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Monthly Archives: August 2019

3D Printing: Overview, Impacts, and the Federal Role

CRS report via FAS – 3D Printing: Overview, Impacts, and the Federal Role, August 2, 2019: “Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a highly flexible manufacturing process that has been used in product development and production for the past 30 years. Greater capabilities, lower prices, and an expanded range of manufacturing materials… Continue Reading

Resolutions to Censure the President: Procedure and History

CRS report via FAS – Resolutions to Censure the President: Procedure and History, updated August 1, 2019: “Censure is a reprimand adopted by one or both chambers of Congress against a Member of Congress, President, federal judge, or other government official. While Member censure is a disciplinary measure that is sanctioned by the Constitution (Article… Continue Reading

The Radical Transformation of the Textbook

Wired – Digital-first. Open source. Subscription. The way textbooks are bought and sold is changing—with serious implications for higher education: “For several decades, textbook publishers followed the same basic model: Pitch a hefty tome of knowledge to faculty for inclusion in lesson plans; charge students an equally hefty sum; revise and update its content as… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues August 4, 2019

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues August 4, 2019 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading

Libraries are fighting to preserve your right to borrow e-books

Eponymous librarian (internet folk hero) Jessamyn West‘s Opinion piece on CNN –Libraries are fighting to preserve your right to borrow e-books – “Librarians to publishers: Please take our money. Publishers to librarians: Drop dead. That’s the upshot of Macmillan publishing’s recent decision which represents yet another insult to libraries. For the first two months after a… Continue Reading

Concerns About Online Data Privacy Span Generations

Internet Innovation Alliance – Are Millennials okay with the collection and use of their data online because they grew up with the internet? “In an effort to help inform policymakers about the views of Americans across generations on internet privacy, the Internet Innovation Alliance, in partnership with Icon Talks, the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP), and… Continue Reading

Elsevier sends copyright threat to site for linking to Sci-Hub

Follow up to previous posting on BeSpacific – Science’s pirate queen Alexandra Elbakyan is plundering the academic publishing establishment (includes multiple sub-links) and SciHub continues to get attacked around the world – via Boing Boing: “Sci-Hub (previously) is a scrappy, nonprofit site founded in memory of Aaron Swartz, dedicated to providing global access to the… Continue Reading

Op-Ed: How data privacy laws could make the criminal justice system even more unfair

LA Times – “A cluster of new and proposed state and federal laws will soon make it harder for people accused of crimes to defend themselves. All of these laws are well-intended — to protect privacy by shielding sensitive personal information — but they suffer from a fundamental unfairness that needs correction. These laws tilt… Continue Reading

The Equifax settlement has already spawned deceptive websites

Follow up to my previous postings via BeSpacific – Skip Cash for Equifax Breach and Get Credit Monitoring, F.T.C. Tells Victims – more guidance via the Washington Post – “It’s been less than two weeks since the Equifax data-breach settlement was announced, and already at least two websites trying to scam information-seekers have been shut… Continue Reading

A librarian’s case against overdue book fines

TED Talk – Dawn Wacek – she  advocates for equitable library service for all community members. “Libraries have the power to create a better world; they connect communities, promote literacy and spark lifelong learners. But there’s one thing that keeps people away: the fear of overdue book fines. In this thought-provoking talk, librarian Dawn Wacek makes… Continue Reading

How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment

Polico Magazine – Michael Waldman is president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He is the author of The Second Amendment: A Biography. -“A fraud on the American public.” That’s how former Chief Justice Warren Burger described the idea that the Second Amendment gives an unfettered individual right to a… Continue Reading