Evil Weather

Arctic cold spreads across the country:

"The entire country is about to get a taste of the arctic air that's blown in. By Friday there will be freezing temperatures in all 50 states."

Wow! That'll be a shocker for Hawaiians, for sure...

Only Eight States to Dodge Icy Air From Slipping Polar Vortex:

"Only the Southwest, Hawaii, Alaska and South Florida will escape the grip of the upcoming arctic blast that the polar vortex can be blamed for."

Oh. That makes a lot more sense. Never mind.

Links!

• Libraries, Books, & Authors
• Book ban vote in Kennett: Censorship dies an ugly death 
• Thai police ban British journalist's book for 'defaming' royals 
• Libraries again fight for exemptions from “Digital Locks” copyright law 
• ALA to host copyright policy discussion in Washington, D.C. 
• ALA welcomes President Obama’s strong affirmation of net neutrality 
• Feminist, Bae, Turnt: Time’s ‘Worst Words’ List Is Sexist and Racist "With better curation, Time’s annual word-banishment polls could function as harmless communal exercises in which we collectively laugh at words or phrases that are past their prime. But after four years of these polls, a worrying trend is starting to emerge, one that runs far deeper than this year’s misguided inclusion of the F-word [Jude's note: 'Feminist,' not the other F-word]: The polls inordinately target slang and vernacular used by people of color and young white women."
• Nominations open for Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity 
• Cool Stuff Librarians Do: Librarians Without Borders 
• Net & Tech
• SpaceX Will Soon Be Launching Satellites For “Unfettered, Low Cost” Internet 
• BND to hire hackers to check shopping carts 
• The 'infosphere': Where philosophy meets technology "Out of this come a series of big questions. But why should we ask a specialist in philosophy to tackle them? Here's why, says Prof Floridi: We need philosophy to grasp better the nature of information itself.  We need it to anticipate and steer the ethical impact of information and communications technologies on us and our environment. We need it to improve the economic, social and political dynamics of information.  And - he says - we need philosophy to develop the right intellectual framework to help us give meaning to, and make sense of, our new predicament."
• Chinese hack U.S. weather systems, satellite network Is that why it's gotten so cold? No, of course not. "Hackers from China breached the federal weather network recently, forcing cybersecurity teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses, officials said."
• Senate poised to vote on USA Freedom Act as early as next week 
• Net Neutrality News
• Comcast, stop saying you 'agree with the President' on net neutrality 
• Conservatives Overwhelmingly Back Net Neutrality, Poll Finds 
• Is net neutrality really 'Obamacare for the internet'? TL,DR: Don't be silly. Related: Cartoon: Net Neutrality is... Obamacare? Also related: Republican Politicians Are Fighting Net Neutrality, but Their Constituents Support It 
• The companies lobbying furiously against strong net neutrality, in one chart 
• Tea Party group attacks Net Neutrality: Treating all websites the same isn’t fair 
• Science
• Should Dying Patients Have The Right To Access Experimental Treatments? 
• Sierra Leone hospital closes after doctor gets Ebola 
• Family of Ebola Victim Thomas Eric Duncan Settles With Dallas Hospital 
• Philae Robot Makes Historic Landing On Comet Related: Rosetta Blog 
• Playing Video Games Is Good For Your Brain – Here’s How 
• International
• Mexican Police Shoot US Teen Near Border 
• US soldiers attacked with dye in Istanbul by nationalist youth group 
• Vatican public restrooms to include showers for the homeless 
• Other
• Churches to offer spaces of prayer, safety after Ferguson grand jury speaks 
• Coal Mines Keep Operating Despite Injuries, Violations And Millions In Fines 
• The truth about the dungeon master who disappeared in the steam tunnels 
• A Glimmer Of Hope In The Fight Against Hunger In America 
• Holidays’ names stricken from next year’s Montgomery schools calendar 
• Homeless Woman's Last Letter Home Reveals Hawaii's Heartbreaking Problem