Monday, May 31, 2004
Civil libertarians warn of federal-state terrorism info sharing
"The New York Civil Liberties Union warns a first-in-the-nation system giving local police nearly instant access to federal files on terrorism poses an 'enormous' risk of arrest and detention of people without cause.
The collaboration between federal, state and local police will use regional FBI offices to screen requests from officers on the beat in New York and Vermont. Suspects' names, passport numbers, license plates and other identifying information will be checked against databases on terrorism maintained by 12 federal agencies, including the FBI, CIA and State Department." Newsday contains this article.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--terrorism-sharing0531may31,0,706224.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
Lehigh University faculty joins others in condemning Patriot Act
The faculty at Lehigh University have passed a nonbinding resolution expressing concerns about the USA Patriot Act, becoming one of a handful of colleges and universities across the country to take such a stand on the controversial legislation. The AP reports here.
Friday, May 28, 2004
EU, U.S. Sign Passenger Data Agreement
U.S. and European officials signed an agreement Friday for sharing information on airline passengers, saying the new policy addresses concerns about privacy. The agreement, which takes effect immediately and is to last 3 1/2 years, gives U.S. authorities access to information about passengers on flights flying to or from the 25 European Union countries. The information will be checked against U.S. databases to determine if any travelers are terrorist threats. The AP reports here.
Patriot Act: First task is to review it, not renew it
"Despite the latest warnings, citizens have been mercifully safe on American soil since that awful day. That makes for a calmer climate in which to assess the tricky balance between security and liberty." This op-ed appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
All signs point to presidential protester winning fight
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — City officials say they won't block a motion to dismiss a disorderly conduct citation against a man who displayed a protest sign reading "F U G W" as President Bush's motorcade passed by. The AP reports here.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Little fanfare for Libertarians as they make bid for White House
Formed in 1971, the party stresses the rights of individuals over the power of government, and a foreign policy of noninterference. It claims nearly 600 elected officials nationwide, almost entirely in city or county positions, and has been on the presidential ballot in all 50 states for the last three elections. USA Today contains this article.
Feds to start sharing terrorism data
State and local police in New York and Vermont will soon have instant access to federal counterterrorism data under an FBI-run pilot program that could become a new weapon in the war on terrorism, officials announced Tuesday. CNN reports here.
You're being watched
Voices on all sides are raising concerns about post-9/11 security laws and the interpretation of those measures. How much privacy can we lose? The Los Angeles Times reports here.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
War on Terror Leading to Abuse Worldwide, Amnesty Says
According to Amnesty International's new International Report for 2004, violations of human rights by governments and terrorists have "combined to produce the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years."
"International human rights standards continued to be flouted in the name of the 'war on terror,'" the report claims, "...resulting in thousands of women and men suffering unlawful detention, unfair trial and torture--often solely because of their ethnic or religious background." The report also criticizes the "excessive use of force" by U.S. troops in Iraq, and their abuse of detainees in the country.
"Callous, cruel and criminal attacks by armed groups such as al-Qaeda pose a very real threat to the security of people everywhere," declared Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan. "It is also frightening that the principles of international law and the tools of multilateral action which could protect us from these attacks are being undermined, marginalized or destroyed by powerful governments."
Kerry Campaign Responds to Bush Patriot Act Ad
From this press release: "The Bush-Cheney Campaign is so desperate to shift the national conversation away from the White House's failed policies that it is launching misleading attacks about John Kerry's position on the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act has not been a cure-all for the intelligence failures exposed by 9/11 which is why John Kerry, conservative Republican Senator Larry Craig, moderate Republican Senator Arlen Specter and others have the same position on the law: we should preserve over 95 percent of the Act and make improvements on the rest to strengthen the war on terrorism."
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
EDITORIAL: Erosion of our privacy
Rather than address legitimate constitutional concerns when details of "Patriot II" were leaked to the press last year, the Bush administration quietly withdrew the proposal. But now the Justice Department is back, trying to slip the same domestic spying enhancements through Congress piecemeal, in several different bills. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports here.
New Bush ad assails Kerry on Patriot Act
Announcer: "President Bush signed the Patriot Act giving law enforcement vital tools to fight terrorism. John Kerry? He voted for the Patriot Act, but pressured by fellow liberals, he's changed his position." The San Francisco Chronicle reports here. Watch the actual ad here.
FBI apologizes to Oregon lawyer
"I am an American Muslim," he said. "I have been singled out and discriminated against, I feel, as a Muslim." The Oregonian reports here.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Overblown fears about the Patriot Act
Jeff Jacoby writes: "The law's sternest critics warn that America is only steps away from the gulag ... Strangely omitted from much of the anti-Patriot Act vehemence is any mention of 9/11 ... But the Patriot Act wasn't passed in a vacuum." The Boston Globe contains this op-ed.
U.S. Nearing Deal on Way to Track Foreign Visitors
The Department of Homeland Security is on the verge of awarding the biggest contract in its young history for an elaborate system that could cost as much as $15 billion and employ a network of databases to track visitors to the United States long before they arrive. The New York Times reports here.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Oregon lawyer held in Spain attack is set free
An American lawyer who was arrested two weeks ago in connection with the terror attacks in Spain was set free yesterday after evidence pointed to another suspect in the deadly train bombings. The Associated Press reports here.
Anti-Terror Database Got Show at White House
One day in January 2003, an entrepreneur from Florida named Hank Asher walked into the Roosevelt Room of the White House to demonstrate a counterterrorism tool he invented after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Soon to be called Matrix, it was a computer program capable of examining records of billions of people in seconds. The Washington Post reports here.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Early database project yielded 120,000 suspects, spurs privacy worries
Before helping to launch the criminal information project known as Matrix, a database contractor gave U.S. and Florida authorities the names of 120,000 people who showed a statistical likelihood of being terrorists--sparking some investigations and arrests. The AP reports here.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Yemeni's lawsuit contends special tribunal violates Constitution
On the ninth floor of the federal courthouse in Seattle, a lawsuit is being heard that weighs the foundations of American laws and values against the mission of protecting the country from foreign terrorists. The Seattle Times reports here.
Ashcroft Announces New Plan for Sharing Intelligence
Last week, John Ashcroft announced the creation of The National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan, an ambitious effort wherein the Justice Department and the F.B.I. will coordinate investigative information with 1.2 million law enforcement officials at every level of government, from local to national. "No single government agency or government can win the war on terrorism alone," Mr. Ashcroft said at a news conference in Washington. The New York Times reports here.
Prosecutors can show Web postings; But judge says that evidence could still be dismissed
Federal prosecutors were permitted to show the jury in the Sami Al-Hussayen terrorism case several articles and links from Web pages prosecutors say were posted to solicit support for terror groups. The Idaho Statesman reports here.
Memos Reveal War Crimes Warnings
Could Bush administration officials be prosecuted for 'war crimes' as a result of new measures used in the war on terror? The White House's top lawyer thought so. Newsweek reports here.
