tagged w/ Civil Liberties
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What is to stop authorities from turning the entire federal city into a Neighborhood Safety Zone with anyone barred entry that cannot prove either residency or occupational status in the district?What is to stop authorities from turning the entire federal city into a Neighborhood... more
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Ten antiwar Iraq veterans, along with five civilians, pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct this week in Hempstead, New York. The Hempstead 15, as they've come to be known, were arrested on October 15 for for leading a peaceful protest outside the final presidential debate at Hofstra University . One of the charged veterans, Sgt. Nick Morgan, suffered severe injuries after being forced to the ground and having his face crushed by a police horse. Morgan, visibly shaken after the arraignment, said police officers had violated a number of his constitutional rights in the course of the action. The 24-year-old veteran of the US war in Iraq was among a delegation of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) who had come to the Presidential debates in Long Island demanding that veterans' concerns be heard during the nationally televised event.Ten antiwar Iraq veterans, along with five civilians, pleaded not guilty to charges of... more
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The future of same-sex marriage in the Golden State will rest, once again, in the hands of its highest court. But this time, its fate will hinge on a different question: Can a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage go before voters? Or must it go before the legislature first?
The answer, legal experts say, will determine whether gay rights advocates can overturn Proposition 8, a recently passed ballot measure that overruled a state Supreme Court judgment that legalized same-sex marriage.
Three lawsuits, ready since the initiative was green-lighted for the November ballot, have been filed with the California Supreme Court asking it to stop the state from enforcing the proposition until the court has decided on its constitutionality. The suits aim to undo the measure on grounds that, under the equal protection clause in the state's constitution, a majority of voters are not allowed to revoke equal rights intended for everybody.
Now, nearly six months after its landmark decision, the California Supreme Court is being asked again to determine the fate of the nearly 18,000 unions made since May, and the possibility of those to come.
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Folks, why have we allowed this to happen? How is it possible to strip away rights that the Supreme Court said existed merely because it offends some folks religious beliefs? As Keith pointed out on Countdown last evening, until 1967 black and white could not marry in many states in this nation. Was that right? It is appalling that voters in CA allowed Prop 8 to be passed. Does anyone have the right to foist their religious beliefs onto another citizen? Has our nation come to this point where religious zealots dictate our behavior?The future of same-sex marriage in the Golden State will rest, once again, in the... more
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Director Steve McQueen’s film, Hunger, is a very powerful but draining telling of a sad moment in an even sadder history of Northern Ireland.Director Steve McQueen’s film, Hunger, is a very powerful but draining telling... more
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Over the last 72 hours there has been a strange melange of cryptic messages leaked from world political leaders about what could be in store for America over the next few months.
These predictions of impending doom come from England, France, Australia and the United States.
Biden told the top Democratic donors that a “generated crisis” will develop within six months and Senator Obama will need the help of community leaders to control the population as unpopular decisions are made and Americans resist.
Senator Biden speaking at the fundraiser:
“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate, And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you - not financially to help him - we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”
Biden’s ominous language at the Seattle Sheraton are followed with statements by long time establishment insiders Colin Powell and Madeline Albright both say there is a massive crisis on the horizon and Biden was simply making a “statement in fact.”
“The problems will always be there and there’s going to be a crisis which will come along on the 21st, 22nd of January that we don’t even know about right now.” Powell told Meet the Press.
Lord West, adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on national security says:
“There is another great plot building up again and we are monitoring. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of severe. The threat is huge. We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building - the complex plots are building,”
Across the channel from England you have the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warning the press that he believes Israel will strike Iran before they can develope nuclear weapons completley ignoring the fact that the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El Bradei, said that Iran lacks the key components to produce an atomic weapon.
“The devastation that could be wreaked by one major nuclear weapons incident alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else [in] to the category of the insignificant,” Rudd said.
Why are there so many high level politicians around the world in a seemingly coordinated effort warning of huge threats and developing crisis’ that may include a nuclear device? Are they preparing the masses for an event or series of events that have been in the making for some time? Is the public being prepared for new and forming enemies with a potential to plunge the entire world into war?
A number of notable public figures, to be sure; Biden, Rudd, Colin Powell, Matelaine Albright, Lord West and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Taken alone there are plenty of ready explanations, but within 72hrs?
