[gweekly] PT1a Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter
Michael Hart
hart at pglaf.org
Wed Feb 15 09:21:54 PST 2006
pt1a2.206
pt1b2.206
Weekly_February_15.txt
The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, February 15, 2006 PT1*
*******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971********
PT1A
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Search for "*eBook" or "*Intro". . .to jump to that section, etc.]
*eBook Milestones
*Introduction
*Hot Requests, New Sites and Announcements
*Continuing Requests and Announcements
*Progress Report
*Distributed Proofreaders Collection Report
*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
*Permanent Requests For Assistance:
*Donation Information
*Access To The Project Gutenberg Collections
*Mirror Site Information
*Instant Access To Our Latest eBooks
*Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
*Flashback
*Weekly eBook update:
This is now in PT2 of the Weekly Newsletter
Also collected in the Monthly Newsletter
Corrections in separate section
1 New This Week From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.]
11 New This Week From PGEu [European Copyrights, Life + 50 and 70]
157 New This Week From PG PrePrints
56 New This Week To Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
225 New This Week [Including PG Australia, PG Europe and PrePrints]
[I'm sure there are a few bugs in the new accounting]
*Headline News from Edupage, etc.
*Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
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*eBook Milestones*
18,675 eBooks As Of Today!!!
Including 531 Australian eBooks [+1]
and 261 Project Gutenberg Europe [+11]
And 157 From The New PrePrint Site[+157]
We Are ~93% of the Way to 20,000!!!
***531 eBooks Averaged Per Year Since July 4, 1971***
15,613 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001
That's ~254 eBooks per Month for ~61.5 Months
We Have Produced 533 eBooks in 2006
1,325 to go to 20,000!!!
40 New eBooks From Distributed Proofreaders
8,040 total from Distributed Proofreaders
Since October, 2000 [Details in PT1B]
[Currently over 36,000 DP volunteers]
We Averaged ~339 eBooks Per Month In 2004
We Averaged ~248 eBooks Per Month In 2005
[Including PG Australia]
We Are Averaging ~255 eBooks Per Month This Year
[Including PGAu, PGEu and PrePrints]
[This change is due to the opening of Project Gutenberg
sites other than the original one at www.gutenberg.org]
[Now including totals from Australia, Europe and PrePrints]
[Apologies, it will take a while to integrate everything
not all statistics may be totally equalized yet]
[PGEu Statistics Are Counted Monthly Not Weekly]
[Daily PGEu stats at http://dp.rastko.net/default.php]
[Daily DP stats at http://www.pgdp.net]
BTW, we just started a new "PrePrints" site at PG,
so if you come across eBooks that aren't ready for
primetime, but that should be saved for upgrading,
we have a place to put them.
http://preprints.pglaf.org/ old site
http://preprints.readingroo.ms/ new site
[Still integrating, sorry]
All Four Sites Combined Are Averaging 89 eBooks Per Week In 2006
225 This Week
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
It took ~32 months, from 2003 to 2006 for our last 10,000 eBooks
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~2.00 years from Oct. 2003 to Nov. 2005 from 10,000 to 17,500
*
***Introduction
[The Newsletter is now being sent in two sections, so you can directly
go to the portions you find most interesting: 1. Founder's Comments,
News, Notes & Queries, and 2. Weekly eBook Update Listing. Note bene
that PT1 is now being sent as PT1A and PT1B.
[Since we are between Newsletter editors, these 2 parts may undergo a
few changes while we are finding a new Newsletter editor. Email us:
hart at pobox.com and gbnewby at pglaf.org if you would like to volunteer.]
This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
FREE INTERNET REFERENCE SITE
LivingInternet.com provides a 700-odd page reference about the Internet
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many from educational institutions. Now in its 7th year of operation.
http://www.livinginternet.com/
TEXT TO SPEECH
Dolphin Producer is a new software package which will convert a text
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The DTB can also be played back on any other DAISY DTB software or
hardware player, as well as any MP3 player - The choice is yours.
