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Daily Archives: May 13, 2013

DOJ obtained recordings of 20 AP telephone lines

New York Times: “The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news. The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of calls. In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters. In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.”

CREW Releases New Report Examining the Influence of High Frequency Traders in Washington

“Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a new report, Rise of the Machines, detailing the growing political influence of high frequency traders in the nation’s capital. High frequency trading, a complicated and controversial method of securities trading, has begun drawing scrutiny from government regulators, prompting skyrocketing lobbying spending and campaign contributions… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: USDA, Defense Logistics, IRS Internal Controls, AIDS Relief

Agricultural Research – Two USDA Agencies Can Enhance Safeguards against Project Duplication and Strengthen Collaborative Planning, GAO-13-255, Apr 12, 2013 Defense Logistics – The Department of Defense’s Report on Strategic Seaports Addressed All Congressionally Directed Elements, GAO-13-511R, May 13, 2013 Management Report – Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service’s Internal Controls, GAO-13-420R,… Continue Reading

McKinsey – Big data: What’s your plan?

Many companies don’t have one. Here’s how to get started. March 2013 | by Stefan Biesdorf, David Court, and Paul Willmott “The payoff from joining the big-data and advanced-analytics management revolution is no longer in doubt. The tally of successful case studies continues to build, reinforcing broader research suggesting that when companies inject data and… Continue Reading

A Further Investigation into 3D Printing and 3D Scanning at the Dalhousie University Libraries

A Further Investigation into 3D Printing and 3D Scanning at the Dalhousie University Libraries: a Year Long Case Study, By Michael Groenendyk, April 26th, 2013 While libraries become increasing involved in the digitization of their various textual collections,little work has been done digitizing and preserving physical collections containing items such as artwork, textiles, insignias, and… Continue Reading

Rethinking Macro Policy II: Getting Granular

Rethinking Macro Policy II: Getting Granular. Olivier Blanchard, Giovanni Dell’Ariccia, Paolo Mauro, IMF Staff Discussion Note, April 15, 2013. “The 2008–09 global economic and financial crisis shook the consensus on how to run macroeconomic policy. It reminded us of the dangers associated with financial sector imbalances; showed the limitations of monetary policy and cast doubt… Continue Reading