Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122205I.shtml

Six months ago, Congressional leaders and administration officials intervened to block legislation that would stop torture and ill-treatment from occurring in U.S. detention centers around the world. But last night we achieved a significant milestone: passage of the Anti-Torture Amendment introduced by Senator John McCain. President Bush has indicated he intends to sign this vital piece of legislation into law.

This victory would not have been possible without vocal support for the Anti-Torture Amendment across the country. Over the past several months, tens of thousands of Amnesty International activists have contacted their Members of Congress advocating in favor of the Anti-Torture Amendment. Your work has resulted in meaningful change:

* Thanks to you the U.S. government has reaffirmed the absolute prohibition on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

* Thanks to you there will now be unified standards for the treatment of detainees being held by the Department of Defense that conform to the U.S. Army Field Manual.

* And thanks to you Congress has made clear that all U.S. government agents must operate in a manner consistent with the best of American values and in accordance with U.S. and international law.

While this victory is significant, there is still much work ahead to ensure that we stop torture and ill-treatment in the "war on terror" once and for all. Along with the Anti-Torture Amendment, the Senate also passed the Graham / Levin / Kyl amendment that would allow Military tribunals to consider evidence obtained by torture, and limit the rights of detainees to challenge their detention and conditions in custody. Amnesty International looks forward to working with you to address these issues and secure more human rights victories.

For more on today's good news, see "Amnesty International hails senate passage of Anti-Torture Amendment ."

http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M7130635910612138222090965

Sincerely,

Eric Sears
Project Manager, Denounce Torture Initiative
Amnesty International USA
http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M7130633010612138222090965

CounterPunch
by Ben Saul

12/21/05

"Terrorism does not demand that we torture to defend ourselves. To the contrary, the threat of terrorism reminds us of the importance of protecting human dignity, even of terrorists. Law necessarily draws moral lines in the sand which cannot be crossed; the inevitability of torturing the innocent is a price too high to pay to save the lives of others...

http://www.counterpunch.org/saul12212005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

iFeminists.Com
by Wendy McElroy

12/21/05

FIRE's new Guide -- the fifth in a series of ideological survival manuals for college students -- describes both the manner in which the right of conscience is being attacked on campus and how the tide is turning toward individual rights. Three common ways in which universities limit a student's access to ideas are speech codes, mandatory 'diversity' tests or training, and 'non-discrimination' policies...

http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2005/1221.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Boston Globe
by Derrick Z. Jackson

12/21/05

It is a way of life to talk about our way of life, without questioning the way our lives are headed. In Sunday's address to the nation, President Bush said terrorists 'object to our deepest values and our way of life.' ... With all this talk about soldiers dying for our way of life, with all the pontifications about the Patriot Act and with the calls for national fortitude against John Murtha, you would think the 'way of life' being protected here is quite serious. It cannot be about protecting our freedoms, since Bush rather proudly admits -- after it was exposed -- that he secretly ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on those he suspects of terrorism without obtaining warrants. The truth, magnified by the materialistic marketing of the holiday season, is embarrassing for a nation that loves to talk about military sacrifice. While the sons and daughters of the middle and lower classes die in Iraq, the wealthy count their toys, literally...

http://tinyurl.com/8bwjn


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Tom Paine
by Karen Dolan

12/21/05

House Republicans are home now decrying the 'War on Christmas,' their houses festooned with lights and pretty red bows. It's hard not to wonder if their Christmas spirit is blunted at all by the big lump of coal they recently gave America's poor and working families. Republicans have wished the nation’s least privileged citizens a 'Merry Christmas' by whacking our already anemic social safety net system. Eager to return home for the holidays, GOP leaders in the House and their counterparts in the Senate rushed out a budget agreement that’s stingy enough to put the Grinch to shame. They agreed on a budget that doles out $39.7 billion in cuts over five years, including spending reductions for Medicaid and Medicare, child support enforcement, foster care, welfare system benefits and student loans. The changes to the welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), are particularly offensive because the House Republicans sneaked them into the bill. Normally, changes to welfare rules are debated and voted on as separate bills, and the changes snuck into this bill have been defeated four years in a row...

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051221/tiny_tim_v_scrooge.php


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

In These Times
by Salim Muwakkil

12/21/05

In early December, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project -- a private group formed by 9/11 Commission members after their official term expired in 2004 -- chided the government for ignoring the lessons learned from the Commission's probe of the terrorist attack. But the group's patrician members failed to answer many questions. For example, how, precisely, did the Twin Towers fall? Why did Seven World Trade Center fall despite incurring no structural damage? Why were there no jets to intercept the hijacked planes? What happened to the 'National Command Authority' that supposedly protects us in emergencies? This official reticence, combined with a lack of curiosity from the media, has sparked a grassroots inquiry, publicly dubbed The 9/11 Truth Movement...

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2444/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Working for Change
by Molly Ivins

12/21/05

Uh-oh. Excuse me. I'm so sorry, but we are having a constitutional crisis. I know the timing couldn't be worse. Right in the middle of the wrapping paper, the gingerbread and the whole shebang, a tiny honest-to-goodness constitutional crisis. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country: Damn the inconvenience, full speed ahead. On his own, without consulting the Congress, the courts or the people, the president decided to use secret branches of government to spy on the American people. He is, of course, using 9-11 to justify his actions in this, as he does for everything else -- 9-11 happened so the Constitution does not apply, 9-11 happened so there is no separation of powers, 9-11 happened so 200 years of experience curbing the executive power of government is something we can now overlook. ... As an ACLU liberal, I would like to say how proud and honored I am to stand with so many American conservatives on this issue. You do credit to all your heroes. Barry Goldwater would be so proud...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=20091


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Future of Freedom Foundation
by Sheldon Richman

12/21/05

President George W. Bush's 2000 promise of a humble foreign policy that forswore nation-building has long gone the way of his father's 'read my lips: no new taxes' pledge. Now we have it in writing. Bush made the same point in an interview with Fox News's Brit Hume. He explained that transforming societies into democracies is not only good for them; it is also in the interest of the American people. He didn't explain how turning a society into an Islamic state aligned with Iran is a good thing, but most Americans won't ask anyway...

http://www.fff.org/comment/com0512h.asp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

San Francisco Chronicle
by David Lazarus

12/21/05

President Bush this week vigorously defended his decision to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without obtaining court approval, saying the move was both legal and vital to preventing terrorist attacks. Privacy advocates and people who snoop for a living aren't so sure. At a time when consumers have to be constantly vigilant for identity thieves, phishers, scammers, data aggregators and other traffickers in personal information, now people have to be looking over their shoulders as well for government agents listening in on private conversations...

http://tinyurl.com/cnkv7


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp