Temat: WHISTLEBLOWER NEWS 2013 – 23.

WHISTLEBLOWER NEWS 2013 – 23. GAP's mission is to promote corporate and government accountability by protecting whistleblowers, advancing occupational free speech, and empowering citizen activists.

Toronto Star: Federal Employee Gag Order 'Shameful,' Say Critics
Summary: The Canadian House of Commons has instituted a new "loyalty agreement" which essentially bans all current and former employees working under Members of Parliament (MPs) from ever revealing information they discover at work to the public. This is a mandated gag order for employees, stopping them from revealing any evidence of wrongdoing by government officials. If an employee is found to be in violation of this agreement, they could be "required to repay any termination pay" and be "subject to 'any other legal or administrative recourse available.'”

Palm Beach Post: Biogenesis Scandal Whistleblower Says Document Theft was Targeted
Summary: A whistleblower involved in the biogenesis/steroid scandal that engulfed Major League Baseball for years has stated he is "positive" that he was targeted for theft after his car was broken into and certain files were stolen.

Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Benefits from SEC Whistleblower Tips
Summary: This article looks at how whistleblower tips to the SEC are shared with the Justice Department, either by the whistleblower or the commission itself.

Associated Press: Japan Parliament Approves Contentious Secrets Law
Summary: Last week, Japan's parliament approved a "state secrets" law which has terrible ramifications for government whistleblowers and the journalists who report on their disclosures. The law allows various government officials to classify "23 vaguely worded types of information related to defense, diplomacy, counterintelligence and counterterrorism." Furthermore, the law mandates 10 years in prison for government "leakers" and journalists can receive up to five years in jail.

New Castle News: AT&T Agrees to Pay $3.5 Million in Whistleblower Case
Summary: AT&T has settled a whistleblower case involving "telephone service to hearing- and speech-disabled people" which were, according to whistleblowers, taken over by Nigerian con artists who "scammed money and merchandise from unsuspecting businesses and individuals." AT&T allegedly failed to correct the problem, instead instructing its workers to put the calls through to vulnerable citizens.

Cyprus Mail: Whistleblowers to be Protected
Summary: Transparency International has announced that it will institute a whistleblower protection and disclosure program on the tiny nation of Cyprus, which will "provide people who want to testify against corruption with guidance, support and anonymity." This announcement comes in the wake of the results of TI's recent corruption perception index, which lists Cyprus as the 31st least corrupt country out of 177.

Seattle Times: Seattle Council To Vote on Stronger Whistleblower Protections
Summary: Later today, the Seattle City Council is slated to approve enhanced whistleblower protections for city employees. The primary change to the existing protections is that allegations of truth-teller retaliation will be investigated by an independent commission, and not the whistleblower's own department.

BofA: The First Step Toward Fixing a Problem is Admitting You Have One
Summary: This piece is the latest blog entry from Michael Winston, a former executive at Countrywide Financial Corporation who blew the whistle on the company's clearly fraudulent activities that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. Winston is writing pieces for GAP regarding both his experience as a truth-teller in the finance industry and the continued lack of accountability enforced by the government toward the officers of large-scale financial institutions.

Full texts: http://www.whistleblower.org/