Hakki Alacakaptan
CGI Animation and NLE instructor Visual Communication Design Dept. Istanbul Bilgi University
hakkia at bilgi.edu.tr halacakaptan at ixir.com nucleus at superonline.com
|| -----Original Message-----
|| From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
|| [mailto:owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com]On Behalf Of Kelley
||
|| but ask yourself something: why is Shirley Dean doing
|| interviews with the
|| media at all? why was she on the O'Reilly Factor? why is she
|| flapping her
|| gums like this: "In criticising her colleagues who forced through the
|| resolution, Mayor Dean says: "The council did not think through
|| what impact
|| or consequences there might be from their actions and that's
|| unfortunate."
||
|| i'm guessing there's more beneath this than what the BBC or FOX reports.
||
|| maybe berserkeleyites can fill us in on Shirley Dean. Smells
|| like Chamber
|| of Commerce whining to me. I see she serves on a lot of orgs/committees
|| related to zoning laws and revitalizing downtown berserkeley?
|| she seems to
|| think that she's teaching the boycott crowd a lesson. yes? no?
Yes, if you and Chuck are really independent sources, QED if you're not. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Whew, that's a relief, I was really worried that something bad was going down over there. So anyway, did Nancy Oden know she was targeted before she was harassed or did they harass her after she said she was targeted or - what was the other thing? BTW I keep seeing stuff like this at various IMC's but I guess it's cool, right?
http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=13457&group=webcast
"We’re likely to experience more restrictions on our personal freedom than has ever been the case in our society... It is possible, if not likely, that we will rely more on international rules of war than on our cherished constitutional standards for criminal persecution in responding to threats to our national security. --Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, New York, October 1
Attorney General Ashcroft has instructed law enforcement agencies nationwide to immediately begin using broad powers granted them under the new anti-terrorism legislation.
But the American Civil Liberties Union and others have argued the new law jeopardizes major provisions of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
"This bill goes light years beyond what is necessary to combat terrorism," said Laura Murphy, Director of the ACLU’s Washington National Office. "Included in the bill are provisions that would allow for the mistreatment of immigrants, the suppression of dissent and the investigation and surveillance of wholly innocent Americans."
The United Strengthening America (USA) Act will also ease restrictions on government surveillance of U.S. citizens, allow for secret searches and seizures, limit judicial review in intelligence gathering operations and expand the attorney general’s power to detain and deport immigrants.
On October 25 the Senate passed the legislation 99-1; two days earlier the House supported it 357-66.
"Congress will fulfill its duty only when it protects both the American people and the freedoms at the foundation of American society," said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.) shortly before casting the lone dissenting Senate vote.
The bill legalizes "sneak and peek searches," which would allow law enforcement agents to conduct covert searches – and seize evidence including computer files – without informing the suspect for months after the fact.
"Now the attorney general can act against terrorism, which has never been defined. It’s like ‘un-German activities’ under Hitler – what’s an un-German activity?" wrote author and social critic Gore Vidal.
The law attempts to define terrorism as the commission of a felony with the intention to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population" or to "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion." But legal experts fear the definition is vague enough to cover computer hackers and protesters practicing civil disobedience.
While Congress was busy debating the bill, violations of civil liberties and freedoms busily spread through the streets, airports, jails and schools of America.
Throughout the country over 1,000 individuals, mostly non-citizen Muslim men, have been detained since September 11. The Wall Street Journal reports this is the largest detainment of a specific group since the Japanese internment camps during World War II. Numerous reports have surfaced that detainees have been denied basic rights including access to lawyers and families. On October a 55-year-old New Jersey man died in detention though the cause of death hadn’t been released at press time.
o In Philadelphia, 22-year-old Neil Godfrey was barred from two separate October 10 flights because he had in his possession Edward Abbey’s Hayduke Lives! The 1991 novel about a radical environmentalist features a bomb on its cover.
o In San Francisco, the Bay Guardian has reported on the city’s plan to reopen its domestic surveillance unit. Other cities are expected to follow suit.
o In Washington, the Attorney General has instructed the Justice Department to be more stringent in releasing public records under the Freedom of Information Act. This reverses Clinton Administration policy.
o In Brooklyn, students at the public Brooklyn College protested on October 22 against school administration attempts to derail an emerging anti-war movement. According to activists, the school warned students about holding anti-war activities on campus. The Third World Within/Peace Action Coalition was forced to move an October 12 teach-in off-campus, after administrators imposed unprecedented demands on the organizers including requiring all attendees to present proper identification to gain entry.
Though the students at Brooklyn College chose to fight back, the new anti-terror bill could make it much harder for others to follow their example.