Sept. 1, 2007:
New rules would turn back volunteers in emergencies| |
Excerpt: In an effort to provide better control and coordination, the federal government is launching an ambitious ID program for rescue workers to keep everyday people from swarming to a disaster scene.
Comment: This might sound hokey but, criminy -- we have to rely on each other. That's the essence of what society is, and it's beyond bonkers to try to make it illegal for people to help each other in a life-and-death situation.
And hello? If there's any lesson to be learned from recent catastrophes, it's that you can't count on government to be there in an emergency. Anyone who doesn't understand that should stroll through the ruins of New Orleans ... Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
July 31, 2007:
Bush-Cheney admits much more spying on
Americans than previously acknowledged| |
Excerpt: The Bush administration's chief intelligence official said yesterday that President Bush authorized a series of secret surveillance activities under a single executive order in late 2001. The disclosure makes clear that a controversial National Security Agency program was part of a much broader operation than the president previously described.
Comment: If these anti-American monsters are not impeached and brought to justice, then everything we've always been told about the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the glory of democracy and the rule of law -- all of it -- is just plain bull, and America is over. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
July 28, 2007:
U.S. and E.U. agree to track air passengers' racial-ethnic origin, political opinions, religious-philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health, traveling partners, and sexual orientation| |
Excerpt: The deal, signed yesterday by the United States and approved Monday in Europe, provoked alarm from privacy and civil-liberties groups on both sides of the Atlantic. "What Americans should be concerned about is it is now here in black and white: The government will maintain a database of all travelers - including travelers of U.S. citizenship, including people who are believed to be no risk or threat . . . the government will maintain that and data-mine it," said Jim Dempsey, policy director for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based advocacy group.
Peter Hustinx, the E.U.'s privacy supervisor, expressed "grave concern" over the plan, which he said is "without legal precedent." He wrote to E.U. officials on June 27, "I have serious doubts whether the outcome of these negotiations will be fully compatible with European fundamental rights."
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff praised the pact as an "essential screening tool for detecting potentially dangerous transatlantic travelers." If available at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Chertoff said, such information would have, "within a matter of moments, helped to identify many of the 19 hijackers by linking their methods of payment, phone numbers and seat assignments." |
June 8 , 2007:
Court rules cops can steal cars and lie to victims to conduct a warrantless search| |
Excerpt: Using wiretaps and surveillance, the DEA learned that Alverez-Tejeda was using the leader's car to transport illicit drugs. The agents then decided to stage something, perhaps even a carjacking, in order to seize the drugs without tipping off the conspirators. They never consulted a judge, but every person in the story, other than Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend, was a cop of some sort. |
May 24, 2007:
Bush prepares to seize absolute power in 'emergency'| |
Excerpt: It's President Bush's newest plans for dealing with a "catastrophic emergency", and in it he entrusts himself with leading not just the Executive Branch, but the entire federal government! ...
The complete text of the plan (it's seven pages long and is written in excruciating legal-ese) is on the White House website. If you think I'm over-reacting, I dare you to read it. |
May 23, 2007:
'War on terror' destroys lives worldwide, says Amnesty Int'l| |
Excerpt: "Today far too many leaders are trampling freedom and trumpeting an ever-widening range of fears: fear of being swamped by migrants; fear of “the other” and of losing one’s identity; fear of being blown up by terrorists; fear of “rogue states” with weapons of mass destruction," AI secretary general Irene Khan said and added that "the approach being taken by many world leaders is short-sighted, promulgating policies and strategies that erode the rule of law and human rights, increase inequalities, feed racism and xenophobia, divide and damage communities, and sow the seeds for violence and more conflict." |
April 26, 2007:
Justice Dept asks appeals court to curtail attorney access for Guantanamo prisoners| |
Excerpt: Under the proposal, filed this month in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the government would limit lawyers to three visits with an existing client at Guantánamo; there is now no limit. It would permit only a single visit with a detainee to have him authorize a lawyer to handle his case. And it would permit a team of intelligence officers and military lawyers not involved in a detainee's case to read mail sent to him by his lawyer ...
Comment: Why are fair trials out of the question? Because there isn't enough evidence to prove that these prisoners are guilty. To find them guilty, American standards of justice must be lowered further and further, bit by bit -- a little like dancing the limbo -- until the new standards of justice been lowered so far that it's impossible to squeeze under it. |
April 20, 2007:
Bush-Cheney database tracks your drug prescriptions| |
Excerpt: Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.
Comment: We don't even have a list of gun owners, and we have a list of everyone who has been prescribed anti-depressants? And in fact, the article suggests that this isn't just a database of patients who use anti-depressants, it's a federal database of every prescription drug you've ever bought.
Bush administration is prying into your medical records
Excerpt: The database was created pursuant to a 2005 law that was intended to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs. Funny that this massive new database of your private medical information is now being (ab)used for a purpose that wasn't intended in or approved by the law.
The federal database of your private medical information is now being used by federal law enforcement to investigate crimes that have nothing to do with prescription drug abuse. We know this because yesterday ABC News disclosed that the feds checked the database to see what prescription meds the Virginia Tech shooter might have been on. How does the mass murder of students and faculty at Virginia Tech have anything to do with prescription drug abuse? It doesn't. |
April 19, 2007:
Bush-Cheney administration tried to curb election turnout in key states| |
Excerpt: For six years, the Bush administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates, according to former department lawyers and a review of written records.
Comment: There's virtually nothing in this article that's news, to people who've been following the Bush-Cheney administration's profoundly anti-democracy policies on so many fronts.
It's also not news that this reprehensible attempt to suppress voter turnout has, by and large, been successful.
What's news here, is only that it's made the news. |
April 14, 2007:
Russians take to the streets, show what
might have once been called 'American spirit' | |
Comment: Why should this be "newsworthy" in Amerika? Because, like the Russians, we don't have the right to hold marches or rallies without permits from the authorities.
The Russian police -- telling protesters where they can or can't gather, beating protesters with nightsticks and fists, arresting them by the hundreds -- aren't behaving like nasty Communists. They're living up to the proud standards of American freedoms ... they're like NYPD-lite! |
April 6, 2007:
Police raid finds tomato growing operation| |
Excerpt: Guns drawn, police serving a marijuana search warrant at a Pullman apartment found green leafy plant material. It just wasn't the kind they normally find in residences in the college town.
It was tomato plants.
Comment: In America, your home can be raided by police, solely because it's alleged that you possess a heat lamp for growing plants -- an item so common it's sold in virtually all hardware stores, garden shops, at Target stores, etc. |
March 23, 2007:
Anonymous American fights extralegal gag order| |
Excerpt: Three years ago, I received a national security letter (NSL) in my capacity as the president of a small Internet access and consulting business. The letter ordered me to provide sensitive information about one of my clients. There was no indication that a judge had reviewed or approved the letter, and it turned out that none had. The letter came with a gag provision that prohibited me from telling anyone, including my client, that the FBI was seeking this information. Based on the context of the demand -- a context that the FBI still won't let me discuss publicly -- I suspected that the FBI was abusing its power and that the letter sought information to which the FBI was not entitled. |
Feb. 23, 2007:
Canadian border closed to many or most Americans| |
Excerpt: Welcome to the new world of border security. Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past -- sometimes their distant past -- is suddenly an issue. ...
It isn't as if rules have stiffened. But what has changed is the way the information is gathered. In the wake of 9/11, Canada and the United States formed a partnership that has dramatically increased what Lesperance calls "the data mining'' system at the border.
The Smart Border Action Plan, as it is known, combines Canadian intelligence with extensive U.S. Homeland Security information. The partnership began in 2002, but it wasn't until recently that the system was refined.
"They can call up anything that your state trooper in Iowa can,'' Lesperance says. "As Canadians and Americans have begun cooperating, all those indiscretions from the '60s are going to come back and haunt us.'' |
Feb. 16, 2007:
U.S. Congressman calls for war critics to be hung| |
Comment: The right-wing has taken their argument to its logical conclusion: a blatant call to begin the round-up and execution of anyone who speaks against
|
Jan. 4, 2007:
Bush "signing statement" claims power to read Americans' mail without warrant| |
Comment: This is part of a pattern, a Bush-Cheney habit of ignoring the Constitution. And it's grounds yet again for immediate impeachment, arrest, and imprisonment of George W Bush, Dick Cheney, and Alberto Gonzales Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Dec. 27, 2006:
US says "extraordinary renditions" are over, but the evidence says otherwise| |
Excerpt: The US is telling its overseas allies that it has stopped "extraordinary renditions" and needs their help to empty Guantánamo's prison cells. But human rights groups dispute this assertion and a question mark hangs over 200 "war on terror" detainees who could be held indefinitely without trial. |
Dec. 14, 2006:
Judicial victory for tyranny:
Court upholds permanent prison based on Presidential whim| |
Excerpt: The first court decision to interpret and apply the legislative atrocity known as the "Military Commissions Act of 2006" was issued yesterday in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The decision was a major victory for the Bush administration's attempt to vest the President with the power to imprison individuals -- even for life -- without according them any meaningful opportunity to contest the validity of their imprisonment.
