Daily Archives: September 27, 2021

When the suburban Chicago hospital where her mother was being treated for COVID-19 refused to give her ivermectin, Tiffany Wilson had her moved to another hospital. The antiparasitic drug achieved a cult following as a treatment for COVID-19, despite no current evidence it is effective. But that didnt deter Wilson from suing when the next hospital also refused to give her mother, 68-year-old Leslie Pai, ivermectin. And she won. This week, after the hospital obliged a judges injunction ordering it to give Pai ivermectin, Pais heart rate plummeted, hospital doctors said in court documents. The hospital pushed back in court, and Wilson dropped the case, with her lawyers asking the court to lift the injunction while continuing to argue that the ivermectin was, in fact, helping.

Whats most remarkable about Wilsons story is that its not the only one of its kind. In recent months, there have been multiple cases of patients or their families demanding ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, not only going to court but also harassing hospital staff. And in at least seven instances, judges have granted these requests, ordering hospitals to either administer the drug or allow other physicians into the facility to administer it. These incidents mark a new era of the pandemic: As hospitals struggle under the weight of new COVID-19 cases, they are also being forced to fight this new battle spurred by an avalanche of fear and online misinformation. The infodemic has officially arrived in the ICU.

Ive never encountered this and Ive been in practice over 40 years, said Dr. Rodney Hood, who chairs the National Medical Associations COVID-19 Task Force on Vaccines and Therapeutics.

In some instances, hospitals refusing to treat patients with ivermectin have faced protests. One case in particular garnered a sizable public response. In 2016, Veronica Wolski, then a 59-year-old Chicagoan, first drew public attention when she waved Bernie Sanders signs from a pedestrian bridge over a highway. Over the last five years, her occupation of the bridge continued but her message shifted to promote the QAnon conspiracy theory, the Big Lie and anti-vaccine sentiments endearing her to the alt-right. And then recently, after Wolski was hospitalized with COVID-19, supporters on QAnon-focused Telegram channels shared contact information for the hospital and began a campaign of calling and emailing to demand Wolski receive ivermectin. This was amplified when L. Lin Wood, the pro-Trump lawyer who filed a number of lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results, got involved, encouraging his followers to do the same. The hospital reported hundreds of emails and calls associated with one patients care, and there was even an in-person protest. Wolski died on Sept. 13.

Along with demands and protests over ivermectin, there have been multiple cases of individuals suing hospitals to force them to treat a COVID-19 patient with the drug. In more than one case, these lawsuits have been successful. A judge in Illinois (separate from the Wilson case) ordered a hospital to allow a patient with COVID-19 to receive ivermectin after her daughter sued for the treatment. In at least two cases in New York, judges made similar orders. In Ohio, a judge ordered a hospital to administer ivermectin to a patient with COVID-19 after his wife sued, but then a different judge overturned that order. Similar cases have been brought forward in California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Delaware and Texas. (Many of these cases have even been brought forward by the same lawyer, as first reported by the Daily Beast.)

The fixation on ivermectin is largely driven by online misinformation and a misrepresentation of what we know about the drug. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic that has been around for decades and is very effective at treating certain parasitic infections, like river blindness. Its effectiveness on viral infections, particularly COVID-19, is still being investigated. Unfortunately, theres not yet good evidence showing its effective in this case, and one of the biggest papers suggesting it could be effective was withdrawn due to ethical conflicts. That said, its not as if ivermectin has been written off; clinical trials to test ivermectins effectiveness against COVID-19 are ongoing, and their results will be carefully monitored by federal agencies and professional groups that help create guidelines for treatment. That same process has led to other existing drugs, like the antiviral remdesivir, getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration for treating COVID-19. But neither the FDA nor the World Health Organization nor the National Institutes of Health currently approve of ivermectin for treating COVID-19.

But misinformation has convinced many people that they know more about how to treat COVID-19 than the medical establishment and experts. The thing is, they dont. The number of studies and the quality of them and the different research methodologies in any field of medicine is always pretty overwhelming. Thats why we have professional societies and regulatory bodies who take all of that evidence into consideration, said Carolyn Bramante, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota and the principal investigator on an ongoing randomized clinical trial of ivermectin and other potential COVID-19 treatments.

