donor base, as well as an emphasis on the rural counties not as familiar with Gray’s record.ADVERTISEMENT McGrath burst onto the political scene last summer with a viral announcement video that told her story of becoming the first female Marine to fly an F/A-18 in combat. The video was passed around among top Democrats and played on the news, winning McGrath publicity and expanding her donor base. The first-time candidate began raking in cash as many saw her as the clear favorite to take on Rep. Andy BarrAndy BarrKentucky Senate candidate: McConnell ‘couldn’t care less if we die’ House GOP to launch China probes beyond COVID-19 Put entrepreneurs, workers and flexibility in next stimulus package MORE (R). Democrats have been cautiously optimistic about the chances of taking on Barr, who Democrats believe is vulnerable, specifically on the issue of health care. But Gray shook up the race when he announced his bid in December. In doing so, he delighted top Democrats, including those at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who saw Gray as a top-flight candidate who would be sure to make the district competitive. But instead of losing to the better-known candidate, McGrath stayed the course and chipped away at Gray’s lead. At the end, Gray’s campaign launched a last-ditch move with the race’s only attack ad, which tarred McGrath as a carpetbagger for spending her career outside of the district. That attack drew criticism from McGrath and her allies, who argued that she left Kentucky to serve her country. Now having vanquished Gray, McGrath will run against Barr in a district President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE won by more than 15 points in 2016. Despite the Democratic enthusiasm, Republicans are signaling they are ready for a fight. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with House leadership, has an office in the district that’s been mobilizing Republicans for months, and has booked $1.8 million in television advertising time in the district. Click Here: Golf special

Ex-Obama official advances in bid to unseat California Republican

Former Obama administration official Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) is projected to advance through California’s 50th Congressional District primary, setting him up to face off against embattled GOP Rep. Duncan HunterDuncan HunterLobbying world Duncan Hunter granted delayed start to prison sentence over coronavirus New poll shows tight race in key California House race MORE. Campa-Najjar had been locked in a tough fight with former Navy SEAL Josh Butner (D) in California’s “jungle primary” system, in which the top two candidates advance, regardless of party. Hunter had been favored for the first slot, thanks to his name recognition, even though he faces an FBI investigation into whether he misused campaign funds. He joined Congress in 2009, succeeding his father, Duncan Hunter Sr., who served 27 years in the House. That left the more progressive Campa-Najjar and the more moderate Butner jockeying for the second spot. Butner had initially been seen by many in Washington as the favorite among Democrats, part of the party’s push to recruit veterans to compete in moderate districts. But Campa-Najjar ran a strong campaign and won the backing of the district’s delegates to the California Democratic Party, giving his campaign a boost. The race turned contentious in the final stretch as Butner pointed to earlier quotes in which Campa-Najjar said he’d be willing to work with President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE. But Campa-Najjar pushed back on that framing and hit Butner for voting in Republican primaries in the past. Democrats are hopeful Hunter is beatable, even in a district that Trump won by 15 points in 2016, due to his high-profile ethics woes. The Justice Department is looking into allegations he misused his campaign funds after a slew of reports cataloging a series of odd expenditures made from his campaign account. Hunter has reimbursed his campaign tens of thousands of dollars for various personal expenses on things such as trips, hotels, groceries and restaurants. The most eye-popping expense is a $600 payment to fly the family rabbit. Hunter’s team has argued that the payments were simply oversights, but his Democratic opponents have keyed in on the investigation in an effort to taint Hunter’s reputation. They’ve also pointed to Hunter’s lackluster fundraising figures as proof that his campaign is sputtering. Click Here: Bape Kid 1st Camo Ape Head rompers

GOP House nominee calls diversity a 'bunch of crap' and 'un-American'

A House candidate in New Jersey who won his Republican primary last week has called diversity “a bunch of crap” and an “un-American” idea, video reveals.

Seth Grossman, who is running for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, made the comment during a GOP campaign forum in April, according to Philly.com. The news outlet received footage of his remarks from American Bridge to the 21st Century, a Democratic PAC that monitors Republican candidates.

In the video, Grossman calls diversity an “un-American” concept, implies that the country was better off before affirmative action and says black Americans would benefit from stronger immigration enforcement.

“The whole idea of diversity is a bunch of crap and un-American,” Grossman says.

Click Here: cheap Cowboys jersey

Diversity, he says, is “an excuse by Democrats, communists and socialists, basically, to say that we’re not all created equal, that if some people or somebody is less qualified, they will get a job anyway or they’ll get into college anyway because of what group or what box they fit into.”

“Once we say that Republicans want these traditional ways that made America great for all these years, then maybe African-Americans will realize if we enforce our immigration laws, they’ll be more opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds,” he adds. “When we talk about women saying ‘Well we need special care for child care, we need this credit and that credit.’ I say, wait a minute, when America was great, one parent alone earned more than enough money to comfortably support a family.”

On Monday, Grossman, a noted supporter of President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE, told Philly.com that he stands by his comments. He also contended that American Bridge PAC is trying to brand Trump-aligned Republicans as “radical and unacceptable.”

Grossman is squaring off against state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D) in a district that is considered likely to flip from Republican to Democrat this year. Rep. Frank LoBiondoFrank Alo LoBiondoStimulus price tag of .2T falls way short, some experts say Democratic challenger on Van Drew’s party switch: ‘He betrayed our community’ Trump announces Van Drew will become a Republican in Oval Office meeting MORE (R-N.J.) has represented the 2nd District for 24 years, but announced his retirement in November.