Over the last 72 hours there has been a strange melange of cryptic messages leaked... more
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Echoing Vice President-Elect Joe Biden's promise of a generated crisis and Colin Powell's revelation of a crisis that will happen on January 21 or 22, we now have the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and Biderberger Richard Haas' similar predictions of doom and gloom scheduled for President-Elect Obama.
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"While foreign leaders may or may not choose to test Obama, "the one thing I'm sure of is, events will test him," Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass said. "There will be coups. ... There will be genocide. ... There will be terrorism."
In 74 days, President-elect Barack Obama will assume responsibility for guiding the nation out of two wars and through a daunting array of real and potential global crises.
Obama is likely to benefit from initial goodwill across much of the planet, where there's profound relief that the Bush years are ending.
Still, the new president — untested in foreign affairs — faces what may be the most unsettled global scene since the 1930s and '40s."
Echoing Vice President-Elect Joe Biden's promise of a generated crisis and Colin... more
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The election is over and we must begin turning our country around now, or the opportunity may not come again. By quickly organizing ourselves in each of the 435 congressional districts, over the next 100 days, we can make single-payer healthcare, a living wage, and a less militaristic society our long-term reality. We must do this because the founders of these United States gave us the power to do it. Please watch the video and sign up today.The election is over and we must begin turning our country around now, or the... more
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Rahm Emanuel
Rep. Rahm Emanuel wants to force people 18 to 25
to labor for the government.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, President-Elect Barack Obama's choice for chief of staff in his incoming administration, is co-author of a book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America, that calls for, among other things, compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25. The following excerpt is from pages 61-62 of the 2006 book:
It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service. ...
Here's how it would work. Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service. They'll be asked to report for three months of basic civil defense training in their state or community, where they will learn what to do in the event of biochemical, nuclear or conventional attack; how to assist others in an evacuation; how to respond when a levee breaks or we're hit by a natural disaster. These young people will be available to address their communities' most pressing needs.
Emanuel and co-author Bruce Reed insist "this is not a draft," but go on to write of young men and women, "the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service." They also warn, "[s]ome Republicans will squeal about individual freedom," ruling out any likelihood that they would let people opt out of universal citizen service.
As chief of staff, Emanuel will not be in a position to directly introduce public policy, but his enthusiasm for compulsory service, combined with Barack Obama's own plan to require high school students to perform 50 hours of government-approved service, suggest an unfortunate direction for the new administration.Rahm Emanuel
Rep. Rahm Emanuel wants to force people 18 to 25
to labor for the... more
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Michael Ratner: Peoples' constitutional rights are not going to be the main priority.
The Real News senior editor Paul Jay and head of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) Michael Ratner discuss the demolishment of peoples' constitutional rights and civil liberties.
Michael Ratner is President of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York. He has taught at Yale Law School, lectured at Columbia Law School, and was President of the National Lawyers Guild.
Michael Ratner: Peoples' constitutional rights are not going to be the main... more
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While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here’s a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has 77 days left in the White House — and he’s not wasting a minute.
President Bush’s aides have been scrambling to change rules and regulations on the environment, civil liberties and abortion rights, among others — few for the good. Most presidents put on a last-minute policy stamp, but in Mr. Bush’s case it is more like a wrecking ball. We fear it could take months, or years, for the next president to identify and then undo all of the damage.
Here is a look — by no means comprehensive — at some of Mr. Bush’s recent parting gifts and those we fear are yet to come
CIVIL LIBERTIES We don’t know all of the ways that the administration has violated Americans’ rights in the name of fighting terrorism. Last month, Attorney General Michael Mukasey rushed out new guidelines for the F.B.I. that permit agents to use chillingly intrusive techniques to collect information on Americans even where there is no evidence of wrongdoing.
Agents will be allowed to use informants to infiltrate lawful groups, engage in prolonged physical surveillance and lie about their identity while questioning a subject’s neighbors, relatives, co-workers and friends. The changes also give the F.B.I. — which has a long history of spying on civil rights groups and others — expanded latitude to use these techniques on people identified by racial, ethnic and religious background.
