From Secrecy News:
Secrecy News was removed from the distribution list for the U.S. State Department history publication “Foreign Relations of the United States” (FRUS) after we reported on errors in several FRUS volumes on March 24 and 26, 2008.
A spokesman for the State Department Historian’s Office confirmed that officials had ordered the removal of Secrecy [...]
Archive of entries posted on June 2008
Secrecy News Purged from State Dept History Mailing List
Open letter from Saad Eskander, Director of the Iraq National Library and Archives, June 21, 2008
Posted on Library Juice:
I have read Mr. Sousa’s letter to Mr. Mark Greene, President of the Society of American Archivists (dated 06-06-08), Mr. Al-Jaberi’s statement (dated 27-04-08) and the article published by Stanford University’s official site regarding the illegally seized documents of the former Iraqi state and the archive of the Ba’ath Party (dated 18-06-08).
As [...]
Google says it would support U.S. privacy law
From Reuters:
Google Inc has told a senior Republican lawmaker concerned about privacy that the Internet search and advertising company supports a federal privacy law.
Privacy advocates object to the amount of information that Google, Yahoo and other online companies collect about users. Google, in particular, has been under pressure to post a link on its home [...]
How the U.S. got its Canadian copyright bill
From the Toronto Star:
Last week’s introduction of new copyright legislation ignited a firestorm with thousands of Canadians expressing genuine shock at provisions that opposition MPs argued would create a “police state.” As opposition to the copyright bill mounts, the most common question is “why”? . . .
. . . While Prentice has responded by citing [...]
Ottawa gets tough with illegal downloaders
From the Globe and Mail:
Canadians caught downloading illegal copies of music and movies online could be slapped with a penalty of $500 under new federal legislation to overhaul the Copyright Act of Canada, which was last updated in 1997, four years before the introduction of the iPod.
The long-anticipated amendments, which Industry Minister Jim Prentice said [...]
White House May Keep Documents in E-Mail Flap Private, Judge Rules
From the Washington Post:
The White House does not have to make public internal documents examining the potential disappearance of e-mails sent during some of the Bush administration’s biggest controversies, a U.S. district judge ruled yesterday.
In a 39-page opinion, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said that the White House’s Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of [...]
House passes new surveillance law
From the Mercury News:
The House today easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government’s terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.
The bill, which was passed on a 293-129 vote, does more than just protect the telecoms. The update [...]
Sweden approves wiretapping law
From the BBC:
Sweden’s parliament has approved controversial new laws allowing authorities to spy on cross-border e-mail and telephone traffic.
The country’s intelligence bureau will be able to scan international calls, faxes and e-mails.
The measure was passed by a narrow majority after a heated debate in the Stockholm parliament.
Critics say it threatens civil liberties and represents Europe’s [...]
Oregon decides not to enforce any copyright claims on the Oregon Revised Statutes
From Tim Stanley’s Justia blog:
Oregon’s Legislative Counsel Committee had a meeting this morning to discuss the copyright claim on the Oregon Revised Statutes. After taking legal counsel from Dexter Johnson, talking with Karl Olson, Carl Malamud, three Oregon citizens and myself, they unanimously voted to not to enforce any copyright claims on the Oregon Revised [...]
Cost of Secrecy System Reaches Record High
From Secrecy News:
The cost of implementing the national security classification system in government and industry reached an all-time high of $9.91 billion last year, according to the latest annual report (pdf) from the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO).
The 2007 classification cost figure, which includes physical security, computer security and other aspects of classified information security, [...]