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The FOI Advocate
Back to The FOI Advocate Index
June 8, 2004
The E-Newsletter of the National Freedom of Information Coalition
"A government by secrecy benefits no one. It injures the people it seeks to serve; it damages its own integrity
and operation. It breeds distrust, dampens the fervor of its citizens and mocks their loyalty."
-- 110 Congressional Record 17, 087 (1964) (Statement of Senator Long)
A Publication of The Freedom of Information Center
A Unit of the Missouri School of Journalism
"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent.
Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers
to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."
-- Justice Louis Brandeis, 1928
TOP OF THE NEWS
"Sometimes, of course, there are legitimate reasons, such as security, for
the White House's secrecy. Other times, such a reason is elusive. In April
2002, for example, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Apopka Little
League team of 11- and 12-year-olds would visit the White House on May 5
to watch a T-ball game. The source: the team manager and parents.
'The White House would not confirm the invitation,' the paper reported. "
-- The Washington Post's Dana Milbank in an uproarious Washington notebook
column on White House secrecy.
THE CONFISCATEES STRIKE BACK: The U.S. Marshals Service has been accused of violating two Mississippi
journalists' Constitutional rights by seizing the reporters' tape
recorders last month during a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin
Scalia.
The charges were brought in a federal suit filed today by The Associated
Press, The Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, and the reporters, Antoinette
Konz and Denise Grones. The American is a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper.
Story 1 Link
Story 2 Link
THE WHISTLEBLOWER'S FATE: A witness who told ABCNEWS he believed the military was covering up the
extent of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison was today stripped of his
security clearance and told he may face prosecution because his comments
were "not in the national interest."
Sgt. Samuel Provance said in addition to his revoked security clearance,
he was transferred to a different platoon, and his record was officially
"flagged," meaning he cannot be promoted or given any awards or honors.
Provance said he was told he will face administrative action for failing
to report what he knew at the time and for failing to take steps to stop
the abuse.
"I see it as an effort to intimidate Sgt. Provance and any other soldier
whose conscience is bothering him, and who wants to come forward and tell
what really happened at Abu Ghraib," said his attorney Scott Horton.
Story Link
SEEKING COUNSEL IN LEAK PROBE: President Bush has sought a lawyer to represent him in the criminal
probe into who was responsible for a leak that was seen as retaliation
against a critic of the Iraq war, the White House said on Wednesday.
``The president has had discussions with an outside attorney, and in the
event that he needs advice he would retain him,'' said White House
spokesman Allen Abney, naming the lawyer as Jim Sharp.
A federal grand jury has been hearing testimony since January from
administration and government officials in an attempt to establish who
leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media last year.
Plame is the wife of Joe Wilson, a former ambassador who was asked by the
CIA to travel to Niger in February 2002 to check reports that Iraq had
tried to buy enriched uranium from the African country.
Story Link
ANTI-TERROR NEWSACLU SEEKS DETAINEE TREATMENT RECORDS: The Bush administration has illegally withheld records about the treatment
of post-Sept. 11 detainees and prisoners in Iraq, watchdog groups charged
in a lawsuit Wednesday.
The groups accused government agencies _ including the State, Defense and
Justice departments _ of stonewalling or outright ignoring requests for
information filed under the Freedom of Information Act.
The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and four other
not-for-profit groups that said they were trying to shed light on the
government's treatment of detainees.
The complaint comes amid a furor over abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu
Ghraib prison, and says there is growing evidence that detainee abuse by
the United States is "not aberrational but systemic."
Story Link
FOI REQUESTS BRING BADGES TO STUDENT'S DOOR: Mark Miller had slept three hours in his parked car after a long night
at an anime festival in a downtown hotel.
Then, the call. A number and a voice he didn't know.
"Hey Mark, we're at your dorm," the voice said. "We want to talk with
you."
"Who are you?" asked Miller, a physics freshman.
"Law enforcement."
Two men met him in the hotel lobby and flashed badges: FBI. Secret
Service. The questions began.
"Do you belong to any student activist organizations?"
"Have you ever thought of joining any student activist organizations, like
UT Watch?"
He wasn't an activist. Nor a suspect or the messenger of a bomb threat,
for that matter.
