Mediaboss Marketing

Board member David Bonderman has issued an apology to the board and all Uber employees for the following exchange with Ariana Huffington, also a member of the board:

Huffington: "There's a lot of data that shows when there's a woman on the board it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board."

Bonderman: "Actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely to be more talking."

Huffington: "Oh, come on, David."

Huffington:

"Let us all address the elephant in the room where is Travis?"

"The War Room is no more. It has been renamed the Peace Room."

"We need to judge ourselves going forward, from today on what we're doing right now, on the actions we are taking."

Bonderman:

"The company has been run as though it was a small start up... but now it's not. It has to have training programs, it has to have appropriate governance and oversight. All of these are contained in the committee recommendations."

"You're going to read negative things in the press. We can overcome it all."

Bill Gurley, board member:

"We have to self police and help everyone understand that we need to be doing things we're proud of at all times"

Angela Padilla, member of Uber's legal team:

"We understood that Susan's [blog] post described not just specific facts... but also a broader company culture of certain kinds of toxic behavior."

Liane Hornsey, Uber's HR chief:

"There will not be 14 values on how individuals behave. There will be values on how we behave collectively as an Uber team."

"We will introduce part-time working for those who want it."

"We have to have a diversity advisory board...so we can get very, very serious here."

"We are all accountable to each other because of what we've just been through."

Go here to read the rest:
Uber's board accepts all of Eric Holder's recommendations - Axios

Ubers board of directors voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations of a report that was conducted after allegations of sexual harassment and other issues at the company came to light, according to a representative for the board.

In the meeting on Sunday, the board adopted recommendations from the Holder Report, conducted by former Attorney General Eric HolderEric H. HolderOvernight Tech: Uber CEO taking leave of absence | Senators unveil goals for driverless car bill | Court strikes down FCC prison phone caps | Verizon closes Yahoo deal Uber board member joked women talk too much during meeting on sexism Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to take leave of absence MORE and Tammy Albarrn after a months-long investigation on the company's internal practices. The independent investigation was galvanized by former Uber employee Susan Fowler who wrote a blog post detailing allegedly ignored and mishandled issues of sexual harassment at the ride-hailing company.

The recommendations will be released to employees Tuesday, according to the board representative.

One of Holder's recommendations was firing Emil Michael, Kalanick's chief deputy at the company. A source familiar with move confirmed to The Hill on Monday that Michael is no longer with Uber.

Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds, Michael said in a farewell email to his colleagues that was obtained by The New York Times. "I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories.

Fowlers post in February has contributed to the scrutiny of Ubers culture, particularly in regard to its treatment of women. Kalanick has also contributed to the companys negative publicity in recent months after Bloomberg published a video showing him berating a driver and a Recode report detailing a cavalier memo he sent employees in 2013, among other missteps that have happened or come to light this year.

Uber is also embroiled in a legal battle with Alphabets self-driving car subsidiary, Waymo, who alleges that Uber stole important documents on self-driving car technology and faces a criminal probe for Greyball technology it used to mislead regulators in cities it operated in.

The turmoil has prompted a significant number of executives to leave the company in recent months.

--Harper Neidig contributed to this report, which was updated at 1:00 p.m.

Continued here:
Uber board to adopt recommendations of Eric Holder investigation - The Hill

Common Dreams

Every Democrat in America Should Support Medicare for All Common Dreams So it's great that Democrats are blasting it every chance they get, but constantly criticizing it isn't enough. We have a health care crisis in America. Everyday people are struggling to afford good coverage, and premiums and co-pays are kicking our butts. and more »

More:
Every Democrat in America Should Support Medicare for All - Common Dreams

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., on Tuesday accused Attorney General Jeff Sessions of "obstructing the congressional investigation" into Russian meddling in the 2016 election by not answering questions about his conversations with President Trump.

"There are two investigations here. There is the special counsel investigation. There is also a congressional investigation. And you are obstructing that congressional investigation by not answering these questions, and I think your silence, like the silence of Director Coats, like the silence of Admiral Rogers, speaks volumes," Heinrich said Tuesday, referring to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers.

Both Coats and Rogers testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and declined to disclose the details of private conversations they had with Trump.

Sessions followed suit during his own testimony before the intelligence panel and said it would not be appropriate for him to discuss his private conversations with the president.

"It is my judgment it would be inappropriate for me to answer and reveal private conversations with the president when he has not had a full opportunity to review the questions and make a decision on whether or not to approve such an answer," the attorney general said.

Trump did not invoke executive privilege to keep Sessions from sharing the details of his conversations, but Sessions still declined to provide information regarding their discussions.

Republicans like Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., later reminded Democrats that former Attorney General Eric Holder routinely said he would not describe private conversations with President Obama.

But Heinrich and other Democrats took issue with that answer.

"You took an oath. You raised your right hand here today and said you would solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and now you're not answering questions. You're impeding this investigation," Heinrich said. "My understanding of the legal standard is that you either answer the question. That's' the best outcome. [Or] you say this is classified, can't answer it here, I'll answer it in closed session. That's bucket number two. Bucket number three is to say I'm invoking executive privilege. There is no appropriateness bucket. It is not a legal standard."

Sessions, though, said he was "protecting the president's constitutional right" by not testifying about his discussions with Trump.

"I am telling the truth in answering your question in saying it's a longstanding policy at the Department of Justice to make sure the president has full opportunity to decide these issues," he said.

Continued here:
Democrat accuses Sessions of 'obstructing the congressional investigation' into Russia - Washington Examiner

Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel urged the Party to push back against the mainstream medias narrative and to hold strong and move forward so President Trump can accomplish his agenda, during an interview Tuesday on The Laura Ingraham Show.

As the media-fueled Russia collusion probe drags on and as congressional Democrats continue to resist and obstruct Trump at every turn, the RNC chairwoman said the GOP must unite against the Democrats playbook. Noting the media threw a collective fit after Trumps Cabinet members praised him during their first meeting Tuesday, McDaniel said the presidents opposition will grasp at any straw available to undermine his administration.

[The media] also failed to mention that the presidents only able to hold his first cabinet meeting five months into his administration because Democrats obstructed every chance they got to put these cabinet members through, McDaniel said. So they went through the Democrat-Senator-obstruction gauntlet, and they got to hold their first cabinet meeting yesterday five months into his administration two months later than President Obama was able to hold his first cabinet meeting.

"So I think they were pretty thrilled to even just be there and have that first meeting," McDaniel said. "That's what the Democrats have done. They've obstructed every chance they can get. They are resisting, they are playing out the clock. That's their game plan, and they're not being called out by the mainstream media."

McDaniel also pointed to the joint Maryland-Washington, D.C., lawsuit filed in federal court against Trump Monday alleging that the president has violated theForeign Emoluments Clause through his family business's accepting commercial money from foreign governments.

"The Democrats have a game. You've seen this now with the D.C. lawsuit. They're going to throw every type of investigation out there that they can. They want to throw as much cloud on this administration," McDaniel said. "The Democrats they have their playbook. It's out there for all of us to see. Draw out the clock, throw as much doubt on this administration as possible. Resist. Obstruct. We have to push back. The RNC is in lockstep with the White House."

"We have to push back, and it's going to take leadership in the House and the Senate to do that," McDaniel added.

The RNC chairwoman also expressed her frustration at the toll the nearly yearlong Russia-election interference investigation has taken on Trump and his administration.

"I think we also need to ask for a quick resolution. I mean, this did start last July under [former FBI] Director Comey. And we do need to figure out whatever Russia did trying to interfere and how the Obama administration failed miserably to understand the threat that Russia was," McDaniel said. "Obviously the Obama administration didn't take Russia seriously. But July is when this investigation started. It should be done. When is the timetable going to be done? When are we going to start pushing back and saying enough is enough?"

"At what point, when you have no evidence, do you stop an investigation? If you have no evidence, it's time to move on. But we've got to be stronger. We've got to be push harder. And the RNC is doing it, and certainly there are great Republicans out there pushing back as well," added McDaniel.

The country desperately needs results in the ongoing Russia investigation, McDaniel said, and the administration needs this cloud looming over its head removed so it can function effectively and deliver on Trump's campaign promises.

"We need to get the American people an answer. And we need to once and for all say there was no collusion between the Trump administration and the Russians. Because not one person has said there was evidence of collusion," McDaniel said. "The Trump administration is complying 100 percent, but we need to get this done. There needs to be pressure to stop this and move on so that we can get to the business of helping the American people."

While discussing the upcoming June 20 special election for Georgia's 6th House district, the RNC chairwoman said it is "interesting" that the Democrats are portraying the race between Democrat Jon Ossoffand Republican Karen Handel as a judgment onTrump's presidency.

"It's interesting that they're saying this race is a reflection of what's happening nationally. Ossoff is not running away from President Trump. In fact, he's vowing to never raise taxes. He's running more like a moderate Republican. He's not going against the president," McDaniel said. "And so, I don't know how this can be a reflection of national attitudes when the candidate is not even repudiating the president."

"However, it is the highest amount of money coming out-of-state in a congressional district in history," McDaniel said. "And I think the people of Georgia need to really think do they want to elect a fifthcongressperson for California or do they want to elect somebody from Georgia? ...But make no mistake when he comes to Washington, he will be beholden to those donors who are giving him money from California and New York and he'll be beholden to [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi and [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer."

Ultimately, McDaniel said one of the American people's most serious and pressing concerns is Obamacare and the need for health care reform. Although the House passed a repeal and replace effort, the bill has festered as the Senate continues to drag out the process.

"It's still repeal and replace Obamacare. That's what we are hearing the most" from our constituents, McDaniel said. "They look at Washington and they say, 'Why aren't we getting this done?' And I will say, 'We are only five months in.' This is a huge issue. I think the Senate recognizes we have to get this done."

If the Republicans hope to perform well in the 2018 midterms and combat unilateral Democratic obstruction, the RNC chairwoman said they must unite and pass legislation to put points on the board.

"We're going to have to have some accomplishments to run on in 2018. I think it will be the most expensive midterm in history. I will say the RNC is in great financial shape," McDaniel said. "We've got to hold strong and keep these majorities so President Trump can accomplish his agenda."

Read the original post:
RNC Chair: GOP Must 'Hold Strong' Against Democrat Obstruction - LifeZette