REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

USA: Police State? II

POSTED BY: RUE
UPDATED: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 06:52
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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:11 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/washington/09cnd-scotus.html?hp or
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/04/4304/
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — A German citizen who said he was kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency and tortured in a prison in Afghanistan lost his last chance to seek redress in court today when the Supreme Court declined to consider his case.
The justices’ refusal to take the case of Khaled el-Masri let stand a March 2 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va. That court upheld a 2006 decision by a federal district judge, who dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071022hayden;_ylt=AimyHjcBj17ElEFO
h4ff5xGs0NUE

The Nation -- Like a sharp razor cutting through the fog of war, the New York Times headline reads, "Justice Dept. Said to Back Harshest Tactics After Declaring Torture Abhorrent."
The report could not be clearer. The Bush Justice Department has secretly authorized "the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency."
Simulated drowning. Fear of suffocation. Blows to the head. Naked men held in freezing cells. Sleep deprivation. Noise assaults.
All secretly legalized, from Guantánamo to Abu Ghraib. Anything is permissible up to organ failure or death, or unless it "shocks the conscience."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007
100502492.html?hpid=topnews

For six decades, they held their silence.
The group of World War II veterans kept a military code and the decorum of their generation, telling virtually no one of their top-secret work interrogating Nazi prisoners of war at Fort Hunt.
Several of the veterans, all men in their 80s and 90s, denounced the controversial techniques. And when the time came for them to accept honors from the Army's Freedom Team Salute, one veteran refused, citing his opposition to the war in Iraq and procedures that have been used at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007
100502492.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/washington/09nsa.html?hp
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 — Two months after insisting that they would roll back broad eavesdropping powers won by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress appear ready to make concessions that could extend some crucial powers given to the National Security Agency ...
A competing proposal in the Senate, still being drafted, may be even closer in line with the administration plan, with the possibility of including retroactive immunity for telecommunications utilities that participated in the once-secret program to eavesdrop without court warrants.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:34 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!


God! I just want to ram my head into a wall! It might feel better than reading this.





---------------------------------
Always look upstream.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 9:09 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


I've been reading the 'bury guns' thread.

I wonder how packing a pistol, or even a rifle, is going to do any good when the SWAT team outguns you and you get 'disappeared'.

All you supposed libertarians out there - you going to get up on your hind legs about this ??


***************************************************************
Never mind.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 9:34 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by SignyM:
ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!


God! I just want to ram my head into a wall! It might feel better than reading this.





You're right. A string of 9/11 attacks here and abroad would be FAR better than us getting stern w/ some foaming at the mouth terrorists.

I'm fully convinced now.



People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 9:41 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Auraptor, perhaps you haven't noticed that some of the folks tortured by "the system" were... ahhh.... innocent?

Yeah, that'll keep us safe alright: Torturing the innocent and creating a system where that happens w/o review and w/ impunity. Nice logic.


---------------------------------
Always look upstream.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 9:49 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Rap

Perhaps you didn't read the part about the intelligence gatherers in WWII. About how well they did - using wits, not torture. And about how they decry the use of torture - to the point of one even refusing an award for his work. And of course, I'm sure you remember we won.

You don't have to BE the enemy to defeat them.

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007
100502492.html?hpid=topnews

For six decades, they held their silence.
The group of World War II veterans kept a military code and the decorum of their generation, telling virtually no one of their top-secret work interrogating Nazi prisoners of war at Fort Hunt.
Several of the veterans, all men in their 80s and 90s, denounced the controversial techniques. And when the time came for them to accept honors from the Army's Freedom Team Salute, one veteran refused, citing his opposition to the war in Iraq and procedures that have been used at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.



***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 9:53 AM

JONGSSTRAW


A) Supreme Court Decision on CIA Kidnapping :
I DON'T CARE, BASTARD LIKELY DESERVED IT

B) Harsh Interrogation Techniques :
NOT HARSH ENOUGH, & I DON"T CARE

C) Nazi Interrogations 60 Years Ago :
WE GOT OUR NAZIS, THE RUSKIES GOT THEIRS

D) Telecom Co's. Immunity On Eavesdropping :
GOOD FOR THEM....THEY'RE HELPING SAVE AMERICAN LIVES

Calling America a Police State is dishonest, lazy, and utter garbage....you wanna see a real police state?...there's still plenty of them around : N. Korea, Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Syria, China, Singapore, etc etc. Go take a close look on your next vacation.



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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:09 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Gee, I'd sure like to see some intelligent discussion around here.

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:21 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


It's scary how many neo-Nazis line up to shit on the Constitution.

---------------------------------
Always look upstream.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:30 AM

JONGSSTRAW


Better to shit on it a little when needed, then to adhere to it as if it's an un-flexible FUCKING SUICIDE PACT.

ask Kennedy
ask FDR
ask Truman
ask Lincoln
ask Clinton
ask EVERY President.

AND...also Mr. Smegma....who the fuck are you to call anybody here Nazis? Are we back to that again? I got plenty of names to put into print here for all those that YOU don't consider neo-nazis

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:32 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"It's scary how many neo-Nazis line up to shit on the Constitution."
And how few freedom-lovers rise to defend it.

Hey - you libertarians out there - Do you think your guns are going to help you as your neighbors stand behind their curtains to spy on what's going on ? And later they'll say - gee I never would have guessed ... and much later they'll say ... hey whatever happened to ...

There are some things that need a mass response. Buying guns isn't going to help you one bit.

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:35 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"Better to shit on it a little when needed" Yeah, the constitution makes great toilet paper.

Got anything intelligent to say ?



***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:36 AM

JONGSSTRAW


To quote from one of YOUR recent INTELLIGENT posts Rue...GO Fuck Yourself!....How's that? Intelligent enuf?

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:55 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


It's your exact style. Why would I expect anything different ?

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:57 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Frem, Veteran, SergeantX, CTS, 6-string - anything ?

***************************************************************
Freedom: gone, not even with a bang or a whimper ...

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:09 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Better to shit on it a little when needed, then to adhere to it as if it's an un-flexible FUCKING SUICIDE PACT.
Yes, because torturing innocent people and spying on 35 million Americans is a GREAT way to fight terrorism! HEY! I have an idea! Why don't we grab Jongsstraw and string him/her up as a warning? That'll work for sure against them terrorists! 'Cause grabbing people at random off the streets... that's powerful, man.

But if you want an argument that hits closer to home: Hillary Clinton, Imperial President.


---------------------------------
Always look upstream.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 1:45 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by SignyM:
Auraptor, perhaps you haven't noticed that some of the folks tortured by "the system" were... ahhh.... innocent?

Yeah, that'll keep us safe alright: Torturing the innocent and creating a system where that happens w/o review and w/ impunity. Nice logic.




No, I've not noticed ANYONE being 'tortured', by the system or otherwise.

Quote:

Yes, because torturing innocent people and spying on 35 million Americans is a GREAT way to fight terrorism! HEY! I have an idea! Why don't we grab Jongsstraw and string him/her up as a warning? That'll work for sure against them terrorists! 'Cause grabbing people at random off the streets... that's powerful, man.




I'm at a loss as to where anyone was 'tortured', and exactly where do you get the stats that 35 MILLION Americans were spied on ? Who the hell could possibly waste the man power or even HAVE the man power in the 1st place to spy on that many people? That's enough to fill up a stadium holding 100,000 people 350 times. Is that 35 million people every year? Since 9/11 ? Are each and every one of them different individuals, with no repeaters?

I think you're living in fantasy land.

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 1:53 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/washington/09cnd-scotus.html?hp or
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/04/4304/
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — A German citizen who said he was kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency and tortured in a prison in Afghanistan lost his last chance to seek redress in court today when the Supreme Court declined to consider his case.
The justices’ refusal to take the case of Khaled el-Masri let stand a March 2 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va. That court upheld a 2006 decision by a federal district judge, who dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets.

***************************************************************
The STATE is all, and we are ... as nothing.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 2:59 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Apparently Auraptor's eyes kinda stop working when they slide over that word. A sort of selective pattern non-recognition.

---------------------------------
Always look upstream.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 3:14 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important


Hello,

Guns. What good can guns possibly do against SWAT teams? What good can guns possibly do when National Guardsmen are mobilized against you? Do you really think you can overpower the U.S. government?

No. You can't beat SWAT teams. You can't beat the National Guard. You can't overpower the U.S. government.

So what good are guns?

I draw your attention to WACO. To Ruby Ridge. To events of armed resistance that drew the nation's eyes and ears.

I do not intend to paint these people as noble revolutionaries. I know little about their personal philosophies. I do know that they used arms in a defiant stand against the government, and I know that the entire nation took note. I also know that these people lost. They did not launch successful rebellions. They died or were forced to surrender.

But they also forced us to look.

If it comes down to rebellion against the government, the idea is that we will have dozens, perhaps hundreds of similar incidents. Different people in different places. People shooting cops and FBI agents and getting shot in return. Scores of people dying in acts of unthinkable defiance.

The government will either re-think itself at this point, due to public pressure, or it will react with even greater restrictions.

If it reacts with greater restrictions, it will inspire further defiance. More people pushed to their limit. More incidents of the unthinkable.

And again they will either re-think, or tighten their grip.

And either the entire nation will become an intolerable prison, or the strength of public opinion will sway us in the opposite direction. Public massacres of rioting civilians and other similar events might help. Eventually, police officers, FBI agents, and National Guardsmen may take exception to slaughtering their neighbors wholesale.

I hope so.

The real question is, What good are guns if you don't use them?

No good at all.

Everyone has their own breaking point. Usually it happens whenever a person decides that all peaceful means of resistance and influencing the system have failed or will fail. Then they have to use the toilet or exit the restroom.

Many people, reaching this point, will do nothing. They will decide to suffer in silence rather than become agents of violent rebellion. Not everyone has it in them to kill. Not everyone will willingly put themselves into harm's way.

Other people, reaching this point, will pick up a weapon. These are the people who will most assuredly die. Their blood would become the price that is universally exacted for Freedom.

I hope none of this occurs. I hope we turn things around politically. I hope the nation can somehow repair itself.

But I worry. Don't you?

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 3:48 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"If it comes down to rebellion against the government, the idea is that we will have dozens, perhaps hundreds of similar incidents."

And what if it doesn't make the news ? That's what happened in Argentina. People just disappeared. No one knew where. The government said nothing. The papers said nothing. There was a wall of silence.

Or worse, what if you have people like Hero and Rap and Jong saying 'well, they must have done something to deserve' - the taser, the sneak and peek, the phone tap, the disappearance, the torture ...

One person with a gun, even a tank, is not going to stop this. Not even a hundred people will. Nothing will stop this until people COOPERATE with each other.

Then I read the posts here, where people are SO reluctant to cooperate with ANYONE - even in defense of their freedoms. They'd rather (and pardon if I sound critical) retreat to their fantasy world of cowboys and Indians - or is it cops are robbers ?

John/ Jane Q Public will, as I said - hide behind their curtains, looking to see what's up. Wondering what's going on. And a few years later maybe they'll be wondering - whatever happened to ...

So why does anyone here think people are going to stand up for them - or with them ? If they themselves won't stand up together ?

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:05 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important


Hello,

I don't know. I'm willing to cooperate. You got a plan?

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:09 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Personally, I'm going to give as much as I can to the FSF and ACLU. If there's a demonstration - I'm going to join it. And I'm going to write, write, write to members Congress. And think of anything else I can do.

Or maybe I'll just sit on my duff and complain ...

***************************************************************
... polish my gun, and feel all heroic.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:14 PM

KANEMAN


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Frem, Veteran, SergeantX, CTS, 6-string - anything ?

