All Things Whistleblower: A GAP Blog

More Bad News from Environmental Reports

In the wake of the discovery that “dead zones” in oceans have grown at alarming rates, a new report shows that arctic sea ice levels are remarkably low. From the Washington Post:

Arctic sea ice has shrunk to the second-lowest level since record-keeping began three decades ago…a revelation underscoring how rapidly climate change is transforming ecosystems in northern latitude.

The extent of Arctic sea ice is now 2 million square miles below the long-term average for Aug. 26…

Besides the obvious long-term effects to humanity of the shrinking ice, wildlife is in immediate trouble:

The shrinking sea ice is increasing the pressure on polar bears in the region: A recent federal aerial survey found nine polar bears swimming in Alaska's Chukchi Sea, with one at least 60 miles from shore….

By comparison, federal scientists spotted a total of 12 polar bears swimming in the open ocean between 1987 and 2003.

Yikes.

-- Dylan Blaylock  

Big Brother IV

In the latest report involving the infringing on privacy and collecting personal information, the government is now collecting and archiving information about U.S. citizens crossing border check points – information that “may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations,” according to the Washington Post.

This report comes just three weeks after another detailing how new policies allow for federal agents to confiscate laptops (and numerous other information “containers”) of ANYONE entering the country, including American citizens. That info can then be shared with other government agencies and private entities.

One wonders if these policies will continue to be in place with a new presidential administration.

- Dylan Blaylock

Salmonella Warning Signs Ignored

It looks like the biggest food illness outbreak in years was preceded by huge warning signs the FDA did nothing about.

This year’s salmonella outbreak, which has been traced to peppers from Mexico, may have been avoided if officials had acted more quickly on clear signs of problems at the U.S. border. According to this AP article, scores of “disease-ridden shipments” of Mexican peppers were turned back at the border this year already. Despite being the most frequently rejected crop by border inspectors (with several shipments found to have salmonella), the FDA did nothing. From the article:

…Food safety advocates question why the agency did not pay more attention to the peppers being stopped at the border and why it took the nation’s largest foodborne illness outbreak for the agency to ratchet up its screening of companies known for shipping dirty chilies.

"If the fact that they were showing up on problem lists for a year doesn't make them high-risk, I don't know what does," said Ami Gadhia, policy counsel with Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "If it's across the board, then that's a systemic problem that FDA needs to be able to nimbly respond to."

Yeah, that’s pretty much right. This is just more of the now-piling evidence that the FDA is incompetent in protecting citizens.

-- Dylan Blaylock

New Whistleblower Protections for 20 Million

Yesterday, President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, enacting law that protects American consumers by, among other ways, providing whistleblower rights to nearly 20 million workers. The legislation provides protections, enforceable by jury trials, to workers connected with the manufacture, distribution, and retail sale of products ranging from toys to clothes, linens, car seats, hardware and household appliances.

Since last October, GAP has led a coalition that swelled to 102 organizations demanding whistleblower rights in this reform.

This reform translates to real protection where it is sorely needed. Examples of safety concerns that workers have been previously fired for, who now would enjoy legal protections against those actions because of the bill, include:

• Smoke detectors that are fire hazards themselves
• Faulty home furnace wiring that sparked fires
• Baby play seats with brittle plastic that could crack and cause fatal falls
• Defectively-designed infant car seats with a greater chance of causing death for some age groups than the car accidents themselves
• Unsafe lighting fixtures whose faulty wiring and insulation could spark shocks or electrocution

-- Dylan Blaylock

GAP Report Details Azeri Privatization-World Bank Corruption

Today GAP filed a report with the U.S. Treasury Department that exposes the World Bank’s role in the widespread corruption surrounding privatization in Azerbaijan during the late 1990’s. The report shows that James Wolfensohn, then president of the World Bank, personally assisted a rogue financier in his efforts to gain control of the country’s state-owned oil company. While these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, documents show that Wolfensohn silenced Bank staff members who spoke out about corrupt government officials working with Viktor Kožený, a notorious financial operator who had allegedly defrauded investors in the Czech Republic of nearly $1 billion only three years earlier.

Throughout the three years Kožený was active in Azerbaijan, Bank staff repeatedly tried to raise their concerns and were silenced Wolfensohn. As a result, investors were swindled out of nearly US$200 million, causing incalculable damage to the country and it’s populace. 

According to GAP President Louis Clark, the lesson not yet learned at the World Bank is a simple one: “Wrongdoers will prevail and their schemes will prosper when those in the know are silenced or choose to remain silent. The questions for World Bank leaders and investor nations are: Why did this happen ten years ago in Azerbaijan, and why is that silence continuing today?”

In response to James Wolfensohn’s contention that World Bank staff members did not warn Azeri officials and others about the risks inherent in an investment with Viktor Kožený, GAP is posting the following documentation:

Letter from Kozeny to Bodmer showing Kozeny team's efforts to affect World Bank opinion

Letter from Chairman of Azerbaijan State Property Committee to Kozeny advising him of World Bank staff member warnings

Letter from Kozeny attorney Andre Wahrenberger to Kozeny attorney Frank Chopin about World Bank staff member allegations against Kozeny

In addition, GAP points out that Johannes Linn, the Vice President of the World Bank cited by Wolfensohn’s spokesman as responsible for verifying Bank staff members’ comments about Kožený, told GAP, when interviewed, that he had “never heard” of Viktor Kožený.

FDA Conflicts of Interest

The FDA has released new guidelines aimed at lessening potential bias and minimizing conflicts of interest when choosing advisors to sit on key drug review panels. Under the new regulations, stockholders in particular drug companies will be allowed only minimal input in decisions concerning those companies. The agency has come under fire repeatedly for its perceived close ties to the drug industry – notably with the Vioxx scandal. But the breadth of this problem is staggering. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The consumer group Public Citizen found in a 2006 study that in 73 percent of the committee meetings from 2001 to 2004, at least one member had a financial conflict such as a grant from the drug company seeking approval of a new medicine.

GAP client Dr. David Graham exposed the danger of Vioxx to the public back in 2004, and was repeatedly targeted and persecuted by FDA officials and advisors who had strong connections with giant pharmaceutical companies.

Nuclear not the Answer

Yesterday presumptive GOP nominee John McCain toured a nuclear plant and discussed his confidence in the safety and efficacy of nuclear power. Not only was the choice of venue bizarre (the plant McCain toured, Enrico Fermi, suffered a partial meltdown in 1966), but McCain’s belief on nuclear power is irresponsible and misinformed. 

Look no further than the Hanford nuclear facility for the major problems with nuclear power. In 2006 GAP exposed dangerous and flagrant mismanagement at Hanford that caused the leak of over one million gallons of radioactive waste into the surrounding environment. This is just one of several devastating problems with Hanford. Not only does nuclear energy pose incredible risks to the communities that house them – everything from radioactive material seeping into the ground, to contaminating water sources, to widespread and devastating human health concerns, but it is also incredibly expensive. McCain’s proposal would guarantee loans of over $18 billion dollars for new reactors, and with the national debt at record levels, taxpayers should have serious concerns about that kind of commitment.

McCain supports the creation of over 45 new nuclear plants by 2030, but he has not come close to adequately addressing concerns about the safety or cost of further developing this energy source. When addressing the current and future energy crisis, America’s leaders have to be more creative and more responsible than that.

Laptops, Cell Phones, Lots More Can Now Be Confiscated at Borders

A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy allows federal agents to confiscate laptops of ANYONE entering the country, including American citizens. Agents can take laptops to an off-site location for as long as they want (in some cases, months) – without any suspicion of wrongdoing!

The policy applies to more than laptops. According to the Washington Post:

The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' "

They can also share any information found on any device with other government agencies and private entities, in cases of “language translation, data decryption and other reasons.” The policy says nothing about protecting sensitive personal medical or financial information.

A USA Today editorial discusses the legal rationale behind this policy. Apparently, border inspections have long been exempted from the 4th Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable search and seizures. However, this exception only applies to "containers". But now laptops fit this classification. From USA Today:

Two federal circuit courts have now held that electronic devices also are, in effect, containers. Perhaps, but most people consider laptops extensions of their homes and offices, not mere containers. Rifling without focus through people's files is hardly the equivalent of searching for drugs or other contraband being brought illegally into the country.

DHS Director Michael Chertoff wrote a response editorial in USA Today attempting to assuage concerns about privacy violations. His argument, in the words of USA Today basically “boiled down to "trust us".”

This administration has a long, sordid history of violating civil rights with under the guise of "national security". Unfortunately for Mr. Chertoff, trust has to be earned.

"Dead Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico

Agricultural pesticide runoff from the Mississippi River has created a "dead zone" - an oxygen deprived area that can't support life - in the Gulf of Mexico.  According to researchers, the zone is currently the size of Massachusetts and grows every year. Nine environmental groups have charged the EPA with failing to set and enforce standards that would have prevented some of the damage, including following through on a 1998 ruling that required states bordering the Mississippi to regulate pollution by 2003.