All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Alabama lieutenant governor tests positive for COVID-19 | TheHill

Alabama’s lieutenant governor tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday after previously criticizing a statewide mask mandate.

“After being notified this afternoon that a member of my Sunday school church group had acquired the coronavirus, I was tested out of an abundance of caution and received notice that the results proved positive,” Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth (R) said in a statement.

Source: Alabama lieutenant governor tests positive for COVID-19 | TheHill

Schumer says briefing on Iranian election interference didn’t convince him effort was meant to hurt Trump | TheHill (Iran/Russia together trying to undermine US faith in democracy… Iran helping their friend Putin?)

“I’m not saying what he told me in their briefing, I can tell you that from the briefing I had the strong impression it was much rather to undermine confidence in elections and not aimed at any particular figure, but rather to undermine the very wellspring of our democracy,” he said.

“That was my strong impression at the meeting. I did not get the impression it was aimed at any political figure, and I’m surprised that DNI Ratcliffe said that at this press conference,” he added.

Source: Schumer says briefing on Iranian election interference didn’t convince him effort was meant to hurt Trump | TheHill

How Facebook censorship helps suppress dissent in Vietnam – Los Angeles Times

Believing a confrontation was inevitable, the 40-year-old Thuan condemned the country’s leaders in a Jan. 7 post. “Your crimes will be engraved on my mind,” he wrote. “I know you — the land robbers — will do everything, however cruel it is, to grab the people’s land.”

Facebook blocked his account the next day at the government’s insistence, preventing 60 million Vietnamese users from seeing his posts.

Source: How Facebook censorship helps suppress dissent in Vietnam – Los Angeles Times

Judge dismisses third-degree murder charge against officer in Floyd death | TheHill (2nd degree homicide charge still in place)

Chauvin still faces the more serious charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Cahill also ruled against dismissing the aiding and abetting charges of Kueng, Lane and Thao.

Cahill has yet to decide on whether the four officers will be tried together in a single trial and if the trial will take place outside of Hennepin County.

Source: Judge dismisses third-degree murder charge against officer in Floyd death | TheHill

Russian court fines ventilator-manufacturer for shoddy production. The same company made the devices that were shipped in April to the U.S., which later dumped them in the trash. — Meduza

An arbitration court in the Sverdlovsk region has fined the Ural Instrument Making Plant 500,000 rubles ($6,500) for manufacturing faulty equipment after federal regulators discovered violations of licensing requirements in the production, maintenance, and circulation of medical devices.

Source: Russian court fines ventilator-manufacturer for shoddy production. The same company made the devices that were shipped in April to the U.S., which later dumped them in the trash. — Meduza

Stalin Terror echoes in monstrous sentences for totally fictitious ‘Network’ in Putin’s Russia – Human Rights in Ukraine

Russia’s Military Court of Appeal has upheld sentences of between 6 and 18 years against seven young left-wing activists from Penza.  Although there is nothing unusual in today’s Russia about political trials on fabricated charges, this case did stand out since the men were all charged with involvement in a supposed ‘terrorist’ organization that never existed.  The fictitious nature of the so-called ‘Network’ [«Сеть»] was just one of the eery echoes from the height of Stalin’s Terror in 1937 era in this case.  Source: Stalin Terror echoes in monstrous sentences for totally fictitious ‘Network’ in Putin’s Russia – Human Rights in Ukraine

via aleksey godin

Open Access Must Be the Rule, Not the Exception | Electronic Frontier Foundation

open licenses and pledges are only the beginning of the discussion about how we can remove legal obstacles to sharing urgently needed innovation. As we’ve discussed before, one way is to harness the power of existing patent law. There’s a provision that lets the US government use or authorize others to use any invention “described in and covered by a patent of the United States” in exchange for reasonable compensation. In other words, the government could license itself or others to use any patented technology to diagnose, treat, or stop the spread of COVID-19. (If a patent-owner wanted to sue for infringement, it would sue the United States, not the licensee.) The government can do that under current law, with no need to get a bill through legislative gridlock. But that’s not enough either. Rising to the many challenges facing society today requires going to the source—how scientific research is funded and published as well as the legal entanglements that can come with that research. The good news is that the open access community has made progress. Although Congress has failed multiple times to pass a comprehensive open access law, current Executive Branch policies require that

Source: Open Access Must Be the Rule, Not the Exception | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Sharon Blackie ~ Becoming Who We Are — Laura Bruno’s Blog

This newsletter/post by Dr. Sharon Blackie came through at such a synchronous moment for me — a series of reassurances that began with a dream and continued to unfold for over an hour. It’s a beautiful, encouraging post in these times of certain change and uncertain outcomes. Highly recommended, affirming post. You can read it […]

Sharon Blackie ~ Becoming Who We Are — Laura Bruno’s Blog