"The Open Government Guide is a complete compendium of information on every state's open records and open meetings laws. Each state's section is arranged according to a standard outline, making it easy to compare laws in various states."

Campaign Finance: An Overview, July 31, 2006.

"The ALERT initiative is intended to raise the awareness of state and local government agency and industry representatives regarding food defense issues and preparedness. It is generic enough to apply to all aspects of the farm-to-table supply chain and is designed to spark thought and discussion with a variety of stakeholders. ALERT identifies five key points that industry and businesses can use to decrease the risk of intentional food contamination at their facility."

"On 15 May 2006 the General Council decided to make public all official documents issued under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Many of these documents did not exist electronically, and have been scanned to create a digital archive. This is a work in progress — cataloguing is not completed, and refinements to structure and help files will be added at a later date. Of the roughly 88,000 documents issued under GATT, about 51,000 are available..." [Link to GATT documents]

Pew Research Center: Online Papers Modestly Boost Newspaper Readership Maturing Internet News Audience Broader Than Deep, Released: July 30, 2006.

EPA Could Improve Its Redistribution of Superfund Payments to Specific Sites, [At a Glance] [Report - PDF 26 pages], July 31, 2006.

Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR): Changes in Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund Program Activities – January through March 2006, (18 pages, PDF), July 28, 2006.

Internet Protocol Version 6: Federal Government in Early Stages of Transition and Key Challenges Remain, Full text GAO-06-675, and Highlights, June 30, 2006.

Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR): Joint Survey of the U.S. Embassy – Iraq's Anticorruption Program (33 pages, PDF), July 28, 2006.

The July 2006 Section 2207 report provides updates on Iraq Relief and Reconstruction.

Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR): Transition of Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund Projects to the Iraqi Government, (30 pages, PDF), July 28, 2006.

Nixon White House Considered Nuclear Options Against North Vietnam, Declassified Documents Reveal - Nuclear Weapons, the Vietnam War, and the "Nuclear Taboo", National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 195, Edited by William Burr and Jeffrey Kimball, Posted - July 31, 2006, The National Security Archive.

U.S. Courts press release: "A total of 111 languages required interpretation in federal court proceedings in fiscal year 2005 (the 12-month period ending September 30, 2005). The overwhelming majority – 94 percent – of the 227,461 language-interpreting events were in Spanish."

Into the Breach: Security Breaches and Identity Theft/Research Report
July 2006 — "Security breaches of data files can lead to identity theft. In this AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest, Neal Walters analyzes 244 breaches between January 1, 2005 and May 26, 2006, and finds that 40 percent were caused by hackers or insider access targeting sensitive personal information, potentially exposing 50 million individuals’ names and personal data."

GSA press release: "The U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Office of Citizens Services & Communications is warning the public to avoid falling victim to a recent e-mail scheme that targets users by sending unsolicited e-mails allegedly from FirstGov, the citizen portal operated by GSA. These scam e-mails tell recipients that because of recent fraudulent activities on Money Access Online they need to confirm their account has not been stolen or hacked. The e-mails then direct recipients to click on a link and enter information related to personal credit card accounts."

Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office, July 25, 2006: "Hearings open to the public will be posted in advance on the respective websites of the BPAI and the TTAB. The posting will contain the time, date, hearing room, and proceeding number set for a particular hearing session. Due to last minute cancellations or no shows, there is no guaranty that a hearing on a particular proceeding will occur, although it may be posted."

DHS' Management of Automated Procurement Systems Needs Improvement, OIG-06-46 (PDF, 24 Pages), July 28, 2006.

EPIC: "A data breach notification bill [H.R. 3997] backed by the House Financial Services Committee drew criticisms from state law enforcement officials and a coalition of consumer groups, who said that existing state laws are more effective at protecting consumers. In a letter to House leadership signed by 48 state attorneys general, the National Association of Attorneys General stated that an effective data breach law should preserve strong consumer protections and allow states to enforce data breach laws. Consumer groups said that the Financial Data Protection Act "does nothing positive for consumers and rolls back existing state consumer protection laws."

Press release: "The Federal Trade Commission today issued a new “Facts for Consumers” on over-the-counter genetic tests. According to the FTC, some companies claim that their tests can help consumers screen for diseases, evaluate health risks, or suggest treatments."

From the LC Country Studies Program, a new country profile of Mexico, added July 26, 2006 (27 pages, PDF).

France's mysterious embrace of blogs, by Thomas Crampton International Herald Tribune: "Already famed for angry labor strikes and philosophical debates in smoke-filled cafés, the French have now brought these passions online to become some of the world's most intensive bloggers."

About Google Trends: "With Google Trends, you can compare the world's interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they've been searched for on Google over time. Google Trends also displays how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and which geographic regions have searched for them most often."

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon: "UNIFIL was created in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore the international peace and security, and help the Lebanese Government restore its effective authority in the area."

H.R.5319 - To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.

Press release: "Director of National Intelligence, John D. Negroponte, today released the Intelligence Community's unclassified progress report on the implementation of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction intelligence reform recommendations."

Press release: "The Oversight Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a report assessing the implementation of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The report provides a snapshot of how the goals of the Intelligence Reform Act are being satisfied."

July 27, 2006: President Bush Signs Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006
July 27, 2006 - Fact Sheet: Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006

Improved Administration Can Enhance Science and Technology Laptop Computer Security (Redacted), OIG-06-42 (PDF, 36 Pages), July 27, 2006.

As posted by Diane K. Kovacs, 'Core' or Essential Reference Tool Survey: Government Documents.

Press release: "...FirstGov.gov, the official portal of the U.S. Government, has won the Pioneer Award from Federal Computer Week and the Government Solutions Center (GSC) for its "innovative use of technology in a government program."

Letter Report: TSA's Develpment of Its Weapons Management System Using RFID (Redacted), OIG-06-44 (PDF, 9 Pages), July 27, 2006.

Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing today: FISA for the 21st Century. Link to witness statements.

