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Daily Archives: October 18, 2018
Halloween Candy, Ranked
Live and learn – all the better to plan: Halloween Candy, Ranked – Candy corn is only #21 🙁 Continue Reading
Il rastrellamento del ghetto di Roma, una vergogna da imprimere nella memoria
On this day in history, I honor the memory of those who did not return…and all the survivors who now comprise several generations of my extended family around the world. LinkIesta: “Un ricordo personale. Nei giorni precedenti alla deportazione del 16 ottobre 1943 gli ebrei romani erano stati avvertiti che stava per succedere qualcosa di… Continue Reading
There’s microplastic in that table salt
Quartz: “A study published Tuesday (Oct. 16) in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in more than 90% of the packaged food-grade salt—also known as table salt—for sale in stores. The team, from South Korea’s Incheon National University and Greenpeace East Asia, sampled 39 brands of salt harvested in 21 countries. Only three… Continue Reading
A rare peek inside the FBI’s internal video-streaming service
Quartz: “Internal FBI documents released last week provide an intriguing peek at its private intranet for agents and other personnel. The system—called BU|NET, an apparent portmanteau of “bureau” and “network”—includes FBI.tv, a homegrown YouTube channel of sorts that includes live commercial programming (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and the Department of Justice’s in-house legal training network,… Continue Reading
A Conservative Group’s Closed-Door ‘Training’ of Judicial Clerks Draws Concern
The New York Times: “The closed-door “training academy” was aimed at a select group: recent law school graduates who had secured prestigious clerkships with federal judges. It was organized by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that has played a leading role in moving the courts to the right, and it had some unusual requirements.… Continue Reading
SEC Launches New Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology
“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub). The FinHub will serve as a resource for public engagement on the SEC’s FinTech-related issues and initiatives, such as distributed ledger technology (including digital assets), automated investment advice, digital marketplace financing, and artificial intelligence/machine learning. The FinHub… Continue Reading
USDA’s enforcement of animal welfare laws plummeted in 2018
Washington Post: “Two years ago, the Agriculture Department issued 192 written warnings to breeders, exhibitors and research labs that allegedly violated animal welfare laws, and the agency filed official complaints against 23, according to agency data. This year, those figures plummeted: The department had issued 39 warnings in the first three-quarters of fiscal 2018, and… Continue Reading
FOIA Suits Filed by Nonprofit/Advocacy Groups Double Under Trump
“Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suits filed by nonprofit and advocacy organizations seeking access to federal government records have more than doubled since President Trump assumed office. This sudden burst in FOIA activity is a marked departure from the slower rise that had prevailed during much of the previous two presidential administrations. In FY 2001,… Continue Reading
Felony Disenfranchisement Reforms in 23 States Restored Voting Rights to 1.4 Million People
Sentencing Project: “As Florida voters consider an Election Day initiative to end the state’s lifetime ban on voting for citizens with a felony record, a new report from The Sentencing Project finds that since 1997 changes to state felony disenfranchisement laws across the country have restored voting rights to 1.4 million people. Expanding the Vote:… Continue Reading
How RSS Feeds Will Give You More Efficiency And Control
feedly: “As the internet merges into a conglomerate of algorithms and distraction, it’s more important than ever to have control over the information you are consuming. That’s where RSS comes in handy, but it is not always clear on how exactly that is the case. So, let me break down it down for you…” [h/t/… Continue Reading
Records Show DHS Ignored Privacy, First Amendment Threats of Media Monitoring Program
“EPIC has obtained records concerning “Media Monitoring Services,” a controversial DHS project to track journalists, news outlets, and social media accounts. The records, released in EPIC’s FOIA lawsuit against the federal agency, reveal that the DHS bypassed the agency’s own privacy officials and ignored the privacy and First Amendment implications of monitoring the coverage by… Continue Reading
