ProPublica: The un-vetted computer engineer plugged into law enforcement networks and a database of 5 million Arizona drivers in a possible breach that was kept secret for years. by Ryan Gabrielson, ProPublica and Andrew Becker, Center for Investigative Reporting, August 26, 2014. “LIZHONG FAN’S DESK WAS AMONG A CROWD of cubicles at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
“Crisis” Management: Uncertainty and the Workplace
August 2014 EBRI Issue Brief #403 Paperback, 20 pp. Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2014 Executive Summary: “While the nation is now a few years removed from the financial turmoil that led to the so-called Great Recession, “crisis” is a word still much bandied about. Crisis is, after all, something that cries out for swift and decisive action—and… Continue Reading
Same-Sex Marriage: A Legal Background After United States v. Windsor
CRS – Same-Sex Marriage: A Legal Background After United States v. Windsor. Alison M. Smith, Legislative Attorney. August 15, 2014. “The recognition of same-sex marriage generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia. Conversely, many states have statutory or constitutional… Continue Reading
Mideast Water Wars: In Iraq, A Battle for Control of Water
Fred Pearce, Yale environment360 “Conflicts over water have long haunted the Middle East. Yet in the current fighting in Iraq, the major dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are seen not just as strategic targets but as powerful weapons of war.”…The stakes are especially high since the Islamic State’s capture earlier this month of… Continue Reading
Completing the Bridge to Nowhere: Prioritizing Oil and Gas Emissions Regulations in Western States
Minor, Joel, Completing the Bridge to Nowhere: Prioritizing Oil and Gas Emissions Regulations in Western States (June 9, 2014). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2485890 “America’s energy portfolio is rapidly changing. The hydraulic fracturing boom has spurred domestic oil and gas production, reducing natural gas prices. Natural gas is championed as a “bridge fuel” away from… Continue Reading
Google’s fact-checking bots build vast knowledge bank – New Scientist
Hal Hodson, 20 August 2014, New Scientist – The search giant is automatically building Knowledge Vault, a massive database that could give us unprecedented access to the world’s facts “GOOGLE is building the largest store of knowledge in human history – and it’s doing so without any human help. Instead, Knowledge Vault autonomously gathers and merges information from across… Continue Reading
Trends in producer prices between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail trade establishments
Lana Borgie, BLS – “In contrast to all goods-producing industries and most service-providing industries, establishments engaged in wholesale and retail trade purchase goods primarily for direct resale to other businesses and consumers. The PPI views wholesalers and retailers as suppliers of distributive services (rather than goods), because little, if any, transformation of these goods takes… Continue Reading
PACER is running out of disk space – removes cases from server
NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON PACER – As of August 10, 2014 the following information will no longer be available on PACER: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Cases filed prior to January 1, 2010 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit Cases filed prior to CM/ECF conversion U.S. Court of Appeals for the… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Federal Real Property, Regulatory Impact Analysis
FEDERAL REAL PROPERTY: GSA Should Better Target Its Use of Swap-Construct Exchanges, GAO-14-586. Published: Jul 24, 2014. Publicly Released: Aug 25, 2014: “The swap-construct approach can help GSA address the challenges of disposing of unneeded property and modernizing or replacing federal buildings, but various factors could affect future use of the approach. For example, swap-construct can require developers… Continue Reading
Unaccompanied Alien Children – Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
CRS – Unaccompanied Alien Children – Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Kate M. Manuel, Legislative Attorney; Michael John Garcia; Legislative Attorney. July 18, 2014. “Recent reports about the increasing number of alien minors apprehended at the U.S. border without a parent or legal guardian have prompted numerous questions about so-called unaccompanied alien children (UACs). Some of these questions pertain to… Continue Reading
US Wi-Fi Report – July 2014
OpenSignal: “Public Wi-Fi has transformed the way we stay connected, enabling a whole generation of start-ups to be created in cafes and other ad-hoc workspaces. Cafes are now seem almost as likely to publicly advertise their Wi-Fi network as they are the quality of their coffee. As we grow more demanding of Wi-Fi, expecting to… Continue Reading
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program: Two Decades of Service to Underserved Women
Wiley Online Library – Cancer, Vol 120 – Sponsored by the CDC – Open Access – Supplement: National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program: Two Decades of Service to Underserved Women. August 15, 2014. Volume 120, Issue S16, Pages i–vii, 2537–2624. “The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program is the only nationally organized cancer screening program for underserved women in the… Continue Reading