Freedom of Information Act: Preliminary Analysis of Processing Trends Shows Importance of Improvement Plans, Full-text GAO-06-1022T, and Highlights, July 26, 2006.

Personal Information: Key Federal Privacy Laws Do Not Require Information Resellers to Safeguard All Sensitive Data, Full text GAO-06-674, and Highlights, June 26, 2006.

FTC report to Congress regarding the Do Not Call Registry for Fiscal Year 2005 (20 pages, PDF)

SEC press release 2006-123 Jul. 26, 2006: SEC Votes to Adopt Changes to Disclosure Requirements Concerning Executive Compensation and Related Matters

Press release: "In a letter to Attorney General Gonzales today [text of which is included in this release], Congressman Jerrold Nadler renewed his call for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program.When Congressman Nadler first called for a special counsel in December of last year, the Administration responded by tracing its authority to carry out illegal wiretapping to Article II of the Constitution, and to Congress's Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in 2001. However, the Supreme Court firmly rebuked the President when it held in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, in June of this year, that the Administration's claims were insufficient to justify military tribunals for detainees in Guantánamo."

Treasury Inspecter General for Tax Administration - Increased Managerial Attention Is Needed to Ensure Taxpayer Accounts Are Monitored to Detect Unauthorized Employee Accesses, July 24, 2006. Reference Number: 2006-20-111.

Federal Reserve Beige Book July 26, 2006 - summary includes links to data on individual districts.

Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah: The Current Conflict, July 21, 2006 (45 pages, PDF)

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia -- hearing -- STOP!: A Progress Report on Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights Here and Abroad [Links to witness testimony]

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Key Findings of Congressional Delegation to the Middle East, July 21-25, 2006

Press release: "This Report presents a detailed description of Treasury's dynamic analysis of the President's proposal to permanently extend the tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003 that are currently set to expire at the end of 2010."

House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law -- Oversight Hearing on "The 60th Anniversary of the Administrative Procedure Act: Where Do We Go From Here?"

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB Letter Report on Electronic Voting, July 2006 (Download the 13 page report from this page).

Review of CPB Actions Taken to Intercept Suspected Terrorists at U.S. Ports of Entry (PDF, 11 Pages), July 25, 2006.

"The survey, Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide - 2005 (110 pages PDF), was conducted by the E-Governance Institute of Rutgers University-Newark and the Global e-Policy e-Government Institute of the Graduate School of Governance, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea. It was co-sponsored by the United Nations Division of Public Administration and Development Management and the American Society for Public Administration. This research replicates a survey completed in 2003. The present survey evaluates the practice of digital governance in large municipalities worldwide in 2005. Both studies focused on the evaluation of current practices in government, and the emphasis of the research was on the evaluation of each website in terms of digital governance. Simply stated, digital governance includes both digital government (delivery of public service) and digital democracy (citizen participation in governance). Specifically, we analyzed security, usability, and content of websites, the type of online services currently being offered, and citizen response and participation through websites established by city governments."

Secrecy News: "In a rare victory for public access to intelligence agency records, a federal court yesterday ordered (pdf) the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to process its FY 2006 budget request for release under the Freedom of Information Act. Judge Reggie B. Walton of the D.C. District Court granted a motion filed by the Federation of American Scientists to compel the NRO to comply with the FOIA."

"CDT launched PolicyBeta, a new blog dedicated to expanding the dialogue about technology policy, civil liberties and preserving democratic values in the digital age. PolicyBeta will feature regular posts on issues ranging from domestic surveillance to spyware, and will provide CDT experts an opportunity to discuss in detail the latest trends and developments affecting the technology policy debate. CDT is encouraging journalists, technologists, academics and interested individuals to visit the blog regularly and participate in the discussion."

The Boundaries of Belonging: Reflections on Migration Policies into the 21st Century (16 pages, PDF) by Alison Crosby, Inter Pares, Canada. "This paper examines the politics of categorization that defines people who move, as well as the migration containment policies that set and maintain the boundaries of these categories. The paper explains why "the problem" is not migration per se, but rather the way the powerful seek to control and contain the movement of people. Migration policies are a form of population control; the issue is who is controlled, and how. and because of the who, and the how, migration policy is a justice issue. Indeed, it is one of the most pressing justice issues of our time, and requires the consolidated and coordinated attention of all of us concerned with issues of human rights and social justice. It cannot be ignored."

Press release: "County governments are using Information Technology with greater and greater savvy each year, according to the 2006 Digital Counties Survey, an annual study by the Center for Digital Government (Center) and the National Association of Counties (NACo)."

FEMA Reorganization Legislation in the 109th Congress, July 7, 2006 (39 pages, PDF)

AP reports that "[t]he names, addresses and Social Security numbers of as many as 540,000 injured workers [in New York] have been lost, and the state and a contracted company are trying to protect the workers from identity theft."

Bureau of Justice Statistics - Improving Criminal History Records for Background Checks, 2005: "Describes the achievements of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), its authorizing legislation, and program history. This program report summarizes NCHIP-funded criminal record improvement efforts, including improved accessibility of records, full participation in the Interstate Identification Index, the automation of records and fingerprint data, and improvements in the National Instant Criminal Background Check, National Sex Offender Registry, and domestic violence and protection order systems. The report provides examples of projects aimed at enhancing the involvement of the courts and system integration in improving disposition reporting. The report also discusses the Bureau of Justice Statistics' efforts to improve performance measurement including the development and use of a Records Quality Index." [July 6, 2006]

Data Used to Report Toll-Free Telephone Quality Are Reliable, but Internal Controls Need to Be Documented, July 21, 2006 - Reference Number 2006-40-107 (26 pages, PDF): "Each year, millions of customers call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toll-free telephone lines seeking assistance in understanding the tax law and meeting their tax obligations. Toll-free telephone assistors provided over 26 million tax account and 5 million tax law services[1] during Fiscal Year 2005. Because of the complexity of the tax law and the need to serve millions of customers with tax questions, the IRS divides the types of questions commonly asked into categories called "applications." Each application is staffed with a group of assistors that have received specialized training to assist customers with specific tax issues. To ensure assistors provide top-quality service, the IRS subjects all telephone assistor contacts to numerous levels of review. Quality reviews are used to measure employee, operational, and organizational performance to identify trends, problem areas, training needs, and opportunities for process improvements."

Buy American Act Compliance, OIG-06-037, May 2006 (PDF, 17 pages), July 25, 2006.

Democratic Leadership Conference press release: "The American Dream Initiative is an opportunity agenda for the middle class and all who aspire to join its ranks. Our vision is straightforward and clear: to leave our children a richer, safer, smarter, and stronger nation than the one we inherited. We believe that every citizen should have the opportunity to secure the pillars of the American Dream: a college degree, a home, a secure retirement, and the chance to get ahead in a growing economy."

Press release: "Presidential signing statements that assert President Bush's authority to disregard or decline to enforce laws adopted by Congress undermine the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers, according to a report released today by a blue-ribbon American Bar Association task force."

Collaborative Reference Work in the Blogosphere, by Jeffrey Pomerantz (16 pages, PDF): "This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lycemum, and open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose."

Survey of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita Contracts and Grants - Audit: OS-DEN-17829-6-001-07-06

Washington Post: Top-Secret World Loses Blogger - CIA Contractor Is Fired When Internal Post Crosses the Line

Francisco, James R., "Knowledge Management Tools Supporting Education" (July 2006). [Link to download]

Matwyshyn, Andrea M., "Technoconsen(t)sus" (May 2006). Posted July 19, 2006 [Link to download]

Press release: "In the 53-page report, "No Blood, No Foul: Soldiers’ Accounts of Detainee Abuse in Iraq," soldiers describe how detainees were routinely subjected to severe beatings, painful stress positions, severe sleep deprivation, and exposure to extreme cold and hot temperatures. The accounts come from interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch, supplemented by memoranda and sworn statements contained in declassified documents." [July 2006 -- Volume Number 18, No. 3(G)]

Press release: "According to MarkMonitor's AntiFraud Operations Center™ (AFOC), domain-based phishing attacks now represent 73 percent of all attacks, up from 35 percent just 18 months ago." Related reference in this press release to an academic paper titled, Why Phishing Works.

The International Judicial Monitor is "an international law resource for judiciaries, justice sector professionals and the rule of law community. Published by the American Society of International Law and the International Judicial Academy. The current issue [July 2006, Volume 1, Issue 3] is now available online. See also the site's links to additional International Resources.

The Economic Effects of Recent Increases in Energy Prices (36 pages, PDF) Report prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, July 2006.

U.S. News reports that an ABA task force is planning to escalate the debate on the president's use of signing statements to bypass laws passed by Congress. "In a report to be released Monday, the [task force] will recommend that Congress pass legislation providing for some sort of judicial review of the signing statements."

"At the urging of the Senate Finance Committee, the United States Congress mandated that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sponsor a study by the IOM to address the problem of medication errors. Preventing Medication Errors puts forward a national agenda for reducing medication errors based on estimates of the incidence and cost of such errors and evidence on the efficacy of various prevention strategies. The report finds that medication errors are surprisingly common and costly to the nation, and it outlines a comprehensive approach to decreasing the prevalence of these errors. This approach will require changes from doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others in the health care industry, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other government agencies, from hospitals and other health-care organizations, and from patients."

Press release: "The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today released survey results that demonstrate pervasive and dangerous political influence of science at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of the 997 FDA scientists who responded to the survey, nearly one-fifth (18.4 percent) said that they "have been asked, for non-scientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information or their conclusions in a FDA scientific document." This is the third survey UCS has conducted to examine inappropriate interference with science at federal agencies."

Main FDA Survey Documents:

Disaster Preparedness: Limitations in Federal Evacuation Assistance for Health Facilities Should be Addressed GAO-06-826, and Highlights, July 20, 2006.

Press release: "A federal judge today denied the government's motion to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) case against AT&T for collaborating with the NSA in illegal spying of millions of ordinary Americans. This allows the case to go forward in the
courts."

House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Staff report, To Secure America: The 9/11 Commission's Homeland Security Recommendations (33 pages, PDF), "provides a side-by-side comparison of 9/11 Commission recommendations, notable action taken to realize these recommendations, and critical efforts that must still be accomplished."

Press release: "Amnesty International (AI) today released a new report, "Undermining Freedom of Expression in China," (32 pages, PDF) exposing how Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google have violated their stated corporate values and policies in pursuit of the potentially lucrative Chinese market. In sync with the report release, the organization unveiled irrepressible.info, a new campaign for free speech online that continues Amnesty International's work combating Internet censorship."

USAToday.com reports that up to eight data mining programs have been deployed by intelligence agencies to mine financial and personal records in an effort to identify potential terrorist activities.

Fom Google Labs, Accessible Web Search for the Visually Challenged: "In addition to finding the most relevant results as measured by Google's search algorithms, it further sorts results based on the simplicity of their page layouts."

A WSJ free featurea, this Mideast Crisis Tracker, launched on July 12, is "updated regularly with news on the Israel-Hezbollah-Lebanon crisis, ET."

Follow-up to recents postings on FISA that include House Intelligence Hearing on Modernizing FISA and Draft Agreement With White House on Domestic Surveillance Oversight, see this new article on the subject by Edward Lazarus: Why The "Compromise" Foreign Surveillance Wiretap Legislation Pending in Congress Is No Compromise: The Bill, and Senator Specter's Strange Reversal on the Issue

HR 3282, approved 16-15; HR 5766, approved 15-12; Side-by-side comparison of Sunset Commission Bills in the 109th Congress, by OMBWatch.

FTC press release: "The federal financial institution regulatory agencies and the Federal Trade Commission are soliciting comments on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning identity theft “red flags” and address discrepancies. The NPRM, which has been reviewed and approved by each of the listed agencies, implements sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The regulations that the agencies are jointly proposing would require each financial institution and creditor to develop and implement an identity theft prevention program that includes policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft in connection with account openings and existing accounts."

