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Daily Archives: December 7, 2016

National Intelligence Council – Global Trends 2030

Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds is the fifth installment in the National Intelligence Council’s series aimed at providing a framework for thinking about the future. As with previous editions, we hope that this report will stimulate strategic thinking by identifying critical trends and potential discontinuities. We distinguish between megatrends, those factors that will likely occur under any scenario, and game-changers, critical variables whose trajectories are far less certain. Finally, as our appreciation of the diversity and complexity of various factors has grown, we have increased our attention to scenarios or alternative worlds we might face…Extrapolations of the megatrends would alone point to a changed world by 2030—but the world could be transformed in radically different ways. We believe that six key game-changers—questions regarding the global economy, governance, conflict, regional instability, technology, and the role of the United States—will largely determine what kind of transformed world we will inhabit in 2030.”

Groundbreaking land cover data to support Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts

“The Chesapeake Bay Program today announced the completion of the Chesapeake Bay High Resolution Land Cover Project, a landmark initiative to improve information about the features of the Bay watershed landscape. The new high-resolution data on land cover—such as buildings, tree canopy and water—will support the Bay Program’s efforts to evaluate progress toward reducing the… Continue Reading

Blockchain Token Securities Law Framework

Coinbase blog: “Today, we’re excited to announce the release of a Blockchain Token Securities Law Framework. We’ve also created a Framework Tool as a guide for developers and users of blockchain tokens. As the development of blockchain tokens (also known as App Coins) continues to enable new decentralized business models, new legal issues come into… Continue Reading

Asylum Outcome Increasingly Depends on Judge Assigned

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: “The outcome for asylum seekers has become increasingly dependent upon the identity of the immigration judge assigned to hear their case. While judge-to-judge decision disparities have long existed, a detailed comparison of asylum decisions handed down by judges sitting on the same Immigration Court bench showed that differences in judge denial… Continue Reading

Testimony of Scott Amey about Burdens of Overclassification and Government Secrecy

Testimony of Scott Amey, General Counsel Project On Government Oversight (POGO) before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform “Examining the Costs of Overclassification on Transparency and Security” December 7, 2016. “…Thank you for inviting me to testify today about the state of the federal government’s classification system. I am Scott Amey, General Counsel… Continue Reading

Census Bureau Releases 2016 Determinations for Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act

“The U.S. Census Bureau released today a list of 263 jurisdictions across the nation that must provide language assistance during elections for groups of citizens who are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process. These determinations are pursuant to specifications, as amended in July 2006, in the Voting… Continue Reading