THE ENVIRONMENT The administration has been especially busy weakening regulations that promote clean air and clean water and protect endangered species.
Mr. Bush, or more to the point, Vice President Dick Cheney, came to office determined to dismantle Bill Clinton’s environmental legacy, undo decades of environmental law and keep their friends in industry happy. They have had less success than we feared, but only because of the determined opposition of environmental groups, courageous members of Congress and protests from citizens. But the White House keeps trying.
Mr. Bush’s secretary of the interior, Dirk Kempthorne, has recently carved out significant exceptions to regulations requiring expert scientific review of any federal project that might harm endangered or threatened species (one consequence will be to relieve the agency of the need to assess the impact of global warming on at-risk species). The department also is rushing to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list — again. The wolves were re-listed after a federal judge ruled the government had not lived up to its own recovery plan.
ABORTION RIGHTS Soon after the election, Michael Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services, is expected to issue new regulations aimed at further limiting women’s access to abortion, contraceptives and information about their reproductive health care options.
More at the link. ugghWhile Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here’s a sobering reminder:... more
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Barack Obama will be the next president, and the next great human rights champ. He will lead America into a new era of social evolution. In short, the world will be a nicer place to live in.
I'm Becca Ray Dylan, and I founded a new organization called HEADS of Humanity, the Hemp Education and Decriminalization Society. I'm hoping all young or undecided voters, along with the many members of the counterculture, will have a chance to see my video before November 4, 2008.
There will never be a politician to actively support pro-pot legislation until HEADS come together and make some noise. I'm not suggesting Obama is in favor of marijuana legislation, but he will help bring about a political and social environment conducive to this revolutionary new marijuana movement.
VOTE! Go Obama!
Barack Obama will be the next president, and the next great human rights champ. He... more
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Apple has joined the short list of publicly traded companies to oppose a ballot measure that would take away the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
The Cupertino-based computer and iPod maker posted a notice on its Web site Friday pledging $100,000 to defeat Proposition 8.
The statement says Apple views Prop. 8 as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue.
Jeans maker Levi-Strauss last month gave $25,000 to fight the initiative.
An Apple spokesman declined to elaborate on the company's position.
Apple has joined the short list of publicly traded companies to oppose a ballot... more
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A handful of professional environmental advocates were placed on a Maryland State Police list of suspected terrorists, activists charged this morning.
Three staffers for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network have learned they were on a list compiled by the state police, which also included nonviolent peace activists and anti-death penalty advocates, said Mike Tidwell, the group's founder and executive director.
Mr. Tidwell was shocked when he opened a letter informing him he was on the list.
"I was astonished," he said. "I immediately wondered how I was being spied on. Has my phone been tapped? Have they been reading my e-mails? Have they posed as concerned environmentalists and been coming to our meetings?"
Maryland State Police officials have acknowledged that in 2005 and 2006, officers conducted surveillance on peace and anti-death penalty groups. A police spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment this morning.
This is the first time it's been made clear that environmental professionals were targeted.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network employees are regulars in Annapolis, lobbying state lawmakers and holding rallies and marches during the General Assembly session.
The surveillance and the existence of peace activists on the suspected terrorist list were exposed this summer after the ACLU sought documents under the Maryland Public Information Act.
In recent weeks, the state police admitted to wrongly listing 53 activists as terrorists.
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network organized a rally this morning outside the Silver Spring Metro station to draw attention to the issue.
Environmental activists held signs that said "Environmentalism is not terrorism" and "Stop global warming, not activism."
"This is alarming on so many levels," said Cindy Schwartz, executive director of the League of Conservation Voters. "This is wrong." Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, said he will introduce legislation next session to make sure that the Maryland State Police cannot conduct surveillance on political groups unless there is "reasonable suspicion" they will break the law.
"There's a difference between community organizers and terrorists," he said. "They are the very opposite of terrorists."
David Rocah, an attorney with the Maryland ACLU, said the discrepancies in the dates and the explanation that the Maryland State Police were only doing surveillance on anti-death penalty groups emphasized the need for a full and transparent accounting of how far the spying went.
"The Maryland State Police are not being straight with the people of Maryland," he said during the rally.
Mr. Tidwell said at the rally that none of the environmentalists were connected with the groups previously mentioned as having been spied on.
