The majority of denials for information has been done by the Central Intelligence Agency

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was made as a way for citizens to gain access to government files which they would never otherwise see. However, a new report by the Associated Press claims that the Obama administration cannot keep pace with the overwhelming demand for government documents.

The legality of the act claims that any citizen or foreigner can request to see copies of federal records so long as disclosure of said document won’t hurt national security, violate personal privacy or expose confidential decision making in certain areas.

More than 576,000 requests were filed by the government in 2011, a 5 percent increase from the year before. The report also states that government agencies responded to requests much faster than last year, with the average response being one month on “simple” requests and 3 months on more complex ones. One third of all requests were rejected due to the agency not being able to find a record, a person refused to pay for copies or the request was not allowed under the FOIA law. The White House itself claimed that it released part or entire records for 93 percent of requests.

According to the Associated Press, the government is becoming more transparent and, as White House spokesperson Eric Shultz said they are “making a strong effort to keep up with that demand by devoting more resources to it.”

The tumultuous year for U.S. operations abroad, with Osama bin Laden, trouble in Libya and the constant battle against the Taliban, makes it impressive that such an effort has been placed in sharing information with the public. Nonetheless, 4,244 times, the United States government denied a file due to national security reasons, with the majority of those denials coming from the CIA and Director of National Intelligence.

Original Source

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g39RKdGUH559I67_ntyAg956K7YA?docId=8a9fc9cef5974d7784baca41ac8ff450

Quick, somebody call Jack Thompson! Tell him it was all a mistake!

The American Psychological Association, meeting in at a convention in Boston, revealed a eries of studies that show video games have a series of positive effects on students in the classroom and surgeons in the operating room.

According to the Associated Press, a study of fith, sixth and seventh graders found that playing video games helped them improve their problem-solving abiltiies and cognitive and perceptual skills.

Another study showed that “surgeons who played video games were 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors than those who didn’t.”

A bump in the road remains. Other studies showed students who play violent video games did tend to be more hostile than non-violent game playing kids.

Nevermind, don’t tell Jack a thing.