The Big Snoop – The divergent views of four respected experts help frame the debate over the future of the NSA in the Snowden Era – Stuart Taylor, Jr.: “With the approach of the first anniversary of the most copious and sensational leakage of intelligence secrets in history, the consequences of his actions continue to… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2015
EFF – Automakers Say You Don’t Really Own Your Car
News release: “EFF is fighting for vehicle owners’ rights to inspect the code that runs their vehicles and to repair and modify their vehicles, or have a mechanic of their choice do the work. At the moment, the anti-circumvention prohibition in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act arguably restricts vehicle inspection, repair, and modification. If EFF… Continue Reading
Pew – Campaign 2016: Modest Interest, High Stakes
“The 2016 presidential campaign has gotten off to a slow start with voters. A majority of registered voters (58%) say they have given at least some thought to candidates who may run for president in 2016, but that is 10 points lower than at a comparable point in the 2008 campaign – the last time… Continue Reading
Discussion of “Systemic Risk and the Solvency-Liquidity Nexus of Banks”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York – Discussion of “Systemic Risk and the Solvency-Liquidity Nexus of Banks” April 2015 Number 722 Tobias Adrian “Pierret (2015) presents empirical analysis of the solvency-liquidity nexus for the banking system, documenting that a shock to the level of banks’ solvency risk is followed by lower short-term debt. Conversely, higher short-term… Continue Reading
Occupational employment and wages in 2014
BLS, April 2, 2015 – “The occupations with the largest employment in May 2014 were retail salespersons and cashiers. These two occupations combined made up nearly 6 percent of total U.S. employment. There were 4.6 million retail salespersons and 3.4 million cashiers employed in May 2014. The 10 largest occupations accounted for 21 percent of… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports – America’s best supermarket – and worst
See how your grocer stacks up when it comes to high-quality fruits, vegetables, and store-made meals, April 2, 2015 “When the typical shopper makes each of 83 yearly grocery trips (running up an annual tab of about $5,400), he or she is demanding a wider-than-ever choice of healthy, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish—as well… Continue Reading
DARPA – Breakthrough Technologies for National Security
Breakthrough Technologies for National Security: “For more than fifty years, DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] has held to a singular and enduring mission: To make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. The genesis of that mission and of DARPA itself dates to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and a commitment by… Continue Reading
The Impact of Tight Credit Standards on 2009-13 Lending
Urban Institute – The Impact of Tight Credit Standards on 2009-13 Lending. Laurie Goodman, Jun Zhu, Taz George. April 2015. “Tight credit standards curbed mortgage lending activity from 2009 to 2013. Based on our estimates, if the cautious standards of 2001 had been in place rather than the more severe standards that were in place over these… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Federal Chief Information Officers, Homeland Security
Federal Chief Information Officers: Reporting to OMB Can Be Improved by Further Streamlining and Better Focusing on Priorities, GAO-15-106: Published: Apr 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 2, 2015: “Federal agencies annually invest over $80 billion on IT. As part of overseeing this spending, OMB directs federal CIOs to report on their management of IT in… Continue Reading
The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050
Pew Research Center – Why Muslims Are Rising Fastest and the Unaffiliated Are Shrinking as a Share of the World’s Population – “The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching… Continue Reading
CRS – Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism
Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism: In Brief, Catherine A. Theohary, Specialist in National Security, Policy and Information Operations. John W. Rollins, Specialist in Terrorism and National Security. March 27, 2015. “Recent incidents have highlighted the lack of consensus internationally on what defines a cyberattack, an act of war in cyberspace, or cyberterrorism. Cyberwar is typically conceptualized as… Continue Reading
The United Kingdom: Background and Relations with the United States
CRS – The United Kingdom: Background and Relations with the United States, Derek E. Mix, Analyst in European Affairs. March 27, 2015. “Many U.S. officials and Members of Congress view the United Kingdom (UK) as the United States’ closest and most reliable ally. This perception stems from a combination of factors, including a sense of… Continue Reading