He said it's dangerous territory when the police focus on people who just want to improve the environment.
"The fact that the Maryland State Police was presumably surveilling mainstream environmental organizers puts a chill on all potential organizing for the environment, and that's bad for Maryland," he said.
Members of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network have occasionally engaged in demonstrations that extend beyond the typical chanting and waving banners. But even their most dramatic demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, Mr. Tidwell said.
In 2004, Mr. Tidwell was part of a group arrested while demonstrating outside a power plant in Southern Maryland. He was found guilty of one count of "impeding passage of persons/vehicle." A charge of disturbing the peace was dropped.
snip
"We at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network are innocent of everything except peacefully improving the health of the state of Maryland ... It's a sad day when people who promote windmills and solar panels are described as suspected terrorists," Mr. Tidwell said.
A handful of professional environmental advocates were placed on a Maryland State... more
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In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, best-selling author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth) makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities-from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice.
(This link goes to a fully streaming version of the film, with a few commercials interspersed. The player is a bit wonky, as I found that after the first couple commercials I had to click the scrubber bar on the far left to get the film to pick up where it left off. It is definitely worth the hassle, though. Please spread the word about this film and arrange for screenings in your area as soon as possible. )In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years,... more
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beedee
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Tell Congress to Censure Michele Bachmann
18,087
signatures so far
updated 10/18 12:16 p.m.
On the October 17 episode of MSNBC's Hardball, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota claimed that Barack Obama and other members of Congress share anti-American views.
Bachmann thinks that anyone who disagrees with her personal political agenda is unpatriotic. But she is the one who has a lot to learn about what it means to love America.
Her fellow members of Congress need to take a stand and tell Michele Bachmann that her disgusting accusations have no place in our country. Tell Congress to censure Rep. Bachmann.
Watch the video, and then sign the petition below!
Sign the Petition
Fill out the form below to tell Congress to censure Michele Bachmann for her unconscionable comments.Tell Congress to Censure Michele Bachmann
18,087
signatures so far
updated 10/18... more
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He complained bitterly about George Bush’s campaign smearing him with blatantly false rumors in a late blast of robo-calls in South Carolina during the 2000 GOP primary. Now his own ‘08 campaign is using them as a tool of last resort to keep up false allegation that Obama has “worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.”
Hello. I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.
Politico has reported this specific call (or slight variations) in Florida, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Wisconsin. We have reports that these calls are also hitting Nevada and even Georgia.He complained bitterly about George Bush’s campaign smearing him with blatantly... more
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The furor over the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now's national voter registration drive exploded with new controversies Friday, including a call by Barack Obama for an independent prosecutor, a Supreme Court ruling over voter access and the disclosure of a death threat against an ACORN worker.
What remains unclear is whether the presidential campaigns of Democrat Obama and Republican John McCain will reach a truce over voter access to the polls by Election Day or whether their legal and rhetorical battles will persist to the finish line - or beyond.
Republicans allege that ACORN is engaged in rampant voter fraud, but they've offered no proof of such a systematic effort. The GOP does have evidence that some of the group's 13,000 canvassers submitted fraudulent applications, but ACORN says it alerted authorities to most of the phony forms.
Democrats counter that the GOP is trying to whip up fears of voter fraud so it can knock students and low-income minorities off the voter rolls to enhance McCain's chances of victory.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled an attempt by Republicans to challenge the validity of 200,000 voter registrations in Ohio, saying that the party lacked the standing to sue.
The Republicans had sued to force Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, to provide county election officials with lists of registrants whose personal information did not exactly match Social Security or driver's license data, a step that would leave those voters vulnerable to eligibility challenges.
Tensions began to escalate Thursday with disclosures that the FBI is investigating ACORN and the possibility that it's engaged in a vote-fraud scheme.
On Friday, Obama's legal counsel, Robert Bauer, wrote Attorney General Michael Mukasey, charging that the inquiry is politically motivated and that it risks repeating the 2007 scandal over the Bush administration's politicization of the Justice Department.
Bauer asked Mukasey to broaden a special prosecutor's investigation to examine the origin of the ACORN inquiry.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, except to say: "We will review the letter."
