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Biden makes good on his promise to punish Russia for the massive SolarWinds hack

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The Biden administration has officially blamed and sanctioned Russia for its role in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/12/14/22174314/government-hack-solarwinds-cozybear-russia">massive SolarWinds hack</a> that compromised computer systems in multiple government agencies as well as private companies.
In an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/15/executive-order-on-blocking-property-with-respect-to-specified-harmful-foreign-activities-of-the-government-of-the-russian-federation/">executive order</a> issued April 15, President Biden levied a variety of economic sanctions against several Russian financial institutions, technology companies, and individuals designated as having participated in “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/15/fact-sheet-imposing-costs-for-harmful-foreign-activities-by-the-russian-government/">harmful foreign activities</a>,” including but not limited to the hack.
In a short speech addressing today’s actions, Biden said his administration concluded that the Russian government “interfered in our elections” and was behind the “totally inappropriate” SolarWinds hack.
Biden said he spoke with Russian president Putin on Wednesday to tell him about the measures, but also hoped that the countries would have a stable and productive relationship moving forward, possibly with the two leaders meeting in person for a summit in the summer.
“I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so,” Biden said. “Now is the time to de-escalate.”
First reported last December, the series of attacks, linked to software made by the Texas-based software company SolarWinds, infiltrated at least nine federal agencies, including the Commerce, Energy, and Justice Departments, as well as more than 100 private companies, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/17/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-and-deputy-national-security-advisor-for-cyber-and-emerging-technology-anne-neuberger-february-17-2021/">said in February</a>. Officials were initially hesitant to assign blame for the hack — or even acknowledge its existence — under the Trump administration, but they would eventually say the attack was “likely Russian in origin.” Trump said very little and even suggested that China, not Russia, might have been behind it. Russia has always denied any involvement.
The hacks are believed to have begun in March 2020 through network monitoring software called Orion Platform, which is made by SolarWinds. The hackers were able to insert malware into Orion Platform software updates which, once installed, gave hackers access to those systems. This is called a supply chain attack. At one point, there were fears that the attack affected thousands of SolarWinds’ government and private clients. The hack was only discovered when a cybersecurity company that makes hacking tools <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/technology/fireeye-hacked-russians.html">found</a> that its own systems had been breached.
In contrast to his predecessor, Biden — then as a president-elect — said his administration would do everything possible to improve its own cybersecurity defenses, which the hack made clear were very much lacking, and that the breach would be a “top priority.” Biden also promised “substantial costs” for the perpetrators.
Four months later, the Biden administration is formally naming the Russian Intelligence Service (SVR) — which it says includes the groups known as Cozy Bear, APT29, and The Dukes — as being behind the hack. That group has also been blamed for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/us/russian-hackers-read-obamas-unclassified-emails-officials-say.html">previous hacks on government systems</a>, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/7/13/17568710/mueller-russia-gru-email-hacking-indictment-trump">Democratic National Committee</a>, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/16/21327021/russia-hackers-covid19-coronavirus-vaccine-attacks-uk-us-canada">even institutions</a> doing research on Covid-19 and vaccine development. It’s long been linked to Russian intelligence, which Russia has long denied.
The National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also released on April 15 a <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Apr/15/2002621240/-1/-1/0/CSA_SVR_TARGETS_US_ALLIES_UOO13234021.PDF/CSA_SVR_TARGETS_US_ALLIES_UOO13234021.PDF">cybersecurity advisory</a> about the vulnerabilities Russian hackers have exploited — and continue to exploit, as the advisory notably pointed out — in software from companies including Fortinet, Synacor, Pulse Secure, Citrix, and VMware. (Pulse Secure told Recode that the issue identified in its software has <a href="https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44101/">since been patched</a>.)
Biden’s executive order doesn't just address the hack or Russia’s other cyber malfeasances. It also says the Russian government has tried to undermine free and fair elections in the United States and its allies, targeted dissidents and journalists, and violated international law by refusing to respect other nation-states’ territorial integrity. The sanctions will also apply to individuals associated with the occupation of Crimea; reports that the Russian government <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21307008/russian-bounties-us-troops-afghanistan-trump-explained">paid bounties</a> to Taliban militants to kill American soldiers will be “handled through diplomatic, military and intelligence channels”; and 10 Russians who work at the country’s diplomatic mission in Washington have been expelled.
Russia’s response to the executive order, for now, is to promise that there will be a response.
“Such aggressive behavior will certainly receive a decisive rebuff, and the response to sanctions will be inevitable,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova <a href="https://www.interfax.ru/russia/761436">told a Russian news agency</a>.
<a href="http://www.vox.com/open-sourced">Open Sourced</a> is made possible by Omidyar Network. All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22385555/biden-solarwinds-hack-russia-sanctions">https://www.vox.com/recode/22385555/biden-solarwinds-hack-russia-sanctions</a>

vox Biden makes good on his promise to punish Russia for the massive SolarWinds hack

The Biden administration has officially blamed and sanctioned Russia for its role in the massive SolarWinds hack that compromised compu...

Will Biden’s Russia sanctions actually stop Putin?

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Russia can’t seem to quit antagonizing the United States and its friends. In just the past year, the Kremlin <a href="https://www.vox.com/22187866/usa-cyber-hack-solar-winds-microsoft">hacked its way into the computer systems of the US government and Fortune 500 companies</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/16/22334415/intelligence-2020-election-russia-iran-china-interference-influence">interfered in the 2020 election</a>, and amassed a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-amasses-troops-near-u-s-ally-ukraine-what-putin-n1263894">large military force on Ukraine’s border</a>.
As punishment, President <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/15/fact-sheet-imposing-costs-for-harmful-foreign-activities-by-the-russian-government/">Joe Biden</a> on Thursday announced a series of measures designed to, as the White House put it, “defend our national interests and impose costs for Russian Government actions that seek to harm us.”
Those <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/15/executive-order-on-blocking-property-with-respect-to-specified-harmful-foreign-activities-of-the-government-of-the-russian-federation/">measures</a> include sanctioning six Russian technology firms that support the Russian intelligence service’s cyber program; 32 entities and individuals involved in election interference and disinformation campaigns; limits on US financial interaction with Russia’s sovereign debt; and, in coordination with allies, eight figures “associated” with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US also expelled 10 diplomats from Moscow’s embassy in Washington, DC, and officially blamed the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (known as the SVR) for hacking SolarWinds software to spy on American officials and businesses.
The US surely took or will take covert action, too. Last week, White House press secretary <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/04/09/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-and-secretary-of-transportation-pete-buttigieg-april-9-2021/">Jen Psaki</a> reiterated the administration’s message that Russia would suffer “consequences, some unseen and some seen” for its many aggressions. It’s unclear what that might be, but experts assume a cyberattack is most likely.
Any way you look at it, this is a significant decision by Biden that most analysts say will cause real pain to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies. “This is definitely the biggest sanctions action toward Russia since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014,” said Edward Fishman, a former State Department sanctions official.
The real question, though, isn’t whether Russia will suffer financially from these measures, but whether they will compel Putin to end his aggressions toward the US and its friends.
The consensus among Democrats, Republicans, and current and former US government officials I spoke to: They won’t.
“These sanctions are punitive and will hurt the Russian economy, but they don’t provide any inducement for better behavior,” Angela Stent, who served as the US national intelligence officer for Russia from 2004 to 2006, told me.
After an address about his Russia actions later in the day, a reporter asked if Putin gave him any indication that he’d change his behavior. Biden didn’t say “yes,” but he did say that in conversations “I urged him to respond appropriately, not to exceed, because we can move as well.”
That doesn’t mean the measures are feckless. Biden may have found a larger strategic reason to hold back: making clear to Putin that if he continues to threaten America and its friends — namely Ukraine — he’ll face worse punishments. Much worse.
Top Democrats clearly want the White House to go further than it did to castigate Putin.
Sen. <a href="https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=B732B3E7-62B7-4DF6-B06B-1AB98F44F197">Mark Warner</a> (D-VA), the Senate Intelligence Committee chair, and Sen. <a href="https://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/chairman-menendez-statement-on-biden-administrations-sanctions-package-on-russia">Robert Menendez</a> (D-NJ), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, separately called the sanctions and expulsion package a “first step.”
A Democratic Congressional aide summed up the general feeling in the party like this: “This was quite a punch in the face [to Russia], but we need a combo.”
They believe the US could have done a lot more to inflict real pain on Putin and Russia.
Tim Morrison, who served as President Donald Trump’s top National Security Council official for Europe, has a few ideas in mind.
Biden could’ve sanctioned companies building the Russia-to-Germany <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/nord-stream-russia-germany-481437">Nord Stream 2 pipeline</a>. Moscow sees the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/09/sanctions-wont-stop-nord-stream-2-diplomacy-will/">95 percent</a> completed pipeline as a way to make money, and Berlin sees it as a much-needed energy delivery system. But Washington, under both Trump and Biden, views the pipeline as a naked effort by the Kremlin to extend its influence into the heart of Europe.
If the US had sanctioned the many firms involved in construction, as <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/nord-stream-russia-germany-481437">mandated by Congress</a>, it would deal a big blow to Putin. “Kill it,” Morrison told me. “Kill it now.” However, the Biden administration is looking to appoint a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/07/biden-envoy-nord-stream-2-479706">Nord Stream 2 special envoy</a> with the express purpose of making sure the pipeline is never finished.
Biden was asked why he didn’t place sanctions over Nord Stream 2 during his Thursday afternoon address. It’s “a complicated issue affecting our allies in Europe,” the president responded, adding “that still is an issue that is in play.”
Morrison, who’s now at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, DC, also said Biden should have closed <a href="https://sanfrancisco.mid.ru/en_US/russian-consulates">all five Russian consulates</a> in the US.
Those tougher actions would show Putin the US was really serious about stopping him.
“We’re holding things back. We shouldn’t be holding things back. It’s going to be perceived by Putin as what it is: unserious,” Morrison told me. Putin is “a dime-store magician, not a strategic genius, but he can read people. That’s why he’s still alive.”
That Biden didn’t go as far as he could have means Putin is unlikely to stop the cyber espionage, election interference, and other actions that put him on America’s bad side.
The latest measures “are unlikely to change Putin’s calculations in any fundamental way,” said John Sipher, who formerly ran the CIA’s Russia operations. “Putin will continue to use asymmetric means to damage the West, and he has the tools and experience to weather any domestic economic or political damage created by the sanctions.”
But why not do everything Morrison prescribed and see if that would work? The reason, experts tell me, is that Biden thinks he can make Putin hesitate before authorizing the worst actions.
Fishman, the former US sanctions official now at the Atlantic Council think tank in DC, explained that sometimes the sanctions and punishments you don’t use can be more effective than the ones you do.
“Sanctions are most impactful as a threat, before they’re imposed, to deter future actions by another government,” he told me. “What Biden is showing is he’s not going to hold back when it comes to sanctions against Russia, but he has more arrows in his quiver.”
In other words, Putin not only has to deal with the fallout of these imposed penalties but also has to worry about future reprimands should he push Biden too far.
That “sword of Damocles,” as Fishman called it, comes in real handy right now. Russia has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-amasses-troops-near-u-s-ally-ukraine-what-putin-n1263894">tens of thousands of troops and a convoy of tanks</a> near Ukraine’s border. The concern is Putin may be gearing up for yet another invasion of the country, designed to bolster the Kremlin-aligned forces who’ve been fighting in Ukraine since 2014.
Such a possibility is certainly weighing on Biden’s mind. In a Tuesday call with Putin, Biden “emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” per a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/13/readout-of-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-call-with-president-vladimir-putin-of-russia-4-13/">White House readout</a>. “The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.”
If Biden had used up every sanctions and diplomatic option available to him, Putin may have just gone ahead and invaded Ukraine anyway because he’d have no further moves to fear, experts said. There’s always the chance of Biden authorizing direct military action or pushing to get Ukraine in NATO, but experts believe those would be steps too far — and Putin knows that.
Biden keeping more options in the holster, then, was the right move for the time being.
“Everything Putin has done merits stronger sanctions,” said Evelyn Farkas, a former top Pentagon official for Russia in the Obama administration. “But when we’re talking about ongoing foreign policy and diplomacy, this makes sense to me.”
There’s more Biden is trying to communicate with these measures, said Sipher, the former CIA agent. “This effort has a symbolic effect in that it makes clear that the new administration plans to focus on the Kremlin’s malign behavior, and Putin needs to assume that the Biden administration will consider future and stronger pushback.”
All told, Putin is unlikely to ever stop trying to weaken the US wherever he can, regardless of what the US does to him, his cronies, or his country. But if the Biden administration can at least stop Putin from doing the worst — like a larger invasion of a US partner nation in Europe — then these and the threat of further penalties would prove a success.
“These new sanctions are pretty kick-ass,” Farkas said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22385716/russia-sanctions-biden-cyber-ukraine">https://www.vox.com/22385716/russia-sanctions-biden-cyber-ukraine</a>

