Several recent reports on the status of reconstruction in Iraq have been released this week from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and are in the news.
SIGIR Audit Reports [April]:
Main site -- http://www.sigir.mil/reports/audit.aspx
* 08-011 [April 29, 2008]
Review of Outcome, Cost, and Oversight of Electricity-Sector Reconstruction Contract with Perini Corporation http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-011.pdf
* 08-017 [April 28, 2008]
Transferring Reconstruction Projects to the Government of Iraq: Some Progress Made but Further Improvements Needed to Avoid Waste http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-017.pdf
* 08-013 [April 28, 2008]
Interim Report on Iraq Reconstruction Contract Terminations
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-013.pdf
* 08-015 [April 25, 2008]
Interim Analysis of Iraqi Security Force Information Provided by the Department of Defense Report, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-015.pdf
* 08-016 [April 24, 2008]
U.S. Anticorruption Efforts in Iraq: Progress Made in Implementing Revised Management Plan
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-016.pdf
* 08-014 [April 24, 2008]
Progress on Recommended Improvements to Contract Administration for the Iraqi Police Training Program
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-014.pdf
SIGIR Quarterly Reports
Main site http://www.sigir.mil/reports/Default.aspx
They just released its most recently quarterly report
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr08/pdf/Report_-_April_2
008.pdf
Their summary of this report --
Since April 2003, the United States Congress has appropriated more than
$46 billion for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq. This Quarterly Report provides a comprehensive update on how that money has been spent, with information on the top five projects in each construction sector, the top contractors by income, an overview of reconstruction management, and SIGIR's new audits and inspections. In addition, with Iraq's oil revenue income on course to hit $70 billion for 2008 "twice what was expected" Iraq is in a position to take on more responsibility for its own reconstruction. The Year of Transfer in Iraq continues, with three major issues unfolding:
* Transferring funding responsibility
* Transferring reconstruction assets
* Transferring responsibility for security

The depository eagle was created by GPO staff and approved by the staff in the Office of the Superintendent of Documents and from the Joint Committee on Printing.
The logo was selected from 3 designs submitted by GPO Graphics Department. Jim Livesey, Director of Library Programs Service of the Superintendent of Documents Office and Bernadine Abbott Hoduski (retired professional staffer, U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Printing Helena, Montana ber@initco.net) as a JCP staffer decided on the winner.
The eagle logo was first used by GPO 9/30/1977. It was registered as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 12/27/2005. S/N:
78503429
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78503429

Library of Congress Opens Main Reading Room to Researchers
Age 16 and Older


Library of Congress Opens Main Reading Room to Researchers Age 16 and Older The Library of Congress today announced that the minimum age for use of the Main Reading Room to access the Library's physical collections for research purposes has been lowered to 16. The previous requirement was that researchers be above high school age. "The Library of Congress is always looking for ways to create new lifelong learners, to expand access to knowledge and to spark the creativity of future generations," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "We want people of all ages to be aware of the almost limitless resources that are available in libraries, including their de facto national library, especially at a time when the amount of information online still represents only a tiny fraction of the sum total of human knowledge." According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, there are more than 8 million 16- and 17-year-olds living in the United States.


http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-069.html

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has decided to not record a "snapshot" of government web pages at the end of the current Administration (as it did at the end of the Clinton Admin and of the 109th Congress). The letter below urges the Archivist to rescind that decision.
Background information is provided here:
http://www.dotgovwatch.com/?/archives/34-The-National-Archives-Is-Quietly-Destroying-Millions-of-Documents.html#contentStart
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9077158
NARA's response to the bad publicity is here: http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/memos/nwm13-2008-brief.html
The deadline is Monday, 28 April. If you want to sign your organization on, please let Vivek Shah know.
Thanks.
Patrice McDermott, Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
www.openthegovernment.org
202.332.OPEN (6736)
April , 2008
Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States National Archives and Records Administration 700 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20408
Dear Dr Weinstein,
We are writing to express our serious concerns about the National Archives and Record Administration's decision to not record a "snapshot" of government web pages at the end of the current Administration. Federal websites are federal records and, therefore, must be treated as such and preserved appropriately. As the site for the 2004 Presidential Term Web Harvest indicates, the first such snapshot was "intended to document Federal agencies' presence on the World Wide Web at the time that the Presidential Administration term ended in early 2005." Indeed, NARA also captured House and Senate public web sites as they existed prior to December 11 2006, at the end of the109th Congress (2006). A precedent, thus, has been clearly established for this important method of preserving a moment in our country's history.
It is our understanding that in NWM 13.2008, the reasons for this decision include that Existing, private entities such as the Internet Archive (archives.org) already record federal web pages; and NARA does not consider such a snapshot to possess enough historical value to warrant its recording.
The work of organizations like the Internet Archive, while valuable, does not supplant the responsibility of our national government to protect and document its own history and the NARA snapshot is the critical component of the Nation's historical record. No other agency has both the public mandate and the public accountability necessary for protecting historical records.
Moreover, depending on private, non-profit organizations to keep our Nation's digital history poses serious risks. What guarantee is there that the Internet Archive or any similar organization, and the records they keep, will still exist 10, 15, or a hundred years from now? How do we ensure that these records will be freely available and without limitations on their use?
A snapshot of federal web pages is, indeed, of great historical value. They provide the public with an image and understanding of the government at a particular point in time that can be then compared and contrasted with other such images over Administrations. Such comparison is of immense historical value because it allows the public direct access to federal digital records at a given time in history. As Congress and Federal agencies continue to move more and more of their work online, proactive and detailed digital archiving is essential for public awareness and government accountability.
We urge you to rescind your decision and continue NARA's web harvesting program by archiving a snapshot of all federal web pages at the end of the current presidential term. Not capturing federal websites now may mean losing millions of pages created during the Bush administration. Allowing such a loss is contrary to the trust in and the mission of the National Archives and Records Administration.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss our concerns with you. Thank you in advance for considering this request. Please contact Patrice McDermott at 202-332-6736 with any questions.
Sincerely,

From the top of de Young Museum in San Francisco -- a government building

The Second Judicial District Court - Family Division has been hosting monthly "service fairs" on the 3rd floor of One South Sierra Street, North Tower. Our next service fair will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and will highlight services provided by the Adoption and Attachment Resource Center of Nevada and Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Northern Nevada.
The Adoption and Attachment Resource Center will be here from 9:00 a.m.
- 3:00 p.m. and Consumer Credit Counseling Services will here from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The Adoption and Attachment Resource Center provides information about recruitment, training, and ongoing support for adoptive families. Consumer Credit Counseling Services provides free credit, debt, budget, housing, and family counseling. Please share this information with those who may be interested in such assistance.
Should you have any questions, please let me know. For your convenience I have also attached the event flyer. Thank you in advance for encouraging people to attend.
Joey A. Orduna, J.D.
Assistant Court Administrator - Family Court Second Judicial District P.O. Box 30083 Reno, Nevada 89520-3083
Phone: (775) 328-3467
Cell: (775) 250-2322
Fax: (775) 328-3469
Email: joey.orduna@washoecourts.us <mailto:joey.orduna@washoecourts.us>

John Califano , working the Periodical Desk at the Downtown Reno Library.

POPLINE


On April 2, controversy erupted when medical research librarians discovered that database administrators at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, took action to block the word 'abortion' as a search term for searches conducted on POPLINE, the 'world's largest database on reproductive health.'
Shortly after the news was made public, the ALA Washington Office approached officials at John Hopkins inquiring about the limitations placed on the database and demanding a full investigation into the matter. When informed about the administrators' decision, Dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Michael J. Klag, reversed the decision to restrict the search term. Full access to the POPLINE database was promptly restored and Dr. Klag has since initiated an inquiry into why and how the block was established.

