Whistleblowers

Obama’s “No Tolerance” for Freedom of Speech Policy

May 5, 2014 Marsha Coleman, www.blackagendareport.com Educate! Barack Obama, National Security State, Whistleblowers

“Fear remains the favored tactic used by the government against its own employees.” The Obama Administration has once again earned the shameful reputation for being the most secretive and punitive administration against whistleblowers in the history of the republic. Last week, another case of the Obama Administration's insatiable appetite for secrecy was revealed via a April 21st memo from the Director of National Intelligence. This memo threatens members of the intelligence community with retaliation for any contact with reporters without the permission of their supervisor, even if the information is not classified. The memo stated: “IC (intelligence community) employees… must obtain authorization for contacts with the media” on intelligence-related matters, and “must also report… unplanned or unintentional contact with the media on covered matters,” the Directive stated. This escalating repression comes on top of its harsh sentencing of whistleblowers: Chelsea (Bradley) Manning—35 years for leaking the video Wikileaks dubbed 'Collateral Murder' of a deadly helicopter attack on a defenseless civilian population; 30 month imprisonment of former CIA agent John Kiriakou for exposing the US use of torture and waterboarding—while none of those responsible for the administration of torture have been tried; and forcing Edward Snowden to seek political asylum outside the US for exposing National Security Agency (NSA) excesses that include the unauthorized, universal invasion of planetary privacy.

Whistleblower Laws For Private Sector Workers Grossly Inadequate

May 1, 2014 Keith Wrightson, www.dcmediagroup.us Educate! Whistleblowers

Today’s federal whistleblower protection laws are far too weak for many private sector workers, making it extremely difficult for them to expose wrongdoing because they rightly fear they can and will be retaliated against. Of concern are whistleblower protections allotted to workers under 29 U.S.C. §660, Section 11(c) (1970) (hereafter 11(c)), one of 22 statutory and common law provisions aimed at safeguarding private sector whistleblowers that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is charged with enforcing. Section 11(c) is intended to protect workers who have disclosed waste, fraud or abuse, but the protections are grossly inadequate. Section 11(c) was designed to provide protections to nearly every employee in the private sector but falls short because workers are not allotted sufficient time to file a retaliation complaint. Additionally, workers are not granted due process rights or remedies such as attorneys fees and compensatory damages under the existing law. Several other private-sector whistleblower statues – including the Federal Railroad Safety Act (1970) and the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (2002) – allow for worker anti-retaliatory protections up to 180 days from the date of the incident being reported. But under 11(c), workers are protected from retaliation only up to 30 days from the incident.

An Apartheid of Dollars: Life in the Minimum-Wage Economy

April 25, 2014 Peter Van Buren, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Minimum Wage, Whistleblowers

At age 53, everything changed. Following my whistleblowing first book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, I was run out of the good job I had held for more than 20 years with the U.S. Department of State. As one of its threats, State also took aim at the pension and benefits I’d earned, even as it forced me into retirement. Would my family and I lose everything I’d worked for as part of the retaliation campaign State was waging? I was worried. That pension was the thing I’d counted on to provide for us and it remained in jeopardy for many months. I was scared. My skill set was pretty specific to my old job. The market was tough in the Washington, D.C. area for someone with a suspended security clearance. Nobody with a salaried job to offer seemed interested in an old guy, and I needed some money. All the signs pointed one way — toward the retail economy and a minimum-wage job. And soon enough, I did indeed find myself working in exactly that economy and, worse yet, trying to live on the money I made. But it wasn’t just the money. There’s this American thing in which jobs define us, and those definitions tell us what our individual futures and the future of our society is likely to be. And believe me, rock bottom is a miserable base for any future.

Georgetown Hosts Panel On Surveillance, Secrets, & Whistleblowing

April 22, 2014 Lannan Center, www.lannancenter.tumblr.com/ Educate! Surveillance, Whistleblowers

In this time of heightened suspicion and increasing questions surrounding mass government surveillance, Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice is pleased to announce our “Matters of Urgency” event for spring 2014: "Beyond Orwell: Surveillance, Secrets, and Whistleblowers in the Security State,” an evening of talks and discussion by prominent whistle-blowers of our time and the journalists who brought their disclosures to light. "Beyond Orwell" will feature an address by Daniel Ellsberg, who famously released The Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971, helping to bring about an end to the Vietnam War. Journalist Glenn Greenwald will join us by video, and other guests will include Thomas Drake (former NSA Executive), Ray McGovern (former National Intelligence Estimates Chair), Jesselyn Radack (former Ethics Advisor to the US Department of Justice and Edward Snowden’s attorney), and Coleen Rowley (former FBI agent). Moderated by author and film producer (of the recently acclaimed documentary Dirty Wars) Anthony Arnove.