It can, of course, be a good thing for patients to advocate for their own care. The difference in ivermectin cases is that their advocacy is based on rumors and lies, not on scientific evidence. Though ivermectin has been around for decades, its still a drug and it can have side effects and potentially negative impacts, Bramante said. Not only is there not yet evidence that it works, we also dont know if it could be harmful. That can also cause complications for a hospital system already stretched thin by the pandemic its trying to treat.

You dont get treated based upon what you feel or think, Hood said. There are certain approved treatment regimens for certain diseases. If [what a patient is demanding] doesnt fit within that regimen, then you cannot treat them.

Online, however, proponents of ivermectin tout it as both a prophylaxis and a cure for COVID-19, cherry-picking data from preprint studies and sharing anecdotes of miraculous recoveries. Its an infectious narrative that leads many people to believe the drug ought to be used widely and to wonder if the fact that it isnt is evidence of a conspiracy. Amid the desperate haze of the pandemic, this type of thinking is leading people to extreme actions. All this while another preventive medical intervention, one that has been shown to be highly effective and safe the vaccine is shunned by many of the same people. These lawsuits may represent a precedent of conspiracy-theory-influenced patients using the courts as a cudgel to force medical professionals to practice against their own expertise. Right now, its ivermectin, but whats stopping patients from demanding to be treated with colloidal silver or bleach?

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Some COVID-19 Patients Want Ivermectin So Badly Theyre Taking Hospitals To Court - FiveThirtyEight

Y: The Last Man

Mann Hunt

Season 1 Episode 5

Editors Rating 4 stars ****

Photo: Rafy/FX

In another world, on another timeline perhaps, Dr. Allison Mann would be an oddball. A reclusive weirdo genius archetype, a mad scientist we dont understand but unfortunately need, an expositional means to a narrative end.

In our world on this timeline she is all of us.

Not that we lowly plebes compare intellectually, of course. Played immaculately by Diana Bang, Allison is indeed a genius who will surely be able and willing to clone human beings, given enough time and resources. But everything else about her everything that made her abrasive or esoteric or fringe-y in the comics feels so much more grokkable, in light of how weve lived the past two years.

Her apartment, now abandoned, is a dirtbags palace, with prestigious awards strewn like paperweights among completed Rubiks cubes, stacks of papers, crusty mugs of dried-up coffee, and moldy strawberries. (A dirtbags palace, or maybe just an apartment mid-quarantine.) Shes annotated group plaques with Post-Its denoting how she really feels about her colleagues. At the Union Club the literal boys club (absolutely fictional, definitely in no way related to the actual Harvard Club) that she regularly squatted on and now squats in shes drawn dicks on all the male alumnis group photos.

Once 355 and a lightly stabbed Yorick have identified themselves, her actual demeanor might technically be described as on the spectrum. She thinks her refusal to go back to Washington requires a thank you to hit home; she segues abruptly and conversationally to inform Yorick that hes bleeding; she lurks like a poltergeist on the stairs as 355 runs off to find a working sat phone, leaving Yorick grasping for straws (more on that in a second). And she has absolutely no patience or tact, treating Yorick as though her least favorite undergrad gen ed student has suddenly become a priceless specimen. (Reproductively interesting is the closest to a compliment shes likely ever to give.) Shes the consummate inappropriate intellectual oddball.

But the thing is, once she reframes everything thats happened in their world, it really does feel like her response is the most appropriate reaction weve seen yet. She sounds a lot like the climate scientists, epidemiologists, and political bellwethers who have been sounding the alarm for years on our own current state of affairs, a voice of reason once discounted and now the sole lighthouse of sanity in a shitstorm. Where, before, the world of normies held her potential hostage, now the tables have turned, and her brand of ruthless, efficient intensity reigns supreme.

Her declarations are merciless and incontrovertible: Theres nothing crazy or fringe about Bostons resistance distrusting a historically machiavellian government that now tear-gasses them every 30 minutes. Bringing back men is an impossibly, insultingly reductive concept that erases the deaths of millions of non-men. (Odds seem high, given her specific fixation on this, that that partner shes not mentioning was a woman with androgen insensitivity syndrome either that, or it has to do with the not-baby. Praying the answer to the crib mystery isnt as weird as it is in the comics.) The globe is collapsing ecologically. Theres no mitigating these circumstances, and theres no compromising on what she needs to maybe, possibly, find a solution to just one of the countless crises currently unraveling. Who has time for tact when the world is literally dying?

