Author: christianebrinkley

Under the US political system, the president nominates individuals in cabinet positions, and the Senate votes on whether to confirm them.

A simple majority vote is required. In the current Senate, which is divided into 50/50, everything Mr. Biden Needs are unity from his own side, Vice President Kamala Harris You can cast the same number of votes as needed.

It poses a problem for us.

Nominated by Mr. Biden Nila TandenA longtime Democratic operative who heads the Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Tanden is currently chairman of the Center for American Progress, a left-wing think tank.

She also has a history of making partisan statements, especially online, to some of the senators she is currently seeking to vote for.

For example, Mr Tanden previously called the moderate Republican Susan Collins the “worst,” and accused the party’s senate leader Mitch McConnell of being Russian-friendly and named him “Moscow Mitch.”

She also criticizes Bernie Sanders, who is technically independent but is responsible for the Democratic rally.

“Your attack wasn’t just against the Republicans,” Sanders said in one of Tanden’s hearings in the Senate earlier this month.

“I personally had a vicious attack on progressives and the people I worked with.”

She feels “terrible” about her previous remarks and told him that she would take a “fundamentally different” approach if confirmed by Mr Biden’s cabinet.

But Mr. Tanden doesn’t seem to be able to escape her old words.

Relation: Joe Biden’s first day nasty sign

Some senators have revealed that they will not support Mr. Tanden from the moment he is nominated.

“She’s not just a liberal ideology. She’s a partisan activist who chased a majority senator. She seems to have chosen a path that doesn’t lead to an office confirmed in the Senate,” said Republican Kevin Cramer. Said last year.

“I think it certainly makes a problematic path, mainly in light of her combative and insulting comments about many members of the Senate on our side of the aisle,” said his colleague John.・ Cornyn said.

Then on Friday, Democrat Joe Manchin announced that he would vote against Mr Tanden.

“I carefully reviewed Neera Tanden’s official statements and tweets personally directed to colleagues on either side of the aisle, from Senator Sanders to Senator McConnell,” Manchin said.

“I believe her outright partisan remarks have a toxic and detrimental effect on the important partnership between the House of Representatives and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“For this reason, I cannot support her nomination.”

Manchin’s decision ensured that Tanden would need the support of at least one Republican senator. The reporter asked Mr Biden if he intends to withdraw her nomination.

“No,” the president replied.

“I think we’ll find a vote to confirm her.”

Today, neither the two moderate Republicans – Ms. Collins and Mitt Romney – have declared their support for Ms. Tanden.

“Parliament must be able to trust the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to carry out the wording of the law and the intent of Congress and make countless decisions in a fair manner,” Collins said. It was.

“Neera Tanden has no experience or temperament to lead this important institution. Her past actions accurately show the kind of hostility that President Biden promised to transcend.”

She raises the fact that Mr. Biden deleted a series of party tweets before Mr. Biden announced her nomination, which raises “concerns” about her “commitment to transparency.” Said he did.

“Senator Romney has been critical of the extreme rhetoric from previous candidates, which is in line with that position,” Romney’s spokeswoman said.

“He finds it difficult to return to friendship and respect with the candidate who made the average of a thousand tweets.”

I haven’t heard the decision from Senator Lisa Murkowski, another moderate Republican, in Alaska. His support could return the vote for Mr. Tanden’s confirmation to a 50/50 split.

During today’s White House media briefing, reporters asked spokesman Jen Psaki about Mr. Tanden and whether her previous remarks were appropriate.

“The president wouldn’t have nominated her if she didn’t think she would be a good OMB director,” Pusaki said.

“She is qualified, has a track record and track record of working with different groups and organizations with different political beliefs, and her own experience contributes to a fresh perspective and freshness. From his belief, he nominated her an approach to this position. “

One reporter drew Mr. Biden’s promise to ease the often combative rhetoric in US politics.

“President, he said there would be a new tone in Washington. Obviously, Manchin and Collins don’t feel this is a new tone. So how does the president make it square? “He asked.

“Have you ever asked Senator Manchin or Senator Collins if he believed that President Biden had a new tone?” Pusaki asked him in return.

He replied that both senators expressed concern about Mr. Tanden’s “tweets and words.”

“And there is disagreement over whether she is the right choice to lead the OMB,” Psaki said.

“But that’s a bit exaggerated.”

The recent disaster that struck a poor country Horror winter storm,this Snow covered normally refreshing Texas Last week it took the power of millions of inhabitants.

The· Unprecedented weather It also caused turmoil across several other southern states.

At least 70 people died as a direct result of sub-zero temperatures, lack of heating, and stormy weather, and 11-year-old Cristian Pavón Pineda emerged as the tragic face of the catastrophe.

Last Tuesday, a child was found dead under a pile of blankets in a family unheated camper van in Conroe, Texas.

The boy was playing in the snow the day before his death before being struck on suspicion of hypothermia.

The GoFundMe page has raised over $ 111,000 for a shattered family from Honduras so far and provides details of the horrific losses.

Relation: Trump explodes after Supreme Court ruling

“The family was off for two days due to the low temperatures seen in the Conroe area. It dropped to 12 degrees (-11C) early in the morning of February 16,” a statement on the GoFundMe page read. It was.

“Christians turned out to be lifeless. We are trying to raise money so that we can move our bodies to Honduras.

“His wish was to see his grandparents again. That’s what his mother wants to accomplish. Hopefully help him with whatever he can to achieve this. God blesses you.”

Christian’s mother, Maria Eliza Pineda, has filed proceedings against two Texan utilities. If residents notice a continuous power outage and the company fails to protect the local power grid, her son claims to be still alive.

She will sue the Entergy Corporation provider and the Texas (Ercot) Electrical Reliability Council for $ 100 million.

“Ercot and Entergy have taken preemptive actions that could avoid the crisis, despite knowing the dire weather forecast for at least a week ago and knowing that the system hadn’t been prepared for more than a decade. I couldn’t take it. I wasn’t ready to deal with the immediate crisis at all, “the proceedings claim. BBC.

But sadly, Christians are just one of many victims of meteorological events and inadequate response to American disasters: hypothermia and exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning, fires, car accidents, and other events. Many other lives related to are also lost. storm.

Relation: Polar “wobble” causes extreme weather

“So Broken”

Meanwhile, many survivors have also argued that electricity prices have skyrocketed in the wake of this. Coldsnap sees a desperate shopper exposing supplies from a supermarket shelf.

One of them was 33-year-old Dallas-based De André Upshaw, who was beaten with an astonishing $ 5717.90 ($ A7214.07) bill “with less than a week of electricity.”

He’s just one of the myriad Texas people who blame utilities on social media as the crisis progresses.

“We used AC at 64 degrees (17.7C) to deal with intermittent power losses and saved energy last week (literally, I’m wearing three layers of clothing, a beanie and gloves. (My living room) Still, our usage is four times the previous month and we are charged 90 times more, “he posted on Facebook over the weekend.

“Why is America so broken? I feel blessed to have electricity even when others don’t have it, but I’m unemployed … we’re still pandemic In the midst of it, hell (Texas) is literally frozen, and these people are trying to get $ 6,000 from us, literally the boldness to warm our home during 0 degrees Celsius. I’m waiting.”

Another Texan, 63-year-old Scott Willoughby, also came forward after clearing his savings with an electricity bill of $ 16,752 ($ 21,135), which is 70 times more than usual.

“My savings are gone,” said a military veterinarian. New York Times.

“There’s nothing I can do about it, but it broke me.”

Relation: Gates’ harsh warning is worse than COVID

The blunder caused anger from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who demanded that Texas cover the bill of his city’s inhabitants, claiming that the state system had disappointed the population.

He said CBS News He had previously raised the need to have “sufficient reserves” to prevent power outages, but his plea was ignored.

“This was all foreseeable. I wrote about it in 2011, and because of these exorbitant costs, it’s not the consumers who bear those costs,” he said. It was.

“They are not responsible for what happened this week.”

His claims have been repeated by several other Texas leaders, and criticism has also increased. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz fled his hometown of Texas in the midst of a crisis for a vacation in Cancun, Mexico...

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has declared a catastrophe in Texas. This means that federal cash can be used for rescue operations. For many, it’s too little and too late.

The company announced on Monday that it will try out the TravelPass smartphone application on its April flight between the two cities.

“When the border reopens, the trip looks very different and we need to check the customer’s health data at check-in,” said Jennifer Sepul, chief digital officer, in a statement.

“It’s essentially like having a digital health certificate that you can easily and safely share with your airline.”

Travelers can allow medical professionals to upload test results and vaccination certificates to the app.

It then matches that information with your travel requirements and puts a “green checkmark” on the user to indicate that it is suitable for travel.

As soon as the app becomes available for download in April, customers will be invited to voluntarily participate in the 3-week trial.

An executive at the International Air Transport Association, the organization that developed the app, said this was a step towards resuming overseas travel.

“Air New Zealand’s trial of the IATA Travel Pass helps give the government confidence to reopen its borders and give passengers confidence in their travels,” said Nick Kareen, senior vice president.

Air New Zealand is in talks with government agencies on how to verify testing and vaccination information, the company said.

Health data is kept safe and not stored in a central database, the company said.

Other international airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, have previously flagged them to try the IATA health check system, the organization said.

National health observer Rospotrebnadzor revealed that the virus was detected in seven workers at a poultry farm in southern Russia after a bird outbreak was recorded in December.

Anna Popova, head of the consumer health organization, said each worker is believed to have caught the virus from birds on the farm and there are no signs of human-to-human transmission.

“A few days ago we were completely convinced of our results,” she said in a television statement.

Workers did not suffer from serious health problems and all recovered from the virus.

“Information on the world’s first case of bird flu (H5N8) infecting humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” Popova said.

The H5N8 strain is extremely deadly to wild birds and poultry, but this is the first time it has been reported in humans.

The H5N1 strain is the most common subspecies of avian influenza and is known to infect humans and other animals.

The first human infection with bird flu was detected in 1997 after an outbreak of the virus in Hong Kong poultry.

H5N1 can cause serious illness in humans, with a moral rate of about 60%. According to WHO.

The majority of human bird flu infections are associated with infected live or dead birds, or people in close contact with a virus-contaminated environment.

Infections between humans are “abnormal,” the organization said.

Ms. Popova praised “an important scientific discovery,” saying she “will know over time” whether the virus could mutate further.

“Discovering these mutations when the virus has not yet acquired the ability to transmit from person to person gives us all time to respond appropriately and in a timely manner in preparation for possible mutations. “She said.

WHO confirmed that it had been notified of the Russian infection and worked with authorities to “gather more information and assess the public health impact of this event.”

“If confirmed, this is the first time H5N8 has infected people,” he said.

Gwenael Vourc’h, director of research at the French National Institute for Agricultural and Food Environment, said the influenza virus was known to evolve “very rapidly” and may have had cases other than those reported in Russia. Said there is.

“This is probably the tip of the iceberg,” she told AFP.

The Russian Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center has already shown that it is ready to detect potential cases of human H5N8 and begin developing test kits to help initiate vaccine research.

– Use AFP

The 74-year-old made a headline after the headline after a spectacular defeat in the election and refused to accept it, and his role in instigating the shocking Parliamentary riot on January 6 It continued. Currently, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is quietly stepping up his investigation into the former president’s financial problems.

Relation: Melania was first discovered in a few weeks

However, the investigation seems to have improved further after the appointment of prominent mob lawyer Mark Pomeranz.

He is the man who helped defeat the former Gambino family chief, gangster John Gotti and other mobs.

