by Paul Jacob

Town Hall

10/31/04

Perhaps, in the throes of this nasty season, we should change our country's slogan from 'The land of the free and the home of the brave' to 'Land of 10,000 lawyers.' But, of course, there are so many more lawyers than that. Don't get me wrong. My beef isn't with attorneys, but with the need to consult attorneys every time an American citizen would like to open his or her mouth to say something political. Or worse, a group of citizens band together to say something more effectively. How did this come about?

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/pauljacob/pj20041031.shtml


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

These are very serious words from a very well respected newspaper: "As the administration continues to stonewall judges doing what the founding fathers intended — ensuring that the president doesn't overstep his authority [regarding the legal rights of prisoners of war] — it is not a stretch to say that Americans are witnessing the makings of a constitutional crisis."

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/NewsArticle.cfm?ID=2331

by Jacob G. Hornberger

Future of Freedom Foundation

10/22/04

Learning that the U.S. Supreme Court had upheld the rights of habeas corpus, right to counsel, and due process of law in the Yaser Hamdi, Jose Padilla, and Shafiq Rasul cases, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft commented, 'The Supreme Court accorded to terrorists, in a variety of cases this week, a number of additional rights.' Ashcroft's lament raises an important question: Does the attorney general of the United States understand the nature and meaning of the Constitution?

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0410k.asp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.worldnewsstand.net/history/your_power.htm


Informant: Shanti Renfrew

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14482_America.html


Informant: Skinny



The death of the Bill of Rights in America, part 2

by David R. Hoffman

Pravda [Russia]

10/28/04

Throughout American history the courts have frequently endorsed unconstitutional laws. But these same courts are normally the first to recognize when these laws have exceeded their original intent. This is why, in recent months, courts have held that certain provisions of the 'Patriot Act' violate the Bill of Rights. But given the intransigence of John Ashcroft"s 'Justice' Department, these rulings may do little more than revive the COINTELPRO ideology of doing covertly and illegally what cannot be done overtly and legally. "

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14506_America.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Bilanz der Bürgerrechte: Menschenrechtspolitik widersprüchlich und entwicklungsfähig (21.10.04)

Die Menschenrechtspolitik hat weltweit seit dem September 2001 große Rückschläge erlitten. Auch in Deutschland werde viel weggeschaut und geschwiegen, wenn es um den Kampf gegen den Terror geht. Dies war eine der Aussagen zu dem das Forum Menschenrechte am heutigen Donnerstag auf einer Pressekonferenz in Berlin kam. Das Forum ist ein Zusammenschluss von 45 Menschenrechtsorganisationen.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:

http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php4?Nr=9557

Court: Terror Fears Can't Curb 'Liberty'

Fear of a terrorist attack is not sufficient reason for authorities to search people at a protest, a federal appeals court has ruled, saying Sept. 11 ``cannot be the day liberty perished.'' A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Friday that protesters may not be required to pass through metal detectors when they gather next month for a rally against a U.S. training academy for Latin American soldiers. Authorities began using the metal detectors at the annual School of the Americas protest after the 2001 terrorist attacks, but the court found that practice to be unconstitutional. ``We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War on Terror is over, because the War on Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over,'' Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the panel. ``Sept. 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country.''

City officials in Columbus, Ga., contended the searches are needed because of the elevated risk of terrorism, but the court threw out that argument, saying it would ``eviscerate the Fourth Amendment.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4556013,00.html


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - October 21st, 2004

The other war: Three years later

by Elaine Cassel

Civil Liberties Watch

10/18/04

Terrorism is whatever the government wants it to be. It is a moving and mornping [sic] construct. It can justify the closing of streets at home, and the waging of war abroad. It encompasses peacefully demonstrating against George Bush at home, and speaking negatively against him abroad (I am referring to restrictions on Arab news media who are trying to report on Iraq). It is the excuse for declaring a war on civil liberties. By war on civil liberties, I am referring to the erosion of the freedoms embodied in the first ten amendments to the Constitution -- known collectively as the Bill of Rights...

http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/ecassel/2004/10/18


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp