An Examination of the Call to Censure the President, Senate Judiciary Committee, Full Committee, March 31, 2006

Press release: "Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today issued the agency's 2006 Annual Report at the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting in Washington, DC. The report, entitled "The FTC in 2006: Committed to Consumers and Competition," (62 pages, PDF) is available now on the Commission's Web site and includes sections on the FTC's competition and consumer protection missions and recent accomplishments, as well as a summary of the policy tools it uses to complement its array of law enforcement and international outreach and coordination efforts."

Press release, Thursday, March 30, 2006: The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved by voice vote S. 2389, the Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act, which prevents unscrupulous companies and individuals from fraudulently obtaining consumers' private phone records in a deceptive practice known as "pretexting." ...The Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act, which covers wireless, wireline, and IP telephony services, makes it illegal to acquire, use or sell a person’s confidential phone records without that person’s affirmative written consent, which can be given electronically. Under the bill, a carrier must notify a customer if someone without authorization gains access to their phone records. It also specifically clarifies that the practice of fraudulent pretexting is illegal, and charges the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with concurrent enforcement."

Iraq Index: Tracking Variables of Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, Brookings Institution, March 30, 2006 (52 pages, PDF)

Press release, MArch 30, 2006: "Transparency in federal courtrooms today scored a victory when legislation introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, to allow federal trial and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courtroom passed the Senate Judiciary Committee...The bipartisan "Sunshine in the Courtroom" bill would allow federal trial and appellate judges, at their sole discretion, to permit cameras in their courtrooms. The bill would also direct the Judicial Conference, the principal policy-making entity for the federal courts, to draft nonbinding guidelines that judges can refer to in making a decision pertaining to the coverage of a particular case...Forty-eight states currently permit some form of audio-video coverage in their courtrooms and at least 37 directly televise trials. Studies and surveys conducted in many of those states have confirmed that electronic media coverage of trials boosts public understanding of the court system without interfering with court proceedings. Fifteen states have conducted studies aimed specifically at the educational benefits that are derived from camera access to courtrooms. They all determined that camera coverage contributes to greater public understanding of the judicial system."

WSJ free feature: More U.S. Households Are Ditching Landline Phones for Wireless

As previously noted in a series of postings this year, DOJ has sought, and obtained, voluminous data search records from companies including Yahoo, MSN and Verizon. Today, InformationWeek reported that their FOIA request yielded 54 documents [made available in a Zip archive], that include subpoenas, replies, and related legal documents involving 34 ISPs, search companies and security software firms.

Prewar Intelligence - Insulating Bush, by Murray Waas, National Journal, Thursday, March 30, 2006.

Social Security Numbers: More Could be Done to Protect SSNs, Full text GAO-06-586T, and Highlights. March 30, 2006.

From Barbie Selby, current Chair of the Depository Library Council, links to the following documents:

Federal Rulemaking: Perspectives on 10 Years of Congressional Review Act Implementation, Full text GAO-06-601T, and Highlights. March 30, 2006.

Press release: "The highest responsibility of government is to protect the security of every American,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "After five years of Republican incompetence, Americans have had enough. They expect and demand policies that are tough and smart. They deserve Real Security."

The War on Terrorism: How Prepared is the Nation's Capital? (Part II), 3/29/06. Links to prepared testimony, in PDF.

March 28, 2006 - FBI's Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Request, Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, FBI, Before the House Appropriations Committee.

Transportation Security Administration's Information Technology Managed Services Contract, OIG-06-23, February 2006 (PDF, 44 pages) - New 03/30/2006

Press release: "Rep. Waxman and other committee members announce they will introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the President to submit to Congress all documents relating to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which the President signed on February 8. The version the President signed was different in substance from the version the House passed on February 1, 2006."

Follow-up to yesterday's posting, Judiciary Cmte. Holds Hearing on NSA Wiretapping, in today's New York Times, Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program.

In a letter sent yesterday to President Bush, the nine Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence again called for all 20 members of the committee to be briefed on the details of the NSA surveillance program. This request has been denied.

"The United States tops the rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006's "Networked Readiness Index" for the third time in five years, maintaining its eminent position as a leader in the area of innovation and confirming its position as an information and communication technology powerhouse. Singapore, Denmark, Iceland and Finland follow, confirming the ICT dominance of Asia and the Nordic countries."

