Category «Freedom of Information»

House Intel Cmte Releases Whistleblower Reprisal Complaint Alleging Serious Misconduct By Senior Trump Administration Officials

News release: “Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, announced that, as part of its ongoing investigation into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the Committee received a whistleblower reprisal complaint alleging serious wrongdoing by officials at the Department …

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

Open is not forever

Open is not forever: a study of vanished open access journals – Mikael Laakso, Lisa Matthias, Najko Jahn – “The preservation of the scholarly record has been a point of concern since the beginning of knowledge production. With print publications, the responsibility rested primarily with librarians, but the shift towards digital publishing and, in particular, the …

Subjects: Education, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Election Integrity and Technology: Vulnerabilities and Solutions

Election Integrity and Technology: Vulnerabilities and Solutions, Matt Blaze, 4 Geo. L. Tech. Rev. 505 (2020) “…In this Paper, I will give an overview of the technical security risks facing elections in the United States today, with an emphasis on vulnerabilities inherent in electronic voting machines as well as the exposure of our election infrastructure …

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

Barr’s removal of career national security official, weeks before election, raises concerns

ABC News: “Current and former national security officials are raising concerns over Attorney General William Barr’s recent decision to remove the head of a Justice Department office that helps ensure federal counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities are legal – and replace him with a political appointee with relatively limited experience. “It’s very alarming,” said Katrina Mulligan, …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Freedom of Information Act – A Legal Overview Updated

CRS report via LC – The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview, Updated August 24, 2020: “Originally enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a three-part system that requires federal agencies to disclose a large swath of government information to the public. First, FOIA directs agencies to publish substantive and …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, E-Mail, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

NARA’s Presidential Library Explorer

“Welcome to the NARA’s Presidential Library Explorer. Permanent records from presidential administrations are held by NARA at their respective Presidential Libraries. This visualization presents the holdings of the Presidential Libraries in descending order from the library the largest number of textual records to the smallest. Textual Records Scanned – As of August 2020, there are …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Oversight Cmte Calls Postmaster General to Testify at “Urgent” Hearing on Sweeping Operational and Organizational Changes

“Today [August 16, 2020], Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, invited Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to testify at an urgent hearing on Monday, August 24, 2020, on his sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service, which experts warn could degrade delivery standards, slow the mail, and …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

When and how to vote in all 50 states

Axios: “Millions of Americans who normally vote in person on election day will turn to early voting or mail-in ballots this fall — but that only works if you understand your state’s election rules, deadlines and how to ensure your vote is counted. Driving the news: Axios is launching an interactive resource, built on research by RepresentUs, …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Court says federal judiciary is overcharging for access to public records online

Washington Post: “The federal judiciary is overcharging for public access to online court records, an appeals court ruled Thursday in a decision that could result in lower fees to search and download case documents. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said affordable access to public records is critical …

Subjects: Courts, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

How the Pandemic Defeated America

The Atlantic – A virus has brought the world’s most powerful country to its knees. “…Despite ample warning, the U.S. squandered every possible opportunity to control the coronavirus. And despite its considerable advantages—immense resources, biomedical might, scientific expertise—it floundered. While countries as different as South Korea, Thailand, Iceland, Slovakia, and Australia acted decisively to bend …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Education, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Housing, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media, Transportation

Nobody Accurately Tracks Health Care Workers Lost to COVID-19. So She Stays Up At Night Cataloging the Dead

ProPublica – “Anesthesiologist Claire Rezba started tracking lost health workers almost instinctively. Researchers and industry professionals say the lack of good official data on these deaths is “scandalous” and is putting lives in danger.. Rezba’s exercise in psychological self-protection evolved into a bona fide mission. Soon she was spending a couple of hours a day …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Data Journalism & COVID-19 data in Russia

“Some sources on COVID-19 in Russia: this one is collected by activists, provided as open data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L1eFrloQdG5BcJrR-Ivkqmfda-7Vf4GXPPlVR26iY20/edit#gid=1549966515 also, the media Meduza has a dedicated page https://meduza.io/specials/coronavirus where they provide data https://meduza.io/feature/2020/04/17/koronavirus-v-rossii-poslednie-dannye [via Anastasia Valeeva, Data Journalism Lecturer, AUCA, School of Data, Kyrgyzstan]”

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Knowledge Management

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