To see how the Internet can work to increase transparency in government and political awareness in the (interested) population, take a look at four British websites that take public involvement well ahead of what’s being done in this country:

• The Government Says
• Downing Street Says
• mySociety.org
• TheyWorkForYou

The Government Says describes itself this way:

The Government Says” make news releases from Government departments easy to find and easy to scan through quickly. It does this in order to help you, a British citizen, keep your finger on the pulse of what the government’s up to. Without having to try to

. . . [more]

I have just read a recent article in Canadian Law Library Review by Annette Demers, of the law library at Windsor (“Current Awareness: the Next Generation” 2006 Canadian Law Library Review 31:2 67-70) which I reccomend to SLAW readers. Annette has done a very thorough and concise job of summing up how RSS works, with particular emphasis on Newsgator.. She also refers to the excellent journal table of contents service at Washington & Lee Law Library which has RSS feeds from over 2200 journals, including many Canadian publications. . . . [more]

Do Slawers have a view on the continuing value of foreign digests in this electronic age? I mean in particular the West Digests and The Digest (formerly the English and Empire Digest) which are likely to be held by most Canadian academic law libraries. We still subscribe to The Digest, although at several hundred dollars a volume I have grave doubts as to its worth these days. Myself, I have only ever used it for alternative citations to old, mostly UK law reports and I am not proposing to discard the set should we cancel it so that purpose would . . . [more]

Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D., Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for Market Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, has published a very detailed study of business blogging entitled, Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere.

Dr. Barnes details what was learned from extensive research into blogging for business, including surveys, email conversations and interviews with hundreds of bloggers. Very interesting reading.

Reference found to this study at Blawg Review.

And while we’re on the topic of blogging, take a look at this A to Z of Professional Blogging by Darren Rouse. What . . . [more]

When it comes to managing one’s online profile, the first word out of many of our mouths these days is blogging. No surprise here, especially to Slaw readers. Connie’s most recent addition at LLRX is just further evidence of the long-term value created by adding your voice to the conversational web. Whether you’re contributing to a community of fellow professionals, or trying to demonstrate your experience and expertise for business development purposes, blogging really should be the ‘first step’ most people take to establishing themselves online.

And now that I’ve sung the requisite virtues of blogging, it’s important to . . . [more]

A Press Release from Lexis just over the wires:

JUNE 27, 2006 – 10:27 ET

LexisNexis Canada Announces Applied Discovery

Applied Discovery Gives Legal Professionals Control of Electronic Discovery with Trusted and Uniquely Customizable Solutions

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(CCNMatthews – June 27, 2006) – LexisNexis Canada today announced the Canadian launch of LexisNexis® Applied Discovery®, a comprehensive electronic discovery solution. Since 1999, electronic discovery experts at LexisNexis Applied Discovery have been providing end-to-end services and tools to help leading U.S. law firms and their clients understand and manage the entire electronic discovery processA good explanation of what this means is given . . . [more]

This is a story about the olden days, when paper was scarce and lawyers were lazy, and when we relied on editors to tell us what the law was. Back then each week or two, the postman would deliver a parcel from the publisher. We would eagerly open it, for it told us what the law was. Cases then had authority. People like Caesar Wright and Bora Laskin applied a scholarly and critical eye to whatever judgments the courts handed down.

And even young lawyers, wise to the ways of the web, might profitably think about why we have law . . . [more]

I’ve long recognized that the continous web access and the couple of hundred e-mails each day come at a certain cost. We face so much stimulation from communications that require an instant response that regular work gets constantly interrupted.

Interesting stories prompted by Tim Dowling’s account of the distractions in today’s Guardian – Leave me alone . . .

The Information Age was supposed to provide humanity with access to endless streams of information, carefully organized and readily available to anyone with a computer and a bit of know-how. But how are you supposed to take advantage of such bountiful

. . . [more]

Tous les « slawers » ont lu la semaine passée le billet de Simon Chester (et oui, « billet » est la traduction française du mot « post » selon le Grand Dictionnaire de l’Office québécois de la langue française), billet donc sur l’affaire Joyce (Larry Lessig meets the Joyce Estate) où Larry Lessig a décidé d’intervenir.

Cette chronique m’a fait penser à une affaire qui a eut un certain écho ici au Québec, notamment depuis que la Cour suprême du Canada, il y a environ un mois, en a autorisé appel de la décision . . . [more]

It might be Wanderlust, though that usually strikes me early in the Spring, but in my virtual travelling I stumbled upon a pair of nice Canadian government lists of our embassies and consulates abroad.

The Department of Foreign AffairsThe acronym for the full Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is DFAIT, which to an English speaker might suggest “defeat,” an unhappy idea. Embassies and Consulates site lists those that have websites of their own. It seems that at a minimum, each site contains some information about the country concerned and a blurb on Canada’s relations with that country. Other . . . [more]

1 2.5 lb head of cabbage1 carrot1 small onion------------Dressing:10 tbs sugar or equivalent sweetner2 tbs white vinegar4 heaping tbs ff sour cream6 heaping tbs ff mayoShred cabbage, carrot & onion.... Chill overnight& enjoy the next day.Yep, it's a recipe for slaw. Mind you, it's one that would put you so far over your daily caloric allowance that it's a wonder they bothered with cabbage in the first place.

Are we ready for a cyber-Katrina? How vulnerable is our electronic backbone?
Serious issues raised in a report released today.
PRESS RELEASES
Release Date: 6.23.06 Contact:
Tita Freeman
(202) 496-3269

Business Roundtable Issues Warning on Lack of Preparation to Recover The
Internet Following A Catastrophic Cyber Disruption

Analysis Finds “Significant Weaknesses” that Could Impact Homeland and
Economic Security

Washington, DC – The United States is ill-prepared for a cyber
catastrophe, with significant ambiguities in public and private sector
responses that would be needed to restore and recover the Internet
following a disaster, according to a new Business Roundtable report
released . . . [more]