Obama Edicts Boost FOIA and .gov Websites

Ian Lamont writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the National Security Archive are praising President Obama's executive orders to make the federal government more open. Yesterday, Obama issued two memos and one executive order instructing government agencies to err on the side of making information public and not to look for reasons to legally withhold it. The moves are expected to make it easier for people to file Freedom of Information Act requests, and should also boost the amount of information that agencies place on their websites. The general counsel for the National Security Archive (an NGO that publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act) even predicts that agencies will use blogs to share information. Obama's directives reverse a 2001 memo from former US Attorney General John Ashcroft instructing federal agencies to generally withhold information from citizens filing FOIA requests."

Comments

Re:can we request the torture vids?

[FireStormZ]

"Protect them from who? For torturing someone, they should be quite protected in prison."

Vigilante justice either from their victims or from other people who might do harm before a trial can be conducted. Lets say Bill really was in a terrorist group and Sam tortured him and got info. When Bills higher ups get Sams ID his family and friends might not be safe. This is something to consider *especially* when Sam has not yet had a trial..

Re:can we request the torture vids?

[Hordeking]

Soldiers aren't really trained in much law beyond some really basic stuff involving the UCMJ. Anything involving fine details generally requires a military lawyer.

I can't imagine how an effective military would be hampered if every soldier had to consult a lawyer about the legality of his actions every time he was given an order.

Sgt: "Privates! Ready, Aim! Fire!"
Pvt: "Sgt, I need to consult my lawyer first."