USA Today's Investigation Into 'Blue Wall Of Silence'

In this edition of the "Dissenter Weekly," Kevin Gosztola highlights a major investigation from USA Today that examined the "blue wall of silence" at police departments throughout the United States.

The year-long investigation found cases of retaliation in every type of police department, whether they were majority Black forces or majority white forces. Body cameras and civilian oversight boards did very little to protect whistleblowers from being crushed by their superior officers.

Later in the show, Kevin covers a whistleblower who called into question the work a contract research firm did for Pfizer's COVID-19 Phase III trial. He reacts to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency's (OSHA) plan to rely on whistleblowing workers to enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The show concludes with some good news for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Belmarsh prison and the British government backed down after blocking Assange from marrying Stella Moris. They expect to be married before 2022.

Audio podcast version of "Dissenter Weekly" (available on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify):

This Week's Stories

Major Investigation By USA Today Exposes 'Blue Wall Of Silence' And How Police Crush Whistleblowers

Reporters examined documents from police, sheriff's departments, prosecutors, oversight groups, and regulators throughout the United States and traveled to Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, and Texas to interview officers and survivors of policing. (Source)

Lacking Inspectors, OSHA Will Depend On Whistleblowing Employees To Enforce Vaccine Mandate

OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Labor Department, has an abysmal track record when it comes to handling whistleblower complaints from workers concerned about unsafe and hazardous workplace conditions. Yet it is planning to rely on whistleblowing workers to enforce a vaccine mandate. (Source)

Whistleblower Exposes FDA's Lax Oversight Of Pfizer Vaccine Trial

A former regional director for Ventavia Research Group, which was contracted to work on Pfizer's Phase III vaccine trial, complained to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about issues of methodical and ethical integrity. They were fired immediately after contacting the FDA. (Source)

Aetna Allegedly Engaged In Medicaid Fraud By Not Screening Poor Children, Whistleblower Says

Aetna, a health insurance corporation, allegedly defrauded the state of Pennsylvania and the U.S. government by assigning tens of thousands of low-income children to doctors that were not in the company's network. They then collected Medicaid payments. (Source)

Whistleblower: Veterans And Their Families Improperly Denied GI Bill Benefits

Hundreds of thousands of veterans were potentially impacted as a result of "known gaps" in the Pentagon's system, which prevented veterans from being able to transfer post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits to their children to pay for their college.(Source)