___________________________________________________________________
U.S. Information Resource Center
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Embassy in Australia
August 2007
___________________________________________________________________
Economics,
finance and corporate governance
International
economic issues, trade and investment
Development
and international assistance
Maritime
issues and marine environment
Terrorism
and homeland security
Science,
technology and innovation
Environment
and climate change
Transportation,
housing and social issues
Justice, legal issues and
law enforcement
Media,
telecommunications and information technology
Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial 2009
http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/
A
website of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, giving an overview of
some of the projects planned to commemorate the 200th anniversary of
the birth of one of the greatest American presidents.
World Youth Building a
Future
U.S.
Dept of State, eJournal USA, July
2007
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0707/ijse/ijse0707.htm
This
issue of eJournal USA “opens a window
on the real life experiences of young people who have left home and family to
participate in an international exchange program. Young American adults offer
first-person accounts of their discoveries in educational programs abroad, and
exchange students from various other countries share their insights about
adjusting to life and family customs in the United States.”
A Rising Tide Lifts Mood in
the Developing World: Support for Suicide Bombing Drops Sharply in Muslim Countries
Pew
Global Attitudes Project, Pew Research Center, July 24, 2007
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/549/global-opinion-trends-2007
Comprehensive Analysis of
Polls Reveals Americans’ Attitudes on US Role in the World
World
Public Opinion.org, August 3, 2007
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/383.php?nid=&id=&pnt=383&lb=hmpg1
Links
are also found at http://www.americans-world.org/digest/overview/us_role/usrole_summary.cfm
End of Dreams, Return of
History
Robert
Kagan, Hoover Institution, Policy Review,
August-September 2007
http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/8552512.html
This
article looks at the role of power in the dynamics of contemporary global
politics.
Building a Stronger
American Diplomatic Presence
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, August 1, 2007
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=475
The Impact of the 110th Congress on U.S. Foreign
Policy
Backgrounder by Robert McMahon, Council on Foreign
Relations, August 14, 2007
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14031/impact_of_the_110th_congress_on_us_foreign_policy.html
Asia Pacific Security
Survey 2007
Report
by Jim Rolfe, East-West Center, July 2007
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/APSS2007.pdf
North Korea’s Nuclear
Weapons Development and Diplomacy
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 2, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33590.pdf
The Impact of Coup-Related
Sanctions on Thailand and Fiji: Helpful or Harmful to U.S. Relations?
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, August 1,
2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=877
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
Cambodia: Background and
U.S. Relations
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 18, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32986.pdf
The Southwest Pacific: U.S.
Interests and China’s Growing Influence
Congressional
Research Service report, July 6, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34086.pdf
Pakistan’s Future: Building
Democracy, or Fueling Extremism?
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 25, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070725p.html
The U.S.-Pakistan Strategic
Partnership
A
special issue (June 2006) of Strategic
Insights, a journal of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for
Contemporary Conflict
http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/archiveDate.asp#vol6issue4
Rethinking Western
Strategies Toward Pakistan: An Action Agenda for the United States and Europe
Frederic
Grare, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 2007
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/grare_pakistan_final.pdf
Pakistan: Significant
Recent Events, March 26-June 21, 2007
Congressional
Research Service report, July 6, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34075.pdf
U.S. Counternarcotics
Strategy for Afghanistan
U.S.
Dept of State, August 2007
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rpt/90561.htm
There
is a text in PDF format at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/90671.pdf
Iraq: An Update from the
Field
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 19, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070719a.html
The
witness is Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
Beyond Iraq: Envisioning a
New U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East
Hearing
before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, July 19, 2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=865
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
U.S. Foreign Assistance to
the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2008 Request
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 3, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL32260.pdf
Lebanon
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 11, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33509.pdf
Democratic Developments in
Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving Forwards or Backwards?
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 17, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070717a.html
Exploring the U.S. Africa
Command and a New Strategic Relationship with Africa
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, August 1, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070801a.html
Africa Command: Opportunity
for Enhanced Engagement or the Militarization of U.S.-Africa Relations?
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, U.S. House Committee on
Foreign Affairs, August 2, 2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=882
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
Political Dynamics
Affecting the Business Climate in Nigeria
Remarks
by Donald L. Heflin, Acting Office Director, West African Affairs, U.S. Dept of
State, to the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, July 31,
2007
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/89886.htm
U.S. Policy in the Horn of
Africa
Remarks
by James Swan, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,
August 4, 2007
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/90573.htm
A Strategy for
Comprehensive Peace in Sudan
International
Crisis Group, July 26, 2007
Central and Eastern Europe:
Assessing the Democratic Transition
Hearing
before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, July 25, 2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=868
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
Challenges and
Opportunities for Economic Relations Between Russia and the United States
Remarks
by Reuben Jeffery III, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and
Agricultural Affairs, in Moscow, July 18, 2007
http://www.state.gov/e/rls/rm/2007/88625.htm
Permanent Normal Trade Relations
(PNTR) Status for Russia and U.S.-Russian Economic Ties
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 10, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS21123.pdf
Security and Prosperity
Partnership of North America: An Overview and Selected Issues
Congressional
Research Service report, August 2, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22701.pdf
Is Latin America Saying
Adios to Market-Friendly Reforms?
William
C. Gruben and Richard Alm, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Economic Letter, July 2007
http://dallasfed.org/research/eclett/2007/el0707.html
Monetary Policy and the
State of the Economy
Hearing
before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, July 18, 2007
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht071807.shtml
The
witness is Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System.
The State of the Securities
Markets
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, July
31, 2007
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=274
Evaluating the Relative
Strength of the U.S. Capital Markets
Stavros
Peristiani, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Current Issues in Economics and Finance,
July 2007
http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci13-6.html
The
full article in PDF format is at http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci13-6.pdf
Ignoring Productivity at
Our Peril: Slowing Productivity Growth and Low Business Investment Threaten Our Economy
Christian
E. Weller and Amanda M. Logan, Center for American Progress, August 2007
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/08/pdf/productivity.pdf
2007 Economic Census
Conducted
by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Dept of Commerce
http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/
U.S. Living Standards in an
Era of Globalization
By
Sandra Polaski. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 2007
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/pb_53_polaski__us_living_standards_final.pdf
The Economic Dynamics of
Global Integration
Remarks
by Timothy Geithner, president and ceo, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, July
25, 2007
http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2007/gei070725.html
Reforming Key International
Financial Institutions for the 21st Century
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance, U.S.
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, August 2, 2007
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=273
The Year in Trade 2006:
Operation of the Trade Agreements Program
U.S.
International Trade Commission, July 2007
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/pubs/year_in_trade/pub3927.pdf
Free Trade Agreements:
Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 10, 2007
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/89919.pdf
Trade Promotion Authority
(TPA): Issues, Options, and Prospects for Renewal
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 12, 2007
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/89922.pdf
U.S.-Japan Economic
Relations: Significance, Prospects, and Policy Options
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 9, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32649.pdf
Japan’s Currency
Intervention: Policy Issues
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 13, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33178.pdf
Hearing on Legislation
Related to Trade with China
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on Trade, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means,
August 2, 2007
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=583
U.S. Clothing and Textile
Trade with China and the World: Trends Since the End of Quotas
Congressional
Research Service report, July 10, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34106.pdf
Food and Agricultural
Imports from China
Congressional
Research Service report, updated July 17, 2007
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34080.pdf
DEVELOPMENT and INTERNATIONAL
ASSISTANCE
The United States and
International Development: Partnering for Growth
Fact
sheet, U.S. Dept of State, August 6, 2007
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/aug/90348.htm
Millennium Challenge
Corporation: Vanuatu Compact Overstates Projected Program Impact
Report
by Government Accountability Office (GAO), July 2007
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07909.pdf
Is the Millennium Challenge
Corporation Overstating Its Impact: The Case of Vanuatu
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, July 26,
2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=870
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
Women Entrepreneurs in the
Middle East and North Africa: Characteristics, Contributions and Challenges
International
Finance Corporation, web-posted June 6, 2007
The UN Human Rights
Council: Shortcomings and Prospects for Reform
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 26, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070726p.html
Update on Iran Democracy
Promotion Funding
Media
note, U.S. Dept of State, June 4, 2007
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/jun/85971.htm
Agricultural Prices 2006
Summary
USDA
National Agricultural Statistics Service, July 2007
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/agpran07.pdf
Farm Computer Usage and
Ownership
USDA
National Agricultural Statistics Service, August 2007
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/fmpc0807.pdf
Food Security in Africa:
The Impact of Agricultural Development
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, U.S. House Committee on
Foreign Affairs, July 18, 2007
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=862
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp
and scroll down.
MARITIME ISSUES and MARINE
ENVIRONMENT
Is the United States Ready
to Approve the Law of the Sea Treaty?
Backgrounder
by Maggie Goodlander, Council on Foreign Relations, July 19, 2007
Effects of Nutrient
Enrichment in the Nation’s Estuaries: A Decade of Change
NOAA
Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, July 31, 2007
http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/eutroupdate/
A
328-page publication, downloadable by chapter. There is a news release at http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2007/jul07/noaa07-040.html
National Security and
Nuclear Weapons: Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century
Statement
by the Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State
July
2007
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/factsheets/2007/NA-07-FS-04.pdf
There
is a news release by the U.S. Dept of Defense at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11163
Safeguarding the Atom:
Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation Challenges
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 31, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070731a.html
The
statement by Andrew Semmel of the U.S. Dept of State is at http://www.state.gov/t/isn/rls/rm/90017.htm
The Implications of
Preemptive and Preventive War Doctrines: A Reconsideration
Colin
S. Gray, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, July 2007
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB789.pdf
The All-Volunteer Military:
Issues and Performance
Congressional
Budget Office, July 2007
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/83xx/doc8313/07-19-MilitaryVol.pdf
Climate Change and
Conflict
International
Crisis Group, updated July 2007
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4932
Extraordinary Rendition,
Extraterritorial Detention, and Treatment of Detainees: Restoring Our Moral Credibility and Strengthening Our Diplomatic Standing
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, July 26, 2007
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070726a.html
U.S. and EU sign agreement
for passenger name record data sharing
News
release, U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, July 26, 2007
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1185470531857.shtm
The
text of the agreement is at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/pnr-2007agreement-usversion.pdf
SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY and INNOVATION
Changing
U.S. Output of Scientific Articles: 1988-2003
Special report, National Science Foundation, July
2007
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07320/
The full text in PDF format is at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07320/pdf/nsf07320.pdf
Nanotechnology:
A Report of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Nanotechnology Task Force
Food and Drug Administration, July 25, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/nanotechnology/taskforce/report2007.pdf
There is a news release at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01671.html
Where
Does the Nano Go? End-of-Life Regulation for Nanotechnology
Environmental Law Institute, July 2007
http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11238
There is a news release at http://www2.eli.org/pressdetail.cfm?ID=163
The
Globalization of R&D and Innovation, Part II: The University Response
Hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Science
and Technology, July 26, 2007
http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=1926
Facing the Hard Truths
About Energy: A Comprehensive View to 2030 of Global Oil and Natural Gas
Draft
report, National Petroleum Council, July 18, 2007
http://downloads.connectlive.com/events/npc071807/pdf-downloads/Facing_Hard_Truths-Report.pdf
There
is a news release at http://www.npc.org/7-18_Press_rls-post.pdf
and a 40-page summary at http://downloads.connectlive.com/events/npc071807/pdf-downloads/Facing_Hard_Truths-Executive_Summary.pdf
The Strait of Hormuz and
the Threat of an Oil Shock
Joint
Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, July 2007
http://www.house.gov/jec/studies/2007/Straight%20of%20Hormuz%20Study.pdf
Recent Advances in Clean
Coal Technology
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, August 1,
2007
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=1645
EPA Releases the Draft of
2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights of National Trends
Draft
report, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, August 3, 2007
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/85E6910065BFA21E8525732C0055630E
The
draft report is at http://www.epa.gov/roe/
Oversight of the EPA’s
Environmental Justice Programs
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works, July 25, 2007
Environmentalism’s Legal
Legacy
Angela
Logomasini, Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 2007
http://www.cei.org/pdf/6052.pdf
“A
quantitative analysis of legislative activity”. There is a summary at http://www.cei.org/gencon/025,06052.cfm
Fourth Climate Action Plan
Report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
U.S.
Dept of State, July 2007
http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/rpts/car/index.htm
Economic and International
Issues in Global Warming Policy
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works, July 24, 2007
Country Stakes in Climate
Change Negotiations: Two Dimensions of Vulnerability
Piet
Buys et al. World Bank, August 2007
Energy Market and Economic
Impacts of S.280, the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007
U.S.
Dept of Energy, Energy Information Administration, August 2007
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/csia/index.html
Sea-Level Rise and Coastal
Habitats in the Pacific Northwest
National
Wildlife Federation, July 2007
http://www.nwf.org/sealevelrise/pdfs/PacificNWSeaLevelRise.pdf
General
information about this topic is at http://www.nwf.org/sealevelrise/
Employer-Based Health
Care
Compilation,
by BNA Inc., of links to reports, analyses etc, July 2007
http://www.bna.com/webwatch/employerbasedhealth.html
Patterns of Childhood
Obesity Prevention Legislation in the United States
Tegan
K. Boehmer et al, Preventing Chronic
Disease, July 2007
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/06_0082.htm?s_cid=pcd43a56_x
Preventing Chronic Disease is an online journal of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Dept of Health and Human
Services
Demography of HIV/AIDS in
China
A
report of the Task Force on HIV/AIDS, Center for Strategic and International
Studies (Washington DC), July 2007
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/070724_china_hiv_demography.pdf
Comparative Indicators of Education in the United
States and Other G-8 Countries:
2006.
National
Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education, August 2007.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007006
Can
be downloaded by chapter, but the full text (92 pages) is at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007006.pdf
The Global State of Higher
Education and the Rise of Private Finance
Issue
brief by Ryan Hahn, Institute for Higher Education Policy, August 2007
http://www.ihep.org/Pubs/PDF/Global_State_of_Higher_Education.pdf
National Action Plan for
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
National
Science Board, August 3, 2007, revised August 9, 2007
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/edu_com/report.jsp
The
full text of this draft report, A
National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education System, is at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/edu_com/report.pdf
The Nation’s Report Card:
Economics, 2007
National
Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education, August 2007
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007475
The
full text of this 32-page report on the state of economics education in the
United States is at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2006/2007475.pdf
Sluggish Institutions in a
Dynamic World: Can Unions and Industrial Competition Co-Exist?
Barry
T. Hirsch, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn, Germany), July 2007
The
focus of this 30-page discussion paper is on labor unions and the economy in
the United States.
Chartbook of International
Labor Comparisons: The Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe
U.S.
Dept of Labor, June 2007
http://www.dol.gov/asp/media/reports/chartbook/chartbook_jun07.pdf
Automotive Industries:
Concentration and Change
U.S.
Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2007
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils59.pdf
This
2-page item focuses on changes in the labor force trends in the car-manufacturing
industry in the United States.
Economic Mobility of
Immigrants in the United States
Economic
Mobility Project, Pew Charitable Trusts, July 2007
http://www.economicmobility.org/reports_and_research/?id=0003
Adult English Language
Instruction in the United States: Determining Need and Investing Wisely
Migration
Policy Institute, July 2007
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/NCIIP_English_Instruction073107.pdf
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