Follow-up to previous postings on the port operations deal
Released: February 28, 2006 - U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006
Follow-up to recent postings on Internet companies and operational issues concerning censorship in China, see this commentary from The Nation, America's Online Censors by Rebecca Mackinnon.
Hearing: Wartime Executive Power and the NSA's Surveillance Authority II, Senate Judiciary Committee, Full Committee, February 28, 2006.
The terrific co-operative blog Slaw posted The Marshall Rothstein Pages, documenting the opinions and writings of the nominee for the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as related news. Thanks to Connie Crosby for the update.
Follow-up to the article that started the relentless investigation into the issue of domestic surveillance...news this evening that the New York Times has sued the Dept. of Defense pursuant to a FOIA request to obtain documents related to the government's monitoring of citizen communications.
Press release: "Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins has introduced a resolution disapproving of the deal that would enable Dubai Ports World (DPW) to purchase Peninsular & Oriental (P & O) without an additional national security review and Congressional consultation. The Senator's resolution directs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to conduct a 45-day investigation to ensure that the sale will not have an adverse effect on national security and to brief Members of Congress on the findings of the investigation before the transaction is allowed to proceed." Senator Collins' floor statement on her resolution is included in this release.
NPR: Identity Theft - Protecting Your Good Name, February 27, 2006. (17 pages, PDF)
New York Times: Cyberthieves Silently Copy Your Passwords as You Type
Strengthening Port Security Through a Multi-Layered Strategy, February 24, 2006: "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has implemented a multi-layered strategy to keep U.S. ports safe and secure. Since 9/11, federal funding for port security has increased by more than 700 percent, new technologies have been deployed, and additional technologies are being developed. To bolster security, $630 million has been provided to our largest ports, including $16.2 million to Baltimore; $32.7 million to Miami; $27.4 million to New Orleans, $43.7 million to New York/New Jersey; and $15.8 million to Philadelphia."
"The ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law and the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice have just released a report evaluating current legal authorities available to meet national disasters and emergencies. The purpose of this study was to examine the legal authorities available to guide the preparation and response to a catastrophic incident, whether from terrorism, accident or natural causes." (55 pages, PDF)
Homeland Security: DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed, GAO-06-150, January 27, 2006. Highlights.
Follow-up to postings on Google's ongoing legal battle with DOJ on the release of database search records, CDT provides a PDF copy of the latest round of briefs, Gonzales v. Google, February 24, 2006, 26 pages.
Follow-up to Calls for Congressional, GAO and Treasury IG Investigations of Port Deal, this announcement from Treasury today: "The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) today welcomed the announcement by Dubai Ports World (DPW) that it will submit for review its proposed acquisition of control of U.S. port terminal operations. Specifically, DPW has asked for a CFIUS review, including the 45-day investigation under the Exon-Florio amendment, based on a restructured transaction that the company intends to file with the Committee. Upon receipt of the new notification, CFIUS will promptly initiate the review process and fulfill DPW's request for a full investigation."
Following up on one, two, three recent posting related to increasing focus on issues related to net neutrality, open access, and e-commerce, see an article today from AP: Future of the Internet Highway Debated. It includes a discussion of the commercial, technical and socio-political issues associated with Internet traffic management (packet prioritization - ) the ability to specify different priority levels for different applications).
Follow-up to National Journal Article Claims Curtailed Gov't Surveillance Program Still Active, from today's New York Times, Taking Spying to Higher Level, Agencies Look for More Ways to Mine Data: "...by fundamentally changing the nature of surveillance, high-tech data mining raises privacy concerns that are only beginning to be debated widely. That is because to find illicit activities it is necessary to turn loose software sentinels to examine all digital behavior whether it is innocent or not."
New York times: Ruling May Undercut Google in Fight Over Its Book Scans
See also this related commentary:
AP reports that Judge Reggie B. Walton has delayed a pivotal decision on whether Libby's defense may have access to highly classified White House briefing documents. "Walton said he is concerned that Libby's request could "sabotage" the case because President Bush probably will invoke executive privilege and refuse to turn over the classified reports."
Follow-up to Correspondence on Libby Indictment Mentions Missing Emails, this report by Jason Leopold states, "The White House turned over last week 250 pages of emails from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office...Sources close to the probe said the White House "discovered" the emails two weeks ago and turned them over to Fitzgerald last week. The sources added that the emails could prove that Cheney lied to FBI investigators when he was interviewed about the leak in early 2004. Cheney said that he was unaware of any effort to discredit Wilson or unmask his wife's undercover status to reporters."
Related legal documents on Libby case:
Press release: "Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), a strong opponent of the outsourcing of U.S. port operations to foreign owned firms, today called for investigations by both the House Government Reform Committee and the Treasury Inspector General into the Bush Administration's approval of the management of U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World. Kaptur also asked the Treasury Inspector General to review any conflict of interest regarding the participation of Treasury Secretary John Snow who chairs the Committee on Foreign Investments, the group which approved the recent contract with Dubai Ports World."
TIA Lives On, by Shane Harris, National Journal, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006: "A controversial counter-terrorism program, which lawmakers halted more than two years ago amid outcries from privacy advocates, was stopped in name only and has quietly continued within the intelligence agency now fending off charges that it has violated the privacy of U.S. citizens."
"The Federation of American Scientists has created an internet resource for biosecurity policy, bioterrorism information, and biodefense research. The organizations listed here represent various perspectives on what actions individual scientists, research institutions, science journals, the public, and government can do to minimize the threat of bioterrorism while maximizing the benefits of life science research."
DoD Press release: Report Charts Iraqi Political, Economic, Security Progress
Why Should Anyone Worry About Whose Communications Bush and Cheney Are Intercepting, If It Helps To Find Terrorists? by John W. Dean
Follow-up to February 22, 2006 posting, Agency Documents Increasingly Withheld From Public Access Through Sensitive Designation, see this press release the same day from NARA:
The National Science Board has released its biennial report to the President, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006, and a companion document, America's Pressing Challenge - Building a Stronger Foundation.
NARA press release: "Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Google Co-Founder and President of Technology Sergey Brin today announced the launch of a pilot program to make holdings of the National Archives available for free online. This non-exclusive agreement will enable researchers and the general public to access a diverse collection of historic movies, documentaries and other films from the National Archives via Google Video as well as the National Archives website."
The following articles appear in the February 24, 2006 New York Times:
From the White House today, The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (Table of Contents in HTML, and PDF version of report, 228 pages). See also the Fact Sheet: The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned
Related government documents:
FTC press release: "In the largest known compromise of financial data to date, CardSystems Solutions, Inc. and its successor, Solidus Networks, Inc., doing business as Pay By Touch Solutions, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that CardSystems' failure to take appropriate security measures to protect the sensitive information of tens of millions of consumers was an unfair practice that violated federal law. According to the FTC, the security breach resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulent purchases. The settlement will require CardSystems and Pay By Touch to implement a comprehensive information security program and obtain audits by an independent third-party security professional every other year for 20 years."
Related documents:
U.S. Government Bookstore - the official online bookstore for U.S. Government publications for purchase from the U.S. Government Printing Office. [via Peggy Garvin]
Guide to Port Databases Online (compiled by Nathan Estey, posted by Michael Ravnitzky)
Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS)
Press release: "A Canadian defendant and his business are permanently banned from selling business directories and listings in those directories to U.S. consumers. To settle the Federal Trade Commission charges they were fraudulently telemarketing directories and listings, the defendant and his mother, another director of the business, will also forfeit all rights to uncashed checks they received because of their scheme. The FTC will be able to return to U.S. consumers those checks that have been seized from the defendants' U.S. mailboxes, worth more than $36,000."
New York Times: Dow Jones Plans to Merge Online and Print Divisions
This DSpace Wiki hosts an alphabetical listing of college and university sponsored searchable, open source repositories, from around the world. Content includes a wide range of topics: biomedical and health sciences, theses, business and economics, library science, history, education, art, architecture, and engineering. Take a look. This is a terrific resource. [Metafilter]
EURES - The European Job Mobility Portal: The easy way to find information on jobs and learning opportunities in Europe.
Related resources:
From OMB Watch: "The explosion in the use by federal agencies of Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) designations to withhold information since the 9/11 terrorist attacks has resulted in uneven policies across agencies and unnecessary restrictions on public access to information, according to a recent American Bar Association report. Such problems have manifested themselves in Connecticut, where state officials are trying to access, and make public, safety information pertaining to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, in order to determine and reduce any risk to the public posed by the plant." [thanks m.r.]
CRS Report: USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271) - "S. 22711 amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the five federal statutes providing national security letter (NSL) authority to federal intelligence investigators in the following manner: (1) it grants recipients of a Section 215 order the express right to petition a FISA judge to modify or quash the nondisclosure requirement that accompanies such an order; (2) it removes the requirement that recipients of Section 215 orders or recipients of NSLs must provide the FBI or the authorized government authority with the name of the attorney they consulted to obtain legal advice concerning the production order or the NSL; and (3) it clarifies that libraries, the services of which include offering patrons access to the Internet, are not subject to NSLs, unless they are functioning as electronic communication service providers."
Follow-up to yesterday's posting, Proposed Sale of Port Operations Raises Serious Concerns on the Hill, related news and government documents, as the controvery escalates:
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army is revising our rule in support of the Freedom of Information Act as required by public law and updating the provisions for access and release of information from all Army information systems (automated and manual) that further supports the Army's Records Management Program. This rule finalizes the proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2004. [Federal Register: February 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 35)][Rules and Regulations][Page 9221-9254] (34 pages, PDF)
CDT: "A new report by CDT details a widening gap between the technology that collects sensitive personal data and the laws designed to protect that data against government misuse. The National Security Agency's domestic spying program, the Justice Department's efforts to obtain millions of Internet search records, the government's use of cell phones to track suspects, and other developments highlight the law's failure to keep pace with technological advances, according to "Digital Search & Seizure: Updating Privacy Protections to Keep Pace with Technology." Stronger laws are needed to ensure that Americans retain their constitutional privacy protections, the report finds."
EPIC: "In a letter sent to state ethical and professional responsibility boards, EPIC warned that there is mounting evidence that attorneys are major purchases of "pretexting" services. Pretexting is the practice of using false pretenses to trick a company into releasing personal information. EPIC urged state boards to evaluate pretexting under ethics rules, and to issue opinions to attorneys advising them not to pretext or hire investigators who use pretexting to obtain information."
Related references:
"Summary: NARA is revising our regulations to provide for the appropriate management and disposition of very short-term temporary e-mail, by allowing agencies to manage these records within the e-mail system." Federal Register, February 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 34)] [Rules and Regulations][Page 8806-8808].
WSJ free feature today: In Search of Presidential Earmarks Pork, a Capitol Hill Staple, Also Is White House Custom, But Much Tougher to Track.
Press release: "Senator Susan Collins, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman sent letters today to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Department of Treasury Secretary John Snow expressing "serious concerns" with the proposed sale of operations at six major U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World (DPW), a company owned by the Dubai-government. The letter was also signed by Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and Ranking Member Carl Levin (D-MI)."
New York Times: Too Many New Gadgets, Too Much Information at Risk: Loss, theft and viruses are major issues as corporate use of handheld devices and pocket PCs increases. Pre-emptive security options are available however, as this article describes.
National Security Archive press release: "The CIA and other federal agencies have secretly reclassified over 55,000 pages of records taken from the open shelves at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), according to a report published today on the World Wide Web by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. Matthew Aid, author of the report and a visiting fellow at the Archive, discovered this secret program through his wide-ranging research in intelligence, military, and diplomatic records at NARA and found that the CIA and military agencies have reviewed millions of pages at an unknown cost to taxpayers in order to sequester documents from collections that had been open for years."
Pacer press release: "In the spirit of the E-Government Act of 2002, modifications have been made to the District Court CM/ECF system to provide PACER customers with access to written opinions free of charge. The modifications also allow PACER customers to search for written opinions using a new report that is free of charge. Written opinions have been defined by the Judicial Conference as "any document issued by a judge or judges of the court sitting in that capacity, that sets forth a reasoned explanation for a court's decision." The responsibility for determining which documents meet this definition rests with the authoring judge."
"GPO Access is providing a link to a preprint version of "A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina" that is hosted on the servers of the Committee. Users should note that this version is not final and is subject to changes and updates at unknown frequencies. The final, official version of the Report, expected in early April and coinciding with the delivery of the official printed version of the Report, will be hosted on GPO Access servers."
M-06-06, Sample Privacy Documents for Agency Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 (February 17, 2006)
"The Business Plan for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)...combines the Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2006 through 2011 and Performance Plan for fiscal year 2006....The FDIC OIG is an independent and objective unit established under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (IG Act). The OIG's mission is to promote the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of FDIC programs and operations, and protect against fraud, waste, and abuse to assist and augment the FDIC's contribution to stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system. In carrying out its mission, the OIG conducts audits, evaluations, and investigations; reviews existing and proposed legislation and regulations; and keeps the FDIC Chairman and the Congress currently and fully informed of problems and deficiencies relating to FDIC programs and operations."
