Restrictions to FOIA in two bills
Is it the "Abu Ghraib Protection Act?" by Jamie Noguchi, The National Security Archive, 6 Oct 2005.
After failing in 2000, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is again seeking an exception from disclosure of vast quantities of important Defense Department records currently available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The provision currently is included in the Defense Authorization Bill (S. 1042) and the Intelligence Authorization Bill (S. 1803). The provision would allow the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency to place the DIA's "operational files" completely outside the purview of the FOIA.Continue reading
New report from Pew on digital divide
Press release: Two-thirds of American adults go online and one-third do not, Pew Internet & American Life Project, 10/5/2005. Report: Digital Divisions (pdf, 17pp) Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 5, 2005. A new study from Pew on the state of digital access by the American public. Among the findings on limited access:
- Thirty-two percent of American adults, or about 65 million people, do not go online, and it is not always by choice.
- 26% of Americans age 65 and older go online, compared with 67% of those age 50-64, 80% of those age 30-49, and 84% of those age 18-29.
- 57% of African-Americans go online, compared with 70% of whites.
- 22% say they have never used the internet or email and do not live in an internet-connected household. These truly disconnected adults occupy essentially the same percentage of the population as in 2002, when 23% of American adults said they have never used the internet and do not live with anyone who has access. Continue reading
GPO details onerous restrictions on digital materials
A recent note on the govdoc-l mailing list (Review of e-LCSH, Nathaniel Kraft, 5 Oct 2005, Discussion of Government Document Issues) provides a glimpse of the government restricting access to government information in the digital environment. The message is an invitation to review Library of Congress Subject Headings, 28th edition ("e-LCSH"). Kraft says that, "The Government Printing Office (GPO) and Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) are investigating options for electronic dissemination of CDS cataloging publications to federal depository libraries" but notes that "the Library of Congress Subject Headings is a CDS sale product for which costs must be recovered." The restrictions placed on use are explicit:
This electronic version is being made available to the Federal Depository Library Program with the condition that the files NOT be redistributed or made accessible outside the premises of participating FDLP libraries. If downloaded to a local server, the e-LCSH files must be placed on a location that is not accessible to Web crawlers or to users outside the premises of the FDLP library.Continue reading
IMLS grant to University of Illinois
Nearly Half a Million Dollars for University of Illinois and Pew Research Center Internet Investigation, Institute of Museum and Library Services press release, October 5, 2005.
The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services announced a cooperative agreement today with the University of Illinois Library Research Center (LRC) to investigate, in partnership with the Pew Internet & American Life Project, how effectively public libraries and community technology centers provide government information to people with limited access to the Internet. The agency awarded $495,053 for the national study; findings and recommendations for improving services to the public are expected in October 2007.Continue reading
More on Education Dept. Propaganda
Last month the Department of Education essentially exonerated itself of wrongdoing in producing fake news stories and covertly paying journalists to promote administration policies. (See: Does Covert Government Information = Propaganda?) Now, the Government Accountability Office says that payments to broadcast commentator Armstrong Williams to promote its "No Child Left Behind" policy were illegal, and that the payments violated prohibitions on funding "covert propaganda." It also denounced a prepackaged television story disseminated by the Education Department. Stories on the report:
- Buying of News by Bush's Aides Is Ruled Illegal, By ROBERT PEAR, New York Times, Section A; Column 1; Pg. 1 Sept. 30, 2005.
- Armstrong Williams Payments Illegal, Says GAO By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable, 9/30/2005 Continue reading