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."

Following up on a series of postings included in Authority of Vast Collaborative Online Encyclopedia Questioned, please see this related article, Nature 438, 900-901 (15 December 2005), Special Report, Internet encyclopaedias go head to head, by Jim Giles: "Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia comes close to Britannica in terms of the accuracy of its science entries, a Nature investigation finds."

Related references:

Follow-up on NBC Reports on DOD Surveillance of American Anti-War Activists, from William M. Arkin's Early Warning blog today: "The Pentagon now says that it has ordered a "review" of the collection of information about U.S. citizens, particularly those who pose no plausible terrorist threat.."

"Our new and improved Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System is here! It will feature global free-text searching across all series and files, in addition to our standard fielded search, and easier and faster ways to find the series and files you want." Users may browse by categories that include: Genealogy/Personal History; Private Sector; Places; Wars/International Relations; and Government Spending. Browse by Subject is also available.

Yesterday, I posted a series of links detailing Congressional and advocacy groups' opposition to the reauthorization of H.R. 3199, the PATRIOT Act. Today, the House voted 251 to 174 in favor of the bill. It moves to the Senate for a floor vote on Friday. However, strong opposition promises this will be a contentious battle. And news that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is supporting a delay in the vote, as well as a filibuster if necessary.

AP reports Bush to Ease Public Access to Information, via an Executive Order signed this afternoon. According to White House press secretary Scott McClellan's statements at the briefing today: "The order requires agencies to designate a senior official as the chief officer for Freedom of Information Act requests. They'll be responsible for agency-wide implementation of the response, or of this disclosure of information. Under the order, each agency will also be required to take a close look at their programs, identify areas in which it can do better, and then map out a plan for the agency to implement those improvements in the coming fiscal years of '06 and '07. And agencies will also designate public liaisons to serve as a second level to respond to inquiries from those who are requesting information, to assist in resolving issues after staff in those centers have done their best."

As a follow-up to Administration Presents Strategy For Victory in Iraq, today the President Discusses Iraqi Elections, Victory in the War on Terror, The Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D.C.: "When we made the decision to go into Iraq, many intelligence agencies around the world judged that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. This judgment was shared by the intelligence agencies of governments who did not support my decision to remove Saddam. And it is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As President, I'm responsible for the decision to go into Iraq -- and I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities."

Press release: "House Democrats released a new report today outlining the failures of the Republican Congress to meet the immediate needs of families impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Americans endured unprecedented tragedy and destruction from hurricanes Katrina and Rita but the Congress has failed to provide adequate housing, education and medical services to the victims – even now more than 100 days later."

Is the Pentagon spying on Americans? Secret database obtained by NBC News tracks 'suspicious' domestic groups.

Every Move You Make, Part Three: Why Law Enforcement Should Have to Get a Warrant Before Tracking Us Via our Cell Phones, by Anita Ramasastry.

"Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the only advocacy group dedicated to ensuring the privacy, reliability and integrity of information systems, today called on the federal government to assert greater leadership in the protection our information infrastructure in 2006. Its release of the National Agenda for Government Action on Information Security (11 pages, PDF) identifies 13 specific actions required to improve information security for consumers, industry, and governments globally. As part of the Agenda, CSIA also provides a report of the government's limited progress in information security in 2005 and releases a new Digital Confidence Index that reflects the public's lack of confidence in our nation's critical infrastructure." [Link]

FTC press release: "Satellite television provider DIRECTV will pay $5,335,000 to settle FTC charges that, since October 2003, DIRECTV and companies it hired to promote DIRECTV programming have been violating the Do Not Call (DNC) provisions of the Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). This is the largest civil penalty the FTC has ever announced in a case enforcing any consumer protection law."

Press release: "Diebold, Incorporated today announced senior management changes instituted by its board of directors. Walden W. O'Dell, Diebold chairman and chief executive officer, has resigned from the company and its board of directors, effective immediately."

Following up on yesterday's Bipartisan Coalition Seeks 3 Month Extension on Expiration of Patriot Act Provisions, today EPIC posted internal FBI documents obtained from a FOIA lawsuit against the DOJ, detailing government use of controversial sections of the Patriot Act scheduled for reauthorization by year's end. EPIC's requests for further documents are pending, and may take several more months to fulfill.

Press release: "Rep. Waxman asks the House and Senate Armed Forces Committees to remove a provision in the pending National Defense Authorization Act that would weaken the nation's open government laws by exempting "operational records" of the Defense Intelligence Agency from the Freedom of Information Act."

Follow-up to Deal Reached on Patriot Act Reauthorization Amid Wide Disagreement, this press release today: "Senator Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.), the ranking Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, has forged a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators that introduced a bill Monday to extend the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act to give Congress more time to improve a proposed rewrite of the PATRIOT Act that they believe is flawed on several counts."

