Summary: According to a whistleblower suit recently filed in Miami, electronics company Siemens AG and the Argentinean government conspired to retaliate against a whistleblower who exposed alleged bribery schemes. It is alleged that the company and bribed officials hired “mercenaries” to beat the whistleblower, as well as threaten to kill him, kidnap him and burn down his house, after he had started investigating the bribery concerns.
Courier-Journal (KY): Whistleblower Who Revealed US Waste in Iraq Speaks at IdeaFestival
Summary: State Department whistleblower and GAP client Peter Van Buren spoke over the weekend at the IdeaFestival in Lexington, Kentucky about the unnecessary spending and mishandling of the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
Summary: This op-ed focuses on the need for more social services whistleblowers who will expose child abuse, especially that of tribal children. This comes after a New York Times article from last week that detailed how the federal government had taken over the social service programs of the Spirit Lake reservation in North Dakota following whistleblower revelations of pervasive and under-investigated child sexual abuse.
Leak Hypocrisy: UAE Gets It, Why Doesn’t US?
Summary: GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack praises a recent piece from The National, the English newspaper of the United Arab Emirates, that criticized the US government for failing to prosecute government officials involved in torture, but then prosecuting former CIA officer and torture whistleblower John Kirakiou under the Espionage Act.
Courier-Post (NJ): Lucent to Pay Whistleblower
Summary: Telecommunications company Lucent will pay $4.2 million to settle a whistleblower suit that alleged the company failed to properly test a 911-style emergency response system in Iraq. The company had been awarded a US Army contract to build the system for Baghdad and several other cities.
Associated Press: Cases of Stolen Public Money on the Rise in SC
Summary: Local corruption cases are on the rise in South Carolina, according to data from state law enforcement. The article cites the state’s lack of effective whistleblower law as a possible primary reason.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
