Wired – “Unless the federal government steps up, the unchecked middlemen of surveillance capitalism will continue to harm our civil rights and national security…Enter the data brokerage industry, the multibillion dollar economy of selling consumers’ and citizens’ intimate details. Much of the privacy discourse has rightly pointed fingers at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, which… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2021
How to keep your retirement investments gun-free
Mashable: “Despite a year-long pandemic in which Americans were asked to stay indoors, gun violence is on the rise in the United States. In 2020, almost 20,000 Americans died by gun violence, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive (this number doesn’t include self-inflicted gun violence). The organization has already reported more than a hundred… Continue Reading
Better than the best password: How to use 2FA to improve your security
ZDNET – “You are one data breach away from having your entire online life turned upside down. The problem is passwords, which are hopelessly fragile ways to secure valuable resources. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the belief that creating a longer, more complex, harder-to-guess password will somehow make you safer… Continue Reading
Online platforms: Economic and societal effects
European Parliamentary Research Service Report – Online platforms: Economic and societal effects: “Online platforms such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook play an increasingly central role in the economy and society. They operate as digital intermediaries across interconnected sectors and markets subject to network effects. These firms have grown to an unprecedented scale, propelled by data-driven… Continue Reading
The Environmental Protection Agency is cleaning up its image
The Verge – After years of turmoil, the EPA looks for a fresh start: “…Even though Trump’s term is over, the “brain drain” that the EPA has suffered for years could still pose real harm to the environment and people the agency is tasked with protecting. And after years of tumult at the agency, potential… Continue Reading
How to Use Tech to Prepare for Travel in a Pandemic
The New York Times – Even as vaccines make it safer to travel, planning a trip is becoming increasingly complicated…Yet some of us will travel this year, whether it’s for work or for emergency reasons. So here’s a special pandemic edition of how to use tech to prepare for your trip.” Continue Reading
One in Five Still Shun Vaccine
“About 1 in 5 American adults remain unwilling to get the Covid vaccine, even as more people are getting the shot. The Monmouth University Poll also finds that President Joe Biden continues to get positive job ratings overall as well as high marks for his handling of the pandemic. Nearly half of the public feels… Continue Reading
Poverty in the United States in 2019
CRS – Poverty in the United States in 2019, April 13, 2021: “Calendar year 2019 was the last full year before the start of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the last year of the economic expansion since the Great Recession. The strength of the U.S. economy in 2019 was reflected in low poverty… Continue Reading
The presence of Superfund sites as a determinant of life expectancy in the United States
Kiaghadi, A., Rifai, H.S. & Dawson, C.N. The presence of Superfund sites as a determinant of life expectancy in the United States. Nat Commun 12, 1947 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22249-2: “Superfund sites could affect life expectancy (LE) via increasing the likelihood of exposure to toxic chemicals. Here, we assess to what extent such presence could alter the… Continue Reading
Domestic Terrorism Cases on the Rise in February Following January 6 Breach of Capitol
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – “In February 2021, according to federal internal case-by-case records on prosecutions obtained after successful court litigation by TRAC, there were 57 prosecutions of domestic terrorism filed in the federal district courts. The majority of these prosecutions—54—were filed in the District of Columbia following the storming of the Capitol on January… Continue Reading
Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community
Office of the Director of National Intelligence: “This annual report, April 2021 of worldwide threats to the national security of the United States responds to Section 617 of the FY21 Intelligence Authorization Act (P.L. 116-260). This report reflects the collective insights of the Intelligence Community (IC), which is committed every day to providing the nuanced,… Continue Reading
How to zoom in on small details in PowerPoint
Tech Republic – Use this zooming effect to draw attention to a small or important detail in your next PowerPoint presentation. “Some Microsoft PowerPoint slides have a lot going on. There’s might be a lot of small details or some important content, and editing that content isn’t practical. When this happens, you can create a… Continue Reading
