Category «Freedom of Information»

Demand sharing unleashes the “power of pull” for your science research

Bruce Aron – Medium – PLEASE NOTE: This is a draft of a bit of the Open Scientist Handbook. There are references/links to other parts of this work-in-progress that do not link here in this blog. Sorry. But you can also see what the Handbook will be offering soon. “Why is Demand Sharing so important …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues April 12, 2020

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues April 12, 2020 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Government secrecy is growing during the coronavirus pandemic

The Conversation: “Students at the University of Florida who want to know how they are being protected from the COVID-19 pandemic can’t find out. The university is hiding its emergency response plan under a legal loophole intended to keep terrorists and enemy combatants – not viruses – from exploiting government weaknesses. Since the spread of …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Uncensored Library built within Minecraft

Reporters Without Borders – [see  also this YourTube video] “On March 12, the “World Day Against Cyber Censorship”, The Uncensored Library [built by BlockWorks] opened its doors. Providing access to independent information to young people around the world through a medium they can playfully interact with. Journalists from five different countries now have a place …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic

Politico: “The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the novel coronavirus spreads throughout the United States. Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Data Reveals the True Impact of the Coronavirus Outbreak

Wired –  In some countries, satellite images, internet speed, and traffic information reveal what governments won’t. “As the coronavirus crisis engulfs the planet, some think that using official data to make sense of the situation only helps so much. Governments might be deliberately obfuscating what is going on in the country—as China did in the …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Energy, Food and Nutrition, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Knowledge Management

Could the 2020 Election Be Postponed? Only With Great Difficulty. Here’s Why.

The New York Times – “With Louisiana and Georgia delaying their primary votes, we answer six key questions about holding elections in a crisis. And no, a president cannot cancel an election with executive authority…” The coronavirus outbreak is inflicting new disruptions on the 2020 presidential campaign by the day, but few compare to the …

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

Open Source directory of 5,000 Coronavirus Studies – Newspapers lift paywalls on coronavirus reporting

Vice: “A group of online archivists have created an open-access directory of over 5,000 scientific studies about coronaviruses that anyone can browse and download without encountering a paywall. The directory is hosted on The-Eye, a massive online archiving project run by a Reddit user named “-Archivist.” Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a …

Subjects: Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Knowledge Management, Libraries, Social Media

Key Source of COVID-19 Testing & Infection Data

TPM – Josh Marshall: “This seems to be the best and really only source of information I’ve seen with detailed and frequently updated data on the rate of COVID-19 testing and infections broken down by states within the United States. This is the breakdown by states. [Per the author – The utility is that it …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Medicine

Freedom in the World 2020

Freedom House – A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy – “Democracy and pluralism are under assault. Dictators are toiling to stamp out the last vestiges of domestic dissent and spread their harmful influence to new corners of the world. At the same time, many freely elected leaders are dramatically narrowing their concerns to a blinkered interpretation …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

How Information on the Coronavirus is Managed on Chinese Social Media

Citizen Lab – Censored Contagion – “Key Findings: YY, a live-streaming platform in China, began to censor keywords related to the coronavirus outbreak on December 31, 2019, a day after doctors (including the late Dr. Li Wenliang) tried to warn the public about the then unknown virus. WeChat broadly censored coronavirus-related content (including critical and …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Medicine, Social Media

As Coronavirus Numbers Rise C.D.C. Testing Comes Under Fire

The New York Times – Federal health officials botched an initial diagnostic test and restricted widespread screening. Missteps may have raised the risks to Americans, critics say. “The coronavirus has found a crack in the nation’s public health armor, and it is not one that scientists foresaw: diagnostic testing. The Centers for Disease Control and …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Government, E-Records, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Medicine