Monthly archives: March, 2025

Photos are disappearing, one archive at a time

Washington Post – no paywall: “Kira Pollack, a former editor at Time and Vanity Fair, is a distinguished fellow at the Starling Lab for Data Integrity, a research lab co-anchored by Stanford University’s School of Engineering and USC Libraries. When Hurricane Milton threatened Tampa last October, photojournalist Christopher Morris faced a familiar challenge: protecting his …

Subjects: Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Military marks vast imagery database for DEI purge

“The Associated Press obtained a database of tens of thousands of Department of Defense website images that have been flagged for removal [scroll down to middle of this article is find and search the database], or already removed due to having content that highlighted diversity, equity or inclusion. Images highlighting female service members’ contributions have …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, Education, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

National Cancer Institute Employees Can’t Publish Information on These Topics Without Special Approval

ProPublica: “Employees at the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, received internal guidance last week to flag manuscripts, presentations or other communications for scrutiny if they addressed “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics. Among the 23 hot-button issues, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica: vaccines, fluoride, peanut allergies, …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

The Benefits of a Burner Number

WSJ via MSN: “Our digits have become one of the most valuable pieces of data. Just take a look at your texts: How many authentication codes, receipts, reminders or other business messages have you received lately? There are legitimate reasons to hand over your number. And then there are…more questionable applications. (Looking at you, “free” …

Subjects: E-Records, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration

The New York Times – unlocked: “As President Trump seeks to purge the federal government of “woke” initiatives, agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid, according to a compilation of government documents…All presidential administrations change the language used in official communications to reflect their own policies. It is within their prerogative, as …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Signal President Meredith Whittaker calls out agentic AI as having ‘profound’ security and privacy issues

TechCrunch: “Signal President Meredith Whittaker warned Friday that agentic AI could come with a risk to user privacy. Speaking onstage at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, the advocate for secure communications referred to the use of AI agents as “putting your brain in a jar,” and cautioned that this new paradigm of computing — where …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

European word translator

Translate any word into over 30 languages. Enter one or two lower-case English words to see translations from Google Translate.  A few things to keep in mind: Translations are generated by Google Translate. Some may be inaccurate or use non-European (e.g. Brazilian Portuguese) words. Just one translation is provided for each word; watch out for …

Subjects: Legal Research

Judicial Secrecy

Rowe, Elizabeth A., Judicial Secrecy (December 01, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5154667 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5154667  – “This Article examines the growing phenomenon of over-sealing court records and its implications for judicial transparency. While intended to protect compelling interests such as trade secrets and other confidential information, this practice has expanded to include sealing of basic legal arguments, …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

National Parks Staff Purged – Impact to National Capital Area

Axios: “More than 750 national park workers have been fired amid the Trump administration’s purge of federal employees, per an unofficial tally shared with Axios by a park ranger. Why it matters: Our region is home to over 70 national parks that draw millions of visitors each year, from the National Mall to Shenandoah — …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Government Documents

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 8, 2025

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 8, 2025. Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Privacy