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Daily Archives: May 4, 2008

Digital Directory for 800 Telephone Companies Sparks Concern

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The Ultimate Little Black Book – One Firm Routes All Phone Calls in North America, by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post.

  • “Sterling-based NeuStar is the carriers’ digital directory for all phone calls in North America. More than 800 telephone companies have numbers in the database…NeuStar’s databases are so powerful that the FBI a few years ago sought direct, unfettered access to one containing 310 million phone numbers in the United States and Canada. The telephone companies that pay NeuStar to run the database denied the FBI’s request, but they did allow NeuStar to create a site where authorized law enforcement officials with court orders can obtain carrier information on telephone numbers. NeuStar is part of an evolving telecom industry that is creating caches of information attractive to the government without clear guidelines governing who may have access and under what circumstances. Its registries fall under international, U.S. government and trade association rules, including those set by the Federal Communications Commission.”

    • Federal Court Decides License Fees to Be Paid to ASCAP by AOL, RealNetworks and Yahoo!

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    ASCAP news release: “The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York today made public a decision in the proceeding to determine reasonable license fees to be paid to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) by AOL (Time Warner Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. for their online performance… Continue Reading

    CDT Testimony: DHS, State Using Insecure RFID Technology

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    Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT): “The long-range or “vicinity” Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology chosen by the Departments of Homeland Security and State for government-issued ID documents poses serious risks to personal privacy and security, CDT testified today before a Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee. CDT recommended that DHS and State abandon the technology, which… Continue Reading

    DOD OIG Report : DOD National Drug Control Program Activities

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    D-2008-085 Independent Auditor’s Report on the FY 2007 Performance Summary Report for DoD National Drug Control Program Activities, May 2, 2008. “In FY 2007, the DoD continued to provide significant support to US and partner nation drug law enforcement agencies in the areas of training, communications support, infrastructure, intelligence, transportation, equipment, command and control, as… Continue Reading

    Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol Entered into Force 3 May 2008

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    News release: “The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has warmly welcomed the news that Ecuador on Thursday became the 20th country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with the result that the Convention and its Optional Protocol will now come into force one month later, on 3… Continue Reading

    Report on Competitive Sourcing Results Fiscal Year 2007

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    Report on Competitive Sourcing Results Fiscal Year 2007, May 2008 Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget: “This report discusses the use of competitive sourcing (i.e., public-private competition) in FY 2007. The report also analyzes trends over the five-year period that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has prepared annual reports… Continue Reading

    Changes to the Old Bailey Website in April 2008

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    “The addition of the 100,000 trial accounts published between 1834 and 1913 represents the single biggest change to this website. We have, however, taken advantage of the opportunity to update many of the technical and historical features of the website and to introduce a new, improved overall design…The old website, last updated in November 2007,… Continue Reading

    Charting An Average Consumer's Spending

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    New York Times chart and data – All of Inflation’s Little Parts: “Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers 84,000 prices in about 200 categories — like gasoline, bananas, dresses and garbage collection — to form the Consumer Price Index, one measure of inflation. It’s among the statistics that the Federal Reserve considered when… Continue Reading