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Daily Archives: March 1, 2017

Intelligence Committee Chairman, Ranking Member Establish Parameters for Russia Investigation

News release, March 1, 2017: “Chairman Nunes and Ranking Member Schiff have approved the Scope of Investigation for the inquiry by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence into the Russian active measures campaign targeting the 2016 U.S. election. While the detailed, six-page scoping document remains classified, the investigation will seek to answer the following questions:

  • What Russian cyber activity and other active measures were directed against the United States and its allies?
  • Did the Russian active measures include links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns or any other U.S. Persons?
  • What was the U.S. Government’s response to these Russian active measures and what do we need to do to protect ourselves and our allies in the future?
  • What possible leaks of classified information took place related to the Intelligence Community Assessment of these matters?

To answer these questions, the Committee will seek access to and custody of all relevant information, including law enforcement and counterintelligence information, consistent with the Committee’s oversight jurisdiction and investigative responsibilities. The Committee’s inquiry will not, however, impede any ongoing investigation.  The Committee will also conduct interviews, take witness testimony, and review all reporting underlying the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) “Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.” The inquiry will seek to ensure that the ICA comported with all relevant Intelligence Community analytic standards, and that allegations of Russian collusion with any U.S. Persons and the leaks of classified information are fully investigated. While the Committee has access to the reporting underlying the ICA, the Scope of Investigation reiterates the need to expand access to those documents and to ensure they are delivered to and stored at the Committee. It also sets forth the expectation that the Intelligence Community provide any other relevant intelligence to the Committee…”

European Data Portal Version 2.0

“European Data Portal on the move. Welcome to version 2.0 of the European Data Portal! The European Data Portal is continuously developing new content and features. Version 2.0 went live on 1 March, with a more user-friendly design, new content and new features. Thank you for all the feedback, suggestions and improvements we have received… Continue Reading

U.S. Copyright Office launches updated website

“Today, the U.S. Copyright Office launched its updated website, www.copyright.gov. The website has been redesigned to be more organized, more responsive, and easier to digest. It now features a new header with global navigation and search, and expanded width in all sections to maximize screen usage. Several individual pages have been consolidated for improved navigation.… Continue Reading

Privacy, Freedom of Expression, and the Right to Be Forgotten in Europe

Kulk, Stefan and Zuiderveen Borgesius, Frederik J., Privacy, Freedom of Expression, and the Right to Be Forgotten in Europe (February 25, 2017). Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Privacy, eds. Jules Polonetsky, Omer Tene, and Evan Selinger (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2923722 “In this chapter we discuss the relation between privacy and freedom of… Continue Reading

Federal Reserve Board Beige Book – March 01, 2017

“National Summary – This report was prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York based on information collected on or before February 17, 2017. This document summarizes comments received from contacts outside the Federal Reserve System and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials. Overall Economic Activity – Reports from… Continue Reading

Processing political misinformation: comprehending the Trump phenomenon

Processing political misinformation: comprehending the Trump phenomenon – Briony Swire, Adam J. Berinsky, Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich K. H. Ecker. Royal Society Open Science. “This study investigated the cognitive processing of true and false political information. Specifically, it examined the impact of source credibility on the assessment of veracity when information comes from a polarizing source… Continue Reading

Lodging, Office and Commercial Construction Grew in 2016

“Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released monthly construction spending for January 2017 as well as revised estimates for 2016. Total construction spending in 2016 was estimated at $1,164 billion. This represents a 4.7 percent increase from 2015. Sectors that showed the largest percentage increases were: Lodging (25.4 percent). Office (25.1 percent). Commercial (11.3 percent). Private… Continue Reading

CBO – Spending on Infrastructure and Investment

Spending on Infrastructure and Investment Posted by Chad Shirley on March 1, 2017 – “The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars every year on infrastructure and other investments, either directly or through grants to state and local governments. During testimony that CBO’s Director gave at the beginning of February on the outlook for… Continue Reading

The National Academies Guide to President Trump’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine: “The President’s Joint Address to Congress focused on topics including immigration, health care, and infrastructure. The National Academies Press provides resources directly related to these issues. In keeping with our seven-year tradition of providing resources on the topics in Presidents’ State of the Union addresses, we’ve annotated the… Continue Reading