May 31, 2006
Senate Finance Chair Questions Nonprofit Investment Group's Practices, Seeks IRS, SEC Comment

Press release: Grassley Questions Nonprofit Investment Group’s Practices, Seeks IRS, SEC Comment [6 pages, PDF, includes text of letter from Grassley to National Association of Investors Corp. President as well as letter to etter to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox]

Security Expert Calls for End to Anti-Terror Data Mining Program

According to security technology expert Bruce Schneier, the NSA data mining surveillance program "won't uncover any terrorist plots until they are very accurate, and that even very accurate systems will be so flooded with false alarms that they will be useless."

Permanent Link       Topic(s): Privacy
Connecticut Librarians Challenging Constitutionality of Patriot Act Gag Speak Out

Following up on previous postings about Connecticut librarians gagged by the FBI's use of the National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act, news from an ACLU press conference on the identity of the librarians and their respective statements as follows:

  • Barbara Bailey

  • Peter Chase

  • George Christian

  • Janet Nocek
  • Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005

    Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005, April 2006 (871 pages, PDF): "Submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State, this report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports and includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide."

    Free Searchable Directory of Published Proceedings

    Directory of Published Proceedings: search by subject (Science/Technology, Medical/Life Sciences, Pollution Control/Ecology, Social Sciences/Humanities), sponsor and publisher, country, State/Province and year the event took place. [D.C.]

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Legal Research
    Continued Large Scale Data Breaches Highlight Lack of Privacy

    A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology - Veterans Data Breach Highlights Inadequate Privacy Protections.

  • Related postings and resources for veterans impacted by this data breach.
  • Historical Documents on Bacteriological Warfare in the US Posted on Web

    Michael Ravnitzky's FOIA requests for FBI files on Bacteriological Warfare in the United States, from 1950-1971 [709 redacted pages], are now available in PDF, with further releases forthcoming, according to Russ Kick at the Memory Hole.

    Census Releases 2003-2004 State and Local Government Finances

    "The Census Bureau conducts a census of governments at five year intervals, and an annual survey for the intervening years. The state and local government finances are available in files and viewable tables. The statistics cover government financial activity in four broad categories of revenue, expenditure, debt, and assets." [Available data]

    CIA Declassifies Nazi War Criminals Documents

    Press Briefing: CIA Declassifies Operational Materials As a Result of New Disclosure Policy under Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act

  • The Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group
  • "Since 1999, the IWG has declassified and opened to the public an estimated 8 million pages of documents, including 1.2 million pages of OSS records; 74,000 pages of CIA name and subject files; more than 350,000 pages of FBI subject files; and nearly 300,000 pages of Army intelligence files. The once secret records are helping to shape our understanding of the Holocaust, war crimes, World War II and postwar activities of U.S. and Allied intelligence agencies."

    Cases and Materials on American Federalism

    Cases and Materials on American Federalism, Douglas G. Amber, J.D.
    Purdue University Calumet, [Last Revision Date: May 29, 2006].

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Legal Research
    May 30, 2006
    New York Times Reports Arizona A Hot Spot for ID Theft

    According to the New York Times, Arizona's rapid population growth combined with a "heavy traffic in methamphetamine" are signficant factors in the state's ranking at the top of the list for ID theft complaints recorded by the FTC.

  • Related news from AP, Beware the Numbers Hype About ID Theft - When It Comes to Identity Theft, Be Careful but Beware the Numbers Hype, November 13, 2005
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Cybercrime, ID Theft, Privacy
    New IRS Regs Make E-Filing Easier for Taxpayers

    IRS Final and Temporary Regulations, Federal Register: May 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 103)][Rules and Regulations][Page 30591-30608]- Summary: "These regulations affect taxpayers that file Federal income tax returns. They simplify, clarify, or eliminate reporting burdens and also eliminate regulatory impediments to the electronic filing of certain statements that taxpayers are required to include on or with
    their Federal income tax returns."

    EIA Country Analysis Brief: Ivory Coast

    From the Energy Information Administration, Côte d'Ivoire Country Analysis Brief (05/30/2006): "For information on the energy situation in Côte d’Ivoire, please see our updated Country Analysis Brief (HTML or PDF). Also included are a map, graph, and links to other related web sites."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    European Court of Justice Strikes Down US Collection of Passenger Name Records

    BBC: "The European Court of Justice has annulled an EU-US agreement requiring airlines to transfer passenger data to the US authorities."

  • Press release and information from the Court of Justice of the European Communities, May 30, 2006 (3 pages, PDF)

  • Related postings on passenger data collection post 9/11
  • Hayden Bio Added to CIA Website Today

    CIA website updated to reflect that General Michael V. Hayden, USAF succeeded Porter J. Goss as Director, Central Intelligence Agency.

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): E-Government
    May 29, 2006
    Maryland Prohibits Use of Employee SSNs on Wage Payment Checks

    The CCH Payroll Management Guide reports "Maryland employers, including the State, counties, and municipal corporations, may no longer print an employee's Social Security number on wage payment checks."

    ABATechShow 60 Sites in 60 Minutes 2006

    60 Sites in 60 Minutes 2006 [via Lawsites]

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Internet, Legal Research
    National Internet Safety Month

    "In recognition of National Internet Safety Month (June 2006), National Criminal Justice Reference Service presents this compilation of Internet safety resources."

    Inventory of Clinical Research Networks

    "This web site provides information in four topic areas regarding the Inventory and Evaluation of Clinical Research Networks (IECRN) project. The four primary objectives of the IECRN project are as follows: To develop an inventory and database of clinical research networks; To describe organizational and operational characteristics of a sample of networks in several key areas; To identify and examine networks best practices that lead to successful achievement of specified outcomes, including increased efficiency, promotion of interactivity within the network or across networks, and broadening of research scope; To conduct a National Leadership Forum to discuss the study findings, highlight selected best practices and disseminate this information to the research community."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Internet
    Industry Report: Product Liability Filings Remain High

    Industry Report: Product Liability: A Trend Still Worth Watching (PDF, 4 pages)

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Legal Research
    Public Access to SEC Comment Letters Still Denied

    This New York Times article describes the obstacles used by the SEC to obstruct public access to corporate records, even if a third party expert is used to facilitate document retrieval using a FOIA request.

    May 28, 2006
    How to Find and Use Economic Statistics

    National Association for Business Economics 3rd Annual Professional Development Seminar, How to Find and Use Economic Statistics

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Legal Research
    Amnesty International Launches Campaign Against Net Censorship

    "Irrepressible.org will harnass the power of the internet to mobilise people all over the world to take a stand against repression." [Link] "...Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Websites blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information. The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Governments – with the help of some of the biggest IT companies in the world – are cracking down on freedom of expression. Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress."

    May 27, 2006
    Redacted Teleco Filing in NSA Surveillance Battle Reveals Additional Data

    According to News.com, text from a 25 page redacted brief (PDF) filed on behalf of AT&T on whether the NSA surveillance case can be litigated without compromising state secrets, has been recovered to reveal the company's response to alleged cooperation with the government phone surveillance program.

  • Also from News.com: U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller on Friday urged telecommunications officials to record their customers' Internet activities...
  • DOJ IG Report Withheld Boeing Tanker Docs. From Public

    POGO: "The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has obtained a version of the May 2005 Defense Department Inspector General (DoD IG) report on the Boeing Tanker Lease scandal that shows the original report hid the text of Boeing emails and references to Boeing executives from the public. Redactions made by the White House Counsel office still remain in the newly released version...POGO is in the process of filing and administrative appeal to have the remaining redactions made public."

    May 26, 2006
    Massive Collection of Formerly Secret and Top Secret Transcripts of Henry Kissinger's Meetings with World Leaders Published Online

    Press release, May 26, 2006: "Today the National Security Archive announces the publication of the most comprehensive collection ever assembled of the memoranda of conversations (memcons) involving Henry Kissinger, one of the most acclaimed and controversial U.S. diplomats of the second half of the 20th century. Published on-line in the Digital National Security Archive (ProQuest) as well in print-microfiche form, the 28,000-page collection is the result of a seven-year effort by the National Security Archive to collect every memcon that could be found through archival research and declassification requests. According to Kissinger biographer and president of the Aspen Institute Walter Isaacson, "Henry Kissinger's memos of conversation are an amazing, fascinating, and absolutely indispensable resource for understanding his years in power."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    White House Admonishes Agencies to Safeguard Citizen Data

    Follow-up to the latest extensive incident of ID theft involving government records and citizen personal data, see this OMB Memoranda M-06-15, Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, May 22, 2006.

    Related government documents and news:

  • VA outlines data security upgrades

  • Senate Committee on Veterans' Affair hearing, VA Data Privacy Breach: Twenty-Six Million People Deserve Answers, May 25, 2006 [link to witness statements].

  • From 2004 - Chief Privacy Officers for Each Gov't Agency
  • Current: Contact List of Senior Agency Officals for Privacy

  • And news: TechWeb - VA Worker Took Data Home For Years Before Break-in - "...none of his supervisors we talked to said they were aware that the employee had taken the file containing approximately 26.5 million veterans' records to his residence."

  • Newspaper Industry Deliberates Choices to Increase Online Readership and Revenue

  • American Journalism Review, June/July Preview, Remaking the Front Page: "As they struggle to stem the circulation decline, newspapers are taking new approaches to what they put on page one." By Donna Shaw.

  • Merrill Lynch Raises Alarm on Health of Newspaper Industry, by Jennifer Saba, Editor and Publisher: "...a new report from Merrill Lynch's Lauren Rich Fine -- a champion of newspapers -- reveals publishers better get on the stick, because the industry may be deteriorating faster than thought."
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Knowledge Management
    Two Court Decisions Render Different Outcomes For Journalists

  • EFF: "A California state appeals court ruled [Apple v. Does, 69 pages, PDF)] in favor of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) petition on behalf of three online journalists Friday, holding that the online journalists have the same right to protect the confidentiality of their sources as offline reporters do."

  • Apple Dealt Setback In Suit Against Online Journalists - "The appellate court decision reverses a lower court that refused to extend to the online publications the same protections granted California journalists."

  • AP - Judge: Reporters Must Give Libby Documents - A ruling today (40 pages, PDF) by Judge Reggie B. Walton directs Time magazine's Matt Cooper to produce drafts of his stories related to Libby which the defense may use to impeach Cooper.

