Secrecy News is honored to be recognized by the American Library Association (ALA) with its James Madison Award, which is “presented annually on the anniversary of his birth (March 16) to honor those who have championed, protected, and promoted public access to government information and the public’s right to know.”
“This award is, we believe, a fitting recognition of your effective voice for transparency and against unnecessary — and often pointless — government secrecy,” wrote ALA President Michael Gorman (pdf).
“Your publication, Secrecy News, contains invaluable information and often serves as the first notice to the public of proposals to limit access to information.”
“The Project on Government Secrecy web site is a critical resource for all those concerned with access and secrecy issues. It contains a remarkable range of information on government secrecy policy and often is the only place that much of the information can be located,” Mr. Gorman generously wrote.
Presentation of the award is one of several ALA activities scheduled for Sunshine Week, which is next week, March 12-18. See this ALA news release.
Details of other Sunshine Week programs and resources can be found on the Sunshine Week web site.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.