[SLA-SF] Intersect Alert, May 8, 2006

[Anne Barker]

Freedom of Information

 

Judging Secrets: The Role Courts Should Play in Preventing Unneccessary Secrecy

Meredith Fuchs, general counsel at the National Security Archive, has a new article in Administrative Law Review that argues Federal courts could, and should, play a more effective role in curtailing unnecessary government secrecy.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/fuchs/Fuchs.pdf

 

Welcome to the Sunlight Foundation

"Last week the Sunlight Foundation officially opened its doors. Our goal is to use revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy."

http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/

 

Welcome To the Launch of Congresspedia

"Welcome to the debut of Congresspedia, the "citizen's encyclopedia on Congress." Congresspedia is a bold new experiment by the Center for Media and Democracy and the Sunlight Foundation in distributed citizen journalism. It is based on the wiki model (think Wikipedia) and is a subset of the Center's SourceWatch wiki. We are starting with 539 articles - one for every current member of Congress, the non-voting delegates, and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. However, we hope that this is only the foundation upon which Congresspedia contributors (like you!) will build upon by not just adding to those profiles but also by creating new articles on any subject related to Congress that falls within the bounds of our policies and article guidelines."

http://www.prwatch.org/node/47523

 

How the National Archives Struck a Secret Deal on Documents With the CIA

A top official at the National Archives and Records Administration said on Monday that the main purpose of the organization's controversial deal with the CIA was to make sure agents did not mishandle documents as they reviewed them for possible reclassification. . . In an interview on Monday, Michael J. Kurtz, an assistant archivist who signed the agreement on behalf of the archives, discussed how the deal had come to be.

http://chronicle.com/free/2006/04/2006042501t.htm

 

Orwellian

 

F.B.I. Director Is Bombarded by Stinging Questions at Senate Hearing

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, came under sharp questioning from senators of both parties yesterday on matters that included slow progress in intelligence sharing and the effort to search the files of the late newspaper columnist Jack Anderson. In a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the committee, cited what he said was evidence of more than 100 instances in which F.B.I. agents had improperly conducted surveillance of antiwar groups. He said the list included Quakers, a Catholic antiwar organization and the Raging Grannies, which Mr. Leahy sarcastically called "a scary group."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/washington/03fbi.html

 

Court Skeptical of Wiretap Rules

A U.S. appeals panel challenged the Bush administration Friday over new rules making it easier for police and the FBI to wiretap internet phone calls. One judge told the government its courtroom arguments were "gobbledygook" and invited its lawyer to return to his office and "have a big chuckle."

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,70823-0.html

 

Internet Access

 

Financial sector awakens to Net neutrality issues

The U.S. financial sector, a powerful force in Washington, may be gearing up to jump into a Capitol Hill fight over the future of the Internet and stop an effort it says could add billions in costs just to maintain current offerings. . . For the financial-services sector, which is expected to spend $117 billion on information technology this year, tiered pricing could add billions more in expenses to maintain online-banking services and other Web offerings--costs that could hit the bottom line or be passed on to customers.

http://news.com.com/2100-1034_3-6067523.html

 

International Outlook

 

British Library secures integrity of digital archive

The British Library is to secure the integrity of its National Digital Library by authenticating electronic documents and other materials. The library is expected to amass up to 300 terabytes of content over the next five years including digitised versions of centuries-old manuscripts, digital journals and web archives. A document sealing engine from vendor nCipher is being used to timestamp and digitally sign every item stored in the library to prove they have not been modified from the original.

http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2154704/british-library-secure

 

Panel wants NHK archive on the Net

The entire NHK archive of more than 550,000 television programs should be made available on the Internet, an advisory panel for Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka agreed last week, prior to a final report to be announced later this month.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20060507TDY02007.htm

 

 

 

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