February
2013 News
Drones: Here, There and Everywhere
Murdering
Americans Abroad
A leaked memo offers more clarity on the Administration's legal rationale
for extrajudicial killing of Americans.
Spying
on Us at Home
30,000 drones will be buzzing about in U.S. airspace by 2020. As yet,
there are no safeguards to protect us from unwarranted, invasive surveillance.
Computer
'Crimes'
CFAA
1984's Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is being abused by overzealous
prosecutors and stifling our ability to dissent online.
January
2013 News
ACTIVISTS
FBI
and the Assassins
The
first batch of records detailing FBI surveillance of the Occupy movement
has begun to trickle out, in response to various Freedom of Information
Act requests by public interest groups and some media outlets. For
the most part, the released documents tell the banal story of FBI
agents monitoring First Amendment protected activity and alerting
banks and other commercial entities that they may be the target of
protests. Read
more....
Grand
Jury Resistance
We've been reporting
on the federal grand jury
that was convened in Seattle to investigate vandalism at the 2012
May Day protests.... two months before the alleged crime occurred.
We have just learned that all three grand jury resisters have been
moved to solitary confinement. Meanwhile, a federal prosecutier in
Portland has tried to use the success of the grand jury resistance campaign,
and the solidarity of the anarchist community in the North West into
a reason to deny bail to one young man. Read
more...
LEGISLATION
More
Warrantless Wiretaps
Late
in December, the Senate passed (roll
call is here) and the President signed the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, giving the NSA power to sweep
up massive amounts of our communications without a warrant. Read
more...
2013
NDAA
While
on vacation in Hawaii, President Obama signed the $633 billion 2013
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Read
more...
2013
Intelligence Authorization
We
scored a victory! The Senate stripped an overbroad anti-leak provision
from the 2013 Intelligence Authorization Bill. Read
more...
December
2012
2012 in the Rearview Mirror
As we near the end of 2012
we provide a brief wrap-up of some of the main issues DDF has worked
on over the past year.
Victories
1.
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)
2. Midwest
Grand Jury Resistance
3. Whistleblower
Rights
4. Testify!
5.
Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights (CCDBR)
6. Our
New Staff and BoardEmily Goodman, Arun Gupta and Andrew Bashi
Challenges (or, Victories
Yet to Come)
1. Surveillance
2. National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
3. Entrapment
4. Criminalizing
Protest
5. Whistleblowers
6. Grand
Jury Resistance
November
2012 (PDF
or HTML)
ACTIVISTS
Here’s
a New One…
An Air Force Lieutenant Colonel is apparently so frightened of a small
group of peace activists outside his base that he has asked for an
order of protection.
Northwest
Grand Jury
In a remarkably prescient maneuver, a federal grand jury was convened
in Seattle in March 2012 to investigate vandalism at the May Day protests
two months later.
Boston
Spy Files
It’s déjà vu all over again. This time, it's local police in Boston
who have been caught compiling intelligence reports and incident reports
on peaceful protests, logging them under the heading of Criminal Activity
with the labels “Groups-Extremist,” and “Homeland Security-Domestic.”
Drone
Opponent Stopped at Border
Imran Khan, a Pakistani cricket star turned politician was pulled
off a flight bound for New York, detained and questioned at a Toronto
airport earlier this month.
WHISTLEBLOWERS
2
½ Years for Outing Torturers
We know that a guilty plea doesn't always mean that the defendant
is guilty.
SUPREME
COURT
The
Court has refused to review the Holy Land Foundation case. Why
are we not surprised?
OVERSIGHT
The
long-awaited Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) held
its first meeting on October 31. We were there.
October
2012 (PDF
or
HTML)
LEGISLATIVE
New
Senate Report on Fusion Centers
Finds that Fusion Centers are "pools of ineptitude, waste and
civil liberties intrusions"
Whistleblower
Bill Passes House
"The strongest whistleblower protections ever"
FISA
Amendments Act
The House voted 301-118 to extend the warrantless wiretap bill for
another 5 years, as per the Obama Administration’s request.
