“A new draft law on information technology crimes would restrict free speech in violation of international law and poses a severe threat to journalists, whistleblowers, and peaceful activists, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The pending law includes vague provisions that would allow Iraqi authorities to harshly punish expression they decide constitutes a threat to governmental, social, or religious interests. The Council of Representatives, the parliament, should not approve the law without revising it to remove the rights restrictions. The 16-page report, Iraqs Information Crimes Law: Badly Written Provisions and Draconian Punishments Violate Due Process and Free Speech, is a legal analysis of the draft law.”
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Daily Archives: July 16, 2012
State of the Climate Global Analysis June 2012
NOAA – State of the Climate Global Analysis June 2012 “The average global temperature across land and oceans during June 2012 was 0.63°C (1.13°F) above the 20th century average of 15.5°C (59.9°F) and ranked as the fourth warmest June since records began in 1880. June 2012 also marks the 36th consecutive June and 328th consecutive… Continue Reading
Economic Policy Review special issue The Evolution of Banks and Financial Intermediation
Economic Policy Review – special issue – The Evolution of Banks and Financial Intermediation, Federal Reserve Bank of New York “Have banks been eclipsed by shadow banks? This special issue of seven articles by the Research and Statistics Group, along with a series of Liberty Street Economics blog posts, examines the transformation of the financial… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Conflict Minerals Disclosure Rule, Foreign Service Staffing, Gun Control, Payment to Counties
Conflict Minerals Disclosure Rule – SEC’s Actions and Stakeholder-Developed Initiatives, GAO-12-763, July 16, 2012 Department of State – Foreign Service Midlevel Staffing Gaps Persist Despite Significant Increases in Hiring, GAO-12-721, June 14, 2012 Gun Control – Sharing Promising Practices and Assessing Incentives Could Better Position Justice to Assist States in Providing Records for Background Checks,… Continue Reading
Microsoft Launches the new Office
News release: “Today, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the customer preview of the new Microsoft Office, available at office.com/preview. The next release features an intuitive design that works beautifully with touch, stylus, mouse or keyboard across new Windows devices, including tablets. The new Office is social and unlocks modern scenarios in reading, note-taking, meetings… Continue Reading
Census Bureau Launches Infographic on U.S. Veteran Population
“This month as we celebrate our nation’s Independence, we reflect on the original veterans who helped found this country. How do we know about today’s heroes? This new infographic provides a statistical snapshot of our veterans from the American Community Survey (conducted annually) and the Survey of Business Owners (from the five-year economic census). This… Continue Reading
Census – Computer and Internet Use at Home: 2010 These tables provide information about computer and Internet use
Computer and Internet Use at Home: 2010 “These tables provide information about computer and Internet use from the Current Population Survey (CPS) School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement. The tables display national and state level data and examine householder and individual characteristics by school enrollment, age, race, sex and Hispanic origin. Additional tables use data… Continue Reading
CBO Releases Report on Policy Options for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program
Policy Options for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, July 2012 “The Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program pays cash benefits to nonelderly adults (those younger than age 66) who are judged to be unable to perform substantial work because of a disability but who have worked in the past; the program also pays benefits… Continue Reading
Interoperability Case Study: The Bar Code/UPC
Interoperability Case Study: The Bar Code/UPC, Published July 15, 2012 by Matthew Becker. Download from SSRN “This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems (Basic Books, forthcoming, June 2012). The… Continue Reading
Federal Criminal Case Processing Statistics
“The Bureau of Justice Statistics, through its Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center (FJSRC), compiles comprehensive information describing suspects and defendants processed in the federal criminal justice system. The Federal Criminal Case Processing Statistics (FCCPS) tool is an interface that can be used to analyze federal case processing data. Users can generate various statistics in the… Continue Reading
UK Government to open up publicly funded research
“The government has announced that it will make publicly funded scientific research available for anyone to read for free, accepting recommendations in a report on open access by Dame Janet Finch. This will likely see a major increase in the number of taxpayer-funded research papers freely available to the public…Science Minister David Willetts said: Removing… Continue Reading
