After I read the article, despite it not being about the Patriot Act, it reminded me that I need to get on the bandwagon about writing to my rent-a-legislators (state/federal) about opposing any attempts to extend the USA PATRIOT Act Provisions That Expire on December 31, 2005. I'll definately be boning up at EPIC's The USA PATRIOT Act page.
Several sections of Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act (the Act) relating to
enhanced foreign intelligence and law enforcement surveillance authority expire on
December 31, 2005. Thereafter, the authority remains in effect only as it relates to
foreign intelligence investigations begun before sunset or to offenses or potential
offense begun or occurring before that date. There may be some disagreement of
whether a "potential offense" is a suspected crime, an incomplete crime, or both.
The consequences of sunset are not the same for every expiring section. In
some instances the temporary provision has been replaced with a permanent one; in
some, other provisions have been made temporarybyattached to an expiring section;
in still others, the apparent impact of termination has been mitigated by related
provisions either in the Act or elsewhere.
The temporary provisions are: sections 201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases),
202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases), 203(b) (sharing wiretap
information), 203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information), 204 (Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions), 206
(roving FISA wiretaps), 207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States
persons who are agents of a foreign power), 209 (seizure of voice-mail messages
pursuant to warrants), 212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance), 214
(FISApen register/ trap and trace authority), 215 (FISAaccess to tangible items), 217
(interception of computer trespasser communications), 218 (purpose for FISA
orders), 220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence), 223
(civil liability and discipline for privacy violations), and 225 (provider immunity for
FISA wiretap assistance).
The unimpaired provisions of Title II are: section
G-Faux will become a day long infomercial
on
G4TechTV Announced
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· Score: 1
I don't know that the G4 gamers audinece are as big a viewership niche as the folks that tuned into TechTV, namely for TSS and Call for Help.
Boobs helped pump up TechTV ratings. I don't think there was a small breasted women on the entire network. If they go, the shows will tank on ratings enough for Comcast to cancel them.
What I think will happen is most of the shows from TechTV won't exist in a year, and the personalities that get the best ratings will be cherry picked from the TechTV line up and absorbed into G4 shows, eventually becoming vender infomercials. The rest, well I think they will bail before that time.
I think Unscrewed isn't pulled off well, but both Martin and his endowed co-host are great. Sargent is great opposite a guy like Leo or Pat, or even Megan who I thought was good.
As for Leo, I think he's going to do great off of TSS and TechTV. I hope he gets more air time soon, maybe a reality TECH show?
"Hacker Wars" host? A LAN party gone mad where teams try to hack each other's networks, servers in less than a half hour? Or wardriving contests between two teams?
I hope they continue to program Call For Help with him as a host. Leo is a good tech journalist/author/media personality, and not a Redmond borg, with a Microsoft EULA.
If they dump him, I don't think he'll have any problem getting a tech column syndicated in major newspapers/magazines, and line up more TV and Radio opportunities.
Leo's statements in his blog about "prudent to diversify" and this below from the G4 FAQ seem to imply Leo is bracing for the boot.
Notice the absence of "Call For Help" from among the shows G4 has listed will be programmed from TechTV, the only show which Leo will be hosting
full time w/ TechTV pending the approval of the Comcast Deal.
A: The merged network will be the nation's premier 24/7 television network all about video games, technology and the gamer lifestyle.
The G4 programming day will showcase many existing G4 and TechTV series such as G4's ICONS; PULSE; JUDGMENT DAY; PLAYERS, and CHEAT! as well as TechTV's ANIME UNLEASHED; X-PLAY; SCREEN SAVERS; FRESH GEAR; and ROBOT WARS.G4 will also premiere new original programming which will be announced at a later date.
Any Vegas bets/odds on MyDoomB vs. Microsoft.com
on
SCO Offline
·
· Score: 1
Is anyone placing bets/odds on MyDoomB shuting down microsoft.com? Have bets been placed in Vegas before on viruses' success/failure against a target in a DDoS attack?
Well, it's been thoroughly clarified, but for me, the title of the earlier news piece quoting Linus was spin, but IMHO, Linux needs as much spin as it can generate.
It's on the window sill to the left of her with some kind of life form perching on it.
You know, the state is looking to reform their whole IS operation, after the Oracle debacle and the Florez investigations. They discussed doing less contracting, more internal hiring and training like Illinois???. She would make a great splash in Suckramento as a possible State CIO???
