* This is Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of open government. A National Security Archive survey of agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Act found mixed and uneven progress over the past year.
* With the promotion of Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) director William J. Bosanko to the new position of NARA Agency Services Executive, the ISOO director slot — with its responsibilities for oversight of classification and declassification policy — is open. “We have recently begun a search effort for the ISOO Director position and are committed to filling the vacancy with someone who will maintain the balance between secrecy and openness for which ISOO is known,” wrote National Archivist David S. Ferriero in a March 7 memorandum (pdf).
* Last month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its latest (2010) unclassified annual report to Congress (pdf) on the acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional munitions. Unfortunately, the report is minimally informative, with little new information, and less information than is available from other sources (such as the latest IAEA report on Iran [pdf]). The section on conventional weapons, included in the 2009 report (pdf), is missing altogether.
* Contributions in support of disaster relief in Japan can be made through the Red Cross and other organizations.
Common frameworks for evaluating proposals leave this utility function implicit, often evaluating aspects of risk, uncertainty, and potential value independently and qualitatively.
The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: Director Hans […]
According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ August 2023 pulse panel, 60% of public schools were utilizing a “community school” or “wraparound services model” at the start of this school year—up from 45% last year.
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Todd (R-IN), and Dr. Alondra Nelson presented with FAS Public Service Awards;
Alexa White received the inaugural FAS Policy Entrepreneurship award.