Link Roundup February 2021

[wepon]

Nevada bill would allow tech companies to create governments

Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a plan to launch so-called Innovation Zones in Nevada to jumpstart the state’s economy by attracting technology firms, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday. The zones would permit companies with large areas of land to form governments carrying the same authority as counties, including the ability to impose taxes, form school districts and courts and provide government services.

Amazon Is Forcing Its Warehouse Workers Into Brutal ‘Megacycle’ Shifts

DCH1 has been the target of protests, walkouts, and petitions organized by workers that have changed Amazon's nationwide policies for its warehouses. Its closure will force workers to choose between their lives outside of Amazon and keeping their jobs in the middle of a pandemic.

Utah school will no longer allow parents to opt students out of Black History Month curriculum

Hirokawa said in the post that “a few families” had asked not to participate in the curriculum, though he declined to tell the Standard-Examiner the exact number of parents who had contacted the school or the reasons they gave for making the request.

OAN prefaced Mike Lindell’s election “documentary” with a hilariously massive disclaimer

“Michael James Lindell has purchased the airtime for the broadcast of this program on One America News (‘OAN’) network,” begins the 90-second disclaimer. “In particular, OAN does not adopt or endorse any statements or opinions in this program regarding the following entities or people: US Dominion Inc. (and any related entities); Smartmatic USA Corp.; Brian Kemp; Brad Raffensperger, or Gabriel Sterling,” it adds.

As riot raged at Capitol, Trump tried to call senators to overturn election

President Donald Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani both mistakenly made calls to Republican Sen. Mike Lee as deadly riots were unfolding at the US Capitol earlier this week, a spokesman for the senator confirmed to CNN -- calls that were intended for another GOP senator the White House was frantically trying to convince to delay the counting of Electoral College votes.

With New Video Footage, Managers Show How Close Rioters Got To Pence And Lawmakers

"The insurrectionists' intent to murder the speaker of the House is well documented with charging documents that are now available," Plaskett said. "We know from the rioters themselves that if they had found Speaker Pelosi, they would have killed her." She said one man who entered Pelosi's office — captured by photos infamously with his feet on her desk — was carrying a 950,000-volt stun gun walking stick.

Capitol Police Union Reveals Cops Suffered 'Brain Injuries,' Loss of Eye After Pro-Trump Riot

"Between USCP and our colleagues at the Metropolitan Police Department, we have almost 140 officers injured," union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement released Wednesday. "I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye, and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake."

Even right-wing pundits had no clue what Bruce Castor was doing during his impeachment trial speech

One notable tidbit from Castor’s speech came when he acknowledged that Trump lost the election fair and square — a comment that may not have sat well with his client, who reportedly urged an earlier set of attorneys working on his impeachment defense to push long-debunked lies about election fraud, prompting them to resign from the case.

Senate Acquits Trump In Impeachment Trial — Again

Trump's legal team also argued that Trump's Jan. 6 rally speech was protected by the First Amendment, a contention that impeachment managers labeled ludicrous. This, after all was an impeachment trial, not a criminal proceeding. An impeachment trial is a political process intended to judge whether an official was upholding their oath of office and a standard of conduct.

Georgia District Attorney Is Investigating Trump's Call To Overturn Election

There were other calls made by Trump as well, including calls to Gov. Brian Kemp imploring him to call a special session for the legislature to select a Trump-aligned slate of electors and another to a lead investigator overseeing an audit of absentee ballot signatures in Cobb County. The GOP-controlled state Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, held hearings into alleged voter fraud that featured the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. State Attorney General Christopher Carr's office defended the state in several failed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the state's votes.

Asian Americans Are Calling on Allies in Response to a Wave of Violence

With the COVID-19 pandemic came an increase in xenophobia, anti-Chinese rhetoric, discrimination, and violence. More than 2,100 hate incidents targeting Asian Americans and related to COVID-19 were reported nationwide between March and June of 2020, according to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center. A New York Times report from March recounted Chinese Americans’ experiences being spit on, yelled at, and attacked, though that racism has extended beyond the Chinese diaspora. President Trump’s contributions (calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” “Wuhan virus,” and “Kung Flu” ) seemingly legitimized this growing racism, according to a United Nations report from August. (In response, President Biden signed an executive order condemning anti-Asian racism shortly after his inauguration.)

