Dan G.

USAPATRIOT ACT Debate: Spying on U.S. Citizens

kathleen writes “WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 – Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.–New York Times.

The Washington Post states:
The revelations come amid a fierce congressional debate over reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Patriot Act granted the FBI new powers to conduct secret searches and surveillance in the United States…..Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies at George Washington University, said the secret order may amount to the president authorizing criminal activity….”This is as shocking a revelation as we have ever seen from the Bush administration,” said Martin, who has been sharply critical of the administration’s surveillance and detention policies. “It is, I believe, the first time a president has authorized government agencies to violate a specific criminal prohibition and eavesdrop on Americans.””

December 18, 2005 by Legal Issues Libraries

Orhan Pamuk on Trial for Criticizing Turkishness

Kathleen writes “It is not every day that a world-class writer ends up in court, still less so on charges of insulting his country. That is the deplorable fate of Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish author of acclaimed novels such as Snow, Istanbul and My Name is Red reports The Guardian.

The New York Times notes: “International scholars have widely agreed that more than a million Armenians were killed in the genocide. But the topic is still off-limits in Turkey, and the government still denies that the killings were part of a genocidal campaign. Mr. Pamuk’s comments provoked outrage in the country, and he was charged under Article 301 of the revised penal code, which criminalizes criticism of “Turkishness,” of state institutions and of the revered founder of the republic, Ataturk.””

December 16, 2005 by Libraries

White Sox history missing

Katie writes “From the Chicago Tribune (free registration required):

As the White Sox made history this fall, University of Illinois librarians discovered that someone may have made off with copies of a rare sports newspaper chronicling the team’s darkest chapter.

A librarian at the Urbana-Champaign campus said Monday that two bound volumes of Collyer’s Eye from the 1920s are missing, including articles about the 1919 White Sox gambling scandal that spawned the nickname Black Sox.”

December 7, 2005 by Libraries

NYPL Digital Gallery profiled in EContent Magazine

Anonymous Patron writes “NYPL Digital Gallery (digitalgallery.nypl.org) has recently been profiled in EContent’s InSites as part of the magazine’s fifth annual EContent 100 issue.

According to the EContents Dec 2005 issue, “InSites” is an annual supplement to the “EContent 100” cover story (profiling 100 digital companies), where EContent editors suggest “some sites, projects, and resources that — while outside the scope of the EContent 100 list — are well worth taking a closer look at.”

Some of the nine sites profiled on EContent’s 2005 InSites list – in addition to NYPL Digital Gallery – include A9.com, firstmonday.org, The Media Center (American Press Institute), NISO (National Information Standards Organization), Open Content Alliance, and OpenOffice.org.

Last year, featured sites included flickr, Creative Commons, Gawker Media, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Content Village, and Techorati.

Read more at www.econtentmag.com“

December 4, 2005 by Internet

Bush admin. backs prayer services at library

Redcardlibrarian writes “”SAN FRANCISCO – The Bush administration is siding with a Christian group in its lawsuit demanding rights to conduct prayer services at public libraries.

The case concerns a Contra Costa County policy allowing the public to use free meeting rooms at its libraries, but prohibits “religious services and activities.”

The Sierra Club, Narcotics Anonymous and even the East Contra Costa Democratic Club have utilized the county’s library facilities. The Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries, however, was denied access because of its religious preaching.

“Because the county refused to permit Faith Center to use the meeting rooms solely because of the religious perspective of the activities at its meetings, the county engaged in impermissible viewpoint discrimination,” the Justice Department wrote the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday.”

San Jose Mercury News “

December 4, 2005 by Legal Issues Librarians Libraries

Use the Library to plan your next trip

Redcardlibrarian writes “The Denver Business Journal suggests that you make use of your public library next time you plan a trip: “But research is one item in the travel budget that doesn’t have to cost a dime, thanks to your local library. Whether it’s business or pleasure, the library is an often-overlooked, free and thorough travel resource.””

December 4, 2005 by Librarians Libraries

EFF says DMCA Rulemaking Is Broken

Seth Finkelstein writes “EFF says: “December 1 is the last day to submit proposals (by 5p EST) to the
Copyright Office seeking a 3-year DMCA exemption for noninfringing
activities that are otherwise squelched by “digital rights management”
(DRM) restrictions. … This year, we are not submitting any
proposals. Where consumer interests are concerned, the rulemaking
process is simply too broken. … We have assembled a
short report documenting why we believe the process is so broken that we
have decided not to propose any exemptions this time. (We may support
narrower, non-consumer proposals made by others during the reply
period, which closes on Feb. 2, 2006.)””

December 1, 2005 by Uncategorized

Abebooks buys Bookfinder

Cortez writes “Abebooks has snapped up Bookfinder in a trend toward consolidation we will probably see more of:

From the article:

“Like BookFinder, Abebooks never actually handles the books. Instead the book goes directly from bookseller to customer. Abebooks sells about 20,000 books a day to customers all over the world. It has strong links in the European market through its websites in Germany, Spain, France and Britain. Now, with the acquisition of BookFinder, Abebooks can be more competitive in those markets, Blum says.”

November 10, 2005 by Books EBooks

Frankfurt Is Still Publishing’s Main Event

An Anonymous Patron writes “As a crossroads of Europe, this city has for centuries been a natural meeting place for people looking to buy and sell. Thus it is that the Frankfurt Book Fair has, for several decades, been the place for trading the rights to translate and publish books. The New York Times takes a look.”

October 24, 2005 by Publishing

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