Year: 2018

Textbook (Facebook) Racism

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This is a direct solicitation for ad buyers to racially discriminate using Facebook’s tools. It is on Facebook’s site right now. pic.twitter.com/9f43WLmmKF

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) April 10, 2018

Certainly, there are plenty of advertisers who could look at this ad, and not see any racism.

These are the same people who have lily white office staff, and don’t see any racism either.

You see this all the time in real estate listings and job listings, and most of the time, the attempts to discourage differently pigmented people are a LOT subtler than this.

FWIW, my guess is that this sort of data mining is used a lot more for age discrimination than it is for race discrimination, but much of the allure to some advertisers is the ability to indulge in bigotry and not get caught.

Facebook knows exactly what they are doing here.

Silicon Valley Meets Real World, Part Gazillion

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In a rare move, the NTSB has removed Tesla from the fatal crash investigation because they could not shut the f%$# up:

The National Transportation Safety Board told Tesla Inc. on Wednesday that the carmaker was being removed from the investigation of a fatal accident, prior to the company announcing it had withdrawn from it, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt relayed the decision in a call to Tesla’s Elon Musk that was described as tense by the person because the chief executive officer was unhappy with the safety board’s action. NTSB is expected to make a formal announcement in a release later Thursday, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The unusual move followed public statements by the company blaming the driver of a Tesla Model X who died in a March collision, in apparent violation of agency protocols. The NTSB guards the integrity of its investigations closely, demanding that participants adhere to rules about what information they can release and their expected cooperation. These so-called parties to investigations must sign legal agreements laying out their responsibilities.

………

Companies that no longer have formal status as a party to an NTSB investigation can lose access to information uncovered in the probe and the ability to shape the official record of the incident, said Peter Goelz, a former managing director at the NTSB who is now senior vice president at O’Neill & Associates, a Washington lobbying and public relations firm.

………

The safety board has in some cases thrown airlines, aircraft manufacturers and unions off of investigations in cases where they were either making unauthorized statements or not producing information the NTSB expected of them.

………

NTSB rules don’t in fact prohibit participants in investigations from releasing general information about their products. The agency’s oft-repeated rule of thumb is that factual information that could have been released before an accident can be put out afterward as well.

What the NTSB prohibits is the release of information related to the accident itself.

In December 2010, the safety board removed American Airlines, now part of American Airlines Group Inc., from an investigation into a runway accident in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. American had taken one of the plane’s two crash-proof recorders and downloaded its contents prior to turning the device over to the agency.

In 2014, it kicked United Parcel Service Inc. and its pilots’ union off of a probe into a cargo-jet crash that killed two people in Alabama. The safety board said then that the company and union “took actions prejudicial to the investigation by issuing comments and analyzing findings before the NTSB had met to determine a cause.”

This is no surprise.

Tesla, despite the fact that it makes cars, is still a dotcom company at its core, and ignoring regulators, and ignoring basic common decency, is at the core of its ethos.

It’s why I have no interest in owning a Tesla, to quote Richard Feynman, “Nature cannot be fooled.”

Making Donald Trump Look Good

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Only the Tories in the UK could make the Trump administration look competent.

They just send a mass letter addressed to one ‘Dear Mr F%$#ingjoking’, which was clearly not their intent:

Britain’s ruling Conservative Party was today forced to apologise to an elderly couple that received a letter, signed from the PM, addressed to a Mr Youmustbe F*ckingjoking.

The letter was posted on Twitter this week by Laura McCormack, who said it had been passed to her by her neighbours.

“Dear Mr F%$#ingjoking,” begins the mass-produced mailer, which has ‘The Rt Hon Theresa May MP’ emblazoned across the top, alongside a picture of the leader, (poison) pen and paper in hand.

“Thanks to your support, our Conservative Government is building a Britain that is fit for the future.”

It then goes on to ask for more cash for its campaign manager fund, directing recipients to fill in its donation form, which is also headed up “Mr Youmustbe F%$%#ingjoking” above the address.

The recipient, Raja Habib, of Brixton, London, told The PA: “At first I thought it was a scam…I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Not only did they send it out, the sent it out as a party fundraiser.

Even the Trumpster fire is not that incompetent.

Good luck with Brexit.

A Stunning Lack of Self-Awareness

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No, I am not talking about Donald Trump (this time), I am talking about, “Team Hillary,” some of whose senior members are suggesting that James Comey, “Should ‘Beg Forgiveness,’ Not Hawk Book.”

Seriously?

Well, this explains how they managed to run the worst presidential campaign in modern history.