"Rudd Sound Bites, the weblog of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, aims to encourage global discussion of front burner news and the most critical issues regarding food policy and obesity. Rudd Sound Bites has eleven regular contributors who are faculty members and affiliates of the Rudd Center...The Rudd Center's mission is to change the world's diet through policy, science, and dialogue."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, July 19, 2006 (30 pages, PDF).

Press release: "Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies will release a report today, co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress, that reveals broad public concern about the growing problem of household debt in America. The national survey results...show that Americans have considerable consensus about how to address this issue...Ultimately, respondents hold individuals responsible for their personal finances, more so than lenders or changes in the economy. This belief leads the American people to support policy solutions such as savings incentives, financial education, and ending abusive practices that enable borrowers to meaningfully exercise personal responsibility."

Press release: "A national phone survey of bloggers finds that most are focused on describing their personal experiences to a relatively small audience of readers and that only a small proportion focus their coverage on politics, media, government, or technology. Blogs, the survey finds, are as individual as the people who keep them. However, most bloggers are primarily interested in creative, personal expression – documenting individual experiences, sharing practical knowledge, or just keeping in touch with friends and family."

Where the Jobs Are: Locating Law Librarian Jobs Made Easy presented by the Placement Committee at the 2006 Annual Meeting.

House Intelligence to Hold Open Hearing on Modernizing FISA, July 19, 2006.

The House failed to override the President's veto of HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, by roll call vote #388, 235 yeas to 193 nays.

Press release: "JupiterResearch, a leading authority on the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on business, reveals that 35 percent of large companies plan to institute corporate Weblogs this year. Combined with the existing deployed base of 34 percent, nearly 70 percent of all site operators will have implemented corporate blogs by the end of 2006. According to a new report, Corporate Weblogs: Deployment, Promotion, and Measurement, currently 64 percent of executives spend less than $500,000 to deploy and manage corporate Weblogs."

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, from Wikipedia [use at your own discretion]

Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, hearing entitled Telecommuting: A 21st Century Solution to Traffic Jams and Terrorism, July 18, 2006.

Producer Price Index News Release text (20 pages, PDF)

From OMB Watch, published July 17, 2006: "This issue brief discusses the leading sunset commission proposals and identifies whether they live up to their promise of cutting waste and improving management of federal programs, or whether they present new problems."

Press release: "Rep. Heather Wilson, chair of the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence was joined today by Reps. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in introducing the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act of 2006, an update to the outdated Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." [a description of the bill is included in this release]

Global War on Terrorism [GWOT]: Observations on Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments, Full-text GAO-06-885T, and Highlights, July 18, 2006.

July 17, 2006 -- Fact Sheet: The President's Accomplishments at the G-8 Summit

The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, chaired by Rep. Spencer Bachus (AL), held a hearing today entitled "ICANN and the Whois Database: Providing Access to Protect Consumers from Phishing." Government officials contend that access to Whois data is essential in the effort to combat cybercrimes, while privacy advocates maintain that access to data on domain name holders facilitates phishing, spam and other types of fraud.

Press release: "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Ready Campaign today launched an updated version of its Web site, www.ready.gov, to educate Americans about the simple steps they should take to be ready for a variety of emergencies."

Weather Forecasting: National Weather Service Is Planning to Improve Service and Gain Efficiency, but Impacts of Potential Changes Are Not Yet Known GAO-06-792, and Highlights, July 14, 2006.

Electricity Data for the International Energy Annual 2004 (07/10/2006):

H.R.4411 -- H.Rpt.109-412, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 Pt. 1 (28 pages, PDF) and Pt. 2 (25 pages, PDF): "Prohibits the acceptance of any bank instrument for unlawful Internet gambling. It's primary purpose is to give U.S. law enforcement new, more effective tools for combating offshore Internet gambling sites that illegally extend their services to U.S. residents via the Internet."

Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants 2003 and 2004 (07/05/2006)

Press release: "Effective July 17, the Central Intelligence Agency website began using industry-standard SSL (secure sockets layer) to enable secure communications between visitors' browsers and our Web server and a digital SSL server certificate issued by a trusted commercial Certificate Authority to authenticate that visitors are connected to the CIA website and not a copy of it...To minimize inconvenience, visitors trying to connect to the old address for the CIA, the CIA Careers, and the World Factbook home pages will be taken directly to the requested page at the new address."

CDT, July 14, 2006: "Contrary to press reports of a White House compromise on NSA legislation, Senator Specter has agreed to a bill that would shield the Administration from accountability for its illegal warrantless wiretapping. The bill has been erroneously described as requiring judicial review of the President's warrantless wiretapping program. In fact, the bill retroactively guts the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by making judicial review of the program by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court optional. It would also allow electronic surveillance in violation of the Fourth Amendment's requirements of probable cause and individualized suspicion."

Press release: "E-mail mismanagement continues to take a hefty toll on U.S. employers, with costly lawsuits--and employee terminations--topping the list of electronic risks. As recent court cases demonstrate, e-mail can sink businesses--legally and financially. Last year, the inability to produce subpoenaed e-mail resulted in million dollar--even billion dollar--lawsuits against U.S. companies. In fact, 24% of organizations have had employee e-mail subpoenaed, and 15% of companies have gone to court to battle lawsuits triggered by employee e-mail. That's according to the 2006 Workplace E-Mail, Instant Messaging & Blog Survey from American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute."

From Paula J. Hane: "In a move designed to reach users outside library environments, OCLC is planning to launch a new destination site and downloadable search box for searching the content of libraries participating in WorldCat. Scheduled for a beta release sometime in August 2006, the new WorldCat.org site will continue OCLC's efforts begun with its Open WorldCat program to make library resources more visible to Web users and to increase awareness of libraries as a primary source of reliable information."

Press release, July 12, 2006: "As cable companies aggressively entice telephone customers with attractively priced service bundles, many are also outperforming traditional telephone companies in satisfying customers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Residential All-Distance Telephone Customer Satisfaction StudySM released today."

Press release: "The number of federally registered political action committees (PACs) increased slightly, from 4,210 on January 1, 2006, to 4,217 by July 1, 2006 according to a semi-annual survey by the Federal Election Commission. Corporate PACs remain the largest category, with 1,621 committees, followed by non-connected – 1,233 trade/membership/health - 935, labor - 283, corporations without stock - 105, and cooperatives - 40. PACs sponsored by corporations and labor organizations are technically referred to as "separate segregated funds" and must register within 10 days of being established. Non-connected PACs (those which are not connected to or sponsored by a corporation or labor organization, and which are not related to a candidate's campaign or to a political party organization) must register within 10 days after certain financial activity exceeds $1,000 during a calendar year." [see the full release for the accompanying charts]

Follow-up to previous postings on expansion of presidential powers, a new commentary by John W. Dean, The Bush Administration's Adversarial Relationship with Congress -- as Illustrated by Its Refusal to Even Provide the Number of Signing Statements Issued by President Bush.

AP: "Chief Justice John Roberts said Thursday the Supreme Court is not interested in televising its hearings, and might never be."

Follow-up to postings on documents and news related to the terror finance tracking program, this recently published CRS report, posted by FAS: Treasury's Terrorist Finance Program's Access to Information Held by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), July 7, 2006.

Appropriations Committee press release, July 13, 2006: "The Senate Appropriations Committee today gave approval to the fiscal year 2007 District of Columbia spending bill. The bill totals $597 million in federal funds, which is $200,000 below the fiscal year 2006 enacted level and the same as the President's budget request...$15 million for a new Central Library in the District of Columbia. The President requested $30 million for a new central library, noting the need for a state-of-the art facility which would provide citizens access to modern technology and improved research and meetings facilities. The Committee believes that a better library system will help the District lower its adult illiteracy rate of 37 percent and help improve lives and opportunities of DC residents."

CBO - Estimated Costs of U.S. Operations in Iraq Under Two Specified Scenarios, July 14, 2006

EPIC: "In a settlement (11 pages, PDF) reached with the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T agreed to pay $550,000 in a case concerning consumer privacy. According to the settlement, AT&T may have improperly used customer data for marketing purposes. AT&T also agreed to improve procedures for opt-out notification. This investigation was prompted by an EPIC petition submitted to the FCC in August 2005."

Litman, Jessica, "The Economics of Open-Access Law Publishing" . Lewis & Clark Law Review, Forthcoming - Available at SSRN.

[Federal Register: July 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 134)][Rules and Regulations][Page 39707-40001] Foreign Assets Control Office - Sanctions; blocked person, specifically designated nationals, terrorists, and narcotics traffickers, and foreign terrorist organizations: Individuals and entities subject to various economic sanctions programs.

Press release: The Computer Security Institute (CSI) with the participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Computer Intrusion Squad today released its 2006 report citing that virus attacks are the leading cause of financial losses. The top four categories -- virus attacks, unauthorized access to networks, lost/stolen laptops or mobile hardware and theft of proprietary information or intellectual property -- according to the 2006 Computer Crime and Security Survey, account for more than 74 percent of financial loss."

Press release: "The Markle Foundation Task Force on National Security in the Information Age released its third report today with recommendations on how to reconcile national security needs with civil liberties requirements. The report offers a new "authorized use" standard for government handling of legally collected information that bases authorization to view information on how the information is going to be used, rather than on the nationality of the subject or the location of collection. The report also proposes a new risk management approach to sharing classified information that balances the risk of compromising classified information with the security risk that can come from failing to share information with those who need it to understand the threats to national security."

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: Ethics Essentials, a Primer for New Judges on Conflicts, Outside Activities, and other Potential Pitfalls (26 pages, PDF)....emphasizes the importance of understanding and observing ethics standards."

Testimony of Robert A. Vito, Regional Inspector General for Evaluation and Inspections, Philadelphia, before the House Committee on Ways & Means, Subcommittee on Health, on Medicare Part B Prescription Drug Reimbursements, July 13, 2006 (6 pages, PDF)

Clean Energy Solutions - EJournal - U.S. Department of State, July 2006: "Projected dramatic increases in energy consumption in the coming decades, combined with a higher risk of climate change, require a massive global response based on technological innovation and the power of the marketplace. Experts and government officials describe the options before us, including renewable energy, novel vehicles, and low-carbon power generation, and discuss the best ways leading to a sustainable energy future."

Follow-up to postings related to the Plame CIA Leak Investigation, see the website for the Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust, which also provides a link to the 23 page complaint filed today in District Court for the District of Columbia: Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson IV v. I. Lewis Libby Jr., Karl C. Rove, Richard B. Cheney, and John Does No. 1-10.

Follow-up to International Committee Sets New Limits on Lead and Cadmium In Foods, this July 11, 2006 press release from Defenders of Wildlife: Ground-breaking Study of Imported Tuna Reveals FDA/EPA Recommendations for Light Canned Tuna Consumption Not Protective Enough.

Mid-Session Review for FY 2007 from the US Budget, July 11, 2006 (54 pages, PDF)

Senate Republican Policy Committee Policy Paper: The Meaning and Impact of the Supreme Court's Hamdan Decision (9 pages, PDF), July 11, 2006. "...three areas that may require Congressional response include, but are not limited to, the structure and procedures used to try combatants, the application of the Detainee Treatment Act's habeas corpus procedures to pending cases, and the Supreme Court's unprecedented decision that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions applies to the detainees."

Press release: "A bipartisan amendment offered by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Susan Collins, R-Me., and Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., that will reinvent, protect, and strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) passed the Senate floor today by a vote of 87 to 11. The amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations legislation was cosponsored by Senators Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Tom Carper, D-Del., and largely mirrors legislation introduced by Senators Collins and Lieberman two weeks ago, The United States Emergency Management Authority Act of 2006. Specifically, the measure will implement key recommendations of the Committee's Hurricane Katrina Report, A Nation Still Unprepared, and will recreate FEMA as the U.S. Emergency Management Authority (USEMA), reunite its response and preparedness functions, and ensure that the agency remains within the Department of Homeland Security as an independent agency, similar to the current structure of the Coast Guard."

OMB Introduces Key Resource to Give Agencies Easier Access to Emergency Response Information

AP: "Computer break-ins at the State Department that caused broad disruptions in recent weeks apparently originated in the East Asia-Pacific region, a department spokesman said Wednesday."

H.R.5739 - To limit the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Ron Paul [TX-14] (introduced 6/29/2006)

Who's Making What In The White House, by Alexis Simendinger, for NationalJournal.com (sub. req'd)

Follow-up to postings on terrorist financing programs, the House Committee on Financial Services hearing entitled "The Terror Finance Tracking Program," Tuesday, July 11, 2006.

Although Improvements Have Been Made, More Can Be Done to Identify Businesses by Their Principal Business Activity, July 2006, Reference Number: 2006-30-097 (21 pages, PDF). "This report presents the results of our review of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) efforts to identify businesses by their principal business activity. The overall objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective actions taken in response to the recommendations in a prior Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report."

Review of Issues Related to the Loss of VA Information Involving the Identity of Millions of Veterans, Rpt. #06-02238-163, July 11, 2006 (78 pages, PDF)

Washington Post: Top 100 Executives by Total Compensation, 2006: Includes name of executive, title, company, total compensation, salary and company net income/loss.

Progress in Developing the National Asset Database, OIG-06-40 (PDF, PDF), July 11, 2006: "The report assesses the actions DHS has taken to identify and organize the nation's critical infrastructure and key resources in the National Asset Database."

Related news and government documents:

Today the House passed HR 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act. The bill passed by roll call vote #363, 317 yeas to 93 nays.

Law Librarians Look Beyond Books - "Once endangered, librarians have expanded their role to include such duties as market research and competitive intelligence."

Press release: "In Manhattan, the public will have free remote access to a virtual file of civil cases in Supreme Court, including pleadings, preliminary conference and other case-management orders, requests for judicial intervention, notes of issue, orders to show cause and notices of motion. (Due to volume, affidavits, exhibits and other supporting motion papers will not be scanned.) In addition to the online virtual case file, access will be provided simultaneously to case activity information, such as a record of all court appearances and the date of filing of all papers with the County Clerk. Procedures will be implemented to ensure the protection of sensitive or confidential information. The pilot will begin in September, allowing for prior notification and consultation with the bar."

Press release: "Americans are very satisfied with their neighborhoods, according to 2005 American Housing Survey microdata released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The survey also reveals that the median value of a new home (built in the last four years) was $236,864; monthly housing costs were $809 last year."

ACLU press release today: "The documents, which include the report of Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, who was tapped to conduct a comprehensive review of Defense Department interrogation operations, reveal new details in how several systemic failures in the chain of command manifested themselves."

Risky Business? How Multinationals' Outsourcing Involving Customer Data Can Lead to Identity Theft and Other Fraud, by Anita Ramasastry.

In a follow-up to this July 25, 2004 posting - Depository Libraries Directed to destroy DOJ Pamphlets - this update, via Mike Ravnitzky, from the Forfeiture Endangers American Rights Foundation (FEAR): "In response to our FOIA requests, this week the DOJ released three manuals to us voluntarily -- the 2006 versions of: Selected Asset Forfeiture Statutes, Money Laundering Statutes and Related Materials, and the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual. These manuals are hot off the presses -- the two compilations of statutes (both of which include what appears to be a complete collection of every relevant federal statute on the subject -- and some very useful tables and "related material") were published in May 2006."

IN RE: SEARCH OF RAYBURN HOUSE BUILDING ROOM NO. 2113, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515, July 10, 2006: "A federal judge rules that the FBI's search of Louisiana Democratic Congressman William Jefferson's House office pursuant to a court-ordered search warrant was constitutional, and denies a motion seeking to enjoin FBI agents and the U.S. Department of Justice from reviwing or inspecting items seized from the congressman's office." [FindLaw]

WSJ free feature: Homing In on Lower Airfares - Web Sites Offer New Features To Help Users Time Purchases To Get a Better Travel Deal

Medicare Part D: Prescription Drug Plan Sponsor Call Center Responses Were Prompt, but Not Always Accurate, Full text GAO-06-710, and Highlights, June 30, 2006. [released July 10, 2006]

What Is a Wiki (and How to Use One for Your Projects), by Tom Stafford, Matt Webb, July 7, 2006.

According to the Institute of Food Technologists, the Codex Alimentarius Commission has set the following new standards: "...cadmium levels should not exceed two milligrams per kilo of marine bivalve molluscs, excluding oysters and scallops, and the same amount in cephalopods such as squids and octopus. The maximum level of lead in fish was set at 0.3 milligrams per kilo."

Press release, July 5, 2006: Taking action to protect Illinoisans’ private information from identity thieves, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed Senate Bill 2554 outlawing the practice of "pretexting" in Illinois. Pretexting is pretending to be an account holder, or to have authorization to access an account, to obtain cell phone records, long distance call records, a person’s physical location and other personal records, such as GM OnStar information and any other account information relating to that person, such as dating service information or post office boxes. The Governor called for tough new restrictions on the practice in January. According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Illinois is among the first states in the nation to fight cell phone record pretexting."

Declan McCullagh reported: "The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for eavesdropping."

Press release, July 7, 2006: "The Department of State has released the second Presidential report to the United States Congress on "U.S. Policy on Iraq" as mandated by the FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 1227 (c). The "1227 Report" covers current military, diplomatic, political, and economic measures that have been undertaken to successfully complete the mission in Iraq, and offers an assessment of our success on the three tracks articulated by President Bush."

"The Forgotten Homeland: A Century Foundation Task Force Report transcript from the June 29, 2006 panel discussion event, featuring Richard A. Clarke, Rand Beers, Jane A. Bullock, Martin O'Malley, and Richard C. Leone. (24 pages, PDF) gathers some of the leading homeland security experts to analyze the nation's most significant vulnerabilities and to propose strategies to reduce them. The report addresses terrorist as well as nonterrorist threats and offers ideas for strengthening all aspects of our emergency responses including our ability to respond to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina."

