Here is an exclusive video by James Corbett with the inaugural edition of the EyeOpener, a new weekly video series produced in conjunction with Boiling Frogs Post, on Obama’s Secret Transparency Award. This news clip is a prelude to our petition, ‘Rescind Obama’s “Transparency Award” Now!,’ co-written by Coleen Rowley and me, and signed by more than 25 high-profile government whistleblowers and over 20 organizations, which will be launched tomorrow morning. We are going to need every single one of you, your signatures, your support, and your voices to get these organizations to take back the undeserved and hypocritical award. Please watch this video. Maybe watch it again. Think about it. Get angry. Share this with everyone you know. Help up disseminate this and encourage others to watch think, get angry, and take action. We are counting on you; on us.

For further information and more background on this action campaign you can read this and this.

Please stay tuned for our upcoming petition tomorrow morning, and thank you all.

Sibel Edmonds

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Have you ever tried standing on your head in order to view the world upside down? What if the world stage before you turns upside-down; will you then have to stand on your head to view it right-side up? You see, we have a fraudulent institution that has been standing on its head, and has been trying very hard to get you to either stand on your head to see what they see or simply look the other way and take their word in describing a totally upside down phenomena as right-side up. Enough for riddle-like communication; let me put it all in perspective for you, ok? I’ll start with the actors:

We have a very typical Washington DC NGO institution posing as a front. As a front, this establishment NGO front sells under the pretense of being an advocate for transparency, open government, and whistleblower protections. It gets over a million dollars in grants from guess who, the establishment-from Rockefeller to Carnegie to George Soros, to pose as a not for profit organization for government whistleblowers. And it has done very well for over two decades – evident by the same grants from the same establishment that keep flowing into it; evident by creating lots of noise while ensuring no feathers are ever ruffled during the process. The Congress loves them, and knows how to do the pretense dance with them very well. The executive branch also loves them, and views them as a predictable and reliable ally that has to sometimes pose as their foe.  More importantly, they are adored by the President who pets them and gives them a bone or two for being the good loyal pets that they are.

We have a President in the White House who indisputably has the worst record in our nation’s history when it comes to the insurers of government transparency- government whistleblowers. We have a President who loves unconstitutional secrecy and baseless-imaginary presidential executive powers to quash transparency and accountability. We have a President who has an utter disdain for First Amendment practices such as peaceful protests. Okay, let me provide you a glimpse of this President’s indisputable record on Anti-Transparency:

The worst president in US history in persecuting, prosecuting and jailing government whistleblowers and truth-tellers: The list of his known whistleblower victims so far includes Thomas Drake , Bradley Manning, and Jeffrey Sterling, but then again, these are only known ones, and the President has been busy going after reporters and forming Grand Juries in order to hunt more.

One of the worst presidents when it comes to invoking baseless and unconstitutional executive secrecy to quash inquiries into secret illegalities: The list of this Presidents’ known invocations of unconstitutional secrecy called State Secrets Privilege so far includes NSL Illegal Wiretapping- Jewel vs. NSA & Shubert vs. Obama, Covering up rendition & assassination case- Anwar al-Aulaqi , Illegal torture case- Binyam Mohamed. Just remember, these are only publicly known and proven cases of this President’s unconstitutional secrecy record. There are many others whose existence has been secret.

The only President who has reenacted Fahrenheit 451 by actually collecting and burning a book with a never-justified secrecy and classification excuse: Lt. Col Tony Shaffer’s book-Operation Dark Heart.

A President who has been a staunch supporter of jailing peaceful protestors on his way to becoming a president who has jailed the largest number of protestors in the last three decades: there have been over two thousand six hundred, 2600, arrests of activists protesting in the US, 670 people in 2011, over 1290 in 2010, and 665 a in 2009.

A President under whom FOIA secrecy has been increasing drastically, and for the first time ever this secrecy’s costs have surpassed $10 billion: FOIA under Obama

To recap we have a President known as the worst president in our nation’s history when it comes to transparency guardians-government whistleblowers; one of the, if not the, worst president, when it comes to using and invoking unconstitutional secrecy and executive privileges to cover up his secret illegal actions and practices; the worst president in the last three decades when it comes to arresting peaceful protestors; the only president who intercepts and burns book(s); the first president to ever surpass the $10 billion dollar threshold in creating and keeping secret documents. Would it be a giant leap to conclude that if not the worst, this President is one of the worst presidents when it comes to being anti-transparency?

Now, ladies and gentleman, this is where the above world stage turns upside down, and does so in secrecy. Less than two months ago,  Project on Government Oversight (POGO), along with four other NGO clowns, put together an award, Anti-Secrecy & Transparency Award, walked to the White House, and presented this award to the worst president when it comes to government whistleblowers & truth-tellers, and unconstitutional executive privileges and secrecy. Wait, that’s not all, they go along with the President to keep the meeting secret.

President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.

The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool.

This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Patrice McDermott of OpenTheGovernment.org, without disclosing the meeting on his public schedule or letting photographers or print reporters into the room.

