Monthly Budget Review, Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for April and the Daily Treasury Statements for May: “The federal budget deficit was $941 billion during the first eight months of fiscal year 2010, CBO estimates, $51 billion less than the shortfall recorded over the same period last year. Both revenues and outlays were lower… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: June 2010
WolframAlpha Adds Computational Power for Climate Data from Around the Globe
Follow up to postings on climate change, this news release: “Since Wolfram|Alpha launched in 2009, weve had numerous requests to add data on climate. As part of our one-year anniversary release, we recently added a vast set of historical climate data, drawing on studies from across the globe, which can be easily analyzed and correlated… Continue Reading
Cambridge aims to become the worlds library with new rare books collection digitization plan
News release: “Cambridge University Library has announced visionary plans to become a digital library for the world – following a £1.5m lead gift pledged by Dr. Leonard Polonsky. Home to more than seven million books and some of the greatest collections in existence, including those of Newton and Darwin, the Library will begin digitising its… Continue Reading
New Technologies Could Reduce Fuel Use in Passenger Vehicles
News release: “A wide array of commercially available technologies can significantly reduce fuel consumption in passenger vehicles, says a new report from the National Research Council. Assessment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles reviews the technologies and provides estimates of how they would affect vehicle purchase prices…Using a 2007 base vehicle, the committee estimated… Continue Reading
FTC Announces Third Workshop on the Future of Journalism June 15 at the National Press Club
News release: “The Federal Trade Commission will hold its third and final workshop on the future of journalism at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2010. Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet for news and information. Advertisers are moving ads to online sites and scaling back on ad buys as… Continue Reading
SEC Charges Diebold and Former Executives With Accounting Fraud
Follow up to previous postings on Diebold e-voting machine controversy, this news release: “The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Diebold, Inc. and three former financial executives for engaging in a fraudulent accounting scheme to inflate the company’s earnings. The SEC separately filed an enforcement action against Diebold’s former CEO seeking reimbursement of certain financial… Continue Reading
May 2010 Disability Employment Statistics Released
Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor: “In May 2010, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 22.3. By comparison, the percentage of persons with no disability in the labor force was 70.1. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 14.7 percent, compared with 9.1 percent for persons with… Continue Reading
33% of the federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico closed to fishing
Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, this ews release: “On Saturday June 5, 2010, NOAA added 565 square miles to the fishing closed area; the change took effect at 6 p.m. Eastern that same day. The change is at the northeast edge of the closed area, and encompasses the projected movement… Continue Reading
Enhanced or Diminished by Web: Authors Question Impact to 1.8 Billion Web Users
Several articles via WSJ.com, New York Times and The Atlantic delve into arguments raised by authors of new books on the subject of the Web’s impact on acquiring, retaining and utilizing knowledge. WSJ.com: Does the Internet Make You Smarter? Amid the silly videos and spam are the roots of a new reading and writing culture,… Continue Reading
CNET: households are now paying for data delivery at least three times over
Demands for universal data plans grow louder – “Between multiple cell phones, high-speed Internet connections, and even digital TV subscriptions, most households are now paying for data delivery at least three times over, and frequently paying the same provider twice. This is ridiculous, and it’s time for some major consolidation. It’s time for a universal… Continue Reading
CSM – Top Ten Military Spending Nations; Oil Countries Post Biggest Jumps This Decade
The Christian Science Monitor, Steven Kurczy: “Worldwide military spending jumped 5.9 percent in 2009 to $1.5 trillion, according to a new report that underscores the long-term decision of many countries to prioritize defense. This is despite a recession that shrunk the global economy 2.2 percent. The US remains by far the biggest military spender, followed… Continue Reading
New Yorker: Julian Assange and WikiLeak's mission for total transparency
No Secrets, by Raffi Khatchadourian: “[Julian Paul] Assange is an international trafficker, of sorts. He and his colleagues collect documents and imagery that governments and other institutions regard as confidential and publish them on a Web site called WikiLeaks.org. Since it went online, three and a half years ago, the site has published an extensive… Continue Reading
