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Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration – Internal Revenue Service Is Not Adequately Protecting Taxpayer Data on Laptop Computers and Other Portable Electronic Media Devices. March 23, 2007. Reference Number 2007-20-048. “IRS employees reported the loss or theft of at least 490 computers and other sensitive data in 387 separate incidents between January 2, 2003, …
From First Monday this month, What open access research can do for Wikipedia, by John Willinsky: “This study examines the degree to which Wikipedia entries cite or reference research and scholarship, and whether that research and scholarship is generally available to readers. Working on the assumption that where Wikipedia provides links to research and scholarship …
“Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Kucinich have requested information on the plan by Dr. David Schwartz, the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), to privatize Environmental Health Perspectives, a leading journal on environmental health read in over 190 countries. The Oversight Committee also requested information relating to Dr. Schwartzs conduct as …
Follow up to previous postings on U.S. Attorney firings, this press release: “Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish appropriate safeguards to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the Judiciary Committee continues its ongoing investigation into the dismissals …
Press release: “The Federal Communications Commission has strengthened its privacy rules by requiring telephone and wireless carriers to adopt additional safeguards to protect the personal telephone records of consumers from unauthorized disclosure. These new safeguards will help prevent unauthorized access to customer proprietary network information, or CPNI.” Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed …
U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, 2005 Hurricane Relief Expenditures: “This report presents the results of our audit of the Department of the Interiors (DOI) expenditures for response and recovery efforts related to the 2005 hurricane season. Our objective was to determine whether DOI and its bureaus ensured that expenditures for hurricane …
American College of Trial Lawyers, Judicial Compensation – Our Federal Judges Must be Fairly Paid, March 2007 (16 pages, PDF).
News release: “Faulting S&P 100 companies for weak regulation of their political spending, a Center for Political Accountability report urges the adoption of a strong model code of conduct to protect companies and their shareholders. The report, entitled Open Windows: How Company Codes of Conduct Regulate Political Spending and a Model Code to Protect Company …
“CIPPIC has issued the first batch of a series of working papers on identity theft. The papers released today include Introduction and Background, Techniques of Identity Theft, and Legislative Approaches to Identity Theft (all PDF). Additional papers examining identity theft caselaw, law enforcement, and policy approaches, as well as a Bibliography on identity theft, will …
National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases (NIAID) – Rapid Response was Crucial to Containing the 1918 Flu Pandemic – Historical Analyses Help Plan for Future Pandemics. NIAID Expands Capability for Influenza Research and Surveillance: “The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it is …
Press release: “According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOTs Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 20 airlines reporting on-time performance with DOT recorded an on-time arrival rate of 67.3 percent in February, down from both February 2006s 75.3 percent and January 2007s 73.1 percent. The monthly …
First Responders: Much Work Remains to Improve Communications Interoperability GAO-07-301, April 2, 2007. “As the first to respond to natural disasters, domestic terrorism, and other emergencies, public safety agencies rely on timely communications across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. It is vital to the safety and effectiveness of first responders that their electronic communications systems enable …