Sunday, July 15, 2012
Stifling free speech to help Israel
First published as an op-ed in LA Daily News
Republished at Information Clearing House
Shakeel Syed is a Muslim-American and a board member of American Muslims for Palestine
Jeff Warner is a Jewish-American and a member of Los Angeles Jews for Peace
Our message was simple: “Tell Congress: Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military.” We wanted people to understand how their tax dollars are spent. We contracted with CBS Outdoor for a 28-day campaign of 23 billboards. They erected them in Los Angeles and surrounding cities, and we thanked them for allowing free speech. However, a week later, CBS Outdoor took down all our billboards, telling us laughably that our applauding them for allowing free speech was tantamount to their endorsement of our message. They wanted us to take our money and go away quietly. But we decided otherwise.
The truth is that CBS Outdoor likely buckled to pressure from pro-Israeli groups and their paid shills in Congress. Rep. Howard Berman wrote a memo (available on his website) to the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel, the sponsor of the billboard campaign, condemning the billboards and referring to alleged complaints from his San Fernando Valley constituents. In response, Berman received praise from pro-Israel groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League, organizations who called the billboards “provocative.”
So what if the billboards contained a message that Rep. Berman and these pro-Israel groups found provocative. Who are they to judge what political messages people in Los Angeles should be allowed to see? On the other hand, we believe that provocative discussions make democracy flourish and stifling discussion will kill democracy. By taking down the billboards and advocating against them, we charge CBS Outdoor and Rep. Berman with stifling discussion and undermining our democracy.
As taxpayers, we care how Congress spends our money. As citizens, we want our country to be generous, but not reckless. Rep. Berman and vast majority of his Congressional colleagues continually demonstrate recklessness in wasting our treasure serving Israeli interests rather than fulfilling the needs of the American people. The money the United States is spending on the Israeli military this year, if used at home, would help tens of thousands of Americans recover from the ongoing recession with affordable housing, college loans, green job training, health care, and other support.
Rep. Berman demands that America must keep aiding Israel although it was recently ranked by the Center for Public Integrity as one of the top ten human rights abusers in the world receiving U.S. weapons, and Israeli misuse of American-supplied weapons to dispossess and bombard Palestinians may violate the United States Arms Export Control Act, which limits the use of U.S. weapons to “internal security” and “legitimate self-defense.” We disagree.
Why is Rep. Berman intentionally disregarding these laws in hawking more weapons to Israel at the expense of unmet domestic needs? Perhaps the answer lies in Rep. Berman being a beneficiary of pro-Israel political action committees, which are among his top five contributors, keeping him in Congress as their many strong advocates.
Rep. Berman should stop pandering for military aid to Israel and instead start aiding Americans who are homeless and the jobless, children and the elderly, libraries and schools, police and fire departments. He can start with those right there in his district in the San Fernando Valley. For example, the money destined for the Israeli military under a $30 billion ten year agreement would provide primary health care to 23 million Americans.
As for CBS Outdoor whose slogan is, “Always On,” apparently is on for some and off for others. Suppressing free speech, especially that which engenders a debate to mend the American economy, is not only un-American but anti-capitalist.
As Jewish and Muslim Americans who devote our lives to seeking peace among peoples of all faiths, we hold CBS Outdoor and Rep. Berman responsible for suppressing an important conversation; the billboards called on our nation to revisit its misplaced spending priorities.
We believe in a vibrant and provocative discussion through all lawful means, including by erecting billboards. This is an imperative and not an option. American leaders say they want to see genuine peace and stability in the Middle East. To achieve that America must first stop its financial and military aid to Israel and then use whatever integrity it has left to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people.
As long as America’s treasure is bled away to support the tyranny of the Israeli occupation and as long as corporations and Congressmen like Rep. Berman stifles debate and discussion, our country will continue to suffer.
CBS Outdoor should not censor the billboards and Rep. Berman should not attempt to chill free speech. Americans deserve to debate the negative impact of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Our billboard may have been removed but our spirits soar high with our message to Congress: “Spend Our Money at Home, Not on the Israeli Military.”
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Let's burn the village to save it
Friends of all persuasion ... Are you as deeply mad as I am today to begin 2012? Never in my half a century of life I was so mad to start a new year.
The charming fool made lawlessness, a law!
