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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici

WaPo Documents NSA’s secret programs work

Timothy B. Lee, “In the last few days, the press has focused on NSA leaker Edward Snowden and his efforts to evade capture by the U.S. government. But the more important story is what we’ve learned about National Security Agency surveillance programs thanks to his disclosures.” See also WaPo – NSA slides explain the PRISM… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Building Partner Capacity, Federal Telework, Medicare, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements

Building Partner Capacity – Actions Needed to Strengthen DOD Efforts to Assess the Performance of the Regional Centers for Security Studies, GAO-13-606, Jun 28, 2013 Federal Telework – Office of Personnel Management’s 2012 Telework Report Shows Opportunities for Improvement, GAO-13-298R, Jun 28, 2013 Medicare – Information on Highest-Expenditure Part B Drugs, GAO-13-739T, Jun 28, 2013 National Nuclear Security Administration… Continue Reading

EPIC – EU Officials Recommend Do Not Track by Default

Via EPIC: “The International Working Group on Data Protection released a white paper on online behavioral advertising. The group of leading privacy experts from around the world noted that web tracking allows companies to “monitor every single aspect of the behavior of an identified user across websites.” The Working Group also observed that the current… Continue Reading

Sound management of risks related to money laundering and financing of terrorism – consultative document

BIS: “The Basel Committee has a long-standing commitment to promote the implementation of sound policies and procedures to combat money laundering (ML) and the financing of terrorism (FT). Its commitment to combating ML and FT is fully aligned with its mandate to strengthen the regulation, supervision and practices of banks worldwide with the purpose of… Continue Reading

CRS – Financial Aid for Students: Online Resources

Financial Aid for Students: Online Resources, Laura L. Monagle, Information Research Specialist, June 17, 2013 This report identifies various online sources for planning and acquiring funds for postsecondary education. Students themselves are often in the best position to determine which aid programs they may qualify for and which best meet their needs. This list includes… Continue Reading

CRS – Systemically Important or “Too Big to Fail” Financial Institutions

Systemically Important or “Too Big to Fail” Financial Institutions – Marc Labonte, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy. June 19, 2013. “Although “too big to fail” (TBTF) has been a perennial policy issue, it was highlighted by the near-collapse of several large financial firms in 2008. Financial firms are said to be TBTF when policymakers judge that… Continue Reading

Federal Grand Jury Returns 30-Count Indictment Related to Boston Marathon Explosions and Murder of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier

Follow up to previous postings on the Boston Marathon bombings – today’s news release: “A federal grand jury today returned a 30-count indictment against Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev for his alleged role in using weapons of mass destruction at the Boston Marathon to kill three individuals and maim or seriously injure many others, as well as… Continue Reading

UK Guardian – “NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama”

Follow up to EPIC – Congress Begins Investigation of NSA Domestic Surveillance Program – via Glenn Greenwald and Spencer Ackerman: “The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to secret documents obtained by the Guardian. The documents indicate that under the program, launched in… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Privacy Resources and Sites on the Internet 2013

Via LLRX.com – Privacy Resources and Sites on the Internet 2013  – – Marcus P. Zilman’s guide is a comprehensive, timely and actionable resource inclusive of a wide range of privacy resources for individuals as well as organizations. His guide includes references to associations, indexes, search engines as and topical websites and sources that provide current applications,… Continue Reading

NRDC Annual Beach Report: Water Pollution Ruins Over 20,000 Days at the Beach for Third Straight Year

News release: “America’s beaches experienced over 20,000 closing and advisory days for the third consecutive year because of polluted water or threatened contamination, according to the 23rd annual beachwater quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Over 80 percent of the closings and advisories were issued because testing revealed bacteria levels in… Continue Reading

CRS – Transforming Government Acquisition Systems: Overview and Selected Issues

Transforming Government Acquisition Systems: Overview and Selected Issues – L. Elaine Halchin – Specialist in American National Government, June 20, 2013. “Increasingly, the federal government uses technology to facilitate and support the federal acquisition process. Primary beneficiaries of this shift to online systems (websites and databases) are the government’s acquisition workforce and prospective and incumbent… Continue Reading

Inspector General Department of the Interior – Review of U.S. Park Police Weapons Accountability Program

Review of U.S. Park Police Weapons Accountability Program, June 2013 The Office of lnspector General (OIG) has concluded its review into allegations regarding the accountability, accuracy, and oversight of the U.S.Park Police (USPP) firearms inventory. The accompanying report provides ample evidence that USPP’s firearms management requires immediate attention to address the multitude of problems we found, which ranged from fundamental errors in recordkeeping to glaring… Continue Reading