Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: October 20, 2013

UK Government Security Classifications

Reality Check – ‘For every day of government shutdown, about one million emails at CDC go unread.’

Maryn McKenna, WIRED interviewed CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden: “The broader question is, what are the outbreaks that we don’t know about? At any one time, we’re investigating 25 or 30 clusters of illness. Initially we had sent home the vast majority of the staff working on foodborne disease. When it became clear that [the shutdown]… Continue Reading

Article Concentrations and Profiles of Bisphenol A and Other Bisphenol Analogues in Foodstuffs

Concentrations and Profiles of Bisphenol A and Other Bisphenol Analogues in Foodstuffs from the United States and Their Implications for Human Exposure – Chunyang Liao and Kurunthachalam Kannan.  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2013 61 (19), 4655-4662. “As the concern over the safety of bisphenol A (BPA) continues to grow, this compound is gradually… Continue Reading

Working Paper – The Political Polarization Index

Working Paper No. 13-41 – The Political Polarization Index, Marina Azzimonti, September 2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “American politics have become increasingly polarized in recent decades. To the extent that political polarization introduces uncertainty about economic policy, this pattern may have adversely a ected the economy. According to existing theories, a rise in the volatility… Continue Reading

Gallup – Americans Report Worse Hiring Situation During Shutdown

“The shutdown clearly affected Americans’ confidence in the economy, and made them less optimistic about their own standard of living. But one unfortunate though real economic effect of the shutdown was a likely damper on hiring activity, which prior to the government’s suspending non-essential services had been the most positive since the recession ended. Both… Continue Reading

Paper – Fiscal Foundations of Inflation: Imperfect Knowledge

Fiscal Foundations of Inflation: Imperfect Knowledge, Stefano Eusepi and Bruce Preston. October 4, 2013 “This paper proposes a theory of the fiscal foundations of  inflation based on imperfect knowledge and learning. The theory is similar in spirit to, but distinct from, unpleasant monetarist arithmetic and the fiscal theory of the price level. Because the assumption… Continue Reading

Census reports sharp increase in rental of single family homes

USAToday – Many metro areas have seen significant increases in rented single-family homes since 2006, Census Bureau data shows. “At least a fifth of all occupied single-family homes were rentals last year in 32 of the nation’s top metropolitan regions, according to a USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s up from seven… Continue Reading

23 US NGOs Support EU Data Protection Regulation

EPIC: “In a letter to members of the European Parliament, a coalition of 23 leading U.S. consumer, privacy, and civil liberties groups expressed support for the new EU Data Protection Regulation. The coalition said although it “remain[s] optimistic that we will eventually update privacy laws in the United States,” until then, “the European Union offers… Continue Reading

Oman is largest oil and natural gas producer in Middle East not a member of OPEC

EIA full Backgrounder Report on Oman: “Located on the Arabian Peninsula, Oman’s proximity to the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf grant it access to some of the most important energy corridors in the world, enhancing Oman’s position in the global supply chain. Oman plans to capitalize on this strategic location by constructing… Continue Reading