US colleges cut ties with scholarships that ban HIV-positive applicants; Guardian, 5/21/16

John Power, Guardian; US colleges cut ties with scholarships that ban HIV-positive applicants:

"Wagner expressed concern that HIV-positive applicants unaware of their status could be subject to harassment and discrimination if outed in the country, where the virus is heavily stigmatized.

“The nightmare scenario that I want to see avoided is what I saw happen to a student I represented in 2009 who was outed as HIV positive in an extremely hostile manner,” he said. “He was threatened with expulsion from the university, told his status would be disclosed to faculty and pressured to leave the country.

In South Korea, HIV/Aids is often associated with prostitution, homosexuality and drug use, all of which are widely seen as morally degenerate. The country tests certain foreigners for the virus, despite the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ruling the policy to be discriminatory last year. South Korea has defended its policy as necessary to protect public health.

Apart from American colleges, the scholarships are also being advertised by universities in Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Greece and Poland, and on the official website of the government of Canada."

An Openly Gay Man Runs the Army; New York Times, 5/21/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; An Openly Gay Man Runs the Army:

"Last week an openly gay man, Eric Fanning, became secretary of the Army. Read that sentence again and contemplate what it reveals about how much and how quickly American society has changed. Only five years ago, openly gay people were barred from serving in its armed forces. During Mr. Fanning’s lengthy confirmation process, his sexual orientation was simply not an issue. That is a tribute to those who fought so hard to repeal the ban, and a measure of the nation’s at times uncertain, but as yet unfailing, march toward equality.

In retrospect the fight that convulsed this country over whether gay Americans should serve in uniform seems senseless, almost absurd. Yet it is instructive, if only because a Pentagon plan to allow transgender Americans to serve openly in uniform remains stalled by a similar, albeit quieter, debate.

There is broad agreement that prohibiting openly gay people from serving was a cruel policy that abetted bigotry. It legitimized the notion that being gay was shameful and incompatible with the valorous profession of arms. It cut short the careers of talented people who had been performing vital work in wartime, which weakened the military."

Across the world, the rule of law is losing out to rule by the mob; Guardian, 5/21/16

Natalie Nougayrède, Guardian; Across the world, the rule of law is losing out to rule by the mob:

"Both in Europe and Asia alliances are being put to the test, with many asking if they will hold. The result of much of this is that global governance appears weakened, if not powerless. Passions and frustrations, often with strong nationalistic undertones, have become a major driving force of events, both domestically and internationally. Increasingly we see the rule of force – even rule of the mob – prevailing over the rule of law and over diplomatic mechanisms designed to defuse tensions.

To a large extent that’s because the very legitimacy of institutions, and the way we have known them, has eroded. Many citizens feel their voices are not being heard. The influence of the internet means representative democracy is losing ground to grassroots mobilisation – spontaneous or orchestrated – that often exists outside a recognised framework. And on a global stage tensions between powers fester because the forums meant to settle them aren’t working. Accepted rules and limits are increasingly set aside. Broadly speaking, what we are seeing is a growing cacophony in which it is unclear who, or what, will ultimately act as an arbiter."

THE DANGEROUS ACCEPTANCE OF DONALD TRUMP; New Yorker, 5/20/16

Adam Gopnik, New Yorker; THE DANGEROUS ACCEPTANCE OF DONALD TRUMP:

"The American Republic stands threatened by the first overtly anti-democratic leader of a large party in its modern history—an authoritarian with no grasp of history, no impulse control, and no apparent barriers on his will to power. The right thing to do, for everyone who believes in liberal democracy, is to gather around and work to defeat him on Election Day. Instead, we seem to be either engaged in parochial feuding or caught by habits of tribal hatred so ingrained that they have become impossible to escape even at moments of maximum danger. Bernie Sanders wouldn’t mind bringing down the Democratic Party to prevent it from surrendering to corporate forces—and yet he may be increasing the possibility of rule-by-billionaire...

If Trump came to power, there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over. This is not a hyperbolic prediction; it is not a hysterical prediction; it is simply a candid reading of what history tells us happens in countries with leaders like Trump. Countries don’t really recover from being taken over by unstable authoritarian nationalists of any political bent, left or right—not by Peróns or Castros or Putins or Francos or Lenins or fill in the blanks. The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal. Ask Argentinians or Chileans or Venezuelans or Russians or Italians—or Germans. The national psyche never gets over learning that its institutions are that fragile and their ability to resist a dictator that weak. If he can rout the Republican Party in a week by having effectively secured the nomination, ask yourself what Trump could do with the American government if he had a mandate. Before those famous schoolroom lines, Pope made another observation, which was that even as you recognize that the world is a mixed-up place, you still can’t fool yourself about the difference between the acceptable and the unacceptable: “Fools! who from hence into the notion fall / That vice or virtue there is none at all,” he wrote. “Is there no black or white? / Ask your own heart, and nothing is so plain; / ’Tis to mistake them, costs the time and pain.” The pain of not seeing that black is black soon enough will be ours, and the time to recognize this is now."

Privacy Fears: Panel Has Advice for Drone Operators; Associated Press via New York Times, 5/20/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Privacy Fears: Panel Has Advice for Drone Operators:

"A panel of privacy experts and technology companies organized by the Obama administration has issued guidelines for using drones without being overly intrusive.

The suggestions are voluntary, but some business interests involved in the debate hope the guidelines head off tougher regulations that they fear could smother the drone industry in its infancy. News organizations are exempt from the guidelines on free-press grounds.

Supporters say drones could provide huge benefits, from inspecting power lines to delivering medicine to remote areas. Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. want to use them for deliveries. Falling prices have made drones popular among hobbyists, too.

However, their small size and ability to go just about anywhere — while carrying cameras and sensors — have raised privacy concerns.

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Thursday released the "best practices," which were supported by drone makers, Amazon and other technology companies and retailers, and privacy advocates. The suggestions are aimed at both commercial and private drone users."

Federal Judge in Texas Demands Justice Dept. Lawyers Take Ethics Class; New York Times, 5/19/16

Michael D. Shear, New York Times; Federal Judge in Texas Demands Justice Dept. Lawyers Take Ethics Class:

"A federal judge in Texas on Thursday excoriated the Justice Department, demanding ethics classes for the department’s lawyers and ordering other sanctions for those who argued the case involving President Obama’s immigration executive actions...

In a blistering order, Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court in Brownsville accused the Justice Department lawyers of lying to him during arguments in the case, and he barred them from appearing in his courtroom.

He also demanded that Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provide a “comprehensive plan” within 60 days describing how she will prevent unethical conduct in the future, as well as making sure the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility effectively prevents misconduct among its lawyers.

He also said that any Justice Department lawyer who wants to appear in a state or federal court in any of the 26 states who filed suit to block Mr. Obama’s executive actions should be required to take an annual three-hour ethics course for the next five years.

“Clearly, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about or adherence to the duties of professional responsibility in the halls of the Justice Department,” Judge Hanen wrote in the 28-page order."

OkCupid Study Reveals the Perils of Big-Data Science; Wired, 5/14/16

Michael Zimmer, Wired; OkCupid Study Reveals the Perils of Big-Data Science:

"The OkCupid data release reminds us that the ethical, research, and regulatory communities must work together to find consensus and minimize harm. We must address the conceptual muddles present in big data research. We must reframe the inherent ethical dilemmas in these projects. We must expand educational and outreach efforts. And we must continue to develop policy guidance focused on the unique challenges of big data studies. That is the only way can ensure innovative research—like the kind Kirkegaard hopes to pursue—can take place while protecting the rights of people an the ethical integrity of research broadly."

Ethics Trainings Are Even Dumber Than You Think; Slate, 5/19/16

L.V. Anderson, Slate; Ethics Trainings Are Even Dumber Than You Think:

"Research shows that the only thing that actually prevents wrongdoing is a strong company culture that discourages wrongdoing. That 1999 study found that the best approach was “a values-based cultural approach” comprising “leaders’ commitment to ethics, fair treatment of employees, rewards for ethical conduct, concern for external stakeholders, and consistency between policies and actions.” In other words, there’s no quick fix for corporate ethics: “[C]oncerns for ethics and legal compliance must be baked into the culture of the organization.” If executives focused on culture—and if regulators gave it more weight than box-checking when considering corporate malfeasance—we would reduce corporate malfeasance and waste a lot less time on the simplistic ethical dilemmas of fictional characters."

The Know-Nothing Tide; New York Times, 5/16/16

Roger Cohen, New York Times; The Know-Nothing Tide:

"A know-nothing tide is upon us. Tribal politics, anchored in tribal media, has made knowing nothing a badge of honor. Ignorance, loudly declaimed, is an attribute, especially if allied to celebrity. Facts are dispensable baggage. To display knowledge, the acquisition of which takes time, is tantamount to showing too much respect for the opposition tribe, who know nothing anyway."

J.K. Rowling Defends Donald Trump’s Right To Be ‘Offensive And Bigoted’; Huffington Post, 5/17/16

Lee Moran, Huffington Post; J.K. Rowling Defends Donald Trump’s Right To Be ‘Offensive And Bigoted’ :

"“Now, I find almost everything that Mr. Trump says objectionable. I consider him offensive and bigoted,” Rowling said, after accepting a Literary Service Award for her commitment to free speech and social justice.

“But he has my full support to come to my country and be offensive and bigoted there,” she continued. “His freedom to speak protects my freedom to call him a bigot.”

Rowling added Trump’s freedom of speech guarantees her own and warned that “unless we take that absolute position without caveats or apologies, we have set foot upon a road with only one destination.”"

Even basic phone logs can reveal deeply personal information, researchers find; Guardian, 5/16/16

Ian Sample, Guardian; Even basic phone logs can reveal deeply personal information, researchers find:

"The results highlight the extraordinary power of telephone metadata – the number called, when, and for how long – particularly when it is paired with public information available from services such as Google, Yelp and Facebook. The value of the data, which is not subject to the same legal protections as the content of people’s communications, has long been recognised by the security services. As Stewart Baker, the former general counsel at the US National Security Agency put it in the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s revelations: “Metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life.”

Patrick Mutchler, a computer security researcher at Stanford, said that while the power of metadata was understood by those gathering the information, the public was largely in the dark because so few published studies have revealed how rich the data are. “That makes it difficult for people with strong opinions about these programs to fight them. Now we have hard evidence we can point to that didn’t exist in the past,” he said...

“All of this should be taken as an indication of what is possible with two graduate students and limited resources,” said Mutchler, who argues that the findings should make policymakers think twice before authorising mass surveillance programs. “Large-scale metadata surveillance programs, like the NSA’s, will necessarily expose highly confidential information about ordinary citizens,” the scientists write, adding: “To strike an appropriate balance between national security and civil liberties, future policymaking must be informed by input from relevant sciences.”"

Obama Blasts Trump at Rutgers University: “Ignorance Is Not a Virtue”; Slate, 5/15/16

Daniel Politi, Slate; Obama Blasts Trump at Rutgers University: “Ignorance Is Not a Virtue” :

"Obama also told graduates that “when you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt” in what sounded like a meticulous takedown of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign motto. "I guess it's part of human nature—especially in times of change and uncertainty—to want to look backward and long for some imaginary past when everything worked, and the economy hummed and all politicians were wise and every child was well-mannered and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world," Obama said. "Guess what? It ain't so. The good old days weren't all that good.”"

Bullies Have a Trump Card; Slate, 5/15/16

Roxanne, Khamsi, Slate; Bullies Have a Trump Card:

"The new 296-page National Academies’ report laments the lack of consistency among definitions of bullying, but the most common way to define the behavior seems to be as repeated intentional and aggressive actions in which the perpetrator has greater power—regardless of whether that power imbalance is real or simply perceived. Ultimately, bullying might not only be a symptom of a power imbalance but also a contributing factor. According to the report, even though some individuals who bully are “maladjusted,” others, it says, “are motivated by establishing their status within their peer group.” It’s worth noting that studies have found that bullies tend to be more popular than their peers...

There’s evidence that aggression—a component of bullying—is linked to a student’s perceived popularity. Further research has suggested that bullies are calculating and often target peers who are less likely to be defended by significant others. Additionally, unpublished research from the group of sociologist René Veenstra, who is based at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, suggests that popular bullies will switch from targeting one victim to another as a way to maintain their status. “Popular bullies are very, very strategic and they seek new targets all the time,” he says.

So what stops a popular bully? That’s something researchers, educators, parents, and probably one particular presumed Democratic nominee would like to know. The answer is still being determined, and data from Finland suggest it might not be easy."

Yellowstone bison calf euthanized after park visitors picked up animal on road; Guardian, 5/16/16

Oliver Milman, Guardian; Yellowstone bison calf euthanized after park visitors picked up animal on road:

"“These actions endanger people and have now resulted in the death of a newborn bison calf,” said the NPS. “Approaching wild animals can drastically affect their wellbeing and, in this case, their survival.”

The four million people a year who visit Yellowstone are required to stay at least 25 yards (23m) away from all wildlife and at least 100 yards (91m) from bears and wolves.

“Disregarding these regulations can result in fines, injury, and even death,” said the NPS.

“The safety of these animals, as well as human safety, depends on everyone using good judgment and following these simple rules.”"

Trump’s Asymmetric Warfare; New York Times, 5/16/16

Charles M. Blow, New York Times; Trump’s Asymmetric Warfare:

"As MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said in December, this is asymmetric warfare. Conventional forms of political fighting won’t work on this man. Truth holds little power, and the media is still enthralled by the monster it made.

He is hollow, inconsistent, dishonest and shifty… and those who support him either love him in spite of it, or even more disturbingly, because of it...

“Recently, a few political scientists have begun to discover a human tendency deeply discouraging to anyone with faith in the power of information. It’s this: Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger.”"

Talk to Us, Mr. President; New York Times, 5/13/16

Brian Goedde, New York Times; Talk to Us, Mr. President:

"So here’s that one last, great thing Mr. Obama can do for us: Speak at a community college graduation. The foundation of community college school spirit will certainly be one of his legacies, and the president should have a crowd robed in bright, bold colors to thank him in return."

A World Without Patents; Forbes, 5/12/16

David Pridham, Forbes; A World Without Patents:

"On the surface, Cuozzo Speed Technologies v. Lee is about whether the Patent Office (PTO) can use a different standard in hearing challenges to a patent’s validity after it’s been granted than the standard used by the federal courts. It’s also about whether the taking of a legal property right (a patent) ought to happen via an administrative hearing, without judicial review.

During oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts seemed shocked by the PTO’s system for challenging patents, known as Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs), calling it a “bizarre way … to decide a legal question” and a “very extraordinary animal in legal culture to have two different proceedings addressing the same question that lead to different results.” He was referring to the fact that a patent upheld as valid and infringed by the federal courts can then be taken by the infringing defendant to the PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and declared invalid!...

Even if you stipulate that there are bad patents that shouldn’t have been issued, is it really believable that 90% of all patents granted are invalid — despite being issued only after careful review by PTO examiners in a process that takes over two years and results in the rejection of half of all patent applications?

If we really believe that 90% of Patent Office output is garbage, then we should just shut the agency down and save everyone all the trouble.

There would be consequences, of course. Without patents and the competitive protections they afford, individuals and companies will not invest the money it takes to develop new cures for disease or create new technological wonders. That’s because they know others will simply copy their inventions with impunity and then sell them at a much lower cost, since it didn’t cost them a dime to develop these in the first place. This is a terrific way to drive the innovators out of any industry."

California's Legislature Wants to Copyright All Government Works; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 5/13/16

Ernesto Falcon, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); California's Legislature Wants to Copyright All Government Works:

"AB 2880 will give state and local governments dramatic powers to chill speech, stifle open government, and harm the public domain.

The California Assembly Committee on Judiciary recently approved a bill (AB 2880) to grant local and state governments' copyright authority along with other intellectual property rights. At its core, the bill grants state and local government the authority to create, hold, and exert copyrights, including in materials created by the government. For background, the federal Copyright Act prohibits the federal government from claiming copyright in the materials it creates, but is silent on state governments. As a result, states have taken various approaches to copyright law with some granting themselves vast powers and others (such as California) forgoing virtually all copyright authority at least until now.

