Kartik Hosanagar and Vivian Jair, Harvard Business Review; We Need Transparency in Algorithms, But Too Much Can Backfire
"Companies and governments increasingly rely upon algorithms to make
decisions that affect people’s lives and livelihoods – from loan
approvals, to recruiting, legal sentencing, and college admissions. Less
vital decisions, too, are being delegated to machines, from internet
search results to product recommendations, dating matches, and what
content goes up on our social media feeds. In response, many experts
have called for rules and regulations that would make the inner workings
of these algorithms transparent. But as Nass’s experience makes clear,
transparency can backfire if not implemented carefully. Fortunately,
there is a smart way forward."
Monday, July 23, 2018
Facebook's pledge to eliminate misinformation is itself fake news ; The Guardian, July 20, 2018
Judd Legum, The Guardian; Facebook's pledge to eliminate misinformation is itself fake news
"The production values are high and the message is compelling. In an 11-minute mini-documentary, Facebook acknowledges its mistakes and pledges to “fight against misinformation”.
“With connecting people, particularly at our scale, comes an immense amount of responsibility,” an unidentified Facebook executive in the film solemnly tells a nodding audience of new company employees.
An outdoor ad campaign by Facebook strikes a similar note, plastering slogans like “Fake news is not your friend” at bus stops around the country.
But the reality of what’s happening on the Facebook platform belies its gauzy public relations campaign."
"The production values are high and the message is compelling. In an 11-minute mini-documentary, Facebook acknowledges its mistakes and pledges to “fight against misinformation”.
“With connecting people, particularly at our scale, comes an immense amount of responsibility,” an unidentified Facebook executive in the film solemnly tells a nodding audience of new company employees.
An outdoor ad campaign by Facebook strikes a similar note, plastering slogans like “Fake news is not your friend” at bus stops around the country.
But the reality of what’s happening on the Facebook platform belies its gauzy public relations campaign."
Sunday, July 22, 2018
The Essay That Helped Bring Down the Soviet Union; The New York Times, July 20, 2018
Natan Sharansky, The New York Times; The Essay That Helped Bring Down the Soviet Union
[Sakharov's] message was unsettling and liberating: You cannot be a good
scientist or a free person while living a double life. Knowing the truth
while collaborating in the regime’s lies only produces bad science and
broken souls."
[Kip
Currier: It's enlightening and inspiring to be reminded of the
courageous stance that Soviet Union-residing nuclear physicist, dissident activist, and 1975 Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov took 50 years ago, via his influential essay, “Thoughts on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence
and Intellectual Freedom”. His ideas and invocations
on the importance of freedom to think, individual responsibility, moral leadership,
and the advancement of human rights for persons living in both open and
closed societies are as timely and indispensable today as they were in
1968.]
"Fifty years ago this Sunday, this paper devoted
three broadsheet pages to an essay that had been circulating secretly
in the Soviet Union for weeks. The manifesto, written by Andrei
Sakharov, championed an essential idea at grave risk today: that those
of us lucky enough to live in open societies should fight for the
freedom of those born into closed ones. This radical argument changed
the course of history.
Sakharov’s
essay carried a mild title — “Thoughts on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence
and Intellectual Freedom” — but it was explosive. “Freedom of thought
is the only guarantee against an infection of mankind by mass myths,
which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be
transformed into bloody dictatorships,” he wrote. Suddenly the Soviet
Union’s most decorated physicist became its most prominent dissident...
Farting unicorn row: artist reaches settlement with Elon Musk; The Guardian, July 21, 2018
Damien Gayle, The Guardian; Farting unicorn row: artist reaches settlement with Elon Musk
"A Colorado artist says he has reached a settlement with Elon Musk after challenging the Tesla tycoon’s use of a farting unicorn motif that he had drawn as an ironic tribute to electric cars.
Musk used the cartoon image on Twitter, without attribution, to promote his Tesla electric car range, and ignored Tom Edwards’ attempts to come to a licensing arrangement, telling the artist’s daughter it would be “kinda lame” to sue."
"A Colorado artist says he has reached a settlement with Elon Musk after challenging the Tesla tycoon’s use of a farting unicorn motif that he had drawn as an ironic tribute to electric cars.
Musk used the cartoon image on Twitter, without attribution, to promote his Tesla electric car range, and ignored Tom Edwards’ attempts to come to a licensing arrangement, telling the artist’s daughter it would be “kinda lame” to sue."
It’s impossible to lead a totally ethical life—but it’s fun to try; Quartz, July 15, 2018
Ephrat Livni, Quartz; It’s impossible to lead a totally ethical life—but it’s fun to try
"It’s true that practically everything we do in life has ethical repercussions. “Any decision that has an impact on others now or in the future is an ethical choice,” explains ethicist Christopher Gilbert, author of the new book There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing. Gilbert says it’s useful to consider ethics like a moral ladder. On the lowest rung, you think only of yourself. Past the middle rung, you’re thinking of the decision’s influence on some. And on the highest rungs, you’re wondering how every choice impacts all affected by it. “When we step up that ladder and consistently strive to stay at the top rung, we are living an ethical life,” he says.
Will we be at the top rung all of the time? Almost certainly not. But the answer isn’t to throw up our hands. Rather, we can keep on trying, every day and throughout our lives, to approach the world thoughtfully and consider the implications of our individual actions on others."
"It’s true that practically everything we do in life has ethical repercussions. “Any decision that has an impact on others now or in the future is an ethical choice,” explains ethicist Christopher Gilbert, author of the new book There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing. Gilbert says it’s useful to consider ethics like a moral ladder. On the lowest rung, you think only of yourself. Past the middle rung, you’re thinking of the decision’s influence on some. And on the highest rungs, you’re wondering how every choice impacts all affected by it. “When we step up that ladder and consistently strive to stay at the top rung, we are living an ethical life,” he says.
Will we be at the top rung all of the time? Almost certainly not. But the answer isn’t to throw up our hands. Rather, we can keep on trying, every day and throughout our lives, to approach the world thoughtfully and consider the implications of our individual actions on others."
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Two men charged with stealing more than $8 million in rare books from Carnegie Library; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 20, 2018
Paula Reed Ward, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Two men charged with stealing more than $8 million in rare books from Carnegie Library
[Kip Currier: This is a deeply troubling "library theft" and "breach of the public trust" story, with enormous implications about ethics, management, leadership, and Board responsibility and oversight. It'll definitely be a case study in my courses at the University of Pittsburgh and in the ethics textbook I'm writing.
Reading the Perry Mason-esque True Crime-confessional details (e.g. Priore: "greed came over me. I did it, but Schulman spurred me on") in The Post-Gazette's front-page article brought to mind the oft-heard adage "Crime doesn't pay"--a favorite slogan of the FBI, starting in 1927, and then used in the comic strip Dick Tracy in 1931.]
"It ranks as one of the largest library thefts in history.
Greg Priore, 61, of Oakland, who worked as the sole archivist and manager of the library’s rare book room since 1992, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, retail theft, library theft, criminal mischief and forgery.
John Schulman, 54, of Squirrel Hill, who owns Caliban Book Shop, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, conspiracy, retail theft, theft by deception, forgery and deceptive business practices...
“Priore explained that he took a lot of maps and pictures – in all possibly 200 items – from the Oliver Room. Priore then stated ‘You got me, I screwed up.’ He also stated, ‘Please tell [library executive director] Mary Frances [Cooper] I am sorry and I let the whole place down.’”"
[Kip Currier: This is a deeply troubling "library theft" and "breach of the public trust" story, with enormous implications about ethics, management, leadership, and Board responsibility and oversight. It'll definitely be a case study in my courses at the University of Pittsburgh and in the ethics textbook I'm writing.
Reading the Perry Mason-esque True Crime-confessional details (e.g. Priore: "greed came over me. I did it, but Schulman spurred me on") in The Post-Gazette's front-page article brought to mind the oft-heard adage "Crime doesn't pay"--a favorite slogan of the FBI, starting in 1927, and then used in the comic strip Dick Tracy in 1931.]
"It ranks as one of the largest library thefts in history.
Greg Priore, 61, of Oakland, who worked as the sole archivist and manager of the library’s rare book room since 1992, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, retail theft, library theft, criminal mischief and forgery.
John Schulman, 54, of Squirrel Hill, who owns Caliban Book Shop, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, conspiracy, retail theft, theft by deception, forgery and deceptive business practices...
“Priore explained that he took a lot of maps and pictures – in all possibly 200 items – from the Oliver Room. Priore then stated ‘You got me, I screwed up.’ He also stated, ‘Please tell [library executive director] Mary Frances [Cooper] I am sorry and I let the whole place down.’”"
Friday, July 20, 2018
The intelligence community has never faced a problem quite like this; The Washington Post, July 19, 2018
The Washington Post; The intelligence community has never faced a problem quite like this
"The American intelligence community has never faced a
problem quite like President Trump — a commander in chief who is
suspected by a growing number of Republicans and Democrats of deferring to Russia’s views over the recommendations of his own intelligence agencies.
“There
are almost two governments now,” worries John McLaughlin, a former
acting CIA director. He discusses the Trump conundrum with the same
vexation as a dozen other former intelligence officials I’ve spoken with
since the president’s shockingly acquiescent performance onstage Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
How
are current intelligence chiefs handling this unprecedented situation?
They are operating carefully but correctly, trying to balance their
obligations to the president with the oaths they have sworn to protect
and defend the Constitution. The officials continue to serve the elected
president, but they are also signaling that they work for the American
people."
Trump Wants Putin to Keep Meddling to Get Himself Reelected; The Daily Beast, July 19, 2018
Margaret Carlson, The Daily Beast; Trump Wants Putin to Keep Meddling to Get Himself Reelected
"From the gist of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictments, Trump knows how sophisticated, how costly the Russian actions were, and how likely they are to take place again. Yet he’s made no moves to deny Putin a glide path to a sequel, no elevating election security to a priority as he did for the calamitous separating children at the border, which has all the money and attention in the world.
To the contrary, the White House hasn’t spearheaded anything close to the kind of Manhattan Project that protecting our democracy deserves, not even the cost-free appointment of an election czar, or a request to Silicon Valley to help. Small efforts to counter voting machine fraud, bots, fake news (the real kind) go along at a snail’s pace at the FBI and Homeland Security. Congress has allotted a mere $380 million, a pittance to the cause. It’s likely that Russia is putting more money into interfering in 2020 than the U.S. is putting in to stopping it."
"From the gist of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictments, Trump knows how sophisticated, how costly the Russian actions were, and how likely they are to take place again. Yet he’s made no moves to deny Putin a glide path to a sequel, no elevating election security to a priority as he did for the calamitous separating children at the border, which has all the money and attention in the world.
To the contrary, the White House hasn’t spearheaded anything close to the kind of Manhattan Project that protecting our democracy deserves, not even the cost-free appointment of an election czar, or a request to Silicon Valley to help. Small efforts to counter voting machine fraud, bots, fake news (the real kind) go along at a snail’s pace at the FBI and Homeland Security. Congress has allotted a mere $380 million, a pittance to the cause. It’s likely that Russia is putting more money into interfering in 2020 than the U.S. is putting in to stopping it."
Stop calling it ‘meddling.’ It’s actually information warfare.; The Washington Post, July 17, 2018
The Washington Post; Stop calling it ‘meddling.’ It’s actually information warfare.
"“And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” That’s the catchphrase that comes at the end of “Scooby-Doo” cartoons, always right at the moment when some monster turns out to just be a creepy old man in a mask. The zany adventures are over — until the next episode.
That’s the appropriate use of the word “meddling.” It is not, however, an appropriate word to use when referring to the ongoing Russian attacks on American democracy that gained prominence in the 2016 presidential election and will accelerate as we head into the November midterms. This isn’t “Scooby-Doo.” The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the monsters we face are real...
"“And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” That’s the catchphrase that comes at the end of “Scooby-Doo” cartoons, always right at the moment when some monster turns out to just be a creepy old man in a mask. The zany adventures are over — until the next episode.
That’s the appropriate use of the word “meddling.” It is not, however, an appropriate word to use when referring to the ongoing Russian attacks on American democracy that gained prominence in the 2016 presidential election and will accelerate as we head into the November midterms. This isn’t “Scooby-Doo.” The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the monsters we face are real...
But
that phrase is woefully inadequate. These continuing attacks are
neither meddling nor “interference,” another euphemism. They’re a part
of gibridnaya voyna — Russian for “hybrid warfare.” The best term for what we’re talking about would be “information warfare.
One
of the jarring realizations of the 21st century is that democratic
governments are only as good as the quality of information that their
voters receive. Influence the information flow voters receive, and
you’ll eventually influence the government."
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Shadow Politics: Meet the Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News; Wired, 7/18/18
Issie Lapowsky, Wired; Shadow Politics: Meet the Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News
"After about 36 hours of work, during which his software crashed dozens of times under the weight of all that data, he was able to map out these links, transforming the list into an impossibly intricate data visualization. “It was a picture of the entire ecosystem of misinformation a few days after the election,” Albright says, still in awe of his discovery. “I saw these insights I’d never thought of.”
And smack in the center of the monstrous web, was a giant node labeled YouTube."
"After about 36 hours of work, during which his software crashed dozens of times under the weight of all that data, he was able to map out these links, transforming the list into an impossibly intricate data visualization. “It was a picture of the entire ecosystem of misinformation a few days after the election,” Albright says, still in awe of his discovery. “I saw these insights I’d never thought of.”
And smack in the center of the monstrous web, was a giant node labeled YouTube."
“I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets; Vanity Fair, July 1, 2018
Katrina Brooker, Vanity Fair; “I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets
"For now, chastened by bad press and public
outrage, tech behemoths and other corporations say they are willing to
make changes to ensure privacy and protect their users. “I’m committed
to getting this right,” Facebook’s Zuckerberg told Congress in April.
Google recently rolled out new privacy features to Gmail which would
allow users to control how their messages get forwarded, copied,
downloaded, or printed. And as revelations of spying, manipulation, and
other abuses emerge, more governments are pushing for change. Last year
the European Union fined Google $2.7 billion for manipulating online
shopping markets. This year new regulations will require it and other
tech companies to ask for users’ consent for their data. In the U.S.,
Congress and regulators are mulling ways to check the powers of Facebook
and others.
But
laws written now don’t anticipate future technologies. Nor do
lawmakers—many badgered by corporate lobbyists—always choose to protect
individual rights. In December, lobbyists for telecom companies pushed
the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net-neutrality rules,
which protect equal access to the Internet. In January, the U.S. Senate
voted to advance a bill that would allow the National Security Agency
to continue its mass online-surveillance program. Google’s lobbyists are
now working to modify rules on how companies can gather and store
biometric data, such as fingerprints, iris scans, and facial-recognition
images."
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
One Job AI Won't Replace? Chief Ethics Officer; Fortune, July 17, 2018
Robert Hackett, Fortune; One Job AI Won't Replace? Chief Ethics Officer
"We’ve heard the warnings: The robots are coming, and they’re coming for your job.
Whose roles will be safe as the usurper, artificial intelligence, enters the workforce? Jeetu Patel, chief product officer at Box (box, -1.65%), a cloud storage and file-sharing company, says the secure ones will be those who fine-tune the machines’ moral compasses.
“I think chief ethics officer will be a big role in the AI world,” Patel said at a breakfast roundtable at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday morning. “Lots of jobs will be killed, but ethics jobs will move forward.”"
"We’ve heard the warnings: The robots are coming, and they’re coming for your job.
Whose roles will be safe as the usurper, artificial intelligence, enters the workforce? Jeetu Patel, chief product officer at Box (box, -1.65%), a cloud storage and file-sharing company, says the secure ones will be those who fine-tune the machines’ moral compasses.
“I think chief ethics officer will be a big role in the AI world,” Patel said at a breakfast roundtable at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday morning. “Lots of jobs will be killed, but ethics jobs will move forward.”"
“A shameless lie”: Holes poked in Donald Trump’s assertion that he misspoke when praising Putin; Salon, July 17, 2018
Shira Tarlo and Joseph Neese, Salon; “A shameless lie”: Holes poked in Donald Trump’s assertion that he misspoke when praising Putin
"As controversy mounted over his assertion that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's word over the findings of the U.S. intelligence community, President Donald Trump attempted to walk back his remarks, in part, by claiming that "other people" could have also meddled in the 2016 presidential election."
"As controversy mounted over his assertion that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's word over the findings of the U.S. intelligence community, President Donald Trump attempted to walk back his remarks, in part, by claiming that "other people" could have also meddled in the 2016 presidential election."
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man; The Washington Post, July 17, 2018
The Washington Post; This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man
The explanation is in doubt; what needs to be explained — his compliance — is not. Granted, Trump has a weak man’s banal fascination with strong men whose disdain for him is evidently unimaginable to him. And, yes, he only perfunctorily pretends to have priorities beyond personal aggrandizement. But just as astronomers inferred, from anomalies in the orbits of the planet Uranus, the existence of Neptune before actually seeing it, Mueller might infer, and then find, still-hidden sources of the behavior of this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man."
"Americans elected a president who — this is a safe
surmise — knew that he had more to fear from making his tax returns
public than from keeping them secret. The most innocent inference is
that for decades he has depended on an American weakness, susceptibility
to the tacky charisma of wealth, which would evaporate when his tax
returns revealed that he has always lied about his wealth, too. A more
ominous explanation might be that his redundantly demonstrated
incompetence as a businessman tumbled him into unsavory financial
dependencies on Russians. A still more sinister explanation might be
that the Russians have something else, something worse, to keep him
compliant.
The explanation is in doubt; what needs to be explained — his compliance — is not. Granted, Trump has a weak man’s banal fascination with strong men whose disdain for him is evidently unimaginable to him. And, yes, he only perfunctorily pretends to have priorities beyond personal aggrandizement. But just as astronomers inferred, from anomalies in the orbits of the planet Uranus, the existence of Neptune before actually seeing it, Mueller might infer, and then find, still-hidden sources of the behavior of this sad, embarrassing wreck of a man."
After a stunning news conference, there’s a newly crucial job for the American press; The Washington Post, July 16, 2018
The Washington Post; After a stunning news conference, there’s a newly crucial job for the American press
If
any such pride is to continue in the hours and days ahead, news
organizations need to step up to the job of driving home to American
citizens the larger picture, too.
"Journalism, writ large, can be proud of the
Associated Press’s Jon Lemire and Reuters’s Jeff Mason, who asked
well-honed, incisive questions on Monday and asked them in just the
right way. (Historical note: Lemire, back in October 2016, was thrown
out of a room by Trump’s campaign people, as the candidate called him a
“sleazebag” for asking tough questions about sexual misconduct claims
against him.)
Mason and Lemire held Trump’s feet to the fire.
It’s not
enough to offer such pallid assessments as those we’ve heard too often,
that “this is outside the norm,” or “there’s little precedent for what
we’re hearing.
Clarity of purpose and moral force are called for. They are not always in ample supply by a too-docile press corps.
Fallows called Monday’s news conference a “moment of truth” for Republican lawmakers
So, too, for American journalists."
We are a deeply stupid country; The Washington Post, July 16, 2018
The Washington Post; We are a deeply stupid country
"How foolish are we?
We
brainlessly criticized Russia when it invaded Georgia and Ukraine. We
idiotically protested when Russia poisoned people in Britain. Like
dunces, we punished Russians for killing human rights activists. Morons
that we are, we complained when Russia shot down a passenger jet. And then, revealing ourselves to be truly daft and inane, we blamed Russia for interfering in our election.
Standing
at Putin’s side Monday, Trump let the world know just how doltish the
people are who made this judgment, including the cretins at the CIA and
the nitwits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “I have President
Putin; he just said it’s not Russia,” Trump announced. “I don’t see any
reason why it would be” Russia."
Trump and Putin vs. America; The New York Times, July 16, 2018
Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times;Trump and Putin vs. America
"Listening to Trump, it was as if Franklin Roosevelt had announced after
Pearl Harbor: “Hey, both sides are to blame. Our battleships in Hawaii
were a little provocative to Japan — and, by the way, I had nothing to
do with the causes for their attack. So cool it.”
"Listening to Trump, it was as if Franklin Roosevelt had announced after
Pearl Harbor: “Hey, both sides are to blame. Our battleships in Hawaii
were a little provocative to Japan — and, by the way, I had nothing to
do with the causes for their attack. So cool it.”
Monday, July 16, 2018
UN Report Sets Forth Strong Recommendations for Companies to Protect Free Expression; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), June 27, 2018
Jillian C. York, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF);
UN Report Sets Forth Strong Recommendations for Companies to Protect Free Expression
"Through Onlinecensorship.org and various other projects—including this year’s censorship edition of our annual Who Has Your Back? report—we’ve highlighted the challenges and pitfalls that companies face as they seek to moderate content on their platforms. Over the past year, we’ve seen this issue come into the spotlight through advocacy initiatives like the Santa Clara Principles, media such as the documentary The Cleaners, and now, featured in the latest report by Professor David Kaye, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Toward greater freedom, accountability, and transparency
The Special Rapporteur’s latest is the first-ever UN report to focus on the regulation of user-generated content online, and comes at a time of heated debate on the impact of disinformation, extremism, and hateful speech. The report focuses on the obligations of both State actors and ICT companies. It aims at finding user-centered, human rights law-aligned approaches to content policy-making, transparency, due process, and governance on platforms that host user-generated content."
Thursday, July 12, 2018
OIF Responds to Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room Amendment; American Libraries, July 10, 2018
American Libraries;
OIF Responds to Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room Amendment
"“As cited in the interpretation, there are two prominent cases addressing public library meeting rooms. One involved religion. One involved a white supremacist group. In both cases, the library prohibiting the groups use of space lost lawsuits and were forced to change their policies.
“The Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room amendment should serve as a catalyst for library staff to review or establish policies with assistance from their legal counsel. We encourage libraries to adopt policies that govern meeting space use while meeting the needs of the community that they serve."
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Is ‘Balanced Intellectual Property’ Code For ‘Anti-Intellectual Property’?; Above The Law, June 28, 2018
Krista L. Cox, Above The Law;
Is ‘Balanced Intellectual Property’ Code For ‘Anti-Intellectual Property’?
"The copyright and patent system in the United States acknowledges both the need to incentivize innovation as well as the need for public access. It is a utilitarian view that promotes further creation. Advocating for a system that incentivizes the creator or inventor while simultaneously protecting the interest of the public isn’t an anti-intellectual property stance, it’s one that encourages more creative works and innovations."
Monday, July 9, 2018
How Using A Drone Changed The Way This Photographer Saw Inequality; HuffPost, July 3, 2018
Amanda Duberman, HuffPost;
How Using A Drone Changed The Way This Photographer Saw Inequality
"A few years ago, Johnny Miller got a drone.
The photographer was studying anthropology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and used his drone to take a video of him and his friends hiking local Table Mountain. Watching the footage he shot, Miller was stunned at how an aerial view gave him a completely different perspective on an area he’d looked at dozens of times.
“That was the moment when I realized that the drone had this ability and this power to make you see things very differently,” he told HuffPost. “And I wondered if you could look at social issues the same way.”"
Sunday, July 8, 2018
The U.S. government recruited black men to watch them die; The Washington Post, July 3, 2018
[Podcast] Retropod, The Washington Post; The U.S. government recruited black men to watch them die
"The Tuskegee syphilis experiment is a horrific piece of American history."
"The Tuskegee syphilis experiment is a horrific piece of American history."
The legacy of Thomas Parran is more troubling than you thought; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 2018
Scott W. Stern, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; The legacy of Thomas Parran is more troubling than you though
"University of Pittsburgh trustees last month voted to remove from a university building the name of Thomas Parran, who served as U.S. surgeon general from 1936 to 1948 and was founding dean of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health.
For decades, Parran has been notorious for overseeing the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiments, in which the government withheld treatment from poor black men with syphilis in rural Alabama from 1932 to 1972. In more recent years, Parran gained additional notoriety for his role in overseeing an even crueler study the government conducted in Guatemala, in which government officials intentionally infected female sex workers with syphilis. So, the renaming was long overdue.
However, there is another way Thomas Parran’s legacy remains with the residents of Pittsburgh — one that virtually no one knows about."
"University of Pittsburgh trustees last month voted to remove from a university building the name of Thomas Parran, who served as U.S. surgeon general from 1936 to 1948 and was founding dean of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health.
For decades, Parran has been notorious for overseeing the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiments, in which the government withheld treatment from poor black men with syphilis in rural Alabama from 1932 to 1972. In more recent years, Parran gained additional notoriety for his role in overseeing an even crueler study the government conducted in Guatemala, in which government officials intentionally infected female sex workers with syphilis. So, the renaming was long overdue.
However, there is another way Thomas Parran’s legacy remains with the residents of Pittsburgh — one that virtually no one knows about."
FCC Refuses to Back Down From Plan to Strip Phone and Internet Subsidies for American Indians; Gizmodo, July 7, 2018
A.J. Dellinger, Gizmodo;
FCC Refuses to Back Down From Plan to Strip Phone and Internet Subsidies for American Indians
"Late last year, the Federal Communications Commission under Ajit Pai voted to make it harder for American Indians to receive subsidies for broadband internet service. Despite legal challenges, the commission decided this week not to reverse its position, opting instead to continue to deny expanded assistance for phone and internet access...
The FCC under Ajit Pai has taken particular interest in dismantling much of the Lifeline program, which helps to make broadband internet and both landline and mobile phone services available to low-income Americans."
OLPC’s $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrong; The Verge, April 16, 2018
Adi Robertson, The Verge; OLPC’s $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrong
[Kip Currier: Very interesting April 2018 article in The Verge about the One Laptop Per Child initiative.]
"Thirteen years ago, OLPC told the world that every child should get a laptop. It never stopped to prove that they needed one."
[Kip Currier: Very interesting April 2018 article in The Verge about the One Laptop Per Child initiative.]
"Thirteen years ago, OLPC told the world that every child should get a laptop. It never stopped to prove that they needed one."
Friday, July 6, 2018
Pruitt is gone. Congress still doesn’t care about ethics.; The Washington Post, July 6, 2018
The Washington Post; Pruitt is gone. Congress still doesn’t care about ethics.
The foundational principle that public service is a public trust is now on the ropes. Those in Congress who share responsibility for Pruitt’s ethical failures will find it difficult to avoid looking hypocritical if they demand ethical conduct from appointees in this administration or the next. Gowdy is a notable exception, but he is leaving Congress. It is time for his colleagues to step up their oversight of this administration’s ethical failings. The road to redemption may require an acknowledgment of responsibility for failing to oversee the EPA’s administrator and a recommitment to enforcing government ethics. As for the executive branch, Trump can start by curtailing his praise of the current holder of the title “most unethical Cabinet member in modern history.”"
"The damage to the executive branch ethics program is profound. A bad ethical tone from the top, which began with Trump’s refusal to divest his conflicting financial interests, continues to erode that program. Trump’s commendation of the departing Pruitt is as strong a statement as a leader can send to devalue the importance of ethics in government.
