The Wired 40 "They're masters of technology and innovation. They're global thinkers driven by strategic vision. They're nimbler than Martha Stewart's PR team. They're The Wired 40."
Doc Searls' closing keynote at Les Blogs, Paris, 25 April 2005
Press release: "U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-N.M., Thursday became a founding member of the tri-partisan Patriot Act Reform Caucus. Passed weeks after the September 11 attacks, the sweeping anti-terrorism law has increasingly come under criticism from the left and the right. The law included 16 provisions that expire at the end of 2005. Other members of the Patriot Act Reform Caucus include U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y."
Estimative Products On Vietnam, 1948-1975
"This collection of declassified estimative products is the first such release by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of documents exclusively on the Vietnam war and is one of the largest such releases to date. Of the 174 documents that comprise the collection, 38 appear at least in part on this site as selected Vietnam NIEs, and all are on a companion compact disk in their entirety. The intent is to add to the scholarship of the period and to make the documents more readily accessible to the general public."
"In a complaint (pdf) filed this week, EPIC asked a federal court to force the FBI to disclose information about its use of expanded investigative authority granted by sunsetting provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act."
9/11 panel flags failure to focus on key threats
The Infinite Library, by Wade Roush, May 2005 issue of TechnologyReview.com.
From the National Counterterrorism Center (via FAS), A Chronology of Significant International Terrorism for 2004, April 29, 2005 (92 pages, PDF)
Librarians worry important information is being lost/
CIA - The World Factbook, 2005- "Country information has been updated as of 21 April, 2005"
Tim Stanley and crew have been busy, with the usual outstanding results. See his latest launch, Auto Recalls, an A to Z listing of makes and models, with accompanying RSS feeds. This site is easy to use, fast, comprehensive...and I just found out that my old minivan has a problem that needs to be addressed soon!
From the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, April 28, 2005: 2004 Wiretap Report (For the Period January 1 Through December 31, 2004)
"The Public Papers of the Presidents contain most of the President's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are usually not included for the presidencies of Herbert Hoover through Gerald Ford (1929-1977), but are included beginning with the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977). The documents within the Public Papers are arranged in chronological order. The President delivered the remarks or addresses from Washington, D. C., unless otherwise indicated. The White House in Washington issued statements, messages, and letters unless noted otherwise. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, various dates." [Link]
"EPIC Associate Director Lillie Coney testified before the Election Assistance Commission on privacy safeguards for new voter registration databases. Ms. Coney, who also coordinates the National Committee for Voting Integrity, urged the Commission to examine the risks in the new centralized databases." [Link]
Press release from the National Security Archive: "Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005 - In response to Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit, the Pentagon this week released hundreds of previously secret images of casualties returning to honor guard ceremonies from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and other conflicts, confirming that images of their flag-draped coffins are rightfully part of the public record, despite its earlier insistence that such images should be kept secret...The photos released by the Pentagon were taken by U.S. government photographers, not by journalists... These are among the most respectful images created of American casualties of war - far less wrenching than images we regularly see from the battlefield. They're taken under carefully controlled circumstances by military photographers covering honor ceremonies."
DHS Press Release: Fact Sheet: Protecting America's Critical Infrastructure--Chemical Security
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA). Part II, April 28, 2005. Witness testimony: Kenneth L. Wainstein, Interim U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia; Robert S. Khuzami, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York.
Prepared Remarks of Jim Harper, Editor of Privacilla.org, to the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference Panel Entitled The Economics of Privacy: Market or Regulation? - April 15, 2005.
Press release: "Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today sued one of the nation's leading internet marketing companies, alleging that the firm was the source of "spyware" and "adware" that has been secretly installed on millions of home computers. The suit against Los Angeles-based Intermix Media, Inc. is the most sweeping case to date involving programs that redirect web addresses, add toolbars and deliver pop-up ads. "Spyware and adware are more than an annoyance," Spitzer said. "These fraudulent programs foul machines, undermine productivity and in many cases frustrate consumers' efforts to remove them from their computers. These issues can serve to be a hindrance to the growth of e-commerce."
Press Release, April 26, 2005, National Archivist Testified Before Congress on '06 Budget Request: "In his testimony, the Archivist focused on four areas in particular that are of major importance to the National Archives and Records Administration: The Electronic Records Archives (ERA), the Nixon Library, the National Archives Experience, and the issue of document security.
