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Peace Corps
needs Americans with skills in
Environment Education
Business A nr j. || if. ||V ..
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6B
Thursday, January 22, 2004
NATIfl
THE HATTALIO
Peace Corps needs 5,500 graduates
with skills in agriculture, business,
education, environment, health and
information technology. All majors are
welcome. Benefits include medical,
dental and housing, as well as a
monthly stipend and 24 vacation days a
year. Graduates can defer student
loans while serving.
Visit the TAMU Career Center
209 Koldus Building to pick up
a Peace Corps Catalog.
ACLU: States’ database
replicates Pentagon program
www.peacecorps.gov • 800.424.8580
?arn to
from
ind up
Private pilot ground school
Jan. 26 - March 8
Enrollment is limited
Office of Workforce Education
P. O. Box 6030
Bryan, TX 77805
979-209-7205
S BLINN
COLLEGE
Proven.
www.blinn.echt
OVER
$ 30,000
WON WEEKLY
1805 Briarcrest, Bryan
979-776-0999
OPEN TUESDAY THRU SUNDAY
Ag Appreciation Nights
on Wed & Thurs Nights: 6:00 & 8:00
• New times for 2004
• Open Tuesday thru Sunday, 6:00 & 8:00
• 1/2 price paper
• $ 10.00 1/2 price Bingo Magic Machines
• BYOB
• $ 2500 package prize each session
LARGE NON-SMOKING ROOM
Great Food • Security • Pull Tables and Much More!
CathoTc B ;r S ^r BVCASA
Elks #859
Church
St. Joseph
Catholic
School
By Brian Bergstein
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A seven-state crime
database launched with $L2 million in fed
eral funds is a more powerful threat to pri
vacy than its organizers acknowledge, the
American Civil Liberties Union alleged
Wednesday after obtaining documents relat
ing to the program.
The law enforcement officials and private
database company behind the Multistate
Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or
Matrix, contend it is merely an investigative
tool that helps police quickly gather already-
available information on suspects.
But the ACLU and other privacy advo
cates allege that the program too closely
resembles a scrapped Pentagon program that
aimed to mine a vast pool of data to spot pat
terns useful in terrorism investigations.
Congress cut off funding last year for the so-
called Total Information Awareness program
after a privacy outcry.
A Freedom of Information Act request
filed with Pennsylvania yielded several doc
uments that the ACLU says clearly show the
Matrix’s data-mining abilities. Among them
were minutes of a 2002 planning meeting
that said the FBI, the Secret Service, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and
the Drug Enforcement Agency helped craft
data-mining software for Matrix.
That represents more federal involve
ment in the program than previously known,
though the Departments of Justice and
States drop Matrix over privacy concerns
A database linking public and pdvate records, known as Multi-State
Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or Matrix, is currently used
in seven states. However, privacy concerns have obliged several
more states to abandon the project.
•/'li
Currently using
Matrix
Withdrew from
the project
.rr
Matrix compiles information from state, federal
and private Bources including:
► Criminal and correctional history
► Motor vehicle, pilot and boat
licenses and registrations
► Federal and local weapons,
hunting and professional licenses
► Voter registration
* Digitized photos
► Property ownership, address
history and utility records
► U S directory assistance
► Bankruptcies
► U S domain names
SOURCE Instiluta for irileroovernmenlai
Georgia Office of Homeland Security
Research,
Homeland Security invested $12 million to
get the system running.
The Pennsylvania documents include
security and privacy policies that say Matrix
is usable only in active criminal or intelli
gence investigations. Barry Steinhardt,
director of the ACLU’s technology and lib
erty program, calls those guidelines too
broad and susceptible to abuse.
Clay Jester, Matrix coordinator for the
Institute for Intergovernmental Research,
the nonprofit group helping to expand the
project from its original implementation in
Florida, called any comparisons to the
defanged Pentagon data-mining program “a
fallacy” resulting from misconceptions
about Matrix.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Impasse over 2004 budgej
starting to take a toll
WASHINGTON (AP) — This
harsh flu outbreak is passing without
$50 million lawmakers promised
expanding future vaccine pro'
Millions of federal workers are
slimmer than expected paycl
Initiatives for fighting global AIDS,
fires and terrorism have been threal
The reason: Congress is nearly I
months late in finishing the
menfs budget.
The Senate seemed likely to bre
through Democratic stalling tactics
Thursday and vote final congressif
approval for a $373 billion bill financ
scores of federal agencies for the renic
ing eight months of the budget year.
Supreme Court rules EPA
can overrule state in
clean air case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal ng
tors can trump more permissive state i
cials in some disputes over costly m
ures to limit air pollution, the Supre
Court said Wednesday in a ruling ft
departed from the court’s trend
granting state governments more powe
Alaska’s governor wanted to allow
world’s largest zinc mine to use cheap
less effective anti-pollution equipment
the federal Environmental Protection Age-
said no. The Supreme Court's 5-4 ru
upholds EPA’s veto power in such cases
The victory for environmentalists may
more symbolic than substantive
Florida orange growers fight back
By Mike Schneider
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAKELAND, Fla. — Tired of losing orange juice drinkers to
low-carb diets, Florida's citrus growers are fighting back.
The state Department of Citrus on Wednesday changed its mar
keting strategy to convince consumers that orange juice can be com
patible with the Atkins diet as well as the popular weight-loss plan
pushed by television talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw.
The department’s lawyer also is reviewing legal options against
some books, such as “The South Beach Diet,” that discourage
orange juice for dieting purposes because of its high sugar levels.
About $1.8 million will be spent on a marketing campaign to
combat the bad image caused by low-carb diets. The depanme
abandoning a marketing campaign that targeted moms and jus
professional women,
“There are powerful, negative messages against us." said
Crawford, executive director of the Rorida Department of Cr
“We're not going to stand and take it.” : :^il
Florida's $9 billion citrus industry has reason to be concent
Orange juice consumption has fallen from 888 million gallomi
ing the 200()-2(X)l growing season to an expected 844 tnilliont.
Ions in the current season.
Citrus officials said a noticeable drop occurred last March »!t
low-carb diets began to reach a critical mass.
“People are dropping out of the market," said Dan Gunter
sultant for the Department of Citrus.
THE BATTALION Thursday. January 22. 2004