The district court ruled that (1) the MCA successfully stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions filed by "war on terrorism" detainees, and (2) under controlling Supreme Court precedent, "enemy aliens" who have no substantial connection to the U.S. (i.e., never resided inside the U.S.) have no constitutional right to seek habeas corpus review. As a result, the court dismissed the case of the Guantanamo detainee seeking habeas review here and, in essence, upheld the Bush administration's power to detain such "enemy combatants" forever while denying the detainees all access to our courts. |
Dec. 10, 2006:
High-tech totalitarianism is on its way
by Kevin Haggerty, Toronto Star| |
Excerpt: What might Hitler, Mao or Milosevic have accomplished if their citizens were chipped, coded, and remotely monitored? |
Nov. 27, 2006:
America's free press hangs in the balance| |
Excerpt: "It is not limited to the press," said Eve Burton, general counsel at the Hearst Corporation. "If you look at the briefs they have filed all over the country, whether it is N.S.A. or wiretapping, or leaks to the press, everybody and everything that relates to the rights of the individual, they would like to have the right to make whatever decisions they want about whoever they want whenever they want."
And because the same administration that makes the laws selects the judges, this shift represents more than just one swing of the pendulum. What will be lost, she believes, are the kind of investigations where confidential sources play a critical role.
"You won't get the Watergate story, you won't get the Pentagon Papers," she said. |
Nov. 21, 2006:
What will you do when the government demands your laptop?
by Mark Nestmann, Preserving Your Privacy and More| |
Excerpt: Courtesy of a decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Customs officials can seize and copy the contents of any laptop carried across a U.S. border. There's no arrest, warrant or probable cause required -- just "gimme."
If you’re a defense attorney, your most confidential client files may wind up in the hands of government prosecutors. If you’re a political opponent of the Bush administration, your correspondence and the names and addresses of everyone you’ve contacted can now be used against you to support a “terror” investigation. |
Nov. 17, 2006:
US will spend $125-million to construct kangaroo courthouse at Guantanamo| |
Excerpt: A total of some 70 detainees are expected to be charged under the new law, military officials have said.
Comment: Spending $125-million for 70 trials is extravagant even by US Military standards.
Or are there provisions in Bush's new "second class justice system" we haven't been told about? UselessEater PERMANENT LINK |
Nov. 14, 2006:
Defendants found not guilty are still punished| |
Excerpt: From the public’s perspective, most people would be shocked to find out that even United States citizens can be (and routinely are) punished for crimes of which they were acquitted. |
Nov. 12, 2006:
Feds relax safeguards on DNA evidence| |
Excerpt: The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently opened its forensic DNA database of felony offenders and certain other arrestees to allow states to share information that does not exactly match blood, semen or other crime scene evidence but may come close enough to finger a relative.
Comment: What is the assumption of innocence worth, when one person is always a suspect, for the rest of his or her life, because a brother, sister, uncle or cousin once committed a crime? Helen & Harry Highwater PERMANENT LINK
|
Nov. 4, 2006:
Bush-Cheney asks court to silence torture victims| |
Comment: You will be tortured, without trial. And if you survive, and if you're ever released, you will not be allowed to talk about how you were tortured. State secrets, you understand. NAME PERMANENT LINK |
Nov. 3, 2006:
US plans to screen all who enter, leave country | |
Comment: The first few paragraphs of this article report that screening is "planned" -- but everything after the first few paragraphs suggests that the screening system is already in place and being used.
Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Oct. 25, 2006:
Cheney confirms torture of prisoners| |
Excerpt: Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning.
Comment: Patriots weep at what Cheney and Bush have so easily accomplished in six short years. Would you have imagined, in 2000, that torture would be America's national policy, and that fine-line imagined distinctions between what is and isn't torture would be an ordinary subject of political conversation? Sweet frickin' jeebers, this is the nation America has become. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Oct. 20, 2006:
Bush-Cheney administration tells courts they'll no longer be needed| |
Comment: The day after Bush signed legislation that, among other atrocities, allows the President to pull the plug on habeas corpus whenever he wishes, the Bush-Cheney administration sent a memo to the court system, and it boils down to "Screw you." Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Oct. 14, 2006:
Man arrested after 9/11 held five years without charges| |
Comment: For one thousand, eight hundred and fifty-eight days and nights (as of today) this man has been held without being charged with any crime. Tomorrow will be another day he'll spend in jail.
Now that we're ignoring the Constitution, Ali Partovi could be any of us, Democrat or Republican, American or foreigner, man, woman, or child ...
Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Oct. 15, 2006:
Judge tells jurors to trust FBI without evidence
by Joan Fucillo, Albany [NY] Times-Union| |
Excerpt: ... under the current regulations, jurors could neither hear nor consider the evidence that prompted the sting operation in the first place. The validity of the FBI's "suspicions" must be taken on faith.
Comment: Only a kangaroo court accepts "secret evidence." Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Oct. 13, 2006:
Secret Service questions 14-year-old over MySpace posting | |
Comment: My suggestion to readers: Print out this story and bring it up at Thanksgiving dinner when some dumb relative pooh-poohs claims that the government is watching every little thing we say and do. ... MORE ...
Herb Ruhs, MD PERMANENT LINK |
Sept. 29, 2006:
America cancelled:
U.S. citizens can be held for no reason, forever | |
Comment: That headline -- America cancelled -- sounds like hyperbole, like crazy talk, like tinfoil hat time. But it is absolutely 100% true:
The White House can declare any U.S. citizen an enemy combatant. And they can hold any enemy combatant indefinitely, without trial, without any court oversight, indefinitely.
The right to question the people imprisoning you, which has been a cornerstone of the rule of law for hundreds of years, has been repealed. And not just for a couple of hundred "bad guys" being held in Cuba, but for every single American reading this.
This law passed in both houses of Congress, which means we are one Supreme Court justice away from ... what?
What can you even call this?
What in the hell is being done to our country??? Madeline Zane PERMANENT LINK |
Sept. 24, 2006:
Arch-conservatives ponder blocking access to birth control| |
Comment: No-one who's honest with themselves can be surprised. Certainly no-one who's talked with more than a few "pro-life" protesters can be surprised.
Anti-abortion activists believe in forcing women to go through pregnancy and childbirth against their will. And for a lot of these nutcakes, their rhetoric about saving "babies" is bull.
They're against abortion because they want birth to be the punishment for sex. They're simply against sex -- unless it leads to birth. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Sept. 17, 2006:
14,000 held in US secret prisons| |
Comment: Here's what the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War has to say about secret prisons:
From Article 23: "Detaining Powers shall give the Powers concerned, through the intermediary of the Protecting Powers, all useful information regarding the geographical location of prisoner of war camps."
Has America done this? No — and it's a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
From Article 70: "Immediately upon capture, or not more than one week after arrival at a camp, even if it is a transit camp, likewise in case of sickness or transfer to hospital or another camp, every prisoner of war shall be enabled to write direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in Article 123, on the other hand, a card similar, if possible, to the model annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives of his capture, address and state of health. The said cards shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in any manner."
Has America done this? No — and it's a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
The existence of secret prisons is simply and inarguably illegal. The subject was decided in 1949, when American officials signed the document. But things like international law matter little to Bush and Cheney. They hold themselves above all laws of men or God.
"We do not torture," Bush lies over and over again — we only use "harsh interrogation" and "tactics we cannot reveal." The Geneva Conventions, though, leave no room for such silly wordplay.
From Article 17: "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."
Compare the plainly written rules of international law to what you know goes on in these secret prisons, to what you know is being done with Bush-Cheney's OK.
Perhaps more importantly, compare what you know is happening to your own sense of right, wrong, and conscience.
"These are enemy combatants who are waging war on our nation," says the American President. "We have a right under the laws of war, and we have an obligation to the American people, to detain these enemies and stop them from rejoining the battle."
How easily Bush and Cheney claim an alleged "right under the laws of war", while holding prisoners in secret and subjecting them to torture in clear and obvious violation of those same laws of war.
When will Americans grow weary of having war criminals in the White House?
When will Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld be hauled away in irons, to face trial at the Hague for what they've done?
Soon, I pray — and never, I know.
