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Nixon Tape Transcripts 'Interpretations'
It likely is impossible to produce a perfect transcript of the infamous Nixon tapes because audio fidelity was not taken into consideration in designing the White House tape-recording system, reports Steven Aftergood, author of an e-newsletter and blog on government secrecy published by the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists.
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Recovery Board Won't Fix Ham Goof
The independent board overseeing stimulus spending will not correct information on Recovery.gov that indicates the government is paying more than a million dollars for two pounds of frozen ham, a spokesman for the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board said on Monday.
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Show Me The Plan!
I don't know if Roger Baker is a "<a href="http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/07/rock_star_cios.php">rock star</a>" CIO, but I do think Mr. Baker is an extremely competent one who seems intent, along with his boss, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, on creating a new standard for IT governance, risk management and project accountability in the federal government.
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Rock Star CIOs
When names were being thrown around for possible top technology posts in the Obama administration, many tech titans said the White House needed some tech "rock stars" who could use their star power to dislodge the federal government from its 1960s era tech and bring it into the 21st century.
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GAO Shines Light on FISMA's Failings ... Again
The Government Accountability Office once again shined a glaring spotlight on the <a href=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09546.pdf>failings</a> of the Federal Information Security Act, reporting Friday that "significant weaknesses in information security policies and practices threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical information and information systems used to support the operations, assets, and personnel of most federal agencies."
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Battle of the Browsers
Microsoft's ubiquitous Web browser, Internet Explorer, has scored some headlines this week, though not necessarily positive. Only a week after Nextgov editor Allan Holmes <a href=http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/07/feds_want_their_firefox.php>posted</a> a blog about State Department employees demanding Firefox, a popular IE alternative, Federal News Radio's Jason Miller <a href=http://federalnewsradio.com/?nid=35&sid=1719202>reports</a> about complaints from federal grant applicants frustrated by the Grants.gov portal, which doesn't support Firefox or Google's new browser, Chrome.
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Recovery.gov Maps Go Deeper
Recovery.gov on Thursday retooled the maps on its Web site, as the official stimulus-monitoring portal prepares for a more thorough refresh later this summer.
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Data.gov Copycats
Government transparency enthusiasts have launched a public-service Web site that pulls and repackages federal data - fulfilling the aim of the White House's "democratizing data" campaign.
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More Comp for Federal Web Sites
Our colleagues at the blog Tech Daily Dose, <a href="http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2009/07/federal-rulemakings-made-easy.php">wrote about</a> a new site launched by transparency researcher Jerry Brito at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to make it easier for the public to find and comment on federal regulations -- a direct competitor to the government's Regulations.gov.
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Hold On to That Laptop
It may be a good idea to keep that laptop as a carry on where you can keep an eye on it -- not <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/07/15/2009-07-15_sting_nabs_stickyfingered_jfk_airport_workers_going_through_luggage.html">packed in your luggage out of sight</a>.
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Feds Want Their Firefox
Top government executives -- even the very top, politically appointed execs -- need to understand that federal employees have some strong opinions about the technology they use in their jobs. That was evident at a town-hall event Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held for the department's employees.
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Hold on Groves Explained
After weeks of speculation, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has finally revealed his reasons for placing a hold on the nomination of Robert Groves to be Census Bureau Director. Vitter was one of the only votes against a procedural motion yesterday that resulted in a voice vote on Groves' nomination, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXx_Z-rGJjGfdC5MFYs7vCq4fQzwD99DRK2O6">which was confirmed</a>.
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Recovery.gov Contract Details Coming
The General Services Administration will release by early next week a redacted version of the potential $18 million contract to upgrade Recovery.gov, GSA officials said on Monday. Government transparency advocates had been calling on GSA and the board overseeing stimulus spending <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090710_7638.php">to publish the agreement</a> that will cost taxpayers $9.5 million through January 2010 and up to $18 million if all options are exercised.
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Update: Groves Confirmed By Senate
A press assistant with Harry Reid just confirmed to me that the Senate will vote on the nomination of Robert Groves to be Census Director at 5:30 p.m. today after Reid <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/reid-refuses-to-honor-republican-holds-on-census-nominee.php">filed a motion for cloture</a> on Friday.
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Federal IT Dashboard: The Blog
Looks like the White House has decided to capitalize on the popularity of the newly-launched <a href="http://it.usaspending.gov">IT Dashboard</a>. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra today published the first entry on the site's new <a href="http://it.usaspending.gov/?q=content/blog">blog</a>:
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Disaster, RFK Style
Tomorrow RFK Stadium in Washington will be home to a 75-person team, 28 semi-tractor trailers, two emergency communications vehicles, four hazmat trailers, one mobile cell site and five smaller utility and support trailers.
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Recovery.gov Details Contract
After a public outpouring of questions, concerns and bewilderment about the $18 million pricetag of a contract for a Recovery.gov Web site, the board overseeing the site's overhaul late Friday revealed some details.
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Where to put intel's info sharing?
Congress hopes to pass a bill that would elevate the head of the intelligence community's information sharing efforts to the White House, but President Obama already indicated he'd reject the measure.
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