Van Drew campaign spokesman Michael Muller said the Democratic candidate was “disappointed” by Grossman’s comments.

“Senator Van Drew wants to be a congressman that embraces our diversity because that is the foundation of [the] country’s success for generations as a land of opportunity,” Muller said in a statement.

California Democrats Under Fire for Siding With Telecom Lobbyists Against Net Neutrality Bill

As state lawmakers in California kick off debates on legislation that would establish the strongest net neutrality protections in the nation following a federal rollback by the Republican-controlled FCC in December, advocates are warning that Democratic legislators appear to be caving to telecommunications industry lobbyists’ efforts to dramatically weaken the bill.

Senate Bill 822, written by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will get its first public hearing on Tuesday, before the Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee. The legislation would not only reinstate the rules that were previously mandated by the FCC, but also bar zero-rating arrangements and establish protections for public safety notifications that are digitally distributed.

“It’s outrageous that California Democrats would produce a document that looks like it was literally written by lobbyists for AT&T and Comcast.”
—Evan Greer, Fight for the Future

In response, internet service providers (ISPs) have launched a fierce attack—but, as VICE notes, “killing the bill outright could prove difficult given public anger, so consumer advocates say that lobbyists have convinced some Democratic California lawmakers to push for a massive watering down of the legislation.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, the legislative committee released an industry-friendly report that was widely condemned by net neutrality advocates.

“They’re calling for giant loopholes that would gut SB 822 and leave California residents vulnerable to ISP scams and abuses,” warned Evan Greer, deputy director for Fight for the Future. “It’s outrageous that California Democrats would produce a document that looks like it was literally written by lobbyists for AT&T and Comcast.”

The lawmakers’ proposals may, in fact, have drawn inspiration from industry documents.

SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

“AT&T and the California Cable & Telecommunications Association (CCTA) have privately distributed documents to lawmakers describing the ways in which the proposed bill is allegedly too strict compared to the FCC rules that are slated to be taken off the books,” reports Ars Technica, which obtained the bill analyses by AT&T and CCTA, whose members include Comcast, Charter, and Cox.

Click Here: st kilda saints guernsey 2019

Proponents of the legislation are working to counter the lobbying efforts.

Wiener condemned the industry’s “intense and comprehensive” attack on the bill, declaring, “You can’t go and get federal net neutrality protections repealed, and then be surprised and indignant and complain that states are stepping in to protect consumers and the economy.”

Mayors of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, and Emeryville; the state’s attorney general; and former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler—under whom the federal rules were initially enacted—have voiced their support for the bill as it was initially introduced.

“What is important right now is that California is going to lead the way,” Wheeler told the San Francisco Chronicle. “If California starts down the path, then the other 49 states can say, ‘Look how it’s done in California and this is the right way to do it.’ Someone has got to set the standard. It’s incredibly important that California leads the way.”

Washington and Oregon have enacted less strict state laws, and the governors of Montana, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Vermont have issued executive orders that require all ISPs that contract with state agencies to abide by net neutrality principles.

Advocates continue to celebrate the state-level initiatives but emphasize the ultimate goal of reinstating nationwide protections by passing a Constitutional Review Act (CRA) resolution that Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced in Congress.

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

New Reports Reveal How Pro-Trump Firm Cambridge Analytica 'Exploited' Facebook to Harvest Data of 50 Million Users

Those wondering why Facebook suddenly announced late Friday night that it has banned the Trump-affiliated data firm Cambridge Analytica received a decisive answer Saturday morning, when the New York Times and the London Observer published detailed reports on how the Robert Mercer-funded company exploited Facebook to harvest the personal information of around 50 million Americans without permission—the social media giant’s “largest-ever data breach.”

“Facebook clearly can’t handle the monster it created, nor does it seem particularly interested in trying.”
—Ashley Feinberg, Huffington Post

According to the Observer—which cites company documents and former employees—Cambridge Analytica “used personal information taken without authorization in early 2014 to build a system that could profile individual U.S. voters, in order to target them with personalized political advertisements.”

These targeting techniques would later form the foundation of Cambridge Analytica’s “work on President Trump’s campaign in 2016,” the TImes notes.

Documents viewed by the Times and the Observer paint a damning picture of Facebook’s failure to act when it learned in late 2015 that the personal data of tens of millions of users had been harvested on an “unprecedented scale.”

In a statement Friday night, Facebook confirmed that it uncovered Cambridge Analytica’s “violation” in 2015, but the Observer notes that “at the time it failed to alert users and took only limited steps to recover and secure the private information of more than 50 million individuals.”

The Observer summarizes how the data was collected and utilized:

Click Here: st kilda saints guernsey 2019

“We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons,” Christopher Wylie, who worked with an academic at Cambridge University to collect the data, told the Observer. “That was the basis that the entire company was built on.”

Privacy advocates and other commentators reacted with alarm to the explosive new revelations, arguing that they show the dangers inherent in giving massive for-profit tech companies like Facebook access to users’ personal information.

“Facebook clearly can’t handle the monster it created, nor does it seem particularly interested in trying,” concluded the Huffington Post‘s Ashley Feinberg.

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.