Friday, August 31, 2007

GAO releases this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. You may have heard discussion this week about a GAO report on progress in Iraq. See the Washington Post articles, "Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals: GAO Draft at Odds With White House" and the response to the release "Pentagon Challenges GAO's Report on Iraq" The problem is that this discussion is in response to the draft report, the final report won't be released until Tuesday, so you won't find it in this list. You can find it online then on the Iraq page at the GAO's web site. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Guidance
Presentation by Comptroller General
  • "Transforming Government, Management, and Accountability" by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the 14th Biennial Pacific Emerging Issues Conference, in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. GAO-07-1214CG, August 22. [Slides]
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d071214cg.pdf

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Labor day is just for vacationing right?

I am sure many of you are running off this weekend to enjoy one last long weekend before the winter. While we are happy for the day off Labor day gives us, you may not know as much about how it came about.

The U.S. Department of Labor has written up a quick summary of the history of Labor day. For some numbers (statistics, whatever you want to call them), check out the Census Bureau's Fact for Features: Labor Day 2007. Where you can find such fun facts such as, there are 310,000 people who work full-time at two jobs.

And finally, for those of you who just want to enjoy the day off, check out recreation.gov for information on visiting public lands in the United States.

Interested in more information on labor and employment? Check out the library's guide.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

CRS reports from this week

Yes, it is Wednesday not Tuesday, but I didn't get a list of new CRS reports until today. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern, this week gives us reports on digital TV, bridges and diplomacy. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by Secrecy News and OpenCRS:
Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

New way to get guides from the library

I am sure on day two of the semester all of you are already getting to work on your final papers, but in preparation for that day I thought I would alert you to a new resource in the libraries, the Research and Subject Guides database.

This source gives you a single location to search for all the guides in the library on everything from Art to Zimbabwe. You can also browse by department, for example check out the Environmental Studies page. Hopefully this will work as a good place to start your research.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Alberto Gonzales Resigns as Attorney General

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tendered his resignation today. Gonzales has faced months of bipartisan scrutiny and calls for his resignation after Congress began an investigation into the 2006 dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys. Additionally, Gonzales has been criticized for his positions on U.S. interrogation techniques and warrantless wiretaps. Gonzales is the second high ranking administration official to resign this month. Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President, will be leaving the White House on August 31st. Read more about Rove's resignation in our blog. You can read the statement from President Bush about the Gonzales resignation on the White House web site.

Want to read more about Gonzales' resignation? Check out the Washington Post's "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Resigns," "Embattled Attorney General Resigns" from the New York Times or "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Resigns" from Fox News.

For more information, check out the Washington Post's special report on the U.S. Attorney Firings Investigation. Search for Gonzales' testimony on the Senate Judiciary Committee's website. Or if you are here on campus, search LexisNexis Congressional for additional hearing transcripts.

Still want more information? Check out the library's guides on the Presidency and Congress.

Friday, August 24, 2007

GAO Releases this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week since Congress wasn't in session there are only a few reports. But you might want to check out their new home page, you can go directly to reports, testimony, and correspondence. The GAO has also digitized most of their historical reports so those of you looking for older materials can view them online. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Correspondence

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform

Some of you who are addicted to newspapers like me might have read today's Denver Post headline story "The price of wellness." After reading it you might be interested to know a bit more about the 208 Commission mentioned in the article.

This commission's full name is Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform and they have been working on developing a number of proposals for handling health care in Colorado. The proposals (and there are quite a few) are all online. The web site claims that the evaluations were going to be done by August 20th, but at the moment they only link to drafts.

If you are interested in commenting the commission will be soliciting public input in October, but at this time you can only attend the meetings.

Interested in additional information on health and medicine? Check out the library's guide.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

9/11 and the CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released (at the request of Congress) an unclassified version on the agencies failures in regards to 9/11. The executive summary OIG Report on on CIA accountability with respect to 9/11 attacks (OIG is the Office of Inspector General) discusses both what the agency did wrong and right. Former CIA director George Tenet has released a response to the release of this report in the New York Times.

Want media reaction to this report? Check out the Washington Post's "Report: Tenet Failed to Prepare for al-Qaeda Threat."

Interested in seeing additional government discussion on terrorism? Check out the library's guide.

Congressional Research Service reports

It's Tuesday and time for another set of Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. CRS is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern, this week gives us reports on globalization, copyright and agriculture. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by Secrecy News and OpenCRS:
Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Hurricane Dean

As Hurricane Dean bears down on the Yucatan peninsula it is time to check out some sources of information on hurricanes.

First, check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) web site. In addition to the standard page for tracking Dean, you can also check out resources on hurricanes and the National Hurricane Center.

Second, check out the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA). They have links off the front page to the state of emergency declarations for the hurricane and resources on what to do in a hurricane.

Finally, if you still want more information check out the library guides on climate and weather or emergencies and disasters.

Friday, August 17, 2007

GAO Releases this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as housing, oil and railroads. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Correspondence
Presentation by the Comptroller General
  • "Keeping America Great: The Role of the Accountability Profession," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers, in Nashville, Tennessee. GAO-07-1192CG, August 13. [Slides]
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d071192cg.pdf
Guidance

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Peru hit by 8.0 earthquake

Peru was hit by an magnitude 8.0 earthquake near the coast of central Peru yesterday. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has a database of all earthquakes and you can read about yesterdays quake online. This page has basic information on the location of the quake as well as maps, summary of the occurrence and links to scientific and technical reports.

You can read more about the quake and its aftermath in the Washington Post article "Powerful Quake Kills at Least 337 in Peru."

Want more information on Peru? Check out the library's country guide.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

India and Pakistan Celebrate Independence Day

India and Pakistan celebrated sixty years of independence from the British Empire. In August, 1947, the British colonial government granted subcontinent independence and split it into two countries, Muslim Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India. Independence resulted in a mass migration and violence. More than 500,000 people lost their lives, while 7.5 million Muslim refugees fled to Pakistan from India and 10 million Hindus left Pakistan for India. Pakistan celebrates their independence on August 14th and India celebrates on August 15th.

Read more about the celebration in Pakistan, India Mark Independence Day from the Washington Post.

Want more information? Check out the library's foreign country guides on India and Pakistan.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

From the Congressional Research Service this past week

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of the U.S. Congress and writes reports at their request. This is NOT a complete list of recent reports, only members of Congress have access to a complete list, but these are reports requested from Congress by members of the public, like you. If you want to request a report, just talk to your local Representative or Senator. This week brings us the following series of CRS reports, courtesy of Secrecy News and OpenCRS:
Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Denver, CO now a "majority-minority" county

What in the world does "majority-minority" mean? This is a term used by the Census Bureau to designate a county as having 50% or more of its residents falling in a minority group. Denver, CO is the largest county to join the 303 other counties where the majority of the population is a minority (from this press release).

Where are they getting these numbers? From the Population estimates that are put out by the Census bureau every year. (They also inform the ever-changing population clock.)

Still want more demographic data? Check out the library's guide.

Karl Rove to leave White House

Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President, has announced that he will be leaving the White House on August 31st. You can read the statements of the President and Rove on the White House web site.

Want to read reactions to this resignation? Check out the Washington Post's "Karl Rove, Adviser to President Bush, to Resign" or the New York Times "Karl Rove, Top Strategist, Is Leaving the White House."

Want more information on the presidency? Check out the library's guide.

Friday, August 10, 2007

GAO Releases this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as homeland security, Yucca Mountain, and NASA. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Correspondence
  • Homeland Security: Responses to Posthearing Questions Related to the Department of Homeland Security's Integrated Financial Management Systems Challenges. GAO-07-1157R, August 10.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1157R
  • Response to a post hearing question related to GAO's December 6, 2006 testimony on continued findings of fraud, waste, and abuse associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita relief efforts. GAO-07-363R, January 12.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-363R
Presentations by the Comptroller General
  • "Transforming Government to Meet the Demands of the 21st Century" by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Federal Midwest Human Resources Council and the Chicago Federal Executive Board, in Chicago, Illinois. GAO-07-1188CG, August 7. [Text]
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d071188cg.pdf
  • "U.S. Financial Condition and Fiscal Future Briefing" by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the American Accounting Association, in Chicago, Illinois. GAO-07-1189CG, August 7. [Slides]
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d071189cg.pdf

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Transportation Information and National Security

For those of you interested in Homeland Security issues, the Homeland Security Digital Library (free, but requires registration if you aren't at a depository library, like CU, that has already registered), is a great resource. You can sign up for an RSS feed that will send you the latest reports.

Yesterday brought us a RAND report "Freedom and Information: Assessing Publicly Available Data Regarding U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Security." This report discusses how much information on transportation infrastructure is publicly available and how hard it is to find this information.

Want more even more sources on homeland security issues? Check out the library's guide.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

World Meteorological Organization

It's been a while since we have had a overview of an international organization, so today I thought I would take a look at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations and focuses on the "state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources" (from WMO in Brief). You can find information on weather, climate, water, oceans, environment, and much more from their web site.