…

The transparency advocates who presented the award to Obama say that the recognition is important, because despite the work left to be done, Obama has done a lot to change the government’s posture toward openness issues.

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That’s right. During the worst period ever for government whistleblowers, when they are facing jail and torture, in the midst of Kafkaesque government practices- torture, state secrets privilege, raids on and arrest of peaceful protestors, POGO, a phony NGO that has been milking government whistleblowers’ suffering for decades, goes about appeasing their grant-giving establishment masters and emboldening a ruthless totalitarian president by presenting him with a mockery of an award- Anti-Secrecy & Transparency Award. Maybe less than a few public spectators were permitted to know about and cheer this mockery, but nonetheless, it is a despicable act against all government whistleblowers, and all peaceful protestors who have come under this totalitarian president’s raids and arrests. It is a disgrace to transparency and open the government advocacy. It is an insult to all liberty-loving Americans.

In case you are wondering why I have singled out POGO among the disgraced group of five: I’ve known this organization for years; many government whistleblowers I represent have known and seen through this establishment institution. For years they have sabotaged many of our activities in Congress by making behind the closed door deals with establishment guardian representatives and senators. They have used our cases and names to further their whistleblowers-defeating agenda. They have enriched themselves handsomely by serving their Carnegie-Rockefeller-Soros masters handsomely. More importantly, they have created a false illusion of whistleblowers and transparency advocacy – robbing the public of their trust and assurance. For the last few years I’ve been practicing the excruciatingly painful exercise of ‘biting my tongue’ in the face of their anti whistleblowers and anti public operations, and justifying it under the  ‘prioritizing one’s battles’ mantra. This ridiculous assault they launched against transparency and whistleblowers was the last straw. As it should be for any American who values integrity, transparency and accountability.

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The following Action Alert was issued by National Whistleblowers Center today. Every time when I think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, I’m proven wrong and they actually do get worse, and here is a good example: our so called representatives are planning to increase the federal government’s unchecked powers by giving them the right to strip national security whistleblowers of their pensions. In other words, they are bending over backwards to make it easier for federal agencies to punish, penalize and persecute whistleblowers for doing the right thing. Please help our whistleblowers by calling your senators and disseminating the following alert. We need your support and thank you for all you do.

                                                         Sibel Edmonds

Dear Whistleblower Supporters:

National security whistleblowers are under attack and need your help now! The Senate Intelligence Committee has approved an anti-whistleblower bill. The committee voted to give the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the heads of other agencies the power to strip whistleblowers of their pensions.

Section 403 of the Intelligence Authorization Act authorizes these officials to strip whistleblowers of their hard-earned federal pensions, simply by being accused, not convicted, of leaking classified information. Every whistleblower will be at risk because ALL most likely will be accused of making improper disclosures. We urge you to join us in opposing S.719 until Section 403 is cut.

TAKE ACTION! Protect whistleblowers’ pensions!

Here’s how Section 403 works. The head of an employee’s agency can simply accuse a whistleblower of leaking classified information and that whistleblower can automatically be stripped of their federal pension, even after they retire.

The whistleblowers who lose their pensions will not be able to take their case to court. Instead, they will be forced to use the DNI’s administrative procedures to try to defend themselves. In other words, the DNI will be the prosecutor, the judge and the jury to strip pensions from public servants.

TAKE ACTION! Time is of the Essence!

Stripping pensions based on accusations of classified leaks will be yet another way that the government can legally retaliate against whistleblowers. This is an incredible threat and will have a massive chilling effect on the willingness of employees to expose waste, fraud, and abuse.

TAKE ACTION! Tell your senators to support the Wyden hold!

We are not alone in opposing this unprecedented retaliatory law. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has placed a public hold on S.719 until the anti-whistleblower provision is cut. He made a powerful statement before the Senate explaining why Section 403 is so dangerous.

For more information, tune into Boiling Frogs where Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, is interviewed by FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and WBRU Radio Host Peter B. Collins on the pension-stripping provision.

PASS THIS ALERT TO A FRIEND! Please take action and pass this alert on to at least one co-worker, friend, or family member.

Sincerely,

Jane Turner
Former FBI Special Agent, 25-Year Veteran

Director of FBI Oversight, National Whistleblowers Center

Sibel Edmonds
Former FBI translator
Founder National Security Whistleblowers Coalition

Glenn Walp discusses his recently published book, Implosion at Los Alamos: How Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Ups Jeopardize America’s Nuclear Weapons Secrets , and describes major lapses in security at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where scientists developed the world’s first atomic bomb back in 1945. Through well-documented facts and first hand experiences, Mr. Walp provides us with an alarming exposé on America’s vulnerability to those who may now be in possession of our most sensitive nuclear weapons secrets.  He talks about several high profile security lapses and the corruption, thievery and cover-ups he uncovered during his investigations at Los Alamos Lab, the bungled investigation of the Wen Ho Lee case, his experience as a whistleblower, his motivation to write this book, and more.

