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Daily Archives: February 28, 2010

Authority of Clean Water Act at Odds With Supreme Court Decisions

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New York Times: “Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators. As a result, some businesses are declaring that the law no longer applies to them. And pollution rates are rising. Companies that have spilled oil, carcinogens and dangerous bacteria into lakes, rivers and other waters are not being prosecuted, according to Environmental Protection Agency regulators working on those cases, who estimate that more than 1,500 major pollution investigations have been discontinued or shelved in the last four years.

  • “The two Supreme Court decisions at issue — Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2001 and Rapanos v. United States in 2006 — focused on the federal government’s jurisdiction over various wetlands. In both cases, dissenting justices warned that limiting the power of the federal government would weaken its ability to combat water pollution.“Cases now are lost because the company is discharging into a stream that flows into a river, rather than the river itself,” said David M. Uhlmann, a law professor at the University of Michigan who led the environmental crimes section of the Justice Department during the last administration.”

    • EEOC Issues New Data on Job Patterns in Private Sector

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    News release: “The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has posted extensive new data on job patterns in the private sector, as part of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative. The EEOC posted 11 new aggregate data sets from the most recent edition of its report Job Patterns for Minorities and Women in Private Industry,… Continue Reading

    New Study: More Than 825,000 Adults in NYC Do Not Have Bank Or Credit Card Accounts

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    News release: “Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Jonathan Mintz today announced that more than 825,000 adult New Yorkers do not have bank accounts, but instead use fringe financial services like check cashers to pay bills, cash payroll checks, buy money orders and conduct other financial transactions. To help New Yorkers transition from using high-cost… Continue Reading

    Cisco Retail Banking Survey Finds Generation Y Consumers' Needs Will Transform Retail Banking

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    News release: “Cisco announced the findings of a retail banking study that suggests banks have an opportunity to increase revenues up to 10 percent by embracing Generation Y consumers. Conducted by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Cisco’s global consultancy, the study surveyed 1,055 U.S. consumers to better understand their financial priorities, service expectations… Continue Reading

    Google: Refine your searches by location

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    Official Google Blog: “Location has become an important part of the way we search. If you’re a foodie looking for restaurant details, food blogs or the closest farmer’s market, location can be vital to helping you find the right information….we’ve added the ability to refine your searches with the “Nearby” tool in the Search Options… Continue Reading

    Study Ranks Top 20 Companies for Privacy in 2010, Facebook Drops Off List

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    EPIC: “Ponemon Institute released its annual study identifying the top twenty companies that are most trusted for privacy. American Express was ranked first, earning the Most Trusted for Privacy distinction for the fifth year in a row. Facebook suffered several privacy missteps over the last year, including a recent change in privacy settings at the… Continue Reading

    President Obama Signs Extension of Patriot Act

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    Related postings on Patriot Act and this recent CRS report: Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization to accompany the following news and documents: Obama Signs Patriot Act Reauthorization ACLU: Congress Drops the Ball on Upgrading Patriot Protections U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General… Continue Reading

    DOD Policy on Social Networking Services

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    Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-026 – Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities, February 25, 2010 “This memorandum establishes DoD policy and assigns responsibilities for responsible and effective use of Internet-based capabilities, including social networking services (SNS) [Internet-based capabilities. All publicly accessible information capabilities and applications available across the Internet in locations not owned, operated, or… Continue Reading

    Semiautomatic assault weapons no longer among firearms to which the ten-year minimum sentence applies

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    Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, November 24, 2009: “You have asked whether possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime is conduct that remains subject to a mandatory ten-year minimum sentence. Having carefully considered the views of the Criminal Division and… Continue Reading