Yorick, for his part, is taking her hard truths remarkably well, given his bullshit at the market. It seems that 355s much-needed excoriation last week really hit home when he speaks to her now, hes not just cowed, he seems actively conscious of what comes out of his mouth. (What was I supposed to say? Shes never given me a knife before! he asks Ampersand as she leaves to bluff her way past Harvards new military barricades.) Furthermore, when 355 returns from her obviously deceptive excursion, the way he pushes into her personal space to examine a cut on her face is different, too. Coupled with his bewilderingly compassionate experience with the protesters, who assume hes trans and offer him unqualified help, and his genuine concern for Allisons deeper-than-science sadness, its almost like getting over yourself makes you a better, more observant (if still painfully cishet) friend.

355 has gotten both better and worse, which is probably standard fare when youre deprogramming from a government-sanctioned ghost-spy cult all by your lonesome. On the one hand, she and Yorick have picked up a delightful, if understated, rapport. (The on-screen chemistry among Ashley Romans, Ben Schnetzer, and Diana Bang, in general, is immediate and extremely welcome. Like, that banter is moving at a Neil Simon-grade clip. Its the kind of chemistry that creates its own subtext when 355 and Allison go head-to-head, they dont have to do much to communicate that 355 does not like being the second-smartest person in the room, that Allison does not give a shit that 355 could kill her in one second, and that Yorick has suddenly become the odd man out of this very competent, very queer triangle.)

On the other, 355 is clinging a little too hard to what shed call her training, but what might be better described as Hero Brown territory. First the helicopters, now the sat phone shes awfully comfortable sabotaging resources to suit her purposes, noble or not. As her secret side quest and run-in with Homicidal Peter Pan Actress 525 reveals, her legitimate childhood trust issues from whatever lonely, abandoned place they originate were enhanced on purpose when she was recruited and indoctrinated into the Culper Ring. Sure, shell technically be able to survive this world through extreme self-reliance, but now shes operating as herself. After this, theres no next assignment to flounce to this time, when she pushes everyone away and calls it her job, its going to be for good.

That reckoning might come sooner rather than later, now that the president has some second thoughts about trusting a rogue spy with her only son, the last cis man on earth. Shes got her hands full, on top of the growing national unrest and demand for information, with the return of Q Anon Queen Regina Oliver. The woman is an alt-right viper in every sense, an utter vacuum of logic paired with a terrifying political cunning that has immediately seen through Browns strategy to sideline the rightful president into a cabinet position. (How Browns administration even remotely resembles socialism or even could if it wanted to defies reason, but that wont stop Oliver from solidifying the empty rhetoric into a deadly cudgel.)

Her alliance, meanwhile, rounds out a particularly auspicious day for Kimberly. The power that the former First Daughter has gained in a matter of hours is astonishing: Not only has she secured a treaty with a powerful extremist who even she doesnt like, but shes also unknowingly stumbled into leverage over the only other person who knows about Yorick Browns aide, Christine, who is secretly pregnant. Amber Tamblyn kills another truly chilling moment this week at the OBGYN, as the carefully constructed mom-friend persona melts away, revealing the self-interested political animal beneath. We can see the shift in her eyes as the doctor pronounces the fetus alive; never mind what Christine wants or feels, shes no longer a person to feel good about helping. Now shes just a womb. And a tool.

I was mistaken in my premiere recap about the entire season being written and directed by women this episode was, in fact, written by Tian Jun Gu (he/him), an alum of House of Cards.

Yorick loudly saying Hahvahd is such a good meta-joke, especially for anyone who went to college in the Boston area and had to go home on breaks to wise guys like this.

Little contemporary dystopia moment this week: I know, when that officer says it might rain later as they head out to gas college students, that its supposed to indicate how the rules of society are ~breaking down~ in this ~hellish future~. But if you think that cops today dont say that kind of stuff and far, far worse about civilians on a regular basis, I am begging you to get with the program.

Kimberly. Bestie. I get the impulse to save your kids knick-knacks as a little all-in-one pathos travel kit, but even you must understand why we need to draw the line at sticky hands.

The look on Manns face when Yorick says he teaches magic?

Dont wash out tear gas with milk, kids.

Thanks to 525s testimony, now we know that someone within the Culper Ring perhaps this mysterious Culper queen knew something prior to the event.

The gender-transformative people Dr. Mann references in the Dominican Republic are known in their community as Guevedoces.

Did you draw all these dicks? NO, IT WAS DYLAN MAXWELL.

Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows!

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Y: The Last Man Recap: Dr. Mann in the Lounge with a Knife - Vulture

In Christian art, saints often hold an object associated with their martyrdom. Saint Stephen, stoned to death, holds a pile of rocks. Saint Lawrence, burned over an iron grill, stands with a gridiron. Saint Lucy offers a small dish with two eyeballs, a reference to her own eyes having been gouged out with a fork.

If the same principles applied to right-wing martyrs these days, plenty would be holding just a lawsuit with their name as the defendant.

The hundreds of Americans who have been arrested and charged for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have been lionized as freedom fighters by some on the right, including members of Congress. Its what inspired the Justice for J6 rally the muted political demonstration that took place this past weekend in D.C. and its the culmination of years of rhetoric on the far-right that has celebrated violent, extremist figures. This tendency to beatify certain figures is something mainstream conservatives now share with extremist ideologies elsewhere. The martyrs create a sense of community and underscore an essential narrative: that you can be punished simply because of what you believe, and that the willingness to receive that punishment is worthy of reverence.

Lifting certain figures to a quasi-sainthood has a long history on the extreme right, dating back to the post-WWI era, according to Daniel Koehler, the director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies. Koehler laid out this history in a paper published last year, citing an example of a group of 16 Nazis killed by police during a failed coup dtat in 1923. Those Nazis became known as the Blutzeugen (blood witnesses), which other Nazis honored with specific flags, medals and even two temples. But the narrative around these and other Nazi martyrs, Koehler wrote in the paper, explicitly used the fact (or claim) that they were always killed by the movements enemies.

Importantly, though, suicidal demonstrations of ideology were not part of the deal. Unlike jihadist extremists, who have cultural and religious motivations for celebrating those who die in suicide bombings, the far-right tended to elevate individuals who survived or were killed in battle, rather than those who died on a suicide mission. What their narrative usually tells their followers is you have to stand and fight to the very end, Koehler said in an interview.

More recently, this has manifested through the idolization of mass shooters who were apprehended, such as Dylann Roof, the white supremacist terrorist who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. Neo-nazis and white supremacists turned such terrorists into memes and icons, often depicting individuals like Roof as a saint (though sometimes with tongue in cheek). The terrorists have even inspired the formation of groups like the Bowl Gang, named for Roofs bowl cut hairstyle. These shooters manifestos and journals are routinely passed around among far-right extremist groups online, almost like sacred texts. Koehler said the celebration is because the terrorists are seen as continuing the fight and as willing to suffer personally for the cause.

This trend largely remained relegated to the extreme right until last summer, when 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed two people during protests against police shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Suddenly, those in the mainstream right had a figure to rally behind, since his actions could be explained away as self-defense, said Ari Ben-Am, an extremism researcher and information operations analyst for ActiveFence, an online security firm that detects hate speech, terrorism and disinformation.

Republican politicians openly praised Rittenhouse, with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky saying he exhibited incredible restraint and presence and situational awareness, and state Rep. Anthony Sabatini of Florida tweeting, inexplicably, Kyle Rittenhouse for Congress. Far-right groups like the Proud Boys (self-proclaimed Western chauvinists) have stated they support Rittenhouses case and are rooting for him. He has become an American hero and we look forward to celebrating his exoneration with a beer. Among the more mainstream right online, such as the pro-Trump message board patriots.win, posters have been carefully following Rittenhouses trial and celebrating his actions, calling him Saint Kyle and a hero, and making comments such as Every freedom loving American should be thrilled that this young man was able to defend himself and not become a victim to the mob.

Rittenhouse was the first one to break the barrier of mainstream popularity and support, Ben-Am said. He was viewed by both the far-right and the mainstream right as a martyr for the cause, though the mainstream right didnt really know how to articulate that.

The rights response to the Jan. 6 attack was mixed. Many Republican politicians condemned the event, and alt-right conspiracy theorists floated the idea that the whole event was a false flag. This theory proposed that the rioters were actually anti-fascists, not Trump supporters. Soon, though, many rallied around those who were arrested or killed, as in the case of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by Capitol police during the attack. Those on the right have cast these individuals as martyrs in the fight against what they believe was a fraudulent election.

