June 7, 2010
Summary: An former worker at the West Virginia mine that exploded and killed 29 people in April has filed a whistleblower complaint, saying he was fired after telling his supervisors and the media about safety issues at the mine and another owned by Massey Energy. A preliminary investigation said that "there is reasonable cause to believe that [the whistleblower's] dismissal was motivated by his exercise of protected activities."
Click here to watch video of the whistleblower's disclosures
Sydney Morning Herald: Whistleblowers Lift Lid on Japanese Whaling
Today
Summary: Two crewmembers from Japanese "research whaling" ships have come forward after witnessing the theft of whale meat by colleagues for personal consumption or sale, despite the fact that the meat is supposed to only be used for scientific purposes. While Japan argues "research whaling" is allowed under an international moratorium on whaling, the Australian government has filed a formal application with the International Court of Justice to stop any whaling in Antarctic waters.
Similar: Australian Broadcasting Company
The Nation: Finding Candidates Who Pass the Ellsberg Test
Today
Summary: Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers whistleblower and closing speaker at GAP's recent Whistleblower National Assembly, is endorsing a candidate for Congress who was a legal researcher for him during the Pentagon Papers trial. The columnist explains what how meaningful an endorsement it is, coming from the patriarch of modern whistleblowing.
Washington Post: Feds Deny Drilling Freeze in Shallow Gulf Water
June 3, 2010
Summary: On Thursday of last week, officials at the Department of the Interior first communicated that the Obama administration was extending the new-offshore drilling moratorium to shallow water rigs (in addition to the six-month moratorium already in place for deepwater rigs). Hours later, other DoI officials announced that the previous statement had been incorrect, and that shallow water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would continue as long as operators meet new standards outlined by Secretary of the Interior Salazar.
McClatchy: BP Well May be Spewing 100,000 Barrels a Day
June 7, 2010
Summary: A scientist and member of the government's “Flow Rate Technical Group” says the spewing oil well may be releasing some 100,000 barrels a day, and that the rate has increased after the failed "top kill" effort last month and since BP severed a pipe in order to install a "top hat" containment device last week.
This post from ProPublica explains that BP may have downplayed the rate of the spill, which, until recently, they were estimating to be 5,000 barrels a day, because it may save them millions of dollars in fines.
ProPublica/NPR: Brain Injuries Remain Undiagnosed in Thousands of Soldiers
Today
Summary: Tens of thousands of American troops with brain injuries have received little or no treatment from the military despite its 2007 pledge to fix problems in treatment and diagnostics.
Beth Adelson is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
