Proposed new DU Group: Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers

[cascadiance]

Sibel Edmonds was recently just gagged in her most recent appeal through our nations' court systems, and in unprecedented fashion once again, by throwing up the "state secrets" reasoning after the judge met privately with government lawyers and hadn't permitted Sibel or her lawyers to attend the discussion that produced that ruling. Her only option now is to appeal to the Supreme Court, and she must do so by August.

As her web site's name indicates ( http://www.justacitizen.com ), she's not continuing her efforts to be heard for personal gain. She's gone out of her way to avoid book or movie deals so that she doesn't get painted with the brush that people like Richard Clarke have been by right wing spinmeisters. This is honorable and smart, and it forces the administration to resort to "gagging" her, instead of smearing her like they do others. This has been done through both the "States Secrets" act and through their friends the corporate media not giving much time in the mainstream press to inform the public of her story. In short, she's crying for grass roots help from the internet to be heard by most of the American people, as David Jenkins also requests us do in this article:

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/062505Jenkins/062505jenkins.html

I'm proposing that we create a new DU Group titled "Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers Group"

Draft Mission Statement:

1. To monitor news events on both Sibel Edmonds, and her newly created National Security Whistleblower's Coalition ( http://www.nswbc.com ) and its members.
2. Discussions and links to other relevant whistleblowers that have information relevant to this administration's policies would also be welcome.
3. Archive links to important Latest Breaking News and other forum threads here for quick reference to those needing an introduction to what various whistleblowers' stories are and the discussions regarding them have been in the past.
4. Links to other web sites that can enable DUers to become more informed and also active in supporting Ms. Edmonds and other whistleblowers in their quests to be heard.
5. Some solicitations for petition campaigns and financial contributions to her legal campaign, etc. would be encouraged if verified to be completely done without interest for personal monetary gain by the submitting party.

This would be done through:

1. Routinely monitoring Google and Yahoo for relevant news story links that would be posted both in other appropriate groups (Latest Breaking News, Editorials, etc.) and links also kept here in this group.
2. Routinely monitoring other DU news groups for relevant articles and having them linked here.
3. Monitoring www.justacitizen.com and www.nswbc.com as well as other important sites that will routinely post whistleblower news and events.
3. Having a FAQ or other introduction sticky thread at the top, with relevant links to sites and threads that will introduce a newbie to the issues and where they can get more background information and look for such in the future.
4. Have an offline member-only Yahoo group which can discuss strategy of certain members that would agree to meet periodically to discuss what should be added/removed from this site and what topics of conversation should be encouraged and discouraged.
5. Contacting Sibel Edmonds to make her aware of what we are doing and preferably get her blessing for what is being done and get her input on things she might want us to be doing with the group in the future.

We need at least 10 paying DU members to sign on here to get this group started. Please indicate your support by responding to this thread. Thanks!

[seemslikeadream]

1. I'm here

http://www.uebersetzerportal.de.nyud.net:8090/bilder2/sibel_edmonds2.jpg

[acmejack]

2. I like it, let's do it!

Her info can seriously damage the junta, IMO. The whistle blowers need all the support we can provide.

[papau]

3. Sign me on!

:-)

[Frederik]

4. You have my support

:toast:

[Mnemosyne]

5. I'll sign!

Sibel ROCKS!

I'm so tired of whistle blowers being punished when they used to be protected. No wonder there haven't been many speaking out against this admin.

The office that used to investigate allegations now punishes even their own whistle blowers and routinely ignores most all of the allegations reported to it! Argh!!!!!!!!!!

[demgurl]

6. Count me in as well. eom

[EVDebs]

7. Count me IN. Edmonds, Rowley, Singh, all of them need protection NOW

Not to mention a site to show how all their work may be vitally connected together re 9-11-01.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021208-secure01.htm

[cascadiance]

8. One other note here...

In reading the DU rules for group creation, we need to make sure all who are signing on here aqree to the mission statement at the top of this thread. If you want changes, please note them here. If not, please indicate that you agree with the mission statement here, as I think that might help us expedite this getting created.

Thanks!

