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Daily Archives: January 3, 2023

Going Grey and Facing Age Discrimination: Moving Towards an International Treaty on the Rights of Older Persons

Via LLRXGoing Grey and Facing Age Discrimination: Moving Towards an International Treaty on the Rights of Older Persons – For more than two decades attorney Catherine Morris has conducted research, education, and advocacy in the field of international human rights. Her article illuminates an issue that impacts vast numbers of people regardless of nationality. Concerns for the well being of older persons are rarely framed as human rights issues entrenched in age discrimination. This may now be changing after the shocking revelations of maltreatment and excess deaths of older persons in Canadian care homes in 2020. In the United States, the CDC continues to report that 90% percentage of COVID-19 deaths compromise those 65 and older. In both Canada and the U.S. the epicenter of the mortality burden of Covid is among those referred to as “elderly.” Morris states the abuses exposed in 2020 were predictable consequences of Canada’s longstanding neglect of older persons’ fundamental rights. Decades of efforts by Canadian civil society organizations (CSOs) along with international CSOs, and UN human rights bodies may now be gaining traction in a drive for a United Nations (UN) treaty to spell out and guarantee the fundamental human rights of older persons around the world. But efforts may continue to stall until leaders in Canada and other countries come to grips with the root cause of the abuses – endemic ageism.

Microsoft and OpenAI working on Chat-GTP powered Bing in Challenge to Google

The Information: “Microsoft could soon get a return on its $1 billion investment in OpenAI, creator of the ChatGPT chatbot, which gives humanlike text answers to questions. Microsoft is preparing to launch a version of its Bing search engine that uses the artificial intelligence behind ChatGPT to answer some search queries rather than just showing… Continue Reading

Suit accusing YouTube of tracking children is back on after appeal

Ars Technica: “An appeals court has revived a lawsuit that accuses Google, YouTube, DreamWorks, and a handful of toymakers of tracking the activity on YouTube of children under 13. In an opinion released Wednesday, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act does not bar lawsuits based on individual state… Continue Reading

FDA to permit some retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills

Washington Post: “The Food and Drug Administration took steps on Tuesday to ease access to medication abortion in states where it is legal, allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the pills, which were previously available only at clinics, directly from doctors or by mail. The regulatory change, which was released with little fanfare or explanation Tuesday… Continue Reading

A Valuable COVID Drug Doesn’t Work against New Variants

Scientific American – “Current monoclonal antibodies fail against COVID virus variants, so drugmakers want to use a fast-track test for new ones…In an e-mail to Scientific American, an FDA spokesperson said the agency is concerned as well, and it will work with drug companies on expedited development of preventive therapies for immunosuppressed patients. But the… Continue Reading

January 6 Clearinghouse

Just Security: “Welcome to this all-source repository of information for analysts, researchers, investigators, journalists, educators, and the public at large. Check out our new addition below: A curated repository of deposition transcripts from the House Select Committee. Readers may also be interested in Major Highlights of the January 6th Report. If you think the January… Continue Reading

How to Maintain Mental Hygiene as an Open Source Researcher

Giancarlo Fiorella’s Report – “Bellingcat has been overwhelmed with messages from concerned people around the world who want to help us identify and analyse images of potential war crimes taking place in Ukraine. While this increased interest in open source research is encouraging, it comes with costs of which new researchers may not be aware.… Continue Reading

US Postal Service can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication

Reuters: “The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication despite a June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned a landmark abortion rights decision, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. The department’s Office of Legal Counsel said in an opinion sought by USPS that the mailing of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly used… Continue Reading

The History of the House – McCarthy loses speaker bid in third vote

Update, January 7, 2022 – McCarthy elected House speaker after historic battle with GOP rebels “The House has a webpage devoted to its history titled History, Art & Archives. “This site is a collaborative project between the Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House’s Office of Art and Archives. Together, the offices… Continue Reading