Society's ChildS


Target

I helped Google screw over James Damore

TiredOfLying4Google
Reddit
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:01 UTC
James Damore
James Damore

Comment: The following is an anonymous post posted to reddit. We can't verify the authenticity of the poster, however Damore himself weighs in on the lengthy discussion (see original link) and says it contains information only someone working for Google at the time would know.


I was involved in the internal decisions involving James Damore's memo, and it's terrible what we did to him.

First of all, we knew about the memo a month before it went viral. HR sent it up the reporting chain when he gave it as internal feedback, but we did nothing. There wasn't anything we could do, except admit to wrongdoing and lying to our employees. We just hoped that no one else would see his document.

Unfortunately, the memo started spreading within the company. The floodgates opened and previously silent employees started talking. To quell dissent, we: told executives to write to their employees condemning the memo; manipulated our internal Memegen to bias the ratings towards anti-Damore posts (the head of Memegen is an "ally" to the diversity cause); and gave every manager talking points on what to tell their reports about the memo. In all our communications, we concentrated on how hurt employees purportedly were and diverted attention from Google's discriminatory employment practices and political hegemony, never mind the science.

Comment: See also:

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Briefcase

Best of the Web: Thought Crime and Punishment in Academia: Lindsay Shepherd's Year of Shunning and Lawsuits at Wilfrid Laurier University

Lindsay Shepherd
Quillette
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:42 UTC
Lindsey Shephard
© Andy Ngo
In late 2017, I found myself at the centre of a controversy at Wilfrid Laurier University, where I was an M.A. student and teaching assistant (TA) in the Communication Studies department. In the class for which I was serving as TA, I played part of a panel discussion that had aired on Ontario public television. As many readers will know, this material featured University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson making the argument against alternative gender pronoun usage, as well as Sexual Diversity educator Nicholas Matte's arguments encouraging their use.

Because I chose not to disavow Peterson's views before airing the clip, I was brought into a subsequent disciplinary meeting. The supervisor for the course in question, Nathan Rambukkana, as well as the coordinator for my M.A. program, Herbert Pimlott (also known, at times, as "Hillary X Plimsoll"), and Gendered Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention manager Adria Joel accused me of breaking the law by airing a clip of Peterson in a classroom, as well as threatening and targeting trans people, thereby creating a toxic environment. All of this is well-known because I taped the whole meeting.

Apparently, "one or more" students had complained about the class in question - though that claim later turned out to be false. Both Rambukkana and Wilfrid Laurier University President Deborah MacLatchy apologized to me, and I was cleared of any wrongdoing after a neutral third-party fact-finding investigation concluded I hadn't done anything wrong. The investigator also determined that "basic guidelines and best practices on how to appropriately execute the roles and responsibilities of staff and faculty were ignored or not understood."

Comment: What happened to Lindsay Shepherd is a chilling example of how Bill C-16 can be interpreted as they see fit when it suits their purpose and why it's so dangerous. Thankfully she had the foresight to see where it was going and recorded the meeting, thus exposing the insanity that radical left ideology has become in our schools. Kudos to her for sticking to her convictions and not backing down. See also:

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Stock Down

78% of US workers living paycheck to paycheck

Emmie Martin
CNBC
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:39 UTC
stressed office worker
© Getty Images
The partial government shutdown, which began Dec. 22, has now stretched well into the new year. President Donald Trump said Friday that it would continue for "months or even years" until he receives the requested $5 billion in funding for a border wall.

The shutdown has left approximately 800,000 federal workers in financial limbo. Around 420,000 "essential" employees are working without pay, while another 380,000 have been ordered to stay home, according to calculations provided to CNBC by Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University.

In some cases, the furloughs have forced government employees to tap into their savings, rely on credit cards or crowdsource funds to make ends meet.

Government workers are far from alone in feeling stressed about not getting paid. Nearly 80 percent of American workers (78 percent) say they're living paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2017 report by employment website CareerBuilder. Women are particularly vulnerable: 81 percent of them report living paycheck to paycheck, compared with 75 percent of men.

Comment: If even high wage earners aren't saving money, this doesn't necessarily translate to mean these people are unable to save. It probably means there are common habits where people are probably overspending on the things they do buy without considering the consequences. In many cases this is a lifestyle choice, and often a detrimental one. To put things in perspective, if you make $33,000 or more then you are in the top 1% of wage earners in all the world. This doesn't negate the suffering caused by loose spending, but there is some individual responsibility here. Improving conditions is well within reach for many Americans. It's not entirely accurate to compare the workers affected by government shutdown with the saving habits of Americans.

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Heart - Black

Black Miss Algeria barraged with 'racist' online comments calling her 'ugly'

Sophie Prideaux
The National
Mon, 07 Jan 2019 17:42 UTC
Khadija Ben Hamou
© Miss Algeria / FacebookKhadija Ben Hamou is Miss Algeria 2019
She beat 16 other women to be crowned Miss Algeria, but Khadija Ben Hamou's win has been subjected to a torrent of racist abuse.

Khadija made history when she became the first black woman to take the crown at the annual beauty pageant on Saturday, but her win has since been tainted by online trolls who flooded Facebook and Twitter with comments about her appearance.