COURT
DECISIONS
Austin
An anniversary present to Occupy Austin
UC
Davis
$1,000,000 settlement for pepper spray incident
Chicago
Unconstitutional curfew
Arizona
Tatts are protected speech!
UPDATES
Cleveland
5
Guilty pleas for 4 people ensnared in FBI terror plot
2010
FBI Raids - 2 years later
Still no charges, but case remains open.
SURVEILLANCE
New
Toy for Police
GUANTANAMO
Omar
Khadr leaves gitmo
Gitmo
statistics
September
2012 (PDF)
(WEB)
Report from the Conventions
The UndocuBus
Austin Police Infiltrate
& Entrap
Free Speech or Hate Speech?
Updates on the Cleveland
5 and Grand Jury Resisters
Summer
2012 (PDF)(HTML)
Camera-Shy
Cops
With a cell phone in the hands of virtually everyone, photography
has become a powerful tool for oversight and accountability, shining
a light on unjust or illegitimate police practices. Recently, that’s
been especially true for protesters experiencing heavy-handed or brutal
police repression. That police don't like this new power is quite
clear, as evidenced by the many reports of police intimidation, harassment
and arrests of photographers, often accompanied by the seizure and
destruction of pictures and videos. Read
more...
FWIW:
The Law is on OUR Side
It is absolutely legal to film police in public in every state of
the Union, but lack of training, oversight and/or clear policies means
that police continue to violate the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment
rights of individuals recording the police. Read
more...
Homes
Raided in Northwest
It’s a familiar story: dozens of police and FBI agents dressed in
paramilitary gear and carrying assault rifles staged a pre-dawn raid
on several activist homes, and subpoenas are issued to activists to
appear before a federal grand jury. Read
more...
Unnecessary
Roughness
Police in Vermont and West Virginia over-react to protesters; and
the FBI pays a visit in Vermont. Read
more...
NYPD:
They Really ARE that bad!
...pushing, shoving, dragging, hitting, punching and kicking, batons,
pepper spray and using horses and scooters as weapons against protesters.
Read
more....
Plugging
Leaks
Senate Intell committee passes a bill that is both anti-Free Press
and anti-whistleblower. Read
more...
June
2012 (PDF
)(HTML)
NDAA UPDATE:
House
passes 2013 NDAA
Take
Action: Senate NDAA Vote
Federal
Judge Issues Injunction
City
of Takoma Park, MD passes resolution
REPORT FROM CHICAGO:
Campaign
to Disrupt & Discredit
Five
Charged with Terrorism
Peaceful
Protests?
CLEVELAND 5
FBI
Entraps 5 in Cleveland
ANALYSIS:
Set'Em
Up, Knock'Em Down
Action
Alert
Anatomy
of an FBI Terror Plot
April
2012
(PDF)
(HTML)
Stories we Liked
"¡Sí,
se puede!"
Standing
Up
FBI
Trained
to “bend the law”
SF
stands up to FBI
NYPD
Political
Activists Also Targeted (surprise!)
DOJ
The
“because we say so” legal principle
Legislative
Anti-Protest
Laws Spring Up All Over
March
2012 (PDF)
(HTML)
LEGISLATIVE
NDAA
Update
LOCAL POLICE
More
NYPD Blues (Part V)
Who
is the Enemy?
EXECUTIVE
Questions
Remain on Extrajudicial Killing
FBI
& GPS
RIGHT TO KNOW
Sunshine
Week
A
New WikiLeaks Treasure Trove
February
2012 (PDF)
or (HTML)
LEGISLATIVE
Due Process and the NDAA
Take Action: Stop the NDAA Train Wreck!
LOCAL POLICE
More NYPD Blues
COURTS
Are Boycotts Acts of Terror?
ACTIVISTS
Occupy
November
2011 (PDF)
or (HTML)
TAKE ACTION
Demand
An End to Heavy Handed Police Tactics
ACTIVISTS
Pushing
the Envelope on Protest Rights
A
New Kind of Fusion Center?
