May 30, 2021

Apple sued in nightmare case involving teen wrongly accused of shoplifting ...

Apple sued in nightmare case involving teen wrongly accused of shoplifting, driver's permit used by impostor, and unreliable facial-rec tech
The Register

Apple and its security contractor Security Industry Specialists (SIS) were sued on Friday in Massachusetts as part of a multijurisdictional defamation and malicious prosecution complaint brought on behalf of Ousmane Bah, a New York resident misidentified as a shoplifter multiple times in 2018 and 2019.

The lawsuit contends that Apple and SIS exhibited reckless disregard for the truth by misidentifying Bah as the perpetrator of multiple shoplifting crimes at iStores, leading to his unjustified arrest and to his defamation.

The filing [PDF] in US District Court in Massachusetts aims to revive charges relevant to events in Boston that were excluded from related ongoing litigation in New York. A third related case is being heard in New Jersey.

(more)

Worth reading the whole thing if you like technical details, but the short version is an inability to tell black people apart.

May 29, 2021

Russian LGBT Network in court as Saint Petersburg prosecutors demand its Facebook page be blocked ..

Russian LGBT Network in court as Saint Petersburg prosecutors demand its Facebook page be blocked for 'negative impact' on kids

Prosecutors in Russia have demanded that Facebook block the page of the Russian LGBT Network, with the authorities alleging that it harms the development and health of minors. The profile is followed by over 5,000 people.

The initial complaint was filed by MP Igor Sapko, the former mayor of Perm and a representative of the ruling United Russia party, who said that “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships is becoming mainstream on many Internet platforms.”

According to the prosecutors, the group creates “an attractive image of homosexuality, leading to the involvement of citizens, especially teenagers, in destructive lifestyles.”

(more)

It remains to be seen whether Facebook will obey. I'll try to keep on top of this story as it unfolds.

May 28, 2021

This movie sucks!

May 27, 2021

Ohio city votes to ban abortion, declares itself 'sanctuary city for the unborn' (AP)

Ohio city votes to ban abortion, declares itself ‘sanctuary city for the unborn’
AP via Channel 11 Pittsburgh

LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — A southwest Ohio city became the first in the state Tuesday to enact a measure outlawing abortion and declaring itself “a sanctuary city for the unborn,” setting itself up for a likely legal challenge by opponents who call the ban unconstitutional.

The vote by Lebanon City Council was unanimous -- after one member quit in protest. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that that member, Krista Wyatt, said she could no longer associate her name with the body “as a respectable, decent human being.”

No abortion clinics are located in Lebanon and none are planned. Mayor Amy Brewer said the ordinance sends a signal that the community would not welcome such a facility. Abortion remains legal in Ohio and the rest of the country following a 1973 Supreme Court decision that women have a constitutional right to seek an abortion.

(more)

The other side stays busy, let's do the same.

May 24, 2021

Texas poised to allow unlicensed carrying of handguns (AP)

Texas poised to allow unlicensed carrying of handguns (AP)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is poised to remove one of its last major gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it.

The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.

Gun control groups also oppose the measure, noting the state’s recent history of mass shootings, including those at an El Paso Walmart, a church in Sutherland Springs, and a high school outside Houston.

Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun license holders.

(more)

More Republican going off the deep end.

May 23, 2021

Look who is pissed off at Republicans now!

Trump turns on his own party and labels Republicans who don’t want to talk about Arizona ‘weak and stupid’ (AP)

Former President Donald Trump has labelled Republicans who do not want to discuss Arizona vote recount as ‘weak and stupid’ in an interview.

Speaking on One America News Network, Mr Trump said to anchor Chanel Rion about the vote recount in the state the GOP lost for the first time in 20 years in 2020.

It is a significant event in the ‘Stop the Steal’, a campaign based on the unverified claims that the last election contained widespread voter fraud has led to a high profile vote audit in Maricopa County.

(more)

At this point the only question is whether they can ever shed the stink of Trump?

May 17, 2021

NFL families seek to end 'race-norming' in $1bn concussion settlement (The Guardian)

NFL families seek to end ‘race-norming’ in $1bn concussion settlement

Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of “race-norming” to determine which players are eligible for payouts in the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims, a system experts say is discriminatory.

Former Washington running back Ken Jenkins, 60, and his wife Amy Lewis on Friday delivered 50,000 petitions demanding equal treatment for Black players to senior US district judge Anita B Brody in Philadelphia, who is overseeing the massive settlement. Former players who suffer dementia or other diagnoses can be eligible for a payout.

Under the settlement, however, the NFL has insisted on using a scoring algorithm on the dementia testing that assumes Black men start with lower cognitive skills. They must therefore score much lower than whites to show enough mental decline to win an award. The practice, which went unnoticed until 2018, has made it harder for Black former players to get awards.

(more)

So the NFL takes the position that African Americans are stupid, so it's sort of OK to beat their brains out?

Have I got that right?

I've long though the NFL is a corrupt organization, but now this.

May 17, 2021

Supreme Court to hear direct challenge to Roe.

Could be Kavanaugh's revenge.

https://twitter.com/SCOTUSblog/status/1394284425224114176

May 15, 2021

Evil bastards never stop, do they? (Texas "heartbeat bill")

Texas Legislature passes 'Heartbeat' anti-abortion bill
Houston Chronicle

State lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to sweeping new legislation that would ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy and allow anyone to sue providers and others who violate the guidelines.

The bill, a priority in the Republican-controlled Legislature, now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for an expected signature as early as Friday. It would take effect in early September.

Proponents hope that by turning enforcement of the new guidelines over to everyday citizens, rather than a government agency, they can avoid the legal challenges that have delayed so-called heartbeat bills in other red states from taking effect. Texas would be the 13th state to pass such a measure.

(more)

We have to stay on top of this. No doubt there will be a test case soon.

May 12, 2021

Poland and Hungary push back on 'gender equality' pre-summit

Poland and Hungary push back on 'gender equality' pre-summit
EU Observer

The phrase "gender equality" has been removed from the declaration on social issues to be adopted by EU leaders at their social summit in Porto later on Friday (7 May) after Poland and Hungary opposed the expression.

...

Arriving at the Porto summit, Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban said men and women should be treated equally, but the "only difficulty is to use the term gender".

"We, Christians, consider gender as an ideologically-motivated expression, whose meaning is not clarified at all, sometimes it means something between men and women, we would not like to mix up an ideological dispute with our strong commitment to equality between men and women," he said.

The efforts by Budapest and Warsaw to eradicate language on gender equality or LBGTI have not been always successful - but have been systematic in nature.

(more)

Worth reading the whole thing to get the full import of what has been going on and not just this one incident.