Enforcing the ADA: A Status Report from the Department of Justice, January - March 2006 (July 7, 2006)

Fact Sheet: Securing Our Nation’s Rail Systems, July 7, 2006 - "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 7/7 London subway bombings, and the Madrid rail bombings, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken several steps to manage risk and strengthen our nation's rail and transit systems..."

Related news and documents:

Defense Acquisitions: Further Management and Oversight Changes Needed for Efforts to Modernize Cheyenne Mountain Attack Warning Systems, GAO-06-666, July 6, 2006

In the wake of the steady stream of news (the latest at this time is here) about stolen laptops and data breaches impacting state and federal government agencies and personnel, as well as corporations large and small, this AP article raises an important question: "...Why is so much private data allowed to be on laptops to begin with?"

The Impact of eGovernment in Europe, 13 Sept 2006 in Helsinki.

Border Security: Investigators Transported Radioactive Sources Across Our Nation's Borders at Two Locations, Full-text GAO-06-940T, and Highlights, July 7, 2006.

Enhanced Security Controls Needed for US-VISIT's System Using RFID Technology (Redacted) OIG-06-39 (PDF, 27 pages), released July 7, 2006.

Homeland Security: Guidance and Standards Are Needed for Measuring the Effectiveness of Agencies' Facility Protection Efforts, Full-text GAO-06-612, and Highlights, May 31, 2006 (released Junly 7, 2006).

Solove, Daniel J., A Brief History of Information Privacy Law. Book chapter in Proskauer on Privacy (2006).

Monthly Budget Review, July 2006: "CBO estimates that the government recorded a deficit of $208 billion for the first three quarters of 2006."

From Tara Calishain: "This page allows you to search Google’s government search engine and narrow your results by a state. Try adding a city or county name to your query as well." See also Peggy Garvin's review of U.S. Government Search on LLRX.com.

FDA's Monitoring of Postmarketing Study Commitments (OEI-01-04-00390), released July 7, 2006 (45 pages, PDF).

FDIC press release, July 6, 2006: "Job market conditions remained generally positive in most of the U.S. through the first quarter of 2006, with some pockets of weakness along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the auto-dependent upper Midwest. FDIC-insured institutions also continue to record strong earnings, supported by low credit losses and growth in both real estate and commercial lending. However, many states show signs of an emerging slowdown in housing market activity. These and other state-level economic and banking trends are summarized in the Summer 2006 edition of FDIC State Profiles released today."

USAToday.com reported that "the federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million to do research aimed at rolling back the amount of sensitive data available to the press and public through freedom-of-information requests. Beginning this month, St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio will analyze recent state laws that place previously available information, such as site plans of power plants, beyond the reach of public inquiries."

Pew Global Attitudes Project Survey released July 6, 2006 - Muslims in Europe: Economic Worries Top Concerns About Religious and Cultural Identity - Few Signs of Backlash From Western Europeans.

Federal Judicial Center: Copyright Law, Second Edition, 2006, 241 pages.

Department of Energy's Office of the Inspector General Report IG-0732, The Human Reliability Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (20 pages, PDF), June 30, 2006.

The Harris Poll® #52, June 30, 2006: "News Reporting is Perceived as Biased, though Less Agreement on Whether it is Liberal or Conservative Bias -- CNN and FOX News are channels most often turned to for political news."

Bureau of Justice Statistics press release: "From 2001 through April 2005 about 15 percent of general civil trials concluded in 46 large counties in the United States were appealed after trial verdict or judgment, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Litigants filed appeals in 11 percent of all tort trials, 21 percent of trials involving contracts and 24 percent of property trials."

Report of Investigation into Allegations Relating to the Selection of the U. S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Special Report, June 2006 (42 pages, PDF)

CBO, The Effects of Liberalizing World Agricultural Trade: A Review of Modeling Studies, June 2006 (128 pages, PDF).

Putting the White Back in Strunk and White, by Christina Wodtke. "Style and appropriateness may seem like an odd duo, but they are not. Style is the natural result of the over-abundance of energy and unique perspective a designer—creative person—is gifted and cursed with. Appropriateness is what helps them guide it in its application."

USAToday.com follow's up on news about the FBI dropping demands for Connecticut library patron records with this article on the expansive post 9/11 use of National Security Letters to obtain private data from a range of organizations.

Steven Aftergood: "The 2006 edition of the Operational Law Handbook (598 pages, PDF) published by the Army Judge Advocate General is "a 'how to' guide for Judge Advocates practicing operational law. It provides references and describes tactics and techniques for the practice of operational law."

Related government documents:

National Security Archive: "We have posted PDFs of the major items of FOIA's legislative history. We are not aware of any other easily accessible electronic version of these materials and so we hope this will be a resource for all open government advocates. We plan to add additional items, such as hearing records, and improve the site over the next few weeks, but I wanted to let you know it is there, particularly in case you get inquiries from people who may not have easy access to these items elsewhere. For inside the White House documents on the 1966 enactment, take a look here."

"The NOAA National Weather Service released an internal evaluation of its operations during Hurricane Katrina. Service assessments are done routinely following major weather events and include input from government agencies, emergency managers, media and the public...The NOAA National Hurricane Center consistently projected for more than two days in advance that Katrina would strike southeast Louisiana as a "major" hurricane and later issued hurricane watches and warnings with lead times of 44 and 32 hours, respectively—an extra eight hours beyond when such alerts are typically issued."

Information Collection Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2006 (139 pages, PDF), June 2006.

"The Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants 2003 and 2004 (released July 5, 2006) provides information concerning the quality, quantity, and cost of fossil fuels used by electric power generating plants in the United States. These plants are comprised of regulated utility power plants and independent power producers, including combined heat and power producers in the commercial and industrial sectors. This publication continues the coverage of fuel cost and quality data presented in the publication Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants 2002 and 2003 and expands the coverage of data presented in prior issues of the Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Utility Plants."