This rallying included the Proud Boys, who have been sharing fundraisers on Telegram for the legal funds of individuals charged for allegedly participating in the attack on the Capitol. Theyve even set up a separate Telegram for promoting these fundraisers called Free the Boys. L. Lin Wood, the pro-Trump lawyer who filed a number of lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results and has become a celebrity of the alt-right, has also rallied around Jan. 6 arrestees, calling them political prisoners. And mainstream Republicans, including former President Trump and members of Congress like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, have advocated for arrestees, whom they claim are being unfairly treated. Ben-Am said this evokes the kind of lionization of terrorists on the extreme right, but with individuals who are much more palatable to the mainstream right.

We started off with really extreme, decentralized individuals loving people who go kill for their ideology, Ben-Am said. The more mainstream it gets, the less violent and extremist the [martyrs] are.

Treating these individuals as ideological martyrs serves a number of functions within these groups, according to Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University, who studies online extremism. Having figures to rally around deepens a sense of community among people who are often largely connected only online, Squire said, while legal fundraisers provide an opportunity to signal in-group values. It also fosters a narrative of persecution that is fundamental to many of these groups since they feel theyre fighting an unjust battle against groups wishing to destroy the American way of life. Depending on which apportionment of the right-wing landscape youre talking about, those enemies could be the Democrats, the deep state, immigrants or Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

It makes what theyre fighting for [feel] on par with other serious political movements and things that have happened in history, Squire said.

Though the attendance at the Justice for J6 rally was modest, its messaging is evident in many places across the right, tapping into both mainstream and fringe groups. Creating martyrs serves a valuable function in these communities, which can be very energizing if tapped in the right way. And while this particular event failed to do so, the symbol of a martyr is powerful and should not be underestimated.

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Jan. 6 Has Given The Right Hundreds Of New Martyrs - FiveThirtyEight

THE BUZZ WHO DECIDES? Much post-recall punditry has posed an incredulous question: Why didnt the California Republican Party run a more moderate candidate?

In this reading, Gov. Gavin Newsoms landslide victory was enabled by a critical GOP misstep. If only the party had advanced a more centrist or mainstream candidate than replacement frontrunner Larry Elder, the theory goes, Newsom would not have been able to frame a no vote as the bulwark against encroaching Trumpism, as embodied by a Republican who opposes the minimum wage, ambitious climate change programs and abortion.

That analysis misses or oversimplifies some fundamental points about both the recalls dynamics and the larger dilemma confronting a diminished CAGOP. Most importantly, it conflates the preferences of party leadership with the will of the electorate. Right-leaning voters have spoken clearly by giving Elder nearly half of the replacement votes. Elders roughly 3.1 million votes tallied may be far behind the 4.2 million the victorious former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger piled up in 2003, demonstrating how many voters simply skipped the second question this time around. But no other Republican finished close behind Elder.

Heres where some pundits ask why the CAGOP didnt try to prevent this outcome by elevating a more moderate choice, like former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. The answer there is simple: the party was following the electorate, not the other way around. Elder had already vaulted ahead of Faulconer in the polls and secured some notable conservative endorsements by the time the California Republican Party gathered to consider an endorsement. The party first raised the bar for winning its blessing and then decided against embracing any candidate.

That choice flowed from an understanding of Republican voters. The centrist Faulconer may have been the favorite of establishment Republicans and campaign pros, many of whom believed Faulconer had the greatest chance at stitching together a statewide majority that included independents and disillusioned Democrats. But the larger universe of Republican voters was tepid on Faulconer and energized by Elder. Its quite possible Faulconer could not have won that 60 percent majority. So the party made the strategic decision to sidestep a damaging brawl between its two main wings by bowing out of the replacement question and focusing on the recall question. Faulconer backed a non-endorsement.

BUT FOR ARGUMENTS SAKE ... Lets say Faulconer and his allies in the party had managed to claim the endorsement. That would have given Faulconer access to party resources, and he could have touted himself to voters as the CAGOPs choice. Those factors could have boosted Faulconers vote share, and perhaps set him up better for a 2022 rematch with Newsom. But would it have pushed him past Elder? Maybe, if you assume Republican voters behave as their party tells them to but thats a dubious proposition in a markedly anti-establishment era. A CAGOP endorsement may have even driven away indies or fence-sitting Democrats. You can bet Newsom would still have trained his fire on Elder, his ideal foil.