Ten Years Later Israeli Nuclear Arms Whistleblower Still Not Free

April 22, 2014 Felice Cohen-Joppa and David Polden, www.commondreams.org Resist! Nuclear Weapons, Whistleblowers

Ten years ago, on April 21, 2004, several hundred of us from around the world waited with great anticipation outside the gates of Israel’s Ashkelon Prison, holding up signs saying “Thank you, Mordechai Vanunu: Peace Hero, Nuclear Whistle-blower”. After many years of campaigning for his freedom, the day had finally arrived: Mordechai Vanunu would walk out of the prison where he had spent each day of his 18 year sentence (12 of those years in solitary confinement) for blowing the whistle on Israel’s then secret nuclear arsenal. We were there to welcome him to freedom. Our excitement had been somewhat dimmed a couple of days earlier, when Israel announced a list of oppressive and unjust restrictions on the soon-to-be-released whistle-blower. These restrictions continue to this day, having been renewed each April: Mordechai Vanunu remains under restrictions which require him to report and gain approval for any change in residence, to avoid diplomatic missions, to not speak to foreign nationals and which prevent him from leaving Israel, a thing Mordechai has wished to do ever since his release from prison.

Chelsea Manning Lawyers Interviewed In Depth On Appeal

April 21, 2014 The Real News, www.therealnews.com Resist! Chelsea Manning, Journalism, Whistleblowers

The case of Chelsea Manning is back in the spotlight. Last week, a U.S. Army general rejected Manning's request for clemency, thereby upholding her 35-year prison sentence.As you might remember, last year a military judge found Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning, guilty of 20 offenses. Despite being acquitted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, which carried with it a life sentence, Manning's 35-year sentence is the longest imposed on any American for leaking information to the media. One of Manning's new attorneys, Vincent Ward, says that Chelsea is ready for the long uphill battle to appeal the court's sentence. She's one of those rare people that found that it was her moral and ethical responsibility to inform the public about information that she thought was wrong and bad acts by the government.Is it proper for the government to punish somebody like Chelsea for 35 years, to put her in jail for 35 years, which, given her age, you know, it's not a life sentence, but she is going to be in jail for a really long time. And I think that the instinct of many is that the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Chelsea Manning’s Lawyers Will Challenge ‘Frightening’ Espionage Act On Appeal

April 14, 2014 Kevin Gosztola, www.dissenter.firedoglake.com Educate! Chelsea Manning, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Espionage Act, Whistleblowers

The “misuse of the Espionage Act,” the over-classification of information, the selective prosecution of individuals by the government for leaks, “unlawful command influence,” “unlawful pretrial punishment,” and violations of “speedy trial rights” will all be issues raised during the appeal. Hollander said Manning’s convictions for violating the Espionage Act set a “dangerous precedent.” She added, “If this case stands, along with some other recent cases, whoever leaks a single page of classified information or even non-classified information runs the risk of prosecution under this act.” Manning was found guilty of five Espionage Act offenses, which is quite significant in the war on leaks and whistleblowers that has been waged by President Barack Obama’s administration.

Most Important Event Since Chelsea Manning’s Trial

April 11, 2014 Staff, www.chelseamanning.org Resist! Chelsea Manning, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Whistleblowers

You're invited to witness the most important event since WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning's trial last summer! Chelsea Manning's new defense team is preparing for a rigorous appeals process that could go as far as the Supreme Court, forever changing how the U.S. treats whistleblowers. On Sunday, April 13th they'll be joined by prominent FBI whistleblower Mike German and NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, as together they discuss the future of American government accountability, democratic information sharing, and whistleblowing. Join us to learn how you can make a difference!

NSA Uses Corporate News To Spread Propaganda And Silence Dissent

April 7, 2014 Donald Kaufman, www.truthdig.com Educate! Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, NSA, Whistleblowers

Investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald published an expose this week detailing how the NSA has been feeding “propaganda” to various news publications, which have happily played along. The propaganda isn’t limited just to schlock networks like Fox News, but is promulgated also by widely trusted newspapers, including The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. The message NSA and other officials send to the public every time a whistle-blower and journalist step forward to expose an inconvenient truth is, “You’re all going to die because of these leakers and the journalists who publish their disclosures!” Greenwald writes. This encourages a fervor of fear that has led some legislators and “journalists” to openly call for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for disclosures made through his site. The “danger” of these leaks is the general reason given for convicting Chelsea Manning, who exposed war crimes committed under the name of Americans. (Manning’s failure to expose what she witnessed would have been a violation of the Nuremberg Laws.) Of course, this justification was never subjected to scrutiny during Manning’s trial and never criticized in the corporate media.

