[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: ACLU Online: Patriot Act Renewal, Spy Files, "Silver Ring Thing" and more

Sat May 28 00:07:24 PDT 2005

>
>
>  <http://www.aclu.org/> 
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1061&s_src=UNW050001CN0&s_subsrc=052605SUB>
><http://www.aclu.org/>  <http://www.aclu.org/>
>
>
><>Fight against Patriot Act Renewal and Expansion Heating Up
>
><>U.S. Soldier Instructed Iraqi Detainees to Dig Own Grave
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><http://action.aclu.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1061&s_src=UNW050001CN0&s_subsrc=052605SUB>
><#story3>Authorities Target Political Groups
>
><#story4>Abstinence-Only Program Misuses Taxpayer Dollars
>
><#story1>Take Action: Oppose the Expansion of the Patriot Act
>
>In the States:
>
><>"Campaign Against Racial Profiling" Achieves Success in Tennessee
>
><>Federal Court Strikes Down Nebraska Law 
>Banning Protections for Same-Sex Couples
>
>FreedomWire:
>
><#news3>New on FreedomWire: FreedomWire Slant
>
>
>YOU CAN HELP PROTECT OUR BASIC FREEDOMS by 
>joining with over 400,000 card-carrying members 
>of the ACLU. Our rights as individuals -- the 
>very foundation of our great democracy -- depend 
>on our willingness to defend them, and as an 
>ACLU member, you'll be doing your part.
>
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1061&s_src=UNW050001CN0&s_subsrc=052605SUB>Click 
>now to safeguard our Bill of Rights by becoming 
>an ACLU member.
>
>  "Campaign Against Racial Profiling" Achieves Success in Tennessee
>
>The Tennessee House and Senate recently passed a 
>bill to study racial profiling. The bill 
>requires Tennessee Highway Patrol officers to 
>collect data for each traffic stop they make.
>
>"Data collection takes the racial profiling 
>debate beyond accusations and denials by 
>enabling systematic monitoring of Tennessee 
>highways," said Hedy Weinberg, Executive 
>Director of the ACLU of Tennessee.
>
>The type of data collected includes race, 
>ethnicity, gender and age of the person stopped, 
>the reason for the stop, and whether a search 
>occurred and a citation was issued. The data 
>will be collected for one year, beginning 
>January 2006.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/RacialEquality/RacialEquality.cfm?ID=18227&c=133>To 
>get more information, click here.
>
>Federal Court Strikes Down Nebraska Law Banning 
>Protections for Same-Sex Couples
>
>In a ruling issued last week, a federal court 
>struck down Nebraska's anti-gay union 
>constitutional amendment that bans any and all 
>forms of legal recognition for same-sex 
>relationships, including domestic partnerships 
>and other basic protections. The state is 
>expected to appeal the case to the U.S. Court of 
>Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
>
>The Court noted in its ruling that the 
>plaintiffs in the case had not requested any 
>recognition of their relationships through 
>marriage or any other legal status, but merely 
>sought an equal opportunity to persuade 
>legislators of the need for protections. Judge 
>Joseph F. Bataillon went on to say, "The court 
>finds Section 29 is a denial of access to one of 
>our most fundamental sources of protection, the 
>government. Such broad exclusion from 'an almost 
>limitless number of transactions and endeavors 
>that constitute ordinary civil life in a free 
>society' is 'itself a denial of equal 
>protections in the literal sense.'"
>
>The legal complaint is available online. 
><http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=18164&c=86>Click 
>here.
>
>FreedomWire
>
>New on FreedomWire: FreedomWire Slant: Opinions 
>from young people who care about their rights. 
><http://www.aclu.org/freedomwire>Read what Slant 
>columnist Kate Gilbert has to say about the 
>Patriot Act.
>
>
>Do you know somebody who would be interested in 
>getting news about the ACLU and what we're doing 
>to protect civil liberties? Help us spread the 
>word about ACLU Online -- forward this 
>newsletter to a friend.
>
>May 26, 2005
>
>
>Reprinted with permission, Steve Kelley, The Times-Picayune
>
>
>
>
>An historic, pivotal battle over the Patriot Act 
>is now underway. This summer, America will need 
>your help as never before, as we work to restore 
>liberties lost to the Patriot Act, and to stem 
>the tide of further expansions.
>
>Take Action!
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?&pagename=homepage&id=203&page=UserAction>Act 
>now and urge your members of Congress to oppose 
>expansion of the Patriot Act.
>We have already begun to fight. With your help, 
>the ACLU won a small victory this week when the 
>Senate Intelligence Committee reversed its 
>decision to vote on legislation to expand the 
>Patriot Act in secret session without any public 
>hearing. And while they did hold a public 
>hearing on Tuesday, the Committee will still be 
>voting on the legislation in a closed door 
>session today.
>
>If we are going to beat back this climate of 
>secrecy and slow the rush to eliminate checks 
>and balances, we will need to work tirelessly 
>and together as Patriot Act legislation makes 
>its way through Congress this summer.
>
>Proposed expansions to the Patriot Act include 
>new FBI powers to order disclosure of a broad 
>array of personal records without judicial 
>approval in advance. Another provision would 
>broaden the government's ability to monitor your 
>mail.
>
>Not surprisingly, the sponsors of these attacks 
>on liberty are deploying the same tactics used 
>in the 45 days after September 11, 2001, when 
>the Patriot Act was rushed through Congress with 
>little to no debate.
