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The CPSR Compiler - July 2007
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The CPSR Compiler - July 2007 - 1.3
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COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS for SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Turning Thoughts to Actions
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Upcoming events
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Technology in Wartime Conference - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
Sponsored by: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
Date: January 26, 2008
Location: Stanford University
CPSR seeks proposals for a winter 2008 conference called Technology in Wartime. This conference will explore how computer technology is used during wartime. Topics will range from high tech weapons systems and internet surveillance, to privacy-enhancing technologies that aid human rights workers documenting conditions in war-torn countries and help soldiers communicate their experiences in blogs and e-mail. We are also interested in the history of computer-aided weapons systems. Our goal will be to consider the ethical implications of wartime technologies and how these technologies are likely to affect civilization in years to come. Ultimately we want to engage a pressing question of our time: What should socially-responsible computer professionals do in a time of high tech warfare?
We welcome proposals from technology experts, policy-makers, scholars, and human rights workers on the issues outlined above. Possible topics include: weaponizing computer technologies; robotics; UAVs; sensor networks; internet surveillance; human rights technologies; datamining; biometric software; CCTV; surveillance camera networks; cyberterrorism; privacy-enhancing technologies for dissidents, human rights workers and journalists in wartime; the history of computer-aided warfare; high tech antiwar protests; geolocation and GPS; smart armor; blogs/podcasts in war zones; embedded bloggers; and life-saving technologies for soldiers. We are interested in factual reports on these issues as well as social commentary.
The proceedings will be broadcast live on the Web, and the presentations collected in book form online, released under a CC license, and made available to the public and policy makers looking for expert opinions on wartime technology issues during the election year.
Technology in Wartime will not be pro-war or anti-war, right-wing or left-wing -- it will deal with the facts of wartime technologies, and consider ethical effects from many perspectives.
About submitting a proposal:
Proposals are welcome in the form of paper presentations, descriptions of current research projects, and panels. Technical demonstrations are also a possibility. All participants (including panelists) are expected to produce a ready-for-publication article to be published in the proceedings. Reasonable travel expenses (coach airfare to conference location plus two nights hotel) will be reimbursed. If you are submitting a proposal for a panel, be sure to include information about each of the proposed speakers and topics. Please submit a one-page abstract of your proposal, a short biography, and cover letter by Oct. 15, 2007 to techinwar(at)cpsr.org. We will notify speakers by Nov. 1.
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Progress Report from Jeffrey Gerard, CPSR's Student from Google Summer of Code
The "Who Voted?" project -- a free website to help voters verify that their votes were recorded in public elections -- is right on schedule to be unveiled in early August. As a Google Summer of Code student working for CPSR, I'm developing open-source tools to mine the various formats of voting registers we acquire, converting the information to
a common database structure. Due to the immense size of the dataset (hundreds of counties across the U.S.), the tools will avoid user interaction at all costs. In addition, I've made a user-friendly web interface so the general public can query the database, letting the whole world see "Who Voted."
The biggest challenge: although this voting information is technically public record in all but a handful of U.S. states, it's extremely difficult to acquire. The vast majority of states and counties charge fees of up to $5000. Due to these restrictions, the data we currently
have is limited to Las Vegas NV and the State of Florida, as well as some scant information from Georgia and New York. Still, if the "Who Voted?" website makes waves as a novel and useful public resource in those regions, perhaps other elections departments will be more amenable to working with CPSR in our endeavor.
-- Jeffrey
About Google Summer of Code:
Google Summer of Code is a program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source projects. Google will be working with a several open source, free software and technology-related groups to identify and fund several projects over a three month period. Historically, the program has brought together over 1,000 students with over 100 open source projects, to create hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The program, which kicked off in 2005, is now in its third year, following on from a very successful 2006.
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CPSR 2007 Board Election Announcement
During August-September of 2007, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) will hold elections to fill a number of at-large seats on its Board of Directors. These will all be for three-year terms. All regularly elected positions take effect on September 30, 2007.
Two of the 10 sitting board members have terms expired on June 30, 2007. The 2007-08 Board will have the opportunity to continue to direct the work of CPSR and represent the organization in various capacities throughout the year. We have received several nominations to fill these board seats, and will send out candidate statements in late July.
We are also excited to report that we will be trying out the Punchscan secure voting system for this election. Details below.
Method of Casting Ballots
The Punchcard voting system < http://punchscan.org/ > is the method adopted for use in this year's CPSR Board Elections.
Each such email will contain a link for the voter to use if they wish to retrieve a PDF ballot. (These links are secured using SSL and each one is unique and cannot be guessed even knowing many valid such links.) The other option that will be provided in the emails is that voters can reply to the email and indicate that they would like to receive an actual paper ballot by post.
CPSR Members wishing to receive a physical ballot have until July 25, 2007 to submit an e-mail or fax request to have a physical ballot sent to them. Physical ballots will be mailed by July 27, 2007. If these ballots are not posted on the Punchscan Election Verification page by July 25, voters should print the PDF version of their Punchscan ballot and fax it [415-948-2062] by Saturday, September 8, 15:00 PDT (3:00 p.m.) (22:00 UTC/GMT).
Ballots will be distributed via e-mail on July 27, 2007. Those requesting a physical ballot must make their request by July 25, 2007. Physical ballots will be mailed to the address of the requesting member that is on file at CPSR as of May 1. Votes may be cast using dynamic PDF files on your computer or printed and marked using an ink pen (see the election candidate announcement sent on July 27 for details). All request for physical ballots to be sent or to submit voted ballots address the correspondence if send by mail to:
CPSR Election
4335 Van Nuys Blvd.
Suite 250
Sherman Oaks CA 91403
USA
or if sent by fax to:
415-948-2062
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Board member Robert Guerra’s newly elected positions with ICANN
Robert Guerra was elected at the recent ICANN meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico to serve a two year term as one of the two North American representatives on ICANN's At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC). He will be joined by Beau Brendler from Consumer Reports WebWatch, who will be serving a one year term.
The meeting was a productive one for Robert, as he was also named as the At-Large Liaison to ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) as well as representative on the At-Large working group on Election rules and IPv4 / IPv6
Details @
http://sanjuan2007.icann.org/node/56
https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?24_june_2007
https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?puerto_rico_icann_meeting
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Approvals voted by the CPSR board:
* Join as a "member" organization of iCommons - http://icommons.org
* Sign on to "Keep the Core Neutral" campaign - http://www.keep-the-core-neutral.org/
* Support Doug Schuler to organize a DIAC conference
* Submit a funding proposal to the Pew Charitable Trust
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Upcoming events
30th International Public ICANN Meeting
29 October - 2 November 2007
Los Angeles, CA USA
http://www.icann.org
2007 United Nations Internet Governance forum
12 - 15 November 2007.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
http://cgi.br/igf/
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* About the CPSR Compiler:
The CPSR Compiler is a monthly notice with short updates on recent activities of our members and opportunities to engage in the development of the public voice through CPSR projects.
To report news for future issues, email a sentence or two (and URL if available) to cpsr (at) cpsr.org -- please begin your subject header with "FOR COMPILER: " for reliable recognition.
* About CPSR:
CPSR provides a discussion and project space where individuals can contribute to the public debate and design of our global digital future. Through CPSR's chapters and working groups, members focus on regional and civic issues developing the public voice. To ensure a democratic future in a time of intense globalization, the voice of the public must command a prominent position on the world stage. CPSR frames and channels the public voice.
* Members:
When in doubt about how to get more out of your CPSR membership, refer to the Activists Handbook or email [ cpsr (at) cpsr (dot) org ] to get help in getting the most out of your membership.
To get involved in policy work through CPSR, consider joining one of CPSR's Working Groups or email [ cpsr (at) cpsr (dot) org ] about starting a new one.
CPSR-Activists is the main members forum of CPSR, where the board and members discuss current policy and organizational issues. Only subscribed members can post to this list.
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(c) Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility 2007
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