In the annals of not getting “IT”, this has to be some sort of record.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Apologies Today Are Not Sincere

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We know this because he has been shedding the same crocodile tears for almost 15 years:

On 2003, one year before Facebook was founded, a website called Facemash began nonconsensually scraping pictures of students at Harvard from the school’s intranet and asking users to rate their hotness. Obviously, it caused an outcry. The website’s developer quickly proffered an apology. “I hope you understand, this is not how I meant for things to go, and I apologize for any harm done as a result of my neglect to consider how quickly the site would spread and its consequences thereafter,” wrote a young Mark Zuckerberg. “I definitely see how my intentions could be seen in the wrong light.”

In 2004 Zuckerberg cofounded Facebook, which rapidly spread from Harvard to other universities. And in 2006 the young company blindsided its users with the launch of News Feed, which collated and presented in one place information that people had previously had to search for piecemeal. Many users were shocked and alarmed that there was no warning and that there were no privacy controls. Zuckerberg apologized. “This was a big mistake on our part, and I’m sorry for it,” he wrote on Facebook’s blog. “We really messed this one up,” he said. “We did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving you control of them.”

Then in 2007, Facebook’s Beacon advertising system, which was launched without proper controls or consent, ended up compromising user privacy by making people’s purchases public. Fifty thousand Facebook users signed an e-petition titled “Facebook: Stop invading my privacy.” Zuckerberg responded with an apology: “We simply did a bad job with this release and I apologize for it.” He promised to improve. “I’m not proud of the way we’ve handled this situation and I know we can do better,” he wrote.

By 2008, Zuckerberg had written only four posts on Facebook’s blog: Every single one of them was an apology or an attempt to explain a decision that had upset users.

In 2010, after Facebook violated users’ privacy by making key types of information public without proper consent or warning, Zuckerberg again responded with an apology—this time published in an op-ed in The Washington Post. “We just missed the mark,” he said. “We heard the feedback,” he added. “There needs to be a simpler way to control your information.” “In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use,” he promised.

Are you noticing a pattern?

He’s Travis Kalanick in a hoodie.

When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Turn Pro ………

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In the same day, we have former House Speaker John Boehner joining the board of a pot grower. and Current House Speaker Paul Ryan announcing his retirement.

While a number of reports regarding Ryan’s decision to not to run for reelections read are hagiographies full of nonsense phrases like, “Principled Conservative,” I think that the evidence points elsewhere:  Specifically, the polling appeared to indicate that he was in for the race of his life against Randy “Iron Stache” Bryce, a union activist and ironworker.

The Democratic primary should get interesting, as in addition to Mr. Bryce, a school teacher and school board member, Cathy Myers is running, and I would expect someone else to jump in before the June filing deadline, particularly since both Bryce and Myers are strongly progressive, and someone is going to try to stand up a centrist squish.

On the Republican side, the now-leading candidate for the nomination, Paul Nehlen, is a Nazi. (Not hyperbole)

Strange times.

Abour F%$#ing Time

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It looks like unions are finally gaining a toe hold in the computer game industry, which is arguably the most abusive workplace in IT:

A concern-trolling panel at the Game Developers Conference was the catalyst that led workers to start organizing in a way they never have before.

At this point, you already know the facts: Game workers crunch too much. They’re underpaid compared to comparable positions in other industries. They burn out fast and young. We’ve had, for years upon years, stories and statistics proving all of this, decades of anonymous interviews with artists and coders desperate for something to change, from EA Spouse to the Rockstar Spouses, from The Guardian to Kotaku to here at Waypoint.

We are all aware. Awareness alone has changed nothing.

A little over a week ago, a blip came over the feed of a small Facebook chat group dedicated to discussing games and their creation. It was a link to a roundtable announcement at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. On March 21st, Jen MacLean, executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), was heading up a talk on games industry unionization.

………

But in this case, the panel was clearly skewed toward blunting union sentiment. It was right there in the title. “Union Now? Pros, Cons, and Consequences of Unionization for Game Devs Roundtable.” (My emphasis). Perhaps it was the contradictions layered one on top of another which made the union roundtable too much for some to bear this time. Whatever the spark was, it tindered a flame. 

Read the whole article, but it appears that MacLean, was so snarky that it led to people realizing that the IGDA was a tool of management, and not a reasonable alternative to a labor union.

Here’s hoping that the moronic Ayn Rand sensibilities which permeate IT don’t sabotage this effort.

I Sent My Wife a Dick Pic the Other Day

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My daughter, Natalie, is the stage manger of a production of the off Broadway play, I Love You, You’re Perfect, ……… Now Change.