The Truth About Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry

A great article from The Federal Trade Commission

A Garden Within a Library

Downtown Reno Library

Country Pages for the World Completed


The Government Publications Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder is happy to announce that its country pages for ALL countries of the world are now complete. You can access the pages directly from the Government Publications website (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/foreigngovt.htm) OR by searching the Research & Subject Guides Database (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/research/guides/index.cfm) by country name.
For ease of use, each page is arranged in a consistent manner. A navigation menu at the top provides quick access to frequently-requested information:
Government Information Country Profiles Articles & Databases Diplomatic Relations Health Peacekeeping & Military Information Resources in the Catalog Related Topics.
Selecting one of the Resources in the Catalog links generates a live Chinook search for country-specific e-resources on economics, history, or politics. There's also an option to limit your search to government information only.
A number of instructors direct their students to use the guides. The country pages are also among the most frequently-searched-for items in the guides database.
Although some of the links are limited to CU-Boulder because of license restrictions, a majority of the links are to freely available resources.

Washoe County is surveying citizens for budget priorities and comments. If you, as a citizen, want to let your commissioner(s) know where you think County budget should be cut/spent/increased, what's important to you, etc., fill out their survey at:

http://www.washoecounty.us/index/surveys.html~survey_dept=&sid=5

Hint, hint - increase library budget

Kathryn Etcheverria, Head of Government Publications for the Nevada State Library and Archives and Lisa Printz, Washoe County Library Government Documents Division in Kathryn's office.

AARP Tax Help at the Downtown Reno Library

Volunteer Carol Gomez helps another satisfied client.

Iraqi Perspectives Project Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents
Volume 1 (Redacted)
http://a.abcnews.com/images/pdf/Pentagon_Report_V1.pdf
The related article "Report Shows No Link Between Saddam and al Qaeda is available http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/report-shows-no.html

Washoe County Government at Work

Arnie Maurins, Washoe County Library System Interim Director at his desk on a Sunday morning.

The Nevada Health Division has removed from its Web homepage a report detailing the status of its on-going inspections of 50 surgical centers in Nevada.Spokeswoman Martha Framsted said the division is working to make the report more user-friendly, concerned the public might not understand all of the terminology in it.She said the new report is expected to be posted to the web site by Thursday morning.

The report has been posted at Ambulatory Surgical Center Actions

Decisions of the Interior Board of Indian Appeals have been made available on the Internet again.
The new web site was originally set up by the now deceased Administrative Judge Anita Vogt of the Office of Hearings and Appeals last year. At the time it started, Judge Vogt felt strongly that these decisions should be made available to the public, despite the limitations involved with the Cobell case. As you know, the Cobell case had shut down access to the Office of Hearings and Appeals website several years ago, including access to a database that had been set up on their website of IBIA and IBLA decisions.
The new site ( http://www.ibiadecisions.com ) is now being regularly updated by another Administrative Judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals and will continue to be updated by her for the foreseeable future. A librarian at the Office of Hearings and Appeals believes it is reliable and can be referred to when searching for these decisions.
This site contains decisions issued by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA)
from its inception in 1970, and includes some decisions of the Interior Board of Land
Appeals, volumes 125-173, and Indian Self-Determination Act Decisions. It also
includes surveys of IBIA decisions on three subjects: Land Acquisition (Updated
version, April 1, 2004), Probate (August 22, 2000), and Tribal Government (July 13,
1998). These surveys were prepared by Interior Department Field Solicitor Priscilla
A. Wilfahrt, who has graciously permitted their inclusion here.




Judy Din
Technical Services and Systems Support Manager U.S. Dept. of the Interior Library MS 1151
1849 C. St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
(202) 208-3402
Judy_L_Din@nbc.gov

Downtown Reno Library Information Services librarians

Debbie Gunderman

Marc Tiar

Washoe County Quick Map Debut
A new simple Web search application has been added to the county’s GIS toolsets. It was developed to assist county front-line staff in answering questions from citizens, such as which Commissioner District, Precinct or General Improvement Districts they reside.
Users can search by address, parcel number or street intersection. The program will search the map layers related to that address and present results in a table format. The table lists planning area, Voter Precinct, Senate District, Assembly District, Board of Education, University Regent, Commission District, City Ward, Standard Trustee, General Trustee, General Improvement District, township and zip code. With one additional click, users can get detailed parcel information through Assessor’s Office Quick Info and map detail through the Map Warehouse. Here is the link to Quick Map: http://wcgisweb.washoecounty.us/website/QuickMap/. Or you can go to the GIS homepage and click the Quick Map icon. If you have any suggestions or run into technical problems, please contact Matt Lawton at mlawton@washoecounty.us. Happy Clicking!!

WASHOE COUNTY BUDGET HEARINGS TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON CHANNEL 17 AND AVAILABLE ON VIDEO ON DEMAND
Reno, Nevada March 7, 2008. Washoe County Department budget presentations are scheduled for March 10, 17 and 24 and will be broadcast live on WCTV-17 as well as posted on the County’s video-on demand website by the next day at the latest. To get each Department’s live budget presentation date and time and video on demand schedule, go to www.washoecounty.us and click on the WCTV-17 online link for video on demand and www.washoecounty.us/finance/budget.html for budget information.
Washoe County elected officials and Department heads will present these strategies to the Board of Commissioners about how they will meet the projected $20.7 million deficit in the 2008-09 budget within their individual departments. Recommended reductions range from 2.5% for public safety, 5% for judicial/health/social services, 10% for administrative/executive/legal/operations and 15% for cultural/educational.
The spending reductions are necessary because sales tax revenues, which make up nearly 40% of the County’s general fund, are lower than projected. In fact, County Commissioners recently received a report from County Finance staff that 16 of the last 17 months have sales tax revenues lower than the same period a year ago—the longest sustained decrease in decades.

Related Links:
Budget Overview (http://www.washoecounty.us/finance/budget.html)

Census 2010 in Trouble


http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0308/030508n1.htm
Census Bureau facing huge cost increase, possible delays in 2010 effort By Gautham Nagesh *gnagesh@govexec.com* March 5, 2008
The 2010 Census is at serious risk of massive cost increases and delays caused by problems with a contract to develop handheld computers that the Census Bureau plans to use to collect data.
Because of the problems, costs for the decennial census could increase by between $600 million to $2 billion, according to testimonygiven by the Government Accountability Office Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The increase would be on top of the $11.8 billion the bureau estimates the census will cost.
The problems with the contract are so great that the GAO took the unusual step of adding the project to its list of high-risk programs during mid-year. Typically, GAO adds programs to its risk list every two years at the beginning of new Congresses. GAO has added programs during mid-sessions only four times.
"So serious is the crisis that if it is not dealt with immediately, it could threaten the integrity of the 2010 count," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in his opening statement at the hearing. "We now find ourselves facing a situation in which we might have to revert to conducting the census entirely by paper -- no differently than it was done in the 19th century."
The source of the trouble is the Field Data Collection Automation Contract, which the bureau awarded in 2006 to Harris Corp. for $595 million. Under the contract, Harris is developing handheld computers for 525,000 enumerators who will use them to collect data from Americans who do not send in their census forms. Since awarding the contract, the project has experienced problems <http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0108/010208h1.htm>, including changing system requirements, which have caused costs to increase and the bureau to miss deadlines.
At the hearing, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez acknowledged in blunt terms that "significant miscommunication concerning technical requirements between the Census Bureau and Harris" were a main reason for the failings.
David Powner, director of information technology management issues at GAO, said final requirements for the FDCA program were not delivered to Harris until Jan. 16.
For years, the bureau's top executives have downplayed any perceptions that the contract was in trouble. Most recently, at a Dec. 11 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, former Census Director Charles Louis Kincannon blamed the delays on Congress' inability to pass the bureau's budget and downplayed the nature of the program's shortcomings.
However, at Wednesday's hearing, Gutierrez testified that "the problem was more significant than had been conveyed in the Dec. 11 hearing" and admitted that the Census Bureau and Harris "could have done things differently and better over the past couple years."
"This is a case of classic risk mismanagement," said Bob Charette, a risk management expert who consults with federal agencies. "Very early in the contract, [the Census Bureau] should have realized they did not do some of things they should have for a large-scale automation like this. Doing it now is like locking the barn door after the horse is gone."
Gutierrez and Steven Murdock, who recently replaced Kincannon as head of the bureau, offered four options to fix the contract's problems. Under one, called the baseline option, Harris and the Census Bureau would complete the FDCA project as planned, while each of the other options progressively remove a number of functionalities of the handhelds, with those functions being completed by paper. The $600 million to $2 billion estimate of the cost increase depends largely on which option is chosen. But sources expressed doubt about that estimate because the bureau cannot accurately predict the cost and timeframe of the 2010 census at this time.

Downtown Reno Library Information Services members

Lisa Printz

Aurora Partridge

The C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus will stop at two Washoe County libraries during its visit to northern Nevada. The 45-foot, mobile, multi-media demonstration center and TV production unit brings the world of public affairs to communities nationwide. Educators, media specialists, high school and middle school students, college students, legislators and voters are all welcomed aboard. The bus is intended to engage voters in the presidential election process.
The library schedule is as follows:
Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.-noon
Spanish Springs Library (Lazy 5 Park)
7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Sparks
424-1800
Saturday, March 15, 1-3 p.m.
Northwest Reno Library
2325 Robb Drive, Reno
787-4100

The purpose of the bus is to introduce students, teachers and bus visitors to C-SPAN as an educational resource. Visitors learn about the importance of media literacy and the historic 2008 presidential race. A typical visit to the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus includes an interactive demonstration about C-SPAN programming, media literacy skills and the 2008 presidential election.
Everyone is welcome to visit the bus and enjoy a multi-media political experience. Please see www.campaign2008bus.org for more information on the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus.

Based FY2000 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1202) DoD is required to submit a report "...on the current and future military strategy of the People's Republic of China. The report shall address the current and probable future course of military-technological development on the People's Liberation Army and the tenets and probable development of Chinese grand strategy, security strategy, and military strategy, and of the military organizations and operational concepts, through the next 20 years."
The 2008 DoD Report to Congress on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China for has been released and is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
Previous reports can be found at
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/china.html

Multimedia message

Govdoc office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 13, 2008 No. 08-06 GPO MEDIA CONTACT: GARY SOMERSET 202.512.1957, 202.355.3997 cell UIC MEDIA CONTACT: LINDA NARU 312.413.0394 GPO AND DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES PARTNER TO OFFER ONLINE REFERENCE ASSISTANCE
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) joins the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and Federal Depository Libraries around the country to provide an online reference service to the American public. This unique free web based "Ask a Librarian" service will give the public an opportunity to ask librarians questions about government resources. An example of how this service works: with the current process in the Presidential elections, the public may have questions about the primaries, caucuses and Electoral College process. A librarian is available at <http://govtinfo.org> to answer those or any other questions about the government.
"This service enables GPO and the depository libraries to help Americans answer questions about their democracy by connecting them to the expertise offered by Government reference librarians," said Ric Davis, Acting Superintendent of Documents. "This is another example of the strong partnership GPO has with the Federal Depository Library community in their commitment of Keeping America Informed."
UIC will manage and maintain this service called "Government Information
Online: Ask a Librarian". GIO is supported by nearly 20 public, academic and state libraries throughout the country. Librarians are specialized in finding government information on any topic.
"GIO promotes and complements the growing digital initiatives of both UIC and GPO as well as the digital Government information provided through the Federal Depository Library Program," said Mary Case, University Librarian at UIC. "We are pleased to be able to collaborate on this exciting initiative with GPO, our Committee on Institutional Cooperation colleagues and a growing number of depository libraries around the country."
About GPO:
The GPO is the Federal Government's primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published U.S. Government information in all its forms. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three Branches of the Federal Government.
In addition to publication sales, GPO makes government information available at no cost to the public through GPO Access (www.gpoaccess.gov), and through partnerships with more than 1,250 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit <www.gpo.gov>.
About UIC:
UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. UIC also is one to twelve research universities in the Midwest with membership in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), which strives to advance academic by sharing resources and promoting and coordinating collaborative activities across the member universities. For more information about UIC, please visit <www.uic.edu>

The Washington Affairs Office <http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/> of the American Association of Law Libraries <http://www.aallnet.org/> is pleased to announce its new blog <http://aallwash.wordpress.com/> [http://aallwash.wordpress.com <http://aallwash.wordpress.com/> ]! The blog, named AALL's Washington Blawg, will highlight bills we're tracking in Congress, Action Alerts, news and resources, events we're participating in, and more. We will address important topics such as access to government information, digital authentication <http://www.aallnet.org/summit/default.asp> , copyright, and open government issues.
You can keep up with our regular updates by subscribing to the RSS feed <http://aallwash.wordpress.com/feed> , signing up for email updates <http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1707127&loc=en_
US> , or by visiting the blog for the latest news. We hope the blog
serves as another way to keep you informed about the Washington Affairs Office.

Terri Russell, reporter for KOLO, reseaching a story in the periodicals department of the Downtown Reno Library.

Rand has posted the final report of their Counterinsurgency Study series. The central question the study attempted to answer was "How should the United States improve its capabilities to counter insurgencies, particularly those that are heavily influenced by transnational terrorist movements and thus linked into a global jihadist network?"
War by Other Means -- Building Complete and Balanced Capabilities for Counterinsurgency. RAND Counterinsurgency Study -- Final Report
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG595.2.pdf

The Defense Science Board (DSB) has posted their latest report
"The Defense Science Board Permanent Task Force on Nuclear Surety:
Report on the Unauthorized Movement of Nuclear Weapons."
The report is available directly at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2008-02-Nuclear_Weapons_Surety.pdf or from the DSB report site - http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm
"The Task Force report is an independent assessment of the systemic causes of the August 30 unauthorized movement of nuclear warheads from Minot AFB, North Dakota to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. Based on the information and insights gained from investigating and assessing these systemic causes, the report includes 16 recommendations to strengthen nuclear weapons surety."

National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has just released their final report which is available on their website,
http://www.transportationfortomorrow.org/

A New Treasury Site
Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities (in billions of dollars) http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
This covers major holders by country by billions of dollars for the current and previous 12 months (i.e. Nov 2007-Nov 2006)
The general site is:
Treasury International Capital System - Home Page http://www.treas.gov/tic/

Go to http://www.maplight.org/widgets and you can get the code for widgets showing fundraising by presidential race, US Congressional district and CA races. Fun way to add content to election related pages...

President Bush has signed the Act that you'll see referenced below that makes the deposit of government-funded health research mandatory! As you might possibly remember, the requirement that investigators using NIH money deposit their manuscipts into PubMed Central (PMC) within 12 months after publication that went into effect in 2005 as a result of the efforts of Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health, was not mandatory. Dr. Zerhouni wanted it to be mandatory, but lobbyists for medical publishers watered it down until the enacting language was changed from "required" to "recommended". As a result only abvout 5% to 7% of such manuscipts have been available via PubMed Central since 2005. But with this Consolidated Appropriations Act the language is now changed to "required". This is analogous to the release of publically-funded education research via ERIC. It doesn't happen often, but we've won one! We should now all start offering training in PMC to our academic and public library customers.

