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A Case of Stolen E-dentity
Rep. John Shadegg, R-AZ, got a bitter taste of what its like to have one's identity stolen, when a devious computer user sent an offensive message to one of his constituents. When a student at an Arizona community college was given an assignment to contact a representative, she chose Shadegg to direct her inquiry. What she didn't know was that she had the wrong address. After her first e-mail went unanswered, she assumed she was being ignored and wrote: "I think it is very rude and not particularly very prudent to ignore your constituents. But I guess I will know who doesn't care about the people." The response read, "I have better things to do than to waste my valuable time on your silly, little project." After receiving this message, the girl turned it over to the local media, which brought the matter to Shadegg's attention. Shadegg deduced his address was stolen and immediately contacted Attorney General Janet Reno and other law enforcement officers. District Director Sean Noble of the Arizona Attorney General's office traced the e-mail address to an Ohio State University student. Both Ohio and Arizona are working together on the investigation, but the matter has to be taken up in Ohio because they do not accept out-of-state subpoenas. "It was not the congressman. It was not our e-mail address. And we would never treat our constituents in that manner," said John Pappas, Shadegg's press secretary.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will be focusing on matters of technology, public policy and society in a new capacity now that he has been appointed a Hoover Institution Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University. "The Hoover Institution is home to some of the most brilliant minds in the world today, and is playing an important role in shaping our future. I look forward to exploring the entrepreneurship and innovation of Silicon Valley, and relating its successes to the direction of public policy should take in the information age," Gingrich said in a statement. The feelings are certainly mutual. "[Newt Gingrich's] specific interest of looking at technology in our locale is also a terrific fit as we engage one another. Newt is a leading figure in the United States and we are delighted to have him join us as a colleague," said Hoover Institution Director John Raisian. Gingrich is no rookie when it comes to being a fellow — he is currently a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.
Cheryl Shavers and Kelly Carnes were appointed under secretary and assistant secretary of Commerce for Technology at the Department of Commerce, respectively. Shavers is the general manager of advanced technology operations. Carnes was appointed by the president in October 1993 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy of the Technology Administration of the United States.
Former Black & Decker executive Joseph Galli has been appointed Amazon.com's first-ever president and chief operating officer. Galli will be responsible for the daily operations of the company and will be under the direction of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. After serving Black & Decker for 19 years as president of their worldwide power tools and accessories unit, Galli will start working at Amazon.com in Seattle effective immediately.
The goal of the annual Internet Society global summit was to figure out the influence of the Internet on technical, social and educational issues. Among those speaking at INET 99 were Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, now senior vice president of MCI WorldCom, and Piper Cole, lead counsel at Sun Microsystems. Keynote speaker Irving Wladwasky-Berger spoke about the impact of the Internet using the dawn of electricity as an allegory.
A select group of Brits have been busy addressing a very important matter: naming the Internet's patron. The Internet Observation Service, a British publication, has proposed St. Isidore of Seville, the first recorded author of a database, be named patron saint of the Internet. The Spanish saint and Doctor of the Church who was born in 560 has received a number of petitions, according to a spokesman for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. As a publisher of scientific topics, author of many books on human learning, and a very influential force in Medieval culture, he seemed like the natural choice.
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