Daily Archives: June 1, 2017

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2017 Iraqi forces are closing in on the final terrorist-held areas in western Mosul, while partnered forces in Syria are just a few kilometers from the key city of Raqqa, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said today.

The Iraqis are making steady progress as they approach the last three western Mosul neighborhoods that are held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Army Col. Ryan Dillon told Pentagon reporters in a teleconference from Baghdad.

"The remaining ISIS fighters hold less than 10 square kilometers of the city," he said, adding, "Liberating these final neighborhoods will be among the most difficult fighting the [Iraqi forces have] faced in their campaign to defeat ISIS."

The coalition conducted 21 strikes in the past week in support of the Iraqi security forces' efforts, hitting mortars, machine guns, multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and factories where they're made, he said.

The coalition has struck more than 120 vehicles in the past week alone, he said, describing vehicle-borne bombs as the terrorists' weapon of choice in Mosul.

The Iraqi government has instructed civilians to evacuate Mosul's Old City. However, the terrorists are targeting fleeing civilians, Dillon said.

"Citizens have been herded and forced into buildings, being trapped to be used for ISIS' sinister tactics," he said. "They have been shot by ISIS snipers while trying to evacuate, and we have seen them victims of ISIS-emplaced bombs and bobby traps as they attempt to flee."

Iraqi forces have established safe passages along the forward line of troops to get civilians to muster points and screening sites outside of the city, he said.

Partnered Forces Make Gains in Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces continue to close in on ISIS around Raqqa, gaining about 350 square kilometers in the last week, Dillion said. "The SDF is poised around Raqqa -- they're within 3 kilometers of Raqqa city from the north and the east, and are about 10 kilometers from the city to the west," he added.

The coalition conducted 59 strikes in support of the isolation of Raqqa this past week, hitting fighting positions, construction equipment, artillery systems and command-and-control nodes, he said.

The coalition continues to engage ISIS targets wherever they are found, Dillon said. Throughout the combined joint operations area, he said, the coalition struck multiple ISIS revenue-producing targets this week, including fuel trucks, fuel tanks, oil stills and wellheads.

'Unacceptable' Presence Inside Deconfliction Zone

The coalition has observed pro-regime forces patrolling in the vicinity of the established deconfliction zone around the Tanf training site in southern Syria, he said. Coalition forces have operated there for months, training and advising vetted partnered forces in the fight against ISIS, Dillon explained.

"Pro-regime patrols and the continued armed and hostile presence of forces inside the deconfliction zone is unacceptable and threatening to our coalition forces," he said. "We are prepared to defend ourselves if pro-regime forces refuse to vacate the deconfliction zone."

The coalition has communicated its position through the deconfliction line with the Russians and dropped leaflets to the force inside the deconfliction zone, he noted.

"The coalition is dedicated and focused on the defeat of ISIS. Our partnered forces are dedicated and focused on the defeat of ISIS," Dillion said. "We think all parties in southern Syria should remain focused on the defeat of ISIS, which is our common enemy and the greatest threat to the region and worldwide peace and security."

(Follow Lisa Ferdinando on Twitter @FerdinandoDoD)

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Spokesman Reports on Progress in Effort to Defeat ISIS - Department of Defense

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft have all improved by leaps and bounds when it comes to tackling hate speech, said the European Commission on Thursday.

One year on from the companies signinga code of conduct drawn up together with the EU, the companies have improved significantly, removing twice as much hate speech as they did six months ago and at a faster rate.

The code of conduct was established when the EU and its member states recognized they had a collective responsibility, along with internet giants, to ensure citizens felt safe online. Rather than create more laws to hold the US-based companies to account, they collaborated on guidelines that all parties were happy to commit to. However, there's still a chance new laws covering social media platforms could be on the way. Last month, EU states reportedly approved plans to make social media companies address videos with hate speech and violence on their networks. The proposals still need a vote in European Parliament before they become law.

