Welcome to the age of data: Watch your back! by Molly Wood “This week’s iPhone location tracking scandal is just the latest glaring spotlight on how much of your personal information is gushing out the door, whether unprotected on your own devices and ripe for the picking, or into corporate and botnet servers worldwide. Personal… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2011
CRS: Overview of Immigration Issues in the 112th Congress
Overview of Immigration Issues in the 112th Congress, Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy, March 21, 2011 “The number of foreign-born people residing in the United States is at the highest level in U.S. history and has reached a proportion of the U.S. population12.5%not seen since the early 20th century. Of the 38 million… Continue Reading
How to Remove Radioactive Iodine-131 from Drinking Water
Use a water softener, carbon filter, reverse osmosis system, and boil the water in a way that blows the radioactive steam out of your environment, By Jeff McMahon – Forbes “The Environmental Protection Agency recommends reverse osmosis water treatment to remove radioactive isotopes that emit beta-particle radiation. But iodine-131, a beta emitter, is typically present… Continue Reading
Gallup: Americans' Ratings of Their Finances Remain at Low Point
Poll: “Less than half of Americans rate their current financial situations as “excellent” or “good” (42%), on par with the 10-year low Gallup measured last year. Gallup first asked Americans to rate their financial situations on the excellent/good/only fair/poor scale in August 2001, and has asked the question at least annually since then. A majority… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Contingency Contracting, Federal Oil and Gas
Contingency Contracting: Observations on Actions Needed to Address Systemic Challenges, GAO-11-580, April 25, 2011 Federal Oil and Gas: Interagency Committee Needs to Better Coordinate Research on Oil Pollution Prevention and Response, GAO-11-319, March 25, 2011 Continue Reading
EPA and New York State Move to Ban Dumping Sewage from Boats Into Long Island Sound
News release: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tentatively determined that there are adequate facilities for boats in Long Island Sound to pump out their sewage and that a proposal by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservations (DEC) to establish a No Discharge Zone for the waters of the New York State… Continue Reading
Google Video Shows Use of Disk Crushers and Other Security Measures
Computerworld: ‘Google is shedding some of the secrecy around its data center practices, with a new video that shows extensive security measures and the destruction of old hard drives to prevent leakage of customer data. Google “rigorously tracks the location and status” of each hard drive, destroying failed hard drives with a multistep process before… Continue Reading
Linking the Readiness of the Armed Forces to DoD's Operation and Maintenance Spending
Linking the Readiness of the Armed Forces to DoD’s Operation and Maintenance Spending, April 25, 2011 “Spending for operation and maintenance (O&M) supports the military services’ day-to-day activities, such as training military units, maintaining equipment, recruiting service members, operating military bases, and providing administrative services. DoD typically cites the readiness of military units to perform… Continue Reading
Rethinking Music: A Briefing Book
Rethinking Music: A Briefing Book Compiled and Presented By The Berkman Center for Internet & Society At Harvard University, April 2011. “The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to present this briefing book to participants in the Rethink Music conference. The book includes the Centers own framing paper, which introduces a number of… Continue Reading
CRS – Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends
Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends, Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy, December 14, 2010 “The extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for federally funded public aid has been a contentious issue for more than a decade. This issue meets… Continue Reading
OECD unemployment rate records fourth consecutive fall at 8.2% in February
News release: “The OECD area unemployment rate fell again in February 2011 to 8.2%, down 0.1 percentage point from January. This was the fourth consecutive decrease, following a period of stability of around 8.5% throughout most of 2010. New March 2011 data show further declines of 0.1 percentage point in the unemployment rates of both… Continue Reading
Department of Defense Contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq: Background and Analysis
CRS: Department of Defense Contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq: Background and Analysis – Moshe Schwartz, Specialist in Defense Acquisition – Joyprada Swain, Research Associate – March 29, 2011 “The critical role contractors play in supporting military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq necessitates that the Department of Defense (DOD) effectively manage contractors during contingency operations. Lack… Continue Reading
