FCNL: Rights and Liberties Weekly (12/05/05)

[Guest guest]

FCNL Rights and Liberties Weekly

Volume 3, No. 12

December 5, 2005

 

After a week off for a Thanksgiving break, here are the latest updates:

 

Torture: Amid the continuing debate over Sen. McCain’s anti-torture amendment,

several little known but respected CIA veterans have come out to speak against

torture. They have been speaking not only about the pragmatic drawback of

torture, but also the moral ramifications. Read the article here:

http://govexec.com/dailyfed/1105/112305nj1.htm

 

First Amendment Award: Do you know someone who has been an outstanding

proponent of freedom of the written word? The 2006 PEN/Newman’s Own First

Amendment Award is open for nominations. For more information see the PEN

American Center’s web site:

http://pen.org/page.php/prmID/447

 

Internet Control: Quite a big fuss was made last year when internet service

provider furnished the identity of dissenting Chinese journalist Shi Tao

to the Chinese government. In this article John Feffer points out that the

situation in China is comparable to what is going on in this country under the

Patriot Act:

http://www.zmag.org/Sustainers/Content/2005-11/17feffer.cfm

More on internet control in China from the Congressional Research Service:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33167.pdf

 

Domestic Military Surveillance: The military’s role in collecting intelligence

at home appears to be on the rise, and a new Department of Defense (DoD)

Instruction is one of the few public acknowledgments of the new reality. The

Washington Post explains some of the changes in an article from November 27:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_112705X.shtml

Read the DoD document here:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/i5240_17.pdf

 

Scholars Barred from U.S.: Several foreign scholars scheduled to teach in the

U.S. have had visas denied or revoked. The reason they have been barred, is

unclear, although press reports have cited “antiterrorism laws. A Freedom of

Information Act lawsuit filed by academic and civil liberties groups seeks to

find out. A little known provision in the USA PATRIOT Act, section 411, allows

the government to make so-called ideological exclusions. Read the full story

here:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1123/p02s01-uspo.html

 

Army Database: The Army’s development of a database that would store

information related to sexual assault incidents in the Army is drawing

increasing opposition. This database would track not only a perpetrator’s

personal information, but the victim’s personal information as well. One

exemption to the system could allow an alleged assailant with a higher rank than

the victim to prevent information from being added to the database. For further

information, see:

Http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1105/112805p1.htm

 

 

______________________

Check out our newly redesigned website!

http://www.fcnl.org

 

Contact Congress and the administration:

http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/

 

Order FCNL publications and “War is Not the Answer” campaign bumper stickers

and yard signs:

http://www.fcnl.org/pubs/

http://www.fcnl.org/forms/forms.php?type=bump

 

Contribute to FCNL:

http://www.fcnl.org/donate/

 

Un from this list:

Send a blank message to rights-and-liberties-

Send a message to civil-liberties with your request.

 

Subscribe to this list:

Send a message to rights-and-liberties- or visit

http://www.fcnl.org/forms/forms.php?type=ls

http://www.fcnl.org/listserv/quaker_issues.phpand select the Rights and

Liberties list.

 

Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists:

http://www.fcnl.org/email

 

______________________

FCNL’s Rights and Liberties Weekly is intended as a supplement to other FCNL

Civil Liberties and Human Rights Program materials and does not reflect FCNL's

complete policy position on any issue, nor does it include all pertinent facts

on any topic. For more information, please contact:

 

Friends Committee on National Legislation

245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795

fcnl * www.fcnl.org

phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

 

 

 

" When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, we will have

peace. "

Jimi Hendrix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

----------

 

_____________

Rights-and-liberties mailing list

Rights-and-liberties

http://lists101.his.com/mailman/listinfo/rights-and-liberties