Abusive language and violent speech have proliferated online almost as long as the internet has existed. However, social media companies have encounteredgreater pressure to tackle the threatening contentas their influence on culture and society has grown. Free-speech advocates warn that cracking down on controversial discussions skirts into censorship.

The companies that agreed to the code of conduct are still some way off hitting their targets, but the progress so far is "encouraging," said Vra Jourov, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, in a statement.

A European Commission analysis found that 59 percent of illegal content is now being removed from online platforms, which obviously leaves room for improvement. The companies jointly committed to reviewing illegal hate speech within 24 hours of being notified about it and now do so in 51 percent of cases, up from 40 percent in December 2016.

Facebook was praised for sending feedback to all users who report content, but the Commission said it was inconsistent across other platforms and further progress could be made.

"This is an important step in the right direction and shows that a self-regulatory approach can work, if all actors do their part," said Jourov. "At the same time, companies carry a great responsibility and need to make further progress to deliver on all the commitments."

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Europe praises internet giants for progress on hate speech - CNET

Charlotte Business Journal

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Your utility bill could go up: Duke Energy Progress seeking 16.7% rate increase - News & Observer

Its beena year since the four major social platform players agreed with Europes executive body to a voluntary Code of Conduct for removing illegal hate speech within 24 hours of a complaint being received.

A lot has happened on this front since then, with a series of content moderation scandals hitting different platforms and serving to ramp up the regional pressure on the tech giants including YouTube suffering an advertiser backlash over ads being served up next to extremist content; and Facebook accused of a series ofmoderation failures, including around child abuse and terrorist content. Not to mention fake news gate.

In Germany the government is now leaning towards legislating to levy fines of up to 50 millionon social media platforms if they do not remove illegal hate speech promptly claiming tech giants have not been doing enough (a UK parliamentary committee also concluded more needs to be done last month, and has urged the government to consider introducing fines as well).

But today the European Commission, at least, is trumpeting what it dubs significant progress on illegal hate speech takedowns by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft vs their performance six months prior. Though it also cautions some challenges remain.

Illegal hate speech is defined in EU lawas the public incitement to violence or hatred on the basis of certain characteristics, including race, color, religion, descent and national or ethnic origin.

When the four tech firms receive a request to remove content from their online platforms they assess the request against their rules and community guidelines but also, in Europe where applicable, against national laws on combating racism and xenophobia. So they are making judgements on whether content can be considered illegal online hate speech, and if so they have agreed to take it down aiming to do so within 24 hours of a report being received.

The EC argues that removing illegal hate speech is not censorship but rather helps defend the right to freedom of expression because threats can prevent people from feeling able to freely express their views.

A majority of illegal hate speech is now being removed

The evaluation of the voluntary Code of Conduct, a year in, found that on average in a majority (59 per cent) of cases the tech platforms responded to notifications concerning illegal hate speech by removing the content which constitutes a more than 2x rise on the removal level recorded (28 per cent) in the first evaluation of the code, six months ago.

It also found an improvement in the amount of notifications reviewed within 24 hours up from 40 per cent to a majority (51 per cent) in the same six month period.

Although it notes that Facebook is the only company that fully achieves the target of reviewing the majority of notifications within the day.

Other areas for improvement the evaluation highlights are discrepancies between when a citizen reports content vs when an organization reports content.

So while it notes some progress on this front, with tech platforms apparently improving how they handle citizen complaints, it also says some differences persist, and that overall removal rates remain lower when a notification originates from the public.

The evaluation also points to ongoing discrepancies between tech platforms in their feedback systems for users who report content with only Facebook sending systematic feedback to inform a person how theirnotification has been assessed.

Practices differed considerably among the IT companies. Quality of feedback motivating the decision is an area where further progress can be made, it adds.

The EC is drawing on an evaluation carried out in 24 Member States by NGOs and public bodies for this assessment. Whereas the German government has been basing its assessment of social giants performance on hate speech removals on reports from local youth protection organization,jugendschutz.net. (And inMarch, it used that assessment as a basis for criticizing Facebook and Twitter especially for not doing enough to promptly remove illegal hate speech and also introduced a draft provision to legislate for fines of up to50M.)

