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Daily Archives: August 29, 2013

New Leaked Documents Reveal $52B National Intelligence Program Budget

Washington Post – By Barton Gellman and Greg Miller: “U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government’s top-secret budget. The $52.6 billion “black budget” for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post… Continue Reading

10 leading causes of death in the world, 2000 and 2011

World Health Organization: “Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive lung disease, diarrhoea and HIV/AIDS have remained the top major killers during the past decade. Tuberculosis is no longer among the 10 leading causes of death, but is still among the top 15, killing one million people in 2011. Chronic diseases cause increasing… Continue Reading

Creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation and Its Staff

Yin, George K., James Couzens, Andrew Mellon, the ‘Greatest Tax Suit in the History of the World,’ and Creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation and Its Staff (January 15, 2013). Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2012-10; Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2012-61. Available at SSRN “In early 1924,… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Farm Programs, Border Security, Foreign Assistance, Global Manufacturing

Farm Programs -Additional Steps Needed to Help Prevent Payments to Participants Whose Incomes Exceed Limits, GAO-13-741, Aug 29, 2013 Border Security – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Taken Steps to Address GAO’s Recommendations Aimed at Ensuring Officers Are Fully Trained, GAO-13-768R, Aug 28, 2013 Border Security – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Provides Integrity-Related… Continue Reading

FDIC-Insured Institutions Earned $42.2 Billion in 2nd Qtr of 2013

News release: “Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported aggregate net income of $42.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013, a $7.8 billion (22.6 percent) increase from the $34.4 billion in profits that the industry reported a year earlier. This is the 16th consecutive quarter that earnings… Continue Reading

NOAA report highlights climate change threats to nation’s estuaries

“The nation’s 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR) are experiencing the negative effects of human and climate-related stressors according to a new NOAA research report from the National Ocean Service.  The national study, Climate Sensitivity of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, points to three East Coast reserves, Sapelo Island NERR in Georgia, ACE Basin… Continue Reading

New report surfaces impact of sequestration on federally funded scientists

“Unlimited Potential, Vanishing Opportunity highlights the data gathered from a survey of over 3,700 scientists from all fields of research. The survey was conducted by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and 15 partner organizations during the summer. This report chronicles the effects of federal budget cuts on the American research enterprise from… Continue Reading

Google adds new etymology & history details for definitions

Via a Googler: “When searching for a definition on Google Search on google.com on desktop and mobile, look for new details for etymology and history. For example, if you search for [define suffrage], you’ll learn that the word originates from both Latin and French (you can also search directly for [suffrage etymology]). Below “Origin,” see… Continue Reading

Remarks by the President at Ceremony Commemorating 50th Anniversary of March on Washington

Remarks by the President at the “Let Freedom Ring” Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28, 2013. “We shouldn’t fool ourselves.  The task will not be easy.  Since 1963, the economy has changed.  The twin forces of technology and global competition have subtracted those jobs that once provided a foothold… Continue Reading