Day archives: October 14th, 2020

Consumer Reports – What’s Really in Your Bottled Water?

“CR recently tested 47 bottled waters, including 35 noncarbonated and 12 carbonated ones. “For each product, we tested two to four samples. The tests focused on four heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury), plus 30 PFAS chemicals, which pose special concerns because they can linger in the environment almost indefinitely.  The federal government has …

Subjects: Economy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

The 2020 Elections: Selected Resources for Members and Constituents

CRS report via LC – The 2020 Elections: Selected Resources for Members and Constituents, October 14, 2020: “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and reports of potential election interference might raise questions for Members and constituents about the 2020 elections. Potential disinformation campaigns and changes to election procedures in response to COVID-19might make it more …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Free Speech, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Wildfires, Global Climate Change, and Human Health

New England Journal of Medicine:  “The world has already observed many devastating effects of human-induced climate change. A vivid manifestation is the several large wildfires that have occurred recently — in some cases, fires of unprecedented scale and duration — including wildfires in Australia in 2019 to 2020, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in 2019 …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Health Care

2.1 Million of the Oldest Internet Posts Are Now Online for Anyone to Read

Vice: “Decades before Twitter threads, Reddit forums, or Facebook groups, there was Usenet: an early-internet, pre-Web discussion system where one could start and join conversations much like today’s message boards. Launched in 1980, Usenet is the creation of two Duke University students who wanted to communicate between decentralized, local servers—and it’s still active today. On …

Subjects: Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Internet Freedom Has Taken a Hit During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Freedom on the Net 2020: The Pandemic’s Digital Shadow – “The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating a dramatic decline in global internet freedom. For the 10th consecutive year, users have experienced an overall deterioration in their rights, and the phenomenon is contributing to a broader crisis for democracy worldwide. In the COVID-19 era, connectivity is not …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Medicine, Privacy

Mail-In Voter Fraud: Anatomy of a Disinformation Campaign

Harvard University Berkman Klein Center – Mail-In Voter Fraud: Anatomy of a Disinformation Campaign Working paper shows Disinformation Campaign Surrounding the Risk of Voter Fraud Associated with Mail-in Ballots Follows an Elite-Driven, Mass Media Model; Social Media Plays a Secondary Role in 2020. READ THE WORKING PAPER | EXPLORE FIGURE 1 | EXPLORE FIGURE 2  “The …

Subjects: Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media