In this, the second evaluation of the EU Code of Conduct, 2,575 notifications were submitted to the tech firms taking part in the code a 4x increase vs the first monitoring exercise, in December 2016. While Facebook received the largest amount of notifications (1,273 cases), followed by YouTube (658 cases) and Twitter (644 cases). Microsoft did not receive any.

Making some general observations, the evaluation said that within the last year the four platform giants have strengthened their reporting systems and made it easier to report hate speech.

They have also trained staff and in the ECs words increased their cooperation with civil society.

The EC further suggests the Code of Conduct has helped tackle the spread of illegal hate speech in the region bystrengthening and enlarging the tech firms network of trusted flaggers throughout Europe.

And it argues that via increased co-operation with civil society organizations the tech platforms have gained a higher quality of notifications, which in turn is yielding more effective handling times and better results in terms of reactions to the notifications.

Vra Jourov, the European Union commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality, described the results of the one-year evaluation as encouraging.

This is an important step in the right direction and shows that a self-regulatory approach can work, if all actors do their part, she said in a statement.

At the same time, companies carry a great responsibility and need to make further progress to deliver on all the commitments. For me, it is also important that the IT companies provide better feedback to those who notified cases of illegal hate speech content, she added.

In another supporting statement, Andrus Ansip, the ECs VP for the digital single market, added: Working closely with the private sector and civil society to fight illegal hate speech brings results, and we will redouble our joint efforts.

We are now working to ensure closer coordination between the different initiatives and forums that we have launched with online platforms. We will also bring more clarity to notice and action procedures to remove illegal content in an efficient way while preserving freedom of speech, which is essential.

Last month Facebook announced it would be beefing up the size of its team of content reviewers by 3,000 additional staff bringing the total headcount to 7,500. Though its been dealing with a string of content moderation scandals, not just in Europe such as its Facebook Live being used to broadcast murder and suicide.

Commenting in a statement on the Code of Conduct evaluation today,Richard Allan, VP public policy EMEA for Facebook, said:We believe that the best solutions to the challenge of hate speech on the Internet are found when governments, civil society and industry work together.

The results of the independent tests released by the European Commission today show that our partnership is having a significant positive impact for people in the EU. We have made many improvements to our policies and processes over the last year and now see that more illegal hate speech is being removed more quickly than ever before.

We are determined to keep doing better and live up to the high standards that people rightly expect of us. We recently announced that we would be adding another 3,000 staff to our global team of reviewers. We are also looking at how we can use the latest technology to help our review teams identify and prioritise high risk content.

In a statement, Karen White, Twitters head of public policy in Europe, added: At Twitter, we strive to reach the right balance between showing all sides of whats happening and tackling hateful conduct. Over the past six months, weve introduced a host of new tools and features to improve Twitter for everyone. Weve also improved the in-app reporting process for our users and we continue to review and iterate on our policies and their enforcement. Our work will never be done.

As the worlds conversation evolves, so too does the challenge we face. We will continue to operate at pace, while meeting our core principles around freedom of expression, and defending and respecting the voices of those who use our service worldwide.

Twitter is also stepping up its efforts to inform users of existing tools they can use to manage which content they do and dont see on its platform (or manage your experience as it puts it) and is currently sending the below email notification to users in Europe to flag up what it describes as three key tools for staying safe namely:

Mute

Rather than see content in Tweets youd like to avoid, you can manage what you see in your timeline and notifications. Mute accounts, words, and conversations.

Notification Filters

Get an extra level of control by filtering the types of accounts you see in your notifications. You can choose to stop seeing notifications from certain kinds of accounts.

Block

You can instantly block any account. When you do, that account holder cant see your Tweets or send you a message while theyre logged in.

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Social media giants making progress on illegal hate speech takedowns: EC - TechCrunch

Findings from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's second five-year review of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site show progress toward "a remedy protective of human health and the environment," according to Catherine McCabe, acting regional administrator for EPA Region 2. Video by Geoffrey Wilson. Wochit

The Hudson River, as well as the Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway Over the Hudson, is pictured in this August 2016 photo.(Photo: Alex H. Wagner/Poughkeepsie Journal)Buy Photo

In 53 years, Hudson Valley residents will be able to eat a fish meal from the Hudson River once a week without concern for their health.

