The Economist: “If the weather holds and there are no unforeseen complications, then early in the morning on July 8th a woman and three men will ascend the launch tower at Floridas Kennedy Space Centre, strap themselves into Atlantis, the last operational space shuttle, and, as the engines ignite, wait for the countdown to reach… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2011
New Study: How Does Slack Influence Inflation?
News release: “The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released How Does Slack Influence Inflation?, the latest article in its series Current Issues in Economics and Finance. In a statistical analysis, authors Richard Peach, Robert Rich and Anna Cororaton find support for the hypothesis that the level of resource utilization in an economy must cross… Continue Reading
Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention
Rudel RA, Gray JM, Engel CL, Rawsthorne TW, Dodson RE, Ackerman JM, et al. 2011. Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention. Environ Health Perspect 119:914-920. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003170 “Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are high-production-volume chemicals used in plastics and resins for food packaging. They have… Continue Reading
CDC – Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse
“So what do you need to do before zombies or hurricanes or pandemics for example, actually happen? First of all, you should have an emergency kit in your house. This includes things like water, food, and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp (or… Continue Reading
New Research – Mobile Phones, Brain Tumours and the Interphone Study: Where Are We Now?
Follow up to previous postings on cell phones and radiation levels, a new study – Mobile Phones, Brain Tumours and the Interphone Study: Where Are We Now? “Conclusions: Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumours in adults.” Continue Reading
Obama Administration Releases June Housing Scorecard
News release: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the The Obama Administrations E fforts To Stabilize the Housing Market and Help American Homeowners, June 2011, the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard a comprehensive report on the nations housing market. The latest housing data offer… Continue Reading
Computer Engineering Student Creates 'Batphone' App Using Acoustics to Determine Location
News release: “Outside, the global position system allows mobile phone users to pinpoint their location with surprising accuracy. But indoors, those who are lost are out of luck: GPS satellite signals cant penetrate roofs. Researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science have determined one way of figuring out your location inside: by… Continue Reading
NYT: World Bank Is Opening Its Treasure Chest of Data
NYT: “Long regarded as a windowless ivory tower, the World Bank is opening its vast vault of information. True, the bank still lends roughly $170 billion annually. But it is increasingly competing for influence and power with Wall Street, national governments and smaller regional development banks, who have as much or more money to offer.… Continue Reading
FOIA Request Produces DoD IG Report on Audit of Boeing Spare Parts Contracts
Via Project On Government Oversight (POGO): “Taxpayers were massively overcharged in dozens of transactions between the Army and Boeing for helicopter spare parts, according to a full, unredacted Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) audit – that POGO is making public for the first time. The overcharges range from 33.3 percent to… Continue Reading
Google Chrome Browser Continues to Gain Market Share
News release: “Google’s Chrome exceeded 20% of the worldwide internet browser market during the month of June for the first time, according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm’s research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome took 20.7% of the global market, up from 2.8% in June 2009. In the same period… Continue Reading
World Bank Group Commits More Than $57 billion to Developing Countries in FY11
News release: “As developing countries emerged from the financial crisis in FY11 (July 1, 2010 June 30, 2011), the Bank Group provided an estimated 712 loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to promote economic growth, fight poverty, and assist private enterprise. World Bank (IBRD and IDA) commitments for social protectionincluding safety net programs for… Continue Reading
The Freedom of Information Act on its 45th anniversary
The Freedom of Information Act on its 45th anniversary | Commentary – July 01, 2011: “Lyndon Johnson opposed FOIA said it was a plot against his administration but a tenacious backbencher from California, John Moss, had pursued it for 12 years and LBJ finally relented, signing the legislation on July 4th, 1966. Here… Continue Reading
