http://www.neoneocon.com/2018/04/10/obamas-illegal-campaign-contributions-vs-trumps/#comment-2381389

AesopFan Says:
April 11th, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Those Russian investors in Facebook have been there a long time.
…

Actually, it’s a capitation tax. See this explanation:

But even if the Obama administration is now admitting the individual mandate is a tax, that still does not make the law constitutional. Rather than operating as a tax on income, the mandate is a tax on the person and is, therefore, a capitation tax. So the 16th Amendments grant of power to Congress to assess an income tax does not apply. The Constitution does allow Congress to assess a capitation tax, but that requires the tax be assessed evenly based on population. That is not how the Obamacare mandate works. It exempts and carves out far too many exceptions to past muster as a capitation tax. The Obamacare mandate is still unprecedented and unconstitutional.

“After all, we have a Supreme Court that concluded with a straight face that a fine that wasn’t a tax for purpose A was indeed a tax for purpose B.”

What the Supremes ruled was that even though Congress said Obamacare was not a tax, it in fact was. I used to agree that Roberts’ reasoning was wrong, but over time, I realized his analysis was correct — Obamacare is a tax. It is a tax on the young and healthy to pay for the healthcare of the old and sick.

If you look at the entire, very long, front-page list, most of the early reports are outside of America (only to be expected); the later ones are increasingly US focused.

Gee, I wonder why.

https://freeourinternet.org/campaigns/report-the-bans/

If you ever had any doubt about the tech-left’s true intentions regarding freedom of speech and an open internet, this amazing admission from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt on March 23, 2017, should settle the matter.
…
We’re regularly updating the list below of the tech-left’s coordinated campaign to silence free speech on the internet. As you scroll through the more than 100 examples below, we urge you to keep Eric Schmidt’s words top of mind. “Take if off the page… Right? Put it somewhere else. Make it harder to find.”
…
The tech-left’s assault on free speech — a historical record: [this is the beginning of the list, links are included in the original page]

11/29/07 — Google shuts down YouTube account of Egyptian human rights activist Wael Abbas

4/9/08 — Christian group sues Google after the search engine refuses to accept its pro-life advertisements.

10/3/08 — Google’s YouTube censors comedian’s anti-Sharia video titled “Welcome to Saudi Britain”.
…
[first listing – but not the last! – for USA]
3/16/10 — Technology journalist blacklisted and removed from Google News for articles critical of the company.

7/22/10 — Facebook deletes post by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for criticizing construction of a mosque near Ground Zero.

7/26/10 — Facebook bans the word “Palestinian” in page titles.

1/28/11 — Google autocomplete blocks the phrase “Google and crime.”

9/12/11 — InfoWars reporter warned by Facebook not to use the social network to express his political opinions after he posted a story about whether living off the grid was now being treated as a crime.
…
7/5/12 — Google censors information about guns in Google shopping.

9/14/12 — Google blocks access to “Innocence of Muslims” video in several countries.
…
5/28/13 — Facebook suspends the account of Andrea Lalama for posting a picture of her two kids holding a sign protesting Monsanto.
[so far the only one banning a leftist position, unless you count the dropping of pro-Bernie material during the 2016 campaign; some usually pro-leftist material is banned in foreign countries, such as pro-gay stuff in the Middle and Far east]

5/29/13 — Facebook blocks Fox News commentator Todd Starnes for “violating community standards” for his post supporting guns, Chick-fil-A, Jesus.

7/3/13 — Facebook blocks LibertyNews story for sharing a story critical of abortion.
…
12/20/14 — Facebook bans Russian page supporting Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny. [interesting…]*

1/28/15 — One week after expressing support for free speech in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Facebook begins censoring images of Muhammad.
…
3/19/15 — Leaked report Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff report alleges that Google uses an algorithm to deliberately manipulate search results to favor their own products and services over those of competitors.
…
9/27/15 — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg caught on an open mic agreeing to censor Facebook content critical of European immigration policy.

