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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: April 2012

March 2012

• Biosecurity Board Withdraws Opposition to Publication of Avian Flu Virus Papers, March 30. "After careful deliberation, the NSABB unanimously recommended that this revised Kawaoka manuscript should be communicated in full. The NSABB also recommended, in a 12 to 6 decision, the communication of the data, methods, and conclusions presented in this revised Fouchier manuscript."
• Bales's Security Clearance May Reflect Strain on Approval by Roxana Tiron and Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News, March 26. "U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales held a security clearance at the time he's accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians, and that's prompted officials and analysts to ask if the war on terror has overwhelmed the government's procedures for granting access to its secrets."
• Military's Internet Scrub of Robert Bales Data Was a Futile Whitewash Bid by Winston Ross, The Daily Beast, March 26. "The military removed Web articles about and photos of the soldier accused of killing 17 Afghans--supposedly the military's effort to protect his family--but it seems more an attempt to control his image, which is both unnecessary and hopeless in the Internet age."
• After Bales' arrest, military tried to delete him from Web by David Goldstein and Matthew Schofield, McClatchy Newspapers, March 21. "Besides waiting nearly a week before identifying the Army staff sergeant who's accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers, the U.S. military scrubbed its websites of references to his combat service."
• National Archives director battles to unlock US secrets by Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, March 13. "Ferriero's primary job is ensuring the 275 executive branch agencies retain the most important government records for posterity. But he also oversees the National Declassification Center, created by President Obama by executive order in 2009. That makes him point man for an aggressive effort to try to release, by the end of next year, a backlog of an estimated 400 million records that are more than 25 years old."
• Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at U.S. Department of Justice Sunshine Week Celebration, March 12. "Today and throughout the week, we have an important opportunity to showcase and celebrate the progress that's been made here at the Department -- and all across the federal government -- in realizing the promise of the Freedom of Information Act, and making good on what President Obama has called 'a profound national commitment to ensuring an open government'."
• FAA Request for Comments on Unmanned Aircraft System Test Sites, Federal Register, March 9. "The FAA intends to identify six test ranges/sites to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). This pilot project is in direct response to a Congressional mandate. The FAA believes that designation of such UAS test sites will assist in the effort to safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the NAS and solicits feedback on this issue."
• Without shield law, federal courts consider value of classified leaks by G.W. Schulz, California Watch, March 5. "The prosecution of former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling, accused of leaking classified information, took a peculiar turn when the legal team of The New York Times journalist James Risen invited the court to distinguish between a 'good' and 'bad' release of government secrets."
• My Lawyer, Myself by Erin Siegal, Columbia Journalism Review, March 1. "It's possible to act as your own attorney and sue for access to information without the benefit of legal counsel--a tactic called pro se representation. Over the past few years, as the U.S. economy has taken a nosedive, more and more people have elected to save on legal fees by representing themselves in court."

Older News: February 2012

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Updated April 3, 2012