vox Will Biden’s Russia sanctions actually stop Putin?

Russia can’t seem to quit antagonizing the United States and its friends. In just the past year, the Kremlin hacked its way into the comput...

The economy is improving — but the pandemic isn’t over yet

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Economic data released Thursday shows some hopeful signs of a strong post-pandemic recovery, five weeks after the federal government implemented a sweeping Covid-19 recovery bill — and as increased rates of vaccinations continue to push more Americans back into their local economies.
According to the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/ui-claims/20210685.pdf">Department of Labor</a>, US jobless claims totaled 576,000 last week, the lowest number since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. That’s far below the 710,000 jobless claims <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/initial-jobless-claims-tumble-193-000-to-lowest-level-of-pandemic-51618492946">economists polled by the Wall Street Journal</a> expected to see this week, and the first time the Labor Department has reported under 600,000 unemployment claims in over a year. It’s a sign that the economy is recovering after months spent languishing in pandemic-induced recession.
“We’re gaining momentum here, which is just unquestionable,” Grant Thornton chief economist Diane Swonk told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/15/business/stock-market-today">New York Times</a>, while also noting that so many unemployed people is no cause for celebration. “You’re still not popping champagne corks.”
Nevertheless, the numbers are vastly different from those that came at the beginning of the pandemic. When the US locked down for the first time last March, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/548373-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-by-200k-to-lowest-level-since-march-2020?rl=1">jobless claims skyrocketed, peaking at 3.3 million a week</a>. Before that, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/4/16/21223049/unemployment-filings-high-great-depression">the highest total was 700,000 in 1982</a>. In 2021, 700,000 jobless claims has been taken as a good sign, down from 900,000 in early January.
Other economic indicators are also pointing to a potential recovery. For instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/15/business/stock-market-today">retail spending rose nearly 10 percent in March</a>. Double-digit gains in restaurants and bars suggest that the distribution of vaccines is at least partially responsible for the economic growth, as more people return to public settings with coronavirus protections in place.
But other <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/us-economy-march-retail-sales-coronavirus-recovery-11618450223">economists and business leaders</a> attribute much of this economic growth to the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/09/974841565/heres-whats-in-the-american-rescue-plan-as-it-heads-toward-final-passage">$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan</a> signed by President Joe Biden in March. While the rollout of a massive child tax credit and billions spent on housing assistance are aiding the overall economy, the $1,400 stimulus checks sent out to many Americans are seen as having led directly to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/retail-sales-economy-2f20ee18d72ed056412fde0fe94f9fae">current retail spending boom</a>, now at its highest point since May 2020. Shoppers spent more on clothing, sporting goods, and electronics in March than in any month in 2021, the <a href="https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf">Commerce Department</a> found.
“Spending will almost certainly drop back in April as some of the stimulus boost wears off,” <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/15/us-retail-sales-march-2021.html">Michael Pearce, senior US economist at Capital Economics</a>, told NBC News. “But with the vaccination rollout proceeding at a rapid pace and household finances in strong shape, we expect overall consumption growth to continue rebounding rapidly in the second quarter too.”
The economy is still a long way from the heights of February 2020, when 8.5 million more Americans had jobs than do today. A full recovery could take up to three years, though it’ll likely happen sooner, according to the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/14/u-s-labor-market-inches-back-from-the-covid-19-shock-but-recovery-is-far-from-complete/">Pew Research Center</a> — getting there will require curbing the Covid-19 epidemic, a goal the US is making progress toward but has not yet reached.
Good economic news doesn’t mean the pandemic — and all the problems it has created — are over. A full economic recovery is likely incumbent on the US reaching herd immunity (generally seen as when <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19/2020/12/15/22176555/anthony-fauci-covid-19-vaccine-herd-immunity-goal">70 to 85 percent of the public</a> has some immunity to Covid-19), ensuring the country is no longer at the mercy of coronavirus-induced shutdowns.
At the moment, Covid-19 cases nationally are on the rise, <a href="https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2021/04/14/why-michigan-covid-surge/7220320002/">especially in Michigan</a>, where children and adults under age 30 now make up 30 percent of Covid-infected patients statewide and hospitalizations are at highs not seen since last fall. Overall, the US is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html">averaging more than 70,000 cases</a> per day. The rate of vaccinations has also been increasing, with the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/12/covid-19-cases-deaths-vaccinations-daily-update.html">CDC regularly reporting record-breaking days</a>; at the moment, the US is vaccinating an average of 3.3 million people per day, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html">New York Times</a>. This has led to a situation that <a href="https://www.today.com/video/dr-fauci-it-s-a-race-between-the-vaccine-and-the-virus-108746821523">Dr. Anthony Fauci</a>, chief medical adviser to the president, has described as “a race between the vaccine and the virus.”
Despite this, there is some concern herd immunity may be further off than it could be, especially in regions with low levels of vaccine confidence and demand. <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3695">A Quinnipiac University poll</a> released Wednesday found that roughly 45 percent of Republicans do not plan on getting vaccinated, suggesting the inroads Biden has tried to make to depoliticize the vaccine haven’t worked. Some states are already seeing a surplus of vaccines relative to demand. As of early April, Alabama had administered just 61.4 percent of its doses, an <a href="https://www.axios.com/america-coronavirus-vaccines-republicans-rural-states-34755cbf-384e-4539-bb45-68a775581f6f.html">Axios</a> analysis found.
If that lack of uptake is due to concern about the vaccine’s safety or efficacy, those numbers may change. Some research, including polling by the <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-march-2021/">Kaiser Family Foundation</a>, has found the number of Americans who want to see how the vaccine affects others before taking it declining as the pandemic goes on — and the number of people willing to take it increasing. As of March 2021, Kaiser’s pollsters found 62 percent of adults saying they’d gotten the vaccine or would as soon as possible, up from 55 percent in February.
Like the economic numbers, these figures are promising, and could usher in even further economic gains. These are badly needed, as unemployment remains elevated at 6 percent, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf">as of March</a>, (though less than half of its <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46554.pdf">pandemic high of 14.8 percent</a>). Within that unemployment figure is a reminder that the absence of a total economic recovery is affecting workers of color the most.
The unemployment rate for Hispanic workers is almost 2 percentage points higher than the overall unemployment rate, currently standing at 7.9 percent. For Black workers, it’s even higher, 3.6 percentage points above the overall unemployment rate at 9.6 percent. White workers, meanwhile, were under the topline number, at 5.4 percent.
Overall, however, economists remain bullish. <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/global-economic-outlook-2021">Morgan Stanley</a> is forecasting a 6.4 percent increase in global GDP this year, and a slightly more modest 5.9 percent increase in the US. It would be a stunning reversal of fortunes for a world economy that plunged to record depths in 2020.
“This was the deepest, swiftest recession ever, but it’s also turning into the fastest recovery, ZipRecruiter labor economist Julia Pollak told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/15/business/stock-market-today">New York Times</a>. “And I don’t think we should lose sight of that just because some of the measures are a little stubborn.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/15/22385989/april-unemployment-numbers-economy-improving-pandemic">https://www.vox.com/2021/4/15/22385989/april-unemployment-numbers-economy-improving-pandemic</a>