What interested the agents, from Austin's Joint Terrorism Task Force, was
an open records request he filed with UT administrators for information
about the underground campus tunnel system.
Story Link
GENERAL FOI NEWS
WHITE HOUSES LOSES ROUND ONE: A federal appeals court removed one barrier to release of some internal
records about controversial Clinton administration pardons late last week,
but the documents will remain secret for now.
A panel of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on
May 7 voted 2-1 that the White House can't claim Justice Department
records are covered by a special exemption from the Freedom of Information
Act reserved for "presidential communications."
In a partial victory for the government accountability organization
Judicial Watch, the appeals court sent that part of the case back to a
lower federal judge to consider whether the White House can still refuse
to release the records on other grounds.
Former President Bill Clinton caused an uproar when he approved 177
pardons on his last day in office. Judicial Watch wants documents that
would address, among other controversies, the behind-the-scenes
deliberations on the pardon granted to fugitive financier Marc Rich and
the lobbying by Clinton's brother Roger on behalf of other pardon
applicants.
The Bush White House has argued that such a release would have a chilling
effect on internal discussions leading up to a pardon.
Story Link
PENTAGON SAYS FAKE DEGREE NO BIG DEAL: They are safety engineers at nuclear power plants and biological weapons
experts. They work at NATO headquarters, at the Pentagon and at nearly
every other federal agency. And, as CBS News reports, they're employees
with degrees from phony schools.
"These degrees aren't worth the paper that they're printed on," says one
insider, who asked CBS News to protect his identity.
The man worked at a so-called diploma mill where students pay a lot of
money to get a degree online or through the mail for little or no work.
He says he's not surprised to know that there are people working at almost
every level of government who have degrees from these types of operations.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Abell has a master's from Columbus
University, a diploma mill Louisiana shut down. Deputy Assistant Secretary
Patricia Walker lists among her degrees, a bachelor's from Pacific
Western, a diploma mill banned in Oregon and under investigation in
Hawaii.
CBS News requested interviews with both officials. The Pentagon turned us
down, saying, "We don't consider it an issue."
But using such a degree is a crime in some states. Alan Contreras cracks
down on diploma mills for Oregon, a state that's taken the lead on this
issue.
"You don't want somebody with a fake degree working in Homeland Security,"
says Contreras. "You don't want somebody with a fake degree teaching your
children or designing your bridges."
Story Link
FOI AT WORK: Richard T. Farmer is one of America's richest men and a Bush Pioneer by
virtue of having raised at least $100,000 for the 2000 campaign. Over the
past 15 years, he and his wife have given $3.1 million to Bush campaigns,
the Republican Party and Republican candidates.
Farmer's family controls Cintas Corp., a $2.7 billion company that rents
and launders uniforms and industrial shop towels. For years, Farmer's
industry has been at odds with the Environmental Protection Agency over
increased regulation of shop towels, particularly a Clinton administration
proposal that, though not fatal, "would have cost us a lot of money,"
Farmer said...
After a series of telephone calls, e-mails, letters and meetings with
representatives of the laundry industry, the EPA had provided
industrial-laundry lobbyists with an advance copy of a portion of the
proposed rule, which the lobbyists edited and the agency adopted.
That same opportunity was not given to the rule's opponents --
environmental groups, a labor union, hazardous-waste landfill operators
and paper towel manufacturers who argue their product should be treated as
environmentally equal to laundered towels. The opponents say industrial
laundries send tens of thousands of tons of hazardous chemicals to
municipal sewage treatment plants and landfills where toxics can get into
groundwater, streams and rivers. Labor unions contend that the towels
expose workers to cancer-causing fumes.
Story Link
THE MORE CONTROVERSIAL THEY ARE, THE MORE SECRETIVE THEY BECOME: The House Committee on Government Reform's Minority Office recently
released a report done for Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) examining current
trends in the government's use of noncompetitive contracts. The report
discovered that under the Bush administration the amount spent on these
questionable contracts increased $40 billion compared to Clinton's final
year. Equally troubling is the fact that under a new development at
Government Services Administration (GSA) the public will soon find it much
more difficult and potentially much more expensive to explore how the
government spends our tax dollars.