When other social media users began to call out those spouting racist abuse, some Twitter users maintained it had nothing to do with race. "She just wasn't that pretty," one person wrote.
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Better Earth

"I started to see clearly": Captured Ukrainian soldier walks the streets of Donetsk

Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard
The Saker
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:39 UTC
donetsk ukrainian soldier
The Russian war correspondent Aleksandr Sladkov walked along the streets of Donetsk with a captured UAF serviceman, who then shared his impressions about what he saw.
"I started to see clearly. In Ukraine it is said that everything in Donetsk was destroyed. Here everybody is walking around, I saw a Christmas tree... Here there is only one thing to do: make peace. Here we are all the same, both you and I. Whether you speak Russian or Ukrainian, it is the same. I understand you, and you understand me," said the former Ukrainian serviceman.
Whilst walking around Sladkov showed the Ukrainian soldier inscriptions in the Ukrainian language and monuments to famous Ukrainians in the center of Donetsk to show him that Donetsk residents have no hatred towards the ordinary citizens of Ukraine.

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Megaphone

Brother of American detained in Russia thinks it's 'ridiculous' he could be a spy


RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:30 UTC
Paul Whelan
© Paul Whelan family archivePaul Whelan
Twin brother of Paul Whelan - the American detained in Moscow on espionage charges - firmly denies accusations against his sibling, maintaining that a person with the social media and travel activity of his simply cannot be a spy.

"I think it's ridiculous. I don't think there's any way that my brother Paul is a spy," David Whelan told RT's Ruptly news video agency in Toronto.

Paul Whelan was detained late in December, with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), stating he was caught right during "the act of spying." The man reportedly received a flash drive with a list of Russian intelligence operatives.

Comment: One other fact to keep in mind: Paul Whelan was discharged from the Marines because he tried to steal more than $10,000 in cash while deployed in Iraq. So now this man, who the US military discharged due to criminal behavior, has 4 different passports and is visiting countries over the world for business. Is it any wonder the Russians are suspicious of his reasons for being in the country?

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Jet5

French mirage fighter jet disappears near Swiss border

Angela Charlton / AP
Washington Post
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:29 UTC
french mirage jet
A French fighter jet carrying two pilots disappeared from radar screens Wednesday near the Swiss border in a snowstorm, prompting an extensive search across the rugged, mountainous area.

The Mirage 2000D was last detected between the Doubs and Jura regions while on a low-altitude training flight, according to a French air force spokeswoman. It took off soon after 11 a.m. from the Nancy-Ochey air base in northeast France.

A search was immediately launched for signs of the plane and the crew, said the spokeswoman, who wasn't authorized to be publicly named.

Mountain rescuers, firefighters, police, military units and local residents joined the search effort, according to the regional administrations of Doubs and Jura. Visibility was extremely low, with heavy fog and snow.
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Family

Jacline Mouraud, self-appointed spokeswoman of Yellow Vests, seeks to create political party of 'common sense'


RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 17:18 UTC
Jacline Mouraud
© AFP / Damien MeyerJacline Mouraud
Jacline Mouraud, once the self-appointed spokeswoman of the Yellow Vests, has announced the creation of a new party. The emerging political force is described as a "party of common sense," pursuing social and tax reforms.

Mouraud greatly contributed to stirring up the Yellow Vests protests and has become a highly recognizable figure after posting a video against fuel tax hikes which has been viewed several million times since October.

However, she does not seem to crave political leadership, and it remains unclear who will actually head the party. "I require no title, I'm trying to create a party, and that's good. Further, as in any party, there will be a vote. Would it be me [elected the head of the party] or not, I don't care, this is not important," she said on Monday, as quoted by French media.

"The main thing is to create it, to unite people against violence and to ensure respect for our institutions."
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Attention

About time! Incompetent Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to be suspended over Parkland shooting response

Julie K. Brown
Miami Herald
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:58 UTC
Scott Israel
© Michele Eve Sandberg/Corbis via Getty Images
It appears that Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is preparing to pack it in, for now.

The two-term sheriff, the object of fierce criticism over BSO's handling of the Parkland massacre, told his top commanders that he will be removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis, sources told the Miami Herald.

DeSantis, who was sworn in Tuesday morning, had not made a formal announcement of a possible suspension. Israel's discussions with staff about his ouster were first reported by Miami New Times.

Stuart N. Kaplan, one of Israel's lawyers, said Israel was working at his office at the public safety building in Fort Lauderdale.

"The governor has not said anything to us, directly or indirectly, as to whether or not the sheriff is going to be suspended,'' Kaplan said. "He is working and continues to serve the citizens of Broward County.''

But Jeff Bell, BSO's union chief, said Israel told his staff on Monday that his ouster was inevitable.

Comment: Sheriff Israel's lengthy list of misdeeds and general incompetence should have seen him deposed years ago, but apparently it took a widely reported scandal to shake the complacency of the governor.

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Network

Student behind leak of German politicians' data - not foreign state


RT
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 11:38 UTC
Def Con hacker disobey
© Reuters/Steve MarcusFILE PHOTO. Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas, US.
German investigators arrested a student they say is behind the massive leak of domestic politicians' personal data. He's not a Russian hacker, just a disgruntled 20-year-old from Hesse, despite media expectations to the contrary.

In December, two now-blocked Twitter accounts were used to publish links to caches of personal data of German politicians in the style of an advent calendar. Almost 1,000 public figures were targeted, including Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaks however remained unnoticed until January, when they were reported by major media outlets.

While some speculated that the security breach may have been the latest 'Russian hybrid attack on Western democracies', the reality seems to be much simpler.

On Tuesday, Germany's Federal Crime Office (BKA) updated the public on the investigation, which was launched on Friday and produced an alleged perpetrator on Sunday.

Comment: By concocting stories about 'Russian involvement' Western leaders are actively ignoring the very real problems being expressed by their citizens and this will come back to bite them:

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