FOIA NEWS
Obama
Administration Backtracks
Do
As I Say, Not As I Do
October
2011 (PDF)
or (HTML)
FBI
Secret
New Rules for FBI
FBI
Has More to Fix
ACTIVISTS
More
than Just Money
Midwest
Activists: One Year Later
First Occupy Wall Street Lawsuit Filed
First
Occupy Wall Street Agent Provacatuer Exposed
THE
WAR ON TERROR
Senator
Leahy Questions Material Support Law
Obama’s
Secret Death Panel
UPDATES
More
NYPD
And
even more NYPD
Civil
Liberties Term of the Month
Manufactured
Crimes
September
2011 (PDF)
(HTML)
EXECUTIVE
Stop Vilifying Islam
and American Muslims
NYPD + CIA = TROUBLE
Top Secret Absurdity
LEGISLATIVE
A Commission to
Study "Domestic Radicalization"?
Take Action
ACTIVISTS
Shame on BART!
$$ Awards in Two RNC
Lawsuits
Word of the Month
Extremist
Violence
Summer
2011 (PDF)
FBI NEWS
Mueller
Gets Two More Years
In spite of this dismal track record, Congress bent over backwards
to accede to President Obama’s questionable request to extend Mueller’s
term beyond the legal limit.
New
Guidelines for the FBI
We learned in June that the FBI has drafted new rules for its agents,
giving them significant new powers. Civil liberties advocates had
been lobbying the FBI to tighten its rules to safeguard privacy and
Constitutional rights. Unfortunately, the FBI went the wrong way.
ACTIVISTS
Potential
Police Crackdown in Chicago?
Chicago will host the NATO/G8 Summit in May 2012. That's almost a
year away, but the city has already started its campaign to paint
the protesters as a security threat in order to justify an overwhelming
police presence.
THROWING THE BOOK
AT ACTIVISTS
Conspiracy
to Heckle?
Public speakers get interrupted all the time. Usually the hecklers
get carted off, maybe they spend the night in jail, and that is usually
it. But when 11 Muslim students disrupted a talk by Israel’s Ambassador
to the U.S. at the University of California Irvine, authorities came
down hard.
Two
Years for Civil Disobedience
Tim DeChristopher, an environmental activist bid on several parcels
of government-owned land in order to prevent them from going to oil
and gas companies.
Pursued
All the Way to China
For nine years, the FBI and several other state and federal agencies
have relentlessly pursued Justin Solondz, am environmentalist suspected
of setting fire to a lab at the University of Washinton.
JUNE,
2011
PATRIOT
Act Provisions Extended
Unprincipled fear-mongering, outright misrepresentations of the law
and pure cowardice led both houses of Congress to pass a four year
extension of the expiring PATRIOT Act provisions on May 26... even
though they don't even know how the DOJ is interpreting the law. Read
more...
Obama
Asks for More Mueller
In 1976, Congress limited the term of the FBI Director to 10 years.
For 35 years, this term limit has protected us from another J. Edgar
Hoover -- a popular FBI director in office for so long he was able
to accumulate too much power. On May 12, President Obama took the
unprecedented step of asking Congress to bend that rule and extend
the term of another popular director for another two years. Read
more...
Torture
and State Secrets Privilege
The Supreme Court has declined to consider Mohmed v. Jeppesen, an
important case concerning the right of victims of the extraordinary
rendition and torture program to hold government officials accountable,
and the government's use of the state secrets privilege to prevent
cases alleging government wrongdoing from moving forward. Read
more...
FOIA
Reveals More FBI Spying
The FBI spent three years keeping an eye on a Texas activist, creating
a 440 page file about his activities (many were labeled "Domestic
Terrorism"). Read
more...
Midwest
Activist Update
Several new developments in the investigation: a frozen bank account,
another home raided, FBI documents turn up in an odd place, and the
campaign to involve members of Congress gains momentum. Read
more...
RNC
Update
$50,000 for activists whose home was raided before the Republican
National Convention. Read
more...
