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Monthly Archives: April 2022

How to create the best light for Zoom calls

Tech Republic: “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, you may find yourself working from home now. In most situations, there’s no way around it and throughout the day, you’re probably having to deal with various sorts of meetings — either on the phone or via teleconferencing. And those teleconference meetings can be nothing more than two IT admins trying to solve a problem, or a corporate meeting where appearances mean more than you might imagine. For those meetings, you’re probably using Zoom. When you have to turn that camera on you for those corporate or public meetings, you should at least attempt to make yourself look as good as possible. I’m not talking about makeup and hair — although that wouldn’t hurt — I’m talking about the best lighting for Zoom calls. I’ve had to sit through enough Zoom meetings where people sat in front of their cameras or phones in poorly lit rooms and went about the meeting as though everything was perfect. No matter how important their words were, they were at times hard to watch. Too much light washing out their faces, or too little light to cast everything in shadows. How do you fix your lighting for Zoom calls? Believe it or not, it’s not that hard. I’ll give you several tips on Zoom lighting…”

Propaganda, Mis- and Disinformation, and Censorship: The War for Hearts and Minds

Via LLRX – Propaganda, Mis- and Disinformation, and Censorship: The War for Hearts and Minds – Author and blogger Dave Pollard addresses the incendiary global war of lies vs. truth, reminiscent of the MAD Magazine cartoon Spy Vs. Spy for those who of us who can recall the scenarios they played which remain eerily prescient.… Continue Reading

US and over 55 other countries commit to democratic internet governance

CNN Business: “More than 55 countries and the United States announced their commitment Thursday to defending a free and open internet, agreeing to uphold digital human rights in response to rising authoritarianism in cyberspace. The agreement, known as the Declaration for the Future of the Internet, aims to forestall an emerging “splinternet” characterized by the… Continue Reading

Out of sight: the algorithms running our lives

The Guardian –  ‘Bossware is coming for almost every worker’: the software you might not realize is watching you. Computer monitoring software is helping companies spy on their employees to measure their productivity – often without their consent…A survey last September by review site Digital.com of 1,250 US employers found 60% with remote employees are… Continue Reading

The Holy Morality of the Supreme Court’s Most Sympathetic Plaintiffs

Slate: “A few months ago, professor Katherine Franke suggested, in a conversation on my podcast Amicus, that the current Supreme Court seems to be working its way toward what she called a “tiered” system of constitutional rights, one that would, in any conflict arising between the two, almost unerringly privilege religious liberty over every other… Continue Reading

The Seizure of Jewish Intellectual Property Ahead of World War II

Library of Congress – Copyright Creativity at Work: “The following is a guest post by Marilyn Creswell, information resources assistant at the University of Michigan Law School. She served as Librarian-in-Residence at the U.S. Copyright Office from July 2020 to April 2021. [h/t Mary Whisner] As the United States enters the Days of Remembrance of… Continue Reading

Building the “Big Lie”: Inside the Creation of Trump’s Stolen Election Myth

ProPublica: Building the Big Lie: Inside the Creation of Trump’s Stolen Election Myth – Internal emails and interviews with key participants reveal for the first time the extent to which leading advocates of the rigged election theory touted evidence they knew to be disproven, disputed or dismissed as dubious. “…ProPublica has obtained a trove of internal… Continue Reading

Nations in Transit 2022 From Democratic Decline to Authoritarian Aggression

2022 Nations in Transit Report Essays Overview Essay: From Democratic Decline to Authoritarian Aggression Exiting the Gray Zone Civil Society’s Many Faces In Eurasia’s Overripe Dictatorships, Longevity Means Instability “From Democratic Decline to Authoritarian Aggression – On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a brutal invasion of Ukraine. This war, which has already displaced… Continue Reading

Freedom in the World: Ukraine Country Report

Ukraine is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2022, Freedom House’s annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide. Below are the Ukraine country reports from the past two years of Freedom in the World: 2022 Ukraine Country Report 2021 Ukraine Country Report The Eastern Donbas and Crimea regions each have their own unique Freedom in… Continue Reading

Law Firm Library Priorities for 2022 and Beyond: Enhancing Client Service Delivery and Firm Operations Support

HBR Consulting – Law Firm Library Priorities for 2022 and Beyond: Enhancing Client Service Delivery and Firm Operations Support – “The abrupt shift to a virtual environment over the past two years made law firm leaders acutely aware of the valuable role that library/information service departments play in their firms. When COVID-19 lockdowns forced us… Continue Reading