Waiting for the Counterrevolution – National Review

Federal law-enforcement officers face off against rioters in Portland, Ore., July 24, 2020.(Caitlin Ochs/Reuters)As the rioting continues, Democrats and the media attempt to blame it all on Trump, and most Americans watch and worry, in silence.

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLEWe are in the midst of a revolution, a cultural and racial one, that seeks to refute the past, damn the present, and hijack the future. So far, however, we have only heard from one side, the revolutionaries and their enablers themselves.

Those trying to reject and then reboot America are small as a percentage of the population, but their tactics are diverse, and their frightened abettors and closet appeasers numerous. The result for now is that, as with most cultural revolutions, a tiny percentage of the population seems to be ascending, given that there is no real organized resistance other than isolated and disgusted individuals.

The cultural revolutionaries are a tripartite group.

On the front lines are the shock troops. For the most part, middle-class urban and suburban white kids, many of them in college, graduated, or dropped out, make up Antifa and its affiliates. They seem to organize the statue toppling, graffiti, and vandalism, as well as the violence at the demonstrations. They show up in ridiculous black-clad Road Warrior outfits, fitted out with cobbled-together hoodies, bicycle helmets, knee pads, and various sports-equipment armor, and occasionally with testudo-like umbrellas and assorted fireworks, rocks, bottle, and bats. All that is a psychodrama far more interesting than showing up at Starbucks at 5 a.m.to start the days machinery.

They are the new superfluous elite, in that their college investments brought them neither prestige nor money, but only debt and sloganeering memorized from the sermons of their tenured and comfortable lounge professors. History shows that when would-be, self-important elites have are in surfeit and extraneous, they grow volatile. They wake up to learn that their vaunted education and training were not appreciated and properly compensated by society.

And so they often can turn to violence and indeed revolution if it comes their way. In the profiles of the Jacobin, Bolshevik, and Arab Spring second-stage revolutions, the common denominators are frustration and the feeling that the agitators deserved honor, money, and influence that either never was forthcoming or went to undeserving others.

Antifas aim is to cause chaos and anarchy, in hopes of eliciting a police response that will fuel nonstop street brawling, akin to Germanys in the 1920s, and a general sense of pandemonium that will leave the democratic capitalist state weak, directionless, and without a reply.

Then the more unhinged among them believe that they can carve out autonomous zones of resistance in places such as Portland and Seattle and gradually spread their revolution through threats and intimidation and perhaps more formally hijack the Democratic Party and come to power. Cellphones, selfies, networking, and childish coloring-book graffiti make the whole thing a sort of carnival where the like-minded frustrated agitators can vent about the unfairness of the world.

Many of these self-righteous are indeed racist, as we see from the sheer joy they show at yelling in the face of black policemen and orchestrating the demonstrations while avoiding the televised looting. The more they scream Racism! the more one concludes that in their own lives they were pretty sheltered and separate by design. They show special venom for any blacks who wave American flags or resist their groupthink, as if to say, You ingrate! Dont you appreciate what Im doing for you?

Nonetheless, in their effort to achieve medieval exemption and penance, they partner with or more often even seek to hijack the Black Lives Matter movement. BLM leaders are self-avowed Marxists, but their real agenda is racist: to reduce the U.S. into two camps, one of victimized noble nonwhites and the other of victimizing white people who should accept their proper reparatory role given the sins of their ancestors and the racist and evil country they maintain and perpetuate.

BLM offers amnesties to the victimizing white people if they kneel and apologize, or join their ranks, or hit the street. BLMers encourage looting, arson, takeovers of stores and streets, and they generally send the message that life will be too intolerable to continue as usual for the proverbial average American citizen, unless he grants all sorts of demands: restructuring the government, the media, entertainment, and the university to focus mostly on black issues, hiring diversity staff on the basis of race, and recalibrating promotions, admissions, grading, and graduation by race. Asymmetry is their religion. Random urban violence against whites is contextualized; substitute the noun black for white in most of the sloganeering, and the speaker would be ostracized for racist drivel.

One immediate goal is ending meritocracy as racist and replacing it with quotas that inflate proportional black representation as reparations. Defunding some police, the emptying of many jails and prisons, and releasing the arrested without bail are already proof of BLMs success.

So BLM seeks to exercise a veto power over Americas past, present, and future, from the manner in which national sports are conducted, universities are run, and corporations merchandise and advertise, to how government functions.

They reject the MLK doctrine of assimilation and integration and seek instead a Balkan-like separatism, with BLM representing a supposed agenda that 30 percent of the population endorses and that, if not implemented, will supposedly entail constant hectoring and perpetual violent reactions to persuade the rest. So far, BLM has set the Democratic Party trajectory of defunding the police, shifting all attention away from epidemic black-on-black violence, and strong-arming corporations for lavish support. Note well that lots of BLM functionaries are now becoming rich.

A second group of revolutionaries are found in the new neo-socialist Democratic Party itself and its elite enablers. This cadre treats Antifa and BLM as useful pawns and has refused to criticize either. Violence in our cities is deemed a hoax. In truth, it is now hard to find any issue on which the Democratic establishment has been at odds with BLM and even Antifa. The latter are critical to providing 30 percent or so of the hard-Democratic base without which the party cannot fulfill its agenda.

The media, the universities, Hollywood, most foundations, the entertainment industry, professional sports, the Never Trump hump Right, and perhaps a few of the retired and active four-star military see the protests, even the violent kind, as necessary goads that will reveal the true dangers of Donald Trump to the nation. In that regard, anything that might prompt Trump to use federal troops to quell the violence, or split him off from the vestigial Republican establishment, or remind the permanent administrative state of his evil, is encouraged and exempt from criticism. This second tier of politicos believes that the revolution is useful in ridding the country of Trump. Then once things return to normal, they also will revert to their positions of influence prior to 2017, as Antifa and BLM are coopted or bought off.

A final group of revolutionaries consists of the finger-in-the-wind bystanders the corporate appeasers and the suburban upper-middle-class liberal establishment. They are bothered by the street violence of Antifa, the apparent drumbeat hatred of whites, and they fear what has been wrought by chaos, plague, lockdown, and depression. But they have, they wager, the money and influence to win exemption from the shock troops of Antifa and BLM.

In the short term, they just wish that all the bad stuff would go away. In a collective fetal position, CEOs and various liberal-mainstay groups are happy to write checks to the revolutionaries, grant their demands, and voice their platitudes on the theory that when the rough stuff really starts, they will be left alone to run the country as they think they always do. They are in a sense playing the role of the anti-czarist aristocrats who believed that the motley crew of Bolsheviks would be honored to have their money and support and their own controlling influence.

Add it all up, and so far, the revolution is well funded, proving useful for the Biden campaign, and airbrushed by the media as a necessary humanitarian effort to address systematic and endemic racism. But the main goal is to destroy Trump, by weaponizing plague, lockdown, recession, and riot to pave the way for a Biden bridge to hard-core socialism.

And last, there is the quiet majority of Americans of all races and classes. They have watched all this for months but kept mysteriously still.

At first, they shrugged that a plague, a national quarantine, and a recession can make people do crazy things, and so they stayed mum.

Then some felt that Trumps braggadocio needlessly goaded the protests, so he might need a comeuppance for a few weeks.

Then they told themselves that the riots and revolutionary rebooting of America would die out with the virus, sort of like #MeToo finally hitting the Joe Biden wall of Tara Reade is lying. End of story.

For a while, some liked the idea of cultural carnivores devouring their own at the haughty New York Times or Planned Parenthood. Others sighed that blue-state governors and mayors were reaping what they had sowed.

But now, the public is getting worried.

Many Americans may not like Trump, but they know now that Trump is all that stands between themselves and chaos, anarchy, depression, and the end of America as we know it.

Still, most remain quiet. They avoid talking to friends, pollsters, and the media about their anger. Many will tune out the NBA and the NFL this late summer and fall, once the kneeling and in-your-face accusations of racism hit their TV screens. Most accept that Joe Biden is tragically non compos mentis, and that he is the Lefts only hope to accomplish a radical agenda, through his selection of vice president/president.

So what will the majority ultimately do?

It is slowly steaming but for the moment still holds on to a shred of hope that the madness will die out as the revolution cannibalizes its own even though many know that it will not. Maybe the Democratic Party will tack back to the respectable Left, or so many dream.

Yet at some point, if the rioting and revolution and overt socialism continue, the majority will weigh in, likely from mid September to mid October.

The Democratic Party knows this. So its functionaries are now frantically trying to portray Trump as the instigator of the violence or claim there is no violence at all. They permanently script and seclude the cognitively challenged Biden, and redefine Antifa and BLM as our own sons and daughters who, if a little rowdy and zealous at times, have their hearts in the right place and soon will calm down and join the victorious Democratic war wagon.

All that assumes that Trump cannot refocus on the plague, lockdown, and recession; that Biden will miraculously reboot as Old Joe from Scranton still in his Senate heyday; and that the revolutionaries, drunk on power and success, will obey the septuagenarian apparatchiks Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and the old, steadily shrinking guard at the New York Times, NPR, PBS, and the Washington Post, and thus behave until November.

Yet its more likely that well see more fireworks after Labor Day and a pushback like we havent seen since the early Seventies.

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Waiting for the Counterrevolution - National Review

Ana Tijoux’s Antifa Dance is just what the revolution called for – AL DIA News

The Grammy-winning, French-Chilean rapper, Ana Tijoux, is preparing to release her new full-length album. The first preview of Antifa Dance came in March with the politically-charged dembow single under the same name.

Facing authoritarianism, unrelenting hatred for the other, we return again to art. Art that is charged with music and color, art that responds in dance, an organized movement of beautiful rebellion. It is our proud belief that from pain, the purest act of love and resistance is born, she said in a press release.

Her newest single, Pa Qu, which was released on July 17, she teamed up with Puerto Rican rapper PJ Sin Suela to create another revolutionary anthem of joyful rebellion.

She told the music portal ChileFunk, Pa Qu is a reminder to all of us who are still attentive, inside and out, to those above us who are at home but not asleep, and to those below us who continue to weave the nets, holding on with open hearts.

The song title references the famous meme si ya saben cmo me pongo, pa qu me invitan? and she uses the phrase to speak up audaciously.

The music video for Pa Qu features images of police officers blinding peaceful protesters with their guns and arresting Indiegenous street vendors. As the cumbia beat intensifies, the scene turns into a massive merengue party against government abuse.

In my country, they take you to jail if you jump a turnstile, in my country they take you if you ask for bread from the banquet, in my country they call you crazy if you go out and protest, in my country they shoot your eyes out for marching. And they buzz you hot, like fireworks, belts Tijoux.

She also wanted to laugh at the failures of former Chilean Health Minister Jaime Maalich, criticize President Sebastion Pieras handling of the pandemic, and explain why people have taken to the streets in social outbursts.

Did you know that the crown can be a good person?

Minister, forgive me for saying so, but it makes me uncomfortable.

Of all the planet we are the best health system?

With two explosive singles out already, its clear that Tijouxs album Antifa Dance will be provocative and possibly spur more of the revolutionary spirit.

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Ana Tijoux's Antifa Dance is just what the revolution called for - AL DIA News

How the Supreme Court’s Expansion of Freedom of Religion Makes Its Decision on the Rights of Gays and Transsexuals Possible – Mosaic

In response to the possibility that Jerusalem will attempt to apply its sovereignty to certain areas of the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority (PA). Such a step could, at worst, plunge the area into chaos. At best, it would leave Israel to shoulder the expenses of providing basic civil services to the Palestinians living in the areas now under PA controleverything from education to welfare for the indigent to policing traffic laws. Of course, Abbas has been threatening to take this step for years, and never made good. Yossi Kuperwasser nonetheless examines the ways Abbas might do so (including temporary or partial dissolution), the possible consequences, and the actions Israel would be forced to take in various scenarios. Kuperwasser concludes:

Read more at Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

More about: Israeli Security, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority

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How the Supreme Court's Expansion of Freedom of Religion Makes Its Decision on the Rights of Gays and Transsexuals Possible - Mosaic

The toll of shrinking jaws on human health | Stanford News – Stanford University News

For many of us, orthodontic work getting fitted with braces, wearing retainers was just a late-childhood rite of passage. The same went for the pulling of wisdom teeth in early adulthood. Other common conditions, including jaw pain and obstructed sleep apnea when slack throat muscles interrupt breathing during rest also just seem like par for the course.

A new study says that parents and caregivers can take steps to promote proper mouth, jawbone and facial musculature development in children to help stave off future health burdens and chronic conditions. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The broader scientific community has largely deemed the underlying abnormality behind these problems as hereditary and untreatable, and opted to deal with symptoms through medical devices and after-the-fact interventions.

But in a new study, Stanford researchers and colleagues argue that all these issues and more are actually relatively new problems afflicting modern humans and can be traced to a shrinking of our jaws. Moreover, they maintain that this jaws epidemic is not primarily genetic in origin, as previously thought, but rather a lifestyle disease. That means the epidemic is largely the result of human practices and akin to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

The study published in the journal BioScience marshals the growing evidence from studies conducted around the world surrounding the jaws epidemic, as well as how to address it proactively. Parents and caregivers can take steps to promote proper mouth, jawbone and facial musculature development in children, the study advises, to help stave off future health burdens and chronic conditions.

The jaws epidemic is very serious, but the good news is, we can actually do something about it, said Paul Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies, Emeritus, at Stanford and one of the studys authors.

The new study builds upon a book Ehrlich co-wrote with orthodontist and lead study author Sandra Kahn entitled Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic, published by Stanford University Press in 2018. Two other Stanford researchers, Robert Sapolsky and Marcus Feldman, have contributed their expertise to the new study. Seng-Mun Simon Wong, a general dentist in private practice in Australia, was also a co-author.

Anthropologists have long noted the significant differences between the jaws and teeth in modern skulls compared to pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer humans from thousands of years ago. The differences are stark even compared to humans who lived as recently as a century-and-a-half ago during pre-industrial times. These bygone humans showed little teeth crowding, impaction of their wisdom teeth (a leading reason for their surgical removal nowadays) or malocclusion the abnormal positioning of the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed.

Paul Ehrlich wants you to shut your mouth for your health. According to Ehrlichs new book, mouth breathing, among other modern habits, has led to an epidemic of small jaws and many troubling health consequences.

Assuming that genetics are chiefly responsible for the sudden modern rise of these dental maladies does not make sense, said Ehrlich. Theres not been enough time for evolution over the span of only several generations to have made our jaws shrink, said Ehrlich. Nor is there any evidence of selection pressures that would have favored smaller jawed-people producing more offspring and thus perpetuating the trait than regular-jawed people.

The evidence of a genetic contribution to the jaws epidemic is not strong, said Feldman, who is a population geneticist and the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor and professor of biology.

Instead, profound physiological changes can occur in human populations over short intervals, Feldman pointed out, purely as a result of environmental factors, such as dietary choices and cultural norms. For instance, since World War II, a switchover from heavy rice consumption to more dairy and protein in childhood has been linked to Japanese men gaining around 5 inches in average adult height.

This goes to show that in many cases, lifestyle choices can have just as powerful if not more of an influence on human traits than underlying genetics. A genetic contribution to a trait, if there is one, does not necessarily sentence you to a life with that trait, said Feldman. In almost all cases, you cannot intervene medically to alter a genetic contribution; its not actionable. But what is actionable are the things talked about in this study, as well as Paul and Sandras book.

Available evidence points to the jaws epidemic arising as humanity underwent sweeping behavioral changes with the advent of agriculture, sedentism (settling in one place for extended periods) and industrialization. One obvious factor is the softening of diets, especially with the relatively recent invention of processed foods. Also, less chewing is needed nowadays to extract adequate nutrition our ancestors certainly did not enjoy the sustentative luxury of slurping down protein shakes.

A less obvious, though more significant reason behind the jaws epidemic, Ehrlich and colleagues contend, has been the rise of what they describe as bad oral posture. Our bones grow, develop and change shape under the influences of gentle but persistent pressures, multiple studies have shown. The proper development of the jaw and its associated soft tissues is guided by oral posture the positioning of the jaws and the tongue during times when children are not eating or speaking. This positioning is especially important overnight during long sleep stretches, when swallowing maintains the correct, gentle pressures. With both children and adults now sleeping on forgiving mattresses and pillows, instead of the firm ground as their ancestors did, mouths are likelier to fall open, disrupting positioning and swallowing.

To promote the proper development of the jaw, the answer is not to start sleeping on rocks. Rather, basic practices such as having children chew sugar-free gum, as well as giving babies less mushy foods as they transition to solid foods, can help, the researchers say. Kahn and Wong also practice what they call forwardontics, which includes exercises such as proper breathing and swallowing patterns to guide jaw growth in children as young as 2 versus waiting until children are older and require more severe interventions. To raise awareness of the jaws epidemic and how to better address it, Ehrlich and his co-authors have been giving lectures to conventions of orthodontists and seen some positive momentum. Theres no question that some clinical practices are moving in this direction, said Ehrlich, but we have a lot more work to do.

Benefits are not just limited to straighter teeth, roomier jaws and stronger oral muscles. Cutting down on sleep deprivation from sleep apnea is another gain, which has myriad knock-on benefits. Sleep deprivation increases stress, which is associated with greater risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, cancer and Alzheimers disease in adult populations, and with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

The maladaptive jaws profile can disrupt our stress response and ultimately bring about greater stress and chronic activation of the bodys stress response, said Sapolsky, the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and a professor of biology, of neurology and neurological sciences and of neurosurgery, whose research focuses on stress.

Ehrlich hopes that increased attention and research geared toward the jaws epidemic can turn the tide.

