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U. S. Constitution: State Department
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Article looks at how two U.S. agencies, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agency for International Development (USAID), are approaching risk management with respect to biotechnology. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was adopted in January 2000, calls for the risk assessment of new genetically modified organisms (GMOs) "in order to identify and evaluate the possible adverse effects of living organisms on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking ... into account risks to human health." In an effort to meet these demands, the USDA runs the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program, which allocates funding for research on several issues including: insect resistance to GM products; impact of GMOs on biodiversity and natural ecosystems; increased fitness of wild relatives from transgene flow; and quantitative methods to assess the risks of GM crop field testing. USAID recently launched a grant program to fund research on environmental and biodiversity risks posed by GMOs in developing countries. Josette Lewis, biotechnology advisor for USAID, explains that most U.S. research "is not applicable to developing countries" where environmental conditions, biodiversity and farming practices are different. The agency hopes the program will build risk assessment capacity and aid regulatory bodies in developing countries to make science-based decisions when introducing GMOs.
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WASHINGTON — The FBI issued thousands of subpoenas to banks, phone companies and Internet providers last year, aggressively using a power enhanced under the Patriot Act to monitor the activities of U.S. citizens, Justice Department data released late Friday showed. The report given to members of Congress was the first to detail the government's use of a controversial form of administrative subpoena that has drawn fire because it can be issued by investigators without court oversight.
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This expansive interpretation of international law is compatible with the prior (2004) U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony proffered by Roger T. Rufe. Mr. Rufe is a retired U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral and a former CEO of The Ocean Conservancy (OTC), an environmental activist group. He is ... currently serving at the pleasure of the president as Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Operations Directorate.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reminds Americans that the New Year is a perfect time to Resolve to be Ready. The department’s Ready Campaign has outlined the top 10 items for a basic emergency supply kit so that every American can keep their preparedness resolutions next year.
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In a December 2005 article[40][41] in The New York Times, it was revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without proper warrants. This led to an investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility in the Justice Department. This investigation was shut down after the President[42] denied investigators the security clearances necessary for their work. Some critics have alleged that the President did so in order to protect Gonzales from the internal probe.[43]
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