All of which gets us to the overarching dynamics that challenged the CAGOP before the recall and will continue to do so in its wake. As much as some in the party want to chart a more centrist course back to relevancy, plenty of loyal voters are still aligned with the Trumpier side of the party. As the immensely better funded California Democratic Party picks off moderate Republicans in swing seats, the further-right conservatives in turn increase their share of Republican-held offices and spots on the statewide bench.

BOTTOM LINE: You can lead voters to a moderate Republican. But you cant make them vote.

BUENOS DAS, good Thursday morning. If you had Former Defense Secretary James Mattis testifies in Elizabeth Holmes trial on your 2021 bingo card, congratulations you predicted Wednesdays surreal moment in this blockbuster Silicon Valley fraud case.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit [emailprotected] or [emailprotected] or follow us on Twitter @cmarinucci and @jeremybwhite.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: I did not feel better than 50/50 that we would win, so I was prepared to lose, but I did not think it was going to hurt as much. And I dont know what Im going to do next. I dont know whether Im going to run for a rematch I[ve] now become a politician. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I miss talk radio less than I thought I would. Elder on his post-recall path, via the Ann & Phelim Scoop.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Progressive player @JosephNSanberg on Newsom vetoing a major farmworker union bill: I guess now that the recall is over, @GavinNewsom doesnt care about Farmworkers anymore

WHERES GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

The porn industry turns to K Street to fight Trump-fueled internet regulations, by POLITICOs Hailey Fuchs: A trade organization for the adult entertainment industry has hired a D.C. lobbying firm to build its relationships with lawmakers and to advocate on behalf of key policies that affect the industry. Most notably it is trying to beat back major changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act a shield for internet platforms that safeguards them from liability for what their users post.

TRIAL BY FIRE Female LAFD firefighters face hazing, retaliation, battalion chief testifies, by the LA Times Dakota Smith.

After epic battles, S.F. poised to make JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park car-free for good, by the SF Chronicles Heather Knight: Its taken more than half a century a long time even by San Francisco City Hall standards but a permanently car-free John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park finally appears headed for reality.

NEW MAPS California Supreme Court rejects January redistricting extension, by POLITICOs Jeremy B. White: The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to give some additional leeway by extending the preliminary map deadline to Nov. 15 and final certification to Dec. 27. However, that was not as long an extension as the commission sought and still runs headlong into the holiday season.

Caitlyn Jenner brought fame to her run for California governor. Why it failed anyway, by the LA Times Robin Estrin and Faith E. Pinho: In a state with an enduring history of celebrities-turned-politicians, where voters have elevated Hollywood stars to the governorship, Jenners history-making entry into politics as a transgender gubernatorial candidate came with instant visibility and interest.

SIGNING SEASON: LABOR California becomes first state to target Amazon production quotas, by POLITICOs Jeremy B. White: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday making California the nation's first state to impose restrictions on online delivery giants like Amazon to ensure that warehouse workers get required rest and bathroom breaks despite production quotas. It was not all good news for California organized labor on Wednesday. Newsom voted Assembly Bill 616, a priority of the United Farm Workers that would have made it easier for farm employees to organize. Agricultural interests vociferously opposed the bill.

AND ABORTION Newsom signs bills to expand reproductive health care protections, by POLITICOs Victoria Colliver: California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed into law legislation to shore up protections around clinics that provide abortions and strengthen health care privacy, steps he described as critical in light of efforts to limit reproductive health services around the country.

Debt collector hit with first action under California's new consumer protection law, by POLITICOs Susannah Luthi: The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has served its first cease-and-desist action against a debt collector, along with a hefty fine using expanded authority granted by the state's new consumer protection law.

SHOPLIFTING SOLUTION? S.F. unveils new push to combat retail theft after viral shoplifting videos, by the SF Chronicles Megan Cassidy: San Francisco officials are launching a multipronged push to combat retail theft in the city, an effort that includes more police investigators and community ambassadors and an upgraded system for retailers to report crimes online.

These charts show what types of homes exist in San Francisco and what is getting built, by the SF Chronicles Susie Neilson: Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two significant housing bills. The bills are meant to help mitigate Californias extreme housing shortage by increasing density statewide.