Report blasts oversight of contracts
Mercury News ^ | 8/20/02 | Dion Nissenbaum
SACRAMENTO - A special team of investigators has found that poor oversight of state contracts contributed to abuse in the system and called Monday for revamping the process that came under severe scrutiny during this year's Oracle scandal.
After three months of review, a draft report prepared for a special governor's task force called for new oversight of computer projects and red flagging high-risk contracts for special scrutiny. But it did not embrace elimination of the disputed no-bid system that allows billions of state dollars to be spent with little oversight.
``They are suggesting that instead of reinventing the wheel, maybe putting some new spokes on it,'' said Robb Deignan, a spokesman for the state Department of General Services, which produced the draft report.
Assemblyman Dean Florez, the Bakersfield Democrat who led the Legislature's review of the Oracle scandal, called the recommendations ``a good start,'' but said there were still loopholes that need to be closed.
``There are some good things in here, but we still need a better system,'' Florez said.
The proposals are the latest effort by the Davis administration to restore public confidence in the state contracting process that came under fire following a Mercury News investigation of the Oracle contract.
Oracle and the Davis administration agreed to cancel the $95 million to $123 million deal after state auditors determined that the contract could force California to spend millions on software it didn't need. The scandal also led to the firing of three state officials involved in the deal and elimination of the state's technology department.
In May, Davis imposed a temporary ban on most no-bid contracts and created a special panel to review the process.
On Monday, state investigators concluded that the current system is rife with problems and needs to be changed. Poor oversight prevents the state from even figuring out exactly how much it spends on state contracts and services. The report estimated that California spent at least $7.4 billion for goods, services and technology projects in a recent 12-month period.
More than a quarter of the money was distributed through disputed programs that allow the state to hand out contracts to companies without going through the normal competitive bidding process.
Instead of calling for elimination of the process, the report suggested that the state revamp the rules and impose more oversight of the program.
The report called on the state to:
Ensure that major technology projects are competitively bid by preventing them from going through the more lax channels.
Place specially trained officials in state agencies who would be charged with approving contracts worth up to $1 million.
Red-flag high-risk contacts, including all technology service contracts worth more than $200,000, for intense legal scrutiny
Write new laws that would allow the state to fire officials or suspend companies that break the rules.
After receiving the report Monday, the panel asked the investigators to spend a little more time working on their proposals and come back with final recommendations.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm always awake the most when I want to go to sleep. Supply and demand I guess.
After I read the article, despite it not being about the Patriot Act, it reminded me that I need to get on the bandwagon about writing to my rent-a-legislators (state/federal) about opposing any attempts to extend the USA PATRIOT Act Provisions That Expire on December 31, 2005. I'll definately be boning up at EPIC's The USA PATRIOT Act page.
Another good reference source that came my way via the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy"Secrecy News Newsletter" was their archive of Congressional Research Service reports on Secrecy and Security.
The one I will reference in my correspondences will be the report:
Here's the summary with section listed:
Summary
Several sections of Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act (the Act) relating to enhanced foreign intelligence and law enforcement surveillance authority expire on December 31, 2005. Thereafter, the authority remains in effect only as it relates to foreign intelligence investigations begun before sunset or to offenses or potential offense begun or occurring before that date. There may be some disagreement of whether a "potential offense" is a suspected crime, an incomplete crime, or both.
The consequences of sunset are not the same for every expiring section. In some instances the temporary provision has been replaced with a permanent one; in some, other provisions have been made temporarybyattached to an expiring section; in still others, the apparent impact of termination has been mitigated by related provisions either in the Act or elsewhere.
The temporary provisions are: sections 201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases), 202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases), 203(b) (sharing wiretap information), 203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information), 204 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions), 206 (roving FISA wiretaps), 207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States persons who are agents of a foreign power), 209 (seizure of voice-mail messages pursuant to warrants), 212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance), 214 (FISApen register/ trap and trace authority), 215 (FISAaccess to tangible items), 217 (interception of computer trespasser communications), 218 (purpose for FISA orders), 220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence), 223 (civil liability and discipline for privacy violations), and 225 (provider immunity for FISA wiretap assistance).
The unimpaired provisions of Title II are: section
I don't know that the G4 gamers audinece are as big a viewership niche as the folks that tuned into TechTV, namely for TSS and Call for Help.