Press release: "HarperCollins Publishers today announced they will create a digital warehouse for all of its content and will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) this month as part of an effort to develop the necessary technical infrastructure to broadly exploit its content digitally. The plan is the first step in satisfying the demands of the marketplace, which is increasingly requiring that content be made available online and in numerous formats, while allowing the publisher to remain in control of its digital files and intellectual property."

As a follow-up to previous postings concerning voting rights violations and the 2003 Texas redistricting, today's report from Bloomberg: "The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments that a Texas redistricting plan engineered by former U.S. House Republican Leader Tom DeLay illegally diluted minority voting rights and was so partisan it violated the Constitution."

This text will self-destruct in 40 seconds - Next year self-deleting emails and photo messages too.: "Staellium UK said that its StealthText service will allow business executive dealing in sensitive information to send texts which will delete themselves from the recipient's mobile phone as soon as the person has read them."

Electronic Waste: Strengthening the Role of the Federal Government in Encouraging Recycling and Reuse. GAO-06-47, November 10, 2005. Highlights

From FAS: "In 2002, the Los Alamos National Laboratory terminated public access to thousands of unclassified reports on nuclear science and technology as well as other historical and policy-related publications that had formerly been available on the Lab's web site as part of its Library Without Walls initiative. Fortunately, almost all of the withdrawn reports were acquired and preserved in the public domain by researchers Gregory Walker and Carey Sublette. The document titles are indexed in four parts." [Link]

KMWorld & Intranets 2005 — Presentation Links. Topics include: Applying KM Strategies, Cultural Issues of KM, Collaborative Environments, Strategies & Practices, Strategies & Practices, Content Integration, Making Intranets Work, Building the Intranet, and Keeping Up with Intranet Trends.

Newsweek - Google: Ten Golden Rules - Getting the most out of knowledge workers will be the key to business success for the next quarter century. Here's how we do it at Google.

Posted today by TIME magazine: What Viveca Novak Told Fitzgerald, by Viveca Novak. Ms. Novak is now apparently on a "leave of absence" from TIME.

Related news:

LA Times: Was Focus of Patriot Act Debate a Dodge? - The 'library provision' took center stage, but critics say subpoena-like national security letters, widely used by the FBI, deserve greater scrutiny.

Canada drafts proposals to shield personal data from U.S. anti-terror law, Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press, December 11, 2005: "A federal proposal would allow government departments to immediately cancel a contract with an American firm if it hands personal information about Canadians to U.S. anti-terrorism investigators."

Related links:

Wired: This brief, concise article, Worker Privacy: You Have None, clearly articulates relevant issues related to monitoring all aspects of employee web usage.

"Online Rights Canada (ORC) is a grassroots organization that promotes the public's interest in technology and information policy. We believe that Canadians should have a voice in copyright law, access to information, freedom from censorship, and other issues that we face in the digital world." [press release]

Following-up on my December 2, 2005 posting, DOJ Memo Determined Voting Rights Violations Resulting From Texas Redistricting, with two related articles documenting the administration response to the controversy:

News about administration use of propaganda is further documented in this December 10 New York Times article, Military's Information War Is Vast and Often Secretive.

Too Much Information? Colleges Fear Student Postings On Popular 'Facebook' Site Could Pose Security Risks

Saving Starts @ Home: The Insider Story on Conserving Energy, uses a graphic representing key areas in a home (trash room, garage, utility room, living room, kitchen and attic) from which you may choose to be directed for information on energy saving facts and recommendations respective to each room.

Tens of thousands mistakenly matched to terrorist watch lists

From WSJ free features, Project Gutenberg Fears No Google is a Q&A with Project Gutenberg's founder, Michael Hart (the inventor of ebooks). His vision and determination are reflected in this project, which has been sustained for over three decades. The site, which currently offers over 17,000 full text books, has a million downloads per week.

Press release: "A report requested by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, and Rep. Charlie Melancon finds that since 2002 (HHS Report, 96 pages, PDF), the effectiveness of the National Disaster Medical System – a key component of the nation’s emergency response capacity -- has been eroded by mismanagement, bureaucratic reshuffling, and inadequate funding. As a result, when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the system was unprepared, resulting in major failures in the medical response."

Until today, Valerie Plame worked for the CIA's Counterproliferation Division. The investigation into which government personnel were responsible for leaking her identity remains ongoing.

Related news:

The U.S. Department of Labor Compliance Assistance Homepage now "enables users to quickly and easily navigate DOL's wide range of regulatory and compliance information any time, day or night." Included are links to: Compliance E-Tools; an Updated Employment Law Guide; an online wage determinations program; and a feature to subscribe to elaws E-mail Updates.

The USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future has released the 2005 Digital Future Report ($). The report highlights are available free (19 pages, PDF), and note an increased use of the Internet for political campaigns, the continued popularity of email, and a significant expansion in the use of broadband access to the Internet.

Press release: "More than three years before the 9/11 attack on the United States, U.S. officials warned Saudi Arabia that Osama bin Laden "might take the course of least resistance and turn to a civilian [aircraft] target," according to a declassified cable released by the National Security Archive today. The warning was made by the U.S. regional security officer and a civil aviation official in Riyadh based on a public threat bin Laden made against "military passenger aircraft" and his statement that "we do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians."

ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline, Volume 14, Number 121, December 8, 2005.

National Summit on Competitiveness, Investing In U.S. Innovation, December 6, 2005 (8 pages, PDF).

Press release: "The Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent [a] letter to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito seeking more information relating to his nomination to be Associate Justice. In their letter, Senators have asked Judge Alito to provide information omitted from the questionnaire, including material that is publicly available. Judge Alito submitted his questionnaire to the Committee last week."

DOJ's Semiannual Report to Congress: April 1, 2005 -- September 30, 2005, Report prepared by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General.

Press release, December 6, 2005: "Governor George E. Pataki today announced that he has directed the Division of Criminal Justice Services to, for the first time ever, gather DNA from the broadest range of convicted criminals permitted under current law. This will result in the addition of as many as 40,000 profiles to the State’s DNA Database by the end of next year."

Press release: Phishing attacks aimed at identity theft now affect roughly one in four Americans (23%) each month, according to the second annual AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study (11 pages, PDF). Additionally, more than two-thirds of consumers (70%) who received such scam e-mails thought they were from legitimate companies, putting them at high risk of losing sensitive personal information to identity thieves or criminals. The AOL/NCSA Online Safety Study is the largest study of its kind, sending technical experts into hundreds of typical homes to examine personal computers for known security risks and threats."

IRS press release: "The Internal Revenue Service...issued proposed guidance on the disclosure or use of tax return information by tax return preparers. A key principle underlying the proposed guidance is that tax return preparers may not disclose or use tax return information for purposes other than tax return preparation without the knowing, informed and voluntary consent of the taxpayer."

News reports this afternoon on the compromise reached by the House and Senate on Patriot Act reauthorization include the strong caveat that not all Senators are satisfied (see statements as follows, from Leahy and Feingold), and opposition continues (specifically from the so-called gang of six). Although 16 provisions will now sunset in four as opposed to seven years (including library subpoenas and roving wiretaps), the contentious debate over whether this agreement adequately protects a range of civil liberties may provoke a filibuster.

Internet Management: Prevalence of False Contact Information for Registered Domain Names, GAO-06-165, November 4, 2005. Highlights.

GAA now provides daily updates of reports and testimony via RSS. Just click on the orange RSS button on the front page, for further information. [JoAnna Berry, Reference and Research, Government Accountability Office]

WSJ free feature: Tech Blogs Produce New Elite to Help Track The Industry's Issues

"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 information related to the Philippines and contract abuses involving the District of Columbia."

Google's Empire, Privacy, and Government Access to Personal Data, by Daniel J. Solove.

Information overload a potential problem for Federal Docket Management System

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 law by failing to comply with FOIA requests [Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW]."

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 librarian; Free vs. for-fee information; The "Library" brand."

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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 suit filed today in the federal district of Northern New York. The lawsuit, brought by the co-directors of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), charges that the agency violated settled law by failing to provide requested information. Further, the agency didn't even explain the grounds under which it is withholding information about employees working in more than 250 federal agencies."

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 each time your elected officials vote." Thanks to Adrian Holovaty and Derek Willis for creating this resource.

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:

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.

Follow-up to postings on government sponsored propaganda: today the Military Explains News Propaganda in Iraq.

Following up on this posting, Agencies Use FOIA Exemptions in Response to Increasing Number of Requests, news that a trio of Florida newspapers owned by Gannett, Inc. who filed a FOIA request to obtain FEMA surveys comprising homeowner data on 2004 hurricane relief services, were denied the information. FEMA cited the confidentiality exemption, and the newspapers have appealed the decision.

AP: GOP Wants to Create Secretive Gov't Agency

Follow up to Media Challenges Withholding Publication of Plame Investigation Documents, November 14, 2005:

News today about the DOJ's 2003 memo concerning the Congressional redistricting plan enacted by the Texas Legislature (Texas House Bill 3). The text of the document (73 pages, PDF), has been published by the Lone Star Project. From the document: "The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect."

Following up on an archive of postings on the Cheney Energy Task Force investigation, the embers of this controversy are still glowing:

Press release, UK Cabinet Office, November 24, 2005: "The UK Cabinet Office...published a comprehensive report on accessibility of government online services across the European Union (EU). Highlighted examples of good practice are, Spain Social Security Administration, UK Department of Health and European Central Bank. These websites show how good design features such as clear layout, simple background with good contrast and features that are linked from the Home Page can have a significant impact on accessibility and usability. The report revealed that only 3% of the 436 online public service websites achieved a Level A rating which is considered to be the minimum standard under the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. A further 10% achieved limited level A and 17% marginal fail Level A. The remaining 70% were found to fail Level A. No websites tested reached the higher double A standard."