POGO: “The Justice Department’s little-known but powerful Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has published the titles and text of four previously withheld opinions as part of a larger release of opinions on its website. The release, which occurred on July 5 and has not been reported until now, came after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal from the… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: September 2018
A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying
59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it’s a major problem for people their age. “At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at addressing this issue. Name-calling and rumor-spreading have long been an unpleasant and challenging aspect of adolescent… Continue Reading
How Reliable Are the Memories of Sexual Assault Victims?
Scientific American – The expert testimony excluded from the Kavanaugh hearing [Editorial note by SA: If Jim Hopper had been permitted to provide his expert testimony at the September 27, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, these would have been his remarks.] “Incomplete memories of sexual assault, including those with huge gaps, are understandable—if… Continue Reading
Facebook Is Giving Advertisers Access to Your Shadow Contact Information
Gizmodo: “…One of the many ways that ads get in front of your eyeballs on Facebook and Instagram is that the social networking giant lets an advertiser upload a list of phone numbers or email addresses it has on file; it will then put an ad in front of accounts associated with that contact information.… Continue Reading
‘Hurricane Cowboys’ saving animals from floods of Florence
Sept. 27 (UPI): “A Virginia man leading a group of “Hurricane Cowboys” is again rescuing animals displaced by Hurricane Florence – much the same way he did in Texas after Harvey last year. Patrick McKann, a former bull rider and rodeo rider, and several volunteers are providing aid to help rescue horses and livestock amid… Continue Reading
The Surprising History (and Future) of Fingerprints
Fascinating read via The Paris Review: “…Thumb marks were used as personal seals to close business in Babylonia, and, in 1303, a Persian vizier recounted the use of fingerprints as signatures during the Qin and Han Dynasties, noting, “Experience has shown that no two individuals have fingers precisely alike.” The Chinese had realized that before… Continue Reading
During his presidency Barack Obama read 10 letters from members of the public every day
The Guardian: “…Shailagh Murray had spent two terms in the White House helping to lead the administration’s communications strategy and it appeared to have taken its toll. With Obama just a few months away from leaving office, journalists wanted exit interviews; they wanted to be first, biggest, loudest. She was sick of the egos, the… Continue Reading
Image rights metadata in Google Images
Google Blog: “As part of a collaboration between Google, photo industry consortium CEPIC, and IPTC, the global technical standards body for the news media, you can now access rights-related image metadata in Google Images. It’s traditionally been difficult to know the creator of images on the web, as well as who might own the rights.… Continue Reading
Voting Machine Used in Half of U.S. Is Vulnerable to Attack, Report Finds
WSJ [paywall]- The flaw in Election Systems & Software’s Model 650 high-speed ballot-counting machine was detailed in 2007 “Election machines used in more than half of U.S. states carry a flaw disclosed more than a decade ago that makes them vulnerable to a cyberattack, according to a report to be delivered Thursday on Capitol Hill.… Continue Reading
Google to give Chrome users an opt-out to ‘forced login’ after privacy backlash
Techcrunch: “Google has responded to blowback about a privacy hostile change it made this week, which removes user agency by automating Chrome browser sign-ins, by rowing back slightly — saying it will give users the ability to disable this linking of web-based sign-in with browser-based sign-in in a forthcoming update (Chrome 70), due mid next month.… Continue Reading
Google Curriculum, College Credit
Inside HigherEd – Tech giant gets hands-on with its new online IT certificate, as a growing number of community colleges and Northeastern University create credit pathways with the curriculum. “Google made its first substantial foray into postsecondary education in January, with the creation of a new online certificate program aimed at people who are interested… Continue Reading
Christine Blasey Ford’s prepared testimony – US Senate Judiciary Committee
Following is the link to her written testimony that includes the following statement: “My responsibility is to tell the truth.” Via CNBC: “Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to come forward alleging that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her, will tell the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that “I am no one’s pawn.”… Continue Reading
