posted 05-03-2003 08:12 PM            

U.S. Mainstream media is so OBVIOUSLY, BLATANTLY Pro-Administration, and Pro-Globalist.

posted 05-03-2003 08:17 PM            

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FBI Responds to PATRIOT Act Resolution

By SHANNON BRESCHER

FRIDAY, MAY 02, 2003

http://cornelldailysun.com/articles/8745/

The Ithaca City Clerk's office received a letter from the Albany division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 1 responding to the Ithaca Common Council's resolution against the USA PATRIOT Act.

The Ithaca resolution was the only one the Albany division of the FBI responded to in the six resolutions sent to them.

According to the National Bill of Rights Defense Committee, an organization that supports the repeal of certain parts of the PATRIOT Act, Ithaca has been the first city in the country to receive a response from the FBI.

The response attempts to address many of the concerns expressed by the council in the resolution.

It states, "Contrary to popular television and theatrical portrayals, the FBI initiates cases predicated on facts, not suspicions or guesswork."

It continues to emphasize the idea that unlike media representations, the FBI currently adheres to the same standards of justice as they did prior to the PATRIOT Act. In particular, it says that the FBI cannot begin investigations based on actions protected under the First Amendment.

The FBI replied to the resolution in the hopes of creating and maintaining a dialogue between the federal and local governments, according to Lee Cugh, special agent for the Albany Division of the FBI and author of the letter.

"I'm glad people are debating these type of issues," he said. "[We wanted to] just explain our position." Cugh also hopes that responses such as these can build public confidence in the government.

"We need their confidence in us that we're doing the right thing," he said.

The Ithaca Common Council unanimously passed the "Resolution to Defend the Civil Rights and Liberties of the People of Ithaca" on Feb. 5, criticizing the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.

The PATRIOT Act's stated purpose is to "to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory [sic] tools, and for other purposes," as introduced to Congress, according to the Thomas Legislative website.

However, some Ithaca residents viewed the Act as being against the greater good.

"I'm concerned that it poses a threat to our civil liberties. It seems like a slippery slope to more of a police state," said Pete Meyers, leader of the local chapter of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

The resolution stated the council's support of civil rights for all people and lists several sections of the PATRIOT Act that they object to, including the government's heightened ability to conduct searches without a warrant and supervise personal communication.

The resolution ends with a request to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the New York State Police and other law enforcement officers to inform the Common Council and Tompkins County Human Rights Commission of any action they take under the PATRIOT act that the Council has stated objections to. However, citing individuals' privacy issues, the FBI denied the council's request for non-public information.

"[With the resolution, we tried] to send a message to the federal government [that they have] gone too far," said Dan Cogan, M.S. '95 (Green - 5th Ward), who sponsored the resolution. "As a municipality, we're on a slightly taller soapbox than an individual is and so have a greater chance of being heard in Washington."

He hopes that in combination with resolutions by other towns, Ithaca could have an effect on policy.

"We are adding our voice to the growing number of voices speaking against it; it will have an impact," Cogan said.

Most people involved with or supportive of the Ithaca resolution appreciated the effort invested in the FBI's response.

"I was pleased [that] we got a response," said Ithaca City Clerk Julie Conley-Holcomb. "I always think it's positive [when] large government agencies respond to local government."

However, some citizens and council members are still skeptical about the PATRIOT Act's effects on the FBI's actions.

"Overall, I was glad the FBI responded," said Cogan. "[However] frankly ... my fears are not assuaged by the letter that they sent."

He said that although he sees the letter as a "PR piece," he hopes it leads to further action by the government.

"Ultimately, what will happen is they will have to start making changes," he said.

Likewise, Meyers does not believe that the letter adequately addresses many people's true concerns.

"Basically, the letter is saying 'You can just trust us' ... and I think most of the people who read this say, 'No, we don't trust you,'" he said.

The Common Council is not planning a formal response to the FBI letter at the moment, and opinions about future action are mixed.

Cogan will wait for the input of the local chapter of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Meyers hopes to formulate a response, but has not written anything so far.

In contrast, Susan Blumenthal M.S. '78 (D-3rd Ward), who seconded the original resolution, would not necessarily support sending another letter.

"I don't know if I want to get into a big back and forth [discussion]," she said.

The Common Council has passed similar resolutions in the past, including ones against the war in Iraq and supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Copyright © 2003 by The Cornell Daily Sun, Inc.

I WILL FIGHT AND RESIST THIS TYRANNICAL UNAMERICAN TRASH UNTILL MY LAST BREATH..