Someone tried to poison a Florida city by hacking into the water treatment system, sheriff says

A hacker gained access into the water treatment system of Oldsmar, Florida, on Friday and tried to increase the levels of sodium hydroxide -- commonly referred to as lye -- in the city's water, officials said, putting thousands at risk of being poisoned. The incident took place Friday when an operator noticed the intrusion and watched the hacker access the system remotely. The hacker adjusted the level of sodium hydroxide to more than 100 times its normal levels, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. The operator immediately reduced the level back.

Children apologize to their dying elders for spreading COVID-19 as L.A. County reels

Solis noted that more than 200 people in L.A. County were dying from COVID-19 daily, and hospitals were on the brink of having to ration care, where doctors would choose which patients receive treatment and which do not. Because of staffing issues, one privately operated hospital in L.A. County on Monday declared an internal disaster, which means the hospital is so overwhelmed that the emergency room is closed to all incoming ambulances, according to L.A. County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly.

“I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection

Officers said they spent weeks working 12- or 16-hour days, poised to fight off a riot, after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police — even though intelligence suggested there was not much danger from protesters. “We had intel that nothing was going to happen — literally nothing,” said one former official with direct knowledge of planning for the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. “The response was, ‘We don’t trust the intel.’” By contrast, for much of the force, Jan. 6 began like any other day. “We normally have pretty good information regarding where these people are and how far they are from the Capitol,” said Keith McFaden, a former Capitol Police officer and union leader who retired from the force following the riot. “We heard nothing that day.”

US fast food workers hold Black History Month strikes to demand $15 an hour

Fast-food workers in 15 cities will hold a Black History Month strike on Tuesday to demand that the McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s restaurant chains pay them $15 an hour. The action comes as Congress prepares to debate a federal rise in the minimum wage to $15 from its current rate of $7.25, the first federal raise since 2009.

Blood money

Schock says he gave blood at Cummins for nearly two years and was only sporadically checked for hepatitis. Finally, after he'd gone a month between tests and had given blood at least weekly, he was tested again, and prison doctors discovered hepatitis. A doctor looked at Schock, told him his eyes weren't yellow, and he didn't look too bad. "He said, 'If you start feeling bad, come back and see me,'" Schock says. "That's just the way they were. They don't care because you are dirt down there anyway."

Fury at ‘do not resuscitate’ notices given to Covid patients with learning disabilities

An analysis by the Office for National Statistics last week showed that six in 10 Covid deaths were of people with a disability. “The biggest factor associated with the increased rate of death from their analysis was living in care homes or residential settings,” Lodge said. “They prioritised people in care homes for vaccinations, but that was only for older adults. They completely forgot about people with learning disabilities in a really similar setting. I don’t know if the government were blindsided or just neglectful."

Biden looks past anger at Silicon Valley to get help on vaccines

Some critics have worried that Amazon’s offer to help is an attempt to grab a role in public health work that it might not be willing to give up postpandemic. And Amazon is a frequent target of those pressuring Biden from the left to take, as president, the hard line on Silicon Valley he promised as a candidate. Biden has pledged to be “the most pro-union president,” for example, at a time when Amazon’s workers have complained about the company’s treatment and are pushing to organize.

Why Public Service Loan Forgiveness Is So Unforgiving

Congress created Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) in 2007, in the waning days of the Bush administration. The pitch to borrowers was simple: Spend 10 years teaching, nursing, policing or otherwise working for a qualified nonprofit while also making 120 monthly payments against your student loans, and the government would forgive whatever's left. As a thank you. But recent data from the Department of Education show that 99 percent of applications for loan forgiveness have been denied.

Facebook will block Australian users and publishers from sharing news links in response to new bill

Facebook has decided to block both Australian users and media companies from sharing links to news articles and related content on its main social network, following the country’s proposed landmark regulatory measure that would force tech giants to pay Australian news organizations for using their content.

Disabled Youth Are More at Risk of Being Incarcerated

The school-to-prison pipeline for children with disabilities is a multi-layered problem. About 85% of incarcerated youth have a disability, but just 37% of them received special education services in school. At the same time, special education programs often function as a new form of school segregation that place disabled children on a track toward unequal outcomes, according to the National Council on Disability.

All teachers are Twitch streamers now, thanks to the pandemic

On a Twitch stream, viewers can watch a personality play and commentate on a video game live online. While streams vary in length, it’s not uncommon for top streamers to broadcast for hours on end — all while a chat enthusiastically discusses and reacts to the content. During the pandemic, Twitch streaming has only become more popular. In the wake of widespread Zoom weariness, that growth and culture of sustained engagement is remarkable. Cheung knew that his kids — all around high school age — enjoy watching streams. So, why not try and capture the same magic?

