News release: “The study, which includes more data than prior research in this field and covers all major regions of the globe, shows the Earth’s climate plays a more influential role in human affairs than previously thought. The results were published (Thursday, Aug. 1) in the journal Science. The authors found similar patterns of conflict around the… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas in U.S. up sharply in 2011
EIA: “In 2011, oil and gas exploration and production companies operating in the United States added almost 3.8 billion barrels of crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves, an increase of 15 percent, and the greatest volume increase since the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) began publishing proved reserves estimates in 1977. Proved reserves of… Continue Reading
IMF World Economic Outlook
“Global growth is projected to remain subdued at slightly above 3 percent in 2013, the same as in 2012. This is less than forecast in the April 2013 World Economic Outlook (WEO), driven to a large extent by appreciably weaker domestic demand and slower growth in several key emerging market economies, as well as by a more… Continue Reading
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative Report
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative Report (Report of the 2012 Results, July 2013) Background Responses Aggregate Performance Management Practices Firms Reporting 2012 Results Signatory Firms “In 2001, 41 of the District’s largest law firms joined the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative and pledged to provide pro bono legal services at specified levels. The participating firms… Continue Reading
Special IG for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s 20th Quarterly Report to Congress
John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: “I believe the United States cannot achieve its objectives unless the execution of its policies receives at least as much attention as the intent behind them. For example, the policy objective of creating a robust Afghan army that will provide national security in lieu of Coalition… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Critical Infrastructure Protection, Medicare, DOD’s POW/MIA Mission, International Regulatory Cooperation
Critical Infrastructure Protection – DHS Needs to Improve Its Risk Assessments and Outreach for Chemical Facilities, GAO-13-801T, Aug 1, 2013 Medicare – Higher Use of Costly Prostate Cancer Treatment by Providers Who Self-Refer Warrants Scrutiny, GAO-13-525, Jul 19, 2013 DOD’s POW/MIA Mission – Capability and Capacity to Account for Missing Persons Undermined by Leadership Weaknesses… Continue Reading
FTC Advises Consumers on Preventing, Identifying, and Dealing With Hacked Email or Social Networking Accounts
“The Federal Trade Commission has new tips to help people deal with email and social networking hacks, whether it’s lessening the chances of a hack in the first place, or recovering from a hack once it happens. Hacked Email, new guidance from the FTC, identifies signs an account may have been hacked such as friends… Continue Reading
EPIC – Government Releases Secret Court Order Authorizing NSA Telephone Surveillance
“The Director of National Intelligence has published the “Primary Order” from the FISA Court which describes the scope of the NSA’s data analysis activities for telephone call records. The order details the procedures the NSA is expected to follow when reviewing data, but is heavily redacted. The order does not include a legal analysis of… Continue Reading
50,000 new words added to Wolfram|Alpha’s dictionary
“We just added over 50,000 new words to Wolfram|Alpha’s dictionary, including archaic words such as pythonist (a conjurer or diviner) and technical terms like cosmochronometer, which refers to processes that are used to determine the age of stars (like radioactive decay). Wolfram|Alpha provides word definitions and, when available, other features such as etymologies and anagrams—pythonist,… Continue Reading
Audit of NASA’s Progress in Adopting Cloud-Computing Technologies
Office of Inspector General, Report No. IG-13-021, July 29, 2013: “NASA’s Progress in Adopting Cloud-Computing Technologies, July 29, 2013: “NASA was a pioneer in cloud computing having established its own private cloud- computing data center called Nebula in 2009 at the Ames Research Center (Ames). Nebula provided high-capacity computing and data storage services to NASA… Continue Reading
Agari 2013 Email TrustIndex – Second Quarter Edition
“Agari today released its 2013 Email TrustIndex- Second Quarter Edition. The quarterly report gives an in-depth look at where consumers are most protected or vulnerable to email attack across industry sectors including Financial Services, E-Commerce, Social Media, Travel, Logistics and Gaming. Each industry sector is given a TrustScore™ and a ThreatScore™. The TrustScore™ reflects adoption… Continue Reading
Principles on Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance
International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance – Final version 10 July 2013 “As technologies that facilitate State surveillance of communications advance, States are failing to ensure that laws and regulations related to communications surveillance adhere to international human rights and adequately protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression.… Continue Reading