  • Postings on Plame CIA leak investigation
  • Information Security Oversight Office Releases FY2005 Annual Report

    NARA: The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) has released its Report to the President for 2005 (32 pages, PDF). The Report profiles data about the Government-wide security classification program, primarily during Fiscal Year 2005. In his transmittal letter to the President included in the Report, ISOO Director J. William Leonard notes: One of the most notable developments is that the Public Interest Declassification Board is now holding regular sessions. This Board will contribute to the declassification process by identifying records on specific subjects that are of extraordinary public interest. These records will be identified when it is deemed that declassification will not undermine the national security interests of the United States."

  • Related postings on declassification of government documents
  • Legal Documents Related to Conclusion of Lay and Skilling Trial

    DOJ: "Testimony in the jury trial of former Enron chief executives Jeffrey K. Skilling and Kenneth L. Lay concluded on Monday, May 8, 2006 after fifty-three days of trial proceedings. Closing arguments were presented to the jury May 15, 2006 through mid-morning of May 17, 2006, at which time the jury retired to begin its deliberations. On its sixth day of deliberations, Thursday, May 25, 2006, the jury returned its verdicts. Lay was convicted on all of the six counts with which he was charged: Conspiracy, two counts of Wire Fraud and three counts of Securities Fraud. Skilling, was convicted on 19 of the 28 counts pending against him: Conspiracy, 12 counts of Securities Fraud, one count of Insider Trading, and five counts of Making False Statements to Auditors. Skilling was acquitted of nine Insider Trading counts. A bench trial concerning charges against Kenneth L. Lay of bank fraud and making false statements to banks began on Thursday, May 18, 2006, before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake and concluded on Tuesday, May 23, 2006. Judge Lake announced his verdict on Thursday, May 25, 2006, immediately after the jury’s verdicts were read. Judge Lake convicted Lay of all the charges against him in the Bench Trial: one count of Bank Fraud and three counts of Making False Statements to Banks."

  • Press Release: Federal Jury Convicts Former Enron Chief Executives Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling on Fraud, Conspiracy and Related Charges

  • Transcript of Statement by Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty on the Convictions of Former Enron Chief Executive Officers Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling

  • U.S. vs Kenneth L. Lay Verdict Slip

  • U.S. vs Jeffrey K. Skilling Verdict Slip
  • Enron Exhibits Site
  • PR Videos Aired As News Throughout Country Without Attribution to Sources

    The LA Times reported (reg. req'd) today that the controvery over the government propaganda campaign is also an issue for 77 news stations throughout the country, who have aired content that is now under investigation by the FCC.

    May 25, 2006
    U.S. Serial Set on LexisNexis

    "An Insider’s View of the U.S. Serial Set is a free whitepaper authored by Andrea Sevetson, former documents librarian at University of California, Berkley, and 1996-97 GODORT Chair who is now an Information Professional Consultant with LexisNexis."

    Links to Research Papers from WWW2006 Conference

    Refereed technical papers from 11 research areas are available from the WWW2006 Conference, May 23-26, 2006. Topic areas include: business success, next wave, education and science, security and health.

    DOJ Investigation into Domestic Surveillance Program Blocked On Security Grounds

    Justice Department Probe Foiled, by Shane Harris and Murray Waas, National Journal: "An internal Justice Department inquiry into whether department officials -- including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft -- acted properly in approving and overseeing the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program was stymied because investigators were denied security clearances to do their work. The investigators, however, were only seeking information and documents relating to the National Security Agency's surveillance program that were already in the Justice Department's possession, two senior government officials said in interviews."

    Related legal documents, commentary, opinion and postings:

  • EFF press release: Key Portions of Critical Documents Unsealed in AT&T Surveillance Case - and in PDF (redacted text), Technician Describes Secret NSA Room at AT&T Facility
  • New Yorker, National Security Dept. - Listening In, by Seymour M. Hersh, posted May 22, 2006: "A security consultant working with a major telecommunications carrier told me that his client set up a top-secret high-speed circuit between its main computer complex and Quantico, Virginia, the site of a government-intelligence computer center. This link provided direct access to the carrier’s network core—the critical area of its system, where all its data are stored."

  • Computerworld: NSA's alleged phone-records program puts spotlight on data mining - "...Narus' traffic processing engine can inspect data at speeds of up to 10Gbit/sec. while performing deep inspections of the content of network packets, including telephone calls, e-mail text and streaming video.."

  • Computerworld - Opinion: Why NSA spying puts the U.S. in danger - A former analyst looks at the agency's current controversy

  • Can Data Mining Catch Terrorists?

  • Postings on domestic surveillance program

  • Questions Arise on Intersection of Novak and Rove's Involvement With Plame Leak

    Rove-Novak Call Was Concern To Leak Investigators, by Murray Waas, National Journal: "On September 29, 2003, three days after it became known that the CIA had asked the Justice Department to investigate who leaked the name of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, columnist Robert Novak telephoned White House senior adviser Karl Rove to assure Rove that he would protect him from being harmed by the investigation, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the federal grand jury testimony of both men."

  • Previous coverage of pre-war intelligence and the CIA leak investigation from Murray Waas.