HOW ABOUT YOU SEEKER?

posted 05-03-2003 09:07 PM            

I was thinking the same thing.

posted 05-03-2003 09:38 PM            

that really got you worked up there con-man...

good

btw if you voted and live here (citizen) comment all you want butthole, why do chemmies need things spelt-out to the enth detail ?

posted 05-03-2003 11:53 PM            

Freaking..LOL!

posted 05-04-2003 01:23 AM            

government propaganda ?

gimme a example...you sky is fallin' paranoid delusional !

posted 05-04-2003 03:04 AM            

I favor this country over all others...

now if your hot beer drinking ass don't like that's tough...

no aussie boards will have you ?

posted 05-04-2003 05:34 AM            

_eeker uses the drinking accusation when he lacks any rational response.
Name calling is another "have no rational counter argument" tactic.

Read "web of Deceit" topic here to understand probable motivations for why there are almost always teams of 2 or 3 at each web forum who follow the same handbook as _eeker.

Always 'one more insulting' and 'one more verbose', but both always regurgitate the Bush administration's PR.
In cases where they are losing badly, extra PR hacks are assigned.
(usual brownshirt tactics)

posted 05-04-2003 12:33 PM            

Hey, the bottom line is that America is winning, the left is loosing big time, Bush has been incredibly successful...and they (leftist morons) can't stand it. As a great man pointed out, that in order to succeed, the leftists (and Democrats) needed the war to go badly. They needed and were hoping for tens of thousands of body bags....That didn't happen. They needed Saddam to remain in power to continue torturing and murdering his people and threatening the world, ....That didn't happen because a great US president took him out. The leftists like Mech and Shatoga needed the war on terrorism to fail. Instead a remarkable feat has occurred...when everyone was saying that terrorism is the toughest enemy to fight, we have already taken out half of the Al-Qaeda leadership, and two countries that were previously breeding grounds for terrorist bastards have fallen...because of one great president. Of course, leftists like Mech don't like that....They need terrorists to keep making attacks to make GW look bad....Didn't happen.

So basically what I'm saying is that if you follow the logical conclusions...if Mech had gotten what he wants, it would be an extremely disastrous for America. If Bush had failed as the leftists want, it would be disastrous for America and the future of humanity and free, civilized societies across the world. In short, leftists would see America destroyed in order to gain their petty power back. That's what they are saying they need to have happen....It hasn't happened because one great president is doing his job. He is leading...He is protecting this country. He is taking out threats to America and freedom. He is taking on one of the toughest enemies the world has ever seen...and that is the terrorist threat, and he is succeeding with remarkable efficiency. You see.....Bush's (and America's) success, spells disaster for leftists and America haters. In order for them to succeed they need America to fail..and they can't stand the fact that everything they believe is wrong...so they make up conspiracies to explain it....

This war is about oil?....Mech lost on that argument...yet he thinks he can cover up that fact by ignoring it and burying the reader in miles of leftist propaganda and more conspiracy theory...

The NWO is pulling Bush's strings? So you're saying the NWO really did a crappy job with Clinton's strings....but with Bush they're doing an incredible job waging this war on terrorism?...It's so laughable it isn't even funny, when you apply even the simplest logic. Either this NWO/ Globalist bunch is doing an incredible job now...OR

Bush is a unique individual with titanium balls...doing an incredible job. You don't fake what happened on the Abraham Lincoln....You don't fake that kind of love no matter how a leftist/ propagandist, America hating columnist wants to spin it. We saw it with our own eyes. The love the military has for this president is overwhelming....and there is good reason. They know the truth. They know he is their commander in chief who knows how to run a military.

Mech is putting up a losing fight....but Bush will likely be elected for four more years, and during that time, the organized terrorist threat will likely be eliminated from the face of the Earth, and America will no longer be vulnerable to foreign attack....because one great man is strengthening our military to a level which compares to no other nation on Earth. Is the NWO/Globalist organizations responsible for THAT Mech? You mean to tell me that the Globalists are winning the war on terrorism and strengthening the US military against foreign threat? Damn....these globalists are doing a great job!

The truth is much easier Mech....

posted 05-04-2003 03:38 PM            

America is becoming a Police State

America's economy is just about ruined

Home foreclosures are at an all time high.

Inflation is creeping up.

Our jobs are all going to the third world thanks to Nafta/Gatt/Wto

Our currency is 35 cents below the euro.

We are creating more terrorism by enraging sovereign countries.

