And the Oscar Goes to … White People; New York Times, 1/22/16

Room for Debate, New York Times; And the Oscar Goes to … White People:

"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 2016 Oscar nominations this week; all of the nominees were white. What’s more, in two of the year’s biggest films about African-American characters — “Creed” and “Straight Outta Compton” — nominations for those movies went to white people.

Once again, social media was filled with complaints: #OscarsSoWhite. How can the Academy increase diversity in nominations and awards?"

Depraved Indifference Toward Flint; New York Times, 1/22/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; Depraved Indifference Toward Flint:

"The 274 pages of emails released under pressure on Wednesday by Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan show a cynical and callous indifference to the plight of the mostly black, poverty-stricken residents of Flint, who have gone for more than a year with poisoned tap water that is unsafe to drink or bathe in. There is little doubt that an affluent, predominantly white community — say Grosse Pointe or Bloomfield Hills — would never face such a public health catastrophe, and if it had, the state government would have rushed in to help.

At every juncture when state officials could have avoided or reduced the harm in Flint, they ignored public pleas and made every effort to dismiss the truth.

The newly released emails show that members of Mr. Snyder’s administration consistently mocked and belittled the complaints of Flint residents and the evidence gathered by independent researchers."

Mt. Lebanon weighing nonlethal methods for deer population control; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/19/16

John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Mt. Lebanon weighing nonlethal methods for deer population control:

"How do you want your deer to die? It’s a question that has overwhelmed Mt. Lebanon and is being asked everywhere that human populations make natural predation of adult white-tailed deer impossible.

As a controlled archery hunt comes to an end and a sharpshooting program is poised to begin, Mt. Lebanon commissioners are considering whether to request state permission to conduct an experiment in nonlethal deer control."

X Minus One - The Martian Death March; OldTimeRadioDownloads.com, originally broadcast 9/8/1955

[Podcast 23 min. 19 sec.] X Minus One - The Martian Death March:

"NBC net. "The Martian Death March". The story of man's inhumanity to Martians. An allegory of the westward expansion and the mistreatment of the native Americans."

Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens; Huffington Post, 1/20/16

Alana Horowitz Satlin, Huffington Post; Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens:

"Vice President Joe Biden got visibly heated while discussing the importance of LGBT rights on Wednesday.

Speaking at an LGBT rights roundtable at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Veep lamented that openly gay and transgender people are still treated like second class citizens around the world.

"LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation -- always in the name of culture. I've had it up to here with culture. I really mean it," he said, striking the table with his palms. "Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None."

Biden said that he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where people face persecution over their sexuality. He didn't say which leaders he spoke to, but at least 75 countries represented in Davos outlaw homosexuality."

In Albany, Those Who Might Address Ethics Meet Rarely and Offer Less; New York Times, 1/19/16

Vivian Yee, New York Times; In Albany, Those Who Might Address Ethics Meet Rarely and Offer Less:

"In the Senate, the Ethics Committee’s last recorded hearing came more than six years ago, in June 2009, when John L. Sampson was its chairman. Mr. Sampson, a Democrat from Brooklyn, is no longer the chairman, nor is he a senator: He was convicted last year of obstructing a federal investigation into whether he had embezzled state funds.

The committee has not even met as a group in at least several years, a hibernation that has lasted through Republican leadership, Democratic leadership, power-sharing leadership and more than a dozen scandals over lawmaker misbehavior.

“It is a body bent on self-protection,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group, referring to the Legislature. “And so you have two different committees in two different houses bent on self-protection.”"

Case Could Widen Free-Speech Gap Between Unions and Corporations; New York Times, 1/18/16

Adam Liptak, New York Times; Case Could Widen Free-Speech Gap Between Unions and Corporations:

" The Citizens United decision, which amplified the role of money in American politics, also promised something like a level playing field. Both corporations and unions, it said, could spend what they liked to support their favored candidates.

But last week’s arguments in a major challenge to public unions illuminated a gap in the Supreme Court’s treatment of capital and labor. The court has long allowed workers to refuse to finance unions’ political activities. But shareholders have no comparable right to refuse to pay for corporate political speech.

At the arguments in the case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, No. 14-915, the justices seemed poised to widen that gap by allowing government workers to refuse to support unions’ collective bargaining activities, too.

The case should prompt a new look at whether the differing treatment of unions and corporations is justified, said Benjamin I. Sachs, a law professor at Harvard...

The differing treatment is warranted, the Supreme Court has said, because it is hard to change jobs and easy to sell shares, and because shareholders can influence what corporations say."

The 62 Richest People On Earth Now Hold As Much Wealth As The Poorest 3.5 Billion; Huffington Post, 1/17/16

Emily Peck, Huffington Post; The 62 Richest People On Earth Now Hold As Much Wealth As The Poorest 3.5 Billion:

"All the money in the world is growing ever more concentrated in the hands of just a few people, a report released Sunday night makes clear.

Just 62 ultra-rich individuals -- a list that is primarily made up of men and includes Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, the Koch Brothers and the Walmart heirs -- have as much wealth as the bottom half of humanity. Five years ago, it took 388 rich guys to achieve that status.

The wealth of the richest 62 has increased an astonishing 44 percent since 2010, to $1.76 trillion. Meanwhile, the wealth of the bottom half of the world dropped by 41 percent.

“This is terrible,” Gawain Kripke, Oxfam's Policy Director, told The Huffington Post. “No one credible will say this is good for the world or good for the economy.”"

Spread of internet has not conquered 'digital divide' between rich and poor – report; Guardian, 1/13/16

Larry Elliott, Guardian; Spread of internet has not conquered 'digital divide' between rich and poor – report:

"The rapid spread of the internet and mobile phones around the globe has failed to deliver the expected boost to jobs and growth, the World Bank has revealed in a report that highlights a growing digital divide between rich and poor.

The Bank said no other technology has reached more people in so short a time as the internet, but warned that the development potential of technological change had yet to be reaped.

According to the Bank’s new “World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends”, the number of people connected to the internet has more than tripled in the past decade, from 1 billion to an estimated 3.5 billion. In many developing countries, more families own a mobile phone than have access to electricity or clean water.

But the report said the benefits of rapid digital expansion had been skewed towards the better-off and the more highly skilled, who were better able to take advantage of the new technologies. By comparison, 4 billion people – or 60% of the world’s population – had no access to the internet."

You are not what you read: librarians purge user data to protect privacy; Guardian, 1/13/16

Sam Thielman, Guardian; You are not what you read: librarians purge user data to protect privacy:

"Interlibrary loans, said Alison Macrina, founder and director of the Library Freedom Project, form an ad-hoc record of departures from regular patterns of lending – the kind of thing that often interests intelligence and law enforcement analysts.

“It seems like it’s a more interesting data trail,” said Macrina. “It’s a book you wanted so bad that you went to special lengths to get it, and we know how intelligence agencies pay attention to breaks in patterns.” Macrina hadn’t heard about the CUNY Graduate Center initiative, but said it was a relief to her. “It’s taken a little too long but I’m really glad to see it’s happening somewhere.”

Libraries continue to develop ways to keep patron privacy at the forefront of the services they provide, including material accessed through library computers. Macrina’s group encourages libraries to operate “exit nodes” that aid the operation of difficult-to-trace web browser Tor – the Department of Homeland Security attempted to enlist the help of local law enforcement to shut down the project at a New Hampshire library last year, but was thwarted."

Anne Frank's diary caught in fierce European copyright battle; Guardian, 1/18/16

Alison Flood, Guardian; Anne Frank's diary caught in fierce European copyright battle:

"In a letter to Ertzscheid sent in late December, the foundation asks him to “cease and desist” from making The Diary of a Young Girl available online, to “immediately” announce he was “misinformed” about the copyright in the diary, to compensate damages, and to pay €1,000 each day he does not comply with the instructions, or risk court proceedings.

Ertzscheid went ahead, however, describing it as a “gift”. “This first of January 2016, 70 years after the death of Anne Frank, because this is enough time and because it is legal, this diary, her diary, enters the public domain. It belongs to everyone. And it is up to each of us to weigh its importance,” he wrote."

Americans don't trust companies with their data, but give it up anyway; FedScoop, 1/14/16

Greg Otto, FedScoop; Americans don't trust companies with their data, but give it up anyway:

"According to research unveiled Thursday, most Americans are willing to sacrifice their data privacy if they believe it will somehow benefit them; otherwise they are resigned to the fact they have no control over their personal information if they plan on being a consumer in the modern, Internet-connected, data-driven retail space.

The former conclusion is suggested by a study released by the Pew Research Center Thursday, which measured attitudes to privacy and surveillance among a nationally representative and statistically valid sample of adult Americans, and then explored the results in a series of focus groups.

A majority of respondents told Pew they have low levels of confidence in both business and government when it comes to data collection; but many were prepared to put their concerns aside if there was a trade-off — some benefit they got in return. Supermarket loyalty cards, for instance, track holders' shopping preferences in return for discounts on products — a trade-off seen as acceptable by 47 percent of survey respondents.

By contrast, research presented at the Federal Trade Commission’s PrivacyCon Thursday suggested that marketers are taking advantage of the widespread acceptance of certain kinds of trade-offs to collect massive amounts of data — and thereby inspiring cynicism and resignation among Americans about their privacy."

"It Is Obvious We Need To Educate The Visitors"; National Parks Traveler, 12/30/15

Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler; "It Is Obvious We Need To Educate The Visitors" :

"How should we act in a national park? That might seem to carry an obvious answer, but it's not always so obvious these days.

As different generations, different racial groups, and different cultures enter the National Park System, not everyone seems to be there to enjoy the natural beauty on display in the landscape parks, content merely to walk about, gaze at the setting, hike or backpack, paddle or climb, or watch wildlife.

The parks are backdrops for enjoyment, that's for sure, but some visitors don't understand that barriers are there to preserve the landscapes and protect visitors...sometimes from each other."

Yosemite to Rename Several Iconic Places; Outside, 1/14/16

Christopher Solomon, Outside; Yosemite to Rename Several Iconic Places:

"The outgoing company also trademarked “Yosemite National Park” for merchandising purposes, said Gediman. Will you be able to buy a Yosemite T-shirt at the gift shop come March 1? “That’s something that remains to be determined,” he said.