Glenn Walp worked as the Office Leader of the Office of Security Inquiries at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he denuded major crimes, mismanagement, corruption, and cover-up, as well as crucial security and safety breeches. His exposures helped result in 3 Congressional Hearings, the firings/reassignments of 19 lab officials, and that the contract to manage Los Alamos be put up for bid for the first time since the beginning of the Manhattan Project. Walp is a 35-year veteran law enforcement officer, working 29 years with the Pennsylvania State Police, retiring as Commissioner, and a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, and being the Chief of Police for 2 entities in Arizona. He has a BA in criminology, MA in criminal psychology and a PhD in criminal justice, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and Executive Institute. He is the author of recently published Implosion at Los Alamos.

Here is our guest Glenn Walp unplugged!

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Last week Boiling Frogs Post invited Mr. Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, and Mr. Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, to publicly debate on the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and the current bill proposed by the Senate (S. 372).Despite two invitations Mr. Eisen declined to participate in this crucial debate.

Mr. Kohn, who publicly accepted the invitation and agreed last week to participate in this independent debate, joined Peter B Collins and me to discuss these critical oversight issues, and the effects of this poisonous bill on an entire generation of federal workers, thus the nation at large.

Stephen M. Kohn is the Executive Director of National Whistleblowers Center, one of the nation’s foremost experts in whistleblower protection law, and the author of the first legal treatise on whistleblowing, Protecting Environmental and Nuclear Whistleblowers: A Litigation Manual. Since 1984, Mr. Kohn has successfully represented whistleblowers in numerous cases (both at trial and on appeal), has testified in Congress on behalf of whistleblower reforms, and has worked directly with the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee on drafting the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate whistleblower law. Mr. Kohn has a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law; an M.A. in Political Science from Brown University; and a B.S. in Social Education from Boston University. In addition to his books on whistleblower law, Mr. Kohn is the author of Jailed for Peace and American Political Prisoners.

Here is National Whistleblowers Center’s Stephen Kohn Taking on the Absentee White House on Protection for Whistleblowers

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by contributing directly and or purchasing Boiling Frogs showcased products.

On Friday, March 19, Boiling Frogs Post invited Mr. Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, and Mr. Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, to publicly debate on the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and the current bill proposed by the Senate (S. 372). Today Mr. Kohn publicly accepted the invitation and agreed to participate in this independent debate scheduled for recording on Wednesday, March 24. Mr. Eisner’s office also contacted Boiling Frogs Post today but declined the invitation, saying that ‘Mr. Eisner will not be able to attend.’

In their press release today NWC emphasized the importance of these critical oversight issues and encouraged the White House to reconsider:

Given President Obama’s strong campaign promises in support of whistleblowers, the NWC applauds Boiling Frogs for calling this debate and hopes that Mr. Eisen will reconsider the invitation and agree to publicly discuss this issue. This is an excellent opportunity for a full airing of these critical oversight issues, because the bill will affect an entire generation of federal workers.

Boiling Frogs Post will contact Mr. Eisner today and ask him to reconsider. The debate will be recorded tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. EST, and will be posted on Friday, March 26 here at http://boilingfrogspost.com. Boiling Frogs Show partner and talk show host Peter B. Collins will moderate the debate.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by contributing directly and or purchasing Boiling Frogs showcased products.

Boiling Frogs Post has invited Mr. Norman L. Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, and Mr. Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center, to publicly debate on the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act on Wednesday, March 24 at 1:30 p.m.  The bill as proposed by the Senate (S. 372) has drawn mixed reviews from both sides of the political spectrum. 

Mr. Eisen has been invited to discuss how the bill may affect and contradict the White House’s previously emphasized and publicized mission to increase transparency in government, and respond to criticisms that the Senate version of the bill repeals existing FBI whistleblower protections.  Mr. Kohn is an attorney who represents whistleblowers, and he has been invited to explain how the legislation will impact cases for national security whistleblowers who face retaliation. 

Prior to his election, during his campaign, President Obama had pledged his support for protecting national security whistleblowers, and had done so on record. However, since then Obama’s White House has backed away from that pledge. Thus, this debate is designed to help give the public a better understanding of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, and give them a chance to hear the Obama administration’s ‘real position’ on increasing government transparency by providing protection for government whistleblowers.

The debate will last approximately one hour, and will be moderated by Peter B. Collins. We will keep you posted. Please stay tuned.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by contributing directly and or purchasing Boiling Frogs showcased products.

James Corbett of Corbett Report has been doing a great job covering the recent troubling developments in the Senate version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372). As many of you are aware this is one of the areas designated as ‘can’t touch this, can’t cover this’ by the mainstream media and the like; something our spineless congressional members take great comfort from. On behalf of all our National Security Whistleblower Members I want to thank Mr. Corbett for his diligent reporting on this long-ignored issue. For his report, which includes a well-written article, a video, and Podcast interview with me click here. And here for his recent interview with FBI Whistleblower Jane Turner.

This site depends exclusively on readers’ support. Please help us continue by contributing directly and or purchasing Boiling Frogs showcased products.