SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Jana Kasperkevic writes at The Guardian that it’s not every day that you get to buy an iPhone from an ex-NSA officer. Yet Thomas Drake, former senior executive at National Security Agency, is well known in the national security circles for leaking information about the NSA’s Trailblazer project to Baltimore Sun. In 2010, the government dropped all 10 felony charges against him and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for unauthorized use of a computer and lost his livelihood. “You have to mortgage your house, you have to empty your bank account. I went from making well over $150,000 a year to a quarter of that,” says Drake. “The cost alone, financially — never mind the personal cost — is approaching million dollars in terms of lost income, expenses and other costs I incurred.”
John Kiriakou became the first former government official to confirm the use of waterboarding against al-Qaida suspects in 2009. “I have applied for every job I can think of — everything from grocery stores to Toys R Us to Starbucks. You name it, I’ve applied there. Haven’t gotten even an email or a call back,” says Kiriakou. According to Kasperkevic, this is what most whistleblowers can expect. The potential threat of prosecution, the mounting legal bills and the lack of future job opportunities all contribute to a hesitation among many to rock the boat. "Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, declared a war on whistleblowers virtually as soon as they assumed office," says Kiriakou. "Washington has always needed an "ism" to fight against, an idea against which it could rally its citizens like lemmings. First, it was anarchism, then socialism, then communism. Now, it's terrorism. Any whistleblower who goes public in the name of protecting human rights or civil liberties is accused of helping the terrorists."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by frojack on Sunday September 28 2014, @04:35AM
With probably one of the most corrupt Attorney General of all time resigning, (can we have Ed Meese back please), you have to just how eager the replacement will be to fall on his sword for Obama.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday September 28 2014, @04:36AM
just have to wonder.
Proof reading fail.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Sunday September 28 2014, @07:18PM
Really? Of all time? I mean, I get that his protection of banks and going after whistleblowers and invasions of privacy are no good, but consider his "illustrious" company (and I'm just going from off the top of my head here):
- Alberto Gonzales: Torture is just fine, locking people up forever without trying them is just fine, but I don't remember anything about that criminal conspiracy I was almost definitely involved in.
- John Ashcroft: Rounding up and locking up several thousand people who haven't committed any crimes is just fine, but let's make sure nobody has a chance to talk to the nice bin Laden family before they leave the country. Approved spying on everybody in America without any kind of warrant.
- Janet Reno: You might remember that little dust-up in Waco, TX. Also some files that went mysteriously missing that were thought to implicate Bill Clinton in something.
- Edwin Meese: Involved in an oil pipeline scandal in Iraq that I'm sure had nothing to do with why the US government was so interested in that country.
- John Mitchell: Managed Richard Nixon's campaign slush fund, used to pay for Watergate and all the related scandals.
- A. Mitchell Palmer: Inflicted J Edgar Hoover on everyone else. Imprisoned thousands of people for being members of the wrong organizations or having the wrong political opinions.
I never put much stock in claims of "The worst ______ of all time". For example, the worst US president of all time was probably neither Barack Obama nor George W Bush, but either James Buchanan (who stood by carefully doing nothing useful while the country split itself in two) or James Madison (who managed to lose control over the US capital city).
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.