Earlier Friday, ACORN told McClatchy that one of its senior staffers in Cleveland had received a death threat and that its Boston and Seattle offices had been vandalized sometime Thursday, reflecting the mounting tensions over the group's role in registering 1.3 million mostly poor and minority Americans to vote.
ACORN attorneys drafted a letter alerting the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division of the incidents, said Brian Kettenring, a Florida-based spokesman for the group.
Kettenring said that a senior ACORN staffer in Cleveland, after appearing on television this week, got an e-mail that said she "is going to have her life ended." A female staffer in Providence, R.I., got a threatening call from someone who said words to the effect of "We know you get off work at 9," then uttered racial epithets, he said.
McClatchy is withholding the women's names because of the threats.
Separately, vandals broke into the group's Boston and Seattle offices and stole computers, Kettenring said.
The incidents came the day after McCain charged in the final presidential debate that ACORN's voter-registration drive "may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and may be "destroying the fabric of democracy."
McCain's comments provoked a response from ACORN.
"I would not say that Senator McCain is inciting violence," Kettenring said, "but I would say that his statements about the role of this manufactured scandal were totally outlandish."
Kettenring said that the debate comments seemed to have tipped the atmosphere "to a scary point, where raising allegations of voter fraud went from a cynical campaign ploy to really inciting racial violence." He called on McCain "to tamp down the fringe elements in his party."
continuedThe furor over the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now's... more
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This is not an exercise in alternate realities. This is happening in America. With all that we know of human nature, the lessons from history, and the inevitably corrupting effect of power on the human brain, there should be no doubt left in our minds that if all the chess pieces are aligned, it is only a matter of time until checkmate.
By JS McDougallThis is not an exercise in alternate realities. This is happening in America. With all... more
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The Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases that track terrorism suspects, the state police chief acknowledged yesterday. The Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered... more
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Justice Department officials released new guidelines yesterday that empower FBI agents to use intrusive techniques to gather intelligence within the United States, alarming civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers who worry that they invite privacy violations and other abuses.
The new road map allows investigators to recruit informants, employ physical surveillance and conduct interviews in which agents disguise their identities in an effort to assess national security threats. FBI agents could pursue each of those steps without any single fact indicating a person has ties to a terrorist organization.
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said the guidelines are necessary to fulfill the FBI's core mission to predict threats and respond even before an attack takes place. The ground rules will help the bureau become "a more flexible and adept collector of intelligence," as independent commissions urged after the strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, Mukasey said in a statement yesterday.
The guidelines, which harmonize five different road maps dating back more than a generation, take effect Dec. 1. That is two months later than initially planned, and authorities said the delay was a concession to privacy advocates and Arab American groups who expressed concern that their members could be subject to racial or ethnic profiling.
Justice Department leaders rewrote a key section of the guidelines concerning agents' infiltration of groups and attendance at demonstrations. Under the new language, agents would be able to investigate the likelihood of violence stemming from a planned demonstration for as many as 30 days, with renewals subject to supervisory approval.
Congressional staff members said the revisions were superficial, and the American Civil Liberties Union immediately condemned the road map. Critics had asked Justice Department leaders to wait until a new president takes office, an approach that administration officials rejected.
Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office, said: "Since, under these guidelines, a generalized 'threat' is enough to begin an investigation, the FBI will be given carte blanche to begin surveillance without factual evidence. . . . These guidelines will lead to political witch hunts and more unwarranted investigations of political enemies and peace groups."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the grant of new authority to FBI agents flies in the face of recent history, including overreaching and sloppy record-keeping by agents who demanded too much secret information from telephone companies and Internet service providers as part of national security investigations.
Bush administration officials assert that the overhaul is merely a common-sense change that would give FBI agents who pursue national security leads the same power as agents who investigate criminal offenses.
Civil liberties activists yesterday raised anew questions about the expanded role of the FBI in collecting an array of foreign intelligence within U.S. borders, absent evidence of a crime. For instance, the guidelines allow FBI agents to conduct interviews and monitor the movement of people who may possess useful information on subjects of general interest to American policymakers, such as a foreign government's oil exports.
Justice Department officials released new guidelines yesterday that empower FBI agents... more
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