Wall Street Journal: SEC Whistleblower’s Identity Exposed
Summary: While investigating a company running a 'dark pool' stock trading platform, the SEC inadvertently revealed the identity of an anonymous whistleblower, when the SEC lawyer showed an executive notes from the whistleblower’s notebook and the executive recognized the handwriting. According to the whistleblower, the company had misled its customers about with whom they were trading.
Associated Press: Discovery of Mad Cow in Calif. Was Stroke of Luck
Summary: The first case of mad cow disease in the U.S. since 2006 was detected in a dead dairy cow in California. USDA officials said the discovery was lucky because only a small portion of dead animals undergo testing and the cow had not shown any outward signs of disease. The state health department said the cow had not been destined for human consumption and that the food supply is safe.
In a related story, Raycom News Network quotes GAP regarding the nature of industrialized food production that breeds diseased animals.
Key Quote: According to the Government Accountability Project, food-borne illness sickens more than 76 million people, causing 725,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.
Sarah Damian, a spokeswoman with the GAP, said in a 2010 op-ed that the problem lies with the enormity and highly mechanized nature of our food production process.
WAN-IFRA: Concerns Raised over Lack of Government Transparency at Bradley Manning Trail
Summary: One of the lawyers for Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of giving classified information to WikiLeaks, says the trial is hindered by the government’s lack of transparency and prosecution failures. This piece mentions GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack’s recent Salon article, which condemned the Obama administration’s prosecution of intelligence whistleblowers under the Espionage Act.
Summary: ATK Launch Systems Inc. will pay $36.9 million to settle a whistleblower complaint alleging that the company sold the military defective illumination flares. It has not yet been decided what percentage the whistleblower will receive.
Judge Orders Jimmy John's to Reinstate Fired Workers
Summary: A federal judge ordered the Jimmy John's sandwich chain to reinstate six workers that were fired last year after exposing company policies that they said force employees to work while sick. GAP's Food Integrity Campaign applauds the move and explains why it's important that food service workers feel safe enough to raise concerns without fear of retaliation.
WLNS TV 6 (MI): ‘Whistleblower’ Receives Settlement in Oil Spill Case
Summary: A former oil spill cleanup worker in Michigan received a settlement on Monday in his whistleblower case in which he alleged that his former employer had been covering up parts of the spill.The whistleblower’s story was chronicled in a three-part series in On Earth magazine. You can read it here.
The Hill: Senate Supporters of Russia Rights Bill Press on Despite Warning
Summary: Despite warnings from the Russian ambassador, several Senators are pressing forward with a Russia human-rights bill that would freeze the assets of Russian officials allegedly involved in the suspicious death of a Russian whistleblower in late 2009.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