It’s the, “New 2018 Revised and Updated Book & Score,” and so, unlike the early 1990s version, it has a musical number about the unfortunate habit that some men have of sending the object of their affection pictures of portions of their anatomy.

Sharon* turned to me and made a comment about how she would have given me the boot if I had done this to her when we were dating.

Seeing as how I am an unmitigated ass, I saw this as a challenge, so I sent her a picture of Dick, specifically Tricky Dick, aka Richard Milhous Nixon.

Have I mentioned that Sharon* is a saint? If she weren’t should have murdered me many years ago.

*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Linkage

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Dr. Evil Gets Fired from Trump’s Cabinet:

Data Point of the Day

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Top 20 all-time recipients of hedge fund money:

1. Barack Obama
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Chuck Schumer
9. Kirsten Gillibrand
16. Cory Booker#NeverBooker #NeverGillibrand “Hedge-Fund Ownership” pic.twitter.com/wPqQcalrCG

— Rob (@philosophrob) April 8, 2018

Well, that explains all the bankers who were jailed when Obama was President.

It also gives the lie to the myth to the myth of the Obama small donor juggernaut during his Presidential campaign.

Live in Obedient Fear, Citizen!

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Shaun King was returning to the United States, and he was stopped by DHS at the airport, and quizzed about his role in Black Lives Matter:

1. Immigration & customs officers at JFK Airport in NYC just pulled me and my whole family out of the middle of the passport line.

We just returned from Cairo.

The officer literally called us by name, knew about our trip, and took us away for questioning.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 9, 2018

Read the whole twitter stream.

These assholes at DHS need to have their security clearances pulled, and they need to be fired.

Snark of the Day

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In response to this tweet about an internet connected condom:

Here's a "smart condom" that tracks thrust speed and velocity and lets you share the data. But hey, no pressure! 🍆 https://t.co/zgFCsnQF1S pic.twitter.com/kpDF5bhcb1

— CNET (@CNET) March 2, 2017

Chrissy Teigen responded with the following:

“Hello name’s rob, id like to purchase a pack of “very bad at sex” condoms please” https://t.co/KMMIFh3ySa

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 9, 2018

I have a feeling that this company’s prospect just took a major hit, because now their technology is associated with coital training wheels.

Holy Sh%$!

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The FBI just raided Michael Cohen’s office.

Michael Cohen is Donald Trump’s long time consiglieri lawyer, and the fact that they have raided his office, and seized his files, including his communications with clients.

As a non-lawyer, I know that this is a huge deal, because, among other things, it means that Cohen is believed to have actively broken the law, typically by something like actively facilitating fraud, not merely having advised a criminal.

I’ll summarize the comments of a lawyer Ken White:

  • This warrant was secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the most prominent US Attorney’s office in the nation outside of Washington, DC.
  • They thought that they had enough evidence to apply for a warrant searching what is normally privileged communications.
  • Getting a warrant to raid a lawyer’s office involves MANY hoops to jump through.
  • The court thought that the evidence was convincing enough to grant the warrant.

I am inclined to believe that this is about some sort of fraud, and not any sort of spy-craft involving the FSB or the GRU, particularly since Mueller has already used the “crime-fraud exception” to get some communications with Manafort’s attorney.

This is a big f%$#ing deal.

Deliberately Missing the F%$#ing Point

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The New York Times has a story about how Republicans are using the specter of impeachment to bolster their chances of reelection in what is a difficult cycle.

It’s an interesting narrative, but it is profoundly wrong:

As Republican leaders scramble to stave off a Democratic wave or at least mitigate their party’s losses in November, a strategy is emerging on the right for how to energize conservatives and drive a wedge between the anti-Trump left and moderate voters: warn that Democrats will immediately move to impeach President Trump if they capture the House.

What began last year as blaring political hyperbole on the right — the stuff of bold-lettered direct mail fund-raising pitches from little-known groups warning of a looming American “coup” — is now steadily drifting into the main currents of the 2018 message for Republicans.

The appeals have become a surefire way for candidates to raise small contributions from grass-roots conservatives who are devoted to Mr. Trump, veteran Republican fund-raisers say. But party strategists also believe that floating the possibility of impeachment can also act as a sort of scared-straight motivational tool for turnout. Last week, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas used his re-election kickoff rally to introduce a video featuring a faux news anchor reading would-be headlines were conservatives not to vote in November.

“Senate Majority Leader Schumer announced the impeachment trial of President Trump,” one of the anchors says.

And when Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio, the chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, convened about two dozen party strategists in February for a private dinner at a French bistro here, the attendees were surprised when he addressed an issue not included in his formal PowerPoint presentation: the threat of impeachment against Mr. Trump, which he said fired up the party base.