***************************************************************
Freedom: gone, not even with a bang or a whimper ...



I do. I don't think we are a police state yet. I will say our liberties are being eroded as I type this...the time is coming. Guns will help stop this Rue...trust me.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:16 PM

KANEMAN


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Personally, I'm going to give as much as I can to the FSF and ACLU. If there's a demonstration - I'm going to join it. And I'm going to write, write, write to members Congress. And think of anything else I can do.

Or maybe I'll just sit on my duff and complain ...

***************************************************************
... polish my gun, and feel all heroic.





Funny the best thing the ACLU(actually ex-head of ACLU) did was put out the video..."Busted: how to SURVIVE a police encounter".........



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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:28 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


" WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — A German citizen, Khaled el-Masri , who said he was kidnapped.......blah blah blah"



Quote:

The justices’ refusal to take the case of Khaled el-Masri let stand a March 2 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va. That court upheld a 2006 decision by a federal district judge, who dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets.


I'm glad someone is standing up for the good guys. About damn time.

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 4:38 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


DANG ! I was going to PM a few people to say that's what you'd say. Too bad I didn't have the time.

Let me ask you this - if there was no apparatus, no kidnapping, rendition and torture - and he wasn't a terrorist (seeing as how they let him go) - what state secrets could POSSIBLY be revealed by bringing this to trial ?


***************************************************************
And I'd like you explain how it is the 'good guys' have dirty secrets to hide.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 5:00 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
DANG ! I was going to PM a few people to say that's what you'd say. Too bad I didn't have the time.

Let me ask you this - if there was no apparatus, no kidnapping, rendition and torture - and he wasn't a terrorist (seeing as how they let him go) - what state secrets could POSSIBLY be revealed by bringing this to trial ?





I dunno. Guess that's why they call them SECRETS, now isn't it ?

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 5:00 PM

HARDWARE


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
I've been reading the 'bury guns' thread.

I wonder how packing a pistol, or even a rifle, is going to do any good when the SWAT team outguns you and you get 'disappeared'.

All you supposed libertarians out there - you going to get up on your hind legs about this ??


***************************************************************
Never mind.



Rue,
Please read the US Army's counterinsurgency handbook and quoting from Nathan Bedford Forrest, hit 'em where they ain't.

I'm not going to quote anything, but the information is out there. Oddly enough, published by our own government.

And yes, they outnumber a few of us, but they don't outnumber all of us. Planes have to land. Tanks need fuel. Ships need to call at port. And servicemen and women need food.

Will hundreds of thousands die? Probably. Will the survivors live free? Undoubtedly, for a time. Until the next government forgets and has to be taken to school.

Whining about it isn't going to do any good. Sooner or later you're gonna have to decide whether to fish or cut bait. Choice is up to you.

The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 5:17 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Rap

"dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets."

That's an admission - that they DID something with him that's a state secret. Something about kidnapping, rendition and torure.

***************************************************************
And you - jeez what a shit-covered coward you are.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:17 PM

FLETCH2


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Rap

"dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets."

That's an admission - that they DID something with him that's a state secret. Something about kidnapping, rendition and torure.

***************************************************************
And you - jeez what a shit-covered coward you are.



That doesn't nescessarily follow. Lot's of things that might come up in trial could be considered secret even if they actually never actually tortured him. I would assume that to challenge his case names/places/techniques would have to be revealed. Since disclosing those facts may effect national security they are refusing. That doesnt mean that they tortured him, just that they don't want to say how they operate. If you look into the way the Whitehouse operates you will see they tend to mark almost everything as secret unless forced to do otherwise. My guess is that the butt-clench reaction to any questioning of presidential authority is to label it secret even though that may not even be in their own best interest.

It's a little like the right to remain silent, in theory you have that right and it shouldnt be construde to be an admission of guilt and in fact you may not be guilty however it does make you look guilty.




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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:24 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"I would assume that to challenge his case names/places/techniques would have to be revealed."

But the judges didn't reject it on the basis of merit, which they could have. If they had said it had no merit then you might have a point.

They rejected it b/c they felt a greater good would be served by keeping state secrets.

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:25 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Alas, for me, Rue - it's a dead letter issue.

