SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the just-the-usual-monkey-business dept.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/trump-administration-blacks-out-animal-welfare-information
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a statement this morning regarding the removal of animal welfare reports from its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website: "The review of APHIS' website has been ongoing, and the agency is striving to balance the need for transparency with rules protecting individual privacy. In 2016, well before the change of Administration, APHIS decided to make adjustments to the posting of regulatory records. In addition, APHIS is currently involved in litigation concerning, among other issues, information posted on the agency's website. While the agency is vigorously defending against this litigation, in an abundance of caution, the agency is taking additional measures to protect individual privacy. These decisions are not final. Adjustments may be made regarding information appropriate for release and posting."
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Wednesday February 08 2017, @03:09PM
Seems that the current administration doesn't value "Open Government".
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Wednesday February 08 2017, @03:36PM
Good grief. Even TFS said this has been going on before the change in administrations. It's one thing to comment without reading TFA, but to comment without even reading TFS?
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Wednesday February 08 2017, @05:16PM
Well... my point is: despite all the rhetoric about open govt and accountability during the election cycle, things are still the same (perhaps worse?).
Other articles have noted the apparent "sanitizing" of *.gov, and restrictions on external communications.
Sorry I wasn't clear.
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday February 09 2017, @03:13AM
The problem is that this agency's reports publish physical addresses, which have been used by animal rights groups to attack USDA-licensed animal facilities. Should your home address be published because, say, your car required inspection? This isn't transparency; it's a policy that promotes harassment.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday February 08 2017, @05:42PM
Well, no. The summary said the spokesman claimed that this had been in process already. He may not have been lying.
The word of an official spokesman is not evidence either pro or con on any matter. He always has a vested interest...but sometimes he isn't lying.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday February 08 2017, @04:21PM
Both of the previous two administrations, from different parties, didn't give us full details about the government's officially blessed torture programs.
Shouldn't they also protect us from animal welfare reports? Maybe for the same underlying reasons?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday February 08 2017, @06:52PM
One party's president banned torture. And the other's implemented it in the first place, and recently, repealed the ban.
Your false equivalency is showing.
Trump's Executive Actions Reverse Obama Policies on Torture, Healthcare & Guantánamo Bay [democracynow.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday February 08 2017, @08:22PM
Both parties still kept it mostly a secret. Although some leaked under the party that banned it, it is still secret.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.