Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Identity Theft can be expensive, so is a search for lost data... But don't worry, the taxpayers will foot the bill.

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080115054138599

(follow-up) UK: Police seek full costs of HMRC CD search

Tuesday, January 15 2008 @ 06:41 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

Scotland Yard will demand HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) foot the record bill for the force's hunt for the missing data discs containing 25 million child benefit records.

The Metropolitan Police force has said it will seek full costs from the HMRC for what is being reported as the most expensive lost property inquiry in the UK.

... A spokeswoman for HMRC said the department has agreed to pay the costs that "we have triggered as a result of the police investigation into the disappearance of the child benefit data".

Source - Silicon.com

[From the article:

The Met would not confirm the exact cost of the investigation but an article in The Telegraph says the investigation has cost tens of thousands of pounds, quoting a source at the Yard as saying it had demanded more resources "than you would see used in a major murder investigation".



The Year in review...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080114140245292

Ca: Information and Privacy Post: 2007 Year in Review

Monday, January 14 2008 @ 02:02 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Non-U.S. News

... the Hicks Morley Information and Privacy Post is our regular publication on the law of information and privacy. We’ve defined information and privacy in a way that’s broader than most would ordinarily conceive, covering case law on the law relating to privacy, freedom of information, records management, business information and the law of production. We thought that a perspective focussed on any one of these domains was too narrow and wanted to draw interest from all the professionals who manage information – in-house legal advisors, privacy officers, records managers, information technology professionals and others.

This 2007 retrospective includes all of the 2007 cases we have covered.

Source - Hicks Morley [pdf]

(Props, All About Information blog)



This shouldn't surprise anyone. “We can, therefore we must!”

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080114150746595

US drafting plan to allow government access to any email or Web search

Monday, January 14 2008 @ 03:07 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Surveillance

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell is drawing up plans for cyberspace spying that would make the current debate on warrantless wiretaps look like a "walk in the park," according to an interview published in the New Yorker's print edition today.

Debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act “will be a walk in the park compared to this,” McConnell said. “this is going to be a goat rope on the Hill. My prediction is that we’re going to screw around with this until something horrendous happens.”

Source - The Raw Story
Update: The full-text article can be found here [pdf]
Related - The New Yorker: What we Know (link to audio file)



Bob's first variation to “We can, therefore we must!” is : “We could, therefore we did!” And that introduces the first parallel rule: “We did it for your own good!”

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_7970057

Secret GPS in firefighters' vehicles OK'd

AARON LEO aleo@ctpost.com Article Last Updated: 01/14/2008 08:41:10 PM EST

BRIDGEPORT — Departmental hearings against two city fire inspectors — facing termination for allegedly using their work minivans for personal business — will proceed after a Superior Court judge rejected their argument that the Global Positioning System units in their new municipal vehicles violated the state's electronic-monitoring law.

Two other inspectors facing the same charge didn't join the legal challenge.

Judge Deborah Frankel issued the 18-page decision Dec. 31, but city officials didn't receive it until last week.

... It was "the first decision under the electronic-monitoring statute in the state," he added.

The statute requires employers to notify their workers if they are being monitored on the job.

However, under the statute, an employer can monitor workers without telling them when there are "reasonable grounds" to believe illegal activity is taking place or other workers' legal rights are being violated.



“WE could, therefore we did!” Political argument 26b: “You want to keep your children safe, right?”

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080115055717525

Quiet installation of cameras in Newton schools sparks debate

Tuesday, January 15 2008 @ 06:38 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Minors & Students

In the City of Newton, where civil liberties and liberal politics run deep, disclosure that two local schools installed security cameras without informing faculty, the School Committee, or the school community has touched off a debate pitting the right to privacy against protecting valuables in the schools.

Source - Boston Globe



Careful what you do with those cameras! (Perhaps Ford should have someone supervise those recent law school graduates...)

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/13/ford-car-owners-are.html

Ford: Car owners are pirates if they distribute pictures of their own cars

Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 13, 2008 10:11 PM | permalink

Josh sez, "The folks at BMC (Black Mustang Club) automotive forum wanted to put together a calendar featuring members' cars, and print it through CafePress. Photos were submitted, the layout was set, and... CafePress notifies the site admin that pictures of Ford cars cannot be printed. Not just Ford logos, not just Mustang logos, the car -as a whole- is a Ford trademark and its image can't be reproduced without permission. So even though Ford has a lineup of enthusiasts who want to show off their Ford cars, the company is bent on alienating them. 'Them' being some of the most loyal owners and future buyers that they have. Or rather, that they had, because many have decided that they will not be doing business with Ford again if this matter isn't resolved."

http://www.bmcforums.com/index.php



Why don't we do that at the SuperBowl? We know Osama is a big fan...

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7225900,00.html

Beijing demands personal data for ceremony tickets

BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Beijing Olympics organisers have told those who have secured seats for the opening and closing ceremonies to submit photographs and other personal information before they get their tickets.

"To ensure security, eradicate fake tickets, control speculative ticket reselling, and safeguard the lawful interests of the majority of the buyers, a real-name entry system will be applied for the opening and closing ceremonies," they said.



For my web site class, with caution not to let their children grow up to be politicians...

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/017138.html

January 14, 2008

New Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill

Press release: "A new report from the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) on congressional Web sites says the overall quality “continues to be disappointing,” with more than 40% of congressional Web sites earning a substandard or failing grade. The report also contains recognition and praise for the best Web sites on Capitol Hill with the announcement of the winners of the 2007 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Mouse Awards... Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, The 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill (115 pages, PDF) evaluated 618 congressional Web sites, including those of all Senate and House Members and Delegates, committees (both majority and minority sites) and official leadership sites."



Tools & Techniques

http://thenextweb.org/2008/01/15/watch-youtube-videos-on-your-ipod-anytime/

Watch YouTube videos on your iPod, anytime

Ernst-Jan Written on January 15, 2008 – 1:04 pm

... Tooble automatically downloads, converts and imports any YouTube video to play on your video iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, or even on your computer with iTunes. Of course you could already watch videos on the iPhone and iPod Touch using GPS, but the only joy that comes from that is making up original ways of swearing about the damn lack of speed.



It useta-was we had book larn'en, now I don't need ta read ta larn stuff.

http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/2008/01/15/new-instructional-video-site-monkeysee/

New Instructional Video Site — MonkeySee

15th January 2008

... MonkeySee has launched with a lot of instructional videos, adding both user-submitted videos and videos from professionals. The front page covers a lot of bases, from how to solve a Rubik’s Cube to how to buy a diamond to how to do trick shots in pool. Of course there’s the usual crop of “how to” stuff that doesn’t quite fit but looks useful anyway — in this case for fire safety and “flair bartending” (including a nifty and loud way to open a beer. Wonder if this would work for root beer.)

... The interesting thing about MonkeySee is that how-to concepts are gotten across with a series of videos instead of just one. How to get out of a speeding ticket, for example, includes fifteen videos that walks through several steps of what to do when getting pulled over, before going to court, etc.

http://www.monkeysee.com/

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