Managing Cybersecurity Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysis "details guidelines for using sound and measurable principles of cost-benefit analysis, as a compliment to gut instinct, to efficiently allocate and manage cybersecurity resources within your organization. Written by two globally acknowledged leaders in the increasingly critical area of cybersecurity (Lawrence A. Gordon and Martin P. Loeb), this comprehensive exploration presents:
They Haven’t Got Mail - The Katrina hearings haven’t only revealed critical information about White House responses to the hurricane. They’ve also uncovered the online secrets of Donald Rumsfeld and Michael Chertoff: "...congressional investigations of government responses to Hurricane Katrina have revealed that two of the nation's key crisis managers, the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, do not use e-mail...Spokesmen for the two officials maintain that Rumsfeld and Chertoff were kept informed during Katrina the same way as they keep in touch during other crises: through aides and a variety of other communications methods..."
New York Times: That Which We Call a Blog...
More terrific research by Michael Ravnitzky has been posted to the Memory Hole. Minutes of the Legislative Reference Service, 1947-1953, The Forerunner of the Congressional Research Service (26 pages, PDF).
Following up on a controversial demand made by DOJ to major search engine companies for extensive database records, Google this afternoon posted the following response on their official blog: "In August, Google was served with a subpoena from the U. S. Department of Justice demanding disclosure of two full months' worth of search queries that Google received from its users, as well as all the URLs in Google's index. We objected to the subpoena, which started a set of legal procedures that puts the issue before the Federal courts. Below is the introduction to our response to the Department of Justice's motion to the court to force us to comply with the subpoena. You can find the entire response here. (This is a 25-page PDF file.)"
Disaster Preparedness: Preliminary Observations on the Evacuation of Hospitals and Nursing Homes Due to Hurricanes, GAO-06-443R, February 16, 2006.
Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAS) and Settlement Agreements with Integrity Provisions, 2/16/06.
AP, Judge Weighs Libby's Request for Documents - The special prosecutor contends that Libby's demand for unprecedented access to an extensive range of classified White House documents "is a transparent effort at 'greymail'."
Relevant government documents (via firedoglake):
FTC press release: "The primary reforms to the merger review process establish presumptions that the FTC will: (1) limit the number of employees required to provide information in response to a second request, provided the party complies with specified conditions; (2) reduce the time period for which a party must provide documents in response to the second request; (3) allow a party to preserve far fewer backup tapes and produce documents on those tapes only when responsive documents are not available through more accessible sources; and (4) significantly reduce the amount of information parties must submit regarding documents they consider to be privileged."
Follow-up to a series of recent postings on the growing controversy concerning NASA's policy to limit public access to accurate scientific documents on global warming.
"Five independent investigators of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are calling on the United States to close immediately the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay and bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them." (The report, 54 pages, PDF).
Follow-up to yesterday's posting, Investigation into Domestic Spying Program Blocked, today AP reports Justice Argues Against Ashcroft Testimony, and the New York Times reports Senate Panel Decides Against Eavesdropping Investigation, at Least for Now.
"In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit (PDF) filed by EPIC, a federal judge has ordered (PDF) the Department of Justice to process and release documents related to the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program by March 8. It is the first court opinion addressing the controversial domestic spying operation. "President Bush has invited meaningful debate about the warrantless surveillance program," U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy wrote. "That can only occur if DOJ processes [EPIC's] FOIA requests in a timely fashion and releases the information sought."
Responding to Security Incidents on a Large Academic Network: by Jamie Riden 02/14/06 (9 pages, PDF). "This paper describes a series of security incidents on a large academic network, and the gradual evolution of measures to deal with emerging threats."
DHS Has Not Implemented An Information Security Program for Its Intelligence Systems (Unclassified Summary) (PDF, 3 pages), 2/16/2006.
From Marcus P. Zillman, news of his latest Accessibility Resources White Paper Link Compilation.
Social Security Numbers: Coordinated Approach to SSN Data Could Help Reduce Unauthorized Work, GAO-06-458T, February 16, 2006. Highlights.
Follow-up to yesterday's posting, Declassifying Gov. Docs. For Libby Defense, today Steven Aftergood provides a detailed analysis of the powers of the President and Vice President, respectively, in declassifying national security information. As Steven explains, Executive Order 13292, issued by President Bush, contains language that "dramatically elevates the Vice President's classification authority to that of the President..." However, Aftergood notes that the VP's authority to declassify documents atuhored by other executive branch agency heads (such as CIA) is not necessarily clear. Please refer to his posting for more details.
Follow-up to postings on Plame CIA leak [see specifically Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information,
by Murray Waas, National Journal, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006], tonight AP reports: "Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."
Follow-up to House Cmte. Seeks Operations Docs. from Websites Selling Cell Phone Records, "House Energy and Commerce Committee investigators have identified people behind 22 Web pages that may offer criminals, stalkers and any other paying customer the detailed records of a person's private telephone calls."
House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, February 15, 2006 Hearing, The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression?
Links to statements and testimony below are in PDF: