This report examines homeland security and counterterrorist measures in six selected European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. None of these European countries currently has a single ministry or department equivalent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In most of these countries, responsibility for different aspects of homeland security and counterterrorism is scattered across several ministries or different levels of government.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This report provides information about the Implementation and Termination of the Conservation Security Program.CSP is a program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote conservation and improvement of natural resources.

This report is intended to describe first, the principal physics reasons for an ambitious experimental program in neutrino physics and proton decay based on construction of a series of massive water Cherenkov detectors located deep underground (4850 ft) in the Homestake Mine of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA); and second, the engineering design of the underground chambers to house the Cherenkov detector modules; and third, the conceptual design of the water Cherenkov detectors themselves for this purpose. In this proposal we show the event rates and physics sensitivity for beams from both FNAL (1300 km distant from Homestake) and BNL (2540 km distant from Homestake). The program we propose will benefit with a beam from FNAL because of the high intensities currently available from the Main Injector with modest upgrades. The possibility of tuning the primary proton energy over a large range from 30 to 120 GeV also adds considerable flexibility to the program from FNAL. On the other hand the beam from BNL over the larger distance will produce very large matter effects, and consequently a hint of new physics (beyond CP violation) can be better tested with that configuration. In this proposal we focus on …

Soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems are typically designed based on the results of a vadose zone pumping test (transient or steady state) using a pressure criteria to establish the zone of influence (ZOI). A common problem associated with pressure based SVE design is overestimating the ZOI of the extraction well. The vacuum criteria commonly used to establish the boundary of the ZOI results in large areas with very low pore velocities and thus long cleanup times. As a result, design strategies based upon critical pore gas velocity (CPGV) have increased in popularity. The CPGV is used in an effort to loosely incorporate the effects of mass transfer limitations into the design of SVE systems. Critical pore gas velocity designs use a minimum pore gas velocity rather than minimum vacuum to identify the extent of the treatment zone of an SVE system. The CPGV is typically much larger than the pore gas velocity at the perimeter of vacuum based (ZOI) designs resulting in shorter cleanup times. In this paper, we report the results of testing performed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to determine the influence of a vapor extraction well based upon both a pressure and pore gas velocity design …

In this report we study space-mapping and manifold-mapping, two multi-level optimization techniques that aim at accelerating expensive optimization procedures with the aid of simple auxiliary models. Manifold-mapping improves in accuracy the solution given by space-mapping. In this report, the two mentioned techniques are basically described and then applied in the solving of two minimization problems. Several coarse models are tried, both from a two and a three level perspective. The results with these simple tests confirm the speed-up expected for the multi-level approach.

This report gives an overview of the major regulatory relief provisions in H.R. 3505 and S. 2856, focusing on their potential impact on bank concentration. The report examines both bills’ provisions to assess whether they are likely to support or discourage bank consolidation. The consolidation of the banking industry arguably reduces competition, which could tend to raise the price of banking services. On the other hand, there is empirical evidence that shows economies of scale in banking, including economies in complying with banking regulations, suggesting larger banks might be able to provide banking services at lower cost than smaller banks.

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From examination of only 4 deg{sup 2} of sky in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) region, we have identified the first radio-loud quasar at a redshift z > 6. The object, FIRST J1427385+331241, was discovered by matching the FLAMEX IR survey to FIRST survey radio sources with NDWFS counterparts. One candidate z > 6 quasar was found, and spectroscopy with the Keck II telescope confirmed its identification, yielding a redshift z = 6.12. The object is a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasar with an optical luminosity of M{sub B} {approx} -26.9 and a radio-to-optical flux ratio {approx} 60. Two Mg II absorptions systems are present at redshifts of z = 2.18 and z = 2.20. We briefly discuss the implications of this discovery for the high-redshift quasar population.

Since September 11, 2001, the effectiveness of America's communications capabilities in support of the information needs of first responders and other public safety workers has been a matter of concern to Congress. Most public safety advocates consider that the communications failures following the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina demonstrate that there is much still to be done to provide the United States with adequate communications capabilities in emergencies. This report explores several pieces of legislation aimed at improving the emergency management the emergency communications infrastructure.

Since September 11, 2001, the effectiveness of America’s communications capabilities in support of the information needs of first responders and other public safety workers have been a matter of concern to Congress. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) included sections that responded to recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, in its report of July 2004, and by others in recent years, regarding public safety communications. Most public safety advocates consider that the communications failures following the the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina demonstrates that there is much still to be done to provide the United States with adequate communications capabilities in emergencies.

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This report addresses political developments and implications for U.S. interests regarding Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree

The current design of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) includes an auxiliary facility, the Actinide Finishing Facility, which provides a second contact of monosodium titanate (MST) to remove soluble actinides and strontium from waste if needed. This treatment will occur after cesium removal by Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX). Although the process changes and safety basis implications have not yet been analyzed, provisions also exist to recover the MST from this operation and return to the initial actinide removal step in the SWPF for an additional (third) contact with fresh waste. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) request identified the need to study the following issues involving this application of MST: Determine the effect of organics from the solvent extraction (CSSX) process on radionuclide sorption by MST; Determine the efficiency of re-using MST for multiple contacts; and Examine fissile loading on MST under conditions using a waste containing significantly elevated concentrations of plutonium, uranium, neptunium, and strontium. This report describes the results of three experimental studies conducted to address these needs: (1) Addition of high concentrations of entrained CSSX solvent had no noticeable effect, over a two week period, on the sorption of the actinides and strontium by MST in …

The United States and Lebanon continue to enjoy good relations. Prominent current issues between the United States and Lebanon include progress toward a Lebanon-Israel peace treaty, U.S. aid to Lebanon, and Lebanon's capacity to stop Hezbollah militia attacks on Israel. The United States supports Lebanon's independence and favored the end of Israeli and Syrian occupation of parts of Lebanon. This report outlines in detail these U.S.-Lebanese relations, as well as the current state of the Lebanese government and its political elections.

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In 2000, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a new set of baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenarios in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) (Nakicenovic et al., 2000). The SRES team defined four narrative storylines (A1, A2, B1 and B2) describing the relationships between the forces driving GHG and aerosol emissions and their evolution during the 21st century. The SRES reports emissions for each of these storylines by type of GHG and by fuel type to 2100 globally and for four world regions (OECD countries as of 1990, countries undergoing economic reform, developing countries in Asia, rest of world). Specific assumptions about the quantification of scenario drivers, such as population and economic growth, technological change, resource availability, land-use changes, and local and regional environmental policies, are also provided. End-use sector-level results for buildings, industry, or transportation or information regarding adoption of particular technologies and policies are not provided in the SRES. The goal of this report is to provide more detailed information on the SRES scenarios at the end use level including historical time series data and a decomposition of energy consumption to understand the forecast implications in terms of end use efficiency to 2030. This …

This report provides an overview of FY2004 appropriations for state and local terrorism preparedness. Preparedness may be defined as enhancing a state or local government’s capability to respond effectively to a terrorist attack, particularly one involving a weapon of mass destruction (WMD).

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This report provides information about the Modified Water Deliveries Project on Everglades Restoration. The MOD wasters is a controversial ecological restoration process in South Florida designed to improve water delivery to Everglades national park.