EFF strongly opposes the bill. Such a broad grant of copyright authority to state and local governments will chill speech, stifle open government, and harm the public domain. It is our hope that the state legislature will scuttle this approach and refrain from covering all taxpayer funded works under a government copyright."

Germany Says It Will Rescind Convictions for Homosexuality; New York Times, 5/11/16

Sewell Chan, New York Times; Germany Says It Will Rescind Convictions for Homosexuality:

"From 1949 to 1969, under a law inherited from the Nazi regime, about 50,000 men in West Germany were convicted of homosexuality. Many served time in prison.

Although the law — known as Paragraph 175 for the section it was part of in the country’s Criminal Code — was eased in 1969, it stayed on the books. As a result, another 3,500 men were convicted before the law was finally rescinded in 1994, four years after the reunification of Germany. Even then, the convictions stayed on the men’s criminal records. (Communist East Germany decriminalized homosexuality in 1968.)

The German government on Wednesday announced that it would finally correct what it called a longstanding injustice.

The justice minister, Heiko Maas, said the government would put forward legislation that would overturn the convictions and allow for financial compensation to the men who suffered under the legislation."

USA Today drops crossword compiler accused of plagiarism; Guardian, 5/11/16

Roy Greenslade, Guardian; USA Today drops crossword compiler accused of plagiarism:

"Crossword puzzles compiled by a man accused of plagiarism will no longer be published in the American daily newspaper USA Today.

According to a statement issued by his syndication agent, Universal Uclick, Timothy Parker will not return to USA Today as its crosswords editor. Nor will his work appear in any publication owned by USA Today’s parent company, Gannett."

How Trump Made Bigotry Fashionable; Huffington Post, 5/10/16

Evelyn Leopold, Huffington Post; How Trump Made Bigotry Fashionable:

"Many Trump followers are looking for jobs and perhaps a strong authoritarian leader. They have a, fear of change and a fear of jihadist threats since September 11, 2001 and the bombings in France and Belgium. The easy answer is to find scapegoats and Trump has given them a list to justify nativism.

More disturbing than propagating propaganda (phony figures, for example, showing most whites are killed by blacks) is his denial that words have consequences. He insists he is not responsible for chaos and physical violence at his rallies.

As author Jodi Picoult wrote in Salem Falls:

“Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall.”"

Interim President Rawlings Highlights Anonymous Ethics Hotline; Cornell Daily Sun, 5/9/16

Yun Soo Kim, Cornell Daily Sun; Interim President Rawlings Highlights Anonymous Ethics Hotline:

"Interim President Hunter Rawlings highlighted a confidential ethics hotline and urged the Cornell community to report any concerns of integrity in an email to the campus today.

The ethics system — operated by an independent company, EthicsPoint — will provide an anonymous platform for members of the Cornell community “as well as those outside it” to report “improper conduct or violations of Cornell University’s policies” using either the telephone line or the website, the email explained.

“Underlying everything we do — teaching, research, creative activity, public engagement, and day-to-day operations — this foundation is only as strong as our shared understanding of what constitutes ethical conduct.” Rawlings wrote in the email."

Dozens Testify in Support of Monument to Gay Rights Near Stonewall Inn; New York Times, 5/9/16

Noah Remnick, New York Times; Dozens Testify in Support of Monument to Gay Rights Near Stonewall Inn:

"The meeting on Monday, attended by a host of local politicians and led by Representative Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan; Sally Jewell, the United States secretary of the interior; and Jonathan B. Jarvis, the National Park Service director, was the latest step in a growing effort to recognize the area as a national monument. Mr. Nadler and Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both Democrats of New York, introduced legislation to have Congress designate the area as a unit of the national park system, and President Obama is considering executive action. Although the White House would not confirm its support, several officials last night expressed confidence that the president would follow through, and some even thanked him prematurely for his support.

“We are long overdue for recognition of the struggle for L.G.B.T. civil rights in our national park system, and there is no better way to begin telling those stories than at Stonewall,” Mr. Nadler said, to applause from the audience.

Ms. Jewell said, “The National Park Service is America’s storytelling, and we know there are stories yet to be told.”...

Two-thirds of America’s national park sites are dedicated to issues of cultural and historic significance, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Still, there are no sites within the National Park Service dedicated solely to the gay rights movement."

Wyoming Judge Facing Ouster Over Stance on Same-Sex Marriage; Associated Press via New York Times, 5/9/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Wyoming Judge Facing Ouster Over Stance on Same-Sex Marriage:

"Neely is fighting removal, arguing she has a constitutional right to voice her opinion. Her lawyers have said no same-sex couples have asked her to preside over their weddings...

In a response to the removal petition, Neely's lawyers stated in a court filing last month that removing her would violate her rights. They quoted a provision of the Wyoming Constitution which prohibits the state from finding a person incompetent to hold public office, "because of his opinion on any matter of religious belief whatever."...

"For me, it's a free speech issue," said Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Evansville, one of the lawmakers supporting Neely and a member of the House Judiciary Committee in the Wyoming Legislature. "A judge shouldn't be removed for something that she said outside of her duties as a judge."...

"You can't have a piecemeal government, or government by checkbox for the personal beliefs and bias of people who for a time hold a public office," [Jason] Marsden [executive director of the Denver-based Matthew Shepard Foundation] said. "If you want to hold a public office, you have to serve the public under the law, and if you can't do that, you need to find another line of work.""

Hacker Who Stole IDs and Scripts From Celebrities Pleads Guilty; New York Times, 5/9/16

Benjamin Weiser, New York Times; Hacker Who Stole IDs and Scripts From Celebrities Pleads Guilty:

"Mr. Knowles said that it was difficult to go after “a high profile celebrity,” so he would begin by going after friends found in photographs with them. He would then hack the friends’ accounts to find the celebrities’ telephone numbers and other personal information.

