For Whistleblowers, Journalism and Democracy
by Thomas Drake — Common Dreams
It was the head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre who finally admitted before an Australian Parliament committee that she had unilaterally directed and pressured the CyberCon conference to drop myself and an academic research professor (an Australian citizen) from the University of Melbourne as speakers.
On December 9, 2019, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice released its review of “Crossfire Hurricane,” an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign for president coordinated with the Russian government’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 elections.
Rolling back key aspects of the military-industrial-surveillance complex cannot be accomplished without putting up a huge fight.
By Norman Solomon – Common Dreams
By Sam Adler-Bell : The New Republic
House leadership included the measure in a government funding bill—and even members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus went along with it.
By Good Morning Washington – WJLA.com
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Former CIA analyst and author of “Unwanted Spy” Jeffrey Sterling shares his long-fought battle for justice and equality.
By Chip Gibbons – RightsAndDissent.org
A new report from Defending Rights & Dissent finds that nearly every major social movement of the past decade — including Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock protesters, environmental activists, and supporters of Palestinian rights — has been targeted by the FBI.
By Jake Johnson, CommonDreams.org
“This is the most important stance any candidate has taken affecting press freedom so far. Hopefully this will force others to follow,” said Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press foundation.
World Beyond War
Jeffrey Sterling is a former CIA case officer who was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and was in federal prison in Colorado. Prior to this program, as far as we know, Sterling had not been asked whether he believes the stated purpose of the program he worked on. Does he really think the purpose of giving obviously flawed nuclear bomb-part plans to Iran was to slow down a nuclear weapons program that may not even have existed? Or does he believe the purpose was to plant evidence on the government of Iran? Listen to his answer.
Bloomberg Markets – Balance of Power Video
Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower and former Rand Corp. researcher, discusses the role of a whistle-blower in a democracy and reflects on the Pentagon Papers nearly 50 years later. He speaks with Bloomberg’s David Westin on “Balance of Power.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Launched by the Institute for Public Accuracy in June 2014, ExposeFacts.org represents a new approach for encouraging whistleblowers to disclose information that citizens need in order to make truly informed decisions in a democracy. From the outset, our message is clear: “Whistleblowers Welcome at ExposeFacts.org.”
ExposeFacts aims to shed light on concealed activities that are relevant to human rights, corporate malfeasance, the environment, civil liberties and war. At a time when key provisions of the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments are under assault, we are standing up for a free press, privacy, transparency and due process as we seek to reveal official information—whether governmental or corporate—that the public has a right to know. More information
Restore the Fourth, 18 Allies Ask Congress To Investigate FBI Monitoring
From Restore The Fourth
Dear Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
The Inspector-General’s report into the mishandled Carter Page case shows vividly that FBI agents engage in serious abuses with respect to domestic surveillance, and misuse powers intended for foreign intelligence to conduct surveillance of American citizens,[1] despite prior efforts by Congress to rein in FBI domestic surveillance dating back to the 1970s. This report, and the delay in consideration of the expiring PATRIOT Act Section 215 to March 2020, create an opportunity for hearings into abusive FBI practices with respect to domestic surveillance.