For "on-line game friend's" eyes only
by Kyle Orland 
{ Apr 2nd 2007 at 4:28PM }
The world of online games is a great place to meet new people with whom to socialize, compete and share internal government documents. Wait, what was that last one?TPMMuckraker.com has the story on Fish and Wildlife Services appointee Julie McDonald, who's in a bit of hot water for sharing agency reports with oil company lobbyists and what an inspector general's report calls an "on-line game friend." According to the report, McDonald sent the documents because "she feels frustrated at times" and wanted "another set of eyes [to] give an unfiltered opinion ... negative comments included."
The report doesn't go into detail on what games McDonald plays, but it does point out that she "engages in these games to relieve the stress created by her job." We're personally enamored with the idea of this government bureaucrat casting magic spells with this friend one minute and using them as a sort of therapist/proofreader the next. It makes you wonder how many other government secrets are being shared over game servers at this very moment.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mephistopheles @ Apr 2nd 2007 6:21PM
That's not what a real classified cover sheet looks like. It has a red border for one thing.
zwarren69 @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:41PM
Well how do you think we got half of Natzi Germany's secrets? Yes, it was given in a rousing game of Monopoly, but still... you shouldn't be that surprised. =P
machrc @ Apr 3rd 2007 11:54AM
it prob. one of M$'s top online game.
Uno
samfish @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:58PM
JOYSTIQ, YOU ARE A BUNCH OF LIBERAL LIBTARDS FOR REPORTING THIS AND THIS JUST PROVES IT!!!1!
WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA JOYSTIQ? WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?? THE TERRORISTS WIN WHEN YOU REPORT THIS KIND OF LIBERAL TALKING POINTS!!!!!11!!!
Jonathan Tran @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:08PM
This isn't surprisong at all. I mean, it's not like the FBI is monitoring all those Gunbound and Maple Story games for terrorist plots.
Better yet, plan them in Counter STrike Source, so you can claim it's for the game. Then build practice bombs in Gary's Mod...
O.
M.
G.
we're screwed now!
The truth @ Apr 2nd 2007 7:27PM
She traded them for "Boots of Escaping with +3 dexterity."
Kalroy @ Apr 2nd 2007 9:07PM
I'm not seeing a problem here. Shouldn't all of Fish & Wildlife's agency reports be open record? It's not like they're the NSA or something. They're friggin' Fish & Wildlife. How could the number of boobies on Midway Atoll, or the number of eagle rays on Johnston Atoll possibly be a state secret.
Considering the kind of stuff that has been routinely leaked that actually had serious intelligence value without any reprecussions, one has to wonder why she's getting in trouble for releasing non-secret reports that should be available to anyone with a pencil and a FOIA application.
Kalroy
john @ Apr 2nd 2007 10:51PM
Kalroy,
It's of concern because she's sharing internal documents that are used to form policy with people who have an interest in manipulating that policy. She's essentially admitting that she's getting talking points from the oil lobby, giving them the inside line to intra-agency deliberation. Very different from requesting the document specifically. So it's worth asking whom else she shared the files with. Turns out it was with her child and an online game friend.
I can tell you that if I was ever found sharing company documents with friends or other corporations I'd be out the door pretty darn quick.
Kalroy @ Apr 2nd 2007 11:17PM
Yeah but John, she doesn't work for a private company. She works for a public agency that has zero reason for secrecy. If they need that kind of secrecy then it makes me wonder what they are doing behind closed doors that we're not allowed to know. It makes me wonder what kinds of public policy the Fish & Wildlife department could be working on that requires anything less than full transparency.
I could see if she worked for an organization that required secrecy to do its job, but that is not the case. Along with departments of education, the EPA and other such agencies, full transparency does not hinder their organizational goals in any way unless they're up to something hinky.
Kalroy