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More: In a dramatic capitulation, the owner of Facebook and Instagram agreed to the financial penalties for violating federal child privacy and states' consumer protection laws, the states announced. Meta also agreed to limit how long teenagers can spend on its platforms and to bans on features that stoke mental health issues, striking at the heart of the company's business of engagement for advertising.

"The focus of this case was to protect our kids: stopping notifications and alerts at night and when they are in school, encouraging them to take breaks from social media, protecting them against harmful features," said Colorado's attorney general, Phil Weiser, in a statement. The agreement exceeded what most courts might order, he added.

The settlement effectively ends a bellwether federal trial in the U.S. Northern District of California in Oakland, where California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were seeking roughly $200 billion over accusations that Meta harmed children. The states filed their agreement with Meta on Wednesday morning in that court, where Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is expected to approve it.

Meta still faces numerous other lawsuits from school districts and individuals, some of which are scheduled for trial in the coming months.

The settlement could signal an inflection point for a social media industry that has largely escaped regulatory scrutiny over the harms its products have caused children. The settlement amount is one of the highest ever paid by a tech company to states.

"Meta wouldn't settle unless it sees the writing on the wall and feels really exposed," said Nora Freeman Engstrom, a law professor at Stanford University.


Republicans Scott Bessent and his husband former prosecutor John Freeman are "the GayCLU."


May be a tick will bite Republican Mary Smith for us.

__________
#5 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-08-22 02:11 AM
... before Pres Trump's War of Choice with Iran, 130 ships per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Some 8.25% of those oil tankers were originating from Iran itself - ~ 90.5% / 1.5M bpd of which went to China, 57% of that going through UAE transshipment hub.


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-08-22 01:30 AM
But, the amount of oil transiting the Strait still shows Iran's control over the Strait.
... It is still subject to Iran's control.

At this point, exactly 0 (zero) tankers with Iranian oil are going through the Strait - does that mean that the USA and allies "control" the Strait? Or both parties "control" the Strait, no party "controls" the Strait, one of the parties has more/less "control"?

If Iran really had control of the Strait, Iranian people wouldn't be experiencing long queues due to supply disruptions and shortages at petrol stations even in Tehran.

To say that Iran "controls" the Strait is an overstatement, it's not even a stalemate... but Iran does have some leverage, and so far they used it as well as they could, under the circumstances.

In the past, Iran's leadership have been known to become overconfident and overestimate their strength. Now, however, they may have met their "match" on that score.


#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-08-22 01:38 AM
... and then there are the negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz ...
Oman, Iran seek deal to safeguard shipping through Hormuz Strait
So, the US is not involved in that deal?

Of course, the US is/was "involved", as Oman has no ability to "safeguard" anything in the Strait, without the US' say-so. So, as "negotiations" go, these are useless, but hey, talking is good... The latest is that Iran acknowledged that Oman "deal" doesn't reopen the Strait.

Iraq has also been negotiating with the US and Iran about letting Iraq ship oil - Iran in exchange wants Iraq to leave Iran-backed militia in Iraq alone. Iran allowed passage of several Iraqi oil tankers, though the nature of that "agreement" has been in flux.


Indeed, Pres Trump has threatened to bomb Oman.

Trump is demented and an idiot who can't control his impulses so, whenever he hears "bad" news, he reflexively defaults to what comes naturally to him - threatening to use force or lawsuits.

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."
__________

Switchfoot - Meant To Live (2003)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
...


Latin Quarter - Modern Times (1985)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

www.latinquartermusic.com

...
Their star-light shone bright in the blackout
Like the beams of the usherette
But when the Big Bear bit deep after Yalta
There were those that came to forget.
They went out West for the screening
And they carried a sharp-tooth comb
In search of the double meaning
They were making the fur fly at home.

So get up! Go on! Grip that stand!
And press your hand to your heart
Big Mac is asking the questions
And this is only the start. ...

Song Description

By the end of the 1940s and at the beginning of the 1950s America had resumed its cold war with the Soviet Union ("Big Bear"). Gone was the friendship with Josef Stalin ("Uncle Joe") that had helped the Allied forces defeat Hitler. Sensing an opportunity to make a name for himself US Republican Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy ("Big Mac") hit on the idea of an anti-communism campaign. His portrayal of Communism as the supreme evil allowed his accusations of "disloyalty" to be incredibly effective.

During the early 1950s McCarthy, a master of the art of playing on people's fears, set about ridding America of the supposed red menace at home. Blacklists, deportations, imprisonment, ruined careers and marriages were the order of the day, especially for non-Americans. Actors, writers, musicians, radio and television entertainers were targeted because of their prominence in society. The authorities took Hollywood's ("Tinsel Town") actors, directors and film script authors under special scrutiny. Many artists were taken to the chairman of the "House of Un-American Activities Committee", there they looked for any ambiguities in their statements or liberal or left wing beliefs. To defend an accused was perceived as sharing the accused's views.

Charlie Chaplin was never a member of the Communist Party and was never anti-American. He did however stand up for many different peoples with a good cause, including America's allies the Russians during war. He did have an affinity for some Communist ideas on a humanitarian level. His 1936 film "Modern Times "was seen by some critics as an attack on capitalism. Life for Chaplin became unbearable in the States during the McCarthy witch hunts, in the atmosphere of paranoia McCarthy instigated Chaplin became a hate figure. He was eventually forced to leave America and spent the rest of his life living in Switzerland, returning to the US only once.

The song begins with an original speech clip from one of the sessions of the committee. The chairman calls for order and makes a swearing-in. An accused says: "You have spent one week vilifying me before the American public and you refuse to allow me to make a statement on my rights as an American citizen."
... .

[emphasis mine]


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