Civil Liberties, Guantanamo, Supreme Court, Surveillance, Torture, Truth to Power
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Guantanamo/War on Terror/9/11 – Update
Co-host Michael Ratner begins the update in the context of the Supreme Court’s Hamden decision – which essentially says that Geneva conventions apply to people picked up during the “war on terror,” meaning fair trials and being treated humanely. This decision also means that the military commissions set up by the US president are no longer lawful and the actions of torturers, such as the CIA and military personnel at Guantanamo and CIA secret sites could now be charged with war crimes. Today, the president is asking Congress to amend Geneva Conventions and allow illegal military commissions to continue.
To find out more and take action please visit the Center for Constitutional Rights and help stop the fast tracking military commissions bill in Congress that would sink the United States into a police state.
Law and Disorder Exclusive – NSA Spying Lawsuit Oral Arguments
A few weeks ago oral arguments were heard in federal court in a lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights. The suit seeks to stop Bush and government agencies from conducting warrantless surveillance of international communications made from the United States, such phone calls and emails. Arguing the case were CCR attorney Shane Kadidal (read Shane’s blog here) and cooperating attorney Michael Avery, president of the National Lawyers Guild. One issue is whether CCR and several of its lawyers has standing to bring the suit. CCR lawyers and Avery have to basically demonstrate a concrete injury from the spying program. CCR lawyers say that their ability to conduct their work has been affected by the chance that their attorney/client communications may be monitored. Meanwhile, government attorneys urged that Judge Gerald Lynch dismiss the case because allowing it to proceed would jeopardize “national security.” It also argued that the government has inherent constitutional power to override national enactments like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Co-hosts Michael Smith and Heidi Boghosian caught up with Shane Kadidal and Michael Avery right after their three hour argument.
Mexico Election Protests and the Forming Of A Shadow Government
Post election street protests and tent cities come to a close in Mexico two months after the razor thing results. An election too close to call had both front running presidential candidates Felipe Calderon and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declaring themselves winners, based on their speeches and a number of private exit-polls. In the initial election count that ended July 3, Calderon had an advantage of more than 400 thousand votes or 1.04 percentage points over Lopez Obrador. For the past six weeks sprawling encampments filled the center of Mexico City. Obrador warned he will never acknowledge defeat and is forming a “shadow government.”
Guest – Jim Cockcroft – bilingual award winning author of more than 30 books and countless articles on Latin America, Mexico globalization, labor migration and public policy. Read Jim’s blog here.
No More Deaths – Border Activists Shanti Sellz/Daniel Strauss Case Dismissed.
Here at Law and Disorder we’ve been following the cases of Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, two humanitarian aid activists who work at the Mexican border. More information here at No More Deaths. They provide food and water and if necessary medical assistance to people who are in need crossing the border. In July 2005, they were arrested for transporting three undocumented migrants to a hospital for emergency medical care – for a full background on the case listen to the Law and Disorder interview with Shanti and Daniel here. The case was set to go to trial this October but the judge has recently dropped the case. Co-host Dalia Hashad and WBAI’s Wake Up Call host Deepa Fernandes caught up with Shanti Sellz at the Arizona border.
September 23: Free the Cuban 5: Protest at the White House, DC
Join Law and Disorder hosts in Washington DC to protest the U.S. government releasing terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.
Civil Liberties, Extraordinary Rendition, Guantanamo, Supreme Court, Surveillance, Torture, Truth to Power
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Today on Law and Disorder, hosts take a look back at US governments’ domestic and international reaction to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, where an estimated 3000 perished. Stay with us as we begin with the targeting of Muslims and Arab/Americans then discuss the use of secret prisons, NSA spying, Guantanamo and war powers, the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
FBI Roundups, Profiling, Secret Sites, Presidential Powers
Roundup of Muslims – FBI to question 5000–immediate – Special Registration
Ashcroft lifting of FBI Guidelines
Detainee Treatment Act – more info on McCain amendment
Decision justifying torture
Brandon Mayfield
FBI Informant
Spying, NSA, Criminalizing Dissent, Patriot Act
2006 NSA spying—cases and victory
CCR case
EFF case
Broadening of wiretap provisions
Patriot Act – No sunset
Criminal cases—Lynne Stewart
We hear a preview from an interview with Shane Kadidal, attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights and cooperating attorney Michael Avery, president of the National Lawyers Guild, right after arguing the case brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights seeking to stop Bush and government agencies from conducting warrantless surveillance of international communications of people in the United States.
Guantanamo, Torture, Indefinite Detention, Renditions, Criminal Prosecutions
INS —secret hearings
Abu Gharib photos – Warning – graphic images on this link
Guantanamo – Amnesty Link
CCR link
Torture is not torture – 2004 Truthout story – Marjorie Cohn
Iraq/Afghanistan/ – War
AUMF — Authorization to Use Military Force – translation: Attack anything anywhere if president says it’s related to 9/11.