'Like hitting the jackpot': Dallas Cowboys owner makes huge profit from monster Texas freeze

“This week is like hitting the jackpot with some of these incredible prices,“ Burns told reporters. “Frankly, we were able to sell at super premium prices for a material amount of production."

As Texas deep freeze subsides, some households now face electricity bills as high as $10,000

Griddy's prices are controlled by the market, and are therefore vulnerable to sudden swings in demand. With the extreme weather, energy usage has soared, pushing up wholesale power prices to more than $9,000 per megawatt hour — compared to the seasonal average of $50 per megawatt hour. In the face of the soaring costs, Griddy has been directing consumers to consider temporarily switching electricity providers to save on their bills.

Griddy customers face $5,000 electric bills for 5 freezing days in Texas

Griddy customer Upshaw said he’s in limbo. He tried to switch to TEPCO Energy Partners but was told the switchover wouldn’t happen until Monday, then Wednesday, then Friday. “Now they’re saying Feb. 22.” Upshaw’s bill for this week is equivalent to what he would normally pay over three or four years, he said. “$5,000 for five days is outrageous. No one could have anticipated this except the people who manage the service and the power grid.”

700 Anti-Asian Hate Incidents Reported in Bay Area During Pandemic - True Figures Might Be Even Worse

A new tally released this week from the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center — a project based out of San Francisco State University that asks members of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the nation to self-report acts of hate and discrimination — found that there have been at least 2,808 incidents of anti-Asian hate in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

Asian Americans Are Calling on Allies in Response to a Wave of Violence

The first case involving an Asian American victim to use the Civil Rights Act, “the Vincent Chin case forced Asian Americans into the civil rights discourse,” Roland Hwang, co-founder and former president of American Citizens for Justice, previously told NBC News. And as a Stop AAPI Hate report from October suggests, the current moment constitutes the return of “yellow peril”: Rising with Chinese immigration to the United States in the 19th century, this refers to the idea that Asians pose a threat to Western values and culture.

Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime’s ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-Streamed?

This would seem to suggest that playing copyrighted music as a deterrent to the First Amendment-guaranteed right to openly film police is, if not BHPD official protocol, at least a technique that has been deployed by more than one officer.

‘Leaving us to die’: Missouri inmates allege state has mismanaged response to COVID

In the 48-page petition, LeVar Aikens said “staff are blatantly putting our lives at risk, leaving us to die.” He contracted the virus and said he was left to suffer without proper medical care while experiencing difficulty breathing. He also alleges that quarantine guidelines are not being followed, that the virus has caused staff shortages that endanger everyone’s safety and that there are not adequate cleaning protocols.

In Philadelphia, A Scandal Erupts Over Vaccination Startup Led By 22-Year-Old

Doroshin is a 22-year-old graduate student in psychology at Drexel University. He has no background in health care.

Cremation Limits Lifted In LA Due To 'Backlog' As COVID-19 Deaths Skyrocket

"The current rate of death is more than double that of pre-pandemic years, leading to hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums exceeding capacity without the ability to process the backlog of cases," officials said.

What GameStop Workers Think About Their Employer’s Stock Frenzy

“Company stock is increasing in value, but from how they’re treating us, you’d think GameStop is next to broke,” a senior “guest advisor” who has worked at a GameStop in Oklahoma for three years told me. She said she’d buy GameStop stock if she could, because it’d likely make her more money than what she’s earning from her current salary. (Senior guest advisors typically make about $10 per hour at most locations.) “Honestly, the thing that matters most to me is that I still have a job and can keep a roof over my head and food on the table,” said an assistant store leader who’s been working at a Pennsylvania GameStop for about four years. “Even more money going the company’s way will just make our CEO more money. None of that trickles down to us.”

Austin Will Use Money Cut From Police Budget To Establish Supportive Housing

“In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests this summer, we made a significant cut to policing dollars and reinvested that in things like this,” said Council Member Gregorio Casar, who led the effort to cut police funding and sponsored an amendment last August that set aside $6.5 million in recurring funding to be used for permanent supportive housing and services. “That’s how we’re paying for this. That’s the only reason we’re able to do this.”

Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets

Direct payment tools have become increasingly important for creators in particular in recent years. Patreon has been hugely successful, and other platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and even GitHub have all launched direct creator payment features. Twitter will presumably take a cut — the company has been hinting at subscriptions features that would offer it a new source of revenue — though it doesn’t appear to have said yet what that fee will be.