The announcement is the latest drama in a long legal dispute between the park service and the concessionaire, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. And it comes as the agency kicks off the centennial celebration year of America’s national parks system—when the park service would rather be feting America’s parks, not painting over signs at one of its marquee locations.

The news angered some park watchers.

“It’s a really unfortunate situation where the National Park Service is being held hostage by a corporate concessionaire who clearly does not have the public interest at heart,” said Amy Trainer, executive director of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin. “I think this is pretty outrageous that the park service, because of a 50-plus-million-dollar lawsuit, is forced to change these historic namesakes,” Trainer said. “It’s a tragedy.”...

The federal government might find some relief, however, in a law Congress passed in late 2014 that allows the government to keep a name that’s historically associated with a building or structure that is either on, or eligible, to be included on the National Register of Historic Places, says Sitzmann."

The anti-eviction blues: audio reports from San Francisco's gentrifying streets; Guardian, 1/14/16

Erin McElory, Guardian; The anti-eviction blues: audio reports from San Francisco's gentrifying streets:

"Our data visualisation project grew to study relations between gentrification and factors such as speculation and property flipping, racial profiling and luxury development. But as we produced more and more maps, we became increasingly concerned with the dangers of reducing complex social and political worlds to simple dots on a map – such data can never fully describe the personal and neighbourhood displacements through gentrification.

Our Narratives of Displacement and Resistance project is an attempt to address this. Over the last two years, we have been gathering oral histories of those impacted in different ways by Tech Boom 2.0 – from those evicted by networks of shell companies, to those who have experienced increased racial profiling and those who have fought their evictions through direct action … and won."

How to protect your money, privacy and yourself if you win Powerball; Guardian, 1/13/16

Suzanne McGee, Guardian; How to protect your money, privacy and yourself if you win Powerball:

"Most of those who buy lottery tickets on a regular basis – and those like me who pick up tickets when the jackpots get really, really big – tend to spend their time thinking about how to spend the money.

Should we win, however, we need to start at the other end of the spectrum, and start thinking about how to protect both our money and ourselves. Because there are some truly ugly statistics out there showing that 70% of lottery winners end up losing it all: some blow through all their money and end up destitute, while others end up losing their lives, even being murdered for their riches.

The first tip: do whatever you can to protect your privacy.

This may not be much. In many cases, the good folks at Powerball have the right to splash your name and image, clutching one of those giant faux cheques, across media organizations worldwide. So you’d better be prepared.

Here’s how."

Should There Be a Right to Be Forgotten?; American Libraries, 1/11/16

Amy Carlton, American Libraries; Should There Be a Right to Be Forgotten? :

"ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) hosted a discussion at Midwinter about the right of European Union citizens to have links to certain personal information removed from the results of web searches on their names. Should the United States adopt similar rules?

The panel included James G. Neal, university librarian emeritus of Columbia University, trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and a member of ALA’s Executive Board; Abigail Slater, vice president, legal and regulatory policy, for the Internet Association; and Tomas Lipinski, dean of the School of Information Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a member of IFLA’s Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters. Alan S. Inouye, director of OITP, moderated the discussion."

FTC warns companies that ‘big data’ comes with the potential for big problems; Washington Post, 1/7/16

Andrea Peterson, Washington Post; FTC warns companies that ‘big data’ comes with the potential for big problems:

"Companies are tracking more data about consumers than ever. Practically every click you make online creates new records in some distant database, and your real world actions, too, can increasingly be tracked through your mobile phone or new commercial surveillance advances.

But the Federal Trade Commission, one of the government's chief privacy watchdogs, just warned companies to think twice about how they use those vast data troves.

The agency on Wednesday released a new report that advises companies on how to avoid hurting the most vulnerable as they push further into the booming "big data" economy."

Thousands of Hong Kong protesters gather to demand release of booksellers; Guardian, 1/10/16

Tom Phillips, Guardian; Thousands of Hong Kong protesters gather to demand release of booksellers:

"The booksellers’still unexplained disappearances have sparked international condemnation.

On Friday the US said it was “disturbed” by the unfolding scandal. The EU said the continuing lack of information about the booksellers’ welfare and whereabouts was “extremely worrying”, adding: “Respect for freedom of expression underpins all free societies.”

During a two-day visit to China last week, British foreign secretary Philip Hammond said Beijing would be guilty of an “egregious breach” of Hong Kong’s autonomy if the involvement of its agents in Lee Bo’s snatching was confirmed.

Some describe Lee Bo’s suspected abduction as a potentially fatal blow to the former colony’s supposed autonomy from authoritarian China."

The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat ‘score’; Washington Post, 1/10/16

Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post; The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat ‘score’ :

"Police officials say such tools can provide critical information that can help uncover terrorists or thwart mass shootings, ensure the safety of officers and the public, find suspects, and crack open cases. They say that last year’s attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have only underscored the need for such measures.

But the powerful systems also have become flash points for civil libertarians and activists, who say they represent a troubling intrusion on privacy, have been deployed with little public oversight and have potential for abuse or error. Some say laws are needed to protect the public."

Rather than a last stand, the Bengals stupidly went for a last punch; Guardian, 1/10/16

Les Carpenter, Guardian; Rather than a last stand, the Bengals stupidly went for a last punch:

"The best NFL teams aren’t necessarily those with the most talent.

The best NFL teams are those that don’t do what the Bengals did against the Steelers.

The best teams resist the urge to throw the last punch...

Football can be such a damning game with its contradictions. Be violent but not too violent. The line between acceptable an [sic] unacceptable brutality is vague. The Steelers have always danced along it, seemingly knowing when to stay on the proper side. On Saturday Burfict and Jones could not. And the fallout is only just beginning."

‘Mein Kampf,’ Hitler’s Manifesto, Returns to German Shelves; New York Times, 1/8/16

Melissa Eddy, New York Times; ‘Mein Kampf,’ Hitler’s Manifesto, Returns to German Shelves:

"At a time when nationalist and far-right politics are again ascendant in Europe, a team of German historians presented a new, annotated edition of a symbolic text of that movement on Friday: “Mein Kampf,” by Adolf Hitler.

The Nazi leader’s manifesto, which first appeared as two volumes in 1925 and 1927, was banned in Germany by the Allies in 1945 and has not been officially published in the country since then. A team of scholars and historians spent three years preparing a nearly 2,000-page edition with about 3,500 annotations in anticipation of the expiration on Dec. 31 of a 70-year copyright held by the state of Bavaria.

The effort by the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich to publish the new, critical edition was the subject of debate almost as soon as it was announced, with some seeing it as an important step toward illuminating an unsavory era in Germany, never to be repeated, while others argued that a scholarly edition would gitimize the rantings of a sociopath who led the country down the path of evil."

Drone Regulations Should Focus on Safety and Privacy; New York Times, 1/9/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; Drone Regulations Should Focus on Safety and Privacy:

"Increasingly coveted by hobbyists and businesses, these devices flew (as it were) off the shelves and into living rooms by the hundreds of thousands.

But as drones have become smaller, cheaper and more numerous — some popular consumer models sell for less than $1,000 — policy makers have had to address potential problems. These machines can obviously be put to good use — say, inspecting cellphone towers, shooting movies or compiling multidimensional real estate portfolios. They can also be used to snoop on people and harass them. And they can threaten other aircraft.

Some regulation of the private and commercial use of drones thus seems inevitable. The task for regulators is how to protect privacy and promote safety without infringing on the First Amendment rights of citizens and businesses that wish to use drones for legitimates purposes, like photography or news gathering (The Times has used drones to shoot videos and take photographs)."

Monkey Has No Rights to Its Selfie, Federal Judge Says; New York Times, 1/8/16

Mike McPhate, New York Times; Monkey Has No Rights to Its Selfie, Federal Judge Says:

Last July, another legal effort to reinterpret the rights of other primates failed to persuade a judge. The Nonhuman Rights Project argued in a State Supreme Court in Manhattan that two apes being held by a university for research were “legal persons,” highly intelligent and self-aware, and should be removed to a sanctuary. The judge took the case seriously, but ultimately decided that under the law, Hercules and Leo were property, not people.

Despite PETA’s setback this week, the group cast its unorthodox legal battle as a crucial step toward enlarging the rights of animals.

“We will continue to fight for Naruto and his fellow macaques,” Jeff Kerr, an attorney for PETA, said in a statement, adding “As my legal mentor used to say, ‘In social-cause cases, historically, you lose, you lose, you lose, and then you win.’”"

Takata Emails Show Brash Exchanges About Data Tampering; New York Times, 1/4/16

Danielle Ivory and Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times; Takata Emails Show Brash Exchanges About Data Tampering:

"When Honda Motor Company said two months ago that it would no longer use Takata as supplier of its airbags, the automaker said that testing data on the airbags had been “misrepresented and manipulated.”

Now, newly obtained internal emails suggest the manipulation was both bold and broad, involving open exchanges among Takata employees in Japan and the United States.

“Happy Manipulating!!!” a Takata airbag engineer, Bob Schubert, wrote in one email dated July 6, 2006, in a reference to results of airbag tests. In another, he wrote of changing the colors or lines in a graphic “to divert attention” from the test results and “to try to dress it up.”

The emails were among documents unsealed recently as part of a personal injury lawsuit against Takata and obtained by The New York Times...

Honda would not comment on whether the emails were examples of Takata misrepresentations. The automaker said that it had reached its conclusions after reviewing millions of internal Takata documents. But four airbag experts asked by The Times to review the emails said that they suggested an effort to misrepresent testing data.

“To have these kinds of offhand remarks shows that this is a systemic issue at Takata,” said Mark Lillie, a former Takata engineer and whistle-blower."

All the people Donald Trump insulted in 2015; Washington Post, 12/30/15

Gillian Brockell, Thomas LeGro, Julio Negron, Washington Post; All the people Donald Trump insulted in 2015:

"Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has publicly insulted at least 68 people or groups in 2015, many of them multiple times. Here is a comprehensive list."

Americans Are Split Along Party Lines Over Whether Schools Should Punish Racist Speech; Huffington Post, 1/4/16

Tyler Kingkade, Huffington Post; Americans Are Split Along Party Lines Over Whether Schools Should Punish Racist Speech:

"Americans are divided -- largely along party lines -- over whether colleges and universities have a responsibility to teach students about racism, promote diversity or prioritize free speech over stopping racially insensitive statements, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll reveals."

