[NV Greens] Fwd: ACLU Online: Religious Liberty, FOIA Lawsuit and more

Paul Etxeberri eusko at earthlink.net
Thu Feb 24 23:08:05 PST 2005


>From: ACLU Online  <ACLUOnline at aclu.org>
>Reply-To: ACLUOnline at aclu.org
>To: eusko at earthlink.net
>Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:34:47 GMT
>Subject: ACLU Online: Religious Liberty, FOIA Lawsuit and more
>X-ELNK-AV: 0
>
>  <http://www.aclu.org?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1> 
><https://www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm?orgid=n&slp=y&cid=16&orgid=N&MX=1947&H=1>
><http://www.aclu.org?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1> 
><http://www.aclu.org?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1>
>
>
><#story1>ACLU in Federal Court over Torture FOIAs
>
><#story2>Take Action: Are Your Tax Dollars Funding Religious Discrimination?
>
><https://www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm?orgid=n&slp=y&cid=16&orgid=N&MX=1947&H=1>
><>Supreme Court to Weigh Constitutionality of Ten Commandments Display
>
><>Check Out FreedomWire - The New Section of 
>aclu.org for Students and Young People
>
>ACLU in the News:
>
><>Newly Released Government Information Could Aid Whistleblowers
>
>In the States:
>
><#states1>VICTORY: ACLU of Northern California 
>Helps End Program to Track Students
>
><#states2>FOLLOW-UP: Settlement Announced in 
>Lawsuit over Muslim Woman Barred from Public Pool
>
>
>
>THANK YOU FOR BEING A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER OF 
>THE ACLU!  Your membership is the life-blood of 
>our organization, and makes possible all that we 
>do to defend our most basic liberties.
>
>If you'd like to make an additional gift to 
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><https://www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm?orgid=n&slp=y&cid=16&orgid=N&MX=1947&H=1>please 
>click here today.
>
>
>
>Newly Released Government Information Could Aid Whistleblowers
>
>In a revelation that could aid government 
>whistleblowers in their efforts to fight 
>unlawful dismissals, the Justice Department has 
>admitted that information it had retroactively 
>classified could be released to the public and 
>did not pose a threat to national security.
>
>"The Justice Department's long-overdue admission 
>goes to the core of the ACLU's allegations that 
>the government is going all out to silence 
>whistleblowers to protect itself from political 
>embarrassment," said ACLU Associate Legal 
>Director Ann Beeson, who is representing former 
>FBI translator Sibel Edmonds in a lawsuit 
>challenging her termination. "This is hardly an 
>isolated case, as numerous national security 
>whistleblowers can attest. The government is 
>taking extreme steps to shield itself while 
>gambling with our safety."
>
><http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050222-111911-7412r.htm>Read 
>about the case in the Washington Times.
>
>More about the ACLU's work on behalf of 
>whistleblowers can be found 
><http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17361&c=206&MX=1947&H=1>here.
>
>
>
>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.
>
>Feb 24, 2005 
>
><http://www.aclu.org/freedomwire?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1>
><http://www.aclu.org/freedomwire?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1>FreedomWire: 
>Where students and young people can get involved
>
>
>
>
>Army files obtained by the ACLU reveal 
>previously undisclosed allegations of abuse by 
>U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the 
>documents are reports that a detainee who was 
>beaten and seriously injured was forced to drop 
>his claims in order to be released from custody.
><http://www.aclu.org/International/International.cfm?orgid=n&ID=13962&c=36&MX=1947&H=1>Read 
>Torture FOIA Documents
>
>The release of these documents follows a federal 
>court order that directed the Defense Department 
>and other government agencies to comply with a 
>year-old request under the Freedom of 
>Information Act (FOIA) filed by the ACLU, the 
>Center for Constitutional Rights, Physicians for 
>Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense and 
>Veterans for Peace. The New York Civil Liberties 
>Union is co-counsel in the case.
>
>One of the recently released files reports that 
>U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan posed for 
>photographs of mock executions with hooded and 
>bound detainees, and that some of these 
>photographs were intentionally destroyed after 
>the Abu Ghraib scandal to avoid "another public 
>outrage."
>
>"These files provide more evidence, if any were 
>needed, that abuse was not limited to Abu 
>Ghraib," said ACLU staff attorney Jameel Jaffer. 
>"Unfortunately, it's now clear that the 
>government failed to investigate many of these 
>abuses until the Abu Ghraib photographs came to 
>light."
>
>Attorneys for the ACLU and other organizations 
>named in the lawsuit will appear in federal 
>court in New York on February 25 to address the 
>inadequacy of the government's response to 
>requests for records regarding the treatment of 
>detainees held by the United States at military 
>bases and other detention facilities overseas, 
>including Guantánamo Bay.
>
>Friday's case is another step in the continuing 
>investigation by the ACLU over detainee abuse. 
><http://www.aclu.org/International/International.cfm?orgid=n&ID=13962&c=36&MX=1947&H=1>Read 
>more about ACLU actions taken to uncover the 