First, Republicans are now now, nor have the EVER been, a small donation party.

Small donors are, at best, icing on the cake.

What this is about is getting Nancy Pelosi to do what she did in 2006, and panic and declare that impeachment is, “Not on the table”.

The depressing thing is that it’s probably going to work.

No one ever lost money going long on the cowardice of the leadership of the Democratic Party.

Has Anyone Else Noticed a Pattern in Syria

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Damascus achieves some military successes, Trump makes noises about scaling back US involvement, and suddenly there is another “chemical weapons attack” in Syria:

A gas attack on the last rebel-held town in Ghouta has left at least 40 people dead, with entire families reportedly found suffocated inside their homes, Syrian opposition activists and medical services say. The alleged attack on the town of Douma, which comes after Syrian government forces resumed an offensive in the area late Friday, left more than 500 people seeking medical attention, according to the Civil Defense and the Syrian American Medical Society. The Syrian American Medical Society put the death toll at 49, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 80 people had died, though many of them are said to have died from their shelters collapsing. The Syrian government has denied allegations it used chemical agents to attack the town, calling the claims “fabrications” aimed at undermining government advances in the area. The U.S. State Department has said it is closely following the “horrifying” reports, and if a gas attack is confirmed, it would “demand an immediate response by the international community.”

We’ve had unconfirmed reports of a missile strike on a Syrian airfield as well.

There is a regular pattern to this, as Bernhard at Moon over Alabama observes:

An alleged new ‘chemical incident’ in Syria reminds of a similar series of events we saw last year. We are told to believe that each time the U.S. pulls back from the war on Syria the Syrian government is responding with a ‘chemical attack’ that pulls the U.S. back in.

I am not suggesting that the DoD or the CIA is engineering these attacks, but I am suggesting that anti-Assad forces, with the active collusion of the “White Helmets”, knows how to read American news websites and understand the political dynamics at play.

How Convenient!

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Viktoria Srkipal, Sergei Skripal’s niece, has been denied a visa to visit her uncle and cousin in the UK.

This is unbelievably paranoid and stupid on the part of the UK government. It makes them look like they have something to hide:

The niece of poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been denied a visa to come to Britain, the UK Home Office (interior ministry) said on Friday.

Viktoria Skripal had planned to travel to Britain to take Sergei’s daughter Yulia back to Russia.

This is literally the worst possible way that British authorities could have handled this.

Right now the British state security apparatus is more Mr. Bean than it is James Bond.

Cable Companies Suck

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And it appears that the worst of them is Centurylink.

In their latest escapade, the cable company is defending itself against highly credible accusations that it is charging customers for accounts and services that they never ordered, the cable company is claiming that it cannot be sued by its customers because it has no customers:

CenturyLink is trying to force customers into arbitration in order to avoid a class-action lawsuit from subscribers who say they’ve been charged for services they didn’t order. To do so, CenturyLink has come up with a surprising argument—the company says it doesn’t have any customers.

While the customers sued CenturyLink itself, the company says the customers weren’t actually customers of CenturyLink. Instead, CenturyLink says they were customers of 10 subsidiaries spread through the country.

CenturyLink basically doesn’t exist as a service provider—according to a brief CenturyLink filed Monday.

“That sole defendant, CenturyLink, Inc., is a parent holding company that has no customers, provides no services, and engaged in none of the acts or transactions about which Plaintiffs complain,” CenturyLink wrote. “There is no valid basis for Defendant to be a party in this Proceeding: Plaintiffs contracted with the Operating Companies to purchase, use, and pay for the services at issue, not with CenturyLink, Inc.”

CenturyLink says those operating companies should be able to intervene in the case and “enforce class-action waivers,” which would force the customers to pursue their claims via arbitration instead of in a class-action lawsuit. By suing CenturyLink instead of the subsidiaries, “it may be that Plaintiffs are hoping to avoid the arbitration and class-action waiver provisions,” CenturyLink wrote.

………

Customers from 14 US states are involved in the putative class action against CenturyLink in US District Court in Minnesota. Nine lawsuits filed last year were consolidated into one, and the consolidated complaint says:

[C]ustomers have routinely reported: (1) being promised one rate during the sales process but being charged a higher rate when actually billed; and (2) being charged unauthorized fees, including billing for services not ordered, for fake or duplicate accounts, for services ordered but never delivered, for services that were canceled, for equipment that was properly returned, and for early termination fees.

 When customers complained—and many thousands have—CenturyLink not only encouraged but rewarded its agents to deny remedying the wrongful charges and keep as much of the overcharges in the Company as possible.

Why I support municipal broadband, part MCXXVII.