The foundational principle that public service is a public trust is now on the ropes. Those in Congress who share responsibility for Pruitt’s ethical failures will find it difficult to avoid looking hypocritical if they demand ethical conduct from appointees in this administration or the next. Gowdy is a notable exception, but he is leaving Congress. It is time for his colleagues to step up their oversight of this administration’s ethical failings. The road to redemption may require an acknowledgment of responsibility for failing to oversee the EPA’s administrator and a recommitment to enforcing government ethics. As for the executive branch, Trump can start by curtailing his praise of the current holder of the title “most unethical Cabinet member in modern history.”"
Ethics Watchdog Releases One-Word Statement On Pruitt Resignation; HuffPost, July 5, 2018
Ryan Grenoble, HuffPost; Ethics Watchdog Releases One-Word Statement On Pruitt Resignation
"What is there to say when you run an ethics watchdog and a man The Washington Post labeled “easily the most corrupt senior official in the federal government” has just resigned?
Not much. At least nothing that doesn’t involve four-letter words.
Reacting to news that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a one-word statement, attributed to Executive Director Noah Bookbinder: “Good.”"
"What is there to say when you run an ethics watchdog and a man The Washington Post labeled “easily the most corrupt senior official in the federal government” has just resigned?
Not much. At least nothing that doesn’t involve four-letter words.
Reacting to news that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a one-word statement, attributed to Executive Director Noah Bookbinder: “Good.”"
Lifeline offline: Unreliable internet, cell service are hurting rural Pennsylvania’s health; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 26, 2018
Kris B. Mamula and Jessie Wardarski, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette;
Lifeline offline: Unreliable internet, cell service are hurting rural Pennsylvania’s health
"Even as businesses in Pittsburgh compete to commercialize artificial intelligence and give machines the human quality of “learning,” just a three-hour drive away people struggle with dial-up connections — if there are internet connections at all.
More than 24 million Americans — 800,000 in Pennsylvania and mostly in rural areas — lack an internet connection that meets a federal minimum standard for speed. The result is a yawning divide in commerce, education and medicine that’s splitting America into the digital haves and have-nots.
“We’re basically being cut off from the 21st century,” Huntingdon County Planning Director Mark Colussy said."
A win for digital privacy — but that’s just the tip of the government surveillance iceberg; The San Francisco Chronicle, July 4, 2018
Catherine Crump and Megan Graham, The San Francisco Chronicle; A win for digital privacy — but that’s just the tip of the government surveillance iceberg
"It’s 2018. Digital technologies have been woven into the fabric of daily life for more than a decade. It’s time for courts and legislatures to start resolving at a more rapid pace the circumstances under which our cell phones and smart appliances will also be snitches."
"It’s 2018. Digital technologies have been woven into the fabric of daily life for more than a decade. It’s time for courts and legislatures to start resolving at a more rapid pace the circumstances under which our cell phones and smart appliances will also be snitches."
Judge Facciola Says Carpenter Decision May Signal the End of the Third Party Doctrine; JD Supra, July 5, 2018
JD Supra; Judge Facciola Says Carpenter Decision May Signal the End of the Third Party Doctrine
"The old view of the third-party doctrine must yield to new concerns about recent technology or what CJ Roberts called “the critical issue” of “basic Fourth Amendment concerns about arbitrary government power” that are “wrought by digital technology.”
Overall, the Roberts Court seems to understand electronic privacy’s importance, especially when Carpenter is coupled with the previous decisions in US v Jones (2011), which required a warrant before police placed a GPS tracker on a vehicle and Riley v California (2014) which forbade warrantless searches of a cell phone during an arrest."
"The old view of the third-party doctrine must yield to new concerns about recent technology or what CJ Roberts called “the critical issue” of “basic Fourth Amendment concerns about arbitrary government power” that are “wrought by digital technology.”
Overall, the Roberts Court seems to understand electronic privacy’s importance, especially when Carpenter is coupled with the previous decisions in US v Jones (2011), which required a warrant before police placed a GPS tracker on a vehicle and Riley v California (2014) which forbade warrantless searches of a cell phone during an arrest."
Iceman Came Out. Now He’s Coming Back in His Own Series.; The New York Times, June 28, 2018
George Gene Gustines, The New York Times; Iceman Came Out. Now He’s Coming Back in His Own Series.
"What is next for Iceman?
I’m
really excited that we’re coming back with a new No. 1. This is going
to be a great way to invite readers to celebrate with us. Iceman is
going to be thinking about how he can help other people and use his
mutant power to be the best he can be. He’s going to be up against some
pretty big bad guys. In the first issue he’s preventing the next “Mutant
Massacre” with Bishop, another X-Man.
We’re
also going to see a lot of the previous cast but played out in
different ways. Bobby’s relationship with his parents will not be as
fraught. He reached a level of peace that you can get to — even with
parents like his. We’re going to see his dating life. It’s just going to
be such a breath of fresh air to see him really stretch his arms out
and have fun.
You mentioned there would be some community outreach too.
The
reason I love X-Men books is that they speak so much to people who
identify as other. We’re going to be seeing Bobby trying to figure out
how he can be a shining beacon to the gay community. That’s where me and
Bobby Drake are alike: How do you take this platform and try to do
something meaningful? That’s something I want all readers to think
about: How can you make a difference in your world? I feel super proud
of the story I’ve crafted with all those things in mind."
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Europe’s biggest research fund cracks down on ‘ethics dumping’; Nature, July 3, 2018
Linda Nordling, Nature; Europe’s biggest research fund cracks down on ‘ethics dumping’
"Ethics dumping — doing research deemed unethical in a scientist’s home country in a foreign setting with laxer ethical rules — will be rooted out in research funded by the European Union, officials announced last week.
Applications to the EU’s €80-billion (US$93-billion) Horizon 2020 research fund will face fresh levels of scrutiny to make sure that research practices deemed unethical in Europe are not exported to other parts of the world. Wolfgang Burtscher, the European Commission’s deputy director-general for research, made the announcement at the European Parliament in Brussels on 29 June.
Burtscher said that a new code of conduct developed to curb ethics dumping will soon be applied to all EU-funded research projects. That means applicants will be referred to the code when they submit their proposals, and ethics committees will use the document when considering grant applications."
"Ethics dumping — doing research deemed unethical in a scientist’s home country in a foreign setting with laxer ethical rules — will be rooted out in research funded by the European Union, officials announced last week.
Applications to the EU’s €80-billion (US$93-billion) Horizon 2020 research fund will face fresh levels of scrutiny to make sure that research practices deemed unethical in Europe are not exported to other parts of the world. Wolfgang Burtscher, the European Commission’s deputy director-general for research, made the announcement at the European Parliament in Brussels on 29 June.
Burtscher said that a new code of conduct developed to curb ethics dumping will soon be applied to all EU-funded research projects. That means applicants will be referred to the code when they submit their proposals, and ethics committees will use the document when considering grant applications."
Equity pending: Why so few women receive patents; The Christian Science Monitor, July 2, 2018
E'oin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor; Equity pending: Why so few women receive patents
"The causes for the gender gap are varied and complex, but much of it can be explained by women’s underrepresentation in patent-intensive jobs, particularly engineering. Research shows women make up roughly 20 percent of graduates from engineering schools, but hold less than 15 percent of engineering jobs. Female engineering grads are not entering the field at the same rate as their male counterparts, and they are leaving in far greater numbers.
“It’s the climate,” says Nadya Fouad, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “The organizational environment is very unforgiving.”
Professor Fouad, who spent three years surveying women with engineering degrees about their career choices, cites inflexible schedules, a lack of opportunities for advancement, and incivility toward women. “It’s not the women’s fault,” she says, noting that she found no difference in levels of confidence in those who stayed and those who left.
Other barriers women face are an absence of supportive social networks and implicit bias on the part of venture capitalists."
"The causes for the gender gap are varied and complex, but much of it can be explained by women’s underrepresentation in patent-intensive jobs, particularly engineering. Research shows women make up roughly 20 percent of graduates from engineering schools, but hold less than 15 percent of engineering jobs. Female engineering grads are not entering the field at the same rate as their male counterparts, and they are leaving in far greater numbers.
“It’s the climate,” says Nadya Fouad, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “The organizational environment is very unforgiving.”
Professor Fouad, who spent three years surveying women with engineering degrees about their career choices, cites inflexible schedules, a lack of opportunities for advancement, and incivility toward women. “It’s not the women’s fault,” she says, noting that she found no difference in levels of confidence in those who stayed and those who left.
Other barriers women face are an absence of supportive social networks and implicit bias on the part of venture capitalists."
Monday, July 2, 2018
WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Copyright Exceptions For Blind Readers Clears US Senate; Intellectual Property Watch, June 29, 2018
Intellectual Property Watch; WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Copyright Exceptions For Blind Readers Clears US Senate
"The World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions enabling international access to published works by blind and print-disabled readers was ratified this week by the United States Senate, putting it one step closer to final ratification in the country.
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print-Disabled was agreed in 2013.
On 28 June, the full US Senate ratified treaty and passed implementing legislation to amend Title 17 accordingly, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559).
The implementing legislation now goes to the US House of Representatives, and then on to the President, according to the bill summary. The US will then have to prepare and deposit its instrument of ratification to WIPO."
"The World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions enabling international access to published works by blind and print-disabled readers was ratified this week by the United States Senate, putting it one step closer to final ratification in the country.
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print-Disabled was agreed in 2013.
On 28 June, the full US Senate ratified treaty and passed implementing legislation to amend Title 17 accordingly, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559).
The implementing legislation now goes to the US House of Representatives, and then on to the President, according to the bill summary. The US will then have to prepare and deposit its instrument of ratification to WIPO."
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Information Access for All: How libraries break down barriers; American Libraries, June 1, 2018
Karen Muller, American Libraries;
Information Access for All
"As I was gathering books for this column, I saw a title that needed reshelving: The Information-Poor in America, by Thomas Childers (Scarecrow, 1975). Yes, it was written a whole library career ago, but it shows how libraries continue to be the public institution able to address the information needs of everyone. These selections offer current practices and tools for librarians seeking to eliminate barriers to information access."
Information Access for All
How libraries break down barriers
"As I was gathering books for this column, I saw a title that needed reshelving: The Information-Poor in America, by Thomas Childers (Scarecrow, 1975). Yes, it was written a whole library career ago, but it shows how libraries continue to be the public institution able to address the information needs of everyone. These selections offer current practices and tools for librarians seeking to eliminate barriers to information access."
Friday, June 29, 2018
California Just Passed the Strictest Online Privacy Bill in the Country; Slate, June 28, 2018
April Glaser, Slate; California Just Passed the Strictest Online Privacy Bill in the Country
"alifornia
passed one of the toughest online privacy bills in the country
Thursday, despite lobbying by Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon,
AT&T, and others, who poured money into an industry-aligned group that tried to defeat the measure.
If signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the bill, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018,
will require technology companies that collect user information to
disclose the type of data they collect, details on the advertisers or
other third parties with which they share data, and allow customers to
opt out of having the data collected about them sold. The new bill also
gives customers the option to request companies delete personal
information collected on them—like data on how many kids a person has,
their buying habits, location information, or other non-publicly
available data. Companies that do peddle user data have to offer the new
privacy options for free and won’t be allowed to degrade service if a
customer opts to no longer have their data sold."
Elon Musk drawn into farting unicorn dispute with potter; The Guardian, June 27, 2018
[Kip
Currier: Given the facts as presented in this article (and knowing that
the U.S. only recognizes "moral rights" vis-a-vis the very narrow Visual Artists Right Act [VARA]), is there anyone who still doesn't think that at the very least the "decent" thing to do would have been for Elon Musk/Tesla to provide attribution
(let alone some kind of compensation) when repeatedly using Tom
Edwards' image? Imagine if the situation were reversed and someone was
using Elon Musk's "original expressions" without attribution.]
"Edwards said he wanted to speak out in part because he often hears similar stories from artists. “I realize my farting unicorn is not as serious as whistleblowers,” he said, “but honestly, it’s all about integrity.”
He added: “I’d really like to get on Elon Musk’s good side … He’s really really interesting. But he isn’t above copyright law.""
"Edwards said he wanted to speak out in part because he often hears similar stories from artists. “I realize my farting unicorn is not as serious as whistleblowers,” he said, “but honestly, it’s all about integrity.”
He added: “I’d really like to get on Elon Musk’s good side … He’s really really interesting. But he isn’t above copyright law.""
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Indigenous Knowledge Databases: Is It Something To Be Concerned About?; Intellectual Property Watch, June 28, 2018
Adithi Koushik, Intellectual Property Watch; Indigenous Knowledge Databases: Is It Something To Be Concerned About?
"Almost all information today ends up in a database. It is organised and made readily accessible. While it sounds positive, for indigenous communities, it can be crucial. Databases of their knowledge, culture and genetic resources, if misused, can undermine generations of community effort and maybe even their sustainability. A panel of indigenous peoples’ representatives presented their concerns about databases this week to governments attending a World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on genetic resources.
The discussion in the Indigenous Panel at the 36th round of the Intergovernmental Committee at WIPO, held between 25th and 29th of June, centered on the collection of material for, administration and use of databases and contracts."
"Almost all information today ends up in a database. It is organised and made readily accessible. While it sounds positive, for indigenous communities, it can be crucial. Databases of their knowledge, culture and genetic resources, if misused, can undermine generations of community effort and maybe even their sustainability. A panel of indigenous peoples’ representatives presented their concerns about databases this week to governments attending a World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on genetic resources.
The discussion in the Indigenous Panel at the 36th round of the Intergovernmental Committee at WIPO, held between 25th and 29th of June, centered on the collection of material for, administration and use of databases and contracts."
