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CRS Report, January 5, 2006: Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information (44 pages, PDF) Related references: New York Times, Report Questions Legal Basis for Bush’s Spying Program: “President Bush’s rationale for authorizing eavesdropping on American citizens without warrants rests on questionable legal ground and “may represent an exercise of …
IRS press release, January 3, 2006: “The Internal Revenue Service today launched the 2006 filing season with a new look to its popular Web site, improved online tools and enhanced electronic services that will better assist taxpayers and tax preparers…Now, taxpayers can find even more help 24 hours a day, seven days a week on …
The Washington Post today reported that the FISA Court judges will be briefed by intelligence officials next week on details regarding post 9/11 authorization of domestic wiretapping. In addition, the article states that only the court’s presiding judge was informed about the program prior to the information becoming public in December 2005. Related references: How …
From FAS, this link to a new CRS report, National Security Whistleblowers, December 30, 2005 (47 pages, PDF): “To discharge its constitutional duties, Congress depends on information obtained from the executive branch. Domestic and national security information is provided through agency reports and direct communications from department heads, but lawmakers also receive information directly from …
Commission Announcement, January 4, 2005: “Today the Commission announced the filing of two settled actions against corporate issuers, SEC v. McAfee, Inc. (filing, 42 pages, PDF) and In the Matter of Applix, Inc. In one, the company will pay a civil money penalty; in the other, a penalty is not part of the settlement. The …
The new Sony Reader, weighing in at only 9 ounces with a thickness of 1/2 inch, and the size of a paperback, looks like a gadget whose time may have finally come. Although ebooks have been available for 10 years now from a range of organizations and libraries, for free and for a fee, the …
ABA Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary rating of professional qualifications of Samuel A. Alito – January 4, 2006 Also from the ABA: Investigations of Supreme Court Nominees: This is a one-page summary highlighting the special investigative procedures followed by the Committee when evaluating a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ratings of Article III Judicial …
According to ComputerWorld, “The District of Columbia is poised to switch on a new system designed to allow emergency response command centers in Washington and surrounding areas to coordinate responses to natural disasters and terrorist attacks using Web services.”
The Wikipedia controversy continues to generate a range of opinions and commentary on the future direction and content of the open source, collaborative online encyclopedia. Prevailing wisdom: it is always advisable to locate, read and evaluate more than one source for all research, whether conducted online, or using TV, radio, or print sources. Carefully review …
AP reports IRS to Strip Political Info From Databases: The contractor that provides the IRS with online data for tax collection purposes has been including information about citizens’ political affiliation, mined from voter registration records. As noted in the article however, “IRS employees are prohibited from using political party affiliation when enforcing tax laws.”
Rob Evans of the UK Guardian documents the challenges encountered by citizens, and the responses of government officials, to the Freedom of Information Act during this first year since it entered into force. [m.r.] Related references, also from the UK Guardian: The Freedom of Information Act forced the downfall of Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie …
The Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse issued a press release yesterday on the number of securites fraud class actions filed in 2005. The study identifies a decline in the number of suits and investor losses in 2005, compared to previous years. The full report, Securities Class Action Case Filings, 2005: A Year in …