From: freedominfo.org [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 28 September 2004 20:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Freedom of Information Makes News Around the World

freedominfo.org update - September 28, 2004

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION MAKES NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

NEW OPENNESS LAWS REVEAL CORRUPTION, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, INSIDER INFLUENCE,
PRIVATIZATION CONTRACTS, WIRETAP DATA, AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

* Australian ex-prime ministers cost public $500,000 a year each;
* Romanians see how many wiretaps actually produce criminal convictions;
* Canadian official paid $27 per glass for orange juice;
* Indian civil servants used government cars for religious pilgrimages;
* Japanese liquor merchants spent 26 million yen on lobbying including
gratuities to lawmakers;
* Mexican FOI agency orders release of data used to expel Cuban diplomats.

http://www.freedominfo.org

Washington D.C., 28 September 2004 - Freedom of information laws now in more
than 50 countries around the world made headlines over the past year on
subjects ranging from public safety to corruption to human rights, according
to the annual review of openness news posted today in celebration of
International Right to Know Day by the virtual network of access advocates,
freedominfo.org.

The freedominfo.org posting today included a sample of 25 news stories from
around the world based on records released through the access laws:

* Australians learned about the $500,000 per year on average that each
ex-prime minister of Australia costs taxpayers in that country for support
of professional activities (and excluding the lifelong pension each
receives).

* In Romania, citizens won access to data on wiretaps including how many
actually led to criminal convictions.

* Canadians discovered that the Premier of Alberta billed taxpayers for a
$2,600 lunch tab and $27 glasses of orange juice.

* An Indian citizen exposed the abuse of government cars by civil servants
and officials who used the transport for tourist trips and religious
pilgrimages.

* The largest Japanese newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, uncovered huge
lobbying expenses by the Japanese liquor merchants association that won
repeal of licensing requirements, including direct payments to lawmakers.

* And the Mexican federal agency that is implementing Mexico's new law
ordered release of Interior Ministry intelligence that was the basis for
Mexico's expelling Cuban diplomats in 2003.

The posting today marks the second annual International Right to Know Day,
established by the Freedom of Information Advocates Network (based in
Budapest and Sofia, see http://www.foiadvocates.net and
http://www.righttoknowday.net ). Advocates in two dozen countries are
mounting coordinated activities such as conferences, awards, release of
studies, and workshops on September 28.

The freedominfo.org site is edited by a multinational volunteer Editorial
Board, and is hosted and staffed by a George Washington University's
National Security Archive ( http://www.nsarchive.org ), the leading
non-profit user and advocate of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. Grants
from the Open Society Institute and the Ford Foundation underwrite the site.
On the 38th birthday of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, the Archive
posted U.S. news stories illustrating 38 headlines produced by the openness
law out of more than 4,000 news stories in 2003-2004 that specifically cited
FOIA (see http://www.nsarchive.org/news/20040704/index.htm ) and summarizing
the U.S. experience -- more than 2.4 million FOIA requests in the last
fiscal year at a cost of about one dollar per citizen.

http://www.freedominfo.org
_______________________________________________________________
freedominfo.org is a one-stop portal that describes best practices,
consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies and
tactics, and links the efforts of freedom of information advocates
around the world. It contains crucial information on freedom of
information laws and how they were drafted and implemented, including
how various provisions have worked in practice.
_______________________________________________________________
PRIVACY NOTICE
freedominfo.org does not and will never share the names or e-mail
addresses of its subscribers with any other organization. We would
welcome your input, and any information you care to share with us
about your special interests. But we do not sell or rent any
information about subscribers to any other party.
_______________________________________________________________
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST
You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF FREEDOMINFO"
command to <[log in to unmask]>.
You can also unsubscribe from the list anytime by using the following link:
<http://hermes.circ.gwu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=freedominfo&A=1>

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous
content by the NorMAN MailScanner Service and is believed
to be clean.

The NorMAN MailScanner Service is operated by Information,
Systems and Services, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

************************************************************************************
Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion
list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic
study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html
*************************************************************************************