In a new study (pdf), the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government says that federal agencies have made little progress in improving their Freedom of Information Act programs, despite a year-old executive order directing them to become more requester friendly.
The JASON defense science advisory panel released a slightly revised unclassified summary (pdf) of its classified study on nuclear weapon pit lifetimes which concluded that most nuclear weapons primaries have “credible minimum lifetimes in excess of 100 years as regards aging of plutonium.” See Pit Lifetime, January 11, 2007.
In a careful review of the Zapruder film of the assassination of President Kennedy, Max Holland and Johann Rush propose a new way of understanding what the film does and does not reveal. See “1963: 11 Seconds in Dallas.”
PBS Frontline has been running an exceptionally interesting series called “Newswar” on current conflicts between government and the press, with an episode this week that focused on government secrecy. A website associated with the series includes transcribed interviews with dozens of national security and journalistic luminaries, and with me.
Current scientific understanding shows that so-called “anonymization” methods that have been widely used in the past are inadequate for protecting privacy in the era of big data and artificial intelligence.
China is NOT a nuclear “peer” of the United States, as some contend.
China’s total number of approximately 600 warheads constitutes only a small portion of the United States’ estimated stockpile of 3,700 warheads.
The Federation of American Scientists strongly supports the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025.
The Federation of American Scientists strongly supports the Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act of 2025.