Why the Post Office Makes America Great; New York Times, 1/1/16

Zeynep Tufekci, New York Times; Why the Post Office Makes America Great:

"I bit my tongue and did not tell my already suspicious friends that the country was also dotted with libraries that provided books to all patrons free of charge. They wouldn’t believe me anyway since I hadn’t believed it myself. My first time in a library in the United States was very brief: I walked in, looked around, and ran right back out in a panic, certain that I had accidentally used the wrong entrance. Surely, these open stacks full of books were reserved for staff only. I was used to libraries being rare, and their few books inaccessible. To this day, my heart races a bit in a library.

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the link between infrastructure, innovation — and even ruthless competition. Much of our modern economy thrives here because you can order things online and expect them to be delivered. There are major private delivery services, too, but the United States Postal Service is often better equipped to make it to certain destinations. In fact, Internet sellers, and even private carriers, often use the U.S.P.S. as their delivery mechanism to addresses outside densely populated cities.

Almost every aspect of the most innovative parts of the United States, from cutting-edge medical research to its technology scene, thrives on publicly funded infrastructure. The post office is struggling these days, in some ways because of how much people rely on the web to do much of what they used to turn to the post office for. But the Internet is a testament to infrastructure, too: It exists partly because the National Science Foundation funded much of the research that makes it possible. Even some of the Internet’s biggest companies, like Google, got a start from N.S.F.-funded research.

Infrastructure is often the least-appreciated part of what makes a country strong, and what makes innovation take flight. From my spot in line at the post office, I see a country that does both well; not a country that emphasizes one at the expense of the other."

TPP trade deal pits Pittsburgh against Philadelphia; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/3/16

Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; TPP trade deal pits Pittsburgh against Philadelphia:

"Pittsburgh manufactures the products. Philadelphia ships them around the world.

One city stands to gain from expanding trade into the Pacific Rim while the other has much to lose, their mayors say.

That’s why Philadelphia’s outgoing mayor, Michael Nutter, has been helping the White House stump for the Trans-Pacific Partnership while Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto stands opposed...

Mr. Peduto acknowledges that the trade deal might be good for some industries, but says any benefits are outweighed by harm it would do to the steel industry."

Your health records are supposed to be private. They aren’t.; Washington Post, 12/30/15

Charles Ornstein, Washington Post; Your health records are supposed to be private. They aren’t. :

"After spending the past year reporting on loopholes and lax enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal patient-privacy law known as HIPAA, I’ve come to realize that it’s not just celebrity patients who are at risk. We all are...

We all know HIPAA, whether we recognize the acronym or not. It’s what requires us to stand behind a line, away from other customers, at the pharmacy counter or when checking in at the doctor’s office. It is the reason we get privacy declaration forms to sign whenever we visit a new medical provider. It is used to scare health-care workers, telling them that if they improperly disclose others’ information, they could pay a steep fine or even go to jail.

But in reality, it is a toothless tiger. Unless you’re famous, most hospitals and clinics don’t keep tabs on who looks at your records if you don’t complain. And even though the civil rights office can impose large fines, it rarely does: It received nearly 18,000 complaints in 2014 but took only six formal actions that year. A recent report from the HHS inspector general said the office wasn’t keeping track of repeat offenders, much less doing anything about them."

Poachers using science papers to target newly discovered species; Guardian, 1/1/16

Arthur Neslen, Guardian; Poachers using science papers to target newly discovered species:

"Academic journals have begun withholding the geographical locations of newly discovered species after poachers used the information in peer-reviewed papers to collect previously unknown lizards, frogs and snakes from the wild, the Guardian has learned...

But earlier this year, an announcement in the Zootaxa academic journal that two new species of large gecko had been found in southern China contained a strange omission: the species’ whereabouts.

“Due to the popularity of this genus as novelty pets, and recurring cases of scientific descriptions driving herpetofauna to near-extinction by commercial collectors, we do not disclose the collecting localities of these restricted-range species in this publication,” the paper said.

The relevant data was instead lodged with government agencies, and would be available to fellow scientists on request, the study made clear."

Largest UK sperm bank turns away dyslexic donors; Guardian, 12/29/15

Matthew Weaver, Guardian; Largest UK sperm bank turns away dyslexic donors:

"Britain’s largest sperm bank has been turning away donors with dyslexia in what it describes as attempts to “minimise the risk of transmitting common genetic diseases or malformations to any children born”.

In a practice branded “eugenics” by campaigners and a would-be donor, the London Sperm Bank has banned men with dyslexia or other common conditions it described as “neurological diseases” from donating.

A leaflet to donors lists a series of conditions the clinic screens for, including: attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], autism, Asperger syndrome, dyslexia and the motor disorder dyspraxia.

The fertility regulator has launched a review of the London Sperm Bank after being alerted to its practices by the Guardian."

Database leak exposes 191M voter registration records; FedScoop.com, 12/30/15

Greg Otto, FedScoop.com; Database leak exposes 191M voter registration records:

"A white hat security researcher discovered a database filled with voter registration records on 191 million Americans — and that anyone with an Internet connection and the right IP address can access it...

