Image: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Community first, eh?

A New York Times report published Wednesday is full of bombshells about how Facebook has handled (and mishandled) its last two years of turmoil. Amidst allegations of pettiness and tales of public relations coups, the report reveals how hard Facebook tried to remain in the good graces of politicians, even at the expense of the “transparency” and “community” it champions.

Notably, on more than one occasion, Facebook chose to appease and avoid confrontation with Republican politicians, rather than take aggressive action to combat Russian and Trumpian propaganda. 

When Facebook grappled with what to do with the first of many egregiously racist Trump posts, it chose to prioritize appearing to support non-partisan “free speech,” instead of enforcing a strong policy against hate speech. 

Then-candidate Trump’s racist 2015 post calling for the barring of all Muslims from America reportedly shocked Mark Zuckerberg. The CEO asked his team to review Trump’s post to determine whether it violated any terms of service. Rather than seizing on what some viewed as an opportunity for Facebook to take a stand against hate speech, the senior team decided to keep Trump’s post up. The reason: so that Facebook wouldn’t “be seen as obstructing free speech” and to avoid “stok[ing] a conservative backlash.”

“Don’t poke the bear.”

Or, as Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president for corporate public policy, reportedly put it: “Don’t poke the bear.”

In another instance, Facebook toned down its report about information manipulation on the platform — entirely avoiding the subject of Russia — after Kaplan again warned against angering conservatives. 

Alex Stamos, Facebook’s former chief security officer, directed a team to begin probing Russian manipulation on the platform in the spring of 2016. 

The team investigating propaganda wanted to publish a public paper on its findings in January 2017. But Kaplan objected to publishing the findings because it could damage relationships with Republicans. 

“If Facebook implicated Russia further, Mr. Kaplan said, Republicans would accuse the company of siding with Democrats,” the Times writes.

Stamos and his team ended up publishing a paper in April entitled “Information Operations and Facebook” — which contained no mention of Russia’s efforts.

Mashable reached out Facebook to ask whether the Times‘ report is accurate, and how Facebook balances political concerns with interests of national security, transparency, and community. But the Times story demonstrates a few things. 

First, it shows the lengths to which Facebook went to assuage bad faith Republican complaints — as Facebook and others have done in the past.

Second, it shows the stunning amount of sway that political optics had over Facebook’s decision making with regard to a national security issue. 

With the Trump post, it allowed speech on the platform not because of an actual dedication to free speech, but to avoid angering conservatives. And with the Russian report that never was, it chose to obfuscate the actions of a malicious foreign entity for the sake of not appearing partisan. 

Of course, the idea that Russian social media manipulation is a partisan issue is a problem in its own right. But so was Facebook’s decision to cater to that political fray, rather than make the decisions that would best allow the company and government to combat international cyber-warfare. 

Facebook has repeatedly said that the company’s priority is its users. But clearly, decisions aren’t always made with simply the best interests of that “community” in mind. 

In late July 2015, an arson attack on a family home in the Palestinian village of Duma, in the West Bank, resulted in the killing of three members of the Dawabshe family, the youngest of whom, Ali, was only 18 months old.

The firebombing also caused seven-year-old Ahmed Dawabshe, Ali’s brother, second and third-degree burns across his body, the scars of which he still bears today.

Ahmed, who now lives with his grandfather, remains in Duma, across the West Bank border from his attackers: members of the Hilltop Youth.

Residing on outposts often neighbouring areas populated heavily by Palestinians (not to be confused with Israeli settlements) the Hilltop Youth are known for their extreme religious nationalism. Mostly made up of young people between the ages of 16 and 25, the group are followers of Kahanism; an ideology based on the teachings of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Meir Ettinger, Kahane’s grandson, was one of several settlers charged for the Duma murders, also known as “Price Tag” killings, alongside 21-year-old Amiram Ben-Uliel and an unnamed minor. They were all released after serving minimal prison time.

The label “Price Tag” was born from actions taken by the group to claim a “price” for any actions taken against them or their hilltop settlements by Palestinians.

“This is how the concept of  ‘Price Tag’ was created. It’s because the government did not take revenge against our enemies,” says Kahanist and settler, Moriya Goldberg.

“The people who burned the house in Duma wouldn’t have done it if the state treated Arabs as enemies,” says Goldberg’s sister, Rut. 

Although relatively small, with only several hundred members, the Hilltop Youth are known for having incited violent acts of hatred against Palestinians and Palestinian homes, mosques and churches. 

They are also known for having a difficult relationship with left-wing Israelis, the Israeli army and even with Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service.

“The more nationalistic you are, the more militia-like you become. All of a sudden, every idiot at the top of the hill takes a flag, sticks it down and that’s the new border of the country,” says former speaker of the Knesset, Avraham Burg. “They’re [the Hilltop Youth] insignificant in numbers, they are insignificant ideologically … they are even insignificant as a crime gang. They are very significant in [how they are] dictating to the government a de facto policy – which is wrong.”  

Source: Al Jazeera

Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell look at two contrasting quarterback plays by Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans, in the Titans’ 34-10 win on Sunday.

WATCH MORE: Plays of the week: 92-yard runs and big man touchdowns

Watch NFL This Week on BBC iPlayer and The NFL Show on Saturday, 17 November at 23:55 on BBC One (Sun 18 Nov 01:10-01:40, BBC One Scotland)

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These days, even your teddy bear might be out to get you. 

As the inevitable creep of “smart” features and products continues to turn everything from your refrigerator to your thermostat into a connected device, it’s worth taking a moment to consider just what you’re giving up in exchange for this wannabe Jetsons future. Thankfully, Mozilla has done a lot of that work for you with a new guide dedicated to just how insecure many smart devices are. 

It’s right in time for the end-of-year shopping season, meaning you have no excuse to buy your parents one of these potentially compromised electronic gadgets as a holiday gift. And, if you send them the guide, they won’t have an excuse for buying you one, either. 

The Privacy Not Included guide, released Nov. 14, takes a look at a range of products and evaluates them on a host of basic security standards. After all, you should know if a company is publicizing your fitness tracker data, or if your internet-connected sex toy can be easily hacked. 

According to Mozilla, there are five minimum things that a product or company must do in order to avoid being a complete privacy disaster for its customers. 

“The product must use encryption,” explains the guide, “the company must provide automatic security updates, if a product uses a password, it must require a strong password, the company must have a way to manage security vulnerabilities found in their products, and the company must have an accessible privacy policy.”

The categories of products rated — toys and games, smart home, entertainment, wearables, health and exercise, and pets — cover much of the connected-gadget space, and make it clear that Mozilla isn’t playing nice. 

Take, for example, its description of the Amazon Echo Show and Dot. “Now you don’t just get to wonder if Alexa is listening to you, you get to wonder if she’s watching as well.” 

A nifty infographic breaks it down even further. 

Image: screenshot / mozilla

Mozilla also took the unique approach of asking people to vote on a product’s creepiness factor. For example, 61 percent of people who voted on the Amazon Echo Show and Dot said it was “super creepy,” and 80 percent said they were “not likely to buy it.”

Importantly, Mozilla didn’t just do this to dunk on smart device manufacturers. Rather, the non-profit was actually trying to put some power back in the hands of consumers. 

“We hope this guide helps consumers make smart and more informed holiday shopping decisions,” explained Mozilla’s vice president of advocacy Ashley Boyd in a press release, “while also inspiring them to demand that companies make it a priority to offer products that protect their privacy and security.” 

Here’s to hoping that consumer demand, armed with Mozilla’s guide, doesn’t fall on deaf corporate ears. 

A fundraising page has raised more than $121,000 for a black security guard killed by a white police officer while he subdued a suspected gunman at a bar in Chicago.

Jemel Roberson apprehended the man who had fired shots inside the bar on Sunday, but when police arrived at the scene they shot the 26-year-old as he held down the attacker.

The shooting suspect left at least four people inside the bar wounded.

According to local media reports, witnesses shouted “security” at the police officers in a vain attempt at stopping them from firing their weapons.

“Everybody was screaming out, ‘Security!’ He was a security guard,” witness Adam Harris told WGN9.

“And they still did their job, and saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him,” he added.

Midlothian Police said one of their officers shot Roberson after he ignored multiple requests to put down a firearm that he was licensed to carry. The department confirmed that the officer was white.

Roberson, a father of one whose partner was pregnant with his second child, died in hospital after receiving multiple bullet wounds.

‘Intentional, willful, and wanton’

A lawsuit has been filed against Midlothian Police for their role in Roberson’s death and the officer responsible has been placed on administrative leave, according to local media.

A lawyer for Roberson’s family said his killing was “intentional, willful, and wanton,”  the Chicago Tribune reported.

Friends described Roberson as a “church-going guy” and devoted father, who had dreams of joining the police.

His death is the latest of black man at the hands of a US police officer, and the circumstances of Roberson’s killing have prompted renewed focus on police violence in the country.

According to the Washington Post’s Fatal Force database, at least 841 people have been killed by the police in the US this year. The Post found that more than 980 people were killed by police in 2017.

The Guardian identified more than 1,090 police killings the previous year.

Nearly a quarter of those killed by police in 2016 were African Americans, although the group accounted for roughly 12 percent of the total US population.

According to watchdog group The Sentencing Project, African American men are six times more likely to be arrested than white men. 

