Amid a flurry of calls for Google to apply even more censorship to a contentious topic, and threats of antitrust probes, some attention is finally being paid to the heart of the problem and the reason why Google is so important: the invasive, user-tracking business model that earns it vast amounts of money and amplifies its power.

Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona has brought this point up before a Maricopa County Court.

Biggs wants to allow Google users in Arizona to have access to documents that shows how exactly the tech giant is tracking them. And he makes a point of this tying directly with the ongoing investigations in Washington.

In his request for the court to release information that will reveal Google’s process, the Republican congressman argues that it is the task of authorities at all levels to protect people’s rights, including that of privacy.

The long-standing accusation against Google but also other similarly-modeled companies is that they collect and retain unjustifiably large amounts of personal data in an nontransparent manner, to monetize it through the massive online ad business.

Another letter sent to the same judge by a number of researchers and academics from some of the leading US universities specifically mentions the issue of location tracking as being “of urgent public importance.”

The signatories urge the court to allow public access to all information from a complaint gathered during a probe into Google by Arizona’s attorney general – except that containing trade secrets.

But Judge Timothy Thomason dismissed both letters and said that he would give them no further consideration.

However, he will at least have to look into another request, this time coming from Arizona’s assistant attorney general.

“Google’s requested delay would unconstitutionally impair the right of public access that is guaranteed by both the First Amendment and the Arizona Constitution,” Beau Roysden said, referring to Google’s attempt to have the lawsuit stemming from the state-level investigation dismissed in its entirety.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s probe accuses Google of violating the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act in the way it tracks users without giving them a chance to explicitly consent to it.

Google has managed to keep most of this complaint sealed so far, while the attorney general’s office believes that the giant has not provided any good reason for the documents to remain inaccessible.

https://reclaimthenet.org/congressman-calls-on-judge-to-unseal-google-tracking-secrets/

https://twitter.com/jeffrygc/status/1287888834064154624

>>10095595

>>10095610

https://twitter.com/BoSnerdley/status/1287851883210723329

https://twitter.com/Bruno062418/status/1287751459187175427

The annual tributes by the family members of 9/11 victims will be canceled this year to avoid breaking coronavirus-related social distancing rules, numerous sources reported.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced in a letter to family members of the deceased Friday that instead of reading the names of 9/11 victims, recorded name readings would instead be used “out of an abundance of caution and in line with the guidance regarding social distancing,” the AP reported.

Relatives are invited to gather on the memorial plaza in lower Manhattan instead of gathering on stage, in accordance with restrictions. Six moments of silence will also be observed, symbolizing when the World Trade Center towers fell and when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, Penn. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.

The decision to modify the 9/11 memorial events comes amid gatherings of thousands of people in New York City in protest of police, according to NBC New York.

New York City recently moved into Phase 4 of reopening, which allows gatherings of up to 50 people with social distancing.

“If they didn’t have it this year it would give them maybe license to never have it again, which I think would be a terrible thing,” Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law was killed in the attacks, told Spectrum News NY1.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/07/27/9-11-tribute-families-victims-cancelled-recordings-social-distancing-coronavirus/

(my family knew 2 people who were killed in the towers)

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with ASTA CRS Inc., a provider of IT staffing and consulting services with offices in Ashburn, Virginia, and Greenbelt, Maryland. This is the ninth settlement under the Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which is aimed at targeting, investigating, and taking enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa workers.

The settlement resolves a claim that ASTA’s Maryland office discriminated against U.S. workers because of their citizenship status when it posted a job advertisement specifying a preference for non-U.S. citizens who held temporary work visas.

“When a company advertises a job by stating a preference for temporary visa workers, it deters qualified and available U.S. workers from applying and denies those U.S. workers equal opportunity to compete for that employment,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Our message to workers is clear: if companies advertise a preference for temporary visa holders over U.S. workers, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable. This is especially important at a time when more U.S. workers may be seeking employment as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19.”

