Congress and Americans supporting police State

[Henia 11]

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

24 September 2006

http://www.legitgov.org/

All links to articles as summarized below are available here:

http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news

"I never thought I'd see the United States — champion of human rights and rule of law — legislating torture and Soviet-style kangaroo tribunals. I never thought I'd see Congress and a majority of Americans supporting such police state measures." U.S. gets 'Sovietized' By Eric Margolis 24 Sep 2006 Prisoners taken in the dead of night to Lubyanka [Moscow’s prison] were systematically beaten for days with rubber hoses and clubs. Prisoners taken in the dead of night to Lubyanka were systematically beaten for days with rubber hoses and clubs. There were special cold rooms where prisoners could be frozen to near death. Sleep deprivation was a favourite and most effective Cheka technique. I recall these past horrors because of what this column has long called the gradual "Sovietization" of the United States... We have seen America's president [sic] and vice president [sic], sworn to uphold the Constitution, advocating some of the same interrogation techniques the KGB used at the Lubyanka. They apparently believe beating, freezing, sleep deprivation and near-drowning are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. So did Stalin. The White House insisted that anyone — including Americans — could be kidnapped and tried in camera using "evidence" obtained by torturing other suspects.

GOP Upbeat on Terror-Trial Bill [GOP Upbeat on Torture] 23 Sep 2006 A few liberal Democratic lawmakers attacked the bill yesterday, but none signaled all-out plans to try to kill it... Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office, called the legislation a "get out of jail free" card for the administration's "top torture officials." She said it would render the Geneva Conventions' protections "irrelevant and unenforceable."

Specter Objects to Part of Detainee Bill 24 Sep 2006 The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he has a problem with the Republican agreement on rules for the interrogation and trial of suspects in the war on [of] terror. Dictator Bush is pushing Congress to put the agreement into law before adjourning for the midterm elections, but Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Sunday he "vigorously" disagrees with the habeas corpus provision of the bill.

Defense Lawyers Assail Legislation on Detainees --The bill faces scrutiny for stripping habeas corpus. Rights groups worry over vagueness. 23 Sep 2006 Military defense lawyers assailed compromise legislation for interrogating and prosecuting terrorism suspects, contending Friday that proposed rules would prevent them from learning whether evidence used against their clients was obtained through coercion or torture.

Afghan officers arrested for smuggling weapons to Taliban: report 23 Sep 2006 Several Afghan officers were detained for trafficking weapons and ammunition to Taliban militants, a local newspaper reported. Several Afghan officers, including Brigadier Abdul Faqir, chief of weapon depots in Khirabad, south of Kabul, have been arrested for being involved in the smuggling case, the newspaper said.

Secret Torture in Afghanistan --The concealed deaths of two detainees at Gardez paints a troubling picture of abuse by U.S. Special Forces units there. 23 Sep 2006 Apparently unknown to Army officials, two detainees had died in the team's [Green Berets of ODA] 2021 custody in separate incidents during the unit's final month in eastern Afghanistan. Several other detainees allege that they were badly beaten or tortured while held at the base in Gardez... An 18-year-old Afghan army recruit died after being interrogated at the firebase. Descriptions of his injuries were consistent with severe beatings and other abuse. A member of the Special Forces team told The Times his unit held a meeting after the teen's death to coordinate their stories should an investigation arise.

Suspected CIA Kidnappers Identified 21 Sep 2006 The US intelligence agents involved in wrongly kidnapping a German citizen of Arab descent [Khaled al-Masri] could soon face warrants for their arrest. Clues to their identity have turned up from Spanish authorities and German TV journalists.

Iraq war created a terrorist flood, American spymasters warn Bush 24 Sep 2006 America's spy agencies have concluded that the invasion of Iraq has created a flood of new Islamic terrorists and increased the danger to US interests to a higher level than at any time since the 9/11 attacks.

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat 24 Sep 2006 A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Republicans Say Terror Report Shouldn't Alter Goals [of enriching Halliburton's coffers] 24 Sep 2006 A national intelligence assessment that concludes the Iraq war has increased the threat from terrorism shouldn't cause the U.S. to abandon military operations there, leading Senate Republicans said.