Were going to continue learning the causes of the jaws epidemic and continue getting the word out on how this is a highly treatable condition early on in life, said Ehrlich. Parents and caregivers, in collaboration with dentists and orthodontists, can all help children to avoid some serious health problems later on in their lives.

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The toll of shrinking jaws on human health | Stanford News - Stanford University News

Litecoin, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis July 27th, 2020 – FX Empire

For the day ahead

Stellars Lumen would need to move through the $0.10096 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.10419.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Stellars Lumen to break out from $0.1010 levels.

Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Sundays high $0.10580 would likely limit any upside.

Failure to move through the $0.10096 pivot would bring the first major support level at $0.09611 into play.

Barring an extended crypto sell-off, however, Stellars Lumen should steer well clear of second major support level sits at $0.09288.

First Major Support Level: $0.09611

First Major Resistance Level: $0.10419

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $0.1051

38% FIB Retracement Level: $0.14336518

62% FIB Retracement Level: $0.2050

Trons TRX fell by 0.99% on Sunday. Partially reversing a 3.98% gain from Saturday, Trons TRX ended the week up by 5.73% to $0.018585.

It was a mixed start to the day. Trons TRX fell to an early morning low $0.018557 before striking a late morning intraday high $0.019392.

Trons TRX broke through the first major resistance level at $0.01908 and the second major resistance level at $0.01936.

A late morning sell-off, however, saw Trons TRX slide to a mid-day intraday low $0.018339.

Steering clear of the first major support level at $0.01828, Trons TRX revisited $0.01870 levels before easing back.

At the time of writing, Trons TRX was up by 0.51% to $0.018680. A mixed start to the day saw Trons TRX fall to an early morning low $0.018557 before rising to a high $0.018714.

Trons TRX left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

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Litecoin, Stellar's Lumen, and Tron's TRX - Daily Analysis July 27th, 2020 - FX Empire

Litecoin (LTC) Up $1.73 Over Past 4 Hours, Makes Big Move Relative to Past Three Months; in an Uptrend Over Past 14 Days – CFDTrading

Litecoin 4 Hour Price Update

Updated July 28, 2020 07:19 PM GMT (03:19 PM EST)

Litecoin came into the current 4 hour candle up 2.13% ($1.18) from the open of the last 4 hour candle, marking the 3rd candle in a row an upward move has occurred. Litecoin outperformed all 5 assets in the Top Cryptos asset class since the last 4 hour candle. Congrats to its holders!

The back and forth price flow continues for Litecoin, which started today off at 53.35 US dollars, up 10.85% ($5.22) from the day prior. As for how volume fared, yesterdays volume was up 140.5% from the previous day (Sunday), and up 1067.77% from Monday of the week before. Out of the 5 instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Litecoin ended up ranking 2nd for the day in terms of price change relative to the day prior. Below is a daily price chart of Litecoin.

Moving average crossovers are always interesting, so lets start there: Litecoin crossed above its 200 day moving average yesterday. The clearest trend exists on the 14 day timeframe, which shows price moving up over that time. Or to view things another way, note that out of the past 30 days Litecoins price has gone down 15 them.

Over on Twitter, here were the top tweets about Litecoin:

46,727 new non-zero #Litecoin wallet addresses in the last 24 hrs is the most in 1 day since 47,317 on March 8, 2020.347,036 were the most new non-zero addresses ever added in 1 day, back on January 4, 2018.

20 year old me is highly unimpressed with how poorly 33 year old me handles 4 beers at home with a friend.But heyif Litecoin and Tron can still be in the top 20 then I can make it through the day too.

For the bazillionth time, a decentralized #cryptocurrency is one to which the blockchain it derives from does not have a single point of failure, control, voting, mining, trx validation, etc.#Litecoin is decentralized because the blockchain is decentralized. Period.

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Litecoin (LTC) Up $1.73 Over Past 4 Hours, Makes Big Move Relative to Past Three Months; in an Uptrend Over Past 14 Days - CFDTrading

Sports medicine innovations improve TACP health, readiness > Team McChord > Article Display – 62nd Airlift Wing

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --

Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Airmen have a unique job. They embed with units on the front lines of battlefields to call in air strikes during a fight.

The TACP Airmen of the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron perform jobs that require some of the highest levels of physical fitness in the Air Force. With that level of performance often comes injuries both from the job itself, and from the physical training required to maintain that performance.

The risk of injury has always existed, but the way the military has dealt with that risk has changed over time. In the past, TACP Airmen often worked for as long as they could before injuries stopped them from continuing in their career field. Treatment of those injuries was reactive, trying to repair damage or manage pain.

Over the past two and a half years, the Air Force has changed its approach from reactive to preventative medicine, partnering TACP squadrons with medical professionals to bring medical care directly to Airmen in their units.

When David Friederich, a special warfare exercise physiologist, arrived at the 5th ASOS nearly three years ago, 35 percent of the unit was on a duty limiting condition profile. Now, not a single member is on a profile. The average time it took for a TACP Airman to receive care for an injury, including waiting for a primary care doctors appointment, being referred to any necessary specialists, and getting treatment, was 27 days. The average time to get treatment now is just two days.

We work really hard to get them in, educate them and try to point them in the right direction, said Todd OMealy, a chiropractor at Madigan Army Medical Center who cares for service members there, as well as the 5th ASOS, 1st Special Forces Group and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Weve come up with game plans for each individual to get them to be able to take care of themselves.

The focus on ensuring Airmen having an active role in their own health has included bringing not only a well-equipped gym into the squadron building, but also a range of recovery options including cryotherapy, infrared heat therapy and even weekly yoga classes.

Its always great to be able to walk out of your office and have what you need to finish your workout for the day or burn off some stress, said Master Sgt. Nicholas Altgilbers, 5th ASOS operations superintendent. Thats just the first order effects. The second, third and fourth order effects are what it does for the younger guys. They see that the Air Force is investing in them and their wellness.

The changing mindset around health hasnt stopped at bringing medical care to the squadron. Physical training standards have evolved to reflect the need for overall fitness rather than a focus on either strength or speed. The TACP Airmen take the Tier 2 Operator Fitness Test which is designed to test the muscular and aerobic strength and endurance required for their career field.

"Back in the day, it was the tendency to go very heavy on the cardio or very heavy on the lifting, said Reid Inman, 5th ASOS assistant director of operations. Yes, we had some really fast guys and some really strong guys but the question was, are we really doing what we need to accomplish the job which is probably something more in the middle. As weve examined our own PT standards and gone to the tier two test, were helping bring everyone in toward that middle.

From strength and conditioning, to preventing injuries and treating injuries that cant be prevented, 5th ASOS Airmen are now, more than ever, ready to go anywhere, anytime.

Our operators have a unique job, thus we try to be unique in how we go about providing care for them, Friederich said. If we can increase deployability, lethality and retainability , then weve done our job.

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Sports medicine innovations improve TACP health, readiness > Team McChord > Article Display - 62nd Airlift Wing

Potential Risks of Treatment with Unapproved Regenerative Medicine Products – FDA.gov

By: Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

Protecting patients is at the core of what we do at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Now the FDA is providing additional resources to help consumers understand the risks associated with unapproved stem cell, exosome, and other products marketed as regenerative medicine products. The agency is also facilitating the reporting of side effects that may occur after their use. The FDAs receipt of this information is important to developing a better understanding of the risks associated with these products and to helping the agency identify those clinics and manufacturers putting patients at risk.

Several times in recent years, the FDA warned consumers who have been treated with, or who are considering use of, unapproved stem cell, exosome, or other products marketed as regenerative medicine products, about their potential risk. These illegal products are often marketed by clinics under the umbrella term of regenerative medicine as being safe and effective for treatment of a wide range of diseases or conditions (e.g., Alzheimers disease and other neurologic disorders, orthopedic conditions), even though they have not been adequately studied in clinical trials. And more recently, some of these clinics have been marketing or distributing their unproven products to treat complications related to COVID-19 claims that are not based on adequate clinical data.

Consumers may also have been told by clinics and health care providers that because some of these products are made from their own cells, the FDA does not need to review or approve the treatment. That is simply not true. Further, claims that a clinics FDA registration or inspection equates to FDA approval or a form of FDA endorsement, or that listing a clinical study on clinicaltrials.gov means that it has been reviewed and allowed to proceed by the FDA, are also false.

It is of utmost concern that unapproved regenerative medicine products that have no proven clinical benefit and that may cause serious harm are marketed to patients. Using these products may lead to delays in getting a proper diagnosis and could also discourage patients suffering from serious illnesses from receiving safe and effective treatments that may be available. Whats also concerning is that we know that because these products are not FDA-approved, its very likely that adverse events are underreported by health care providers who treat patients with these products, and by patients who may have been harmed. We therefore strongly encourage patients and their family members to ask questions before receiving these types of products has the product been approved by the FDA? Has the product been approved for this use? Is the product being studied in a clinical trial that has been reviewed and allowed to proceed by the FDA? Am I being charged for an unapproved product?

