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From the Blogs
JASON on "Compressive Sensing" for DoD Sensors:
The
latest report from the elite JASON science advisory panel is devoted to
the subject of “compressive sensing.” This term generally refers to
the use of sensors for imaging (or other sensing) of an object in a
manner that uses a limited subset of the available data in order to
improve efficiency or conserve resources.
Detained Linguist Released Under Supervision:
Former Navy contract linguist James Hitselberger, who has been charged
under the Espionage Act with mishandling classified records, was ordered
released under supervision while awaiting trial on December 19. Mr.
Hitselberger is a multi-lingual translator and collector of rare
documents, including records that are now housed in a dedicated
collection at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Unfortunately for him, the government says that his collection activity
extends to some documents that are currently classified.
The Anti-Hero:
Who hasn’t wanted to just do what they think needs to be done,
regardless of what societal mores (or even the law, perhaps) has to say
on the matter? If the end result is sufficiently good (or the results of
inaction sufficiently bad), why shouldn’t we just do what needs to be
done and let the ends justify our actions? Dr. Y investigates this idea
in the context of the recent article in Al Jazeera by Eddie Walsh,
Adjunct Fellow for Emerging Technologies and High-End Threats, on how
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is using drones to help attack the
practice of poaching in Africa.
"Crimes Reports" and the Leak Referral Process:
“Crimes reports” are official notifications that are sent by U.S.
intelligence agencies to the Department of Justice when an unauthorized
disclosure of classified information (or another potential federal
crime) is believed to have occurred. Crimes reporting is required by
statute, by executive order, and by interagency agreement between the
Attorney General and the heads of intelligence agencies.
Can Disclosures of Classified Information be Authorized?:
Executive branch officials will sometimes disclose classified
information to reporters and other uncleared individuals. But this
practice is not explicitly authorized in any official statement of
classification policy. In fact, with an exception for life-threatening
emergencies, it is usually understood to be prohibited. How can the
obviously flexible practice and the seemingly prohibitive policy be
reconciled?
Gun Control Legislation and More from CRS:
Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as gun control policies, rising economic powers, DoD alternative fuel policy intellectual property rights violations and chemical weapons.
Reality?:
A recent scientific paper
by physicists Silas Beane, Zohreh Davoudi, and Martin Savage asks if
the universe is even real, or if it (and everything in it, including us)
might actually be a very sophisticated computer simulation. In a new post on the ScienceWonk blog, Dr. Y investigates the different perceptions of the universe.
Imagery Declassification Preparations Continue:
Steven Aftergood writes that intelligence community officials have been
meeting with representatives of the National Archives to discuss the
anticipated declassification and release of intelligence imagery from
the KH-9 satellite dating between 1971 and 1984. Multiple releases of
declassified imagery are planned over the coming year “with final
delivery of imagery scheduled for September 2013.
Congress Permits Reclassification of Restricted Data:
Certain nuclear weapons-related information that has been removed from
the category of Restricted Data (RD) and designated as Formerly
Restricted Data (FRD) can now be restored to the RD category, under a
provision approved by Congress in the FY 2013 national defense
authorization act. Until now, the removal of information from the
Restricted Data category was irreversible, being prohibited by the
Atomic Energy Act. That prohibition is nullified by the new
legislation. The authority to reclassify FRD as RD was requested by the
Department of Energy last year.
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