These disparities, particularly the killing of African Americans by police, has prompted the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, a popular civil rights movement aimed at ending police violence and dismantling structural racism.

“Jemel Roberson was a young father and a security guard who aspired to one day become a police officer,” said Democrat New Jersey Senator Cory Booker on Twitter, adding: “He was doing his job, subduing a shooter, when he was killed by a police officer.

“Words can’t begin to describe my horror and outrage.” 

Jemel Roberson was a young father and a security guard who aspired to one day become a police officer. On Sunday, he was doing his job, subduing a shooter, when he was killed by a police officer. Words can’t begin to describe my horror and outrage. https://t.co/WZsIKHHDDa

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 14, 2018

Sri Lanka sealed their first win of the 2018 Women’s World T20 with a 25-run victory over Bangladesh in St Lucia.

Both lost a wicket to the first ball of the innings but Sashikala Siriwardena’s 31 helped Sri Lanka, who had lost their last eight completed games, to 97-7.

Bangladesh saw two wickets go in the first over and were all out for 72 off the last ball, remaining without a win.

Two teams who won their first matches follow in the night game, holders West Indies against South Africa.

Having taken a wicket with the first ball of the innings during their defeat against England on Monday, Bangladesh did so again when pace bowler Jahanara Alam, who went on to claim her second three-wicket haul of the tournament and become the event’s joint leading wicket-taker, produced a magnificent delivery after her side opted to field.

Utilising the gusting winds superbly, Alam swung one behind the pads of Yasoda Mendis from outside leg stump to rattle the timbers and more swing would have accounted for Dilani Manodara lbw two balls later, but Bangladesh chose not to use their review.

Sri Lanka had some communication problems between the wickets, which led to one of the more comical run-outs of recent years, but Nilakshi de Silva and Siriwardena both hit sixes in a rapid partnership of 31.

Bangladesh won the Asia Cup in June but had failed to score more than 81 in their last five matches and were bowled out by West Indies for just 46 in the opening match, the lowest total in Women’s World T20 history.

Remarkably there was again a wicket with the first ball, the first women’s T20 international in which it has occurred in both innings, but Sanjida Islam did not review when the impact was well outside off stump and the ball not doing enough to hit the stumps in any case.

The review came at the wrong moment when left-armer Udeshika Prabodani, who later had to go off with a finger injury, struck again three balls later, a decision that was upheld.

Nigar Sultana Joty hit two of only three boundaries in the innings, top-scoring with 20, as Bangladesh succumbed to a fifth successive defeat, with Sri Lanka retaining their hopes of semi-final qualification, moving above West Indies into second place, having played two matches more.

Following the deluge of rain last weekend and the showers that interrupted England-Bangladesh, there were no problems with the conditions at the Darren Sammy Stadium and leaders England will hope that remains the case when they play South Africa on Friday, with Ireland in Group B action in Guyana against India on Thursday.

Ford teamed up with Domino’s last year to test out self-driving cars for pizza delivery. And while a hot cheesy pie is certainly delicious, the autonomous technology is now being put to even better use.

On Wednesday, Ford announced that it is now using Postmates delivery service to bring Walmart products to customers’ homes via self-driving Ford vehicles. Ford and Walmart already partner with the delivery service Postmates, making it a smoother (and more obvious) collaboration. Ford works with Argo AI to power the self-driving part of the car.

Starting in the Miami area, where Domino’s is still testing autonomous pizza delivery and Ford has developed a urban self-driving car proving ground, the service will kick off with Walmart employees putting groceries into the car. The self-driving car then takes the bagged items to its destination, wherever someone who ordered items from the Walmart, Postmates, or other delivery app can come out and grab the bags from the trunk. 

The cars are clearly marked as Ford self-driving cars as well as “research” vehicles.

A touchscreen on the car window provides instructions and gives access to the trunk. As it’s still in testing, a safety driver will be in the front seat, so don’t expect to see driverless cars roaming around with your groceries.

In a blog post, Ford said by the end of this year autonomous Walmart deliveries will expand to 100 regions in the U.S. at 800 Walmart stores. In 2019, Ford says at least 1,600 Walmart stores will offer self-driving deliveries.

Walmart never shies away from new technology at its stores. It’s previously experimented with a self-serve kiosk, self-driving floor scrubbers, and AI-powered shopping apps. Back in July, Walmart partnered with Waymo, Google’s self-driving car company, for Phoenix users to get autonomous rides to the store to pick up pre-ordered groceries.

While taking a self-driving car to the store is something decidedly different, self-driving grocery delivery isn’t new. Kroger and Nuro kicked things off, and AutoX offers a digital grocery shopping experience delivered by autonomous vehicle in the San Jose, California area.

Ford plans to have a self-driving car service in 2021, but until then it continues to partner with companies to bring users food, groceries, and other products. 