Attack Afghanistan 2002
Attack Iraq – 2003
Attack Lebanon – 2006
Civil Liberties, Guantanamo, Supreme Court, Torture
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Rewriting Geneva Conventions
Law and Disorder’s Michael Ratner Updates Related article – NY Times
Cuban Five – Eleventh Circuit Court Decision
Recently this month, the Eleventh Circuit decided the case of “US v. Campa” the case of the so-called “Cuban Five. This decision affirmed the trial court’s finding that the venue shouldn’t have been changed from its location in Miami and that new trial should not be ordered. This gives enormous power over to the government to bring politically motivated prosecutions and to select a favorable venue where community prejudice will favor the government, and as in this case, allow the government to obtain a conviction where evidence did not support a conviction. This decision is not the end of the case, however. If the lawyers in the case decide to, they can take it to the US Supreme Court by petitioning the court, by write of certiorari, to hear the case.
To remind listeners, this is the case where five Cuban men have been serving harsh prison sentences after they infiltrated anti-Cuban right wing (terrorist) groups in South Florida, were arrested by US authorities in 1998, and received a highly-politicized trial in Miami that was barely reported on in any US media. We’ve covered developments in this case on Law and Disorder on March 6th of this year and on our August 15th show in 2005.
Guest – Attorney Bruce Nestor, former president of the National Lawyers Guild.
Union organizing at Starbucks
Union member Daniel Gross was fired from his job at Starbucks last week after nearly three years of union organizing. Daniel was terminated when he backed a co-worker and fellow union member at a union picket line and asserted he shouldn’t be fired. Daniel is the fourth Industrial Workers of the World member to be fired by Starbucks in less than a year. Starbucks and other large corporations such as Walmart and Borders have been known to be hostile to the social movements of their workers. This is also a turning point for some card carrying IWW baristas at Starbucks who promise to keep the union organizing alive.
Guest – IWW member Daniel Gross
New York Cyclists’ Civil Liberties At Risk
The NYPD has proposed a rule that would dictate how many people could legally ride their bikes or walk down the sidewalk together without a permit. Since the taping of this interview, the NYPD has retracted their proposal dure to overwhelming response during the public comment period. The proposed rule would have actively discourage cycling and make it more difficult for cyclists to ride together for safety.
Guest – Gideon Oliver, an attorney for Critical Mass
Guest – activist/Law Student Mark Taylor
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Civil Liberties, Extraordinary Rendition, Supreme Court, Surveillance, Truth to Power
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State Secrets Panel – Center forState Secrets Panel – Center for Constitutional Rights
We bring the voices of lawyers who are suing the government for keeping state secrets. What is a state secrets privilege and why should we be concerned? State secrets have been used by the Bush administration to dismiss public interest lawsuits, such as when in April of this year the Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged the legality of the NSA’s domestic spying program or the wrongfully-accused and tortured victim Maher Arar who sought to sue Attorney General John Ashcroft for his role in deporting him to Syria to face torture and extract false confessions.
Most recent, the Justice Department moved to preempt the Center for Constitutional Rights challenge to warrantless domestic surveillance by invoking the state secrets privilege. The Bush Administration is arguing that CCR’s case could reveal secrets regarding U.S. national security, and thus the presiding judge must dismiss it without reviewing the evidence. We go now and listen to a segment of the State Secrets panel.
We play excerpts from a speech by Bill Goodman, legal director with the Center for Constitutional Rights where he’s led a team of attorneys challenging the worst excesses of the Bush administration since 9/11 and representing Guantanamo detainees before the Supreme Court. Bill Goodman was one of the first to take on the Patriot act and having a portion of it ruled unconstitutional. He also sued against private military contractors at Abu Garaib.
We also hear from Center for Constitutional Rights staff attorney Shane Kadidal. He breaks down the history of the state secrets privilege and how the Bush administration is using it. Shane has worked on a number of cases since September 11th, including working on two cases of citizens detained as enemy combatants and a case on behalf of a class of hundreds of immigrants held in detention long after their final deportation. He’s also counsel on CCRs pending challenge to the NSA’s warrantless surveillance program in CCR versus Bush.
Amnesty International’s General Meeting – Audio Collage
During this year’s Amnesty International’s General Meeting in Portland, Oregon, Law and Disorder co-host Dalia Hashad and producer Geoff Brady collected audio from various interviews, panels and rallies being held at the 2006 General Meeting.