“It boils down to the weakest link in the chain,” a former official of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Austin P. Berglas, told The New York Times in December, after the charges were announced.

At one point, the complaint said, Mr. Knowles showed the undercover agent a list of names, with phone numbers or email addresses of about 130 celebrities.

Mr. Knowles, in court, apologized to the judge, Paul A. Engelmayer, and acknowledged that he knew his actions had been wrong and illegal.

He pleaded guilty to both of the counts charged in a federal indictment against him: criminal copyright infringement and identity theft.

He could face a total of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 25. The federal sentencing guidelines, which are only advisory, suggested a sentence of 27 to 33 months, according to the plea agreement in the case."

Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance; New York Times, 5/6/16

Campbell Robertson, New York Times; Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance:

"An Alabama judicial oversight body on Friday filed a formal complaint against Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court, charging that he had “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority” in ordering the state’s probate judges to refuse applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples.

As a result of the charges, Chief Justice Moore, 69, has been immediately suspended from the bench and is facing a potential hearing before the state’s Court of the Judiciary, a panel of judges, lawyers and other appointees. Among possible outcomes at such a hearing would be his removal from office."

Truth and Trumpism; New York Times, 5/6/16

Paul Krugman, New York Times; Truth and Trumpism:

"In the end, bad reporting probably won’t change the election’s outcome, because the truth is that those angry white men are right about their declining role. America is increasingly becoming a racially diverse, socially tolerant society, not at all like the Republican base, let alone the plurality of that base that chose Donald Trump.

Still, the public has a right to be properly informed. The news media should do all it can to resist false equivalence and centrification, and report what’s really going on."

White Student Sues Diversity Internship For ‘Discrimination’; Daily Beast, 5/4/16

Kelly Weill, Daily Beast; White Student Sues Diversity Internship For ‘Discrimination’ :

"The Getty Foundation’s Multicultural Internship for arts studies had strict guidelines. Only undergraduate students of African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent—groups frequently underrepresented in the arts—were eligible.

But one white applicant missed the memo.

Samantha Niemann, an undergraduate at Southern Utah University, is suing the Getty Foundation for discrimination, claiming the group wrongfully barred her from its program aimed at increasing diversity in the arts. In a lawsuit filed last Friday in Los Angeles’ Superior Court, Niemann accused Getty of “harassment, discrimination, and retaliation” for failing to hire or consider her for an internship...

...[H]artwig added that Getty had decided to open the internship to white applicants in recent months."

Raised-Fist Photo by Black Women at West Point Spurs Inquiry; New York Times, 5/6/16

Dave Philipps, New York Times; Raised-Fist Photo by Black Women at West Point Spurs Inquiry:

"The academy, while seeking to foster a diverse student body that reflects the nation, also aims to educate future officers in the regimented ways of the military, in which the only differences that matter are the ranks displayed on soldiers’ shoulders.

At the heart of the controversy is the gesture the women chose: Did it represent a divisive political statement, a matter of free speech, or just a case of students showing their sense of accomplishment as graduation, set for May 21, drew near?"

Proposed revision of ABA model ethics rule to ban broad range of discrimination sparks controversy; ABA Journal, 5/5/16

Martha Neil, ABA Journal; Proposed revision of ABA model ethics rule to ban broad range of discrimination sparks controversy:

"A proposed revision to one of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct that would expressly bar lawyers from discriminating in practice-related matters against a broad range of protected classes has sparked controversy.

While some members of the profession welcome the draft revision, others are concerned that it may go too far in restricting attorneys on matters of personal preference, conscience and religious belief, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)."

Ethical conflicts and new heroes power 'Captain America: Civil War'; [Austin] American-Statesman, 5/5/16

Joe Gross, [Austin] American-Statesman; Ethical conflicts and new heroes power 'Captain America: Civil War' :

"“When we last saw our heroes …” is the way any discussion of “Captain America: Civil War” should start, as this often intensely enjoyable film doesn’t even present any pretext of standing on its own. Which doesn’t mean it’s not a funny, thoughtful blast.

On one level, it is a 147-minute hunk of episodic filmmaking, yet another chapter of an old-school serial, as much the next Avengers movie as it is a Captain America picture.

And yet, directed by sibling filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo, it is often joyous, raucous and action-packed while asking a serious question: With all the ungodly destruction in each of the previous 13 movies (reaching back to 2008’s “Iron Man”), shouldn’t the Avengers, Earth’s mightiest heroes, be accountable to someone, somewhere?"

Redskins, and Other Troubling Trademarks; New York Times, 5/4/16

Room for Debate, New York Times; Redskins, and Other Troubling Trademarks:

"The Supreme Court may soon take up two cases in which the government does not want to register trademarks it considers disparaging — for the Washington Redskins football team and an Asian-American band called The Slants. The major federal law on trademarks lets the government deny registration to trademarks that are “immoral, deceptive, or scandalous” or that “disparage.”

Is it a denial of free speech for the government to prohibit registration for such trademarks?"

World Press Freedom Day Is A Terrifying Reminder Of What Reporters Could Face If Trump Is Elected; Huffington Post, 5/3/16

Alana Horowitz Satlin, Huffington Post; World Press Freedom Day Is A Terrifying Reminder Of What Reporters Could Face If Trump Is Elected:

"f the way Donald Trump and his supporters have treated journalists during the campaign is any indication, the media will be anything but free if he wins the presidency.

