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Ebola in Africa and the U.S.: A Curation

wired.com - August 4th, 2014 - Maryn McKenna

The Ebola outbreak has been building in West Africa for a while, but when it was revealed at the end of last week that two American aid workers had caught the disease — and that they were being transported back to the US for treatment — the news and the reaction to it instantly filled every channel. Over the weekend, so much misinformation and outrage got pumped out that it feels as though there’s no way to cut through the noise.

But I have a few thoughts. Start with this: No, I don’t think the two aid workers who are being returned to the US pose any risk at all to the average American, or even the average Atlanta resident.

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Employment - World Bank - Job Description - Data Scientist

The World Bank is in search of data scientists for bigdata. Apply Now!

CLICK HERE - Job Description - Data Scientist

CLICK HERE - Job Description - Senior Data Scientist

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House Passes Homeland Security Legislation on Chemical Facility Security, Border Security and Emergency Communications

submitted by Albert Gomez        

              

homeland.house.gov - July 8, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4007, H.R. 4263, H.R. 4289 and H.R. 3488 - bipartisan legislation to enhance the security of chemical facilities and ports of entry and improve emergency communications.

Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX): “The ability of our first responders to communicate with each other and with the public during a terrorist attack or natural disaster is imperative. I am pleased the House passed H.R. 4263 and H.R. 4289 to ensure that our first responders are able to communicate with each other via interoperable communications systems and with the public via social media during times of crisis.

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NSA Releases First Statistics on Surveillance Sweep

The logo of the National Security Agency hangs at the Threat Operations Center in Fort Meade, Maryland on January 25, 2006 (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards)

news.yahoo.com - AFP - June 27, 2014

Washington (AFP) - The US National Security Agency released its first "transparency report" Friday, as part of an effort to quell the firestorm over reports of its massive data collection efforts.

The NSA report said that in 2013, it obtained fewer than 2,000 orders from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

That included 1,767 orders based on "probable cause" for an investigation, and 131 orders allowing the agency to collect data using a so-called "pen register" or "trap and trace."

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IC on the Record - Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities
Annual Statistics for Calendar Year 2013

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Eight (No, Nine!) Problems With Big Data

nytimes.com - April 6th, 2014 - Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis

Big data is suddenly everywhere. Everyone seems to be collecting it, analyzing it, making money from it and celebrating (or fearing) its powers. Whether we’re talking about analyzing zillions of Google search queries to predict flu outbreaks, or zillions of phone records to detect signs of terrorist activity, or zillions of airline stats to find the best time to buy plane tickets, big data is on the case. By combining the power of modern computing with the plentiful data of the digital era, it promises to solve virtually any problem — crime, public health, the evolution of grammar, the perils of dating — just by crunching the numbers.

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Americans' Confidence in News Media Remains Low

                 

Across newspapers, TV, and Internet, confidence no higher than 22%

gallup.com - by Andrew Dugan - June 19, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' faith in each of three major news media platforms -- television news, newspapers, and news on the Internet -- is at or tied with record lows in Gallup's long-standing confidence in institutions trend. This continues a decades-long decline in the share of Americans saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers or TV news, while trust in Internet news remains low since the one prior measure in 1999.

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F.C.C., in a Shift, Backs Fast Lanes for Web Traffic

      

The proposed rules, drafted by Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and his staff, would allow Internet service providers to charge companies different rates for faster connection speeds. Credit Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Edward Wyatt - April 23, 2014

WASHINGTON — The principle that all Internet content should be treated equally as it flows through cables and pipes to consumers looks all but dead.

The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that it would propose new rules that allow companies like Disney, Google or Netflix to pay Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon for special, faster lanes to send video and other content to their customers.

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