At a stop at a Veteran’s Affairs hospital in Baltimore yesterday, President Bush apparently drew from the forthcoming report of his IT Advisory Committee (PITAC) when he noted that, in health care, “the 21st-century is using a 19th-century paperwork system.” He’s calling for the digitization of most of America’s medical records within the decade. He’s […]
I’m back from the 2004 edition of ACM’s Computer Freedom and Privacy Conference, held this year at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California. This is the second time I’ve attended, and I’ve enjoyed it each time. The conference’s focus on the intersection between technology and civil rights brings together a fascinating blend of personalities — […]
The House Science Committee is circulating a draft (pdf) of a bill to amend portions of the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 to address issues about coordination among federal agencies doing IT R&D. This is an important bill for a couple of reasons. First, the original HPC Act — besides being the bill sponsored […]
The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) met yesterday in their second public session since being reconstituted last year after nearly two years of inactivity. The two items on the agenda were a report on the draft recommendations (pdf) of PITAC’s subcommittee on Health and IT, and the first taking of public testimony by the […]
The White House last Friday released its response to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists that claims the administration is distorting and censoring scientific findings that contradict its policies; manipulating the underlying science to align results with predetermined political decisions; and undermining the independence of science advisory panels by subjecting panel nominees to political litmus […]
Ed Felten’s Freedom to Tinker has a bit on the recent Treasury Department ruling in favor of IEEE regarding U.S. restrictions in place against copy-editing and publishing scientific papers whose authors come from countries under US trade embargoes. IEEE had been working the issue with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for about […]
Tech Daily (sub. req’d) reports on a Senate bill introduced yesterday by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that would allow the Justice Department to file civil lawsuits and bring criminal charges against song-swappers using peer-to-peer networks. Complaints from content providers about the relatively few numbers of criminal prosecutions for file trading apparently led Leahy to introduce […]
Speaking in New Mexico today, President Bush announced his support for rolling out universal broadband service within three years. From Reuters: “We ought to have universal, affordable access to broadband technology by the year 2007,” Bush said. “And then we ought to make sure as soon as possible thereafter consumers have plenty of choices.” “It’s […]
The Boston Globe has a piece on the apparent disposition of some TIA-related (DARPA .pdf) work in the wake of Congress’ move last year to eliminate DARPA funding for the controversial program. The program, an attempt to “design a prototype network that integrates innovative information technologies for detecting and preempting foreign terrorist activities against Americans,” […]
Business Week is running a special report on US R&D policy and how America may be slipping down the curve compared with other countries. Some choice quotes: For anyone concerned about strengthening America’s long-term leadership in science and technology, the nation’s schools are an obvious place to start. But brace yourself for what you’ll find. […]
