Series of articles related to the corruption scandal impacting a growing number of individuals on the Hill, as well as lobbying firms. AP: DeLay Gives Up Bid to Reclaim House Post New York Times: Officials Focus on a 2nd Firm Tied to DeLay Blunt and Boehner out front as leadership race begins Washington Post: Ethics… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: January 2006
Wiki Tracks Fortune 500 Adoption Of Public Blogs
Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki: “This is a directory of Fortune 500 companies that have business blogs, defined as: active public blogs by company employees about the company and/or its products.” Currently there are 19 listings that include links to the respective blogs. Continue Reading
CRS Report Examines Whether Google Book Search Is Fair Use
CRS Report – The Google Book Search Project: Is Online Indexing A Fair Use Under Copyright Law (6 pages, PDF), Published 12/28/2005, by Robin Jeweler, American Law Division. Abstract: “Google, Inc. is digitally scanning the collections of several prominent libraries in order to create a vast searchable database of literary works. Copyright holders who have… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports Investigates Organic Food – To Buy Or Not To Buy
February 2006: When it pays to buy organic Continue Reading
Pentagon Study Publicly Available Cites Fatal Flaw in Body Armor
New York Times: Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor: 80% of Marine fatalities could have been prevented if higher quality body armor, which has been available since 2003, had been distributed to these troops. Continue Reading
CQ Report on Government Secrecy
Via OpentheGovernment.org, from CQ Researcher, December 2005, this 24 page (PDF) report on Government Secrecy. Continue Reading
Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary
“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the nations top-ranking federal judge, issued his first Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. Text (pdf).” Continue Reading
Senators Continue to Use Banned Cookies on Websites
According to a CNET News.com article by Declan McCullagh, pledges by many U.S. Senators not to use cookies on their e-gov sites have, in at least 23 instances, gone unfulfilled. This is in following with recent news about the use of tracking technology on other e-gov sites, including the White House and NSA. Continue Reading
OECD Report Reviews Best Practices for E-Gov Sites
OECD e-Government Studies e-Government for Better Government “Abstract: E-government is expected to improve the function of public administration and its relationship to the public. The good news is that information and communication technology (ICT) offers an array of tools to meet the promise of e-government. The bad news is that the reality has not yet… Continue Reading
CRS Report Evaluates Presidential Authority for Warrantless Surveillance
CRS Report, January 5, 2006: Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information (44 pages, PDF) Related references: New York Times, Report Questions Legal Basis for Bush’s Spying Program: “President Bush’s rationale for authorizing eavesdropping on American citizens without warrants rests on questionable legal ground and “may represent an exercise of… Continue Reading
Redesigned IRS Site Provides Enhanced Search, Navigation and Services
IRS press release, January 3, 2006: “The Internal Revenue Service today launched the 2006 filing season with a new look to its popular Web site, improved online tools and enhanced electronic services that will better assist taxpayers and tax preparers…Now, taxpayers can find even more help 24 hours a day, seven days a week on… Continue Reading
FISA Court Wants Answers From White House on Domestic Surveillance
The Washington Post today reported that the FISA Court judges will be briefed by intelligence officials next week on details regarding post 9/11 authorization of domestic wiretapping. In addition, the article states that only the court’s presiding judge was informed about the program prior to the information becoming public in December 2005. Related references: How… Continue Reading
