Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: August 25, 2013

Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of PATRIOT Act

“Between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013, the period covered by this report, the OIG processed 515 new civil rights or civil liberties complaints.  Of these complaints, 444

did not fall within the OIG’s jurisdiction or did not warrant further investigation. The vast majority (386) of these complaints involved allegations against agencies or entities outside the DOJ, including other federal agencies, local governments, or private businesses. When possible, the OIG referred those complaints to the appropriate entity or advised complainants of the entity with jurisdiction over their allegations. Some complaints (58) raised allegations that were not suitable for investigation by the OIG and could not be referred to another agency for investigation, generally because the complaints failed to identify a subject or agency.”

Guardian – NSA paid millions to cover Prism compliance costs for tech companies

Ewen MacAskill in New York, The Guardian, Thursday 22 August 2013: “The National Security Agency paid millions of dollars to cover the costs of major internet companies involved in the Prism surveillance program after a court ruled that some of the agency’s activities were unconstitutional, according to top-secret material passed to the Guardian. The technology companies, which the NSA says includes Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook, incurred… Continue Reading

The Australian Public Service Big Data Strategy

The Australian Public Service Big Data Strategy – Improved understanding through enhanced data-analytics capability, August 2013. “Government policy development and service delivery will benefit from the effective and judicious use of big data analytics. Big data analytics can be used to streamline service delivery, create opportunities for innovation, and identify new service and policy approaches… Continue Reading

GDELT: Global Data on Events, Location and Tone

“GDELT: Global Data on Events, Location and Tone – GDELT is a new CAMEO-coded data set containing more than 200-million geolocated events with global coverage for 1979 to the present. The primary author is Kalev Leetaru at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. The data are based on a variety of international news… Continue Reading

Mapped: Every Protest on the Planet Since 1979

From Cairo to Wall Street to the West Bank, plotting a world of upheaval, by Dana Stuster – “This is what data from a world in turmoil looks like. The Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) tracks news reports and codes them for 58 fields, from where an incident took place to what sort of event it… Continue Reading

CDC provides estimate of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year

“Preliminary estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year is around 300,000. The preliminary estimates were presented Sunday night in Boston at the 2013 International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases. This early estimate is based on findings from… Continue Reading

IRS IG – Desktop and Laptop Software License Management Is Not Being Adequately Performed

Desktop and Laptop Software License Management Is Not Being Adequately Performed, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, June 25, 2013. Reference Number: 2013-20-025. “The IRS is not adequately performing software license management and is not adhering to Federal requirements and recommended industry best practices. The IRS does not have enterprisewide or local policies, procedures, and… Continue Reading