Category «Freedom of Information»

FBI’s War Crimes Unit on the Chopping Block

Just Security: “A special unit within the Federal Bureau of Investigation that handles war crimes may be shut down imminently, according to officials familiar with the administration’s decision-making process. The FBI’s International Human Rights Unit takes the lead on investigating individuals within the United States who have been accused of committing international crimes, including war …

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

Immigration Court Workload in the Aftermath of the Shutdown

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – “The latest available data from the Immigrant Court indicates that as of February 1, 2019 the court is still playing catch up in the aftermath of the five-week partial government shutdown. It is therefore still too early to get an accurate reading of just how much larger the backlog has …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Freedom of Information, Legal Research

Thousands of scientists run up against Elsevier’s paywall

Nautre – Researchers have been left without access to new papers as libraries and the major publisher fail to agree on subscription deals. “Researchers at German institutions that have let their Elsevier subscriptions lapse while negotiating a new deal are hitting the paywall for the publisher’s most recent articles around 10,000 times a day, according …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management

AALL Calls on Congress to Improve Access to Electronic Records of Federal Court System

“The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is advocating for the passage of the Electronic Court Records Reform Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), chair of the Congressional Transparency Caucus. This legislation would, for the first time, allow …

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

Baker’s Dozen: 13 Policy Areas that Require Congressional Action

POGO: Promoting Ethics and Addressing Corruption Improving Transparency and Accountability in US Immigration Detention and Exploring Alternatives Placing Proper Checks and Limits on Invasive Surveillance Slowing the Federal Revolving Door Smarter National Security Spending and Policy Reprioritize and Revitalize Work of Federal Inspectors General Commonsense Contracting Reforms to Protect the Taxpayer Ensuring Good Stewardship of …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Privacy

The data casualties of the federal government shutdown

Pew: “The ongoing shutdown of large parts of the federal government – now at 18 days and counting – has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers either furloughed or working without pay indefinitely, reduced staffing at national parks to skeleton levels, and closed down popular museums. It’s also squeezed the daily flood of data from federal …

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

Trump’s Russia Cover-Up By the Numbers – 101 contacts with Russia-linked operatives

The Moscow Project – “…an initiative of the Center for American Progress Action Fund dedicated to analyzing the facts behind Trump’s collusion with Russia and communicating the findings to the public…” Last Updated January 9, 2018 On January 6, 2017, the U.S. intelligence community issued a report that showed there were two campaigns to elect …

Subjects: Congress, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Special Counsel Investigation After the Attorney General’s Resignation

Via FAS: The Special Counsel Investigation After the Attorney General’s Resignation, CRS Legal Sidebar, January 2, 2019 : “Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership changes have raised questions about their impact on the special counsel investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election and related matters. Who will oversee the investigation? How do personnel …

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

National parks report on climate change finally released, uncensored

Reveal – Elizabeth Shogren: “Backing away from attempts at censorship, the National Park Service today released a report charting the risks to national parks from sea level rise and storms. Drafts of the report obtained earlier this year by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting showed park service officials had deleted every mention of …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency

The Atlantic – From seizing control of the internet to declaring martial law, President Trump may legally do all kinds of extraordinary things: “…It would be nice to think that America is protected from the worst excesses of Trump’s impulses by its democratic laws and institutions. After all, Trump can do only so much without …

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

“Choice” Magazine Names “Digital National Security Archive” an Outstanding Academic Title for 2018

“Washington, D.C., January 7, 2019 – Choice Magazine, the publishing arm of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), has named the Digital National Security Archive an “Outstanding Academic Title” for 2018.  The annual award goes to publications deemed especially worthy of attention from academic librarians seeking to build research collections. The Digital National Security Archive …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries