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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: December 2004

November 2004

• Glenda Jackson, MP Probes Iraq War Secrecy, question for the Solicitor-General, UK Parliament, November 30. "To ask the Solicitor-General what discussions the Attorney-General held with John Bellinger, senior associate counsel to President Bush and legal adviser to the National Security Council, during his visit to Washington in February 2003."
• Employees Unions Protest Homeland Security Non-Disclosure Agreement (PDF), National Treasury Employees Union and American Federation of Government Employees Union news release, November 29. "The leaders of two major unions representing thousands of frontline border security officers today called upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw a directive and non-disclosure agreement that impose 'unprecedented restrictions and conditions on the free speech rights' of DHS employees."
• Web Won't Let Government Hide by Ryan Singel, Wired News, November 29. "Governments at every level these days are providing less information about their inner workings, sometimes using fear of terrorism as an excuse. But it's precisely times like these that mandate citizens' rights to check the efficiency of their government and hold those who fail accountable, open government advocates say."
• Activists Crawl Through Web to Untangle U.S. Secrecy by William Fisher, Inter Press Service News Agency, November 29. "To combat the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy, U.S. citizens have been forced to unearth new sources for information they once read in their daily newspapers. But thanks to a few dedicated individuals and not-for-profit groups -- and the Internet -- such material is easier to come by than ever before."
• Protocols of Wal-Mart by Samuel Sass, The Berkshire Eagle, November 26. "The 2004 presidential election is over and we now face its effects that will be with us for sure during the next four years and who knows how far into the future."
• White House Panel Blasts Pentagon's Cybersecurity R&D Policies by John T. Bennett, Inside the Pentagon, November 25. "The Defense Department’s dominance of federal cybersecurity research and its practice of classifying information technology projects has hindered private-sector efforts to safeguard U.S. computer networks, a presidential advisory group says."
• NARA Questions CIA About Missing Records, letter from National Archives, November 23. "The CIA is unable to locate the classified annexes to the Intelligence Authorization Acts for FYs 1947 through 1970."
• Report raises questions about realignment of overseas bases by Chris Strohm, Government Executive Daily Briefing, November 23. "The issue for Congress is whether to approve, modify or reject the Bush administration's proposal," according to a Congressional Research Service report obtained by the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists.
• Defense Audits Kept Behind Closed Doors by Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, November 21 (free reg. req'd.). "Examinations of military purchases rarely face public scrutiny. Officials value confidentiality, but critics worry about waste and fraud."
• The Secrets of Flight by Steven Aftergood, Slate, November 18. "Why Transportation Security Administration guards don't have to tell you what they won't tell you."
• Shhh ... someone might hear you by Alex Johnson, MSNBC, Novembe 18. "During Attorney General John Ashcroft’s tenure, the Bush administration has established a record of secrecy that supporters of openness in government say represents a disavowal of fundamental American principles but that the administration defends as proper protection of executive prerogative."
• On the team, keeping things under wraps by Alex Johnson, MSNBC, November 18. "Gonzales expected to maintain culture of government secrecy."
• Open Secrets (Editorial), Lufkin TX Daily News, November 19. "The Bush administration's penchant for secrecy has taken another ominous turn with the report on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is requiring employees to promise not to disclose unclassified but sensitive information."
• NGA Announces Removal of Aeronautical Information from Public Distribution, Federal Register, November 18.
• Homeland Security Employees Required to Sign Secrecy Pledge by Spencer H. Hsu, Washington Post, November 16. "The Department of Homeland Security is requiring thousands of employees and contractors to sign nondisclosure agreements that prohibit them from sharing sensitive but unclassified information with the public."
• Congresswoman closes office over computer threat (parody) by Robin Berger, The Spoof, November 16. "Lofgren said she fears 'a possible cyberterror attack' that could harm her staff's computers or those of her visitors."
• NRC Announces Draft Proposed Rule on Protecting Safeguards Information (SGI), Federal Register, November 16. "The proposed amendments are intended to protect SGI from inadvertent release and unauthorized disclosure which might compromise the security of nuclear facilities and materials."
• For the First Time Since Vietnam, the Army Prints a Guide to Fighting Insurgents by Douglas Jehl and Thom Shanker with Eric Schmitt, New York Times, November 13. "A copy of the document, dated October 2004, was posted Thursday on a Web site run by the Federation of American Scientists."
• Lights Out, On the Media, National Public Radio, November 5. "Government secrecy was not a big issue in the Presidential campaign. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a major difference in the candidates’ respective attitudes on the issue. Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy joins Bob to discuss four more years of what many call the most secretive executive branch in history."
• Air Force report calls for $7.5M to study psychic teleportation by Dan Vergano, USA Today, November 5. "The Air Force Research Lab's August 'Teleportation Physics Report,' posted earlier this week on the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Web site, struck a raw nerve with physicists and critics of wasteful military spending.
• Librarian of Congress on a Rare, Discreet Visit to Tehran by Douglas Jehl, New York Times, November 4. "James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, is in Iran this week on the first visit by a notable United States government official to Iran in 18 years, administration officials said Wednesday. The unannounced visit was confirmed by the Library of Congress after it was disclosed by the Federation of American Scientists."

Older News: October 2004

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