If
I Can't Dance...
...it must be the Jefferson Memorial. Read
more...
MAY,
2011 (view as PDF)
LEGISLATION: Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) is worried about Sharia
Law (religious law based on Islam) taking over America, and he believes
we are not taking this threat seriously. He has introduced the Team
B Act (H.R. 1502), which targets "domestic radicalization".
Now that is a threat we are taking seriously! Read
more...
In the States: It’s been a busy spring for crushing rights in state legislatures around the country. Read about efforts to crush Unions, target immigrants and thwart animal-rights activists...
SURVEILLANCE: According to a new Department of Justice report, domestic surveillance activity increased last year. A few numbers: the FBI sought information about over 14,000 U.S. persons using over 24,000 National Security Letters. Read more...
ACTIVISTS: The peace group Food Not Bombs has been the target of police harrassment for decades. Florida has passed a law to inhibit the group's ability to pass out flyers and feed the homeless. Read more...
GUANTANAMO: WikiLeaks recently released a large collection of documents with information about more than 700 Guantanamo detainees. Read more...
MANNING: National and international pressure forced the transfer of Bradley Manning from solitary confinement at Quantico Marine Base to a much better situation at Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas. But a Grand Jury looking for ways to charge Julian Assange under the Espionage Act has issued at least one subpoeana to an unnamed person linked to Manning. Read more...
WORD OF THE MONTH: A longtime supporter has asked me to define terms I regularly use in this newsletter, so I will take on one term a month.This month is National Security Letters.
MARCH,
2011 (view as PDF)
A
Major Breakthrough on PATRIOT!
We scored a victory in February by limiting the extension of the
PATRIOT Act to only three months and demanding time for debate and
amendments. The Obama Administration had asked for a three year extension.
What is in the current bill and how did we get to this point?
Read the full article here.
TAKE
ACTION! We have less than 90 days to make sure Congress
enacts serious reforms, or repeals the PATRIOT Act.
Act Now.
King
Hearings on "Muslim Homegrown Terrorism"
Representative Peter King (R-NY) is moving ahead with his plans to
hold a hearing on what he calls the “Radicalization of American Muslims.”
He seems determined to focus exclusively on terrorist events in the
U.S. that were perpetrated or planned by Muslims (or planned by the
FBI with the participation of a hapless Muslim or two), while ignoring
all other acts of domestic terrorism. Read
the full article here.
FEBRUARY,
2011
(view as PDF)
FBI
Agents: Abusing our Rights... and Watching Porn?:
Three new reports document FBI violations
Celebrating
the Legacy of Dr. King: DDF organizes protest at the
J.Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, DC. Speakers include former
FBI agent and whistleblower, Coleen Rowley and retired CIA agent Ray
McGovern
Solidarity
for Solidarity Activists: Subpoenaed activists stand
together to refuse grand jury subpeonas and activists around the country
stand with them
Quantico:
DDF helps organize a major protest at the gates of Quantico
in support of Bradley Manning
Obama
& Whistleblowers: as a candidate Obama championed
whistleblowers... but now his adminstration jails them.
Wikileaks:
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) stands up for WikiLeaks and freedom
Guantanamo:
Protestors block the entrances to the Department of Justice
to protest Gitmo
PATRIOT
Act Update:
Sen. Leahy introduces a bill with reforms, but it doesn't go far
enough
Fighting
"Pretend Security": The metro system in Washington
has adopted a random bag search program, but we're fighting it.
FOIA
Yourself Update: two events are set for the San Francisco
area -- hope you can join us!
2010 Newsletters
DECEMBER
View entire issue as PDF
or Webpage
THE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST WIKILEAKS
"Off with their heads!" followed by censorship, prosecutions,
repressive legislation, searches and seizures. Read
more...
Take
Action! Send Senator Lieberman a message, and stand up for Bradley
Manning, the alleged leaker.
SCOPE
OF GRAND JURY PROBE WIDENS
The grand jury probe targeting solidarity activists widened last week
when two young Chicago area women who had visited Palestine this summer
received subpoenas to appear.