Mr. Pomeranz’s appointment was first reported New York TimesThe investigation focused on “potential tax and banking fraud, including whether the Trump organization misunderstood the lender or local tax authorities about the value of his property for loan and tax benefits.” In a publication that explains that.

This appointment is interpreted as a blow to the former president, Vanity fair He describes it as “probably a sign of a problem,” especially given that Pomeranz has already talked to Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

The district attorney’s office remains silent about the investigation, but court filings reveal that it is focused on “probably widespread and protracted criminal activity” in the Trump organization.

Relation: Trump announces next public move

Investigate tampering with records, insurance, and suspected tax evasion.

Another civil investigation, led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, is also investigating allegations that Mr. Trump may have falsely reported asset value.

Mr. Trump named the investigation “witch hunting” and is currently living after the White House, he Keynote Speaker of the Conservative Political Activities Council February 28th in Orlando, Florida.

This will be his first public move in 2021 after surviving his second impeachment trial.

The man who defeated the mafia boss

Pomeranz, 69, has been in the spotlight for decades after prosecuting former Gambino family boss John Angelo “Junior” Gotti along with other organized criminals in the 1990s.

John A. Gotti became the head of a criminal family in 1992 after his father, John J. Gotti, was sent to jail, but ended his sentence in 1999 for assault.

“We have dealt with key issues and internal investigations related to all aspects of corporate fraud, including securities and bank fraud, postal fraud, and wire fraud,” said Pomerants, who is currently on private practice and on leave. I am.Include The site of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jones, the founder of the conspiracy media organization Infowars, spoke to protesters at Freedom Plaza in Washington and urged him to “resist globalists” as former president. Donald Trump High-level claims allege that the 2020 elections were fraudulent.

“We are the people who are physically involved in the attack on the Capitol and the individuals who may have influenced them, such as Roger Stone, Alex Jones, and Ali Alexander (the organizer of Stop the Steal). We are investigating potential relationships with, “said an anonymous U.S. official. Said Washington post..

Relation: Trump repeats election claims at first interview

Authorities say their investigation seeks to determine whether individuals can be held liable enough to justify potential criminal accusations such as conspiracy and support for efforts.

But they admit that the results are “far” and uncertain.

Jones was recorded talking to protesters, claiming he was “attacked by globalists” in a new form of “war in the 21st century.”

Texas-based broadcasters, which have been on the air for over 20 years, have spent their careers against authoritarianism, increasing the huge audience of online contrarians in the process.

He has appeared in numerous political rallies throughout the United States and has become a pioneer in the anti-establishment movement.

Relation: Former President Announces Next Public Move

“I don’t know how this will end, but if they want to fight, they should believe they have it,” Jones said at the rally. “We are under attack. We need to understand that this is a war in the 21st century and gain a foothold in the war.”

But lawyer Mark Landaza said the video shows that the conspiracy show organizers are seeking calm in the crowd.

“If you want to know what Alex Jones’ role was (January 6th), you don’t have to look for anything other than video,” Randaza said.

Jones was screaming and recorded from his inauguration. “Don’t fight the police, give the system what they want. I especially condemned violence in the Capitol, invasion of the Capitol. That’s not the way we solve things in America. “

Investigators are also paying attention to Mr. Trump’s longtime ally, Stone, who previously published a book suggesting that Lyndon B. Johnson was behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Stone told Trump supporters the day before the riot, “For the future of this country, there was darkness and light … pious and godless … a grand struggle between good and evil.”

Stone’s lawyer Grant Smith accused his client of being able to be pinned as an attacker, saying it was a classic case of “association crime.”

Relation: Ivanka makes a decision about her political future

“There is no evidence that Roger Stone was somehow involved or had any prior knowledge of the shocking attack that took place on January 6th at the US Capitol,” he said.

“The opposite implications of using’associative guilt’is dishonest and inaccurate.”

Ken White, a First Amendment lawyer, said the investigation will bring long-term legal muddy water to both sides, the beginning of a roller coaster year in which a confused country fights to repair itself. Said.

“Current law interprets the law, so it’s very difficult to say that someone like Alex Jones, who said something a day or a week ago, meets that standard,” White said. Stated.

“I look forward to seeing an increasingly creative alternative approach by federal prosecutors, like a conspiracy.”

The day after Prince Harry and Megan Markle left the hospital, Prince Wales looked gloomy when he was discharged. Permanently quit as a frontline royal family..

The 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh will be taken to the hospital on Tuesday and will stay there for a few more days.

Previously reported due to strict restrictions on COVID-19. Visitors were banned from the hospital To reduce the risk of viral transmission to already sick patients.

The Queen and other royalty are only allowed to enter during “exceptional situations”.

On Saturday (local time), Prince Charles traveled to London from the High Grove House in Gloucestershire, entered through the back door of the hospital and met the guards. Sun report.

The Prince of Wales looked gloomy with red eyes when he was kicked out after spending 30 minutes in the hospital.

Prince Phillip was told he needed to stay in bed for “rest and observation” after getting sick at Windsor Castle earlier this week.

Relation: Prince Phillip in the hospital as a “precautionary measure”

Prince Phillip has been treated for several illnesses in the same London hospital over the past few years.

It is understood that he was feeling sick for several days before the Royal Doctor ordered him to the hospital as a “precautionary measure”.

He was driven 26 miles from Windsor Castle in his private car and entered the hospital without help.

Visit is the next day Prince Harry and Megan Markle have announced that they have permanently resigned as frontline royalty...

Philip had a virus jab six weeks ago, and his hospitalization is not the result of Covid.

All patients are tested for viruses in their room before admission.

Relation: Harry and Megan accused of “contempt” against the Queen

Duke is accustomed to being surrounded by restrictions almost a year after traveling with a few staff between Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle and Sandlingham.

A team of 24 people will work with a quarantine period, three weeks on and three weeks off, to prevent Covid.

No one needs to wear a mask, but everyone in close contact with the Queen and the Duke has been tested.

Buckingham Palace said it would not provide a continuous commentary on the Duke’s health.

“He was hospitalized for rest and observation, but it continues,” said one spokesman last night.

Philip is now rarely seen in public. He resigned from his official engagement in August 2017 after completing more than 22,000 solo events and thousands of events with Queen.

Philip was a former naval officer, sometimes renowned for his barbaric attitude and humor, and married Elizabeth in 1947, five years before becoming a queen.

He is currently by far the longest-serving spouse of any British monarch.

This article was first published Sun Reissued here with permission

The team behind the discovery was shocked to find an ancient mannequin carved into a millstone while working on an A14 road in Cambridgeshire, England.

Not only was it very rare to find a decorated millstone, but archaeologists were even more interested in finding genital symbols, Sun Report.

Only four Roman stone mills with about 20,000 decorations have been found in Britain.

Steve Sherlock, Archeology Leader at Highways England, said: “The penis was regarded as an important image of strength and vitality in the Roman world.”

Sherlock added that Roman fighters often wear lucky charms with engraved genitals before entering the battle.

This is a series of mysterious discoveries dating from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age to Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Middle Ages by archaeologists working on a £ 1.5 billion (A $ 2.7 billion) road improvement project. Is the latest one.

They also found the earliest evidence of beer brewing in the UK – as early as 400 BC.

The second gold coin found in the country was also found, depicting the reign of 269AD for about two months before the death of Roman emperor Laelianus.

This article was originally Sun Reissued with permission

Small countries in the Middle East are late Pfizer vaccine Behind the United States, Canada and Japan, according to Times of Israel, However, we were still able to gain quick access to millions of doses.

This was partly because Israel paid more vaccine – The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to share data with Pfizer on rollout results, which is twice the amount enrolled in a single dose.

“We didn’t argue about prices,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in January.

