Author archives

Electionline – election reform news and information

“electionline.org is the nation’s only nonpartisan, non-advocacy clearinghouse for election reform news and information. It was founded in 2001 by Doug Chapin and supported by a grant to the University of Richmond from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2007 the electionline team formally joined The Pew Charitable Trusts as part of Pew’s transition from private …

Subjects: Blogs, Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

District court rules in favor of library e-reserve against publishers

Inside HigherEd: “A U.S. district court judge has once again taken a look at three publishers’ case against Georgia State University’s e-reserve and ruled that, in 41 of 48 cases, no copyright infringement took place. The ruling, a 220-page walk-through that applies the four-part fair-use test to each of the 48 cases, is seen by …

Subjects: Copyright, Courts, Education, Legal Research, Libraries

Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology

“Handbok of the Birds of the World Alive [HBW Alive] has been created by Lynx Edicions, a publishing house founded in Barcelona, Spain, in 1989, and committed to providing high quality ornithology and natural history books. Foremost among these is the Handbook of the Birds of the World, a 17-volume encyclopaedia that describes and illustrates …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

U.S. National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking – 2015 Annual Progress Assessment

Via DOJ: “The escalation of wildlife trafficking in recent years poses an urgent threat to conservation and global security. African elephant populations have declined by about 20 percent in the last decade to just over 400,000, and one out of every twenty wild rhinos was killed by a poacher in the last year alone. Well-armed …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research

Saving Government Email an Open Question with December 2016 Deadline Looming

Via National Security Archive: “The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Department of the Treasury’s Comptroller, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are among a handful of agencies that have already admitted they will not meet the December 31, 2016, deadline for electronic management of official government email – like Hillary Clinton’s – in their mandatory, …

Subjects: E-Mail, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

9/11 Families, the 28 Pages, and economic threats if Congress passes bill on monetary damages

When I returned home the evening of the 9/11 attack from my office in Washington, DC I joined colleagues throughout the legal community who stayed up for days sharing every bit of information we could obtain about the status of those who worked in the Twin Towers, Pentagon and in the plane that crashed in …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Via FAS – Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Edward C. Liu, Legislative Attorney. April 13, 2016. “After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to “intercept international communications …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Legislation

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Improved Risk Analysis and Stakeholder Consultations Could Enhance Future Reviews

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Improved Risk Analysis and Stakeholder Consultations Could Enhance Future Reviews, GAO-16-371: Published: Apr 15, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 15, 2016. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assessed risk for the second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) and considered threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences; however, DHS did not document how its various analyses …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents

Aerial Surveys of Elevated Hydrocarbon Emissions from Oil and Gas Production Sites

Aerial Surveys of Elevated Hydrocarbon Emissions from Oil and Gas Production Sites Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00705 Publication Date (Web): April 05, 2016. Copyright © 2016 American Chemical Society Abstract – “Oil and gas (O&G) well pads with high hydrocarbon emission rates may disproportionally contribute to total methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) …

Subjects: Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Legal Research

USDA Local Food Directories: National Farmers Market Directory

Updated April 15, 2016 – The Farmers Market Directory lists markets that feature two or more farm vendors selling agricultural products directly to customers at a common, recurrent physical location. Maintained by the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Directory is designed to provide customers with convenient access to information about farmers market listings to include: market …

Subjects: E-Government, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Search Engines

Paper – OPM Demonstrated that Antiquated Security Practices Harm National Security

Handing Over the Keys to the Castle – OPM Demonstrated that Antiquated Security Practices Harm National Security. Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. July 2015. “In this digital age, information is secured, coveted, and exfiltrated by nation states, hacktivists, and ambitious actors because, now more than ever, knowledge is power. Modern needs dictate that only authorized …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research