Denialism

Author: Chris

  • What is Brain Wave Vibration?

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    Sounds like a more dangerous form of Scientology, according to the Chronicle’s Scavenger Blog: …Lee’s yoga focuses on Brain Education, or as one official put it, “using your brain well.” Part of this training includes the head-shaking Brain Wave Vibration exercise…Participants take basic yoga classes and are reportedly encouraged to attend pricey workshops, retreats and…

  • Is Government Health Care Unconstitutional?

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    David Rivkin and Lee Casey consider this question in today’s Journal, explaining that the Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence limits the government’s power to unduly burden choices about healthcare: It is, of course, difficult to imagine choices more “central to personal dignity and autonomy” than measures to be taken for the prevention and treatment of disease…

  • Iran Likes DPI Too

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    Christoper Rhoads and Loretta Chao report in today’s Journal: …the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection, which enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes, according to these experts. The monitoring…

  • It Begins!

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    Obama’s honeymoon is over, and so is my intermittent blogging, because business groups have finally started their machines! Christopher Conkey reports in the Journal: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it will spend $100 million in an effort to stem the “rapidly growing influence of government over private-sector activity,” in a major new move by…

  • Frankly, I am afraid to ask…

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  • Know Privacy Report: Google Web Bugs on 88% of Websites

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    I’m very proud of the Know Privacy team, a group of three students who performed a broad analysis of online privacy issues for their master’s project at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. The study is featured today on the New York Times Bits blog. Several findings are notable: They found: “From our analysis, it is…

  • Taxing Cigarette Butts and the Buttheads Who Flick Them

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    San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed a $0.33 tax on cigarettes to address the problem of cleaning up butts! This follows an audit (PDF) of litter in the city that found cigarette butts to be a major problem (along with chewing gum, and unbranded napkins). The cigarette companies are against it: “Obviously we think…

  • The Good and Fragile Egos

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    Following up on my earlier post about Beyond Google and Evil, I just came across this article from the Wall Street Journal on one of Google’s detractors, Consumer Watchdog. Believe it or not, Google went after their funding! …In January, Consumer Watchdog circulated a press release alleging a “rumored” lobbying effort by Google to enable…

  • Beyond Google and Evil

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    I apologize for the infrequent blogging. A tough semester. I did have time, however, to publish an essay about Google’s rhetoric that might be of interest to Denialism readers. No, I’m not calling Google denialist, but am trying to explain what Google means when the company talks about privacy (most companies interpret information privacy to…

  • US Postal Junk Mail Service

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    We’re discussing a junk mail case from the 1970s in my information privacy law case. In Rowan, Justice Burger laments: …the plethora of mass mailings subsidized by low postal rates, and the growth of the sale of large mailing lists as an industry, in itself, have changed the mailman from a carrier of primarily private…