We encourage patients and their health care providers to report to the FDA any potential adverse events and complaints related to the use of these products using the FDAs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. Stem cell, exosome, or other products marketed as regenerative medicine products may have the potential to treat many medical conditions and diseases. But for almost all these products, it is not yet known whether each product has any benefit or if the product is safe to use. We want to make sure patients understand these potential risks in order to protect themselves from being treated with and paying for an unproven and illegally marketed products. The FDA has posted a webpage for consumers that provides information about products marketed as stem cells, exosomes or other regenerative medicine products, including the conditions for which they are approved, and which products are not approved at all. The webpage also provides information on how to submit information about adverse events to the FDAs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting Program.

Unfortunately, weve found numerous instances of products being marketed to patients without FDA approval, as well as products being manufactured with significant deviations from current good tissue practice (CGTP) and/or current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements. These violations have included deficient donor eligibility practices, and inadequate aseptic practices to prevent product contamination violations that have the potential to place patients at risk. Patients have been harmed after being administered some of these violative products.

We encourage consumers who are considering treatment with regenerative medicine products to work with their health care providers to learn about the treatment being offered, and to visit our webpage. It is important to ask questions and understand the potential risks of treatment with unapproved products. The FDA will continue to work with the manufacturers of these products to support their development. But we will also continue to take appropriate action against those who put patients in harms way.

Additional Resources:

07/22/2020

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Potential Risks of Treatment with Unapproved Regenerative Medicine Products - FDA.gov

TOM PURCELL: Laughter really is the best medicine – Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

I missed it again. So did the rest of America.

July 1s unofficial International Joke Day came and went without fanfare.

Thats regrettable, because we could all use a good belly laugh right now which gave me an idea.

The other day, after hearing more doom-and-gloom news while driving, I said to the Apple CarPlay app on my trucks stereo, Hey, Siri, tell me a joke.

Siri, Apples voice-activated digital assistant, replied, My cat ate a ball of yarn. She gave birth to mittens.

Thats an awfully corny joke but I laughed so hard, I accidentally steered my truck onto some roadside gravel.

When you laugh like that, its impossible to be angry or to dwell on whatever personal or business challenge may hang over your head

A belly laugh is an antidote to the self-seriousness thats one of the greatest afflictions of modern times. And with a pandemic killing thousands and crippling the economy, plus protests and social unrest, we need belly laughs more than ever. One psychologist suggests practicing laughing with a friend because utter seriousness can drive us to despair.

Social media gives everyone a platform to share thoughts, which is good. But some self-serious people get awfully huffy with others who disagree with or challenge their thinking. Theyre so serious and so certain that those who disagree with them are wrong, even evil, that they demonize their detractors.

They dont try to converse, debate or understand differing viewpoints. OK, boomer and OK, Karen memes offer cases in point.

Humor and laughter, wonderfully infectious, keep us from falling into the trap of self-seriousness, promoting goodwill, thoughtfulness and civility. Humor is an elixir, a tonic that is good for mind and spirit, says an executive coach.

Laughters power is incredible and that power lasts.

One of my favorite family stories dates to the early 1950s. Freddy, my dads uncle on his mothers side a real character had a neighbor who was among the first in their area to buy a VW Beetle. Behind the neighbors endless boasting about his Beetles terrific gas mileage was conceit essentially, Im smarter than you, which is why Im getting way better gas mileage than you!

Freddy began sneaking next door at night to fill the VWs gas tank. As he did so, his neighbors boasts grew louder and more tiresome the guy was ready to call the Guinness World Records people, as his VW clearly was getting more miles per gallon than any other Beetle on Earth.

After a month, Freddy continued sneaking next door. But now he siphoned gas from the Beetles tank to the point where the neighbor thought his VW was getting worse gas mileage than any other Beetle on Earth.

Were still laughing at the braggart neighbor who suddenly stopped bragging.

Theres more evidence of the power of laughter. More than 60 years ago, my mother first heard this joke, which she vividly remembers, and still laughs at:

A lady whod been grocery shopping was walking to her car when she tripped and dropped a paper bag, splattering a gallon of water, a dozen eggs, and a pound of bacon all over the pavement. She was so upset that she started crying. A drunk walked up, surveyed the situation, and told her, Dont cry, lady. It wouldnt have lived anyway. Its eyes are too far apart.

We all need to laugh more. It really is the best medicine for our current ails.

TOM PURCELL is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated. Readers can contact him at tom@tompurcell.com.

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TOM PURCELL: Laughter really is the best medicine - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Where is Aesthetic Medicine Heading? – Medical Tech Outlook

Technology is writing the future of aesthetic medical devices.

FREMONT, CA: From enabling doctors to treat patients from remote locations to creating virtual medical care assistant robots to help patients in emergency conditions, technology is transfiguring the medical industry to a great extent. Not leaving any pebble unturned, medical technology has revolutionized the wing of aesthetics and cosmetics as well. Be it the transplantation of hair, coloring the pigmentation, clearing of the marks and scars, or procrastinating the signs of aging, advanced and fully updated aesthetic medical devices are making the impossible possible.

Most patients looking for help from these aesthetic medical devices belong to the millennial generations. Young people are naturally way more inquisitive and excited to try out high tech methods to look and feel good about themselves. In this light, technologists are on a keen interest in not only modernizing the services that are offered by aesthetic devices but tapping into the explored use cases that revitalize the realm of aesthetic medical technology.

Biotech companies across the world are today coming up with neuromodulators. The innovation majorly revolves around being an activity that keeps track of and controls the psychological levels pertaining to the nervous system. These neuromodulators serve to efficiently treat aesthetic conditions and therapeutics as well. Startups in the arena of medical technology are experimenting with facial aesthetics, which is one of the most popularly dealt with segments in the world of aesthetics medicine.

In addition, the manufacturers of aesthetics medical devices are rethinking their approach of creativity and engineering as they are now considering the idea of sustainability, environmental friendliness, and zero carbon footprint. In order to achieve these green goals, aesthetic medical technologists are introducing devices that consume less energy. They are not only clinically proven of their service loyalty but also hold on to the promise of sustainability.

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Where is Aesthetic Medicine Heading? - Medical Tech Outlook

New Jersey residents shouldnt have to pick between paying for medicine or their energy bill | Opinion – NJ.com

By Cheryl Stowell

As New Jersey begins the process of re-opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are starting to recognize the unavoidable economic challenges many of our residents will undoubtedly face. In addition to being a major public health threat, the coronavirus has brought an unprecedented economic crisis and recession, wreaking havoc on all parts of the state. Data released by the New Jersey Department of Labor shows that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 1.4 million jobless claims have been filed and the states unemployment rate has reached historic levels of 16.2%.

In these uncertain, unstable times, it is critically important that individuals and families experiencing financial difficulties have the appropriate resources they can turn to in their times of need.

It has long been recognized that low- and moderate-income communities struggle disproportionately in dealing with energy costs. According to the Energy Information Administrations (EIA) Residential Consumption Survey, one in three U.S. households face challenges when paying energy bills or adequately heating or cooling their homes. One in five forgo necessities like food and medicine to pay energy bills, forcing difficult tradeoffs that impact the households well-being.

The decisions made by New Jerseys regulated utilities placing moratoriums on the suspension of utility services and collections of utility bill payments have been critically helpful for our residents. However, utility bill debt continues to mount for some, leaving them with difficult decisions about cooling their homes, purchasing medication, or even putting food on their tables.

With a mission of helping low- to moderate-income households address their energy insecurity issues during times of emergency or crisis, New Jersey SHARES (NJ SHARES) was established 22 years ago to provide statewide help and referral for essential services to those in temporary need of assistance. Our organization has helped keep the power on for more than 187,000 New Jersey households, granting more than $75 million in energy assistance.

Now, the cries for help are louder than ever.

With New Jerseys tremendous budget deficit, our states leaders face enormous economic challenges. These challenges will only be amplified once moratoriums are lifted and utility customers are faced with staggering arrearages. Financial insecurities will also be exacerbated by mounting utility bill debt and the threat of disconnection.

We all must work together to ease the burden on New Jersey residents who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and find creative paths toward the resources required to aid in our collective recovery. NJ SHARES is committed to doing its part in these efforts.

As a nonprofit operating during difficult times, NJ SHARES is also facing our own challenges due to COVID-19 but remains firmly dedicated to assisting residents in need. We continue to identify critical funding sources and aggressively pursue them while utilizing existing funds to help those facing temporary hardships. Additionally, we look toward the on-going support of corporations and the generosity of individuals who help us Offer Hope and Deliver Help.

To quote Winston Churchill, We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. The staff at NJ SHARES will continue to do what we can to help our fellow New Jerseyans struggling with temporary hardships in paying their utility bills. Every little bit helps.

Cheryl Stowell is the president and CEO of NJ SHARES.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.

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New Jersey residents shouldnt have to pick between paying for medicine or their energy bill | Opinion - NJ.com

PURCELL: Laughter really is the best medicine | Columnists – Gwinnettdailypost.com

I missed it again. So did the rest of America.

