Day archives: November 7th, 2013

Senate Intelligence Committee Approves FISA Improvements Act

Increases privacy protections, oversight, transparency of critical intelligence programs: The Senate Intelligence Committee [October 31, 2013] approved the FISA Improvements Act by a vote of 11-4. The bipartisan legislation increases privacy protections and public transparency of the National Security Agency call-records program in several ways, while preserving the operational effectiveness and flexibility of this vital …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

New GAO Reports – Sequestration, Corporate Tax Expenditures, Defense Health Care Reform, GPS Disruptions, Info Tech, Transportation Disadvantaged Populations, Private Pensions

SEQUESTRATION – Observations on the Department of Defense’s Approach in Fiscal Year 2013, GAO-14-177R, Nov 7, 2013 CORPORATE TAX EXPENDITURES – Evaluations of Tax Deferrals and Graduated Tax Rates, GAO-13-789, Sep 16, 2013 DEFENSE HEALTH CARE REFORM – Additional Implementation Details Would Increase Transparency of DOD’s Plans and Enhance Accountability, GAO-14-49, Nov 6, 2013 GPS DISRUPTIONS – Efforts to Assess Risks to …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Health Care, Transportation

IRS Case Processing Delays and Tax Account Errors Increased Hardship for Victims of ID Theft

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: Case Processing Delays and Tax Account Errors Increased Hardship for Victims of Identity Theft – September 26, 2013, Reference Number: 2013-40-129. “It took the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an average of 312 days to resolve tax-related identity theft cases, according to a new report released by the Treasury Inspector …

Subjects: Government Documents, ID Theft, Legal Research, Privacy

Commentary explores the historical roots of regional gun violence in America

The Battle Lines of Today’s Debates Over Gun Control, Stand-Your-Ground Laws, and Other Violence-Related Issues Were Drawn Centuries Ago by America’s Early Settlers, by Colin Woodard, Tufts Magazine Fall 2013. “…Our death rate from assault is many times higher than that of most other countries, whether highly urbanized or sparsely populated. State-sponsored violence, too—in the …

Subjects: Congress, Legislation

National Security Archive Posts Able Archer 83 Sourcebook

The Able Archer 83 Sourcebook: “Today marks the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Able Archer 83, a NATO exercise that utilized “new nuclear weapons release procedures” to simulate the transition from conventional to nuclear war with the Soviet Union.  Although US officials saw Able Archer 83 as a routine exercise, it resulted in an “unprecedented Soviet …

Subjects: Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

CRS – Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology

Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology – Patricia Moloney Figliola, Specialist in Internet and Telecommunications Policy – October 22, 2013 “Modern communication tools such as the Internet provide a relatively inexpensive, accessible, easy-entry means of sharing ideas, information, and pictures around the world. In a political and human rights context, in closed societies when the more established, formal …

Subjects: Blogs, Censorship, Civil Liberties

The Relationship of the Court and Defense Counsel

The Relationship of the Court and Defense Counsel: The Impact on Competent Representation and Proposals for Reform – Richard Daniel Klein 29 Boston College Law Review 531 (1988), Touro Law Center Legal Studies Research Paper “This Article examines the impact of the trial court upon the quality of legal assistance provided the indigent criminal defendant. …

Subjects: Courts, Legal Research