Yeah...I'd say the dark agenda/ NWO is getting their way.

posted 05-05-2003 03:03 PM            

By Patrick Martin
May 5, 2003

http://www.gooff.com/NM/templates/Breaking_News.asp?articleid=989&zoneid=2

While claiming democracy and freedom as the goal of its invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Bush administration is moving step by step to restrict freedom and undermine democracy at home, building up the infrastructure of a police state with essentially unlimited powers to spy on, interrogate and arrest American citizens.

These measures have repeatedly received enthusiastic support from the Democratic and Republican politicians in Congress and from the federal courts: all three branches of the government joining in a concerted assault on the democratic rights of the American people.

The latest action was taken by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which voted unanimously May 1 to approve a huge increase in funding for spying activities by the US government, including authorization for the creation of a government-wide “watch list” of suspected “terrorists,” defined so broadly that virtually any immigrant from the Middle East or a predominantly Islamic country, and virtually any left-wing political opponent of American imperialism, could fall under suspicion.

The actual amount spent by the US government to fund the CIA, National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other spy programs is classified, but press estimates suggest that the new legislation will raise spending from about $35 billion a year to well over $40 billion, making intelligence one of the largest federal expenditures, greater than any domestic social program except Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

The bill passed the committee by a bipartisan 19-0 vote. Chairman Pat Roberts, a Republican from Kansas, declared, “This nation has been and remains at war, and I believe that this bill reflects that reality.” According to ranking Democratic member Jay Rockefeller, the spending bill “dramatically increases funding to improve collaboration and data-sharing, analysis and penetration of terrorist organizations.”

One provision in the authorization bill would establish an $8 million program to recruit future agents for the CIA and other intelligence agencies on US college campuses.

National security letters

Another provision would have given the CIA and the Pentagon the same authority to obtain personal information on American citizens that is presently available only to the FBI. Longstanding historical precedents have barred the intelligence agencies and the military from issuing “national security letters,” formal orders to credit card companies, libraries, telecommunications companies and Internet service providers to produce records on their customers and users.

The Bush administration attempted to slip the extended authority into the financing bill, but there were objections by some members of the Senate panel, and the provision was dropped, at least for the time being. Administration officials told the New York Times that the change in legal language was not that important, because the CIA and the military can still obtain personal information by asking the FBI to request it for them.

But a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union said that the proposal went beyond even the practices of the McCarthy witch-hunt of the 1950s, when the CIA was barred from collecting information on the domestic activities of US citizens.

On the same day, May 1, the administration launched the new Terrorist Threat Integration Center. The TTIC is charged with preparing the Daily Threat Matrix used by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for deciding when to issue security alerts based on the five-color scale established after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The new center is nominally an interagency task force, but it is headed by a 23-year CIA veteran, the former chief of staff to CIA Director George Tenet, and it is located at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, giving the CIA a key role in domestic security operations for the first time.

********************************************************************

The FBI has launched a $600 million computer system called TRILOGY to help it create a MASSIVE DATABASE ON AMERICAN CITIZENS. Some 26 million agency records will be centralized in a database containing 100 terabytes (100 million megabytes) of information. Much of this information will be funneled from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the FBI’s principal criminal database.

******************************************************************

The Justice Department recently EXEMPTED the NCIC database from the Privacy Act of 1974, which mandates that information can only be entered if proven accurate and relevant. This opens the way to incorporating gossip, slander and rumor in the files that will be used to target suspected “terrorists” who are potentially subject to arrest and indefinite detention.

Other forms of FBI SPYING are on the rise, especially BUGGING and WIRETAPPING. In a recent report, Attorney General John Ashcroft revealed that the Justice Department had filed 1,228 applications during 2002 for secret wiretapping warrants under the FISA law, an increase of 30 percent over the previous year. The secret federal court that hears such requests did not turn down a SINGLE ONE of these applications.

Ashcroft has also signed more than 170 “emergency foreign intelligence warrants” since September 11, 2001, compared to only 47 authorized in the previous 23 years. These emergency warrants authorize wiretaps and physical searches of suspected terrorists for up to 72 hours before review by the secret FISA court. Those targeted by these warrants never have the opportunity to contest them, because they are applied for and approved in secret, and the FBI is not required to reveal their existence unless evidence obtained is using in a criminal case.

Under cover of war

A new barrage of measures strengthening the powers of the state and undermining democratic rights began under cover of the war with Iraq, with the Bush administration counting on the acquiescence of the Democratic Party and the judiciary, as well as the silence of the media.

Some of the most important measures adopted or initiated over the six weeks include:

* March 17—The Bush administration began detaining asylum-seekers from Iraq and 33 other countries. These refugees were to be held in federal custody until the end of legal proceedings on their asylum pleas.

