Monthly archives: November, 2018

CRS Defense Primers

Via Secrecy News:  “Several short introductions to basic aspects of U.S. military policy have recently been updated by the Congressional Research Service. Intended for congressional consumers, they may also be useful to others.” Defense Primer: Organization of U.S. Ground Forces, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Defense Primer: Special Operations Forces, CRS In Focus, …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Government Documents

Uber’s New CEO – A Major Lesson in Emotional Intelligence

Inc.  Justin Bariso – “Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has been on the job only a matter of weeks, but a recent email to employees is proof positive that he’s the right man for the job. Yesterday, government officials in London announced that they would not be renewing Uber’s license to operate in the city. Shortly …

Subjects: Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Stanford Libraries speaker series “Information, Intelligent Machines, and New Knowledge”

“In Academic Year 2018-19, Stanford Libraries will host the speaker series, “Information, Intelligent Machines, and New Knowledge.”The series will begin in autumn with the “Discovery Sessions,” a series of presentations and discussions oriented to work going on within libraries to address the rapidly changing digital information landscape. The sessions are an exploration of artificial intelligence, digital …

Subjects: AI, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

General Motors, Sears and Toys R Us: Layoffs across America highlight our shredding financial safety net

NBC News – Millions of Americans are in danger of entering their final decades unable to afford ballooning medical bills and cost-of-living expenses. “Today’s aging workforce faces an uncertain future. The announcement this week that General Motors will lay off 15 percent of its salaried workforce and shutter multiple plants in North America was a …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

CO2 Emissions Rose for the First Time in 4 Years

Motherboard – “Meeting the goals set in the 2015 Paris Accord is arguably impossible, according to data from a new UN report. The Emissions Gap report, published on Tuesday, says that while carbon emissions stayed relatively level between 2014 and 2016, carbon emissions in 2017 went up by 1.2 percent. Composed by climate scientists using …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Documents

America’s monopoly problem, in one chart

America’s Concentration Crisis – An Open Markets Institute Report – “Monopoly power is all around us: as consumers, business owners, employees, entrepreneurs, and citizens. When we purchase everything from washing machines to groceries, website domains to medical supplies, and even when we select a coffin for a recently deceased loved one, we are constrained by …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Legal Research

What Do Lawyers and Hackers Have in Common

Via LLRX – What Do Lawyers and Hackers Have in Common – This commentary by Michael Ravnitzky is based on a thought provoking premise – “The activities of attorneys and the activities of hackers are not as different as you might expect, if you define hackers as creative, unconventional problem solvers. Each explores vast spaces …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Book Review – The unmaking of the steady job

The Nation – Ad Hoc Nation – The unmaking of the steady job. Reviewed – Temp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary, By Louis Hyman “…Today’s temps, permalancers, subcontractors, and underemployed do have an advantage that their predecessors didn’t: The effects of the gig economy permeate society more thoroughly and …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Economy, Financial System, Internet, Recommended Books

15 state attorneys general back Maryland in challenging Whitaker’s appointment

The Hill: “The attorneys general from 14 states and Washington, D.C., are urging a federal district court judge to block Matthew Whitaker from continuing to serve as Acting U.S. attorney general. The state attorneys general filed a friend of the court brief in support of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh’s request on Nov. 13 for …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

The D.C. Underground Atlas

“As many people who work in Washington, D.C. can tell you, the federal government’s taste in architecture has a special proclivity for underground tunnels. District residents navigate the tubes like human submarines, and rely on their services for basic needs like drinking water and central heat. Contributing factors include the city’s unique building height limit, extreme weather, …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Transportation