From Federal Computer Week, this article reviews the challenges faced by federal depository librarians as they seek to ensure continued public access to a range of government documents in the face of budget cuts, the increasing migration of print publications to electronic format, and administrative directives which have resulted in mixed signals about future directions and initiatives.
Theft of high-end gadgets such as iPods have recently been the subject of articles in major papers, including this April 28 New York Times article and this Washington Post (reg. req'd) article, from April 16. These thefts have in turn spawned products and services to assist consumers in the recovery or replacement of their items, for a fee of course.
According to new stats by BlogPulse, Yahoo News ranks at the top of the list of sources to which bloggers most frequently link, with the New York Times a close second. Interesting, as Yahoo News is an aggregator and the Times is a primary publisher, although it too aggregates stories, from AP.
U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence, hearing on USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, April 27, 2005.
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security - Oversight Hearing on the Implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act: Sections of the Act that Address--Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). (Part 1)
Section 204: Clarification of Intelligence Exceptions from Limitations on Interception & Disclosure of Wire, Oral & Electronic Communications; Section 207: Duration of FISA Surveillance of Non-United States persons who are Agents of a Foreign Power; Section 214: Pen Register and Trap and Trace Authority Under FISA; Section 225: Immunity for Compliance with FISA Wiretap; and Lone Wolf.
Press release, Committee on Government Reform, Minority Office - Withheld Data Shows 'Dramatic Up-tick' in Terrorist Attacks
Wired reports that plans to implement biometrics in U.S. passports generated significant negative public response, resulting in reconsideration of the importance of privacy issues related to RFIDs.
"Full Text Search Enhancements: In response to your requests that we improve searching, GAO has introduced a new feature to enhance full text searching and your ability to select the best results to meet your needs. In the past, search results have included titles and your search terms with the text surrounding them, the URL, and other minor information about each item. Now your results will typically include an Overview and Topic as well. The Overview provides a brief abstract of the contents. The Topic section contains the major heading under which we have the product categorized. The categories are the same as you will find in the Browse by topic part of the web site, and the Month in Review, and e-mail topic lists."
ITU's New Broadband Statistics for 1 January 2005: "ITU has just released its new statistics on global broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants as of 1 January 2005. Korea and Hong Kong, China have kept the top rankings they received in 2004. The Netherlands makes an impressive move from 9th in ranking in 2004 to 3rd this year. Denmark also moves up two slots to 4th. Canada drops to 5th from 3rd in 2004. Switzerland moves from 10th in 2004 to 6th this year. Israel moves to 12th this year. The USA drops from 13th in 2004 to 16th in 2005. France has moved up fast in the rankings and is now just behind the USA followed by the UK at 15th."
Part One of the April 24 issue of LLRX:
Reader's Block: Internet Censorship in Rhode Island Public Libraries, A Report prepared by the Rhode Island Affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union, April 2005.
Proponent of open government - McDermott: Feds closing the door to information
From today's New York Times Magazine, You've Been Sold, by Richard A. Clarke. "What Congress can do now to bust the boom in identity theft."
"Lawrence Lessig first published Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace in 1999. After five years in print and five years of changes in law, technology, and the context in which they reside, Code needs an update. But rather than do this alone, Professor Lessig is using this wiki to open the editing process to all, to draw upon the creativity and knowledge of the community. This is an online, collaborative book update; a first of its kind." [Link]
802.11 Wireless Security Primer - Presentation by John MacMichael (84 pages, PDF)
BusinessWeekOnline embraces blogs in a big way -
From the New York Times, September 13, 1960 (via the Dept. of State website as noted by BuzzFlash), the text of candidate John F. Kennedy's Address to Southern Baptist Leaders (1960).
Press release: FTC Seeks Comment on Children's Online Privacy Rule - "The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on its implementation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) through the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. The FTC also is seeking additional comment on the COPPA Rule’s sliding scale approach to obtaining parental consent, which takes into account how information gathered from children will be used."
Press release, April 14, 2005: U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today introduced the National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005 (S. 786) to clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National Weather Service (NWS) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Google Personal-Search Tracker Raises Privacy Concerns
John Horrigan, Director of Research at the Internet and American Life Project, posted a comment worth noting, in response to the fracas about Rep. DeLay's statements about Justice Kennedy. Mr. Horrigan stated: "If Justice Kennedy does indeed go online to conduct research for his job, he has lots of company. On a typical day, 20% of internet users, or 27 million Americans, use the internet to do some kind of research relating to their jobs. In terms of percentages, the numbers are larger for those Americans with high-speed internet connections at the workplace. For that group, 42% do some work-related research online on the average day."
