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Daily Archives: April 6, 2007

March 2007 Freedom of Information Act Guide Now Available

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USDOJ: “The Office of Information and Privacy has completed the latest revision of the Freedom of Information Act Guide, a comprehensive reference volume covering all aspects of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The March 2007 edition of the FOIA Guide contains a newly updated and revised discussion of the procedural requirements of the FOIA, the contours of the FOIA’s nine exemptions and three exclusions, as well as the considerations applicable to FOIA litigation. This latest edition of the FOIA Guide also contains an overview of Executive Order 13,392, entitled “Improving Agency Disclosure of Information.” This Executive Order was signed by the President on December 14, 2005, and calls upon all agencies to improve their FOIA operations by ensuring that they are “both results-oriented and produce results.”

  • “The March 2007 edition of the FOIA Guide is now available electronically on the Department of Justice’s FOIA Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_guide07.htm. This electronic version of the FOIA Guide can be easily searched by using key words. The FOIA Guide has also been sent to the Government Printing Office, which expects it to be ready for distribution in hard copy within the next few weeks.”
  • DOJ press release: “Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today appointed Melanie Ann Pustay as Director of the Office of Information and Privacy (OIP). Pustay is a 24-year career civil servant at OIP, starting in the Department in 1983 as an attorney advisor. She has served as Acting Director since January 2007 and replaces Daniel J. Metcalfe as Director. Pustay manages the Department’s responsibilities related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which include developing policy guidance and ensuring compliance with the FOIA, responding to initial information requests made to the senior leadership offices, adjudicating all appeals from denials by any Department component under the FOIA, and handling FOIA litigation matters.

    • FDA Provides Web Access to Information on Post-Approval Device Studies

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    Press release: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today unveiled a new Web page that will keep the public informed about the status of post-approval patient studies for certain recently approved medical devices…Modern devices provide significant health benefits, but experience has shown that the full magnitude of some potential risks doesn’t always emerge during… Continue Reading

    Climate Change 2007 – Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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    Climate Change 2007: “The IPCC 4th Assessment Report (AR4) consists of four volumes that will be released in the course of 2007. Compared to the 2001 report, the AR4 pays greater attention to the integration of climate change with sustainable development and the inter-relationships between mitigation and adaptation. Specific attention is given to regional issues,… Continue Reading

    Final Analysis Report of the GPO LOCKSS Pilot Project

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    “GPO launched the GPO LOCKSS Pilot Project in June 2005 to investigate how LOCKSS might be used for digital distribution. LOCKSS (for “Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe”) is open source software that provides institutions with a way to collect, store, and maintain access to their own local copy of e-journal content. LOCKSS was developed… Continue Reading

    World Bank Developing Country-by-Country Database on Access Laws

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    Via Toby McIntosh, freedominfo.org: “The World Bank is well on its way to developing a country-by-country database “on various transparency and accountability institutions in developing countries…The new database, which may be posted online in a month or so, will summarize national laws on asset disclosure, conflict of interest, freedom of information, and immunity provisions. The… Continue Reading