Sunday, June 24, 2018
This Swedish Tech School Teaches AI Ethics 'Like A Muscle'; Forbes, June 21, 2018
Parmy Olson, Forbes; This Swedish Tech School Teaches AI Ethics 'Like A Muscle'
"Obvious questions perhaps, but some would argue that consumers today are addicted to social media and smartphones because ethics wasn’t more deeply integrated into leading technology schools like Stanford University in the past, and for the students who went on to lead the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple.
The average person checks their phone more than 150 times a day, says Tash Willcocks, who heads up the Manchester, U.K. division of of Hyper Island. “We live by the design choices of others.”
Hyper Island has around 150 master’s degree students across the world, mostly in physical classes, paying £11,000 ($14,500) a year to be on the graduate course. “The students’ ability to make ethical considerations should be trained like a muscle,” Wilcocks adds."
"Obvious questions perhaps, but some would argue that consumers today are addicted to social media and smartphones because ethics wasn’t more deeply integrated into leading technology schools like Stanford University in the past, and for the students who went on to lead the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple.
The average person checks their phone more than 150 times a day, says Tash Willcocks, who heads up the Manchester, U.K. division of of Hyper Island. “We live by the design choices of others.”
Hyper Island has around 150 master’s degree students across the world, mostly in physical classes, paying £11,000 ($14,500) a year to be on the graduate course. “The students’ ability to make ethical considerations should be trained like a muscle,” Wilcocks adds."
MSF Challenges Gilead Hepatitis C Patent In China; Intellectual Property Watch, June 19, 2018
Intellectual Property Watch; MSF Challenges Gilead Hepatitis C Patent In China
"According to the [Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) press] release, “Gilead launched the sofosbuvir/velpatasvir combination at a price of US$51,000 for a 12-week treatment course in the United Kingdom, whereas the same treatment course is available for as low as $286 in India from generic manufacturers. In China, this combination was registered in May 2018, but Gilead has not yet announced its price.”
"According to the [Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) press] release, “Gilead launched the sofosbuvir/velpatasvir combination at a price of US$51,000 for a 12-week treatment course in the United Kingdom, whereas the same treatment course is available for as low as $286 in India from generic manufacturers. In China, this combination was registered in May 2018, but Gilead has not yet announced its price.”
The sudden rush of vulgar trademarks; The Boston Globe, June 23, 2018
The sudden rush of vulgar trademarks
"There are now at least three different kinds of marks which can be registered without challenge. The first category includes marks that comprise, well, hate speech — the name of the pro football team in Washington, as an example. The second falls into Tam’s context — self-referential marks.
But the third group is different. Like a team playing defense, these trademark owners seek to register marks to keep the rest of the public from doing so.
In perhaps the most surprising result of the court’s ruling, the applicants for several of the most offensive terms did so not to sell merchandise, but to stop others from doing the same."
"There are now at least three different kinds of marks which can be registered without challenge. The first category includes marks that comprise, well, hate speech — the name of the pro football team in Washington, as an example. The second falls into Tam’s context — self-referential marks.
But the third group is different. Like a team playing defense, these trademark owners seek to register marks to keep the rest of the public from doing so.
In perhaps the most surprising result of the court’s ruling, the applicants for several of the most offensive terms did so not to sell merchandise, but to stop others from doing the same."
Article 13: Europe's hotly debated revamp of copyright law, explained; CNet, June 22, 2018
Katie Collins, CNet; Article 13: Europe's hotly debated revamp of copyright law, explained
"The European Union is trying to pass a hotly debated law on copyright. The European Copyright Directive has been two years in the making, and on June 20, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted to approve the draft legislation.
The vote happened less than a month after Europe's last big piece of internet-related legislation -- the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) -- kicked in.
Both the Copyright Directive and GDPR could dramatically impact and change things about the internet as we know it. But they also differ significantly, not just in scope, but also in how they're viewed and received by the world beyond Brussels."
"The European Union is trying to pass a hotly debated law on copyright. The European Copyright Directive has been two years in the making, and on June 20, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted to approve the draft legislation.
The vote happened less than a month after Europe's last big piece of internet-related legislation -- the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) -- kicked in.
Both the Copyright Directive and GDPR could dramatically impact and change things about the internet as we know it. But they also differ significantly, not just in scope, but also in how they're viewed and received by the world beyond Brussels."
Europe Approves 'Wildly Dangerous' Copyright Rules; Forbes, June 20, 2018
Emma Woollacott, Forbes; Europe Approves 'Wildly Dangerous' Copyright Rules
The move raises the specter of a 'tax' on linking to other sites and automated censorship of material identified as violating copyright. However, despite fierce opposition, the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) has approved the controversial Articles 11 and 13 of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.
Article 11, narrowly approved by 13 to 12 votes, requires any site linking to a third-party site with a snippet to adhere to an astonishing 28 separate copyright laws, or else pay for a license to provide the link...
Article 13, meanwhile, was approved by 15 votes to 10 and requires any site which allows users to post material to check it all against a database of copyrighted works, and even to pay for the privilege of accessing the database."
"The whole internet is set to be subject
to ContentID-type filtering in Europe, thanks to new copyright proposals
that have been voted through by the European Parliament.
The move raises the specter of a 'tax' on linking to other sites and automated censorship of material identified as violating copyright. However, despite fierce opposition, the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) has approved the controversial Articles 11 and 13 of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.
Article 11, narrowly approved by 13 to 12 votes, requires any site linking to a third-party site with a snippet to adhere to an astonishing 28 separate copyright laws, or else pay for a license to provide the link...
Article 13, meanwhile, was approved by 15 votes to 10 and requires any site which allows users to post material to check it all against a database of copyrighted works, and even to pay for the privilege of accessing the database."
Sunday, June 17, 2018
This isn’t religion. It’s perversion.; The Washington Post, June 15, 2108
This isn’t religion. It’s perversion.
"You don’t have to be a theologian to see the difference between people who do God’s work on earth and those who pervert God’s word to justify inhumanity."
"You don’t have to be a theologian to see the difference between people who do God’s work on earth and those who pervert God’s word to justify inhumanity."
Christian Leaders To Jeff Sessions: The Bible Does Not Justify Separating Families; HuffPost, June 15, 2018
Jennifer Bendery, HuffPost; Christian Leaders To Jeff Sessions: The Bible Does Not Justify Separating Families
"“It makes my blood boil,” said Matthew Schlimm, a professor of the Old Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. “Sessions has taken the passage from Romans 13 completely out of context. Immediately beforehand and afterwards, Paul urges readers to love others, including their enemies. Anyone with half an ounce of moral conviction knows that tearing children away from parents has nothing to do with love.”
Schlimm noted that people often misuse the Bible. In fact, the same passage Sessions cited has been used to justify slavery and Nazism.