12/8/15 — Google Chairman Eric Schmidt calls for “hate speech spell-checker” to be implemented on social and search platforms to “nudge” users away from unwelcome forms of expression.
…
12/15/15 — Google’s YouTube suspends video channel of investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson. Claims channel was suspended in error.
…
1/1/16 — Facebook takes down picture of 2012 Donald Trump campaign button from “Wake Up America” page for violating community standards for nudity, even though the picture contained no nudity whatsoever.

1/9/16 — Twitter “unverifies” official account of Breitbart tech editor. [that was Milo Y – he figures prominently in the long list]
…
2/20/16 — Conservative blogger Stacy McCain banned by Twitter. No reason given.

2/29/16 — Bernie Sanders supporters allege that Twitter is removing hash tags critical of Hillary Clinton. [what I said above]

3/4/16 — Facebook’s Instagram blocks links to competitors Snapchat and Telegram.
…
4/24/16 — Donald Trump shadowbanned by Twitter after posting a tweet that “the establishment and special interests are absolutely killing our country.”
…
5/31/16 — Google demotes pro-Brexit/Euroskeptic websites by pushing them down in search results.
…
6/10/16 — Investigative video released showing how Google manipulates search results to favor Hillary Clinton.
…
6/22/16 — Anti-Hillary Clinton game removed from Google Play Store, but “Punch the Trump” game remains.
…
7/20/16 — Twitter bans conservative activist Milo Yiannopoulos.

7/23/16 — #DNCLeaks disappears from trending news on Twitter after Wikileaks releases emails.

7/23/16 — Gmail users claim Trump emails sent automatically to Spam folders.
…
7/27/16 — Google excludes Donald Trump from “presidential candidates” search
…
8/2/16 — Hugo-nominated author Brian Niemeier “shadow-banned” on Twitter.

8/2/16 — Facebook bans “Mothers Against Radical Islam” after posting a video critical of media coverage suggesting criticism of radical Islam was Islamophobic.

8/2/16 — Facebook blocks radio host Michael Savage after he posts story of migrant murderer in Germany.
…
9/2/16 — Google’s YouTube “demonetizes” several hundred video channels including a channel with a video about… freedom of the press.
…
9/22/16 — Twitter bans well-known journalist and free speech advocate Glenn Reynolds. Account later restored.
…
10/6/16 — Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, alleges that he is shadowbanned on Twitter after requesting that his followers tweet examples of Hillary Clinton supporters being violent against Trump supporters.

10/12/16 — Google’s YouTube censors conservative video channel by labeling it “restricted adult content.”
…
11/2/16 — Google’s YouTube censors PragerU video criticizing the left for censorship.
…
11/16/16 — Google and Facebook pledge to defund conservative news sites as “fake news” by denying them access to the companies’ ad networks.
….
12/29/16 — Almost 1000 of Facebook’s top page owners whose pages were removed from the social network fight back against Facebook’s increasing censorship.
…
3/1/17 — Google, Facebook, AFP and the BBC collude in launching campaign to tell voters “who to trust” in French presidential election.

3/9/17 — Twitter suspends account of conservative YouTuber Hunter Avallone. No reason given.
…
4/17/17 — Google admits to censoring InfoWars. Claims it will stop.

7/18/17 — Over two dozen Catholic pages were blocked by Facebook after being “suspected of suspicious activity.”
…
10/9/17 — Twitter shuts down Congressman Marsha Blackburn’s campaign’s ability to promote her announcement video because of pro-life statements.

10/28/17 — Twitter bans political insider Roger Stone.
…
10/31/17 — During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee into Russian activity in the 2016 election, Twitter admits to blocking anti-Hillary Clinton tweets.

11/2/17 — The president’s Twitter handle, @RealDonaldTrump, is deactivated for 11 minutes.

12/9/17 — Google announces it will no longer offer YouTube on Amazon platforms, violating the principles it purports to champion through “net neutrality.”
…
4/2/18 — Ads posted by the Franciscan University of Steubanville, a Catholic College, promoting the school’s online Masters programs are blocked by Facebook for including “excessively violent” content. [it was a picture of a classic stylized Cross]

4/9/18 — Facebook blocks notifications of new posts to followers of Conservative internet pundits Diamond and Silk, citing the duo’s “content and brand” as “unsafe to the community.”

