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Daily Archives: April 22, 2016

CRS – Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process

Via FAS – Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process, Paul K. Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation. April 19, 2016.

“This report reviews the process and procedures that currently apply to congressional consideration of foreign arms sales proposed by the President. This includes consideration of proposals to sell major defense equipment, defense articles and services, or the re-transfer to third party states of such military items. Under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), Congress must be formally notified 30 calendar days before the Administration can take the final steps to conclude a government – to – government foreign military sale of major defense equipment valued at $14 million or more, defense articles or services valued at $50 million or more, or design and construction services valued at $200 million or more. In the case of such sales to NATO member states, NATO, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, Congress must be formally notified 15 calendar days before the Administration can proceed with the sale. However, the prior notice threshold values are higher for sales to NATO members, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand. Commercially licensed arms sales also must be formally notified to Congress 30 calendar days before the export license is issued if they involve the sale of major defense equipment valued at $14 million or more, or defense articles or services valued at $50 million or more (Section 36(c) AECA). In the case of such sales to NATO member states, NATO, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, Congress must be formally notified 15 calendar days before the Administration is authorized to proceed with a given sale. As with government-to-government sales, the prior notice threshold values are higher for sales to NATO members, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand…”

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Via FAS – CRS report – Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs. April 15, 2016. “The United States, partner countries, and the Afghan government are attempting to reverse recent gains made by the resilient Taliban-led insurgency since the December 2014 transition to a smaller international mission consisting… Continue Reading

What’s on Television? The Intersection of Communications and Copyright Policies

Via FAS – CRS report – What’s on Television? The Intersection of Communications and Copyright Policies. Dana A. Scherer, Analyst in Telecommunications. April 20, 2016. “In the 1940s and 1950s, watching television meant tuning into one of a few broadcast television stations, with the help of an antenna, to watch a program at a pre… Continue Reading

Lewis Carroll Photography Collection

Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas: “Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Photography Collection – Writing under the name Lewis Carroll, Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898) was one of the major literary figures of Britain’s Victorian Age. Of equal significance, however, was his emergence as one of the most important photographers of the era. In 1856,… Continue Reading

Commentary – Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers

Via Bloomberg: “For residents of minority urban neighborhoods, access to Amazon.com’s vast array of products—from Dawn dish soap and Huggies diapers to Samsung flatscreen TVs—can be a godsend. Unlike whiter ZIP codes, these parts of town often lack well-stocked stores and quality supermarkets. White areas get organic grocers and designer boutiques. Black ones get minimarts… Continue Reading

Commentary – Datasets – not algorithms – might be the key limiting factor to development of human-level artificial intelligence

Via Edge – Alexander Wissner-Gross – “Perhaps the most important news of our day is that datasets—not algorithms—might be the key limiting factor to development of human-level artificial intelligence. At the dawn of the field of artificial intelligence, in 1967, two of its founders famously anticipated that solving the problem of computer vision would take… Continue Reading

Let’s Encrypt Reaches 2,000,000 Certificates

EFF: “The Let’s Encrypt certificate authority issued its two millionth certificate on Thursday, less than two months after the millionth certificate. As we noted when the millionth certificate was issued, each certificate can cover several web sites, so the certificates Let’s Encrypt has issued are already protecting millions and millions of sites. This rapid adoption… Continue Reading

Foreclosure Lawsuits Up Nearly a Third from Last Year

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – “The latest available data from the federal courts show that during March 2016 the government reported 505 new foreclosure civil filings. While this is still significantly lower than the peak monthly level of such lawsuits filed in May and June of 2012, it has increased by almost one-third (32.7%) from… Continue Reading