Our failure to plan for the return of our soldiers wounded in our Global War on Terrorism has made it necessary to examine our unprepared and overwhelmed military/veterans health care system. Much is at stake. We are engaged in de facto perpetual war that depends on volunteers for victory. On July 31, after five months of analysis and deliberation, the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors will present its recommendations. Co-Chairs Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health Donna Shalala, both experienced and deeply committed to the task, will propose changes. The most significant effects of their recommendations upon the Nation and our maimed, cognitively impaired and traumatized service members and their families will accrue over a generation or more.

On that not yet foreseeable day when oil flows out of Iraq and international oil interests trumpet the event, wounded veterans will be reminded anew of their enduring courage and self-sacrifice, a gift to the Nation that made it possible for the rest of us to avoid conscription. Fraught with combat memories, flashbacks, and disabilities, that reminder could never be sweet, but it will not be bitter if they find themselves as welcome in rehabilitation as they were in recruitment.

When the Commission presents its recommendations, some 3,200 of our volunteer soldiers will have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about 900 will have died of “non-hostile” accidents, heat exhaustion and illness. Officially, about 28,075 have already been wounded: unofficial but authoritative analysis nearly doubles that number. But the signature wound of this war is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from the blast forces of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Blast-TBI (bTBI) is invisible to the naked eye as is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Military doctors tell us that the official count underestimates the number of our soldiers who will return to their families, communities and employers with TBI’s slowed thinking, deficits in attention and concentration, headaches, memory loss, sleep disturbance, and irritability and with PTSD’s flashbacks and crippling emotional conditions. The number of invisibly wounded soldiers now exceeds the number of visibly wounded. We must not feign blindness to the epidemic we have brought home from this war.

Continue reading “Del Spurlock Jr.: Our Obligations to Wounded Warriors”

2006/12/312013/03/17

2006 Water Centers of Excellence

12 Water

Water

EIN Starting Points [Use Table Sort Function for Alpha Sort]	Rank
World Water CouncilWWC was established in 1996 in response to increasing concern from the global community about world water issues. Its mission is to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decision-making level, to facilitate the efficient management and use of water in all its dimensions and on an environmentally sustainable basis.	1
Worldwater.orgWorld Water is a site dedicated to providing water information, data, and resources to individuals, organizations, and institutions working on solutions to a wide range of global freshwater problems. Site includes water data, water conflict chronology and bibliography, and links to other resources.	2
WaterAid UKWaterAid is an international charity dedicated to helping people escape the stranglehold of poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. Founded by the UK water industry in 1981, WaterAid developed into a leading water and sanitation charity. Includes links to several other WaterAid sites, including The Right to Water, the International Site and several fund raising pages.	3
UNESCO Water Portal The site provides links to the current UNESCO and UNESCO-led programmes on freshwater and will serve as an interactive point for sharing, browsing and searching websites of water-related organizations, government bodies and NGOs, including a range of categories such as water links, water events, learning modules and other on-line resources.	4
The Water PageThe Water Page is an independent initiative dedicated to the promotion of sustainable water resources management and use. A particular emphasis is placed on the development, utilization and protection of water in Africa and other developing regions. Site features disasters, water in religion, groundwater, rivers and regions and water policy and law.	5
Water ConserveWater Conserve is a Water Conservation Portal dedicated to protecting and conserving drinking water and ecosystems worldwide – with a genuine Internet water search engine, constant water news and link tracking, and biocentric commentary.	6
International Water Management InstituteIWMI is nonprofit scientific research organization focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in agriculture and on the water needs of developing countries. The objectives are to identify the larger issues related to water management and food security; develop, test and promote management practices and tools; clarify the link between poverty and access to water; and to help developing countries build their research capacities.	7
International Desalination Association IDA is committed to the development and promotion of the appropriate use of desalination and desalination technology world-wide by encouraging research and development, exchanging, promoting communication and disseminating information. The IDA publishes periodicals and related information on the desalination and water reuse industry. IDA also sponsors several specialized seminars and workshops in different regions of the world during the year and holds Congresses every two years.	8
WHO – Water, Sanitation and HealthWHO works on aspects of water, sanitation and hygiene where the health burden is high, where interventions could make a major difference and where the present state of knowledge is poor: Drinking-water quality; Bathing waters; Water resources; Water supply and sanitation monitoring; Water, sanitation and hygiene development; Wastewater use; Water-related disease; Healthcare waste ; Emerging issues in water and infectious disease.	9
Global Policy Forum – Water In ConflictAs demand for water hits the limits of finite supply, potential conflicts are brewing between nations that share trans-boundary freshwater reserves. More than 50 countries on five continents might soon be caught up in water disputes unless they move quickly to establish agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers, and underground water aquifers. The articles and analysis featured on the site examine international water disputes, civil disturbances caused by water shortages, and potential regulatory solutions to diffuse water conflict.	10
U.S. Geological Survey – Water Resources of the U.S.The Water Resources’ mission is to provide reliable, impartial, timely information that is needed to understand the Nation’s water resources. WRD actively promotes the use of this information by decision makers to; minimize the loss of life and property as a result of water-related natural hazards, such as floods, droughts, and land movement; effectively manage ground-water and surface-water resources for domestic, agricultural, commercial, industrial, recreational, and ecological uses;. Protect and enhance water resources for human health, aquatic health, and environmental quality. and contribute to wise physical and economic development of the Nation’s resources for the benefit of present and future generations.	11
U.S. Water NewsIn addition to a great deal of advertising, there are regularly updated water-related news reports and an extensive archives section with stories on water supply, policy/legislation, conservation, water quality, litigation/water rights, and global waterfront.	12
Middle East Desalination Research CenterThe mission of the MEDRC is to conduct, facilitate, promote, co-ordinate and support basic and applied research in water desalination technology and supporting fields, and to raise the standard of living in the Middle East and elsewhere by cost reduction and quality improvement in the technical processes of water desalination.	13
International Water Law ProjectBased at Texas Tech University School of Law, the IWLP website was created to provide pertinent information on international water law and policy and related topics. Specifically, it offers treaties, articles, news stories, case law, Internet links, and other relevant information. Many of the materials, such as treaties and articles, are offered in full text.	14
Centre for Ground Water StudiesThe Centre for Groundwater Studies is a joint venture in Australia for groundwater research, education and training. Site includes research and education information, links and publications.	15

2006/12/292009/07/31

2006 Markowitz (US) Open Source Information and US Transitions to and from Hostilities (Defense Science Board Report, December 2004), in Relation to Information-Sharing with non-DoD and Froeign Parties

10 Security, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Historic Contributions, Legislation, Policy, Strategy, Threats

NOTE: By “off the record” Dr. Markowitz has clarified that this information may be shared as we are sharing it, but those benefiting from our sharing should treat the knowledge as if they had acquired it “off the record,” as personal views that should not be attributed nor accepted as anything other than background perceptions.

PLATINUM LIFETIME AWARD, Dr. Joseph Markowitz

Dr. Joseph Markowitz is without question the most qualified Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) pioneer in the ranks of those presently in or retired from U.S. government service. As the only real chief of the Community Open Source Program Office (COSPO) he tried valiently to nurture a program being systematically undermined by both the leadership and the traditional broadcast monitoring service. When he moved on to advise the Defense Science Board, he served America well by helping them fully integrate the need for both defense open source information collection and exploitation, and defense information sharing with non-governmental organizations. His persistent but diplomatic efforts merit our greatest regard.

2006/12/272011/02/13