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No one (well, almost no one) ever got fired keeping something confidential. Agencies always get referred to as "The NSA" or something, as if the collective cons
by chris_va 10y ago
No one (well, almost no one) ever got fired keeping something confidential. Agencies always get referred to as "The NSA" or something, as if the collective consciousness of everyone working there should be merged.
Let's replace "The NSA" with "Joe, who happens to work at the NSA, doing a spot check".
Joe, who happens to work at the NSA, while doing a spot check decides to keep redactions in 20-year-old document confidential doesn't sound like as much of a headline, though.
- caf 10y agoThe very ordinariness of the institutionalised bias against declassification and its predictable result of large numbers of things remaining unnecessarily classified is the whole point.
- chris_va 10y agoPoint, but there is generally a specific timeframe for documents to combat that tendency. Usually ~25 years. The document in question here is only 20 years old, even if the information it references is older.
- colejohnson66 10y agoI thought anything written past 72 year should ago is declassified? Or is that just for the census?
- Spooky23 10y agoIn government and other large bureaucracies, it's difficult to get into trouble because even a half witted person can deflect blame around to make it difficult to actually censure anyone. With stuff like this or filling out time sheets/expense reports, it's really clear cut. Employee X signed the form to declassify document Y. Since people in charge of bureaucracies like to figuratively torture and execute bearers of bad news, it's easier to err on the side of inaction.
- PhasmaFelis 10y agoGovernment agencies should be held responsible for the actions of their members. All kinds of bad things happen if they're not.
- eru 10y agoIt cuts both ways: And bosses should be held responsible for the actions of their companies / agencies. All kinds of bad things happen if they're not.
- PhasmaFelis 10y agoThey should, yes. Are you saying those are mutually exclusive?