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Daily Archives: February 17, 2011

National Broadband Map Launched

“The National Broadband Map is a searchable and interactive website that allows users to view broadband availability across every neighborhood in the United States. The NBM was created by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and in partnership with 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia. The NBM is a project of NTIA’s State Broadband Initiative. The NBM will be updated approximately every six months and was first published on February 17, 2011.”

Wider Impacts of Fertilizer and Plastic Pollution on Oceans Top This Year's Priority Issues in UNEP Year Book

United Nations Environment Programme Year Book 2011 Spotlights Urgent Need for Fundamental Green Economy Shift “Massive amounts of phosphorus, a valuable fertilizer needed to feed a growing global population, are being lost to the oceans as result of inefficiencies in farming and a failure to recycle wastewater. Phosphorus pollution, along with other uncontrolled discharges, such… Continue Reading

WSJ: Technology is eating jobs

Is Your Job an Endangered Species? – “Technology is eating jobs—and not just obvious ones like toll takers and phone operators. Lawyers and doctors are at risk as well…Forget blue-collar and white- collar. There are two types of workers in our economy: creators and servers. Creators are the ones driving productivity—writing code, designing chips, creating… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Civilian Assistance to Pakistan,

Department of State’s Report to Congress and U.S. Oversight of Civilian Assistance to Pakistan Can Be Further Enhanced, GAO-11-310R, February 17, 2011 Electronic Prescribing: CMS Should Address Inconsistencies in Its Two Incentive Programs That Encourage the Use of Health Information Technology, GAO-11-159, February 17, 2011 GAO’s 2011 High Risk Series: An Update, GAO-11-394T, February 17,… Continue Reading

Federal Prosecution Data for November 2010 Released

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse report: “Federal criminal prosecutions totaled 12,494 for the month of November according to the most recent data released by the Department of Justice. The Department of Homeland Security was the lead agency for over half (57%) of these prosecutions; other agencies with substantial numbers of referrals were the Drug Enforcement Administration… Continue Reading

Sea Turtle Rescue Center

“The Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center rehabilitates about 50 injured sea turtles every year. Mostly because of accidents caused by humans, they have typically lost limbs or suffered head injuries. No other Middle East country has a full center dedicated to this task, and even worldwide there are very few. But these ancient amphibians are… Continue Reading

OPM Issues Competency Model for Cybersecurity

“The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council’s Workforce Development Subcommittee identified cybersecurity related occupations as high priorities for Governmentwide competency models. In November 2009, OPM initiated a Governmentwide study to identify critical competencies for cybersecurity work, working with the CIO Council and… Continue Reading

FOIA Request Yields FBI Documents on Expanding Federal Surveillance Laws

“EFF just received documents in response to a 2-year old FOIA request for information on the FBI’s “Going Dark” program, an initiative to increase the FBI’s authority in response to problems the FBI says it’s having implementing wiretap and pen register/trap and trace orders on new communications technologies. The documents detail a fully-formed and well-coordinated… Continue Reading