“A fast-growing FBI data-mining system billed as a tool for hunting terrorists is being used in hacker and domestic criminal investigations, and now contains tens of thousands of records from private corporate databases, including car-rental companies, large hotel chains and at least one national department store, declassified documents obtained by Wired.com show. Headquartered in Crystal… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: September 2009
BLS: Mass Layoffs Summary, August 2009
News release: “Employers took 2,690 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separation of 259,307 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number of mass… Continue Reading
Corporations, NGOs, and Foundations Announce 13 New Commitments to Empower Girls and Women
Follow up to August 23, 2009 posting – “Why Women’s Rights Are The Cause of Our Time” – today’s news release: “Millions of girls and women will have access to improved health care, better education, and increased economic opportunity because of commitments made today at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI),… Continue Reading
Report Shows Health Care Costs Will Skyrocket to Nearly $29,000 per Employee in the Next Decade Without Effective Reform
News release: “A new report released by Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, finds that annual per employee health care costs will triple to nearly $29,000 over the next decade without significant marketplace reforms that reduce costs, expand coverage and improve delivery. These runaway costs, combined with a $56… Continue Reading
Advocacy Group: Court Finds USDA Violated Federal Law by Allowing Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets on the Market
“In a case brought by Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice representing a coalition of farmers and consumers, a Federal Court ruled yesterday that the Bush USDAs approval of genetically engineered (GE) RoundUp Ready sugar beets [note: sugar beets produce 30 percent of the world’s sugar] was unlawful. The Court ordered the USDA to conduct… Continue Reading
NTSB Ongoing Review of DC Metro Crash Raises Serious Safety Concerns
Washington Post: Rail Agencies Told to Check Systems for Signal Failure – Federal Probe Raises Concerns Nationally: “Federal investigators issued urgent safety recommendations nationwide Tuesday about the train control system at the center of the fatal Metro crash in June. The investigators, while not officially declaring a cause for the crash, say a possible design… Continue Reading
HHS – Fighting Back Against Cancer: Health Insurance Reform & Cancer in America
Fighting Back Against Cancer: Health Insurance Reform & Cancer in America, September 2009 “Rising health care costs leave a growing number of Americans either uninsured or with insurance that does not provide the coverage they need and deserve especially the 11 million Americans with cancer. The results of a recent survey estimated that 72… Continue Reading
An Overview of Successful National Broadband Goals from Around the Globe
An Open Technology Initiative Policy Brief – 100 Megabits or Bust! An Overview of Successful National Broadband Goals from Around the Globe, By Chiehyu Li and James Losey, New American Foundation, September 17, 2009 When the Federal Communications Commission delivers a National Broadband Plan to Congress in February 2010 the United States will not be… Continue Reading
Housing Costs for Homeowners With Mortgages: 2007 and 2008 American Community Surveys
Housing Costs for Homeowners With Mortgages: 2007 and 2008 American Community Surveys, American Community Survey Reports Issued September 2009: “This report presents data on median selected monthly housing costs for homeowners with mortgages at the national and state levels based on the 2007 ACS and 2008 ACS. It also ranks the states by their 2008… Continue Reading
Men's and Women's Earnings by State: 2008 American Community Survey
Mens and Womens Earnings by State: 2008 American Community Survey, American Community Survey Reports, issued September 2009: “This report is one of a series produced to highlight results from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS). The report series is designed to cover a variety of economic topics, such as poverty, occupation, home values, and labor… Continue Reading
DOD COMISAF Initial Assessment (Unclassified) — Searchable Document
Washington Post: “The Department of Defense on Sunday evening released a declassified version of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s [Commander – NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan U.S. Forces, Afghanistan] assessment of the war in Afghanistan. The Post agreed to publish this version [searchable], which includes minor deletions of material that officials said could compromise future… Continue Reading
Recent CRS Reports on Qui Tam
Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes, August 6, 2009 – “Qui tam enlists the public in the recovery of civil penalties and forfeitures. It rewards with a portion of the recovered proceeds those who sue in the governments name. A creature of antiquity, once common, today qui tam lives on in… Continue Reading
