Author archives

‘Exit Counselors’ Strain To Pull Americans Out Of A Web Of False Conspiracies

NPR – “…Experts see this spread of disinformation as a public health emergency that’s threatening democracy, increasing the risk of further violence, and straining family relationships. It’s also taxing a bevy of “deprogrammers” who are trying to help. More commonly referred to as “exit counselors” or “de-radicalizers,” they help people caught up in cultic ideologies …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Massive camera hack exposes the growing reach and intimacy of American surveillance

Washington Post – A breach of the camera start-up Verkada ‘should be a wake-up call to the dangers of self-surveillance,’ one expert said: “‘Our desire for some fake sense of security is its own security threat.”  In one video, a woman in a hospital room watches over someone sleeping in an intensive-care-unit bed. In another, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

An Overview of Federal Regulations and the Rulemaking Process

CRS In Focus – An Overview of Federal Regulations and the Rulemaking Process, Updated March 19, 2021. “What Is Federal Rulemaking?Congress often grants rulemaking authority to federal agencies to implement statutory programs. The regulations issued pursuant to this authority carry the force and effect of law and can have substantial implications for policy implementation.When issuing …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Million Gardens Movement

“The Million Gardens Movement is a community of gardeners who want to inspire a happier, healthier world by educating people about a better diet, through funding and educating millions of new gardeners to grow their own food. In the wake of the Covid Pandemic, Frank Giustra’s Modern Farmer and Kimbal Musk’s Big Green joined forces …

Subjects: Food and Nutrition, Health Care

COVID-19 in Congress

GovTrack – “We’re tracking the impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, on the operations of Congress. In all, 126 representatives and senators have either isolated because of having COVID-19, self-quarantined after exposure, or took other action or no action after exposure — some multiple times. Of those, 71 representatives and senators …

Subjects: Congress, Health Care, Medicine

Large Majority of the Public Views Prosecution of Capitol Rioters as ‘Very Important’

“As the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies continue to pursue charges against participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the American public generally expresses strong support for continuing these efforts. Yet there are sizable partisan differences in attitudes about the riot at the Capitol, with Democrats far more likely than …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Legal Research

Cars Have Your Location. This Spy Firm Wants to Sell It to the U.S. Military

Motherboard – “A surveillance contractor that has previously sold services to the U.S. military is advertising a product that it says can locate the real-time locations of specific cars in nearly any country on Earth. It says it does this by using data collected and sent by the cars and their components themselves, according to a …

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

Hein, U.S. News, and How to Increase Citations

Willey, Rob and Knapp, Melanie, Hein, U.S. News, and How to Increase Citations (March 11, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3801190 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3801190 “Using nearly 250,000 law review articles published on HeinOnline in a five-year period, the authors analyze citation patterns and characteristics of the articles such as title length, number of authors, article length, publication …

Subjects: Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research