What other choice do I have, but to re-commit to never accept and always refuse to be subjected by the legal lawlessness of our country!
I was near convinced in 2011 but now fully at peace to embrace the adage of the sages ... "let's burn this village to save it." Would you join me?
shakeel.
Jan 1, 2012.
The charming fool made lawlessness, a law!
What other choice do I have, but to re-commit to never accept and always refuse to be subjected by the legal lawlessness of our country!
I was near convinced in 2011 but now fully at peace to embrace the adage of the sages ... "let's burn this village to save it." Would you join me?
shakeel.
Jan 1, 2012.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Mic Check for Holy-days & Holi-days
Mic Check for Holy-days & Holi-days
Shakeel Syed, Dec 24, 2011
I say Mic Check, for the holy-days and
You say Mic Check, for the the holi-days
You say Mic Check, for 2011 that was theirs
I say Mic Check, for 2012 that will be ours
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check for Hanukkah and Moses
Mic Check for Christmas and Jesus
Mic Check for Kwanzaa and King
Mic Check for the faithful and Mic Check for the faithless
Mic Check for the jobless and Mic Check for the homeless
Mic Check for the voiceless and Mic Check for the powerless
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check to gut the greed and Mic Check to castigate the corruption
Mic Check to hound the hunger and Mic Check to prune the poverty
Mic Check to over the oppression and Mic Check to toss the tyranny
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check for the wretched of the earth
Mic Check for their freedom and dignity, and
Mic Check for our revolution and not their reform
I say Mic Check, for the holy-days and
You say Mic Check, for the the holi-days
You say Mic Check, for 2011 that was theirs
I say Mic Check, for 2012 that will be ours.
Shakeel Syed, Dec 24, 2011
I say Mic Check, for the holy-days and
You say Mic Check, for the the holi-days
You say Mic Check, for 2011 that was theirs
I say Mic Check, for 2012 that will be ours
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check for Hanukkah and Moses
Mic Check for Christmas and Jesus
Mic Check for Kwanzaa and King
Mic Check for the faithful and Mic Check for the faithless
Mic Check for the jobless and Mic Check for the homeless
Mic Check for the voiceless and Mic Check for the powerless
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check to gut the greed and Mic Check to castigate the corruption
Mic Check to hound the hunger and Mic Check to prune the poverty
Mic Check to over the oppression and Mic Check to toss the tyranny
O my people of faith and persons of conscience
Let us all sing Mic Check for the sake of Mic Check
Mic Check for the wretched of the earth
Mic Check for their freedom and dignity, and
Mic Check for our revolution and not their reform
I say Mic Check, for the holy-days and
You say Mic Check, for the the holi-days
You say Mic Check, for 2011 that was theirs
I say Mic Check, for 2012 that will be ours.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Is There Any Difference Between Bush & Obama?
Is There Any Fundamental Difference Between the Bush and Obama Presidencies in the Area of Domestic Civil Liberites?
Obama's Assault: 20 Examples
By Bill Quigley
COUNTER PUNCH
The Obama administration has affirmed, continued and expanded almost all of the draconian domestic civil liberties intrusions pioneered under the Bush administration. Here are twenty examples of serious assaults on the domestic rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience that have occurred since the Obama administration has assumed power. Consider these and then decide if there is any fundamental difference between the Bush presidency and the Obama presidency in the area of domestic civil liberties.
Patriot Act
On May 27, 2011, President Obama, over widespread bipartisan objections, approved a Congressional four-year extension of controversial parts of the Patriot Act that were set to expire. In March of 2010, Obama had already signed a similar extension of the Patriot Act for one year. These provisions allow the government, with permission from a special secret court, to seize records without the owner's knowledge, conduct secret surveillance of suspicious people who have no known ties to terrorist groups, and to obtain secret roving wiretaps on people.
Criminalization of Dissent and Militarization of the Police
Anyone who has gone to a peace or justice protest in recent years has seen it - local police have been turned into SWAT teams, and SWAT teams into heavily armored military. Officer Friendly, or even Officer Unfriendly, has given way to police uniformed like soldiers, with SWAT shields, shin guards, heavy vests, military helmets, visors, and vastly increased firepower. Protest police sport ninja turtle-like outfits and are accompanied by helicopters, special tanks, and even sound-blasting vehicles first used in Iraq. Wireless fingerprint scanners, first used by troops in Iraq, are now being utilized by local police departments to check motorists. Facial recognition software introduced in war zones is now being used in Arizona and other jurisdictions. Drones just like the ones used in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan are being used along the Mexican and Canadian borders. These activities continue to expand under the Obama administration.
