Author archives

House Republicans Unveil Strategic Benchmarks to Measure Effectiveness of President’s Iraq Strategy

Press release: “House Republican Leaders and key Ranking Committee Members today unveiled a set of benchmarks designed to measure the progress of President Bush’s new strategy in Iraq, and to hold the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government accountable for their role in achieving success.” Related posting, Legislation and Reports Address Issue of Iraq Troop …

Subjects: Congress

Inter-American Court Decision on Access to Info Posted on Court Website

“The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has announced that the English translation of its decision in the case Claude Reyes et al v. Chile is already available at the Court’s website: (link to the word document version)…in this case the Inter-American Court upheld that the right to access to information is a human right under …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research

Poll Finds Company Guidelines Against Pretexting Lacking

Press release: “Despite recent legal actions against companies that engage in pretexting and other illegal techniques to investigate fraud, misconduct, or simply to obtain confidential competitor information, 42 percent of organizations responded that they currently do not have written guidelines against the use of such methods of investigation, according to an online poll conducted by …

Subjects: Privacy

Groups Request Records on Warrantless Mail Surveillance

Follow up to January 7, 2007 posting, Presidential Signing Statement for Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act Includes Power to Open Mail, see this press release today: “The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for National Security Studies today filed three Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the immediate release of records related to President …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Legislation, Patriot Act, Privacy

CDT Releases 2007 Legislative Agenda

“Center for Democracy and Technology today urged lawmakers to adopt an approach to Internet-related policymaking that protects fundamental civil liberties, reestablishes meaningful privacy protections and paves the way for the United States’ continued leadership in technological innovation. In its Congressional Agenda for the 110th Congress, CDT offers both a broad overview of the challenges associated …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Internet, Privacy

DOJ OIG Report on FBI's Response to Foley Congressional Page Case

Follow-up to previous postings on ex-Rep. Foley and the Congressional page scandal, released today by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General; a Special Report, A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Initial Response to Representative Mark Foley’s E-mails to a Former Page, January 2007, PDF (Full Report) and HTML version. Press …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Internet

Armed Services Committee Hearing: Review of Iraq Reconstruction

Review of Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR 07-006T), January 18, 2007 United States House Armed Services Committee: “On Thursday, January 18, 2007, Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction provided testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services oversight hearing on Iraq reconstruction. (Full Statement PDF) Chairman Skelton’s opening statement

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents

University of Texas at Austin Joins Google Book Search Program

Press release: “Known as the fifth largest academic library in the United States, the University of Texas Libraries house some of the nation’s leading collections, including the world-renowned Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. Soon, researchers and history lovers all over the world will be able to search more than one million books and materials …

Subjects: Search Engines

Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004

Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004: “This Bureau of Justice Statistics data brief describes the specific medical conditions causing deaths in State prisons nationwide during a four-year period. For the leading medical causes of death, mortality rates are presented by gender, age, race and Hispanic origin, and the length of time served in …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Remarks by DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to American Society of Newspaper Editors

Remarks by Secretary Michael Chertoff to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington, D.C., Release Date: January 18, 2007. “I think we owe you clarity about who is an authoritative source. I think we ourselves have realized, in part, as part of our after-action on Katrina and some other things that have happened, that we …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research