"They took this money and parked it to use later." Army Corps Faked Budget Entries --Funds for Iraq work, set to expire, were stashed. 23 Sep 2006 The Army Corps of Engineers improperly created fake entries in government ledgers to maintain control over hundreds of millions of dollars in spending for the reconstruction of Iraq, according to a federal audit released Friday. Corps officials listed $362 million in potential contracts for a nonexistent contractor labeled "Dummy Vendor" in a government database, an accounting trick to preserve funds due to expire at the end of this fiscal year, the audit said.

Ex-Halliburton Worker Calls for Probe 22 Sep 2006 A former Halliburton Co. employee wants Congress to investigate what he claims are the company's efforts to cover up violations of corruption laws and to mislead investigators.

16 killed in violence across Iraq 24 Sep 2006 At least sixteen people were killed in separate incidents across Iraq on Sunday.

Blast near Iraq Health Ministry kills 6 24 Sep 2006 A car bomb exploded by a police patrol and killed six people near the Health Ministry, which was shelled with mortars earlier in the morning. The bomb attack killed four policemen and two civilians. It wounded four officers and two civilians, police said.

Explosion kills at least 37 in Baghdad 23 Sep 2006 At least 37 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in a fiery Sadr City bomb blast. At least 38 people were wounded in the blast that blew up a kerosene tanker, and authorities expect the casualty toll to rise.

'Iraqi troops refusing Baghdad duty' 23 Sep 2006 The US commander in Baghdad has said that more troops are needed on the streets of Baghdad, but Iraqi soldiers are refusing to leave other parts of the country to serve in the capital.

Saddam lawyers to protest new judge by boycotting genocide trial 24 Sep 2006 Saddam Hussein's top lawyer said Sunday the former Iraqi president's defense team will not attend his genocide trial when it resumes Monday in protest at the new chief judge's behavior, and will stay away "indefinitely," according to statements quoted by AP. The original judge was replaced last week by the government after he said in court Hussein was not a dictator.

Blair: Afghan War Tougher Than Expected 24 Sep 20006 Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that NATO's battle with Afghan insurgents has been more difficult than anticipated but must continue.

Thousands at city's anti-war demo 23 Sep 2006 Thousands of anti-war protesters have gathered in Manchester for what organisers said was "one of the biggest mobilisations outside London". Demonstrators were protesting against government policies in the Middle East and nuclear weapons, on the eve of the Labour Party conference in the city.

"Now I have no documents and cannot travel." Chavez minister verbally abused, strip-searched during 90-minute interrogation 24 Sep 2006 Venezuela has accused US officials of stopping its foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, and stripping him of his travel documents after he visited the UN. Venezuela has made a formal complaint to the US authorities and to the UN secretary general about the incident. At a news conference in New York, the foreign minister said his ticket and passport were confiscated illegally by US officials at the security check. He said he was then verbally abused and strip-searched during a 90-minute interrogation.

Venezuela rejects U.S. apologies after foreign minister detained 24 Sep 2006 Venezuela has complained to the United Nations after its foreign minister accused officials at a U.S. airport of illegally detaining him and then trying to frisk, handcuff and strip-search him.

U.S. Apologizes for Detaining Venezuela Diplomat 23 Sep 2006 Venezuela's foreign minister was detained at a New York airport on Saturday, prompting an apology from the U.S. government and compounding already tense relations between the two countries.

Chavez: U.S. Detained Foreign Minister 23 Sep 2006 Venezuela's foreign minister was detained by U.S. authorities at a New York airport for more than hour Saturday as he tried to return to the South American country, President Hugo Chavez said.

U.S. to blame for attack on its embassy: Syria 24 Sep 2006 The United States and its Middle East policies are to blame for a recent failed attack on the U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted on Sunday as saying in a German magazine.

