Google rejected employee suggestions for manipulating search results. Here’s why that’s important

In the volatile aftermath of Trump’s initial travel ban, Google employees reportedly discussed, in internal emails, how search results might be modified to counter anti-immigrant sentiment. Google says that none of the discussed modifications was ever implemented, and executives made clear that applying political bias was unacceptable. Those discussions, however, are a stark reminder that the government must not be alone in upholding democratic values. It also requires companies to push back against employees' undemocratic impulses.

Trump will likely seize upon the revelation that Google employees were interested in pushing pro-immigration information to users as evidence of bias against conservatives. He’s undeniably right to point out that clearly some employees at Google wanted to manipulate search results against him. He’d also be right in identifying these actions as unfair and biased. But the analysis cannot start and end with the interests and internal discussions of a few employees. After all, Google seems to have made the right call, refusing to implement any of the ideas put forth by upset employees. That’s the right approach. Democracy, after all, is not safeguarded by government alone but by institutions. That includes citizens, the businesses they run and work for, and a robust civil society that they belong to. That Google executives championed democratic values when faced with misguided, totalitarian suggestions from employees, shows not the failing of democracy and its ideas, but their strength. Google employees felt empowered to voice their thoughts and then, after discussion, Google did not move to change its algorithms or distort information displayed to users. An important factor in that decision was likely that consumers don’t want a rigged search engine and do value free speech. For democracy, that’s great news: Democratic ideas prevailed because there is broad social support, within and outside, of companies like Google that have an outsize role in how information is distributed. As long as that continues to be the case and Americans continue to believe in those ideas, then a few stray employees who question its value will always face strong resistance — from both within the company and among consumers. Instead of attacking these companies for the political frustration expressed in internal emails, the government should seek these companies out as partners. In the age of the Internet, Google and companies like it facilitate democracy and ultimately will be its ardent defenders, as long as citizens demand it. When Americans no longer want uncensored search results, the government won’t want them either.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/google-rejected-employee-suggestions-for-manipulating-search-results-heres-why-thats-important

Schumer seeks to protect Rosenstein following reports he discussed spying on Trump

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday that a New York Times story reporting that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested secretly recording President Trump in the White House should not be used as "pretext" to justify firing Rosenstein. The Times also reported, based on second-hand sources, that Rosenstein discussed using the 25th Amendment with Cabinet members to remove Trump for being unfit for duty. Within hours Trump allies pounced, calling for the firing of Rosenstein.

“This story must not be used as a pretext for the corrupt purpose of firing Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein in order [to] install an official who will allow the president to interfere with the special counsel’s investigation," Schumer said in a statement, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. White House chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other officials "have been reported to say critical things of the president without being fired," Schumer added.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/schumer-seeks-to-protect-rosenstein-following-reports-he-discussed-spying-on-trump

Menendez cheers State Department leak revealing split on Yemen policy

A new leak revealing a State Department split about the U.S. policy of helping Saudi Arabia fight in Yemen shows the U.S. policy could be on the verge of unraveling, according to a top Senate Democrat. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed Congress last week that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “are undertaking demonstrable actions” to avoid civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict, which pits an Arab-led coalition against Iranian-backed rebels. Pompeo’s certification allows the U.S. military to continue refueling Saudi aircraft and providing other logistical support, despite the humanitarian concerns.

But subsequent reports suggest that he did so over the objections of much of his regional policy team. “This insight suggests that individuals in the executive branch are increasingly aware that maintaining the status quo of current U.S. policy on Yemen is difficult to defend,” New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. Menendez provided that view following a report that the State Department’s military and regional experts opposed the idea of telling Congress that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are working to avoid civilian casualties. “Pompeo backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen over the objections of staff members after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America’s Gulf allies,” according to a Wall Street Journal report. The deal involved the sale of more than 120,000 precision-guided munitions from weapons contractor Raytheon to the two Arab countries.

