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May 31, 2007
Headlines - Am Law 200: The Gap Widens
- EPA OIG Releases Annual Superfund Report and Financial Statements for Pesticide Reg. Fund
- CT Attorney General Announces Nationwide Settlement With Choicepoint For Security Breach
- FTC Testifies on Government Agencies' Collection and Use of Personal Information and Identity Theft
- Compendium of Unimplemented HHS Office of Inspector General Recommendations
- Research Finds That Earth's Climate is Approaching 'Dangerous' Point
- Census Releases New American Community Surveys and County Business Patterns Reports
- Legislative Text of FY' 08 Intel Authorization Bill
- Global Peace Index Ranks 120 Nations According to Peacefulness
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 EPA OIG Releases Annual Superfund Report and Financial Statements for Pesticide Reg. Fund CT Attorney General Announces Nationwide Settlement With Choicepoint For Security Breach Press release, May 31, 2007: Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, with attorneys general from 43 other states, announced a settlement today with ChoicePoint for allegedly failing to adequately protect consumers' personally identifiable information, resulting in a massive security breach. The Atlanta-based ChoicePoint, which collects and maintains personally identifiable information on consumers, provides identification and credential verification services to businesses, government and non-profit organizations. In February 2005, ChoicePoint announced that criminals posing as legitimate businesses accessed consumers' personally identifiable information. The company notified more than 145,000 consumers nationwide whose information may have been compromised - including nearly 6,000 from Connecticut. Under today's settlement, ChoicePoint has agreed to adopt significantly stronger security measures. Those measures include written certification and, in some cases, on-site visits by ChoicePoint to ensure the legitimacy of companies before they are allowed access to personally identifiable information. ChoicePoint will also conduct periodic audits to ensure that companies are using consumer data for legitimate purposes." "If consumers meet the eligibility requirements for redress, they can complete and submit the redress form for consideration. More information is available here." Related postings on ChoicePoint and data breaches Compendium of Unimplemented HHS Office of Inspector General Recommendations Compendium of Unimplemented Office of Inspector General Recommendations, May 2007 (116 pages, PDF)- "The "Compendium of Unimplemented Office of Inspector General Recommendations" combines the "Red Book" (unimplemented monetary recommendations) and the "Orange Book" (unimplemented nonmonetary recommendations) into one publication. The "Red Book" focused on significant Office of Inspector General (OIG) cost-saving recommendations that had not been fully implemented. The "Orange Book" focused on unimplemented recommendations to improve HHS programs. Full implementation of the recommendations in this compendium could achieve substantial savings and increase the effectiveness of the Department's programs. Research Finds That Earth's Climate is Approaching 'Dangerous' Point Research Finds That Earth's Climate is Approaching 'Dangerous' Point, May 30, 2007: "NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth's climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet." Related government documents and news: White House Fact Sheet: A New International Climate Change Framework, May 31, 2007 NPR - Bush Calls for Goal-Setting on Climate Change, May 31, 2007: "President Bush unveiled a long-term strategy for dealing with climate change Thursday, ahead of the annual G-8 summit next week where the issue will be at the top of the agenda."
Census Releases New American Community Survey and County Business Patterns Reports American Community Survey Reports, The American Community—American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2004, released May 31, 2007 American Community Survey Reports, The American Community—Pacific Islanders: 2004, released May 31, 2007 Press release: "The nation added 112,000 new business establishments with paid employees between 2004 and 2005, contributing to 1.24 million new jobs and a 5.4 percent increase in the annual payroll for all such establishments, according to the latest tabulation from the U.S. Census Bureau... The report, County Business Patterns: 2005, provides data by county on the number of establishments, number of employees, and quarterly and annual payroll for the nation's 7.5 million businesses with employees.Data are provided at the state, county, metropolitan statistical area and five-digit ZIP code levels. The metropolitan and ZIP code data will be released later this year. Also later this year: information on businesses without paid employees." See also White House Fact Sheet: Job Creation Continues - More Than 8 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003, June 1, 2007 Global Peace Index Ranks 120 Nations According to Peacefulness Executive Summary: "The Economist Intelligence Unit, in conjunction with an international team of academics and peace experts, has compiled an innovative new Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 120 nations according to their relative peacefulness. The Global Peace Index is composed of 24 indicators, ranging from a nation's level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights. The index has been tested against a range of potential "drivers" or determinants of peace—including levels of democracy and transparency, education and material wellbeing. The team has used the latest available figures (mainly 2004-06) from a wide range of respected sources, including the International Institute of Strategic Studies, The World Bank, various UN offices and Peace Institutes and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Global Peace Index is intended to contribute significantly to the public debate on peace." [ Press release] Rankings: "This section lists the results of the analysis into each nation's peace. This is the prime table in the Global Peace Index section. The countries are ranked from most peaceful to least peaceful, highlighting their ranking as well as their score. You can click on a country to see the detail of its peace indicators and drivers." Global Peace Index - Discussion Paper - Peace and Sustainability: Cornerstones to survival in the 21st century (28 pages, PDF)
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