03.26.06
Founding Member of Delta Force Speaks Out on Torture
Eric Haney, founding member of a military counter-terrorist unit, Delta Force:
“I ask, who would you want to pay to
be a torturer? Do you want someone that the American public pays to
torture? He’s an employee of yours. It’s worse than ridiculous. It’s
criminal; it’s utterly criminal. This administration has been masters
of diverting attention away from real issues and debating the silly.
Debating what constitutes torture: Mistreatment of helpless people in
your power is torture, period. And (I’m saying this as) a man who has
been involved in the most pointed of our activities. I know it, and all
of my mates know it. You don’t do it. It’s an act of cowardice. I hear
apologists for torture say, “Well, they do it to us.” Which is a
ludicrous argument. … The Saddam Husseins of the world are not our
teachers. Christ almighty, we wrote a Constitution saying what’s legal
and what we believed in. Now we’re going to throw it away.”Link.
-MAD-
03.23.06
More Bush Family Perfidy
03.09.06
Well-Written Washington Monthly Article that Examines How Big Business Exploits Evangelicals
This article touches on a number of interesting topics:
- Republican operatives filibustering a bi-partisan bill that authorizes public schools to teach an elective course on the Bible;
- The selfish reasons behind the filibuster;
- Republican & Democrat rhetorical strategies;
- The political use of language;
- How Big Business values invariably supersede Moral and Religious values;
- How “moderate evangelicals” might go over to the Democrats if their values are not respected.
Well worth the read; highly recommended.
-MAD-
03.06.06
Salah events this week HERE – try to attend one
“Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”– Fredrick Douglass
Public Truth Hearing
Saturday, March 11th
1:00 – 4:00 PM
Chicago-Kent School of Law
566 West Adams Street, Room 510
Learn the Truth about the U.S. Government’s Case Against Muhammad Salah! Say no to TORTURE!! Say no to FEAR !!
Program Will Include
Panel on Torture and Due Process (Speakers TBA)
Statement from Muhammad Salah
Testimonies from Maryam Salah and Human Rights Experts.
Sponsored by: The Coalitio n to Protect People’s Rights, NLG-Chicago-Kent Chapter, Chicagoland Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights, Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights, Chicago Media Action, Arab American Action Network, CAIR-Chicago, Southwest Youth Collaborative. If you would like to endorse this event, please email s_adely@yahoo.com.
Background on the Case:
An American citizen of Palestinian descent, Mr. Salah traveled from his home in Bridgeview, IL to Israel in 1993 to provide monetary assistance to Palestinian families. At the Gaza border-crossing, over twenty Israeli soldiers arrested and detained him. The Israeli Secret Service then systematically tortured him during an 80-day interrogation and forced Mr. Salah to sign a confession in Hebrew, a language that Mr. Salah does not understand. The Israeli Military Court sentenced him to five years in prison. After serving his sentence, he returned home to his family in the U.S. in 1997.
When he returned, the U.S. government had launched an investigation and had listed him on a list of Specially Designated Terrorists. Mr. Salah is the only U.S. Citizen to be placed on that list. As a result of this designation, all of the Salah family assets were frozen, and he was prohibited from receiving any goods or services from any U.S citizen not licensed to do so. Mr. Salah had to obtain permission from the Department of Treasury to get a job, to retain an attorney, to open a bank account, and to receive medical car e. As a result of these restrictions, his entire family suffered consequences and now lives in fear of eviction. Mr. Salah suffered these restrictions on his rights without being notified as to the reasons and without an opportunity to challenge his placement on the list.
Not until 2001 did the United States federal government re-launch a grand jury investigation into Mr. Salah’s case. Then, in 2004, the U.S. charged Mr. Salah with aiding a terrorist organization based on the Hebrew confession, obtained through torture in 1993. He is scheduled to stand trial in the fall of 2006 in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Salah’s lawyers moved to suppress the 1993 Hebrew confession as evidence. Starting on March 3, 2006, the court will hold hearings on whether to admit this confession as evidence. The court has closed to the public the portion of the hearing in which Mr. Salah’s Israeli interrogators will testify as to their methods of interrogation. The closing of the hearing further violates Mr. Salah’s Sixth Amendment Constitutional rights and the public’s First Amendment right to a full public trial.
As residents of Bridgeview, Mr. Salah and his wife have long been active members in their community, where they have raised their five children. Two of whom are attending college on full scholarships. The Coalition to Protect People’s Rights has united in order to raise public awareness about the United States government’s violation of Mr. Muhammad Salah’s due process rights. The Coalition, which is comprised of civil rights groups, human rights groups, community-based organizations, and concerned individuals, advocates for the safeguarding of people’s rights protected by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Please join our Coalition in this effort to protect human rights and Mr. Muhammad Salah’s right to a fair trial.
Thank you,
For more information contact cpprchicago@yahoo.com
03.02.06
Salah events this week – try to attend one
Friday, March 3rd
9:00 AM-Press Conference
North side of Dirksen Federal Building (Dearborn and Adams)
10:00 AM – Opening Statements of Muhammad Salah Suppression Hearing Dirksen Federal Building, Room 1241. You will need I.D. to enter the building.
Monday, March 6th
10:00 – 12:00 – Chicago Federal Plaza
Prayer Vigil in Support of a Fair and Open Hearing This is the day that we expect the hearing to be closed to the public. Please come out with your religious community, students, co-workers, friends and as individual s.
Saturday, March 11th
Public Truth Hearing (TBA) – Details to follow.
March 3 – 16th
Silent Supporters in the Court Room
Monday through Thursday – 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
We expect the duration of the hearing to be about two weeks. It is important that we have a broad showing of support in the in the courtroom throughout. Please come when you can.
Check out the New “NLG at Kent” Website.
I have completely reconfigured the “NLG at Kent” Website. It is now
easier to navigate, takes up less space, and looks cooler. Here is the
URL link:
http://www.kentlaw.edu/student_orgs/nlg/
I’ve also included a permanent “NLG at Kent” link from this blog on the right hand side, under “web sites”
-MAD-
What do American Express, Saudi Arabia, Dell, Halliburton, and the United Arab Emirates have in common? Internet Censorship!
Recently, the technology and culture journalists at the popular, independent boingboing news website received an unpleasant suprise. Readers all over the globe were now unable to access the site because it was blocked by Secure Computing’s Smartfilter. The United Arab Emirates, and presumably Saudi Arabia blocked the website for religious reasons. The American companies presumably blocked sites containing nudity. This apparently includes Michaelangelo’s “Statue of David.” Of course, boingboing also provides other types of “problematic” commentary, such as consumer advocacy regarding file-sharing and electronic device modification, as well as political commentary.
Miffed, the boingboing team decided to retaliate with a Guide to Defeating CensorWare.
Since it supports freedom of expression and the public right to access said expression, the Chicago-Kent NLG will provide an additional link on its Resources page.
Long Live boingboing.net!
-Zardoz-
