Silenced: Three Whistleblowers TalkThomas DrakeJohn KiriakouJesselyn Radack Before I tell you about the new movie highlighting three famous U.S. whistleblowers that opened in April 2014 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, please know that one of its main characters, CIA-torture-whistleblower John Kiriakou, now in prison, has experienced more harassment at the hands of those in charge at the federal prison in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and a concerted effort is being launched now to spare John Kiriakou any more such treatment. Heres the deal! Friday, May 9th, 2014, is designated as the day of action for John Kiriakou. Instead of my rewriting the story, Id like to cut and paste what I received from Brian Sonenstein at FireDogLake.com regarding what happened to prompt an organized grand-scale, citizen action to get John relief from prison officials harassment: John Kiriakous wife and 3 youngest children left at 5:00 in the morning to drive 210 miles to see him. When they arrived, prison officials told them to leave because the visitation room was too crowded. Johns family only gets to visit once a month, and he writes that, My 7- year-old daughter and 2-year-old son cried all the way out the door. Of course, the room wasnt actually crowded; aside from the fact that his family was among those who had travelled the furthest [sic] to see him, there were plenty of empty seats around the room. But then again, this isnt about, as John writes, the petty daily inconveniences that are a normal part of life here. This is about a conscious effort to punish John Kiriakou for exercising his first amendment rights. On Friday, May 9th, Firedoglake is organizing a Day of Action for John Kiriakou. Were asking supporters to take a moment to drop by the local offices of their elected representatives and ask that they contact the Bureau of Prisons on Johns behalf. Can you pledge to take a moment on May 9th to stop by your representatives local offices? YES, Ill visit my representatives offices in support of John Kiriakou. I cant make it, but I still want to help. The Bureau of Prisons extralegal campaign to punish John Kiriakou for his free speech has gone on for far too long already. Its time to get the BOPs overseers in Congress involved in the fight for Johns fair treatment. Weve come up with a list of members of the House and Senate who we think might be willing to speak to the BOP on Johns behalf. They include members of the Judiciary and Appropriations committees that oversee the BOP; members of the influential Intelligence committees who have recently spoken out in support of whistleblowers and against the torture program John helped expose, and others. A few politicians like Ralph Nader, Rep. Jim Moran and Rep. Lloyd Doggett have already spoken out on Johns behalf, but we need many more to do the same. The Bureau of Prisons could have honored their agreement to move him to a halfway house closer to home for the final 9 months of his sentence. Instead, it has opted to essentially and repeatedly spit in his face, offering him a mere 86 days alongside surprise cell searches, threats of diesel therapy and fruitless attempts to turn fellow prisoners against him. When John began speaking out about the Bureaus shameless dishonesty, prison officials began a campaign of retaliation that has not let up despite direct appeals made by thousands of his supporters. If the Bureau of Prisons wont listen to us, well work to make sure they hear from their overseers in the federal government. From the baseless use of the Espionage act to force him to enter a plea agreement, to the systematic destruction of his life to the unjust abuse he now faces regularly in prison, its no wonder why whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have opted to flee the country. This is what happens when whistleblowers face the music in America. We only have a few weeks left to convince the Bureau of Prisons to grant John Kiriakou his full 9 months in the halfway house. After that, every day he spends in prison is a day he could have been closer to his family had the BOP kept up their end of the deal. Can you pledge to take a moment on May 9th to stop by your representatives local offices? YES, Ill visit my representatives offices in support of John Kiriakou. Please read Johns Letter from Loretto, Bureau of Prisons Throws CIA Torture Whistleblower John Kiriakous Children Out of Visitors Room documenting how his family was treated. The Movie Now to the movie Silencedthat opened to rave reviews. Coincidentally, the day that Im writing this blog, I received a letter from John telling me Tonight [4-20-14] is the premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival of the documentary Silenced, which is about Tom Drake, Jesselyn Radack, and me. I cant wait to read the reviews, and my wife said the early press on the film includes Oscar buzz. In his letter to me, John mentioned that CodePink also have been working on Johns behalf. I signed the petitionCodePink emailed to me. Free Speech Zone with Alyona Mink interviewed the director of Silenced, James Spione and two of the main characters: Thomas Drake and Jesselyn Radack. Of course, John could not be on the interview set although he is spotlighted in Silenced. Johns story is the heart of the film, as hes the one serving time in the federal pen at Loretto, Pennsylvania. The movie tells interesting human stories about the three and what makes them tick. They are intimate stories about what they suffered at the hands of the U.S. government. Whistleblowers must become extinct, according to the federal government! Accordingly, and to make impressionable examples of how whistleblowers are treated, enemies of the state are charged with the Espionage Act that is used as a lever, as in Johns case and it works! During the interview several things are pointed out: Whats happened to the USA? Resources: 2014 Tribeca Film Festival the movie Silenced Naked Edge Films Movie, Silenced Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies.Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting. Catherines latest book,published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Dont Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com. Her 2012 bookA Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook. Two of Catherines more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into Whats Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process(2008). 