July 1s unofficial International Joke Day came and went without fanfare.

Thats regrettable, because we could all use a good belly laugh right now which gave me an idea.

The other day, after hearing more doom-and-gloom news while driving, I said to the Apple CarPlay app on my trucks stereo, Hey, Siri, tell me a joke.

Siri, Apples voice-activated digital assistant, replied, My cat ate a ball of yarn. She gave birth to mittens.

Thats an awfully corny joke but I laughed so hard, I accidentally steered my truck onto some roadside gravel.

When you laugh like that, its impossible to be angry or to dwell on whatever personal or business challenge may hang over your head

A belly laugh is an antidote to the self-seriousness thats one of the greatest afflictions of modern times. And with a pandemic killing thousands and crippling the economy, plus protests and social unrest, we need belly laughs more than ever. One psychologist suggests practicing laughing with a friend because utter seriousness can drive us to despair.

Social media gives everyone a platform to share thoughts, which is good. But some self-serious people get awfully huffy with others who disagree with or challenge their thinking. Theyre so serious and so certain that those who disagree with them are wrong, even evil, that they demonize their detractors.

They dont try to converse, debate or understand differing viewpoints. OK, boomer and OK, Karen memes offer cases in point.

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Humor and laughter, wonderfully infectious, keep us from falling into the trap of self-seriousness, promoting goodwill, thoughtfulness and civility. Humor is an elixir, a tonic that is good for mind and spirt, says an executive coach.

Laughters power is incredible and that power lasts.

One of my favorite family stories dates to the early 1950s. Freddy, my dads uncle on his mothers side a real character had a neighbor who was among the first in their area to buy a VW Beetle. Behind the neighbors endless boasting about his Beetles terrific gas mileage was conceit essentially, Im smarter than you, which is why Im getting way better gas mileage than you!

Freddy began sneaking next door at night to fill the VWs gas tank. As he did so, his neighbors boasts grew louder and more tiresome the guy was ready to call the Guinness World Records people, as his VW clearly was getting more miles per gallon than any other Beetle on Earth.

After a month, Freddy continued sneaking next door. But now he siphoned gas from the Beetles tank to the point where the neighbor thought his VW was getting worse gas mileage than any other Beetle on Earth.

Were still laughing at the braggart neighbor who suddenly stopped bragging.

Theres more evidence of the power of laughter. More than 60 years ago, my mother first heard this joke, which she vividly remembers, and still laughs at:

A lady whod been grocery shopping was walking to her car when she tripped and dropped a paper bag and two eggs fell out of the carton and broke onto the pavement. She was so upset that she started crying. A drunk walked up, surveyed the situation, and told her, Dont worry, lady. It wouldnt have lived anyway. Its eyes are too far apart.

We all need to laugh more. It really is the best medicine for our current ails.

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free.Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution today.

Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Tom@TomPurcell.com.

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PURCELL: Laughter really is the best medicine | Columnists - Gwinnettdailypost.com

Statutes of Liberty: There’s No Public Defender — Where to Go If You Can’t Afford an Immigration Lawyer – ARLnow

This sponsored column is by James Montana, Esq. and Doran Shemin, Esq., practicing attorneys atSteelyard LLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice,contact Jamesfor an appointment.

In the United States, criminal defendants have a right to counsel. By contrast, immigrants facing deportation have a right to counsel if they can afford it. That leaves lots of poor immigrants without a lawyer. This is a big deal, because unrepresented migrants are about five times less likely to win than represented migrants.

The purpose of this short article is to provide a simple, Google-able source for good nonprofit and immigration law practices in Arlington and nearby. It wont earn us any fees, but our business model relies on the bankability of karma, so were glad to do it.

Each organization has a different way of accepting new clients. Weve listed the most updated information we have for COVID 19-era practices. If youre reading this months from now, we encourage you to call the main number.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Arlington, Hogar Immigrant Services, (703) 534-9805, [emailprotected]. Hogar Immigrant Services provides full-spectrum immigration services, including green card applications and court defense. Fees are low-bono.

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Washington, Immigration Legal Services, (Hi, guys!) (202) 772-4300. Full-spectrum immigration services, including green card applications and court defense.

To schedule an intake, call 202-772-4352 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Four locations across Washington, D.C. and Southern Maryland. In our opinion, the best nonprofit immigration organization in our area but, of course, were biased. Fees are low-bono.

Ayuda, (703) 444-7009. Full-spectrum immigration services. To make an appointment, call at 8:30 a.m. on the 15th of the month (or on the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or a holiday). Fees are low-bono.

Tahirih Justice Center, (571) 282-6161,[emailprotected]. Specializes in services for women and girls who are previous or current victims of gender-based violence.

Just Neighbors, (703) 979-1240. Full-spectrum immigration services. In order to qualify for services with Just Neighbors, you must be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and earn 200% or less of the federal poverty guidelines. Fees are low-bono.

Northern Virginia Family Service, (571) 748-2800. Not accepting new cases until January 2021. Full-spectrum immigration services.

Were glad to answer any questions that you have about obtaining counsel or about the nonprofit landscape in our area. As always, we welcome any comments and will do our best to respond.

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Statutes of Liberty: There's No Public Defender -- Where to Go If You Can't Afford an Immigration Lawyer - ARLnow

HBO Max and Their Strange Streak of Censorship – Kirkwood Community College

OpinionImage courtesy of HBO.

You may have seen plenty of advertising lately for the fairly new streaming service, HBO Max, one of many streaming services flooding the market as television companies adapt to stream rather than broadcast.

Recently, HBO Max has taken some moves in censoring or altering the content in their library, the two most notable would be taking down Gone With the Wind and, strangely enough, giving the Looney Tunes character Yosemite Sam a scythe instead of his classic revolvers and rifle.

The first choice has its merits with re-educating people that racial stereotyping is wrong in this age where almost everyone is aware of that. A similar practice to this, (without removing, of course) was in the descriptions of older Disney Plus films, where there is a warning describing outdated cultural depictions into films such as Dumbo or Peter Pan for obvious reasons of racial stereotyping in their films.

HBO Max put the film back onto their service, with two videos that extend this beyond what Disney Plus did, having two videos alongside it to describe how the film brushes past issues of slavery. One could more so call it a thought-check before you watch the movie, then censorship. Everyone in this modern age can agree that slavery was wrong, and that the aspects of fantasizing that such an ugly detail of the civil war is wrong, so why would there be videos pouring into that detail? Does watching it without that context immediately make the viewer a victim of propaganda, or the streaming service racist?

Something that does not make sense to methough, is the exclusion of guns in the new Looney Tunes animation, exclusive to HBO Max. This could turn into a debate on media and mental health, or if violence is good to have on television, but it feels like this was more of a precautionary decision for backlash. Considering the issue of gun violence within the U.S., I would not be surprised if this kicked off the decision to axe cartoony lead-spitters. No one cares about the guns in Fortnite or any movie that Dwayne Johnson is in, so what gives? Feel free to give your input in the comments.

Image courtesy of HBO

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HBO Max and Their Strange Streak of Censorship - Kirkwood Community College

China Censors League of Legends Champs Because of Seductive Visual Graphics; Here are the Edited Skins – Tech Times

China censoredLeague of Legendssplash arts by editing their original artworks and some champion's skins. ARedditpost revealed that some skins and splash arts in the Wild Rift had been edited in China to lessen the seductive graphics of each skin.

(Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @PixelButts)League of Legends Splash Arts Censored in China: Who's Responsible, Riot or Tencent?

Also Read: League of Legends Spirit Blossom Festival's New Champion: Best Champs to Use to Rank Up Solo Queue This Season

According toMillenium's previous report, sexy aesthetic champions and characters' skins, are nothing new in the popular 5v5 strategic game. Some of the lady characters are wearing fewer clothes, display a sexy visual. If you're a fan of this awesome game, always check LoL's update on TechTimes. Also, check how Tyler1 experience how OP nerfed Aphelios is.

Also Read:[VIDEO] League of Legends: Tyler1 Left Saying 'OK' After Seeing Nerf Aphelios Fight in 1v5

It was explained that the game has been present in China. However, the government still decided to censor certain splash arts of Wild Rift. The edited images were first posted by a Twitter user under the name of "PixelButts."

"Also yes the Wild Rift splash art is censored," captioned the Twitter user.

"Many are tweaked slightly but a few have more significant changes such as janna and jinx is hard to see, but theres now bandages under their top," added PixelButts.

He said that although he is generally against censorship, sometimes there's nothing he can do with the edited champs.

It is common for some Asian countries to censor content that they find inappropriate. On theLeague of Legends Pacific Servers(PCS), Evelynn's original outfit was changed to lessen the character's skin exposure.

(Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @PixelButts)League of Legends Splash Arts Censored in China: Who's Responsible, Riot or Tencent?

China's action is comparable to this since Chinese authorities censored some of the Wild Rift's champion splash art. Some of the changes are just minimal. For example, Jinx got a strip of fabric on her chest as censorship.

Other champs were just changed, including Zed, who had additional designs on his armor, and Ahri, who received more decorations for her outfit. However, some champs had major changes. Janna's costume received additional fabric to cover her tummy, as well as Miss Fortune. Shyvanna's design was changed, as well as her dragon.

Some users defended China's action, saying that "making people have less revealing clothes is not censorship." And there are also some saying that it is censorship since the changes were based on Chinese regulations.

To keep you updated withLeague of Legendsnews this season, such as the upcoming new heroes, keep your tabs open on TechTimes.

Visit our website at https://www.techtimes.com/

Also Read: League of Legends Cinematic: Riot's Anime Short Reveals Yone, Yasuo's Demonic Brother: A Playstyle Guide

This article is owned by TechTimes,

Written by:Giuliano de Leon.

2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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China Censors League of Legends Champs Because of Seductive Visual Graphics; Here are the Edited Skins - Tech Times

Social media censorship is hindering investigations, researchers say – Reclaim The Net

According to YouTube itself, as many as 6.1 million videos have been deleted from the platform since the start of this year alone, mostly coinciding with an unprecedented wave of online censorship launched at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

YouTube is not alone in this, as other major social networks started strictly policing speech of users in order to allow only information about the disease favored by governments and the World Health Organization (WHO), from whom most governments get their cues.

Things deteriorated even further when racial and social unrest hit the US later in the year, causing a surge in online cancel culture and grandstanding by big brands, who demanded even more censorship, this time of hate speech.

As things began to go from bad to worse, traditional corporate media didnt seem to mind very much at all. Now, however, some of them are looking at the price that the ramping up of censorship.

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But still, the likes of the Washington Post dont seem to care much about ordinary users entrusting their speech and data to social media giants: the concern is focused on what removal of such massive quantities of content, and the process by which this is done, cold end up doing to some activists and NGOs (at least, ones they like). And they argue in favor of deleted data to be publicly unavailable but retained for study.

Theres the example of the Syrian Archive, which is said to be dedicated to collecting information about human rights abuses in Syria and other countries. The group says that they and others are getting caught in the censorship dragnet that is supposed to be removing misinformation, as well as opposition voiced by users who disagree with the way these crises are being handled.

Its not exactly news, but tech giants overreliance on automated, machine learning-powered algorithms to get the job done is not working well. These algorithms are still effectively basic and really bad with understanding context, therefore resulting in unintended censorship.

The author of the report seems to think that more involvement from human moderators would fix the problem (and also, that they had to be sent home during the epidemic and were for that reason working less than usual?) However, its amply clear that moderators come with a set of their own problems, unique to humans: such as bias. So, maybe the answer is to pump the brakes on rampant censorship and not rely so heavily on either machines or moderators?

That, of course, is not an idea the Washington Post is willing to entertain. Instead, the Covid and civil upheaval era censorship is viewed as fully justified if only it could somehow bypass the Syrian Archive and other activists and journalists in war-torn regions.

But it isnt, since Facebooks moderation is apparently poor at telling apart documented war crimes and atrocities from users posting such content to promote it. However, Facebook says that in cases when accounts are deleted for this type of offense, they are also restored.

Syria-focused activists are not having a great time on YouTube either this year, saying that the number of deleted uploads has doubled. For its part, YouTube cited its infamous policy of allowing users to issue counter takedown notices, and claimed that human reviewers actually deal with this (not a statement many creators who have been burned in the process, without ever receiving even an explanation of what it was they had done wrong, would necessarily agree with.)

The Syrian Archive and more that 40 other groups have pleaded with social media giants not to permanently delete content related to human rights activism, and that data on content removed during the pandemic will be invaluable to those working in public health, human rights, science and academia.

Others are worried about YouTubes lack of transparency that leads to guesswork as to the overall extent of automated moderations effect on legitimate content.

The argument in favor of preserving data instead of deleting it was heard in April and boils down to keeping this data for future research into how online information can affect health outcomes and to evaluate the consequences of specific moderation practices like using heavy automation.

Another request from a letter sent to giant social networks was to be transparent about the way content is removed, how successful any appeals are, and the like. The signatories acknowledge privacy implications of long data retention and making it only available to a select group of researchers but add that the need for immediate preservation is urgent.

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Social media censorship is hindering investigations, researchers say - Reclaim The Net

Why Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are taking down that hydroxychloroquine video and suspending accounts, including Donald Trump Jr., that shared it -…

Social media sites have come out swinging against a video pushing misleading information about hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment which led to Twitter partially suspending Donald Trump Jr.s account.

Conservative media outlet Breitbart first published the contested clip, which features men and women dressed in white lab coats and referring to themselves as Americas Frontline Doctors staging a press conference outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The individuals make questionable coronavirus claims that have been proven false, such as calling hydroxychloroquine (a drug used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis for decades) a cure for COVID despite a growing body of scientific evidence that has not shown this to be an effective treatment against the virus.

Whats more, one of the so-called doctors identified as Stella Immanuel from Houston claims in the video that you dont need masks, despite plenty of evidence showing that face coverings help slow the spread of the coronavirus. (She has also said that alien DNA is being used in medical treatments, and gynecological problems such as cysts are caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches, the Daily Beast reported.)

Facebook FB, -0.07%, Twitter TWTR, +0.46% and the Alphabet-owned GOOG, -1.03% GOOGL, -0.78% YouTube have been pulling down the video since it began going viral on Monday, but the damage was already done. By late Monday evening, NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny tweeted that the Breitbart clip had been viewed 20 million times on Facebook alone, and thats not including versions that have been shared among private accounts.

President Donald Trump even retweeted a few versions of the video on his Twitter account before they were taken down, undermining his own recent calls for Americans to wear masks to help prevent spreading COVID-19. His son Donald Trump Jr. also tweeted the video, which led Twitter to confirming on Tuesday that it was partially suspending his account for 12 hours, meaning he will be unable to send tweets, retweet posts, follow users, or like messages.The company cited its policy that requires the removal of content that may pose a risk to peoples health, including content that goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information.

Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists accusing the social media giants of censorship and buying into the bogus drug claims led the hashtag #hydroxychloroquineworks to become a top trending Twitter topic on Tuesday morning. Twitter refuted the hashtag somewhat by noting under the topic tab that the drug is not an effective treatment for COVID-19, according to the FDA.

Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration has revoked its emergency use authorization of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which Dr. Anthony Fauci repeated on Good Morning America Tuesday morning. The director of the National Institute for Allergy andInfectious Diseases told George Stephanopoulos that, I go along with the FDA: the overwhelming prevailingclinical trials that have lookedat the efficacy ofhydroxychloroquine haveindicated that it is noteffective in coronavirusdisease.

Hydroxychloroquine was touted as a potential miracle drug early in the pandemic. The FDA issued emergency-use authorization for the malaria drug in March to treat COVID-19 patients, and clinicians across China, France and the U.S. began testing it to treat the novel coronavirus. Drug makers such as Bayer AG BAYRY, -0.69% and Novartis AG NVS, -0.31% donated millions of doses to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.

There was so much excitement, despite scant evidence that it was actually effective against COVID-19, that chloroquine shortages were reported as pharmacies and hospitals stockpiled excessive amounts of the drug something both the American Medical Association, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists strongly opposed in a joint statement.

Read more:Theres scant evidence so far for chloroquine as a COVID-19 drug but theres already a shortage

But reality hasnt lived up to the hype.

Three randomized clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine failed to prove or disprove a beneficial or a harmful effect on COVID-19. These include researchers from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, who reported in the New England Journal of Medicine last month that the drug was no better than a placebo in preventing COVID-19 infections. A Spanish study of more than 2,300 people also found that the drug was not effective for early treatment of mild COVID-19. And the U.K. Recovery trial also ruled out any meaningful mortality benefit from using the drug.

Related:Heres the latest on what we know works and doesnt work in treating coronavirus infections

One by one, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health dropped the drug from their clinical trials, and the FDA revoked its emergency use authorization. The general consensus in the scientific community is that the drug does not help COVID-19 patients.

Problem is, one study published in Lancet that claimed hydroxychloroquine put COVID-19 patients at a greater risk of death was later retracted, which has helped to fuel skepticism over whether any coronavirus research can be trusted. And false COVID-19 conspiracy theories have spread even as the virus itself has infected at least 16.5 million people and counting worldwide, killing 655,084. In fact, roughly one in three Americans doesnt believe that the coronavirus has killed as many people as has been reported, even as Texas and Arizona officials have requested refrigerated trucks as deceased coronavirus victims began overwhelming hospital morgues.

Read more: Hope dims for hydroxychloroquine even as medical study detailing the drugs failure is retracted

Further confusing the publics understanding of the coronavirus, President Trump has supported hydroxychloroquine time and time again, and even took the drug himself for a time to ward off the virus. Rep. Roger Marshall(R.-Ky.) has also touted taking the drug as a preventative measure against COVID-19.

