Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy comments in his Secrecy News e-mail publication: A COMPENDIUM OF DARPA PROGRAMS The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been battered and bruised by controversies surrounding several of its more questionable programs, including the defunct Terrorism Information Awareness. But the Agency has … Read more
The Albuquerque Tribune comments on polygraph screening in this editorial, cited here in full: Truth tests are flawed, so cut ’em out, DOE First, give the Department of Energy some credit. Then yank its chain – until it altogether stops using polygraph tests to try to find spies in its nuclear weapons program. The oft-troubled … Read more
Doug Harlow reports for the Kennebec, Maine Sentinel on a lawsuit brought under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Excerpt: WATERVILLE — Bull Moose Music and a former employee have come to terms on a combined lawsuit filed after the store allegedly was robbed by a masked man in August 2001. Vickie Shuman, 20, now of … Read more
Associated Press writer Kimberly Hefling reports how an innocent suspect failed his FBI polygraph “test,” while his lying accuser passed. Excerpt: EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – An FBI agent who helped arrest eight Egyptian men in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks became the driving force behind clearing their names, an arduous process that eventually … Read more
This UPI article is cited here in full: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Sept. 10 (UPI) — A New Mexico judge has recommended the state discontinue using lie detector results in court, saying the tests are too unreliable. New Mexico is the only state to routinely permit the results of polygraph, or lie detector, tests to be entered … Read more
Akron, Ohio Beacon Journal staff writer Lisa A. Abraham reports. Excerpt: The chairman of the Summit County Board of Elections wants all board members to take polygraph tests voluntarily to protect the board’s integrity. Russell Pry made the suggestion at a board meeting Tuesday night. The county Democratic Party chairman said he would put a … Read more
Bob Park of the American Physical Society comments on Department of Energy polygraph policy in his weekly What’s New column: 2. POLYGRAPH ROULETTE: DOE HAS MASTERED “THE EXPECTATION GAME.”A two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences, “The Polygraph and Lie Detection,” showed polygraph testing to be less than worthless (WN 18 Apr 03). You … Read more
Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy comments in his Secrecy News e-mail publication: DOE RESTRUCTURES POLYGRAPH PROGRAM Under pressure from members of Congress, scientific critics and others, the Department of Energy said that it will reduce its reliance on polygraph testing to screen its employees. “The approach I am … Read more
Andrea Widener reports for the Contra Costa Times. Excerpt: Under mounting pressure, the Department of Energy will scale back its massive polygraph testing program to half its previous size, a move that may halt mandatory screening tests for some nuclear weapons workers. The decision is a sudden turnaround for the DOE, which this summer had … Read more
Staff writer Ian Hoffman reports for the Oakland Tribune. Excerpt: In an about-face, top U.S. nuclear weapons officials said they plan on scaling back polygraph testing for thousands of weapons scientists and workers, in part to avoid driving them away. Yet the U.S. Energy Department’s proposed reduction of polygraph testing still would leave enough top … Read more