News release: “A new study assessing international efforts to improve forest governance was issued together with a policy brief on 24 January 2011 by the Global Forest Expert Panel on International Forest Regime. It suggests among other things that global efforts have too often ignored local needs and failed to address the fact that deforestation is usually caused by economic pressures from outside the forests. The detailed results of the work of the expert panel, which was constituted under the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and coordinated by IUFRO, will be presented to the Ninth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) on 31 January 2011 as part of the launch of the International Year of Forests.
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Daily Archives: January 24, 2011
PFC Energy 50 Ranking of World's Top Energy Companies
PFC Energy 50: “ExxonMobil, with a market capitalization of $368.7 billion, regained the top position it has held almost every year on the PFC Energy 50 list. Last year’s leader PetroChina closed the year 18% behind ExxonMobil, following a 14% decline in its market value. Petrobras rises to #3 this year, with a $228.9 billion… Continue Reading
Health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recover record $4 billion
News release: “U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli today announced a new report showing that the governments health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered more than $4 billion in taxpayer dollars in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. This is the highest annual… Continue Reading
China: Student Informant System to Expand, Limiting School Autonomy, Free Expression
Via FAS: China: Student Informant System to Expand, Limiting School Autonomy, Free Expression (U//FOUO – “Unclassified // For Official Use Only”)- 23 November 2010, CIA-DI-10-05021 [This report was prepared by the Open Source Works, which was charged by the Director for Intelligence with drawing on language trained analysts to mine open-source information for new or… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: GAO's Performance, VA Health Care, Ryan White CARE Act
Summary of GAO’s Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2010, GAO-11-3SP, January 24, 2011 VA Health Care: VA Spends Millions on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Research and Incorporates Research Outcomes into Guidelines and Policy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services, GAO-11-32, January 24, 2011 Ryan White CARE Act: Estimated Effect of Draft Stop-Loss Provision, GAO-11-322R, January 21,… Continue Reading
Do-Not-Track" Option Now on IE, Firefox and Chrome
National Journal: Google and Mozilla both announced that they will be adding “do-not-track” options to their Internet browsers, allowing users to prevent websites from gathering personal information and selling it to advertisers. Mozilla announced its plan Sunday with Google following suit Monday. According to a company statement, Google’s “Keep My Op-Outs” feature will be available… Continue Reading
National Archives Discovers Date Change on Lincoln Record
News release: “Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero announced today that Thomas Lowry, a long-time Lincoln researcher from Woodbridge, VA, confessed on January 12, 2011, to altering an Abraham Lincoln Presidential pardon that is part of the permanent records of the U.S. National Archives. The pardon was for Patrick Murphy, a Civil War… Continue Reading
OCLC – Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community
“OCLC’s newest membership report, Perceptions of Libraries, 2010, a sequel to the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, is now available. The new report provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online habits, preferences, and perceptions. Particular attention was paid to how the current economic downturn has affected the information-seeking… Continue Reading
Conference Board – Global Business Cycle Indicators
“The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 1.0 percent in December to 112.4 (2004 = 100), following a 1.1 percent increase in November, and a 0.4 percent increase in October. Says Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: While the LEI points to an economic expansion that is gaining further traction,… Continue Reading
The UK National Identity Card and the Identification Card for EEA nationals ceased to be valid legal documents on 21 January 2011
UK Home Office: “The Government began the process of scrapping identity cards by introducing the Identity Documents Bill to Parliament on 26 May 2010. The Bill made provision for the cancellation of the UK National Identity Card, the Identification Card for EEA nationals and the destruction of the National Identity Register. This Bill has completed… Continue Reading
SEC Releases Staff Study Recommending a Uniform Fiduciary Standard of Conduct for Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
News release: “The Securities and Exchange Commission submitted to Congress a staff study recommending a uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers — no less stringent than currently applied to investment advisers under the Advisers Act — when those financial professionals provide personalized investment advice about securities to retail investors. The study,… Continue Reading