* March 19—The administration announced it would seek an emergency spending package for DOMESTIC counterterrorism programs, after a month of criticism from congressional Democrats that not enough money was being provided for such programs, especially for state and local police departments and for monitoring air and sea traffic.

* March 19—The Justice Department revealed that Attorney General Ashcroft had ordered FBI agents and US marshals to detain immigrants for alleged immigration violations in cases where there was not enough evidence to charge them under criminal laws.

* March 21—Federal authorities announced they were seeking to arrest any Iraqi immigrants suspected of criminal actions or immigration violations. That date was also the deadline for thousands of Pakistani and Saudi immigrants to present themselves for registration at INS offices, under penalty of arrest.

* March 24—The Supreme Court declined to allow the ACLU, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and two Arab-American groups, AADC and ACCESS, to intervene in FISA proceedings. The civil liberties and immigrants’ rights groups sought to gain standing to represent those who are unwittingly being subjected to FISA wiretaps and bugging.

* March 25—President BUSH issued an order HALTING for three years the implementation of a Clinton administration executive order, signed in 1995, which called for automatic DECLASSIFICATION of most government documents more than 25 years old, with the burden of proof on those seeking to keep them secret. The Clinton order would have taken effect April 17, but was delayed to December 31, 2006. The Bush order also gives the vice president the power to classify information for the first time, an issue which bears directly on the corrupt relations between the administration and the energy industry.

* March 31—The FBI announced plans to open 10 additional overseas field offices, all of them in capitals of countries which are either Muslim majority or located in the oil-rich regions of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf: Kabul, Jakarta, Tashkent, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Tunis, Sanaa, Tbilisi. Baghdad will undoubtedly be added to that list.

* April 17—In a decision with sweeping implications for immigrants fleeing oppression and poverty, Attorney General Ashcroft denied release on bond to an 18-year-old Haitian, David Joseph, who came ashore in Florida last October with more than 200 other refugees on a foundering ship. Ashcroft overruled an appellate panel of immigration judges, arguing that there was a “national security” reason to keep Joseph jailed indefinitely, even though he is not a terrorist or suspected of any criminal activity whatsoever.

Ashcroft advanced the argument that releasing Joseph and similar refugees “would tend to encourage further surges of mass migration from Haiti by sea, with attendant strains on national and homeland security resources.” He also claimed that Pakistani and Palestinian refugees, possibly linked to terrorist groups, would use Haiti as a transshipment point.

Immigrant advocacy groups said that this ruling marks an unprecedented extension of the concept of “national security,” applying it to any conduct that impinges in any way on the functioning of the federal government. By the same logic, nonviolent civil disobedience on the Mall in Washington could be portrayed an attack on “national security,” because the ensuing mass arrests would distract Washington police and the FBI from their anti-terrorist operations.

The attorney general’s war against immigrants received further support from the Supreme Court in a ruling issued April 29, upholding a seven-year-old federal law that permits the federal government to detain immigrants indefinitely, including permanent resident aliens, if they have been arrested and convicted of a crime. The law has even been applied retroactively, with long-established resident aliens arrested, detained indefinitely and then deported for infractions committed decades ago.

Civil liberties groups petitioned the high court to rule that legal resident aliens should have the same constitutional right as US citizens to a court hearing before being jailed or deported. The same 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court which installed Bush as president in 2000 upheld Bush’s repression of immigrants, overturning four separate decisions by appeals courts around the country.

Backed by Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote in his majority opinion that “this court has firmly and repeatedly endorsed the proposition that Congress may make rules as to aliens that would be unacceptable if applied to citizens.”

While civil liberties and legal groups have vehemently attacked such decisions—Alfred P. Carlton Jr., president of the American Bar Association, attacked the latest Supreme Court ruling for “ignoring 100 years of legal precedent”—the Democratic Party has largely supported these anti-democratic measures.

Some prominent Democrats, including several presidential candidates, have criticized the Bush administration from the right, demanding even greater resources to build up the repressive powers of the state.

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina has called for the creation of NEW DOMESTIC INTELLEGENCE AGENCY MODELED ON BRITIAN'S MI5. Senator Joseph Lieberman, the original sponsor of the proposal to establish the Department of Homeland Security, has called for the new department to become the center for gathering domestic intelligence, not just responding to threats once they are identified.

SOUND LIKE A FREE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC TO YOU?

COMRADE STALIN WOULD WISH TO DO SO WELL.

posted 05-05-2003 10:28 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by CONSPIRACY_MAN:
Also i dont have to vote or live in your country.
i can voice my opinions about your leader anyday of the week!

---

Foreign opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and they all STINK

posted 05-06-2003 03:41 AM            

A few weeks ago, a federal goon squad invaded an Indian restaurant just off of Times Square, held everyone at gunpoint, and burst into the kitchen like Reno's Raiders at Waco. One of the restaurant's customers, Jason Halperin, an American citizen – like everyone in the place – was on his way to see a play with a friend. They had stopped for a quick bite to eat – but, as it turned out, they would miss curtain time. "You have no right to hold us," his friend said. The response of the goons, as reported by Halperin, was that they were being held under the authority granted by the "Patriot Act." When Halperin demanded to see a lawyer, the masks really came off:

"As I continued to press for legal counsel, a female officer who had been busy typing on her laptop in the front of the restaurant, walked over and put her finger in my face. 'We are at war, we are at war and this is for your safety,' she exclaimed. As she walked away from the table, she continued to repeat it to herself: 'We are at war, we are at war. How can they not understand this.'"<

ZIEG....
Hail Bush

"You have no right to hold us," his friend said. The response of the goons, as reported by Halperin, was that they were being held under the authority granted by the "Patriot Act."
(via which Dubya suspended the Constitution & Bill of Rights)

ZIEG
Hail Bush

'We are at war, we are at war and this is for your safety,'

(It sounded more convincing in 'the origional Conservative' German:
'Just board the cattle car & we'll transport you to a place of safety.' the man with the armband said. 'arbeit mach frei' the sign over the gate said...)

ZIEG....
Hail Bush

'We are at war, we are at war. How can they not understand this.' (RW police state zealot says to herself)

ZIEG.....

posted 05-07-2003 05:44 PM            

LIBRARIES RALLY AGAINST BUSH'S USA PATRIOT ACT

"PATERSON, N.J. — Librarians across the country are rising up against the USA Patriot Act (search), shredding records and making other attempts to thwart the legal framework in the war on terror."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86167,00.html

posted 05-07-2003 08:03 PM            

On the one hand, people like Mech and Shatoga complain because they say Bush did nothing to stop those airliners on 9/11. So Bush does something. He forms a Homeland Security agency to combine and coordinate various information gathering and policing agencies into an efficient way to process and coordinate data..So, for example, if an illegal Islamofascist, extremist decides to get a pilot's license but tells the instructor he doesn't want to learn how to land, that might set off some red flags in a central government computer somewhere. If a person who has been known to have had terrorist ties, gets a traffic ticket, that associated information is coordinated and entered into a central data base somewhere, so this individual can be tracked.

Bush is doing exactly what needs to be done to pre-empt another terrorist action....but now people like Mech and Shatoga are claiming this is an intrusion on freedom...

So the question is...what do you people want? Do you want Bush to do his job ensuring the safety of America, and taking measures to prevent future terrorism.....OR to you want potential terrorists to be left alone to plot there attack, in order that your freedoms are preserved...

You whine at both possibilities, and the only conclusions one can come to is that no matter what Bush does, you are determined to hate him either way. It's an extraordinarily illogical position. If he does something to prevent terrorism...you complain he's taking away your freedom. If he does nothing...you claim he is allowing the WTC to be bombed, and intentionally sitting on information....Your position is utterly stupid and unrealistic...yet it's still a fine line..

How much government pre-emptive and pro-active measures are we as a people willing to put up with in order to ensure our safety without destroying our freedoms. It's a fine line....but I do think Bush has walked this fine line very skillfully and carefully...and the effect so far is that I don't feel any of my freedoms are taken away, but I do see incredible progress being made in restricting the freedoms of potential terrorists...This is a good thing!

posted 05-07-2003 08:23 PM            

IT IS an intrusion on freedom! Are you BLIND?

If the FBI did their job, they could have stopped it.

Someone named JOHN O' NEILL in the FBI was working on it but he was told..by some of Bush's cabinet to get out of Yemen and off of the trail of the Al Qaida network. This is what they want to keep secret folks.

Of course some of us KNOW that this was intentional. The Bush administration knew what was going on and they let it happen.

So folks, Fastwalker says give all of your constitutional rights up or the boogymen are going to get you.

Now we have a gigantic, EXPENSIVE tyrannical "homeland" security administration that is moving forward an orwellian police state and keep files on every American.

Are YOU going to trust the government to define what a "terrorist" is?

The Patriot Act is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and Bush's signing of it is an impeachable offense. There is NO excuse.

In fact, EVERYONE who signed it is guilty.

(D) or (R) make NO DIFFERENCE. They are in on it together.