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Daily Archives: April 3, 2012

Pew: When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity

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When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity – by Paul Taylor, Mark Hugo Lopez, Jessica Hamar Martínez and Gabriel Velasco, April 4, 2012

  • “Nearly four decades after the United States government mandated the use of the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label. Moreover, by a ratio of more than two-to-one (69% versus 29%), survey respondents say that the more than 50 million Latinos in the U.S. have many different cultures rather than a common culture. Respondents do, however, express a strong, shared connection to the Spanish language. More than eight-in-ten (82%) Latino adults say they speak Spanish, and nearly all (95%) say it is important for future generations to continue to do so. Hispanics are also divided over how much of a common identity they share with other Americans. About half (47%) say they consider themselves to be very different from the typical American. And just one-in-five (21%) say they use the term “American” most often to describe their identity. On these two measures, U.S.-born Hispanics (who now make up 48% of Hispanic adults in the country) express a stronger sense of affinity with other Americans and America than do immigrant Hispanics.”

    • EPIC Urges Court to Affirm Privacy Protections for Home Wi-Fi Networks

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    “EPIC has filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit urging the court to affirm legal protections for users of home Wi-Fi networks. In Joffe v. Google, the plaintiffs sued Google for the interception and capture of private communications transferred over residential Wi-Fi networks. Google argued that it should be exempt from liability under the… Continue Reading

    Federal Housing Finance Agency Reports Mortgage Interest Rates

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    News release: “The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 4.08 percent based on loans closed in February. Beginning this month, FHFA is calculating interest rates using un-weighted survey data.… Continue Reading

    CRS: Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment

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    Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment, April 12, 2012 “The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. Some have called this incident the biggest manmade release… Continue Reading

    CRS — Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment

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    Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment, April 12, 2012 “The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. Some have called this incident the biggest manmade release… Continue Reading

    FTC Case Against Deceptive Robocallers Leads to Record $30 Million in Civil Penalties

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    News release: “In response to charges by the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has ordered the defendants behind a deceptive robocall scheme to pay a total of $30 million in civil penalties and give up more than $1.1 million in ill-gotten gains for violations of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The… Continue Reading

    Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems: 4th Quarter 2011

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    Census – Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems: 4th Quarter 2011 “This quarterly survey provides national summary statistics on the revenues, expenditures and composition of assets of the 100 largest state and local public employee retirement systems in the United States. These 100 systems comprise 89.4 percent of financial activity among… Continue Reading