A6 The BulleTin • SaTurday, april 10, 2021
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: I’ve been sepa-
rated from my wife for about
four years, at her request. It
was justified. I wasn’t the best
husband. I wasn’t abusive, but
I was sad and feeling sorry
for myself, like now.
I took her for granted and
didn’t show her the affection
she deserved, but I have been
going to therapy to work
through issues that I had
suppressed for decades that
contributed to me being a
bad husband. I wanted to try
counseling with her, but she
was done and refused, which
I’m still saddened by.
As of today, she has a new
boyfriend but still hasn’t filed
for divorce. I’m struggling be-
cause she and her new boy-
friend hang out with people
I grew up with. It’s my own
hang-up, I know, but it makes
me feel embarrassed and like
I can never hang out with
my friends again. I get upset
when I see posts on Facebook
with her and her boyfriend
that my family have added
heart emojis or nice com-
ments to.
Am I wrong for feeling be-
trayed in some way? Is my
estranged wife belittling me
by not filing for divorce and
hanging out with my friends
and a new boyfriend? Are my
friends and family betray-
ing me by being friends with
them?
— Broken Beyond Repair
Dear Broken: Marriages
end for many reasons. If I
read your letter correctly,
your wife left because she
could no longer cope with
someone who was in a
chronic state of depression,
not because you were a “bad
husband” or had some flaw
in your character.
You are doing your best to
improve your mental state,
and for that I applaud you.
You should not feel embar-
rassed or humiliated because
she has found a new relation-
ship. Please discuss these feel-
ings with your therapist so
you can move beyond them.
It may also be time to take
the initiative and file for the
divorce. Quit avoiding your
longtime friends. If you ha-
ven’t started dating, some of
them may know women to
introduce you to. And be-
cause posts on the internet
about your almost-ex and
her boyfriend cause you pain,
block or delete them rather
than obsess.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Madalyn Aslan
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR SATURDAY APRIL 10, 2021: Excit-
able, enthusiastic and mischievous, you love to stir the pot. This year, you
could transform a beloved hobby into a small business. Money will come in
surprisingly fast, but unless you are prudent, it could flow out just as quickly.
If single, you will be drawn to more serious types than usual. If attached,
spend more time together. TAURUS keeps you calm.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
You are kind and sweet, but don’t be a pushover. A family member
needs to outgrow childish behavior, and it could be up to you to call it out.
You have more allies than you know. Tonight: Let someone hold you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Take a day off from your hyperactive schedule. Value time reflect-
ing on where you’ve been and where you’d like to go in the future. Get out-
doors to take in the beauty of nature. Tonight: Accept an invitation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Gather outdoors with a group you’ve missed seeing. Taking a short
hike with friends or planning a community event will reward you with a com-
forting sense of belonging. An outdoor cleanup effort could make you feel
good all over. Tonight: Gourmet cooking.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Step back and appreciate what you’ve achieved. Whether you pull
a corporate coup or a spring-cleaning marathon, celebrate your success.
Friends and family already know how brilliant you are. Now you can believe
it, too. Tonight: Let someone pamper you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Your sense of adventure overrides your homebody tendencies today.
Plan for a future trip, or at least call that friend who has great stories to tell.
Tonight: Taste something ethnic.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
You will hit a brick wall negotiating a loan or business transaction.
Put it on hold and enjoy the weekend. Spend time with someone who ap-
preciates you. The chemistry is irresistible, so enjoy the passion. Tonight: Love
dictates your moves.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Study: Facebook algorithm shows
biased job ads skewed by gender
BY MATT O’BRIEN AND
BARBARA ORTUTAY
The Associated Press
Facebook is showing dif-
ferent job ads to women and
men in a way that might run
afoul of anti-discrimina-
tion laws, according to a new
study.
University of Southern
California researchers who
examined the ad-delivery al-
gorithms of Facebook and
LinkedIn found that Face-
book’s were skewed by gender
beyond what can be legally
justified by differences in job
qualifications.
Men were more likely to
see Domino’s Pizza delivery
driver job ads on Facebook,
while women were more
likely to see Instacart shop-
per ads.
The trend also held in high-
er- paying engineering jobs
at tech firms like Netflix and
chipmaker Nvidia. A higher
fraction of women saw the
Netflix ads than the Nvidia
ads, which parallels the gen-
der breakdown in each com-
pany’s workforce.
No evidence was found of
similar bias in the job ads de-
livered by LinkedIn.
Study author Aleksandra
Korolova, an assistant pro-
fessor of computer science
at USC, said it might be that
LinkedIn is doing a better job
at deliberately tamping down
bias, or it might be that Face-
book is simply better at pick-
ing up real-world cues from
its users about gender imbal-
ances and perpetuating them.
“It’s not that the user is
saying, ‘Oh, I’m interested in
this.’ Facebook has decided
on behalf of the user whether
they are likely to engage,” she
said. “And just because histor-
ically a certain group wasn’t
interested in engaging in
something, doesn’t mean they
shouldn’t have an opportunity
to pursue it, especially in the
job category.”
Facebook said in a state-
ment Friday it has been tak-
ing meaningful steps to ad-
dress issues of discrimination
in ads.
“Our system takes into ac-
count many signals to try and
serve people ads they will be
most interested in, but we un-
derstand the concerns raised
in the report,” it said.
Facebook promised to
overhaul its ad targeting sys-
tem in 2019 as part of a legal
settlement.
The social network said
then it would no longer al-
low housing, employment or
credit ads that target people
by age, gender or ZIP code.
It also limited other targeting
options so these ads don’t ex-
clude people on the basis of
race, ethnicity and other le-
gally protected categories in
the U.S., including national
origin and sexual orientation.
Endlessly customizable
ad targeting is Facebook’s
bread and butter, so any lim-
its placed on its process could
hurt the company’s revenue.
The ads users see can be tai-
lored down to the most gran-
ular details — not just where
people live and what web-
sites they visited recently, but
whether they’ve gotten en-
gaged in the past six months
or share characteristics with
people who have recently
bought new sneakers, even if
they have never expressed in-
terest in doing so themselves.
But even if advertisers can’t
do the targeting themselves,
the study shows what critics
have stressed for years — that
Facebook’s own algorithms
can discriminate, even if there
is no intent from the job ad-
vertisers themselves.
“We haven’t seen any public
evidence that they are work-
ing on the issues related to
their algorithms creating dis-
crimination,” Korolova said.
Since it isn’t possible to
show every user every ad-
vertisement that is targeted
at them, Facebook’s software
picks what it deems relevant.
If more women show interest
in certain jobs, the software
learns it should show women
more of these sorts of ads.
LinkedIn said the study’s
findings align with its internal
review of job ads targeting.
“However, we recognize
that systemic change takes
time, and we are at the begin-
ning of a very long journey,”
the company said in a state-
ment.
U.S. laws allow for ads to
Taxes
be targeted based on qualifi-
cations but not on protected
categories such as race, gen-
der and age. But anti-dis-
crimination laws are largely
complaint-driven, and no one
can complain about being de-
prived of a job opportunity if
they didn’t know it happened
to them, said Sandra Wachter,
a professor at Oxford Univer-
sity focused on technology
law.
“The tools we have devel-
oped to prevent discrimina-
tion had a human perpetrator
in mind,” said Wachter, who
was not involved in the USC
study. “An algorithm is dis-
criminating very differently,
grouping people differently
and doing it in a very subtle
way. Algorithms discriminate
behind your back, basically.”
Nike has settled
a lawsuit over
Lil Nas X ‘Satan
Shoes’ with
human blood
in soles.
Continued from A5
Some employers forecast they would
have to pay an average of several hundred
dollars more, per employee, in each of the
next three years.
HB 3389 would allow employers who
faced a tax hike of at least 0.5 a percentage
point this year to defer up to a third of this
year’s tax obligation until June 2022. Those
with higher increases can have a portion of
this year’s increase forgiven.
The bill would also exclude layoffs that
took place in 2020 and 2021 when calcu-
lating employers’ unemployment insur-
ance tax rate, meaning their rate will be
set based on any layoffs they had in prior
years. And it would change the time pe-
riod used to determine whether the fund
is solvent from 10 years to 20 years.
Altogether, the changes stand to save
Oregon employers $2.4 billion over the
next decade, according to legislative esti-
mates.
That’s also $2.4 billion less for the un-
employment insurance trust fund, but
lawmakers and the employment depart-
ment has concluded that the fund can eas-
ily withstand that lost revenue.
Amr Alfiky/AP
University of Southern California
researchers who examined the
ad-delivery algorithms of Face-
book and LinkedIn found Face-
book’s were skewed by gender.
STRF/STAR MAX/IPx/
via AP file
Shoes
Continued from A5
The sneakers, priced at $1,018 and
decorated with a bronze pentagram pen-
dant and a drop of human blood, quickly
drew outrage online.
Days after opening the lawsuit, Nike
obtained a temporary restraining order
blocking MSCHF from fulfilling any ad-
ditional orders. MSCHF said more than
600 orders had already been shipped at
the time of the restraining order.
The shoes were tied to the release of
a song from Lil Nas X, “Montero” (Call
Me By Your Name), and the music video
that accompanied it where the rapper at-
tempts to seduce the devil. The song de-
buted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
this week.
Work out the knots in a relationship with compassion and care. No
one is perfect, so focus on those things you can’t help but love. Do some-
thing active that keeps your mind from thinking too much. Tonight: Open
your heart.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Physical activity clears out cobwebs and puts you in a happier frame
of mind. Return to a warm weather exercise that’s been on ice since before
spring arrived. Keep your eyes peeled for new and like-minded people. To-
night: Stretch yourself.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Bust out of your isolation and contact a group of close pals. Organize
a watch party for an action movie and catch up on gossip. Give yourself per-
mission to be silly around those who know you well. Tonight: Finger foods.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Your fast-paced life often leaves your living space in disarray. Take
time to clear the clutter and see how good that makes you feel. When a
visitor arrives, you’ll be glad your abode is all clean. Tonight: Family Zoom call.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Light up your mind today. Learn a skill from an online course or
forum that won’t interfere with your schedule. This is the perfect venue for
sharing ideas. Tonight: Clear the air.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Go shopping with someone who understands your style choices. Be
daring and indulge a whim. Find a flea market or garage sale where you can
pick up great bargains. Tonight: True confessions.
T RINITY E PISCOPAL
C HURCH
Love God,
Love Your Neighbor,
Love Yourself
Worship online @ trinitybend.org
Meal schedule @ familykitchen.org
Union
Continued from A5
The union said it would file
an objection with the NLRB
charging the company with
illegally interfering with the
union vote. It will seek a hear-
ing with the labor board to de-
termine if the results “should
be set aside” after it accused
Amazon of spreading disinfor-
mation about the unionization
effort at meetings that workers
were required to attend.
“Amazon has left no stone
unturned in its efforts to gas-
light its own employees. We
won’t let Amazon’s lies, de-
ception and illegal activities
go unchallenged,” said Stuart
Appelbaum, the president of
the union.
Amazon said in a statement
that it didn’t intimidate em-
ployees.
“Our employees heard far
more anti-Amazon messages
from the union, policymakers,
and media outlets than they
heard from us,” the company
said. “And Amazon didn’t win
— our employees made the
choice to vote against joining
a union.”
The union push was the
biggest in Amazon’s 26-year
history and only the second
time that an organizing effort
from within the company had
come to a vote. But Bessemer
was always viewed as a long
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shot since it pitted the coun-
try’s second-largest employer
against warehouse workers in
a state with laws that don’t fa-
vor unions. Alabama is one of
27 “right-to-work” states where
workers don’t have to pay dues
to unions that represent them.
That the labor movement
in Bessemer even got this far
was unexpected. Amazon has
an undefeated record of snuff-
ing out union efforts before
they can spread. And at a time
when the economy is still try-
ing to recover and companies
have been eliminating jobs, it
is one of the few places still hir-
ing during the pandemic, add-
ing 500,000 workers last year
alone.
But the pandemic also re-
vealed inequities in the work-
force, with many having to
report to their jobs even while
the coronavirus was raging,
leading to concerns over health
and safety.
The organizing efforts in
Bessemer coincided with pro-
tests happening throughout
the country after the police
killing of George Floyd, rais-
ing awareness around racial
injustice and further fueling
frustration over how work-
ers at the warehouse — more
than 80% who are Black — are
being treated, with 10-hour
days of packing and loading
boxes and only two 30-minute
breaks.