tagged w/ Whistle Blowers
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During last night's campaign speech at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles, President Obama said: http://1.usa.gov/OT3GS8
So on every issue domestically we’ve got differences, and I haven’t even—we haven’t talked about the fact that my opponent feels comfortable with Washington making decisions about women’s health care that women, Michelle tells me, are perfectly capable of making themselves. (Laughter and applause.)
We haven’t talked about what's at stake with respect to the Supreme Court. We haven’t talked about what's at stake with respect to civil liberties. And obviously there's a lot at stake internationally. And an opponent who calls me ending the war in Iraq "tragic," or suggests that somehow we should stay longer in Afghanistan has a very different world view, different perspective.
Let's put aside for a minute that Obama rejected the FDA's science-based recommendation to allow girls under the age of 17 over-the-counter access to emergency contraception; that a Republican-appointed Supreme Court justice saved Obamacare; and that Obama's "different world view" manifests in funding (and directing) a Mexican drug war that's claimed 60,000 lives, bombing an incalculable number of Muslim civilians, and lying about a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Let's instead just focus on this: "We haven’t talked about what's at stake with respect to civil liberties."
"If Obama wants to discuss civil liberties, he should be held accountable for the obliteration of the First, Fourth, and Fifth amendments occurring under his watch, if not under his direction," writes Jesselyn Radack, National Security & Human Rights Director for the Government Accountability Project. If Radack were moderating, Obama would have to answer for his secret kill list, expanded surveillance, his assassination of American citizens, secret laws created by the PATRIOT Act, and his war on both whistleblowers and journalists.
Full Story: http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/09/obama-says-he-wants-to-debate-civil-libeDuring last night's campaign speech at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles, President... more
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The Air Force is continuing disciplinary action against one of the Air Force pilots who refused to fly the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter because the pricey jet’s faulty oxygen system was steadily poisoning him. Capt. Josh Wilson, from the Virginia Air National Guard, has been granted whistleblower protection under federal law — a status the Air Force has publicly acknowledged. But that hasn’t stopped the flying branch from beginning a process that may very well threaten to end the pilot’s career.
Wilson and Maj. Jeremy Gordon, also a Raptor pilot with the Virginia Guard, stopped flying the $400-million-per-copy F-22 after they and dozens of other pilots reported in-flight symptoms consistent with oxygen deprivation, including confusion and blackouts. The Air Force temporarily grounded some or all of its roughly 180 Lockheed Martin-made Raptors twice last year so it could study the jet’s onboard oxygen generator.
When the flying branch failed to pinpoint the problem, as a stopgap measure it installed an extra carbon filter in the F-22′s oxygen system then ordered the pilots back in the air for an intensifying program of training exercises and deployments. But the carbon filter was faulty, too, and shed black dust into the pilots’ masks. F-22 fliers began coughing up black phlegm. Ground crews who spent time in the Raptor’s cockpit also reported symptoms. Air Force doctors advised the aviators to stand down.
Wilson and Gordon were the only pilots who refused to get back into the cockpit — that we know of. But in an interview broadcast Sunday the pilots told 60 Minutes that a “vast, silent majority” of the Air Force’s 200 or so Raptor fliers feared for their health or their lives. Gordon’s flight qualification soon expired. Wilson, the younger and less experienced of the two, faced a harsher punishment. The Air Force sent him a letter of reprimand that Frederick Morgan, the two pilots’ Ohio-based lawyer, says is just the first step in a potentially career-ending disciplinary process.
In addition to seeking legal counsel, Wilson and Gordon appealed to Rep. Adam Kinzinger, himself an Air Force pilot, for protection under the federal whistleblower law. Kinzinger and Sen. Mark Warner issued a letter Thursday urging the military not to mess with these pilots — or any others that bring up problems with the Raptor.
“We need to make sure there is a culture in which others feel safe coming forward,” Warner wrote.
The Air Force acknowledges the protected status. “Air Force leadership has made clear that the we are treating the pilots as whistleblowers,” service spokesman John Dorrian tells Danger Room.
But Wilson’s disciplinary action continues all the same, Morgan tells Danger Room. “They didn’t rescind the letter.” Fearing for his career, Wilson has offered to resume flying. “He’s eager not to be disciplined,” Morgan says.
Regarding the letter of reprimand, Dorrian says he cannot comment on private personnel matters. He refers Danger Room to the Air National Guard, but warns that the Guard, too, probably will not comment on any pilot’s individual case.
The Air Force did remove the carbon filters that Morgan says only “made the problem worse.” That was some comfort to Wilson and Gordon, according to Morgan. Now Gordon says he’ll get back in the cockpit, too — but only to help the Air Force work on fixing the oxygen problem. “All these guys want is for the airplane to work,” Morgan says.
