PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Government & Law

1. Energy: Lifting the Offshore Oil Ban
2. Energy: Hydrogen Assist Units for Autos
3. Law: Corporate Secrets Can Be Serious Business
4. Law: 'Old' Laws Can't Keep up with Technology Innovations
5. Law: CA Inc. v. AFSCME: Win for Big Companies, Loss for Shareholders
6. Military: Addressing GIs without High School Diplomas

1. ENERGY: LIFTING THE OFFSHORE OIL BAN. RENATO BERTANI of THOMPSON & KNIGHT
GLOBAL ENERGY SERVICES: "Fossil fuels will continue to be the main source of
energy for at least a few more decades. And although it may take several
years, lifting the ban on U.S. offshore drilling is a necessary step in
increasing domestic oil production. Oil and gas resources in frontier
exploration areas and the extra-heavy oil and tar sands are also economically
feasible and very attractive in light of new technologies, better
environmental management and the higher energy prices. In the long term, the
security of our energy supply will have to be based on a broad mix of sources
and mutually beneficial interdependence between energy producers and
consumers." News Contact: Barry Pound, barry@androvett.com Phone: +1-800-559-
4534 (7/23/08)
2. ENERGY: HYDROGEN ASSIST UNITS FOR AUTOS. DAVID TIPPIE is a medical
researcher and director of the ANTI-AGING CLINIC ASSOC., INC.: "We live in a
world where rising gasoline prices are a major issue for consumers. The
majority of citizens are heavily reliant on their cars, and gasoline prices
are torturing families. Using hydrogen with a combustion engine is a pragmatic
bridge to a hydrogen economy. The technology is available today and
economically viable in the short-term. A hydrogen assist unit offers
advantages. Its wide flammability range supports a much leaner burn mixture --
a factor that is important for emissions management strategies -- and nitrogen
oxides are the only regulated tailpipe pollutant, which is extremely minimal.
These environmentally friendly car modifications allow users to increase their
mileage, save money on gasoline costs and drastically reduce car emissions.
This system relies on HHO gas to assist combustion, and will most assuredly
revolutionize the way we look at fuel consumption and economy of cars." Tippie
can discuss how to assemble a hydrogen assist unit for an automobile.
(7/23/08)
3. LAW: CORPORATE SECRETS CAN BE SERIOUS BUSINESS. BILL MUNCK of Dallas law
firm MUNCK CARTER: "A conviction for the theft of corporate trade secrets can
bring stiff penalties, as one former computer-industry executive recently
found. He pled guilty to the crime and now faces up to 10 years in prison and
a $250,000 fine on a single count of theft stemming from an offer of his
former employer's confidential pricing data to its rival after he took a job
there. Separate from any civil action, companies must take reasonable measures
to protect proprietary economic information in order to gain the protections
of federal law. What constitutes 'reasonable' is open to debate, but the
territorial scope of the Federal Economic Espionage Act is arguably limitless
and criminalizes not only theft of trade secrets within the United States,
but, under certain conditions, thefts made in other countries." News Contact:
Barry Pound, barry@androvett.com Phone: +1-800-559-4534 (7/23/08)
4. LAW: 'OLD' LAWS CAN'T KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS. PETER VOGEL,
attorney in the Dallas office of GARDERE WYNNE SEWELL LLP: "Reports that New
York prosecutors issued a gag order, in conjunction with a subpoena aimed at
identifying anonymous bloggers, may have outraged civil libertarians, but the
case was less about prosecutors overstepping their boundaries and more about
signaling a need for new standards. When the first Internet browser was
released as a public utility, no one even dreamed of blogging. The courts
simply don't have a body of law on which to base their rulings. Courts are
generally slow to adapt to major social change because existing laws don't
necessarily fit the new situation. These complex cases will continue to vex
the courts until that body of law develops." News Contact: Rhonda Reddick,
rhonda@androvett.com Phone: +1-800-559-4534 (7/23/08)
5. LAW: CA INC. v. AFSCME: WIN FOR BIG COMPANIES, LOSS FOR SHAREHOLDERS. JAY
BROWN, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER Sturm College of Law professor and expert in
corporate governance: "The Delaware Supreme Court recently rejected a rule
that would have forced CA Inc. to pay back unhappy shareholders. The rule is a
win for the New York-based software firm. The ruling is a boost for big
companies but a loss for shareholders. The reasoning was unbalanced and
incomplete." Brown is available for comment and analysis. News Contact: Chase
Squires, Chase.squires@du.edu Phone: +1-303-871-2660 Web site:
http://theracetothebottom.org (7/23/08)
6. MILITARY: ADDRESSING GIs WITHOUT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS. KEN BETTERTON, a
former Marine and Utah state trooper commander, is a consultant to government
policing agencies on career training, communication and management: "The new
GI Bill has dramatically increased higher educational incentives for service
men and women. However, the percentage of Army enlistees who joined the
service with a high school diploma went from almost 84 percent in 2005 to less
than 71 percent last year, according to the analysis by the nonprofit National
Priorities Project. And this number is bound to drop even more as the war and
need for recruits continue. This raises the question of how those without high
school diplomas will choose careers upon their return and what incentive the
higher educational benefits have for them. While most see the educational
benefits as a path to college, few speak that it also offers soldiers the
ability to enroll in trade and technical schools. But there is also a
responsibility for the military to aid soldiers in preparing themselves for
work outside of the service and not just a path to college." Betterton can
discuss how the armed services can help soldiers create a career path beyond
the armed services. News Contact: T.K. Hall, tk@ictusinitiative.com Phone: +1-
617-717-8294 (7/23/08)
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