On April 14, Secretary of State Powell issued this press release, Cooperation for the Safeguarding of Iraqi Antiquities and Cultural Property. See my related postings on the recent lootings of the Iraqi National Museum and libraries. For reference, from the State Deparment website, see U.S. Laws and International Laws which address “the looting and destruction… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2003
UK Launches Trial of E-Voting System
The International Herald Tribune reports that “More than 1.5 million Britons will have a chance to vote Thursday in 17 local elections using electronic voting systems that computer security experts on both sides of the Atlantic say are fraught with danger and an invitation to fraud.” From the UK Electoral Commission, see Britain launches largest… Continue Reading
New Website on Air India Trial
The 17 year old case of Air India Flight 182, which exploded off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985 killing all 329 passengers and crew onboard, is scheduled to begin today in the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC). A new website, ONTRIAL/Air India, sponsored by the Law Courts Education Society of British… Continue Reading
File-Sharing Networks Victorious Against Entertainment Industry
In a 34 page decision released this afternoon that surprised many, the entertainment industry at the top of the list, Judge Stephen V. Wilson (Central District of California) “denied a request to shut down Internet song-swapping services Grokster and Morpheus.” The judge wrote, “It is undisputed that there are substantial noninfringing uses for (the) Defendants’… Continue Reading
Librarians, Booksellers and the Patriot Act
ABC News has highlighted the ongoing story on the battle being waged by libraries and booksellers against the Patriot Act (Sec. 215. Access to Records and Other Items Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) that permits government access to data about patron reading habits, Internet usage, and book purchases. Opposition to many aspects of this… Continue Reading
Update on Impact of Super DMCA Legislation
Resources and news of note on Super DMCA legislation (“to combat broadband and communications piracy”) that is proliferating at the state level, driven in large measure by relentless lobbying on the part of the Motion Picture Assocation of America (MPAA), and which, for the most part, is based on the organization’s proposed model legislation. The… Continue Reading
RSS: An Alternative to Search Engines?
Danny Sullivan presents Part II of his review of RSS services and applications that facilitate access to the continuously expanding world of news, blogs and topical information. He recommends several RSS search engines, including Feedster and rssSearch. Part I of his article is available here and lists examples of news aggregators and how to use… Continue Reading
Integrated Gov't E-Mail System Launched
The Department of Homeland Security had the daunting task of implementing an e-mail system that integrates 22 separate agencies. According to Federal Computer Week, the system will be launched this weekend. Continue Reading
Verizon Must Identify Customer In Privacy Case
Once again Judge John D. Bates (United States District Court for the District of Columbia) has ruled (55 page pdf) that Verizon Internet Services must reveal, within fourteen days, the name of an anonymous customer accused of using a peer-to-peer file sharing application (KaZaA) to pirate copyrighted songs. The judge’s earlier ruling of January 21… Continue Reading
Tech Book Publisher Allows Titles to Pass Into Public Domain
O’Reilly & Associates, a leading publisher of books on computer technologies, announced it will adopt the Founders’ Copyright from the Creative Commons project, “that allows copyright holders to voluntarily release their works to the public after the period envisioned in the original 1790 US copyright law–14 years, with the option of one 14-year extension.” The… Continue Reading
Ohio Bill Seeks to Limit Public Access to Gov't Docs Online
Via an e-mail from Mary Alice Baish, AALL Washington Affairs Representative: “Thanks to a trio of very alert law librarians in Ohio, Billie J. Grey, Gail McCain and Al Podboy, for notifying us of a state bill, the Electronic Government Services Act (H.B. 145), that would prevent agencies from providing access to government information and… Continue Reading
Advocacy Group Files Privacy Complaint Against eBay
Junkbusters Corp., an organization whose declared mission is to stop spam, sent a letter to the FTC on April 22 requesting that the agency investigate discrepancies in the privacy statements posted by eBay as they result in the dissemination of personal data without customer knowledge. Junkbusters President Jason Catlett contends that eBay’s use of two… Continue Reading