>truth about the abuse.
>
>
>
>
>When you pay your taxes, you should feel 
>confident that your dollars will not be used for 
>religious discrimination. But that might change 
>unless you take action: proposed legislation 
>would allow organizations that receive taxpayer 
>funds to discriminate against employees on the 
>basis of their religion. This proposal will be 
>voted on next week and your Representative needs 
>to hear from you.
>
>Take action! 
><http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17427&c=29&MX=1947&H=1>Urge 
>Congress to oppose religious discrimination with 
>taxpayer funds!
>
>
>
>
>The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral 
>arguments on Tuesday, March 1 over the 
>constitutionality of Ten Commandments displays 
>on government land and buildings in two separate 
>cases, including a successful challenge by the 
>ACLU of Kentucky to a courthouse display.
>
>"We remain confident that the Kentucky case is 
>firmly in line with the principle that 
>government should not promote religion," said 
>David A. Friedman, General Counsel for the ACLU 
>of Kentucky, who argued the case before the 
>appeals court.
>
>"The Ten Commandments advocate believing in God, 
>observing the Sabbath and not worshipping 
>idols," Friedman added, noting that different 
>faiths have different versions of the document. 
>"Those are religious beliefs that should be left 
>to each individual. Especially in a courthouse, 
>people should not be made to feel like outsiders 
>in their own community because they may not 
>share the prevailing religious view."
>
>The case is McCreary County v. ACLU, 03-1693. 
><http://www.aclu.org/supremecourt?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1>Find 
>more information on ACLU cases in the Supreme 
>Court online.
>
>
>
>The ACLU is excited to announce FreedomWire, the 
>new youth section of our website. FreedomWire is 
>designed to help students and young people take 
>action and stay informed about the civil 
>liberties issues that affect their lives and 
>comes complete with up-to-date news and 
>information on civil liberties issues, an 
>exclusive link to hip ACLU downloadable desktop 
>backgrounds and links to affiliate ACLU youth 
>projects and other youth-related web pages.
>
>You can visit FreedomWire at 
><http://www.aclu.org/freedomwire?orgid=n&MX=1947&H=1>www.aclu.org/freedomwire.
>
>
>
>The Sutter, California based company InCom 
>announced on February 15, 2005 at a packed 
>special school district meeting of the Brittan 
>School Board that it would end its pilot program 
>to require students to wear Radio Frequency 
>Identification (RFID) badges that track the 
>students' movements. The decision came after the 
>ACLU of Northern California and other 
>organizations urged school officials to end the 
>program after being contacted by several parents.
>
>Sutter resident Dawn Cantrall, who has a child 
>in the 7th grade, added: "We are proud that we 
>stopped it here in Sutter and we will continue 
>to fight to make sure that no child is ever 
>forced to have an RFID badge. As parents, it is 
>our duty to keep our children safe and it is not 
>safe to have tracking devices in student badges."
>
>Dawn and her husband Michael Cantrall filed a 
>formal complaint against the Brittan Elementary 
>School Board on January 30 after meeting with 
>several school officials. Like other parents, 
>the Cantralls only learned about the program, 
>which was introduced on January 18, when their 
>child came home wearing the tracking device.
>
>"This is a tremendous victory for the students 
>and families of Sutter," said Nicole Ozer, 
>Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director 
>of the ACLU of Northern California. "However, 
>this is not just an issue affecting school 
>children. The potential use of RFIDs in other 
>identity documents, such as driver's licenses 
>and medical cards, should be of concern to all 
>Californians. RFIDs in identity documents is an 
>issue that requires a statewide response and we 
>plan to encourage legislative action on this 
>front."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/StudentsRights/StudentsRights.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17524&c=161&MX=1947&H=1>Read 
>the press release on this issue.
>
>
>
>The City of Omaha and the ACLU of Nebraska 
>reached a settlement in the lawsuit Lubna 
>Hussein v. City of Omaha.
>
>The lawsuit was filed in June 2004 on behalf of 
>a Muslim woman who was not allowed to enter a 
>public swimming pool last summer due to her 
>religious clothing. The city policies in place 
>at the time of the lawsuit did not permit anyone 
>to enter a swimming pool unless they were 
>wearing a bathing suit. Lubna Hussein came to 
>the pool with her small daughters to watch them 
>swim and did not intend to swim herself. Ms. 
>Hussein observes Muslim dress requirements for 
>women by wearing modest clothing and a head 
>scarf to cover her hair.
>
>"I am so pleased at this change in policy," said 
>Lubna Hussein. "My little girls have been 
>waiting for a chance to try out the water slides 
>and they'll finally get the opportunity this 
>summer. We're happy to feel like part of the 
>community again."
>
><http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?orgid=n&ID=17523&c=141&MX=1947&H=1>Get 
>more details.
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

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