To truly comprehend what I mean by that, you have to understand that I have seen this coming all the way back to the early 1980's, chapter and verse - and have been banging this little drum ever since, only to be ignored, mocked, and shouted down by prettymuch everyone.

And so when many of those people who did that come back to me a couple years later, after it's too fuckin LATE to do anything about what I was bitching about at the time...
(I fucking TOLD THEM the Patriot Act would never be sunset, but no...)

Do you really think I have much sympathy for the very folks who *could* have stopped such things, or at least sandbagged em a while, who then chose instead to ridicule the people trying to stop it, while helping it along ? would you ?

Especially when, after finding themselves somehow on the recieving end of shit that only happens to "other people" cause in their little fucking plastic bubble, they're the hero of the story, you know... they come to you and ask you what to do ?

Would you TRUST them, not just to take your advice, but with your plans, your freedom and your life ? or would you expect them to flee at the first sign of any *personal* risk, to betray you in a heartbeat if they thought that would protect them ?

And so I tell em all the same thing - Buy a weapon, get some ammo, and hope you die well when your time comes around.

The hell if imma detail my TETOWAKI plans, sorry, but the folk on the short end of the stick these days - they dug their own grave, and probably mine beside it.

So fuck em, let em reap the bitter harvest they themselves have sown, and maybe they'll find some mercy and forgiveness in whatever afterlife they favor, cause they damned sure won't get none from me.

For mine own, I've no intention whatsoever of being a futile martyr to a cause no one seems willing to accept if it costs them anything, so mostly I'd be jamming up the works in a manner that leads them to suspect each other, resulting in what, due to the fear and paranoia of such types, will amount to a circular firing squad.

But no, I've no intent whatsoever to risk my neck to save the very cowardly snivelling bastards who put us in this position - if that's what your asking.

On the other hand, my free advice is worth everything ya paid for it, and you needs but ask to have it.

I just wanted to make it 100% sure and clear where I stand on this up front, ok ?

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:29 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Oh, and I have a nasty question apropos of nothing - how many of you think that Rap wouldn't turn one of us in if he 'felt' justified ?

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Collaborators - what would a police state be without them ?

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:31 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Frem

I've been criticizing the Patriot Act ever since when. It's a thankless task. Either people feel that it won't touch them or they feel political action is beneath them. Because, by god, they have a GUN.

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Can you think of nothing else to do but Custer's last stand ?

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:42 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Well, I have to go collect the drunks and run em home, lemme think on this a bit and if advice is what you desire, you'll get it.

Provided another SUV pushing cell phone yakker doesn't finish the job the first one started, my back is still killin me, here.

-F

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 6:59 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!


Quote:

The justices’ refusal to take the case of Khaled el-Masri let stand a March 2 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va. That court upheld a 2006 decision by a federal district judge, who dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets.


Bullshit. It's routine in fed court to have scumbag govt informants testify without revealing their identities. That's why the feds unconstitutionally ban all videocams and photography in fed courts. Judges routinely run star chambers with secret govt files in camera, sealed under court order. The "state secret" is that torture is only good for coercing false confessions for false flag psyops, according to CIA agents.

However, I support torture. Arrest the White House NOW!





http://watch.windsofchange.net/pics/I5628-2004May05.JPG













My interview with General, er, Colonel Janis Karpinski, ex commander of Abu Ghraib, plus hidden audiotape of 40 minutes of Police State death squad torturing US citizen in USA:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3386531596598980684&hl=en

I'd pay good money to see the hanging of George DWI Bush. And Rupert Murdoch. Or death by waterboarding. No trial required, per U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act.




"How can I get the Captain to shoot a cop in the face, and make it right? That extra moment of sadism - that's the thing that says it's okay, buddy, you're not up to spec, you're going down!"
-Joss the Boss, Firefly DVD, censored Episode 1 "Serenity"


FOX, MYSPACE & FIREFLY OWNED BY COMMUNIST CHINA!
www.piratenews.org/pntv-schedule.html


Does that seem right to you?
www.megavideo.com/?v=JVT35GR8
www.scifi.com/onair/

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:48 PM

FLETCH2


duo

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 8:48 PM

FLETCH2


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
"I would assume that to challenge his case names/places/techniques would have to be revealed."

