"Criminals are hard at work thinking up creative ways to get malware on your computer, warns the Federal Trade Commission. With appealing Web sites, desirable downloads, and compelling stories, these criminals try to lure consumers to links that will download malware, especially on computers that don’t use adequate security software. Then, they use the malware – malicious software – to steal personal information, send spam, and commit fraud. A new publication from the FTC has information that could help consumers protect their computers against malware and reclaim their computer and electronic information if malware is already on their computer. The publication, Minimizing the Effects of Malware, provides tips on spotting malware, and urges consumers to act immediately if they suspect their computer is affected by malware."
"GreenPrint World is a free version of GreenPrint software for home users worldwide. GreenPrint solves a problem nearly every computer user has experienced: The wasteful pages that seem only to appear after a document has been printed (for example, pages with just a URL, banner ad, legal jargon, or a run-over Excel column). GreenPrint does this by analyzing the document and then highlighting and removing unnecessary pages. GreenPrint also incorporates an easy to use PDF writer, a print preview called GreenView, and a reporting feature, which keeps track of the number of pages, trees, and money saved."
Bureau of Transportation Statistics press release: "Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 8.6 percent higher in November 2007 than in November 2006, reaching $70.4 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation... U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $45.2 billion in November, up 11.5 percent compared to November 2006. The value of imports carried by truck was 4.9 percent higher in November 2007 than November 2006, while the value of exports carried by truck was 15.1 percent higher...U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $25.1 billion in November, up 3.6 percent compared to November 2006 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 7.6 percent higher in November 2007 than November 2006 while the value of exports carried by truck was 1.6 percent lower."
"This blog is sponsored by the Transportation Security Administration to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on innovations in security, technology and the checkpoint screening process."
Driving for Quality in Long-Term Care: A Board of Directors Dashboard -- Government-Industry Roundtable, January 31, 2008: "We believe that the outcome of the roundtable discussions will foster a greater
understanding of how the government and long-term care industry can work
together to protect the integrity of the long-term care system and improve the quality of care provided to Federal health care program beneficiaries."
"The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is asking the compensation committee chairs of each of the Fortune 250 companies to provide information about how executive compensation consultants are utilized by these corporations in setting executive pay. This inquiry is part of an ongoing investigation into the role played by compensation consultants at large publicly traded corporations. In December 2007, the Committee held a hearing and released a report on this subject."
Press release: "The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to beware of several current e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure. The IRS expects such scams to continue through the end of tax return filing season and beyond. The IRS cautioned taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams involving proposed advance payment checks. Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide advance payments, known informally as rebates to many Americans, a scam which uses the proposed rebates as bait has already cropped up."
Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Climate Change Legislation Design White Paper: Competitiveness Concerns/Engaging Developing Countries, January 31, 2008: "This White Paper discusses potential domestic legislative provisions that could encourage developing countries to curb their emissions of greenhouse gases."
TB and HIV/AIDS Factsheet, January 28, 2008: "Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that is spread from person to person through the air. This disease is particularly dangerous for persons infected with HIV. Worldwide, TB is a leading cause of death among persons infected with HIV...Worldwide - At the end of 2007, approximately 33.2 million persons were living with HIV infection...In the United States, approximately 1 million persons were living with HIV infection at the end of 2003. As many as 25% of infected persons are unaware of their infection."
"The Center for the Study of the Presidency is a non-profit and non-partisan organization that actively counsels the White House and the Executive branch on policy areas critical to strengthening Presidential leadership.
Final Report of the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan, January 2008.
The Status Report of U.S. Treasury-Owned Gold (Gold Report) - Overview:
The book value of gold is currently $42.2222 per troy ounce. The information used to compile this reporting is received from the U.S. Mint, Federal Reserve banks, and FMS."
Follow up to postings on the economic stimulus package:
OIG-08-11 - Major Management Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security (PDF, 88 pages) - New 01/30/2008
EPIC: "In a report that will appear in IEEE Security & Privacy, leading experts in computer security warn that legislation now under consideration in the Senate could make the United States vulnerable to attack. The paper Risking Communications security: Potential hazards of the Protect America Act warns that warrantless wiretapping creates creates serious security risks, including "danger of exploitation of the system by unauthorized users, danger of criminal misuse by trusted insiders, and danger of misuse by government agents."
Follow up to January 28, 2008 posting - 2008 State of the Union Policy Initiatives - this Fact Sheet: The President, the State of the Union and Appropriations by the Majority Staff of the House Appropriations Committee.
"Dear Mr. Secretary: Since the Committee's previous meeting in late October, credit conditions have remained uncertain and the outlook for the economy has become more negative. Expectations for growth in the first half of 2008 have fallen from 1.7% to 1.1% and two primary dealers now expect a recession as a base case for their economic outlook. Elsewhere the odds of a recession have varied between 30 and 50%. Housing continues to be a significant drag on the economy and, although that has largely been offset by a positive contribution from the improvement in the U.S. trade balance, the secondary risk of a drop in consumer spending, combined with some evidence of a weaker labor market, justify heightened concern about the growth outlook..."
Annual Superfund Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2007, January 2008
A Blueprint for Big Broadband, An EDUCAUSE White Paper by John Windhausen Jr., President, Telepoly Consulting, January 2008.
"Environmental Capital provides daily news and analysis of the business of the environment. It tracks how growing green concern, particularly over climate change, is roiling established industries and spurring new ones – and how that shift is affecting investors, consumers and the planet." [Note: does not require a subscription]
Press release: "The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released a 2007 status report on performance-based pay systems within the federal government, which currently support over 298,000 federal employees. The report, Alternative Personnel Systems in the Federal Government - A Status Report on Demonstration Projects and Other Performance-Based Pay Systems (45 pages, PDF), includes information based on agency data, evaluations and studies, and it demonstrates performance-based pay systems "work."
Stateline.org asked two experts whether states are ready for the 2008 election?
"Today is the one-year anniversary of the Cathode Ray Tube Rule in the U.S., which is intended to encourage recycling and reuse of CRTs and CRT glass. The rule requires that recyclers notify EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. when they plan to export used and broken CRTs. EPA will then notify the receiving country of the shipment. However, if the CRTs are intact, instead of broken, and destined for reuse, the recycler must send a one-time notification to EPA before exportation. In this case, there is no requirement to notify the receiving country...the CRT Rule also covers recycling in the U.S. In many cases the recycler will disassemble the CRTs for its glass, lead or plastic components. The rule exempts CRTs from all hazardous waste requirements, if the recycler complies with certain conditions for packaging, labeling and storage. So, in general, the CRT Rule makes it easier to recycle CRTs than if the CRTs had to be handled as hazardous waste."
Press release: "In a bipartisan vote today, the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations unanimously approved the issuance of subpoenas for the testimony of two current and one former criminal investigator of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a hearing on February 12, 2008. The Subcommittee is seeking testimony regarding the agency’s ability and willingness to protect Americans from excessive risk from prescription drugs. The drug involved is Ketek, an antibiotic produced by Sanofi-Aventis (formerly Aventis), which had two of its three indications removed by the FDA for safety concerns just before the Subcommittee’s first hearing on the matter last February.
At the same business meeting, the Subcommittee also unanimously approved a subpoena to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) for documents related to the briefing book and other materials used to prepare FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach for his testimony before the Subcommittee on March 22, 2007."
"State of the Union Address - The President's State of the Union Address is now available on GPO Access. It was also printed in the Congressional Record dated Monday, January 28, 2008, on pages H472-H476."
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, Science and Mission at Risk: FDA’s Self-Assessment [witness list]
World Privacy Forum: "Consumers and organizations have an opportunity to submit public comments about the accuracy and integrity of credit reports. Until February 11, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission and other banking agencies will be accepting comments on their draft rulemaking regarding how creditors and other furnishers provide information to consumer reporting agencies, and which types of direct disputes they must handle. This proposed rulemaking is a key one; it defines what accuracy and integrity of information provided to consumer reporting agencies means, how disputes may be handled directly with the furnishers, and which types of direct disputes furnishers may ignore. The NCLC, Consumer's Union, and the World Privacy Forum have written a sample letter that may be downloaded and used or modified for the comments. To file your letter, submit your comments to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System by mailing the comments to regs.comments@federalreserve.gov with the subject line "Docket No. R–1300."
"The full Committee held a hearing on “Addressing the Screening Gap: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.” The hearing examined the National Breast and Cervical Cancer program which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide mammograms, pap smears, and other screening exams for breast and cervical cancer to low-income women without another source of coverage."
"In this Top Ten Opt Outs list, some opt outs can be done by phone, some have to be sent in a letter via postal mail, and some can be accomplished online. Some opt outs last forever, some have time limits, and others can be changed at will. If an opt out is on this list, it is because we thought it might be important enough to be worth whatever annoyance it may pose. Not every opt out is right for everyone, and not everyone will necessarily want to opt out. It is a personal choice. Take a look at the list...and see if any of the opt outs appeal to you, or might make a difference to you in some way."
Press release: "The CIA’s newest campus in Northern Virginia represents the Agency’s most ambitious effort to date to create a state-of-the-art work environment with a design that focuses on “green” principles. The design is so effective that the campus buildings have earned certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System...the buildings consume about 21 percent less energy and 40 percent less water, provide healthier indoor work environments, and have less of an overall environmental impact than comparable buildings of the same size and use."
"The mission of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Second Line of Defense (SLD) program is to strengthen the capability of foreign governments to deter, detect, and interdict illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials across international borders and through the global maritime shipping system. The goal is to reduce the probability of these materials being fashioned into a weapon of mass destruction or a radiological dispersal device (“dirty bomb”) to be used against the United States or its key allies and international partners. Under this program, NNSA works collaboratively with foreign partners to equip border crossings, airports and seaports with radiation detection equipment. SLD provides training in the use of the systems for appropriate law enforcement officials and initial system sustainability support as the host government assumes operational responsibility for the equipment."
Bush Order Expands Network Monitoring - Intelligence Agencies to Track Intrusions, by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post: "President Bush signed a directive this month that expands the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems. The directive, whose content is classified, authorizes the intelligence agencies, in particular the National Security Agency, to monitor the computer networks of all federal agencies -- including ones they have not previously monitored."
Recent audits from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
Press release: "Top-Ranked States by Industry, a new U.S. Census Bureau Web page that highlights state-level findings from the 2002 Economic Census...The economic census is conducted every five years — those ending in 2 and 7. More than 4 million businesses have received 2007 Economic Census questionnaires, which are to be returned by Feb. 12. Details about all 50 states plus the District of Columbia can be mined from the 2002 Economic Census. According to the census, law offices are thriving in Washington, D.C., ranking the highest in receipts per resident at $15,839. Enough tortillas are manufactured in California to average $17 in annual shipments for every man, woman and child in the state. Residents of Washington state spent more at the dentist than residents of any other state ($374). Tennessee’s musical groups and artists earned more on a per capita basis than any other state ($65). Bowling alleys grossed more than $25 per person in Wisconsin. Alaska led the nation in revenue per person for chiropractors’ offices ($58)."
"The 2008 Horizon Report is a collaboration between The New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, An EDUCAUSE Program."
Press release: "Sales of new one-family houses in December 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 4.7 percent (±12.1%) below the revised November rate of 634,000 and is 40.7 percent (±7.8%) below the December 2006 estimate of 1,019,000."
Press release: "A federal judge has barred the illegal operation of an information broker who advertised and sold confidential consumer telephone records to third parties without the consumers’ knowledge or consent. In entering summary judgment for the Federal Trade Commission, Judge William F. Downes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming also required the defendants to give up nearly $200,000 in ill-gotten gains derived from the consumer phone records they sold, and ordered that the individuals whose records were sold be notified."
The Herald (United Kingdom): "The US has suffered more than 72,000 battlefield casualties since the start of the war on terror in 2001, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. The query by the campaigning Veterans for Common Sense organisation shows that 4,372 American soldiers have died and another 67,671 have been wounded in action, injured in accidents or succumbed to illness in Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans' group had to force the US Defence Department to release the figures by persuading judges to uphold their FoI rights. A second request to the Veterans' Administration, the government-funded body responsible for taking care of ex-servicemen and women, showed 263,909 soldiers with experience of the two 21st-century wars have so far received treatment for everything from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the aftermath of amputated limbs."
"The aim of the Data Protection Day is to give European citizens the chance to understand what personal data is collected and processed about them and why, and what their rights are with respect to this processing. They should also be made aware of the risks inherent and associated with the illegal mishandling and unfair processing of their personal data. The objective of the Data Protection Day is therefore to inform and educate the public at large as to their day-to-day rights, but it may also provide data protection professionals with the opportunity of meeting data subjects."
Press release: "The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has underlined the importance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in pointing out possible instances of maladministration in the EU institutions. Over the past ten years, the Ombudsman's office has received almost 1,000 complaints from NGOs and associations. They included alleged maladministration concerning environmental projects, late payment for EU contracts, and lack of transparency in the EU institutions. Among the NGOs that complained were Statewatch, Corporate Europe Observatory, and the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS). Two recent complaints concerning the environmental policy of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the question of "revolving doors" in the Commission were lodged, respectively, by two Polish NGOs and Greenpeace. Mr Diamandouros commented: "The Ombudsman relies on complaints from NGOs to help him uncover possible instances of maladministration in the EU institutions. The institutions, in turn, profit from the active involvement of NGOs to help them rectify problems in the system."