When will Americans stand up and demand some shred of human decency from their leaders? We'd better demand it soon, or it's only a matter of time before these tyrants turn their tactics of terror and torture onto Americans. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Sept. 11, 2006:
Americans under gag orders "for the rest of their lives"| |
Excerpt: There were 150,000 letters issued up to the date the revisions to the PATRIOT Act were made, Chase said, and he and the other three plaintiffs were the only people out of possibly thousands who had their gag orders lifted.
The rest may be under gag orders for the rest of their lives.
A new provision under the renewed version of the PATRIOT Act allows individuals to challenge gag orders placed on them; however the government is still able to prevail almost indefinitely if they claim something is necessary due to national security. |
Sept. 8, 2006:
New Guantanamo "trials" still rigged — plan includes secret evidence, tortured testimony| |
Comment: The Supreme Court has told the White House twice now that they have to give the Guantanamo prisoners real trials.
Bush-Cheney's reaction? Propose legislation to set up yet another, slightly different but still wildly unfair system of "military tribunals," this time with hopes of Congressional approval, as if that would make it any less evil.
They know damn well that a "trial" that allows secret evidence and torture-driven confessions is unconstitutional, but they also know that they only have to keep up this back-and-forth game with the courts for two more years, or until they can get another neofacist on the Supreme Court, whichever comes first.
Although I have to say, the pushback that the White House is getting on this from top military lawyers and even some GOP lawmakers is making me downright giddy. Madeline Zane PERMANENT LINK |
Sept. 6, 2006:
Government's spy networks make privacy a thing of the past| |
Excerpt: Dozens of federal agencies have already created "data marts" and "data warehouses" to store their data for mining. One data mart at the Department of Homeland Security's Border and Transportation Security Directorate stores incident reports from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on everything from traffic tickets to firearm possession. Another one at the FBI stores terrorism-specific data from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the public sector.
At the same time, federal government agencies are also developing data-mining programs to troll through other departments' data marts. The Defense Intelligence Agency's Verity K2 Enterprise mines data from other intelligence agencies' databases. So does the Department of Energy's Autonomy program, which checks other agencies' data for patterns that threaten "DOE assets." Even the Food and Drug Administration has data marts planned, as well as a program that tracks federal, state and local reports of adverse reactions to food, cosmetics and dietary supplements. |
Sept. 1, 2006:
Walt Disney World fingerprints visitors| |
Excerpt: Disney is now fingerprinting visitors to Walt Disney World as part of its ticket-fraud prevention scheme. They're not being very transparent about it, either: there are no signs posted about the data collection or retention...
Now that our national immune system has begun to attack us in a terrible anaphylactic spasm — indiscriminate NSA wiretaps, meaningless TSA security theater, secret aviation rules and no-fly lists, "free speech zones," suspension of habeas corpus and all the rest — it's absolutely irresponsible to gather this kind of information and leave it where the savage toddlers of the national security apparat might find it and wreak havoc with it.
For me, the worst part of this is that it conditions us to get used to being treated like crooks. If you were asked for a fingerprint when you bought a doughnut, you'd rightly leave the store. Why should an amusement park get a walk? |
Aug. 29, 2006:
Ohio plans to punish people
for being accused of sex crimes| |
Excerpt: A recently enacted law allows county prosecutors, the state attorney general, or, as a last resort, alleged victims to ask judges to civilly declare someone to be a sex offender even when there has been no criminal verdict or successful lawsuit.
The rules spell out how the untried process would work. It would largely treat a person placed on the civil registry the same way a convicted sex offender is treated under Ohio's so-called Megan's Law. |
Aug. 26, 2006:
US won't let citizens return to America| |
Excerpt: Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.
Federal authorities said Friday that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan.
... "We haven't heard about this happening -- U.S. citizens being refused the right to return from abroad without any charges or any basis," said Julia Harumi Mass, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
... "They can't be compelled to waive their constitutional rights under threat of banishment," Mass said. "The government is conditioning the return to their home on cooperation with law enforcement." |
Aug. 24, 2006:
Judge: All journalists can be spied on without warrants| |
Excerpt: Journalism took another hit yesterday when a federal judge ruled the government could legitimately tap the phones of anyone handling "material that is not generally available to the public." As one observer noted, that's just what a free press traffics. "If the press could only report on 'information generally available to the public,' there would be no need for a press," secrecy expert Steven Aftergood told JTA. |
Aug. 18, 2006:
Republican terror tactics losing appeal, polls suggests| |
Comment: For the first time in decades, the GOP does not poll better than Democrats on security issues.
And all they had to do was dismantle all government emergency services, divert all security funding to their rich friends, stop participating in international diplomacy, adopt an official policy of invading countries pre-emptively, completely decimate the military, and declare that the U.S. an enemy to every single member of the largest religion on the planet.
And all this gets them into A TIE with the Democrats.
Does Cheney have to personally launch nuclear attacks on all major U.S. cities live on Fox News before Americans realize that the White House is putting us all in more danger than any foreign enemy ever could?
Madeline Zane PERMANENT LINK |
Aug. 8, 2006:
ACLU challenges warrantless ISP and library searches| |
Excerpt: Civil-liberties defenders will renew their court challenge to a special subpoena power built into anti-terrorism law that permits the FBI to scour library and Internet service provider files without search warrants.
The practice is allowed under "national security letters," a power recently reauthorized in the 2001 law known as the USA PATRIOT Act. The law bars recipients of the letters from disclosing the requests to anyone.
Comment: When these eavesdropping programs and "national security letters" and "gag provisions" and redacted rulings are finally ordinary and accepted, America will be over. We'll be living in a police state.
So long as the ACLU and a few good people — perhaps you? — stand against such outrages, a slim sliver of hope for freedom remains.
Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
Aug. 4, 2006:
Justice Dept threatens lawsuit to block Maine
from investigating federal eavesdropping | |
Excerpt: The Bush administration is threatening to sue if Maine regulators decide to investigate whether Verizon Communications illegally turned over customer information to the National Security Agency.
Comment: This is what happens when we let criminals control the federal justice system. Bush, Cheney, Gonzales — impeach and imprison all of them.
Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
July 28, 2006:
Bush proposes clearly unconstitutional bill that would
skip courts, send Americans to prison without trial| |
Excerpt: "In a time of ongoing armed conflict, it is neither practicable nor appropriate for enemy combatants like al Qaeda terrorists to be tried like American citizens in federal courts or courts-martial," the proposal states.
Comment: With all due respect, Mr President — which is zero — kiss my all-American ass.
We have a system of justice. It is flawed indeed, but generally speaking, it works. And it is not going to be ripped asunder by this madman administration. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
July 28, 2006:
UN Human Rights Committee tells US to close secret prisons| |
Comment: I never thought I'd see the day when United States would be found in violation of human rights by the UN, rendered to the same status as nations like Uganda and Burma. This is a sad day indeed. Ilari R. PERMANENT LINK |
July 25, 2006:
This 'war on terror' disgraces America
by James Bovard, The Boston Globe
| |
Excerpt: The federal government has inflated the "No Fly List" to 200,000 names. But the list has nabbed more members of Congress than it has terrorists. US Senator Edward M. Kennedy and US Representative John Lewis have been inconvenienced by it, and anyone named David Nelson is likely to face a major interrogation each time he flies. Federal officials make it very difficult to correct the list, thus tormenting citizens who are guilty of nothing more than having a name resembling a name suspected sometime by some government official. |
July 23, 2006:
Zimbabwean Parliament debates US-style spying on its citizens| |
Comment: Secret police could go through mail, e-mail and phones without court approval...
Zimbabwean officials could "violate attorney-client privilege, track financial transactions and negotiations, and eavesdrop on anyone's private life..."
"Internet and cell phone service providers would, at their own expense, have to provide the government with equipment to sort and intercept communications..."
This is already happening in America. JR Mooneyham PERMANENT LINK |
July 17, 2006:
Specter offers legislation authorizing massive
unwarranted, unchecked surveillance of Americans| |
Excerpt: All the newspaper headlines all say that the spying programs are now going to be overseen by the FISA court — but in fact, the truth is almost exactly the opposite.
The new legislation doesn't strengthen judicial oversight, it more or less removes it entirely.
... All this legislation does is effectively legalize the surveillance programs that are already in place. |
July 16, 2006:
Refugees not allowed to talk with reporters
Katrina survivors still in tents as FEMA trailers sit empty| |
Excerpt: "You are not allowed to be here," the guard yelled. "Get out right now."
As they left, the guard refused to let the reporter give Devall a business card so she could contact the newspaper later by phone.
"You will not give her a business card," the guard said. "She's not allowed to have that."
When the reporter persisted, the guard ordered Devall to return to the trailer, saying the reporter was not allowed to talk to her.
