Salon – We can’t “repeal the Internet.” But it has unleashed scary forces — and reasons for a Silicon Valley backlash, By Andrew Leonard “There is new evidence, every day, of the mixed blessings delivered by the Internet. Just to pick one example from current headlines: The vast advances in government surveillance capability that we’ve… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2013
State of America’s Libraries Report 2013
State of America’s Libraries Report 2013, American Library Association: “After an economic recession that has left about 12 million Americans unemployed and millions more underemployed, libraries continue to play a transformative role in their communities. The more than 16,000 public libraries nationwide “offer a lifeline to people trying to adapt to challenging economic circumstances by… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Flood Insurance, SEC Internal Controls
Flood Insurance Implications of Changing Coverage Limits and Expanding Coverage,GAO-13-568, Jul 3, 2013 Flood Insurance More Information Needed on Subsidized Properties, GAO-13-607, Jul 3, 2013 Internal Controls SEC Should Consider Requiring Companies to Disclose Whether They Obtained an Auditor Attestation, GAO-13-582, Jul 3, 2013 Continue Reading
BLS – June payroll employment increases unemployment rate unchanged
News release: “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and financial activities. Household Survey Data The number of unemployed persons, at 11.8… Continue Reading
UK ICO update on Google Privacy Policy
A UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) spokesperson said on July 4, 2013: “We have today written to Google to confirm our findings relating to the update of the company’s privacy policy. In our letter we confirm that its updated privacy policy raises serious questions about its compliance with the UK Data Protection Act. “In particular,… Continue Reading
ALA Resources Guide on the Affordable Care Act
“The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court rendered a final decision to uphold the health care law… Role of Libraries – ALA Policy B.8.11, The Role of Libraries in Providing E-Government and Emergency Services (Old… Continue Reading
Best Places to Work Snapshot: Satisfaction with Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement
“In the current climate of pay freezes, budget reductions and furloughs, it’s become more challenging and more important for federal leaders to find ways to reward and recognize high performing employees. Unfortunately, only four out of 10 federal workers believe they will be rewarded or promoted for doing good work, according to a new Best… Continue Reading
NYT- Postal Service Is Watching, Too: Outside of All Mail Is Recorded
Postal Service Is Watching, Too: Outside of All Mail Is Recorded,” by Ron Nixon: “Under “the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program…Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the United States – about 160 billion pieces last year. It is not known how long the government… Continue Reading
UK Guardian – France ‘runs vast electronic spying operation using NSA-style methods’
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris – Intelligence agency has spied on French public’s phone calls, emails and internet activity, says Le Monde newspaper “France runs a vast electronic surveillance operation, intercepting and stocking data from citizens’ phone and internet activity, using similar methods to the US National Security Agency’s Prism programme exposed by Edward Snowden, Le… Continue Reading
State Dept – Inspection of Bureau of International Information Programs
United States Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors Office of Inspector General ISP-I-13-28 Office of Inspections May 2013 –Inspection of the Bureau of International Information Programs –Key Judgments: “Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) leadership failed to convey its strategic vision to staff members, despite formalized communications. Leadership created an atmosphere of… Continue Reading
Curious about surveillance? FOIA has answers.
Sunshine in Government Initiative – June 27, 2013 “Many Americans are curious about electronic surveillance by the federal government. Conveniently, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has already helped provide some answers. Although much of the interest and attention arises from journalism in recent days (here, here, here, and here, and related stories), America has… Continue Reading
BIS Working Paper – Credit and growth after financial crises
Credit and growth after financial crises, by Előd Takáts and Christian Upper Working Papers No 416 July 2013 “We find that declining bank credit to the private sector will not necessarily constrain the economic recovery after output has bottomed out following a financial crisis. To obtain this result, we examine data from 39 financial crises,… Continue Reading