Read more....
LOCAL
CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT
We’ll face an uphill battle in Congress on most civil liberties issues
over the next two years, but the outlook might be sunnier in your
hometown or state. Pass a local Civil Rights Restoration Act. Read
more...
GREENPEACE
FILES SUIT
Greenpeace has just filed a lawsuit against two major chemical companies,
their PR firms and several individuals for activities that amount
to corporate espionage. Read
more......
REDEFINING
OBSCENITY
Last spring in U.S. v. Stevens, the Supreme Court overturned a 1999
law prohibiting videos depicting animal cruelty. The decision was
a good one. So Congress passed a new law to circumvent it. Read
more...
NOVEMBER
View entire
issue as PDF
or Webpage
ACTIVISTS
RNC8
CASE SPUTTERS TO AN END dropped charges and plea deals end "terror"
case
FBI
RAIDS UPDATE all activists refuse to cooperate with the grand
jury; activist community gears up to fight back
WELLSTONE
WAS TARGET OF COINTELPRO is anyone surprised?
PHOTOGRAPHY
AT FEDERAL BUILDINGS settlement in one case clarifies legality
of taking pictures
MILLION
DOLLAR BIKE RIDE New York City agrees to pay almost $1,000,000
to cycling activists
SURVEILLANCE
DID
YOU ‘FRIEND’ DHS? Government agencies are monitoring social network
sites for various reasons
WAR ON TERROR
“MATERIAL
SUPPORT” SHOULD CONSIDER INTENT Prominent U.S. charities file
an amicus brief in Holy Land Foundation case
WHO
SHOULD WE BE AFRAID OF? Not Muslims
CHILD
SOLDIER PLEADS GUILTY Omar Khadr, who has spent one third of his
life at Guantanamo pled guilty to all charges against him
OCTOBER
View entire issue as PDF
or
Webpage
FBI
RAIDS HOMES OF ACTIVISTS
On Friday, September 24, FBI agents fanned out across the Midwest
to raid the homes of twenty activists. Most of the targeted activists
lived in Chicago or Minneapolis and were active in anti-war, international
solidarity and/or the trade union movement. Read
more...
Inspector
General: FBI ACTED IMPROPERLY (AGAIN!)
Just days before the FBI raids, the Department of Justice Inspector
General issued a new report on FBI spying on domestic political groups
– finding that the FBI improperly opened investigations, and kept
the investigations going for too long, put activists' names on terrorist
watch lists for no justifiable reason, and improperly retained information
about First Amendment activities. Read
more...
GUARD
YOUR GARBAGE!
The FBI spent nine months spying on Iowa peace activists... and going
through their garbage.
Read more...
EMBARRASSING,
YES, BUT NO BOMBS
The Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security contracted with a
private firm that tracked and infiltrated activist groups and developed
Intelligence Bulletins alerting local law enforcement and private
industry about upcoming protests and organizing meetings. Read
more...
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
View entire issue as PDF
or Webpage
FBI
Doesn't Understand its Own Rules
The Justice Department Inspector General is investigating whether
hundreds of FBI agents were allowed to cheat on their Domestic Intelligence
Operations Guidelines exam, and FBI Director Mueller gets a basic
fact about what is in the guidelines very wrong during testimony before
Congress. Read
more...
NSL
Powers and the Internet
Does the FBI want to be able to look over our shoulder while we surf
the internet, or is it really just seeking a "technical fix"
to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act? Read
more...
Murder
by Fiat
The Obama Administration has taken the constitutionally questionable
and morally reprehensible position that it has the authority to murder
American citizens. Read
more...
More
Miranda Shenanigans
Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) has introduced a bill (HR 5934),
The Questioning of Terrorism Suspects Act of 2010 to allow prosecutors
to question terrorism suspects for four days before bringing them
before a judge. Read
more...
ACTIVISTS
The
AETA 4
A judge has dismissed an indictment against four animal rights activists.
Read
more...