But the judges didn't reject it on the basis of merit, which they could have. If they had said it had no merit then you might have a point.

They rejected it b/c they felt a greater good would be served by keeping state secrets.

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"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."



Chances are that they were not told any of the facts either. All you would need would be a compelling legal argument that the topic if discussed at trial would produce information usefull to an enemy. This ruling is proceedural they never got as far as considering it's merits. For them to say, "no you cant proceed because you are lying" means they have heard and examined the facts for the first time in court -- which isnt something the supreme court does, it essentially oversees decisions made in lower courts.

The government said in effect "this should not go to trial because of national security issues" and "proved" that simple fact they probably never even discussed the nature of the complaint.

Think on it like this. Imagine a DA wants to try a kid as an adult. He goes before a judge in the higher court and says he wants to charge the kid, the judge looks and sees that it's unconstitutional in that state for a child that young to be tried as an adult so he bops it back down to family court. In doing so he says nothing about the merits of the case or if anyone was guilty or not, all he's saying is that on this point of proceedure the adult court has no juristiction. Same deal here, all the gov had to do was prove to SOTUS that the case had national security issues and that a law exists somewhere that lets them avoid bringing it to trial, not that the complain has merit either way.


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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:04 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Not really. But I have a teen up at all hours I need to attend. to.

***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:07 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Rap

"dismissed Mr. Masri’s lawsuit on the grounds that trying the case could expose state secrets."

That's an admission - that they DID something with him that's a state secret. Something about kidnapping, rendition and torure.




It's not an admission of any such thing. Just that it was dismissed for the reasons listed above. That's it.

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:28 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


For now I'll just repost this from the gun thread (original from SignyM)


BERLIN — A Munich court has ordered the arrest of 13 U.S. intelligence operatives in connection with the kidnapping and beating of a German citizen who was interrogated for five months at a secret prison in Afghanistan, prosecutors announced today.

The suspects belong to a CIA-sponsored team that allegedly flew Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, from Macedonia to Afghanistan in January 2004. Each of the accused, all but one of whom were identified only by aliases, were charged with kidnapping and causing serious bodily harm. Police found a "strong suspicion" that the operatives were involved in el-Masri's disappearance, said a statement released by the Munich prosecutor's office. "According to the information we have, the suspects listed in the arrest warrants are believed to be so-called code names of CIA agents. The investigation will now focus on learning the actual names of the suspects."


www.mindfully.org/Reform/2007/CIA-al-Masri-Kidnap31jan07.htm

***************************************************************
Stick that up your butt, Rap. And don't think I didn't notice that you only posted after I said I was busy. Shit-covered coward.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 11:29 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


And Fletch,

I'm not done with you either.



***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 2:20 AM

ARCLIGHT


"...A German citizen who said..."
Lotta folk can say a lotta things, don't make it so. Remember the Duke Lacrosse team?

Graba Arab prison torture? Don't think so. More like college frat boyz hazing stunts.

If the United States Of America were a police state Barbra Streisand would not be free to walk the streets. Oh, but she moved out ot the country didn't she.

Man made Global warming. It's not just a lie, it's a damn convenient lie.

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 5:33 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Well gosh, I guess Arc goes on my list too.

Rap, and Fletch and Arc - you seem to think that a lawyer would go before a federal judge and say - well, my client said so and it's good enough for me. And your further assume that a case like that would make it all the way to the supreme court. A case like that wouldn't even get in front of Judge Judy.

Do you know what happens when cases like that go before a judge ? They get dismissed - with prejudice. (I hope you know what that means.) And the US government wouldn't even have to present their side, let alone argue 'state secrets'.

The fact that the case was good enough where the US government HAD to argue 'state secrets' should be telling you something. The case had merit, the court had standing. What was ruled on was that government state secrets are more important than justice for an innocent man who was kidnapped, taken to Afghanistan, and tortured - with US government complicity.