"It seems like a whole country’s worth of registered voters information would be a national security issue.”

FBI and DHS issued a “no comment” when asked about the voter database.

How voter information is protected varies by state. Some have no restrictions in place, while others prohibit commercial use or require the data be used for only political purposes."

Twitter unveils revised rules regarding hate speech in posts; Reuters via Guardian, 12/29/15

Reuters via Guardian; Twitter unveils revised rules regarding hate speech in posts:

"Twitter has clarified its definition of abusive behaviour that will prompt it to delete accounts, banning what it calls hateful conduct that promotes violence against specific groups.

The social media company disclosed the changes on Tuesday in a blog post, following rising criticism it was not doing enough to thwart Islamic State’s use of the site for propaganda and recruitment.

“As always, we embrace and encourage diverse opinions and beliefs, but we will continue to take action on accounts that cross the line into abuse,” said Megan Cristina, director of trust and safety. The new rules do not mention Isis or any other group by name.

“You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability or disease,” according to the revised rules."

90-Year-Old Gay Man Recalls Long Struggle With His Sexuality; NPR, 12/24/15

NPR; 90-Year-Old Gay Man Recalls Long Struggle With His Sexuality:

"SHAPIRO: But what I hear you say is that you might have some regrets about some choices that you've made. But you do not regret the life that you lived, even though you only really came out at age 70.

BLACK: I don't really because I think a lot of that - it's a weird thing to say, but I really think that suffering can be - it certainly isn't always by any means - but it certainly can be a way of understanding other people, opening. You know, Mother Teresa said, Lord, break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in. I can't say that. You know, that's - but I really am grateful that my heart has been broken a good many times because it does help me to love."

Government Can't Deny Trademarks Over Offensive Names, Appeals Court Rules; NPR, 12/23/15

Eyder Peralta, NPR; Government Can't Deny Trademarks Over Offensive Names, Appeals Court Rules:

"The court ruled that their name — The Slants — is private speech and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The government, the court writes, has no business trying to regulate it by denying the band a trademark.

At issue in the case was Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to deny or cancel a trademark if it is "disparaging" of persons, institutions or national symbols.

In a 10-2 decision, the court decided parts of that section were unconstitutional. Conferring a trademark, the court argues, does not make the band's name government speech.

Here's the comparison the majority uses: "The PTO's processing of trademark registrations no more transforms private speech into government speech than when the government issues permits for street parades, copyright registration certificates, or, for that matter, grants medical, hunting, fishing, or drivers licenses, or records property titles, birth certificates, or articles of incorporation.""

Robert Spitzer,' Most Influential Psychiatrist,' Dies at 83; Associated Press via New York Times, 12/27/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Robert Spitzer,' Most Influential Psychiatrist,' Dies at 83:

"Gay-rights activists credit Dr. Spitzer with removing homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in the D.S.M. in 1973. He decided to push for the change after he met with gay activists and determined that homosexuality could not be a disorder if gay people were comfortable with their sexuality.

At the time of the psychiatric profession's debate over homosexuality, Dr. Spitzer told the Washington Post: "A medical disorder either had to be associated with subjective distress — pain — or general impairment in social function."

Dr. Jack Drescher, a gay psychoanalyst in New York, told the Times that Spitzer's successful push to remove homosexuality from the list of disorders was a major advance for gay rights. "The fact that gay marriage is allowed today is in part owed to Bob Spitzer," he said.

In 2012, Dr. Spitzer publicly apologized for a 2001 study that found so-called reparative therapy on gay people can turn them straight if they really want to do so. He told the Times in 2012 that he concluded the study was flawed because it simply asked people who had gone through reparative therapy if they had changed their sexual orientation."

Vegas newspaper stands up to its newly unveiled owner, casino giant Sheldon Adelson; Los Angeles Times, 12/23/15

Nigel Duara and Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Time; Vegas newspaper stands up to its newly unveiled owner, casino giant Sheldon Adelson:

Re-Print of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Unleashes Row in Germany; Reuters via New York Times, 12/23/15

Reuters via New York Times; Re-Print of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Unleashes Row in Germany:

"For the first time since Hitler's death, Germany is publishing the Nazi leader's political treatise "Mein Kampf", unleashing a highly charged row over whether the text is an inflammatory racist diatribe or a useful educational tool.

The 70-year copyright on the text, written by Hitler between 1924-1926 and banned by the Allies at the end of World War Two, expires at the end of the year, opening the way for a critical edition with explanatory sections and some 3,500 annotations.

In January the 2,000 page, two-volume work will go on sale after about three years of labor by scholars at Munich's Institute for Contemporary History."

Ruling Could Help Washington Redskins in Trademark Case; New York Times, 12/22/15

Richard Sandomir, New York Times; Ruling Could Help Washington Redskins in Trademark Case:

"The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington made the ruling in a case involving an Asian-American dance-rock band that sought to register a trademark for its provocative name, the Slants. The court said the First Amendment “forbids government regulators to deny registration because they find the speech likely to offend others.”

Writing for the majority, Kimberly A. Moore, a judge on the appeals court, said: “It is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys.”...

