Dear Readers, my email listserv is not working properly. I apologize. Please visit beSpacific to read all the daily postings. Thank you. Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: February 2022
The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule Download Report
Freedom House Report – Freedom in the World 2022: “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks. Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at co-opting or circumventing… Continue Reading
How many people died believing vaccine misinformation?
Washington Post Opinion: “…In a just-published nationwide survey of 18,782 people across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Covid States Project asked about four vaccine misinformation claims, asking respondents whether they were “true” or “false” or if a respondent was “not sure.” Five percent said they thought that vaccines contained microchips; 7… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity Tools Lie Unused in Federal Agencies’ Toolbox
Lawfare: “Concerns over the possible Russian use of cyber weapons against U.S. domestic critical infrastructure in connection with the Ukraine crisis—warnings renewed on Feb. 11—should prompt reconsideration of the still-deferential posture of U.S. cybersecurity policy toward much of the private sector. Once again, though, complaints against “government mandates” may block action.For more than 30 years,… Continue Reading
Number of Wildfires to Rise by 50% by 2100 and Governments are not Prepared
“Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century, according to a new report by the UN… Continue Reading
How much can you trust your printer?
Help Net Security: “Cybercriminals often leverage printer devices to gain access to networks and sensitive data in various ways. Their goal is to find a way to execute arbitrary, untrusted code on the target platform. This is a key reason why printer firmware updates so often. Printer OEMs are well aware of these threats, and… Continue Reading
The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas
The New York Times Magazine: “The Supreme Court justice and his wife battled for years for a more conservative America. New reporting shows how far she was willing to go after Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. The call to action was titled “Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?” Shared in the days after the… Continue Reading
5 Google docs shortcuts that will make you more productive
Quartz: “Far from just being a search engine, Google has spent the past decade and a half building its productivity software suite, Google Workspace, to keep users in its ecosystem. One indicator that the approach is working: More than three-quarters of global internet users now use Google Chrome as their desktop browser. But while Google… Continue Reading
Reassigned Numbers Database
FCC “The FCC’s Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) is designed to prevent a consumer from getting unwanted calls intended for someone who previously held their phone number. Callers can use the database to determine whether a telephone number may have been reassigned so they can avoid calling consumers who do not want to receive the calls.… Continue Reading
Finnegan, Dog Known for His Exemplary Nose, Dies at 14
The New York Time Obituary: “Finnegan Horowitz Shea, a charismatic and sniffy mixed breed dog featured in several books on dog cognition and perception, died in New York City on Jan. 21. He was 14½ years old. Finnegan was scrutable, his desires visible and his affections solid. He was enthusiastic about both humans and dogs,… Continue Reading
One Earth Film Festival Films A-Z
“One Earth Film Festival is the Midwest’s premier environmental film festival, creating opportunities for understanding climate change, sustainability and the power of people. It showcases top-issue, thought-provoking environmental films, leads audiences in interactive post-film discussions focused on solutions, and offers concrete actions people can take. One Earth Film Festival is a production of One Earth… Continue Reading
LexisNexis and I.C.E.: An Examination of LexisNexis’s Human Rights Responsibilities
New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, LexisNexis and I.C.E.: An Examination of LexisNexis’s Human Rights Responsibilities, January 27, 2022. Joe DelGrande. An online annotation by Yulanda Lui, Staff Editor. Today, technology makes the collection, sharing, and analysis of massive amounts of personal data easier than ever before. Identification technologies and personal data… Continue Reading
