Expanded free access for everyone through December 31, 2020 – “Supporting libraries during the COVID-19 crisis – JSTOR and our publishing partners are committed to serving the scholarly community during this challenging time. Together, we are providing our participating institutions with free access to journals and primary sources they do not already license through December 31,… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: June 2020
How You Can Kill Coronavirus in Your Car Without Damaging Interior Surfaces
Consumer Reports – How You Can Kill Coronavirus in Your Car Without Damaging Interior Surfaces – “As COVID-19 spreads, you’ve probably already learned the proper technique for washing your hands and which household cleaners can destroy a coronavirus. But what about the inside of your car? If you or someone else who has been in your car shows symptoms… Continue Reading
Supreme Court’s landmark LGBTQ rights decision summarized
Vox: “Bostock v. Clayton County, a landmark Supreme Court decision holding that federal law prohibits employment discrimination against LGBTQ workers, was a test of Justice Neil Gorsuch’s principles. He passed. Gorsuch is a vocal proponent of “textualism,” the belief that the meaning of a law turns on its words alone, not on the intentions of… Continue Reading
MIT News – Which businesses should be open?
In light of Covid-19, an MIT study looks at tradeoffs between economic value and public health, across different types of retail:”A new study by MIT researchers uses a variety of data on consumer and business activity to tackle that question, measuring 26 types of businesses by both their usefulness and risk. Vital forms of commerce… Continue Reading
How to Clean Up Your Social Media Posts As Much as You Can
Wired – How to Clean Up Your Old Social Media Posts – “These tips will help you safely tidy up your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts—or give your profile a fresh start.” Wired UK – “…First off–everything you do on Instagram is tracked. Almost every online service you use collects information about your actions. Every… Continue Reading
OpenAI’s Text Generator Is Going Commercial
Wired – “Last spring, artificial intelligence research institute OpenAI said it had made software so good at generating text—including fake news articles—that it was too dangerous to release. That line in the sand was soon erased when two recent master’s grads recreated the software and OpenAI released the original, saying awareness of the risks had… Continue Reading
CDC Finally Posts Guidelines for Activities as States Reopen
These guidelines were released on Friday, June 12, 2020. Yet around the country states and localities had previously ended restrictions on many activities, indoor and outdoor, as well as reopening of commerce – stores, restaurants, and other businesses. The CDC was far behind the curve in providing requisite federal guidelines prior to re-openings that have… Continue Reading
The Economist Democracy Index 2019
“The twelfth edition of the Democracy Index finds that the average global score has fallen from 5.48 in 2018, to 5.44. This is the worst average global score since The Economist Intelligence Unit first produced the Democracy Index in 2006. Driven by sharp regressions in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, four out of the five… Continue Reading
New Florida Community Coronavirus Dashboard posted independent of state control
Washington Post – “Tension built for days between Florida Department of Health supervisors and the department’s geographic information systems manager before officials showed her the door, she says, permanently pulling her off the coronavirus dashboard that she operated for weeks. Managers had wanted Rebekah Jones to make certain changes to the public-facing portal, she says.… Continue Reading
Building the world’s best pandemic and protest trackers
MIT Technology Review: “Avi Schiffmann, the brains behind the web’s most popular coronavirus tracking site, just launched a protest tracking site. How did he do it? The coronavirus pandemic and the protests sparked by the May 25 murder of George Floyd have been the defining events of 2020 so far, and in both cases one… Continue Reading
Black Lives Matter Protest Map
2020 George Floyd / Black Lives Matter Protests – Showing to date – 3429 cities or towns with protests (throughout the world – with the majority in the US and Europe) since May 25 2020. Updated June 13. 2020. The New York Times – How Black Lives Matter reached every corner of America – “On… Continue Reading
The Internet’s most important—and misunderstood—law, explained
Ars Technica – Section 230 is the legal foundation of social media, and it’s under attack.”…To understand Section 230, you have to understand how the law worked before Congress enacted it in 1996. At the time, the market for consumer online services was dominated by three companies: Prodigy, CompuServe, and AOL. Along with access to… Continue Reading