Why go to the store when a robot car can bring everything to you?

Washington, DC – A Native American tribe is calling on members of Congress to help protect the status of its reservation after the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era decision to hold its land in trust.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration took the land of the Mashpee into trust in 2015, giving the tribe jurisdiction over the reservation, which is located in Massachusetts. 

Less than a year later, a judge ruled that the Obama administration had acted outside of its remit in entrusting the reservation to the federal government.

That ruling was based on a controversial reading of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which does not qualify the Mashpee as “Indian”. 

In September, the US Department of the Interior, under the Trump administration, decided not to challenge the ruling. The tribe then filed a lawsuit against the administration, saying its decision was “arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law, and if left unaddressed, will have a devastating impact on the tribe”, according to local media. 

On Wednesday, members of the tribe and supporters from across the US gathered at the Capitol to call on Congress to use its plenary powers to pass legislation that would override the Department of the Interior’s authority on the issue.

If Congress does not pass legislation protecting the tribe and the legal challenge fails, the Mashpee would be stripped of their right to exercise sovereign jurisdiction over their land.

Jessie Little Doe Baird, the tribe’s vice-chairwoman, told Al Jazeera that loss of jurisdiction would prevent the tribe from running indigenous language schools, tribal courts, and housing projects, as well as its own police. 

“We have our own police force, which is important because they’re tribal citizens and since we’ve had our own police force, none of our men have been beaten or shot, which we’ve had before with non-tribal police,” she said.

Baird, an MIT-trained linguist who has played a pivotal role in reviving the Wampanoag language, said she feared the government’s decision was the first step in a gradual encroachment on the sovereignty of Native American reservations. 

Disheartening

The Mashpee have the support of Native American organisations from across the country and Wednesday’s action on the Capitol drew speakers from different tribes.  

Members of the Mashpee’s wider Wampanoag tribe were the first to greet the pilgrims in the 17th century, and the American holiday of Thanksgiving has its roots in meals shared between the tribe and early English settlers.

Mashpee member Cameron Frye called the tribe’s recent experience “disheartening”.

“We’re the tribe that greeted the pilgrims, everybody knows about Thanksgiving,” he said, adding, “We’re the tribe that welcomed them and greeted them but here we are still fighting to protect our sovereignty.”

We’re the tribe that greeted the pilgrims, everybody knows about Thanksgiving. We’re the tribe that welcomed them and greeted them but here we are still fighting to protect our sovereignty.

Cameron Frye, member of the Mashpee tribe

Frye feared that if left unchallenged, the decision would set a precedent for future government action against other Native American tribes.

“Under this administration, it’s very frightening for all tribes, not just our own … If they can do this to us then they can do this to other tribes.”

Congressional bill

Members of Congress in both the House of Representative and the Senate have introduced bills to reaffirm the decision to take the Mashpee’s land into federal trust. 

If passed, the Mashpee Reservation Reaffirmation Act would supersede the court ruling preventing the original Obama-era decision. 

Massachusetts congressmen Bill Keating and Joe Kennedy were present at the Capitol on Wednesday to show their support for the tribe. The pair are Democrats but the Mashpee cause has drawn bipartisan support.

“We shouldn’t have to be doing this,” said Keating, who authored the House bill.

“The administration has taken a decision to make one decision and Congress is here to try to straighten that out.

“This is an existential issue, this is about the existence of this tribe, it’s that fundamental.” 

Now that Ellie Goulding is back to releasing new music, the UK singer has also returned to the wonderful world of music videos — which is great news for anyone who missed seeing her stun onscreen.

For “Close to Me,” the shimmering comeback single she released last month, Goulding chose to venture overseas to Budapest for a posh, scenic glamour reel. While singing about her wild, animistic romance, she stuns in a bunch of expensive-looking threads, essentially making the video look like a proper Vogue spread. Diplo, who collaborated on the song’s beat, doesn’t appear in the video, but Swae Lee beams in to deliver his verse from a lush green garden.

And just when you thought the video’s high-fashion vision was straightforward enough, Goulding throws in a little drama involving lots of guys in pink-accented suits. Check it out below.

While it’s unclear whether “Close to Me” is the first taste from Goulding’s fourth album or simply a one-off single, a press release for the singer says there is “new music on the horizon.” Vague, but promising!

Manchester City full-back Benjamin Mendy has undergone surgery on the cartilage in his left knee.

Mendy missed seven months of City’s Premier League title-winning campaign last term after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

No timescale has been given on the 24-year-old’s return to action.

Mendy was due to link up with the France international squad this week but withdrew and underwent the procedure in Barcelona.

Former Monaco defender Mendy has made 12 appearances in all competitions this season and played the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s 3-1 derby victory over rivals Manchester United.