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Microsoft

Counter-Claims On Flaws In OOXML Meeting 96

ericatcw writes "Critics have charged that last week's ISO Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) to decide the fate of changes to Office Open XML standards proposal was too perfunctory and deviated from accepted ISO practices, possibly in an attempt to smooth the passage of the Microsoft format. This week, the ISO 'convener' of the BRM disputed those charges, saying that voting to dispose of 900 changes to the spec at once and allowing 'O' Observer countries to vote were the correct moves. ISO released a statement backing him up. Also, Patrick Durusau, editor of the competing OpenDocument Format specification and a late convert to OOXML's passage, also said that claims the process was flawed were overstated."
The Military

US Air Force Issues DMCA Takedown Notice 93

palegray.net writes "Threat Level brings us the story of the US Air Force's use of the DMCA to forcibly remove a 'Cyber Command' recruitment video that they had previously thanked Threat Level for running. The article notes that US government works are not even subject to copyright, but this fact didn't stop YouTube from caving and taking down the video."
Government

White House Email Follies 205

Presto Vivace forwards a link detailing a recent House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the White House missing emails mess. David Gewirtz's report, carried in OutlookPower and DominoPower (in 6 parts, keep clicking), makes for scary reading. "If, in fact, the bulk of the White House email records are now stored in bundles of rotting PST files, all at or above their maximum safe load-level, that ain't good in a very big way... I object to using the inaccurate and inflated claim of excessive cost as a reason to avoid compliance with the Presidential Records Act."
Announcements

Submission + - Joseph Weizenbaum not allowed on Jewish Cemetary

tonk writes: No, he is not dead — yet. In fact, today is the 85th birthday of Joseph Weizenbaum, a well-known IT researcher and former MIT professor who used to live in the USA after his Jewish family had fled from Nazi Germany in 1936. Now, near the end of his life, he is living in Berlin again. As he was undergoing a chemotherapy and has only some months left, he is trying to prearrange his funeral at the local Jewish cemetary. But the Berlin Jewish Community refuses to have him buried. No, not because he is still alive, but because papers proving his Jewish origin are missing. Reports in German language are here and here.
Security

Submission + - German police arrest admin of Tor anonymity server (cnet.com)

An anonymous reader writes: In a recent blog posting, a German operator of a Tor anonymous proxy server revealed that he was arrested by German police officers at the end of July. Showing up at his house at midnight on a Sunday night, police cuffed and arrested him in front of his wife and seized his equipment. In a display of both bitter irony and incompetence, the police did not take or shut-down the Tor server responsible for the traffic they were interested in, which was located in a data center, over 500km away. In the last year, Germany has passed a draconian new anti-security research law and raided seven different data centers to seize Tor servers. While back in 2003, A German court ordered the developers of a different anonymity network to build a back-door into their system. CNET's article has the full details.
Privacy

Submission + - Germany plans to email trojans (bbc.co.uk)

speardane writes: The BBC is reporting that the German authorities are planning to send emails containing trojan horses to suspected terrorists. This is apparently supported by the German chancellor despite protests.

Apparently "the spyware would be used only in a few cases and for a limited time".

It seems to me that this is even more stupid than Sony.

Perhaps the Greman authorities have never heard of emails being forwarded...

Perhaps criminals and terrorists (no I didn't say hackers) won't re-use the weapons the German government have given them...

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