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Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

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Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#151
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having cops invade her home and hold her children at gunpoint didn’t scare her into becoming his scapegoat, so it’s important to escalate the campaign of violence against her. You make it sound like the police broke into her home and deliberately pointed weapons at her children. That’s completely bullshit. The police had a warrant signed by a judge. They repeatedly asked her to open the door, she refused. This went…

The cops aren’t wild animals. They should have the ability to figure out whether or not a web developer/data scientist at home with warrants for nonviolent allegations is worth drawing a gun in a house with children in it. We need to hold cops to a higher standard of behavior.

In Florida, even web developers are allowed to own guns. It sounds like the cops kept a level head and didn't shoot anybody. This was probably pretty routine for Florida cops.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#152
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>with dual degrees in earth science and journalism in 2012 >>received a dual master's degree in geography and mass communication >>where she completed course work with an emphasis on data science and was working on a doctoral dissertation titled Using Native American Sitescapes to Extend the North American Paleotempestological Record Through Coupled Remote Sensing and Climatological Analysis https://en.wikipedia.org…

Having degrees in irrelevant fields is... irrelevant.

A rabid credential-ist might point out Isaac Newton never got a Physics degree.

Credentialism: belief in or reliance on academic or other formal qualifications as the best measure of a person's intelligence or ability to do a particular job

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#153
post #6

This is an obviously politically motivated use of state violence, and I hope this case goes in her favor.

I think it would be helpful if you let us know why you believe it is obvious.

In what sane world do you merit a police raid for publishing public health data?

Assuming the worst that she accessed a computer she was not authorized to access. This data, in the aggregate, is public data.

Regardless innocent until proven guilty applies. And to date the state hasn’t even made their charges public which seems ridiculous. ‘I have an arrest warrant for you, but I can’t tell you the charge’.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#154

There’s a lot of talk in this thread of whether Jones is a data scientist or not, but that talk is missing something crucial - it doesn’t take a data scientist to assemble basic reports about infection rates and mortality. Little to none of what differentiates “data scientist” from “data analyst” or “statistician” is involved in these reports. There is no massive data, no black-box modeling, really no new statistics…

Excellent point. And important to remember that her claims really circle around interpretation.

Measuring her claims really requires knowledges of how the state made its interpretation. If those interpretations don't correspond to how most other data outside of Florida is counted, then there is a problem.

This is why data transparency is so important: Accurately understanding regional and nation trends can help inform where resources are dedicated and how the virus spreads.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#155
post #10

What a weird story that keeps getting weirder. I am a data scientist who spent June in Tallahassee helping coordinate state-wide COVID testing with FDEM (Florida Department of Emergency Management) and state health officials. Everyone I worked with was pretty dedicated to getting the roll out right (including the governor and his appointees too..) My data & work was spread far and wide with no issue - but just a pers…

It is a weird story. I do not think she is being targeted for speaking her mind or advocating a particular view of the COVID, the charges almost certainly are for accessing the non-public data she should not have accessed.

And some data is sensitive. For example, if someone was pulling private medical records and harassing or blackmailing another person with that information it would, to me, justify both the search and the potential arrest. It should not be the statistics about COVID -- that data is usually available to the public after some aggregation.

That said, the state response and the arrest warrant look very strange in this case; so strange that it smells of a personal vendetta (e.g., find a potential HIPAA violation and throw a book at her). I hope the state will clearly identify what the heck she is accused of accessing and why it is so damaging that the state resorted to its recent actions. My 2c.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#156
post #121

>After she was fired, Jones started her own online COVID-19 dashboard. But she said Saturday that she may no longer be allowed access to computers, the internet or other electronic devices as a condition of her release from jail pending trial. In the modern day, with so much that is online or involving computers, this should be considered unjust punishment, the likes of which should be reserved only for child moleste…

How about blacklisting people from monetary/financial services such as banks and credit card co's based on their political views? That goes even further.

https://spectator.us/topic/financial-blacklisting-sargon-akk...

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/02/27/financial-blacklis...

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#157

This comment thread is an example of social media at its absolute worst. Have an opinion? Big deal, everyone has an opinion. My advice is to keep it to yourself.

I mean, isn’t part of the reason we have comments is to discuss opinions? The majority (though not all) of the comments I’m reading here are saying that there’s not enough information to form a good, educated one.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> She had over 20 minutes of knocking and a few phone calls in that period. So what? If somebody is knocking on my door, in the middle of the night, claiming to be a police officer, then making phone calls to verify that is 100% reasonable. If I had just been fired for politically motivated reasons, then making phone calls to alert the media when your home is being raided is 100% reasonable. > They’ll most likely eve…

It was a sunny morning, not the middle of the night. Obviously that's a minor detail, but it's indicative of a larger problem - there's been a big game of telephone on the actual circumstances of this raid, so your mental image of what happened may be different than what the video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of7ITokML-A ) shows.

Is the timestamp on that video accurate? T13:26 sounds like the early afternoon, not even the morning let alone late at night.

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#159
post #136
post #121

>After she was fired, Jones started her own online COVID-19 dashboard. But she said Saturday that she may no longer be allowed access to computers, the internet or other electronic devices as a condition of her release from jail pending trial. In the modern day, with so much that is online or involving computers, this should be considered unjust punishment, the likes of which should be reserved only for child moleste…

If she were providing a bogus view of the pandemic, there could be consequences for public health. That doesn't seem to actually be the case as far as I can tell, but the magnitude of the punishment seems about right for the alleged crime.

[deleted]

Re: Arrest warrant issued for ex-Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones

#160
post #156
post #121

>After she was fired, Jones started her own online COVID-19 dashboard. But she said Saturday that she may no longer be allowed access to computers, the internet or other electronic devices as a condition of her release from jail pending trial. In the modern day, with so much that is online or involving computers, this should be considered unjust punishment, the likes of which should be reserved only for child moleste…

How about blacklisting people from monetary/financial services such as banks and credit card co's based on their political views? That goes even further. https://spectator.us/topic/financial-blacklisting-sargon-akk... https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/02/27/financial-blacklis...

As shown by the well known bastion of unbiased, neutral, apolitical news... Breitbart.

Quite honestly this looks like a toxic, bigoted individual. I'm absolutely unsurprised that some organizations choose not to do business with him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Benjamin

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