The text of H.R. 4437 A section by section summary November 17, 2005: “the House Homeland Security Committee approved comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to address security problems across U.S. borders.” H.R. 4312, the Border Security and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2005. Information on the Homeland Security Committee’s provisions from H.R. 4312. Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: December 2005
Government Reform Cmte. Chair Refuses Requests to Investigate Plame Leak
“In a letter to Chairman Davis, Rep. Waxman asks the Chairman to explain his rationale (letter, 4 pages, PDF) for rejecting requests to investigate the leak of classified information involving CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson and contract abuses at the Department of Homeland Security, while directing the Committee to look into a leak of classified… Continue Reading
Privacy Expert Comments on Google Data Collection Activities
Google’s Empire, Privacy, and Government Access to Personal Data, by Daniel J. Solove. Continue Reading
E-Rulemaking Website Faces Challenges of Expectations and Compliance
Information overload a potential problem for Federal Docket Management System Regulations.gov Continue Reading
FOIA Request For Abramoff Docs. Yields No Response From Interior
Press release: “Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Department of the Interior (DOI) over its failure to provide requested documents related to Jack Abramoff and the Indian gaming scandal…In the midst of one of the largest government corruption scandals ever, the Department of Interior has decided to simply ignore federal… Continue Reading
OCLC Report on Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources
From OCLC:Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005) summarizes findings of an international study on information-seeking habits and preferences. “The Perceptions report provides the findings and responses from the online survey in an effort to learn more about: Library use; Awareness and use of library electronic resources; The Internet search engine, the library and the… Continue Reading
Univ. Research Center Files FOIA Lawsuit Against OPM
Press release from TRAC, December 6, 2005: “The federal government is unlawfully withholding information it normally provides the public about some 900,000 of its civilian employees, including those working for such agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to a… Continue Reading
Washington Post Launches U.S. Votes Database
Today the Washington Post launched a news website, The U.S. Congress Voters Database, that allows users to browse data from the 102nd Congress (1991) to the 109th Congress (present). A search engine and other features will be forthcoming. “This site offers an RSS feed for every current member of Congress, so you can get notified… Continue Reading
9/11 Public Discourse Project Releases Final Report
The 9/11 Commission Report: The Unfinished Agenda: An ongoing series of public events assessing the progress of reform since the 9/11 Commission Report. December 5, 2005 – Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendation (PDF) One page summary of grades (PDF) Prepared Statement by Thomas H. Kean and Lee H.… Continue Reading
Spear Phishing Target Specific Individual, Corporate, Gov’t Data
Following up on previous postings about phishing, the New York Times yesterday published an article, Gone Spear-Phishin’ detailing the extent, impact and intent of cybercriminals who launch Trojans to steal the data of individuals and corporations, for both profit and personal reasons. See also Business Week, Phishing: Beware the Internal Revenue Scam: “The official-looking e-mails… Continue Reading
Authority of Vast Collaborative Online Encyclopedia Questioned
Growing pains for Wikipedia: “…founder Jimmy Walee [is]going to change the ground rules for the popular anyone-can-contribute encyclopedia…” Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar How wikis are changing our view of the world AP: Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute, is tightening submission rules after a prominent journalist complained that… Continue Reading
Microsoft Offers App to Assist With EMail Management
Microsoft Research News and Highlights: “SNARF, the Social Network and Relationship Finder, developed by Microsoft Research and available for download, is designed to help computer users cope…with too many emails. SNARF, a complement to e-mail programs such as Outlook, filters and sorts e-mail based on the type of message and the user’s history with an… Continue Reading