From the free content section of the April 21 WSJ, A Cottage Industry Blooms To Help Victims of ID Theft examines the costs and range of services offered by companies who market assistance to victims of online or offline ID theft. In addition, potential red flags about, and the limitations to, these services are noted.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Hearing on the USA PATRIOT Act, April 19, 2005. Links to testimony.
According to Wired, the instant criminal background check database owned by ChoicePoint called Rapsheets is now in compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements to provide individuals with notification regarding the review of their data by prospective employers.
Press release, April 1, 2005: Spitzer Calls for Regulation of Information Brokers and Increased Penalties for Computer Hacking. Note - links to the text of the proposed legislation, in PDF, are available via this press release, and highlights include the following:
Homeland Security: Overview of Department of Homeland Security Management Challenges, GAO-05-573T, April 20, 2005. Highlights.
This sfgate.com article highlights two important privacy related issues with an online nexus. First, the use of web bugs (also called web beacons) to collect personal data on individuals using free software applications for federal tax e-filings to which they have been steered by the IRS. Second, in the continually expanding saga of what have been labeled as data scams, thefts, leaks, breaches, security snafus [i.e., ID theft], this article also expands information awareness on ZabaSearch.com, the "free people search" engine. This site provides users with access to an extensive database of personal data whose accuracy is difficult to gauge, and requesting the removal of your information from their service invokes the Internet version of Catch 22. A previous article on the site by the same author provides details on the background of the owners.
DeLay Outlines Strategy Against Federal Judges: "Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, sharply criticized Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court on Tuesday and said the House Judiciary Committee would explore what the authors of the Constitution intended when they said federal judges hold their post on the basis of good behavior."
Related news:
"The Commission on Federal Election Reform is chaired by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III. The Commission of twenty-one members is both bipartisan and non-partisan. During the next six months, it will examine the state of the electoral process in the United States and offer recommendations on improving it." [Link]
Related documentation and links:
Report to Congress: Organizations Complementing Federal Agency Information Dissemination Programs, April 15, 2005 (23 pages, PDF):
From the Federal Judiciary Newsroom today: "Implementation of the federal judiciary's Case Management and Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system continues in appellate, district and bankruptcy courts across the country. The new system provides courts with the option to have case file documents in electronic form, and to accept filings over the Internet. Details.
Press release: "Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today unveiled MyPyramid, a new symbol and interactive food guidance system. 'Steps to a Healthier You,' MyPyramid's central message, supports President Bush's HealthierUS initiative which is designed to help Americans live longer, better and healthier lives. MyPyramid, which replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1992, is part of an overall food guidance system that emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle." The site is optimized for users of PC and Mac, in both English and Spanish. Note that this is the first major revision of the food pyramid since 1992, and see this AP article for more details.
From the WSJ free content, Where to Find Diversity-Minded Employers
UPI reported today that key members of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States repeatedly threatened to resign if the President did not guarantee the cooperation of intelligence agencies during the course of their enquires.
The U.S. Deptartment of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) website currently displays the following message on the homepage: "The BLM Web site is currently down for unanticipated maintenance. Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve our technical difficulties." [Link] See this ComputerWorld article for more details.
Various sources have reported on Google's trademark infringement lawsuit against Froogles.com, and a copy of the complaint (68 pages, PDF), filed April 8, in District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is available courtesy of Search Engine Watch Blog.
PATRIOT Act Oversight Hearing on Section 203 (b) and (d) of the USA-PATRIOT, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security – Tuesday, April 19, 2005:
Press release today: "LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of legal, news and business information said today it has begun mailing notification letters to approximately 280,000 individuals whose personally identifying information may have been accessed by unauthorized individuals using passwords and IDs stolen from legitimate customers of its Seisint unit."
Information Security: Internal Revenue Service Needs to Remedy Serious Weaknesses over Taxpayer and Bank Secrecy Act Data, GAO-05-482, April 15, 2005. Highlights.
The Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information EXchange (MATRIX), "a pilot effort to increase and enhance the exchange of sensitive terrorism and other criminal activity information between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies," has been cancelled.
The Harris Poll® #27, April 13, 2005 - "Two-fifths of U.S. Adults Who Are Online Have Read Political Blogs - But less than one in 10 have ever posted a comment on a blog."
Press release: "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representative Edward J. Markey announced that they would introduce the Safeguarding Americans from Exporting Identification Data (SAFE ID) Act in the United States Senate and House today, legislation that would protect the privacy of consumers' most sensitive personal information. This legislation would close gaps in U.S. privacy laws that leave consumers vulnerable when American businesses and healthcare organizations send accounting and medical information overseas for processing, often without consumers' knowledge."
As a follow-up to my March 16, 2005 posting, Controversy Surrounds Government Sponsored News, today the Senate Agrees on ID for Gov't Video News
IRS Denies It's Refusing to Release Papers...and in response, Federal Lawsuit Filed Today Against IRS Is Part of Broad Effort to Provide Information About Agency's Audit Activities to the Public
From your lips to millions of ears via podcasting - Think of it as audio blogging -- technology makes it easy to have your own radio show [thanks Connie]
The current Yahoo! News site has been transformed with this beta that sports a more sophisticated and user-friendly design, layout, and navigation features, using well placed content tabs, as well as more prominent display and organization of sources and time stamp for respective topical news stories. RSS feeds and custom user queries are supported.
This April 11 article, North Dakota Legislature Agrees on 'black boxes' Bill discusses SB 2200, which provides consumer privacy protections related to recording devices on motor vehicles by stipulating procedures related to the collection and dissemination of data on vehicle location, speed, braking, seat belt status, and accident related information.
Related news and references:
The San Jose Medical Group reported the theft, from their facility, of two Dell PCs to which confidential data on 185,000 patients had been copied from the organization's servers.
Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act (as required by Section 1001(3) of Public Law 107-56), March 2005, Office of the Inspector General.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, "Securing Electronic Personal Data: Striking a Balance Between Privacy and Commercial and Governmental Use," April 13, 2005
Press release: Attorney General Lockyer Goes to Court to Shut Down Major California-Based Spam Operation - Action Comes In First-Ever Enforcement Collaboration With Federal Trade Commission, April 13, 2005.
From the Intermix Media, Inc. SEC Filing 8-K, April 12, 2005: "The Company has recently been advised by the Internet Bureau of the Office of the New York Attorney General (the "NY AG") that it is considering commencing an action against the Company for unlawful and deceptive acts and practices associated with distribution of toolbar, redirect and contextual ad serving applications ("downloads"). The NY AG asserts that the Company and/or third parties distributed downloads that were installed by users without sufficient notice or consent and in a manner that made it difficult to locate and remove the programs. The NY AG, in the event of litigation, would be seeking disgorgement of profits, civil penalties and other remedies. While the Company respectfully disagrees with the assertions of the NY AG, the Company is committed to resolving the matter as soon as practicable."
S. 751, A bill to require federal agencies, and persons engaged in interstate commerce, in possession of data containing personal information, to disclose any unauthorized acquisition of such information, introduced April 11, 2005.
The Promise of Internet Intermediary Liability, by Ronald J. Mann and Seth R. Belzley, William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 47, October 2005.
THE 2005 JEFFERSON MUZZLES ARE HERE! - "For 14 years the Thomas Jefferson Center has celebrated the April birth date of our namesake by awarding the Jefferson Muzzles to those who in the past year forgot Mr. Jefferson's admonition that freedom of speech cannot be limited without being lost. Who committed some of the more egregious and ridiculous acts of censorship last year?" [thanks Gloria]
Law Library Subscriptions: Paper or Electronic?, by Lucy Rieger, New Jersey Law Journal, April 12, 2005.
From EFF, Bloggers Speak Up in Apple Case: "Groups working to protect journalists' press freedoms, the creator of a blog-search tool, weblog publishers, and more than a dozen individual online journalist/bloggers filed a friend-of-the-court brief (PDF) [April 11] in Apple v. Does -- the case in which Apple Computer is seeking to unmask online journalists' confidential sources for articles about forthcoming Apple products."
The Wise Use of 'Intelligence', Leigh Jones, The National Law Journal, 04-12-2005.
Jay Cline reviews a range of popular e-commerce websites that offer consumers a defined list of privacy protections and provides general scores for those that implement portions of the European privacy principles.
Supreme Court Standards for Peer-to-Peer and Beyond - "The upcoming ruling on copyright infringement in P-to-P networks will have important implications for future technology development."
From the WSJ Free Content, Librarians Reference These Sites When Seeking Work, by Sarah E. Needleman
"CDT will testify (text of statement submitted by CDT Exec. Director, 17 pages, PDF) April 13 before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the privacy and security issues raised by recent losses of personal information by data brokers and others. CDT will call for a stronger policy framework, requiring notice of breach, security safeguards, limits on use and disclosure of Social Security numbers, rules for governmental use, and application of "fair information practices" to data brokers."
