Monthly archives: June, 2011

WSJ: New-Car Prices Hit Record Highs In May

WSJ [includes data chart[: “Auto sales dropped in May, but the prices consumers paid for new cars were higher than ever. According to estimates by TrueCar.com, an industry research and forecasting company, the average transaction price for passenger vehicles in the U.S. totaled $29,817 in May, an increase of $608 or 2.1% compared with a …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

UN – Report of Special Rapporteur on promotion and protection of right to freedom of opinion and expression

United Nations General Assembly: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, May 16, 2011 “This report explores key trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet

New Publication, Web Page Shed Light on Process of Becoming a Judge

American Constitution Society (ACS): “Have you ever thought about becoming a judge? Even most lawyers and law students don’t know much about how to approach the process, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Tina Matsuoka pointed out during an event on the topic yesterday. ACS and seven other legal groups have launched a publication, …

Subjects: Courts, Legal Research

CRS – Geospatial Information and Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An Overview for Congress

Geospatial Information and Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An Overview for Congress, Peter Folger – Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy. May 18, 2011 “Geospatial information is data referenced to a place—a set of geographic coordinates—which can often be gathered, manipulated, and displayed in real time. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer data …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents

Moody's Updates on Rating Implications of US Debt Limit, Long Term Budget Negotiations

Announcement: Moody’s Updates on Rating Implications of US Debt Limit, Long-Term Budget Negotiations: “Moody’s Investors Service said today that if there is no progress on increasing the statutory debt limit in coming weeks, it expects to place the US government’s rating under review for possible downgrade, due to the very small but rising risk of …

Subjects: Government Documents

New GAO Reports: Defense Health Care, Aftermath of the Gulf Oil Spill, Taxes and ID Theft

Defense Health Care: Access to Civilian Providers under TRICARE Standard and Extra, GAO-11-500, June 02, 2011 Oil and Gas: Interior’s Restructuring Challenges in the Aftermath of the Gulf Oil Spill, GAO-11-734T, June 02, 2011 Taxes and Identity Theft: Status of IRS Initiatives to Help Victimized Taxpayers, GAO-11-721T, June 02, 2011

Subjects: Government Documents

More than 4,000 National Academies Press PDFs Now Available to Download for Free

News release: “The National Academies—National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council—are committed to distributing their reports to as wide an audience as possible. Since 1994 we have offered “Read for Free” options for almost all our titles. In addition, we have been offering free downloads of most …

Subjects: Government Documents, Knowledge Management

Petroleum Marketing Monthly, June 2011

EIA – Petroleum Marketing Monthly, June 2011 “World crude oil prices remained volatile in March. Political tensions, economic worries, and natural disasters all served to unsettle prices in markets across the globe. The growing civil war in Libya and spreading political unrest in many other Middle Eastern countries fanned worries about the availability, and unhindered …

Subjects: Government Documents

Agencies release list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies

“The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies today announced the availability of 2011 list [and lists from previous years] of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies where revitalization or stabilization activities will receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration as “community development.” “Distressed nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies” and “underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies” are designated by the agencies …

Subjects: Government Documents