Wiretaps
Wiretaps for oral, electronic or wire communications, approved by federal and state courts, are at an all-time high. Wiretaps in 2010 were up 34 per cent from 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Criminalization of Speech
Muslims in the U.S.A. have been targeted by the Obama Department of Justice for inflammatory things they said or published on the Internet. First Amendment protection of freedom of speech, most recently stated in a 1969 Supreme Court decision, Brandenberg v. Ohio, says the government cannot punish inflammatory speech, even if it advocates violence, unless it is likely to incite or produce such action. A Pakistani resident legally living in the U.S.A. was indicted by the DOJ in September 2011 for uploading a video on YouTube. The DOJ said the video was supportive of terrorists, even though nothing on the video called for violence.
Domestic Government Spying on Muslim Communities
In activities that offend freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and several other laws, the NYPD and the CIA have partnered to conduct intelligence operations against Muslim communities in New York and elsewhere. The CIA, which is prohibited from spying on Americans, works with the police on "human mapping," commonly known as racial and religious profiling to spy on the Muslim community. Under the Obama administration, the Associated Press reported in August 2011, informants known as "mosque crawlers" monitor sermons, bookstores and cafes.
Top Secret America
In July 2010, the Washington Post released "Top Secret America," a series of articles detailing the results of a two-year investigation into the rapidly expanding world of homeland security, intelligence and counterterrorism. It found that 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence, at about 10,000 locations across the U.S.A. Every single day, the National Security Agency intercepts and stores more than 1.7 billion emails, phone calls and other types of communications. The FBI has a secret database named Guardian that contains reports of suspicious activities filed from federal, state and local law enforcement. According to the Washington Post,Guardian contained 161,948 files as of December 2009. From that database, there have been 103 full investigations and at least five arrests, the FBI reported. The Obama administration has done nothing to cut back on the secrecy.
Other Domestic Spying
There are at least 72 fusion centers across the U.S.A., which collect local domestic police information and merge it into multi-jurisdictional intelligence centers, according to recent report by the ACLU. These centers share information from federal, state and local law enforcement and some private companies to secretly spy on Americans. These all continue to grow and flourish under the Obama administration.
Abusive FBI Intelligence Operations
The Electronic Frontier Foundation documented thousands of violations of the law by FBI intelligence operations, from 2001 to 2008, and estimate that there are over 4,000 such violations each year. President Obama issued an executive order to strengthen the Intelligence Oversight Board, an agency which is supposed to make sure the FBI, the CIA and other spy agencies are following the law. No other changes have been noticed.
Wikileaks
The publication of U.S. diplomatic cables by Wikileaks and then by main stream news outlets sparked condemnation by Obama administration officials, who said the publication of accurate government documents was nothing less than an attack on the United States. The attorney general announced a criminal investigation and promised, "this is not saber rattling." Government officials warned State Department employees not to download the publicly available documents. A State Department official and Columbia University officials warned students that discussing Wikileaks or linking documents to social networking sites could jeopardize their chances of getting a government job, a posture maintained for several days until reversed by other Columbia officials. At the time this was written, the Obama administration continued to try to find ways to prosecute the publishers of Wikileaks.
Censorship of Books by the CIA
In 2011, the CIA demanded extensive cuts from a memoir by former FBI agent Ali H. Soufan, in part because it made the agency look bad. Soufan's book detailed the use of torture methods on captured prisoners and Agency mistakes that led to 9/11. Similarly, a 2011 book on interrogation methods by former CIA agent Glenn Carle was subjected to extensive black outs. The CIA under the Obama administration continues its push for censorship.
Blocking Publication of Photos of U.S. Soldiers Abusing Prisoners
In May 2009, President Obama reversed his position of three weeks earlier and refused to release photos of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners. In April 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense told a federal court that it would release the photos. The photos were part of nearly 200 criminal investigations into abuses by soldiers.