World Press Freedom Day, commemorated on Tuesday, comes just days after a GQ writer was hit with a barrage of antisemitic attacks following the publication of an article that criticized Melania Trump’s skincare line."

The Future Of Open Access: Why Has Academia Not Embraced The Internet Revolution?; Forbes, 4/29/16

Kalev Leetaru, Forbes; The Future Of Open Access: Why Has Academia Not Embraced The Internet Revolution? :

"One of the most remarkable aspects of the story of the web’s evolution is that the collective output of the world’s universities has remained largely absent from the open online world, even as most other forms of information have shifted to some form of open online access. In the case of encyclopedias, entirely new forms of collaborative knowledge documentation like Wikipedia have emerged, while journalism has shifted to free advertising-supported distribution and even music and videos are increasingly legally available through ad-supported streaming services or affordable licensed download services.

Academic papers, the lifeblood of the scholarly world of academia, have resisted this transition. To those outside academia it might be surprising that most universities don’t publish all of their books, papers, presentations and course materials on their websites for the world to access...

Yesterday Science published a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Sci-Hub, one of the most infamous academic pirating sites, which provides free access to more than 50 million illegally acquired papers. One of the most fascinating findings is that its download traffic comes not exclusively from the developing world for which journal subscriptions are often claimed to be inaccessible, but also extensively from major Western universities which likely have legal subscriptions to the journals already. One of the reasons for this, the article claims, is the cumbersome and difficult-to-use web portals that university libraries provide to their holdings, making it incredibly difficult to locate a paper even if the university has a legal subscription to the journal. Having spent more than a decade and a half in academia at multiple institutions from public to private, I can personally attest to just how difficult it can be to navigate library portal systems to locate a particular paper...

As the drumbeat of open access continues to grow, the fierce debate over the future of how academic research is published and distributed will only rage louder. In parallel, as the trend towards open access expands to data sharing and replication, the pressure to change how academia does business will reach a breaking point where change will become inevitable. In the end, it is a fascinating commentary that the world of academia, from which the modern web sprung, has been among the most resistant to change and one of the last to embrace the internet revolution."

The House Votes Unanimously to Strengthen Email Privacy; New York Times, 4/29/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; The House Votes Unanimously to Strengthen Email Privacy:

"In a rare and remarkable display of bipartisanship, the House voted unanimously this week to strengthen a 30-year-old privacy law that governs how and when law enforcement agencies can obtain access to emails, photographs and other documents that people store online. If enacted, the changes will ensure that the law protects digital information as well as it does physical documents.

The bill will require law enforcement agencies to obtain search warrants from judges to gain access to personal messages and files stored on the servers of companies like Google, Yahoo and Dropbox. The legislation would substantially revise a 1986 law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, that allows agencies to get emails older than 180 days and other digital files by issuing subpoenas to technology companies without going to a judge.

This sensible update reflects how people store information today."

Democracies end when they are too democratic. And right now, America is a breeding ground for tyranny.; New York Magazine, 5/1/16

Andrew Sullivan, New York Magazine; Democracies end when they are too democratic. And right now, America is a breeding ground for tyranny. :

"These GOP elites have every right to deploy whatever rules or procedural roadblocks they can muster, and they should refuse to be intimidated.

And if they fail in Indiana or Cleveland, as they likely will, they need, quite simply, to disown their party’s candidate. They should resist any temptation to loyally back the nominee or to sit this election out. They must take the fight to Trump at every opportunity, unite with Democrats and Independents against him, and be prepared to sacrifice one election in order to save their party and their country.

For Trump is not just a wacky politician of the far right, or a riveting television spectacle, or a Twitter phenom and bizarre working-class hero. He is not just another candidate to be parsed and analyzed by TV pundits in the same breath as all the others. In terms of our liberal democracy and constitutional order, Trump is an extinction-level event. It’s long past time we started treating him as such."

Corporate Ethics Can’t Be Reduced to Compliance; Harvard Business Review, 4/29/16

Peter Rea, Alan Kolp, Wendy Ritz, Michelle D. Steward, Harvard Business Review; Corporate Ethics Can’t Be Reduced to Compliance:

"So what can a company do to excel ethically? Instead of focusing on the poor choices you want employees to avoid, focus on the positive virtues you want them to exhibit.

Plato emphasized a virtue-based system of ethics 2,400 years ago in his Academy. The philosopher believed that virtues were best encouraged through questions and discussions rather than through statements and proclamations. In other words, we learn ethics in conversation with others.

So rather than getting together with senior managers to craft a “values statement,” corporate leaders should instead foster a series of structured conversations between leaders at all levels and their teams. The goal of these conversations should be to develop a common language to help frame examples of how people live out the organization’s values or classical virtues. This is inherently a social process — virtue is learned, not inherited. Leaders are already teachers of their culture, whether they are aware of it or not, so they should ask themselves how they can teach it better.

Here are questions for each of the seven classical virtues that companies can use to shape these conversations and shift their focus from complying with the rules to excelling ethically."

If Not Trump, What?; New York Times, 4/29/16

David Brooks, New York Times; If Not Trump, What? :

"Donald Trump now looks set to be the Republican presidential nominee. So for those of us appalled by this prospect — what are we supposed to do?

Well, not what the leaders of the Republican Party are doing. They’re going down meekly and hoping for a quiet convention. They seem blithely unaware that this is a Joe McCarthy moment. People will be judged by where they stood at this time. Those who walked with Trump will be tainted forever after for the degradation of standards and the general election slaughter.

