Update (January 22, 2004): After massive media publicity and threats of a lawsuit, the dog discussed in this entry -- "Bella" -- has been returned to its original owners.

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Greetings. Up in the San Francisco Bay area, you'd better pray you never lose your dogs. Even if you find them, the "Humane" Society folks may not give them back.

In a story that has the area enraged, a dog owner who lost their beloved pet found her at a shelter after only a few days, but was told she'd already been adopted, and the new "owners" wouldn't consider cancelling the "transaction" -- even when the dog's real owners offered to buy them another similar dog.

In this case, the "rules are rules" attitude of the Humane Society, combined with a selfish woman who wouldn't give up the dog to its rightful owner, puts many other animals at risk as upset supporters of the Society threaten to withhold future financial contributions.

Yes, people should have their dogs tagged. Yes, people shouldn't lose their dogs. But situations like this, especially when we're talking about a short span of days and the dog being found by the rightful owners before anyone else had even taken possession, are exactly the ones where common sense needs to prevail.

In this case, the Humane Society has shown itself lacking both common sense and compassion. In the interests of truth in advertising, they should consider removing the word "humane" from their name.

--Lauren--

Greetings. Since the topic of outsourcing is of great concern currently, I have made available a preview copy of my "Inside Risks" column that will appear in the upcoming February 2004 edition of Communications of the ACM (CACM).

It is titled "Outsourced and Out of Control" and is located at:

http://www.pfir.org/outsourced-cacm

As the column discusses, while the issue of job losses is serious enough, other factors, such as privacy and security risks, also need to be considered.

--Lauren--

Greetings. As we begin the new year, I'd like to remind the readership about the People For Internet Responsibility categories of discussion available over at PFIR Forums.

Included are such sundry topics as Internet Governance and Control; Civil Liberties vs. Technology; E-Mail Issues, Problems, and Solutions; Voting Systems - Benefits and Risks; plus others.

These of course all represent areas where current trends are of great concern, and your active participation in the discussions is most cordially solicited!

Thanks very much. All the best for 2004!

--Lauren--