Friday, November 30, 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 Social Security reform, steroid use and homeland security. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Correspondence
Presentation By The Comptroller General
  • "DOD Transformation Challenges and Opportunities," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Department of Defense FY 2008 Managers' Internal Control Program Conference, in Washington, DC. GAO-08-323CG, November 29.
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08323cg.pdf

World AIDS Day 2007

World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1. It was established in 1988 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic. The World AIDS Day theme for 2007 is strong, committed leadership and builds upon the 2006 theme of accountability. The slogan for 2001-2010 is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."

Check out these World Aids Day sites:
Read "Bush Urges Congress to Approve Additional AIDS Funds" from the Washington Post. You might also want to check out the press release from the White House, "President Bush Discusses World AIDS Day."

For more information on HIV and AIDS worldwide, check out the websites from the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and UNAIDS.

Want more health and medical information? Check out the library's guide.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

2007/08 Human Development Report

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has just released the most recent edition of the Human Development Report. This year the report focuses on the issue of climate change (last year brought us an examination of water).

The UNDP is the UN's global development arm, which means that they work to promote development in a number of areas, focusing on Democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and the environment, and HIV/AIDS. Each year, they put out the human development report focusing on a particular area of concern in development.

In addition to the standard collection of statistics and country reports, this year's report also contains carbon footprint features.

Interested in more development resources? Check out the library's guide.

Interested in more resources on climate change? Check out the library's guide.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

U.S. obesity rates leveling -- but still high

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that obesity rates among adults in the United States have not significantly changed between 2003-04 and 2005-06. Around one third of Americans over the age of twenty were obese in 2005-06 (33.3 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women). These rates show no statistically significant change from 2003-04, when 31.1 percent of men and 33.2 percent of women were obese. However, more than 72 million Americans are counted as obese and obesity rates have been rising since 1980, when only 15 percent of Americans were termed obese.

Read the full report, "Obesity Among Adults in the United States--No Change Since 2003-2004" from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics. You might also want to check out the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity for more information on obesity and related programs, news, and publications. Check out your state's obesity levels between 1985-2006 with CDC's nifty animated map.

Read "US Obesity Rates Seem to Have Leveled" from the Washington Post and "CDC: U.S. obesity rates leveling off" from CNN.

Want more information on health and medical information? Check out the library's guide.

Annapolis Conference Round-up

The Annapolis Conference for peace in the Middle East has finished up and while there is no explicit peace treaty coming out of the conference there are promises for continuation of the discussion. Want to learn more? Here are some of the various government sites:
Want more information on the Arab-Israeli conflict? Check out the library's guide.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

CRS reports

It is Tuesday and despite the holidays a few CRS reports have made it out into the public domain. 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 brings us Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on tax reform, street gangs, Iraq, and much more. 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.

Friday, November 23, 2007

GAO Releases this week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. In this shortened holiday week they investigated a variety of issues, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and immigration. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Presentation by the Comptroller General
  • "Making Human Capital Transformation a Reality: Lessons Learned from GAO's Experience," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before Human Capital Management Federal 2007, in Washington, D.C. GAO-08-299CG, November 15. [slides]
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08299cg.pdf
Correspondence

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Senate remains in session?

In a showdown between Congress and the President the Senate is remaining in session over the traditional Thanksgiving break. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's web site: "The Senate will convene for pro forma sessions during the recess period on the following dates and times: Tuesday, November 20th at 9:00 a.m.; Friday, November 23rd at 10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, November 27th at 9:00 a.m.; and Thursday, November 29th at 9:30 a.m."

What do these pro forma sessions consist of you ask? Well, yesterday the Senate convened at 9:00:07 am and then recessed at 9:00:37 (according to the daily digest). Curious about why the Senate would meet for 30 seconds? This is all because the constitution in Article II, Section 3 gives the president the "
Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session." So if the Senate doesn't go into recess (which it normally does over Thanksgiving for 2 weeks), the president can't appoint nominees without Senate approval.

Want to know the nominees under consideration? Check out page six of the Senate Executive Calendar.

Want to read a bit more about this showdown? Check out the Washington Post's "Senate Stays In Session to Block Recess Appointments."

Want more information on this topic? Check out the library's guides to Congress and Presidents.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Some Thanksgiving pardons and history

On the left here you can see a picture of President Bush and either May or Flower the two turkeys he pardoned for Thanksgiving this year. These two turkeys are now off to be marshals in the Disney Thanksgiving parade and then will live their lives out at Disney World.

You can see the turkeys for the past few years and get a history of the pardoning of turkey's on the White House's web site. This year happens to be the sixtieth anniversary of the first turkey pardon by President Truman (check out this photo essay of the event).

Now many of you probably believe the first thanksgiving was held by the pilgrims. What you may not be aware of, and President Bush hinted at this in his official Thanksgiving Greetings, was that on December 4, 1619 a group of settlers landed at Berkley Plantation (where Bush gave his greetings) and gave thanks and if they hadn't all died in battle that year were supposed to "be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Want to know more about this and the call for an official pardoning of a pig (since the VA settlers probably had ham)? Check out the Washington Post article "For Va., Half a Holiday Loaf: Bush Acknowledges Thanksgiving Claim but Won't Pardon Pig."

Want to learn some more, maybe less silly, information on presidents? Check out the library's guide.

Monday, November 19, 2007

West-wide Energy Corridor

Thanks to the Government News for Montana blog I learned about the draft environmental impact statement for the West-wide Energy corridor. This EIS was brought about in part by language in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This act in section 368 "[d]irects the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Commerce, of Defense, of Energy, and of the Interior (the Secretaries), in consultation with FERC, states, tribal or local governmental entities, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, are directed to consult with each other and to: (1) designate corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on federal land in the 11 contiguous Western States; (2) incorporate the designated corridors into the relevant agency land use and resource management or equivalent plans; and (3) ensure that additional corridors are promptly identified and designated."

Since this act covers multiple states it takes up three volumes. To see where these corridors will be you can look at volume 3 (here is a direct link to CO's map).

Everyone can comment on this proposal and you can do this using an easy form online. If you are interested in the comments given during the scoping (preparation) phase, check out this search engine.

Want a little bit of the media perspective? Check out Denver Post's "Feds to designate energy corridors."

Want more environment and energy resources? Check out the library's guides.

Friday, November 16, 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 Medicaid, security and terrorism. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports
Testimonies
Correspondence

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

From the CRS this week

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 brings us Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on tax reform, street gangs, Iraq, and much more. 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, November 13, 2007

Native American Heritage Month

At this close to halfway point on the month I thought it might be time to highlight some of the government resources available for Native American Heritage Month.

First, check out the Library of Congress's web site. Here you can find links to collections, images, and Audio/Video. You can also read profiles, such as this one of Sacajawea one of my favorite individuals in the story of exploration of the American West. I ask how many of you could give birth, then carrying your baby hike from St. Louis Missouri to the Pacific Ocean and back? Check out the national park on the WA/OR border.

Second, check out the Smithsonian's American Indian History and Culture web site. This site is a treasure trove of resources from genealogical information to spirituality.

Want current information or statistics? Check out the Census Bureau's Facts for Features page, which contains such gems of information as the American Indians and Alaskan Natives make up the largest minority group in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Still need more? Check out the library's Native American Treaties and Information guide.

Avian Influenza Confirmed in the UK

Great Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that the highly virulent H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus has been confirmed in poultry (mostly free-range turkeys) in Suffolk. Strains of the H5N1 virus can infect and cause death in wild birds, animals and humans. Bird flu was first detected in Asia in 1997 and has spread into parts of Africa and Europe. Read Defra's news release on the outbreak.

Want more information on bird flu? Check out the information pages from these agencies:
Read "Suffolk bird flu is H5N1 strain" from BBC News, "New case of deadly bird flu in UK" from CNN, and "Deadly Bird Flu Virus Found in UK Birds" from the Washington Post.

For more information on health and medical information, check out the library's guide.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Veterans Day Observed

This year Veterans Day fell on Sunday, so it is observed by government offices, the U.S. Postal Service, banks and schools today. Historically, Veterans Day falls on the 11th day of the 11th month of every year and honors veterans of all U.S. wars.

Find more about the history of Veterans Day from:
Want more information on the military? Check out the library's subject guide.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Senate Confirms Mukasey as New Attorney General

The U.S. Senate confirmed former federal judge Michael B. Mukasey by a 53-40 vote as the 81st attorney general. Mukasey replaces Alberto Gonzales, who resigned in September (read about the resignation in our blog). Read President Bush's press release about Mukasey's confirmation on the White House web site.

Want to read more on the confirmation and the Senate's debates about Mukasey? Check out the Washington Post's "Senate Confirms Mukasey By 53-40: Historically Low Tally for New Attorney General" and "Senate Confirms Mukasey as Attorney General" from FOX News.