OMB, GAO to Go Digital on Key Reports, By Stephen Barr, Washington Post.com, Thursday, January 24, 2008: "The Office of Management and Budget will not print 3,000 copies of the president's budget to hand out to members of Congress, the Cabinet and their staffs on Feb. 4. Instead, the four books that lay out the president's spending priorities will be put [here] on the Web. Across town, the Government Accountability Office, which investigates and reviews federal agency operations and policies, is dropping publication of its famed blue-cover reports for distribution on Capitol Hill, at agencies and at conferences."
What if the Internet went down...and didn't come back up? By Lynn Greiner, CIO.com, 01/22/08
Case No. 2:08cv00064, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Natural Resources Defense Council, vs. Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, United States District Court, District of Utah, Central Division, January 23, 2008.
Managing Diversity in Corporate America, An Exploratory Analysis - By: Jefferson P. Marquis, Nelson Lim, Lynn M. Scott, Margaret C. Harrell, Jennifer Kavanagh, January 23, 2008.
Top 60 Little-Known Technology Web Sites, By Charles Babcock, Thomas Claburn, John Foley, W. David Gardner, Antone Gonsalves, Nicholas J. Hoover, K.C. Jones, Elena Malykhina, Richard Martin, Paul McDougall, Marianne McGee, Chris Murphy, Cora Nucci, Art Wittman, and Serdar Yegulalp, InformationWeek, January 26, 2008
Follow up to previous postings on nuclear power, this new CRS report, Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities, January 18, 2008:
CDC National Vital Statistics Reports - Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for May 2007 - released January 25, 2008.
Press release, December 10, 2007 - "The way communicators dispense information is out of sync with the way consumers use media, according to Media, Myths & Realities, a comprehensive survey of media usage among consumers and communications professionals conducted by global public relations firm Ketchum and the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center. Advice from family and friends is the No. 1 source that consumers turn to when making a variety of decisions – ranging from purchasing consumer electronics to planning a vacation – and advice from an expert rates highest when making medical decisions and purchases based on a product’s environmental impact. Despite the strong evidence that friends, family and experts play a key role in influencing decisions, only 24 percent of communicators report having a word-of-mouth program in place."
Earthjustice - Wolves in Danger: "The wolf's amazing comeback in the northern Rockies is one of our country's greatest wildlife success stories. But it may be dangerously short-lived now that the federal government has issued a rule that permits wolf killing in the northern Rockies. This heralds the beginning of a larger plan to remove the animals from the Endangered Species List and allow large-scale slaughters of more than 80% of the wolf population."
"This analysis find that the sharply contrasting health care platforms of the leading Democratic and Republican presidential candidates reflect dramatic differences in the perspectives of their primary voters. The article analyzes a newly released Kaiser/Harvard survey of likely primary voters in 35 states (and the District of Columbia) with January or February primaries or caucuses, as well as data from 10 other recent surveys by national media polling organizations.
The article, Health Care in the 2008 Presidential Primaries, was written by Harvard School of Public Health Professor of Health Policy Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D.; Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew E. Altman, Ph.D.; Kaiser Associate Director of Public Opinion and Media Research Claudia Deane, M.A.; Harvard Opinion Research Program Managing Director John M. Benson, M.A.; Kaiser Director of Public Opinion and Media Research Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D.; and Harvard Opinion Research Program Assistant Director Tami Buhr, A.M. It was published in the Jan. 24 New England Journal of Medicine."
Press release: "W3C...published an early draft of HTML 5, a major revision of the markup language for the Web. The HTML Working Group is creating HTML 5 to be the open, royalty-free specification for rich Web content and Web applications. The group operates entirely in public with nearly five hundred participants, including representatives from W3C Members ACCESS, AOL, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nokia, and Opera."
Follow up to postings on the Economic Stimulus Package, Dept. of the Treasury - Fact Sheet: Examples of How the Economic Growth Package will Benefit Americans
CRS Report, U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2006-FY2008, December 28, 2007
"Today the U.S. Commerce Department introduced a new data series that precisely measures export values for metropolitan areas. In 2006, 116 metropolitan areas recorded product sales of $1 billion or more. U.S. exporters reported a record $1.4 trillion in goods and services in 2006. Final 2007 numbers are forecast to exceed 2006 totals...The data series contains merchandise export values for 369 metropolitan areas. Service export values are not included in this series. Available for 2005 and 2006, this data also contains metro area exports as a percent of the state total, where possible; product exports to individual countries for the 50 largest metropolitan areas; top global export product categories; and total exports to ten regional destinations."
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, The Department of Justice's Victim Notification System, Audit Report 08-04, January 2008, Redacted for public release (142 pages, PDF).
Follow up to postings on Navy sonar exercises off Southern California coast, today "in a letter to Council of Environmental Quality Chairman Connaughton, Chairman Waxman expresses deep concern over the Administration’s use of emergency powers to facilitate training exercises that could harm whales off the coast of southern California, and releases a list of previous uses of CEQ’s emergency powers. These powers have historically been used only in response to true emergencies, and have never before been used to effectively override a court order."
Press release: "Capital spending by U.S. nonfarm businesses reached an all-time high of $1.31 trillion in 2006, topping the $1.16 trillion in 2000 and $1.14 trillion in 2005.
These results come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Capital Expenditures Survey: 2006, which measures business spending for new and used structures and equipment. The survey defines capital goods as business assets that have an expected useful life of more than a year and that are usually depreciated.
Spending on new structures and equipment accounted for almost $1.23 trillion, a 14.8 percent increase over 2005. Nearly 63 percent of this spending ($774.7 billion) went for equipment, with the rest ($450.9 billion) allocated to structures. Spending on used structures and equipment totaled $83.8 billion."
Press release: "Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), has sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking that it reopen its investigation of the privacy and national security risks posed by government agencies reselling used magnetic data tapes that may once have contained large amounts of sensitive personal and government information. Researchers working for Imation, an Oakdale, MN-based corporation that produces magnetic data tapes, were able to recover a wide range of sensitive information from used data tapes that were supposedly wiped clean before being re-sold. Using readily available equipment and information, Imation investigators found out where the tapes originated and recovered bank account numbers, expense reports, employee tax and benefit information, and other sensitive data."
Follow-up to previous postings on the baseball investigation, "Today the Oversight and Government Reform Committee released an updated schedule of depositions and interviews related to allegations in Senator Mitchell’s Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball."
"A new Institute of Medicine report, Knowing What Works in Health Care: A Roadmap for the Nation, provides a blueprint for a national program to assess the effectiveness of clinical services and to provide credible, unbiased information about what really works in health care. The report recommends that Congress direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program with the authority, expertise and resources necessary to set priorities for evaluating clinical services and to conduct systematic reviews of the evidence. The program would also develop and promote rigorous standards for creating clinical practice guidelines, which could help minimize use of questionable services and target services to the patients most likely to benefit."
"As announced previously by Office of Information and Privacy, we are now posting up-to-date summaries of new court decisions. To facilitate their review, the cases are broken down by FOIA Exemption or procedural element and internal citations and quotations have been omitted. OIP provides these case summaries as a public service; due to their nature as summaries, they are not intended to be authoritative or complete statements of the facts or holdings of any of the cases summarized, and they should not be relied upon as such. Set out here are summaries of the court decisions that were received by OIP during the month of December 2007."
Press release: "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today adopted a Report and Order (Order) which requires television broadcasters to provide more information on the local programming they are broadcasting and facilitate the public’s access to that information. The Commission is committed to establishing and maintaining a system of local broadcasting that is responsive to the unique interests and needs of individual communities. Today’s action ensures the public is well informed about how well television stations are serving their local communities and will make broadcasters more accountable to their viewers."
WSJ: "The Wall Street Journal's Web site, WSJ.com, will keep a significant portion of its content behind its paid-subscription wall, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Thursday."
Coalition for Patient Privacy: "Our mission is to ensure that Americans control all access to their health records."
"The State of the World’s Children 2008 assesses the state of child survival and primary health care for mothers, newborns and children today. These issues serve as sensitive barometers of a country’s development and wellbeing and as evidence of its priorities and values. Investing in the health of children and their mothers is a human rights imperative and one of the surest ways for a country to set its course towards a better future."
DHS: Privacy Impact Assessment for the Use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology for Border Crossings, January 22, 2008.
Trends in Naturalization Rates (PDF, 2 pages): "This report examines the trends in naturalization rates of different cohorts and regions of birth."
Press release: "The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Georgetown University, launched today the Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue. This first of its kind report is a systematic and thorough overview of how Muslim and Western societies perceive and relate to each other at the political, social, economic and cultural levels.
The report which is the result of in-depth research carried out by leading academics and experts in the field, finds that majorities in populations around the world believe that violent conflict between the West and the Muslim world can be avoided, but they also share a great deal of pessimism about the state of the relationship."
Executive Order: Further Amendment of Executive Order 11858 Concerning Foreign Investment in the United States, January 24, 2008: "Section 1. Policy. International investment in the United States promotes economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and job creation. It is the policy of the United States to support unequivocally such investment, consistent with the protection of the national security."
Statement of Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary concerning Oversight of the Department of Justice’s Forensic Grant Programs, January 23, 2008.
Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People Around the Globe Commission: , The HELP Commission Report on Foreign Assistance Reform - Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People around the Globe, December 2007 (215 pages, PDF)
State of the States 2008, Stateline.org’s annual report on significant state policy developments and trends.
EPA: "Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family's health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually."
"Beginning January 22, 2008, TheAtlantic.com is dropping its subscriber registration requirement and making the site free to all visitors."
Press release: "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released the National Response Framework (NRF), successor to the National Response Plan. The NRF, which focuses on response and short-term recovery, articulates the doctrine, principles and architecture by which our nation prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and all sectors of communities. The NRF is responsive to repeated federal, state, local and private sector requests for a streamlined document that is less bureaucratic and more user-friendly. The NRF also focuses on preparedness and encourages a higher level of readiness across all jurisdictions."
"The IAEA today released a reference manual that details how to prevent, detect, and respond to an incidence of nuclear terrorism. Combating Illicit Trafficking in Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material serves as a how-to booklet on several topics related to criminal acts involving nuclear and radioactive material. The 150+ page text is intended for a broad audience, including law enforcement agencies, legislators, customs and border patrol personnel, intelligence officials, emergency response teams and users of nuclear technology."
Executive Order: Establishing the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy - "...To help keep America competitive and assist the American people in understanding and addressing financial matters, it is the policy of the Federal Government to encourage financial literacy among the American people."
Joint Economic Committee press release: "Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, today released a report showing that worsening economic conditions will increase demand for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid, and called on colleagues in Congress to vote next Wednesday to override the President’s veto of H.R. 3963, legislation that would bring health coverage to approximately ten million children over the next five years."
Oversight Committee press release: "On January 22, Chairman Waxman wrote to FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach requesting documents related to the FDA’s draft guidance allowing drug companies to use journal articles to promote potentially dangerous off-label uses of drugs and medical devices without prior FDA review and approval. According to FDA minutes of a meeting, Dan Troy and other drug company representatives urged FDA to issue guidance to protect the companies from "Federal prosecutors pursuing distributors of this information for criminal conduct."
"Citizens can now track fundraising for over 1,500 congressional candidates with free widgets for blogs, social networking pages, and personal web sites. MAPLight.org, a nonpartisan watchdog group, released today customizable widgets – portable chunks of code that allow content to be displayed on any web page – that make political fundraising more transparent. Bloggers and reporters will be able to easily share the campaign finance data for any number of congressional races with their audiences." [Peggy Garvin]
Fact Sheet: Congress Must Act Now to Keep a Critical Intelligence Gap Closed - "Congress has just 10 days to permanently close a critical intelligence gap that was making our Nation less safe. Last August, Congress passed the Protect America Act (PAA), which provided our Intelligence Community a critical tool it needs to acquire important information about terrorists who want to harm America. The PAA will expire in just 10 days. Congress must act now to keep our Nation safe by making the critical authority to collect intelligence under the PAA permanent and by providing meaningful liability protection to companies alleged in lawsuits to have assisted in the efforts to defend our Nation following the 9/11 attacks."
Iraq: The War Card, Center for Public Integrity: "Over the past two and a half years, researchers at the Fund for Independence in Journalism have sought to document every public statement made by eight top Bush administration officials from September 11, 2001, to September 11, 2003, regarding (1) Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction and (2) Iraq's links to Al Qaeda. Although both had been frequently cited as rationales for the U.S. war in Iraq, by 2005 it was known that these assertions had not, in fact, been true. The centerpiece of this project is an exhaustive, searchable, and robustly indexed database of all public statements on the two topics by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan. These statements were painstakingly collected from the websites of the White House, State Department, and Defense Department as well as from transcripts of interviews and briefings, texts of speeches and testimony, prepared statements, and the like."
Press release: "The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today announced that three universities - [text of the guidelines linked as follows] Hofstra, Syracuse and Marquette — have reached agreement with the AAP on new copyright guidelines affirming that educational content delivered to students in digital formats should be treated under the same copyright principles that apply to printed materials. The guidelines, which were developed separately by the three universities, govern how librarians and faculty members distribute copyrighted content through library electronic course reserves systems, course management systems, faculty and departmental web pages and other digital formats. AAP worked with each of the three universities in cooperative efforts to establish easily understood and common-sense standards that help faculty and staff understand and interpret their rights and responsibilities when using copyrighted content in educational settings. Each of the guidelines reflects the specific needs of the particular university and is consistent with the principles of fair use while providing helpful guidance as to when permission from the copyright holder is required to copy or post materials in digital formats. AAP believes the guidelines, which are similar to those adopted by Cornell University last year, will serve as models for others colleges and universities."
January 2008 - Part 2 of The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Analysis of Senate Bill S. 1766 in the 110th Congress, the Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007. The Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007 (S.1766) is designed to reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the production and use of energy. Part 2 of the request from Senators Bingaman and Specter was to analyze the economic impacts of S.1766.
"The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor is the largest and longest-standing globally focused entrepreneurship research. Researchers from Babson College, the London Business School, and a university team for each participating country, explore the role of entrepreneurship in national economic growth. More than 200 scholars and researchers are currently participating in the GEM project. The results of GEM data analysis are used as a key benchmarking indicator by a number of distinguished regional, national and supranational authorities around the world."
Press release: "USA*Engage...re-launched its Web site, www.USAEngage.org, with new tools, issues pages, publications and other resources, which underscore the importance of diplomacy, trade and engagement between the United States and the international community...Since its inception more than a decade ago, USAEngage.org has been widely recognized as a resource for information about U.S. unilateral sanctions policy. The redesigned Web site features new issues pages cataloging USA*Engage’s work on its priority issues as well as important publications from unaffiliated organizations. These priorities include: State and Federal sanctions; Diplomacy, Trade & Aid; Engaging Cuba; Rethinking Iran; the Alien Tort Statute; Export Controls Policy; and Visa Policy."
Department of Commerce Breach Notification Response Plan, September 28, 2007 (21 pages, PDF)
Do you need to read books to be clever? By Denise Winterman, BBC News Magazine: "...books are hyped as life changing and a way out of crime, poverty and deprivation by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who launched the National Year of Reading on Wednesday. Quite simply, they have the potential to open up new worlds for the reader...book sales in the UK are huge and on the rise. Last year we bought an estimated 338 million books, at a cost of £2,478m. This was 13% higher by both volume and value than five years ago, according to the Book Marketing Limited's latest Books and the Consumer survey."
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Iraq Landmine Impact Survey - Final Report 2007 (136 pages, PDF)
State Voter Registration Verification Websites: "States and territories are making it easier to find out your voter registration status. Here are the web sites and any special instructions needed to check your voter registration status....The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) administers the federal responsibilities of the Presidential designee (Secretary of Defense), under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986. The Act covers more than six million potential voters. The FVAP has three distinct goals. These are to:
Follow up to postings on the investigation into missing White House emails, news that CREW has completed an analysis [Word documents] of the national news events that took place on the dates for which there are missing White House email."
Annual FOIA Reports Submitted by Federal Departments and Agencies: This site has been created in accordance with the Electronic FOIA Amendments of 1996, which specifies that the Attorney General should make annual FOIA reports from all federal departments and agencies available at "a single electronic access point," beginning with reports for fiscal year 1998.
"The Office for Victims of Crime has released the 2008 Resource Guide for National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 13–19, 2008. Developed to help communities promote awareness of victim issues, this online guide includes camera-ready art files, public awareness posters, the 2008 theme DVD and screensaver, and more. The 2008 theme is "Justice for Victims. Justice for All." (NCJ 220102)
The Courts Statistics Project (CSP) collects and analyzes data relating to the work of our nation's state courts. This website was updated on Updated on Sunday, January 20, 2008.
Federal Times: "The administration last week told agencies not to use federal employees’ Social Security numbers as primary identifiers for data processing purposes. The Office of Personnel Management said in a Jan. 18 notice that agencies must not print the numbers on paper or display on computer screens except in secure areas. And only employees whose official duties require access to the numbers can have access to them. Lastly, agencies can only collect employees’ Social Security numbers when an employee joins the agency for human resources and payroll purposes. OPM hopes the new rules will decrease the risk of identity theft."
"The California Broadband Task Force today released its final findings and recommendations in a report to the Governor and Legislature. The report, The State of Connectivity: Building Innovation Through Broadband, represents the culmination of more than a year of work by the Task Force, including maps of current broadband availability and speed, recommendations to achieve universal access and increased use, and a timeframe in which to meet these critical goals."
"A survey of U.S. journalists by Brodeur, a unit of Omnicom Group suggests that blogs are not only having an impact on the speed and availability of news, but also influence the tone and editorial direction of reporting. The survey is part of an ongoing research project by Brodeur in conjunction with Marketwire to dissect and understand the impact that social media and blogs are having on traditional news delivery. The online survey was conducted among a random sample of North American reporters and editors, and was focused on understanding how social media and blogs influence their work."
CRS Report - Higher Education Act Reauthorization in the 110th Congress: A Comparison of Major Proposals, December 13, 2007.
CDT Comments to DHS on Developing CCTV Best Practices, January 18, 2008: "As the December 17-18, 2007 workshop on Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) made clear, there are many good CCTV “best practices” that have been developed by organizations such as The Constitution Project, ACLU, the American Bar Association, the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom, and even the U.S. Park Police. CDT supports these efforts but believes an equally important question is, how can the public be assured that video surveillance “best practices” are being implemented in localities where federal homeland security funds are spent?"
"The Conference Board announced [January 18, 2008] that the U.S. leading index decreased 0.2 percent, the coincident index increased 0.1 percent and the lagging index increased 0.4 percent in December. The leading index decreased again in December, the third consecutive decline, and it has been down in four of the last six months. Housing permits made the largest negative contribution to the index. Average working hours in manufacturing also made a large negative contribution to the index this month, followed by smaller declines in manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods*, initial claims for unemployment insurance (inverted), the index of consumer expectations, and interest rate spread. With this month's decline, the leading index is down 0.8 percent (a decline of 1.6 percent annual rate) from June to December, and it is 1.4 percent below its December 2006 level. While the strengths and weaknesses among its components were roughly balanced throughout most of 2007, weaknesses have become more widespread in the last two months."
Follow up to previous posting on listing the polar bear as a threatened species, this January 18, 2008 press release: "Select Committee Chairman Rep. Edward Markey...sent a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne reinforcing the message that the Secretary should postpone the pending oil lease sale on the critical habitat of the polar bear while he is still considering the status of the bear under the Endangered Species Act. In addition to today’s letter, Chairman Markey held a committee hearing yesterday questioning the wisdom of putting oil extraction ahead of species extinction, introduced legislation requiring that the decisions be made in the proper order, and sent a letter directing numerous questions to the Interior Department concerning how these decisions are being made."
Advancing Advanced Search, by Stephen Turbek: "Websites have come to depend on their search engines as the volume of content has increased. Yet advanced search functionality has not significantly developed in years. Poor matches and overwhelming search results remain a problem for users. Perhaps the standard search pattern deserves a new look. A progressive disclosure approach can enable users to use precision advanced search techniques to refine their searches and pinpoint the desired results."
"The MoneyTree Report is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. As a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based upon data from Thomson Financial, it is the only industry-endorsed research of its kind. The MoneyTree Report is the definitive source of information on emerging companies that receive financing and the venture capital firms that provide it. The study is a staple of the financial community, entrepreneurs, government policymakers and the business press worldwide."
"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved eight new mandatory critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability standards to protect the nation’s bulk power system against potential disruptions from cyber security breaches. These reliability standards were developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which FERC has designated as the electric reliability organization (ERO)...The final rule, Mandatory Reliability Standards for Critical Infrastructure Protection, takes effect 60 days from the later of either the date Congress receives the agency notice of the rule, or the date the rule is published in the Federal Register."
The eight CIP reliability standards address the following topics:
* Critical Cyber Asset Identification;
* Security Management Controls;
* Personnel and Training;
* Electronic Security Perimeters;
* Physical Security of Critical Cyber Assets;
* Systems Security Management;
* Incident Reporting and Response Planning; and
* Recovery Plans for Critical Cyber Assets.
"The recommended immunization schedules for persons aged 0--18 years and the catch-up immunization schedule for 2008 have been approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. The standard MMWR footnote format has been modified for publication of this schedule."
European Business - Facts and figures - 2007 edition: "This publication gives a comprehensive picture of the structure, development and characteristics of European business and its different activities: from energy and the extractive industries to communications, information services and media. It presents the latest available statistics from a wide selection of statistical sources describing, for each activity, production and employment, country specialisation and regional distribution, cost structure, productivity and profitability, the importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), external trade and more."
FTC - "Commission approval of Federal Register notices: The Commission, by a vote of 5-0, has authorized publication of a Federal Register notice announcing the revised thresholds for Section 8 interlocking directorates. Section 8 of the Clayton Act was amended on November 16, 1990. The amendment establishes jurisdictional thresholds that trigger the Act’s prohibition on interlocking directorates. The Act also requires that the Commission revise those thresholds annually, based on the change in the level of gross national product. The new thresholds are $25,319,000 for Section 8(a)(1) and $2,531,900 for Section 8(a)(2)(A). The notice announcing the revisions will be published in the Federal Register shortly and will be effective upon publication. (FTC File No. P859910; the staff contact is James F. Mongoven, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2879.)
The Commission, by a vote of 5-0, has authorized publication of a Federal Register notice announcing the revised thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 required by the 2000 amendments to Section 7A of the Clayton Act. Section 7A(a)(2) requires the FTC to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product, in accordance with Section 8(a)(5). Certain related thresholds and limitations in the HSR rules also are adjusted by this notice. The notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly and become effective 30 days after publication. The revised thresholds will apply to all transactions that close on or after the effective date of this notice. (FTC File No. P859910; the staff contacts are Marian Bruno and Michael Verne, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2846."
House Document No. 108-240, Glenn Brown's History of the United States Capitol. Annotated Edition in Commemoration of The Bicentennial of the United States Capitol. Prepared by the Architect of the Capitol for The United States Capitol Preservation Commission.
PC World: "Get to your favorite folders in a snap. Stream TV stations from around the globe. Add new power to Internet Explorer. All this and more, and all of it for free." by Scott Dunn.
"The leaders of the European Union countries signed the Treaty of Lisbon on 13 December 2007. It will now have to be approved by each of the Member States before it becomes law – at the earliest from January 2009. The Government supports the Treaty. It contains sensible changes to the current Treaties to modernise the way the EU works. This will help it deliver more effectively for the citizens of its member countries. In particular, it streamlines rules originally drawn up when the EU had fewer members. Since 2004 12 more countries have joined the EU – nearly doubling its membership from 15 to 27 over the past 4 years. The first article of the Treaty of Lisbon amends the Treaty on European Union, originally signed in Maastricht in 1992. The second amends the Treaty establishing the European Community, which has its roots in the arrangements agreed in 1957 when there were just 6 founding members. It renames that Treaty the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”. The other 5 articles of the Treaty of Lisbon are short and are largely technical and legal arrangements. They are followed by a series of Protocols which deal with some specific issues. Alongside the Treaty of Lisbon there are a series of Declarations, many of which are intended to help clarify the content of the Treaty itself. This page summarises the key changes and points you towards the actual text in the amended Treaties so that you can “see for yourself”.
Via governmentattic.org: Report on the US Secret Service and the White House taping system during the Nixon Administration
SANS NewsBites - Volume: X, Issue: 5
Press release: "USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today sent formal comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recommending that the Commission reconsider its proposal to further develop mechanisms to facilitate greater access to companies’ disclosures concerning their business activities in or with certain countries designated as “state sponsors of terrorism.” In comments sent to the SEC, the associations noted that U.S. companies operating in such countries are conducting legal, legitimate business, and that the proposed mechanism actually punishes those companies who are most transparent."
Grants and Investments: "As of January 2008, Google.org has committed $75.4 million in grants and investments to further our five initiatives."
Follow up to previous postings on missing White House emails, from the House Oversight Committee: "On February 15, the Committee will hold a hearing to investigate White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act. Statements made at the January 17 White House press briefing contradict information provided to the Committee, which revealed that a 2005 White House analysis found no archived mail for hundreds of days between 2003 and 2005. The following officials have been invited to testify: Fred Fielding, Counsel to the President; Alan Swendiman, Director, Office of Administration; Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States."
CDC press release: "School-associated student homicide rates which includes both public and private elementary thru high schools, decreased significantly from academic school years 1992 thru 2006, according to a study released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report shows a decline in the rates of single-victim school-associated homicides, while multiple-victim homicide rates, which were much fewer in number, remained stable. Of the last 109 incidents of school-associated student homicides studied, 101 involved only one victim. The data comes from the School-Associated Violent Death Study (SAVD), which collects the latest records on school-associated violence from media databases, state and local agencies, police, and school officials in the United States. SAVD is a collaboration among CDC and the U.S. departments of education and justice."
United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is part of the Department for Transport. Accident to Boeing 777-236, G-YMMM at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008 - Initial Report, AAIB Ref: EW/C2008/01/01.
Press release: "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reminds travelers that beginning January 31, 2008, border crossers will be asked to present documents denoting citizenship and identity when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. This change primarily affects United States and Canadian citizens, who have previously been permitted entry by oral declaration alone, and marks the transition toward standard and consistent documents for all travelers entering the country. It is also the start of a more robust and concerted public education campaign, intended to inform travelers of document requirements which will be implemented next year."
Frequently Asked Questions: New Border Crossing Procedures Beginning January 31, 2008
Follow up to postings on the Major League Baseball Investigation, the " Oversight Committee today released letters to Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, Brian McNamee, and Kirk Radomski inviting them to testify at the Committee’s February 13, 2008, hearing and to participate in depositions or transcribed interviews prior to the hearing."
White House Fact Sheet - Taking Action to Keep Our Economy Healthy: "Today, President Bush asked Congress to work with him to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible to keep our economy growing and creating jobs. By passing an effective growth package quickly, we can provide a shot in the arm to keep our fundamentally strong economy healthy and help keep instability in the housing and financial markets from more adversely affecting the overall economy. The President has asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to lead the Administration's efforts to forge an agreement with Congress so that we can deliver this needed boost to our economy as quickly as possible."
Press release: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the Caging Prohibition Act of 2008. Voter caging is a practice by which mail is sent to a registered voter’s address and, if the mail is returned as “undeliverable” or if it is delivered and the voter does not respond, his or her registration is challenged in order to suppress voter turnout. This may occur even if the voter has simply moved across a college campus or to another location on a military base, or simply does not respond to what one might assume is junk mail. It is estimated that the practice has resulted in tens of thousands of voters - often soldiers, college students and low-income families - being purged from the rolls."
"The Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School is pleased to present the results [full report/purchase only] of the seventh year of our project, Surveying the Digital Future [highlights]. The seven years of longitudinal research comprise an absolutely unique data base that completely captures broadband at home, the wireless Internet, on-line media, user-generated content and, now, social networking. This year's report contains a large module looking at on-line communities and social networking in great detail. Readers can compare the social networking data and correlate it to seven years of attitudes and behaviors on-line. As usual, the report continues to track off-line media use, purchasing both off-line and through e-commerce, social and political activity and a wealth of other data."
U.S. Army Medical Command: "The Army has aggressively sought to prevent, diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries (TBI), but much remains to be done to understand and respond to these injuries commonly associated with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. So concluded the Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force, a group of experts chartered by the Army Surgeon General to analyze and make recommendations to improve the clinical, administrative and research processes involved with providing medical care and services to Soldiers and other service members. The group was chaired by Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw, commander of the Army's Southeast Regional Medical Command, and included representatives from all the military services and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). They studied the issue from January to May last year, and their report now has been released."
Press release: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a Public Health Advisory for parents and caregivers, recommending that over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products should not be used to treat infants and children less than 2 years of age because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur from such use. OTC cough and cold products include decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines, and antitussives (cough suppressants) for the treatment of colds. There are a wide variety of rare, serious adverse events reported with cough and cold products. They include death, convulsions, rapid heart rates, and decreased levels of consciousness."
Secure Borders and Open Doors: Preserving Our Welcome to the World in an Age of Terrorism, Report of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee, January 2008. "The Secure Border and Open Doors Advisory Committee, created by the US Secretaries of Homeland Security and State in December 2006, has included 44 policy recommendations on travel and border issues in this report."
HHS OIG, National Institutes of Health: Conflicts of Interest in Extramural Research, January 17, 2008: "NIH provides billions of dollars to institutions in the form of research grants. It is imperative that the funds provided to grantee institutions be used appropriately and that the research conducted using these funds not be biased because of any conflicting financial interests of investigators. Although the responsibility of complying with Federal financial conflict-of-interest regulations ultimately falls to the grantee institution, NIH, as an oversight body, should take a more active role in overseeing financial conflicts of interest among grantee institutions."
Monthly Flash Estimate (MFE) (01/17/2008): "The January, 2008 issue of the Monthly Flash Estimate (MFE) of Electric Power Data is now available on EIA's Electricity Publications page. MFE provides an early look at the highlights of the upcoming Electric Power Monthly publication and presents tables of electricity generation, fuel consumption for generation, fossil fuel stocks, and average retail sales and prices of electricity. MFE precedes the next issue of EPM by three weeks. The current issue covers an early review of the November, 2007 electricity data. The publication is available both in PDF and Excel formats and can be accessed here."
Today the House Oversight Committee held a hearing entitled Assessing Veteran’s Charities – Part Two. [Hearing to Assess Veterans' Charities, December 13, 2007 - A preliminary transcript of this hearing is now available - 136 pages, PDF]. "This hearing focused on charities operated by Roger Chapin, who failed to comply with a subpoena compelling his testimony at the December 13 hearing. Over the past 40 years, Mr. Chapin has established and operated more than 20 charitable organizations, including a number of veterans’ and military-oriented charities. Questions have been raised about the practices of his current charitable organizations." Testimony and related document links from today's hearing.
Press release: "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) today announced a new guide to help employers, private health plans, the federal government, and state Medicaid agencies as they consider consumer financial incentives as part of an overarching strategy to improve the quality of health care and get better value for what they spend on services.
Consumer financial incentives are either a reward offered to influence patients to behave in a particular way, or, less often, a penalty for failing to do so. By using financial incentives, health care purchasers hope to encourage patients to take actions that either may improve the results of their treatment—such as selecting a high-quality physician, reducing or eliminating high-risk behaviors and using preventive services—or may reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary emergency room visits and decreasing preventable hospitalizations."
Press release: "The Department of Justice’s systematic failure to hold private security contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan criminally responsible for acts of excessive violence and abuse has created a dangerous “culture of impunity,” a new report finds. Released by Human Rights First, the report entitled Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity, offers the first comprehensive look at this growing crisis and includes a number of practical recommendations for addressing and correcting this increasingly dangerous situation. The report is based on interviews, court records, government reports, declassified documents and other documentary sources. It concludes that this lack of accountability has given rise to a principle of “shoot first, ask questions later—or never,” which threatens not only the safety of Iraqi and Afghan civilians, American troops and the contractors themselves, but also the U.S. military missions in those two countries."
"The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit journal articles that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central. The Policy requires that these articles be accessible to the public on PubMed Central to help advance science and improve human health."
The Law:
"In comments filed [January 15, 2008]with the Department of Homeland Security, EPIC detailed its "Framework for Protecting Privacy & Civil Liberties If CCTV Systems Are Contemplated." EPIC explained that it "does not support the creation nor the expansion of video surveillance systems, because their limited benefits do not outweigh their enormous monetary and social costs." EPIC's guidelines explain that (1) alternatives to CCTV are preferred; (2) there must be a demonstrated need for the system; (3) the public and privacy and security experts must be consulted before the system is created; (4) Fair Information Practices Privacy Act of 1974, the 1980 OECD Privacy Guidelines and the Video Voyeurism Act. See EPIC's page on Video Surveillance."
Press release: "HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the release of $450 million to help eligible low-income homeowners and renters meet home energy costs. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds will provide states, territories, tribal areas and the District of Columbia with heating assistance for the winter months ahead. “Shelter is a basic human need,” Secretary Leavitt said. “These funds will enable states to make sure no one is left out in the cold.” LIHEAP helps eligible families pay for home cooling, heating and insulation in summer and winter months. Every year, more than five million low-income households across the country receive assistance under LIHEAP."
Press release: "A new report, commissioned by the UKL JISC [Joint Information Systems Committee] and the British Library, counters the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ – young people born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most adept at using the web. The report by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web. The report Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future [11 January 2008] also shows that research-behaviour traits that are commonly associated with younger users – impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs – are now the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors. 'These findings add to our growing understanding of subjects that should concern all who work in further and higher education – the changing needs of our students and researchers and how libraries can meet their needs.'
The study calls for libraries to respond urgently to the changing needs of researchers and other users and to understand the new means of searching and navigating information. Learning what researchers want and need is crucial if libraries are not to become obsolete, the report warns."
Consumer Price Index Summary: "The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.1 percent in December before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The December level of 210.036 (1982-84=100) was 4.1 percent higher than in December 2006."
Press release: "The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report entitled Accounting for Laws that Apply Differently to the United States Postal Service and its Private Competitors, which fulfills its requirement under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA).
The report identifies and quantifies – to the extent possible – the Postal Service’s economic burdens and advantages that exist due to its status as a federal government entity, as well as those benefits resulting from its postal and mailbox monopolies. The report also examines the net economic effect of the relevant laws governing the Postal Service and its private competitors, concluding that the USPS’s burdens and benefits both create marketplace distortions: legal constraints increase the USPS’s costs, disadvantaging it as a competitor; implicit subsidies that the USPS enjoys partially mask the USPS’s higher costs from consumers, creating incentives for consumers to purchase more competitive mail products from the USPS than they otherwise would. The report further explores ways that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) or Congress may be able to minimize or eliminate such distortions."
"Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity increased modestly during the survey period of mid-November through December, but at a slower pace compared with the previous survey period. Among Districts, seven reported a slight increase in activity, two reported mixed conditions, and activity in three Districts was described as slowing. Most reports on retail activity indicated subdued holiday spending and further weakness in auto sales. However, most reports on tourism spending were positive. Residential real estate conditions continued to be quite weak in all Districts. Reports on commercial real estate activity varied, with some reports noting signs of softening demand. Manufacturing reports varied across industries, with pronounced weakness noted in housing-related industries as well as the automobile industry. Strong export orders and increased demand in industries whose products compete against imports was reported by some Districts. Demand for nonfinancial services remained generally positive, although some Districts commented on continuing weak demand for transportation services."
Follow up to previous postings on missing White House emails, today's Press release from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW): "Yesterday’s midnight filing by the White House in CREW v. Executive Office of the President, a lawsuit challenging the failure of the White House to preserve and restore millions of missing emails, raises some very troubling questions...The White House has now admitted that it does not have an effective system for storing and preserving emails. This is no mere technicality; it is this failure that led to the likely destruction of over 10 million email. What the White House has not explained is why it abandoned the electronic record-keeping system used by the prior administration -- a system that properly preserved White House email -- but did not replace it with another effective and appropriate system."
Homeland Security Advisory Council - Report of the Administration Transition Task Force (ATTF), January 2008, (27 pages, PDF).
Press release: "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued a comprehensive report addressing strategies to reverse the declining participation rate of federal employees with targeted disabilities. The full text of the report, Improving the Participation Rate of People with Targeted Disabilities in the Federal Work Force, is available here."
FCC press release: "The Commission has released its report on the top subject areas for consumer inquiries and complaints processed by the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) during the
first and second quarters of calendar year 2007."
Press release: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Division of Research launched a study to learn about an unexplained skin condition known as Morgellons. Persons who suffer from this condition report a range of symptoms including non-healing skin lesions associated with the emergence of fibers or solid material from the skin, abnormal skin sensations (such as stinging and biting or pins and needles) and non-cutaneous symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and short-term memory loss. Researchers hope to learn more about who might be affected, what symptoms they experience, and factors that may contribute to their illness...Interested persons are encouraged to visit the CDC’s Unexplained Dermopathy/Morgellons web site."
Follow up to January 5, 2008 posting, Federal Judge Orders Navy To Adopt Significant Mitigation Measures For Sonar Use, from the Natural Resources Defense Council, news that "the Bush administration yesterday attempted to override a federal court order requiring the U.S. Navy to minimize harm to whales and dolphins during upcoming sonar exercises off Southern California. In an effort to nullify measures established to protect marine mammals from potentially lethal sound blasts, President Bush gave the Navy an unprecedented waiver under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), and allowed the Navy a second “emergency” waiver under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)."
Rand Report: U.S.-Pakistan Relations Assassination, Instability, and the Future of U.S. Policy, by C. Christine Fair. Testimony presented before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on January 16, 2008.
Follow up to postings on EPA library closures, this press release from January 10, 2008: EPA To Set Up Human Resources Shared Service Centers: "The Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to establish shared service centers in three locations, beginning in June 2008, to process personnel and benefits actions for the agency's 17,000 employees. The centers, to be located in current EPA facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio, Las Vegas, Nev., and Research Triangle Park, N.C., also will process vacancy announcements throughout the agency. The move will improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and customer service of agency human resources operations. It is expected to take 12-24 months to complete. Staff affected by the creation of the shared service centers will continue their employment at one of the centers or elsewhere in the agency. The centers will enhance the timeliness and quality of customer service and standardize work processes."
Iran Sanctions: Impact in Furthering U.S. Objectives Is Unclear and Should Be Reviewed, GAO-08-58, December 18, 2007.
"The UN E-Government Survey 2008: From E-Government to Connected Governance (246 pages, PDF) assesses the e-government readiness of the 192 Member States of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-readiness based on website assessment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endowment. ICTs can help reinvent government in such a way that existing institutional arrangements can be restructured and new innovative arrangements can flourish, paving the way for a transformed government. The focus of the report this year, in Part II, is e-government initiatives directed at improving operational efficiency through the integration of back-office functions."
"Most federal judges come into contact with classified information infrequently, if at all, but when they do, they are faced with the dilemma of how to protect government secrets in the context of an otherwise public proceeding. This pocket guide is designed to familiarize federal judges with statutes and procedures established to help public courts protect government secrets when courts are called upon to do so. The guide provides information about the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), information security officers, and secure storage facilities. I hope you will find this guide useful in meeting the challenge of protecting government secrets in a public forum. Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, Director, Federal Judicial Center"
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) Audit: Outcome, Cost, and Oversight of Reconstruction of Taji Military Base and Baghdad Recruiting Center, Report Number 08-004, January 15, 2008.
Transportation for Tomorrow: Report of the National Surface: Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, prepared by a specially convened Commission, meets the charge given under Section 1909 of the Safe Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The Report includes detailed recommendations for creating and sustaining a pre-eminent surface transportation system in the United States."
Press release: "Today, the Toronto Strategic Partnership, of which the Federal Trade Commission is a member, released a paper summarizing the joint law enforcement initiatives undertaken in the last seven years to combat cross-border telemarketing fraud and other mass-marketing fraud. Through their combined efforts, the Partnership has shut down cross-border operations that defrauded nearly two million U.S. and Canadian consumers of more than $380 million."
Press release: "After years of detailed study and analysis, the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, and the offspring of clones from any species traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals. There was insufficient information for the agency to reach a conclusion on the safety of food from clones of other animal species, such as sheep. FDA today issued three documents on animal cloning outlining the agency's regulatory approach – a Risk Assessment; a Risk Management Plan; and Guidance for Industry."
TheHill.com, Endorsements '08: The rapid pace of the 2008 White House hunt has sparked a separate hard-fought contest among candidates -- for endorsements from members of Congress. The Hill will maintain a running tally of the race for lawmaker support based on extensive research and daily contact with campaigns. The list reflects publicly committed backers of 2008 presidential hopefuls rather than members' private leanings or inclinations."
Press release: "The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) announced today a Smoking & Home Fires Campaign to put an end to the number one cause of preventable home fire deaths – fires started by smoking materials. The campaign is designed to alert smokers and those who live with smokers about simple steps they can take to stop the fire before it starts in their home. The USFA, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is encouraging smokers to "Put It Out. All the Way. Every Time."
Press release: "A new study showing that the heavily advertised cholesterol drug Vytorin doesn’t work any better than a newly available generic drug in slowing artery-clogging calls into question who should be taking the most potent cholesterol drugs. “This study gives us another important piece of the puzzle in the treatment of high cholesterol and heart disease risk,” said Steven Findlay, managing editor of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a public information and education project of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. “While the results are not conclusive, they should compel doctors and patients to ask just who should be taking the strongest cholesterol lowering drugs.”
Press release: "The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a safety recommendation that addresses a design issue with the I-35W bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi river on August 1, 2007. In this accident, approximately 1,000 feet of the deck truss fell into the river, and as a result, 13 people died and 145 people were injured...During the wreckage recovery, investigators discovered that gusset plates at eight different joint locations in the main center span were fractured. The Board, with assistance from the FHWA, conducted a thorough review of the design of the bridge, with an emphasis on the design of the gusset plates. This review discovered that the original design process of the I-35W bridge led to a serious error in sizing some of the gusset plates in the main truss...The Safety Board emphasizes that there is no evidence to suggest that the deficiencies in the various design review procedures associated with this bridge are widespread or even go beyond this particular bridge. In fact, this is the only bridge failure of this type of which the Safety Board is aware."
FAA’s Implementation of Runway Status Lights, Federal Aviation Administration Report Number: AV-2008-021, Date Issued: January 14, 2008: "This report provides the results of our review of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) implementation of Runway Status Lights (RWSL). We conducted this review as part of our ongoing efforts to assess FAA’s actions to reduce runway incursions. The objectives of our audit were to (1) determine RWSL’s viability for reducing runway incursions and (2) assess FAA’s progress in implementing the system. Our review was conducted between June and January of 2008 and included site visits to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and FAA Headquarters. Exhibit A details our scope and methodology."
Press release: "The Library of Congress and the Foundation Center, in a joint partnership, have recently compiled a new Web-based fundraising guide to help the preservation community save the nation’s millions of at-risk artifacts for future generations. The guide, titled Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives and Museums, is available for free download at the Library of Congress."
Press release: "The University of California announced this week that its widely used eScholarship Repository has surpassed the 5 million mark for full-text downloads of its open access scholarly content. This major milestone reflects the impressive adoption and usage rate the repository has enjoyed since its inception in 2002, with University of California academic units and departments from its 10 campuses publishing or depositing more than 20,000 papers and works."
Press release: "The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of Joint Direct Attack Munitions as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $123 million. The Government of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) tail kits (which include 550 GBU-38 for MK-82, 250 GBU-31 for MK-84, 100 GBU-31 for BLU-109). Also included are bomb components, mission planning, aircraft integration, publications and technical manuals, spare and repair parts, support equipment, contractor engineering and technical support, and other related elements of program support. The estimated cost is $123 million."
U.S. Office of Special Counsel - No FEAR Act Report: Equal Employment Opportunity Data Fiscal Year 2007
"As part of its ongoing investigation into executive pay, the Oversight Committee invited three CEOs implicated in the subprime mortgage crisis to testify on February 7 about their severance and compensation packages: Mr. Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial; Mr. Charles Prince, the former CEO of Citigroup; and Mr. E. Stanley O’Neal, the former CEO of Merrill Lynch."
Congressional Budget Office - Effects of Gasoline Prices on Driving Behavior and Vehicle Markets, January 2008
Press release: "As fears of a flu pandemic have grown, the Bush administration has pursued a misguided approach to pandemic preparation that relies on a law enforcement/national security approach, rather than a public health approach to the problem, and which exposes Americans to unnecessary risk. That is the finding of an expert report...released today by the American Civil Liberties Union..."
Press release: "In the wake of the Indian "peaceful nuclear explosion" on May 17, 1974 and growing concern about the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities, the U.S. intelligence community prepared a Special National Intelligence Assessment, "Prospects for Further Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," published today by the National Security Archive."
Press release: "A new report from the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) on congressional Web sites says the overall quality “continues to be disappointing,” with more than 40% of congressional Web sites earning a substandard or failing grade. The report also contains recognition and praise for the best Web sites on Capitol Hill with the announcement of the winners of the 2007 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Mouse Awards...Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, The 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill (115 pages, PDF) evaluated 618 congressional Web sites, including those of all Senate and House Members and Delegates, committees (both majority and minority sites) and official leadership sites."
NPR Morning Edition, January 14, 2008, DHS Still Dogged by Questions over Effectiveness by Pam Fessler: "The Department of Homeland Security began to take shape five years ago this month. It involved the unprecedented merger of two dozen agencies and almost 200,000 federal employees. But now, more than $200 billion later, the department faces low morale, missed deadlines and continued questions about its effectiveness."
Follow up to January 8, 2008 posting, CA sues EPA, citing new technical report: Study demonstrates that CA's standards more effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions than federal Energy Bill, today from the House Oversight Committee - Investigation Into EPA's Denial of State Greenhouse Gas Regulations Advances: "Following EPA’s failure to meet the Committee’s deadline for producing documents, Chairman Waxman requests that the agency agree to production deadlines and provide relevant EPA officials for interviews."
Documents and Links:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Remediation of Arsenic for Agriculture Sustainability, Food Security and Health in Bangladesh: "Contamination of shallow groundwater aquifers with arsenic (As) has been reported in over 20 countries around the world...but is most serious in the Bengal Delta region of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India where the groundwater has been widely developed to supply drinking and irrigation water. An estimated 30 million people drink water from arsenic-contaminated tube wells in Bangladesh. Considerable efforts have been made to identify contaminated wells and to develop practical and acceptable water treatment systems for rural households..In addition to drinking water health risks, FAO was concerned about the potential levels of arsenic entering the food chain via absorption by crops from irrigated water. Because rice is the staple food in Bangladesh, and it is consumed in large quantities, arsenic-contaminated rice could aggravate human health risk when consumed along with As-laden drinking water."
New Questions Raised About White House Records Preservation: "In letters to the White House and the National Archives, House Oversight Chairman Waxman asks whether the White House has preserved its records according to the obligations of the Presidential Records Act, and what the White House has done to prepare for the transition of presidential records to the Archives in January 2009."
Documents and Links
Press release, January 11, 2009: "One of the biggest concerns we’ve had for the last several years, one we continue to have at the Department of Homeland Security, is how do we promote a secure form of identification across America? And Congress has spoken to this by passing the REAL ID Act several years ago, which provides that we have the obligation to set uniform security standards for the issuance of state driver’s licenses. When we went back and investigated the 9/11 attacks, one of the things which we found, and which the 9/11 Commission found, was that all but one of the hijackers carried a government-issued identification form – mostly driver’s licenses. And this government-issued ID helped the hijackers board airplanes, or remain in the country illegally. That’s why the 9/11 Commission recommended that we enhance the security of our driver’s licenses as a counterterrorism measure. And that’s why Congress set higher standards for driver’s licenses in the REAL ID Act. That’s also why the American people overwhelmingly support more security for driver’s licenses."
Ceres press release: "While encouraging progress is being made, the banking sector still has a long way to go in confronting the business challenges posed by global climate change, according to a first-ever report issued today by the Ceres investor coalition that analyzes climate change governance practices of 40 of the world’s largest banks...The report found that a growing number of European, U.S. banks and Japanese banks are responding to the risks and opportunities presented by climate change, primarily by setting internal greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, boosting climate-related equity research and elevating lending and financing for clean energy projects. But many others are still not addressing climate change and only a handful of the 40 banks have begun integrating climate risks into their core business of lending by pricing carbon into their finance decisions or setting targets to reduce GHG emissions in their lending portfolios.."
Bank Profiles:
"This website is a companion to The Buying of the President 2008. Like the book, this site explores the roles that money and special interests play in presidential politics. But unlike the book, which will provide a behind-the-scenes examination of how big money influences the presidential election process, this site is a work in progress — a continually updated window into the 2008 race that’s also richly supplemented with details, insights, and revelations from previous campaigns and, where feasible, those who engineered them. In addition to details about the 2008 candidates and their political benefactors, for example, the site includes everything from a history of money in presidential politics to in-depth, on-the-record interviews with current and former presidential candidates, consultants and strategists, donors and fundraisers, and academics who have studied the intricacies of the political system. What’s more, the site offers the Center for Public Integrity’s complete body of work on presidential elections, most notably cover-to-cover, full-text-searchable copies of the three previous books in the Buying of the President series."
Scientific American: Wikis, blogs and other collaborative web technologies could usher in a new era of science. Or not. By M. Mitchell Waldrop: "The explosively growing World Wide Web has rapidly transformed retailing, publishing, personal communication and much more. Innovations such as e-commerce, blogging, downloading and open-source software have forced old-line institutions to adopt whole new ways of thinking, working and doing business. Science could be next. A small but growing number of researchers--and not just the younger ones--have begun to carry out their work via the wide-open blogs, wikis and social networks of Web 2.0. And although their efforts are still too scattered to be called a movement--yet--their experiences to date suggest that this kind of Web-based "Science 2.0" is not only more collegial than the traditional variety, but considerably more productive."
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, November 2007: "The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced [January 11, 2008] that total November exports of $142.3 billion and imports of $205.4 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $63.1 billion, up from $57.8 billion in October, revised. November exports were $0.6 billion more than October exports of $141.7 billion. November imports were $6.0 billion more than October imports of $199.4 billion. In November, the goods deficit increased $5.8 billion from October to $72.7 billion, and the services surplus increased $0.4 billion to $9.6 billion. Exports of goods increased $0.1 billion to $101.0 billion, and imports of goods increased $5.9 billion to $173.7 billion. Exports of services increased $0.5 billion to $41.4 billion, and imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $31.8 billion."
Follow up to December 27, 2007 posting Mandate for Public Access to NIH-Funded Research Now Law, see this press release: "The Association of American Publishers [January 3, 2008] criticized a controversial new NIH research publication policy that was enacted as part of the omnibus appropriations package for 2008, and reaffirmed that journal publishers who have opposed the policy will continue to pursue their concerns with Congress regarding the policy’s negative impact on science publishing and the protection of related intellectual property rights. Publishers will also urge NIH to conduct a rulemaking proceeding, with opportunity for public comment, before implementing the new policy."
"The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2007 report tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the state and federal level and assigns grades to tobacco control laws and regulations enacted as of January 1, 2008. This report is a call to action for national and state elected officials: Meet the challenge and enact strong tobacco control laws so that everyone in the United States can breathe easier."
Pew Research Center Report: Internet's Broader Role in Campaign 2008 - Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off, Released: January 11, 2008
New York Times - The Afterlife of Cellphones: "Americans threw out just shy of three million tons of household electronics in 2006. This so-called e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the municipal waste stream and, depending on your outlook, either an enormous problem or a bonanza. E-waste generally contains substances that, though safely sequestered during each product’s use, can become hazardous if not handled properly when disposed. Those products also hold bits of precious metals like silver, copper, platinum and gold."
"Google U.K. and comScore, Inc...announced the results of a study into online consumer behaviour in the travel sector, finding that consumers are using search engines in more sophisticated ways to research and purchase travel in the UK. The Internet is rapidly becoming the number one resource for the travel consumer. The study revealed that 20 million people in the U.K. utilized search engines for travel information in the first quarter of 2007."
"HealthyCar.org is based on research conducted by the Ecology Center that looks at the presence of key hazardous chemicals in vehicles and child car seats. While there are numerous substances in vehicles that can lead to health and environmental problems, HealthyCar.org focuses on bromine, chlorine, lead, as well as some other heavy metals, allergens and carcinogens. All of these substances were chosen because of their toxicity, persistence, and/or tendency to build up in people and the environment. All of them have also been subject to regulatory restrictions and/or voluntary limits set by industry associations or third party certification organizations.
HealthyCar.org includes test results from over 200 of the most popular vehicles in the U.S. market from the 2006 and 2007 model years. In each vehicle, 15 different components were sampled using a portable, hand-held X-Ray Fluoresence (XRF) spectrometry device. The components sampled include: steering wheel, shift knob, armrest/center console, dashboard, headliner, carpet, seat front, seat back, seat base, hard door-trim, soft door-trim, body sealer, wiring, window seal and wheel weights."
Press release: "Becta [British Educational Communications and Technology Agency], the education technology agency, has published a key report on Microsoft Vista and Office 2007 and on document interoperability which analyses the suitability of both software packages for adoption by schools and colleges."
Keep Your Enemies Close: Distance Bounding Against Smartcard Relay Attacks, by Saar Drimer and Steven J. Murdoch, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Press release: "As of Dec. 10, the Army has safely destroyed 50 percent of the United States' chemical-agent stockpile since beginning to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention April 29, 1997. Officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, the CWC is a treaty among more than 170 nations to ban the development and use of chemical weapons and to destroy existing stockpiles and production facilities in countries that have ratified it."
Association of State Dam Safety Officials, Current Overview of Dam Safety in the U.S. (November 2007): "Roughly 85% of the US dams are regulated (not owned) by state governments. Most states are under-funded and under-staffed, and many do not have complete statutory authority to perform critical regulatory functions such as requiring Emergency Action Plans to warn and evacuate people in the event of a dam failure...Since 2000, more than 45 dam failures have been documented throughout the US."
Press release: "The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service; and the New York Department of State has prepared a final EIS for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas pipeline (referred to as the Broadwater LNG Project) proposed by Broadwater Energy LLC and Broadwater Pipeline LLC (jointly referred to as Broadwater).
The proposed LNG terminal would be located in New York State waters of Long Island Sound, approximately 9 miles from the nearest shoreline of Long Island, and about 10 miles from the nearest shoreline in Connecticut. The terminal consists of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that would be attached to a yoke mooring system (YMS) which includes a mooring tower embedded in the seafloor. The FSRU would look like a marine vessel and would remain moored in place for the duration of the Project (expected to be 30 years or more). The YMS would allow the FSRU to pivot or “weathervane” around the YMS, enabling the FSRU to orient in response to the prevailing wind, tide, and current conditions."
Rains wash pollutants into area waters - Experts worry about high bacteria levels from feces, By Suzanne Bohan, Inside Bay Area: "One of the rewards of enduring days of downpours is the fresh look of local landscapes, cleansed of the grime of urban life. But while the skies clear, pollutants — the overflows and leaks from sewage systems, animal waste, road grease, pesticides and fertilizers — have ended up in local waterways, creating what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cites as among the largest collective sources of pollutants of the nation's waters... "In wet weather, a large portion of the Bay will fail to meet (state) standards," for water quality, said Mike Conner, executive director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute, citing data from Heal The Bay, a Santa Monica organization which monitors water quality at beaches statewide, among other activities."
FAA Fact Sheet: "Following through on its commitment to the ambitious government and industry plan to improve safety at U.S. airports, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed extending the enhanced standards for taxiway centerline makings to all certificated airports to reduce the risk of runway incursions. Simultaneously, the FAA is recommending regular recurrent driver training for all persons with access to the movement area and ramp areas at certificated airports."
Press release: "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today a final rule establishing minimum security standards for state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards. The rule sets uniform standards that enhance the integrity and reliability of drivers’ licenses and identification cards, strengthen issuance capabilities, and increase security at drivers’ license and identification card production facilities. The final rule also dramatically reduces state implementation costs by roughly 73 percent."
REAL ID Requirements
"State fact sheets provide information on population, employment, income, farm characteristics, farm financial indicators, and top commodities, exports, and counties for each state in the United States. Data last updated on January 11, 2008."
Press release: "In October 2006, the Transportation Security Administration launched a website to help travelers whose names were erroneously listed on airline watch lists. This redress website had multiple security vulnerabilities: it was not hosted on a government domain; its homepage was not encrypted; one of its data submission pages was not encrypted; and its encrypted pages were not properly certified. These deficiencies exposed thousands of American travelers to potential identity theft. After an internet blogger identified these security vulnerabilities in February 2007, the website was taken offline and replaced by a website hosted on a Department of Homeland Security domain. At the request of Chairman Henry Waxman, Committee staff have been investigating how TSA could have launched a website that violated basic operating standards of web security and failed to protect travelers’ sensitive personal information. As this report describes, these security breaches can be traced to TSA’s poor acquisition practices, conflicts of interest, and inadequate oversight."
"World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) is a joint product of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the five United Nations regional commissions. It provides an overview of recent global economic performance and short-term prospects for the world economy and of some key global economic policy and development issues. One of its purposes is to serve as a point of reference for discussions on economic, social and related issues taking place in various United Nations entities during the year."
Perceptions 2007: An International Survey of Library Automation
by Marshall Breeding. January 9, 2008: "Introduction - The year 2007 saw considerable upheaval in the library automation industry. To get some sense of the aftermath of the recent rounds of mergers, acquisitions, product consolidations, and to gauge interest in open source automation systems, I created and executed a survey that aims to measure the prevailing perceptions in libraries."
Law.com: Tripled FOIA Requests Put SEC to the Test, Harold K. Gordon and Tracy V. Schaffer.
"The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced...the results of a year-long effort to put the power grid in the hands of consumers through technology. The Pacific Northwest GridWise™ Demonstration Project found that advanced technologies enable consumers to be active participants in improving power grid efficiency and reliability, while saving money in the process. On average, consumers who participated in the project saved approximately 10 percent on their electricity bills."
National Criminal Justice Reference Service: "Many crime laboratories report high backlogs for forensic services. These backlogs can delay court proceedings and case investigation. Laboratories say they do not have the staff to complete all service requests or the budget to hire new employees. Some laboratories have recently begun addressing these challenges with efficiency techniques—called process mapping, an efficiency forum, and business process management. This NIJ In Short describes how laboratories across the country have successfully used these techniques to reduce backlogs. (NCJ 220336)"
Press release: "Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today served a wide-ranging subpoena seeking documents and information on Intel Corporation, the world’s largest maker of computer microprocessors. Cuomo is investigating whether Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws by coercing customers to exclude its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), from the worldwide market for x86 computer processing units (CPU)."
Press release: "The Library of Congress and Microsoft Corp. have signed a cooperative agreement that will change the way Library visitors experience history. The joint technology initiative will electronically deliver the Library’s immense collection of historical artifacts to patrons visiting its Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., and will allow unparalleled and immersive interactive experiences that will bring the institution’s vast historical collections and exhibits to life–on-site and online–through the upcoming myloc.gov Web site."
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 31st Edition: "The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics brings together data from more than 200 sources about many aspects of criminal justice in the United States. It has been compiled by the Utilization of Criminal Justice Statistics Project since 1973 and is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Ann L. Pastore and Kathleen Maguire are co-directors of the Utilization Project and co-editors of the Sourcebook. The project is located at the University at Albany, School of Criminal Justice, Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center in Albany, New York." [IWS Documented News Service]
Press release: "The Internal Revenue Service and its private-sector partners today announced the Jan. 11 opening of this year's Free File program. The free tax preparation and electronic filing initiative begins its sixth year with high customer satisfaction ratings. Seven out of 10 taxpayers — 97 million filers — qualify for Free File. Taxpayers must have an adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less to be eligible."
CRS Report - How Crime in the United States Is Measured, January 3, 2008 (via FAS)
OIG-08-18 - DHS' Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Progress in Integrating Detection Capabilities and Response Protocols (PDF, 46 pages ) New 01/10/2008
Press release: "National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson today released her National Taxpayer Advocate's 2007 Annual Report to Congress, focusing particular attention on the consequences of changes to the tax code enacted late in the year and the need for a coordinated IRS approach to combat the cash economy portion of the tax gap. Olson also urged Congress to enact a Taxpayer Bill of Rights and to authorize symbolic “apology payments” in egregious cases where taxpayers suffer significant harm as a result of IRS errors. The report contains a second volume that describes the results of six research studies, including one that shows that low income taxpayers fare much better in IRS Earned Income Tax Credit audits when they are represented by practitioners."
Census press release: "The U.S. Census Bureau today released 2005 poverty estimates for each of the nation’s almost 14,000 Title I-eligible school districts. The estimates are produced in order for the Department of Education to implement provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The school district data, part of the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, are contained in data tables showing the number of poor children ages 5 to 17 in families."
"Treasury today released the third in a series of papers on Social Security. Issue Brief No. 3 is entitled Social Security Reform: Benchmarks for Assessing Fairness and Benefit Adequacy."
Press release: "A large national household survey conducted by the Iraqi government and WHO estimates that 151 000 Iraqis died from violence between March 2003 and June 2006. The findings, published today on the web site of the New England Journal of Medicine, are based on information collected during a wider survey of family health in Iraq, designed to provide a basis for the Iraqi government to develop and update health policies and plan services. The estimate is based on interviews conducted in 9345 households in nearly 1000 neighbourhoods and villages across Iraq. The researchers emphasize that despite the large size of the study, the uncertainty inherent in calculating such estimates led them to conclude that the number of Iraqis who died from violence during that period lies between 104 000 and 223 000."
Press release: "The Election Technology Council today announced the release of industry guidelines outlining best practices for election officials to adopt in response to potential and perceived threats to electronic voting systems. In releasing the guidelines, David Beirne, Executive Director of the Election Technology Council, said, “The Council recognizes that no voting technology is invulnerable, and as with other types of voting systems, it is critical for election administrators around the country to build robust procedures for safeguarding the use of electronic voting systems. Misconceptions concerning the operation of electronic voting systems, if left unanswered, can have a corrosive effect on voter confidence if they are not taken seriously and addressed with clear, factual information."
Follow up on January 7, 2008 posting Federal Fish and Wildlife Statement for Polar Bear Decision, additional information and links.
Pew Internet Project Data Memo, Video Sharing Websites, January 9, 2008: "The audience for YouTube and other internet video sites has risen sharply the past year. Nearly half of online adults now say they have visited such sites. On a typical day at the end of 2007, the share of internet users going to video sites was nearly twice as large as it had been at the end of 2006."
Statement by OMB Director Jim Nussle on E-Budget: "In an effort to save taxpayer dollars and reduce unnecessary paper copies, I am pleased to announce the White House will release an E-Budget on Monday, February 4, 2008. This step to go paperless for the first time means the White House will not order hard copy versions of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Budget, and will instead post the Budget online at www.budget.gov. The E-Budget will be fully searchable, available for downloading, and will continue a hallmark of the Bush Administration – greater transparency of federal spending."
AP: "Lawmakers in 2008 will receive salaries of $169,300, a boost of $4,100 over the pay they have lived with since January 2006. That 2.5 percent increase is mirrored by similar raises for associate justices of the Supreme Court, who will see their pay go from $203,000 to $208,100, and Chief Justice John Roberts, whose pay will rise to $217,400 from $212,100." These figures and other federal executive, legislative and judiciary pay schedules were published in the January 8, 2008 Federal Register.
"For the first time in well over a decade, Congress has enacted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. No changes to the Act’s nine exemptions were made. Rather, the amendments address a range of procedural issues impacting FOIA administration, including the codification of several provisions of Executive Order 13,392, “Improving Agency Disclosure of Information.” Entitled the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007,” or the “OPEN Government Act of 2007,” the bill was signed into law by the President on Monday, December 31, 2007. The amendments consist of ten substantive sections, each of which is summarized and discussed below. The complete text of the OPEN Government Act of 2007."
Google Maps: enter the "start address" and the "end address." [Google Blogoscoped]
Quick Guide to The Committee’s Work to Secure the Nation Since September 11, 2001: "The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is working with single minded vigor to strengthen the security of Americans here at home. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Committee has originated a series of bipartisan legislative initiatives enacted by Congress and signed into law to organize and coordinate the federal government’s vast resources more effectively to prevent, prepare for, and, if necessary, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks or natural disasters, while also strengthening the capabilities of state and local governments, first responders, and the private sector."
Press release: "The nation's leading cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to answer America's call for easy cell phone recycling. As part of EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program, partners supporting the cell phone recycling campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile."
Improving Declassification - A Report to the President from the Public Interest Declassification Board Report, December 2007 (48 pages, PDF): "There are at least eight ways by which security classified national security information may become declassified, including through Freedom of Information Act requests and through automatic declassification under Executive Order 12958. The Board presents several recommendations that would increase the efficiency of the system as a whole."
"Science and technology (S&T) play increasingly important roles in our society and for those who govern. From energy policy to the environment, from health care to economic competitiveness, and from science education to immigration, S&T research and its products are critical to many issues on the agendas of Congress and the Executive Branch. Yet, very little of the campaign coverage and candidates' discussion focuses on S&T issues. In response, the AAAS [American Association for the Advancement of Science] Center for Science, Technology and Congress, with support from the Lounsbery Foundation, has created this Web site as a resource on candidates' S&T positions, and to provide the research community with a vehicle for informing the candidates on emerging S&T issues. The Web site includes news updates, highlights of and links to candidates' S&T statements and positions, links to other S&T presidential projects, reports, surveys, and events."
UN E-Government Survey 2008: From E-Government to Connected Governance (257 pages, PDF)
"In a Commonwealth Fund-supported study comparing preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries, researchers found that the United States placed last. While the other nations improved dramatically between the two study periods—1997–98 and 2002–03—the U.S. improved only slightly on the measure."
Follow up to postings on missing White House E-mail, from the National Security Archive: "In an Order issued today, Magistrate Judge Facciola of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the White House to answer questions about over 5 million missing e-mails generated between 2003-2005. Noting that the need for information the missing e-mails is "time-sensitive" because of the risk that stored copied of the e-mails "are increasingly likely to be deleted or overridden with the passage of time," the Court demanded answers in a sworn declaration by January 13, 2008 about the location of the missing e-mails."
Press release: "Health care spending growth in the United States accelerated slightly in 2006, increasing 6.7 percent compared to 6.5 percent in 2005, which was the slowest rate of growth since 1999. Health care spending, however, continues to outpace overall economic growth and general inflation, which grew 6.1 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, in 2006. In 2006, health care spending reached a total of $2.1 trillion, or $7,026 per person, up from $6,649 per person in 2005, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The health spending share of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained relatively stable in 2006 at 16.0 percent, up by only 0.1 percentage point from 2005...Out-of-pocket spending grew 3.8 percent in 2006, a deceleration from 5.2 percent growth in 2005. This slowdown is attributable to the negative growth in out-of-pocket payments for prescription drugs, mainly due to the introduction of the Medicare Part D benefit. Out-of-pocket spending accounted for 12 percent of national health spending in 2006; this share has steadily declined since 1998, when it accounted for 15 percent of health spending. Out-of-pocket spending relative to overall household spending, however, has remained fairly flat since 2003...The health care spending data can be found on the CMS Web site, here."
Audit Report, Department of Energy's Receipt of Royalty Oil, DOE/IG-0786 January 2008 (22 pages, PDF): "We concluded that the Department had not implemented an effective internal control system over the receipt of royalty oil at the market centers."
"Individuals from an ever widening range of groups in Iran are subject to arrest on security grounds for political activism and peaceful dissent against the government. Those arrested are frequently detained in facilities operating outside the regular prison administration, most notoriously in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, where they may be subjected to torture and abusive interrogation. After weeks or months the authorities frequently release those held on conditional bail or a suspended prison sentence, using the ever-present threat of a return to jail to intimidate them against further activism or open dissent."
Aviation Industry Performance Report (58 pages, PDF): "On December 27, we issued the ninth in a series of our periodic updates to our Aviation Industry Performance Report. The report graphically identifies trends in aviation demand and capacity, aviation system performance, airline finances and service to small communities. This edition of the report focused on the summer of 2007, a time period when aviation delays as well as cancellations reached new highs and airline service captured the attention of the public, Congress, the Secretary of Transportation and the President of the United States. We found that airline on-time performance deteriorated broadly during the summer of 2007. Of the 55 large airports tracked by FAA, the number of delayed flights increased at 51 of the airports and the length of delays increased at 52 airports. Flight arrival delays, during the summer of 2007, increased by 15 percent from summer 2006 levels. In contrast, the number of scheduled flights increased at only 32 of the airports. Additionally, summer 2007 flight cancellations rose 28 percent from last year."
Social Security Disability: Better Planning, Management, and Evaluation Could Help Address Backlogs, GAO-08-40, December 7, 2007: "For years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has experienced processing delays and significant backlogs of disability claims. At the end of fiscal year 2006, some 1.5 million disability claims were awaiting a decision. About 576,000 of these claims were backlogged--exceeding the number of claims that should optimally be pending at year-end. In response to the congressional request, GAO (1) examined trends in disability claims backlogs and the time required for SSA to decide a claim, (2) identified key factors contributing to the backlogs and processing times, and (3) described the steps SSA is taking to reduce them. To address these issues, GAO analyzed SSA administrative data, conducted an extensive literature review, interviewed SSA officials as well as key program personnel, and conducted site visits in three SSA regions."
Current notions of defence, foreign affairs, intelligence and development are redundant in the new security environment... National Security for the Twenty-first Century, Charlie Edwards, DEMOS: "The government remains structured around functions and services with separate budgets for defence, foreign affairs, intelligence and development. Whitehall departments, intelligence agencies and the police forces that make up the security architecture have changed very little in the past two decades, despite the end of the Cold War and the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001. Based on a 12 month research project, this pamphlet sets out an approach to national security drawing on reforms and innovations from governments elsewhere in Europe and the United States and suggests some new ideas designed to shape the future of the national security architecture."
Press release: "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working diligently to reach a final decision on the proposal to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We expect to provide a final recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior and finalize the decision within the next month."
CBO Monthly Budget Review - January 2008: "The federal budget deficit was about $107 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates—about $27 billion more than in the same period last year. Outlays have risen by 9 percent compared with their level in the first three months of 2007, whereas revenues have grown by about 6 percent. Later this month, CBO will issue new budget projections for 2008 and the following 10 years."
Press release: "According to the FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report released today, the nation experienced a 1.8 percent decrease in violent crime and a 2.6 percent decrease in property crime during the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The report is based on information from law enforcement agencies that contributed three to six comparable months of data to the FBI during January through June of both 2006 and 2007. A total of 11,673 law enforcement agencies met the criteria to be included in the current report."
Society of Government Economists Distinguished Lecture on Economics, Peter R. Orszag, January 5, 2008 (25 pages, PDF)
Fact Sheet: Six Years of Student Achievement Under No Child Left Behind, January 7, 2008
"On January 16, 2008, the Office of Information and Privacy (OIP), Department of Justice, will host a conference on the newly enacted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. Entitled the "Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007," the bill was signed into law by the President on Monday, December 31, 2007. See, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/print/20071231-4.html
Via Secrecy News, "this 2002 study was released in response to a Mandatory Declassification Review request filed by Michael Ravnitzky": Spartans in Darkness: American SIGINT and the Indochina War, 1945-1975 by Robert J. Hanyok, Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2002.
CongressNow.com reports: "Facing mounting criticism from Congress and consumer advocates, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is creating a new organization to inspect foreign imports as well as a new system to warn consumers more quickly about potentially defective and dangerous products, CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord said today. According to Nord, speaking at the National Press Club, the new organization within CPSC, to be known as the import surveillance division, will permanently place CPSC staff at key ports of entry, arming them with a new cargo tracking system to help them stop and inspect suspect shipments."
"The Home Energy Saver is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. The Home Energy Saver was the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as part of the national ENERGY STAR Program for improving energy efficiency in homes, with previous support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's PATH projgram, and the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program."
Follow up to January 2, 2008 posting, U.S. Households Can Now Request Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons, the TV Converter Program Website: "On February 17, 2009, television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. At that time, you can watch TV using one of the following options:
"The animals listed on the Lost & Found page have been reported to the Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA) Animal Health and Welfare program. If you have found a stray livestock please report it immediately to our Livestock Officers by calling 1-800-294-0305. If you have lost livestock your livestock and do not see it on this site please call 1-800-294-0305 to report your animal officially lost. [GCN.com]
Federal Reserve Board - Foreclosure Resources for Consumers: "If you are having difficulty making your mortgage payment, one of the most important things you can do is seek assistance. The following resources provide information and links to agencies and organizations that may be able to help you."
A Manager's Guide to Resolving Conflicts in Collaborative Networks - "The O'Leary and Bingham report expands on previous Center for The Business of Government reports by adding an important practical tool for managers in networks: how to manage and negotiate the conflicts that may occur among a network's members. The approach they describe-interest-based negotiation-has worked in other settings, such as bargaining with unions. Such negotiation techniques are becoming crucial in sustaining the effectiveness of networks, where successful performance is defined by how well people collaborate and not by hierarchical commands."
How the World Rates Women as Leaders, by Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Research Associate, Pew Global Attitudes Project, December 5, 2007: "The countries of Western Europe, North America and Latin America generally include the highest proportions of respondents who rate men and women as equally good political leaders. Roughly two-thirds in [Argentina - with the country's first woman president] (68%) express that view, while 17% say men are better leaders and 9% prefer women. In the United States, fully three-quarters say men and women make equally good political leaders, and that opinion is even more widespread in Western Europe."
Summary from the Federal Register, December 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 246)][Rules and Regulations][Page 73215-73218]: "The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require use of Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) when acquiring personal computer products such as desktops, notebooks (also known as laptops), and monitors pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, that includes the following language:
(h) ensure that the agency (i) when acquiring an electronic product to meet its requirements, meets at least 95 percent of those requirements with an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)-registered electronic product, unless there is no EPEAT standard for such product, (ii) enables the Energy Star feature on agency computers and monitors, (iii) establishes and implements policies to extend the useful life of agency electronic equipment, and (iv) uses environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of agency electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful life."
Active Legislation 110th Congress (2007-2008), Updated January 4, 2008. Includes Popular Titles and Subjects, Agency Authorizations, Program Authorizations, Appropriations and Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, 110th Congress, 1st Session, Popular Reports, Public Laws, 110th Congress (selected).
"Under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan/PEPFAR), the U.S. Government has committed $18.8 billion to the fight against global HIV/AIDS, exceeding its original commitment of $15 billion over five years. This commitment reaffirms the United States’ historic leadership in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. President George W. Bush has requested that Congress reauthorize PEPFAR for five additional years and $30 billion additional dollars, which would bring the American people’s 10-year commitment on global HIV/AIDS to more than $48 billion."
Background: "The proposed architecture of the 787 is different from that of existing production (and retrofitted) airplanes. It allows new kinds of passenger connectivity to previously isolated data networks connected to systems that perform functions required for the safe operation of the airplane. Because of this new passenger connectivity, the proposed data network design and integration may result in security vulnerabilities from intentional or unintentional corruption of data and systems critical to the safety and maintenance of the airplane. The existing regulations and guidance material did not anticipate this type of system architecture or electronic access to aircraft systems that provide flight critical functions. Furthermore, 14 CFR regulations and current system safety assessment policy and techniques do not address potential security vulnerabilities that could be caused by unauthorized access to aircraft data buses and servers. Therefore, special conditions are imposed to ensure that security, integrity, and availability of the aircraft systems and data networks are not compromised by certain wired or wireless electronic connections between airplane data buses and networks." Federal Register: January 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 1)][Rules and Regulations][Page 27-29]
"On 10 December, Human Rights Day, the Secretary-General launched a year-long campaign in which all parts of the United Nations family take part in the lead up to the 60th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on Human Rights Day 2008. The UDHR continues to hold the world record as the most translated document. With more than 360 language versions to help them, UN organizations around the globe will use the year to focus on helping people everywhere to learn about their human rights. The UDHR was the first international recognition that all human beings have fundamental rights and freedoms and it continues to be a living and relevant document today."
Press release: "In its 18th annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted “subprime” as the word of the year. Subprime is an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment. Subprime was also winner of a brand-new 2007 category for real estate words, a category which reflects the preoccupation of the press and public for the past year with a deepening mortgage crisis."
New York Times Magazine, January 6, 2008: Can You Count on Voting Machines? by Clive Thompson
Natural Defense Resources Council press release: "The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued today a preliminary injunction requiring a series of mitigation measures that will govern the use of mid-frequency (MFA) sonar by the U.S. Navy during training exercises in the rich biological waters off Southern California. In its order, the Court considered both the environmental benefits of mitigation and the feasibility of specific measures...The high-intensity MFA sonar system can blast vast areas of the oceans with dangerous levels of underwater noise and has killed marine mammals in numerous incidents around the world. The waters off Southern California have some of the richest marine habitat in the country, and include five endangered species of whales, a globally important population of blue whales, the largest animal ever to live on earth, and as many as seven individual species of beaked whales, which are known to be particularly vulnerable to underwater sound."
Press release: "The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project is pleased to announce receipt of two major gifts: $20M from the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences and $10M from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Under development since 2000, the LSST is a public-private partnership. This gift enables the construction of LSST's three large mirrors; these mirrors take over five years to manufacture. The first stages of production for the two largest mirrors are now beginning at the Mirror Laboratory at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Other key elements of the LSST system will also be aided by this commitment...Proposed for “first light” in 2014, the 8.4-meter LSST will survey the entire visible sky deeply in multiple colors every week with its three-billion pixel digital camera, probing the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, and opening a movie-like window on objects that change or move...The LSST will be the world's most powerful survey telescope." wow.
U.S. Attorney General Speeches from 1996 to September 17th, 2007 are accessible in the Archive section of the Department web site.
"In January 2007, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received a donation of a photograph album. The inscription "Auschwitz 21.6.1944" on its first page signaled the uniqueness of the album—there are very few wartime photographs of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, which included Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi killing center. Though his name does not appear anywhere in the album, the dates of the photographs and various decorations including adjutant cords on the uniform of the album's owner, indicate that the album almost certainly belonged to and was created by SS-Obersturmführer Karl Höcker, the adjutant to the commandant of Auschwitz, SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer. Höcker was stationed at Auschwitz from May 1944 until the evacuation of the camp in January 1945."
America's Best Big Companies: "This is our 10th year of selecting the 400 Best Big Companies in America. Our methodology for choosing the winners is so stringent that 165 companies from last year's 400 did not make the cut for 2008. Not only must companies pass our benchmarks for financial growth rates and returns, but they must also meet our approval for their corporate governance, accounting standards and background checks."
The Brookings Institution: Iraq Index Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, December 21, 2007, Michael E. O’Hanlon and Jason H. Campbell (61 pages, PDF)
New Study on Copyright and Creativity from the Center for Social Media, Posted by Hugh DAndrade: "Free video hosting sites like YouTube, Yahoo! Video, and Daily Motion are enabling creators to share video instantly with millions of viewers around the world. A new report from the Center for Social Media takes a close look at these user generated sites, and finds that there is much more at stake than the SNL and Daily Show clips often referenced in the usual Viacom v. YouTube debates on copyright infringement. Recut, Reframe, Recycle shows that far from simply uploading content, more and more users are remixing prior works to create new (and often surprising) works of transformative creativity. Users are borrowing from film, television, and pop culture at large to create parodies and satires, commentaries, pastiche, quotations, as well as archives of important work that cannot be shown due to copyright restriction. By illustrating each category with some of the best examples of user-generated content from the past few years, the study attempts to clarify "the difference between quoting for new cultural creation and simple piracy."
The buslib-l archives are now available from 1998 to present at http://list1.ucc.nau.edu [Tina Adams (BusLib Moderator)]
Google Docs Blog: "It's been two months since we launched Google Presentations and already we've got new toys [Link to the presentation detailing the new features]...Embeddable Presentations, Importing slides from other presentations, Drag and drop image insertion, Rearranging slides, Changing the background, Prettier toolbar."
USA Today: "Tens of thousands of airline passengers will soon be flying on jets outfitted with anti-missile systems as part of a new government test aimed at thwarting terrorists armed with shoulder-fired projectiles."
January 4, 2008 press release: "Euro area1 annual inflation is expected to be 3.1% in December 2007 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. It was 3.1% in November.
Computation of flash estimates: Euro area inflation is measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). To compute the
MUICP flash estimates, Eurostat uses early price information relating to the reference month from Member States for which data are available as well as early information about energy prices."
White House press release: "Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new jobs figures – 18,000 jobs created in December. Since August 2003, more than 8.3 million jobs have been created, with more than 1.3 million jobs created throughout 2007. Our economy has now added jobs for 52 straight months – the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. The unemployment rate remains low at 5 percent. The U.S. economy benefits from a solid foundation, but we cannot take economic growth for granted and economic indicators have become increasingly mixed. President Bush will continue working with Congress to address the challenges our economy faces and help facilitate long-term economic growth, job growth, and better standards of living for all Americans."
"As part of its review of its environmental marketing guidelines, also known as the Green Guides, the Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop on carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates (RECs) on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the agency’s satellite building in Washington, DC. Carbon offsets fund projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in one place in order to counterbalance or “offset” emissions that occur elsewhere. RECs are created when renewable power generators sell their electricity as conventional electricity and then sell the environmental attributes of their power separately through a certificate. At the workshop, FTC staff will explore advertising claims related to these products, as well as issues of consumer perception, substantiation, and self-regulation."
Related documents:
Follow up to December 13, 2007 posting Senator George J. Mitchell Releases Report on Major League Baseball Investigation, today's announcement that the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform "will hold hearings [January 15 and 16] to obtain additional information regarding the Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, commonly known as the “Mitchell Report.” The first hearing will include testimony from Mr. George Mitchell, Mr. Bud Selig, and Mr. Don Fehr. Invited witnesses for the second hearing include Mr. Brian McNamee, Mr. Kirk Radomski, Mr. Andy Pettitte, Mr. Chuck Knoblauch, and Mr. Roger Clemens."
Army Corps of Engineers: Known Performance Issues with New Orleans Drainage Canal Pumps Have Been Addressed, but Guidance on Future Contracts Is Needed, GAO-08-288, December 31, 2007.
"The Securities and Exchange Commission has received and posted on its Web site the text of the RAND Corporation's final report on practices in the investment adviser and broker-dealer industries...RAND produced the report under contract with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report is the product of more than a year of empirical study and analysis..."
Executive Order: Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay, January 4, 2008.
The Employment Situation - December 2007: "The unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent in December, while nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (+18,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth in several service-providing industries, including professional and technical services, health care, and food services, was largely offset by job losses in construction and manufacturing. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent."
EPA press release: "Now that your family has opened the new computers, I-phones, DVD players and televisions, what are you going to do with the old stuff? Donating used (but still operating) electronics for reuse extends the lives of valuable products and keeps them out of the waste stream for a longer period of time. Reuse, in addition to being an environmentally preferable alternative, also benefits society. By donating your used electronics, you allow schools, nonprofit organizations, and lower-income families to obtain equipment that they otherwise could not afford.
Before donating your computer or other electronics, make sure the equipment is reusable. Donation-organizations have limited or in many cases no resources and employees to diagnose and repair hardware. A functional, working system—especially with monitor, wiring, and software licenses—is a lot more useful and requires less upgrading than a nonworking, incomplete computer. Check to see what the donation organization's minimum computer requirements are (e.g., Pentium processor, Windows 95). Donation-organizations might not accept (or might charge a fee for) older, less useful equipment (e.g., 386 processors, dot matrix printers, less than 14 inch color monitors)."
Where Can I Recycle My Old Electronics? Visit your state environmental agency Web site for a list of electronic collection events and permanent locations.
"The European Library launched a new version of its website on the 4th of December; the changes involve significant lay-out improvements and reflect a constant care for understanding user needs. It also introduces the latest partners’ collections and the first The European Library web-exhibition."
"The Institute of Medicine report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care said that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive lower-quality health care than whites do, even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable. It recommends first and foremost to increase awareness about racial and ethnic disparities in health care among the general public, health care providers, insurance companies, and policymakers. Consistency and equity of care also should be promoted through the use of "evidence-based" guidelines to help providers and health plans make decisions about which procedures to order or pay for based on the best available science."
"The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) today released Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a book designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom. Recent advances in science and medicine, along with an abundance of observations and experiments over the past 150 years, have reinforced evolution's role as the central organizing principle of modern biology, said the committee that wrote the book."
Press release: "Despite long-standing evidence that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause tendon ruptures, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has failed to increase its warnings to patients and physicians about the dangers of the medicines, Public Citizen told a federal court Thursday. Public Citizen sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to force the FDA to act upon a petition the consumer group filed with the agency 16 months ago. The FDA has failed to respond to the petition, which asked the agency to put a “black box” warning on fluoroquinolone antibiotics (such as Cipro, Levaquin and others) to make doctors and patients more aware of the risk of serious tendon injury before tendons actually rupture."
OIG-08-16 - Audit of the State of Colorado Homeland Security Grant Program (PDF, 35 pages) - New 01/03/2008
On this page: First Alert >> Alerting the Public >>Effectiveness Checks >> Recall Classifications >> FDA-regulated Products Subject to Recall
"Sales of new one-family houses in November 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 9.0 percent (±13.9%)* below the revised October rate of 711,000 and is 34.4 percent (±7.9%) below the November 2006 estimate of 987,000."
Association of Insurance with Cancer Care Utilization and Outcomes,
Elizabeth Ward, PhD, Michael Halpern, MD, PhD, Nicole Schrag, MSPH, Vilma Cokkinides, PhD, MSPH, Carol DeSantis, MPH, Priti Bandi, MS, Rebecca Siegel, MPH, Andrew Stewart, MA and Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD. CA Cancer J Clin, January 1, 2008; 58(1): 7 - 8.
"This Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) report provides an overview of stalking statistics during 2005 and 2006. A summary of training and outreach efforts undertaken by the OVW-funded Stalking Resource Center is also included. (NCJ 220827)"
The Best and Worst of 2007: Government Secrecy, Patrick Radden Keefe, The Century Foundation, 1/2/2008.
Trends in Naturalization Rates (PDF, 2 pages): "This report examines the trends in naturalization rates of different cohorts and regions of birth."
Press release: "Following a preliminary inquiry into the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations, the Department’s National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation as outlined below. This preliminary inquiry was conducted jointly by the Department’s National Security Division and the CIA’s Office of Inspector General. It was opened on December 8, 2007, following disclosure by CIA Director Michael Hayden on December 6, 2007, that the tapes had been destroyed. A preliminary inquiry is a procedure the Department of Justice uses regularly to gather the initial facts needed to determine whether there is sufficient predication to warrant a criminal investigation of a potential felony or misdemeanor violation. The opening of an investigation does not mean that criminal charges will necessarily follow."
Government Auditing Standards: Implementation Tool: Professional Requirements Tool for Use in Implementing Requirements Identified by "Must" and "Should" in the July 2007 Revision of Government Auditing Standards, GAO-08-210G, December 31, 2007.
Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program: "The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program (Coupon Program), as authorized in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. Starting January 1, 2008, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes. For more details on the federal regulations, including the budget information, please see the DTV Converter Box Coupon Program Rules."
Press Freedom Round-up 2007, Reporters Without Borders: "At least 86 journalists were killed around the world in 2007. The figure has risen steadily since 2002 - from 25 to 86 (+ 244%) - and is the highest since 1994, when 103 journalists were killed, nearly half of them in the Rwanda genocide, about 20 in Algeria’s civil war and a dozen in the former Yugoslavia. More than half those killed in 2007 died in Iraq."
"On December 21, 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy issued revised standards for the design and construction of new Federal commercial and multi-family high rise residential buildings and low-rise residential buildings."
"TechPresident presents our 2007 Campaign Web Index, a year-end study of which campaigns are best at using the various elements of the web. For the survey we've tapped the very brightest minds working in tech and politics, who happen to be our own bloggers and other friends (some respondents have asked to remain anonymous). Check out their votes and opinions for who's best at online video, advertising, social networking, rapid response, and much more. Some of their responses may surprise you, and some may be entirely predictable."
"TechPresident presents our 2007 Campaign Web Index, a year-end study of which campaigns are best at using the various elements of the web. For the survey we've tapped the very brightest minds working in tech and politics, who happen to be our own bloggers and other friends (some respondents have asked to remain anonymous). Check out their votes and opinions for who's best at online video, advertising, social networking, rapid response, and much more. Some of their responses may surprise you, and some may be entirely predictable."
"...the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) provides that United States citizens and nonimmigrant aliens may enter the United States only with passports or such alternative documents as the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate as satisfactorily establishing identity and citizenship... The vicinity RFID electronic chip contains only one item of information--a unique identifying number that has meaning only inside the secure CBP computer system. No other form of personally identifiable information, such as name, date of birth, SSN, place of birth etc., will be electronically stored on the passport card or transmitted through RFID. All personal information will be contained in DHS systems and will only be accessible by authorized personnel through secure networks. Upon receipt of the passport card number, the border crosser's personal information will be downloaded from the CBP system and provided to the CBP officer. The CBP officer will then interview the individual, verify their identities, and determine the appropriate action to take. The WHTI passport card approach was not designed to be an automated system, and the use of vicinity RFID technology in this final rule reflects this reality. Rather, the RFID-based approach allows the CBP officers to do their jobs better and faster." [Federal Register: December 31, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 249)][Rules and Regulations][Page 74169-74173]
Washington Post, Online Records May Aid ID Theft, Government Sites Post Personal Data, By Bill Brubaker: "Social Security numbers are readily available in many courthouses -- in land records and criminal and civil case files -- as well as on many government Web sites that serve up public documents with a few clicks of a mouse. From state to state, and even within states, there is little uniformity in how access to the private information in these records is controlled."
2007 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts, January 1, 2008.
White House press release: "On Monday, December 31, 2007, the President signed into law: S. 2488, the "Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007," which amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by: (1) establishing a definition of "a representative of the news media;" (2) directing that required attorney fees be paid from an agency's own appropriation rather than from the Judgment Fund; (3) prohibiting an agency from assessing certain fees if it fails to comply with FOIA deadlines; and (4) establishing an Office of Government Information Services in the National Archives and Records Administration to review agency compliance with FOIA."
Press release: "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [December 31, 2007] released new data on local telephone service competition in the United States. Twice a year, all incumbent local exchange carriers (incumbent LECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are required to report basic information about their local telephone service, and all facilities-based mobile telephony providers are required to provide information about their subscribers, pursuant to the FCC’s local telephone competition and broadband data gathering program (FCC Form 477). Statistics released today reflect data as of December 31, 2006."
Internet2 and Libraries - Serving Your Communities at the Speed of Light, by James Werle and Louis Fox.
"The gethuman™ movement has been created from the voices of millions of consumers who want to be treated with dignity when they contact a company for customer support." The gethuman 500 database, regularly updated, includes telephone numbers for customer service contacts in the following sectors, located in the United States: automotive, credit, finance, government, hardware, insurance, internet, mobile, pharmacy, products, shipping, software, telco, travel, TV/satellite, and utilities.
Popular Mechanics: "An estimated 2.2 million refugees huddle in makeshift camps in the Darfur region of western Sudan. In the camps, they are safe, but they cook their meals over inefficient wood fires, and as already scant forests are depleted they must venture ever farther to gather fuel—up to 9 miles in some cases. When a program officer from the U.S. Agency for International Development asked Ashok Gadgil, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., to help solve the problem, Gadgil recruited LBNL colleague Christina Galitsky, an environmental energy researcher. Together they traveled to Darfur to meet the refugees and learn about their cooking needs. Back at LBNL, they and a team of students developed a high-efficiency cookstove made of in-expensive sheetmetal. There’s nothing high-tech about it—a few pieces of bent metal and a cast-iron grate improve combustion and energy transfer—but it uses 55 to 75 percent less wood than a cooking fire, slashing the time refugees need to spend in heightened danger. The stoves fit local cookware, and shield flames from the region’s strong winds. Each stove costs about $15 and should last about five years. “We have not invented something altogether new,” Gadgil says, “but we have tuned the technology to work with the refugees.”"