Trump’s team has developed plans for major arms sales packages to Saudi Arabia as part of an effort to supply a so-called “Arab NATO” that could ward off Iranian hegemony in the Middle East. “While our Saudi and Emirati partners are making progress, we are continuing discussions with them on additional steps they can take to address the humanitarian situation, advance the political track in cooperation with the U.N. Special Envoy’s efforts, and ensure that their military campaign complies with the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told the Journal, after declining to confirm details of “the deliberative process or allegedly leaked documents.”

It's the second time since August that Nauert has had to fend off questions about the department’s internal debates. Most recently, leaked documents showed the Pompeo team mulling whether to use the term “genocide” when describing the massacre of an ethnic Muslim minority in Myanmar, also known as Burma. “And it’s a real disappointment, I want to say, when colleagues, professionals leak deliberative documents,” Nauert said at an Aug. 15 press briefing. “It harms our ability to make decisions, to have free conversations among our colleagues about certain issues in the news, certain things that we need to make very important decisions about.” Menendez, who said that he has been waiting “three months” for a reply to a letter about U.S. involvement in Yemen, welcomed the report, leaked or not. “If true, it is reassuring to know that so many bureaus within the State Department were united against certifying to Congress that the Saudi and Emirati governments are undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting from military operations in Yemen,” he said.

ttps://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/menendez-cheers-state-department-leak-revealing-split-on-yemen-policy

>>3126367

>>3126438

This is for Schummy's self serving interests, who does he think he's kidding here.

FDA: Pharmaceutical testing and brewing beer don’t mix

A pharmaceutical testing laboratory brewed up some trouble with the Food and Drug Administration by sharing its space with a microbrewery. The FDA issued a warning on Aug. 29 to Pharmaceutical Laboratories and Consultants for several manufacturing quality violations, the most notable of which was that the company’s testing laboratory was too close to a microbrewery.

The Illinois-based company is a contract testing facility, with which drugmakers sometimes contract to test the quality of their products and to submit such data to the FDA for approval. FDA came to the facility in Sept. 2017 for an inspection, and found several routine deficiencies, such as not having proper records or improper training procedures for staff. But in an odd turn of events, the agency also found that the company’s pharmaceutical testing area was overlapping with beer brewing. “A brewery employee was also preparing beer kegs in this area,” the FDA noted in the letter to the company, which was recently posted online by the FDA. Inspectors also found that drug testing materials, brewing materials, and open beer bottles were stored in the same refrigerator. “Conducting your testing operations in a shared space with a microbrewery is inappropriate,” the letter said. The company could not be reached for comment.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/fda-pharmaceutical-testing-and-brewing-beer-dont-mix

>>3126476

>>3126550

Some how I think Schummy and his gang are very much part of this…they may even be the ones that wanted it done…

Was Kavanaugh Accusation An Orchestrated Hit Involving Fmr Anita Hill Adviser?

An audio recording purportedly from a July conference call suggests that Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wasn't simply a reluctant claim that Diane Feinstein sat on until the 11th hour. The recording features Ricki Seidman - a former Clinton and Obama White House official and Democratic operative who advised Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, and who was revealed on Thursday as an adviser to Ford by Politico.

"While I think at the outset, looking at the numbers in the Senate, it’s not extremely likely that the nominee can be defeated," says Seidman. "I would absolutely withhold judgement as the process goes on. I think that I would not reach any conclusion about the outcome in advance." What's more, the recording makes clear that even if Kavanaugh is confirmed, Democrats can use the doubt cast over him during midterms."Over the coming days and weeks, there will be a strategy that will emerge, and I think it’s possible that that strategy might ultimately defeat the nominee… whether or not it ultimately defeats the nominee, it will help people understand why it's so important that they vote and the deeper principles that are involved in it."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-21/kavanaugh-accusation-orchestrated-hit-involving-fmr-anita-hill-adviser-new-audio

>>3126779

Sick, how awful to have see that, especially when you know the symbolism..I think I would have wanted to take my kid out of there immediately.