labor shortages are weighing on overall economic growth, slowing the pace of expansion in northern Utah and other fast-growing regions even as unemployment remains stubbornly high in Rust Belt cities like Cleveland and in regions still recovering from the 2008 recession, like inland California…” Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: May 2017
Apple – Report on Government and Private Party Requests for Customer Information
“Apple is very seriously committed to protecting your data and we work hard to deliver the most secure hardware, software and services available. We believe our customers have a right to understand how their personal data is managed and protected. This report provides information regarding requests Apple received from government agencies and private parties from… Continue Reading
2015 E-Stats Report: Measuring the Electronic Economy
May 24, 2017 – “This report summarizes e-commerce statistics on shipments, sales and revenues from four sectors of the economy: manufacturing, wholesale, services & retail…The 2015 E-Stats provides estimates of e-commerce activity in key sectors of the U.S. economy for 2015, revises previously released estimates for 2014 and earlier, and places these estimates in historical… Continue Reading
How to Opt Out of Twitter’s New Privacy Settings
Follow up to previous posting – Twitter drops ‘Do Not Track’ privacy protection – via EFF, guidance on how to restore your privacy when using Twitter – “concerned users have to click “Review settings” to opt out of Twitter’s new mechanisms for user tracking. That will bring you to the “Personalization and Data” section of… Continue Reading
CBO Analysis of American Health Care Act of 2017
H.R. 1628, American Health Care Act of 2017 – May 24, 2017 – Cost Estimate “CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have completed an estimate of the direct spending and revenue effects of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, as passed by the House of Representatives. CBO and… Continue Reading
CIA releases Officially Released Information System database with 50 yrs of FOIA request documents
Via Muckrock’s work and posting as follows: “The results of the Agency’s ambitious project to track all the information its made public will soon become a valuable tool for government transparency. In 1985, citing concerns regarding “difficulty determining what has been publicly disclosed,” the CIA had a truly great idea that would serve both the… Continue Reading
Twitter as a data source: An overview of tools for journalists
Data Driven Journalism: “Journalists may wish to use data from social media platforms in order to provide greater insight and context to a news story. For example, journalists may wish to examine the contagion of hashtags and whether they are capable of achieving political or social change. Moreover, newsrooms may also wish to tap into… Continue Reading
CRS – Graduation: Fact Sheet
Graduation: Fact Sheet May 7, 2015 – May 10, 2017 R44021 “Graduation and commencement ceremonies at U.S. academic institutions are often held in the months of May and June. This guide is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to graduation celebrations. It contains a brief history of the ceremonial tradition and the attire worn,… Continue Reading
Paper – Presidents Lack the Authority to Abolish or Diminish National Monuments
Squillace, Mark Stephen and Biber, Eric and Bryner, Nicholas S. and Hecht, Sean B., Presidents Lack the Authority to Abolish or Diminish National Monuments (May 13, 2017). 103 Va. L. Rev. Online (2017); UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 17-16; UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2967807 “By any… Continue Reading
Paper – Defense Against the Dark Arts of Copyright Trolling
Sag, Matthew and Haskell, Jake, Defense Against the Dark Arts of Copyright Trolling (March 28, 2017). Iowa Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2933200 “In this Article, we offer both a legal and a pragmatic framework for defending against copyright trolls. Lawsuits alleging online copyright infringement by John Doe defendants have accounted for roughly half… Continue Reading
Social Security Numbers: OMB and Federal Efforts to Reduce Collection, Use, and Display
Social Security Numbers: OMB and Federal Efforts to Reduce Collection, Use, and Display, GAO-17-655T: Published: May 23, 2017. Publicly Released: May 23, 2017 In its draft report, GAO noted that several governmentwide initiatives aimed at eliminating the unnecessary collection, use, and display of Social Security numbers (SSN) have been underway in response to recommendations that the presidentially… Continue Reading
EFF – Supreme Court Ends Texas Grip On Patent Cases
Daniel Nazer – EFF: “Today the Supreme Court issued a decision that will have a massive impact on patent troll litigation. In TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods, the court ruled that patent owners can sue corporate defendants only in districts where the defendant is incorporated or has committed acts of infringement and has a regular… Continue Reading
