State Department Releases Country Reports on Human Rights

The U.S. State Department released the 2011 report on human rights practices around the globe.   It's been a busy year.  While Libya is responding harshly to calls for a democratically-elected government, Burma (also known as Myanmar) appears to be loosening its restrictions on political dissent. Noting that "the yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational", the report also notes troubling increases in persecution of religious groups, ethnic and racial minorities, and gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals. 

For additional resources, consult our Human Rights page which includes links from other governmental entities and international organizations such as Amnesty Internation, Human Rights Watch, and others.  Many in the international community are critical of the United States for its practice of the death penalty.

House Votes Not to Fund the American Community Survey

The House passed a budget bill for the Census which eliminates funding for the American Community Survey.  The headline at Business Week states "Killing the American Community Survey Blinds Business."  The Washington Times notes that the "House Reins in Census Bureau, Justice."   The director of the Census has a blog with information and a video.  The director comments, "Modern societies need current, detailed social and economic statistics; the US is losing them." 

Stay tuned.  If you read this blog on a regular basis you've probably noticed that we regularly feature postings on the Census.  It's our go to place for statistics when we answer reference questions. 

Go Colorado!!!

On April 26, 2012, Colorado became the first state in the nation to enact the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (ULEMA).  The legislation includes provisions for permanent public access to official, authentic online legal materials.  The bill (HB1209), which enjoyed broad support,  covers the Constitution, Session Laws, Revised Statutes and Agency Regulations.  The regulations will be the first release under the new law. 

The American Association of Law Libraries was quick to celebrate, offering "Kudos to incoming AALL Government Relations Committee vice chair Susan Nevelow Mart, who worked closely with Senator Morgan Carroll, the majority caucus chair of the Senate and chair of the Judiciary Committee, to ensure passage."  Susan is the director of the Wise Law Library in the School of Law at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Welcome to CU Boulder, Mr. President!

The entire staff and faculty of the University of Colorado Libraries would like to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to President Barack Obama as he visits the CU Boulder campus on Tuesday, April 24.  We are honored to be recipients of this visit by our nation's 44th President.

Update: The White House video of the President's speech on Tuesday has been embedded below.  A transcript of the speech is available here.

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Photos taken from the White House Flickr feed.

Photos taken from the White House Flickr feed.

Photos taken from the White House Flickr feed.

Finally, a photo from CU Boulder student Madalyn Starkey via Instagram.
This picture of Ms. Starkey and the President at The Sink has gone viral via social networking.

Lower North Fork Fire Report Released

Pyro-cumulus from the Lower North Fork Fire

The State of Colorado released a report on the prescribed burn (read fiasco) that lead to the Lower North Fork Fire which killed three people and destroyed homes in Jefferson County.  According to the press release, several factors contributed to the disaster:

• Unburned fuels and residual heat still present within the prescribed burn area four days after the initial burn.
• Routinely successful best practices, including a 200-foot buffer around the burn, proved to be ineffective.
• Professional judgment by fire managers that the burn was secure and that readiness for wildfires in uncontrolled settings took priority.
• Weather and fire behavior projections that did not sufficiently predict the complete set of circumstances.
• Rapidly escalating winds creating spot fires that exceeded the capacity of firefighters on the ground.

The full text of the report is available here.