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Monthly Archives: November 2013

EIA – Russia Country Analysis Brief

Russia is the second-largest producer of dry natural gas and third-largest liquid fuels producer in the world. Despite its significant reserves of coal, it produces only modest amount of coal. Russia’s economy is highly dependent on its hydrocarbons, and oil and gas revenues account for more than 50% of the federal budget revenues. Russia is a major producer and exporter of oil and natural gas, and its economy largely depends on energy exports. Russia’s economic growth continues to be driven by energy exports, given its high oil and gas production and the elevated prices for those commodities. Oil and gas revenues accounted for 52% of federal budget revenues and over 70% of total exports in 2012, according to PFC Energy. Russia was the world’s third-largest producer of oil (after Saudi Arabia and the United States) Preliminary data for 2013 show that Russia still is the third-ranked producer of total liquids, with average production at 10.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) through September 2013. Russia was the second-largest producer of natural gas in 2012 (second to the United States). Russia is the third-largest generator of nuclear power in the world and fourth-largest in terms of installed capacity. With ten nuclear reactors currently under construction, Russia is the second country in the world in terms of number of reactors under construction in 2012, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russia consumed 32.77 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in 2011, the majority of which was in the form of natural gas (56%). Petroleum and coal accounted for 19% and 14%, respectively.”

A Corporate Governance Breakdown – Exposing companies to greater risk of fraud and corruption

Deloitte: “Internal auditors play a vital role in reducing the risk of fraud, corruption and other corporate wrongdoing. Yet, according to Deloitte’s new analysis of member survey data from The Institute of Internal Auditors (“IIA”), 62 percent or more of internal audit (“IA”) functions at public companies globally do not comply with all of the… Continue Reading

BIS – Property price statistics

“The property price statistics bring together data from different countries. The BIS, with the assistance of its member central banks, 1 has obtained approval of various national data providers to disseminate the statistics as long as the original national sources are clearly indicated. The sources and any relevant disclaimers are listed separately (sources of data). Copyright in these data must… Continue Reading

WordPress – Striking Back Against Censorship

“The mission of WordPress.com is to democratize publishing. We’re inspired every day by the ways creators use our platform to bring their voices to the world. Unfortunately, we also see many cases of censorship aimed at WordPress.com authors and users. One area where we’ve seen a number of problems is the censoring of criticism through abuse… Continue Reading

BLS – Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012

“In 2012, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $691. On average in 2012, women made about 81 percent of the median earnings of male full-time wage and salary workers ($854). In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women earned 62 percent of  what men earned. This report presents data highlights and statistical… Continue Reading

The Boston Bombing Digital Archive

“The Boston Marathon is woven into the fabric of our community: it brings together runners from around the world, spectators, family members, and neighbors, forging a river of people stretching from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. The April 15, 2013 bombing at the marathon finish line aimed to destroy that fabric. We invite you to help mend… Continue Reading

Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law

Bigo, Didier and Carrera, Sergio and Hernanz, Nicholas and Jeandesboz, Julien and Parkin, Joanna and Ragazzi, Francesco Rossi and Scherrer, Amandine, Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law (November 6, 2013). Liberty and Security in Europe Papers No. 61. Available at SSRN. “In the wake of the… Continue Reading

Politico – Surprisingly large’ numbers of young people enrolling in health coverage

POLITICIO’s Natalie Villacorta [behind a paywall: “Initial numbers from several corners of the country show that nearly a quarter of new enrollees have been between 18 and 35 years of age, the demographic bubble whose general vigor and well-being is crucial to the financial stability of Obamacare’s new health exchanges. They’re waiting through website error… Continue Reading

Reframing Commodity Pools in the Wake of Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule

Reframing Commodity Pools in the Wake of Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule by Jenny Liu, Cornell Law Review, Volume 99 Issue 1. 2013. “The massive financial disaster of 2008 and the international credit catastrophe that subsequently developed was a “historic economic crisis” that led to a near collapse of the U.S. and global economic systems. In its aftermath, widespread demands for regulatory reform… Continue Reading

Broad Agency Announcement Cyber Grand Challenge: Automated Cyber Reasoning

Broad Agency Announcement – Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC): Automated Cyber Reasoning. DARPA-BAA-14-05, Amendment 2, November 27, 2013. “The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains information systems using a software technology base comprised of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) operating systems and applications. This COTS technology base is common to the DoD, industry, and the Defense Industrial Base,… Continue Reading

Law Review article – Becoming the Fifth Branch

Becoming the Fifth Branch, William A. Birdthistle; Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago-Kent College of Law, M. Todd Henderson, University of Chicago – Law School. Cornell Law Review, Vol. 99, 2013 and University of Chicago Institute for Law & Economics Olin Research Paper No. 618. “Observers of our federal republic have long acknowledged that a fourth branch of government comprising administrative… Continue Reading

Reaching Zero: Actions to Eliminate Alcohol-Impaired Driving

DOT NTSB Gov Doc: Reaching Zero: Actions to Eliminate Alcohol-Impaired Driving. NTSB/SR-13/01, PB2013-106566, Notation 8482. Adopted May 14, 2013 “On average, every hour, one person dies in a crash involving a drunk driver and 20 more people are injured, including three with debilitating injuries. That adds up quickly to yearly totals of nearly 10,000 deaths, 27,000 lives forever altered… Continue Reading