Report: Bin Laden Already Dead 26 Dec 2001 Usama bin Laden has died a peaceful death due to an untreated lung complication, the Pakistan Observer reported, citing a Taliban leader who allegedly attended the funeral of the Al Qaeda leader. Bin Laden, according to the source, was suffering from a serious lung complication and succumbed to the disease in mid-December, in the vicinity of the Tora Bora mountains.

France, US, unable to confirm report bin Laden dead 23 Sep 2006 France and the United States said on Saturday they could not confirm a report that Osama bin Laden had died and France launched a probe into how a secret document containing the claim was leaked.

Students, Beware Professor Osama By Rosa Brooks 15 Sep 2006 A typical [David] Horowitz cause celebre: a Colorado student whose professor allegedly gave her an F when she refused to agree that George W. Bush is a war criminal. When critics took a close look, though, it turned out that the student actually got a B, that she had misrepresented the assignment and that the professor was … a Republican. The real agenda behind this so-called bill of rights has nothing to do with fostering intellectual pluralism and everything to do with marginalizing or eliminating academics who deviate from the right-wing party line.

Top secret: Banff security meeting attracted U.S., Mexico officials 21 Sep 2006 A North American security meeting was secretly held in Banff last week, attracting high-profile officials from the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Dollar$ & $en$e of 911 By Douglas Herman 18 Sep 2006 Who benefitted most by the New York Massacre? Millions were invested before the attack. Hundreds of millions were made the same day. Neither crime received much attention by the US government. Perhaps because friends of the US government stood to gain billions of dollars, in the following years... Remember those Put Options? "The identity of this person who had foreknowledge of the attack is known and this person's identity is being protected by our government and this is a fact! Period, end of story," reported Jesse Richard, editor of TVNewsLies.com. http://www.legitgov.org/9_1_1_oddities.html

Texas Democrats File Suit Against Voting Fraud Law 23 Sep 2006 In the latest of the nation’s skirmishes over voting rights, Texas Democrats have sued two top Republican state officials over an antifraud law that the suit says is being used to intimidate minority voters casting ballots by mail.

Antarctic ozone hole nears record: U.N. agency 22 Sep 2006 The hole over Antarctica's ozone layer is bigger than last year and is nearing the record 29-million-square-km (11-million-sq-mile) hole seen in 2000, the World Meteorological Organization said on Friday.

[23 September lead stories:] "You might not be able to go early medieval, but you can go late medieval." Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley, commenting on Bush's new torture guidelines, MSNBC's "Countdown" 22 Sep 2006

Senate-White House compromise sanctions CIA torture of detainees By Joe Kay and Barry Grey 23 Sep 2006 The Bush administration and Republican senators agreed Wednesday night on legislation that sanctions secret CIA prisons and permits abusive interrogation methods that violate the Geneva Conventions and other international and domestic anti-torture statutes. The bill also gives congressional approval for military commissions that strip Guantánamo detainees of basic due process rights, while denying them the elementary right to seek redress from arbitrary imprisonment through the filing of habeas corpus suits in US courts. With this agreement, the US Congress is preparing to give its official imprimatur to the use of barbaric methods historically associated with military and fascist dictatorships, as well as the repudiation of democratic principles that go back to the Magna Carta of 1215.

The Abuse Can Continue --Senators won't authorize torture, but they won't prevent it, either. (The Washington Post) 22 Sep 2006 ...Mr. Bush, as he made clear yesterday, intends to continue using the CIA to secretly detain and abuse certain terrorist suspects. He will do so by issuing his own interpretation of the Geneva Conventions in an executive order and by relying on questionable Justice Department opinions that authorize such practices as exposing prisoners to hypothermia and prolonged sleep deprivation. Under the compromise agreed to yesterday, Congress would recognize his authority to take these steps and prevent prisoners from appealing them to U.S. courts. The bill would also immunize CIA personnel from prosecution for all but the most serious abuses and protect those who in the past violated U.S. law against war crimes.

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[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Not a shock. Still sad though.

[almaty 19]

hmmmmmmmmmm....just wrong .