The better course for all of us — Republican, Democrat and independent — is to step back and take the long view, and to begin building for that. This election — not only the Trump phenomenon but the rise of Bernie Sanders, also — has reminded us how much pain there is in this country...

I don’t know what the new national story will be, but maybe it will be less individualistic and more redemptive...

We’ll also need to rebuild the sense that we’re all in this together. The author R. R. Reno has argued that what we’re really facing these days is a “crisis of solidarity.”...

Then at the community level we can listen to those already helping...

Over the course of American history, national projects like the railroad legislation, the W.P.A. and the NASA project have bound this diverse nation."

Online degrees could make universities redundant, historian warns; Guardian, 4/17/16

Richard Adams, Guardian; Online degrees could make universities redundant, historian warns:

"Oxford, along with all other universities, faces an “uncomfortable future” unless it embraces online degrees and draws up plans for raising billions of pounds to go private, according to the university’s new official history. The book, to be launched by Oxford University Press this week, says new technology has the potential to make universities such as Oxford “redundant” and that it is “only a matter of time” before virtual learning transforms higher education.

Laurence Brockliss, the historian and author, argues that Oxford itself should offer undergraduate degrees via online learning, and in doing so could solve the controversies it faces over student access. “I would like Oxford to pilot something, and say we are going to offer 1,000 18-year-olds online courses in different subjects, to experiment and see how it works and how it can be improved,” Brockliss said.

Offering online degrees could help Oxford to recruit students from backgrounds that it currently struggles to reach and allow it to forge better links with the general public, according to Brockliss, a professor of history at Magdalen College. “I don’t think we’re as good as we used to be at connecting with the public."

VW C.E.O. ‘Personally’ Apologized to President Obama in Plea for Mercy; New York Times, 4/28/16

Jack Ewing, New York Times; VW C.E.O. ‘Personally’ Apologized to President Obama in Plea for Mercy:

"“I used the opportunity to personally apologize to him for our behavior,” Mr. Müller said during a news conference in Wolfsburg on Thursday. “I thanked him for the constructive cooperation with his officials. Of course I also expressed the hope that I will be able to continue to fulfill my responsibility to 600,000 employees and their families as well as suppliers and dealers.”

Mr. Müller’s mention of Volkswagen workers and their families can be seen as a plea for American officials to not punish those who had nothing to do with any wrongdoing. Lawyers in the case expect the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice to demand penalties that are painful for Volkswagen, but not so severe that they destroy the company.

Thousands of jobs in the United States depend on Volkswagen."

Social Media, Where Sports Fans Congregate and Misogyny Runs Amok; New York Times, 4/28/16

Juliet Macur, New York Times; Social Media, Where Sports Fans Congregate and Misogyny Runs Amok:

"DiCaro said she recorded the video of the mean tweets with the hope that it would change some people’s minds about harassing others on social media. She has two teenage sons, and she wants them and the younger generation to know what’s acceptable — and what’s not.

How does this abuse end? DiCaro said there needed to be more diversity in sports media. She lamented that sports was still a man’s world, and would be at least for the near future, leaving the few women in it as targets for some men who don’t want them in their boys’ club.

“It’s sort of like separating a weak antelope from the pack,’’ she said. “I think guys recognize that.”"

UC-Davis chancellor placed on administrative leave after revelations of ‘scrubbing’ Internet; Washington Post, 4/28/16

Fred Barbash, Washington Post; UC-Davis chancellor placed on administrative leave after revelations of ‘scrubbing’ Internet:

"The chancellor at the University of California at Davis has been placed on administrative leave after reports that the school paid at least $175,000 to consultants to clean up the school’s online reputation.

University President Janet Napolitano, in a statement and letter made public late Wednesday, said there was a wider investigation underway involving Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, not just into the “scrubbing” incident but into possible conflicts of interest, among them, allegations of special treatment and large raises for her son and daughter-in-law, who are employees of the university with the son reporting directly to his own wife. Katehi’s daughter-in-law got salary increases of $50,000 over a 2½-year period, Napolitano said."

How America's rich betrayed their fellow citizens; Guardian, 4/25/16

Anthony J. Gaughan, Guardian; How America's rich betrayed their fellow citizens:

"History shows it does not have to be this way.

As Harvard’s Memorial church demonstrates, the upper classes once felt a strong sense of obligation to their fellow Americans. Indeed, for much of the 20th century, wealthy families like the Rockefellers and the Carnegies established charitable institutions across the country to promote social mobility.

A few prominent billionaires, such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, have continued that noble tradition of socially minded philanthropy. Buffett and Gates serve as inspiring examples of how some people still use great wealth for the benefit of society at large.

But the sad reality is Buffett and Gates do not reflect the general attitude of wealthy Americans. Gordon Gekko does.

It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that middle-class and working-class Americans are so angry at political and economic elites. Until the Buffett and Gates families become the rule and not the exception, it seems likely that populist fury and class conflict will remain the dominant theme of American politics for years to come."

Boston College ordered by US court to hand over IRA tapes; Guardian, 4/25/16

Henry McDonald, Guardian; Boston College ordered by US court to hand over IRA tapes:

"An American university has been ordered by a court to hand over sensitive tapes of a former IRA prisoner talking about his role in the republican movement during the Troubles.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is seeking to force Boston College to release the interviews with Anthony McIntyre, who was the lead researcher in the Belfast Project, a recorded oral archive of IRA and loyalist paramilitary testimonies.

The subpoena to obtain McIntyre’s personal interviews has been served under the terms of a UK-US legal assistance treaty and the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003.

