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Monthly Archives: August 2003

New York City Legal Resources

The Center for New York City Law website, “provides information about, and analysis of, the laws and legal processes that govern New York City.” NYC Administrative Decisions. Search the Center’s library of more than 9,000 full text administrative decisions decided by New York City agencies. Continue Reading

Federal Government Job Portal Enhancements

USAJOBS, the federal government’s offical job site, with a database of over 16,000 job listings, has added new features that include: a more robust search engine to locate information on available jobs a new, user-friendly interface forms to create and store multiple versions of your resume online the option to apply to your favorite jobs… Continue Reading

Informative Commentary on CAPPS II

From the Practical Nomad: What’s wrong with CAPPS-II? (and what should be done about it?) by Edward Hasbrouck. This articles provides a wealth of links to primary and secondary documents on CAPPS I and II and the significant privacy issues inherent in the mining of personal travel data by the federal government. Continue Reading

Report Indicates Decline in Software Piracy

A new Business Software Alliance (BSA) state-by-state study indicates a slight decline in software piracy in the United States, with overall national loses to be approximately $1.9 billion. The study provides data that includes: state piracy rate, state dollar retail losses, state employment losses, total wage and salary losses, total tax losses, as well as… Continue Reading

Public Policy Group Lawsuit Against Bush Targets Global Warming Report Inaccuracies

From a press release dated August 6, 2003: “The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed suit in federal court against the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for refusing to implement the Federal Data Quality Act in regard to two major global warming reports. The law, signed by President Clinton, requires that data disseminated… Continue Reading

Google News Alerts

From Research Buzz: “Google is finally offering news alerts, which may finally fill the giant hole left in my life by the demise of Northern Light News and THEIR alerts. You can get to ’em at http://www.google.com/newsalerts. Apparently you will not have to have an account for this. All the site offers is a space… Continue Reading

Dept. of Education Proposed Rule on Student Data Privacy

From the Federal Register, July 28, 2003: Statute: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA provides that an agency or institution may not have a policy or practice of disclosing personally identifiable information from education records without the “written consent” of the parent or eligible student, subject to specified exceptions. 20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1). Current… Continue Reading

Future of Federal E-Gov Programs in Doubt, But States Make Strides

On the Federal Side: The administrator of OMB’s Office of E-Government and Information Technology, Mark Forman, has announced plans to join the private sector, according to FCW.com. “Forman was the driving force behind the 24 e-gov initiatives and the enterprise architecture effort.” For related information, see P.L. 107-347, the E-Government Act of 2002, and my… Continue Reading

Strong Opposition to UCITA Sounds its Demise?

“The Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT), the national coalition opposing the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), applauds the decision of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) not to spend any additional resources in promoting state adoptions of UCITA. The proposed legislation has been the subject of considerable controversy… Continue Reading

New Website on P2P Related Copyright Enforcement

Copywrongs.org is a new website launched August 5 by a non-profit group comprised of techno-experts who have been affiliated with projects at MIT. From the Mission Statement: “copywrongs.org is a clearinghouse and connection point for individuals who are the subjects of P2P-related copyright enforcement actions. We will do our best to provide services that help… Continue Reading

Quartet of Articles on Gov’t Data Mining Programs

Mother Jones: From FBI and CIA headquarters to small-town police departments, the government is building a massive intelligence network designed to spy on terrorists — and on everyday Americans. Washington Post: U.S. Backs Florida’s New Counterterrorism Database – ‘Matrix’ Offers Law Agencies Faster Access to Americans’ Personal Records. Washington Post: Crossing Lines to Fight Terrorism… Continue Reading