Link to PubMed Central--
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pmc

washoe County building and safety officials continue policy of mutual aid to fernley citizens
Reno, Nevada. January 9, 2008. Washoe County personnel are part of the cavalry of local government who are assisting Fernley in their recovery efforts from last weekend’s devastating flood which affected so many residents in that area.
When the Fernley disaster initially hit, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office deployed search and rescue personnel to aid local first responders in rescuing residents from their flooded homes. Subsequently, Washoe County Building and Safety officials sent six employees to assist Fernley Building officials with damage assessment and administrative work.
Washoe County Building and Safety Director Don Jeppson spoke about his Department’s philosophy of assistance. "We have a standing policy of supporting our fellow jurisdictions during times of emergency," Jeppson states. "During last summer’s South Lake Tahoe fire, we offered help to El Dorado County, and in the past, the local building departments have also mutually supported each other during flood and snow events. We know that our counterparts would also help us out during difficult times to ensure public safety and well-being."
In addition, Washoe County’s Roads Director Bill Oroszi has offered street sweeper equipment to Fernley along with personnel to operate it. To speak to a Washoe County Building and Safety employee currently working in Fernley, please contact Building and Safety Director Don Jeppson directly at 775-328-2030.

Office of the Secretary Defense has released its new "Unmanned Systems Roadmap, 2007-2023." This is the first integrated report and includes Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Unmanned Ground Systems and Unmanned Maritime Systems.
The report is available directly at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/usd/Unmanned%20Systems%20Roadmap.2007-2032.pdf
Some highlights from the executive summary:
As of October 2006, coalition Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), exclusive of hand-launched systems, had flown almost 400,000 flight hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) had responded to over 11,000 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) situations, and Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMSs) had provided security to ports. As a result of these successes, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) emphasized the importance of unmanned systems in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
Unmanned systems are highly desired by combatant commanders (COCOMs) for the many roles these systems can fulfill. Tasks such as mine detection; signals intelligence; precision target designation; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive (CBRNE) reconnaissance; and communications and data relay rank high among the COCOMs' interests.
These unmanned capabilities have helped reduce the complexity and time lag in the "sensor" component of the sensor-to-shooter chain for prosecuting "actionable intelligence." Unmanned systems are changing the conduct of military operations in the GWOT by providing unrelenting pursuit combined with the elimination of threats to friendly forces; including injury, capture, or death.

Current U.S. National Strategies
from http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/archive.html
National Strategy for Homeland Security July 2002 White House Office of Homeland Security http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/book/index.html
National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace February 2003 White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf
National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets February 2003 White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/physical_strategy.pdf
National Military Strategy February 2004 (March 2005?) Joint Chiefs of Staff http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2005/d20050318nms.pdf
National Defense Strategy March 2005 (April 2005?) Office of the Secretary of Defense http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2005/d20050408strategy.pdf
National Intelligence Strategy October 2005 Office of the Director of National Intelligence http://www.dni.gov/publications/NISOctober2005.pdf
National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza November 2005 Homeland Security Council http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/nspi.pdf
National Strategy for Victory in Iraq November 2005 National Security Council http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_national_strategy_20051130.p
df
National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction February 2006 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff http://www.defenselink.mil/pdf/NMS-CWMD2006.pdf
National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism February 2006 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/2006-01-25-Strategic-Plan.pdf
National Strategy for Combating Terrorism September 2006 National Security Council http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/counter_terrorism/counte
r_terrorism_strategy.pdf
The National Security Strategy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/nss2006.pdf
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf
National Counterintelligence Strategy March 2007 Office of the Director of National Intelligence http://www.ncix.gov/publications/policy/FinalCIStrategyforWebMarch21.pdf

FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES OFFER FREE ACCESS TO COURT E-RECORDS
The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) have entered into a two-year pilot project with the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts (AOUSC) to provide access to its PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) service.
The PACER system can provide remote access to case and docket information from the Federal Courts via the Internet. Records include information from the Appellate, District and Bankruptcy Courts. Users of PACER are able to access information about a case including the names of all the parties, judges and attorneys involved in the case, case history and status as well as many of the documents submitted by the parties to the court.
Seventeen depositories, representing diverse types and sizes of libraries as well as different geographic locations, were selected to take part in the PACER pilot. With these libraries promoting the PACER service to the public, we anticipate the pilot will determine that Federal depository library access to PACER expands usage to those who currently do not have it available to them or would be inhibited by going to a court house to use the service.
The Federal depository libraries participating in the PACER pilot are:
* Alaska State Court Law Library (Alaska)
* Sacramento County Public Law Library, (California)
* San Bernardino County Law Library (California)
* Library of Congress/Law Library of Congress (District of
Columbia)
* Nova Southeastern University Law Library (Florida)
* 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Library (Illinois)
* Northern Kentucky University Steely Library/Chase Law Library
(Kentucky)
* Portland Public Library (Maine)
* University of Michigan Law School Library (Michigan)
* Wayne State University Arthur Neef Law Library, (Michigan)
* Rutgers University, Newark Law Library (New Jersey)
* New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library (New Mexico)
* Fordham University School of Law Leo T. Kissam Memorial Library (New York)
* State Library of Ohio (Ohio)
* Rogers State University Stratton Taylor Library (Oklahoma)
* University of Tennessee College of Law Joel A. Katz Law Library (Tennessee)
* Lee College Library (Texas)
The Government Printing Office thanks these libraries, and the other Federal depository libraries that volunteered for the pilot project, for their enthusiasm to provide PACER to their users. For more information about the project please contact Cindy Etkin at cetkin@gpo.gov.

The Defense Science Board has posted a new report on the Deployment of Members of the National Guard and Reserves in the Global War on Terror.
The report can be found at on the DSB reports page -- http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm or directly at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-11-National_Guard_and_Reserve_in_the_Global_War_on_Terrorism.pdf
The task force examined the question of optimal length and frequency of deployment of members of the National Guard and reserve. According to the report, the task force found "that there is a general consensus that the guidelines for the reserve components satisfy their needs for predictability and sustainability. However, given current levels of operational demand, today's Army active National Guard, and reserve force structure will not support DoD's policy. Nor can it be supported when planned increases in end-strength are reached."
The report also expressed concern about the availability of Guard and reserve personnel and equipment to meet homeland security, civil support and domestic emergency requirements along with the robust overseas deployments.
Various charts and graphs are included.

Launch of the Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA)
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will launch the "Government of Canada Web Archive" on November 20, 2007. The site can be found at:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/
The Library and Archives of Canada Act received Royal Assent on April 22, 2004, allowing Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to collect and preserve a representative sample of Canadian websites. To meet its new mandate, LAC began to harvest the Web domain of the Federal Government of Canada starting in December 2005. As resources permit, this harvesting activity will be undertaken on a semi-annual basis. The harvested website data is stored in the "Government of Canada Web Archive" (GCWA). Client access to the content of the GCWA is provided through searching full text by keyword, by department name and by URL.
It is also possible to search by specific format type, (e.g., *.PDF). By the fall 2007, approximately 100 million digital objects (over 4
terabytes) of archived federal government website data will be made accessible via the LAC website.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has implemented this first significant Canadian Web archive through the use of open source tools, developed by the International Internet Preservation Consortium (http://www.netpreserve.org), of which LAC is a member. The goal of this organization is to collect, preserve and ensure long-term access to Internet content from around the world through the collaborative development of common tools and techniques for developing Web archives.