Boston College has been ordered to appear at the John Joseph Moakley courthouse in the city on 6 May to deliver McIntyre’s interviews, it was confirmed on Monday.

As well as conducting interviews with other former IRA members, McIntyre himself gave interviews to a guest researcher.

Set up in 2001, the project interviewed those directly involved in paramilitary violence between 1969 and 1994 in Northern Ireland. Participants were promised that the interviews would be released only after their death."

Book Debate Raises Questions of Self-Censorship by Foreign Groups in China; New York Times, 4/27/16

Edward Wong, New York Times; Book Debate Raises Questions of Self-Censorship by Foreign Groups in China:

"Robert T. Rupp, associate executive director of the bar association’s business unit, which oversees publishing, gave a statement to Foreign Policy that said the decision not to publish Mr. Teng’s book was made for “economic reasons, based on market research and sales forecasting.”

Mr. Teng said he did not believe that. What the bar association had done, he said, was emblematic of a larger problem in China. “Many N.G.O.s self-censor in order not to make the Chinese government angry, so they can continue their work in China,” he said.

The bar association came under criticism last year by some China experts and legal scholars for not taking a stronger stand against a harsh crackdown by the Chinese authorities on hundreds of human rights lawyers and their associates.

The accusations by Mr. Teng have inspired an even greater outcry. The Wall Street Journal published an editorial with the headline “American Self-Censorship Association.” The co-chairmen of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Representative Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, wrote a letter to the bar association demanding that it tell them whether it had rescinded the book offer because of perceived or real threats to its China programs."

Mitsubishi Motors Says False Mileage Tests Done Since 1991; Associated Press via New York Times, 4/26/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Mitsubishi Motors Says False Mileage Tests Done Since 1991:

"Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the Japanese automaker that acknowledged last week that it had intentionally lied about fuel economy data for some models, said an internal investigation found such tampering dated to 1991...

Japan is periodically shaken by scandals at top-name companies, including electronics company Toshiba Corp., which had doctored accounting books for years, and medical equipment company Olympus Corp., which acknowledged it had covered up massive losses.

Mitsubishi Motors struggled for years to win back consumer trust after an auto defects scandal in the early 2000s over cover-ups of problems such as failing brakes, faulty clutches and fuel tanks prone to falling off dating back to the 1970s. That resulted in more than a million vehicles being recalled retroactively."

VW Presentation in ’06 Showed How to Foil Emissions Tests; New York Times, 4/26/16

Jack Ewing, New York Times; VW Presentation in ’06 Showed How to Foil Emissions Tests:

"A PowerPoint presentation was prepared by a top technology executive at Volkswagen in 2006, laying out in detail how the automaker could cheat on emissions tests in the United States.

The presentation has been discovered as part of the continuing investigations into Volkswagen, according to two people who have seen the document and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the legal action against the company. It provides the most direct link yet to the genesis of the deception at Volkswagen, which admitted late last year that 11 million vehicles worldwide were equipped with software to cheat on tests that measured pollution in emissions.

It is not known how widely the presentation was distributed at Volkswagen. But its existence, and the proposal it made to install the software, highlight a series of flawed decisions at the embattled carmaker surrounding the emissions problem."

It’s OK to End Friendships Over Trump; Slate, 4/26/16

Isaac Chotiner, Slate; It’s OK to End Friendships Over Trump:

"Of course friendships should survive some political differences: I have friends who think differently than I do about everything from proper tax rates to abortion regulations. But having a friend who supports a blatantly (and proudly) bigoted candidate is categorically different. Everyone might have a different line about what issue to take some sort of moral stand on, but Trump has stepped over pretty much all of them. (The Lincoln comparison, moreover, doesn’t make much sense because it is Trump’s election that would tear the country apart.)

Wehner writes, “When political differences shatter friendships, when we attribute disagreements to deep character flaws, it usually means politics has become too central to our lives.” Call me moralistic, but I think being a racist or supporting a racist is a deep character flaw, and I don’t think I believe this because politics is too central to my life...

Of course, to say that decent people should have no social contact with Trump supporters is, for many of us, impossible and naïve. Maybe your lifelong chum backs Trump, or maybe your parents do. But people like Wehner—elites in every sense of the word—might want to ask themselves why they have friends or colleagues who are supportive of a bigot. The answer could have more to do with the political party they have long aided and abetted than the fraught and complicated subject of friendship."

Revenge porn: the industry profiting from online abuse; Guardian, 4/26/16

Dan Tynan, Guardian; Revenge porn: the industry profiting from online abuse:

"Perversely, while the internet has given a voice to vast numbers of people who might not otherwise be heard, unfettered free speech can have a chilling effect, whether it’s Gamergaters ganging up on female writers or Donald Trump using Twitter to attack his enemies, notes Stephen Balkam, CEO and founder of the Family Online Safety Institute.

“I think the people who profit most from online harassment are those who use it to suppress other people’s thoughts, suggestions, comments, and criticisms,” he says. “We are often so focused on making sure governments don’t chill speech, and here are anonymous stalkers and harassers doing just that.”"

Post-Gazette loses court fight to block state agencies from deleting emails; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/26/16

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Post-Gazette loses court fight to block state agencies from deleting emails:

"The Post-Gazette and other media outlets said the practice violated the due process rights of the public seeking records under the state’s Right-to-Know law.

The Commonwealth Court rejected the argument, saying the Right-to-Know law doesn’t have a record-retention requirement, doesn’t outlaw destruction of records and governs only whether existing records should be made public.

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court and denied the paper’s request for an oral argument."