News release: “…Matthew M. Aid today posted a collection of declassified documents obtained for his new book The Secret Sentry on the [National Security] Archives Web site…disclos[ing] that the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was far from the first time when U.S. government officials, including senior military commanders and the White House, cherry picked… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: June 2009
New GAO Reports: Firearms Trafficking, Textile Transshipment, FDA's Review of Medical Devices, 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement
Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges, GAO-09-709, June 18, 2009 International Trade: Observations on U.S. Government Efforts to Address Textile Transshipment, GAO-09-813T, June 18, 2009 Medical Devices: Shortcomings in FDA’s Premarket Review, Postmarket Surveillance, and Inspections of Device Manufacturing Establishments, GAO-09-370T, June 18, 2009 Military Pay:… Continue Reading
Pew: As Broadband Expands Rapidly, America's Poor Lag
Pew Internet & American Life Project: Home Broadband Adoption 2009, by John Horrigan, June 17, 2009 “An April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project shows 63% of adult Americans now have broadband internet connections at home, a 15% increases from a year earlier. Aprils level of high-speed adoption represents… Continue Reading
Newly-declassified Report for 9/11 Commission Focused on Agency Info Sharing
Secrecy News: “The rise of the wall between intelligence and law enforcement personnel that impeded the sharing of information within the U.S. government prior to September 11, 2001 was critically examined in a detailed monograph (pdf) that was prepared in 2004 for the 9/11 Commission. It is the only one of four staff monographs that… Continue Reading
FTC Testifies on Efforts to Combat Identity Theft
“The Federal Trade Commission today described its comprehensive efforts to combat identity theft before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The FTC also recommended legislative remedies to enhance the effectiveness of these efforts. The testimony presented by Betsy Broder, Assistant Director of… Continue Reading
Refugees: Forced migration – Countries with most refugees, and the burden on their populations
Economist.com chart: “At the end of 2008 10.5m refugees were in the direct care of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, down slightly from 11.4m a year earlier. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq again caused the largest numbers of refugees to flee to, or remain in, neighbouring countries. Some 2.8m of the world’s refugees… Continue Reading
White House Financial Regulatory Reform: Rebuilding Financial Supervision and Regulation
Follow up to June 16, 2009 posting – Draft of the White House Financial Regulatory Overhaul Plan – the White House today released: Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation – Rebuilding Financial Supervision and Regulation – “We must act now to restore confidence in the integrity of our financial system. The lasting economic damage to… Continue Reading
U.S. Climate Change Science Program Final Reports
Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 5.2 (Best practice approaches for characterizing, communicating, and incorporating scientific uncertainty in decisionmaking) is posted. See also press release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (posted 16 Jan 2009) Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.1 (Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the… Continue Reading
Strengthening the Transatlantic Alliance: An Overview of the Obama Administration's Policies in Europe
Strengthening the Transatlantic Alliance: An Overview of the Obama Administration’s Policies in Europe, Philip H. Gordon, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Washington, DC, June 16, 2009 “Many of our European partners are among the most prosperous, democratic, and militarily capable… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Broadcasting to Cuba, Polar-Orbiting Satellites, Troubled Asset Relief Program, American Battle Monuments
Broadcasting to Cuba: Observations Regarding TV Marti’s Strategy and Operations, GAO-09-758T, June 17, 2009 Identity Theft: Governments Have Acted to Protect Personally Identifiable Information, but Vulnerabilities Remain, GAO-09-759T, June 17, 2009 Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites: With Costs Increasing and Data Continuity at Risk, Improvements Needed in Tri-agency Decision Making, GAO-09-564, June 17, 2009 Polar-Orbiting Satellites: With… Continue Reading
Report:: Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System – Bipartisan Policy Center and the Leaders' Project
“Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System, is a bipartisan agreement for comprehensive health reform reached by Senators Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and Bob Dole. It is the culmination of an inclusive year-and-a-half effort that included strategic outreach to key health care stakeholders, a series of state-based public policy forums, and… Continue Reading
KnowPrivacy Report
Joshua Gomez, Travis Pinnick, and Ashkan Soltani, UC Berkeley, School of Information – KnowPrivacy – June 1, 2009 “Online privacy and behavioral profiling are of growing concern among both consumers and government officials. In this report, we examine both the data handling practices of popular websites and the concerns of consumers in an effort to… Continue Reading
