Alejandro Garcia, Center for American Progress: “Latinos are becoming a national presence and will represent a crucial segment of our nations future workforce. They accounted for more than half of the nations growth from 2000 to 2010 and will be a third of the overall population by 2050. Latino children currently make up more than… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Report: More Food Banks Offering Fresh Fruits, Vegetables
More Food Banks Offering Fresh Fruits, Vegetables – Melinda Burns, Miller-McCune “…the Kids Farmers Market Program, operates in 10 locations once a month, drawing from local Boys and Girls clubs, YMCAs and schools. It recently won the Child Program of the Year award from Feeding America, the nonprofit network of 205 food banks in the… Continue Reading
MSNBC Posts Integrated Palin E-Mail collection
“This collection contains over 24,000 e-mails from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palins administration and was obtained in June 2011, more than two and a half years after the public records request for these materials. Crivella West, at its own expense, converted the paper copies of the e-mails produced back into searchable digital copies and made… Continue Reading
Hatch Releases Analysis Outlining Questionable Legality of Physician Owned Entities
News release: “U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a Committee Minority analysis, Physician Owned Distributors (PODs): An Overview of Key Issues and Potential Areas for Congressional Oversight, detailing a spike in the utilization of medical procedures by physicians invested in these entities. Citing these concerns, Hatch spearheaded two… Continue Reading
EFF: How to Disable Facebook's Facial Recognition Feature
Announcement by Eva Galperin: “Back in December of 2010, Facebook debuted its tag suggestion feature, which works by using facial recognition technology to examine photos in which youve already been tagged, and then creating what Facebook calls your photo summary or photo comparison information, or what well call your facial fingerprint. Using this information, FB… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Veterans' Reemployment Rights, Air Quality, Defense Acquisition
Veterans’ Reemployment Rights: Steps Needed to Ensure Reliability of DOL and Special Counsel Demonstration Project’s Performance Information, GAO-11-312R, June 10, 2011 Air Quality: Information on Tall Smokestacks and Their Contribution to Interstate Transport of Air Pollution, GAO-11-473, May 11, 2011 Defense Acquisition: DOD Should Clarify Requirements for Assessing and Documenting Technical-Data Needs, GAO-11-469, May 11,… Continue Reading
GAO – U.S. Public Debt: 1797-2010
Federal Debt: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions – “The federal government has carried debt throughout virtually all of U.S. history. As part of Alexander Hamilton’s plan for strengthening the financial credit of the post-Constitution nation, the federal government assumed the debt incurred during the Revolutionary War and the period under the Articles of Confederation. Since… Continue Reading
EPIC, ACLU, EFF, and Others Urge Homeland Security to Stop Creation of National Identity System
“EPIC and a coalition of privacy, consumer rights, and civil rights organizations filed a statement to the Department of Homeland Security in opposition to the proposed expansion of the employment verification system, “E-Verify.” The agency announced plans to incorporate state driver license records that could significantly expand the use of the Homeland Security database. The… Continue Reading
Audit of NRCs Oversight of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations Safety
Audit of NRCs Oversight of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations Safety, OIG-11-A-12 May 19, 2011 “The nuclear industry is expecting that by 2025 all commercial nuclear power plants in the United States will have operational ISFSIs at their sites. Currently, there are 104 operating nuclear reactors in the United States. This unprecedented growth in operational… Continue Reading
USGS Study Finds Recent Snowpack Declines in the Rocky Mountains Unusual Compared to Past Few Centuries
Follow up to previous postings on climate change, there is news that “A USGS study released today suggests that snowpack declines in the Rocky Mountains over the last 30 years are unusual compared to the past few centuries. Prior studies by the USGS and other institutions attribute the decline to unusual springtime warming, more precipitation… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Advanced Technology Vehicle Loan Program, Federal Real Property, FEMA, Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control
Department of Energy: Advanced Technology Vehicle Loan Program Needs Enhanced Oversight and Performance Measures, GAO-11-745T, June 09, 2011 Federal Real Property: Proposed Civilian Board Could Address Disposal of Unneeded Facilities, GAO-11-704T, June 09, 2011 FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program, GAO-11-297, June 09, 2011 Health Care Fraud and Abuse… Continue Reading
CBO: Policy Options for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Policy Options for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, June 2011 “Unmanned aircraft systems have long held great promise for military operations, but technology has only recently matured enough to exploit that potential. Much as the stealth fighter and Patriot missile came to public attention during the 1991 Gulf War, surveillance and missile-attack operations by Predator unmanned aircraft… Continue Reading