Still, Tuesday’s ruling was considered a major one in trademark law — the striking down of a provision of the nearly 70-year-old Lanham Act that deals with disparaging or offensive trademarks.

“The majority opinion is a very broad rejection of the proposition that the federal government can refuse registration or use of a trademark based on whether certain groups find the mark to be disparaging,” said Jeremy Sheff, a law professor at St. John’s University School of Law who specializes in intellectual property. “It was exactly on that basis that the Redskins’ marks were canceled.”

Whatever happens in the appeals court to the Redskins’ registered trademarks, the team’s use of its name is not in jeopardy. Although it symbolizes racism and intolerance to some, and has inspired groups to demand that it be replaced, the Redskins’ owner, Daniel Snyder, has vowed never to drop it. He has fought a public battle to prove the name does not offend all Native Americans. And he has the backing of the N.F.L., which has been paying the costs of defending the trademarks."

Chinese Rights Lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, Is Given Suspended Prison Sentence; New York Times, 12/21/15

Jane Perlez, New York Times; Chinese Rights Lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, Is Given Suspended Prison Sentence:

"One of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers was given a suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of two charges in connection with his provocative online criticism of the government.

The sentence — three years in prison, with a three-year reprieve — meant that the lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, 50, would go free, and that he would not serve more time behind bars unless he committed another offense, said Mo Shaoping, one of Mr. Pu’s lawyers. But Mr. Mo said the conviction also meant that Mr. Pu’s career as a lawyer was over...

Mr. Pu is the most prominent rights lawyer to be arrested during a far-reaching crackdown on dissent under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. That campaign has centered on lawyers, rights advocates and journalists, and the authorities have detained several hundred of them. A number have been tried in courts and imprisoned.

Amnesty International criticized the court’s ruling on Tuesday, noting that it would halt Mr. Pu’s work as a lawyer."

Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison will give a talk on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms on Tuesday, 1/12/16 4 PM, University of Pittsburgh

Talk on 1/12/16 4 PM at University of Pittsburgh:

Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison will give a talk on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms: You may have heard that the topic of the 2016 Senate plenary will be academic freedom in the 21st century. As a lead-up event, the University Senate invites you to an open discussion with Pitt Law Professor Michael Madison on intersections among academic freedom, copyright and publishing, and new media and communication platforms. Please see the attached announcement for additional details. We hope you will attend. Day/Time: Tuesday, January 12 at 4:00pm, 2500 Posvar Hall.

A new announcement is available. Click the link below to view it:

http://www.universityannouncements.pitt.edu/std1222.pdf

Hong Kong netizens worry copyright bill will limit freedom of expression; Los Angeles Times, 12/19/15

Violet Law, Los Angeles Times; Hong Kong netizens worry copyright bill will limit freedom of expression:

"Gathering for a rally outside Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, with a banner nearby proclaiming, “Fight for the freedom of the next generation,” several hundred raised their voices against a copyright bill they say could further chill freedom of expression in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

Protesters said they fear the legislation could be wielded as a tool of political prosecution against those who use memes to mock politicians, and even expose them to criminal charges...

In recent years, Hong Kong has sprouted an online parody subculture, as disaffected local netizens lampoon officials and criticize government policies by repurposing pop songs or doctoring screen grabs.

The new bill carries exemptions for caricature, parody, pastiche, satire, news reporting and commentary. It also requires those who repurpose others’ material to cite the source of the original work and obtain permission from copyright owners.

Opponents say the requirement puts too heavy a burden on authors of derivative works and would leave them vulnerable to civil liabilities and criminal charges. Opponents of the legislation are also pressuring lawmakers to amend the bill to exempt fair use, as is the case under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the U.S., or all user-generated content, a concept pioneered in Canada’s copyright law, saying these laws afford users the impunity to exercise their freedom of expression."

The book every new American citizen — and every old one, too — should read; Washington Post, 12/17/15

Carlos Lozada, Washington Post; The book every new American citizen — and every old one, too — should read:

"Fortunately, there’s this little book called “Democracy in America” — written 175 years ago by, of all people, some know-it-all foreigner.

It’s embarrassing to admit that I’d never read Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic work until now, but I’m glad I picked this year to do it. Few books have been so often cited and imitated, so I won’t presume to offer more insight than this: “Democracy in America” is an ideal book to read as a new citizen. Yes, it’s really long and stuffed with annoying, self-referential French digressions. (I can say that sort of thing now, I’m American!) But it also explains perfectly to a brand-new compatriot so much of the essential minutiae of life here, so much of what America is and was, so much of what it risks losing...

“Democracy in America” also captures the fights between security and liberty, a battleground long before Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency, religious tests and Syrian refugees. “What good does it do me, after all,” Tocqueville asks, “if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil and races ahead of me to ward off all danger, sparing me the need even to think about such things, if that authority, even as it removes the smallest thorns from my path, is also absolute master of my liberty and my life?”

For Tocqueville, that authority threatens whenever it expands its scope."

