The Mockery Award, the Fraudulent Club and the Gullible Cheering Crowds by Sibel Edmonds

by Sibel Edmonds
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Originally published by Boiling Frogs Post
May 26, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

A Serious Assault on Transparency & Government Whistleblowers

Have you ever tried standing on your head in order to view the world upside down? What if the world stage before you turns upside-down; will you then have to stand on your head to view it right-side up? You see, we have a fraudulent institution that has been standing on its head, and has been trying very hard to get you to either stand on your head to see what they see or simply look the other way and take their word in describing a totally upside down phenomena as right-side up. Enough for riddle-like communication; let me put it all in perspective for you, ok? I’ll start with the actors:

We have a very typical Washington DC NGO institution posing as a front. As a front, this establishment NGO front sells under the pretense of being an advocate for transparency, open government, and whistleblower protections. It gets over a million dollars in grants from guess who, the establishment-from Rockefeller to Carnegie to George Soros, to pose as a not for profit organization for government whistleblowers. And it has done very well for over two decades – evident by the same grants from the same establishment that keep flowing into it; evident by creating lots of noise while ensuring no feathers are ever ruffled during the process. The Congress loves them, and knows how to do the pretense dance with them very well. The executive branch also loves them, and views them as a predictable and reliable ally that has to sometimes pose as their foe.  More importantly, they are adored by the President who pets them and gives them a bone or two for being the good loyal pets that they are.

We have a President in the White House who indisputably has the worst record in our nation’s history when it comes to the insurers of government transparency- government whistleblowers. We have a President who loves unconstitutional secrecy and baseless-imaginary presidential executive powers to quash transparency and accountability. We have a President who has an utter disdain for First Amendment practices such as peaceful protests. Okay, let me provide you a glimpse of this President’s indisputable record on Anti-Transparency:

The worst president in US history in persecuting, prosecuting and jailing government whistleblowers and truth-tellers: The list of his known whistleblower victims so far includes Thomas Drake , Bradley Manning, and Jeffrey Sterling, but then again, these are only known ones, and the President has been busy going after reporters and forming Grand Juries in order to hunt more.

One of the worst presidents when it comes to invoking baseless and unconstitutional executive secrecy to quash inquiries into secret illegalities: The list of this Presidents’ known invocations of unconstitutional secrecy called State Secrets Privilege so far includes NSL Illegal Wiretapping- Jewel vs. NSA & Shubert vs. Obama, Covering up rendition & assassination case- Anwar al-Aulaqi , Illegal torture case- Binyam Mohamed. Just remember, these are only publicly known and proven cases of this President’s unconstitutional secrecy record. There are many others whose existence has been secret.

The only President who has reenacted Fahrenheit 451 by actually collecting and burning a book with a never-justified secrecy and classification excuse: Lt. Col Tony Shaffer’s book-Operation Dark Heart.

A President who has been a staunch supporter of jailing peaceful protestors on his way to becoming a president who has jailed the largest number of protestors in the last three decades: there have been over two thousand six hundred, 2600, arrests of activists protesting in the US, 670 people in 2011, over 1290 in 2010, and 665 a in 2009.

A President under whom FOIA secrecy has been increasing drastically, and for the first time ever this secrecy’s costs have surpassed $10 billion: FOIA under Obama

To recap we have a President known as the worst president in our nation’s history when it comes to transparency guardians-government whistleblowers; one of the, if not the, worst president, when it comes to using and invoking unconstitutional secrecy and executive privileges to cover up his secret illegal actions and practices; the worst president in the last three decades when it comes to arresting peaceful protestors; the only president who intercepts and burns book(s); the first president to ever surpass the $10 billion dollar threshold in creating and keeping secret documents. Would it be a giant leap to conclude that if not the worst, this President is one of the worst presidents when it comes to being anti-transparency?

Now, ladies and gentleman, this is where the above world stage turns upside down, and does so in secrecy. Less than two months ago,  Project on Government Oversight (POGO), along with four other NGO clowns, put together an award, Anti-Secrecy & Transparency Award, walked to the White House, and presented this award to the worst president when it comes to government whistleblowers & truth-tellers, and unconstitutional executive privileges and secrecy. Wait, that’s not all, they go along with the President to keep the meeting secret.

President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.
The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool.

This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Patrice McDermott of OpenTheGovernment.org, without disclosing the meeting on his public schedule or letting photographers or print reporters into the room.

…

The transparency advocates who presented the award to Obama say that the recognition is important, because despite the work left to be done, Obama has done a lot to change the government’s posture toward openness issues.

…

That’s right. During the worst period ever for government whistleblowers, when they are facing jail and torture, in the midst of Kafkaesque government practices- torture, state secrets privilege, raids on and arrest of peaceful protestors, POGO, a phony NGO that has been milking government whistleblowers’ suffering for decades, goes about appeasing their grant-giving establishment masters and emboldening a ruthless totalitarian president by presenting him with a mockery of an award- Anti-Secrecy & Transparency Award. Maybe less than a few public spectators were permitted to know about and cheer this mockery, but nonetheless, it is a despicable act against all government whistleblowers, and all peaceful protestors who have come under this totalitarian president’s raids and arrests. It is a disgrace to transparency and open the government advocacy. It is an insult to all liberty-loving Americans.

In case you are wondering why I have singled out POGO among the disgraced group of five: I’ve known this organization for years; many government whistleblowers I represent have known and seen through this establishment institution. For years they have sabotaged many of our activities in Congress by making behind the closed door deals with establishment guardian representatives and senators. They have used our cases and names to further their whistleblowers-defeating agenda. They have enriched themselves handsomely by serving their Carnegie-Rockefeller-Soros masters handsomely. More importantly, they have created a false illusion of whistleblowers and transparency advocacy – robbing the public of their trust and assurance. For the last few years I’ve been practicing the excruciatingly painful exercise of ‘biting my tongue’ in the face of their anti whistleblowers and anti public operations, and justifying it under the  ‘prioritizing one’s battles’ mantra. This ridiculous assault they launched against transparency and whistleblowers was the last straw. As it should be for any American who values integrity, transparency and accountability.

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[DS added the videos.]

PressTVGlobalNews on May 26, 2011

According to the Nuclear Resister, arrests at protests have been surging since Obama became President in 2009, with over 2 thousand six hundred political activists arrested. 665 handcuffed and carted off to jail in 2009, 1290 arrested in 2010, and so far this year 670 faced charges of everything from failure to disperse to resisting arrest.

Press TV’s Mike Kellerman reports from Washington

Over 2,600 activists arrested in US protests

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RTAmerica on May 25, 2011

According to the FBI, people scrawling with sidewalk chalk and even those attending documentary screenings of controversial films can pose a threat to Homeland Security. Chicano activist Carlos Montes says this new widespread attack targeted against peace advocates and immigration rights activists is only the newest wave in the federal government’s attempt at silencing the outspoken.

FBI investing in invasiveness of activists

see

When It Comes To Whistleblowers, Obama is the Worst President by Sibel Edmonds

Stephen Kohn: Whistleblowing and the First Amendment, interviewed by Peter B. Collins and Sibel Edmonds

Inside Obama’s “Orwellian World” Where Whistleblowing Has Become Espionage: The Case of Thomas Drake (must-see)