Spring is a time of growth, change, and ritual; for the openness community, that means Sunshine Week, the release of agency annual FOIA reports, and fresh hope that this year will bring more transparency from the federal government. Specifically, this year’s FOIA reports detail the use of several new b(3) provisions:
The military appears ready to recycle arguments from last year, that photographic evidence of wartime abuses by American soldiers poses a threat to national security, the military, or both. An Army commander is imposing strict limits on photographs in connection with the deaths of three Afghan civilians earlier this year. Descriptions of the photographs and some of the military’s rationales for secrecy in this case are reminiscent of previous photographs and justifications: The pictures in question show “three dead Afghans with three different Soldiers posing, holding up the decedent’s head. (Each photo was one Afghan, one Soldier),” according to an [More]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is no longer releasing the names of individuals receiving payments. Disclosure was hampered by provisions that Congress included quietly in the 2008 farm bill. A FOIA request is pending for the data. [More]