A running total of the U.S. taxpayer cost of the Iraq War is provided by the National Priorities Project, using data from Congressional appropriations. The war in Iraq costs, to date, are in excess of $230 billion. Iraq coalition casualties now number 2,178. Bush says 30,000 Iraqis dead since invasion began.

The Staffordshire magistrates' court recently tested the use of a "pay up or get locked up" text message to offenders, with a surprising level of success. Evidently, the technology may be more widely embraced in future by courts as an additional mechanism to collect outstanding fines: "Everyone's got a mobile phone and as one of the most common ways to keep in touch these days, it makes sense for the courts to contact offenders that way too."

New information related to yesterday's posting, NSA Website Discontinues Tracking Users After Objections, and in reference to U.S. to Investigate Contractor's Use of Internet Tracking Technologies on White House Web Site. This evening, AP reported that David Almacy, White House Internet and E-Communications Director, announced that the government website is not in violation of privacy guidelines that prohibit the use of cookies. The site does use web bugs, which it claims are not matched with the use of cookies. By way of further clarification, a "bug" is a small eavesdropping device.

Follow-up to my December 22 posting, House Approves 5 Week Extension for Patriot Act, news from AP that Bush Signs Patriot Act Extension at Ranch.

"The Annual Energy Outlook presents a midterm forecast and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030. The projections are based on results from the Energy Information Administration's National Energy Modeling System. The AEO2006 Early Release includes the reference case. The full publication, to be released in early 2006, will include complete documentation and additional cases examining energy markets." [Release date: December 2005]

As a result of the New York Times article published on December 15 of this year, as reported by CNN and AP: "The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of classified information about President Bush's secret domestic spying program."

Related references:

LA Times (reg. req'd), Pentagon Calls Its Pro-U.S. Websites Legal: "U.S. military websites that pay journalists to write articles and commentary supporting military activities in Europe and Africa do not violate U.S. law or Pentagon policies, a review by the Pentagon's chief investigator has concluded. But a senior Defense Department official said this week that the websites could still be shut down to avoid the appearance of impropriety."

Related references:

From the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, a Domestic Surveillance Discussion, between two Federalist Society members, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Robert Levy (10 pages, PDF).

Press release: NCSL's Top Ten Legislative Issues Forecast For 2006.

Press release: HSUS Top 12 Animal Stories of 2005.

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006, 125th edition (link to table of contents, with text available in PDF).

President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE), Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency Compendium of OIG Hurricane Oversight in the Gulf States, published 12/12/05 (18 pages, PDF).

Sydney Morning Herald: US military finds soldiers' blogs too close for comfort: "In a development that is worrying US military commanders in Iraq, a growing number of US soldiers - 200 at the last count - have set up their own blogs, or internet diaries, and are updating them from the battlefield."

Press release: Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) released a report today showing that more than four years after 9/11 the federal government still does not have working systems for getting law enforcement officers the information they need to identify terrorists and to thwart their plans. The report, Beyond Connecting the Dots: A VITAL Framework for Sharing Law Enforcement Intelligence Information (52 pages, PDF), finds that frontline law enforcement officers are often unable to access intelligence information that could be critical to catching terrorists at our borders, our ports, our cities, and our towns throughout America."

Following up on yesterday's posting, NSA Website Uses Cookies Despite Prohibition, from today's New York Times: Spy Agency Removes Illegal Tracking Files.

Department of Homeland Security, office of Inspector General report: Major Management Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security, December 2005 (26 pages, PDF).

Analyzing and Visualizing the Semantic Coverage of Wikipedia and Its Authors, by Todd Holloway, Miran Bozicevic, Katy Börner:

EPIC: "As a student at Princeton University, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito put together a remarkable report on the future of privacy in America. EPIC has obtained a complete copy of the report and, in cooperation with the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University."

Press release: "A wide-ranging look at the way American women and men use the internet shows that men continue to pursue many internet activities more intensively than women, and that men are still first out of the blocks in trying the latest technologies. At the same time, there are trends showing that women are catching up in overall use and are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on deepening connections with people."

AP reports that the NSA website has continued to use cookies to track user access of the site, despite strict prohibitions against such practices:

Small Contractors Fail to Use Free Government Services: On August 15, 2005, the National Association of Government Contractors (NAGC) released the results of a survey of government contractors nationwide...One of the more surprising results of the survey revealed that more than half of those contractors responding to the survey were not registered with FedBizOpps.gov, the single government point-of entry for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000. Commercial vendors may access information through this single portal free of charge. J.R. Claeys, President of NAGC, is concerned that small businesses aren’t tapping into this valuable resource. "Something must be done to reinforce the legitimacy of this resource and modify the perception that only large businesses are able to compete for contracts."

DOT Report on Significant Rulemakings, December 2005 Complete Report

Secret court modified wiretap requests - Intervention may have led Bush to bypass panel, by Stewart M. Powell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Washington Bureau.

Related commentary, references and postings:

Press release: "A House Committee on Homeland Security investigative report prepared for Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) and Committee Democrats finds that the Department of Homeland Security has left 33 separate promises to strengthen aspects of homeland security unresolved ahead of the New Year."

Congress Ready to Tackle Tech Issues in 2006 - Spyware, data security, and telecom reform will be on the agenda next year.

The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years - Here's PC World's official (and entirely idiosyncratic) list of the top tech gadgets of the last half century.

National Archives Opens Additional Samuel Alito Records

Brophy, Alfred L., The Relationship between Law Review Citations and Law School Rankings (December 2005). U of Alabama Public Law Research Paper.

Thanks to Kevin Heller, Mike Cernovich, and Evan Schaeffer, whose Blawg Review Awards 2005 recognized beSpacific as best Legal Support Blog. Take a look at the terrific blogs that were recognized in 43 categories. Thanks also for recognizing beSpacific in Dennis Kennedy's 2005 Best of Legal Blogging Awards, in the Best Legal Blog Category - Law Librarian Blogs. Kudos to the terrific bloggers mentioned: The Law Librarian Blog, Out of the Jungle, Law Dawg Blawg, WisBlawg, Vancouver Law Library Blog, Stark County Library Blog, Library Boy, LawLibTech, Connie Crosby, BarclayBlog, and Slaw.ca

As reported by ClickZ News, the Washington Post.com will now provide access to articles for a 60 day period following publication, according to James M. Brady, Executive Editor. Prior to this, articles were archived after 14 days. Extending access to readers, via blogs and RSS, is credited as a key reason for the change.

Following up on December 19, 2005 posting, Google Satellite Imagery Stirs Security Concerns Here and Abroad, Israel National News reports that the Goggle Earth satellite imagery will now offer users limited resolution of sensitive military installations in the country.

From Barron's Online (subscription req'd), Unwarranted Executive Power - The pursuit of terrorism does not authorize the president to make up new laws, by Thomas G. Donlan, Editorial Page Editor.

New York Times: The Agency That Could Be Big Brother: "...the N.S.A. has suddenly taken center stage in a political firestorm. The controversy over whether the president broke the law when he secretly ordered the N.S.A. to bypass a special court and conduct warrantless eavesdropping on American citizens has even provoked some Democrats to call for his impeachment."

New York Times: NSA spying inquiry may be expanded, "Congressional officials said Saturday that they wanted to investigate the disclosure that the National Security Agency (NSA) had gained access to some of the country's main telephone arteries to glean data on possible terrorists."

Ex-Powell Aide Moves From Insider to Apostate

RSS Aggregation - Part 1: The Partnership

AP: "The use of warrantless wiretaps on American citizens was never discussed when Congress authorized the White House to use force against al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks, says former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle."

The Independent Online: "Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years."

Privacy advocates and legal scholars are speculating on and commenting about the ramifications of the surveillance program encompassing an even wider arena of communications than previously considered to be the case.

NARA press release: "The National Archives at College Park will release 45 documents relating to Samuel Alito. These records total 744 pages from Record Group 60, Records of the Department of Justice, Files of John Bolton, Michael Carvin, Roger Clegg, Stephen Galebach, Brian Landsberg, Mark Levin, and Richard Willard....The National Archives found the documents, consisting of memoranda and other documents, in various folders in the files of these individuals during the processing of additional FOIA requests."

Do Travel Search Engines Deliver? An Examination of the Leading Sites, December 21, 2005.

How to Write Better Passwords, by Sarah D. Scalet

Permitted & Prohibited Items, Prepare for Takeoff, December 2005.

Following up on previous postings on the FBI's virtual case file system, see Information Technology: Responses to Subcommittee Post-Hearing Questions Regarding the FBI's Management Practices and Acquisition of a New Investigative Case Management System, GAO-06-302R, December 21, 2005.

Google's Great Works in Progress - Academics point to content errors in the ongoing Book program, but the search giant says fixes are coming

Following up on news that Judge Robinson resigned from the FISA court in protest over the administration's warrantless surveillance program, related commentary and articles:

AP: "The House passed a five-week extension of the Patriot Act on Thursday and sent it to the Senate as Congress scrambled to prevent expiration of anti-terror law enforcement provisions on Dec. 31."

Via FAS: "The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was created by section 103(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1803(a)). It was originally comprised of seven district judges from seven circuits named by the Chief Justice of the United States to serve a maximum of 7 years. In 2001, the U.S.A. Patriot Act (section 208) amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to increase the number of FIS Court judges from seven to eleven, "of whom no fewer than 3 shall reside within 20 miles of the District of Columbia."

Press release: "House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on her request to the Director of National Intelligence to declassify a letter she wrote several years ago to the Bush Administration expressing concerns about the activities of the National Security Agency."

Will Fair Use Survive? Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control (76 pages, PDF), by Marjorie Heins and Tricia Beckles, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Free Expression Policy Project, December 2005.

Press release, December 20, 2005: "U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a bipartisan group of Senate Intelligence Committee members today called for a joint inquiry by the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees into the President's authorization of domestic electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens."

Related reference:

Office of Management and Budget report, Expanding E-Government: Improved Service Delivery for the American People Using Information Technology, December 2005.