  • Related postings on Plame CIA leak investigation
  • NIST's National Vulnerability Database

    NIST's National Vulnerability Database: Search for Vulnerabilities - Enter vendor, software, or keyword.

  • "NVD is a comprehensive cyber security vulnerability database that integrates all publicly available U.S. Government vulnerability resources and provides references to industry resources. It is based on and synchronized with the CVE vulnerability naming standard."

  • Guide for Developing Performance Metrics for Information Security

    "The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released for public comment the initial draft of its Guide for Developing Performance Metrics for Information Security, 49 pages, PDF (SP 800-80). The guide provides a methodology for linking agencies' IT security program performance to agency performance, "tying information security controls, implementation, efficiency and effectiveness to an agency's success in its mission-critical activities."

    House Passes Net Neutrality Bill

    Follow-up to previous postings on net neutrality, today the House passed the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006 [H.R. 5417], on a 20-13 vote.

    VA Launches Website and Call Center After Theft of Personal Data

    Follow-up to posting yesterday, Theft of Data on Over 25 Million Veterans Renews Calls for Greater Security, this news from the government today: "Over the weekend following the recent theft of 26.5 million veterans' records, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quickly put in place a call center and website to answer questions about the implications of the theft and the steps veterans can take to protect themselves from misuse of their personal information. The call center, at 1-800-FEDINFO, operates from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday to Saturday. It can handle up to 260,000 toll-free calls a day. The latest information on VA data security is posted on Firstgov.gov, the U.S. government's official Web portal."

    Related news and government documents:

  • VA needs 26 million envelopes, fast

  • VA data theft may cost $500 million

  • Press release: Sen. Coleman Sends Letter to GAO Requesting Government Sends Letter to GAO Requesting Government-Wide Review of Practices in Light of Stolen Veterans Data.
  • Where the E-Gov't Money is Going

    From Government Computer News, this 1 page PDF indicates programs ranked by 2006 spending. "The Federal government is spending over $192 million on the 24 quicksilver E-Gov initiatives in fiscal 2006."

  • Related postings on e-government
  • IT Security Remains Top Priority for State CIOs

    NASCIO Research Brief -- The IT Security Business Case: Sustainable Funding to Manage the Risks (15 pages, PDF)

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    LC Web Capture Project

    "The Library of Congress preserves the nation's cultural artifacts and provides enduring access to them. The Library's traditional functions of acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collection materials of historical importance to the Congress and the American people to foster education and scholarship extend to digital materials, including Web sites...In 2004, the Library’s Office of Strategic Initiatives created a Web Capture team to support the goal of managing and sustaining at-risk digital content. The team is charged with building a Library-wide understanding and technical infrastructure for capturing Web content. The team, in collaboration with a variety of Library staff, and national and international partners, is identifying policy issues, establishing best practices and building tools to collect and preserve Web content."

    Treasury Announces End to Long-Distance Telephone Excise Tax

    Press release: "The U.S. Treasury Department today announced it is conceding the legal dispute over the federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service. The Department of Justice will no longer pursue litigation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will issue refunds of tax on long-distance service for the past three years. Taxpayers will be able to apply for refunds on their 2006 tax forms, to be filed in 2007."

    Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2006

    Press release, May 24, 2006: "U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) today introduced legislation (22 pages, PDF) that would reaffirm that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is the exclusive means by which our government can conduct electronic surveillance of U.S. persons on U.S. soil for foreign intelligence purposes."

    AALL Launches a Speakers Directory

    AALL Speakers Directory and AALL Speakers Directory FAQ

    Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants

    Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants, Principal Investigator: William W. Nazaroff. University of California, Berkeley. April 2006. ARB Contract No. 01-336.

  • Abstract: "When cleaning products and air fresheners are used indoors, occupants are exposed to airborne chemicals, potentially leading to health risks. Indoor air pollutant exposures owing to cleaning product and air freshener use depend on emissions from products, dynamic behavior of chemical species, and human factors."

  • Main Report (PDF)

  • Appendix A -- Appendix D (PDF)

  • Appendix E (PDF)
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network

    NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network: "These NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) studies—organized by city—have been approved to open as of May 1, 2006. Additional studies are being planned. Please note that each study is taking place at multiple sites."

  • May 5, 2006 press release: NIH launches clinical studies nationwide to investigate rare diseases
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): E-Government
    Google Accounts for Half of all U.S. Searches in April

    Google Accounts for Half of all U.S. Searches in April according to Nielsen//NetRatings

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Search Engines
    FBI OIG Review of FBI Asset Who Was Spying on Behalf of PRC

    A Review of the FBI's Handling and Oversight of FBI Asset Katrina Leung, Special Report, May 2006, 24 pages, PDF (Unclassified Executive Summary)

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    May 24, 2006
    Liberty and Security Initiative Releases Report on Video Surveillance

    Constitution Project's Guidelines for Public Video Surveillance: A Guide to Protecting Communities and Preserving Civil Liberties (60 pages, PDF) - "Liberty and Security Initiative released their Guidelines for Public Video Surveillance: A Guide to Protecting Communities and Preserving Civil Liberties today. The report provides practical assistance to state and local governments that have established – or are seeking to install – video surveillance systems. It demonstrates how communities can set up systems that enhance security, while safeguarding residents' civil liberties."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Civil Liberties, Privacy
    The Use of RFID for Human Identification

    The Use of RFID for Human Identification (PDF, 15 pages). "The DHS Emerging Applications and Technology Subcommittee of the Privacy Advisory Committee is seeking comments on this draft report. This report will be considered by the full Committee during the June 7, 2006 public Advisory Committee meeting in San Francisco, CA."

    ACLU Launches Program Against Phone Call Monitoring

    Follow-up to previous postings on domestic surveillance of telephone calls, this press release today - ACLU Launches Nationwide Action Against NSA Snooping on Americans' Phone Calls: "ACLU affiliates in 20 states today filed complaints with Public Utility Commissions or sent letters to state Attorneys General and other officials demanding investigations into whether local telecommunications companies allowed the NSA to spy on their customers."

    Related news:

  • Protesters face off with Verizon, AT&T: "Protesters lined streets on both coasts Wednesday to bring public awareness to the telecommunications policy debates currently going on in Washington, D.C., and to show opposition to the phone companies reportedly providing customer records without a court order to the National Security Agency."

  • For Telecoms, a Storm of Lawsuits Awaits, by Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor

  • (reg. req'd) from Salon.com: The NSA is on the line -- all of them: "An intelligence expert predicts we'll soon learn that cellphone and Internet companies also cooperated with the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on us." by Kim Zetter

  • NSA furor shows risks, rewards of info revolution, McClatchy Newspapers, May 24, 2006

  • Theft of Data on Over 25 Million Veterans Renews Calls for Greater Security

    Statement of Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson on the Status of the Veterans Data Theft (5/24/06): "I am outraged at the loss of this veterans' data and the fact an employee would put it at risk by taking it home in violation of our policies. I am also concerned about the timing of the Department's response once the burglary became known. I will not tolerate inaction and poor judgment when it comes to protecting our veterans."

  • Related postings on cybercrime and ID theft

  • New York Times: Department to Investigate Theft of Veterans' Data

  • AP: Experts Offer Advice to Prevent ID Theft
  • NIH Posts Information on Research Results for the Public

    NIH Posts Information on Research Results for the Public - May 16, 2006. Currently, fact sheets are available (PDF), on the following topics: Doubling Accomplishments-Selected Examples; Chronic Kidney Disease and Kidney Failure; Heart Disease; Research Into What Works Best; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Parkinson's Disease; Amazing Research, Amazing Help; New Efforts for FY 2007; Driving the Transformation to Predictive, Personalized and Preemptive Medicine; and Stroke (additional documents will be added in future).

    DOJ Report on Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear, 2005

    May 21, 2006 press release: "During the year that ended last June 30, the nation's prison and jail population grew 2.6 percent, reaching 2,186,230 inmates behind bars, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Two thirds were in state or federal prisons (1,438,701) and the other third (747,529) were in local jails."

  • The report, Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005 (NCJ-213133), was written by BJS statisticians Allen J. Beck and Paige M. Harrison.
  • Public Loses Confidence in FDA Drug Safety Efforts

    WSJ free feature: Americans Growing Less Confident In FDA's Job on Safety, Poll Shows

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    Leadership in Customer Service: Building the Trust

    Press release: "Leadership in Customer Service: Building the Trust (108 pages, PDF) is Accentures seventh global report on government service delivery. The report showcases insights from in-depth interviews with 45 high-ranking government executives from the 11 countries that consistently top Accenture’s annual survey of governments' use of technology in customer service: Canada, the United States, Denmark, Singapore, Australia, France, Japan, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom and Ireland."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): E-Government
    Librarian Mediated Search Best Option for Cancer Patients According to Study

    From PERC: Patient Education Resource Center [U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center], "lists of information sourcesrelating to a specific cancer diagnosis or issue. The purpose is to help newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones find sources of information and support. The guides are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather to provide starting points for information seeking."

  • Related reference, Librarians provided new information, resources for 95 percent of patients: "...despite the ease and availability of Internet searches, cancer patients looking for information about their disease found more information by seeking help from a librarian than by searching on their own, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center."
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Internet, Libraries
    More Annual Reports Lacking Financial Statements

    As reported by USAToday.com, marketing objectives are displacing statistical data in a growing number of corporate annual reports, whose appearance may now be slanted toward style over substance, at least from the researcher's perspective. [D.C.]

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Legal Research
    May 23, 2006
    Domestic Telephone Surveillance Documents Add to Controversy

    Follow-up to recent postings, EFF Can Use Critical AT&T Documents in Surveillance Lawsuit and Does Domestic Telephone Surveillance Violate Communications Act?, today Wired published Whistle-Blower's Evidence, Uncut [note related link, 29 pages, PDF, documenting domestic surveillance program activities and technical descriptions]

    Related news and documents:

  • Studs Terkel, Other Prominent Chicagoans Join Together to Challenge AT&T Sharing of Telephone Records with the National Security Agency

  • Press release: FCC Refuses to Investigate NSA Program, Predicting Likely Administration Road Blocks - "Today the watchdog agency that oversees the country's telecommunications industry refused to investigate the nation's largest phone companies' reported disclosure of phone records to the NSA." [Copy of FCC Response, May 22, 2006]
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Privacy
    Joint Effort By Industry to Promote Wireless Web Browsing

    WSJ free feature: New Domain Name -- .Mobi -- Could Spur Wireless Web

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Wireless Web
    Israel: Background and Relations with the United States

    Israel: Background and Relations with the United States - Congressional Research Service Report, Updated 5/18/2006 (19 pages, PDF)

    May 22, 2006
    FTC Issues Report on Gas Price Increases Post Katrina

    FTC Releases Report on its "Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases"

  • The Federal Trade Commission Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases: A Commission Report to Congress (Spring 2006) - Text of the Commission Report, 222 pages, PDF

  • Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Concerning the FTC Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases, Presented by Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, United States Senate (May 23, 2006), Text of the Commission Testimony, 28 pages, PDF
  • May 21, 2006
    AG States Prosecution of Journalists for Leaks is Legal

    ABC News This Week, May 21, 2006: "Gonzales also defended the NSA wiretapping program, insisting the Justice Department has not been reviewing the "content" in journalists' phone records without a court order. The attorney general reiterated that the rights of a free press cannot trump national security but added, "I understand very much the role the press plays in our society." "...When asked whether journalists should be prosecuted for publishing classified material, Gonzales answered, "It depends on the circumstances...We have an obligation to make sure the people are protected.""

  • Related postings on domestic surveillance program

  • May 20, 2006
    UN Releases Final Report on 50th Session of Commission on Status of Women

    The Final Report on the fiftieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women is now available.

  • CRS Report - The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): Congressional Issues, updated December 14, 2006
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    Internet Freedom Preservation Act

    Press release, May 19, 2006: "U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced legislation that would preserve the open and democratic character of the Internet. The Internet Freedom Preservation Act (9 pages, PDF) would ensure that all content, applications and services are treated equally and fairly on the Internet by prohibiting broadband network operators from blocking, degrading, or prioritizing service on their networks. Rules to that effect were in place when the Federal Communications Commission reclassified broadband services, but the FCC neglected to adopt meaningful and enforceable safeguards."

  • Related postings on net neutrality

  • Offshoring of Web Content Maintenance and Support Increasingly Common

    BusinessWeek.com: Life On The Web's Factory Floor - Who do you think turns all those words into an easy click?

  • "Behind the seemingly magical offerings of the Internet are thousands of human beings madly inputting data around the clock...The number of third-party, offshore companies that will perform contract work has more than doubled since 2002, according to Wharton's Aron. With Internet connectivity pushing farther into rural areas of China and India, the cost of such work will fall even lower."
  • Free Flow of Information Act

    Press release, May 18, 2006: "Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) today introduced the Free Flow of Information Act (12 pages, PDF), a bill seeking to protect the public's right to information through a free press. This legislation would provide appropriate protections for professional journalists and their employers from having to reveal information that a journalist learned under a promise of confidentiality and in the course of carrying out news-gathering functions."

  • Related postings
  • May 19, 2006
    CRS Report Addresses Gov't Collection of Phone Calling Data

    CRS Report, Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities, May 17, 2006 (19 pages, PDF)

  • Related postings on domestic surveillance program
  • UN Committee Against Torture Releases Report

    Via BBC, the Advance Unedited Version (11 pages, PDF), Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee against Torture, May 19, 2006.

  • Committee Against Torture concludes thirty-sixth session, May 19, 2006

  • 05/19/06, On-The-Record Briefing on the Committee Against Torture Report; John Bellinger, Legal Advisor; Office of the Legal Advisor; Washington, DC

  • AP: U.N. Urges U.S. to Shut Guantanamo Prison
  • Trends in Judicial Resignations and Retirements

    "Resignations from the federal bench, once rare, now are increasingly frequent. Since January 1, 2005, nine judges have resigned or retired from the federal bench. As a result, 2005 witnessed the single largest exodus from the federal bench ever." [Link]

  • For up-to-date information about judicial vacancies, see www.uscourts.gov/judicialvac.html
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Courts
    Progress Report on Terrorism Prevention Act

    May 17, 2006: Report on the Progress of the DNI in Implementing the "Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004" (12 pages, PDF)

    Pros and Cons On Net Neutrality Legislation

  • 5/18/2006 - Press release: Sensenbrenner, Conyers Introduce Bipartisan Net Neutrality Legislation [H.R. 5417: Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006]


  • Related documents and links:
  • The Economics of Net Neutrality, Robert W. Hahn, Scott Wallsten. Related Publication 06-13. Apr 2006. "This essay examines the economics of 'net neutrality' and broadband Internet access. We argue that mandating net neutrality would be likely to reduce economic welfare. Instead, the government should focus on creating competition in the broadband market by liberalizing more spectrum and reducing entry barriers created by certain local regulations. In cases where a broadband provider can exercise market power the government should use its antitrust enforcement authority to police anticompetitive behavior."

  • Related postings on net neutrality

  • Google Provides Free Downloadable Search Training Tools

    From the Google Librarian Center: "Looking for tools to help teach your patrons how to use Google more effectively? By popular demand, we’re now offering free downloadable teaching tools. While we've started small, we're planning on making more materials available soon, including additional posters, cheat sheets, tent cards – even trainings. Feel free to download and distribute these materials as widely as you'd like."

    Permanent Link       Topic(s): Search Engines
    American Association Of Webmasters Recognizes E-Gov Site With Award

    DisabilityInfo.gov "contains links to information of interest to people with disabilities, their families, employers, service providers and other community members." This site is the May 2006 recipient of the Gold Award from the American Association of Webmasters for outstanding design and content.

  • Related: ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law Web site
  • Coalition Calls for End to Plan to Limit EPA Toxic Release Inventory Data

    Follow-up to previous related postings, ona May 17, 2006 the CDT sent a letter to Congress, signed by more than 180 organizations (including ALA and AALL), urging that public access to data from the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory program not be subject to limitations.

    Senator's Commentary on Immigation Reform and Legislative History

    John Cornyn, Immigration Reform: Back to the Future, Yale L.J. (The Pocket Part), May 2006.

  • "The proper use of legislative history by judges interpreting statutes has long been debated among jurists and legal academics. But no one disputes the value of lawmakers themselves consulting legislative history, especially when they are wrestling with the very same issues addressed by a prior Congress."

  • Related posting, May 18, 2006 - Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress
  • Hearing on Caller ID Spoofing

    H.R. 5126, the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2006 Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Hearing, May 18, 2006.

  • Link to Witness List & Prepared Testimony

  • "Phone spoofing is a practice by which a caller causes a phone number other than their own to appear on a caller ID or similar display. EPIC said that there is legitimate and illegitimate spoofing, and recommended that the law only prohibit spoofing when done with the intent to commit fraud or to harass."

  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Congress, Legislation, Privacy
    May 18, 2006
    CIA Director Nominee Contends Domestic Surveillance Legal

    Senate Intelligence Committee Open Hearing: Confirmation Hearing of General Michael V. Hayden to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, May 18, 2006.

  • Opening Statement by Michael V. Hayden, Unclassified (5 pages, PDF)

  • Via FAS, full transcript of the Hayden confirmation hearing (171 pages, PDF), and the same transcript via DNI

  • AP: Hayden Insists NSA Surveillance Is Legal

  • New York Times: C.I.A. Choice Says He's Independent of the Pentagon

  • AP, May 17, 2006: "National Intelligence Director John Negroponte declassified a list of 30 congressional briefings the Bush administration says have been held since the National Security Agency began its no-warrant surveillance program after the Sept. 11 attacks."

  • The Hill, May 16, 2006, Specter strikes NSA deal, by Alexander Bolton: "Specter has mollified conservative opposition to his bill by agreeing to drop the requirement that the Bush administration seek a legal judgment on the program from a special court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978...An expert in constitutional law and national security, however, said that the change would allow the administration to throw up huge obstacles to anyone seeking to challenge the program’s legality."

  • Listening In: Eavesdripping and the National Security Agency - Patrick Radden Keefe, James Risen, Adm. Bob Inman and Jeffrey Rosen, moderator, Monday, May 8, 2006, New York Public Library (Transcript, 34 pages, PDF).

  • CRS Report, Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities, May 17, 2006 (19 pages, PDF)

  • Related postings on domestic surveillance program
  • Debate on Future of the Library Catalog

  • The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools, Final Report, March 17, 2006, prepared for the Library of Congress by Associate University Librarian Karen Calhoun of Cornell University (52 pages, PDF)

  • A Critical Review of The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools, April 3, 2006 (24 pages, PDF)

  • ALA urges more deliberation, library involvement in Library of Congress' cataloging changes, May 16, 2006

  • Library Journal (reg. req'd), ALA Rebukes LC, Calls for Consultation with Libraries and Delay in Bibliographic Changes, May 18, 2006

  • Global Poll Ranks Media More Trustworthy Than Governments

    BBC Poll, Trust in Media press release: "More people trust the media than their governments, especially in developing countries, according to a ten-country opinion poll for the BBC, Reuters, and The Media Center." [thanks to D.C.]

  • "National TV was the most trusted news source overall (trusted by 82%, with 16% not trusting it) - followed by national/regional newspapers (75% vs 19%), local newspapers (69% vs 23%), public radio (67% vs 18%), and international satellite TV (56% vs 19%). Internet blogs were the least trusted source (25% vs 23%) – with one in two unable to say whether they trusted them."

  • BBC/Reuters/Media Center Poll, Trust in Media (22 pages, PDF), May 3, 2006
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Blogs
    Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress

    CRS report, Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress, May 12, 2006 (37 pages, PDF)

  • White House: President Bush Discusses Border Security and Immigration Reform in Arizona, Yuma Sector Border Patrol Headquarters
    Yuma, Arizona, May 18, 2006

  • White House, Comprehensive Immigration Reform

  • White House Fact Sheet: President Requests Funds to Strengthen Border Security, May 18, 2006

  • HHS OIG: Detention and Removal of Illegal Aliens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (PDF, 52 pages), 05/18/2006

  • FTC Guide For Protecting Consumer Wireless Networks

    Press release: "Wireless Internet access can free you from the confines of cords, but not from the need for security. Without taking the proper precautions, it's easy for others to use your wireless network connection to access the Internet, or even to access the information on your own computer. The Federal Trade Commission is introducing a new section of OnGuard Online to teach computer users how to protect their personal wireless network connections – and the computers on them – from unauthorized use. The information also is available in Spanish."