There are a few resources on these pages that I find fun (and useful):
  • World Weather Information Service: Wish you were Paris? Well, maybe today isn't the day to jump on the plane since it is predicting thunderstorms for the rest of the week. (Although it is only supposed to have highs in the low 70s for the next few days)
  • Art Gallery: Tired of reading dry government reports? Why not check out some artwork that deal with weather and its effects.
  • Gateway to UN System Work on Climate Change: Ok, this is a main UN site, but WMO is a sponsor and it is nice to go to one central location for all the reports and press releases on climate change.
Want to know more specifics on some of the work of WMO? Check out this recent article from the Washington Post on the effects of climate change on weather "Across Globe, Extremes of Heat and Rain: In Another Warm Year, a U.N. Agency Sees Unusual Weather and More to Come."

Want more resources? Check out the library's guides to climate change and climate and weather.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

CRS reports from this week

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency for the U.S. Congress and writes reports at their request. This is NOT a complete list of recent reports, only members of Congress have access to a complete list, but these are reports requested from Congress by members of the public, like you. If you want to request a report, just talk to your local Representative or Senator. This week brings us the following series of CRS reports, courtesy of Secrecy News and OpenCRS:
Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Enterprise Surveys

As many business and economics students out there have no doubt discovered many international organizations have databases with statistical information for starting businesses abroad. I wanted to point out another free source from the World Bank, Enterprise Surveys.

This is a collection of information gathered from surveying over 66,000 firms in 98 countries on the business environment. It has data from how much time it takes to deal with taxes to corruption.

They even have a feature that lets you customize the data, by indicators, countries/groups, stratification (categorizing the data by firm size, sector, ownership, exporter), and statistics (average, count, standard deviation, minimum, maximum).

Still want more from the World Bank? Check out the library's guide.

Want more business and economic information? Check out the library's guides.

Friday, August 03, 2007

GAO Reports for this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as foster care, environment, and homeland security. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Testimony
  • Elections: Status of GAO's Review of Voting Equipment Used in Florida's 13th Congressional District by Nabajyoti Barkakati, senior-level technologist, Center for Technology and Engineering, before the Task Force on Florida-13, House Committee on House Administration. GAO-07-1167T, August 3.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1167T
  • Gulf Coast Rebuilding: Observations on Federal Financial Implications by Stanley J. Czerwinski, director, strategic issues, before the House Committee on the Budget. GAO-07-1079T, August 2.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1079T
    Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d071079thigh.pdf
  • State Department: Staffing and Foreign Language Shortfalls Persist Despite Initiatives to Address Gaps by Jess Ford, director, international affairs and trade, before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. GAO-07-1154T, August 1.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1154T
    Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d071154thigh.pdf
  • United Nations Organizations: Enhanced Efforts Needed to Increase U.S. Employment at U.N. Agencies by Thomas Melito, director, international affairs and trade, before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.. GAO-07-1152T, August 1.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1152T
    Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d071152thigh.pdf
  • Capitol Power Plant: Status of Utility Tunnel Projects by Terrell G. Dorn, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, House Committee on Appropriations. GAO-07-1150T, August 1.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1150T
  • Aviation Finance: Observations on the Current FAA Funding Structure's Support for Aviation Activities, Issues Affecting Future Costs, and Proposed Funding Changes by Gerald L. Dillingham, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, House Committee on Ways and Means. GAO-07-1163T, August 1.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1163T
    Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d071163thigh.pdf
  • Homeland Security: Observations on DHS and FEMA Efforts to Prepare for and Respond to Major and Catastrophic Disasters and Address Related Recommendations and Legislation, by William O. Jenkins, Jr., director, homeland security and justice issues, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-07-1142T, July 31.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1142T
    Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d071142thigh.pdf
  • Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project's Schedule and Cost as of July 31, 2007, by Terrell G. Dorn, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, House Committee on Appropriations. GAO-07-1149T, July 31.
    http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1149T
Correspondences
Presentation by the Comptroller General
  • "Saving Our Future Requires Tough Choices Today," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, on the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour, before the Rotary Club, in Des Moines, Iowa. GAO-07-1164CG, July 26.
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d071164cg.pdf

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Fisher Price toys recalled

Fisher-Price recalled about 967,000 toys today due to concerns that paint on the toys contains significant levels of lead. You can read the recall notice with product numbers on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's web site.

Want to check for additional recalls? The government has a web site with all recalls from food and medicine to cars and cosmetics, this site is at the easy to remember address of recalls.gov.

Want more details on what prompted this recall? Check out the Washington Post's "Lead Paint Leads to Fisher-Price Recall."

Still want more consumer information? Check out the library's guide.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Take that iPhone off AT&T

Starting in 2009 you will be able to buy a phone and use it on any network. That is one result of a decision regarding airwaves being sold next year by the federal government. You can view the press release, band market chart, and statements from Commissioners Martin, Copps, Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell.

Want to read more about this decision? Check out the Washington Post article "FCC Approves Airwave Use For All Phones: Wireless Network Opened To Options if Not Firms."

Want more telecommunications resources? Check out the library's guide.