vox The economy is improving — but the pandemic isn’t over yet

Economic data released Thursday shows some hopeful signs of a strong post-pandemic recovery, five weeks after the federal government implem...

Jeff Bezos seems to be reckoning with his legacy in the wake of the Amazon union drive

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n1NK4Kt84SeMmlbLtTRG31WsNgM=/0x126:5080x2786/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446681/1299433567.jpg" /></div>
In his final letter to Amazon shareholders before <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22264330/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-jeff-bezos-aws">stepping aside as CEO</a>, Jeff Bezos offered a vigorous defense of the company’s treatment of its warehouse employees. But the billionaire also admitted that the retail giant needs to get its act together in the wake of a historic union drive at a company warehouse in Alabama.
“I think we need to do a better job for our employees,” Bezos wrote in the letter. “While the voting results were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees — a vision for their success.”
While much of Bezos’s final shareholder letter focused on all the good and value Bezos believes his company has accomplished for customers, shareholders, and Amazon merchants, the employee discussion hints at a CEO perhaps finally aware — even if just slightly — of his complicated legacy. Rather than just vague talking points, Bezos offered examples of how Amazon might seek to improve when it comes to employee treatment.
For example, Bezos said he wants Amazon to continue to invent ways to reduce the most common type of injuries that Amazon warehouse employees suffer: strains and sprains from repetitive work.
“We have always wanted to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company,” Bezos said. “We won’t change that. It’s what got us here. But I am committing us to an addition. We are going to be Earth’s Best Employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work.”
Amazon aiming to be the world’s best employer is indeed a departure for the company; Amazon employees have told Recode over the years that even HR executives at the company have stated internally some version of the reality that Amazon is “customer-obsessed” and not “employee-obsessed.”
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Are you a current or former Amazon employee and have thoughts on this topic? Please email Jason Del Rey at jason@recode.net or jasondelrey@protonmail.com. His phone number and Signal number are available upon request by email.
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But, as Amazon execs often do when the company faces critical scrutiny, Bezos offered a vigorous defense of the company that was dismissive of some employee complaints and the journalists who report on them.
“If you read some of the news reports, you might think we have no care for employees,” Bezos wrote. “In those reports, our employees are sometimes accused of being desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options for where to work. When we survey fulfillment center employees, 94% say they would recommend Amazon to a friend as a place to work.”
An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately offer an explanation on how Amazon calculated the 94 percent figure.
Bezos’s letter comes a week after a majority of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22375964/amazon-union-vote-results-what-happens-next">voted against unionizing</a> with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The election was only the second union vote at a US Amazon warehouse in the company’s 25-year history, and the largest by far. While 738 workers voted in favor of unionizing, 1,798 voted against it. Another 505 ballots were challenged — most of them by Amazon, the union said — and were not counted in the results. Even if many of those went in the union’s favor, the loss would have still been a resounding one.
The union has said it plans to file unfair labor practice charges against Amazon relating to its behavior during, and in the months leading up to, the election. And no matter the outcome of the challenge, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22375964/amazon-union-vote-results-what-happens-next">Amazon will face other labor battles</a> in the months ahead. While Amazon often touts its starting hourly pay of $15 for warehouse workers and medical and retirement benefits from day one of employment, pro-union workers say they have issues with facets of the work, such as Amazon’s strict surveillance of their every move, the amount and duration of break times, and production quotas.
Bezos argued that the performance goals are reasonable.
“We set achievable performance goals that take into account tenure and actual employee performance data,” he wrote. “Performance is evaluated over a long period of time as we know that a variety of things can impact performance in any given week, day, or hour. If employees are on track to miss a performance target over a period of time, their manager talks with them and provides coaching.”
On the topic of workplace injuries, Bezos said the company has already launched one program to “coach small groups of employees on body mechanics, proactive wellness, and safety” and is developing a staffing system that will automatically rotate workers into different roles to help prevent injuries. Amazon warehouse employees and managers have told Recode over the past year that it is not uncommon for performance goals to take precedence over the manual rotation of worker roles intended to prevent injuries.
The fact that warehouse working conditions made up a significant portion of the shareholder letter — and that Bezos said he will focus on employee improvements in his new role as executive chair of the Amazon board of directors — seems like a clear sign that the world’s richest man sees the threat to his company’s future of focusing on customer satisfaction at the expense of employees.
But Bezos’s outright dismissal that some Amazon warehouse workers feel like they are treated like robots points to a CEO disconnected, or shielded, from the everyday life of his massive front-line workforce.
Yes, it is absolutely true that there are Amazon warehouse workers who appreciate the pay and benefits that the company offers, especially in light of other employment options in the areas in which they live. But Bezos, in his final days as CEO, would also do well to at least hear from the many pickers, packers, stowers — and low-level managers who oversee them — who describe demoralizing work overseen by robots, computer algorithms, and metric-obsessed managers who have little regard for their human well-being.
Like its founder’s legacy, the discussion of whether Amazon is a good employer is complicated.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22385644/jeff-bezos-amazon-warehouse-work-union-shareholder-letter-2021">https://www.vox.com/recode/22385644/jeff-bezos-amazon-warehouse-work-union-shareholder-letter-2021</a>

vox Jeff Bezos seems to be reckoning with his legacy in the wake of the Amazon union drive

In his final letter to Amazon shareholders before stepping aside as CEO , Jeff Bezos offered a vigorous defense of the company’s treatment ...

How effective was Derek Chauvin’s defense?

On Thursday, the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering George Floyd, adjourned for the week. Jurors will hear closing arguments and begin deliberating on Monday.
For more than two weeks, the prosecution, a team of four lawyers, presented 38 witnesses to show that Floyd died as a result of Chauvin’s knee. They put on the stand bystanders who cried recalling the moment they saw Floyd die under Chauvin’s restraint. They brought in <a href="https://www.vox.com/22373113/derek-chauvin-trial-police-officers-testify">10 local officers</a>, including the Minneapolis police chief, who said the use of force was unreasonable and against protocol. Medical experts testified that a lack of oxygen due to Chauvin’s knee caused Floyd’s heart to stop. In sum, the prosecution brought out witness after witness who supported that Chauvin’s knee was a significant contributing factor in Floyd’s death.
Then this week, Chauvin’s defense team — one man, Eric J. Nelson — set out to sow doubt in the jurors’ minds, an endeavor that may have been difficult but certainly was not impossible.
During his opening statement and witness cross-examination, Nelson laid the groundwork for his three key arguments. Chief among them is that Floyd’s drug use and health issues caused his death — not Chauvin’s actions.
“The evidence will show that Mr. Floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia that occurred as a result of hypertension, his coronary disease, the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and the adrenaline flowing through his body, all of which acted to further compromise an already compromised heart,” Nelson said in his opening statement.
Next, Nelson argued that the growing crowd of bystanders that stood to watch presented a threat to the officers. “The crowd began to grow angry. [The officers are] called names,” Nelson told jurors. “They’re screaming at them, causing the officers to divert their attention from the care of Mr. Floyd.”
Lastly, Chauvin’s use of force was justified, according to Nelson, because Floyd resisted, and hence needed to be restrained so he wouldn’t further threaten anyone’s safety. Nelson told the courtroom, “You will see that three Minneapolis police officers could not overcome the strength of Mr. Floyd. Mr. Chauvin stands at 5-9, 140 pounds. Mr. Floyd is 6-3, weighs 223 pounds.”
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<figcaption>Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, discusses motions before the court as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, looks on.</figcaption>
<cite>Court TV via AP</cite></figure>
The defense rested its case on Thursday morning after having called just seven witnesses — those who testified that Floyd had a history of drug use and others who testified that Chauvin’s use of force was justified.
The brief presentation from the defense might appear to be a slim case, but it’s the prosecution that bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin’s actions substantially contributed to Floyd’s death.
“The prosecution has to dot every i and cross every t, while the defense just has to create doubt. All they need to come up with is one story that sounds plausible and that undercuts the prosecution’s case,” Chris Slobogin, the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Law and director of the Criminal Justice Program at Vanderbilt University, told Vox.
And Nelson’s efficacy can only be measured when the jury returns its verdict. But Nelson’s strategy, coupled with the rarity of these cases and how hard it is to prosecute police officers, has left experts somewhat on the fence on how this will end.
“In a case like this, you have to think, ‘Who are the jurors and are they going to buy it?’” Michelle Engert, a defense attorney and a law professor at American University, told Vox. “While the case is being shown to the country, it’s really 14 jurors that decide.”
Slobogin agreed. “It’s hard to make conclusory statements now because it’s always hard to predict what a jury will do. And in cases like this, it’s very difficult to convict police officers, even for actions that seem egregious,” Slobogin said.
Chauvin faces three charges: <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.19">second-degree unintentional murder</a> (meaning he caused Floyd’s death while committing assault); <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.205">second-degree manslaughter</a> (meaning he caused Floyd’s death due to negligence that creates an unreasonable risk); and <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.195">third-degree murder</a> (meaning he acted in a way that was reckless at the risk of causing death).
To make the case that Chauvin is not guilty on any of these charges, Nelson introduced a handful of witnesses on Tuesday who he believed could help him make the argument that Floyd died of preexisting health conditions and drugs, not because of Chauvin’s knee to his neck. These witnesses included Michelle Moseng, a now-retired paramedic who once assisted Floyd in 2019 when he was detained by a police officer. Moseng testified that Floyd’s blood pressure was very high, expressing concern that he was at risk of a stroke. Floyd told her that “he had a history of hypertension and hadn’t been taking his medication,” Moseng said.
Nelson also called to the stand Shawanda Hill, an acquaintance of Floyd’s who ran into him at the Cup Foods. Hill was going to get a ride home with Floyd until the police knocked on the window of the Mercedes SUV and then the fatal encounter ensued. Hill testified that Floyd had been asleep in the car and she had difficulty waking him up. Though Hill said that Floyd told her “he was tired because he had been working,” Nelson attempted to use Floyd’s slumber as evidence of a drug overdose.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1618533391_1553_56333" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22446513,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fAq1v_cH5S3sgTFssGRb7NcQcaI=/0x0:2792x1861/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IBsJBd5zTbbhYhrk3RM_-ZzNeQ4=/0x0:2792x1861/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Hb_SedG2wDRK1gWirZE4fFm9sKc=/0x0:2792x1861/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s4imBs2cPvBmlUFf55tmQNBkGiE=/0x0:2792x1861/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qzMivAO6Fh-jS80is52rt8UxW1U=/0x0:2792x1861/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SM3MG5jaV1KekdixWq43XqmY58s=/0x0:2792x1861/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KKsKpOdF5sgWmKHVFOWSRdma8_M=/0x0:2792x1861/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4brGlJt_cLMpzIGiRmNt41R00uU=/0x0:2792x1861/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FMIwARtT92T6pwOkNuSoMxBeSgM=/0x0:2792x1861/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="" data-upload-width="2792" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IGORMcD8rZ8r38y2PL2uWMkgbGI=/0x0:2792x1861/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e_j6gtBIbu1Dh2BxIi8qykCt6cw=/0x0:2792x1861/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-yN8zB6-12gLdov28OhFv5ob2DY=/0x0:2792x1861/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/U4atF79AzBzTnurRUA2xsQtJu6Q=/0x0:2792x1861/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jM-mf1CN_Gbg8teagy-bpCT0hPo=/0x0:2792x1861/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/90bQRNJuhcatBjJAMk9VLBuUAJU=/0x0:2792x1861/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eJ-Px7dEQ2RMRtKyzXVOC-gJIc4=/0x0:2792x1861/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c9_m_aIPosYSMKeiaInYV4k40YE=/0x0:2792x1861/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-bd1OXtp1ZGf7M9zUBLhqVqeEKM=/0x0:2792x1861/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8hycHfRrnVg68y4P6aEDlGPUKJ4=/0x0:2792x1861/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:2792x1861):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446513/AP_21103584759721.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Shawanda Hill testifies on April 13.</figcaption>
<cite>Court TV via AP</cite></figure>
To further the argument, on Wednesday, Nelson presented former Maryland chief medical examiner David Fowler, who did not perform Floyd’s autopsy but testified that Floyd died of a cardiac arrhythmia due to his heart disease. Fowler also added that Floyd’s fentanyl and methamphetamine use played a significant role in his death in addition to carbon monoxide that he was exposed to from the squad car and Floyd’s paraganglioma, a tumor that caused adrenaline to course through his body. Fowler said it was the combination of those elements that caused Floyd’s death and not a lack of oxygen or asphyxia as the prosecution outlined.
The prosecution anticipated these kinds of arguments from the defense and presented a series of medical experts, including pulmonary and critical care physician Martin Tobin, who testified that Chauvin’s actions led to asphyxia, a lack of oxygen, which caused Floyd’s heart to stop. Meanwhile, Hennepin County chief medical examiner Andrew Baker listed homicide as Floyd’s cause of death on his death certificate and said Chauvin’s actions created extra adrenaline in Floyd’s blood that forced his enlarged heart to beat faster and eventually stop. In response to Fowler’s carbon monoxide argument, Jerry Blackwell, an attorney for the prosecution, got Fowler to admit that he never reviewed emissions reports for the vehicle and couldn’t say definitively that he knew whether the vehicle was running.
Ultimately, the defense’s effort to contend that Chauvin’s knee had nothing to do with Floyd’s death might not be their strongest argument. “What the law says on causation is even if Chauvin only contributed to the death, he can be a legal cause. If the drugs were a significant cause and Chauvin was also a significant cause, then Nelson loses the causation argument,” said Slobogin. “Obviously, there are multiple causes with almost anything, and as long as Chauvin was a significant cause the defense is going to lose on causation.”
Still, causation has to be proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt. “All the defense has to do is suggest a doubt as to the causation issue and it’s over, Chauvin’s acquitted. Because maybe the jury will believe it was all drugs or it was all drugs plus Floyd’s heart conditions,” Slobogin said.
Nelson’s next argument concerned mens rea, or Chauvin’s mental state, and whether he was aware that his actions would cause Floyd’s death. This is where Nelson argued that Chauvin was so distracted by the crowd of bystanders that he was unable to pay attention to the effect of his knee on Floyd. Nelson called Minneapolis Park police officer Peter Chang to testify because Chang was called to the scene on May 25 to assist. Chang testified that bystanders were at every corner and that the crowd was “very aggressive” toward officers. Chang’s body camera footage shows he was across the street at the time of the fatal encounter, watching Floyd’s SUV and keeping an eye on Hill and Morries Hall, another passenger in Floyd’s vehicle that day.
“This is the defense’s weakest argument,” said Slobogin. “Chauvin had to be aware that there was at least some risk that Floyd would die.”
Lastly, and perhaps the defense’s strongest argument, is the defense that the risk was justified. In other words, Chauvin had to take the risk that he might kill Floyd because Floyd was resisting and hence posed a threat to officers and the public that needed to be restrained. In other words, Nelson is arguing that Chauvin was simply doing his job as a police officer and doing exactly what he was trained to do to keep his colleagues and the public safe.
“This is the defense’s strongest argument — though it’s a weak one — because they can argue that Chauvin’s force was reasonable, that this is what he’s trained to do. They can say that it wasn’t disproportionate since Floyd was resisting,” Slobogin said.
Nelson called two witnesses this week to make this point. The first was Scott Creighton, a retired Minneapolis narcotics division police officer, who testified about the May 2019 traffic stop in which he pointed his gun at Floyd. “The passenger was unresponsive and noncompliant to my commands. I then had to physically reach in and I wanted to see his hands,” Creighton said after Nelson played body camera footage of the traffic stop to the court. “In my mind, his behavior was very nervous, anxious.” Use of force expert and retired police officer Barry Brodd testified that Chauvin was justified, acted with “objective reasonableness,” and followed Minneapolis Police Department policy.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1618533391_6561_56334" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22446524,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/w8l8w0YYxa5VRBHYREANkyqbXnw=/0x0:1779x1186/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iRU79IK4ECqoE4a9SbLqPjPdnc4=/0x0:1779x1186/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rqG3wotviyruWD90lDLEw-mNgIc=/0x0:1779x1186/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gF6M_KuViQDKRm4aZoah7fvN7zQ=/0x0:1779x1186/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/t9JGTq0TWu1xOeYZ7_g78wDR3j4=/0x0:1779x1186/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LV8dkMCzQ11a03GY0qN_cowBeLw=/0x0:1779x1186/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q6wJkO621bwxmImCBbG6Q2tVS6M=/0x0:1779x1186/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4nr7f1zkBUDfbwCHwtgvnAcoOcg=/0x0:1779x1186/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eCSde4y_flhuleO4HuETXxQfeiU=/0x0:1779x1186/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="" data-upload-width="1779" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AvthMSZByfFlHH4JnVa07ecRxk8=/0x0:1779x1186/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wBIjd5witI7evAXrP5_F9H_QTDA=/0x0:1779x1186/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZsgJmBHl5zR-SnIoWP-G0rSeFdQ=/0x0:1779x1186/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KVAOuqgZANj78tA5ECkqtAnmf2E=/0x0:1779x1186/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tLUErxVyqADQeYWpKHmgL2p30w4=/0x0:1779x1186/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Lkx4NxJ_TOm9hDLE-tZQq-7JAp4=/0x0:1779x1186/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dNGiIrRhxawRPM7PfBSFA09OtvI=/0x0:1779x1186/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/W1oyY2wlx6gQmRj0b7p5fYRwUds=/0x0:1779x1186/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/46BrppD-qU4qhcD1rv_N46FUBk4=/0x0:1779x1186/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/37dIAc6QABniJOEaxqvUoy_8BFQ=/0x0:1779x1186/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1779x1186):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22446524/AP_21103694734073.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Barry Brodd, a use of force expert, testifies on April 13.</figcaption>
<cite>Court TV via AP</cite></figure>
“The defense’s case suggests that Floyd was so high that he couldn’t be controlled and so big that he couldn’t be controlled,” said Engert. “And what they’re trying to suggest without doing it is Floyd is so dark that he couldn’t be controlled, words that they would’ve used 50 years ago.”
According to Engert, taken individually, the defense’s arguments aren’t strong, but they are maybe stronger together. “I wonder if these arguments will work. Because when you show that video, I just don’t see how a jury can acquit,” Engert told Vox.
On Thursday, Chauvin exercised his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in his defense. It was the first time the former officer spoke in court in nearly three weeks. Judge Peter Cahill assured Chauvin that he would instruct the jury not to hold Chauvin’s decision to not testify against him.
If the former officer — whose case is <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/30/derek-chauvin-trial-eric-nelson-defense-george-floyd/6969253002/">being backed by</a> the Minneapolis Police and Paces Officers Association’s legal defense fund, a large organization of police union members across the state — had testified, he would have risked bringing his past record, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/derek-chauvin-minneapolis-police-background-life-2020-6">which includes 18 conduct complaints in 19 years</a>, into the trial’s purview.
“If a criminal defendant is being tried and their criminal history is a mile long, prosecution can’t introduce that unless and until the defendant takes the stand,” Slobogin said. “If Chauvin takes the stand, such a history would become admissible, and that could be a dicey proposition.”
Chauvin’s announcement came after a fourth night of unrest in the Minneapolis region in response to the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/12/22379984/daunte-wright-minnesota-police-killing-traffic-stop-brooklyn-center">fatal police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright</a> during a traffic stop just a few miles away from the courtroom. Though Cahill has repeatedly advised jurors to not watch the news, attention on the trial and its impending outcome has only increased as a result of the recent killing.
And while Nelson’s role might seem like an uphill battle, given the breadth and depth of the prosecution’s case, <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938234/police-shootings-killings-prosecutions-court">data shows</a> that it is difficult to convict the few police officers who actually get charged and tried for crimes.
“If there wasn’t video, we wouldn’t be here and there would be no prosecution,” Engert told Vox. But she also pointed to the 2014 police killing of Eric Garner as an example of why video sometimes doesn’t matter — in that case, there wasn’t even enough for an indictment.
One key distinction, though, is the prosecution’s effort in this case. “Here the prosecutors are using every tool and that makes me hopeful,” said Engert. “In Garner’s case, there was a sort of ‘blue wall’ where the prosecutors didn’t even want an indictment and used every tool to keep the officer who killed Garner out of the justice system. This is what’s changed in seven years.”
Slobogin agreed. “Sometimes prosecutors may not pour as much energy into a case because, after all, they depend on the police to bring them cases and to be their investigators,” Slobogin said. “I do not think that’s true in this case.”
Slobogin pointed to another factor that seems more relevant for Chauvin’s trial: “The jury is composed of citizens of the community who want the police to protect them.” The prosecution could “have a very hard time convicting a person whom they see as a guardian, as someone who is responsible for protecting their lives and their property,” he said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22385183/derek-chauvin-defense-murder-trial">https://www.vox.com/22385183/derek-chauvin-defense-murder-trial</a>