Technological Spying
In August 2011, hearing rumors to protest against fatal shootings by their police, the Bay Area Transit System shut down cell service in four rail stations. Western companies sell email surveillance software to repressive regimes in China, Libya and Syria, to use against protestors and human rights activists. Surveillance cameras monitor residents in high crime areas, street corners and other governmental buildings. Police department computers ask for and receive daily lists from utility companies, with addresses and names of every home in their area. Computers in police cars scan every license plate of every car they drive by. The Obama administration has made no serious effort to cut back these new technologies of spying on citizens.
Use of "State Secrets" to Shield Government and Others from review
When the Bush government was caught hiring private planes from a Boeing subsidiary to transport people for torture to other countries, the Bush administration successfully asked the federal trial court to dismiss a case by tortured detainees, because having a trial would disclose "state secrets" and threaten national security. When President Obama was elected, the "state secrets" defense was reaffirmed in arguments before a federal appeals court. It continues to be a mainstay of the Obama administration effort to cloak their actions and the actions of the Bush administration in secrecy.
In another case, it became clear in 2005 that the Bush FBI was avoiding the Fourth Amendment requirement to seek judicial warrants to get telephone and Internet records by going directly to the phone companies and asking for the records. The government and the companies, among other methods of surveillance, set up secret rooms where phone and Internet traffic could be monitored. In 2008, the government granted the companies amnesty for violating the privacy rights of their customers. Customers sued anyway. But the Obama administration successfully argued to the district court, among other defenses, that disclosure would expose "state secrets" and should be dismissed. The case is now on appeal.
Material Support
The Obama administration successfully asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to apply the First Amendment and to allow the government to criminalize humanitarian aid and legal activities of people providing advice or support to foreign organizations, which are listed on the government list as terrorist organizations. The material support law can now be read to penalize people who provide humanitarian aid or human rights advocacy. The Obama administration solicitor general argued to the court, "When you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs." The court agreed with the Obama argument that national security trumps free speech in these circumstances.
Chicago Anti-war Grand Jury Investigation
In September 2010, FBI agents raided the homes of seven peace activists in Chicago, Minneapolis and Grand Rapids, seizing computers, cell phones, passports, and records. More than 20 anti-war activists were issued federal grand jury subpoenas and more were questioned across the country. Some of those targeted were members of local labor unions, others - members of organizations like the Arab American Action Network, the Columbia Action Network, the Twin Cities Anti-War Campaign, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Many were active internationally and visited resistance groups in Columbia and Palestine. Subpoenas directed people to bring anything related to trips to Columbia, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Israel or the Middle East. In 2011, the home of a Los Angeles activist was raided, and he was questioned about his connections with the September 2010 activists. All of these investigations are directed by the Obama administration.
Punishing Whistleblowers
The Obama administration has prosecuted five whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, more than all the other administrations in U.S. history put together. They charged a National Security Agency advisor with ten felonies under the Espionage Act for telling the press that government eavesdroppers were wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on misguided and failed projects. After their case collapsed, the government, which was chastised by the federal judge as engaging in unconscionable conduct, allowed him to plead to a misdemeanor and walk. The administration has also prosecuted former members of the CIA, the State Department, and the FBI. They even tried to subpoena a journalist and one of the lawyers for the whistleblowers.
Bradley Manning
Army Private Bradley Manning is accused of leaking thousands of government documents to Wikileaks. These documents expose untold numbers of lies by U.S. government officials, wrongful killings of civilians, policies to ignore torture in Iraq, information about who is held at Guantanamo, cover-ups of drone strikes and abuse of children, and much more damaging information about U.S. malfeasance. Though Daniel Ellsberg and other whistleblowers say Bradley is an American hero, the U.S. government has jailed him and is threatening him with charges of espionage, which may be punished by the death penalty. For months, Manning was held in solitary confinement and forced by guards to sleep naked. When asked about how Manning was being held, President Obama personally defended the conditions of his confinement, saying he had been assured they were appropriate and meeting our basic standards.