Internal Controls Over Payments For Emergency Disaster Relief Transportation Services, (13 pages, PDF), June 30, 2006.

"Annual estimates of U.S. exports by State and commodity group based on each State's share of U.S. agricultural production. State exports are updated annually on June 30. [Link]"

All data files in Excel (except as noted):

Current water resources conditions - Map of real-time streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of the year (United States).

How the Gun Lobby and the Government Suppress the Truth About Guns and Crime - Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, April 2006 (56 pages, PDF). [Mike Ravnitzky]

Press release: "CA today announced a new security survey of 642 large North American organizations which shows that more than 84% experienced a security incident over the past 12 months and that the number of breaches continues to rise. According to the findings, security breaches have increased 17% since 2003. As a result, 54% of organizations reported lost workforce productivity; 25% reported public embarrassment, loss of trust/confidence and damage to reputation; and 20% reported losses in revenue, customers or other tangible assets. Of the organizations which experienced a security breach, 38% suffered an internal breach of security."

New York Times: Identity Thief Finds Easy Money Hard to Resist

"The Knight Science Journalism Tracker is a new Web-based service for journalists who cover science, environment and health... It's a service of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships. Our goal is to provide a broad sampling of the past day's stories in these areas and, where possible, of press releases or other news tips related to generation of news in the general circulation news media. Our goal is to have a new batch of posts up each day by 1 pm Eastern time."
[Note: the archives date back to April 27, 2006]

ABCNews Wireless America: "As a service to ABCNEWS.com readers, we've compiled a list of public Wi-Fi access points in the nation's 30 most populous cities."

Summaries of Competitive Food Defense Research Reports, 2005 - released June 2006. "Following the conduct of vulnerability assessments with industry on a variety of foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration a number of research questions were generated. The commodities evaluated were dairy products, fruit juices, bottled water, water used for food processing, and infant formula."

"The potential benefits of sharing patient electronic records within health systems are broadly agreed, but concerns remain over patient consent and security. Experts in this week's BMJ discuss how patients should consent to use of electronic records in the NHS and how the data can be kept secure."

"The European Commission (EC) has published a database of about 400 practice guides on hygiene from food and catering industries across the EU. The database will allow companies, professionals, and associations to access "best practices from around Europe." The guides include procedures and methods on the preparation, production, stocking, transportation, distribution, and sale of food. EU Member States Italy, Spain, and France sent the most guides to the database, and the majority of them cover catering, meat, meat products, and baking."

GAO Report released July 3, 2006 - Medicaid Financial Management: Steps Taken to Improve Federal Oversight but Other Actions Needed to Sustain Efforts, Full-text GAO-06-705, and Highlights, June 22, 2006.

DOJ press release, July 3, 2006: "All 50 states are now participating in the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) Web site, the Justice Department announced today. South Dakota and Oregon have now been added to the Web site, which provides real-time access to public sex offender data nationwide with a single Internet search. The Department of Justice-sponsored site allows parents and concerned citizens to search existing public state and territory sex offender registries beyond their own states." [Note: "Information from the various state Web sites is not hosted by the Department, and the Department has neither responsibility for nor control over the information available for public inspection or search from individual state Web sites that are accessible through this Web site."]

Virtual Reference in the Age of Pop-Up Blockers, Firewalls, and Service Pack 2, by Pascal Lupien.

"The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has begun funding a new research area that includes a study of blogs. Blog research may provide information analysts and warfighters with invaluable help in fighting the war on terrorism. Drs. Brian Ulicny, senior scientist, and Mieczyslaw Kokar, president, Versatile Information Systems Inc., Framingham, Mass., will receive approximately $450,000 in funding for the three-year project titled, Automated Ontologically-Based Link Analysis of International Web Logs for the Timely Discovery of Relevant and Credible Information." [Link]

National Security Archive: LBJ Refused Ceremony, Undercut Bill with Signing Statement, Censored Moyers' Openness Language on July 4, 1966.

From the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, A Chronology of Data Breaches Reported Since the ChoicePoint Incident, updated June 30, 2006. Breaches reported in June 2006 include the Nebraska Treasurer's Office and the Minnesota Dept. of Revenue.

"With Synergy, all the computers on your desktop form a single virtual screen. You use the mouse and keyboard of only one of the computers while you use all of the monitors on all of the computers. You tell synergy how many screens you have and their positions relative to one another. Synergy then detects when the mouse moves off the edge of a screen and jumps it instantly to the neighboring screen. The keyboard works normally on each screen; input goes to whichever screen has the cursor." [this is a free application]

Coalition of Journalists for Open Government: "By far the heaviest use of the Freedom of Information Act comes from the nation's businesses, seeking government records on contracts or for a host of other commercial uses, a new study (8 pages, PDF) by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government shows. Often they work through information brokers to mask their own identity. The review of records of 17 departments and agencies showed media use at six percent." July 3, 2006.

Bush Directed Cheney To Counter War Critic, by Murray Waas, National Journal, July 3, 2006: "President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that his administration had misrepresented intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq, according to people familiar with the president's statement."

New York Times: A Search Engine That's Becoming an Inventor

Press release: "The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) measures the percentage of working-age households who are at risk of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement ["almost 45% of U.S. households are at risk"]. It addresses one of the most compelling challenges facing the nation today — ensuring retirement security for an aging population."

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) video clips, along with press releases and transcripts. [Michael Ravnitzky]

"You can search for an investment adviser firm on this website and view that firm’s Form ADV. Investment advisers file Form ADV to register with the SEC and/or the states. Form ADV contains information about an investment adviser and its business operations. Form ADV also contains disclosure about certain disciplinary events involving the adviser and its key personnel." [Michael Ravnitzky]

LA Times (reg. req'd): "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said Saturday he was ordering the release of dozens of intelligence reports prepared for the state Office of Homeland Security — a step that comes as lawmakers from both parties are denouncing a practice in which state intelligence agents compiled information about political and antiwar protests and rallies."