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Daily Archives: March 12, 2018

Ambrogi – In New Ethics Ruling On Blogging, ABA Opines Like It’s 1999

Robert Ambrogi – Above the Law – Having now decided to weigh in on this untimely topic, what does the ABA tell us? [This is a must read] “In the classic short story “Rip Van Winkle,” a man fell asleep in 1769 and awoke 20 years later, having slept through the Revolution. One wonders whether the same is true of the authors of Formal Opinion 480, issued March 6 by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. It tackles the ethics obligations around the “newest format” in online publishing by lawyers, blogs, as well as listservs, online articles, website postings, and “brief online statements or microblogs” such as Twitter. It has been 20 years since the launch of the first blog by a lawyer, which was either in 1998 or 1999, depending who is credited as first. During those two decades, a revolution has occurred in how lawyers publish. This blog, Above the Law, stands as testament to that. Last month, in just 28 days, it had 1.5 million unique visitors [aside – this blog crushes the competition!]. Granted, the ABA has a reputation for being a bit behind the curve on technology issues. But in reading this opinion, one has the feeling that someone at the ABA found it in a desk drawer where it had been lost for a decade and decided, “What the heck, let’s publish it.” Having now decided to weigh in on this untimely topic, what does the ABA tell us?…”

This is the Truth – Most Gun Owners Support Policies Aimed at Reducing Gun Violence

BuzzFeed: “Gun owners who are members of the National Rifle Association and those who are not are sharply divided over support for new gun control proposals, according to a new Ipsos/BuzzFeed News poll. A slew of new proposals have come out of Congress and the White House in the weeks since 17 people were killed… Continue Reading

Commentary – how do we fix life online without limiting free speech

New Yorker – Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet How do we fix life online without limiting free speech? “Which Web sites get the most traffic? According to the ranking service Alexa, the top three sites in the United States, as of this writing, are Google, YouTube, and Facebook. (Porn, somewhat hearteningly, doesn’t… Continue Reading

Opinion: YouTube may be one of the most radicalizing instruments of the 21st century

Via NYT – Benton Foundation – [Commentary] “It seems as if you are never “hard core” enough for YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. It promotes, recommends and disseminates videos in a manner that appears to constantly up the stakes. Given its billion or so users, YouTube may be one of the most powerful radicalizing instruments of the… Continue Reading

Billions of Birds Migrate. Where Do They Go?

Migratory birds have made their thousand-mile flights for millennia, but we are just now learning to map their mesmerizing journeys. “Different types of birds take routes of widely varying lengths. Some round-trip migrations can be as long as 44,000 miles, equivalent to almost two round-the-world trips. Others are much shorter. Some birds even migrate on… Continue Reading

Laws on Erasure of Online Information

In November 207 the Law Library published a report on Laws on Erasure of Online Information: “This report describes the laws of twelve jurisdictions that have some form of remedy available enabling the removal of online data based on harm to individuals’ privacy or reputational interests, including but not limited to defamation.  Six of the… Continue Reading

Secret Service and White House Win Rosemary Award for Worst in Open Government in 2017

National Security Archive: “The Secret Service and the White House have emerged as the dubious winners from the hard-fought competition for the National Security Archive’s infamous Rosemary Award for worst open government performance of 2017. The award, which the Archive began bestowing in 2005, is named after President Nixon’s secretary, Rose Mary Woods, who testified… Continue Reading

America’s junk epidemic

The Week: “No matter what President Trump says, the decline of American manufacturing won’t be reversed by modest tariffs on aluminum and steel. There is more to this issue than industrial metals. Perhaps the largest structural economic crisis this country faces — one that encompasses everything else from outsourcing to stagnant wages to the environment… Continue Reading