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Daily Archives: January 14, 2019

CRS – Can the Department of Defense Build the Border Wall?

Via FAS/Secrecy News: “If the President were to declare a national emergency in order to justify building a “wall” on the border with Mexico, there would be certain legal authorities that he could invoke to initiate construction operations. But the scope of those legal authorities is uncertain and would almost certainly trigger litigation to challenge their application, the Congressional Research Service said last week. “Whether these authorities — individually or in combination — extend to the construction of a border wall would present a reviewing court with several questions of first impression,” CRS said.

The Super-Secure Quantum Cable Hiding in the Holland Tunnel

Bloomberg – Banks and governments are testing quantum key distribution technology to guard their closest secrets: “Commuters inching through rush-hour traffic in the Holland Tunnel between Lower Manhattan and New Jersey don’t know it, but a technology likely to be the future of communication is being tested right outside their car windows. Running through the tunnel is… Continue Reading

Report – world has become more “permissionless” because of the diminished power of traditional gatekeepers

Via Axios – PERMISSIONLESS: What It Means, How It Happened, Will it Last: “While the Internet revolution enabled “permissionless” business models in finance, entertainment & politics, such unregulated disruptors are under growing attack. From the tech sector to the White House, many object to the divisions these new actors exacerbate or the externalities they often… Continue Reading

Once-revolutionary smartphone is losing its power to amaze and maybe its singular hold on our lives

WSJ [paywall] The Big Hangup: Why the Future Is Not Just Your Phone The once-revolutionary smartphone is losing its power to amaze—and maybe its singular hold on our live: “Steve Jobs took to a stage a dozen years ago this week to introduce a revolutionary new product to the world: the first Apple iPhone. That… Continue Reading

The data casualties of the federal government shutdown

Pew: “The ongoing shutdown of large parts of the federal government – now at 18 days and counting – has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers either furloughed or working without pay indefinitely, reduced staffing at national parks to skeleton levels, and closed down popular museums. It’s also squeezed the daily flood of data from federal… Continue Reading

Impact of Partial Federal Gov’t Shutdown on Legal Information

AALL: “As of midnight December 21, 2018, the President and Congress were unable to agree on the provisions of a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. As a result, a partial shutdown of some government operations now enters its fourth week. This is a politically dynamic event, and AALL continues to monitor federal… Continue Reading

Impact of Government Shutdown Across America

The New York Times – “In many parts of the United States, the shutdown has underscored how deeply the federal government is connected to everyday life. “From the start, it has seemed like the federal government shutdown with no end in sight. More than three weeks later, with Washington still gridlocked over President Trump’s demand… Continue Reading