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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici

New GAO Reports: DHS, Pipeline Permitting, GAO Mission and Operations, Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Department of Homeland Security – Progress Made and Work Remaining after Nearly 10 Years in Operation, GAO-13-370T, Feb 15, 2013 Pipeline Permitting – Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas Permitting Processes Include Multiple Steps, and Time Frames Vary, GAO-13-221, Feb 15, 2013 GAO Mission and Operations – Summary of GAO’s Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year… Continue Reading

Capitalizing on the Evolving Power Sector: Policies for a Modern and Reliable U.S. Electric Grid

“The U.S. electric power sector faces a significant transition over the next decade, with implications for the cost, reliability, and environmental impacts of the electricity supply. Specifically, economic trends and state and federal energy and environmental policies will continue to increase the share of natural gas and renewable energy in the generation mix. This ongoing… Continue Reading

Libraries, e-Lending and the Future of Public Access to Digital Content

Libraries, e-Lending and the Future of Public Access to Digital Content, Prepared by Civic Agenda, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutes (IFLA) “Owing to the maturity of the e-book market in Europe and North America, this paper necessarily depends upon numerous examples which are drawn from those territories. In a document of this length… Continue Reading

Treasury and Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Operations, October–December 2012

U.S. Monetary Authorities Did Not Intervene in FX Markets During the Fourth Quarter: “During the fourth quarter, the U.S. dollar’s nominal trade-weighted exchange value increased 1.0 percent as measured by the Federal Reserve Board’s major currencies index. Th e dollar appreciated 11.3 percent against the Japanese yen and depreciated 2.5 percent against the euro, though… Continue Reading

Margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives – Second consultative document

Margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives – Second Consultative Document, February 2013 “The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have today published a second consultative paper which represents a near-final proposal on margin requirements for non-centrally-cleared derivatives. Several features of the near-final proposal are intended to manage the… Continue Reading

Short-Term Energy Outlook Supplement: Key drivers for EIA’s short‐term U.S. crude oil production outlook

“Crude oil production increased by 790,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) between 2011 and 2012, the largest increase in annual output since the beginning of U.S. commercial crude oil production in 1859. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects U.S. crude oil production to continue rising over the next two years represented in the Short‐Term Energy… Continue Reading

Dept. of Energy IG – Management of the Award of a $150 Million Recovery Act Grant to LG Chem Michigan Inc.

OIG Special Report: “The Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program was established to develop and deploy efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies to reduce the Nation’s dependence on foreign oil and provide greater energy security. The Vehicle Technologies Program received $2.4 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) for… Continue Reading

New Report – APT1: Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units

News release: “The Mandiant® Intelligence Center™ released a detailed report exposing a multi-year espionage campaign by one of the largest “Advanced Persistent Threat” (APT) groups. The report, APT1: Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units, provides evidence linking one group, designated by Mandiant as APT1, to China’s 2nd Bureau of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Post-Conviction Representation, Pro Se Practice and Access to the Courts

Via LLRX.com – Post-Conviction Representation, Pro Se Practice and Access to the Courts “After the first criminal appeal, there is no constitutional right to counsel. Thus, the convicted and imprisoned pursuing discretionary appeals and habeas corpus relief must research, investigate and litigate as their own attorney. Law librarian, criminal defense attorney, and well-known writer and… Continue Reading

Research – Public Reporting of Hospital Infection Rates

Amini, Ava, Birnbaum, David W., Black, Bernard S. and Hyman, David A., Public Reporting of Hospital Infection Rates: Ranking the States on Report and Website Content, Credibility, and Usability (February 18, 2013). Proceedings of 2013 Conference on Information Technology and Communications in Health, Forthcoming; Northwestern Law & Econ Research Paper No. 12-21 “Health-care associated infections… Continue Reading

Mandiant Exposes APT1 – One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units & Releases 3,000 Indicators

By Dan Mcwhorter on February 18, 2013 -“Today, The Mandiant® Intelligence Center™ released an unprecedented report exposing APT1′s multi-year, enterprise-scale computer espionage campaign.  APT1 is one of dozens of threat groups Mandiant tracks around the world and we consider it to be one of the most prolific in terms of the sheer quantity of information it has stolen. Highlights… Continue Reading