The next stage of Facism in the United States
Repostman | 08.02.2003 18:17
The 'war on terror' has been the justification for an unprecedented attack on American civil and constitutional rights. The next stage of that attack is now in train. A second 'Patriot Bill' will give the state extraordinary new powers including a catch22 right to strip citizens whom the state decides belong to 'terrorist organizations' of their citizenship (thus suspending their right to the protection of the US Constitution)
There are friends of mine, journalists included, and I imagine the watchers from the security services (sceptic?), who have found descriptions of the Bush regime as proto-fascist exaggerated. I ask them to read carefully the Patriot Act of last year, and this new draft of a subsequent act for which see the attached web link). The already unprecedented attack on American civil and constitutional rights, continues.
This second bill gives the federal government the following powers:
(1) Section 312, “Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities”:
this section (ironic from a Justice Department which trumpets 'state's rights) removes a number of protections passed in state law which prevented police abuses of search, seizure, and the fabrication of evidence. The targets are in particular New York and California, where the abuse of police powers, especially against activists in the 1960s, 70s and 1980s, generated strong local constitutional protections.
(2) Section 405, “Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism”:
this effectively is a blanket suspension of habeas corpus: empowering the government, where it accuses 'terrorism', to detain US citizens indefinitely without trial (although the law's 1984-speak phrases it "before trial")
(3) Section 501, “Expatriation of Terrorists”: This is a doozy. It would establish that an American citizen could be stripped of their citizenship if "with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a ‘terrorist organization’.” The new law affirms that the intent to reliquish citizenship can be "inferred from conduct": ie. an alleged and possibly lawful and nonviolent association with whatever the Attorney-General decides is a “terrorist organization”, can lead to someone being deemed to no longer be a citizen. (And then flown out to Egypt or Morocco or Guantanamo Bay to be tortured with impunity)
The Bush regime is a danger not only to the peace of the world but to the liberties of Americans. Wake up, this is 1933 again, and pitiful Saddam Hussein in his bunker is not the one who is taking the role of Adolf Hitler.
This second bill gives the federal government the following powers:
(1) Section 312, “Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities”:
this section (ironic from a Justice Department which trumpets 'state's rights) removes a number of protections passed in state law which prevented police abuses of search, seizure, and the fabrication of evidence. The targets are in particular New York and California, where the abuse of police powers, especially against activists in the 1960s, 70s and 1980s, generated strong local constitutional protections.
(2) Section 405, “Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism”:
this effectively is a blanket suspension of habeas corpus: empowering the government, where it accuses 'terrorism', to detain US citizens indefinitely without trial (although the law's 1984-speak phrases it "before trial")
(3) Section 501, “Expatriation of Terrorists”: This is a doozy. It would establish that an American citizen could be stripped of their citizenship if "with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a ‘terrorist organization’.” The new law affirms that the intent to reliquish citizenship can be "inferred from conduct": ie. an alleged and possibly lawful and nonviolent association with whatever the Attorney-General decides is a “terrorist organization”, can lead to someone being deemed to no longer be a citizen. (And then flown out to Egypt or Morocco or Guantanamo Bay to be tortured with impunity)
The Bush regime is a danger not only to the peace of the world but to the liberties of Americans. Wake up, this is 1933 again, and pitiful Saddam Hussein in his bunker is not the one who is taking the role of Adolf Hitler.
Repostman
Homepage:
http://www.public-i.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=502&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0
Comments
Hide the following 9 comments
"Bush is no Nazi, so stop saying that!"
08.02.2003 20:26
(you will need "shockwave" installed):
EzyPzy
flattered
08.02.2003 21:10
And to be described as a 'watcher from the security setvices' - well, if this is accurate as the rest of the article, then it confirms my opinion of articles like these.
sceptic
Blair also plans "citizenship deprivation"
08.02.2003 21:26
"The Secretary of State may by order deprive..any..person
of..citizenship status if the Secretary of State is
satisfied that the person has done anything seriously
prejudicial to the vital interests of -
(a) the United Kingdom, or
(b) a British oversees territory
wiggle
the UK
08.02.2003 23:22
"The Secretary of State may not make an order under subsection (2) if he is satisfied that the order would make a person stateless".
sceptic
Re: sceptic
09.02.2003 15:03
I'd really wish such sad people would leave the NEWSwire alone, Indymedia is about news on acivism not the latest conspiracrap, and they damage the crediblitiy of the medium.
bullshit buster
what's the motivation?
09.02.2003 15:37
What are Sceptic and bsb really here for?
We don't know because all we see is them sneering and putting people down under some such crap term as conspiricrap.
What do they want - to close down minds and imagination?
How do they spend their lives?
Standing on street corners looking disdainfully at the 'idiots' walking by?
Do they think we should believe everything we hear from newspaper, radio, television?
Why would we be out there taking real action and reporting it here, if we haven't got a thought in our heads except the Official Line?
No wonder people might think they're agents of the thought police.
It's all so fucking negative, guys
If you're real about stuff, why not put up some 'real' news or some positive ideas under your soubriquets.
Then you might be regarded as more than irritating gadflies sucking on the social consciousness
dh
If Sceptic and Bullshit mouth can read....
09.02.2003 16:19
This is not a conspiracy theory: this is a piece of legislation which has been drafted by the competent authority (the Justice Dept.), and which provides for, as I note above, the effective suspension of habeas corpus and the stripping of citizens of their citizenship.
That there have been a dramatic erosion in civil liberties in the United States since September 11 is a matter of public record. That the United States has exported people it wanted to torture to Morroco and Egypt was noted last week in the Economist (which is not noted as a purveyor of left-wing conspiracy theory). Guantanamo Bay operates as a concentration camp, in which the United States military effectively decides on the spot what it wishes
In Britain this process began long before September 11: the Criminal Justice Act of 1994(?), and the Terrorism Act of 2000, created extraordinary new powers, and these were added to by Blunkett's legislation in December 2001. But the world in some ways expects a little less from Britain when it comes to civil liberties-- this is after all a corrupt old ancien regime state, in which the judges allowed frame up after frame up in the 1970s and 80s (Birmingham 6, Guildford 4, bring up any memories?), and in which ministers under the Intelligence Services Act of 1994 can basically make up the law as they go along.
If you don't think that liberty in the west is in danger at the moment, its you who have your head stuck up your ass.
('Sceptic', parenthetically, reminds me of one of the pair of curmudgeonly old men in the box the Muppet Show, always ready with something deprecating, but always somehow there for the next show!)
Repostman
This was not a critcism of the story itself
09.02.2003 17:23
bullshit buster
lost the plot myself for a while there
09.02.2003 21:06
1. How mischief makers can easily divert attention away from important information and views with a well-chosen obfuscator
2. How conspiracy is no longer theory, but in your face reality. Anybody suggesting 2 years ago that the provisions of the Patriot Acts would be in place now would no doubt have been thought a nut.
dh