The struggle to contain the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus is the latest struggle Big Tech is facing as Alphabet, Amazon AMZN, -0.81%, Apple AAPL, -0.86% and Facebookface questioning over their business practices on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

It also comes as the Trump administration moves forward in petitioning the Federal Communications Administration to reinterpret Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which says that websites cannot be punished for what other people publish on their sites. The petition complains that social media sites use Section 230 to unfairly censor conservative views.

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Why Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are taking down that hydroxychloroquine video and suspending accounts, including Donald Trump Jr., that shared it -...

Hollywood ‘kowtowing’ to China takes heat. But why now? – Los Angeles Times

After a half year of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis, Chinas beleaguered movie theaters reopened last week with films that ranged from local patriotic blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2" to Pixars Coco. For Hollywood, the return of the film industrys most important foreign market was cause for cautious optimism.

Where it leads, I dont think anyone knows, said Scott Einbinder, a Los Angeles producer and president of ANA Media, which consults for Chinese companies. But its a relief that theres been some light forming at the end of the tunnel after such a long period of darkness.

Still, any sense of reassurance is clouded by a growing chorus criticizing Hollywoods relationship with China. Trump administration officials and political allies have repeatedly hit the entertainment industry for its efforts to gain access to the lucrative Chinese market by appeasing the government in Beijing.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo swiped at Hollywood on Thursday at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, saying the industry self-censors even the most mildly unfavorable reference to China. This came a day after the State Department ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston over spying accusations. The Pompeo statement echoed a July 16 speech by Atty. Gen. William Barr, calling out studios for backing social justice causes Stateside while censoring their movies for China despite its human rights violations.

This censorship infects not only versions of movies that are released in China but also many that are shown in American theaters to American audiences, Barr said.

The barrage has extended beyond movies. Earlier this month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) criticized the National Basketball Assn. for kowtowing to Beijing while allowing athletes to wear social justice slogans on jerseys. In a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Hawley asked whether players would also be allowed to don slogans supporting Hong Kong protesters, the U.S. military, or police. Adrian Wojnarowski, a journalist for Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, was suspended after he sent a two-word email response, which included the f-bomb.

Additionally, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro called former Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer an American puppet after the executive left the Burbank entertainment giant to run social media app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Navarro has accused TikTok and other apps of funneling user data to Beijing. We have never shared TikTok user data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked, a TikTok spokeswoman said.

The wave of criticism comes at a time when the entertainment industry is already facing uncertainty in China, which has seen massive growth in its film business in the last decade. Since a landmark 2012 agreement that dramatically increased U.S. companies access to Chinas cinemas, studios have wanted to expand their business there.

Studios have long sought a greater box office share in China than the 25% of sales they receive now, compared with about 50% in other nations, as well as better release dates. Theyve also wanted to boost the number of foreign films allowed into the country annually under the revenue-sharing deal from the current quota, loosely set at 34.

Those efforts took a back seat amid the Trump administrations trade war with China. Relations between the U.S. and China have been further strained by the latter countrys provocative moves to expand its military influence in the South China Sea.

Some studio executives and analysts worry that escalating rhetoric could further limit prospects for American movies, particularly for independent studios that get their films into the country through a flat-fee system. Film companies are already struggling at home because of the effects of the coronavirus situation on productions and theaters.

The conversation needs to be focused on gaining legal access to the Chinese market rather than trying to tie producers hands in their efforts to surmount the trade barrier, said Jean Prewitt, president of the Independent Film & Television Alliance.

Censorship is a price of doing business in China, where foreign films endure a rigorous approval process before theyre released.

In 20th Century Foxs 2018 hit Bohemian Rhapsody, references to Queen front man Freddie Mercurys sexuality were cut from the version that screened in China. Last summer, a Twitter user noticed that Tom Cruises bomber jacket in a trailer for Top Gun: Maverick was altered to remove patches representing the flags of Japan and Taiwan, which was interpreted as a move to appease China. Barrs speech cited Marvels 2016 blockbuster Doctor Strange, which changed the origin of the character The Ancient One from a Tibetan monk to a Celtic mystic, played by Tilda Swinton.

Representatives for Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount, Universal Pictures and the Motion Picture Assn. declined to comment for this article or did not respond to requests for comment.

However, industry analysts and executives said the left-leaning entertainment industry is a convenient punching bag for politicians. That tendency has only increased during an election year when the administration is vulnerable because of its handling of the coronavirus crisis, which Trump has referred to as the China virus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this year introduced legislation that would prevent studios from receiving government assistance on productions if they censored films for China, a move that studio executives have shrugged off as political posturing.

It gets headlines and publicity and feeds into the narrative that all of our problems come from the outside or from left-wing radicals, said Stanley Rosen, a political science professor and China expert at the University of Southern California.

Kirk DAmico, president of Los Angeles-based distributor Myriad Pictures, said his business of licensing content to China had been steadily increasing before the trade disputes took hold. Now he says his China sales fell 70% to 80% since 2018. He blames trade tensions and rhetoric over COVID-19.

Its hurt us in our pocketbooks, and its hurt us in terms of actual sales, DAmico said.

Some film industry executives, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washingtons concern over censorship is overblown, noting that studios trim movies for many countries, including conservative Middle Eastern nations, to avoid offending local sensibilities. Altering movies to appeal to audiences in the worlds most populous nation makes business sense.

Were not compromising values, said one film business insider, who was not authorized to comment.

But some critics argue that Chinas influence has become so great that its preferences affect what kinds of stories are told globally, not just in mainland China.

The Chinese government is not unique in terms of pushing Hollywood to censor or make movies that reflect their own narratives, but its the only one that is able to be this effective to a global extent, said James Tager, deputy director of free expression research and policy at PEN America, which is publishing a report on the subject.

Censorship has tightened in China since the regulatory body that traditionally oversaw its entertainment sector was eliminated in 2018, shifting control to the Communist Partys propaganda department. The move was part of a sweeping campaign under Party Chairman Xi Jinping to tighten control over speech and thought in China, particularly in media and education.

While some recent American pictures have done huge business in China, the government there has lately tended to favor local productions and patriotic films. China has produced an increasing number of patriotic movies following the Partys guidance to implement socialist core values and build Chinese spirit, Chinese values, Chinese power under the important guiding spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping, as Central Propaganda Department director Huang Kunming declared at a Chinese movie awards ceremony last year. That has made the market more challenging for American movies.

Entertainment industry veteran Chris Fenton, author of the upcoming book Feeding the Dragon, about the relationship between U.S. studios and China, said studios should be more careful about how they respond to Chinese restrictions.

Studios need to admit that there is a lot of hypocrisy going on, Fenton said. They need to get out of their bubble and realize that a lot of their constituents are becoming very aware of the issues in China.

Most observers dont expect China to immediately retaliate against the major studios over administration officials statements. Foreign movies including Universals Robert Downey Jr. family film Dolittle and Sonys Vin Diesel action movie Bloodshot were recently approved for release in the country. It remains unclear when Disney will be able to release its live-action Mulan remake there, despite the inclusion of Chinese cultural consultants during the $200-million production.

China still needs big Hollywood movies to fuel the recovery of its massive cinema industry, which has been shuttered since late January. Ultimately, having Hollywood releases in China is as beneficial to China as it is to Hollywood, said Eric Wold, an entertainment industry analyst at B. Riley FBR.

Still, producer Einbinder hopes the politicization of the entertainment industry cools.

Its easy for the Trump administration to pick on Hollywood, he said. But its much more complicated than that. They have to remember, also, that Hollywood creates a lot of jobs around the country.

Times staff writer Alice Su contributed to this report.

Continued here:

Hollywood 'kowtowing' to China takes heat. But why now? - Los Angeles Times

Don’t we believe in the ‘marketplace of ideas’ any longer? | TheHill – The Hill

For so long, we essentially have believed, as a people, that truth is best found through the exchange of ideas, even contrasting ones. But is it really so anymore? Can it really be, as some might hold, that truth is better found by simply adhering to common beliefs, without allowing another point of view to surface?

Take, for example, a newspaper that publishes a conservative U.S. senators opinion piece about rioters and then apologizes for it and accepts the resignation of its opinion editor because of the staffs opposition to it. Or the university that revokes a deanship over the deans legal representation of Harvey Weinstein in his sexual misconduct cases. Or another university that, because of student opposition, canceled a virtual commencement address by Ivanka TrumpIvana (Ivanka) Marie TrumpWhite House COVID-19 case underscores persistent threat of virus OVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA effort to boost uranium mining leaves green groups worried about water | DNC climate platform draft calls for net-zero emissions by 2050 | Duckworth introduces safety net bill for coal country Ivanka Trump visits Rocky Mountain park after passage of conservation bill MORE because of her fathers unrelated, controversial reaction to protesters in D.C. streets.

In 1919, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously dissented in Abrams v. United States from the Supreme Courts decision upholding convictions for anti-war leafleting. Holmes opined that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get accepted in the competition of the market later and better known as the marketplace of ideas. Meaning, it is only when a position is directly confronted by oppositional thought that truth will out.

