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Daily Archives: February 27, 2015

EPIC Files Lawsuit for Details About Government “Pre-crime” Program

“EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit about “Future Attribute Screening Technology”, a “Minority Report” program that purports to identify individuals who will commit crimes in the future. EPIC filed the complaint after the DHS failed to respond to EPIC’s FOIA request for information. EPIC charged that the agency uses secret algorithms to identify behavioral “abnormalities” that the agency claims indicate “mal intent.” “Minority Report” is a 2002 movie with Tom Cruise about “a special police unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crime.”

Annual Survey of Manufactures: 2013

Via the Census – “National-level data for manufacturing industry groups and industries at the three-, four-, five- and six-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) levels. Provides statistics on employment, payroll, supplemental labor costs, cost of materials consumed, operating expenses, value of shipments, value added by manufacturing, fuels and electric energy used, and inventories. Also provides statistics… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Central America, Disaster Relief, Elections, Food Safety, Indian Affairs, Rural Water, Transportation Safety

Central America: Information on Migration of Unaccompanied Children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, GAO-15-362: Published: Feb 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2015. Disaster Relief: Agencies Need to Improve Policies and Procedures for Estimating Improper Payments, GAO-15-209: Published: Feb 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2015. Elections: Issues Related to State Voter Identification Laws… Continue Reading

IRS – Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance

“Identity theft places a burden on its victims and presents a challenge to businesses, organizations and government agencies, including the IRS. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen social security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. The IRS combats tax-related identity theft with an aggressive strategy of prevention, detection… Continue Reading

How Mortgage Finance Affects the Urban Landscape

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report – How Mortgage Finance Affects the Urban Landscape. February 2015. Number 713. Sewin Chan, Andrew Haughwout, and Joseph Tracy. “This chapter considers the structure of mortgage finance in the U.S., and its role in shaping patterns of homeownership, the nature of the housing stock, and the organization of residential activity.… Continue Reading

Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress

Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress. Jane A. Leggett, Coordinator, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy. February 23, 2015. “This report reviews current actions (as of January 2015) of selected federal departments and agencies to adapt their own missions, infrastructure, operations, and personnel to projected climate change.… Continue Reading

Financing of the Terrorist Organisation Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

“FATF’s report on the financing of the Financing of the Terrorist Organisation Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) analyses how this terrorist organisation generates and uses its funding.  This knowledge is crucial in order to determine how FATF and the international community can choke off ISIL funding..  This knowledge is crucial in order to… Continue Reading