http://www.dolphinuk.co.uk or http://www.dolphinusa.com
*Headline News from Edupage
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
MICHIGAN PRESIDENT DEFENDS GOOGLE'S BOOK SCANNING
Speaking at the annual conference of the Professional/Scholarly
Publishing division of the Association of American Publishers, the
president of the University of Michigan defended her institution's
participation in Google's Book Search program. The program has upset
many publishers and other copyright owners, who contend that the
project violates their intellectual property rights. Mary Sue Coleman
told conference attendees that the program "is about the social good of
promoting and sharing knowledge" and argued that Thomas Jefferson would
have loved it. Insisting that vast numbers of cultural artifacts are at
risk of being lost due to insufficient efforts at conservation,
particularly among libraries, Coleman characterized Google's project
as one of preservation and her institution's participation as central
to the university's mission. She noted that the University of Michigan
had been "digitizing books long before Google knocked on our door, and
we will continue our preservation efforts long after our contract with
Google ends." Coleman's comment also included a clear defense of the
rights of copyright holders. Her institution would not "ignore the law
and distribute [protected material] to people to use in ways not
authorized by copyright."
CNET, 6 February 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6035858.html
EFF RAISES CONCERNS OVER GOOGLE DESKTOP
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is warning users about what it
says are privacy concerns with Google's new Desktop Search
application. The tool indexes files from a computer, allowing users to
search that content from other machines. According to the EFF, this
process poses significant risks to personal privacy, particularly in
light of recent government demands for access to usage logs from Google
and other companies. EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston said, "Unless
you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will,
Google will have copies of...whatever...text-based documents the
desktop software can index." If federal authorities obtain Google's
records, he said, they would have access to all of those files.
Officials from Google conceded that the new tool does represent a
trade-off of some measure of privacy, but said such a compromise is one
that many users will be willing to make. The company also said it would
encrypt those files, would place strong limits on who can access the
information, and would not store it for more than 30 days.
BBC, 10 February 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4700002.stm
TSA CALLS FOR AUDIT OF SECURE FLIGHT PROGRAM
The federal government's Secure Flight program has suffered another
setback, this time from Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA). Hawley told Congress that he has ordered a
"comprehensive audit" of the program, though he did not say what
prompted his decision. The program is intended to increase airline
security by checking the names of all passengers against watch lists,
a task currently carried out by airlines. Under the Secure Flight
program, the federal government would assume that responsibility.
Critics of the program point to its cost--$200 million over four
years--noting that even last month Hawley said the TSA still was not
entirely sure how it would work. They also have complained about
privacy concerns of the program and routine mistakes that airlines
reportedly make in checking passenger names against watch lists.
Wired News, 9 February 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70198-0.html
GROUP SAYS YAHOO AIDED CHINESE AUTHORITIES
For the second time recently, Yahoo has been accused of helping the
Chinese government identify and prosecute individuals accused of
political crimes. In 2005, Yahoo was criticized for providing
information that helped Chinese authorities prosecute journalist Shi
Tao, who was convicted of revealing state secrets. Reporters Without
Borders said that another case has surfaced in which the ISP provided
information to the Chinese government that led to the conviction of Li Zhi.
According to the group, Li was found guilty of "inciting subversion"
after he posted comments online critical of local officials and was sentenced
to eight years in prison. Mary Osaka, a spokesperson from Yahoo, said that at
the time the company was unaware of the nature of the investigation.
In addition, she reiterated the company's position that it is better
for Yahoo to have a presence in the country, "providing services we
know benefit China's citizens," even if that requires compliance with
local laws that run counter to U.S. beliefs and values.
Internet News, 9 February 2006
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3584191
BILL WOULD FORBID UNNECESSARY STORING OF DATA
A bill introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) would require operators
of Web sites to delete information about the site's users unless the
site had a "legitimate" need to preserve that data. Information covered
by the bill includes names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses,
and other data, and all Web sites would be subject to the legislation,
including those operated by individuals and nonprofits. According to
Markey, the Eliminate Warehousing of Consumer Internet Data Act of 2006
is intended to address two issues: identity theft and government
subpoenas of Internet data from Web sites including Google and Yahoo.
Markey said personal information about Internet users "should not be
needlessly stored to await compromise by data thieves or fraudsters, or
disclosure through judicial fishing expeditions."
ZDNet, 8 February 2006
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6036951.html
THAILAND BLOCKS YALE PRESS WEB SITE
Internet users in Thailand will not be able to access the Yale
University Press Web site following the government's response to a
biography that presents an unflattering image of the country's king,
Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thai officials in the Ministry of Information and
Communications Technology frequently block access to online materials
that include adult or violent content, criticism of the Thai royal
family, information about the country's national security, or
allegedly false advertising. The book, written by journalist Paul M.
Handley, who reported from Thailand for 13 years, will be released by
the Yale University Press in July. It is also expected to be banned in
the country. Although Handley refused to comment specifically on the
government's decision to censor the press's Web site, saying that the
book will speak for itself, Yale issued a statement defending the book
and the author.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 8 February 2006 (sub. req'd)
http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/02/2006020801t.htm
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*HEADLINE NEWS AVOIDED BY MOST OF THE MAJOR U.S. MEDIA
[As requested adding sources, etc., when possible.
Remember, the subject is not the article's subject,
the subject is the manipulation of the world news.]
Not even going to really include much about VP Cheney
shooting of Harry Whittington other than to mention
that his name wasn't included in many reports, nor was
Cheney's name, and apparently not even White House
Press Secretary McClellan was notified at the time.
However, local authorities, who said their report is
already completed, would open an investigation which
would include a grand jury if Whittington dies.
Detail: Cheney didn't have the proper hunting license.
Detail: Whittington apparently still has birdshot in him,
and not only the one that worked its way into his heart
causing a heart attack.
Question: What if Whittington had shot Cheney?
*DOUBLESPEAK OF THE WEEK *STRANGE QUOTES OF THE WEEK
*PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK [All combined this week.]
[From last week]
The Valerie Plame scandal will be swept under the carpet
until after the November US elections, as will most of a
host of related WMD issues, etc., mentioned below.
[OK, I was quite wrong about this one, details below.
My guess is that this information came out resulting
from the efforts to remove this as an election issue
by moving Libby's trial to after the election. I am
as surprised as anyone.]
Reports surfaced this week from various sources in the
CIA, State Dept., NSA and Scooter Libby's testimonies,
all concerning the dis-information campaign concerning
the rumored Iraq-Niger uranium sale that was publicly,
and privately, denied by Ambassador Joe Wilson, but it
still managed to get into the President's State of the
Union Message, 2003.
These reports from various senior officials indicate a
campaign began in March, 2003, to discredit Ambassador
Wilson and to deter any other future whisteblowers and
that the campaign was started in conferences called by
Vice President Cheney in his office, immediately after
Wilson's appearances in CNN interviews in which Wilson
said that there was no such Iraq-Niger uranium deal to
the public, views shared by State Department's reports
on the subject, the IEAE Chief, and weapons' inspector
Albright, as reported below.
Here is the timeline:
March 7
International Atomic Energy Association chief Mohammed
El Baradei addressed the U.N. Security Council, saying
the documents indicating the yellowcake deal were just
forgeries, and provided no evidence against Iraq.
March 8
CNN, Ambassador Joe Wilson appears supporting the word
of the IAEA Chief through his personal experience, but
the details can't be told, they were classified. This
is supported on CNN by U.N weapons' inspector Albright
in his own comments.
[See Wilson's conversation with the New York Times'
Kristoff in May, 2003]
March 9
Vice President Cheney calls a meeting in his office to
discredit Ambassador Wilson, attended by Scooter Libby
who was his Chief of Staff along with Karl Rove, White
House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Hadley, and Deputy
National Security Adviser John Hannah.
[This meeting was reported by senior officals, at both
the CIA and State Department who attended, who gave an
anonymous report to public sources. At first they had
no comment, claiming fear of losing their jobs, having
family members endangered as with Joe Wilson's wife on
the occasion she was "outed" as a covert CIA agent and
other fears not named. However, as more and more came
to light about the situation, they decided they had to
speak out about the campaign of disinformation. These
reports have lots more to offer, possibly reference to
the above mentioned "outing" of Valerie Plame Wilson.]
March 18
Invasion of Iraq
The basic disinformation, Weapons of Mass Destruction,
supposedly indicated by documents pointing to an Iraq-
Niger deal for now infamous "yellowcake uranium," then
already refuted by Ambassador Wilson internally by his
2002 mission to Niger at the request of Vice President
Cheney through the CIA.
The IAEA Chief, Ambassador Wilson, a weapons inspector
named Albright, who also appeared with Wilson on a CNN
interview, all said these documents were forgeries.
Additional information, previous released, was also in
serious doubt, having been challenged by our experts--
such as information obtained through "aggressive means
of interrogation."
There are way too many details to go into here, but it
should be noted that many of these challenges had been
made officially before The State of the Union Message,
in which President Bush included "yellowcake uranium."
[As mentioned immediately after the most recent of The
State of the Union Messages, it's hard to believe that
President Bush is still referring to a Weapons of Mass
Destruction scenario. Not to mention an Al Quada link
to Iraq.]
These reports also indicate that Vice President Cheney
and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Hadley visited a CIA
headquarters location immediately after Wilson did the
CNN interview, and other reports indicate the repeated
visits by Vice President Cheney. This reported by CIA
official[s]. [Now former]
Excerpts from Wilson's CNN comments of March 8:
"Well, this particular case is outrageous. We know
a lot about the uranium business in Niger, and for
something like this to go unchallenged by us, the
US government, is just simply stupid. It would have
taken a couple of phone calls. We have had an embassy
there since the early '60s. All this stuff is open.
It's a restricted market of buyers and sellers. For this
to have gotten to the IAEA is on the face of it dumb,
but more to the point, it taints the whole rest of the case
that the government is trying to build against Iraq."
Excerpts from Wilson's CNN comments of March 2:
"The underlying objective, as I see it, the more I look at this,
is less and less disarmament, and it really has little to do with
terrorism, because everybody knows that a war to invade and conquer
and occupy Iraq is going to spawn a new generation of terrorists,"
[This is getting way too much to follow here, so I am going
to end by pointing out an 02.16.03 article Stephen Hadley,
White House Deputy Chief of Staff, had written for the
Chicago Tribune, that was reused en masse by the State
Department in re-release to major media on March 10:
"Two Potent Iraqi Weapons: Denial and Deception"
This publication continued the Bush administration
position still relying on the "yellowcake uranium"
deal that had now been discredited multiple times.]
[I'm just suprised at how much of this has been kept
out of the press for three years now.
I have gone out of my way not to include personality
clashes, name calling, expletives, etc.]
*ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK
After the multiple fatal coal mine accidents recently,
the feds are going after millions of dollars in unpaid
fines from coal mines, but they say is has nothing to
do with recent events, citing plans they made last year
to make collection efforts.
*
96% of all clothing sold in the US is made in other countries.
*
By the way, for those interested, the official U.S. population
estimates just passed 298 million, though many say estimations
of this nature leave out as much as 5% of the population.
Still hoping for more statistical updates and additional entries.
"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely
100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same,
it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
and all 6 would be from the United States
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer [I think this is now much greater]
1 would be 79 years old or more.
Of those born today, the life expectancy is only 63 years,
but no country any longer issues copyrights that are sure
to expire within that 63 year period.
I would like to bring some of these figures more up to date,
as obviously if only 1% of 6 billion people owned a computer
then there would be only 60 million people in the world who
owned a computer, yet we hear that 3/4 + of the United States
households have computers, out of over 100 million households.
Thus obviously that is over 1% of the world population, just in
the United States.
I just called our local reference librarian and got the number
of US households from the 2004-5 U.S. Statistical Abstract at:
111,278,000 as per data from 2003 U.S Census Bureau reports.
If we presume the saturation level of U.S. computer households
is now around 6/7, or 86%, that is a total of 95.4 million,
and that's counting just one computer per household, and not
counting households with more than one, schools, businesses, etc.
I also found some figures that might challenge the literacy rate
given above, and would like some help researching these and other
such figures, if anyone is interested.
BTW, while I was doing this research, I came across a statistic
that said only 10% of the world's population is 60+ years old.
This means that basically 90% of the world's population would
never benefit from Social Security, even if the wealthy nations
offered it to them free of charge. Then I realized that the US
population has the same kind of age disparity, in which the rich
live so much longer than the poor, the whites live so much longer
than the non-whites. Thus Social Security is paid by all, but is
distributed more to the upper class whites, not just because they
can receive more per year, but because they will live more years
to receive Social Security. The average poor non-white may never
receive a dime of Social Security, no matter how much they pay in.
*
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