Of course, Holmes spoke in the limited context of governmental silencing of dissenting thought, and therefore addressed the high stakes of a constitutional right in connection with the governments war efforts, no less. Now, those who would limit or not even allow the airing of dissenting or opposing thought when government isnt the would-be silencer seem to ignore, or even reject, Holmess view. That is, his view that truth is best procured by the airing of competing thought as has happened with Confederate Gen.Robert E. Lee, for example, leading to a major revision of how many now think about him.

Heres the broader issue: Dont we best learn the falsity of, or lack of merit in, what Doe tells us only with the opportunity to also listen to Roes point of view? Put otherwise, if Roes point of view cant be found in the market on the shelf alongside Does, we are only able to acquire Does, never coming to know that Roes may be the better product.Or here, the better thought maybe even the objectively truthful thought.

When Pontius Pilate, somewhat mischievously, asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews,Jesus responded: I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me. Pilate famously retorted, What is truth?

Now, 2,000 years later and often not over the issue of religious creed, we are left with the same question: What is truth? And just as was the case then, we often find an unwillingness by opponents of those who propose to proclaim their truth to even allow what they have to say. Surely not at the extreme penalty of crucifixion, but certainly at the penalty of a censorship that silences their ability to articulate their opinions in the public square - whether that public square is an op-ed page, a speakers podium at a university graduation, or wherever articulate opponents of challenged thinking can drown out the proponents voice, all venues where government isnt the would-be censor and considerations of First Amendment censorship arent directly implicated.

Unquestionably, in advocating against those who would suppress the airing of dissident, unpopular or even traditional views on issues of societal concern, we must be mindful that often its the louder or more charismatic voice that may be most convincing to the masses. He or she may not be speaking anything even approaching truth, but nonetheless is somehow able to present the most persuasive advocacy about it. Do we not allow him or her to speak and the same for a less articulate opponent?

The truth no pun intended is that there often is no objective truth. Rather, truth may be an evolving process regarding an issue in question. Or, as in the case of religion, your truth is and may always be different than mine. As long as the preaching of hate, violence, harmful falsity, criminal syndicalism, or intentional defamation arent implicated, why shouldnt you or I be able to speak publicly about who or what we think God is, or isnt if at all?Why shouldnt we be able to speak in the public square for or against modern issues such as abortion, a two-state solution in the Middle East, the value of wearing a face mask during a pandemic, reparations for African Americans, defunding the police, the death penalty?

There may be those who speak to these and other pivotal issues who dont warrant a listening audience. But not because theyre not allowed to speak, or because their speech is drowned out by unreceptive voices. Members of the public can censor out for themselves voices that they just dont want to hear. Simple answer: Dont listen, or dont attend. Isnt that what we, as free people, believe in indeed, what the Founders intended by the Bill of Rights?

It may be that, empirically, what Holmes said about truth best surfacing in the cauldron of contrasting thought is itself wrong. Maybe truth surfaces only sometimes in that venue. But, even so, do we really want to deprive ourselves of those instances when robust debate does indeed get us to the place of truth?

Those who dont accept Holmess formulation might prefer Justice Louis Brandeiss in Whitney v. California: If there be a time to expose through discussion the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the process of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.

Just consider how much the force of American intellectual thought would have suffered had the voice of Brandeis been drowned out or canceled by naysayers who opposed him simply because he, a Jew, believed in God differently.

Joel Cohen, a former state and federal prosecutor, practices white-collar criminal defense law at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. He is the author of Blindfolds Off: Judges On How They Decide and teaches a class at both Fordham and Cardozo Law Schools in New York based on the book.

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Don't we believe in the 'marketplace of ideas' any longer? | TheHill - The Hill

Rep. Matt Gaetz Says Zuckerberg Lied Under Oath About Facebook Conservative Censorship, calls on DOJ to Open Criminal Investigation – The Jewish Voice

By Jared Evan

In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, Florida Rep Gaetz alleged that Zuckerberg made false statements to Congress about Facebooks content moderation during two hearings two years ago.

The letter said: On both occasions, members of Congress asked Mr. Zuckerberg about allegations that Facebook censored and suppressed content supportive of President Donald Trump and other conservatives. In his responses, Mr. Zuckerberg repeatedly and categorically denied any bias against conservative speech, persons, policies, or politics Mr. Zuckerberg also dismissed the suggestion that Facebook exercises any form of editorial manipulation.

The congressman continued: As a member of this body, I question Mr. Zuckerbergs veracity, and challenge his willingness to cooperate with our oversight authority, diverting congressional resources during time-sensitive investigations, and materially impeding our work, Gaetz, a House Judiciary Committee member, wrote. Such misrepresentations are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal and fraudulent.

Gatzs ammunition to this latest accusation against Facebook and Zuckerberg is a series of recent investigations from Project Veritas. He mentioned in the letter to Barr: recent reports from Project Veritas, featuring whistleblowers who worked as Facebooks content moderators, have shown ample evidence of Facebooks purported bias and manipulation against conservative speech.

Left leaning outlets like Business Insider were quick to besmirch Project Veritas and its founder. James Okeefe. Business Insider sloppily and biasedly wrote Project Veritas is a right-wing activist group that frequently traffics inmisinformationandpropaganda, in an effort to minimalize the impact of Gatz requests to AG Barr.

It is true that Project Veritas investigates subjects that conservatives would be interested in exposing, such as Planned Parenthood, Bernie Sanders staff members and Facebook bias. However, not a single investigation has ever been proven to be fraudulent. OKeefe carefully crafts investigations, staffs professional actors and sends them out undercover equip with recording devices to capture evidence on camera and audio. The goal is do destroy the credibility of Project Veritas, albeit with no proof.

Gatz expanded on the Project Veritas expose in the letter: according to the Veritas report and undercover footage, the adjudicators were outspoken about their political bias against Republicans, and actively chose to eliminate otherwise-allowable content from the platform and from public view simply due to its political orientation, Gaetz wrote to Barr.

This arbitrary and capricious behavior is not done in good faith and falls outside of the express intent of 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which affords Facebook liability protection as long as the platform moderates content in good faith.'

It is yet to se seen if Barr will take any action and look further into Gatz requests. This topic is nothing new to The Jewish voice, which has been tenaciously reporting on Facebook and social media censorship, and shadow banning since 2018.

In 2018, the first major banning of a conservative figure took place.

TJV reported in 2018 :

The permanent suspension of flamboyant and controversial, conservative political speaker, writer, and former Breitbart technology editor Milo Yiannopoulos from Twitter was what many consider a watershed moment in social media censorship. Yiannopoulos had several million followers on Twitter and had used social media to build his name and career to his advantage. His local appearances at college campus bring giant protests from hard left protestors as evidently free speech is no longer acceptable at universities; but it was not any radical political viewpoints that got him banned from Twitter, no it was simply insulting actress and comedian Leslie Jones.

It is at this point; the floodgates were opened. Immensely popular radio host and owner of popular alternative news site Alex Jones was methodically removed from all social media. In 2018, YouTube began suspending his account, by mid-2019, Alex Jones was 100% removed from social media. The same happened to Jewish fire-brand right-wing personality Laura Loomer, removed from all social media. There have been countless others, outright banned. The more edgy sometimes conspiratorial social media personalities are outright banned, while something sneaky frequently happens to more straight forward news entities that lean conservative: the shadowban

Shadow-banning is a clever trick designed to drive traffic and impact down of conservative outlets. Breitbart, one of the most popular news sites in America, was an early victim of shadow-banning. When you are shadowbanned on Facebook, the induvial user who may be following Breitbart, will not see any updates from the outlet on their news feed. The user has to go directly to their favorite news outlets Facebook page to see their updates. Without knowing this, one can simply forget outlets like The Jewish Voice, Daily Caller or Breitbart still exist, as the updates to do not show up when one logs into Facebook. This is a sneaky way to cause damage to media outlets not favored by Silicon Valley.

The Jewish voice can attest to the impact of shadowbanning. Since 2018, TJV has seen our traffic coming from Facebook essentially vanish. According to Facebook statistics, which one receives when running a Facebook page for a company; we witnessed the clear pattern of our posts being shadowbanned. The average post went from on average 6-7 thousand viewers seeing the post, to on average 200-300 people per post. TJV did not lose large amounts of followers, but our exposure has dropped like a rock. Many people who follow The Jewish Voice, have pointed out to us, they no longer see us on their Facebook News Feed. Our Twitter interaction has slowed to a crawl as well.

I hope Mr Barr takes this seriously and looks into not only the outright banning of conservative media figures and outlets, but the shadow banning as well, which is sneaky, unfair and negatively effects our business The Jewish Voice publisher David Benhooren told me after learning about Gaetz efforts.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz Says Zuckerberg Lied Under Oath About Facebook Conservative Censorship, calls on DOJ to Open Criminal Investigation - The Jewish Voice