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Monthly Archives: October 2024

Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions

Via LLRXThreatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions – Marcus Hedahl, Professor of Philosophy, United States Naval Academy and Bradley Jay Strawser, Professor of Philosophy, Naval Postgraduate School worry that Trump’s actions while president, and his comments about his plans for a potential second term, may put the military in a tough position. The July 1, 2024, Supreme Court ruling giving the president immunity for official acts – potentially including as commander in chief of the military – would make that tough position even more difficult.

Trump’s Election Lawyers Must Heed Their Ethical Duties

Via LLRX – Trump’s Election Lawyers Must Heed Their Ethical Duties – Attorneys  Stephen Marcus and Bruce Kuhlik discuss the ethical responsibilities of lawyers in the context of predicted attempts by Donald Trump and his allies to undermine the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The authors argue that lawyers considering advocating unsubstantiated claims of election fraud should learn… Continue Reading

Why you should get rid of your black plastic spatula immediately

Fast Company: “If you have a black spatula in your kitchen, or other black plastic items around your house like takeout containers or children’s toys, they could contain high levels of toxic flame retardants.  Those chemicals—which have been linked to cancer, neurological damage, and hormone disruption—may be a result of recycling contamination, specifically from electronics,… Continue Reading

Annoyed Redditors tanking Google Search results illustrates perils of AI scrapers

Ars Technica:”A trend on Reddit that sees Londoners giving false restaurant recommendations in order to keep their favorites clear of tourists and social media influencers highlights the inherent flaws of Google Search’s reliance on Reddit and Google’s AI Overview. In May, Google launched AI Overviews in the US, an experimental feature that populates the top… Continue Reading

NIH Bioart and Free silhouette images of animals, plants, and other life forms

Official release is coming soon. The NIAID Visual and Medical Arts Unit in collaboration with NIAID Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (BCBB) have developed a library of biomedical and scientific icons made available for use in figures, presentations, websites, and print materials. The icons have been created by medical illustrators and biomedical visualization specialists to… Continue Reading

Lancet Countdown on health and climate change

Climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century, but it is also the greatest opportunity to redefine the social and environmental determinants of health. In 2015, countries committed to limit global warming to “well below 2°C” as part of the landmark Paris Agreement. The annual Countdown report provides… Continue Reading

2024 looks set to be another record-breaking year for ransomware and it’s likely going to get worse

TechCrunch: “The ransomware industry is thriving, not losing. Despite various law enforcement wins against ransomware actors, like the sweeping takedown of LockBit and the seizure of Radar, hackers continue to reap the rewards of these data-theft attacks — and 2024 looks set to be their most profitable year to date. That’s according to Allan Liska,… Continue Reading

Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record

Internet Archives Blogs: “In today’s digital landscape, corporate interests, shifting distribution models, and malicious cyber attacks are threatening public access to our shared cultural history. The rise of streaming platforms and temporary licensing agreements means that sound recordings, books, films, and other cultural artifacts that used to be owned in physical form, are now at… Continue Reading

Librarians Face a Crisis of Violence and Abuse

The New York Times [unpaywalled] – As libraries become public stages for social problems – homelessness, drug use, mental health – the people who work there are burning out: “…Like Mr. [Mychal] Threets. [a supervisor at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif], librarians around the country are struggling to reconcile their desire… Continue Reading