Custodians at Californias wealthiest companies to earn $20 an hour in new contract, by The Sac Bees Jeong Park: More than 20,000 janitors across California ratified a new contract over the weekend that for many workers includes a $20 an hour minimum wage and an employers contribution to a union pension plan by 2023.

Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer is stepping down, and Andrew Bosworth is taking over, by Protocols Anna Kramer: Schroepfer or Schrep, as he's known around the industry has been a public face at the company for years and helped lead its AI development, VR teams and blockchain efforts. He will take a newly created senior fellow role in order to make time for his family and philanthropic efforts, he wrote in an internal blog post.

Senate Antitrust Panel Appears Ready to Tussle With Big Tech, by KQEDs Rachael Myrow: If there was any concern the antitrust crackdown on Silicon Valley stalled in Washington D.C. over the summer, Tuesday's hearing seems to indicate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle smell blood in the water and feel there's much to be gained politically by pursuing Big Tech and not just in front of the cameras.

New Google documents reveal just how involved a top executive was in the ousting of a right-wing engineer championed by Trump, by Insiders Matt Drange and Hugh Langley: One of Google's most senior executives was at the center of a politically-charged altercation with an engineer several years ago, in an incident that federal regulators have said violated labor laws and whose ripples continue to affect the company today.

Hollywoods Curious 4Chan Connection, by The Hollywood Reporters Eriq Gardner: A legal battle over a 'Stranger Things' drive-in event has revealed Hollywood's business dealings with a Japanese merchandise company that has anime roots, sells sexually suggestive dolls and partially owns an alt-right social media hub.

House includes cannabis banking measure in defense bill, by MarketWatchs Steve Gelsi: As proposed, the SAFE Banking law would protect depository institutions by prohibiting regulatory banks from terminating deposit insurance for institutions that service legitimate cannabis businesses, including loans to state-compliant cannabis businesses. The passage of the bill would help lower cost of capital and allow credit card use in dispensaries.

Sutter Healths CEO is leaving. Sacramento hospital chain has had two years of turmoil, by The Sac Bees Dale Kasler.

Man surrenders after allegedly shooting Oakland police officer, by the SF Chronicles Jessica Flores.

Two new Sacramento-area restaurants earn Michelin awards for tasty, affordable food, by The Sac Bees Benjy Egel.

Jail is no place for the mentally ill, Santa Clara County sheriff says, by San Jos Spotlights Eli Wolfe.

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.

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Everything in moderation including moderates - POLITICO - Politico

Footage from Rukshan Fernandos live stream shows police moving in on protesters at the Shrine of Remembrance.

Meanwhile, on his social media Telegram channel, followed by 13,000 people, he preaches about Premier Daniel Andrews super-spreading misinformation and writes the world is watching Australia in disbelief as our leaders strip our rights, freedoms and dignity.

Police have twice attended his house in Melbournes south-east to warn him not to attend protests warnings he has ignored.

Academics and sociologists believe Fernando is amplifying a movement that is misguided, especially in a pandemic, and has deeply unsavoury elements.

But he is also documenting the actions of an increasingly militarised police force, whose at times aggressive behaviour would unnerve most Melburnians.

Videographer Real Rukshan, aka Rukshan Fernando,filming in Melbournes CBD this week.Credit:Simone Fox Koob

Fernando said he was supportive of Andrews when the first pandemic lockdown began in March 2020.

When I had to close my business I 100 per cent supported the Andrews government and the decisions ... I was going around telling people to support the Andrews government Down the track I was disillusioned with some of the decisions he was making, particularly on businesses and the lack of transparency, the quarantine issue.

He began live-streaming the protests earlier this year but says he does not necessarily endorse the views of participants, which he concedes may include a fringe Nazi element.

Fernando was interviewed in August 2020 on a videocast by Tim Wilms, a vlogger notable for interviewing leaders of the Proud Boys, the United Patriots Front and Nazis, but rejects the idea the protests are organised by extremist elements, or are used as a recruiting tool for them as has been suggested by union chief Sally McManus and former federal opposition leader Bill Shorten, who described the protesters as man-baby Nazis.

I dont think its representative of the majority of the protests or the intent of the protesters [though] I dont deny that they are there.

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I dont buy into this narrative that its led by these people or that theyre the main proponent or setting these things up. They are very fringe. A lot of it is people from different walks of life theyre against lockdown or mandatory vaccination or theyre protesting against Dan Andrews.

Fernando rejects criticism of protesters occupying the West Gate Bridge and the Shrine of Remembrance, and suggests the police are the ones putting people in danger, in particular when they have surrounded protesters. He has been pepper-sprayed while filming, as has Age photographer Luis Ascui. A Channel Nine security guard has been taken to the ground and arrested and the treatment of many protesters has appeared heavy handed.

Meanwhile, at least 10 police have been injured some seriously when charged at, punched and trampled by protesters. Police cars have been attacked by mobs, the Shrine urinated on, drivers on the West Gate Bridge terrorised and spat on, and suburban streets overrun by mobs of largely angry young men.

Fernando said he condemned those attacking police and the media, and said he believed his work is important because it both documented a movement and captured serious incidents from all sides, though he has at times turned the camera elsewhere when protesters are instigating violence.

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I think its very bad that police are put in that situation. No one wants to go to work and get injured. Any deliberate attempts to attack police, hurt them, is not called for. [But] a lot of the injuries are in situations that could be avoided, he says.

His initial online notoriety stemmed from his creation of memes last year mocking Premier Dan Andrews. One of the most successful was a video edited to show Andrews on a Dr Phil segment with the title Help me Dr Phil, I cant stop lying, another a video comparing conflicting statements from Brett Sutton on mask wearing.

The creation of similar memes helped seed and promote the Trump movement in the US. It is noteworthy that his Twitter image banner depicts the US Capitol building, which Trump supporters invaded in January, injuring police and threatening the lives of senators.

When you look at humour you can attract people who are not on the political perspective maybe deep down it will make them question something else, he said during a 2020 interview on The Discernable videocast.

This week he was interviewed by Laura Ingraham on US cable channel Fox News, agreeing with her that Victoria was becoming like Communist China.

Rukshan Fernando was interviewed on US cable channel Fox News this week.

In other videos on his social media he consistently feeds a narrative that seeks to sow doubt in mainstream institutions and legacy journalists, which he describes as puppets.

However, Fernando insists he is not pushing an agenda; he says he is there to document a movement of ordinary people.

If [a journalist] goes and embeds themselves with the Taliban it doesnt mean they necessarily share those views, he says.

Deakin University political sociologist Dr Josh Roose, who studies far-right movements, does not believe Fernandos role is passive.

[His videos have] grown him exponentially in the last week. Its an interesting tactic and style. Hell attend these protests, film the violence, yet deny responsibility, Roose says.

His filming of the protest is actually part of the problem.

He films the spectacular ... and seeks to bring in sympathy for protesters in the middle of a pandemic that not only are a health risk but have a record of being violent towards the police in that sense hes building their narrative.

Professor Andrew Jakubowicz, Professor of Sociology at the University of Technology Sydney, believes Fernando is driving a message and cannot be viewed as a traditional reporter.

Hes highly skilled hes very good at what he does. Is there much difference between him than Sky After Dark? Yes, hes better at that than they are. Is there much difference in the ideology? I dont think so. He has a much more intimate relationship with the movement on the streets.

[His camera] lens is not an autonomous being that operates independently of his mind. Hes choosing all the time. Hes choosing stuff which feeds that narrative taking control of the streets.

Dr Francesco Bailo, lecturer in digital and social media at the University of Technology Sydney said protest movements strive to create their own media so they control the message.

When the level of distrust towards the media is high the movement says we can create the media ourself. Theyre protesters and part of the movement but they assume an institutional role.

But he doesnt believe the narrative that the movement is driven by the far right.

I never believe in general the simple explanation, saying that the far right blows some whistle then you have hundreds of people in the streets. The roots of this, the discontent causing this is real people are not being paid, the vaccine mandate. You have an opportunity for many different movements and groups to try to steer this.

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While some other independent media attending the protests make income through their videos and posts, through advertising and go-fund-me type websites, Fernando says he makes no money from his work.

Theres a perception people in independent media are trying to take advantage of the situation to try to monetise it. Thats not been my approach. I want to avoid that. Ive told people not to put up fundraisers. I dont want to be tied to any particular group of people. I dont want be owned by these people or anyone.

Fernando told The Discernable he believed people should get their news from multiple sites and make up their own mind.

News media sources, I just look at them all with a grain of salt, he said. Dont trust anyone. Dont even trust Real Rukshan. Do your own research.

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Who is the Real Rukshan? - The Age