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

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
Testimonies
Correspondence

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Senate Overrides Presidential Veto in Water Resources Bill

President Bush received the first veto override of his presidency today when the Senate approved the $23 million Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1495). The Senate voted to reject the President's veto 79-14 (with 7 not voting). The House voted on Tuesday to override the veto 361-54 (with 17 not voting). Both votes exceed the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto. View the press release from the White House on the November 2nd veto of the water resources bill.

For more information? Read "Congress Hands Bush First Veto Override" from the Washington Post and "Senate Overrides Veto on Water Resources Bill, Joins House" from FOX News.

Still want more? Check out the library's guides on Congress, Presidents, and Water Resources.

More from the Federal Reserve

It has been a week since my last post on the economy, so at the risk of scaring everyone off I am going to post another report. Yesterday brought the US and Asian markets down. Today brings us Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernake's report to the Joint Economic Committee on the economic outlook.

If you are reading this right now you can actually watch the hearing live. For the rest of us (or those who read this after the hearing ends) who just want to know the story, check out the prepared testimony from Bernake.

Want analysis, not the primary source material? Check out the Washington Post's "Bernanke Sees Slow Growth, Urges Congress to Act" or Fox News' "Bernanke: Financial Markets 'Significantly Affected' Outlook for Broader Economy."

Still need more? Why not check out the library's business and economics guides..

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Toys Containing Date Rape Drug Recalled

Toy beads have been pulled off shelves in North America and Australia after scientists discovered that the Chinese-made toys contain a chemical coating that when ingested metabolizes into the date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB). Five children in the U.S. and Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. The beads are sold as Aqua Dots in the U.S. and Bindeez Beads in Australia. You can read the product recall from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website and from Product Recalls Australia's website.

Want more information on what prompted this recall? Read "Toy Containing Date-Rape Drug Pulled" from the Washington Post, "Report: AquaDots Recalled for Containing Date Rape Drug" from FOX News, and "Drug beads off our shelves" from Australia's Herald Sun.

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

Election Results in Boulder and Denver

Did everyone mail in their ballots or drop them off yesterday? If you did and want to know the results here are the locations for the Boulder and Denver communities:

Still want more? Read the analysis of the Denver vote in the Denver Post's "Voters give Denver red-letter day." For information on the Boulder vote check out the Daily Camera's Election page (requires free registration).

Need more Boulder community information? Maybe you want to check out where that open space funding is going. You can find all that and more on the library's guide.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Congressional Research Service reports

This week brings us Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on presidential politics, China, terrorism, and much more. 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. 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, November 05, 2007

State of Emergency in Pakistan

On Saturday, November 3, President General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. You can view this proclamation on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site actually has a number of press releases on the media response and links to the various orders. The President's web site only has two brief press releases on this action. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has suspended its caseload this week due to this order.

For additional information from the Pakistani government check out their information gateway. If you would like some independent media, check out the Washington Post's "In Pakistan, Thousands Protest Emergency Rule: Lawyers, Police Battle at High Court Complex" or the BBC's Pakistan web site.

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

Friday, November 02, 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
Testimonies
Correspondence
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 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in Baltimore, Maryland. GAO-08-241CG, October 29.
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08241cg.pdf
  • "21st Century Transformation Challenges and Opportunities," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Coast Guard Innovation Expo, in New Orleans, Louisiana. GAO-08-260CG, October 30.
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08260cg.pdf
  • "America's Fiscal Future," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Breakbulk Trade and Transportation Exhibition and Conference, in New Orleans. GAO-08-217CG, October 30.
    http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08217cg.pdf

Thursday, November 01, 2007

More economics news as the stock market falls

Yes, yesterday was economic news as well, but when the Dow Jones Industrial Index goes down 362.12 points in one day you get more economics information.

First, yesterday the Federal Reserve Board announced a drop a 25 basis point drop in the federal funds rate to 4.5 percent (see press release). Second, in those GDP figures we discussed yesterday some people noticed what appeared to be a decrease/slowdown/who knows in the consumer spending rate.

Want to learn more? If you are lucky and the article hasn't gone into the paid site, check out the Wall Street Journal's "Stocks Tumble a Day After Rate Cut As Financials Strain Dow Industrials." For longer, more stable access, check out the New York Times' "Stocks fall on Exxon Earnings and Citi Woes."

Still want more? Check out the library's Business and Economics guides.