Justice Department Report Notes Defense Department Sucks At Protecting Whistle Blowers
from the interesting-timing... dept
As large segments of the US government go ballistic over the Wikileaks issue — potentially caused by a military whistleblower — is it any surprise to find out that the government is admitting it sucks at protecting whistleblowers? The Justice Department has put out a report saying that the Defense Department has pretty much failed in its effort to protect whistleblowers in the military. The report also found that the military has also seen nearly double the amount of “retaliations” for whisleblowing as it had in the past.
Of course, what’s most interesting about this is that this is the sort of thing that leads to situations like Wikileaks. If the Defense Department can’t protect whistleblowers who go through the official process to report problems, those whistleblowers are going to go to third parties… like Wikileaks.
Filed Under: defense department, justice department, whistleblowers, wikileaks
Comments on “Justice Department Report Notes Defense Department Sucks At Protecting Whistle Blowers”
Time for us Americans to face facts...
This is not the organization we want to administer health care benefits for all 350 Million of us. Seriously.
Re: Time for us Americans to face facts...
Which? The Justice Department, or the Defense Department?
What?
What?
The Defense Department; no, I guess now.
Help?
Whao and what, exactly, are these whistleblowers? I just want to be a bit more informed; Plz don’t troll.
Sorry, who, not whao
Re: whois
DOD says: http://www.oig.dot.gov/whistleblower-protection
Who is protected?
Employees of non-federal employers receiving recovery funds, including State and local governments, contractors, subcontractors, grantees or professional membership organizations acting in the interest of recovery fund recipients.
What are whistleblowers protected from?
Covered employees are protected from being discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for making a protected disclosure.
What kinds of disclosures are protected?
To be protected, the disclosure must be made by the employee to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, an Inspector General, the Comptroller General, a member of Congress, a state or federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a person with supervisory authority over the employee, a court or grand jury, or the head of a federal agency or his/her representatives.
In addition, the disclosure must involve information that the employee believes is evidence of:
?gross mismanagement of an agency contract or grant relating to recovery funds;
?a gross waste of recovery funds;
?a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of recovery funds;
?an abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of recovery funds; or
?a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to an agency contract or grant awarded or issued relating to recovery funds.
Re: Re: whois
What is that suppose to mean?(honest question)
You keep using that word . . . I don't think it means what you think it means...
Usually, “whistleblowing” at least implies that there is wrongdoing of some sort being brought to light.
With Wikileaks, while some of the cables and other leaks indicate at least possible wrongdoing, the vast majority of it doesn’t seem to be “wrong” at all – just secret. And, in many cases, secret for good reason. It doesn’t make sense that some analyst’s assessment of a foreign leader should be subject to public disclosure. It doesn’t really help for polite relations with your neighbor if your kid tells him you think he’s an idiot, so why would it be helpful in the context of international relations?
And it’s sort of odd that Assange was hiding in a club for journalists. In what sense is merely posting a bunch of secret stuff – with no analysis or discretion – “journalism”?
HM
You keep using that word . . . I don't think it means what you think it means...
Usually, “whistleblowing” at least implies that there is wrongdoing of some sort being brought to light.
With Wikileaks, while some of the cables and other leaks indicate at least possible wrongdoing, the vast majority of it doesn’t seem to be “wrong” at all – just secret. And, in many cases, secret for good reason. It doesn’t make sense that some analyst’s assessment of a foreign leader should be subject to public disclosure. It doesn’t really help for polite relations with your neighbor if your kid tells him you think he’s an idiot, so why would it be helpful in the context of international relations?
And it’s sort of odd that Assange was hiding in a club for journalists. In what sense is merely posting a bunch of secret stuff – with no analysis or discretion – “journalism”?
HM
Re: While we're on the subject of not knowing what words mean...
From wikipedia:
“Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues, and trends to a broad audience. Although there is much variation within journalism, the ideal is to inform the citizenry.”
Sounds like a pretty accurate description of wikileaks to me. If you wanted analysis you would go to a pundit, not a journalist.