News release: "The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) today released a first-of-its kind report that examines the technical feasibility of harnessing wind power to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030. Entitled 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030 (248 pages, PDF), the report identifies requirements to achieve this goal including reducing the cost of wind technologies, citing new transmission infrastructure, and enhancing domestic manufacturing capability. Most notably, the report identifies opportunities for 7.6 cumulative gigatons of CO2 to be avoided by 2030, saving 825 million metric tons in 2030 and every year thereafter if wind energy achieves 20 percent of the nation’s electricity mix."

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Strategic Plan for 2008 - 2012 (05/08/2008)

Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress, March 2, 2008 (42 pages, PDF)

DOD Business Systems Modernization: Military Departments Need to Strengthen Management of Enterprise Architecture Programs, GAO-08-519, May 12, 2008

D-2008-088 DoD IG Interim Report to Congress on Section 325 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, April 22, 2008 (Project No. D2008-D000CH-0166.000).

OIG-08-45 - Independent Review of The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Reporting of FY 2007 Drug Control Performance Summary (PDF, 14 pages)

News release: "The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq of technical assistance for construction of facilities and infrastructure as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $450 million. The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of technical assistance to ensure provision of adequate facilities and infrastructure in support of the recruitment, garrison, training, and operational facilities and infrastructure for the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will provide engineering, planning, design, acquisition, contract administration, construction management, and other technical services for construction of facilities and infrastructure (repair, rehabilitation, and new construction) in support of the training, garrison, and operational requirements of the ISF."

News release: "Continuing a popular Mother’s Day tradition, the federal government’s top official for baby names, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today jointly announced with Parade magazine the most popular baby names for 2007."

• A Little Grafting of Second Life into a Legal Research Class: Rob Hudson discusses how Second Life can be used to enhance legal research instruction. Experiments in full class lectures and other uses of Second Life in higher education offer a mixture of hype and excitement. Published May 9, 2008
• CongressLine: Running for Congress: Paul Jenks recounts how for the past two years he has run marathons and monitored Congress at the same time, describing how the two experiences are very similar. Published May 9, 2008
• LLRX Book Review by Heather A. Phillips - A Guide to HIPAA Security and the Law: Heather A. Phillips reviews Stephen S. Wu's book whose focus is coming into compliance with the recent and complex new HIPAA requirements. Published May 7, 2008
• Conrad Jacoby's E-Discovery Update: Attorneys, Experts, and E-Discovery Competence: Conrad J. Jacoby focuses on two recent cases that emphasize the credibility problems counsel can face in the context of e-discovery - and suggest that outside assistance may be the only way for some counsel to demonstrate that these materials are being managed in a competent and trustworthy way. Published May 7, 2008
• FOIA Facts - My Proposal: FOIA Litigation Reporting Requirements: Scott A. Hodes makes the case that there should be a reporting requirement for all FOIA lawsuits requiring agencies to inform a central FOIA Office the outcome of FOIA lawsuits. Published May 7, 2008

"Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation billions for decades to come - even as the total population of America's vets shrinks.

Despite the decline in total vets - as soldiers from World War II and Korea die - the government expects to be spending $59 billion a year to compensate injured warriors in 25 years, up from today's $29 billion, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. And the Veterans Affairs Department concedes the bill could be much higher."

Related postings on Veterans issues

New York Times: "No industrialized economy is as reliant on oil, or as obsessed with gasoline prices, as the United States, the world’s biggest consumer of oil. But the oil market is largely immune to Washington’s machinations, and prices have more than quadrupled over the last six years for reasons that are increasingly disconnected from what happens in the United States.

The reality is that oil is a globally traded commodity, and Americans must pay international prices to get their share. And those prices reflect the fact that global supplies are stretched and struggling to meet a booming demand that is being driven by growth in developing countries, notably China and India. This has left the world with a very slim cushion of extra production."

Testimony of Lucian Pugliaresi, President, Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc., Before the Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary Hearing on Retail Gasoline Prices, May 7, 2008: "Certainly, we would have expected oil prices to rise in response to demand growth and rising costs of new supplies, but current price increases reflect a failure of the world petroleum market to deliver new supplies from fields that could easily do so within the current (or even a lower ) price structure. U.S. policies that have restricted opportunities to expand conventional supplies from Alaska, and prospective offshore and onshore provinces in the lower 48 have contributed to this high price environment along with civil strife in Nigeria, delays in new OPEC capacity, and resource nationalism in Venezuela."

"The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has released two new Public Access Assessment resources, an Initial Review Checklist and Guidelines for Completing the Initial Review. These documents will be used by GPO personnel as they start an assessment of an individual depository library. Focus on Access, Collections, Service, and Cooperative Efforts, an update of the document describing the focus and organization of the assessments, has also been released."

• Public Access Assessments: Initial Review Checklist
  
• Public Access Assessments: Guidelines for Completing Initial Review
  
• See also Public Access Assessments: Focus on Access, Collections, Service and Cooperative Efforts

Definitive Care for the Critically Ill During a Disaster: Current Capabilities and Limitations, From a Task Force for Mass Critical Care Summit Meeting, January 26–27, 2007, Chicago, IL. Michael D. Christian, MD, FRCPC; Asha V. Devereaux, MD, MPH, FCCP; Jeffrey R. Dichter, MD; James A. Geiling, MD, FCCP and Lewis Rubinson, MD, PhD. (Chest. 2008; 133:8S-17): "This article reviews the existing state of emergency preparedness for mass critical illness and presents an analysis of limitations to support the suggestions of the Task Force on Mass Casualty Critical Care […]. Baseline shortages of specialized resources such as critical care staff, medical supplies, and treatment spaces are likely to limit the number of critically ill victims who can receive life-sustaining interventions."

News release: "The pocketbook Key figures on European business, published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, summarises the main features of European business in a concise and simple manner. The publication consists of fourteen short chapters, focusing on particular aspects of the European business economy; from the size and structure of business sectors to the importance of foreign controlled enterprises. This edition includes a special feature on the factors of business success, which presents an analysis of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs for 15 Member States. The special feature gives an insight into the issues that determine the success and growth of newly born enterprises, as well as the motivation of entrepreneurs and the difficulties they face."

"Kaiser has updated three fact sheets that provide snapshots of the impact of HIV/AIDS on minorities and women in the United States. Each fact sheet includes the latest data on key trends and current cases, as well as population-specific information on HIV transmission patterns and access to care. Black Americans and HIV/AIDS provides information on the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on Blacks. Latinos and HIV/AIDS focuses on the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the country. Women and HIV/AIDS in the United States highlights the challenges for women living with and at risk for HIV."