OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet (08/12/2008): “EIA estimates that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earned $671 billion in net oil export revenues in 2007, a 10 percent increase from 2006. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $194 billion, representing 29 percent of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: August 2008
Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age
“The Proliferation of the media in children’s lives has created a new “marketing ecosystem” that encompasses cell phones, mobile music devices, instant messaging, videogames, and virtual three-dimensional worlds. This report by Jeff Chester from the Center for Digital Democracy and Kathryn Montgomery from American University describes new marketing practices that are fundamentally transforming how food… Continue Reading
CBO: Contractors' Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq
Congressional Budget Office: Contractors’ Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq, August 2008. “From 2003 through 2007, U.S. agencies awarded $85 billion in contracts for work to be principally performed in the Iraq theater, accounting for almost 20 percent of funding for operations in Iraq. (Dollar amounts in this paper are in 2008 dollars.) More than… Continue Reading
Google Reports Virus Email Activity At All Time High In July 2008
Official Google Enterprise Blog: “In July, our Postini datacenters saw the biggest volume of email virus attacks so far in 2008, with a peak of nearly 10 million messages on July 24. One of the more prominent attacks in the month involved a spoofed UPS package-tracking link that was intended to lure recipients into clicking… Continue Reading
National Wildlife Federation: Proposed regulations would gut protections for Americas imperiled wildlife
News release: “The Bush Administration plans to rollback protections for Americas imperiled wildlife by re-writing the regulations of the Endangered Species Act. According to leaked documents obtained by the National Wildlife Federation, the proposed changes would weaken the safety net of habitat protections that have helped protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for… Continue Reading
Recent CRS Reports: Intel Reform at DOE, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Nuclear Cooperation With India
Via FAS: Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives, July 28, 2008 The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions, July 31, 2008 U.S. Nuclear Cooperation With India: Issues for Congress, updated July 30, 2008 Financing Issues and Economic Effects of American Wars, updated July 29,… Continue Reading
U.S. Sentencing Commission Preliminary Crack Cocaine Retroactivity Data Report
U.S. Sentencing Commission Preliminary Crack Cocaine Retroactivity Data Report, August 2008 Data As part of its ongoing mission, the United States Sentencing Commission provides Congress, the judiciary, the executive branch, and the general public with data extracted and analyzed from sentencing documents submitted by courts to the Commission. Data is reported on an annual basis… Continue Reading
National Law Journal: Vetting Jurors via MySpace
“As personal information becomes more widely available on blogs, MySpace, Facebook and other social networking Web sites, the Internet has become an important tool for jury consultants and trial lawyers. Such sites are a treasure trove of information about potential and seated jurors that can be used in picking the right jurors, bouncing potential jurors… Continue Reading
Council on Foreign Relations: Challenges for Nuclear Power Expansion
Challenges for Nuclear Power Expansion, Toni Johnson, Staff Writer, August 11, 2008. “Global construction of nuclear reactors is rising after a decades-long decline. A number of factors account for this shift, including soaring energy demand in the developing world and the threat of climate change. Most of the new interest in nuclear is occurring outside… Continue Reading
OIG: The Social Security Administration's Electronic Government Services
A-14-08-28113, 08/11/08 – Quick Response Evaluation: The Social Security Administration’s Electronic Government Services “SSA is developing a wide range of eServices to improve its services to the public because the Agency is facing what is often referred to as a silver tsunami of baby boomer claims. Due to the aging of the baby boomers, SSA… Continue Reading
EPA Library Restoration Pact Finalized
Follow up to previous postings on the EPA library closures, today this news release from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER): “The Memorandum of Agreement between the EPA and the American Federation of Government Employees becomes final today….EPA will not, however, re-open its specialized library for research on the properties and effects of new… Continue Reading
Glass Ceiling in Gubernatorial Appointments, 1997 – 2007
Appointed Policy Makers in State Government – Glass Ceiling In Gubernatorial Appointments, 1997-2007. Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, University at Albany, State University of New York, Summer 2008. [Peggy Garvin] “The percentage of top-ranking executive leadership positions held by women has increased, but not by much. By 2007, women held 35% of… Continue Reading
