For Trump, there’s Columbus Day and Victory Day, but no World Aids Day; The Guardian, November 27, 2025

Lucy Campbell, The Guardian ; For Trump, there’s Columbus Day and Victory Day, but no World Aids Day

[Kip Currier: Not recognizing December 1st's World AIDS Day is another clear indication of what Trump 2.0 values and prioritizes and what it doesn't.

Ask yourself why Trump wouldn't continue acknowledging this public health and humanitarian effort that began in 1988.

As an interesting side note, Trump's mentor Roy Cohn -- who, as the BBC noted in 2024, taught Trump to "attack, counterattack and never apologise" -- passed away from AIDS in 1986 at the age of 59. 

Seeing the examples cited in this Guardian article of topics Trump has commemorated makes the administration's explanation even more unconvincing.]

[Excerpt]

"For the first time since 1988 the US government said it will no longer commemorate World Aids Day, which honors those who have lost their lives to the disease, celebrates efforts to combat the epidemic and raises awareness.

“An awareness day is not a strategy,” a state department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, told the New York Times.

However, since returning to office Donald Trump has signed multiple proclamations for awareness days – and awareness weeks and awareness months – on topics that are apparently more to his liking. They include:"

“We Are a Relatively Easy Punching Bag”; Slate, October 3, 2024

LAURA MILLER , Slate; “We Are a Relatively Easy Punching Bag”

"While it’s not unusual for other industries to dedicate staff to influencing or changing public policy, it’s virtually unheard of in the relatively sleepy world of book publishing. Rosalie Stewart, however, has just been hired as Penguin Random House’s senior public policy manager, a new position that will fight the recent explosion in book-banning campaigns at schools and public libraries. At present, for example, officials in Texas and Iowa have attempted to argue that the book collections held by schools and libraries constitute “government speech” and are therefore not protected by the First Amendment. This bid to redefine the nature of public libraries was rejected by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Iowa, but for Texas, the matter is being weighed by the notorious extremists on the “rogue” 5th Circuit. I spoke with Stewart recently about the battle before her. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity....

There have been two book-banning reports recently from the ALA and PEN America. The first said that book challenges are slowing down, and the second said that banning attempts have ramped up. Could you explain why there would be that difference?

My colleagues—my former colleagues, I should say—at ALA are very good at what they do, and they’re very smart. As a professional association, they just have a different focus in terms of what they’re counting. They’re focused on a very specific definition of a “book ban.” They only count book removals. But we know that this censorship is playing itself out in different ways. Not only are books being challenged, removed, and then put back on the shelf, but there is soft censorship. There’s a chilling effect in terms of the books that people are buying and teaching. I think that PEN America’s definition is a little more expansive and draws on a wider variety of sources. Censorship is not going down. Book banning is not fading away. That’s not what we’re hearing from people out there. That’s a major challenge: How do we fight back against this on such a diffuse battlefield? It’s happening at the state legislatures; it’s happening at the school boards; and it’s happening at the agency level."

Self-driving semis may revolutionize trucking while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs.; The Hill, March 23, 2022

 Joseph Guzman , The Hill; Self-driving semis may revolutionize trucking while eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"Aniruddh Mohan, a PhD candidate in the department of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author of the study, said widespread implementation will depend on how successful pilot programs in the Sun Belt are in the coming years, but warned any lapse in safety could slow down progress. 

“One thing to keep in mind, just as we saw with the passenger vehicle automation race, the moment you even have one accident, that could really set the industry back,” Mohan said. 

“So I think it remains to be seen how quickly this develops.”"

Controversy Hides Within US Copyright Bill; Intellectual Property Watch, May 29, 2018

Steven Seidenberg, Intellectual Property Watch; Controversy Hides Within US Copyright Bill

"In a time when partisanship runs wild in the USA and the country’s political parties can’t seem to agree on anything, the Music Modernization Act is exceptional. The MMA passed the House of Representatives on 25 April with unanimous support. And for good reason. Almost all the major stakeholders back this legislation, which will bring some badly needed changes to copyright law’s treatment of music streaming. But wrapped in the MMA is a previously separate bill – the CLASSICS Act – that has been attacked by many copyright law experts, is opposed by many librarians and archivists, and runs counter to policy previously endorsed by the US Copyright Office."

Sara Fine Institute presents: Christine Borgman, "Big Data, Open Data, and Scholarship": Mon Feb 29th 3.00pm - 5.00pm, University of Pittsburgh

Sara Fine Institute presents: Christine Borgman, "Big Data, Open Data, and Scholarship" :

"Monday Feb 29th 3.00pm - 5.00pm

University Club, Ballroom A, 123 University Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

"Big Data, Open Data, and Scholarship"

by Christine L. Borgman

Distinguished Professor & Presidential Chair in Information Studies

University of California, Los Angeles

Scholars gathered data long before the emergence of books, journals, libraries, publishers, or the Internet. Until recently, data were considered part of the process of scholarship, essential but largely invisible. In the “big data” era, the products of these research processes have become valuable objects in themselves to be captured, shared, reused, and sustained for the long term. Data also has become contentious intellectual property to be protected, whether for proprietary, confidentiality, competition, or other reasons. Public policy leans toward open access to research data, but rarely with the public investment necessary to sustain access. Enthusiasm for big data is obscuring the complexity and diversity of data in scholarship and the challenges for stewardship. Data practices are local, varying from field to field, individual to individual, and country to country. This talk will explore the stakes and stakeholders in research data and implications for policy and practice.

Join us Feb. 29, 2016 at 3pm at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Club (Ballroom A). This event is free to attend and no RSVP is required. A reception will follow."