[JohnyCanuck]

9. As a long time admirer of Sibel Edmonds, you can sign me up for sure

Just imagine what it would be like if we had a person with the intelligence, integrity and wherewithal of Sibel Edmonds as President of the USA instead of the empty headed, sock puppet tool of PNAC and corporate interests currently occupying the Oval Office. It's enough to make a person weep.

It's truly mind blowing to see how the bought and paid for corporate whores made an intellectual and integrity-challenged failed businessman and faux-cowbowy into presidential material and promoted his lies about Saddam's WMDs to the hilt while totally downplaying the efforts of Sibel Edmonds and other courageous, on the ball whistle blowers to raise public awareness of significant shortcomings and flaws in the agencies allegedly designed and in place to provide for the security of the people of the United States.

[Frederik]

11. President Edmonds

Cheers to that thought!

:toast:

[cascadiance]

12. Unfortunately Arnie looks too down in the polls now for the Rethugs

to try to pass an ammendment allowing citizens that aren't natural born to be president. Then again, I'm not natural born myself here either, though born of two red-blooded ('er make that blue blooded! ;) ) American citizens!

[JohnyCanuck]

13. Unfortunately I don't think she was born in the USA,

so she couldn't be President, but maybe they'll change that law for Arnold which would leave the door open for Sibel to give the Gropenator a run for his money. Well, no harm in a little day dreaming.

[cascadiance]

14. Hmm... Our brains must run in parallel or something! :)

with almost the exact same thoughts running through them simultaneously prompting the same actions on the same thread! :)

Another suggestion I had in a private email which I'm not sure which way to go on is whether to name the group "Whistleblowers" and have it be more generically focused, or keep the "Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers" group name. I started off wanting to make this a group for Sibel, but saw the need and value for other Whistleblowers to be discussed, especially with her heading up the NSWBC coalition, so I added that to the scope. However, I'm wondering if it just says "Whistleblowers" if it might not get enough "browsing" attention to get the attention we all want it to get from average DU folk! I think especially at this time as she's trying to get attention raised for her campaigning to get on the Supreme Court's docket, she's going to need every bit of grass roots voices we can help her get.

Other thoughts on this?

[Frederik]

18. Edmonds vs. Schwarzenengger 08?

Who would you vote for?

[cascadiance]

23. I definitely wouldn't mind her moving to California here

and kicking his arse out of the Governor's chair in 2006 though!

[silverlib]

10. Definitely for this ....

it's hard to catch all the posts in other forums and keep up with her (and to find history).

Thanks for the suggestion -

[Independent_Liberal]

15. I'm all for it!

:)

[cyberpj]

16. Yes. Sibel's is the best known of Whistleblower cases right now but

there are many others and I believe there is legislation for their protection we should be forcing on this issue to encourage others to come forward.

[cascadiance]

20. I agree that we shouldn't be overemphasizing Sibel to the point...

that we don't give needed attention to other whistleblowers as well. I think this is a generic need. I do think at this point, the two reasons for me to want to include Sibel's name in the group are:

a) Marketing. I don't want to make it sound crass, but a big part of what's needed now is to attract people into a group like this. To get them interested. Certainly want to include Whistleblowers in the name so that this doesn't seem just ilke a "fanboy" club, but we need as many people to trickle in and start getting others to come here too. The name "Sibel Edmonds" is one that many people search to find information on and we want to draw those searchers in.

b) Timing. Sibel and a few others that we should focus on need to get attention for their situations NOW. Some folks will have their situations evolve and become more important, but Sibel's running up against the wall with the court system, and it is critical that that opportunity doesn't get lost. I'm sure that there are others that we need to give special attention to as well now in terms of timing, like any whistleblowers that might need to be given attention with this Karl Rove/Valerie Plame mess.

I would vote that we give sticky threads at the top of the forum to any real pressing whistleblower's issue, which would give prominence to their issues and a FAQ for how to help them out. That way, when someone comes into this forum, they are immediately met with those whistleblowers that we all feel need attention now. Having a seperate sticky thread would also afford different individuals or sets of individuals to partition up responsibilities on who we want to help provide information for.

I think both of the reasons above will at some point not be as important (one would hope!). At some point hopefully we get a big enough group we don't have to worry about "drawing people in" and that the topics discussed and those discussing them will do it for us. And also the need to give attention to certain whistleblower's cases will shift to other's situations moreso as they become more important (i.e. Colleen Rowley's race for Congress in 2006).

At that point, this should become "Whistleblowers" site with a sticky thread for each important whistleblower at the top.

Hopefully we'll also get to the point of having the whistleblowers themselves post info here and interact here, though I think the major focus should be making others aware of their situations, not to try and "siphon" information from them.

Even in our private Yahoo group which we have in the mission statement to help organize this group, I don't want someone like Sibel giving us some info that she shouldn't be and wouldn't be giving the public in terms of intelligence information. If she does that will turn the kind of attention towards this group that shouldn't be given. We should make this mostly about how to empower the whistleblower with the public IMHO, so that they don't have to resort to "book deals", etc. to be heard. We may still get some outside freeper or GOP-controlled force trying to find ways to shut us down, but they'd have a lot harder time justifying that if we keep to these principles.

This group is more about making up for the sorry state of our mainstream media's ineptitude in keeping us the American people informed, and to help we the public to collectively talk about and direct focus on what we feel should be looked at, not to try and "get a scoop" that will put us under scrutiny by the intelligence agencies themselves that we don't want.

[G_j]

17. I'm in also

However, I am concerned about Edmonds threads being
moved from GD, because the 'general public' needs to know
about this issue.
If the mods don't move the threads posted also in GD about
Edmonds and other whistle-blowers, I will sign on.
This is a crucial a subject. I feel it must also be available to 'mainstream' DUers and lurkers in GD.
If that works, then I think this a great idea and would happily support it.

& thanks for putting in this effort!

[cascadiance]

21. G_j also has a good point that we should make it clear to mods...

that we don't want people's threads "moved" to here. It's important that people still put stories in "Latest Breaking News" or "General Discussion - Politics" or "Editorials", etc. so that we keep the larger segment of users still seeing whistleblower's stories come up in the fashion they are used to now. What we need to condition though is to add links to this group when those stories are posted there, so that we have a central navigation point from this group. I will update the mission statement at the top to reflect this if everyone agrees.

It looks like we have a "quorum" of users now to submit a request for the group, once you all answer this question and confirm with me the following requests of what should stay or be changed with the mission statement above:

1. Name of group should be:
a) "Whistleblowers"
b) "Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers" (as is there already)
c) other (please explain)

2. Mods should be directed not to move threads on Sibel Edmonds and whistleblowers here, but we should take responsibility for finding such threads ourselves and adding posts here that point to those threads or encouraging others when they post to other forums to do so themselves whenever possible.
a) yes
b) no

Please answer these two questions and pose any other changes you think are necessary to the mission statement before group creation off of your links here. As soon as I get 10 or more responses with these questions answered, I'll submit the group request.

My votes are:

1 - "b" (perhaps "a" later on when circumstances are right)
2 - "a"

[G_j]

22. votes

1. b) "Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers" (as is there already)

2. a) yes

[JohnyCanuck]

29. I vote 1(b) & 2 (a) as well. n/t

[hootinholler]

19. I'm in n/t

[ngGale]

24. I'm in ...

1. b) "Sibel Edmonds & Other Whistleblowers" (as is there already)

2. a) yes

and voting the same way. Sibel is an 'attention getter' for a topic.
More may follow later after it gets going well.

[Just Me]

25. As long as threads relating to whistleblowers aren't removed from GD,...

,...GDP and LBN, I am a hearty supporter of your proposal. :hi: Whistleblower support and protection is an area of great interest to me.

[Al-CIAda]

27. I will cast a vote in support of this initiative, with this stipulation.

Of course though, I cannot control this. I just find when subforums are created, and ALL posts are relegated to the closet, it marginalizes the topic and it has the effect of becoming less 'visable'.

[Just Me]

30. Precisely my concern. Our whistleblowers need the broad attention,...

,...provided by the LBN, GD and GDP forums. I don't want them "disappeared" off those front pages.

[BamaBecky]

26. I'm all for it!

Bama

[Beam Me Up]

28. I'd like to see this as well. Count me in.

[robertpaulsen]

31. I'm on board!

This is a fantastic idea!

[katty]

32. Good Idea-the timelines with respect to Sibel Edmonds

case and other whistleblowers are pertinent to understanding the genesis, development & current status of each case.