Intelligence community officials have been meeting with representatives of the National Archives to discuss the anticipated declassification and release of intelligence imagery from the KH-9 satellite dating between 1971 and 1984. Officials have been negotiating the transfer of the original negatives from the KH-9 system and the provision of finding aids, according to a newly […]
The latest report from the elite JASON science advisory panel is devoted to the subject of “compressive sensing.” This term generally refers to the use of sensors for imaging (or other sensing) of an object in a manner that uses a limited subset of the available data in order to improve efficiency or conserve resources. […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made available to the public include the following. Intellectual Property Rights Violations: Federal Civil Remedies and Criminal Penalties Related to Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents, December 13, 2012 The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications, December 17, 2012 […]
The United States and Russia have significantly reduced their nuclear arsenals since the end of the Cold War. Russia and the United States currently hold more than 90 percent of the world’s total inventory of nuclear warheads. What can nuclear weapons states do to keep reducing their nuclear weapons stockpiles?
“Crimes reports” are official notifications that are sent by U.S. intelligence agencies to the Department of Justice when an unauthorized disclosure of classified information (or another potential federal crime) is believed to have occurred. Crimes reporting is required by statute, by executive order, and by interagency agreement between the Attorney General and the heads of […]
The broad spectrum of policies relating to gun control is surveyed in a sadly timely, updated report from the Congressional Research Service, which also provides statistics on the prevalence and use of firearms in the United States. See Gun Control Legislation, November 14, 2012. Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has not made […]
By Hans M. Kristensen Despite enormous reductions of their nuclear arsenals since the Cold War, the United States and Russia retain more than 9,100 warheads in their military stockpiles. Another 7,000 retired – but still intact – warheads are awaiting dismantlement, for a total inventory of more than 16,000 nuclear warheads. This is more than […]
Updated below In the George W. Bush Administration, Vice President Dick Cheney advanced the idea that the Office of the Vice President is not part of the executive branch, and that it was therefore exempt from the sort of oversight mechanisms — including classification oversight — which it might otherwise be (and previously was in […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made publicly available include the following. The 2010 Census: Count Question Resolution Program, December 7, 2012 An Analysis of STEM Education Funding at the NSF: Trends and Policy Discussion, December 12, 2012 Value-Added Modeling for Teacher Effectiveness, December 11, 2012 Teacher Quality […]
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the U.S. intelligence agency that is responsible for developing and operating the nation’s intelligence satellites, has released a redacted version of its Congressional Budget Justification Book for the current fiscal year in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. “NRO systems allow users to quickly focus multiple sensors on […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made available to the public include the following. Presidential Reorganization Authority: History, Recent Initiatives, and Options for Congress, December 11, 2012 Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations, November 15, 2012 Legal Protections for Subcontractors on Federal Prime […]
The Senate moved last week to restrain the rapid growth of the Defense Clandestine Service, the Pentagon’s human intelligence operation. Under a provision of the FY2013 defense authorization act that was approved on December 4, the Pentagon would be prohibited from hiring any more spies than it had as of last April, and it would […]