[SLA-SF] Intersect Alert, July 25, 2006

Tue Jul 25 20:56:17 PDT 2006

Freedom of Information

New GAO Report on the Costs of Accessing Government Information

Paperwork Reduction Act: Increase in Estimated Burden Hours Highlights Need for New Approach

"Americans spend billions of hours each year providing information to federal agencies by filling out information collections (forms, surveys, or questionnaires). A major aim of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) is to minimize the burden that responding to these collections imposes on the public, while maximizing their public benefit. . . After 2 years of slight declines, OMB reports that paperwork burden grew in fiscal year 2005 and is expected to increase further in fiscal year 2006. Estimates in OMB's annual report to Congress show that the total paperwork burden imposed by federal information collections increased last year to about 8.4 billion hours--an increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year's total of about 8.0 billion hours."

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-06-974T

Government Reform

Seeking Transparency in Federal Funding

"A new legislative initiative (S. 2590) would require the government to disclose and to publish online all federal contracts, grants, and other forms of spending. "I like to think of this bill as 'Google for Government Spending'," said Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). "The concept behind the bill is really quite simple: Put information on government spending out there for all to see and greater accountability will follow. It will also change the expectations of those receiving funds that they will know in advance that the information will be public," he said."

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2006/07/seeking_transparency_in_federa.html

Intellectual Property Issues

Judge: Google News lawsuit can proceed

"A federal judge has postponed a key ruling in a lawsuit against Google brought by Agence France-Presse that alleges Google's popular news search feature violates copyright laws. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said Tuesday that she was not prepared to rule on Google's request to dismiss the case, and instead granted both sides more time to try to reconstruct Google News pages from randomly chosen dates in 2003 and 2004."

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6095656.html

Orwellian

Bush Blocked Eavesdropping Program Probe

"President Bush personally blocked a Justice Department investigation of the anti-terror eavesdropping program that intercepts Americans' international calls and e-mails, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday. Bush refused to grant security clearances for department investigators who were looking into the role Justice lawyers played in crafting the program, under which the National Security Agency listens in on telephone calls and reads e-mail without court approval, Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071801027.html

Wilson-Sensenbrenner-Hoekstra Introduce Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act of 2006

"Rep. Heather Wilson, chair of the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence was joined today by Reps. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in introducing the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act of 2006, an update to the outdated Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

http://wilson.house.gov/NewsAction.asp?FormMode=Releases&ID=1280

EFF's Spying Case Moves Forward - Judge Denies Government's Motion to Dismiss AT&T Case

"A federal judge today denied the government's motion to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) case against AT&T for collaborating with the NSA in illegal spying of millions of ordinary Americans. This allows the case to go forward in the courts."

http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_07.php#004832

Group Appeals Government Eavesdropping Ruling

"A coalition of civil liberties groups and technology companies, including Pulver.com and Sun Microsystems, is appealing a federal court ruling that forces Internet service providers to create backdoors for government wiretapping. The coalition on Friday asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review a June 9 ruling that sided with the Bush administration. That 2-1 ruling said that Internet providers must rewire their networks and follow a complex scheme of eavesdropping regulations. The deadline is set for May 2007." 

http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6097376.html

Public Policy

ABA Issues Report on Presidential Signing Statements

The American Bar Association has released their report on President Bush's signing statements. 

"RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association opposes, as contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers, the issuance of presidential signing statements that claim the authority or state the intention to disregard or decline to enforce all or part of a law the President has signed, or to interpret such a law in a manner inconsistent with the clear intent of Congress"

http://www.abanet.org/op/signingstatements/

Sen. Specter preparing bill to sue Bush

"A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court. "We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14020234/?GT1=8307

Intellectual Freedom

Elsevier sponsors a more open-access article model

"Nuclear physics authors can opt to pay for their articles to be published in six physics journals published by Elsevier under a new Sponsored Articles scheme which the company insists is very different from open access. Six Elsevier physics journals have adopted the Sponsored Articles programme, which allows authors to pay a fee to ensure that their article is available for free on the Elsevier online service ScienceDirect. Only articles that have already been accepted for publication will be offered the sponsored option."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2160654/elsevier-sponsors-open-access

International Outlook

Dare Violate a Copyright in Hong Kong? A Boy Scout May Be Watching Online

"Movie and song copiers beware: use an Internet discussion site in Hong Kong to violate copyrights and you may be turned in to law enforcement authorities by an 11-year-old Boy Scout. Starting this summer the Hong Kong government plans to have 200,000 youths search Internet discussion sites for illegal copies of copyrighted songs and movies, and report them to the authorities. The campaign has delighted the entertainment industry, but prompted misgivings among some civil liberties advocates."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/arts/18pira.html

Japanese Arts Groups Call For Copyright Term Extension

"Fourteen arts and cultural organizations have agreed that the protection period for copyrighted works of literature, music, arts and photographs should be extended to 70 years from the current 50 years after the creators' deaths, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday. The organizations plan to submit a joint statement about the issue to the Cultural Affairs Agency by the end of September."

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060723TDY01004.htm

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