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<title>Abuse photos - Local Open Government Blog</title>
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<copyright>Copyright 2011</copyright>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:39:44 -0800</lastBuildDate>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:34:18 -0800</pubDate>
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<title>President Obama blocks disclosure of abuse photos</title>
<description><![CDATA[<p>Update 6/6</p>
<p>As reported by the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/07/obama-could-be-handed-fir_n_212367.html">Huffington Post</a>, President Obama has now included a provision in a war-funding bill that would protect the detainee abuse photos from disclosure.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Update 6/2</p>
<p>McLatchy Reports: &quot;<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/69213.html">Why'd Obama switch on detainee photos? Maliki went ballistic.</a>&quot;&nbsp; While fear of foreign uprisings may not be an exemption under FOIA, maybe it should be.</p>
<p>Update 5/19</p>
<p>A federal appeals court has now affirmed the position of President Obama that&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/19/missing-bush-e-mails-wont_n_205217.html">White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act,</a> reasoning that the entity only implements administrative decisions and does not form policy.</p>
<p>Update 5/16</p>
<p>Here is some more <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62nklIRajs&amp;eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehuffingtonpost%2Ecom%2F2009%2F05%2F15%2Fscritti%2Dpolitti%2Dmay%2D15%2D20%5Fn%5F204142%2Ehtml&amp;feature=player_embedded">food for thought </a>on the President's reasons for not releasing the photos.</p>
<p>Update 5/15</p>
<p>As noted in this article, &quot;<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7589622&amp;page=1">Like Bush, Obama White House Chooses Secrecy for Key Office</a>,&quot;&nbsp;President Obama is continuing the Bush-era policy of exempting the White House Office of Administration from the Freedom of Information Act.&nbsp; The article ends by reminding reader's of one of the President's campaign promises on openness:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;More and more, the real business of our democracy isn't done in town halls or public meetings or even in the open halls of Congress,&quot; he told an Iowa audience in 2007. &quot;Decisions are made in closed-door meetings, or with the silent stroke of the President's pen, or because some lobbyist got some Congressman to slip his pet project into a bill during the dead of night. We have to take the blinders off the White House.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>President Obama has now reversed his position on the release of the additional photographs showing the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.&nbsp; When the first batch of photos were released in 2004, it caused world-wide outrage.&nbsp; This <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/torture/deconstructing-obamas-excuses.html?wprss=rss_blog?ref=fp4">article analyzes and deconstructs the six reasons </a>&nbsp;President Obama seems to be relying on for this change.&nbsp;</p>]]></description>
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<category>Abu Ghraib</category><category>Abuse photos</category><category>Articles</category><category>FOIA</category><category>Federal</category><category>In the news</category><category>Obama</category><category>Public Records</category><category>White House Office of Administration</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:39:44 -0800</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Foster Pepper Municipal Group</dc:creator>

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