Related references:
Press release: LexisNexis Concludes Review of Data Search Activity, Identifying Additional Instances of Illegal Data Access: "In addition to the 30,000 individuals already notified, LexisNexis will begin notifying approximately 280,000 additional individuals whose information may have been acquired during these recently identified incidents. LexisNexis will offer free support services to individuals who receive the notification, to monitor and protect them from possible fraud associated with identity theft, including credit bureau reports, credit monitoring for one year and fraud insurance. In addition, LexisNexis will provide fraud counseling services or specialized assistance on a case-by-case basis to any individual who has been the victim of identity theft related to these instances."
Related references:
Klein and Mueller: What to Do About ICANN: A Proposal for Structural Reform, April 5, 2005.
From Secrecy News, "During calendar year 2004, 1,758 applications were made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for electronic surveillance and physical search, according to the latest Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) annual report to Congress. That established a new annual record for domestic counterintelligence and counterterrorism surveillance and search
activity."
From Accenture, the sixth annual global report on delivery of e-government services, "Leadership in Customer Service: New Expectations, New Experiences," is available free but requires registration to download. Use this link to review excerpts that include Background, Key Findings, and The Citizens' View.
Spyware Installation Methods, by Benjamin Edelman, updated April 11, 2005. "This page indexes installation methods used by spyware programs and other unwanted software."
"This page features links to World Wide Web sites, PowerPoint slideshows, and other electronic resources used in support of presentations at Computers in Libraries 2005. Links are provided at the discretion of presenters. Additional links will be provided as they become available."
Become.com Goes Live with Web's Largest Search Engine for U.S. Shopping Information [Link]
New Poll Shows Air Travelers Are Strongly Opposed to Lifting the Ban on Cell Phones in Flight, April 7, 2005.
U.S. National Debt Clock - The Outstanding Public Debt as of 12 Apr 2005 at 02:28:37 AM GMT is: $7,797,789,055,078.33
New York Times Editorial, April 10, 2005 - Revising the Patriot Act
Piercing the peer–to–peer myths: An examination of the Canadian experience by Michael Geist, First Monday, volume 10, number 4 (April 2005):
"Canada is in the midst of a contentious copyright reform with advocates for stronger copyright protection maintaining that the Internet has led to widespread infringement that has harmed the economic interests of Canadian artists. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) has emerged as the leading proponent of copyright reform, claiming that peer–to–peer file sharing has led to billions in lost sales in Canada. This article examines CRIA's claims by conducting an analysis of industry figures. It concludes that loss claims have been greatly exaggerated and challenges the contention that recent sales declines are primarily attributable to file–sharing activities."
Goodbye to Privacy, by William Safire, April 10, 2005 New York Times Book Review, focuses on the pervasiveness of electronic data collection of personal information on U.S. citizens, by a range of companies. Two recent books, No Place to Hide and Chatter, Dispatches From the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping detail at great length post 9/11 escalation in surveillance of citizens for purposes associated with security and commerce.
From the School of Information Management and Systems, UC Berkeley, the transcript of oral arguments, March 29, 2005 (55 pages, PDF), in MGM v. Grokster. [The Peer-to-Peer Weblog]
In States Scramble To Protect Data - Dozens of Privacy Bills Introduced After Spate of Security Breaches, the Washington Post reports that privacy legislation is under consideration in 28 states. However, industry support for a carefully crafted response on the federal level presents serious challenges to the future of these bills.
Judge Sentences Man to 9 Years in Prison for Using Fake Internet Addresses to Send Mass E-Mail Ads. Links to relevant legal documents available from JURIST Paper Chase.
Weblogs: Their Use and Application In Science and Technology Libraries (12 pages, PDF), by Geoff Harder and Randy Reichardt.
"Welcome to the Election Monitor, the BBC News website's campaign weblog. From now until polling day, we will be bringing you first-hand reports from around the country from our team of correspondents, as well as the best of the newspapers, choice morsels from the web, and your e-mails." Also provides an RSS feed.
The message on the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Joint Electronic Library website today reads as follows: "This website is under review. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Secrecy News reported "that the site was taken offline overnight after unclassified documents on the site became the subject of news stories and public controversy." This report also links to an archive of some of these documents that are maintained on the Federation of American Scientists' website. Links to additional documents are available via Cryptome (scroll down the page to view the list).