That's according to a five-year review on PCBs in the Hudson Riverby the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report, released Thursday,concludes cleanup efforts were implemented successfully and touts "encouraging" data collected since dredging ended in 2015.

But environmental groups, includingHudson River Sloop Clearwater and Riverkeeper, argue that progress is insufficient, and further remediation and dredgingis necessary.

EPA: Local Superfund cleanups advance despite Trump budget

BEFORE THE REVIEW:Questions swirl around data in Hudson River PCB cleanup

DEC RESPONSE:DEC ramps up pressure on EPA in Hudson River PCB cleanup

Riverkeeper Legal Director Richard Webster said moremeasurements of contamination in sediment and fish are necessary, which he said would prove the need for further action.

"The only sensible response is to perform more dredging," hesaid.

General Electric Co. dumped approximately 1.3 million pounds of PCBs,or polychlorinated biphenyl, from capacitor manufacturing plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Fallsinto the Hudson River during a 30-year span ending in the late 1970s.PCBs are a fire retardant and insulator that is a likely carcinogen.

As a result, GE signed a consent decree with the EPA in 2005 to perform dredging to reduce PCBs in the fish, water and sediment. The plan targeted 2.65 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment along a 40-mile stretch of the river, costing about $1.7 billion according to the EPA.

Dredging removed about 310,000 pounds of PCBs from the river.

As part of the efforts, the EPA is required to release reports on its progress every five years. In its second review released Thursday, the EPA found that dredging performed so far is expected to accomplish its long-term goals, but the remedy is "not yet protective of human health and the environment."

The EPA did not recommend further dredging by GE, and "natural attenuation" will accomplish the goals of reduced PCBs,Catherine McCabe, acting regional administrator for EPA Region 2, said. It would take about 8 more years of observation to discern a trend in the Hudson River's recovery, she said.

EPA predicts that in 15 years, people will be able to safely eat one fish meal from the Hudson River every two months. In 30 years, people will be able to eat one fish meal every month,McCabe said.

In this file photo from April 13, children enjoy a day in the sun at Victor C. Waryas Park in the City of Poughkeepsie. From left to right: Leonardo Bados, 3; Nicholas Estrada, 2; his sister Andrea Estrada, 8; and Miabella Laureles, 1. All of them are cousins.(Photo: Alex H. Wagner/Poughkeepsie Journal)

"While the project was designed to set the river on a course for recovery, we have always explained that the recovery will take many years,"she said.

In the lower- and mid-Hudson Valley, the EPA found that, while PCB contamination was lower, fish were not recovering as rapidly as in the upper-Hudson Valley, McCabe said.

Further dredging would ultimately prove both costly and inefficient, according toWalter Mugdan, acting deputy regional administrator for EPA Region 2.

"A more aggressive model would only accelerate the process by a few years," Mugdan said, adding that the cost would be about $500 million.

In a statement, GE said "EPA said the dredging remedy is functioning as intended and will be protective of human health and the environment. No additional dredging in the Upper or Lower Hudson is recommended."

Organizations argue for more progress

ButManna Jo Greene, environmental action director with Clearwater, argued that slow progress was insufficient, particularly for individuals who eat fish from the river for economic or cultural reasons.

"Let's say it's only a few years," Greene said. "That's a few more years of exposure for those who don't follow the fishing advisory."

The EPA's decision to not require further dredging while the process was still underway only makes a more thorough cleanup more costly, Greene said.

"Now we're stuck waiting to see if there will be some effect over time," Greene said.

Webster said he found the EPA's wait-and-see responsedisappointing.

"Their short term goal of one fish meal every two months is the bare minimum people should have to tolerate, and this goal would take 15 years," Webster said.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation said the EPA has a job to finish, and as it stands the organization has "failed New York."

"We strongly dispute their conclusions and maintain that the significant amount of contamination left in the river threatens both public health and the environment," the statement read."DEC will continue to fight for the Hudson River and New Yorkers and hold the polluter accountable for its actions."

In a statement, Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said the EPA squandered an opportunity for a complete cleanup of the Hudson River.

"By ignoring solid scientific evidence from New York State and its sister agencies and concluding that the Hudson River Superfund project will be protective, EPA is washing its hands of responsibility for properly completing cleanup of the largest Superfund site in the country and betraying its own mission to protect public health and the environment," he said in the statement.

Two area legislators also voiced their disapproval of the EPA's findings.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand described the report as "awful news for the Capital Region, the Hudson Valleyand all of the families who live near the Hudson River."

"I am disappointed that the EPA couldnt muster up the courage to do the job they set out to do and clean up the Hudson," she said in a statement."This decision is now entering a 30-day comment period before it is made final, and I encourage all New Yorkers to raise their voices and demand that the EPA finish the job of removing the remaining PCBs."

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, NY-18, also expressed disappointment.

"We live on the Hudson River its our home and an economic engine for our local communities and all we are asking for is a cleanup strategy that fixes generations of abuse and the toxic legacy of PCB contamination," he said in a statement.

Geoffrey Wilson:gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter:Geoff_LW

Public comment

The EPA will accept public comment on the plan until June 30. Comments can be mailed to EPA Region 2 Director Gary Klawinski at187 Wolf Road, Suite 303,Albany, NY 12205, or emailed toepahrfo@outlook.com.

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EPA touts PCB cleanup progress; environmental groups protest - Poughkeepsie Journal

At one spot defensively, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano feels way ahead of the curve.

"Our defensive line, the way we're set up, I'm talking about our three interior guys, our nose, our three and our five technique, I feel like we're ahead of where we've ever been as far as guys not only being able to play the run but guys being able to give you a pass rush on passing downs," Pagano told reporters Wednesday, via the Indianapolis Star.

Theoretically, Pagano is referring to Johnathan Hankins, Kendall Langford/Henry Anderson and Margus Hunt/Tarell Basham.

And on paper, he's right -- this is probably the best defensive line and defense as a whole that Pagano has had since at least 2013. Hankins adds a different element in the middle than Pagano might have ever had. General manager Chris Ballard also attacked the second and third tiers of free agency to complement those players with capable pass rushers.

It adds an interesting dynamic for the head coach this year. For the first time in almost five years, something is expected of a defense that is getting a heavy facelift. For years, Pagano could eschew blame by subtly pointing at what many believed was an underperforming offensive line assembled by former general manager Ryan Grigson. Malik Hooker is the only defensive first-round pick on the roster, though Ballard spent picks in the first, second (Quincy Wilson), third (Basham), fourth (Grover Stewart) and fifth (Anthony Walker) rounds on defense this year.

This team is a year or two away from no longer being considered hamstrung by Andrew Luck's contract. The pressure will be on Pagano to orchestrate something significant from the pieces he has been given.

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Chuck Pagano pleased with progress on Colts' D-line - NFL.com

Michael Thomas, second from left, was one of a group of Dolphins players who took Colin Kaepernick's lead during the national anthem last season.

DAVIE, Fla. -- Add Miami Dolphins safety Michael Thomas to the list of people who believe former starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick's job status has been affected by his stance on social issues.

Thomas was one of several NFL players who last season knelt in protest during the national anthem to bring awareness to racial issues. The movement began with Kaepernick, who has yet to sign with another team despite throwing for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and having a 90.7 passer rating with the San Francisco 49ers last season.

"Obviously there's issues with that," Thomas said of the consequences of Kaepernick's activism. "Some people feel a certain type of way. You see a lot of people commenting about it. At this point it is what it is, but I wish Colin nothing but the best. He stood for something he believed in. A lot of people felt the same way, and quite frankly a lot of people were against it and how he chose to protest.

"I believe that, yes, it's [his activism]. But at the same time I wish him nothing but the best moving forward. I hope he gets his opportunity."

Thomas and his Dolphins teammate Kenny Stills took a knee before every game last season. Both have said they aren't sure if they will continue to do so in 2017.

Thomas said progress is being made in regard to race relations but that there is still a long way to go. He addressed the situation this week involving former Miami Heat star LeBron James, who had a racial slur spray painted on a gate outside of his home in Los Angeles, as an example.

"He said it best yesterday: It doesn't matter who you are," Thomas said. "It is what it is as an African-American. That's something you grow up dealing with. You can walk around all day with a smile on your face and do all the right things. But unfortunately you're going to have to deal with some of these things.

"I think still a lot of people aren't ready to accept that's an actual fact, that's an actual reality that some people in America still deal with. I'm not surprised and I hope it doesn't surprise anybody when I say that I'm not surprised that happened to him. It can happen to anyone and he's dealing with it the best way he can."

Thomas is entering his fifth season and is competing for roles at multiple positions. He's a special-teams captain, backup safety and nickel corner.

Thomas received Pro Bowl consideration for his play on special teams last year. This season Thomas is looking to grow in the secondary. He is competing with Bobby McCain for the nickel role and Nate Allen at safety.

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Michael Thomas still backs Colin Kaepernick, addresses racial progress - ESPN (blog)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Marcus Mariota is making progress.

As the team kicked off its second week of organized team activities, the Titans quarterback feels the momentum building around the team, and the healing.

I feel good, Mariota said after Wednesdays session. I think practices have been clean, and obviously execution-wise you can do a little better in certain areas, but all in all I think everyone has done a good job.

Mariota, who suffered a fractured fibula on December 24 at Jacksonville, was on the field for the first day of organized team activities last week at Saint Thomas Sports Park. Mariota practiced all three days last week, and on Wednesday he wrapped up his fifth of ten OTAs scheduled this offseason. Mariota has been doing everything in the walk-throughs, and in individual drills.

Hes also been working in the 7-on-7 periods, and said hes been impressed with some of the new additions, from receivers Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor to tight end Jonnu Smith.

Both of those young receivers and even the young tight end, they have done a great job of just coming in and making plays, Mariota said. Theres a lot of time left, we have a lot of offseason left, but if they continue to ascend the way they are, they will help us and they will make an impact on our team.

On Wednesday, Titans coach Mike Mularkey revealed quarterback Matt Cassel suffered a thumb injury in Tuesdays practice. Cassel will be sidelined six weeks, but should be ready for training camp, Mularkey said.

The Titans expect Mariota to be ready for camp as well. Until then, quarterback Alex Tanney will get a bulk of the work, and undrafted free agent Tyler Ferguson should see his reps pick up as well.

Coach Mike Mularkey said the plan involving Mariota hasnt changed.

I just have to stay the course and continue to follow the procedure that is laid out for me, Mariota said. If I had it my way I would be out there right now. But I just have to continue to stay patient and continue to find ways to help the team off the field and really just focus on my mental side of it. (I need to) do little things that will help me be prepared once the season starts.

In his second NFL season, Mariota completed 276-of-451 passes for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 95.6 passer in 2016 before suffering a fractured fibula in a Week 16. The quarterback added 60 rushing attempts for 349 yards and two touchdowns.

Mariotas 95.6 passer rating ranks third in franchise history for a single season, behind only Warren Moons 96.8 in 1990, when he was the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, and Steve McNairs 100.4 in 2003, when he was the NFLs Co-MVP.

So whats the next benchmark for Mariota this offseason? Being able to run full speed is one hurdle hes looking forward to crossing.

Just being able to do rollouts, do everything normal, and just be the same guy, the same player that I was, Mariota said. I think this is kind of the final step for me.

It is close, and I am able to do a lot of things on the field, which kind of sucks because I feel like I can be out there and practice. But I just have to stay the course and stay focused on getting healthy and Ill be ready to go once the season begins.

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Titans QB Marcus Mariota Encouraged by Progress - Titansonline.com