A hidden world, growing beyond control

The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine. The investigation's other findings include: * Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. An alternative geography

Best Hospitals 2010-2011 U.S. News surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and sifted through data for approximately 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties, from cancer to urology. Death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation were a few of the factors considered. Cancer University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Cardiology & Heart Surgery New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell Diabetes & Endocrinology Massachusetts General Hospital Ear, Nose & Throat Gastroenterology & GI Surgery Mayo Clinic Geriatrics UCLA Medical Center Gynecology Brigham and Women's Hospital Nephrology Neurology & Neurosurgery Johns Hopkins Hospital Ophthalmology Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Orthopedics Hospital for Special Surgery Psychiatry McLean Hospital Pulmonology National Jewish Health, Denver-University of Colorado Hospital Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Rheumatology Cleveland Clinic Urology

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