Press release: "The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved new data security laws Wednesday that will ensure consumers' personal information is closely guarded and consumers are notified when they are at risk...The bill places new requirements on specific companies that specialize in collecting personal data. These "data brokers" will be required to implement effective security safeguards. If there is a reasonable risk of identity theft to the individual to whom the personal information relates, fraud or other unlawful conduct, these data brokers must notify consumers. Additionally, data brokers will be prohibited from falsely representing themselves to obtain personal data...H.R. 4127, the Data Accountability and Trust Act, passed 41-0. The bill "sends a clear message: 'If you can't protect it, don't collect it,'" said U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the committee's ranking member."

"The Red Book is a compendium of significant Office of Inspector General (OIG) costsaving recommendations that have not been fully implemented. These recommendations may require one of three types of actions: legislative, regulatory, or procedural (such as
manual revisions). Some complex issues involve two or all three types of actions. The Inspector General Act requires that the OIG's semiannual reports to Congress include "an identification of each significant recommendation described in previous semiannual reports on which corrective action has not been completed." Thus,
appendixes to each semiannual report list significant unimplemented recommendations."

"The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has partnered with nationally-recognized security and privacy experts to create a new toolkit to help small business owners manage security and privacy challenges. We call it Security & Privacy - Made Simpler (TM). The objective is to demystify the complexities of data security and give small businesses a non-technical roadmap to securing their customer data, and their employees' data, too."

"The Sunshine in Government Initiative is a coalition of media groups committed to promoting policies that ensure the government is accessible, accountable and open. Public oversight is the ultimate safeguard of democracy. This is not an issue just for the media. It is the inalienable right of citizens to examine and judge their government; and that right is served when news media act on behalf of the public to gain access to information."

"PhishRegistry.org is a free service provided by CipherTrust, Inc. to help businesses know when they are at risk of being phished. PhishRegistry.org monitors the content of your website and alerts you when attempts to duplicate it have been detected. Weekly reports are sent to your email address with information about suspect websites."

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) E-Government Satisfaction Index, March 21, 2006. "Citizen satisfaction stalled, although some sites show significant improvement in meeting citizens' needs." Improvements were registered by IRS.gov, PBGC.gov, the National Archives, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Testimony of Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General, before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Medicaid Program Integrity, March 28, 2006 (9 pages, PDF)

Hearing - NSA III: War Time Executive Power and the FISA Court, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Tuesday, March 28, 2006.

Dept. of Transportation, IG Audit of Oversight of Load Ratings and Postings on Structurally Deficient Bridges on the National Highway System, March, 21 2006 (33 pages, PDF)

Following-up to postings on proposals to limit public access to the EPA's pollution release inventory data, a bipartisan letter issued yesterday on the issue "called for an investigation into the proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) to weaken regulations that require polluters to inform the public about toxic releases."

Related government document:

Journalist David Kline discussed the growing influence of blogs on politics and the news media during a March 20-24 rolling webchat.

Press release: "A searchable online database of Asian-language cancer materials has been launched by the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART) and the American Cancer Society."

"Welcome to 'Debate Europe', our website for the wide debate on the future of the European Union. This website is our invitation to you to discuss with us your ideas, hopes and worries for Europe's future. With this site, we want to make contact with you and listen to what you think and propose."

A new study (4 pages, PDF) by the European Interactive Advertising Association indicates that although men continue to spend more time on the Internet than women, the gap is rapidly closing.

March 21, 2006 - National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the Legal Background and Recent Amendments

Press release: "U.S. Joint Forces Command will release on Friday, March 24 an unclassified historical report in book form on the Iraqi view of coalition military operations conducted in Iraq. Conducted by U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Center for Operational Analysis, the Iraqi Perspective Project (IPP) is a research effort focused on coalition military operations in Iraq from March to May 2003. This project focused on the perspectives of the Iraqi civilian and military leadership involved in major combat operations gathered through interviews conducted during the fall and winter of 2003/2004, and an extensive review of Iraqi historical documents done in the months since then."

National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (31 pages, PDF)

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Securing Our Border, Enforcing Our Laws, and Upholding Our Values, Fact sheet released by the White House, March 27, 2006.

Saddam's Delusions: The View from the Inside, By Kevin Woods, James Lacey, and Williamson Murray, From Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006

03/16/06 Testimony Regarding the 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; Barry F. Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary; Testimony Before the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations; Washington, DC.

The Fog of Law: The Need for a Legal Framework for 21st Century Security Policy, Speech to the Council on Foreign Relations by Congresswoman Jane Harman, March 13, 2006.

Global Voices: A country-by-country aggregation of world blogs: Translations of and links to selected postings from blogs around the world.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Updated March 23, 2006: A Chronology of Data Breaches Reported Since the ChoicePoint Incident

Newsweek: Why Privacy Won't Matter Google, Yahoo and Microsoft desperately want to know every last thing about what you do, say and buy. Here's how they'll do it—and why we'll let them.

New York Times Op-Ed, March 26, 2006: Searching for Dummies, by Edward Tenner.

Following up on several related postings on bloggers and campaign speech, today the FEC issued a 96 page document (PDF) promulgating its final rules that impact the publication of campaign related information. Declan McCullagh has more details and commentary.

In response to requests by the House Judiciary Committee members for more extensive documentation on the administration's domestic surveillance program, this afternoon DOJ released two memos (both in PDF) that supported previous statements on the issue, providing nothing of substance in the way of more details, as requested.

Government On-Line 2006: "This report documents the achievements of the Government On-Line initiative over six years, from 1999 to 2006. It tells of its challenges, its groundbreaking journey, and its legacy for future initiatives. Thanks to the efforts of 34 federal Departments and Agencies, you may now obtain on-line the 130 most commonly used services of the Government of Canada."

ComputerWorld reports, "Democrats on the U.S. House Science Committee are demanding that the U.S. Department of Commerce release the complete version of a study that examined the impact of globalization and offshoring on U.S. jobs. The $335,000 report, originally produced in 2004, didn’t surface until last fall -- and then only as a 12-page summary offered up by the Commerce Department. The full 200-page report has never been released and the summary was never made available electronically."

From the National Archives: Central Foreign Policy Files, 1973-1974: This series, popularly known as the "State Department Cables" or the "State Department Telegrams", consist of telegrams, and an index to airgrams, memoranda, correspondence, reports, diplomatic notes, and related material. The 1973 and 1974 digital and fully releasable permanent portion of this series is now accessible through Access to Archival Databases (AAD)."

The March 15, 2006 issue of Library Journal included a special supplement, Movers & Shakers 2006 - The People Shaping the Future of Libraries. I am honored and delighted to be included in this diverse group of professionals, all of whose work I respect and admire. I was recognized in the Innovators category, for my two sites, LLRX.com and beSpacific. Thank you to all my readers and contributors for your unflagging support, and for sharing your ideas, experiences and expertise, over these past ten years. May the next 10 be just as fulfilling and productive. With my regards - sp.

Press release: "The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government - in cooperation with the Council for Excellence in Government - today announced the Top 50 Government Innovations for 2006...Exemplifying the most innovative, creative and results-oriented efforts in government today, these programs are making a real and significant difference in the lives of countless Americans."

The ACLU posted a copy of an abridged legal statement from a second individual identified as a target of a National Security Letter, by which the FBI concurrently gags the recipient and his/her counsel while requiring the provision of demanded documentation.

"Thousands of visitors to StopBadware.org have shared their badware experiences with us since we launched. From their stories, we've identified and tested four applications that contain annoying or objectionable behaviors. To find out what we think of Kazaa, MediaPipe, SpyAxe, and Screensaver.com, read our reports (all in PDF):"

Press release: "Rep. Waxman releases a new report finding that 97% of plans restrict access to important drugs on their formularies through the use of prior authorization, step-therapy, and quantity limits. A telephone survey of the plans finds that they fail to adequately inform seniors of these restrictions, often providing information that is conflicting or erroneous."

Defense Logistics: Several Factors Limited the Production and Installation of Army Truck Armor During Current Wartime Operations, March 22, 2006 (69 pages, PDF)

Press release, March 22, 2006: "Following press accounts that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering altering privacy protections that would allow tax preparers greater freedom to sell taxpayers' personal financial information, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today wrote to IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson expressing concern over the agency’s proposals."

Related references:

From the House Budget Committee Democratic staff - Environmental Funding Slashed in the President's 2007 Budget: Budget in Brief #7 - March 23, 2006 (3 pages, PDF).

Information Security: Department of Health and Human Services Needs to Fully Implement Its Program, Full Report, GAO-06-267 and Highlights, February 24, 2006.

Pew Internet and American Life: "By the end of 2005, 50 million Americans got news online on a typical day, a sizable increase since 2002. Much of that growth has been fueled by the rise in home broadband connections over the last four years. For a group of "high-powered" online users – early adopters of home broadband who are the heaviest internet users – the internet is their primary news source on the average day."

WSJ free feature: White House Will Reverse Policy, Ban Evidence Elicited by Torture

USNews.com: "The CIA's Publications Review Board is sending out terse reminders to agency veterans reminding them of the rules requiring that any writings--even blogs--must first get agency approval."

Circumventing Competition: The Perverse Consequences of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (PDF, 28 pages), by Timothy B. Lee

Press release: "Large well-respected companies are helping to fund the virulent spread of unwanted and potentially harmful "adware" by paying for advertisements generated by those programs, a new report by CDT finds. In "Following the Money: How Advertising Dollars Encourage Nuisance and Harmful Adware and What Can be Done to Reverse the Trend," (10 pages, PDF) CDT details how -- through a complicated network of intermediaries -- major advertisers pay to have their products and services advertised though pop-ups and other ads generated by unwanted advertising software or "adware." The report dissects the financial relationships behind those arrangements and identifies a number of mainstream companies that advertise through one particularly unscrupulous adware distributor."

Press release: "Four years after its launch and more than 1 million hits later, freedominfo.org has a whole new look. But the dual mission of the site remains—a virtual network linking freedom of information (FOI) movements globally and an institutional memory for transparency and access to information rights throughout the world. Freedominfo.org today introduces a new, comprehensive country-by-country section that gives users access to resources about FOI laws in more than 60 countries—including background, legal texts, links to government bodies and organizations, and current news about the FOI movement in the country. As more countries move towards adopting FOI laws everyday, freedominfo.org provides vital tools for researchers, advocates, journalists, government officials, and members of the public to stay informed about the progress of the right to information, around the world and in their own backyards."

CRS Report via FAS: Terrorism and National Security: Issues and Trends (20 pages, PDF), updated March 9, 2006.

Press release: "BRB Publications recently expanded its free Resource Center and added its complete list of online accessible occupational licensing boards. The list, which is updated weekly, contains 4,819 name-searchable job titles. There is no fee, no registration nor a 20 second wait required. Go to http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp and click on State Occupational Licensing Boards under the Free Government Public Record Sites heading."

According to the Official Google Blog, Google's newly released Finance service is in beta, with additional content and features to be added in future. Currently, users are offered data in the following categories: Market Summary, Today's Headlines, Company Facts and Financials, Related company data, a Company Summary, Management info, blog posts and links to topical discussions.

Following up on previous postings concerning the FBI's use of National Security Letters to obtain library patron records, the New York Times reports today, Librarian Is Still John Doe, Despite Patriot Act Revision

S. 2453 - A bill to establish procedures for the review of electronic surveillance programs; to the Committee on the Judiciary. [Congressional Record: March 16, 2006 (Senate)][Page S2316-S2376]

What Do You Do with a Million Books? by Gregory Crane, Tufts University

A Review of the FBI's Handling of the Brandon Mayfield Case(Unclassified and Redacted), Special Report, March 2006; HTML (Full Report Coming Soon); List of PDF Files.

Google launches its challenge to financial news websites in US: "Google Finance is trumpeting features that will allow users to monitor their portfolio and get access to chief executives' pay details without wading through annual reports."

Press release: "Sprint Nextel Corp. announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against a private investigation firm that employs deceptive practices to illegitimately obtain customer call detail records, and then sells the confidential information to online data brokers. In its complaint against San Marco & Associates of St. Petersburg, Fla., Sprint Nextel states that the company employs fraudulent tactics such as pretexting, the practice of obtaining personal information under false pretenses, to access cell phone logs and phone numbers."

Final Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Future Strategic Strike Skills (89 pages, PDF), March 2006. This report is unclassified.

Defense Critical Technologies, (151 pages, PDF), March 2006. This report is a product of the Defense Science Board (U.S.) and the Defence Scientific Advisory Council (UK). This report is unclassified.

Wikipedia has published an extensive comparison of over two dozen web browsers. Included is information on each respective browser's general history, features, operating system support, web technology support, languages in which the brower is available, and technical vulnerabilities. Readers note that all data is subject to verification, as this is a collaborative, open source publication.

ComputerWorld reports on enterprisewide search applications implemented by large corporations for a range of tasks, including competitive intelligence, e-discovery, and generating intranet content. Solutions such as FAST, Autonomy and Endeca index formats including text, audio and video.

The Memory Hole has recovered content from the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) website, apparently removed from public access within the past month. The recovered website pages have been posted by Russ Kick here.

OIG-Identified Management and Performance Challenges Facing the FDIC (2005)

The United States Statutes at Large (Volume 117, 108th Congress) is now available online from the U.S. Government Printing Office, with future volumes to follow as they become available.

Press release: "Neil Holloway, president of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), unveiled a global law enforcement campaign that will target cybercriminals behind phishing attacks. Microsoft Corp. announced that by the end of June 2006 it will have initiated legal actions on more than 100 cases in EMEA against individuals suspected of committing online fraud; 53 of these will have already started by the end of March 2006...The legal actions are linked to a larger Microsoft(R) program, the Global Phishing Enforcement Initiative (GPEI), launched by the company to coordinate and expand its many anti-phishing efforts worldwide to fight phishers through consumer protection, partnerships and prosecution."

Federal Bureau of Investigation: Weak Controls over Trilogy Project Led to Payment of Questionable Contractor Costs and Missing Assets, Full-text, GAO-06-306, and Highlights, February 28, 2006.

As reported by Raw Story tonight, a filing on March 17 by Libby's defense names current and former White House and State Department officials as having leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame prior to Libby's dissemination of the information.

From askSam:

Follow Up Review of the Port Security Grant Program, OIG-0-6-24, February 2006 (Revised) (PDF, 37 pages) - New 03/15/2006.

New York Times, March 18, 2006: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?

Press release, Cmte. on Homeland Security, Democratic Office, March 17, 2006: "News reports today disclosed the results of a government investigation into airport security vulnerabilities. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigatory arm of Congress, conducted a clandestine review of airport security throughout the country. While the report remains classified and has not yet been released, news reports indicate that bomb making materials were passed through Transportation Security Administration passenger screening at 21 airports, without being detected...This morning, Ranking Member Thompson requested that the Committee on Homeland Security hold a hearing to review security vulnerabilities at our nation's airports and rectify problems at the TSA (read the letter here)."

From the Official Google Blog: Judge tells DoJ "No" on search queries, Posted by Nicole Wong, Associate General Counsel: "Google will not have to hand over any user's search queries to the government. That's what a federal judge ruled today when he decided to drastically limit a subpoena issued to Google by the Department of Justice. [Today's ruling, 21 pages (PDF) and the government's original subpoena.)

Press release, March 16, 2006: The Federal Trade Commission today told the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight that protecting consumers' privacy rights is a top priority for the agency. Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the Committee, "The Commission is committed to aggressive law enforcement, vigorous consumer and business education efforts, and global cooperation to safeguard the security of consumers’ personal information." To date, the agency has brought 12 data security cases, six spyware and adware cases, more than a dozen financial pretexting cases, and more than 80 spam cases.

Supreme Court transcript [115 pages, PDF], 05-204. League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (3/1/06)

A Homegrown Solution for Safe Ports

Press release: Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) Friday sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [text included in the press release] seeking information on court cases that may have been compromised by the Bush Administration’s illegal domestic spying program..Leahy...and Kennedy...ask Gonzales to provide the committee with information on all legal challenges where parties in the case are claiming evidence was illegally obtained through the illegal program or any others operated outside the law."

WSJ free feature - Google Wins Copyright Battle; Archiving Issue Is Still Unclear: "A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Google Inc. of wrongful conduct, including copyright infringement and defamation, providing the latest court opinion to weigh in on the contentious area of search engines and copyright."

U.S. Newswire: "The House Financial Services Committee voted today to repeal strict state notification and credit freeze laws that have helped to protect consumers from identity theft and financial fraud. These laws provide essential protections that allow consumers to prevent identity thieves from opening credit accounts in their names and require companies to inform consumers when their personal data -- such as their Social Security and credit card numbers -- have become compromised."

Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them, by Donna Maurer.