HuffPost – The Highline: “…The criminal justice system has given up all pretense that the crimes of the wealthy are worth taking seriously. In January 2019, white-collar prosecutions fell to their lowest level since researchers started tracking them in 1998. Even within the dwindling number of prosecutions, most are cases against low-level con artists and… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2020
Amber is a tool for blogs & websites to keep linked content accessible
The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society wants to keep linked content accessible. Whether links fail because of DDoS attacks, censorship, or just plain old link rot, reliably accessing linked content is a problem for Internet users everywhere. This isn’t a new problem. Some centralized initiatives, such as the Internet Archive and Perma.cc, are… Continue Reading
How the U.S. Government Obtains and Uses Cellphone Location Data
WSJ.com video [no paywall] – “The U.S. government is using app-generated marketing data based on the movements of millions of cellphones around the country for some forms of law enforcement. We explain how such data is being gathered and sold.” Continue Reading
Second-language learners perceive their own accent as better than that of their peers
Mitterer H, Eger NA, Reinisch E (2020) My English sounds better than yours: Second-language learners perceive their own accent as better than that of their peers. PLoS ONE 15(2): e0227643. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227643 “Second language learners are often aware of the typical pronunciation errors that speakers of their native language make, yet often persist in making these… Continue Reading
Library Publishing Directory 2020
“The Library Publishing Directory provides an annual snapshot of the publishing activities of academic and research libraries, including information about the number and types of publications they produce, the services they offer authors, how they are staffed and funded, and their future plans. In documenting the breadth and depth of activities in this field, this resource aims to articulate… Continue Reading
Trump’s 2021 budget drowns science agencies in red ink again
Science: “It’s another sea of red ink for federal research funding programs in President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal. The 2021 budget request to Congress released today calls for deep, often double-digit cuts to R&D spending at major science agencies. At the same time, the president wants to put more money into a handful of areas—notably artificial… Continue Reading
DOJ files new lawsuits in renewed push to pressure ‘sanctuary cities’
WSJ.com [paywall]: “The U.S. Justice Department filed three lawsuits against California, New Jersey and a Washington county late Monday over their laws and policies limiting local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, escalating a Trump administration battle against liberal states and localities that adopt so-called sanctuary cities…” See also: DOJ Sues NJ and officials over… Continue Reading
DOJ Sues NJ and officials over ICE access to immigration docs
Justice Department Sues State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor, and New Jersey Attorney General for Prohibiting State Officials From Sharing Information With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The… Continue Reading
Draft DHS memo highlights retaliation against states not releasing driver records
A memo obtained by BuzzFeed News outlines options to put leverage on states that, like New York, deny federal immigration officials access to state driver records: “The Trump administration drafted a slew of plans to consider not only circumventing state laws limiting the Department of Homeland Security’s access to driver records, but to retaliate against… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 8, 2020
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 8, 2020 – 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 increasingly… Continue Reading
Academic Feeder Judges
Wasserman, Howard, Academic Feeder Judges (January 28, 2020). Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 20-02. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3526903 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3526903 “This paper identifies “academic feeder judges”—the federal judges (especially from courts of appeals) for whom law professors clerked at the beginning of their careers and the judges who “produce” law professors from… Continue Reading
National Archives permitting deletion and destruction of gov docs
The New York Times Opinion – Matthew Connelly – professor of history at Columbia.- “…In 2017, a normally routine document released by the archives, a records retention schedule, revealed that archivists had agreed that officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement could delete or destroy documents detailing the sexual abuse and death of undocumented immigrants. Tens… Continue Reading
