The Obama administration has denied a request made under the Freedom of Information Act for the names of all visitors to the White House visitors between January 20 and May. MSNBC.com investigative journalist Bill Dedman reports that the Obama administration, just like the Bush administration, "is arguing that the White House visitor logs are presidential records -- not Secret Service agency records, which would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act." A spokesman for Obama, Ben LaBolt, said that the administration should be able to hold secret meetings "such as an elected official interviewing for an administration position or an ambassador coming for a discussion on issues that would affect international negotiations." However, Dedman notes that "these same arguments, made by the Bush administration, were rejected twice by a federal judge."

According to the The National Archives and Records Administration, Miriam Nisbet will be the first director of the Office of Government Information Services. She was previously legislative counsel for the American Librarian Association. Additionally, "she served as Deputy Director of the Justice Department's Office of Information Privacy, which plays a major role in overseeing government wide FOIA policy, and as a special counsel for information policy at the National Archives. Most recently, she was director of UNESCO’s Information For All Program." While OGIS was created in 2007 by Congress as "monitor and mediator" of FOIA requests, the Bush administration left the office unfunded. "We've been waiting a long time to see this thing get off the ground,” says Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a media coalition that worked closely with congress to push for the office’s creation, “She’s a long-time advocate for open government, and this is a promising start for those who want the FOIA to work better."

In Scotland, police have been offering environmentalists money in return for information about activist groups. "They said 'if you help us, we will help you,'" one anti-nuclear activist stated, referring to military police officers. The Guardian reports that "a network of hundreds of informants ... claim to have infiltrated a number of environmental groups," providing police with "information about leaders, tactics and plans of future demonstrations." One of the groups targeted by police, Plane Stupid, was previously infiltrated by a corporate spy. A police statement stressed their "responsibility to gather intelligence," saying contacts were made "to ensure that any future protest activity is carried out within the law." Plane Stupid responded, "Our civil liberties were invaded and our right to peaceful protest called into question simply to defend the interests of big business." Scotland's Sunday Herald reports that the covert police campaign goes back to at least 2005, when military police set up "cosy chats" with people arrested during a protest at a nuclear arms site.

Bayer CropScience has invoked the specter of terrorism in a bid to limit what information the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board can release at a public hearing into a chemical plant explosion in West Virginia that killed two employees. Bayer is claiming that "because it has a dock for barge shipments on the adjacent Kanawha River, its entire 400-acre site qualifies under the 2002 federal Maritime Transportation Security Act," reports Sean D. Hamill. "It has asked the Coast Guard, which has jurisdiction under the act, to review the public release of 'sensitive security information.'" Bayer appears to want to limit discussion of the potential hazards of methyl isocyanate, the same chemical made at Bhopal, India, notes Hamill. On its website, Bayer CropScience states that one of its core values is "integrity, openness and honesty" and that it is committed to "having the courage to tell the truth" and "presenting the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner."

American International Group (AIG), "which is receiving its fourth taxpayer bailout, has four public relations firms on its payroll" -- Kekst & Company, Sard Verbinnen, Hill & Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller -- in addition to its own PR staff. While bailout recipients have been criticized for planning lavish retreats (which AIG has done repeatedly), using private jets and retaining lobbying firms, "some taxpayers and members of Congress could view public relations as unnecessary expenses," warns the New York Times. AIG "may legitimately need help talking to the crowds of journalists, regulators, legislators and investors," but the insurance giant has "given little clarity on taxpayer losses to date, or provided much communication directed towards taxpayers at all." Meanwhile, AIG's "public relations army" hasn't seemed to make its executives PR savvy. On a conference call, AIG chief restructuring officer Paula Reynolds "unwisely quipped that it might be 'better to go to jail' than have to deal with the intricacies of securities laws as they apply to AIG's situation."

