At Least A Dozen Mail Sorting Machines Have Already Been Removed In Massachusetts, Postal Union Officials Say

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Democrats in Congress are preparing to vote on legislation to prevent President Donald Trump from scaling back operations at the U.S. Postal Service, but at least a dozen high-capacity mail sorting machines have already been removed from Massachusetts as part of a USPS reduction plan, two officials with the American Postal Workers Union told WGBH News Monday.

The equipment withdrawal, coupled with the seemingly sudden, wide-spread removal of USPS public mailboxes and new overtime and mail delivery policies, are causing national and local outcry from postal workers, politicians and voting rights groups concerned that processing centers may not be able to handle a flood of mail-in ballots in November.

“It’s disturbing to see the machinery taken out,” said Scott Hoffman, APWU Boston Local 100 president. Hoffman said nine machines have been removed from Boston’s Dorchester Avenue post office located downtown.

 

Source: At Least A Dozen Mail Sorting Machines Have Already Been Removed In Massachusetts, Postal Union Officials Say

Facebook restricts more than 10,000 QAnon and US militia groups | US news | The Guardian

Facebook has taken down or restricted more than 10,000 groups, pages and Instagram accounts associated with QAnon, US-based militia groups, and organizations that promote violent acts at protests. The moves are the result of a shift in the company’s policy toward movements with links to violence that do not meet the criteria for an outright ban.

Facebook will still allow people to post content that supports these movements, but “will restrict their ability to organize” on the platform by removing them from recommendation algorithms, reducing their ranking in news feed and search results, and prohibiting them from using features such as fundraising and advertising, the company said. Facebook will also remove pages, groups and accounts that discuss violence, and said it will study the terminology and symbolism that groups typically use to disguise their intent.

 

Source: Facebook restricts more than 10,000 QAnon and US militia groups | US news | The Guardian

Understanding COVID-19 Misinformation — VAXOPEDIA

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on long enough that we know where much of the propaganda and misinformation about COVID-19 is coming from. Melissa Floyd says that “It’s not that you can’t find science that says there’s a potential benefit. It’s the fact that you can find science that says there isn’t… The fact…

Understanding COVID-19 Misinformation — VAXOPEDIA

Asia Today: 623 virus cases linked to South Korea church | Latest News | greensboro.com

South Korean health workers have found more than 600 coronavirus infections linked to a Seoul church led by a vocal opponent of the country’s president as officials began restricting gatherings in the greater capital area amid fears that transmissions are getting out of control.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said Wednesday that health authorities are also seeking location data provided by cellphone carriers while trying to track thousands who participated in an anti-government protest on Saturday, which worsened the virus’s spread. The march was attended by members of the Sarang Jeil Church and its ultra-right pastor, Jun Kwang-hun, who has been hospitalized since Monday after testing positive.

 

Source: Asia Today: 623 virus cases linked to South Korea church | Latest News | greensboro.com

Reports: Facebook Fires Employee Who Shared Proof of Right Wing Favoritism – CBS San Francisco

Facebook fired a senior engineer this week who collected evidence showing the social media company giving preferential treatment to right wing accounts, according to a report from Buzzfeed News. The engineer, who Buzzfeed did not name, recently posted internal information on Workplace showing that “Facebook was giving preferential treatment to prominent conservative accounts to help them remove fact-checks from their content.” Facebook later deleted the post and on Wednesday, the company fired the poster. The firing comes after Facebook employees confronted CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg over preferential treatment for right wing sites during an all-hands meeting last Friday. The employees pushed Zuckerberg on how “Breitbart News could remain a Facebook News partner after sharing a video that promoted unproven treatments and said masks were unnecessary to combat the novel coronavirus,” according to Buzzfeed.

Source: Reports: Facebook Fires Employee Who Shared Proof of Right Wing Favoritism – CBS San Francisco

Election 2020: Mail backing up amid postal service funding battle as fears grow over absentee voting in November

In May and June, the USPS pulled the plug on eight mail processing machines in Cincinnati, accounting for 19% of the processing center’s capacity, according to Sizemore. While the machines are no longer in operations, most remain in the facility in Queensgate, he said, scheduled for removal on Sept. 1. He received a call from a mechanic on Tuesday saying the postal service has started to dismantle some of the machines.

Source: Election 2020: Mail backing up amid postal service funding battle as fears grow over absentee voting in November