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Daily Archives: December 25, 2007

1950-1955, The Intelligence Community

Press release: “The Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, released…a retrospective intelligence volume in the Foreign Relations of the United States series, documenting the development and consolidation of the intelligence community. This volume, The Intelligence Community, 1950–1955 (867 pages, PDF), is the sequel to The Emergence of the Intelligence… Continue Reading

International Macroeconomic Data Set

“The International Macroeconomic Data Set provides data from 1969 through 2017 for real (adjusted for inflation) gross domestic product (GDP), population, real exchange rates, and other variables for the 190 countries and 34 regions that are most important for U.S. agricultural trade. The data presented here are a key component of the USDA Baseline projections… Continue Reading

Reducing the Global Nuclear Danger: International Cooperation – the Indispensable Security Imperative

Reducing the Global Nuclear Danger: International Cooperation – the Indispensable Security Imperative, by Charles B. Curtis, President, Nuclear Threat Initiative, November 2007. The greatest security threat today – not just for the United States, or for the West, but for the world – is the possibility that a terrorist group could acquire a nuclear weapon… Continue Reading

New CRS Reports on The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: A Brief Overview of Selected Issues, Updated December 14, 2007: “The current legislative and oversight activity with respect to electronic surveillance under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has drawn national attention to several overarching issues. This report briefly outlines three such issues and touches upon some of the perspectives reflected… Continue Reading

CRS Report: Entering the Executive Branch of Government: Potential Conflicts of Interest With Previous Employments and Affiliations

Entering the Executive Branch of Government: Potential Conflicts of Interest With Previous Employments and Affiliations, Updated December 11, 2007 [via FAS] “Ethics and conflict of interest concerns have been expressed about the impartiality, bias, or fairness of government regulators, administrators, and other executive branch decision makers who, shortly before entering government service, had represented, owned,… Continue Reading

OMB issues EA Assessment Framework version 2.2

Federal Enterprise Architecture Program, EA Assessment Framework 2.2, October 2007 “Version 2.2 of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Enterprise Architecture Assessment Framework is designed to advance the use of enterprise architecture (EA) across the Federal government. This document serves as the basis for enterprise architecture maturity assessments of Federal agencies performed by OMB.… Continue Reading

DHS releases REAL ID grant guidance and application kits

“The Department of Homeland Security released grant guidance and application kits for two grant programs totaling more than $35 million to help states prepare to implement REAL ID provisions that require a standard format for state-issued driver’s licenses. The REAL ID Demonstration Grant Program will provide $31.3 million in grants to the states to check… Continue Reading

OMB: Agencies must sharply reduce the number of Internet connections by June 2008

Clay Johnson III, OMB: “I am announcing the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) initiative to optimize our individual network services into a common solution for the federal government. This common solution facilitates the reduction of our external connections, including our Internet points of presence, to a target of fifty. Additionally, the role of the US-CERT will… Continue Reading

OJR: Newspaper websites shine with online campaign graphics

Online Journalism Review: As the U.S. approaches the 2008 Presidential voting, website journalists are using interactive graphics to provide coverage at a glance, by Robert Niles: “Every election cycle inspires innovation at newspaper websites. This year, leading U.S. newspapers are offering some stunning online graphic tools to help their readers get an overview of the… Continue Reading