Category «Defense»

Reporters Committee – Pentagon revises war manual to emphasize protections for journalists

Sophie Murguia, July 28, 2016 – “The Pentagon has updated its Law of War manual to clarify that journalists are generally protected as civilians under international law. The changes, announced last week, came after media groups expressed concern that some language in the original version could put reporters at risk of being considered spies or …

Subjects: Defense, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

GQ: The Guantanamo Quagmire

Pearlman, Adam Ross, GQ: The Guantanamo Quagmire (June 9, 2016). Stanford Law & Policy Review, Vol. 27, 2016. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2792512 “Accepting for argument’s sake the twin premises that sending Operation Enduring Freedom detainees to Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) was in line with the international and domestic law of detention as it then …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Global watchdog report – anonymous company owners and government contracting

Via POGO:  “In a new report, London-based watchdog Global Witness sheds light on the dangers of anonymously-owned companies in government contracting. The recent Panama Papers scandal has raised concerns of how money stashed in anonymous shell companies is used to evade taxes and fund international crime. In a similar vein, a Global Witness report titled …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Physical cryptographic verification of nuclear warheads

Published online before print July 18, 2016, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1603916113. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PNAS, July 18, 2016. “How does one prove a claim about a highly sensitive object such as a nuclear weapon without revealing information about the object? This paradox has challenged nuclear arms control for more than five decades. We …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents

DOD Has Established Processes for Implementing and Tracking Recommendations to Improve Leadership, Morale, and Operations

DOD Has Established Processes for Implementing and Tracking Recommendations to Improve Leadership, Morale, and Operations, GAO-16-597R: Published: Jul 14, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 14, 2016. “Why GAO Did This Study – DOD has identified nuclear deterrence as its highest priority mission. In 2014, in response to several incidents involving the nation’s nuclear deterrent forces and …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

GAO Reports – Immigration Benefits System, Military Personnel, Nuclear Security, Defense Nuclear Enterprise, EPA, Flood Insurance, Iran Nuclear Deal

Immigration Benefits System: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Can Improve Program Management, GAO-16-467: Published: Jul 7, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 15, 2016. Military Personnel: DOD Needs More Complete Data on Active-Duty Servicemembers’ Use of Food Assistance Programs, GAO-16-561: Published: Jul 15, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 15, 2016. Nuclear Security: NRC Has Enhanced the Controls of …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Pew – China and the global balance of power

“In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, many people began to question the reputation of the United States as the world’s leading economic power. As China’s economy continued to expand and the U.S. economy sputtered, overseas publics – especially in Europe – increasingly named China as the world’s top economic power. However, more …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

House Intelligence Committee Publishes Recently Declassified Redacted Version of “28 Pages”

News release: “Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), under the direction of Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), approved publication of a newly declassified section of the 2002 Joint Congressional Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.   Following a declassification …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

2015 Annual Report on Security Clearance Determinations

NATIONAL COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY CENTER – OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.  2015 Annual Report on Security Clearance Determinations, Unclassified. June 28, 2016. “This 2015 annual security clearance determinations report provides the current state of government security clearances. The report is divided into two sections, Security Clearance Volume for the Entire Federal Government and …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs

Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs, GAO-16-769T: Published: Jul 7, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 7, 2016. “GAO found in March 2016 that the Department of Defense (DOD), in conducting a requirements review and Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) from 2012 to 2014, generally performed a thorough review for identifying capability gaps …

Subjects: Defense, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

VA Conducts Nation’s Largest Analysis of Veteran Suicide

News release: “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of Veteran suicide rates in the U.S., examining over 55 million Veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation. The effort extends VA’s knowledge from the previous report issued in 2010, which examined  three million  Veteran records …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine