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Expedited Assistance for Victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: FEMA’s Control Weaknesses Exposed the Government to Significant Fraud and Abuse, Full text GAO-06-655, and Highlights, June 16, 2006. “GAO identified significant flaws in the process for registering disaster victims that leave the federal government vulnerable to fraud and abuse of expedited assistance (EA) payments.”
The House this morning passed HRES 861, Declaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary. The resolution passed by roll call vote #288, 256 yeas to 153 nays, with 5 voting present. [GalleryWatch.com]
Press release: “In a major policy address on the challenges of privacy in our increasingly data driven world, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a comprehensive privacy agenda: a Privacy Bill of Rights that secures the interests of consumers; stronger, better enforced protection for medical privacy and a new national security consensus setting out clear …
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management, Oversight Hearing on the Superfund Program, June 15, 2006. Links to opening statements and witness testimony LA Times (reg. req’d): Democrats Say Key Superfund Data Is Being Withheld From the Public. The EPA won’t release some data on 140 Superfund locations
Pew Internet, Online Banking 2006: “Online banking is holding steady as a mainstream internet activity, growing along with internet use generally, though not accelerating as have some other forms of online activities. Fully 43% of internet users, or about 63 million American adults, bank online.” Online Banking 2006: Surfing to the Bank (3 pages, PDF)
Congressional Oversight of Intelligence is Broken, June 13, 2006. “The Center for American Progress today releases a comprehensive study of congressional oversight of the U.S. Intelligence Community, “No Mere Oversight: Congressional Oversight of Intelligence is Broken,” (47 pages, PDF) that delineates where Congress is failing in its oversight duties and how past congressional methods, ways …
Follow-up to recent postings VA ID theft and the continuous reports on government and corporate enterprise data breaches, see this Gartner press release: Gartner Says Rash of Personal Data Thefts Shows Social Security Numbers Can No Longer Be Sole Proof of Identity for Enterprises. According to Gartner VP Avivah Litan, “Companies should not rely on …
“Refinery Capacity Report: Beginning with the release of 2006 data, the Refinery Capacity Tables will no longer appear in the Petroleum Supply Annual, Volume 1 publication. The 2006 Refinery Capacity Tables will be released as a separate product which includes tables in PDF format and an XLS file containing refinery capacity data by refinery.” [Link …
Press release: “Senator Chuck Grassley today requested more information from FBI Director Robert Mueller about the FBI’s handling of a terrorist financing case and the subsequent classification of several portions of an Inspector General report about the botched case…Grassley’s letter [included in this press release] also questioned Mueller’s use of selective unclassified portions of the …
Getting The New York Times More Search Engine Friendly, by Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, June 15, 2006.
Amnesty International report: Partners in Crime: Europe’s role in US renditions (53 pages, PDF), June 14, 2006.
ABC reports that DOJ has filed suit in NJ District Court (Trenton) seeking an injunction to prevent the NJ attorney general from obtaining records on data that carriers provided in conjunction with the domestic surveillance program.
