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Daily Archives: August 23, 2017

President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council Report – Securing Cyber Assets

President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) Report – Securing Cyber Assets – Addressing Urgent Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure, August 2017.

“Executive Summary: Imperative Takeaways – Our review of hundreds of studies and interviews with 38 cyber and industry experts revealed an echo chamber, loudly reverberating what needs to be done to secure critical U.S. infrastructure against aggressive and targeted cyber attacks. Cyber is the sole arena where private companies are the front line of defense in a nation-state attack on U.S. infrastructure. When a cyber attack can deliver the same damage or consequences as a kinetic attack, it requires national leadership and close coordination of our collective resources, capabilities, and authorities.

Our Assessment – The National Security Council (NSC) tasked the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) with examining how Federal authorities and capabilities can best be applied to support cybersecurity of high-risk assets. We reviewed a comprehensive dataset of more than 140 Federal capabilities and authorities, demonstrating impressive depth and complexity of Federal resources. We believe the U.S. government and private sector collectively have the tremendous cyber capabilities and resources needed to defend critical private systems from aggressive cyber attacks— provided they are properly organized, harnessed, and focused. Today, we’re falling short…”

ABA commission to develop roadmap to rethink legal education

News release: “New American Bar President Hilarie Bass will focus on redesigning legal education as one of her key priorities, and has created a commission of top legal educators and innovators to provide forward-thinking recommendations. The 10-member Commission on the Future of Legal Education will explore several of the most critical issues in legal education,… Continue Reading

Elementary English Grammar for Lawyers

Campbell, Joseph Charles, Elementary English Grammar for Lawyers (July 30, 2017). Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 17/62. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3011086 “A lawyer interpreting a text whose meaning is disputed – whether a statute or some other document that has effect in public law, or a document like a contract or a will that… Continue Reading

German library consortium advancing dynamic open access plan for scholarly journal articles

Science – A bold open-access push in Germany could change the future of academic publishing “…Over the past 2 years, more than 150 German libraries, universities, and research institutes have formed a united front trying to force academic publishers into a new way of doing business. Instead of buying subscriptions to specific journals, consortium members… Continue Reading

Report – Assessing Public Support for Public Lands – It is Huge!

FULL REPORT Public Support for Public Lands: Analysis of Comments Regarding Review and Potential Loss of Protection for America’s National Monuments PRESS RELEASE with report highlights Learn more about the national monuments issue from The Wilderness Society Read an article in Civicist about this effort “In April 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order tasking the… Continue Reading

Dept of Energy Report to Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability

“Secretary Rick Perry directed his staff to develop a report including an assessment of the reliability and resilience of the electric grid and an overview of the evolution of electricity markets. The study contains a comprehensive analysis and series of recommendations from the Department of Energy staff meant to inform and guide policy makers, regulators, and… Continue Reading

NYT – Alaska’s Permafrost is Thawing

Alaska’s Permafrost Is Thawing – “Why does this matter? Scientists have estimated that permafrost’s thawing could contribute as much as 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit to global warming over the next several centuries, independent of what society does to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels and other activities.” “The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as… Continue Reading