Westboro
Baptist Church
A US District Court judge ruled that two Missouri laws restricting
protests near funerals are unconstitutional. Read
more...
JUNE/JULY
View issue as PDF
or Webpage
(includes links to background materials)
MATERIAL SUPPORT
Supreme
Court Upholds Broad Definition in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project
decision
Ruling 6-3, Justices say that Congress can criminalize political speech,
but advocates gear up to ensure that peacebuilding, conflict resolution
training are protected. Read
more...
Gaza
and Material Support
One member of Congress says he wants all Americans who participated
in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla arrested for material support of terrorism.
Read
more...
DETENTION &
ACCOUNTABILITY
Activists
meet with DOJ on Detention and Accountability
We met with the Director of Public Relations at the Department of
Justice to ask for changes to detention policy and press for accountability.
Read
more...
RIGHT TO KNOW
BP
Disaster
We're not getting the full story about the disaster and the clean-up
effort, thanks to local police, the military and BP officials. Read
more...
LEGISLATION
Cybersecurity
Senator Lieberman introduces a bill to fight cyber-terrorism, and
we don't like it. Read
more...
Torture
Former Chicago police commander Jon Burge is accused of overseeing
the torture over 100 African American men during his time on the police
force over a decade ago. He was found guilty in June - not for the
torture, but for lying about it. A new bill would address loopholes
in the law. Read
more...
MAY 2010 View issue as PDF or Webpage (includes links to background materials)
JUDGE:
NSA WIRETAPS WERE ILLEGAL
Judge rules in al-Haramain Islamic Foundation case
PUNISHING
THE MESSENGER
The Obama administration acts against a whistleblower and a reporter.
NATIONAL
ID CARD IN IMMIGRATION REFORM
Democrats unveil draft immigration reform legislation -- and it includes
a national biometric ID card.
CONYERS
ET AL REBUKE FBI
A subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on
the FBI's use of exigent letters
PATRIOT
ACT PROTECTIONS
Senator Leahy asks Attorney General Holder to implement safeguards
and accountability measures to protect civil liberties and privacy.
UN
TO REVIEW U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
The human rights record of the United States will be subject to review
by the UN this year as part of the Universal Periodic Review process.
IN
THE STREETS
Photographers Beware: Did you know there is a federal regulation prohibiting
the taking of photographs on federal property?
Parents Beware: The mom of a young activist is charged with contributing
to the delinquency of a minor.
UPDATES
ON ARTICLES FROM PREVIOUS LETTERS
McCain/Lieberman
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Fahad Hashmi
APRIL
2010
View entire issue as PDF
or Webpage,
or click on article below:
McCain
and Lieberman introduce a dangerous bill
The Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act
of 2010 (S. 3081; H.R. 4892) would allow the President to decide whether
you are entitled to a fair trial, or if he should just toss you in
jail and throw away the key. If the President accuses you of being
a terrorist, or of providing material support to terrorists, you will
not be read your Miranda rights, you will not be entitled to a trial,
you may not even be charged, you will be interrogated by special teams…
and you can be locked up without trial until the war on terror ends.
Even if you are a U.S. citizen. Read
more here and
TAKE ACTION
ACORN
closes its doors
The smear campaign against ACORN was a success. Although it was built
on lies, it has forced ACORN to wind down as a national organization.
Read
more...
Disrupting
Terrorist Plots: Focus on Community Relations
A subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing
to explore ways to disrupt terrorist plots by building relations with
Mulsim communities. One Congressman used the hearing to smear the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)... but witnesses wouldn't
let him. Read
more...
Supreme
Court to hear Westboro Baptist Church Case
Are political pickets outside military funerals protected by the First
Amendment? Read
more...
Suspicious
Activity Reporting
After September 11, 2001, Congress ordered the creation of an "information
sharing environment" to improve communication between law enforcement
and intelligence agencies, with a special emphasis on "Suspicious
Activity Reporting." But, instead of better connecting the dots,
the Department of Homeland Security funded a counterproductive program
that threatens to clog intelligence pipelines with junk data derived
from racial, ethnic, religious, and ideological bias.
Read more...
Some
key statistics on terrorism
The Muslim Public Affairs Council has released a report that looks
at the number of actual and attempted terrorist attacks within the
U.S. Anyone relying on the mainstream media for analysis of terrorism
will be surprised with the findings. Read
more...
What
have they got on YOU?
You've been meaning to do it for years - use the Freedom of Information
Act to find out which government agencies have been spying on you
and which of the groups you belong to have been infiltrated. Read
more...
MARCH
2010
View entire issue as PDF
or Webpage,
or click on article below:
DDF is celebrating
our 50th Anniversary this year!
Our small but effective organization has kept chugging on through
very tough times, never backing down and never taking the easy way
out. We invite you to help us celebrate! Find
out how...
Inside this month's
newsletter:
Grassroots
Lobby Day
We came, we lobbied... you and hundreds of others called or emailed...but
Congress still passed the Patriot Act re-authorization, without any
safeguards, oversight or other reforms.
Read more...
DDF
Calls for Oversight Board
Who will guard our privacy and civil liberties as new policies are
weighed in response to the Christmas Day bomber? We know Congress
is unwilling to stand up for us. The national security folks who are
developing new policies are certainly not focused on our privacy or
liberties, it isn't really their job. It is supposed to be the job
of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), but since
he has taken office, President Obama has neglected to appoint anyone
to this board. Read
more...
Professor
Cole and the Supremes
On February 23, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Holder v.
Humanitarian Law Project (HLP), an important case challenging the
Constitutionality of the material support provisions in the USA Patriot
Act. David Cole, a longtime ally of DDF, represented HLP before the
Supreme Court. Read
more...
"Shape
Shifting" Material Support
Fahad Hashmi is a U.S. citizen charged with providing material support
to al Qaeda. His case really illustrates how dangerous the material
support laws can be. Read
more...
Defining
Terrorism
Congress just passed a resolution labeling Joe Stack's suicide plane
attack on an IRS building in Texas a terrorist act, on a 408-2 vote.
The initial reaction of some in Congress and the media was to deny
that Stack's action was terrorism, in marked contrast to their response
to the Fort Hood shooting. Many noted the hypocrisy, but, rather than
insisting that Stack be labeled a terrorist like Major Hasan, we would
do better to try to narrow the ever-expanding definition of terrorism.
Read
more...
Embarrassing
'State Secret' Revealed
Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident, was detained in
Pakistan in 2001, turned over to U.S. officials in 2002, subject to
extraordinary rendition and finally imprisoned at Guantanamo for four
years. He was released last year after all charges against him had
been dismissed. He has been fighting to expose the truth of his detention
in two important court cases, one in the U.S. (Mohamed v. Jeppeson)
and one in the U.K. Last month the British case had a breakthrough.
Read
more...
Demonizing
Dissent -- The Real Story
In the weeks and months before the Republican National Convention
in St. Paul in 2008, the media painted a scary picture of the planned
protests. Anarchists and other dangerous types would be flocking to
St. Paul to create trouble! shouted the papers and the TV news. But
who were these dissenters? Find
out here...
FEBRUARY
2010
View entire issue as PDF
or Webpage
Shocking
Revelation! Inspector General Uncovers FBI Abuses!
Take
Action on National Security Letters
Tariq
Ramadan is Cleared to Enter the United States
Fort
Hood Aftermath
Night
of 1000 Conversations
Yes,
Men get SLAPPed
Take
Action against SLAPPs
Activists
Sue Army Spy
Animal
Rights "Terrorsts"
Protestors
Sue Pittsburgh
2009 Newsletters
DECEMBER 2009
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HOMELAND SECURITY:
Senate
Hearing on the Fort Hood Shooting
ACTIVISTS:
Lynne
Stewart in Jail
Twitter
Update
LEGISLATION:
Patriot
Act
Material
Support
State
Secrets
FREEDOM TO TRAVEL:
To
Cuba
Into
and Out of the U.S.