From
Grace York, Coordinator,
Documents Center &
Political Science Librarian
University of Michigan Library


Elections 2008 is up and running at UMich:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/elec2008.html
Even though it is very early in the election process, there is a critical, if not overwhelming, mass of material. Using the quick jumps at the top of the page, you can navigate to presidential match sites, political advertising, likely Congressional candidates, campaign finances, public opinion polls, election calendars, and historic Presidential votes by Congressional District.
Multi-purpose election web sites are analyzed. Campaign finances appear in LEXIS Congressional as well as the FEC, advertisements in National Journal as well as the Livingroom Candidate, and the text of preconvention debates on the CNN and MSNBC sites.
There is some quirky material under issues, such as the roll call votes on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which states support stem cell research, and Eliot Spitzer's concession speech on driver's licenses for illegal aliens. If you are a Michigan voter, we're covering the Presidential primary situation.
Ray Walling and Alex Watson are going to help me upgrade the issues section over the next few weeks, and the web site will be continually updated over the next year.
Have fun with it and feel free to contribute your own favorite political web sites.

As noted in the news -- the Joint Economic Committee Majority Staff has just published a report on the Cost of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They estimate it could exceed $3.5 trillion.
"November 13: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will join Joint Economic Committee
(JEC) Chairman Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and JEC Vice Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today released a new report exposing the hidden costs of the war in Iraq. The Joint Economic Committee report investigates the costs of the war in Iraq that are not included in direct budgetary appropriations, including long term veteran's health care, foregone investment, oil market disruptions and interest payments on borrowed war funding. The JEC estimates these costs could total in the trillions of dollars."
Joint Economic Committee -- "War at Any Price?-the Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget" and it is available at http://jec.senate.gov/Documents/Reports/11.13.07IraqEconomicCostsReport.
pdf
The press release includes a brief summary
http://jec.senate.gov/Documents/Releases/11.13.07IraqReportRelease.pdf
Individual charts are available as follows:
* The American Family Will Bear Heavy Burden to Pay for Wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/Chart2.pdf
* With No Change in Course, Total Costs Incurred per Family
Reach Almost $50,000 by 2017
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart1.pdf
* The Projected Interest Costs of Iraq War Alone are Higher than
the Cost of Children's Health Program and Health Research and Training http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart3.pdf
* Taxpayer Spending on Iraq War vs. Federal Spending on Other
Priorities
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart4.pdf
* Breaking Down the Costs of War in Iraq
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart5.pdf
* Total Economic Costs Under Future Scenarios
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/chart%20a-1
.pdf
* State-by-State Heat Map: States Bear Billions in Iraq War
Costs
http://jec.senate.gov/charts/Iraq%20Economic%20Cost%20Report/state%20by%
20state%20new.pdf
The response from the Joint Economic Committee Republicans can be found at http://www.house.gov/jec/news/2007/Nov/JEC%20GOP%20Response.pdf
They say the report should be withdrawn -- that it is politically motivated and filled with errors and poor methodology.
A second press release from them indicates that some errors were quietly corrected on the web version.
http://www.house.gov/jec/news/2007/Nov/JEC%20GOP%20Response%2011-14.pdf

WASHOE COUNTY prepared to serve homeless in overflow shelter
Reno, Nevada. November 13, 2007. In today’s Washoe County Commissioners Board meeting, Commissioners voted to approve the overflow homeless shelter’s lease agreement at 85 Edison Way in Sparks. They also approved the additional $17,236 provided to the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission to support the operation.
Since its opening on December 8, 2006, the homeless overflow shelter has served hundreds of homeless individuals that may have been turned away due to full capacity at the men’s drop-in shelter at 315 Record Street and the women’s drop in shelter at 355 Record Street. "The necessity of this shelter is obvious," Gabrielle Enfield, Washoe County Community Support Administrator states. "These folks would be out on our streets, possibly freezing to death if it were not for this overflow facility." Enfield anticipated the need and began looking for county space for overflow shelter in the fall of 2006. Working with County resources, and with the cooperation of the Flood Control Project, she was able to identify and convert the vacant building at 85 Edison Way.
The overflow emergency cold weather shelter at 85 Edison Way will provide shelter for up to 60 men from November 15th through March 31, 2008. Individuals in need of shelter will receive an evening meal, an opportunity to shower, shelter for the night and a light breakfast in the morning.
The women’s shelter facility is expected to be completed this December and single women will be provided cold weather overflow shelter at the Reno Sparks Gospel Mission Women and Family Shelter and the Reno Sparks Gospel Mission building on the Record Street Site. The Reno Sparks Gospel Mission will provide the same services to homeless women during the cold months that are provided to men.
Washoe County is committed to addressing our community’s homeless issue and since 1996, has provided more than $3 million in funding.
###

The FBI has published its newest edition of its report summarizing terrorist activities in the US. The newest report - "Terrorism 2002-2005" can be found as follows and the previous reports are listed
below:
PDF -- http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terrorism2002_2005.pdf
HTML -- http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terrorism2002_2005.htm
According to the forward the report "provides an overview of the terrorist incidents and preventions designated by the FBI as having taken place in the United States and its territories during the years
2002 through 2005 and that are matters of public record. This publication does not include those incidents which the Bureau classifies under criminal rather than terrorism investigations. In addition, the report discusses major FBI investigations overseas and identifies significant events-including legislative actions, prosecutorial updates, and program developments-relevant to U.S. counterterrorism efforts."
The report includes a chart of "casualties of terrorism 1980-2005" as well as a chronological summary of the terrorist incidents in the US
1980-2005 which includes the date, location, incident type, perpetrator, killed or injured.

If you toil in the fields of government information, you may be interested to know that an urgent campaign is underway to strike language from the Senate version of the Farm Bill which would create a substantial new FOIA exemption and severely restrict public access to important information about farm animal health under a National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
OpenTheGovernment.org has written a letter to Senators expressing opposition to the non-disclosure language in the Senate version of the bill, and the American Library Association, Special Libraries Association, and American Association of Law Libraries are among the 28 organizations to sign on. Please see the letter at:
http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/farm_bill_letter.pdf
As the letter states, Section 10305 of the Livestock Title of the Farm Bill approved October 25 by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to restrict and control disclosure of NAIS information, and imposes "disproportionately harsh penalties for press activities protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." The letter seeks to strike Section 10305 from the bill.
As always, it's important that legislators hear from THEIR constituents.
If you wish to lend your voice to this effort, please call or fax your Senators and let them know that you support the principles of transparency and disclosure expressed in the OpenTheGovernment.org letter, and urge them to oppose any version of the bill which includes
the non-disclosure provisions. Senate phone numbers are available on
the Senate website, and fax numbers are available from the sites of individual members:
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm . A complete reiteration of all the points made in the letter isn't necessary - what's most important is that they hear from you, their constituents, that you want the non-disclosure language of Section 10305 removed. Senate floor action could come at any time this week, so please act quickly.

Librarians Say Surveillance Bills Lack Adequate Oversight
By Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
A little-remarked feature of pending legislation on domestic surveillance has provoked alarm among university and public librarians who say it could allow federal intelligence-gathering on library patrons without sufficient court oversight.
Draft House and Senate bills would allow the government to compel any "communications service provider" to provide access to e-mails and other electronic information within the United States as part of federal surveillance of non-U.S. citizens outside the country.
The Justice Department has previously said that "providers" may include libraries, causing three major university and library groups to worry that the government's ability to monitor people targeted for surveillance without a warrant would chill students' and faculty members' online research activities.
"It is fundamental that when a user enters the library, physically or electronically," said Jim Neal, the head librarian at Columbia University, "their use of the collections, print or electronic, their communications on library servers and computers, is not going to be subjected to surveillance unless the courts have authorized it."
Under the legislation, the government could monitor a non-U.S. citizen overseas participating in an online research project through a U.S.
university library, and gain access to the communications of all the project participants with that surveillance target, said Al Gidari, a lawyer with the Perkins Coie firm who represents the Association of
Research Libraries and the American Library Association.
The bills, which would replace a temporary law amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, would not require the government to demonstrate "probable cause" that the foreign person targeted is a terrorist or a spy or to let the FISA court, which grants surveillance warrants, know that the tap will be on a library. Under the Senate bill, a general surveillance program may be authorized yearly by the attorney general and the director of national intelligence. The House's version would require the FISA court to authorize surveillance directed at people overseas.


<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102233.html>

WASHOE COUNTY AND NEVADA LAND CONSERVANCY BEGIN HAWKEN FIRE BURN AREA REHABILITATION WORK
Reno, Nevada. October 31, 2007. Nevada Land Conservancy and Washoe County announced today the beginning of rehabilitation and restoration efforts for the Hawken Fire burn area, with the construction of sediment basins and the application of hydro mulch seed over 40 acres.
In late July, the Hawken Fire devastated 2,700 acres in southwest Reno, 72% on federal land and 28% on private land. In the aftermath, the burn area threatens the quality of the community’s drinking water, the safety of nearby homes from future fires, recreational access, and hundreds of acres of crucial winter habitat for mule deer along the Carson range of the Sierra. With the input of federal, state and county agencies, a plan has been created to rehabilitate soils and restore critical habitat in the burn area. This plan includes treatments to stabilize soils, clear stream channels, construct sediment basins, remove hazardous trees, replant 300 Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees, erect fences and signage, and reseed more than 500 acres.
The Hawken Fire recovery efforts on private land were initiated by local resident Jeannie Cassinelli, who leads the Hawken Fire Recovery Team consisting of roughly 75 individuals actively supporting the recovery process. Through their efforts, local non-profit Nevada Land Conservancy was brought on board to lead fundraising efforts, recruit volunteers, and provide project oversight. The Team has raised $470,118 for the total project (restoration on both public and private lands). Of the total amount of $470,118, $364,518 comes from the community as grants and donations from the groups listed below, and the remaining $105,600 is federal money.
Washoe County leads the design and implementation of the immediate treatments needed to prevent erosion and reseed habitat through the efforts of several departments, including Parks and Open Space, Public Works, and Fire Services. The U.S. Forest Service Humboldt-Toiyabe District is coordinating the treatments on federal land. Other project partners in this effort include the Caughlin Ranch Homeowners’ Association, City of Reno, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Nevada Fire Safe Council, and several funding partners.
Time is of the essence – many of the treatments need to be in place before winter precipitation, so work is now beginning with the construction of sediment basins and the hydro mulching of 40 acres behind homes. Tree removal will begin in November, aerial seeding later this winter, and hand planting of 300 trees in early spring.
"It is so crucial that we provide erosion control measures now," states Sonya Hem, Deputy Director of Nevada Land Conservancy. "We would hate to see part of the mountain slide into the Truckee River through Alum Creek. And that could impact the water quality for the entire Truckee Meadows."
In addition to water quality, the burn area is located directly in the middle of the winter range of the Truckee-Loyalton Mule Deer herd. Already stressed by previous fires on Peavine Mountain, the herd is receiving support from Nevada Bighorns Unlimited in the form of a $20,000 contribution towards the forage reseeding efforts. Aerial seeding of 500 acres in the upper elevations with sagebrush, bitterbrush and other forage species will occur this winter.
The threat of invasive grass species colonizing the burn area is also a serious threat, according to Kurt Latipow, Washoe County Fire Services Coordinator. "We have a one-year window of opportunity to combat the extremely invasive cheat grass that will grow in the burn area if we do not come in aggressively now," states Latipow. "Cheat grass is extremely flammable and it increases the intensity and spread of fires, which results in an increased threat to lives and property."
Hawken Fire Restoration Effort Donors
Truckee River Fund
Nevada Bighorns Unlimited
City of Reno Ward One Neighborhood Advisory Board
City of Reno Ward Five Northwest Neighborhood Advisory Board
The Phil and Jennifer Satre Family Charitable Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada
The Ranson and Norma Webster Foundation at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada
Sierra Pacific Resources Foundation
Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation
Gaston & Wilkerson Management Group
Scenic Nevada
Lahontan Audubon Society
...and many donations from generous individuals!
###

The Defense Science Board (DSB) has posted a new report.
The report on "Mission Impact of Foreign Influence on DoD Software can be found at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-09-Mission_Impact_of_Foreign_Inf
luence_on_DoD_Software.pdf.
According to the memorandum of endorsement by Dr. Schneider, this report "was established to complement the 2005 DSB study on High Performance Microchip Supply which focused on the implications of semiconductor fabrication in foreign countries. The task force found that the DoD faces similar consequences from the possible exploitation of software, increasingly developed outside of the United States, it its systems."
The 2005 report can be found at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2005-02-HPMS_Report_Final.pdf
If you have trouble with the link wrapping go to http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm and you can retrieve both from there.

WASHOE COUNTY SUPPORTS COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS URBAN BEAR INCIDENTS
Reno, Nevada. October 23, 2007. At their October 23 Board meeting, Commissioners authorized Washoe County staff to devote resources and staff time to the Sierra Front Bear Working Group plan. The Sierra Front Bear Working Group consists of multiple state and local agencies with a common goal to address the increasing problem of human-bear contacts and activity in Washoe County.
Due to the dramatic increases in bear complaints in 2007, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners directed staff to reconvene the Sierra Front Bear Working Group. Washoe County’s contribution to the group’s plan is to dedicate $5,000 to a community-wide education and awareness program and, as funds become available, contribute a minimum of $50,000 for the installation of wildlife proof trash enclosures at Davis Creek Park. This effective community plan will be implemented by the participating multiple agencies with varying responsibilities. These include education, public safety, ordinance enforcement, natural resource management, community planning, legislation and funding.
Over the next year, the Sierra Front Bear Working Group will prepare a Community Bear Management Plan and implement an initial education and awareness campaign. The group includes representatives from Washoe County Animal Control, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Community Relations, Community Development and Health Department, Washoe County Manager’s Office, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Douglas County Code Enforcement, Incline Village General Improvement District and Waste Management.
Citizens are reminded to call 911 for any encounter with a bear that threatens human life. All other bear-related calls should be made to the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife at (775) 688-1331.

Cabinet members blogging



Leavitt's blog: http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/my--weblog/
Chertoff's blog:
http://www.dhs.gov/journal/leadership/2007--10--01--archive.html

New Maritime Strategy



The Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard have released a new cooperative Maritime Strategy. The report entitled "A Cooperative Strategy for the 21st Century Seapower" was released at the International Seapower Symposium at the Naval War College today.
The report can be found at
http://www.navy.mil/maritime/MaritimeStrategy.pdf or from main site http://www.navy.mil/maritime/.
A video of the conference can be found at http://www.navy.mil/media/video/live/newport-webcast.asx