This battle is far from over. While the Air Force mulls over Wilson’s and Gordon’s offers, the pilots along with their lawyer are meeting with Air Force doctors and Sen. Mark Warner, a new ally alongside Rep. Kinzinger. Maybe Warner can get the Air Force to explain how whistleblower protection should not stop Wilson’s ongoing disciplinary action.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/05/air-force-stealth-pilot/The Air Force is continuing disciplinary action against one of the Air Force pilots... more
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Attorney Jesslyn Radack: More whistle blowers have been charged during Obama admin. then all other presidents together (speech at Sam Adams Awards).
Jesselyn Radack was the Justice Dept attorney who stood up for the Constitutional rights of John Walker Lindh, a young U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan and widely denigrated as the "American Taliban." Lindh became the first American to be tortured by Americans there. Radack revealed Lindh had not been allowed a lawyer and other rights. The Justice Department then made Racack a target of a criminal investigation and put her on the "No-Fly" List. She is now the Human Rights Director for the Government Accountability Project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0u1dYz1dSs&feature=player_embeddedAttorney Jesslyn Radack: More whistle blowers have been charged during Obama admin.... more
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Daniel Ellsberg: There was no law against leaking the Pentagon Papers nor is there now against WikiLeaks.
Bio
Daniel Ellsberg is a former US military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of US government decision-making about the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers.Daniel Ellsberg: There was no law against leaking the Pentagon Papers nor is there now... more
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My site www.bewareofmichigan.com best describes the dangers of trying to do the right thing in the U.S. I wonder what country Mr. Kennedy was talking about when he said a person could make a difference by doing the right thing. The only difference is life to death. In my case from life to surviving only to be constantly harassed by the police and laying awake nights waiting for them to come and kill me while I'm cowering in my bed (resisting arrest)My site www.bewareofmichigan.com best describes the dangers of trying to do the... more
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Seven years after 9/11, the supposed mastermind behind the attacks is still at large, and the nation is entrenched in multiple wars in the Middle East. Is Bin Laden the evil behind the attack or a mere front man in a larger picture, a Bogeyman? Fabled Enemies is unlike any 9/11documentary ever put together. Rather than focusing on the physical anomalies at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, this film follows the intelligence ties of Osama Bin Laden, the alleged hijackers, and those who were actually detained on 9/11. The movie delves deeply into the roles of seperate Nations that were involved in supporting the 9/11 attacks. From Israel to Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, and even the United States itself, no one is spared in this scathing expose that pulls no punches. Sit back and get ready to learn how members of the FBI had their investigations into Bin Laden obstructed and shut down, how the hijackers were trained at US bases, that military drills crippled our defense and facilitated the attacks, how the Shadow Government was actually activated that day, and much much more.Seven years after 9/11, the supposed mastermind behind the attacks is still at large,... more
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Finally, the Story of the Whistleblower Who Tried to Prevent the Iraq War
Thursday 25 September 2008
by: Norman Solomon, t r u t h o u t | Perspective " Of course, Katharine Gun was free to have a conscience, as long as it didn't interfere with her work at a British intelligence agency. To the authorities, practically speaking, a conscience was apt to be less tangible than a pixel on a computer screen. But suddenly - one routine morning, while she was scrolling through email at her desk - conscience struck. It changed Katharine Gun's life, and it changed history.
Despite the nationality of this young Englishwoman, her story is profoundly American - all the more so because it has remained largely hidden from the public in the United States. When Katharine Gun chose, at great personal risk, to reveal an illicit spying operation at the United Nations in which the US government was the senior partner, she brought out of the transatlantic shadows a special relationship that could not stand the light of day.
By then, in early 2003, the president of the United States - with dogged assists from the British prime minister following close behind - had long since become transparently determined to launch an invasion of Iraq. Gun's moral concerns were not unusual; she shared, with countless other Brits and Americans, strong opposition to the impending launch of war. Yet, thanks to a simple and intricate twist of fate, she abruptly found herself in a rare position to throw a roadblock in the way of the political march to war from Washington and London. Far more extraordinary, though, was her decision to put herself in serious jeopardy on behalf of revealing salient truths to the world." Story Continued on link above Finally, the Story of the Whistleblower Who Tried to Prevent the Iraq War
Thursday... more
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ANP: Congressman Vern Buchanan's campaign is under fire as former employees accuse him of corruption.
American News Project: Congressman Vern Buchanan, of the 13th district in Florida, is facing increasing trouble in his reelection campaign. A first-term congressman and a long-time autodealer, Buchanan is being sued by a remarkable number of former employees and customers at the very height of the campaign season. So far, seven separate legal complaints have been filed against Buchanan, accusing him of flouting campaign finance laws, defrauding banks and customers, and even smuggling undocumented immigrants into the country to work on his beachfront house. ANP traveled to Florida to investigate the story.ANP: Congressman Vern Buchanan's campaign is under fire as former employees... more
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