Supplementing a previous blog entry that gave new member biographies, this official pictorial directory does what it says.
Archive for November, 2010
WikiLeaks Releases Thousands of Secret U.S. Government Cables
Over the next few months, WikiLeaks will be publishing well over 200,000 secret diplomatic cables between U.S. embassies and the State Department that were generated between 1966 and 2010. They are seachable via country of origin, creation date, tags, and classification type. More information can be found at: New York Times, Spiegel, and the Guardian. These documents give the reader an unprecedented look into the operations of the U.S. foreign service. For those of you gentle readers who are not familiar with the apparently confusing jargon and acronyms of diplomatic cables, this guide will come in handy.
Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
Is here, establishing what we now celebrate. Historical Thanksgiving Day addresses, sermons , and more sermons can also be read. For a history of the day, please go to this Smithsonian site. A previous entry has much more information.
City Crime Rankings
Much press has been devoted to the newest release from CQ Press – City Crime Rankings 2010-2011. For those interested, the city rankings are available here. Read the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s reaction as well as this cautionary note from the FBI whose Crime in the United States is the basis for CQ’s report. News coverage is found courtesy of: Reuters, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Star-Ledger, and the Albany Times Union.
Governor Christie’s Remarks at the Republican Governors Association Conference
Governor Christie’s almost 10-minute speech is available at the 38:40 mark.
Library Hours for the 2010 Thanksgiving Holiday
Quite frankly, there are none. We will close at 9:45pm, Wednesday, November 24 and will re-open Monday, November 29 at 7:30am.
62% of NJ Graduating College Seniors are in Debt
According to Student Debt and the Class of 2009, a graduating senior in this state is saddled with an average of $22,731 in debt. The gap between public and private institutions is minimal: $22,383 vs $24,138. (The breakdown by states in here.) High debt colleges and low debt colleges are listed on pp.6-7 while high debt and low debt states are on p.2; New Jersey is ranked 19th overall.
Biographies of Newly Elected Congresspeople
Many new members have been elected to Congress; their biographies will be found here. As always, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present provides information on all those who have served in Congress, and it will be updated to reflect these new members. Other biographical sources are discussed here and here.
New Jersey Crime Rate Lowest in a Decade
A perusal of the annual Uniform Crime Report from the NJ State Police indicate that crime in almost every category has declined. Statistics for individual municipalities will be found here along with a comparison to the 2008 statistics.(Just scroll down a bit to find this interactive feature.) For instance, here is a look at Jersey City. Press coverage is available from: The Star-Ledger, The Wall Street Journal, new jerseynewsroom, and The Bergen Record.
Bullying
In the latest Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 32% of the students surveyed admitted to having been bullied during the school year (figure 11.1). But bullying is not limited just to the United States; this 2009 article from the International Journal of Public Health – A Cross-National Profile of Bullying and Victimization among Adolescents in 4o Countries – says otherwise. So pervasive is bullying that Congress has held hearings on it. New Jersey is on the verge of enacting the strongest legislation to date against this crime – The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights; to view what other states are doing, please consult this National Conference of State Legislature‘s site on school bullying. Other sources of information include: Protection of Children Online: Federal and State Laws Addressing Cyberstalking, Cyberharassment, and Cyberbullying (CRS); Bullies (New York Times Topics); Bullying (BBC); It’s My Life. Friends. Bullies (PBS); Bullying (MedlinePlus); and Hatred in the Hallways (Human Rights Watch).
Live!! The Beatles at Washington Coliseum
In celebration of the Beatles and Apple iTunes finally reaching an agreement for the downloading of the Beatles’ corpus of work, iTunes is making available the historic Washington Coliseum concert which took place two days after their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. You can watch it in its entirety; all you need to do in download QuickTime for free. (We know this may sound sacrilegious but we preferred The Yardbirds and John Mayall.) Read a transcript of the press conference they held before the concert. If you don’t want to put more “stuff” on your computer, various snippets (single songs mostly) of the concert are on YouTube.
“Refudiate” is Word of the Year
As uttered by the inestimable Sarah Palin, refudiate has been selected by the New Oxford American Dictionary for this singular honor; other contenders are also listed. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2009 is here (along with the top ten); the American Dialect Society supports tweet as its 2009 champion; and the Global Language Monitor offers its selection for 2010 – spillcam.
CEO Compensation
This list from The Wall Street Journal looks at 2009 total compensation for the 456 executives who head up companies with revenue in excess of $4 billion. The data can be arranged by company, name, 2009 salary, stock options/grants, and total compensation package. A previous blog entry – Executive Compensation – provides additional reports and databses.
Never-Seen-Before Photos of JFK
Life has just released photographs of President Kennedy that have never be seen before. The 30 plus photos are from the 1960 presidential campaign. Hundreds of additional JFK photos from Life are here.
How the U.S. Helped Nazis Come Here
This 600-page report, kept secret for four years, presents a disturbing look at how the CIA aided Nazis in coming to this country. The document – Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust – asserts that while the U.S. did indeed help in the prosecution of Nazi criminals, it also offered sanctuary to others with a known perfidious past. The bringing of Nazi scientists to this country (among the most well-known was Werner von Braun) was carried out under the auspices of Operation (or Project) Paperclip; here is a NASA page on this project, along with a NASA-sponsored history which mentions this project. Here is an informative article, “Operation Paperclip in Huntsville, Alabama,” which is found in another NASA history. A guide to these scientists’ records can be found at this National Archives site.
N.J. State Workers to Get Black Friday Off?
New Jersey’s Public Employment Relations Commission has issued an interim relief stipulating that various groups of state workers will indeed get Black Friday off as a paid holiday. The Governor’s office is weighing its options. Press coverage can be found at: The Philadelphia Inquirer, newjerseynewsroom, and The Star-Ledger. And in related news, the Governor announced that 1200 state workers may not have to be laid off, that attrition may account for the reduction.
UNESCO Releases Two Worldwide Subject Reports
Two state-of-the-art assessments on subject disciplines have been released by UNESCO – the UNESCO Science Report 2010 and the World Social Science Report 2010. The former highlights the pace of scientific research around the world over the past five years. Every sector of the world is examined through the lenses of trends and developments that have influenced scientific research. Among other findings, these bear examination: China is fast becoming a center of scientific research publishing more articles than Japan and having almost as many researchers as the United States; and Brazil, Indian, Mexico, Turkey, and South Africa are increasingly coming to the forefront in scientific research. The latter report, the first in over ten years, gauges the progress and relevance of the social sciences. The sub-title of this report – “Knowledge Divides” – is explored in the various chapters dealing with geographical divide (chapter 2), capacity divide (chapter 3), etc. Again, China and Brazil figure prominently as developing major players while India has not realized its potential. Both reports contain numerous charts, graphs, and references, and all the entries are witten by recognized authorities in their respective fields. These massive documents will certainly form the foundation for national self-evaluation and future growth.
Governor Christie’s Interview on “Meet the Press”
A transcript and video are here. Some of his actions are supported by a Quinnipiac University poll released today that indicates a majority support state worker layoffs, furloughs, and salary freezes.
Adequate Yearly Progress Reports Released
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, a yearly accounting of schools’ performances in certain academic areas is undertaken. The goal of NCLB is to have 100% of all students passing standardized tests by 2014. Schools (including charters) are listed here by county. An explanation of New Jersey’s system is also available.
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 