Time To Release John Kiriakou, As Senate Releases Torture Report

April 6, 2014 Cayman Kai, www.codepink.org Educate! Torture, Whistleblowers

Although the Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Thursday to declassify a report detailing the CIA’s use of torture that will confirm the 2007 revelations from John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst and case officer, Kiriakou himself is still languishing in prison. Kiriakou still has at least another year left in prison, but as Americans confront the horror contained within the Torture Report, they ought to also call for justice and freedom for the brave whistleblower who warned us about it years ago. On December 10, 2007 in an interview with ABC News, Kiriakou discussed his involvement in the capture and questioning of Abu Zubaydah, accused aide of Osama Bin Laden. Kiriakou admitted the CIA’s use of waterboarding on Al-Qaeda suspects, specifically Zubaydah, making him the first U.S. official to do so. If it had not been for Kiriakou, the public would not have known about the use of torture...

Critical Moment In The Defense Of Chelsea Manning

April 5, 2014 Emma Cape, www.chelseamanning.org Resist! Chelsea Manning, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Wars and Militarism, Whistleblowers

We're at a crucial turning point in our campaign to support WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Chelsea's future hangs in the balance, and your support can make a huge difference! Last week, Chelesa's trial attorney, David Coombs, released a statement with an insider's view of the injustices of the court martial proceedings and the excessive 35-year sentence. He warned: I have fought to ensure that she received a fair trial and a just result. Unfortunately, I do not believe that she received either... The government-wide crackdown on whistleblowers and the extension of this crackdown to journalists threatens to stifle the very freedoms that we [the United States] have fought so hard to ensure

The Conscience And Courage Of Chelsea Manning

April 5, 2014 Nozomi Hayase, www.roarmag.org Educate! Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, Wars and Militarism, Whistleblowers, Wikileaks

Four years have passed since WikiLeaks’ sensational release of the classified US military video titled Collateral Murder. On April 5, 2010, the raw footage was published depicting airstrikes by a US Army helicopter gunship in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad. The soldiers attacked Iraqis, killing about a dozen men wandering down a street, including two Reuters staffers, Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh in the first of three reckless attacks involving civilians...Before anyone talks about the laws of armed conflict and whether the rules of engagement were broken or not, we need to ask why these armed crews were even there in the first place. We should be examining the legality of the Iraq War itself. Speaking in defense of the disclosure of classified US military documents on the Iraq War, Assange pointed out how “most wars that are started by democracies involve lying,” and noted how “the start of the Iraq war involved very serious lies that were repeated and amplified by some parts of the press.”

April 5th: The Fourth Anniversary Of Manning’s Collateral Murder Video Leak

April 4, 2014 Deb Vanpoolen, www.debvanpoolen.com Organize! Chelsea Manning, Wars and Militarism, Whistleblowers, Wikileaks

April 5 is the fourth anniversary of Chelsea Manning's leak of the Collateral Murder video of footage from an Apache helicopter which shows trigger-happy soldiers killing twelve civilians. Manning, former US intelligence officer, also leaked massive troves of documents which include details about war crimes committed by US army personnel, such as the condoning of torture and killing of innocent civilians in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Four years after the releases, not one of the people implicated of war crimes in those documents or in the Collateral Murder video has been prosecuted...every time Chelsea has been given the chance to speak, she shares her thoughts about the power of true information in the public’s possession. Manning stated in a pre-trial hearing: “I believed that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information contained within the [Iraq and Afghan War Logs] this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general, as well as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Manning’s Lawyer: Response To Leaks ‘Hysterical,’ Unjust

March 27, 2014 David Coombs, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Chelsea Manning, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Whistleblowers

Yesterday, I filed PFC Manning's clemency matters. This filing marks the end of my representation of PFC Manning for her court-martial. Since being retained to represent her on July 16, 2010, I have fought to ensure that she received a fair trial and a just result. Unfortunately, I do not believe that she received either. Under the current administration, any unauthorized leak to the media of classified information is viewed as tantamount to aiding the enemy of the United States. The prosecution in this case admitted as much when it stated that it would not make a difference if PFC Manning had given the disclosed information to the Washington Post or the New York Times. The government-wide crackdown on whistleblowers and the extension of this crackdown to journalists threatens to stifle the very freedoms that we have fought so hard to ensure.

Video: The Oxford Debate: Is Edward Snowden A Hero?

March 24, 2014 Donald Kaufman, www.truthdig.com Educate! Edward Snowden, Whistleblowers

Seven others also answered. In the order in which they appear below, the speakers are: Chris Hedges; St. John’s College Standing Committee member Charlie Vaughan; former MI5 intelligence officer and whistle-blower Annie Machon; lawyer and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker Jeffrey Toobin; former NSA officer and whistle-blower William Binney; George W. Bush administration Homeland Security Secretary Stewart Baker; former Liberal Democrat MP and British Secretary of State Chris Huhne; and former Obama administration Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley.

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