Netanyahu also said that one of Pfizer’s selling points was Israel. Herd immunity Or something that is approaching group immunity very quickly. “

Israel “can serve as a global test case” Coronavirus He said about vaccines and the resumption of the economy.

Two months after the vaccine was launched, experts are now watching carefully to understand the effectiveness of the vaccine in the real world.

The program has been very successful and on Monday Netanyahu’s government announced the resumption of several businesses.

“We will be the first to escape in the world [of COVID]Netanyahu told Israeli channel 12.

He said he would decide whether the current blockade would be the last in Israel and recommended that 570,000 people over the age of 50 who had not yet been vaccinated get jabs.

Our best shot Is a news.com.au campaign that answers questions about the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Uncover myths about vaccines, answer jab concerns, and let us know when you can get the COVID-19 vaccine.

With a population almost double that of Sydney, Israel has already provided the first of two jabs to more than 4 million people in just two months.

This covers more than 40% of the 9 million population.

Of these, more than 2.6 million have also received a second jab.

Although the number of vaccinations is not as high as in other countries, Israel’s small population makes it easier to assess the effects of widespread vaccination, as a higher proportion of the population is potentially protected. I will.

Professor Allen Chen, who heads the government’s Australian Immunization Technology Advisory Group, told Samantha Maiden at news.com.au in late January that what happens in Israel next month or so is that the vaccine will prevent infection. Of the virus that is important for understanding herd immunity, he said it would give experts ideas on how effective it is.

Israeli results cannot be transferred directly to Australia due to the use of the Pfizer vaccine. For Australians, most of the time AstraZeneca Shot, But it may provide the greatest signs of vaccine efficacy and the path back to normal.

So what does the data say?

Is it still possible to spread the virus?

So far, there is no clear answer as to whether a vaccinated person can infect others, but vaccination reduces the viral load, which can infect people. There is promising data that suggests it is low.

According to an analysis by DNA scientist Yaniv Erlich, Chief Science Officer at MyHeritage, and his colleague Ella Petter, vaccinated people who are still infected with the coronavirus have more virus levels than those who have not been vaccinated. Was found to be 1.5 to 20 times lower.

This means that even if infected, the virus is unlikely to be transmitted to others, giving hope that herd immunity will be achieved.

“Vaccinated people protect not only themselves, but their families, neighbors, and communities, so it’s important to get vaccinated,” Dr. Erlich said on Facebook on February 8. I am writing in the post.

Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, also stimulated the ability of vaccines to reduce viral load in people, as seen in Israeli and Spanish studies.

“Vaccines are not only important for an individual’s health to protect them from infectious diseases and illnesses, including mutants, but also very important from a public health perspective to interfere with and reduce the dynamics of their outbreak. It has a lot of meaning, “he says. Said on Wednesday.

Relation: Australia’s “NASA-like” COVID-19 vaccine program

“Magic has begun”

With new vaccines, there is a risk that the results seen in the trial will not be reproduced in the real world. This can happen for a number of reasons, including the fact that people who sign up for trials tend to be healthier, more educated, and embrace new technologies.

But so far, Pfizer’s results seem to reflect what they’ve experienced in the exam, preventing people from getting sick.

Eran Segal, a scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science Tweeted on February 2nd That “magic has begun.”

He said in the past two weeks, cases of people over the age of 60 (among those who were first vaccinated) have decreased by 35%, hospitalizations have decreased by 30%, and critically ill patients have decreased by 20%. I did. ..

Subsequent tweets confirm that this trend continues, with people in the hospital appearing to be younger as a group of older people complete vaccinations.

This week, a study by the Institute of Clarit Health Services, Israel’s largest healthcare provider in partnership with Harvard University, found that vaccinated people had symptomatic infections compared to unvaccinated people. It turned out to be 94% less.

In addition, 7 days after the second dose, serious cases decreased by 91-99% in all age groups.

Clarit’s results, along with analysis from other agencies, give confidence that the Israeli government can begin to reopen the country.

