Amy Doing Her Job

Here's Amy on the job. You can view Amy Goodman in the upper left of the video, with grey streaks in her hair. The man being interviewed was cuffed, arrested and prevented from leaving his own house while the cops searched his computer and went through anything they wanted.
St. Paul resident describes RNC security force raid on his house.

Goodbye "Inalienable Rights"

Gitmo 'Justice' for US Citizens?
By Robert Parry
July 21, 2008
A conservative-dominated U.S. Appeals Court has opened the door for President George W. Bush or a successor to throw American citizens – as well as non-citizens – into a legal black hole by designating them “enemy combatants,” even if they have engaged in no violent act and are living on U.S. soil.
The federal Appeals Court in Richmond, Virginia, ruled 5-4 on July 15 that Bush had the right, while prosecuting the “war on terror,” to hold Qatari citizen (and Peoria, Illinois, resident) Ali al-Marri indefinitely as an “enemy combatant.”
But some of the court’s more liberal judges expressed alarm, saying the legal reasoning that denied al-Marri meaningful due process not only trampled on American legal traditions but could be used to lock up U.S. citizens as well.
“For over two centuries of growth and struggle, peace and war, the Constitution has secured our freedom through the guarantee that, in the United States, no one will be deprived of liberty without due process of law,” wrote Judge Diana Motz, a Bill Clinton appointee, who dissented against the court’s approval of sweeping presidential powers.
[...] Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has a slim 5-4 majority in favor of limiting Bush’s authority to deny basic constitutional rights to people designated “enemy combatants,” but the replacement of one member of the majority with another Alito or Roberts would tip the balance and effectively permit the rewriting of the U.S. Constitution.
Though the July 15 ruling was convoluted and did call for a federal District Court to afford al-Marri some more rights, the Appeals Court decision effectively upheld Bush’s assertion of nearly unlimited power to have people detained as “enemy combatants.”
The ruling suggested that even American citizens – if they are deemed “enemy combatants” – could be subjected to Bush’s military commissions, where truncated legal rights make proving a person’s guilt much easier than in civilian courts.
Stunned Realization
Previously, the New York Times editorial page and some liberal legal experts had criticized Bush’s high-handed approach toward non-citizens, but had assured Americans that the military commissions would not apply to them.
But at Consortiumnews.com, we noted that language buried in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 seemed to cover – indeed even target – U.S. citizens. [See “Who Is ‘Any Person’ in Tribunal Law? or our book, Neck Deep.]
For instance, one section dealing with penalties stated that “any person is punishable as a principal under this chapter who commits an offense punishable by this chapter, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures its commission,” according to the law.
Another clause stated that “any person subject to this chapter who, in breach of an allegiance or duty to the United States, knowingly and intentionally aids an enemy of the United States ... shall be punished as a military commission … may direct.” [Emphasis added]
[...] But it took the Appeals Court ruling – and the blunt language from Judge Motz about denying constitutional rights to U.S. citizens – to catch the New York Times’ attention.
In a July 20 editorial, the Times wrote that the Appeals Court's “decision gives the President sweeping power to deprive anyone – citizens as well as non-citizens – of their freedom. …
“The implications are breathtaking. The designation ‘enemy combatant,’ which should apply only to people captured on a battlefield, can now be applied to people detained inside the United States. Even though Mr. Marri is not an American citizen, the court’s reasoning appears to apply equally to citizens.”
[...] In effect, Bush’s interpretation of his own powers – allowing him to imprison, torture and kill at his discretion – trumps the Founders’ vision that everyone possesses certain “unalienable rights” that a government can’t take away.
[...] In siding with Bush, conservative Appeals Court judges noted al-Marri had offered only a general denial of the accusations against him and failed to rebut the specific charges. Al-Marri’s lawyers argued that their client should have a right to confront his accusers and not be put in a position of having to prove his innocence.
[...] “While a showcase of American values, an open and public criminal trial may also serve as a platform for suspected terrorists,” [Judge Harvie] Wilkinson [a Ronald Reagan appointee who is often cited as a possible Republican Supreme Court nominee].wrote. “Terror suspects may use the bully pulpit of a criminal trial in an attempt to recruit others to their cause. Likewise, terror suspects may take advantage of the opportunity to interact with others during trial to pass critical intelligence to their allies.”
[...] “A citizen, no less than an alien, can be an enemy combatant,” [my bold] administration lawyer David B. Salmons told the Appeals Court in oral arguments on Feb. 1, 2007, adding that the courts cannot interfere with the President’s wartime judgments on such matters.
Salmons insisted that Bush is not interested in using this power too broadly, but argued that the judgment on whom is deemed an “enemy combatant” must solely be at the discretion of President Bush. [NYT, Feb. 2, 2007]
What may be decided in Election 2008 is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will be stocked with like-minded legal theorists.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/072108.html

Save Our Privacy!

No Deal on Telecom Immunity
Congress is wheeling and dealing this week with the White House over whether to give a "get-out-of-jail-free" card to telecom companies that helped eavesdrop on Americans without legally-required warrants.

Just a few weeks ago, the House stood strong and refused to give immunity to the phone companies that engaged in illegal wiretapping. But now, Congress is considering a "compromise" bill that could make it impossible for us to find out the details of the domestic spying program and hold accountable anyone who broke the law.

Tell your members of Congress: No deal on telecom immunity.

http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4205481&auid=3757140

Bang! You’ve Been Plamed

When you play with the bad guys you should expect to get screwed. I’m talking about BushCo, of course, not Al-CIAduh.
Leak Severed a Link to Al-Qaeda's Secrets
Firm Says Administration's Handling of Video Ruined Its Spying Efforts
By Joby Warrick , Washington Post Staff Writer, October 9, 2007
...within minutes of Katz's e-mail to the White House, government-registered computers began downloading the video from SITE's server, according to a log of file transfers. The records show dozens of downloads over the next three hours from computers with addresses registered to defense and intelligence agencies.
By midafternoon, several television news networks reported obtaining copies of the transcript. A copy posted around 3 p.m. on Fox News's Web site referred to SITE and included page markers identical to those used by the group. "This confirms that the U.S. government was responsible for the leak of this document," Katz wrote in an e-mail to Leiter at 5 p.m.

Cover Blown Girl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/08/AR2007100801817.html?nav=rss_nation

Today we grieve, listen, watch, prepare

If you’re in NYC, the action will mostly be at and around Ground Zero, where many diverse protesters will converge. The forecast calls for rain, but that won’t stop us. Bring orange ponchos if you can!

The 11th is almost here. We hope everyone does their best to be seen and heard tomorrow. Signs, banners, and clothing are very important so people know what you’re striking about. Wearing orange could be a powerful and unified symbol of dissent.

Some people have asked what the demands of this strike are. Your demands are up to you. But here are some ideas: reinstate habeas corpus, end torture and illegal surveillance, impeach (all of those complicit within the US government), and convene a truth and reconciliation commission headed by citizen activists and community leaders.

In other words, we’re not going to take FASCISM lying down, we’re going to fight with nonviolence, truth, and civil disobedience.

Remember to document your actions with photos and video.

Forward…

http://www.strike911.org/