Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: July 12, 2009

PBS Frontline: Ghana – Digital Dumping Ground

PBS.org FRONTLINE – Ghana, Digital Dumping Ground: “When containers of old computers first began arriving in West Africa a few years ago, Ghanaians welcomed what they thought were donations to help bridge the digital divide. But soon exporters learned to exploit the loopholes by labeling junk computers “donations”…[What is on the hard drives from this junk PCs’?] There is private financial data…credit card numbers, account information, records of online transactions the original owners may not have realized were even there. Ghana is listed by the U.S. State Department as one of the top sources of cyber crime in the world. And it’s not just individuals who are exposed. One of the drives the team has purchased contains a $22 million government contract. It turns out the drive came from Northrop Grumman, one of America’s largest military contractors. And it contains details about sensitive, multi-million dollar U.S. government contracts. They also find contracts with the defense intelligence agency, NASA, even Homeland Security.”

  • Related postings on e-waste and recycling
  • Cornell Research Study: Optimizing Web Traffic via the Media Scheduling Problem

    Optimizing Web Traffic via the Media Scheduling Problem. Lars Backstrom, Jon Kleinbergy, Ravi Kumar, 15th ACM SIGKDD Intl. Conf. on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, 2009: “Website traffic varies through time in consistent and predictable ways, with highest traffic in the middle of the day. When providing media content to visitors, it is important to… Continue Reading

    Recent CRS Reports: Tunisia – Current Issues, Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program,

    June 29, 2009 – Tunisia: Current Issues June 29, 2009 – Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program: An Overview June 26, 2009 – Iraq: U.S. Casualties June 26, 2009 – The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All-Hazard Warnings June 26, 2009 – Afghanistan: Politics, Government Formation and Performance June 24, 2009 – Potential Farm Sector Effects of… Continue Reading

    Brennan Center for Justice: Language Access in State Courts

    Brennan Center for Justice: Language Access in State Courts, Laura Abel “Nearly 25 million people in this country have limited proficiency in English (LEP), meaning that they cannot protect their rights in court without the assistance of an interpreter. At least 13 million of those people live in states that do not require their courts… Continue Reading

    Guide to the Preservation of Federal Judges' Papers

    A Guide to the Preservation of Federal Judges’ Papers, Second Edition, Federal Judicial History Office, Federal Judicial Center 2009 “The preservation of a judge’s chambers papers and other personal records establishes a foundation for historical studies that document the role of the federal judiciary in American life. The personal papers of a judge offer a… Continue Reading

    EIA – Canada Country Analysis Brief

    Canada Country Analysis Brief (07/09/2009): “Canada has considerable natural resources and is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of energy. In 2006, Canada produced 19.3 quadrillion British Thermal Units (Btu) of total energy, the fifth-largest amount in the world. Since 1980, Canada’s total energy production has increased by 87 percent, while its total… Continue Reading

    FinCEN Releases Latest Edition of SAR Activity Review – By the Numbers

    News release: “The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released its latest and 12th edition of The SAR Activity Review – By the Numbers. The report shows a continued overall rise in Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings including an increase in depository institution filings related to all seven areas of suspected fraud listed on the… Continue Reading

    IMF World Economic Outlook Update

    World Economic Outlook Update – Contractionary Forces Receding But Weak Recovery Ahead, July 8, 2009 “The global economy is beginning to pull out of a recession unprecedented in the post–World War II era, but stabilization is uneven and the recovery is expected to be sluggish. Economic growth during 2009–10 is now projected to be about… Continue Reading