“The New York Technical Services Librarians, an organization that has been active since 1923 – imagine all that has happened in tech services since 1923! – invited me to give a talk about bias in algorithms. They quickly got a recording up on their site and I am, more slowly, providing the transcript. Thanks for… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: June 2020
Massive spying on users of Google’s Chrome shows new security weakness
Reuters: “A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google’s market-leading Chrome web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry’s failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions. Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google said it removed more than… Continue Reading
You May Have Antibodies After Coronavirus Infection. But Not for Long.
The New York Times – “It’s a question that has haunted scientists since the pandemic began: Does everyone infected with the virus produce antibodies — and if so, how long do they last? Not very long, suggests a new study published Thursday in Nature Medicine. Antibodies — protective proteins made in response to an infection… Continue Reading
Make a COVID-19 Backup Plan Before You Return to the Office
Lifehacker – “After months of working from home and only from home, you might be excited by the prospect of going back to your office. Shared microwaves! Water-cooler chit-chat! Conference room reservations running over! All inconveniences of the past, but novelties of the new normal. But although some offices are starting to open, coronavirus cases… Continue Reading
How Social Media Has Changed Civil Rights Protests
The New York Times – Social media allows us “to see a reality that has been entirely visible to some people and invisible to others – “…Omar Wasow, a professor at Princeton University and co-founder of the pioneering social network BlackPlanet.com, said social media was helping publicize police brutality and galvanizing public support for protesters’… Continue Reading
Mourning the Letters That Will No Longer Be Written, and Remembering the Great Ones That Were
The New York Times Critics Notebook, Dwight Garner – “Before the telephone wounded them and email administered the death blow, handwritten letters were useful: They let you know who the crazies were. A lunatic’s barbed wire script would lurch in circles across the page, like a fly with a missing wing. No longer. On Twitter… Continue Reading
The Segway’s Inventor Has a New Project: Manufacturing Human Organs
OneZeroMedium: “…In December 2016, at the age of 65, he and his collaborators won an $80 million Department of Defense contract to manufacture replacement tissue and organs on-demand. Wounded soldiers need body parts, the DoD explained at the time. And so do Americans on organ transplant waiting lists — 111,000 people, at last count. Kamen… Continue Reading
COVID-19 and the Banking Industry: Risks and Policy Responses
CRS report via LC – COVID-19 and the Banking Industry: Risks and Policy Responses June 18, 2020: “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused widespread economic disruption. Millions of businesses were forced to shut down and unemployment soared. The weakened economic conditions are likely to have implications for the financial system, including for banks… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Rules Title VII Bars Discrimination AgainstGay and Transgender Employees: Potential Implications
CRS report via LC – Supreme Court Rules Title VII Bars Discrimination Against Gay and Transgender Employees: Potential Implications, June 17 2020: “On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court issued a decision in a series of cases brought by gay and transgender workers alleging that their employers violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act… Continue Reading
The Privilege Implications of Using Online Collaboration Tools
Law360: “In February, the world as we knew it was a very different place. The stock market was posting historic highs, unemployment was at record lows, and American businesses were thriving like never before. Since that time, however, the COVID-19 health crisis has claimed the lives of more than 1 million people living around the… Continue Reading
Police Officers Rarely Charged for Excessive Use of Force in Federal Court
“Despite growing popular unrest and media attention in recent years over excessive use of force by police officers, the latest available case-by-case data show that federal prosecutors rarely bring relevant criminal charges known as “deprivation of rights under the color of law” (18 U.S.C. 242) against law enforcement. In the first seven months of FY 2020, federal… Continue Reading
Libraries Are Dealing With New Demand For Books And Services During The Pandemic
NPR: “If you find yourself scrambling for a good novel to escape the novel coronavirus, you’re not alone. Across the country, libraries have seen demand skyrocket for their electronic offerings, but librarians say they continue to worry about the digital divide and equality in access — not to mention the complicated questions that must be… Continue Reading