The Waxman report, Noncompetitive Federal Contracts Increase Under the
Bush Administration found that out of $300 billion spent on contracts in
2003, approximately $107 billion was decided without full and open
competition. Competition for federal contracts ensures that the government
gets the most fair and reasonable price and that taxpayers' money is not
wasted. By law the government is required to use open bidding with a few
exceptions. In rare instances contracts may be awarded without competition
when the government only invites a single company to bid on the contract
â€"- sole-source bidding.
The report found that the Bush administration uses these exceptions much
more frequently. Without the pressures of competition forcing fair and
equitable contracts the only remaining tool for accountability is
information. Unfortunately, information on non-competitive contracts can
be difficult to obtain. Recent changes in the management of the
government's procurement data may make the task even more difficult.
Story Link
RUMMIE STONEWALLING (AGAIN): Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has sharply limited the information
he is willing to let Congress see on a controversial defense contract that
is the focus of multiple investigations.
Rumsfeld took a hard line even with fellow Republicans who want
information from him about a proposed $23 billion deal for the Air Force
to buy and lease 100 Boeing 767 aerial refueling tankers. Rumsfeld's
refusal to give senators all the materials they requested could provoke a
rare congressional subpoena.
Senators, led by John McCain, R-Ariz., have been demanding that the Air
Force hand over internal e-mails and other communications on negotiations
with Boeing and efforts to slide the deal through Congress. Critics
contend that the deal was laden with conflicts of interest and that the
planes may not be needed.
In a letter to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, Rumsfeld said Warner's committee would get only a
sharply limited release of internal Air Force e-mails and documents.
McCain said Rumsfeld's response would "eviscerate the responsibility of
Congress to provide oversight in such matters."
"There is not one single element in that letter which is acceptable to
me," he said.
Story Link
IN THE STATES
STUDENT GOVERNMENT SUED BY STUDENT PAPER: Editors of a student newspaper at the University of Northern Colorado
have sued the school's student government, claiming representatives
violated the state open-meetings law by illegally holding closed meetings and
repeatedly deliberating on matters in private that should be discussed
publicly.
Story Link
EVEN INFORMAL MEETINGS CAN BE PUBLIC: The meetings of an informal committee of public university officials
must be open to the public under the state constitution and open records
laws, the Supreme Court of Montana ruled last week.
From June 1999 to December 2001, Commissioner of Higher Education Richard
Crofts held meetings with high-ranking university system employees, such
as presidents and chancellors. The group was alternately called the Policy
Committee and the Senior Management Group.
Crofts used the meetings to discuss and seek input on matters of
university system policy, including tuition, budgeting, contractual
issues, employee salaries and legislation. The committee had no fixed
membership, did not vote on propositions or take direct action, and was
not established under any specific charter or law. However, its members
did participate in their official capacities and were paid with public
funds.
On Feb. 1, 2002, an Associated Press reporter entered a committee meeting
prior to its commencement and requested to observe discussions. Crofts
refused. When the reporter would not leave, Crofts cancelled the meeting.
A week later, the AP, joined by 13 Montana news media organizations, filed
a lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court in Helena. In January 2003,
Judge Thomas Honzel granted their request for a declaration that the
meetings are subject to the open records law, and enjoined Crofts from
closing the meetings in the future.
Crofts appealed to the state Supreme Court, which affirmed the ruling,
5-2, on May 4.
Story Link
FOI AT WORK: Richmond taxpayers were well-represented in Philadelphia last month at
an annual conference for black public administrators.
The city sent 25 of its employees to the conference, including Mayor
Rudolph C. McCollum Jr. and City Manager Calvin D. Jamison, at a cost of
about $45,000.
A month after the trip, City Council is straining to balance next fiscal
year's budget, which has come under fire from teachers and parents as
being stingy for schools. For context, the starting salary for a Richmond
public school teacher is $33,924. The starting salary for a city police
officer is $32,695.
Story Link
GOVERNOR'S PARDONS MUST BE RELEASED: The state Supreme Court said Thursday the South Dakota Constitution does
not give governors the unlimited right to seal pardons granted to people
convicted of crimes.
The high court's unanimous decision means some secret pardons issued by
former Gov. Bill Janklow will be made public within a few weeks.
Lawyers for nine people pardoned by Janklow - currently in jail after
himself being convicted of a crime, second-degree manslaughter, for a
fatal accident last year - had argued that he had the unlimited right to
seal pardons.
Their lawyer, Tom Wilka, said he won't ask for a rehearing before the
state Supreme Court because the decision was unanimous. It can't be
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"For practical purposes, this is the end of the story in this case," Wilka
said. The records will be released when the Supreme Court's ruling becomes
final and a lower court judge withdraws his order that barred their
release. That will take at least 20 days.
Janklow's pardons drew public scrutiny after American Indian activist
Russell Means confirmed Janklow had pardoned him for a 1975 felony
conviction. It also was learned that Janklow pardoned Ron Wheeler, a
former top state official, for a drunken driving conviction.
Story Link
NOWHERE LEFT TO APPEAL: The Kentucky Supreme Court has refused to hear a pair of appeals from
the University of Louisville that found that the university's foundation
is a public agency.
As a result of the high court's decision yesterday, the public will have
access to the foundation's records in the same way it is entitled to the
records of other public agencies.
Story Link
SETTLEMENT SECRECY: Undisclosed settlements can save taxpayers money since those sued often
settle faster if they can keep the terms secret. That means fewer trials,
less time and strain on the courts and smaller legal bills for government
bodies sued.
Such agreements deter "copycat litigation," similar lawsuits by others who
hear of a payout and hope to cash in.
But confidentiality sometimes means government matters of voter interest
are concealed since public officials who reveal results may be in contempt
of a court order.
Michigan law sets no restrictions on what kinds of cases can be sealed or
resolved with confidentiality. In the past two years 13 states have
considered or adopted rules limiting the practice. Two states ? Texas and
South Carolina ? virtually ban settlement secrecy.
Michigan allows any lawsuit record to be sealed per a settlement agreement
if both sides are notified and "the court (the judge) has made a finding
of good cause" and "there is no less restrictive means to adequately
protect the specific interest" that will be concealed.
Story Link
THERE'S A CAMPAIGN SIGN IN MY YARD, BUT I WANT PRIVACY! It used to be Freedom Socialist Party members who worried that their
political views would make them targets of harassment or even violence.
Now backers of John Kerry are scared, too.
Advances in technology have made it easy to find out the political
leanings of anyone who donates money to a political candidate or cause. A
few clicks on the Internet are all it takes to find campaign-finance
information that once was seen mostly by government watchdogs and
investigative reporters.
The free flow of information makes it easier than ever to track down who
is paying for America's campaigns. Disclosure is a linchpin of our
post-Watergate political system.
But it's making some donors uncomfortable.
Story Link
DOT LIST AT HEART OF FIGHT: Whether the state Department of Transportation has the right to refuse
access to a list of the most dangerous downstate intersections was argued
Friday in the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.
The issue affects everyone who drives state roads, argued Stephanie S.
Abrutyn, a lawyer for Newsday, who brought the case that is also supported
by The Hearst Corp., which publishes the Times Union.
After state Supreme Court Justice George B. Ceresia ruled last year the
records would be of interest to the general public, the Transportation
Department filed the appeal heard Friday.
Story Link
FOI AT WORK: David Stanton and Frank Scibilia each made close to $40,000 as lawyers
for poor criminal defendants last year.
Stanton met with his jailed clients 549 times, according to an attorney
visitation log at the jail. Scibilia had 23 jail visits with clients.
The gap epitomizes what a local inmate advocacy group calls a problem in
Onondaga County. Some lawyers rarely meet face-to-face with poor clients
until the case is in court, and sometimes the lawyers don't take their
calls, according to officials with Jail Ministry.
Poor jail inmates in Syracuse complained more than 1,000 times a month
last year to Jail Ministry that their lawyers had little or no contact
with them, according to Jail Ministry coordinator Curt Andino. In
Onondaga.
County, judges appoint lawyers to represent criminal defendants who can't
afford to pay an attorney. Taxpayers pick up the cost.
The Post-Standard obtained documents from the Onondaga County Justice
Center jail through the state freedom-of-information law. The newspaper
got the jail's attorney visitation log for 2003, and records of collect
phone calls from inmates in 2002 and 2003 to the lawyers identified by
Jail Ministry as those who received the most complaints.
Story Link
READING THE TEXAS HIPAA OPINION: Most of our readers doubtless have heard of a strong ruling by the Texas
AG on HIPAA.. Here is a nice summary of the opinion:
Story Link
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
HEDGING THEIR BETS IN MASS: Massachusetts is moving quietly but swiftly to protect its access to
top-tier private equity and hedge funds by severely limiting public access
to data those highly secretive investors would prefer to keep
confidential. A state Treasury proposal, tucked within House and Senate
fiscal 2005 budget blueprints, would require much of the information
related to state pension fund investments kept secret, and would exempt
from the state public meeting law the pension fund board meetings in which
that data is discussed.
Story Link
HAWAII GOV VETOES EXEMPTION: Governor Lingle has vetoed a bill that would have kept secret the booking
records of the Hawaii Convention Center. The bill would have allowed those
renting the convention center to request that their identities be kept
secret for up to 10 days after the convention was held. Officials said
there was strong public opposition to the bill after it was passed.
Story Link
MAJOR LEGISLATION SIGNED IN MAINE: Legislation intended to ensure easy public access to open records kept
by Maine police, towns and other agencies has been signed into law by Gov.
John Baldacci.
The legislation, LD 1957, stemmed in part from a statewide audit of public
records in 2002 that showed a lack of compliance with Maine's
public-access and public-records laws.
The new law will allow a "reasonable" time for a town to produce a public
document. The previous law had no time limits.
The new law also says public bodies must charge reasonable fees to copy
documents. Some towns had been charging excessive fees of several dollars
per page. The law, however, does allow towns to recoup, within limits,
costs of searching for information requested by the public and compiling
it. The provision is to protect public agencies from unreasonable demands
for documents or other information.
The law says public officials who go behind closed doors must cite state
laws that give them the authority to go into executive session. But it
also allows them some flexibility in calling private sessions.
Story Link
VOICE MAIL EXEMPTION IN CONN.: Legislation that would block the Freedom of Information Commission
(FOIC) from requiring governmental voice mail to be maintained as public
records has been passed by the state legislature.
The legislation, which was proposed by Sen Andrew Roraback (R-30) of
Goshen, specifies that nothing in the Freedom of information Act (FOIA)
requires any public agency to transcribe the content of any voice mail
message and retain the record for any period of time.
The legislation defines "voice mail" as all information transmitted by
voice for the sole purpose of its electronic receipt, storage, and
playback by a public agency.
Story Link
GREENWICH CONTINUES GIS FIGHT: Setbacks in front of the state Freedom of Information Commission and in
state Superior Court were not enough to persuade the town to recast its
argument against a landmark public records decision involving the release
of aerial photographs and digital maps in a municipal database.
In a 16-page brief filed last week in state Appellate Court, Assistant
Town Attorney Haden Gerrish rekindled a 3-year-old argument against
unfettered public access to a town-maintained geographic information
system.
The town has been fighting to exempt the materials from public-records
laws, saying the release in electronic form of detailed information on
infrastructure, public safety facilities, schools and celebrities' homes
would lead to breaches in security and privacy.
The database was developed in 1997 for $3 million and has played an
integral role in the work of assessors, municipal planners and public
safety officers. Individual photos and maps have been available to the
public on paper for a fee upon written request, a policy that was
successfully challenged by a town computer technician in a complaint to
the FOIC.
Story Link
CNN SUES FOR FLORIDA VOTE ROLLS: CNN has sued Florida's elections office to get access to a state list
with names of possible felons who may need to be deleted from voter rolls.
The state uses the list to provide names of possible felons to county
elections officials, who must review them to determine if individuals
should be removed from the rolls. The list is of interest to journalists
because of the potential for mistakes.
After the 2000 election, in which George W. Bush was declared the winner
in Florida by 537 votes following five weeks of recounts and challenges,
there were widespread claims around the state by people who said they were
prevented from voting even though they weren't felons.
CNN said "there is enormous public interest in scrutinizing the potential
disenfranchisement of such a large pool of citizens in what portends to be
a closely contested presidential race."
Story Link
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
NEW GLOBAL FOIA LIST OUT: More than 50 countries now have guaranteed their citizens the right to
know what their government is up to, and more than half of these freedom
of information laws passed in the last decade, according to an updated
global survey posted today on the Web by the virtual network of openness
advocates, freedominfo.org.
Four countries have adopted new freedom of information laws just since the
last edition of the survey was posted in September 2003. The global survey
released today was compiled and edited for freedominfo.org by David Banisar of the University of Leeds and Privacy International as
the third in his series on the site, and includes links to the texts of
laws and concise commentary on their effectiveness or lack thereof.
The freedominfo.org site is edited by a multinational volunteer Editorial Board, and is
hosted and staffed by George Washington University's National Security
Archive
Story Link
MPs TOLD NOT TO RELY TOO MUCH ON VETO POWERS: From January 2005, the public will be able to demand to see swathes of
information currently kept secret by public bodies like the NHS and
police.
But in certain cases, ministers will have a veto on what the information
commissioner says should be released.
Now the commissioner says all veto decisions will have to go before MPs.
But there are some exemptions and cabinet ministers will be able to use a
special rule to veto the information commissioner or tribunal's decisions
on what can be made public.
Story Link
CANADIAN JOURNALISTS NAMED MOST SECRETIVE AGENCY: The Canadian Association of Journalists has
awarded Health Canada its fourth annual Code of Silence Award, which
recognizes the most secretive government department in Canada.
"Government officials everywhere hide vital information that they think
might embarrass them, their departments or their political leaders," CAJ
president Paul Schneidereit said in announcing the dubious prize. "This
award honours their efforts to shroud open government."
"Our finalists have shown remarkable zeal in suppressing information, from
concealing vital data about dangerous drugs to snooping through a
reporter's bedroom on a witch hunt for whistleblowers."
Story Link
IRISH FOIA USE DROPS: The number of applications for requests under the Freedom of Information
Act has dropped.
The number of applications are down by nearly 50% in the first three
months of the year to 687.
Every government department has shown a decrease in the number of requests
from the public following amendments to the legislation delaying the
availability of Cabinet papers from five to ten years.
Green Party Finance Spokesman Dan Boyle has said ordinary citizens are
being denied the information the original Act was intended to provide, "
the type of media request we were having for freedom of information was
only 40% of the total.
60% were individuals were seeking information as regards to their rights
as citizens, to know how the government of their country was being run and
particularly how it effected them as individuals."
Story Link
BRING TRANSPARENCY TO YOUR TOWN! The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and
Transparency International (TI) today launched Tools to Support
Transparency in Local Governance. The publication is a guide for all urban
stakeholders - policymakers, professionals, private sector, civil society
organisations and concerned citizens - wishing to improve the quality of
life in their cities.
The publication combines the knowledge and lessons from UN-HABITAT's
extensive experience in the field of urban governance, with Transparency
International's expertise in monitoring and combating corruption. TI is
the world's leading non-governmental organisation engaged in the fight
against corruption. A collection of 29 tools and nearly 70 case studies,
this "Toolkit" will assist those interested in improving transparency,
combating city level corruption and inefficiency, and promoting effective
citizen participation.
"Big cities all over the world run most of the huge public projects prone
to corruption - from social housing to basic infrastructure-building,"
said Miklos Marschall, TI Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"It is therefore absolutely vital to offer citizens practical tools to
monitor how public money is spent on such projects," said Marschall,
former deputy mayor of Budapest, Hungary.
Get the toolkit at:
Story Link
CANADA'S NEWSPAPERS CALL FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY: Canada's access-to-information laws urgently need a rewrite as the
country's prosperity depends on government transparency, the president of
the Canadian Newspaper Association said yesterday. "Canada's international
reputation as a place where corrupt practices are not tolerated in
business or in government is slipping," Anne Kothawala told the Economic
Club of Toronto.
"This decline is a threat to our competitive advantage as a nation. . . .
We can argue about the size but not about the fact that an investment in
strengthening democracy will pay an attractive social and fiscal
dividend."
Story Link
RUSSIA TO BROADEN RESTRICTIONS: Mikhail Fradkov's government intends to classify all the information
concerning the upcoming decisions as secret, prohibiting government
officials from discussing such issues with strangers, reports newspaper
"Vedomosti."
Head of Russian parliament Mikhail Fradkov stated the following during one
of the parliamentary meetings: "It isn't right to advertise something that
has not been confirmed". He also asked ministers to refrain from making
any "premature" comments to press regarding those issues that have not
been yet affirmed by the government.
The Prime Minister went even further. "vedomosti" got a hold of a draft of
new parliamentary rules, which is scheduled to be submitted for
consideration June 3rd. The draft clearly states that all incoming
materials and decisions concerning them "until they are published, are to
be regarded as confidential."
Government officials were stunned by such decision. "I almost fell off the
chair after reading the document; it forbids commenting practically any
question until its official publication or unless directed by the Prime
Minister," says a member of one of federal ministries.
Story Link
WORLD BANK EYES TRANSPARENCY: The World Bank Executive Board is poised to consider three significant
improvements in its disclosure policy, including the experimental release
of certain key staff documents at the same time they are sent to the
board.
Such a "pilot project" would begin to address a long-standing set of
demands from disclosure activists dating back to 1992. Their advocacy for
the release of so-called "draft" documents, however, so far has been met
by strong internal resistance from bank directors who fear that advance
public knowledge of the recommendations will politicize the
decision-making process.
Two other proposals respond to perennial complaints about the Bank's
disclosure policy.
One likely will cause more countries to disclose their "Country Assistance
Strategies" and alter a policy discrepancy.
The other would allow for the release of the minutes of some, but not all,
board meetings.
Story Link
ON THE OP-ED PAGES: WHAT SOME ARE SAYING ABOUT OPEN GOVERNMENT
The Charlotte Observer's Tommy Tomlinson on secrecy in city government: "Part of the problem is that some of the folks who want to hide the most
are the least accountable.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg planning director might be the county's most
important government job. A place growing this fast has to have a strong
leader in that spot.
Debra Campbell, the city's pick, might be the best choice. But how would
we know? City Manager Pam Syfert shut down the public process like the
anvil shuts down Wile E. Coyote.
Syfert is unelected.
Another unelected official, County Attorney Marvin Bethune, had a chat
with Mecklenburg commissioners before they voted on taping closed
sessions. Beforehand, five commissioners had said they'd vote for taping.
Afterward, they voted against it 7-1. Clerks are supposed to write up
general reports on closed sessions, but those reports sometimes have gaps
the size of Linville Gorge.
And in the end, your tax money falls through the gaps..."
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The Associated Press's CEO Tom Curley on the secrecy surrounding the Iraqi
prison abuses: "You could hardly ask for better proof of the toxic effects of
unwatched and unchecked power than the parade of horrors now spilling out
from behind the closed iron doors of the Abu Ghraib prison. The images of
U.S. guards brutalizing Iraqi inmates have been deeply disheartening to
those who believe that the best reason for demolishing the Hussein regime
was to bring to Iraq the benefits of democratic government.
Americans are often invited by their leaders to believe in their country
as a beacon of hope to the rest of the world and, by inference, to believe
in themselves as a people with virtues that set them apart.
That U.S. soldiers could have committed such atrocities and that the U.S.
military could have allowed it to happen certainly undermine confidence in
the special virtues. But it doesn't have to topple the beacon of hope. On
the contrary, in its way, the misconduct actually validates the U.S.
example..."
Story Link
The Heritage Foundation's Mark Tapscott on Texas' new open government
prosecutor: "You likely won't hear about it in the nation's major media outlets, but
recent events suggest Texas may be doing the best job of letting sunlight
shine on state government. In the process it's establishing a benchmark
for others.
The big news is the recent decision of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott
to hire an experienced prosecutor as the first attorney ever placed on the
state payroll to prosecute violations of the Texas Public Information Act.
Abbott's move means state and local bureaucrats who prefer to operate
behind closed doors could now face the prospect of fines or jail time or
both for violating the PIA.
The new prosecutor's "only job in the Office of the Attorney General will
be to prosecute open government act violations," Abbott told a recent
gathering of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas..."
Story Link
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