rummaging in the government's attic: lessons learned from more than 1,000 freedom of information act...

8/13/2019 Rummaging in the Government's Attic: Lessons Learned from More Than 1,000 Freedom of Information Act Requests

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Electronic

Web

Queries are instant

Search engine is a computer

and an algorithm

Tries to be helpful

Paper (mostly)

Postal service (mostly)

Queries take months, years

Search engine is a team

of humans

Tries to be helpful (mostly)

but sometimes comes across

as petulant, even hostile


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8-"/O1+')+'3+ ;+))+/K +#$&; -/ 8$:d00ds,OMG, this is totally a request under the

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I request that you provide me with acopy of records regarding .

I am an individual requesting this

information for noncommercial purposes.

I am willing to pay up to $XX for this

request if necessary.

Muchas gracias, Compadres!

J. Random Warez

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The file on Smuggling of AtomicBombs or Parts thereof and Other

Weapons of Mass Destruction

into the United States, contains

highly classified information

regarding United States

developments in the field of

atomic weapons and estimates of

Soviet developments in the field

of atomic weapons, together with

suggested countermeasures.

-- August 1, 1952

(And you thought the term Weapon

of Mass Destruction was something

President Bush came up with!)


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John Winston Ono Lennon,

Deceased Former Member of the

Beatles Musical Group:

The bulk of the documents to be

released are from a Security Matter

New Left investigatory file. The

investigation was initiated upon

receipt of information that Lennon

might engage in activities to disrupt

the 1972 Republican National

Convention

-- May 15, 1980


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project involves music and

entertainment stars going on a

Cannonball-like race from Las

Vegas to Los Angeles. Theyasked if they could race on

Edwards runways. According to

the producer the event would be

on MTV and made into a feature.

SAF/PAYE declined support as

not enough AF involvement towarrant it at this time, plus the

race plans to end at a Playboy

mansion.-- October 11, 2005


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rummaging in the government's attic: lessons learned from more than 1,000 freedom of information act...

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