CASES:
The
illegal subpoena and the gag order
NOVEMBER 2009
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In Our November Letter:
ACTIVISTS & DISSENTERS
Criminal
Twittering?
More
on the G-20 protests
Spying
Interns
Racial
Profiling
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
Also
on Twitter - the CIA
Twittering
Terrorists
CASES
State
Secrets Privilege in the U.S. and U.K.
More
State Secrets Privilege
LEGISLATION
Patriot
Act and FISA
OCTOBER 2009
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In Our October Letter:
*
Report from the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh
*
FBI Release Redacted Copy of Internal Guide for Domestic Investigations
(DIOG)
*
Administration Unveils New State Secrets Policy
*
New Rules on Travel to Cuba
*
Violence and public policy: The right lessons by Chip Berlet
*
Book Review: Daybreak - Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming
a More Perfect Union
*
Congress takes up Patriot Act sunsets -- ACTION ALERT
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER
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In this issue:
ACTIVISTS
* Army Spy Infiltrates Activist Groups
* White House Enemies List
* Civil Rights Protestors Pardoned
* Buffer Zones Upheld
* West Point Protest
SURVEILLANCE
* Report: Extraordinary and Inappropriate
PENTAGON
* Ruling: Pentagon Pundit Program was Legal
* Pentagon Profiles Reporters
ACCOUNTABILITY
* Torture Investigation
COALITIONS
* Charity and Security Network
CASES
* Tariq Ramadan
ACTION ALERT
* End Racial Profiling in Immigration Enforcement
DONATE
* Please help support our work! Give online now.
JUNE/JULY
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SURVEILLANCE:
*
Activist Groups in Iowa are infiltrated by FBI and Minnesota Police
* Operation
Vigilant Eagle: FBI and DOD watch over political activities of Vets
* FOIA
Parties: DDF begins to organize activists to submit FOIA requests
* CCDBR
Hosts Surveillance Forum
* Domestic
Intelligence Spy Satellite Program is Grounded... sort of
*
"Ooops, I did it again", NSA once again apologizes for spying
on Americans without a warrant
ACTIVISTS:
* RICCO
strikes again
QUIZ:
* Protests
are low-level terrorism
MORE FBI NEWS:
* EFF
sues for release of FBI Operational Guidelines
* Terrorist
Watchlists are full of errors (surprise!)
* Over
7000 Americans investigated using NSLs last year
TRANSPARENCY AND OPEN GOVERNMENT:
* FOIA
Hits the Skids
MAY
• DHS Report on Rightwing Extremism
• Virginia Thought Police
• Animal Rights Activist Added to "Most Wanted Terrorist"
List
• State Secrets Claim Denied!
APRIL
• Feds Helped State Police Track Activists
• Another Leaked Fusion Center Document
• Homeland Security Intelligence
• State Police Spying and State Legislatures
• California Loyalty Oath
• Ideological Exclusion
• Legislative Action
MARCH
EXECUTIVE
• Shocking Fusion Center Document Leaked
• Civil Activists and Extremists Action Calendar
• FBI Breaks Ties with CAIR
• FBI Informant/Provacateur Infiltrates Mosque
CASES
• State Secrets & al-Haramain
• State Secrets & Binyam Mohamed
• al-Marri to Get His Day in Court
• Freedom of Information
• Bagram: Afghan for Guantanamo
ACTIVISTS
• Republican Convention
• L.A. Agrees to Pay Almost $13 Million
• Scabby Prevails
LEGISLATIVE
• Take Action on the State Secrets Protection Act
FEBRUARY
Free the Uighurs Alert
•Senators Cardin & Mikulski Promise to Confront Police Spying
•Holder Confirmed as Attorney General
•State Secrets Doctrine
•RNC Cases go to Court
JANUARY
• DDF Helps Launch DC Bill of Rights Coalition
• DDF Convenes Civil Liberties Working Group
• Hands off My Spit
• Charities & National Security
• Fusion Centers
• Racial Profiling
• Convention Updates
