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Daily Archives: October 9, 2013

What the Government Does with Americans’ Data

“After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the government’s authority to collect, keep, and share information about Americans with little or no basis to suspect wrongdoing dramatically expanded. While the risks and benefits of this approach are the subject of intense debate, one thing is certain: it results in the accumulation of large amounts of innocuous information about law-abiding citizens. But what happens to this data? In the search to find the needle, what happens to the rest of the haystack? For the first time in one report, the Brennan Center takes a comprehensive look at the multiple ways U.S. intelligence agencies collect, share, and store data on average Americans. The report, which surveys across five intelligence agencies, finds that non-terrorism related data can be kept for up to 75 years or more, clogging national security databases and creating opportunities for abuse, and recommends multiple reforms that seek to tighten control over the government’s handling of Americans’ information.”

OECD Skills Outlook 2013

“This first OECD Skills Outlook presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The survey was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills and how they are used at work and at home through the direct assessment of… Continue Reading

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, September 17-18, 2013

“The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on September 17-18, 2013. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board’s… Continue Reading

Gov. Brown Signs New California Privacy Laws

“California Governor Jerry Brown has signed several new Internet privacy bills into law. Assembly Bill 370 amends the California Online Privacy Protection Act by requiring that businesses disclose how they respond to Do Not Track signals or other mechanisms used by consumers to prevent the surreptitious collection of their browsing history. The Governor has also… Continue Reading

During the shutdown FDsys remains online and accessible

Via GovDocs Listserv: “Just thought I’d give this group a heads-up about what’s going on with LOCKSS-USDOCS (http://lockss-usdocs.stanford.edu) and the government shutdown. I talked with Mary Alice Baish as soon as I heard about the possibility of a shutdown. She basically told me the same thing as what was in the GPO the press release… Continue Reading

IMF World Economic Outlook Database

World Economic Outlook Database, October 2013 “The World Economic Outlook (WEO) database contains selected macroeconomic data series from the statistical appendix of the World Economic Outlook report, which presents the IMF staff’s analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups and in many individual countries. The WEO is released… Continue Reading

Fortune – 50 Most Powerful Women in Business

Nearly everyone on the list is striving to reinvent her business. Meet a group of executives who don’t sit still. “The Most Powerful Women in Business list is compiled by FORTUNE editors, who consider four criteria: the size and importance of the woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business,… Continue Reading

Pew – Partisans Dug in on Budget, Health Care Impasse

“The national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 3-6 among 1,000 adults, finds 44% say Republican leaders should give ground on their demand that any budget deal include cuts or delays to the 2010 health care law. Nearly as many (42%) say it is Obama who should give ground, by agreeing to changes… Continue Reading

Guardian – Attacking Tor: how the NSA targets users’ online anonymity

Secret servers and a privileged position on the internet’s backbone used to identify users and attack target computers, by Bruce Schneier, October 4, 2013. “The online anonymity network Tor is a high-priority target for the National Security Agency. The work of attacking Tor is done by the NSA‘s application vulnerabilities branch, which is part of… Continue Reading

Differentials in the Concentration in the Level of Health Expenditures across Population Subgroups in the U.S.

STATISTICAL BRIEF #421:  Differentials in the Concentration in the Level of Health Expenditures across Population Subgroups in the U.S., 2010. Steven B. Cohen PhD and Namrata Uberoi, MPH- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. August 2013 ‘In 2010, the top 1 percent ranked by their health care expenses accounted for 21.4 percent of total health care… Continue Reading