The guard then called the police. |
July 12, 2006:
Justice Department lawyer to Congress: ‘The President is always right’| |
Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday heard testimony from Steven Bradbury, head of the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel. When questioned by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on whether the President’s interpretation of the Hamdan case was right or wrong, Bradbury replied, “The President is always right.” |
July 9, 2006:
White House kept several more so-called
'intelligence programs' secret from Congress| |
Comment: Without Congressional oversight, we have no way to know whether Bush-Cheney's "intelligence programs" have diddly-squat to do with legitimate intelligence, or whether they're just further examples of illegal, unwarranted, intrusive spying on Americans. It is not at all difficult for Bush-Cheney to get the Republican-controlled Congress' approval for whatever harebrained schemes they dream up, so we can only imagine what programs Bush-Cheney worries might be rejected by their goose-stepping fellow Republicans.
To any observer who isn't brainwashed or brain dead, this smells impeachable to me, like about a hundred other acts of the Bush-Cheney monarchy. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
July 6, 2006:
Most Americans oppose Bush plan to track every college student's
academic, enrollment, and financial records in federal database| |
Excerpt: The information could eventually be linked to students' elementary and high school records and employment status after college, and could be used to guide education policy making at the national and state level.
Comment: So would you be for or against the federal government keeping a giant database of your academic records dating back to first grade? Hey, why not start it in kindergarten? Why not pre-school or day-care? Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 30, 2006:
Newspaper finds defense witnesses for Guantanamo
prisoner, though US said they couldn't be found| |
Comment: Isn't it obvious, as the lies continue, that virtually everything Bush & Cheney have announced about the 'war on terror' is an un-ending parade of blatant lies?
... Today they're lying to keep a man in prison, to prevent him from having a fair trial. Tomorrow they could be lying to imprison you. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 30, 2006:
NSA started domestic spying before 9/11 attacks, just weeks after Bush-Cheney took office| |
Excerpt: The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court. |
June 30, 2006:
House resolution calls for end to American journalism| |
Excerpt: The resolution, which passed 227-183, with 17 Democrats joining nearly all House Republicans in voting for it, praises the financial tracking program as a success that respects civil liberties and, without mentioning any newspaper by name, says Congress "expects the cooperation of all news media organizations."
Comment: The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Thomas Jefferson PERMANENT LINK
In joint editorial, NY Times and LA Times explain free press
Excerpt: "We understand that honorable people may disagree with any of these choices -- to publish or not to publish. But making those decisions is the responsibility that falls to editors, a corollary to the great gift of our independence. It is not a responsibility we take lightly. And it is not one we can surrender to the government."
Comment: Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 22, 2006:
Newspapers reject government request to kill story| |
Excerpt: The New York Times and Los Angeles Times on Friday published a major story on government surveillance of private banking records over the objections of the Bush administration.
The same team that produced the Pulitzer-winning National Security Agency (NSA) "domestic spying" program, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, put together the New York Times' piece. In the middle of the article, they reveal that the White House had asked the paper not to run it. This had happened with the NSA story as well, and the Times put off running the pair's key findings for a year.
"We know the terrorists pay attention to our strategy to fight them, and now have another piece of the puzzle of how we are fighting them," Dana Perino, a White House spokesman said late Thursday. "We also know they adapt their methods, which increases the challenge to our intelligence and law enforcement officials."
Perino added: "The president is concerned that once again The New York Times has chosen to expose a classified program that is working to protect our citizens."
The Risen-Lichtblau story reveals: "The Bush administration has made no secret of its campaign to disrupt terrorist financing, and President Bush, Treasury officials and others have spoken publicly about those efforts. Administration officials, however, asked The New York Times not to publish this article, saying that disclosure of the Swift program could jeopardize its effectiveness. They also enlisted several current and former officials, both Democrat and Republican, to vouch for its value.
"Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said: 'We have listened closely to the administration's arguments for withholding this information, and given them the most serious and respectful consideration. We remain convinced that the administration's extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest.'
Comment: Here's hoping that something was learned from the complaints received at the Times after they sat on the earlier story for more than a year. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 22, 2006:
Republican Chair of Homeland Security calls for criminal charges against New York Times| |
Excerpt: The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee urged the Bush administration Sunday to seek criminal charges against The New York Times for reporting on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists.
Rep. Peter King blasted the newspaper's decision last week to report that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages within a massive international database of money-transfer records.
"I am asking the Attorney General to begin an investigation and prosecution of The New York Times -- the reporters, the editors and the publisher," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "We're at war, and for the Times to release information about secret operations and methods is treasonous." |
June 22, 2006:
Librarian in hot water for withholding patron records until police get subpoena| |
Comment: These leaders seem to believe that concerns about privacy are supposed to melt like butter on a hot grill, when any policeman asks any question. If we follow their logic to its logical conclusion, the mayor and these "borough officials" would want doctors and priests and reporters and psychiatrists to also act as police agents, opening their records to any cop who asks any question, without waiting for a subpoena. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 21, 2006:
Reporter's book says credit card giant handed data over to feds| |
Excerpt: First Data Corp., the world's largest processor of credit-card transactions and wire transfers, gave the FBI and CIA unfettered access to data on millions of customers shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new book alleges.
Comment: Of course they did. Madeline Zane PERMANENT LINK |
June 21, 2006:
Police bypass warrants and subpoenas, obtain personal data from brokers| |
Excerpt: Congressional investigators estimated the U.S. government spent $30 million last year buying personal data from private brokers. But that number likely understates the breadth of transactions, since brokers said they rarely charge law enforcement agencies. |
June 18, 2006:
Secret testimony, secret documents, judges and prosecutors huddle without defense attorneys ...| |
Comment: I can't put it any plainer than the Bill of Rights, part of the US Constitution:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial..."
So here we are, in America, pretending to be proud of our Constitution, while American judges openly disregard the document they're sworn to uphold. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 16, 2006:
Garden shop owner gets 30 years in prison for selling iodine| |
Comment: Methamphetamine is an ugly drug, but nothing about it is half as ugly as its effect on cops and courts. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 15, 2006:
No need for police to knock:
If they have a warrant, they can kick your door down| |
Excerpt: By a 5-4 vote, splitting along conservative-liberal lines, the high court ruled that a police violation of the so-called knock-and-announce rule does not require that the evidence seized during the search be thrown out.
Comment: This is good news if you're a "conservative," as the new "conservative" majority on the Supreme Court gives a green light to police to kick down doors if they have a search warrant.
It's good news if you don't believe a person's home is his castle, or if you believe police power should trump all civil rights, or if you don't believe in any presumption of innocence.
It's terrific news if you've always wanted to live in a police state.
It's only bad news if you give a damn about freedom. Helen & Harry PERMANENT LINK |
June 13, 2006:
"Guantanamo itself is a system of torture"| |
Excerpt: "Guantanamo is not a conventional military prison. It's an ad hoc laboratory for the perfection of the CIA psychological torture." |
May 30, 2006:
Supreme Court ruling OKs government retaliation against whistleblowers| |
Excerpt: If a government employee points out official wrongdoing or mis-
conduct, it's AOK for his employer -- a government agency -- to reassign, punish, or presumably even fire the whistleblower. |
May 28, 2006:
Wal-Mart's mysterious Missouri data center| |
Excerpt:"This is not something that we discuss publicly," Carrie Thum, a senior information officer, said. "We have no comment. And that's off the record." |
May 28, 2006:
Cheney aide screens all legislation, crafts Bush's "signing statements"| |
Excerpt: The office of Vice President Dick Cheney routinely reviews pieces of legislation before they reach the president's desk, searching for provisions that Cheney believes would infringe on presidential power, according to former White House and Justice Department officials. |
May 22, 2006:
Attorney General reminds reporters, they can be prosecuted for reporting Bush administration criminal activities| |
Comment: Gonzales' threat doesn't need an interpreter: It's pretty much point blank.
... The next time an administration insider sees an illegal, immoral, or unConstitutional government policy, something more than merely conscience will stand in any whistleblower's way.
Now, instead of merely presenting facts and documentation to a reporter, the reporter and his/her editor will have their own questions to answer:
Am I willing to face prison for reporting this news? Helen & Harry LINK |
May 19, 2006:
NRA asks nation's local officials to pledge not to confiscate guns in emergencies| |
Comment: If you believe in the Bill of Rights, as we do, that dang well includes the right to bear arms. Take that right away, and all the other rights are based solely on hope and faith.
