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Daily Archives: April 18, 2011

Gallup: High Wellbeing Eludes the Masses in Most Countries Worldwide

“Gallup’s global wellbeing surveys in 2010 reveal that a median of 21% across 124 countries were “thriving” last year, based on how people rated their lives at the current time and their expectations for the next five years. This is unchanged from a median of 21% in 2009. The percentage rating their lives well enough to be considered thriving ranged from a high of 72% in Denmark to a low of 1% in Chad. Gallup classifies respondents’ wellbeing as “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering,” according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10 based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. People are considered thriving if they rate their current lives a 7 or higher and their lives in five years an 8 or higher.”

Digital Agenda: children using social networks at a younger age; many unaware of basic privacy risks, says survey

EU: “77% of 13-16 year olds and 38% of 9-12 year olds in the EU have a profile on a social networking site, according to a pan-European survey carried out for the European Commission. Yet, a quarter of children who use social networking sites like Facebook, Hyves, Tuenti, Nasza-Klasa SchuelerVZ, Hi5, Iwiw or Myvip say… Continue Reading

EPA Publishes National U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

News release: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the 16th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory. The final report shows overall emissions during 2009 decreased by 6.1 percent from the previous year. This downward trend was attributed to a decrease in fuel and electricity consumption across all U.S. economic sectors. Total emissions of the six… Continue Reading

TRAC: Weapons Prosecutions Decline to Lowest Level in a Decade

“The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during January 2011 the government reported 484 new weapons prosecutions, the lowest level since January 2001. The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with weapons-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) under the Freedom of Information… Continue Reading

Committee Democrats Release New Report Detailing Hydraulic Fracturing Products

“Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Edward J. Markey, and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette released a new report, Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing, that summarizes the types, volumes, and chemical contents of the hydraulic fracturing products used by the 14 leading oil… Continue Reading

EDPS opinion on EU Financial Regulation: EU budget needs clear rules on transparency, also to protect individuals' personal data

“On 15 April 2011, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion on the Commission’s proposal aimed at revising the financial rules applicable to the annual budget of the European Union (“EU Financial Regulation”). The proposal covers several matters which involve the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and by entities at… Continue Reading

CRS: Japan's 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the United States

Japan’s 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the United States, March 31, 2011 “The March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan followed by the nuclear crisis are having a large negative impact on the economy of Japan but a lesser effect on world trade and financial markets. Japan has… Continue Reading

CRS: Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies, April 01, 2011 “Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies Congressional Research Service Summary This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. In each case, the information was supplied by the agency… Continue Reading

Senate Investigations Subcommittee Releases Levin-Coburn Report On the Financial Crisis

News release: “Concluding a two-year bipartisan investigation, Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Senator Tom Coburn M.D., R-Okla., Chairman and Ranking Republican on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, [April 13, 2011] released a 635-page final report on their inquiry into key causes of the financial crisis. The report catalogs conflicts of interest, heedless risk-taking and… Continue Reading