The Veteran's Disability Benefits Commission has released their report "Honoring the Call to Duty: Veterans' Disability Benefits in the 21st Century." The report can be accessed from http://www.vetscommission.org/reports.asp
The PDF of the full report is available at http://www.vetscommission.org/pdf/eReport_prepub_9-27.pdf
The executive summary is available at
http://www.vetscommission.org/pdf/ExecutiveSummary_eV_9-27.pdf
Excerpt from the Exec Summary:
The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission was established by Public Law 108-136, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004.
Between May 2005 and October 2007, the Commission conducted an in-depth analysis of the benefits and services available to veterans, service members, their survivors, and their families to compensate and provide assistance for the effects of disabilities and deaths attributable to military service. The Department of Veterans Affairs expended $40.5 billion on the wide array of these benefits and services in fiscal year 2006. The Commission addressed the appropriateness and purpose of benefits, benefit levels and payment rates, and the processes and procedures used to determine eligibility. The Commission reviewed past studies on these subjects, the legislative history of the benefit programs, and related issues that have been debated repeatedly over many decades.
The Commission identified eight principles for guiding the development and delivery of future benefits for veterans and their families.
1. Benefits should recognize the often enormous sacrifices of military service as a continuing cost of war, and commend military service as the highest obligation of citizenship.
2. The goal of disability benefits should be rehabilitation and reintegration into civilian life to the maximum extent possible and preservation of the veterans' dignity.
3. Benefits should be uniformly based on severity of service-connected disability without regard to the circumstances of the disability (wartime v. peacetime, combat v. training, or geographical
location.)
4. Benefits and services should be provided that collectively compensate for the consequence of service-connected disability on the average impairment of earnings capacity, the ability to engage in usual life activities, and quality of life.
5. Benefits and standards for determining benefits should be updated or adapted frequently based on changes in the economic and social impact of disability and impairment, advances in medical knowledge and technology, and the evolving nature of warfare and military service.
6. Benefits should include access to a full range of health care provided at no cost to service-disabled veterans. Priority for care must be based on service connection and degree of disability.
7. Funding and resources to adequately meet the needs of service-disabled veterans and their families must be fully provided while being aware of the burden on current and future generations.
8. Benefits to our nation's service-disabled veterans must be delivered in a consistent, fair, equitable, and timely manner.

A couple of new reports by Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) might be of particular use with some interesting graphs and charts on various topics.
Pandora's Box: Iraqi Federalism, Separatism, "Hard" Partitioning and US Policy.
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071009_pandorasbox.pdf
This working draft report from Oct 9, 2007 looks at federalizing or partitioning Iraq. Useful graphs/charts include topics such as:
refugees and displaced persons, maps of threats and ethno-sectarian violence, Iraqi military and civilian casualties, public opinion, demographics, infrastructure and more.
Political, Military and Economic Dynamics in Iraq: A Graphic Overview.
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071005_iraqoverview.pdf
This revised October 2007 report shows, through the use of graphs and maps, topics such as: sectarian & ethnic divisions, oil fields, weekly attack trends by type, high profile and IED attacks, major threats and the state of Al Qaeda, insurgent concentrations, US aid status, crude oil production and more.

From ALA's Action Alert:
The Presidential Records Act Amendments bill
(H.R.1255)
is currently being prevented from a vote in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY). He has not stated his reasons for doing so. H.R.1255 removes restrictions placed by President Bush's 2001 Executive Order 13233 and enhances the Presidential Records Act, one of the nation's most important open-government laws.
On March 14, 2007, by a vote of 333-93, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1255.
More information is available at:
http://www.capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=10372136
*****************************************************
Further Background:
In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233, which gave current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents broad authority to withhold Presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. The Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R.1255) would nullify the Bush executive order and restore the principle that the records of our highest elected public official belong to the people. This bill passed the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 333-93 on March 14, 2007, but it is now held up in the Senate by a hold placed by Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky. ALA supports H.R.1255 and has issued an action alert seeking the release of Sen. Bunning's hold so the bill can move forward.
This National Action Alert Network (NAAN) release is intended to support that effort.

Action:
*****KENTUCKY RESIDENTS: Your participation is doubly critical. Your junior Senator, Jim Bunning, is responsible for the hold on the bill, and your senior Senator, Mitch McConnell, has a special responsibility as Minority Leader to help move the bill through the Senate. Please call Sen. Bunning's office and ask that he release his hold on the bill so it can be scheduled for a vote. His direct office number is 202-224-4343. Please ask Sen.
McConnell to urge Sen. Bunning to take these steps; his direct office number is 202-224-2541. Hearing from as many of *their* constituents as possible will be crucial. Talking points and a sample email/fax are below.


*****Other States: Please call, fax, or e-mail your Senators (do not use U.S.
mail). Their contact information is available from the U.S. Senate website:


<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>

<http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>
Talking Points:
I'm calling to ask Senator _____________ to urge his/her colleague, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to have Sen. Bunning release the hold on H.R. 1255, Presidential Records Act Amendments bill, so it can be brought to the senate floor. HR 1255 will nullify Executive Order 13233, signed by President Bush in 2001. E.O. 13233 amended the Presidential Records Act of 1978, restricting the public's access to presidential records after a president leaves office. H.R. 1255 will do the following to restore the public's
access:
- Establish a Deadline for restriction of release. Under EO 13233,
records are released when both the current and former president approve the
release. If neither approves the release, the records stay hidden from
public view. H.R. 1255 will set a time period of 40 business days to
raise objection to the release of the records. If no objections are raised,
the records are presented to the public.

- Limit the power of former presidents to withhold records. EO 13233
allows the former president to withhold his/her records from public view
unless a court ordered them released, placing the burden of proof on the
public. HR 1255 will reverse this process: the former president will need
to get a court order to prevent the records from being released, placing the
burden of proof on the president.

- Limit Vice Presidential Power. Under EO 13233, the vice president
may claim executive privilege and withhold presidential records, an
unprecedented step. H.R. 1255 will restore the long standing
precedent that executive privilege resides with the president, and not the
vice president.

- Only the President has the power to make privilege claims. EO 13233
allowed for the former president to bequeath executive privilege to
assistants, relatives or descendants, thus allowing the designate to keep
the records hidden from the public indefinitely. HR 1255 will nullify this
claim and allow only the current president to restrict access to records.


Email/Fax:

To the Honorable Senator ___________
I am writing to express my support for the Presidential Records Act Amendments (H.R. 1255) and to ask you to urge your colleague, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to have Sen. Bunning release the hold on this important bill. I support this bill because it will nullify Executive Order 13233, signed by President Bush in 2001, and re-establish procedures to ensure the timely release of Presidential records.
The records of the highest elected public office in the country, the President of the United States, belong to the people and are official evidence of government activities. Presidential records, preserved and made accessible by the National Archives, document the decisions and operation of the executive branch and contribute to cultural and historical understanding and scholarship.
Access to these records is a basic element of citizenship in a government by the people. I urge you to add your influential voice to those who are calling for this principle to be restored to our Nation's laws.
Sincerely,

Congress and
Private Military Contractors



"Blackwater USA: Private Military Contractor Activity in Iraq and Afghanistan" House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing, October 2, 2007 [not much there yet but more will be added after the hearing]
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1509
"Additional Information about Blackwater USA." House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Memorandum from the Majority Staff -.
October 1, 2007
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf
"Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater's Actions in Fallujah." House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Majority Staff report. Sept 2007
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070927104643.pdf
"War Profiteering and Other Contractor Crimes Committed Overseas."
House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. June 19, 2007
http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=338
"Iraqi Reconstruction: Reliance on Private Military Contractors " House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing - Feb 7, 2007 [includes links to the video of the hearing, witness statements, and more]
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1165
Various letters to and from the Committee, the State Dept and Blackwater