vox How effective was Derek Chauvin’s defense?

On Thursday, the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murdering George Floyd, adjourned for the week. Juro...

Alex Jones Right Again: Scientists Admit They Successfully Created Human-Monkey Hybrids

<h4>US and Chinese scientists have successfully created embryos that are part monkey and part human in order to produce organs for transplant recipients, raising ethics concerns among scientists.</h4>
The mix of human-monkey cells were created by a team of international scientists, according to a report by <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/04/15/987164563/scientists-create-early-embryos-that-are-part-human-part-monkey?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social">NPR</a>. “My first question is: Why?” said <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/kirstin-rw-matthews/">Kirstin Matthews</a>, a fellow for science and technology at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “I think the public is going to be concerned, and I am as well, that we’re just kind of pushing forward with science without having a proper conversation about what we should or should not do.”
While many bioethicists have voiced concerns over the potential ramifications of such research, the scientists responsible for developing the embryos maintain their stance that the experiment is just.
“This is one of the major problems in medicine — organ transplantation,” said <a href="https://www.salk.edu/scientist/juan-carlos-izpisua-belmonte/">Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte</a>, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory of the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences and a co-author of the groundbreaking <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00305-6">Cell</a> study. “The demand for that is much higher than the supply.”
“I don’t see this type of research being ethically problematic,” said <a href="https://case.edu/medicine/bioethics/about/faculty-staff/insoo-hyun">Insoo Hyun</a>, a bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University and Harvard University. “It’s aimed at lofty humanitarian goals.”
The study signifies the next step in the development of <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/18/478212837/in-search-for-cures-scientists-create-embryos-that-are-both-animal-and-human">human-animal chimeras</a> as scientists search for new ways to cure disease. Researchers in the US and other countries have been injecting human stem cells into sheep and pig embryos, with little success. Instead, researchers injected 25 human <a href="https://stemcell.ucla.edu/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells">induced pluripotent stem cells</a>, typically called iPS cells, into embryos from macaque monkeys, which have a closer genetic resemblance to humans.
The researchers reported that they were able to detect human cells growing in 132 of the embryos after the first day of the study. This allowed them to study the embryos for up to 19 days.
Many media outlets dismissed concerns about chimeras being used for organ harvesting after the science was repeatedly covered by radio and TV host Alex Jones. Most recently, in a viral appearance on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast, Jones warned Americans about the motivations behind the development of human-animal chimeras.
“The globalists want to play God,” said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa9jXkVpnw0">Jones on the podcast</a>. “They’re telling you, more human than human, this is going to be more advanced. This is going to be better. But like everything like a cell phone, or like a vaccine, it’s got a Trojan horse. It’s got a back door. It’s already been tested. It’s already been perfected. It’s being rolled out.” Jones’ statements were dismissed by Forbes as a “barrage of mouth diarrhea.”
<div class="7idT72Wz"><a href="https://www.infowarsstore.com/essential-vitamin-combo-pack?ims=vvfpn&utm_campaign=EssentialVitaminComboCountdown&utm_source=Infowars+Hero&utm_medium=Banner&utm_content=EssentialVitaminComboCountdownHERO" target="_blank"><img src="https://api.directus.libertycdn.com/uploads/_/originals/3DaysLeft-EVCP-hero-385.jpg" /></a></div>
Speaking to National File about the scientists’ achievement, Jones explained, “It was in all the scientific literature 25 years ago that they were crossing humans with cows and monkeys so they could grow them, get organs out of them, and say they don’t have rights. They’re just getting ready to go public now.”
“The holy grail has been growing organs in a lab, but it doesn’t work to try to grow a liver, lungs, kidneys by themselves, so you create the whole organism, say inside a cow, you can then have a larger humanoid to get the organs from,” explained Jones. “But you’ve got to have a humanoid that’s part cow so the cow doesn’t reject it. So you create a clone of a cow, splice it with a human, so the cow doesn’t reject the humanoid implant.”
“It grows up to be say the size of a 40-50 pound human, it’s only part cow, so it’s not rejected and you can harvest the organs. You turn the human body into a total commodity,” Jones told National File.
“They developed this decades ago, it was in the literature, it’s just now they’re going operational because they’ve gotten it where it actually works. That’s why it only now sees the world.”
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source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/alex-jones-right-again-scientists-admit-they-successfully-created-human-monkey-hybrids">https://www.infowars.com/posts/alex-jones-right-again-scientists-admit-they-successfully-created-human-monkey-hybrids</a>

news Alex Jones Right Again: Scientists Admit They Successfully Created Human-Monkey Hybrids

US and Chinese scientists have successfully created embryos that are part monkey and part human in order to produce organs for transplant re...