Facebook has repeatedly failed to protect the people who use it, and despite the outrage that arises when news of another failure is exposed, remarkably little has been done to fix the problems. Consumers have been left to deal with disinformation, predatory political ads, hate and harassment, and violations of privacy largely on their own. Recently, a series of stories broke that illustrate just how colossal these corporate failures are. It's so disturbing that at some point you start to wonder if, instead of just failing, Facebook has been intentionally enabling bad actors with its business model. On Friday, Facebook abruptly announced that it had banned Cambridge Analytica, the firm that did data targeting for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, from using the platform for "violating its policies around data collection and retention," as The Verge described it. [1] Basically, Cambridge Analytica downloaded the detailed personal records of more than 50 million Facebook users that it never should have had in the first place -- and Facebook waited years before finally doing anything about it. [2] While Facebook says it has suspended the company from its platform, and Cambridge Analytica claims the massive trove of personal information it acquired has been destroyed, it's very, very probable that copies of the database are still being used. Facebook says it has hired a firm "to determine the accuracy of the claims that the Facebook data in question still exists." [3] One probable owner? The Trump campaign. Trump's 2020 campaign manager and 2016 digital director Brad Parscale has bragged about the size and impact of the campaign's database, which it named Project Alamo and which was an apparent combination of Cambridge Analytica's data, Republican National Committee data, and the Trump campaign’s data prior to hiring Cambridge. Simply put: There are likely replicas of Cambridge's ill-gotten data out there, and unless Facebook puts a stop to everyone else that's using it, the company really isn't doing anything to fix the problem, instead just continuing its trend of employing inadequate half-measures. Auditing the developers of Facebook apps isn't enough. Without quick action to stop organizations with copies of data like this from this cheating, they'll keep using Facebook to manipulate unsuspecting people based on pilfered knowledge about them -- and their messages and ads will continue to have the upper hand on the platform. This isn't a PR crisis -- this is a democracy crisis. We have 50 million reasons to be mad at Facebook. Let's turn that anger into action by pressuring Facebook to protect consumers immediately instead of enabling the businesses that game the system with its platform. It's time to ban these cheaters. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/16/17132172/facebook-cambridge-analytica-suspended-donald-trump-strategic-communication-laboratories [2] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-cambridge-analytica-explained.html

We are appealing SDCI's decision to grant the noise variance requested by WSDOT for the Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition. We have until 29 March 2018 to file our appeal. We ask that the noise variance is rescinded and ask the City to consider other options than working through the night. We also ask that any future noise variance application contain all the details of what will be done to mitigate the noise and not refer to a framework of possible actions. Additionally, there should be real-time public access to noise monitoring and transparency with respect to complaints with a review board consisting of representatives from the community affected.

To honor James Frawley, a lifelong Woodside resident as well as a decorated combat medic.

How could you bring back the greatest first-person shooter game and neglect the best part???

the petition is about clemency and yes im very affected by it my husband who is in eastern correctional facilty has filed for clemency and it has been a year and we have heard nothing yet and i am hoping stating this petiton it will help him to come home its been 13 yrs

Students have had #ENOUGH! We are demanding action!

We must test all of the things.

The students that are of age do not think Kennesaw should be a dry campus. They believe that they should have to the right to drink on campus.

President Tump seems more interested in getting a death penalty option for drug dealers than providing funds to treat those most affected by this national health crisis. My family and millions of others need greater access to treatment for our children , parents, friends, and neighbors. Let’s let Congress and the administration know what is truly needed.

A two-year-old baby was murdered in Hawaii and it can be proved, but there are no charges against the killers.

Mr. Lauder writes as a pro-Israel advocate and he couches his arguments in terms of preserving Israel as Jewish and democratic. Nonetheless, Mr. Lauder’s ideas are more universally applicable to the quest for Israel-Palestinian peace. Mr. Lauder identifies two aspects of Israeli government policy that undermine any chance for peace in the region: • Mr. Lauder says that a two-state solution (2SS)—a Palestinian state alongside Israel—is essential for peace. He says that the 2SS is threatened by Israel’s settlement project that expropriates Palestinian land, and calls for a major effort to promote the 2SS.. • Mr. Lauder also says that Israel’s capitulation to religious extremists “is turning a modern, liberal nation into a semi-theocratic one.” He calls for tolerance among the many strands of Judaism and by implication other religions that share the land. Mr. Lauder’s drive to preserve Israel and Jewish and democratic is also a drive to bring peace to Israel-Palestine and all the people who live in the region. We supports Mr. Lauder and the World Jewish Congress in their quest for peace. Mr. Lauder’s op-ed is important because it is a firm statement by a major player in the Israel lobby that settlements are the key barrier to peace. We congratulate Mr. Lauder. We invite all people who desire peace in the region to sign this letter to congratulate Ronald Lauder.

New York is one of only a handful of states that has no early voting option. New York not only lacks same-day voter registration—but it requires voters to register at least twenty-five days before Election Day. New York also makes it hard to request an absentee ballot too. This is why there are long lines on Election Day, and why voting is as much of a mess in New York as the subway system. But we can change it! Governor Cuomo's budget includes funding for early voting and automatic voter registration. The Assembly budget includes only early voting, and the Senate budget includes vague language about voting. Budget negotiations are happening NOW. Tell Governor Cuomo to stand up for us and reject any budget that doesn't improve voting for New Yorkers. References: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-problem-with-voting-rights-in-new-york https://www.wnyc.org/story/progressive-leaders-pressuring-cuomo-and-albany-early-voting/