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) has reached numerous settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, and employers have distributed or agreed to pay a combined total of more than $1.2 million in back pay to affected U.S. workers and civil penalties to the United States. These settlements involve employers that discriminated in their use of the H-1B, H-2A, H-2B and F-1 visa programs.

Based on its investigation of ASTA, the department concluded that ASTA’s Maryland office posted a job advertisement aimed exclusively at non-U.S. citizens with certain temporary visas, including H-1B visas and F-1 student visas. The Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating in hiring by preferring candidates with temporary work visas over U.S. workers. Under the INA, employers cannot discriminate based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin at any stage of their hiring process, including the posting of job advertisements, regardless of whether it affects the final hiring outcome.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, ASTA will train its employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies and procedures to comply with this law, and be subject to two years of department monitoring requirements, including providing regular reports to the department.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-claim-against-virginia-based-staffing-company-improperly-favoring

>>10095754

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Tameshwar Ammar, a former medical doctor in Roslyn, New York, pleaded guilty via teleconference to conspiring to illegally distribute oxycodone. Ammar was indicted in November 2019. On June 22, 2020, he relinquished his license to practice medicine. Today’s plea was entered before United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley. As part of his plea, Ammar agreed to forfeit approximately $245,700 as proceeds involved in the oxycodone offense. When sentenced, Ammar faces up to 20 years in prison.

Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), announced the guilty plea.

As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, between 2013 and 2019, Ammar illegally prescribed thousands of highly addictive oxycodone pills to two individuals identified in the indictment as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2. According to a review of Ammar’s medical files for the two individuals, Ammar wrote the prescriptions without any diagnostic proof that either had a legitimate medical necessity. Ammar prescribed oxycodone pills to John Doe 1, knowing that he intended to sell the pills to others. In addition, after learning that John Doe 2 had been admitted to a psychiatric facility in March 2018, Ammar continued to prescribe John Doe 2 with oxycodone as well as methadone. In July 2019, John Doe 2 died of a drug overdose caused by oxycodone, methadone and ketamine. After his arrest on November 7, 2019, Ammar was ordered by the Court to surrender his DEA registration.

“Today’s guilty plea establishes that the defendant, who was a doctor, essentially acted as a drug dealer, spreading injury and addiction without regard for the consequences,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme. “This Office and our partners at the DEA are working tirelessly to combat the opioid epidemic on Long Island and elsewhere, including by prosecuting medical professionals who betray their oath to do no harm.” Mr. DuCharme also thanked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, for their assistance during the investigation.

“Dr. Ammar’s plea shows us that his motivation was greed, not the welfare and health of his patients. Instead of healing, he chose a dangerous path of causing addiction, overdose, and overwhelming suffering to many. I commend the DEA Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and our law enforcement partners for pursuing the investigation and prosecution with diligence and determination,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Donovan.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-long-island-doctor-pleads-guilty-conspiring-illegally-distribute-oxycodone

https://twitter.com/realDerekUtley/status/1287822323551264769

By Johnathan Jones

Published July 27, 2020 at 2:15pm

Twitter censored an inspirational post by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow asking Christians to hold onto their faith during times of personal tribulation.

The former Heisman Trophy winner tweeted a simple message Tuesday: Keep your faith intact, and remember that all of the Bible’s messengers struggled.

“This could be your time. That breakthrough could be tomorrow, or it could be next year. But, you have the opportunity to turn however you’re being tested into a testimony. So many heroes were wounded deeply before they were used greatly!” he wrote, alongside a video message.

But Tebow’s tweet was censored by Twitter.

“The following media includes potentially sensitive content,” read a warning from the social media giant that covered the video portion of his post.

It’s difficult to discern what anyone could find “sensitive” about the content in Tebow’s video.

In the post, Tebow, breathing heavily after an apparent workout, called on Christians to turn to God during times of difficulty.

https://www.westernjournal.com/twitter-censors-tim-tebows-inspirational-bible-video/?ff_source=site&ff_medium=protrumpnews&ff_campaign=can