From redOrbit.com:
This Symposium was convened to assess how, in this new age of environmental law, scholars, advocates, policy makers, journalists, and other interested members of the public can gain access to and harness information about our environment. My modest role is to provide an overview of federal right-to-know laws, including the Freedom of Information Act [...]
Archive of entries posted on August 2008
Information Access-Surveying the Current Legal Landscape of Federal Right-to-Know Laws
White House can’t find up to 225 days of e-mail
From the Mercury News:
The White House is missing as many as 225 days of e-mail dating back to 2003 and there is little if any likelihood a recovery effort will be completed by the time the Bush administration leaves office, according to an internal White House draft document obtained by the Associated Press.
The nine-page outline [...]
US Air Force Lets Web 2.0 Flourish Behind Walls
From PC World:
The U.S. Air Force is using Web 2.0 technologies to better support its missions despite wariness about security, a civilian technology official of the service said last week.
The new techniques, including blogs, wikis and personal profiles, are coming out of an initiative by Air Force Knowledge Now (AFKN), a resource provided on the [...]
2008 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awardees
From the Center for Digital Government:
Winners of the 2008 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards have been announced by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government! The top state and local government Web portal and application awardees will be honored at the 12th annual Awards Gala on Sept.12 in Hollywood, Calif.
Best of the [...]
GPO’s Digitization and Preservation Initiatives
GPO Request for Mass Digitization Services:
To assist in implementing this strategic goal, GPO will set up free or near-free partnerships with a variety of sources for the purpose of digitizing the legacy collection. These partnerships may include but are not limited to, Federal depository libraries, Federal agencies, and private organizations. Throughout these endeavors, GPO will [...]
Senators Say Secrecy Impedes Oversight of Torture Policy
From Secrecy News:
By resisting congressional requests for documents, the Bush Administration has effectively diminished Congress’s oversight power, as the review of government policy is often replaced by lengthy contests over access to records.
In the final six months of the current Administration, for example, the Senate Judiciary Committee still finds itself unable to gain access to [...]
Woman can sue over YouTube clip de-posting
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
In a victory for small-time music copiers over the entertainment industry, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that copyright holders can’t order one of their songs removed from the Web without first checking to see if the excerpt was so small and innocuous that it was legal.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge [...]
International Arrests of Citizen Bloggers More Than Triple
From the Law Librarian Blog:
The number of citizen bloggers jailed in 2007 has drastically risen from 2006, according to researchers at the University of Washington. “Last year, 2007, was a record year for blogger arrests, with three times as many as in 2006. Egypt, Iran and China are the most dangerous places to blog [...]
From the UK – Government urged to scrap paper census
From Information World Review:
The government is being urged to scrap the expensive 10-yearly paper-based census and rely instead on locally-collated information from increased data sharing.
A report from think tank New Local Government Network (NLGN) claims the change would produce more reliable statistics at half the £500m cost of issuing, collecting and processing hand-written forms distributed [...]
Rep. Walter Jones Introduces Fallen Hero Commemoration Act
Press Release:
[August 1, 2008] This week Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) introduced H. R. 6662, legislation to permit media coverage of military commemoration ceremonies and memorial services conducted by the United States Armed Forces for service members who have died on active duty, and the arrival of the remains of fallen service members at military [...]