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Open government: Size of nuclear stockpile declassfied

donal brown May 3, 2010

For the first time since 1961, the federal government is releasing the number of nuclear weapons in the country’s arsenal. -db Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Commentary May 3rd, 2010 By Steven Aftergood In an historic step, the U.S. Government will formally reveal the number of nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal. Until now, the shifting size of the nuclear arsenal had only been declassified from 1945 up to 1961. Current stockpile figures were

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Two California urban counties and the state government gain high marks for transparency

donal brown May 3, 2010

After a nationwide analysis of government websites, the Sunshine Review awarded 57 state and local governments and their agencies top scores for transparency. -db Sunshine Review Press Release April 29, 2010 The best state and local government websites in America for transparency today received a “Sunny Award” from Sunshine Review. Two California counties were among those winning recognition. The Los Angeles County website was among 16 state governments and local or state agencies to receive

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Google’s new Public Data Explorer raises questions about access to public records

donal brown May 3, 2010

With new search avenues,  journalists will have greater ability to search public records, but some public agencies across the country claim ownership rights to the records and are reluctant to make records available and even one state, Oklahoma, has raised millions in revenue from selling data. -db Citizen Media Law Project Analysis April 28, 2010 By Helen Fu In March, Google launched its Public Data Explorer, expanding upon its public data search feature that’s been

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Obama administration claims visitor logs exempt from Freedom of Information Act

donal brown May 3, 2010

Despite district court holdings to the contrary, in a recent court filing the Obama Justice Department claimed that White House visitor logs are exempt from the FOIA. -db Judicial Watch Press Release April 29, 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C.– Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that the Obama Justice Department advanced the erroneous claim in an April 21, 2010, court filing that Secret Service’s logs of White House visitors

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Senate committee passes measures to boost judicial transparency

donal brown May 3, 2010

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a number of measures improving transparency in courtrooms including televising U.S. Supreme Court hearings. -db The Blog of Legal Times April 29, 2010 By Mike Scarcella The Senate Judiciary Committee passed several measures today addressing greater transparency in the judicial system—including televising U.S. Supreme Court hearings. One of the bills, the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act, would allow chief district and appellate judges to permit cameras in court. That bill

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