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

Daily Archives: May 24, 2010

NYT: BP Kept Using Toxic Chemical in Gulf After EPA Deadline

Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, see these updates via the New York Times: “More than a month has passed since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up, spewing immeasurable quantities of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and frustrating all efforts to contain it. The billowing plume of undersea oil and water has thwarted the industry’s well-control efforts and driven government officials to impotent rage. It has demonstrated the enduring laxity of federal regulation of offshore operations and has shown the government to be almost wholly at the mercy of BP, the company leasing the rig, to provide the technology, personnel and equipment to stop the bleeding well.”

CBO: The Budgetary Impact and Subsidy Costs of the Federal Reserve's Actions During the Financial Crisis

The Budgetary Impact and Subsidy Costs of the Federal Reserve’s Actions During the Financial Crisis, May 2010 “This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study — prepared at the request of the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee — describes the various actions by the Federal Reserve to stabilize the financial markets and how those actions… Continue Reading

AOL News Explains Environmental Working Group's Fourth Annual Sunscreen Guide

AOL News – Study: Many Sunscreens May Be Accelerating Cancer – “Almost half of the 500 most popular sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer because they contain vitamin A or its derivatives, according to an evaluation of those products released today. AOL News also has… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: DOD Business Systems Modernization, Contracting Strategies, Food Safety

Business Systems Modernization: Scope and Content of DOD’s Congressional Report and Executive Oversight of Investments Need to Improve, GAO-10-663, May 24, 2010 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program: Fraud Prevention Controls Needed to Improve Program Integrity, GAO-10-740T, May 24, 2010 Contracting Strategies: Data and Oversight Problems Hamper Opportunities to Leverage Value of Interagency and Enterprisewide Contracts,… Continue Reading

A Mindful Approach to Email

The Chronicle – Is Email Checking You? by Natalie Houston “Email is a fact of modern professional life. It’s just a communications tool. But the very features that constituted email’s improvements over earlier communications modes, such as postal mail or landline telephones, have also created problems for many users.” Continue Reading

CCH Briefing: Senate Passes Sweeping Financial Reform Bill

Senate Passes Sweeping Financial Reform Bill, May 2010: “On May 20, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to restructure the financial services regulatory system by a vote of 59 to 39. As discussed in this briefing paper, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S 3217, the Senate version of H.R. 4173) would institute… Continue Reading

President Obama Establishes Bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, this Executive Order — National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling From the Weekly Address by President Obama, May 22, 2010: “The bipartisan National Commission is tasked with providing recommendations on how we can prevent – and mitigate the impact… Continue Reading