“So, it’s not surprising that slave traders tore children away from their parents and tried to justify it with the Bible. Or that Nazis tore children away from their parents and tried to justify it with the Bible. Sessions follows the pattern of history,” he said. “What’s chilling is to think that we again live in such morally deranged times.”
"“It makes my blood boil,” said Matthew Schlimm, a professor of the Old Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. “Sessions has taken the passage from Romans 13 completely out of context. Immediately beforehand and afterwards, Paul urges readers to love others, including their enemies. Anyone with half an ounce of moral conviction knows that tearing children away from parents has nothing to do with love.”
Schlimm noted that people often misuse the Bible. In fact, the same passage Sessions cited has been used to justify slavery and Nazism.
“So, it’s not surprising that slave traders tore children away from their parents and tried to justify it with the Bible. Or that Nazis tore children away from their parents and tried to justify it with the Bible. Sessions follows the pattern of history,” he said. “What’s chilling is to think that we again live in such morally deranged times.”
When the US government snatches children, it's biblical to resist the law; The Guardian, June 15, 2018
, The Guardian; When the US government snatches children, it's biblical to resist the law
"As writer Rachel Held Evans points out in her new book about the bible, Inspired, nearly half of all defenses of slavery in the buildup to the American Civil War were written by Christian ministers citing scripture. Later, many white Christians anchored their objections to the Civil Rights movement in Romans 13 and a decontextualized reading of the apostle Paul.
For every passage in the bible about submitting to authority, there’s another passage about a prophet calling out the authorities. Jesus Christ, himself, was crucified for subverting religious and political authorities. At the very beginning of the Exodus story, a group of midwives disobey a king’s cruel policy targeting children.
These are the kinds of biblical stories that informed Angelina Grimké when she became one of the very few white southern women to openly support the cause of abolition. In her “Appeal to Christian Women of the South” written in 1836, she states: “If a law commands me to sin I will break it ...The doctrine of blind obedience and unqualified submission to any human power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is the doctrine of despotism, and ought to have no place among Republicans and Christians.”
There is no divine mandate requiring us to accept an unjust policy or law."
"As writer Rachel Held Evans points out in her new book about the bible, Inspired, nearly half of all defenses of slavery in the buildup to the American Civil War were written by Christian ministers citing scripture. Later, many white Christians anchored their objections to the Civil Rights movement in Romans 13 and a decontextualized reading of the apostle Paul.
For every passage in the bible about submitting to authority, there’s another passage about a prophet calling out the authorities. Jesus Christ, himself, was crucified for subverting religious and political authorities. At the very beginning of the Exodus story, a group of midwives disobey a king’s cruel policy targeting children.
These are the kinds of biblical stories that informed Angelina Grimké when she became one of the very few white southern women to openly support the cause of abolition. In her “Appeal to Christian Women of the South” written in 1836, she states: “If a law commands me to sin I will break it ...The doctrine of blind obedience and unqualified submission to any human power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is the doctrine of despotism, and ought to have no place among Republicans and Christians.”
There is no divine mandate requiring us to accept an unjust policy or law."
Saturday, June 16, 2018
I Was Fired for Making Fun of Trump; The New York Times, June 15, 2018
Rob Rogers, The New York Times; I Was Fired for Making Fun of Trump
"After 25 years as the editorial cartoonist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I was fired on Thursday.
I blame Donald Trump.
Well, sort of.
I
should’ve seen it coming. When I had lunch with my new boss a few
months ago, he informed me that the paper’s publisher believed that the
editorial cartoonist was akin to an editorial writer, and that his views
should reflect the philosophy of the newspaper.
That was a new one to me.
I was trained in a tradition in which editorial cartoonists are the live wires of a publication — as
one former colleague put it, the “constant irritant.” Our job is to
provoke readers in a way words alone can’t. Cartoonists are not
illustrators for a publisher’s politics...
The paper may have taken an eraser to my cartoons. But I plan to be at my drawing table every day of this presidency."
The paper may have taken an eraser to my cartoons. But I plan to be at my drawing table every day of this presidency."
Friday, June 15, 2018
Risotto, robotics and virtual reality: how Canada created the world's best libraries; The Guardian, June 15, 2018
Linda Besner, The Guardian; Risotto, robotics and virtual reality: how Canada created the world's best libraries
"“Access to information and pathways to learning were the great equalisers of the 20th century,” says Vickery Bowles, Toronto’s head librarian. “In the 21st century, we’re increasingly dependent on access to online services, and understanding of and comfort with that technology.”
Bowles sees a vital role of the public library in strengthening civic discourse and enabling political participation. Right now, the library is offering workshops on how to run for office or get involved in an election campaign (disclosure: I will be a paid panellist on a planned event in the library’s On Civil Society series). “We’re seeing more and more challenges to our democratic values and principles,” she says."
"“Access to information and pathways to learning were the great equalisers of the 20th century,” says Vickery Bowles, Toronto’s head librarian. “In the 21st century, we’re increasingly dependent on access to online services, and understanding of and comfort with that technology.”
Bowles sees a vital role of the public library in strengthening civic discourse and enabling political participation. Right now, the library is offering workshops on how to run for office or get involved in an election campaign (disclosure: I will be a paid panellist on a planned event in the library’s On Civil Society series). “We’re seeing more and more challenges to our democratic values and principles,” she says."
The only way is ethics: UK.gov emphasises moral compass amid deluge of data plans; The Register, June 14, 2018
Rebecca Hill, The Register; The only way is ethics: UK.gov emphasises moral compass amid deluge of data plans
"The UK government has released a guide to help civil servants figure out how to use and procure data science tools ethically as public opinion on slurping continues to circle the drain...
The Data Ethics Framework is one of the ways the government hopes to demonstrate it is taking the issue of proper use of data seriously, aiming to act as a sanity check for civil servants who work with data, either directly or indirectly.
The idea is for the framework to act as a guide to the limitations of data and data science; it sets out questions and issues to consider, such as bias or errors in data sets, algorithmic bias, fairness and accountability, and the need for transparency.
The decision to create the framework is partly down to the increasing number of non-data scientists working with data in one way or another...
In parallel with this is the government's supposedly independent Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, which was first mooted in November 2017 and aims to act as a bridge between regulators, academia, the public and business."
"The UK government has released a guide to help civil servants figure out how to use and procure data science tools ethically as public opinion on slurping continues to circle the drain...
The Data Ethics Framework is one of the ways the government hopes to demonstrate it is taking the issue of proper use of data seriously, aiming to act as a sanity check for civil servants who work with data, either directly or indirectly.
The idea is for the framework to act as a guide to the limitations of data and data science; it sets out questions and issues to consider, such as bias or errors in data sets, algorithmic bias, fairness and accountability, and the need for transparency.
The decision to create the framework is partly down to the increasing number of non-data scientists working with data in one way or another...
In parallel with this is the government's supposedly independent Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, which was first mooted in November 2017 and aims to act as a bridge between regulators, academia, the public and business."
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