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Daily Archives: March 23, 2015

New Yorker – across the planet road construction has destroyed or splintered natural habitats

What Roads Have Wrought by Michelle Nijhuis

“Today, a study in Science Advances synthesizes results from Manaus [a city in northwest Brazil] with those from similar experiments worldwide, confirming what scientists have long suspected: no matter the ecosystem—forest, prairie, patch of moss—the effects of habitat fragmentation are ruinous.””[a] new study, led by Nick Haddad, a professor at North Carolina State University, and co-authored by Laurance and others, found that fragmented habitats lose an average of half of their plant and animal species within twenty years, and that some continue to lose species for thirty years or more. In all of the cases examined, the worst losses occurred in the smallest habitat patches and closest to a habitat edge. The study also demonstrates, using a high-resolution map of global tree cover, that more than seventy per cent of the world’s forest now lies within one kilometre of such an edge. “There are really only two big patches of intact forest left on Earth—the Amazon and the Congo—and they shine out like eyes from the center of the map,” Haddad said.”

Wall Street Journal Reveals FTC Ignored Google’s Anticompetitive Practices

EPIC –  “According to an internal document obtained by the WSJ, in 2012 the Federal Trade Commission ignored recommendations to reform Google’s anticompetitive practices. The FTC staff report concluded that Google’s “conduct has resulted-and will result-in real harm to consumers and to innovation in the online search and advertising markets.” The internal FTC report said… Continue Reading

Air Force testimony to Congress highlights diminished budget, tactical resources, capability

United States Air Force Presentation Before the Senate Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year 2016. Air Force Posture. Witness Statement of The Honorable Ms. Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force General Mark A. Welsh III, USAF Chief of Staff by the Generals of American Land and Air Forces to the Armed Forces Committee of… Continue Reading

Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions

CRS – Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions. Andrew Nolan, Legislative Attorney. March 16, 2015. “Over the course of the last year, a host of cyberattacks has been perpetrated on a number of high profile American companies. The high profile cyberattacks of 2014 and early 2015 appear to be indicative of a broader… Continue Reading

Gender and Dynamic Agency: Theory and Evidence on the Compensation of Top Executives

 Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report – Gender and Dynamic Agency: Theory and Evidence on the Compensation of Top Executives, March 2015. Stefania Albanesi, Claudia Olivetti, and María José Prados. “We document three new facts about gender differences in executive compensation. First, female executives receive a lower share of incentive pay in total compensation relative to… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Border Security, DOJ Budget, Medicare, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nuclear Waste, Private Health Insurance

Border Security: Additional Efforts Needed to Address Persistent Challenges in Achieving Radio Interoperability, GAO-15-201: Published: Mar 23, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 23, 2015. Department of Justice: Alternative Sources of Funding Are a Key Source of Budgetary Resources and Could Be Better Managed, GAO-15-48: Published: Feb 19, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 23, 2015. Medicare: Payment Methods… Continue Reading

EBRI Employee Tenure Trends, 1983–2014

“Employee Tenure Trends, 1983–2014″ and “Views on Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings from the 2014 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey.” February 2015, Vol. 36, No. 2  Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2015 The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data show that the overall median tenure of workers—the midpoint of wage and salary workers’ length of employment… Continue Reading