Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 – Transparency International: “Looking at the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012, it’s clear that corruption is a major threat facing humanity. Corruption destroys lives and communities, and undermines countries and institutions. It generates popular anger that threatens to further destabilise societies and exacerbate violent conflicts. The Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating a serious corruption problem. Corruption translates into human suffering, with poor families being extorted for bribes to see doctors or to get access to clean drinking water. It leads to failure in the delivery of basic services like education or healthcare. It derails the building of essential infrastructure, as corrupt leaders skim funds.”
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Daily Archives: December 6, 2012
Characteristics of U.S. Science and Engineering Doctorates Detailed in New Report
News release: “The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) yesterday released a report titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2010 that unveils important trends in U.S. doctoral education. The report calls attention to the changing characteristics of U.S. doctorate recipients over time, including the increased representation of women, minorities and foreign nationals; the… Continue Reading
Transforming Classification 2012 Report to the President
“As requested by the President, the Public Interest Declassification Board (the Board) researched and studied the security classification system in cooperation with the National Security Advisor to design a fundamental transformation of the security classification system. The Board sought to understand how classified records of every level of sensitivity are managed and how different users… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – High-Speed Passenger Rail, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, TSA, Medicare and Medicaid, Defense Management
High-Speed Passenger Rail – Preliminary Assessment of California’s Cost Estimates and Other Challenges, GAO-13-163T, Dec 6, 2012 Low-Income Housing Tax Credits – Agencies Implemented Changes Enacted in 2008, but Project Data Collection Could Be Improved, GAO-13-66, Dec 6, 2012 Screening Partnership Program – TSA Should Issue More Guidance to Airports and Monitor Private versus Federal… Continue Reading
MIGA Report Finds that Sovereign Default and Expropriation Risks Worry Investors
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency: “The World Investment and Political Risk report examines the overall trends in political risk perceptions, foreign investment intentions, and longer-term demand for political risk insurance (PRI), especially in emerging economies. The research conducted for the report includes an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of multinational investors that addresses their risk perceptions for… Continue Reading
Chinas Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy
Chinas Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy, December 6, 2012 “Given its relatively low savings rate, the U.S. economy depends heavily on foreign capital inflows from countries with high savings rates (such as China) to meet its domestic investment needs and to fund the federal budget deficit. The willingness of foreigners to… Continue Reading
Hunger Report Calls on U.S. Leadership to End Hunger Within a Generation
“A new report issued by the Bread for the World Institute reveals the extraordinary progress many countries around the world have made in achieving the development goals they agreed to 12 years ago. However, programs that support these efforts could be derailed, depending on the outcome of ongoing U.S. negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff.… Continue Reading
ProPublica Guide to Warrantless Access to Digital Data
“The U.S. government isnt allowed to wiretap American citizens without a warrant from a judge. But there are plenty of legal ways for law enforcement, from the local sheriff to the FBI, to snoop on the digital trails you create every day. Authorities can often obtain your emails and texts by going to Google or… Continue Reading
Urban Institute – National Indicators and Social Wealth
National Indicators and Social Wealth, Erwin de Leon. December 4, 2012 “In The State of Society, measures of national well-being that go beyond gross domestic product (GDP) are identified. Existing indicators and systems are found lacking in assessing the full economic value of caregiving and the contributions of women. This report presents the results of… Continue Reading
National Science Foundation – Predicting Seasonal Weather
“Large-scale weather patterns which occur in various locations around the Earth, from the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropics to the high latitude Arctic Oscillation (AO) play a significant part in controlling the weather on a seasonal time scale. Knowing the condition of these atmospheric oscillations in advance would greatly improve long-range weather predictions.… Continue Reading