Solitary Confinement
At least 20,000 people are in solitary confinement in U.S. jails and prisons, some estimate several times that many. Despite the fact that federal, state and local prisons and jails do not report actual numbers, academic research estimates tens of thousands are kept in cells for 23 to 24 hours a day in super-maximum security units and prisons, in lockdown, in security housing units, in "the hole," and in special management units or administrative segregation. Human Rights Watch reports that one-third to one-half of the prisoners in solitary are likely mentally ill. In May 2006, the U.N. Committee on Torture concluded that the United States should "review the regimen imposed on detainees in supermax prisons, in particular, the practice of prolonged isolation." The Obama administration has taken no steps to cut back on the use of solitary confinement in federal, state or local jails and prisons.
Special Administrative Measures
Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) are extra harsh conditions of confinement imposed on prisoners (including pre-trial detainees) by the attorney general. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons imposes restrictions such as segregation and isolation from all other prisoners, and limitation or denial of contact with the outside world, for example such as: no visitors except attorneys, no contact with news media, no use of phone, no correspondence, no contact with family, no communication with guards, 24-hour video surveillance and monitoring. The DOJ admitted in 2009 that several dozen prisoners, including several pre-trial detainees, mostly Muslims, were kept incommunicado under SAMs. If anything, the use of SAMs has increased under the Obama administration.
* * *
These twenty concrete examples document a sustained assault on domestic civil liberties in the United States under the Obama administration. Rhetoric aside, how different has Obama been from Bush in this area? COUNTER PUNCH -
Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University, New Orleans. He also serves as associate legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Obama's Assault: 20 Examples
By Bill Quigley
COUNTER PUNCH
The Obama administration has affirmed, continued and expanded almost all of the draconian domestic civil liberties intrusions pioneered under the Bush administration. Here are twenty examples of serious assaults on the domestic rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience that have occurred since the Obama administration has assumed power. Consider these and then decide if there is any fundamental difference between the Bush presidency and the Obama presidency in the area of domestic civil liberties.
Patriot Act
On May 27, 2011, President Obama, over widespread bipartisan objections, approved a Congressional four-year extension of controversial parts of the Patriot Act that were set to expire. In March of 2010, Obama had already signed a similar extension of the Patriot Act for one year. These provisions allow the government, with permission from a special secret court, to seize records without the owner's knowledge, conduct secret surveillance of suspicious people who have no known ties to terrorist groups, and to obtain secret roving wiretaps on people.
Criminalization of Dissent and Militarization of the Police
Anyone who has gone to a peace or justice protest in recent years has seen it - local police have been turned into SWAT teams, and SWAT teams into heavily armored military. Officer Friendly, or even Officer Unfriendly, has given way to police uniformed like soldiers, with SWAT shields, shin guards, heavy vests, military helmets, visors, and vastly increased firepower. Protest police sport ninja turtle-like outfits and are accompanied by helicopters, special tanks, and even sound-blasting vehicles first used in Iraq. Wireless fingerprint scanners, first used by troops in Iraq, are now being utilized by local police departments to check motorists. Facial recognition software introduced in war zones is now being used in Arizona and other jurisdictions. Drones just like the ones used in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan are being used along the Mexican and Canadian borders. These activities continue to expand under the Obama administration.
Wiretaps
Wiretaps for oral, electronic or wire communications, approved by federal and state courts, are at an all-time high. Wiretaps in 2010 were up 34 per cent from 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Criminalization of Speech
Muslims in the U.S.A. have been targeted by the Obama Department of Justice for inflammatory things they said or published on the Internet. First Amendment protection of freedom of speech, most recently stated in a 1969 Supreme Court decision, Brandenberg v. Ohio, says the government cannot punish inflammatory speech, even if it advocates violence, unless it is likely to incite or produce such action. A Pakistani resident legally living in the U.S.A. was indicted by the DOJ in September 2011 for uploading a video on YouTube. The DOJ said the video was supportive of terrorists, even though nothing on the video called for violence.
Domestic Government Spying on Muslim Communities
In activities that offend freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and several other laws, the NYPD and the CIA have partnered to conduct intelligence operations against Muslim communities in New York and elsewhere. The CIA, which is prohibited from spying on Americans, works with the police on "human mapping," commonly known as racial and religious profiling to spy on the Muslim community. Under the Obama administration, the Associated Press reported in August 2011, informants known as "mosque crawlers" monitor sermons, bookstores and cafes.