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1497
CPA Memorandum 17 - Registration Requirements for Private Security Companies (PSC) with Annexes including Annex A-
Rules for the Use of Force by Contractors in Iraq and Annex B - Code of Conduct for Private Security Companies Operating Iraq
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040626_CPAMEMO_17_Registratio
n_Requirements_for_Private_Security_Companies_with_Annexes.pdf
"Abuses in Private Security and Reconstruction Contracting in Iraq:
Ensuring Accountability, Protecting Whistleblowers." Senate Democratic Party Committee Hearing. September 21, 2007. [includes statements and links to the video of the hearing]
http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-hearing.cfm?A=40
Selected other sources:
"The Private Military Firms: Historical Evolution and Industry Analysis." NPS thesis. June 2007.
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/07Jun%5FAlabarda%5FMBA.pd
f
"Analysis of Security Contractors in Deployed Environments." NPS Thesis.
December 2006
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/06Dec%5FHerron%5FMBA.pdf
"A Critical Analysis of the Coordination, Command and Control of Contractors in Iraq." NPS Thesis. December 2006
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/06Dec%5FButkus%5FMBA.pdf
"Outsourcing Small Wars: Expanding the Role of Private Military Companies in U.S. Military Operations." NPS Thesis. September 2005.
http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/05Sep%5FJorgensen.pdf
"Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Improve Use of Private Security Providers." GAO July 2005
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05737.pdf
"Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues" CRS report updated July 11, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32419.pdf
DCAF Backgrounder "Private Military Companies" April 2004
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/issueareas/security/security
_pdf/2006_DCAF.pdf
"The Private Military Industry and Iraq: What Have We Learned and Where to Next?" DCAF Policy Paper. Nov 2004
http://www.dcaf.ch/_docs/pp04_private-military.pdf
"Phasing Out Private Security Contractors in Iraq" USAWC Strategic Leadership Course paper. March 2006
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil520.pdf
"Private Security Contractors on the Battlefield." USAWC Strategy Research Project. March 2006
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil320.pdf
"Operational Implications of Private Military Companies in the Global War on Terror. Army Command and General Staff College, 2005
http://stinet.dtic.mil/dticrev/PDFs/ADA436294.pdf
"Public War, Private Fight? The United States and Private Military Companies" Global War on Terrorism Occasional Paper no. 12. Fort Leavenworth Combat Studies Institute. 2005
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/kidwell.pdf

The Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed Wednesday, October 3 as ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day.
Take the Change a Light Pledge, learn what Washoe County is doing to conserve, preserve and restore resources and find out how you can too and save money in the process!
When: Wednesday, October 3
Where: Building A Lobby
When: 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lots of fun giveaways! Enjoy a complimentary dessert while you learn!
Who will be there?

Sierra Pacific Power, RTC, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, Washoe County Cooperative Extension, Environmental Health Services, Regional Parks and Open Space, the Flood Project, Water Resources, Air Quality Management, the Quality of Life Task Force, Community Relations, Purchasing, Facility Management and YOU!!!

Introducing Gov Gab – Your U.S. Government Blog!
We are very pleased to announce that USA.gov and the team at the Office of Citizen Services at GSA have just launched a blog. Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> is a blog for all Americans to share all our government information. Check it out at http://www.govgab.gov <http://www.govgab.gov/> .
Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> is written by a team of five bloggers with different backgrounds and interests, all experts on government information via their jobs at USA.gov, Pueblo.gsa.gov, or 1 (800) FED-INFO. Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> offers a new post each weekday, and readers are encouraged to join the conversation by leaving comments or sending e-mails. The Gov Gab <http://www.govgab.gov/> team will key off the conversation going on in the blogosphere and use their own experiences and expertise as government information managers to blog about the services and great information from the U.S. government that are helpful to Americans in their everyday lives.
Check out our first posts <http://www.govgab.gov/> and read the "meet the bloggers <http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/page/bios> " section for a short, fun autobiography of each writer. With their varying backgrounds and stories, the bloggers have something for everyone. This personal element lets Gov Gab put a "face" on the federal government, and makes it easier for readers to ask questions, share experiences, and join the conversation.
Find out who’s talking, what’s being said, and offer your two cents on Gov Gab.gov—Your U.S. Government Blog <http://www.govgab.gov/> .
And, please, help us spread the word!
Thanks!

Bev Godwin <mailto:beverly.godwin@gsa.gov> Director, USA.gov and Web Best Practices Federal Citizen Information Center, Office of Citizen Services U.S. General Services Administration
For all your government information needs:
Click on USA.gov <http://www.usa.gov/>
or Call 1-800-FED-INFO

This month marks the official debut of The Dirksen Congressional Center's new online version of Congress in the Classroom -- http://moodle.congressclass.org/ -- an award-winning course for teachers.
Do you teach social studies, American government, American history, or civics? Are your lessons about the U.S. Congress out of date? Is it hard to engage your students in learning about the House and Senate? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then Congress in the Classroom Online is the course for you!
Congress in the Classroom Online will help you understand today's Congress and suggest ways to teach about it. The self-paced online course is organized around the twin responsibilities of Congress members:
representation and lawmaking. There are more than a dozen individual units on such topics as "What Makes for Effective Members of Congress?" "How Representative is the Membership of Congress?" and "Lawmaking: Understanding the Basics." All the information you need to complete the course is available with just a few mouse clicks.
This improved version of Congress in the Classroom Online uses a more interactive approach, featuring many options to engage you (and the
instructor) in the course materials.
We welcome your participation! Take a look -- http://moodle.congressclass.org.
Sincerely,
Cindy Koeppel
The Dirksen Congressional Center
2815 Broadway
Pekin, IL 61554
Phone: 309.347.7113
Fax: 309.347.6432
E-mail: ckoeppel@dirksencenter.org http://www.dirksencongressionalcenter.org

Washoe COUNTY FUEL Reduction PROJECTs planned for mt. rose-Galena Creek area
Reno, Nevada. September 25, 2007. Sierra Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Michael Heikaa announced today that two wild land fuel reduction projects are planned for the Mt. Rose/Galena Creek area. These projects are planned to reduce hazardous fuels on Washoe County open space that potentially threaten the communities of Rolling Hills and Galena Forest Estates. The goal of these projects is to provide a fuel break and better access for firefighting equipment and personnel to defend the public and structures from the threat of wildfires.
The first project is located in the Rolling Hills subdivision and is scheduled to begin on October 1st. This project will involve mechanical thinning of brush located in the common areas and surrounding open space. This project will also begin to locally address one of the great issues facing the Fire District, which is the unnatural build-up of fuels on County open space that increases the risk of a catastrophic wildfire.
The second project is located along Galena Creek in the Galena Forest Estates and will reduce high hazardous fuels along Galena Creek. This work is to be completed with a combination of hand and mechanical equipment and is aimed at reducing the threat of wildfire in the Galena Forest Estates.
The Sierra Fire Protection District (SFPD) was formed on July 1, 2006 as the result of Washoe County assuming the Sierra Forest Fire Protection District from the State of Nevada. The newly formed SFPD is comprised of 50 paid, professional firefighters, 5 Volunteer Fire Departments and 50 pieces of firefighting apparatus working from 9 Fire Stations located in West Washoe Valley, Galena, Verdi, Anderson Acres and the west side of Cold Springs.
For more information contact Sierra Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Michael Heikka at (775) 849-1108. Email mheikka@washoecounty.us

Washoe County registrar of voters to review operations for vote counting system
Reno, Nevada. September 18, 2007. At their September 18th Board meeting, Commissioners agreed to reconvene the Elections Task Force to review Washoe County’s operations and security features currently in use for its voting systems. A facilitator will be hired for $2500 to assist the citizen-based Election Task Force in conducting the meetings and final report writing.
In 1999, an Elections Task Force was formed to review Washoe County operations following the elections held in 1998. After meeting for four months, the task force made 19 recommendations for improvements, of which 15 were implemented by the Registrar prior to the 2000 elections and the other 4 implemented prior the elections in 2002.
"The systems and procedures to be reviewed by this citizen-based Task Force are those designed to protect the integrity of elections conducted in Washoe County," said Registrar of Voters Dan Burk. "In light of the recent decision by the California Secretary of State to suspend use of all touch-screen technology for their 2008 elections, we felt it necessary to review the operating procedures for the reliability, security and accuracy of our own similar systems."
Voting systems are certified for use in Nevada by the Office of the Nevada Secretary of State. Currently, Sequoia software and hardware systems are used by all counties in Nevada and are the only voting programs currently certified by the Secretary of State for use in Nevada.