Because really, what the hell have you got, without the right to defend yourself? Helen & Harry LINK |
May 19, 2006:
UK law will imprison soldiers for life if they refuse Iraq-style foreign occupations | |
Comment: A military whose purpose was to defend its nation would need no such law. But obviously, a military designed for conquest and empire would find this law useful. Helen & Harry LINK |
May 17, 2006:
While at NSA, Hayden killed Clinton-era surveillance
program that identified actual threats and protected privacy| |
Excerpt: In what intelligence experts describe as rigorous testing of ThinThread in 1998, the project succeeded at each task with high marks. For example, its ability to sort through massive amounts of data to find threat-related communications far surpassed the existing system, sources said. It also was able to rapidly separate and encrypt U.S.-related communications to ensure privacy. But the NSA, then headed by Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, opted against both of those tools, as well as the feature that monitored potential abuse of the records. Only the data analysis facet of the program survived and became the basis for the warrantless surveillance program. |
May 12, 2006:
Justice Dept. closes investigation into NSA spying on Americans because NSA won't issue security clearance to investigators| |
Excerpt: In a letter to Rep Hinchey, who has been the most dogged congressional advocate for investigation of the spying program, Office of Professional Responsibility counsel H. Marshall Jarrett explained that he had closed the Justice Department probe on Tuesday because his office's requests for security clearances to conduct the investigation had been denied.
Comment: We have stepped through the looking glass, to a land that might look like America, but where everything has been reversed.
Helen & Harry LINK |
May 11, 2006:
Bush lied repeatedly about scope of NSA spying on Americans| |
Comment: It is not just international communications. The program includes calls placed within the United States. They are putting into the database every call made in the US.
... They have been lying to us about this, over and over and over again. They've been lying to us about it, and they've been lying to Congress about it. Rachel Maddow LINK |
May 4, 2006:
FBI counterterrorism unit spies on peaceful, faith-based protest group| |
Excerpt: "From Quakers to monks to priests, the FBI is targeting innocent Americans for counterterrorism surveillance," said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the national ACLU. "The quintessential American values of freedom and fairness are predicated on people being able to stand up and speak out when they feel they have seen an injustice. The FBI's investigation into peaceful protests under the guise of counterterrorism shackles our ability to speak freely and violates the fundamental notion of what it means to be an American."
|
May 3, 2006:
Torture "widespread" under US custody
May 2, 2006:
Bush administration cries "state secrets" to quash eavesdropping lawsuit| |
Comment: What could really imperil "national security" in a lawsuit alleging that AT&T was too cooperative in helping the Bush administration illegally eavesdrop? How could this information conceivably help al Qaeda or the insurgents in Iraq? Helen & Harry LINK |
May 2, 2006:
Mexican President will sign bill legalizing marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use| |
Comment: If you think freedom is a good idea -- if you think people ought to be able to do what they want with their own bodies, minds, and time -- then Mexico's decriminalization of drugs is terrific news. Helen & Harry LINK
Comment: Someone once joked that the Governor of Texas was the real president of Mexico. I guess it's true. Marshall S. LINK |
April 30, 2006:
Bush quietly claims authority to violate
750 laws and Supreme Court rulings| |
Excerpt: Far more than any predecessor, Bush has been aggressive about declaring his right to ignore vast swaths of laws -- many of which he says infringe on power he believes the Constitution assigns to him alone as the head of the executive branch or the commander in chief of the military. |
April 25, 2006:
Appeals Court tosses Homeland Security 'rule'
requiring pre-sceening of courtroom questions| |
Comment: Stop and ponder the outrageousness of Homeland Security's "rule," that DHS agents can only testify in court about pre-screened matters. H&HH LINK |
April 24, 2006:
New Jersey mall offers glimpse of police state future
April 23, 2006:
US contractors using slave labor in Iraq
April 21, 2006:
US enacts plan to detain travelers who "look sick" with dreaded bird flu
April 17, 2006:
"Not many" of guns confiscated in New Orleans have been returned| |
Comment: We believe, like the Constitution believes, that people have a right to bear arms, and that the phrase "well-regulated" doesn't mean confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens when guns are most likely to be needed.
Helen & Harry LINK |
April 7, 2006:
Bush can tap domestic calls without warrants too, says Attorney General
March 25, 2006:
Bush's eavesdropping program includes power to monitor doctor-patient or attorney-client conversations
March 24, 2006:
Bush announces he'll disregard oversight provisions of PATRIOT Act| |
Comment: What will it take, to make Republicans give a damn about their country, and impeach this President who sees himself as a king, a god, a man above all law? H&HH LINK |
March 22, 2006:
Gov't says man seized by feds after "not guilty" verdict can be held six months without charges
March 15, 2006:
Peace activists will 'turn themselves in'| |
Excerpt: Ann Arbor-based Michigan Peaceworks will be taking mug shots of willing attendees at this Sunday's protest rally and march through downtown Ann Arbor.
The pictures, along with placards labeled "war protester," will be delivered to U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials at the Ann Arbor Federal Building at a later date as part of the group's "turn yourself into the National Security Agency" initiative. |
March 12, 2006:
Bill would outlaw exposure of government wrongdoing| |
Excerpt: Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the measure is broader than any existing laws. She said, for example, the language does not specify that the information has to be harmful to national security or classified.
"The bill would make it a crime to tell the American people that the president is breaking the law, and the bill could make it a crime for the newspapers to publish that fact," said Martin, a civil liberties advocate. |
March 5, 2006:
White House targets US reporters for prosecution
March 2, 2006:
Guantanamo kangaroo trials could include evidence obtained through torture
Feb. 21, 2006:
Supreme Court poised to ban late term abortions
Feb. 17, 2006:
Flashback: Feds spied on Mario Savio, leader of '60s free speech movement
Feb. 17, 2006:
Kidnapped and tortured Canadian's lawsuit against US dismissed by Federal Court
Feb. 17, 2006:
Stand up for something, damn it
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News| |
Excerpt: The concept of America is in peril. You know, liberty and justice for all? And all that rhetoric most Americans take for granted? |
Feb. 12, 2006:
CIA counter-terror head fired for "misgivings" about torture, rendition, US secret prisons
Feb. 8, 2006:
Mexican officials close Sheraton Hotel in retaliation for US-ordered evictions
Feb. 5, 2006:
AT&T (SBC), MCI (Verizon) and Sprint (Nextel) allow feds to eavesdrop on "oral request"
Feb. 3, 2006:
New US detention camps are cause for concern
by Tom Hennessy, Long Beach [Calif.] Press-Telegram
Feb. 1, 2006:
Dead soldier's mother arrested for wearing anti-war T-shirt to State of the Union address
Jan. 31, 2006:
Attorney General Gonzales lied under oath about wiretapping program during confirmation hearing
Jan. 31, 2006:
Intelligence official says military has authority to spy on Americans
Jan. 27, 2006:
Pentagon document outlines plan to take down global communications
Jan. 26, 2006:
Bush publicly opposed spying on Americans ... while secretly ordering it
Jan. 25, 2006:
Police demand library's computers; librarian demands a warrant first
Jan. 25, 2006:
Attorney General says Bush will keep using PATRIOT Act powers even if Congress votes "no"
Jan. 25, 2006:
Principal will remove "obscene, inappropriate, libelous and disruptive" material from school paper
Jan. 20, 2006:
US accused of spying on people who disagree with Bush policies
Jan. 15, 2006:
British intelligence gets new powers to wiretap members of Parliament
Jan. 6, 2006:
Homeland Security Dept reads Americans' mail
Jan. 6, 2006:
Bush uses hundreds of "signing statements" to quietly claim more and more authority
Jan. 4, 2006:
Justice Dept asks court to abandon US system of justice
Dec. 30, 2005:
House bill would make it illegal to aid undocumented immigrants
Dec. 30, 2005:
Torture, rendition, gulags, domestic spying all part of the same giant CIA program created by White House after 9/11
Dec. 23, 2005:
Judge strikes down fees and restrictions on marches
Dec. 23, 2005:
Feds monitor radiation near US mosques, Muslims' homes and businesses
Dec. 22, 2005:
Police spies infiltrate protests, videotapes show
Dec. 22, 2005:
Police used 'copter, high-tech surveillance equipment to videotape couple coupling
... and more from this week's police blotter
Dec. 21, 2005:
Officials say Bush's illegal wiretap program unnecessary, court OK is easy to get
Dec. 16, 2005:
Bush ordered NSA to spy without warrants in US
Dec. 15, 2005:
Pentagon keeps database on US civilians deemed "suspicious"
Dec. 10, 2005:
When state power is combined with contempt for humanity
Dec. 7, 2005:
Secret ID law to get hearing| |
Excerpt: "The nexus of the case has always been the right to travel," Gilmore said. "Can the government prevent Americans from moving around in their own country by slapping any silly rules on them -- you have to show ID, you have to submit to searches, you have to wear a yarmulke?"
... "I'm a millionaire," Gilmore said. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, right? Why should I run around without an ID? Because no one else was paying attention to that and letting our liberties slip down the drain. I figured it was worth some amount of money and some amount of personal sacrifice to keep a free society." |
Dec. 3, 2005:
State Dept blocks foreign trips for Americans who speak against White House policy
Dec. 3, 2005:
Alito memo backed policeman's 'right' to kill teen who stole $10
Dec. 3, 2005:
Judge tosses Fourth Amendment, OKs random police searches
Nov. 28, 2005:
Miami Police announce "in your face" random ID checks, police state tactics
Nov. 23, 2005:
American convicted of terror conspiracy ...
based on confession he says was beaten out of him by Saudis
Nov. 21, 2005:
Alito against "one person, one vote," opposed key 1960 voting rights decision
Nov. 20, 2005:
How many reasons do you need to stand up and say no to Alito?
Nov. 18, 2005:
A whisper of optimism?
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
Nov. 16, 2005:
Feds to library record-keeper: Tell no-one we told you to tell us everything
Nov. 9, 2005:
Senate votes to end habeas corpus for 'detainees'
Nov. 9, 2005:
Alito refused to recuse himself from case after promising he would in confirmation hearings
Nov. 5, 2005:
No pat-downs at football game, Judge orders
Nov. 2, 2005:
CIA holds terror suspects in secret prisonsEU promises inquiry into CIA's 'gulags'
The E.U. will investigate the American gulag network. The WASHINGTON POST will investigate, and maybe 60 MINUTES will investigate. Will the U.S. Congress investigate? Probably not, because the U.S. Congress already knows about it. =H&HH= | LINK
Oct. 31, 2005:
Prosecutors push trumped-up charges against Bush protester, but can’t convince jury
Oct. 31, 2005:
Trial set to begin to decide Constitutionality of subway searches
Oct. 28, 2005:
Police, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals enforce "security bubble" for World Series
Oct. 27, 2005:
Detainees medically abused at Guantanamo
Prisoners force-fed in deliberately painful, cruel manner, lawyers say
Oct. 26, 2005:
Marijuana not a major cancer risk, says study
Oct. 14, 2005:
State will monitor cell phone usage to "more intelligently manage traffic flow"
Oct. 13, 2005:
New U.S. National Clandestine Service will by run by anonymous guy named José
Oct. 12, 2005:
Netherlands won't extradite terror suspect to U.S.
No expectation of human rights, fair trial in America
Oct. 12, 2005:
Flag-burners get unusual sentence
Teens to be jailed if they don't comply
Oct. 5, 2005:
Bush wants authority to order military quarantine of Americans
Oct. 3, 2005:
Police, U.S. Marshals demand ID from Hispanic-looking Katrina refugees
Oct. 1, 2005:
Bill would relax rules against secret military police spying on Americans
Sept. 23, 2005:
Another "paintball jihad" suspect arrested
Sept. 21, 2005:
Hurricane volunteers turned away if they won't sign loyalty oath
Sept. 15, 2005:
Locals responds to Cindy Sheehan protests by making Texas town one huge "no parking" zone
Sept. 12, 2005:
Creator of "9/11 Changed Everything Doctrine"
calls for more U.S.-backed assassinations
Aug. 17, 2005:
Lawsuit claims cops kept blacks, Jews out of KKK celebration on city property
Aug. 10, 2005:
Feds stand behind "state secrets" in
kidnapping and torture of Canadian
Aug. 8, 2005:
Enemy combatant's lawsuit describes two years of solitary confinement in South Carolina
July 22, 2005:
Scientists question safety of U.S. pain ray weapon
July 21, 2005:
Police begin random searches of commuters' bags
July 20, 2005:
Orwell meets Kafka in the new unConstitutional America
by Robert Kuttner, Unknown News
July 1, 2005:
Federal prisons install killer fences
June 27, 2005:
Mystery plane spies on small California town
June 27, 2005:
Man jailed for surfing "terrorist" sites
June 27, 2005:
Prohibition's grip strangles families in American midwest
June 27, 2005:
Medical marijuana activists nervous after raids
June 26, 2005:
U.S. uses Material Witness Law to allow perpetual incarceration without trials
June 21, 2005:
FBI trawls libraries for terrorist readers
June 14, 2005:
Microsoft works with Chinese government to censor internet conversations
June 11, 2005:
Hey, wait a minute ... These victims are white, American, ex-Marine, probably Christian ...
Contractors detained, "humiliated and physically abused"
June 7, 2005:
25% of Americans mentally ill, says government-sponsored study
May 28, 2005:
Bush administration seeks secret searches of ISPs
May 27, 2005:
FBI wants power to look at anyone's private papers with no warrant, no oversight
May 24, 2005:
U.S. citizens tortured, held illegally in Pakistan, and FBI participated
Press release, Human Rights Watch
May 23, 2005:
Real-ID Act already in use to wage war on constitutional rights
May 23, 2005:
Bush obliquely announces plans for world-wide U.S. torture facilities
May 21, 2005:
Holland seeks to prevent "drug tourism"
May 20, 2005:
Illinois library requires fingerprints for internet access
May 18, 2005:
ACLU sues FBI over surveillance cases
May 17, 2005:
Librarian's brush with FBI shapes her view of the USA PATRIOT Act
May 9, 2005:
The Real ID Act:
It's a lot worse than just a national ID
April 29, 2005:
Teachers strip-searched for thoughtcrimes outside Bush rally sue Secret Service
April 26, 2005:
When authorities screen your children for mental illness ...
April 22, 2005:
Convicted sex offender commits suicide over neighborhood signs
April 22, 2005:
Dobson, other evangelical nutballs propose defunding "liberal" courts
April 15, 2005:
10,000 arrested in one-week "dragnet"
April 6, 2005:
Sheriff investigates author of letter to the editor
April 5, 2005:
Passport required at U.S. bordersApril 15, 2005:
Bush backs off on passports for border travel
March 22, 2005:
Supreme Court nullifies Sixth Amendment
March 7, 2005:
Secret rule lets CIA export prisoners for torture in foreign prisons
Feb. 27, 2005:
Millionaire challenges secret U.S. travel restrictions
Feb. 14, 2005:
Lawyer convicted of aiding terrorist for providing legal counselExcerpt: Stewart never provided any financial support, weaponry -- or any other concrete aid -- for any act of terrorism. No act of terrorism is alleged to have resulted from her actions.
Stewart's supposed support for terrorism instead consisted of aiding her client in 2000 by giving a press release to Reuters News Service in Cairo, Egypt, and of being present when her co-defendants allegedly aided her client in writing a series of letters.
Feb. 6, 2005:
Paranoia grips the U.S. capital
by Eric Margolis, Toronto Sun. Religious nutball heads new U.S. super-secret spy agency
. Directive authorizes "extra-legal missions" on American soil
Feb. 5, 2005:
Does your vehicle have an 'event data recorder' on board?
Feb. 1, 2005:
Professor resigns amid controversy over 9/11 essay
Jan. 26, 2005:
'Special ed' pre-teens arrested for 'violent' stick-man drawings
Jan. 24, 2005:
Supreme Court OKs drug-sniffing dogs in traffic stops
Jan. 22, 2005:
U.S. claims lawsuit over kidnapping and torture
would jeopardize national security
Jan. 20, 2005:
Americans trickling to Canada
Jan. 12, 2005:
Men arrested for telling lawyer jokes
Charged with disorderly conduct
Jan. 12, 2005:
Court OK's cops' use of GPS tracking without warrants
Jan. 11, 2005:
Don't make any "sudden moves"
"It's going to be very different from past inaugurals"
Jan. 11, 2005:
Police begin fingerprinting on all citations
Jan. 11, 2005:
Gulag Bushwald
by Don Nash, Unknown News
Jan. 10, 2005:
New England town abuzz over DNA dragnet
Jan. 9, 2005:
"Bushit" protester's sign cited for obscenity
Jan. 2, 2005:
Bush administration prepares plans for "lifetime detention" without trials
Dec. 26, 2004:
Mini-marts required to fight war on terror
Dec. 22, 2004:
TV network critical of U.S. policy banned in America by State Dept
Dec. 18, 2004:
44% of Americans want less freedom for U.S. Muslims
Dec. 14, 2004:
9/11 Intel Bill expands powers of PATRIOT Act, "politicizes intelligence," loosens standards for FBI surveillance warrants, allows Justice Department to more easily detain people without bail, allows secret surveillance and search warrants, and establishes de facto national ID card
Dec. 7, 2004:
U.S. government moves to muzzle dissident voices
Nov. 29, 2004:
Feds propose database to track all college and university students
Nov. 27, 2004:
Covert X-rays tested as security tool
Nov. 20, 2004:
School orders boy to cover his T-shirt
It said, "The real terrorist is in the White House"
Nov. 19, 2004:
Customers waive First Amendment rights?
Nov. 17, 2004:
Court OKs forced buzzcut for drug-testing hair
Nov. 14, 2004:
The arrival of secret law in AmericaExcerpt: In a qualitatively new development in U.S. governance, Americans can now be obligated to comply with legally-binding regulations that are unknown to them, and that indeed they are forbidden to know.
Nov. 11, 2004:
Bush names torture advocate as Attorney General
Oct 12, 2004:
Republican-backed group trashing Democratic voter registrations
Oct. 11, 2004:
FBI seizes IndyMedia serversExcerpt: Aidan White, the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, condemned the "intolerable and intrusive" action. Tim Gopsill of the NUJ said: "If the security services of the UK or US can just walk in and take away a server, then there is no freedom of expression."
Oct. 9, 2004:
Huge errors in Bush no-fly list, bans over 20,000Excerpt: The federal government's "no-fly" list had 16 names on it on Sept. 11, 2001. Today, it has more than 20,000.
The list, which identifies suspected terrorists seeking to board commercial airplanes, expanded rapidly even though the government knew that travelers were being mistakenly flagged, according to federal records. The records detail how government officials expressed little interest in tracking or resolving cases in which passenger names were confused with the growing number of names on the list.
Sept. 9, 2004:
Repeated strip-searches of teen girls
violated their rights, says appeals court
Aug. 30, 2004:
Stop and be sniffed at Statue of Liberty
Aug. 24, 2004:
Muslim scholar has visa revoked; Feds won't say why
Aug. 24, 2004:
30,000 "anti-terror" raids in U.K. last year
Aug. 20, 2004:
U.S. censors Supreme Court ruling in battle over secrecyExcerpt: Among the phrases originally redacted by the government was a quotation from a 1972 Supreme Court ruling: "The danger to political dissent is acute where the Government attempts to act under so vague a concept as the power to protect 'domestic security.' Given the difficulty of defining the domestic security interest, the danger of abuse in acting to protect that interest becomes apparent."
Aug. 19, 2004:
Wen Ho Lee reporters held in contempt
Aug. 13, 2004:
Man sentenced to 21 years on drug violations
Aug. 13, 2004:
Homeland Security imprisons my fiancé
Aug. 11, 2004:
Police check all vehicle plates on highway
against national "wanted" database
Aug. 3, 2004:
Statue of Liberty reopens, with less liberty
Aug. 3, 2004:
Iraqis on "civil rights tour" banned from Memphis City Hall
July 30, 2004:
Silencing dissent in America
by Frank Van den Bosch, Unknown News
July 29, 2004:
Constiution doesn't include right to sexual privacy
Federal Court OKs ban on sale of sex toys
July 27, 2004:
Separation of church and state
by h H&HH, Unknown News
July 25, 2004:
New hi-tech passport knows who’s holding it
July 25, 2004:
Boston becomes police state
for Democrats' convention
Editorial: Boston pens-for-protesters
"more threatening than the prospect of terrorism"
July 25, 2004:
Children to get vaccination against getting high
July 19, 2004:
City offers half-assed apology to arrested T-shirt wearers
July 19, 2004:
County backs down in dildo battle
July 16, 2004:
Congresswoman's words stricken from House record
July 15, 2004:
Photographer detained, questioned ... twice
July 14, 2004:
“Free Speech Zone” victims fight back
July 14, 2004:
Pennsylvania man loses license for drinking
(not drunk driving, just drinking beer)
July 7, 2004:
Woman handcuffed, may be fired for anti-Bush T-shirt
June 26, 2004:
Scientists need Bush OK to advise WHO
June 22, 2004:
Buy a politically incorrect teddy bear,
get investigated by a federal grand juryExcerpt: If you bought the “Bush Kills Arabs Dead” teddy bear from the georgewbush.org online store, the FBI may have your name and credit card number.
June 22, 2004:
Patients can't sue HMOs, says Supreme Court
June 21, 2004:
Police can demand ID, Supreme Court rules
June 20, 2004:
Man claims he was tricked to join Army
June 1, 2004:
Pentagon tests "active denial" pain beams
May 22, 2004:
Commuter train passengers will be stopped for IDs
May 20, 2004:
MATRIX database measured 'terrorism quotient'
May 13, 2004:
Secret U.S. prisons hold thousands worldwide
May 8, 2004:
Arrested for carrying a sign
by G. Hayduke, Unknown News
May 7, 2004:
Student interrogated after filing FOIA request
April 28, 2004:
ACLU's lawsuit over PATRIOT Act was kept secret -- per PATRIOT Act
April 26, 2004:
Police "taking a hard look" at photographers
April 22, 2004:
FDA calls "inspection" of senior citizens 'unfortunate'
April 21, 2004:
Man can't buy car because terrorist stole his social security number
April 21, 2004:
The Bible college that leads to the White House
April 18, 2004:
Georgia city passes laws limiting protests
April 15, 2004:
Proposed surveillance system runs automated
background checks as vehicles enter town
April 13, 2004:
Town seeks to ban bubbles
April 6, 2004:
Bush administration wages war on pornography
March 31, 2004:
Tiny surveillance aircraft compete in airshow
March 26, 2004:
Court OKs searches without warrants
March 7, 2004:
Protester arrested for refusing to surrender sign
March 3, 2004:
Jailed American allowed to see lawyers
But only with Navy officer present, video camera on
March 2, 2004:
Muslims charged with paintball Jihad
Feb. 28, 2004:
Pentagon launches new propaganda network
Feb. 28, 2004:
U.S. arranged Canadian's torture, lawyer says
Feb. 24, 2004:
Supreme Court won't consider stopping secret trials
Feb. 24, 2004:
Human rights groups won't be allowed to monitor Guantanamo tribunals
Feb. 23, 2004:
How many cops does it take to arrest a suspected perv?
by Tess Ellis, Unknown News
Feb. 22, 2004:
Embargo makes it illegal to edit articles from "rogue nations"
Feb. 19, 2004:
FBI seizes equipment, takes webhost downExcerpt: CIT Hosting, also known as FooNet, posted a web page informing customers that its data center was shut down, and instructing customers to contact the FBI if they needed access to their files.
"The FBI executed a search warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio regarding the IRC network that we host," the company said in its statement.
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a live chat system that allows users to create private discussion rooms. While IRC has a lengthy history of legitimate use, it is also a medium for discreet communication between hackers. CIT said the FBI was "investigating whether someone hosted on our network hacked and attacked someone else."
"After several hours of attempting to track down, inspect and audit the terabytes of data that we host, the FBI determined that it was more efficient (from their point of view) to remove all of our servers and transport them to the FBI local laboratories for inspection," the statement continued. "The FBI has assured us that as soon as the data has been safely copied and inspected, the equipment will be promptly returned. Unfortunately, the FBI has not been able to tell us when they will be completed with their inspection."
Feb. 10, 2004:
At the airport
Excerpt: I am told by the man at the information booth that the new airport security rules require me to identify myself to turn in a lost item! And, having made myself known to the airport staff, should I dare attempt to leave before providing such identification, the Security people will make sure the rest of my day is bad, possibly even preventing me from boarding the aircraft.
Feb. 7, 2004:
Feds subpoena records on war protesters
University is ordered to name namesJulia Child's letter to Smith College
Feb. 5, 2004:
Proposal would fine and jail anonymous webmastersExcerpt: If you don’t tell the world your email, home address and telephone number you could face a seven-year jail sentence and a $150,000 fine under new legislation that the US Congress is trying to push past today.
Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas - chairman of the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee -- yesterday produced from nowhere extensions to the 1946 Trademark Act that would make giving false contact information for a domain name a civil and criminal offence.
Feb. 4, 2004:
The new America: Woman's first year in jail without bail
Feb. 3, 2004:
Court says reporters have no right to cover troops
Jan. 26, 2004:
Gov't denies fraud in landmark state secrets ruling
Jan. 21, 2004:
Trip home from Europe becomes Kafkaesque ordeal
Jan. 20, 2004:
U.S. watches five million "potential terrorists"
Jan. 19, 2004:
Study used census information for terrorist risk assessment
Jan. 18, 2004:
College will hold classes at U.S. concentration camp:
Guards at lawless prison can earn criminal justice credit
Jan. 18, 2004:
Northwest Airlines gave data on passengers
to government, and lied to public about it
Jan. 18, 2004:
French fury over US treatment of air staff
Jan. 16, 2004:
Lie-detector glasses offer peek at future of security
Jan. 16, 2004:
Iraqi women lose legal rights: They must submit to Islamic law
Jan. 16, 2004:
Pentagon withholds human guinea pig medical data
Jan. 15, 2004:
Background checks on all air travelers
Jan. 14, 2004:
U.S. pilot detained in Brazil in fingerprint spat
Jan. 13, 2004:
Random roadblocks OK'd by Supreme Court
Jan. 10, 2004:
Town files charges against man who defended home
Jan. 8, 2004:
Secret courts, secret dockets, secret arguments, secret imprisonments
Jan. 8, 2004:
U.S. gets access to Canadian tax data
Jan. 7, 2004:
Feds come down hard on alleged Saddam spy
Jan. 6, 2004:
Buddhist needs permit to meditate on his own land
Jan. 6, 2004:
Question about flight simulator brings visit from police
Jan. 2, 2004:
Pain of cancer makes Republican legislator remember freedom
Dec. 31, 2003:
Feds order casinos, airlines to surrender customer data
Dec. 30, 2003:
Terrorists may have almanacs, FBI warns
Dec. 28, 2003:
The fish that threatened national security
by Lara Hayhurst, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dec. 27, 2003:
Sept. 11 "detainee" cleared but still held
Faces deportation to Algeria, imprisonment or execution there
Dec. 25, 2003:
Man sues over seized U.S., Libya passports
Dec. 24, 2003:
Bush signs 'PATRIOT Act II'
"Most of the details are secret"Background information:
The PATRIOT Act's next VICTORY
Dec. 23, 2003:
Banner week for U.S. secret government
Dec. 20, 2003:
Judge: I saw Miami police commit felonies
Dec. 10, 2003:
Figures show 'hype' of terror war
Dec. 8, 2003:
Terror-related cases often fizzle
Dec. 4, 2003:
Fear and loathing in Miami
by G. Hayduke, Unknown News
Nov. 21, 2003:
Civics class: 2003
Teaching kids to live in a police state
Nov. 19, 2003:
Canadian kidnapped by U.S. asks for public inquiry
Human rights group demands Ashcroft's firing
over kidnapping, poisoning, and torture
Nov. 13, 2003:
Miami Commissioners approve rules allowing
mass arrests of protesters
Nov. 7, 2003:
Armed police storm school in drugs raid
. "Some of the officers did unholster in a down-ready position"
. Principal proud of high school drug raid
Nov. 7, 2003:
Tacoma settles with ACLU, won't use
exorbitant fees to prevent protests
Nov. 4, 2003:
San Francisco bus drivers get anti-terrorist training
Oct. 15, 2003:
Cops often ignore Miranda ruling
Confessions come easier without advising suspects of their rights
Oct. 7, 2003:
Cartoonist finds humor in brush with FAA security
Oct. 4, 2003:
Police "anti-terror unit" infiltrates Fresno anti-war group
Oct. 2, 2003:
Man ticketed for warning other drivers of speedtrap
Sept. 29, 2003:
Miami considers nullifying First Amendment
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
Sept. 28:
Shopkeeper deported from South Carolina
under PATRIOT Act is killed in Pakistan
Sept. 26, 2003:
Will the First Amendment be allowed during Miami protests?
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
Sept. 25, 2003:
'Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act' would
repeal abhorrent parts of PATRIOT Act
Sept. 25, 2003:
If you're fishing in Minnesota, 4th amendment is null and void
Fishermen "have no expectation of privacy"
Sept. 24, 2003:
Cameras watching students in every classroom
Sept. 18, 2003:
Ashcroft says DoJ has never used
PATRIOT Act powers to examine library records
85 librarians seem to say otherwise
Sept. 18, 2003:
Mississippi city of 40,000 will pay retired Fire Chief $60,000 to run its own Homeland Security Dept.
Sept. 17, 2003:
22 years in prison for defending his home?
Sept. 15, 2003:
Feds seek and get sweeping new powers
Sept. 13, 2003:
Moderate Canadian Muslim cleric seized by U.S.
Sept. 9, 2003:
New program entails in-depth "risk level" check on all air passengers
Sept. 8, 2003:
Rumsfeld: Criticism harms war on terror
Sept. 4, 2003:
No PATRIOT Act for Stinson Beach Water District
Aug. 28, 2003:
VICTORY Act no triumph for freedom lovers
Sequel to PATRIOT Act would increase federal powers
Aug. 21:
VICTORY Act would merge
"war on terror" with "war on drugs"
Aug. 20, 2003:
Want a plea bargain from the Prosecutor? Show us your DNA first.
Aug. 6, 2003:
Ashcroft goes on tour to promote even more
erosion of Constitution with new "VICTORY Bill"
Aug. 6, 2003:
Rule mandates students wear see-through backpacks
Aug. 3, 2003:
US anti-war activists hit by secret airport ban
Aug. 1, 2003:
Five police cameras set to keep eye on crime
Chicago's Harrison District under first watch
July 30, 2003:
It's hard to be a defense attorney when
the government won't let you see the defendant
July 21, 2003:
Anti-terror law enhances penalty for drug crimes
Operation of meth labs prosecuted as
"manufacture of nuclear or chemical weapons"
July 17, 2003:
BATF raided my dad's house
They had the wrong Jerry Thompson
by Jerianne, Unknown News
July 3, 2003:
Man beaten by cops is scolded by judge
June 29, 2003:
An affront to free speech and the Constitution
by Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee
June 26, 2003:
Missing presumed guilty: Prisoners held without charges
June 22, 2003:
Supreme Court won't re-open case that set precedent for "state secrets"
June 22, 2003:
"National security" precedent established on lie
June 3, 2003:
Pentagon pursuing a way to watch you:
Some privacy advocates leery of LifeLog
May 7, 2003:
Public Defender 'introduces' undercover cop spying on anti-war rally
Spying cop retaliates with complaint to Bar Ass'n
April 19, 2003:
Constitution, schmonstitution:
Officials drawing up new protest policy
March 15, 2003:
Justice Dept's stats on terrorism prosecutions are largely lies
Feb. 15, 2003:
Police snipers snipped from The New York Times
Feb. 8, 2003:
Justice Dept proposes secret arrests, increased spying on Americans, DNA database, detention without bail, reduced judicial oversight, reduced public release of information, and instant deportation on Ashcroft's say-so
Feb. 5, 2003:
Preacher faces charges over anti-abortion posters
Jan. 29, 2003:
Heat-seeking cameras in police aircraft may be grounded
Jan. 22, 2003:
Toy gun play nets break from school
Jan 18, 2003:
Local activists troubled by spy files
Peace protesters, Libertarian Party among those profiled
July 15, 2002:
One in 24 Americans to be "citizen spies"
Nov. 8, 2001:
America needs "torture warrants"
by Alan M. Dershowitz, Los Angeles Times
#
March 23, 2001:
State runs background checks on new parents
Flashback: Feds spied on Mario Savio, leader of '60s free speech movement| |
Comment: So does it change things now, knowing that every e-mail, every phone call, every electronic transaction, every bill, every license, every everything is collected by a government full of war criminals, torturers, liars, extortionists, bribe takers, swindlers and mafia-with-badges guys? With people who'll pray loudly for the TV cameras and then steal your pension or happily napalm brown children? Mr Chuckles LINK |
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The history of every abuse of government power, up to and including genocide, is a tale of a government's disregard for human rights.
Can it happen here? We're often told that The Bill of Rights protects Americans' freedoms, but what good is a Bill of Rights when it's ignored?
The Third Amendment is the only one of the first ten amendments that seems to remain sacrosanct: The Pentagon is not (yet) quartering soldiers in peoples' homes without permission.
The other amendments are fading fast or already gone.
Except the long-forgotten 9th and 10th Amendments -- which expressly say that the federal government has no jurisdiction over things not mentioned in the other amendments -- things like drugs, sex, abortion, and so on. If the 9th and 10th Amendments were treated as if they existed, if they were read once in a while and enforced even occasionally, this country would be a lot closer to freedom.
Instead, we're headed in the opposite direction.
On this page, we're watching American government as it works against American freedom. These reports, of course, make up only a slim fragment of a growing trend.
If you're not worried, you're not paying attention.
Since September 11, 2001, Americans have been more and more often screened, x-rayed, patted down, and monitored as if we're all suspects.
But Americans' rights did not vanish when the World Trade Center did.
Our parents, our children, and we the people fought for our rights, and we will not meekly, willingly surrender those rights -- not to terrorists, and not to men flashing badges who claim they're protecting us from terrorists.
--Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
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