A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities - A 24-City Survey, December 2005 (105 pages, PDF)

Report prepared by the Minority Staff of the House Judiciary Committee, The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War (273 pages, HTML link to Table of Contents)

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, December 19, 2005: "The Internet is growing at an annualized rate of 18% and now has one billion users. A second billion users will follow in the next ten years, bringing a dramatic change in worldwide usability needs...According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together.

From the Yahoo Search Blog: Open Shortcuts (beta) are custom keywords that take you directly to a site, a search, or start a task right from the search box...To use an Open Shortcut, you type !(exclamation point) followed by the name of the shortcut in the Yahoo! Search box. For example, type: !ebay lamps. This takes you directly to www.ebay.com and searches for lamps.

Effectiveness and Enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act: A Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress, December 2005 (116 pages, PDF):

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III (M.D. PA), Kitzmiller v. Dover (139 pages, PDF)

In following postings on the revelations on the Domestic Surveillance Program, see the text of this Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence, December 19, 2005.

Press release: "According to new documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the FBI is using counterterrorism resources to monitor and infiltrate domestic political organizations that criticize business interests and government policies, despite a lack of evidence that the groups are engaging in or supporting violent action."

Press release: "In the wake of revelations that the Bush administration authorized the warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens in 2002, the National Security Archive reposted its National Security Agency Declassified electronic briefing book, first published in January 2000 and updated as recently as this year. President Bush's recent admission that he authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on U.S. persons without obtaining a warrant has focused the nation's attention on the authorities and regulations governing this sensitive issue. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) specifically prohibits domestic surveillance by the NSA, the nation's largest intelligence agency, unless it gets permission to do so from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court."

Google Offers a Bird's-Eye View, and Some Governments Tremble

UN Global E-government Readiness Report 2005 (PDF): "The UN Global E-government Survey 2005 presents a comparative ranking of the countries of the world according to two primary indicators: i) the state of e-government readiness; and ii) the extent of e-participation. Constructing a model for the measurement of digitized services, the Survey assesses the 191 member states of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-government readiness based on website assessment; telecommunication infrastructure and human resource endowment....According to the global e-government readiness rankings in 2005, the United States is the world leader followed by Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in that order. Among the developing countries the Republic of Korea leads with Singapore, Estonia, Malta and Chile close behind."

Following up on related postings in the past several days, see the following references, resources, statements and news:

Today the The National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas School of Law announced the availability of a website which currently provides access to over 200 CRS reports on agriculture and food law policy related issues. The site's content will continue to expand, and currently provides users with a subject index comprising 22 listings.

Following-up on Proposals for Expanded Domestic Surveillance to Obtain Actionable Data, today's Washington Post article, Pushing the Limits Of Wartime Powers, sheds further light on the existence and operations of the Counterintelligence Field Activity, and the use of its Talon antiterrorism database.

From the White House, December 16, 2005: "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies. Guidelines and Requirements in Support of the Information Sharing Environment:

"The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) announces the availability of the ARL Academic Law Library Statistics 2003–04. This publication presents compilations and rankings of data that describe collections, expenditures, personnel, and services in 77 law libraries at ARL member institutions throughout North America."

Music Search: Use Google to get quick access to a wide range of music information. For details, see the Official Google Blog posting.

The revelation of previously undisclosed domestic surveillance operations, documented in by the New York Times in the December 15 article which apparently had been withheld from publication for a year, has generated considerable controversy and bipartisan reaction calling for a Congressional probe.

Press release: "...Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced the Digital Age Communications Act (DACA), S. 2113, 50 pages, PDF. The bill creates a communications regulation system that is market-oriented, competition-based and grounded in sound economic principles."

Following-up on this November 24 posting, FOI Requests Made By Media Outpaced By Non Partisan Research Archive, additional details and the availability of complete FOI logs from 2000-2004 (in either Excel of zipped PDF), and the logs from 2004 to present (in either Excel or zipped PDF).

As noted, this week marked a dramatic shift in Senate support for Patriot Act reauthorization without substantive reforms to the White House backed bill. Today a bipartisan group of Senators blocked the the bill's approval (the vote was 52-47), noting other recent revelations about secret government surveillance as having an impact on their decision.

Press release: Senator Feinstein Releases Nonpartisan CRS Report that Concludes Congress Did Not Have Access to Full Scope of Prewar Intelligence.

CRS Report, Congress as a Consumer of Intelligence Information, December 14, 2005:

In the Kingdom of the Half-Blind, by Bill Moyers. "This is the prepared text of the address delivered on December 9, 2005, by Bill Moyers for the 20th anniversary of the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute and library at The George Washington University, in Washington D.C."

Federal Government Scores, December 15, 2005, American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Commentary by Professor Claes Fornell: "Since 2003, the ACSI has also measured satisfaction with Federal government websites. This year, the ACSI e-Government index rose 2.5% from 72.1 a year ago, up to a score of 73.9. Much like offline government services, there is a wide gap between the best performing government websites (two websites score 88) and the worst performing (two score 54). Furthermore, while an impressive 18% of the measured websites score 80 or better, 21% score below 70. In other words, although government websites are generally satisfying, some individual websites still have work to do to provide a satisfying experience."

New York Times: Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say, by James Risen and Eric Lichtblau: "Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials."