Via FAS – CRS report – Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Specialist in African Affairs. March 29, 2016.
“Boko Haram, a violent Nigerian Islamist movement, has grown increasingly active and deadly in its attacks against state and civilian targets in recent years, drawing on a narrative of victimization and vengeance for state abuses to elicit recruits and sympathizers. The group’s April 2014 abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls drew particular international attention, including from the Obama Administration and Members of Congress. Its high death toll and its pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) in March 2015 have further raised the concern of U.S. policy makers. The group has sought to rebrand itself as the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), though it remains more popularly known by its original nickname. The State Department has named several individuals linked to Boko Haram, including its leader, Abubakar Shekau, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and the group was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the State Department in November 2013…”
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Monthly Archives: March 2016
Supporting Responsible Innovation in the Federal Banking System: An OCC Perspective
News release: “The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published its perspective on responsible innovation in the federal banking system and solicited feedback on what more it could do to support innovation that better serves consumers, businesses, and communities. In Supporting Responsible Innovation in the Federal Banking System: An OCC Perspective ,… Continue Reading
Campaign Exposes Fissures Over Issues, Values and How Life Has Changed in the U.S.
Pew Research Center – “The 2016 presidential campaign has exposed deep disagreements between – and within – the two parties on a range of major policy issues. But these divisions go well beyond the issues and extend to fundamentally different visions of the way that life in the United States has changed. Overall, 46% of… Continue Reading
Onlinecensorship.org Launches Inaugural Report
Via EFF: “We’re proud to announce today’s release of Onlinecensorship.org’s first report looking at how content is regulated by social media companies. Onlinecensorship.org—a joint project of EFF and Visualizing Impact (VI) that won the 2014 Knight News Challenge—seeks to encourage social media companies to operate with greater transparency and accountability toward their users as they… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity and You: Issues in Higher Education and Beyond
“The University of Maryland, Baltimore Thurgood Marshall Law Library, Health Sciences and Human Services Library, and Center for Information Technology Services have organized a cybersecurity conference that is free and open to the public. You can find details, RSVP, and a link to watch the livestream here: http://www.hshsl.umaryland.edu/cybersecurity.cfm. This program is made possible by a… Continue Reading
USPS Annual Compliance Determination Report
Postal Regulatory Commission Annual Compliance Determination Report Fiscal Year 2015 March 28, 2016 “This report reviews the Postal Service’s performance in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, fulfilling the Commission’s responsibility to produce an annual assessment of Postal Service rates and service mandated by Title 39 , section 3653, of the United States Code. It is based… Continue Reading
Introducing the Core Federal Services Council
“…To further institutionalize and build upon this progress, today we are announcing the establishment of the Core Federal Services Council. A key milestone of the Customer Service CAP goal, the Council will serve as a government-wide governance vehicle to improve the public’s experience with Federal services, from experiences of Americans who visit a Social Security… Continue Reading
Every Step You Fake A Comparative Analysis of Fitness Tracker Privacy and Security
“Fitness tracking devices monitor heartbeats, measure steps, sleep, and tie into a larger ecosystem of goal setting, diet tracking, and other health activities. Every Step You Fake investigates the privacy and security properties of eight popular wearable fitness tracking systems. We use a variety of technical, policy, and legal methods to understand what data is… Continue Reading
The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995 -2015
The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015. Lawrence F. Katz, Harvard University and NBER and Alan B. Krueger, Princeton University and NBER. M arch 29, 2016 Abstract: “To monitor trends in alternative work arrangements, we conducted a version of the Contingent Worker Survey as part of the RAND American… Continue Reading
FCC Modernizes Lifeline Program for the Digital Age
News release: “The Federal Communications Commission today modernized and reformed its Lifeline program to help low income consumers afford access to the 21st Century’s vital communications network: the Internet. Since 1985, Lifeline has helped make telephone service affordable for low-income Americans. Today, consumers need Internet access for full and meaningful participation in society. Yet 43… Continue Reading
Consumers’ Use of Mobile Financial Services
“Since 2011, the Federal Reserve Board has conducted a survey of how consumers use their mobile phones to interact with financial institutions, make payments, and manage their personal finances. The Survey of Consumers’ Use of Mobile Financial Services is launched in November of each year, and a corresponding report is released the following March. All… Continue Reading
Poynter – Washington Post dug into archives for stories about and by women
Kristen Hare • March 30, 201: “The first time Julia Carpenter’s editor took her to the archives at The Washington Post’s previous home, he offered some advice: Be mindful of how much time you spend here. Carpenter, an embedded social media editor, loves discovering the old Post work, though it can be a bit of… Continue Reading
