NASA Memory Lane (2)

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On Jan. 9, 2012.

The President and the SAVE Recipient
NASA – President Barack Obama talks with Matthew Ritsko, the winner of the 2011 Presidential Securing Americans‘ Value and Efficiency (SAVE) award, in the Oval Office, Jan. 9, 2012. Ritsko, a financial manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, proposed the space agency create a “lending library” where specialized space tools and hardware purchased by one NASA organization will be made available to other NASA programs and projects Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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SEC to put U.S. audit watchdog under microscope

Image @Wikipedia

By Sarah N. Lynch – U.S. securities regulators will question the top U.S. audit watchdog about his budget and policy priorities on Wednesday, in a rare public meeting designed to shed more transparency on the agency that has tightened the screws on the auditing profession over the past year.

The PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) is considering whether to limit the number of years an audit firm can work for the same client – an action that could break up some business relationships more than a century old. It also is considering forcing auditors to put their names on the audit reports attached to companies’ financial statements. more> http://tinyurl.com/7a2zfhv

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Here Come the Jobs! (But How’s the Pay?)

By David Rohde – In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, Republicans and Democrats both recognize the problem. After years of Democratic politicians complaining about a lack of social mobility for Americans, The New York Times reported this morning that Republican candidates are complaining about the problem as well.

Economists argue that a central tool in reviving the middle class – and creating social mobility – is the creation of better-paying middle class jobs. Like so much else, that task is enormously complex. Scholars say the reduction in pay is the product of worldwide economic trends, from technological change to globalization, that are difficult to counter. Harry Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University, tracked which parts of the economy featured high paying jobs over time. The percentage of well-paying jobs provided by the manufacturing sector fell by half – from roughly 27 percent in 1992 to 13.5 percent in 2003. more> http://tinyurl.com/7sq7rx5

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1TB USB stick shoved into Swiss Army knife

By Chris Mellor – Victorinox is making a Swiss Army penknife with a 1TB USB stick inside it, claiming it’s the world’s highest USB stick capacity.

It’s being shown at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. You can either buy the stick on its own – the airline-friendly version swings out from a standard-looking Swiss Army penknife container, coloured red or black – or you can get one with a pair of scissors and a knife… but don’t expect to get that through airport security. more> http://tinyurl.com/7kxdrq7

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THOMAS Top Ten – compiled on Jan 08 2012

Library of Congress -

1. H.R. 1540 [112th]
   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
2. H.R. 3261 [112th]
   Stop Online Piracy Act
3. S. 1867 [112th]
   National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
4. H.R. 2055 [112th]
   Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012
5. H.R. 3012 [112th]
   Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act
6. H.R. 3765 [112th]
   Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011
7. H.R. 3630 [112th]
   Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011
8. H.R. 3699 [112th]
   Research Works Act
9. S. 968 [112th]
   Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011
10. H.R. 2112 [112th]
    Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

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