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Monthly Archives: February 2017

Microsoft/GraphEngine is now Open Source

Via The Register – “Microsoft Graph Engine, the in-memory-store-slash-computation engine, has been released under the open source MIT license. The GitHub repository contains the source code of Graph Engine and its graph query language, Language Integrated Query, which is already utilized by the Academic Graph Search API in Microsoft Cognitive Services. Previously known as Trinity… Continue Reading

FlipFeed Step into someone else’s Twitter feed

“FlipFeed is a Google Chrome Extension that enables Twitter users to replace their own feed with that of another real Twitter user. Powered by deep learning and social network analysis, feeds are selected based on inferred political ideology (“left” or “right”) and served to users of the extension. For example, a right-leaning user who uses… Continue Reading

How Americans Encounter, Recall and Act Upon Digital News

When following links, online news consumers could recall the name of the news outlet 56% of the time – “Anyone who wants to understand today’s news environment faces a challenge: How to discern the nuances of digital news habits when Americans’ attention spans are fractured, human memory is naturally limited and news comes at them… Continue Reading

Food Safety: A National Strategy Is Needed to Address Fragmentation in Federal Oversight

Food Safety: A National Strategy Is Needed to Address Fragmentation in Federal Oversight, GAO-17-74: Published: Jan 13, 2017. Publicly Released: Feb 13, 2017: “Although the U.S. food supply is generally considered safe, foodborne illness remains a costly, common public health problem. The safety and quality of the food supply is governed by a system administered… Continue Reading

Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

CRS report via FAS – Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions, Marc Labonte, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy. February 7, 2017. “Congress has delegated responsibility for monetary policy to the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve (the Fed), but retains oversight responsibilities for ensuring that the Fed is adhering to its statutory… Continue Reading

Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework the Paris Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Agreement

CRS report via FAS – Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement – Stephen P. Mulligan, Legislative Attorney. February 9, 2017. “The legal procedure through which the United States withdraws from treaties and other international agreements has been the subject of long-standing debate between the legislative and executive… Continue Reading

Missing Members of Congress Action Plan

“Where on earth has your Member of Congress gone? Something strange has been happening in the last month or so: Members of Congress (MoCs) from all over the country are going missing. They’re still turning up for votes on Capitol Hill, and they’re still meeting with lobbyists and friendly audiences back home—but their public event… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – The value of microblogs for research and information sharing

New on LLRX.com – The value of microblogs for research and information sharing – Are you overwhelmed by social media applications, many of which are not permitted to use in your private or public work place. If so this guide by Pete Weiss offers several alternatives to assist you with lightweight applications that bypass controversy… Continue Reading

24/7 Wall St – 20 Groceries Driving Up Your Bill the Most

“…To determine which items are driving up grocery bills the most, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed changes in the Consumer Price Index from 2006 to 2016 for over 300 foods and frequently purchased consumer items with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Definitions of food items also came from the BLS. To avoid repetition, we… Continue Reading

Microsoft Corporation v. DOJ on sneak-and-peek searches

Via Bloomberg – “Microsoft Corp. persuaded a judge not to let the U.S. government out of a lawsuit alleging the company’s free-speech rights are violated by a law that blocks it from alerting users to the clandestine interception of their e-mails. The judge said Microsoft has at least made a plausible argument that federal law… Continue Reading

NSA Contractor Facing Federal Indictment for Willful Retention of National Defense Information

Follow up to previous posting – Former NSA contractor removed 50 terabytes of classified data, via DOJ – “A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Harold Thomas Martin III, 52, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, with willful retention of national defense information. Martin Harold Indictment “As a private contractor who worked on classified programs… Continue Reading