Doctors who don't want their patients to complain about their services are signing up with a service called Medical Justice, which has developed a standardized waiver that patients are asked to sign, agreeing not to post online comments about the doctor. The company "advises doctors to have all patients sign the agreements," reports Lindsey Tanner. "If a new patient refuses, the doctor might suggest finding another doctor. ... Doctors are notified when a negative rating appears on a Web site, and, if the author's name is known, physicians can use the signed waivers to get the sites to remove offending opinion." Dana Blankenhorn writes that patients rights advocates are angry at the attempt to stifle patients' speech: "MyDocHub calls it an attack on First Amendment rights, while ePatients.Net calls it an 'almost comical attempt to hold back the tide.' Consumer advocates are also grumbling."

U.S. mortgage giant Freddie Mac, now under government control and receiving federal aid, is conducting an internal investigation into its $2 million "stealth lobbying campaign." Freddie Mac hired the Covington & Burling law firm to conduct the investigation, which is being headed by former Justice Department prosecutor Stephen Anthony. At issue is its campaign, begun in 2005, to kill a proposal by then-Senator Chuck Hagel to increase regulation of Freddie Mac and its sister lender, Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac hired the Republican lobbying and PR firm DCI Group for the campaign. DCI "did not file lobbying reports" on the contract, and Freddie Mac executives referred to it as their "stealth lobbying campaign." In 2006, the mortgage giant also made "six-figure payments to 52 outside lobbying firms and political consultants," including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senator Alfonse D'Amato. It's not clear how much Freddie Mac is spending on the investigation, reports the Associated Press, "or whether it is spending any federal bailout money on the internal probe."

ProPublica notes that "the Bush administration's 'war on terror' -- including its controversial policies on detentions, interrogations and warrantless wiretapping -- were all underpinned by legal memoranda. While some of those memos have been released ... the former administration chose to keep many others secret, citing security and confidentiality concerns. The decision to release them now lies with President Obama. To help inform the debate -- and inject an extra dose of accountability -- we're posting a list of the relevant memos, both public and secret." Memo authors include John C. Yoo, Steven G. Bradbury, Jay Bybee, James B. Comey, Robert J. Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, James Ho, Daniel Levin, Patrick Philbin, the legal architects (and some critics) of the Bush Administration's use of torture and detention policies now under review or reversal by the Obama Administration.

On Day One, U.S. President Barack Obama signed two executive orders. One restored the presumption of disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, unless "forseeable harm" would result; made presidential records more accessible; and limited claims of executive privilege over information. "Obama has struck a quick and prominent victory for government openness," concludes the Columbia Journalism Review. The other order restricted interactions between executive agency appointees and lobbyists, and sought to slow down the government-industry revolving door. While this order is "the most aggressive attempt by an administration to rein in lobbyists," it has a few loopholes, according to Politico.com. In addition, the order clashes with Obama's choice of recent Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn to be Deputy Secretary of Defense. The Senate Armed Services Committee has halted its consideration of Lynn, until the administration "waives its new ethics rules in this case," reports The Hill. William Corr, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, also needs a waiver, as he "lobbied that same agency through most of last year as an anti-tobacco advocate," reports Associated Press.

The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, maker of the niche brand "American Spirit" cigarettes, is trying to lure environmentally conscious smokers with certified organic, pesticide-free tobacco. Santa Fe, which markets itself as an "earth friendly" and "socially progressive" tobacco company, is actually owned by R.J. Reynolds (now Reynolds American), maker of the mainstream brands Camel and Winston. Santa Fe does not indicate its relationship with RJR anywhere on American Spirit's packaging or in its advertisements. The use of the word "natural," the Native American on its logo, and marketing of its tobacco as "pesticide free" and grown using sustainable farming practices have all helped mislead consumers that American Spirit cigarettes are safer than others. Because it is an independent subsidiary of RJR, Santa Fe can also elude decisions made by its parent company. For example, last November, RJR announced it was going to stop advertising its brands in newspapers and magazines, but Santa Fe continued advertising in periodicals. In 1994, Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro, also targeting hip, environmentally-conscious smokers with a fake "micro-brew" cigarette brand called Dave's, but when people found out the brand was really owned by Philip Morris, it disappeared.