* * *
A lot of these were familiar, which means I spend too much time on the internet.

*A Russian investor has a big stake in Facebook; I’l try and find the story again; I posted a link earlier this week.

https://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2018/04/11/the-student-datamining-scandal-under-our-noses-n2469754?utm_source=TopBreakingNewsCarousel&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=BreakingNewsCarousel

“The recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act further enshrined government collection of personally identifiable information — including data collected on attitudes, values, beliefs and dispositions — and allows release of the data to third-party contractors thanks to Obama-era loopholes carved into the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

And the so-called school-to-work pipeline creates endless avenues into taxpayer coffers for firms pitching data-gathering initiatives to “align” student learning with “skill sets” and “competencies” desired by corporations.
…
Under the guise of customizable assessments, public and private preschools in Colorado experimented with toddlers whose student activities and social/emotional behaviors were tracked using the TS Gold (Teaching Strategies Gold) system — funded with $30 million in Race to the Top subsidies under the Obama administration. As I reported in 2014, parent Lauren Coker discovered that TS Gold assessors in her son’s Aurora, Colorado, public preschool had recorded information about his trips to the bathroom, his hand-washing habits and his ability to pull up his pants.

Sunny Flynn, a mom with kids in Jefferson County, Colorado, asked all the right questions: “What security measures are being used to protect this data? Who exactly has access to this data? How long will the data be stored? What is the proven benefit of a kindergarten teacher putting all of this data into a database?”

With little public oversight, Google has infiltrated schools through its “free” Google Apps for Education suite. As I’ve reported previously, Google is building brand loyalty through its questionable certification program that essentially turns teachers into tax-subsidized lobbyists for the company. GAFE enrollees are “trained” on Google products, earn certification, and then open up consultancy businesses and bill their school districts (i.e., the public) to hawk Google’s suite of products to other colleagues.

And this week, 23 parent and watchdog groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission alleging that Google is violating child protection laws by collecting personal data of and advertising to those aged under 13.
Over the past four years, Google has admitted “scanning and indexing” student email messages sent using GAFE and data mining student users for commercial gain when they use their accounts for noneducational purposes. ”

I’m sure everybody promised solemnly that they would take good care of that data, and never ever use it for any kind of nasty profit-seeking purposes (capitalism is evil, remember?) and certainly never let it out of their own greedy little hands.

Yeah, right.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/oops-mark-zuckerberg-surprised-to-learn-the-terms-of-service-for-your-digital-life?ref=home

“It was nearly two hours in before Zuckerberg appeared to be taken by surprise. That was when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) interrogated Zuckerberg about the app at the center of Facebook’s current troubles. Called “This Is Your Digital Life,” that app was used by data researcher Aleksandr Kogan to gather profile information on as many as 87 million Facebook users.

Facebook’s position is that Kogan, through his firm GSR, violated Facebook’s rules when he transferred the harvested data to the shady campaign consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. But Blumenthal produced a poster board blow-up showing an excerpt from the app’s terms-of-service, which explicitly spelled out Kogan’s intentions.: “[Y]ou permit GSR to edit, copy, disseminate, publish, transfer, append or merge with other databases, sell, license (by whatever means and on whatever terms) and archive your contribution and data.”

According to Blumenthal, Kogan submitted that language to Facebook’s app review team as part of the approval process. “Facebook was on notice that he could sell that user information,” Blumenthal charged. “Have you see those terms of service before?”

“I have not,” Zuckerberg admitted, adding later, “It certainly appears that we should have been aware that this app developer submitted a term that was in conflict with the rules of the platform.”

The Kogan app isn’t the only time Facebook missed an opportunity to head off a privacy disaster. As The Daily Beast reported, the company separately ignored a security researcher’s 2013 report that a feature of Facebook’s search engine could be used to illicitly compile data on virtually all its users. In a written statement ahead of his testimony, Zuckerberg admitted the search engine loophole was later abused in exactly that way.”
[see the next link for that oopsie]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/facebook-knew-people-were-stealing-your-phone-number-in-2013?ref=home

“Facebook was warned five years ago that the “reverse-lookup” feature in its search engine could be used to harvest names, profiles, and phone numbers for virtually all its users. But the company ignored the red flags until last week, after it happened.

