US Military Casualty Statistics, and More from CRS
A sobering compilation of statistics on injuries sustained by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan was updated this week by the Congressional Research Service based in part on data that CRS gathered from the Pentagon.
“This report includes statistics on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), amputations, evacuations, and the demographics of casualties,” the CRS report said. “Some of these statistics are publicly available at the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) website, whereas others have been obtained through contact with experts at DOD.” See U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom, February 5, 2013.
Another newly updated CRS report presents an informative and diverting account of politics in China.
“China’s Communist Party dominates state and society in China, is committed to maintaining a permanent monopoly on power, and is intolerant of those who question its right to rule. Nonetheless, analysts consider China’s political system to be neither monolithic nor rigidly hierarchical. Jockeying among leaders and institutions representing different sets of interests is common at every level of the system.” See Understanding China’s Political System, January 31, 2013.
And for good measure there is a CRS report on the legal foundation for public access to government records. See Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer, January 16, 2013.
There is no legal foundation that would guarantee public access to CRS reports. So they have to be obtained through alternate channels.
Let’s see what rules we can rewrite and beliefs we can reset: a few digital service sacred cows are long overdue to be put out to pasture.
Nestled in the cuts and investments of interest to the S&T community is a more complex story of how the administration is approaching the practice of science diplomacy.
Surprise! It’s a double album drop with the release of both the President’s Budget Request (PBR to us, not Pabst Blue Ribbon) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) last Friday.
If properly implemented, a comprehensive reform program to accomplish regulatory democracy that is people-centered and power-conscious could be essential for addressing complex policy changes such as the climate challenge.