Sunday
Jan312010
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill A tool for FoI junkies
Jan 31, 2010 Books Civil liberties 
The Silent State will be a must-read for Freedom of Information enthusiasts in the UK - the new book by Heather Brooke, the campaigner who forced MPs' expenses data into public view and just about brought down the UK political system in the process.
I wonder if she mentions Climategate at all? I dropped her an email when the story broke, but my guess is it may have come too late.
Reader Comments (26)
"...the campaigner who forced MPs' expenses data into public view and just about brought down the UK political system in the process."
The UK political system? What are you referring to? I wasn't aware that Strasbourg was menaced in the least. The media and the IPCC also escaped unscathed.
Oh Dear. The front page headline of the Indy tells us that the CRU data was hacked by spies.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
I find jorgekafkazar's post interesting and would like to know more. Any insights you can give an tired old and with three cats to look after?
@paul
Which INDY? There are several. Please post an URL, if you would.
If you go on the skynews website they have a preview of the front pages near the top of the page
Sorry here's the link
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/The-Papers---National-Newspaper-Front-Pages-On-Monday-February-1/Media-Gallery/201001415539359?lpos=Home_Left_Promo_Region_0&lid=GALLERY_15539359_The_Papers_-_National_Newspaper_Front_Pages_On_Monday_February_1
And the prize for the longest link I have yet seen on here goes to....[long pause]......PAUL!
On a more serious note, when the initial release of the now infamous 'climategate' file was made, IIRC there were comments made along the lines that they were a sample/portion of the entire documents available.
IMHO, there is no better time than now to release the rest so, if you are reading this, please do so. And while I am addressing comments to an anonymous person, just one more word - thankyou.
"Foreign Intelligence Agency" - I bet that's code for "Indian Intelligence Agency".
It's obvious innit? They clearly didn't want Copenhagen to succeed as it would hamper their growth. They leaked the Glacier story before Copenhagen to cause embarrassment (it was an Indian Journalist on the BBC web site). It would be very much in their interest for the emails to be leaked to destabilise Copenhagen.
Dennis can you show me how to shorten the shortcut? Sorry Bish but I would like to know.
Paul, I meant no offence - just my warped sense of humour...
You might like to visit www.tinyurl.com - it does exactly what's on the label....
Indy article http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/climate-emails-hacked-by-spies-1885147.html
But it's not really credible. The source Sir David King is not quite what you would call impartial. And he is not an expert on computer crime, nor does he seem likely to have any better information than the rest of us.
This is just a disinformation FUD piece
Sir David King is a sorry symptom of how horribly wrong Science has gone.
Sir David King does, however, do a very good job in telling us all how clever and experienced he is.
As Tilde Guillemet says, FUD.
No offence taken Dennis taken I promise. Reading that article reminds me of someone who spends most of their time in a darkened room watching East/West spy thrillers. It's complete nonsense and I reckon the story was dreamed up by a damage limitation commitee. I find it really quite worrying when such blatant propaganda is allowed coverage in a national broadsheet. It's nothing new of course but such a stark example of those who apparently wielding influence in public life highlights the fundamental problem We face when truth is hidden - namely merely pick and choose the outlet you want to spread lies with and magically the seal of official approval appears.
Reads like fantasist bilge to me - a last desperate act by King to save his reputation. Nice picture of him with Al Gore on his Wikipedia page too - how could one so learned get suckered so easily?
No Sir David, the Emperor REALLY has no clothes.
Don't worry, James Bond and George Smiley are on the case.
Don't feel bad, Dennis, I didn't know about the CNTRL spin the knob on the mouse to make the type bigger trick until yesterday and I was a techie in Silly Con Valley for 20 years!
We all help each other. Live and learn. You did find the post, and that is what is important.
I mean Paul
Age is a terrible curse!
Age is a terrible curse! …but probably better than the alternative!
I posted this on an old thread but it may be more relevant on this FOI thread. It's just an example of how much better we handle things in warmer climates -
I must say that I am very disappointed by the lack of imagination shown by the FOI bureaucrats in the old dart. Down here in Orstraylia our lot are more than happy to comply with these sort of requests, it's just that you may have to pay a nominal fee for them to do it.
Our government attempted to foist an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for carbon capture upon us pre-Copenhagen. Nobody really knew what it was about and so a concerned citizen put in an FOI request to our Climate Change Department (yes, sadly we taxpayers fund one) for their assessment of its impact.
Certainly sir, they replied, it will of course cost you A$256,586.98, although the department may decide it involves an unreasonable diversion of resources
It's as easy as that!
"I didn't know about the CNTRL spin the knob on the mouse to make the type bigger trick"
Nor did I! Thanks Don Pablo.
WRT 'Sir' David King, I find his remarks on almost any subject a useful barometer, especially if I am having trouble making up my mind, as the truth is almost always the exact opposite. The same is true of Harriet Harman.. :-)
Re: GrantB
Here's a breakdown of what they can charge (Australian dollars)
$15 per hour searching for the document ($30 maximum if its personal information about the applicant)
$4.40 per page of transcript (transcribing shorthand/audio etc)
$20 per hour for examining/consulting/copying (with deletions)/notifying of any interim or final decision on the request ($40 max if its personal information)
10c per page for photocopies.
There are other charges (for example $6.25 per half hour for access to the document) but they dont seem to amount to much.
Assuming its a 10,000 page document that has to be transcribed from audio tapes hidden in the bowels of subterranean complex that takes 1000 hours to locate and retrieve the cost is:
$44,000 + $15,000 = $59,000 to locate and transcribe.
This gives them 10,379.35 hours at $20 per hour to:
(a) examine the document;
(b) consult with any person or body;
(c) make a copy with deletions
(d) notify of any interim or final decision on the request
Seems reasonable to me.
Australian FOI fees and charges regulations can be found here: http://www.dpmc.gov.au/foi/legislation.cfm
One potentially good thing about this is the FSB hinted a while back that if they didn't stop getting blamed, they'd reveal more information. Mybe this front page is a bit of spy vs spy given Alexander Lebedev's interest in the Indie?
I'm also intrigued by the quote from the good Dr.
"This required considerable skill and knowledge which an opportunistic hacker would not have had, he said. "That requires some kind of monitoring-tool set-up and required them to have more access than you would get by simply logging into the blog," Dr Schmidt said."
I agree Atomic Hairdryer, our friends in Moscow must be tried of hearing this claptrap. It would be fun to listen to Владимир Владимирович Путин come out on stage, stare at the camera with those icy cold blue eyes and tell the AGW crowd to buzz off.
And as a former KGB big shot, I am sure he will speak with authority. And name names.
As noted earlier: It was done by Harry, with a computer, in his office, at night after a stiff drink.
Well, King seems to be calling the FSB a верблюд. I'm sure they won't like this. Still not entirely sure about Harry given the emails also show a bit of a rift between the faithful. He'd certainly have the opportunity and ability, if not motive. Either way he has my sympathy for his well documented struggle. I also think one downside to the politics around this is there'll be pressure to silence a leaker, possibly with a large payoff and NDA. Doubt the OSA would apply but our whistleblower protection should.
a) I hear Climategate was just too late, but perhaps... just maybe... go buy the paperback of tales of great deeds of heroism, courage and liberation!
b) Heather Brooke is w/o a doubt a hero, a great American and I hope you Brits agree. We LOVE her and we will NEVER apologize for this great American being American!