Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: March 7, 2017

NYT – Activists Rush to Save Government Science Data

Follow up to previous postings – Why is federal government data disappearing? and Please support DataRescue and other open access archive efforts, the New York Times highlights efforts by proactive teams that include librarians, advocacy groups, grad students, coders, archivists and scientists – Activists Rush to Save Government Science Data — If They Can Find It – “…It is illegal to destroy government data, but agencies can make it more difficult to find by revising websites and creating other barriers to the underlying information.Already there have been a handful of changes to the websites of federal science agencies, according to the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, a new organization with researchers monitoring the content. On the E.P.A.’s website, for instance, the science and technology office had described as its mission the development of “scientific and technological foundations to achieve clean water.” Now the office says the goal is to develop “economically and technologically achievable performance standards.” Pie charts on a Department of Energy website illustrating the link between coal and greenhouse gas emissions also have disappeared. So has the description on an Interior Department page of the potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing on federal land. Changes like these appear only to reflect the publicly stated priorities of the new administration and there have been few signs as yet that federal databases are being systematically manipulated or restricted…”

“At the moment, more people than ever are aware of the risk of relying solely on the government to preserve its own information,’’ two government document librarians, James A. Jacobs, of the University of California, San Diego, and James R. Jacobs of Stanford University, wrote in an essay circulated online last week. “This was not true even six months ago.”

GAO – Antibiotics: FDA Has Encouraged Development, but Needs to Clarify the Role of Draft Guidance

Antibiotics: FDA Has Encouraged Development, but Needs to Clarify the Role of Draft Guidance and Develop Qualified Infectious Disease Product Guidance, GAO-17-189: Published: Jan 31, 2017. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2017. “Each year, over 2 million Americans get sick from bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics, and at least 23,000 die as a result.… Continue Reading

2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Unlike years past, the release of the US annual report on Human Rights Practices did not include a press conference, speeches, or discussion – the document was dropped in silence from what has been described recently as a stunningly muted State Department. See also – As Rex Tillerson considers ditching reporters, bureau chiefs hash out… Continue Reading

New interactive film experience brings Bears Ears National monument to life

“Patagonia’s most recent initiative to protect Bears Ears National Monument is a collection of interactive 360-degree films highlighting the cultural and recreational significance of the threatened region in Southeastern Utah. In This is Bears Ears National Monument, powered by Google’s 360 technology, Patagonia’s ten short films create an experience of total immersion through the storytelling… Continue Reading

CTA – Number of Streaming Video Viewers Now Equal To Paid TV Subscribers

“For the first time ever, the percentage of free or paid streaming video subscribers in the U.S. (68 percent) has caught up to the number of paid TV subscribers (67 percent), according to new research from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) ™. The new study, The Changing Landscape for Video and Content, also shows the… Continue Reading

GPO and LC release digital version of bound Congressional Record from 1971-1980

“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1971-1980 on GPO’s govinfo. This release covers debates and proceedings of the 92nd thru the 96th Congresses. This era of Congress covers historical topics such as: The Administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon,… Continue Reading

WikiLeaks posts redacted files purported to be hacked from CIA

Washington Post – WikiLeaks posts files it says are from the CIA’s computer hacking arsenal – “The anti-secrecy organization said the trove exceeded in scale and significance the massive collection of National Security Agency documents exposed by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. A statement from WikiLeaks indicated that it planned to post nearly 9,000… Continue Reading

San Francisco passes ban on selling dogs and cats in pets stores

“San Francisco officials have voted to ban the sale of non-rescue dogs and cats at pet shops as part of a concerted effort to eradicate “inhumane” puppy breeding operations in the city.  The amendment will not affect licenced breeders however it will aim to tackle the prevalence of large-scale “puppy mills”, while helping to facilitate… Continue Reading

WaPo – The astounding political divide over what it means to be ‘American’

Chris Cilliza, Washington Post – “President Trump’s second executive order banning visitors from six predominantly Muslim states from entering the country lands in an America deeply divided on what it means to be, well, American. That’s according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests that there are really two Americas right now: a Republican one… Continue Reading