Relation: COVID-19 Vaccine side effects you may have

Obstacles still need to be overcome

However, Slow down the speed of people trying to get vaccinated..

“At the start of the campaign, we were accustomed to inoculating 100,000 to 120,000 people a day, but in the last few days we have rarely reached half that,” said Clarit’s vaccination manager. Said Karanit Kay. Israeli era..

There are concerns that anti-vaxxers are agitating domestically, and Israel also seems to serve as a test group on how to deal with people who are reluctant to get jabs.

Israel has now announced a “green badge” system for those who received both jabs to reopen certain venues.

Starting Sunday, anyone with a badge that will also be given to those who have recovered from the virus will be able to enter the gym, cultural events, places of worship and hotels.

“We are proceeding with a responsible resumption based on the principle that’you are vaccinated-you are in’,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday.

Other facilities, such as malls and museums, are open to all citizens under the so-called “purple code” with or without green badges, and crowd size restrictions and other restrictions apply in many of the pandemics. I am.

Hagai Levin, a public health professor and researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Israeli vaccination-dependent resumption plans require a “subtle balance” between public health needs and personal freedom. I emphasized that there is.

He also told AFP that he had “the right not to be vaccinated.”

“I think people should do that, but you can’t force them,” he added, adding that those who opt out are inevitably at risk of being denied certain services.

charis.chang@news.com.au | @ charischang2

Facebook refuses to succumb to regulations that force social giants to share revenue with the media.

“We had a constructive discussion with Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook this morning,” Frydenberg tweeted.

“He raised some remaining issues regarding the government’s news media negotiation code, and we agreed to continue the conversation to find a way forward.”

Australia is ready to adopt legislation that forces digital companies to pay for news content. This sets a global precedent and, according to Facebook and Google, affects how the Internet works.

“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content,” said William Easton, Facebook’s Australian and New Zealand manager. Stated.

“It made us face tough choices: trying to comply with laws that ignore the reality of this relationship or quitting permission for news content about our service in Australia. The latter because it’s heartbreaking. I’m choosing. ”

However, the federal government has a strong position on the tech Jaguar Note, and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the move is a concern, while Facebook and Google expect to stay in Australia. It was.

“We are in continuous discussion with Facebook. They chose to make this announcement. There are already doubts about the reliability of the information and sources on the Facebook platform,” he told radio station 2GB. It was.

“They basically tell Australians:” If you’re looking for reliable news, Facebook isn’t the place to look for it. “

“It costs money to hire a journalist who has the right fact-checking objectives and provides reliable information. This is an important policy issue that the Australian Government is concerned about.” What Facebook announced this morning is It raises very serious issues, such as the reliability of information on Facebook. “

Facebook’s move is in contrast to Google, which recently mediates transactions with media groups. (Including the contract with News Corp. announced today), In response to the promotion of regulations.

Easton said Facebook’s platform “has a radically different relationship to the news.”

“Google search is closely tied to the news, and publishers don’t voluntarily provide content. Meanwhile, publishers sell more subscriptions, increase viewership, and increase advertising revenue. We are happy to choose to post the news on Facebook because we can, “he said, arguing that the arrangement worked in favor of the publisher.

“Last year, Facebook generated about 5.1 billion free referrals to Australian publishers worth an estimated A $ 407 million,” he said.

Earlier this week, Australian officials are approaching a deal with major Australian media to pay for news to resolve standoffs where two U.S. tech giants are being watched closely around the world. Said.

If the rules were enacted, businesses threatened to partially withdraw services from the country, causing a verbal war with Canberra.

Easton has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for media organizations, arguing to Australian officials that “value exchange between Facebook and publishers works in favor of publishers.” Said.

“We’ve been working on rules that drive innovation and collaboration between digital platforms and news organizations for a long time,” said Easton.

“Unfortunately, this law doesn’t do that. Instead, we’re trying to penalize content that Facebook didn’t get or request.”