Via FAS – Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Edward C. Liu, Legislative Attorney. April 13, 2016. “After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to “intercept international communications… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2016
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Improved Risk Analysis and Stakeholder Consultations Could Enhance Future Reviews
Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Improved Risk Analysis and Stakeholder Consultations Could Enhance Future Reviews, GAO-16-371: Published: Apr 15, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 15, 2016. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assessed risk for the second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) and considered threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences; however, DHS did not document how its various analyses… Continue Reading
Aerial Surveys of Elevated Hydrocarbon Emissions from Oil and Gas Production Sites
Aerial Surveys of Elevated Hydrocarbon Emissions from Oil and Gas Production Sites Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00705 Publication Date (Web): April 05, 2016. Copyright © 2016 American Chemical Society Abstract – “Oil and gas (O&G) well pads with high hydrocarbon emission rates may disproportionally contribute to total methane and volatile organic compound (VOC)… Continue Reading
USDA Local Food Directories: National Farmers Market Directory
Updated April 15, 2016 – The Farmers Market Directory lists markets that feature two or more farm vendors selling agricultural products directly to customers at a common, recurrent physical location. Maintained by the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Directory is designed to provide customers with convenient access to information about farmers market listings to include: market… Continue Reading
Paper – OPM Demonstrated that Antiquated Security Practices Harm National Security
Handing Over the Keys to the Castle – OPM Demonstrated that Antiquated Security Practices Harm National Security. Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. July 2015. “In this digital age, information is secured, coveted, and exfiltrated by nation states, hacktivists, and ambitious actors because, now more than ever, knowledge is power. Modern needs dictate that only authorized… Continue Reading
EWG’s 2016 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce
“Nearly three-fourths of the 6,953 produce samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2014 contained pesticide residues – a surprising finding in the face of soaring consumer demand for food without synthetic chemicals. This year’s update of EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ reports that USDA tests found a total 146 different… Continue Reading
Counting Casualties in Syria and Iraq: Process and Challenges
Via FAS – CRS INSIGHT – Counting Casualties in Syria and Iraq: Process and Challenges. April 12, 2016 (IN10474) “Casualty estimates for the conflicts in Iraq and Syria are inconsistent and unreliable because of a range of methodological challenges in conducting and reporting counts. Estimates of the number of people who have died during Syria’s… Continue Reading
Paper – Gone in Six Characters: Short URLs Considered Harmful for Cloud Services
Gone in Six Characters: Short URLs Considered Harmful for Cloud Services – Martin Georgiev, Vitaly Shmatikov (Submitted on 10 Apr 2016) “Modern cloud services are designed to encourage and support collaboration. To help users share links to online documents, maps, etc., several services, including cloud storage providers such as Microsoft OneDrive and mapping services such… Continue Reading
Decoupling of global emissions and economic growth confirmed
“International Energy Analysis [IEA] analysis shows energy-related emissions of CO2 stalled for the second year in a row as renewable energy surged. Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) – the largest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions – stayed flat for the second year in a row, according to analysis of preliminary data for 2015 released [March… Continue Reading
Maximizing K-12 Fiber Connectivity Through E-Rate: An Overview
Authored by J. Ryan Thompson, David Talbot, and Keith Krueger – “The federal E-rate program provides up to $3.9 billion annually to subsidize the provision of high-speed Internet access to schools and libraries. Recent revisions to the program greatly expand the options for how such service can be provisioned. Notably, school districts can now seek… Continue Reading
Microsoft sues DOJ – demands right to disclose when law enforcement seeks customer data
Microsoft v. The United States Department of Justice, USDC Western District of Washington at Seattle – April 14, 2016: “Microsoft brings this case because its customers have a right to know when the government obtains a warrant to read their emails, and because Microsoft has a right to tell them. Yet the Electronic Communications Privacy… Continue Reading
A Peek behind the Curtain of Bank Supervision
Liberty Street Economics Blog: “Since the financial crisis, bank regulatory and supervisory policies have changed dramatically both in the United States (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) and abroad (Third Basel Accord). While these shifts have occasioned much debate, the discussion surrounding supervision remains limited because most supervisory activity— both the amount of… Continue Reading