In this recording many Amnesty International staff members and activists gathered to speak out, listen and share their stories. This is an audio compilation from the anti-torture rally in Portland’s historic Pioneer Square mixed and produced by Geoff Brady
Attorney Paul L. Mills on Tasers – Part III
In our last interview from the Law and Disorder Taser series, co-host Dalia Hashad talked with Paul L. Mills, attorney and co-director with L.A. Police Watch about how police misuse the Taser weapon, the case of a 33 year old man who while being handcuffed was stunned by police with a Taser and later died and the future of Taser include wireless implants into human beings.
Lynne Stewart – Part 2
Law and Disorder recently sat down with convicted civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart to talk about her health, her approaching sentencing this September and the details leading up to her indictment and conviction. We play the second part of that interview.
Civil Liberties, Extraordinary Rendition, Guantanamo, Supreme Court, Torture, Truth to Power
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Updates:
- Supreme Court Update – Hamden v. Rumsfeld.
- Signing Statements
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Israel’s Massive Assault Targeting Lebanese Civilians
Israel has warned hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to leave Southern Lebanon as they continue to target Lebanon’s infrastructure and bomb civilian neighborhoods. Meanwhile, a ground invasion begins, and more than 340 Lebanese have been killed most of have been civilians. We talk with author Phyllis Bennis, a Middle East analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. She is also a senior analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies and a member of the Iraq Speakers Bureau. Among the issues discussed in this interview are the US origins of Israel’s weaponry and fuel, the language of propaganda from Israel and the Geneva convention law in the context of “an occupying power.” Links – http://www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon/
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During the Law and Disorder panel, Ten Minutes To Midnight, at the Left Forum in New York, our hosts covered a range of issues, among them presidential signing statements. While many people may not have heard of signing statements, they represent a signifcant threat to the separation of powers. The President, literally attaches a statement when he signs newly enacted legislation. These statements lay out his interpretation of the law, which may unfairly influence how the judiciary perceive these laws in the future.
In a report to be released today, an American Bar Association task force will recommend that Congress pass legislation providing for some sort of judicial review of presidential signing statements. Some task force members want to give Congress the right to sue over the signing statements; other task force members will not characterize what sort of judicial review might ultimately emerge.
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Lynne Stewart – Part 1
Law and Disorder recently sat down with convicted civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart to talk about her health, her approaching sentencing this September and the details leading up to her indictment and conviction.
Civil Liberties, Supreme Court, Truth to Power
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NYCLU Demands Investigation Into NSA Spying
Verizon, AT&T and other large phone companies are suspected of providing the NSA with the personal emails and phone calling details of millions of customers. Aside from the lawsuits filed by the EFF, the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights, the NYCLU is demanding from the top three New York protection agencies, thd Attorney General’s Office, the Public Services Commission, and the Consumer Protection Board to investigate this very serious invasion of our privacy and order the telephone companies to end this practice.
Guest – Cory Stoughton, NYCLU Staff attorney.
Turkmen V. Ashcroft Case Update
A recent decision by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York has essentially ruled that immigrants can be indefinitely detained on the basis of religion, race or national origin. This decision paves the way for internment camp style prisons similar to those after World War II as long as the internment is limited to foreign nationals charged with visa violations (a group that at last count numbered about 11 million people).
Guests – Attorney Rachel Meeropol with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Green Scare Panel – What is the Green Scare? – How the Government is Targeting Eco-Activists.
Here on Law and Disorder we’ve discussed at length about how police and FBI have spied and infiltrated activist groups. On December 26 of last year, Law and Disorder brought Eileen Clancy from Eye Witness video on to the program to talk about how her video coverage had exposed the NYPD covertly joining in with vigils and rallies of activists. We now take a deeper look at how the “conspiracy law” is being used to take down individuals within environmental protest groups in the United States and given harsh prison sentences. The National Lawyers Guild recently sponsored the event “What is the Green Scare” – How the Government is Targeting Eco-Activists. Listen to the entire panel here.
We’ll hear from three attorneys, first Daniel Meyers, a New York City criminal defense attorney, practicing since 1967, Secondly, attorney Andrew Erba who specializes in State and Federal criminal defense and civil rights actions and lastly Lauren Regan, a public interest attorney specializing in environmental law, civil rights and criminal defense. Daniel Meyers describes how political activists are targeted through the use of federal conspiracy statutes. He explains that once a charge of conspiracy is accepted by the judge, here-say is admissible, making conspiracy “the easiest charge to prove in court.”
Andrew Erba, lead counsel for the SHAC 7 – The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty Seven deepened the analysis with a discussion of the plight of defendants facing federal conspiracy charges such as accused drug dealers.
Lastly we hear an excerpt from Oregon attorney Lauren Regan, Regan is a public interest attorney specializing in environmental law, civil rights and criminal defense. During her talk, Regan illustrated the arbitrary nature of criminalizing dissent by listing numerous civil disobedience cases that were dismissed by judges as honorable actions.
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