No charges against officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death

Police officers who put a hood over the head of a mentally distraught Black man, then pressed his body against the pavement until he stopped breathing will not face criminal charges after a grand jury declined to indict them, New York’s attorney general announced Tuesday. Daniel Prude, 41, died last March, several days after his encounter with police in Rochester, New York. Police initially described his death as a drug overdose.

How Poverty Makes Workers Less Productive

Given the emerging body of evidence that suggests the cognitive load of poverty hurts low-income folks' ability to escape their circumstances, the authors argue that policymakers should consider reshaping welfare programs with these psychological issues in mind. Giving poor people cash without conditions, for example, could do a lot to help them earn more cash on their own.

Bias, disrespect, and demotions: Black employees say Amazon has a race problem

All 10 Black employees who spoke to Recode said either they or Black colleagues they know were hired at lower levels in Amazon’s internal hierarchy than their qualifications justify. At Amazon, your level means a lot: It dictates a role’s importance, salary range, and additional compensation (usually in the form of Amazon stock). Coming in at a lower level can set back your career at Amazon by years. “I think there are very serious systemic issues around leveling,” Kelly-Rae said. This observation isn’t merely anecdotal. Kelly-Rae’s former role as a diversity and inclusion manager gave her specific insight into some of the company’s internal hiring and promotion practices. “It is not uncommon for women, and especially Black women, to have a role advertised at one level but extended an offer at a position that is lower.” Such a move even has its own name among Amazon employees: down-leveling.

Exclusive: Google pledges changes to research oversight after internal revolt

Reuters reported in December that Google had introduced a “sensitive topics” review for studies involving dozens of issues, such as China or bias in its services. Internal reviewers had demanded that at least three papers on AI be modified to refrain from casting Google technology in a negative light, Reuters reported.

Judge Bans Enforcement Of Biden's 100-Day Deportation Pause

A federal judge late Tuesday indefinitely banned President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a preliminary injunction sought by Texas, which argued the moratorium violated federal law and risked imposing additional costs on the state.

“Shameful and inhumane”: DeSantis threatens to withhold vaccine amid criticism

DeSantis was criticized this week after the state unveiled plans to open a "pop-up" clinic near Tampa that would offer vaccine doses only to residents in affluent, mostly white, mostly Republican areas of Manatee County. The clinic will vaccinate 3,000 residents of just two ZIP codes in the county, which were reportedly hand-selected by DeSantis and County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh—instead of being selected using the Sunshine State's vaccine lottery system.

Police have enough power. The Capitol riots shouldn't give them more.

"It's nice to feel appreciated once in a while," the sheriff of Wallowa County, Oregon, said of a rally where multiple Proud Boys flags were flown in support of police. During the George Floyd protests, Albuquerque, New Mexico, police referred to members of the New Mexico Civil Guard militia as "heavily armed friendlies," Chicago police were reported to have fraternized with white mobs holding bats during Black Lives Matter Protests, and during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police handed out water bottles and friendly greetings to white vigilantes who self-deputized to patrol the streets — culminating in the shooting of two protesters by illegally armed teenager Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been anointed a hero on the right. (Rittenhouse is the subject of a new arrest warrant after he failed to update Wisconsin authorities about a change of address — a failure that Rittenhouse's legal team said was the suggestion of "a high-ranking member of the Kenosha Police Department.")

50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says

But the analysis discovered one major change: The incomes of the rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to the middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches and exacerbate income inequality, the research indicates.

Google contractor accused in labor complaint of illegally suspending a worker for discussing salaries

AWU said in a press release that Modis, which maintains data centers on behalf of Google, illegally suspended Wait after she complained about the company's ban on discussing salaries and refusal to replace damaged water bottles. Wait had previously asked managers why some employees hadn't received bonuses as promised, according to the union.

Self-styled militia members planned on storming the U.S. Capitol days in advance of Jan. 6 attack, court documents say

In charging papers, the FBI said that during the Capitol riot, Caldwell received Facebook messages from unspecified senders updating him of the location of lawmakers. When he posted a one-word message, “Inside,” he received exhortations and directions describing tunnels, doors and hallways, the FBI said. Some messages, according to the FBI, included, “Tom all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3floors down,” and “Go through back house chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps.” Another message read: “All members are in the tunnels under capital seal them in. Turn on gas,” the FBI added.

America’s racist housing rules really can be fixed

In some parts of Franklin, it is illegal to have a property smaller than 2 acres. And even in its “mixed residential district” — which allows for duplexes and multiplexes — the town has ordained minimum lot sizes that force builders to make units larger than they otherwise might have. And the bigger the apartment, the more expensive it is.