In prepared testimony to Congress released Monday, Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that malefactors had used the reverse-lookup “to link people’s public Facebook information to a phone number,” he wrote (PDF). “When we found out about the abuse, we shut this feature down.” He said that Facebook only discovered the incidents two weeks ago.
…
But Zuckerberg’s written testimony reveals for the first time that it was phone number lookups that were used in the large scale scraping. That’s a more potent weapon for bulk harvesting, because a data miner can programatically cycle through every possible phone number to get a complete corpus. With some exceptions–custom privacy settings or accounts with no phone number attached–sequential mining would yield every Facebook profile.
…
Though Facebook is professing surprise at the data spill, in 2013 security researcher Bennett Haselton warned Facebook publicly and privately of this exact scenario.”

Is there nothing that The Law can’t do!!

BTW, if FB is walking back their banning, D&S don’t know about it.

https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/04/10/facebook-reconsidering-labeling-diamond-silk-unsafe-damage-done/

“Let us be clear; @facebook has NOT communicated directly with @DiamondandSilk. We haven’t spoken to Mark Zuckerberg or any representative from Facebook.”

7:04 AM – Apr 10, 2018

And there is this little bit of a wrinkle:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/04/08/facebook-donated-46-55-members-committee-will-question-zuckerberg/

“According to a USA Todayanalysis, members on this year’s House Energy and Commerce Committee have received roughly $381,000 in Facebook-related contributions since 2007 with the average Republican getting $6,800 and the average Democrat getting $6,750. The report was based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics.”

Interesting numbers follow.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/04/zuckerberg-speaks.php

Commenter says:
“I once posted a link to an item from “The People Cube” and within minutes I saw that a post of mine on FB had been deleted for content. Which was confusing since I hadn’t made any posts on FB for a while. When I checked it out I found some phantom FB user found my reference to People’s Cube “offensive” but again, I had posted nothing on FB. The posting was HERE – at Power Line. But because they are connected it showed up on FB and some automatic mechanism reacted by “taking down” a FB posting that didn’t exist on a complaint from a user that doesn’t exist!
It was the weirdest thing. THAT was pretty scary.”

Along with some discussion of Zuck’s testimony, especially the disingenuous replies to Sen. Cruz, this exchange was more positive:

“Gotta love it when the same people who constantly allow our government to invade our privacy and kill the fourth amendment via the NSA and other alphabet soup agencies play this little charade with people like Zuckerberg. Drip, drip, drip (hypocrisy). What is most ironic is that I log into Facebook in order to post this.
…
So right after posting I see Scott Johnson’s post that Powerline is dumping FB for comment log-ins.”

I stopped commenting at HotAir when they went to FB logins, and then stopped reading there altogether.
Funny how that works.

“A Facebook spokeswoman told TheDCNF that such an answer to their inquiries was a mistake.

“We have communicated directly with Diamond And Silk about this issue,” the company representative said. “The message they received last week was inaccurate and not reflective of the way we communicate with our community and the people who run Pages on our platform. We have provided them with more information about our policies and the tools that are applicable to their Page and look forward to the opportunity to speak with them.”

…

Nevertheless, as previously reported, it appears that there is either a dissonance in judgment by Facebook’s content moderators, or a caving to pressure, as thousands of Diamond and Silk supporters clamored over allegedly unfair, unequal treatment.”

* *
I’ve been playing with the thumbnails today, and they have no noticeable connection to what I actually access. Won’t go into the long details, but I can’t get anything to populate the empty places after a long afternoon of reading, going to some sites multiple times.
If you right-click the browser shortcut, it brings up “most often visited” which was stable all day with my four top tabs (despite not going to some of them but once today), and Salon, which I only went to 3 times this morning — far less than PLB and many others.
Just now I clicked to check the wording, and even that list is MIA.
Whatever the heck Google is using as an algorithm, it makes no sense to “reasonable people” —