“If you think of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia there were war crime tribunals set up because of atrocities in those places. Those atrocities were absolutely no worse than the atrocities perpetrated in Latin America, and the hand behind the perpetrators was the United States,” says Jean Franco. (more…)
October 2014
Fri 31 Oct 2014
Disposable Life: Jean Franco
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , Democracy , Globalization/EmpireNo Comments
Fri 31 Oct 2014
Peekaboo, I See You: Government Authority Intended for Terrorism is Used for Other Purposes
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Patriot Act continues to wreak its havoc on civil liberties. Section 213 was included in the Patriot Act over the protests of privacy advocates and granted law enforcement the power to conduct a search while delaying notice to the suspect of the search. Known as a “sneak and peek” warrant (more…)
Thu 30 Oct 2014
Dr. Dhafir has submitted his 2255 Habeas Corpus Petition
Posted by k under By Dr. Dhafir , Katherine's Writing , Site AnnouncementsNo Comments
Dr. Dhafir put his 2255 habeas corpus petition in the mail yesterday to meet the November 4th, 2014 deadline. He says:
I feel a big load off my shoulder (more…)
Thu 30 Oct 2014
FBI demands new powers to hack into computers and carry out surveillance
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
Civil liberties groups warn that the proposed rule change amounts to a power grab by the agency that would ride roughshod over strict limits to searches and seizures laid out under the fourth amendment of the US constitution, as well as violate first amendment privacy rights. (more…)
Thu 30 Oct 2014
Surprise! Controversial Patriot Act power now overwhelmingly used in drug investigations
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
One of the more controversial provisions of the Patriot Act was to broaden the “sneak-and-peek” power for federal law enforcement officials. The provision allows investigators to conduct searches without informing the target of the search. We were assured at the time that this was an essential law enforcement tool that would be used only to protect the country from terrorism. (more…)
Tue 28 Oct 2014
Across the globe, a new historical conjuncture is emerging in which the attacks on higher education as a democratic institution and on dissident public voices in general – whether journalists, whistleblowers or academics – are intensifying with sobering consequences. (more…)
Tue 28 Oct 2014
Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts on Suspicion, No Crime Required
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , FinanceNo Comments
ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa — For almost 40 years, Carole Hinders has dished out Mexican specialties at her modest cash-only restaurant. For just as long, she deposited the earnings at a small bank branch a block away — until last year, when two tax agents knocked on her door and informed her that they had seized her checking account, almost $33,000. (more…)
Tue 28 Oct 2014
‘A Generation Cast Aside’: Child Poverty On Rise in World’s Richest Countries
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , Democracy , FinanceNo Comments
The annual report, Children of the Recession: The impact of the economic crisis on child well-being in rich countries, was released Tuesday in Rome. It finds that in the 41 richest countries at least 76.5 million children live in poverty. (more…)