***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 6:13 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Bush pushes for telecom immunity
AP - 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Wednesday that he will not sign a new eavesdropping bill if it does not grant retroactive immunity to U.S. telecommunications companies that helped conduct electronic surveillance without court orders.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071010/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ terrorist_surveillance;_ylt=Al7o3yg9ZNHm.IRZyPV5s5Ws0NUE


***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 6:17 AM

FLETCH2


Ok few factoids. First, something going to SOTUS does not mean that it's a big deal, for every "Roe V Wade" there are several dozen minor proceedural questions that get appealed up the chain of courts until it reaches SOTUS. Hell Anna Nicole Smith had her day before the courts and the decision they made had nothing to do with the merits of her inheritance case but if a judge in California could rule on a will filed in Texas. That was it, just that narrow legal question that could come up anywhere or any time.

Things we KNOW as facts. Rendition happens, the EU has records to prove that it does. The CIA holds people in friendly states to avoid having to work within the US system. That's proven and should be enough for anyone.

That does not mean that this guy's accusations have merit and that isn't what SOTUS ruled on. All the government said was that discussing the techniques used --- which they would have to do to refute the case, benefits the enemy.

If "torture" consisted of playing 12 straight hours of Barry Manilow records (oh the horror) and they would rather not let the world know that they would tell the judge the exact technique was secret. That does not mean they are admiting to the guy's claims they roasted his goolies for 3 hours.

Look at it this way. Assume before Cheyne/Libby et al outted her Valerie Plame ended up on a witness list for a trial. As a CIA operative the government can and probably would ask for her to be removed on national security grounds not nescesarily because she knew something but because her being in court could identify her as a CIA operative and that fact is a national secret.

If the guy sueing was intent to name names the same rule would apply. So no, it's not an admission that this guy's specific accuations are true just that in going to court they would have to reveal stuff they dont want to.

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 6:38 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


You keep saying over and over that all the supreme court did was uphold the lower courts on procedural terms. Big deal. You keep avoiding the decisions of the lower courts.

The lower courts did NOT dismiss the case for lack of merit or lack of jurisdiction. That has meaning which you refuse to address.





***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 7:18 AM

FLETCH2


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
You keep saying over and over that all the supreme court did was uphold the lower courts on procedural terms. Big deal. You keep avoiding the decisions of the lower courts.

The lower courts did NOT dismiss the case for lack of merit or lack of jurisdiction. That has meaning which you refuse to address.





***************************************************************
"Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice."




No. You miss the point. The government decided it has a blanket power to avoid going to trial on the grounds of national security. That's a trump card, it goes before anyone decides if the case has merit or not. My understanding is that this is a civil action. Civil Suits are not vetted for validity, that's a decision for the courts. For Gods sake people sue Apple because the Iphone they bought broke after they themselves changed the software. You live in America, I could sue you for anything you say here. The fact that I sue does not automatically imply that what I say has merit, that's the decision the court makes.

Now assume that like the government Rue has the power to dismiss the action on proceedural grounds. Now imagine that you always use it for any suit brought against you irrespective of content -- which is the case here. The fact that Rue uses her "get out of jail free card" the moment I file my case doesn't mean that my case has merit, it just means she has a legal excuse she can use and so she does.




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Wednesday, October 10, 2007 7:40 AM

FLETCH2


Me: Your honour in my complaint I charge that Elvis Aaron Presley is alive. That in the late 1970's the US government replaced his body with that of a clone and that he now lives in Fort Mead Maryland at the headquarters of the NSA. To prove my case I need to supenna staff members of the NSA and conduct a search of lvl 15 of the Maryland site.

Government: Your honour this charge is rediculous and baseless. The government has no intention of allowing employees of one of our secret intelligence services to appear in open court. Persuant to article X of Y any information pursuant to the Fort Mead location or it's employees is a state secret and we move to have this case struck on the grounds of national security.

Rue. OMG THE KING LIVES!!!! The gov wouldn't have pulled the national security card it he didn't!!!

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