A substantial new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) considers the potential threat posed by radiological dispersal devices or “dirty bombs.” At the direction of Congress, the CRS does not make its publications directly available to the public. The “dirty bomb” report, as well as a shorter, abridged version of the report, and the other new reports listed below were obtained by Secrecy News (all pdf).
“‘Dirty Bombs’: Technical Background, Attack Prevention and Response, Issues for Congress,” June 24, 2011
“‘Dirty Bombs’: Background in Brief,” June 24, 2011
“Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015,” June 16, 2011
“Gun Control Legislation,” June 9, 2011
“State Taxation of Internet Transactions,” June 7, 2011
“Kazakhstan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests,” June 1, 2011
“U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians,” May 31, 2011
“New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States,” May 27, 2011
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As the United States continues nuclear modernization on all legs of its nuclear triad through the creation of new variants of warheads, missiles, and delivery platforms, examining the effects of nuclear weapons production on the public is ever more pressing.
“The first rule of government transformation is: there are a lot of rules. And there should be-ish. But we don’t need to wait for permission to rewrite them. Let’s go fix and build some things and show how it’s done.”
To better understand what might drive the way we live, learn, and work in 2050, we’re asking the community to share their expertise and thoughts about how key factors like research and development infrastructure and automation will shape the trajectory of the ecosystem.