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RAIN 4/27: Open Records, digital databank, click-n-cheat, Interne t holes and more



CBC News 4/26/01
Quebec judge strikes down seizure of bank documents
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/04/25/auberge_pmc_010425

MONTREAL - The seizure of documents at the Montreal house, office and
cottage of a former president of the Business Development Bank of Canada has
been quashed. 
The documents were related to the bank, and the Auberge Grand-Mère Hotel,
which has been central to opposition allegations of conflict of interest
concerning the prime minister. 
On April 7, the bank obtained search warrants to seize confidential
documents that François Beaudoin still held. 


eCompany 4/26/01
Smart cards are finally getting well, smart
http://www.ecompany.com/articles/web/0,1653,11515,00.html

by Dylan Tweney
On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog, as the tired New Yorker cartoon
caption goes. More to the point, on the Internet, nobody knows you're you --
a serious problem for, among others, the designers of secure intranets,
extranets, and Web applications for consumer commerce. 
It's a quandary: How do you verify the identity of someone who is attempting
to log on to your intranet, to make sure that they are, in fact, your VP of
engineering and not your competitor's market research assistant? A growing
number of companies are turning to smart cards -- a technology that so far
has been long on promise but short on delivery. 



Deseret News 04/26/01
Ellis Island database a major hit
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,270014721,00.html

by Twila Van Leer
A computer database that allows people to trace ancestors who entered the
United States through the Port of New York on Ellis Island is being hailed
as one of the most popular launch sites ever.
Tuesday morning, almost 26 million successful hits had been registered since
the site opened at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, said Peg Zitko, a spokeswoman
with the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation Inc. That's about 27,000
hits per second.


New York Times 4/26/01
Ellis Island Web site leaves visitors adrift
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/26/technology/26ELLI.html?searchpv=nytToday

by Jason Blair
The HE search for ancestors who came to the United States through Ellis
Island was supposed to become easier last week when a nonprofit group opened
a Web site offering a searchable database of passenger records. But so far,
most of the masses yearning to log on have been told to check back later. 
The Web site, intended to let people search the records of immigrants who
came through the island between 1892 and 1924, has turned away more than 85
percent of those trying to use it. 



EU Business 4/26/01
EU, Euro MPs agree on new public access rules
http://www.eubusiness.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=45129&d=101&h=240&f=56&datefor
mat=%o%20%B%20%Y

BRUSSELS - The EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament reached
agreement Wednesday (25 April) on public access to official EU documents,
including those dealing with defense issues, officials said. (AFP) 
The deal comes after months of haggling between the council, which comprises
the governments of the 15 EU member states, and the parliament, the only
directly elected EU body. 



News 24 4/26/01
Widow may get 'Schindler' cash
http://news.24.com/News24/World/Europe/0,1113,2-10-19_1016433,00.html

Stuttgart - The widow of Oskar Schindler, the German factory owner credited
with saving hundreds of Polish Jews from the Holocaust, may receive
compensation payments in an out-of-court settlement that would end the row
over her husband's list. 



Charleston Gazette 4/26/01
Feds scrutinize Underwood-era Worker's Comp records
http://www.wvgazette.com/news/Other+News/2001042635/

by Lawrence Messina
Federal prosecutors have obtained state Workers' Compensation records by
court order as part of an "ongoing investigation" into activities during the
Underwood administration, officials said Wednesday.
Bureau of Employment Programs Commissioner Robert Smith said his office has
honored the grand jury subpoenas requesting the documents.
"It is my desire to cooperate fully," Smith said.



Radio Free Europe 4/26/01
Germany" Court may decide who owns Schindler's 'List'
http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2001/04/26042001112020.asp

by Roland Eggleston
Many people have seen the American film "Schindler's List," which tells the
story of a German industrialist who saved more than 1,000 Jews from the
Nazis in World War Two by giving them jobs in his factory. Today, a German
court began hearing a claim by Oskar Schindler's widow against a newspaper
for not giving her the suitcase in which Schindler kept the original list of
those he had saved and other documents. RFE/RL's Munich correspondent Roland
Eggleston reports the case might take same time to resolve. 


Guardian Unlimited 4/26/01
EU strikes new deal on freedom of information
http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,478613,00.html

by Ian Black in Brussels
Ordinary citizens stand to win unprecedented transparency from European
Union institutions, it was claimed last night, after a landmark vote in the
European parliament breached the defences of governments and bureaucrats. 
"For the first time, citizens have a right to access official documents by
virtue of EU law," declared Sweden, the current holder of the union's
rotating presidency. 
But the triumph of a bitterly-fought campaign galvanised by a celebrated
Guardian court case was marred by angry criticism from freedom of
information lobbyists that the deal left crucial loopholes and ambiguities. 



Charlotte Observer 4/26/01
Helms center readied for public
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/jesse0426.htm

by Samantha Peterson
Monroe -- Officials at The Jesse Helms Center in Wingate say plans for
Saturday's opening of the newly expanded center are on track, including the
dedication speech to be given by former British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher. 
"It's going to be a spectacular event," said marketing director Jonathan
Thomas. "For those who have tickets, it will be an unforgettable day." 


News & Observer 4/26/01
Helms Center set to open Saturday
http://www.newsobserver.com/ncwire/news/Story/427664p-421574c.html

Associated Press
Monroe, N.C. -- The life-sized cutouts of presidents are in place, flags
representing members of the United Nations Security Council hang from the
ceiling and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is set to give the dedication
speech. 
After two years of construction, the $3.3 million, 23,000-square-foot Jesse
Helms Center is set to open Saturday in Wingate. 



The Independent 4/26/01
EU agrees new rules on public access to documents
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/europe/story.jsp?story=68823

by Stephen Castle in Brussels
The European Union approved new rules on openness yesterday which supporters
say will make 90 per cent of its documents available to the public via the
internet.
The deal, struck after months of agonised diplomacy, will create the first
system to monitor public access to documents sent to, held by or stored at
the European Council, Commission and Parliament.
But the compromise, which allows sensitive documents to be withheld, was
opposed by Green MEPs and described as a "disgrace" by the civil liberties
group Statewatch.


Contra Costa Times 4/26/01
Japan's disclosure law brings flood of requests
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/world/stories/ljpninfo_20010426.htm

by Valerie Reitman
Los Angeles Times
TOKYO -- Outside Japan's drab Foreign Ministry building stands a
200-square-yard prefab building with a small but significant plaque:
"Information Disclosure Room, Second Floor." 
Thanks to a freedom of information law that went into effect this month,
citizens can now obtain details of national civil servants' actions and the
use of tax dollars at the Foreign Ministry and dozens of other federal
agencies. 



Union-News 4/26/01
It's Official: 1852 vote returns in
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/springfield/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ae426
vot.html

by Marcia Blomberg
WEST SPRINGFIELD - In a convergence of historic firsts, Caleb Rice,
Springfield's first mayor, was also the first president of Massachusetts
Mutual Life Insurance Co. 
Yesterday, MassMutual donated to the city an artifact recently recovered
from its archives - the original, and only, known copy of the vote tally
from Springfield's first election on May 13, 1852. 


Montreal Gazette 4/26/01
Shawinigate bank raid quashed
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/010426/5077498.html

by Elizabeth Thompson
A Quebec Superior Court judge has quashed a writ of seizure that allowed the
Business Development Bank of Canada to raid the home, office and cottage of
its former president, suggesting the bank went on a fishing expedition. 
In her ruling, handed down from the bench yesterday, Justice Helene Lebel
said the law requires those seeking a seizure before judgment to provide a
detailed description of what is being sought in order to avoid fishing
expeditions. The bank failed to provide the description required by law, she
ruled. 



News & Observer 4/26/01
Senate bill would end access of legislators to personnel files
http://www.newsobserver.com/ncwire/news/Story/427750p-421661c.html

Associated Press
Raleigh, N.C.
Legislators would no longer have access to confidential personnel files of
state employees under a bill that passed the state Senate on Thursday. 
Legislators are "the only people who have an unfettered right" to the
personnel records of state government and public school employees, said Sen.
Eric Reeves, D-Wake. 



Bergen Record 4/26/01
Net firm fined $15,000 for selling customer lists
http://www.bergen.com/biz/web25200104257.htm

by Kevin G. DeMarrais
A financially ailing Internet company has been ordered to pay $15,000 after
a Superior Court found it violated New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act for
selling customer lists despite assurances the information would remain
confidential. 
The order by Judge Myron Gottlieb in Superior Court in Mount Holly came by
default after the company, DirectWeb Inc. of Mount Laurel, failed to appear
at Friday's scheduled hearing. 
The penalty is the maximum allowed, $7,500 for each of two violations of the
Consumer Fraud Act. 


New Haven Register 4/26/01
Looney won't pursue FOI case over demise of mall project
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1728832&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7
576&rfi=6

by Joseph Straw
NEW HAVEN - State Sen. Martin Looney has dropped his complaint against City
Hall for the handling of a request under the Freedom of Information Act for
documents concerning the demise of the Long Wharf Mall project last year
Assistant Corporation Counsel Donna Chance Dowdie signed an affidavit this
month stating that the city does not have several of the documents Looney,
D-New Haven, requested, among them written commitments from potential anchor
stores from the mall.


New York Times 4/26/01
A portable 'digital databank' lets you take the office home
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/26/technology/26GEE2.html

by Adam Baer
L ooking like a cross between a Palm and a cell phone, the new Terapin Mine
is described by its creators at TeraOptix as a "hand-held, personal, digital
databank." That's very nice, but what does it actually do? 
Quite a bit, as it turns out. At 7 inches by 3 1/4 inches, and 1 inch thick,
the $499 Mine is not a mini- computer, but rather a pocket- size,
Linux-based, networkable hard drive.



New York Times 4/26/01
For those who click and cheat
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/26/technology/26TEST.html

by Lisa Guernsey
B ARBARA THOMAS, a nursing professor at Pace University in Pleasantville,
N.Y., is not afraid to use technology in her courses. She distributes
handouts to her students on the Web and holds class in a room equipped with
computers and video monitors. 
But when it is time for weekly quizzes, Professor Thomas retreats to a
low-tech strategy. She hands out photocopies. 


New York Times 4/26/01
Punching holes in Internet Walls
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/26/technology/26SAFE.html

by Jennifer 8.Lee
I F you live in Saudi Arabia, you cannot get access to pornography on the
World Wide Web. But then, you can't get access to Web sites that the
government considers defamatory to the country's royal family or to Islam,
nor can you use Yahoo chat rooms or Internet telephone services. And even if
you are a medical student, you may not be able to see Web sites on human
anatomy. 
"They have the right to protect against pornography and political things,"
said a 31-year-old engineer who lives in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, "but other
things shouldn't be blocked."


The Oklahoman 4/26/01
Request for records sparks heated dispute
http://db.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=674908&pic=none&TP=getarticl
e

by Randy Ellis
A Texas private investigator and the state Health Department's top lawyer
have filed complaints against each other in a heated dispute over massive
open records requests. 
Jack Taylor Jr., a Texas private investigator and freelance journalist, has
filed at least 24 open-records requests in the last 16 days with the Health
Department. 



Los Angeles Times 4/26/01
Plan to put broker disciplinary records online gains
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/natpol/20010426/t000035194.html

Bloomberg News
The National Assn. of Securities Dealers has secured the support of an
influential congressman for its plan to put brokers' disciplinary records
online, an initiative delayed for the last five years. 
Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, is co-sponsoring a bill that would shield the NASD from liability
if it inadvertently places inaccurate broker information on the Web. 


Fort Worth Star-Telegram 4/26/01
Jones sues Irving over stadium records
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:ARL42A/1:ARL42A0425101.html

by Miles Moffeit
DALLAS -- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is suing the city of Irving,
seeking to prevent public disclosure of Texas Stadium records sought by the
`Star-Telegram.' 
District Judge David Evans has granted a restraining order temporarily
blocking release of the records at least until a May 10 hearing.


MIT Technology Review 4/24/01
Search engines ready to learn
http://www.techreview.com/web/aquino/aquino042401.asp

by Stephen Aquino
WhizBang may offer more powerful data mining by juggling documents along
with links that refer to them.

By one estimate, the total number of Web pages doubled to two billion unique
indexable pages between January and June last year. By any estimate,
searching for relevant data in this sea of mostly unlabeled information is
becoming truly tough.
Enter the next round of data mining tools: machine-learning algorithms for
classifying and extracting information from Web pages. ("Machine learning"
is the study of mathematical procedures for solving abstract problems that
improve automatically through experience.) 



Toronto Star 4/25/01
Judge quashes seizure of Grand-Mere documents
http://www.thestar.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=thes
tar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=988169602244&call_page=TS_News&call_p
ageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News&col=968793972154

MONTREAL (CP) - A Quebec Superior Court judge quashed Wednesday the seizure
of documents relating to the federal Business Development Bank and a hotel
in his home riding which has provoked a storm of controversy around Prime
Minister Jean Chretien. 
Justice Helene LeBel said the writs filed to get permission for the seizure
were too wide-ranging and did not sufficiently describe the property being
sought. 





Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
Manager, Records Management Group
Woodside Summit Group Inc
Midlothian, Virginia
Office: 804-744-1247 x23
Fax: 804-744-4947
mailto:peter.kurilecz@woodsidesummitgroup.com

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