Top Secret America
In July 2010, the Washington Post released "Top Secret America," a series of articles detailing the results of a two-year investigation into the rapidly expanding world of homeland security, intelligence and counterterrorism. It found that 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence, at about 10,000 locations across the U.S.A. Every single day, the National Security Agency intercepts and stores more than 1.7 billion emails, phone calls and other types of communications. The FBI has a secret database named Guardian that contains reports of suspicious activities filed from federal, state and local law enforcement. According to the Washington Post,Guardian contained 161,948 files as of December 2009. From that database, there have been 103 full investigations and at least five arrests, the FBI reported. The Obama administration has done nothing to cut back on the secrecy.
Other Domestic Spying
There are at least 72 fusion centers across the U.S.A., which collect local domestic police information and merge it into multi-jurisdictional intelligence centers, according to recent report by the ACLU. These centers share information from federal, state and local law enforcement and some private companies to secretly spy on Americans. These all continue to grow and flourish under the Obama administration.
Abusive FBI Intelligence Operations
The Electronic Frontier Foundation documented thousands of violations of the law by FBI intelligence operations, from 2001 to 2008, and estimate that there are over 4,000 such violations each year. President Obama issued an executive order to strengthen the Intelligence Oversight Board, an agency which is supposed to make sure the FBI, the CIA and other spy agencies are following the law. No other changes have been noticed.
Wikileaks
The publication of U.S. diplomatic cables by Wikileaks and then by main stream news outlets sparked condemnation by Obama administration officials, who said the publication of accurate government documents was nothing less than an attack on the United States. The attorney general announced a criminal investigation and promised, "this is not saber rattling." Government officials warned State Department employees not to download the publicly available documents. A State Department official and Columbia University officials warned students that discussing Wikileaks or linking documents to social networking sites could jeopardize their chances of getting a government job, a posture maintained for several days until reversed by other Columbia officials. At the time this was written, the Obama administration continued to try to find ways to prosecute the publishers of Wikileaks.
Censorship of Books by the CIA
In 2011, the CIA demanded extensive cuts from a memoir by former FBI agent Ali H. Soufan, in part because it made the agency look bad. Soufan's book detailed the use of torture methods on captured prisoners and Agency mistakes that led to 9/11. Similarly, a 2011 book on interrogation methods by former CIA agent Glenn Carle was subjected to extensive black outs. The CIA under the Obama administration continues its push for censorship.
Blocking Publication of Photos of U.S. Soldiers Abusing Prisoners
In May 2009, President Obama reversed his position of three weeks earlier and refused to release photos of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners. In April 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense told a federal court that it would release the photos. The photos were part of nearly 200 criminal investigations into abuses by soldiers.
Technological Spying
In August 2011, hearing rumors to protest against fatal shootings by their police, the Bay Area Transit System shut down cell service in four rail stations. Western companies sell email surveillance software to repressive regimes in China, Libya and Syria, to use against protestors and human rights activists. Surveillance cameras monitor residents in high crime areas, street corners and other governmental buildings. Police department computers ask for and receive daily lists from utility companies, with addresses and names of every home in their area. Computers in police cars scan every license plate of every car they drive by. The Obama administration has made no serious effort to cut back these new technologies of spying on citizens.
Use of "State Secrets" to Shield Government and Others from review
When the Bush government was caught hiring private planes from a Boeing subsidiary to transport people for torture to other countries, the Bush administration successfully asked the federal trial court to dismiss a case by tortured detainees, because having a trial would disclose "state secrets" and threaten national security. When President Obama was elected, the "state secrets" defense was reaffirmed in arguments before a federal appeals court. It continues to be a mainstay of the Obama administration effort to cloak their actions and the actions of the Bush administration in secrecy.
In another case, it became clear in 2005 that the Bush FBI was avoiding the Fourth Amendment requirement to seek judicial warrants to get telephone and Internet records by going directly to the phone companies and asking for the records. The government and the companies, among other methods of surveillance, set up secret rooms where phone and Internet traffic could be monitored. In 2008, the government granted the companies amnesty for violating the privacy rights of their customers. Customers sued anyway. But the Obama administration successfully argued to the district court, among other defenses, that disclosure would expose "state secrets" and should be dismissed. The case is now on appeal.