Pearls Before Swine; GoComics.com, 12/20/15

GoComics.com; Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine: [Never Read the Terms and Conditions]

Everything You Know About Martin Shkreli Is Wrong—or Is It?; Vanity Fair, 1/31/16

Bethany Mclean, Vanity Fair; Everything You Know About Martin Shkreli Is Wrong—or Is It? :

"I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I liken myself to the robber barons.” So says Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old hedge-fund manager turned pharmaceutical-company C.E.O., who achieved instantaneous notoriety last fall when he acquired the U.S. rights to a lifesaving drug and promptly boosted its price over 5,000 percent, from $13.50 a tablet to $750. The tsunami of rage (the BBC asked if Shkreli was “the most hated man in America”) only got worse when Shkreli said he would lower the price—and then didn’t. An anonymous user on the Web site Reddit summed up the sentiment bluntly: “Just fucking die will you?”

“The attempt to public shame is interesting,” says Shkreli. “Because everything we’ve done is legal. [Standard Oil tycoon John D.] Rockefeller made no attempt to apologize as long as what he was doing was legal.” In fact, Shkreli says, he wishes he had raised the price higher. “My investors expect me to maximize profits,” he said in an interview in early December at the Forbes Healthcare Summit, after which Forbes contributor Dan Diamond summed up Shkreli as “fascinating, horrifying, and utterly compelling.”"

Trump brings bigots out of hiding; Washington Post, 12/18/15

Dana Milbank, Washington Post; Trump brings bigots out of hiding:

"A couple of weeks ago, I wrote: “Let’s not mince words: Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist.”

I cited a long list of incidents in which he targeted women, Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, Asians and the disabled. Here’s what I heard from Trump’s defenders..."

Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Owners Told Reporters to Monitor Judges; New York Times, 12/18/15

Ravi Somaiya and Barry Meier, New York Times; Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Owners Told Reporters to Monitor Judges:

"The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Friday that in the weeks before Sheldon Adelson bought the paper, its journalists were asked to monitor three local judges. One of those judges is overseeing a case involving Mr. Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate.

The assignment was handed down by corporate management over the objections of the newsroom, the paper reported.

No reason was specified for the assignment, the paper’s editor, Michael Hengel, said in an interview on Friday, and the material, which the paper said amounted to 15,000 words, was never published...

One of the judges the reporters were told to monitor, Elizabeth Gonzalez, is handling a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in 2010 against Mr. Adelson and his casino company by Steven Jacobs, the former chief executive of its operations in Macau.

Mr. Jacobs has contended in court papers that he was fired after refusing to carry out what he believed to be illegal demands ordered by Mr. Adelson such as digging up potentially damaging information on high-ranking members of the Macau government."

Having Owned Up to Buying Newspaper, Adelsons Go Silent; New York Times, 12/17/15

Ravi Somaiya and Sydney Ember, New York Times; Having Owned Up to Buying Newspaper, Adelsons Go Silent:

"John L. Smith, a columnist for The Review-Journal who filed for bankruptcy while defending himself against a lawsuit brought by Mr. Adelson over a book Mr. Smith had written, said when reached by phone on Thursday that he would have to seek permission before speaking to a reporter. In a 2013 column about the lawsuit, Mr. Smith wrote that his lawyer had realized that “the case wasn’t about defamation, but about making me an object lesson for my newspaper and other journalists who dared to criticize the billionaire.” (Adelson eventually dropped the case.)...

Asked whether he was concerned about conflicts arising between his newsroom and Mr. Adelson’s myriad business and political interests, Mr. Hengel said, “Yes, absolutely.” He said, too, that he had argued with the newspaper’s publisher, Jason Taylor, over Mr. Taylor’s decision to remove references in an online article by The Review-Journal that raised questions about the ownership. But, he said, “What we’ve got to go on right now is their statement that they are going to allow us to pursue journalism the way we should and the way we’re expected to. I am going to take them at their word on that, until they prove otherwise.”...

Some remain skeptical. “I think there’s a lot of consternation, not just inside The Review-Journal, but outside,” said Jon Ralston, a veteran Nevada political journalist."

Is There Any Evidence Trigger Warnings Are Actually a Big Deal?; Science of Us, 12/15/15

Jesse Singal, Science of Us; Is There Any Evidence Trigger Warnings Are Actually a Big Deal? :

"What the conversation has lacked is any sort of solid information about how common trigger warnings, or debates about trigger warnings, really are on campuses. No one really knows whether the few anecdotal reports about truly ridiculous trigger-warning requests (a student in a class on rape law saying the term violate triggers her, for instance) are indicative of a bigger problem, or merely isolated instances that shouldn’t be spun into grand arguments about the decline of higher education, or the fragility of millennials, or whatever else.

Now we at last have some numbers. Last week, the National Coalition Against Censorship released the results of a survey about trigger warnings. The organization teamed up with the Modern Language Association and the College Art Association to ask those groups’ members to fill out a survey about their experiences with trigger warnings. The survey included both standard multiple-choice response items and chances for the respondents to write in their own responses.

It’s important to note that, as the NCAL itself acknowledges, this wasn’t a scientific survey — the organization didn’t conduct the usual, rigorous (and oftentimes expensive) procedure one would need to get a sample of respondents that’s approximately representative of the national population of college professors. (For one thing, the sample consisted, by definition, entirely of professors who study the subjects covered by the MLA and CAA."