    Voting Rights Enforcement & Reauthorization

    From the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights:

  • Voting Rights Enforcement & Reauthorization, May 2006 (108 pages, PDF)
  • Reauthorization of the Temporary Provisions of the Voting Rights Act, February 2006 (68 pages, PDF)
  • LC Launches Global Legal Monitor

    The Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor, May 2006 (1 G.L.M. 2006), 50 pages, PDF. "The Global Legal Monitor is a new electronic publication of the Law Library of Congress intended for those who have an interest in legal developments around the world. It draws upon information selected from official national legal publications and reliable press sources and is arranged by broad subject topics." [Donna Scheeder, Director, Law Library Services, Law Library of Congress]

    New Health Policy Research Tool on KaiserEDU.org

    "SmartLinks provides 'pre-queried' searches on health policy topics (Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Electronic Medical Records, Children's Health Coverage, Public Health Preparedness, Drug Safety and Regulation, Stem Cell Policy, Drug Reimportation, VA Health System) in several different internet search engines. You'll get results from: PubMed, Kaisernetwork Daily Headlines, HighBeam Research, Google Uncle Sam, Google Scholar, and NY Academy of Medicine Grey Literature Report."

    Materials Now Available On Medicare Drug Benefit And Low-Income Beneficiaries

    Fromt he Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:

  • "Observations On The Initial Implementation Of The Medicare Prescription Drug Program, a new report based on a focus-group discussion with state Medicaid directors assesses continuing issues related to the interaction between Medicaid and the Medicare prescription drug benefit for both dual enrollees and states."

  • From the Foundation by the Center for Medicare Advocacy:
  • "Toward Making Medicare Work For Low-Income Beneficiaries, a new report examines how the assistance to low-income beneficiaries in the Medicare drug benefit interacts with state-level Medicaid assistance with Medicare premiums and cost sharing through the Medicare Savings Program. The report, prepared by the Center for Medicare Advocacy, surveys all 50 state programs and assesses the implications of their varying eligibility requirements."
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Government Documents
    GAO Reviews Challenges Inherent in Evacuating Vulnerable Populations During Disasters

    Disaster Preparedness: Preliminary Observations on the Evacuation of Vulnerable Populations due to Hurricanes and Other Diasasters, Full-text report GAO-06-790T, and Highlights, May 18, 2006.

    May 17, 2006
    EFF Can Use Critical AT&T Documents in Surveillance Lawsuit

    Follow-up to May 15, 2006 posting, EFF Reports Government Files Secret Motion to Dismiss AT&T Surveillance Case:

  • Press release, May 17, 2006: "A federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) can use critical evidence in its class-action lawsuit against AT&T. However, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the evidence -- three documents that AT&T alleges are proprietary and contain the company's trade secrets -- will be kept under seal for now. EFF's suit accuses AT&T of illegally handing over its customers' telephone and Internet records and communications to the National Security Agency (NSA). The evidence at issue was filed as support for EFF's motion for a preliminary injunction against AT&T, seeking to stop the company's ongoing violations of the law and the privacy of its customers."

  • AP: Court Allows AT&T Docs In Lawsuit - Papers That Allegedly Detail Surveillance Of Customers' Phones Remain Sealed

  • Related postings on domestic surveillance program
  • Permanent Link       Topic(s): Courts, Privacy
    Gov't Must Confront Privacy Issues Related to Personal Data

    Privacy: Key Challenges Facing Federal Agencies, Full text report GAO-06-777T, adn Highlights, May 17, 2006.

  • "Advances in information technology make it easier than ever for the federal government to obtain and process personal information about citizens and residents in many ways and for many purposes. To ensure that the privacy rights of individuals are respected, this information must be properly protected in accordance with current law, particularly the Privacy Act and the E-Government Act of 2002."
  • Call for Regs to Limit Sale of Social Security Data On Net

    Social Security Numbers: Internet Resellers Provide Few Full SSNs, but Congress Should Consider Enacting Standards for Truncating SSNs, Full-text report GAO-06-495, and Highlights, May 17, 2006.

  • "According to experts we spoke to, there are few federal laws and no specific industry standards on whether to display the first five or last four digits of the SSN, and SSA officials told us the agency does not have the authority to regulate how other public or private entities use SSNs, including how they are truncated. We could not determine if federal privacy laws were applicable to the Internet resellers because such laws depend on the type of entity and the source of information, and most of the resellers' Web sites did not include this information. However, these laws could apply to resellers; 4 of the resellers we examined had Web sites identifying the type of entity they were. About one-half of the resellers cited adherence to one or more federal privacy laws and a few referenced state laws."
  • GAO Reports on Continued Obstacles to Critical Infrastructure Info Sharing

    Information Sharing: DHS Should Take Steps to Encourage More Widespread Use of Its Program to Protect and Share Critical Infrastructure Information, Full-text report GAO-06-383, and Highlights, April 17, 2006.

  • "Key challenges include defining specific government needs for critical infrastructure information, determining how the information will be used, assuring the private sector that the information will be protected and who will be authorized to