Airline Security’s False Hope?: An expert on aviation safety statistics says a new computer system to screen out terrorists may actually make things easier for them, by Arnold Barnett (reg. req’d). “The latest incarnation of security screening for our airports has many friends in high places. U.S. secretary of transportation Norman Mineta described it as… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: August 2003
Patent Infringement Ruling Against BlackBerry
From ZDNet: “A judge has ruled in favor of holding company NTP in its patent-infringement case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, awarding monetary damages and fees. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Richmond, Va., ruled late Tuesday in the case brought against Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM. It awarded NTP $53.7 million.” Continue Reading
Legislation to Restore Public Access to Presidential Documents
S. 1517: A bill to revoke and Executive Order relating to procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential records (introduced July 31). From the Congressional Record: July 31, 2003 (Senate), “Mr. Bingaman. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Florida, Senator Graham, to introduce a very… Continue Reading
Maryland Establishes Special Court for Business/Tech Cases
Specialized Court for Tech Cases Starts to Operate in Maryland: “Maryland, with the enactment of Rule 16-205, effective on Jan. 1, has become the first state in the country to adopt a specialized court for business and technology cases. This specialized system is an effort to respond to the increased complexity of these cases arising… Continue Reading
Tips and Tools for Saved Searches
Search query saving tips, by Gwen Harris: “Saving a search query for resubmission later is standard practice among users of for-fee information services. With some tweaking, this can also be done on the open Web. Saved searches can be used to watch for pertinent news stories on the major news search engines — Google, Alltheweb… Continue Reading
New Gov’t Portal on Household Products
Health & Safety Information on Household Products Portal: this new database service from the National Library of Medicine is a portal to information on over 4,000 products arranged in seven categories (auto, home inside, pesticides, landscape/yard, personal care, home maintenance, hobbies & crafts). Users are provided with data on brands, manufacturers, health effects, handling/disposal, and… Continue Reading
FTC Issues Warning on File Sharing
From the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert, File-Sharing: A Fair Share? Maybe Not: “…file-sharing can have a number of risks. For example, when you are connected to file-sharing programs, you may unknowingly allow others to copy private files you never intended to share. You may download material that is protected by the copyright laws and… Continue Reading
Google Adds New Search Feature
“Google introduced a new advanced search feature that enables users to search not only for a particular keyword, but also for its synonyms. This is accomplished by placing a ~ character directly in front of the keyword in the search box. For example, to search for browser help as well as browser guides and tutorials… Continue Reading
EPA Held In Contempt for Destroying E-Docs
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth last week held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying electronic documents in violation of a court order issued as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. [Link] Landmark Legal Foundation v. EPA, Civil Action No. 00-2338, Opinions issued July 24, 2003 by Judge Royce C.… Continue Reading
Bad News on ID Theft
ID Theft Continues to Increase: “The number of Americans who fell victim to identity theft in 2002 grew 81 percent over the year before. And incidents reported so far in 2003 suggest a major rise over last year…More than 13 million Americans have fallen victim to identity theft or fraud since January 2001,” according to… Continue Reading
News About Google, E-Commerce and Rivals
Google targeted by search engine rivals: “The steady growth has turned Google into one of the Internet’s biggest success stories, and made the still relatively small company of 1,000 employees a target for some formidable foes. Both Yahoo! and Microsoft are searching for ways to steal Google’s thunder in a showdown that could reshape the… Continue Reading
9-11 Memorial Intelligence Reform Act
On July 31, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) introduced the 9-11 Memorial Intelligence Reform Act, “aimed at overhauling the Intelligence Community to prevent another successful terrorist attack like the tragedy of September 11, 2001.” “Graham said a top priority is the creation of a Cabinet-level Director of National Intelligence, who would be appointed by the President… Continue Reading
