A new U.S. Marine Corps Order establishes Corps policy governing the disclosure of U.S. classified military information and controlled unclassified information to foreign governments. See “Disclosure of Military Information to Foreign Governments and Interests” (pdf), MCO 5510.20A, May 15, 2009.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff issued new doctrinal guidance on combating weapons of mass destruction, including the three pillars of nonproliferation, counterproliferations, and WMD consequence management. See “Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction” (pdf), Joint Publication 3-40, June 10, 2009.
The Merit Systems Protection Board upheld the firing of federal air marshal Robert MacLean for allegedly disclosing “sensitive security information,” even though the information in question had not been marked as “sensitive” at the time, reports Nick Schwellenbach of the Center for Public Integrity. But then the Board published its ruling online even though the document (pdf) was marked “sensitive security information.” No word yet on whether the Board will fire itself. See “Transparency: A Shrill Message for Whistleblowers,” June 25.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
As people become less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, it has become easier than ever to be misled by synthetic content, whether by accident or with malicious intent. This makes advancing alternative countermeasures, such as technical solutions, more vital than ever before.
Throughout this phase of work, there are many actions hiring managers and staffing specialists can take to streamline the process and improve the quality of eligible candidates. Most importantly, hiring managers and staffing specialists can collaborate within and across agencies to expedite and simplify the process.
The next administration should establish a Participatory Technology Assessment unit to ensure federal S&T decisions benefit society.