>
>You have helped the ACLU educate and rally 
>millions of Americans who now realize that the 
>Patriot Act went too far, too fast. We've been 
>successful in generating a growing clamor of 
>bipartisan concern over the Patriot Act. The 
>time to make our voices heard is now.
>
>In the coming weeks, we will keep you informed 
>of developments in Congress and our essential 
>efforts to make sure the Patriot Act receives 
>real reform, not a rubber stamp.
>
>There will be much work for us all. You can begin to get involved today.
>
><http://action.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?&pagename=homepage&id=203&page=UserAction>Take 
>action now and urge your members of Congress to 
>oppose expansion of the Patriot Act.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree>Learn more about the Patriot Act.
>
>
>
>
>Documents released last week by the Department 
>of Defense reveal more cases of abuse of 
>detainees, including mock executions and use of 
>a religious symbol to taunt detainees.
>
>"While the White House blames Newsweek magazine 
>for damaging America's reputation in the Muslim 
>world, the Army's own investigations show 
>systemic abuse and humiliation of Muslim men by 
>U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo 
>Bay," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. 
>Romero. "If we are to truly repair America's 
>standing, the Bush Administration must first 
>hold accountable high-ranking officials who 
>allow the continuing abuse and torture of 
>detainees."
>
>One investigation into abuses at Rifles Base in 
>Ramadi, Iraq details an incident in July 2003 in 
>which an Army captain took an Iraqi welder into 
>the desert, told him to dig his own grave, 
>verbally threatened to kill him and had other 
>soldiers stage a shooting of the man.
>
>Another document dated July 15, 2004 related an 
>incident involving two Iraqi men detained in 
>Samarra. The men were driven to a bridge, where 
>a platoon leader instructed three soldiers to 
>push the detainees into the river. One of the 
>Iraqi men could not swim and drowned. The body 
>was recovered by the family 12 days later and 
>buried. One soldier indicated to investigators 
>that the chain of command had instructed the 
>soldiers not to cooperate with the investigation 
>and to deny that they pushed the men into the 
>river.
>
>To date, more than 35,000 pages of government 
>documents have been released in response to the 
>ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The 
>ACLU has been posting these documents online at 
><http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia>www.aclu.org/torturefoia.
>
>
>
>The FBI and local police are engaging in 
>intimidation based on political association and 
>are improperly investigating law-abiding human 
>rights and advocacy groups, according to 
>documents obtained by the ACLU through a series 
>of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests 
>filed last week.
>
>The ACLU charged that the FBI is wrongfully 
>withholding thousands of pages of documents, and 
>filed a lawsuit on May 18 in federal court to 
>compel the FBI to comply with the FOIA requests. 
>The few documents received to date through the 
>December FOIA requests shed light on the FBI's 
>misuse of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) to 
>engage in political surveillance.
>
>The FOIAs seek two kinds of information: the 
>actual FBI files of groups and individuals 
>targeted for speaking out; and information about 
>how the practices and funding structure of the 
>JTTFs may be encouraging rampant and unwarranted 
>spying.
>
>"The FBI is taking tax dollars and resources 
>established to fight terrorism and instead 
>spying on innocent Americans who have done 
>nothing more than speak out or practice their 
>faith," Beeson said. "By recruiting the local 
>police into these activities, they are also 
>sowing dissent and suspicion in communities 
>around the country."
>
>The JTTF partnerships between the FBI and local 
>police, in which local officers are "deputized" 
>as federal agents, are intended to identify and 
>monitor individuals and groups implicated in 
>terrorism. But the ACLU charges that these task 
>forces are allowing local police officers to 
>target peaceful political and religious groups 
>with no connection to terrorism.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/spyfiles/>Learn more and take action.
>
><http://www.aclu.org/Quizzes/QuizIntro.cfm?quizID=12>Quiz: 
>Could they have a file on you?
>
>
>
>Over the past three years, the federal 
>government has awarded more than one million 
>dollars to the "Silver Ring Thing," an 
>abstinence-only organization that describes its 
>mission as "offering a personal relationship 
>with Jesus Christ as the best way to live a 
>sexually pure life."
>
>Last week, in response to a lawsuit filed by the 
>ACLU and Jenner & Block LLP against the federal 
>government for funding religious activities in 
>an abstinence-only program, the Silver Ring 
>Thing substantially altered and removed 
>religious content from its website.
>
>During the "Silver Ring Thing's" flagship 
>three-hour program members testify about how 
>accepting Jesus Christ improved their lives, 
>quote Bible passages, and urge audience members 
>to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into their 
>lives. In addition, the official silver ring of 
>the program is inscribed with a reference to the 
>biblical verse "1 Thess. 4:3-4," which reads 
>"God wants you to be holy, so you should keep 
>clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will 
>control your body and live in holiness and 
>honor."
>
>The "Silver Ring Thing" is an extensive, 
>nationwide effort that uses government funds for 
>aggressive religious recruitment. Since April 
>2003, it has held three events in the Boston 
>area and is scheduled to hold a fourth in 
>October of this year. But, it has also held 
>events in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, 
>Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South 
>Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and 
>Wisconsin and is scheduled to visit Georgia, 
>Ohio, and North Carolina, among other states, in 
>the coming year.
>
>"A sanitized version of the website does not 
>change the fact that the "Silver Ring Thing" in 
>its core programming is nothing more than a 
>vehicle for converting young people to 
>Christianity," said Sarah Wunsch, a staff 
>attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Taxpayer 
>dollars should play no part in such a program."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/ReproductiveRights/ReproductiveRightsMain.cfm>Get 
>more information on the ACLU's Reproductive 
>Freedom program.
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand
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