Material Support
The Obama administration successfully asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to apply the First Amendment and to allow the government to criminalize humanitarian aid and legal activities of people providing advice or support to foreign organizations, which are listed on the government list as terrorist organizations. The material support law can now be read to penalize people who provide humanitarian aid or human rights advocacy. The Obama administration solicitor general argued to the court, "When you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs." The court agreed with the Obama argument that national security trumps free speech in these circumstances.
Chicago Anti-war Grand Jury Investigation
In September 2010, FBI agents raided the homes of seven peace activists in Chicago, Minneapolis and Grand Rapids, seizing computers, cell phones, passports, and records. More than 20 anti-war activists were issued federal grand jury subpoenas and more were questioned across the country. Some of those targeted were members of local labor unions, others - members of organizations like the Arab American Action Network, the Columbia Action Network, the Twin Cities Anti-War Campaign, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Many were active internationally and visited resistance groups in Columbia and Palestine. Subpoenas directed people to bring anything related to trips to Columbia, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Israel or the Middle East. In 2011, the home of a Los Angeles activist was raided, and he was questioned about his connections with the September 2010 activists. All of these investigations are directed by the Obama administration.
Punishing Whistleblowers
The Obama administration has prosecuted five whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, more than all the other administrations in U.S. history put together. They charged a National Security Agency advisor with ten felonies under the Espionage Act for telling the press that government eavesdroppers were wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on misguided and failed projects. After their case collapsed, the government, which was chastised by the federal judge as engaging in unconscionable conduct, allowed him to plead to a misdemeanor and walk. The administration has also prosecuted former members of the CIA, the State Department, and the FBI. They even tried to subpoena a journalist and one of the lawyers for the whistleblowers.
Bradley Manning
Army Private Bradley Manning is accused of leaking thousands of government documents to Wikileaks. These documents expose untold numbers of lies by U.S. government officials, wrongful killings of civilians, policies to ignore torture in Iraq, information about who is held at Guantanamo, cover-ups of drone strikes and abuse of children, and much more damaging information about U.S. malfeasance. Though Daniel Ellsberg and other whistleblowers say Bradley is an American hero, the U.S. government has jailed him and is threatening him with charges of espionage, which may be punished by the death penalty. For months, Manning was held in solitary confinement and forced by guards to sleep naked. When asked about how Manning was being held, President Obama personally defended the conditions of his confinement, saying he had been assured they were appropriate and meeting our basic standards.
Solitary Confinement
At least 20,000 people are in solitary confinement in U.S. jails and prisons, some estimate several times that many. Despite the fact that federal, state and local prisons and jails do not report actual numbers, academic research estimates tens of thousands are kept in cells for 23 to 24 hours a day in super-maximum security units and prisons, in lockdown, in security housing units, in "the hole," and in special management units or administrative segregation. Human Rights Watch reports that one-third to one-half of the prisoners in solitary are likely mentally ill. In May 2006, the U.N. Committee on Torture concluded that the United States should "review the regimen imposed on detainees in supermax prisons, in particular, the practice of prolonged isolation." The Obama administration has taken no steps to cut back on the use of solitary confinement in federal, state or local jails and prisons.
Special Administrative Measures
Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) are extra harsh conditions of confinement imposed on prisoners (including pre-trial detainees) by the attorney general. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons imposes restrictions such as segregation and isolation from all other prisoners, and limitation or denial of contact with the outside world, for example such as: no visitors except attorneys, no contact with news media, no use of phone, no correspondence, no contact with family, no communication with guards, 24-hour video surveillance and monitoring. The DOJ admitted in 2009 that several dozen prisoners, including several pre-trial detainees, mostly Muslims, were kept incommunicado under SAMs. If anything, the use of SAMs has increased under the Obama administration.
* * *
These twenty concrete examples document a sustained assault on domestic civil liberties in the United States under the Obama administration. Rhetoric aside, how different has Obama been from Bush in this area? COUNTER PUNCH -
Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University, New Orleans. He also serves as associate legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Friday, October 7, 2011
On 10 Year Anniversary of US Killing in Afghanistan
Interfaith Communities United for Justice & Peace organized a public rally and civil disobedience commemorating 10 year anniversary of US invasion on Afghanistan - now the longest war.
One of the main street in downtown Los Angeles was shut down while we marched that's followed by talks and some music. Pasted below is my brief remarks and then some press clips from the action today.
My remarks: At this ten year anniversary of the US invasion on Afghanistan, I stand with my fellow Americans as a “bruised American” in a “broken America” --- whose ideals I cherish but whose policies I despise. If the U.S. policy of pre-emptive war is any justification to stop potential threats then America may be bombed every day!
Today, I mourn all victims of America … the young soldiers of our nation and also the suckling children of the wailing mothers and the grieving fathers in Afghanistan.
On this day, I renew my pledge to oppose any leader of any color - for invading countries and killing innocent people and calling them a mere collateral damage.
I believe, the old America 1.0 is near dead --- and
I believe, the new America 2.0 is born in Manhattan and growing up here in Los Angeles.
I ask America to join me today – not in mourning the death of old America but to nurture the new America
A New America - that does not shy in questioning the wisdom of waging wars
A New America – that refuses to submit to the policies of death and destruction
A New America – that insists for life and for health, for education and for work
And most importantly --- a New America – that embraces all of humanity as the creation of God
Press Coverage from the action today:
- ABC - Channel 7
- NBC Channel 4
- Yahoo News & KCAL - Chnnel 9
- ICUJP video collage Part-1 and Part-2
One of the main street in downtown Los Angeles was shut down while we marched that's followed by talks and some music. Pasted below is my brief remarks and then some press clips from the action today.
My remarks: At this ten year anniversary of the US invasion on Afghanistan, I stand with my fellow Americans as a “bruised American” in a “broken America” --- whose ideals I cherish but whose policies I despise. If the U.S. policy of pre-emptive war is any justification to stop potential threats then America may be bombed every day!
Today, I mourn all victims of America … the young soldiers of our nation and also the suckling children of the wailing mothers and the grieving fathers in Afghanistan.
On this day, I renew my pledge to oppose any leader of any color - for invading countries and killing innocent people and calling them a mere collateral damage.
I believe, the old America 1.0 is near dead --- and
I believe, the new America 2.0 is born in Manhattan and growing up here in Los Angeles.
I ask America to join me today – not in mourning the death of old America but to nurture the new America
A New America - that does not shy in questioning the wisdom of waging wars
A New America – that refuses to submit to the policies of death and destruction
A New America – that insists for life and for health, for education and for work
And most importantly --- a New America – that embraces all of humanity as the creation of God
Press Coverage from the action today:
- ABC - Channel 7
- NBC Channel 4
- Yahoo News & KCAL - Chnnel 9
- ICUJP video collage Part-1 and Part-2
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
My Tear Drops
My Tear Drops
shakeel syed – september eleven – two thousand eleven
…….
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the thousands on the morning of september eleven
Those who were dressed in slacks and shorts, and
Those who were running or being run in the strollers
… full of colors and cheers were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the millions since october seven
Those who were shirtless and in jilbabs
Those who were plowing their fields and playing with their children
… full of life and love were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for tens of thousands since march nineteen
Those who were shoeless and in burqas
Those who were idling around the corner and learning in madrassat
… full of hope and happiness were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the hundreds since january eleven
Those who were innocent fathers and carefree sons
Those who were simply striving and shyly singing
… full of mercy and mischief were they
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
My tears are for all and not for some
My sorrow is same for the New Yorkers, the Baghdadis and the Kabulis
My grief is equal for the Washingtonians and the West Bankers
My love is for all and not only for some
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
shakeel syed – september eleven – two thousand eleven
…….
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the thousands on the morning of september eleven
Those who were dressed in slacks and shorts, and
Those who were running or being run in the strollers
… full of colors and cheers were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the millions since october seven
Those who were shirtless and in jilbabs
Those who were plowing their fields and playing with their children
… full of life and love were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for tens of thousands since march nineteen
Those who were shoeless and in burqas
Those who were idling around the corner and learning in madrassat
… full of hope and happiness were they.
They were each on their own way but apart from one another, and yet …
Every one of them were one created by the same One
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
In it are my tears for the hundreds since january eleven
Those who were innocent fathers and carefree sons
Those who were simply striving and shyly singing
… full of mercy and mischief were they
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
My tears are for all and not for some
My sorrow is same for the New Yorkers, the Baghdadis and the Kabulis
My grief is equal for the Washingtonians and the West Bankers
My love is for all and not only for some
My tears are more than a drop - they are an ocean pregnant with silent sorrows
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