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Monthly Archives: August 2020

ABA Special Report e-journal highlights systemic failures in nursing homes during COVID-19 pandemic

“The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging has released its July-August 2020 issue of BIFOCAL, a special report called “Is This a 9/11 Moment for Long-Term Care?” which features articles and resources to support the elder law community in these unprecedented times. Articles include information about states protecting nursing facilities from liability in… Continue Reading

COVID-19 Global Response Index

From FP Analytics: A country-by-country assessment of government responses to the pandemic. As governments around the world continue to grapple with the pandemic, FP Analytics has developed the COVID-19 Global Response Index to track countries’ responses to the novel coronavirus according to key metrics. While country rankings have been published by other organizations and publications,… Continue Reading

Alarms Sound After Postal Worker Reports Removal of Sorting Machines

Common Dreams – The removal of key equipment from Post Offices should be viewed as nothing less than “sabotage,” said one observer. “The head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union alleged Tuesday that mail sorting machines are “being removed” from Post Offices in her state due to new policies imposed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy,… Continue Reading

Library of Congress Virtual Public Forum

“The Library of Congress will be hosting a Virtual Public Forum on September 10, at 10:00 to 12:00 EST focusing on Congress.gov and the Library’s role in providing access to congressional information. This forum is part of the Library’s response to a congressional request to facilitate public input into the Library’s legislative information services and… Continue Reading

The Supreme Court’s Most Partisan Decisions Are Flying Under the Radar

Slate – Through its “shadow docket,” the court is quietly shaping the rules around elections, COVID regulations, immigration, and the federal death penalty. “…The court’s “merits docket” includes cases in which the justices first decide to grant review, take full briefing (including from outside parties), hold oral argument, and then deliver lengthy, signed opinions providing… Continue Reading

This is the safest indoor space to prevent the spread of COVID-19 according to a mechanical engineer

Fast Company: “The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, most of it from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home or business would be to simply keep infected people away. But this is hard to do when an estimated 40%… Continue Reading

The Amazing Disappearing Election

The Atlantic – Donald Trump and the coronavirus are all-consuming topics. What will happen to the rest of the world’s issues? “News diversity has fallen since 2016’s presidential election, and it’s fallen further in 2020, as stories about the pandemic have taken over the news globally. Fourteen Media Cloud topics—two of them explicitly focused on… Continue Reading

Boeing 747s Still Use Floppy Disks to Get Critical Software Updates

Gizmodo: “….The discovery comes courtesy of cybersecurity firm Pen Test Partners and was initially spotted by The Register. As part of this year’s virtual DEF CON hacker conference, Pen Test Partners showed off a video walkthrough of a British Airways 747 after the airline decided to retire its entire fleet last month due to the… Continue Reading

Twitter’s reply-limiting feature is now available to everyone

Engadget – “Twitter is making one of its boldest experiments official. After months of testing, the company is bringing its reply-limiting feature, which allows users to control who can reply to their tweets, to all users. With the update, which is rolling out now to Twitter’s apps and website, users can choose who can reply… Continue Reading

Research – wearing a neck gaiter may be worse than no mask at all

Washington Post – “…as face coverings have become increasingly commonplace in American life, so have questions about efficacy — and now a group of researchers from Duke University are aiming to provide some answers. In a recently published study, the researchers unveiled a simple method to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of masks, analyzing… Continue Reading