Via POGO: “The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) just released a top-level analysis of State Department reconstruction funding in Afghanistan. SIGAR found that State has obligated nearly $4 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction between the beginning of fiscal year 2002 and March 2013, more than two-thirds of which ($2.8 billion, or 69 percent) will go to… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Global Thought Leaders 2013
“Who are the thought leaders shaping today’s discourse on the future of society and the economy? Whose ideas are defining and changing our lives? Where is the impetus for innovation and social change coming from? Working together with Peter Gloor, GDI now presents the second “Global Thought Leader Map“, and the resulting “influence rank”, which… Continue Reading
FCC Changed Course on Network Neutrality
By Barbara van Schewick on April 25, 2014 “Wednesday’s press reports of the new network neutrality rules proposed by FCC Chairman Wheeler have been met with anger and confusion. According to the Wall Street Journal, “[r]egulators are proposing new rules on Internet traffic that would allow broadband providers to charge companies a premium for access to their fastest… Continue Reading
CRS – Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force
Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications. Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney. Matthew C. Weed, Analyst in Foreign Policy Legislation. April 18, 2014 “From the Washington Administration to the present, Congress and the President have enacted 11 separate formal declarations of war against foreign nations in five different wars. Each declaration… Continue Reading
DoD Defense Suicide Prevention Office Annual Report
“DSPO’s annual report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 details the office’s evolution, goals, priority areas, and key accomplishments. DSPO’s first annual report describes a range of initiatives it has led in collaboration with the Services and other public and private partners to prevent suicide among the U.S. Armed Forces…“The department takes suicide prevention very seriously… Continue Reading
Real Personal Income for States and Metropolitan Areas, 2008-2012
“Today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released real, price-adjusted estimates of personal income for states and metropolitan areas for 2008-2012. The price-adjustments are based on regional price parities (RPPs) and on BEA’s national Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index. The RPPs measure geographic differences in the price levels of consumption goods and services relative to the national… Continue Reading
The Book of the States dating back to 1935 no available online in its entirety
“Since 1933, The Council of State Governments has served as a resource for state leaders and a catalyst for innovation and excellence in state governance. Just two years after its founding, CSG published the first volume of The Book of the States. For 78 years, The Book of the States has remained a reference tool of choice, providing relevant,… Continue Reading
Pinterest – Guided Search: a new way to find what you’re looking for
“Search engines are great for answering specific questions—the weather in San Francisco or the capital of Peru—but Pinterest can help with the questions that have more than one right answer. Where’s your next vacation or what’s for dinner tonight? With so many possibilities, you might not know the best one till you see it. To help… Continue Reading
BLS – New Quarterly Statistics Detail Industries’ Economic Performance
“The Bureau of Economic Analysis released today – for the first time – gross domestic product (GDP) by industry for 22 industry sectors on a quarterly basis. These new statistics fill an important gap in U.S. federal economic statistics by providing timely information on how individual industries contributed to U.S. economic growth in a given quarter.… Continue Reading
Oil Spill Clean Up in U.S. Arctic Waters Requires Increased Infrastructure to Use Full Range of Response Methods
News release: “A changing climate is increasing the accessibility of U.S. Arctic waters to commercial activities such as shipping, oil and gas development, and tourism, raising concern about the risk of oil spills. A new report from the National Research Council says that a full suite of proven oil response tools is needed to address potential oil… Continue Reading
FDA proposes to extend its tobacco authority to additional tobacco products
“As part of its implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by the President in 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed a new rule that would extend the agency’s tobacco authority to cover additional tobacco products. Products that would be “deemed” to be subject to FDA regulation are those that… Continue Reading
International banking statistics at end-December 2013
“The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today released international banking statistics at end-December 2013. The cross-border claims of BIS reporting banks contracted by $93 billion (0.3%) between end-September and end-December 2013. Claims on banking offices as well as non-bank entities fell. While this was the seventh consecutive quarterly reduction in cross-border claims, the pace of… Continue Reading
