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01 Oct 2010 11:52

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U.S.: Three ways the new Supreme Court docket could affect your life

  • goods eBay could be under the gun if Omega watches wins their copyright lawsuit against CostCo regarding the sale of goods from abroad. The issue: Does the first-sale doctrine apply to imported goods?
  • games California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to minors is also under the gun in the current Supreme Court session. The EFF and the MPAA, sworn enemies otherwise, want to see the ban overturned.
  • business AT&T is trying to say that it’s allowed personal privacy in a FOIA case; the FCC disagrees. If SCOTUS sides with the phone company, businesses could get a lot more evil under the guise of privacy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2010 22:03

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U.S.: Obama’s presidency talks transparency, but doesn’t walk the walk

  • One year is too early to render a final judgment on how far President Obama can move the government toward openness, but this Audit finds that much more pressure and leadership will be necessary, both inside and outside the government.
  • National Security Archive general counsel Meredith Fuchs • Regarding the findings of the private group during the first year of the Obama administration. While the president claimed that his administration would focus on transparency, an audit by the organization finds that the various portions of the government are very slow in processing FOIA requests (some requests are 18 years old!), and most government agencies haven’t increased the number of information releases during Obama’s presidency. Interesting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2010 12:49

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U.S.: Todd Palin may as well have been the governor of Alaska

  • I’m getting calls from Soldotna about the next judge appointment. Is (redacted) on the list, I’m getting calls from folks hoping he’s not selected. Let me know what’s happening so I can put to rest some of the rumors.
  • Todd Palin • In an e-mail he exchanged with Alaskan government officials. He sent a lot of these kinds of e-mails – over 1,400, around 1,200 of which were released to MSNBC under a Freedom of Information Act request. Apparently, Todd had a ton of power when Sarah was governor – more than most first ladies or first dudes have. That should look pretty good for Sarah’s career, eh? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jun 2009 10:37

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Politics: Columnist: Subsidize news … by making information more free

  • We care about these things because they provide information that improves public welfare and allows for more effective democratic decision-making. Why not make it easier for the news business to do its job?
  • Atlantic columnist Conor Clarke • Playing off the oft-discussed idea of government-subsidized news and instead using it as an argument that the Freedom of Information Act should be followed more closely by government bodies. He also notes that, when this data is easier to get, “it gives news organizations an incentive to write about those issues rather than Britney Spears’s hair or Michelle Obama’s arms.” And wouldn’t that be awesome? • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2009 10:59

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U.S.: Information was meant to be free. Read some FOIA requests here.

  • The EFF did all the hard work for you. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has put up a searchable database of its Freedom of Information Act requests on the Interweb for all to find. It’s information that they had to ask for – and now it’s yours to use. Thank us later. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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