Net Law
CBO Testimony on Current and Future Investment in Infrastructure
New GAO Reports: DHS Complex Acquisitions, Interagency Contracting, DA's Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
Committee Releases Findings From Crandall Canyon Mine Tragedy Investigation
DOD IG: Security Controls Over Joint Strike Fighter Classified Technology
Parliamentary committee deplores abandoning of Coordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS)
The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics has released a report which includes:
The parliamentary Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics:
- deplores the fact that, at the request of Treasury Board, as of April 1, 2008 officials are no longer updating the Coordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS), a central database for all requests filed with the government under the Access to Information Act;
- demands that the Conservative government reinstate this tool, which promotes transparency and accountability; and
- encourages the Conservative government to make this database available online and free of charge.
I agree, and was in fact surprised that a party who campaigned on accountability and transparency of government would abandon rather than expand this important system.
Recognizing a policy problem doesn't suggest agreement on solutions
A few hours after posting my article on the content industry vs content delivery providers I was sent a link to an article titled "Raging Grannies demonstrate for fair contracts for freelancers" by its author, journalist Shannon Lee Mannion. The contracts that the big media companies are asking freelance journalists to sign are getting worse and worse all the time. I feel really bad about this situation, and I do anything I can in my policy work to help improve the situation for authors -- especially freelance creators given I am one myself with my self-employed business.
I am left with mixed feelings, however, because I believe that the organizations that should be helping authors -- organizations like the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), The Writers Union, and other members of the Creators Copyright Coalition and DAMIC -- have been promoting policies which will have the effect of protecting or worsening the market conditions that enabled these bad contracts in the first place.
Copyright in the mainstream media
It's good to see that the copyright issue is still on the radar of the mainstream media. Such coverage will be very important if the coming legislation is going to be as bad as many expect.
Chris Brand was quoted in today's Vancouver Sun on the issue. Way to go Chris!
Local Cost of War Breakdowns Based on President's New Funding Request
Agencies Issue Proposed Rules on Risk-Based Pricing Notices
Background Material and Data on the Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, 2008
National Archives Creates Plan for Online Access to Founding Fathers Papers
New GAO Reports: Aviation and the Environment, Employment and Training Program Grants, Human Capital
Report: Employer Health Costs In a Global Economy: A Competitive Disadvantage for U.S. Firms
FBI Withdraws National Security Letter After ACLU and EFF Challenge
VA OIG: Healthcare Inspection Scopes of Practice for Unlicensed Physicians Engaged in Veterans Health Administration Research
Fact Sheet: Emergency Supplemental: Iraq, Afghanistan, Veterans, and Workers
U.S. International Reserve Position
Report: Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2008
Pew Survey: Hard Hats See Hard Times
Content industry vs content delivery providers: who is the customer?
One of the common problems you will see in policy discussions is that many people are focused on their narrow issues, sometimes even tiny edge-cases, and not investing any time looking at the bigger picture of how different policies interact. This leads to the solutions to these edge cases sometimes causing even worse problems for the proponents.
We had one of those moments at CopyCamp when I tried to demonstrate a bigger picture issue by adding in "Net Neutrality" related discussions into a narrow discussion of business models for authors.
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Net Law
- CBO Testimony on Current and Future Investment in Infrastructure
- New GAO Reports: DHS Complex Acquisitions, Interagency Contracting, DA's Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
- Committee Releases Findings From Crandall Canyon Mine Tragedy Investigation
- DOD IG: Security Controls Over Joint Strike Fighter Classified Technology
- Parliamentary committee deplores abandoning of Coordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS)
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