Boobs helped pump up TechTV ratings. I don't think there was a small breasted women on the entire network. If they go, the shows will tank on ratings enough for Comcast to cancel them.
What I think will happen is most of the shows from TechTV won't exist in a year, and the personalities that get the best ratings will be cherry picked from the TechTV line up and absorbed into G4 shows, eventually becoming vender infomercials. The rest, well I think they will bail before that time.
I think Unscrewed isn't pulled off well, but both Martin and his endowed co-host are great. Sargent is great opposite a guy like Leo or Pat, or even Megan who I thought was good.
As for Leo, I think he's going to do great off of TSS and TechTV. I hope he gets more air time soon, maybe a reality TECH show?
"Hacker Wars" host? A LAN party gone mad where teams try to hack each other's networks, servers in less than a half hour? Or wardriving contests between two teams?
I hope they continue to program Call For Help with him as a host. Leo is a good tech journalist/author/media personality, and not a Redmond borg, with a Microsoft EULA. If they dump him, I don't think he'll have any problem getting a tech column syndicated in major newspapers/magazines, and line up more TV and Radio opportunities.
G4 FAQ: Programming http://g4tv.com/techtvmerger/
Is anyone placing bets/odds on MyDoomB shuting down microsoft.com? Have bets been placed in Vegas before on viruses' success/failure against a target in a DDoS attack?
Well, it's been thoroughly clarified, but for me, the title of the earlier news piece quoting Linus was spin, but IMHO, Linux needs as much spin as it can generate.
I believe the aclu web site has been /.'ed
One photo shows Georgy working at the computer, with what appears to be a O'Reilly book on "Running Linux or Learning Redhat Linux.
It's on the window sill to the left of her with some kind of life form perching on it. You know, the state is looking to reform their whole IS operation, after the Oracle debacle and the Florez investigations. They discussed doing less contracting, more internal hiring and training like Illinois???. She would make a great splash in Suckramento as a possible State CIO???
Mercury News ^ | 8/20/02 | Dion Nissenbaum
SACRAMENTO - A special team of investigators has found that poor oversight of state contracts contributed to abuse in the system and called Monday for revamping the process that came under severe scrutiny during this year's Oracle scandal.
After three months of review, a draft report prepared for a special governor's task force called for new oversight of computer projects and red flagging high-risk contracts for special scrutiny. But it did not embrace elimination of the disputed no-bid system that allows billions of state dollars to be spent with little oversight.
``They are suggesting that instead of reinventing the wheel, maybe putting some new spokes on it,'' said Robb Deignan, a spokesman for the state Department of General Services, which produced the draft report.
Assemblyman Dean Florez, the Bakersfield Democrat who led the Legislature's review of the Oracle scandal, called the recommendations ``a good start,'' but said there were still loopholes that need to be closed.
``There are some good things in here, but we still need a better system,'' Florez said.
The proposals are the latest effort by the Davis administration to restore public confidence in the state contracting process that came under fire following a Mercury News investigation of the Oracle contract.
Oracle and the Davis administration agreed to cancel the $95 million to $123 million deal after state auditors determined that the contract could force California to spend millions on software it didn't need. The scandal also led to the firing of three state officials involved in the deal and elimination of the state's technology department.
In May, Davis imposed a temporary ban on most no-bid contracts and created a special panel to review the process.
On Monday, state investigators concluded that the current system is rife with problems and needs to be changed. Poor oversight prevents the state from even figuring out exactly how much it spends on state contracts and services. The report estimated that California spent at least $7.4 billion for goods, services and technology projects in a recent 12-month period.
More than a quarter of the money was distributed through disputed programs that allow the state to hand out contracts to companies without going through the normal competitive bidding process.
Instead of calling for elimination of the process, the report suggested that the state revamp the rules and impose more oversight of the program.
The report called on the state to:
After receiving the report Monday, the panel asked the investigators to spend a little more time working on their proposals and come back with final recommendations.
Check out this Georgy for Governor sticker!
http://www.cafeshops.com/georgyforgov.6456758
Fat Slice!!!
Did Assemblyman Dean Florez go far enough with investigation the Oracle deal and Gray Davis prior to Speaker Wesson shutting him down?
Does Georgy support the state government adopting the use of open source software and operating systems like Linux?