Hope2012

Police State America: A look back and ahead (Salon) 

Top 10 Rights & Liberties Stories of 2007 (Alternet)

With source links for more information 

The President-Tyrant (Harpers)

Bush has declared himself above the law over 1,100 times (with video, MSNBC/Raw Story)

No Vice President is Above the Law (Huffington Post)

Now three members of the Judiciary Committee are calling for Cheney impeachment hearings.  Previously, twenty House Members signed on to Kucinich’s impeachment bill. Stay tuned… 

Guantanamo Prosecutor Quits: ‘Full, fair, open trials not possible’ (LA Times via Raw Story)

‘Defense’ Secretary Gates Advocates Invading Tribal Areas of Pakistan if he feels like it (The Nation)

Big Brother: DARPA’s Control Freak Technology (Global Research)

Bush’s Secret Shredding Soars (Radar Online)

The Lawless Surveillance State (Salon)

EXCERPT: “There are several vital points raised by the new revelations in The New York Times that “the N.S.A.’s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before” and includes both pre-9/11 efforts to tap without warrants into the nation’s domestic communications network as well as the collection of vast telephone records of American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs. The Executive Branch and the largest telecommunications companies work in virtually complete secrecy — with no oversight and no notion of legal limits — to spy on Americans, on our own soil, at will.” 

Nearly 1,300 words into Sunday’s New York Times article revealing new details of the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping program, the lawyer for an AT&T engineer alleges that “within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.” (Raw Story)

Only 6 States Oppose National ID Card Plans (USA Today)

Pentagon Poised to Resume Open Air Weapons Testing (Scoop, New Zealand)

Freedom is Not Free – And Americans Are Poised to Lose Everything Part II (JustAnotherCoverUp)

On the Homegrown Terrorism Prevention and Thought Crime Prevention bills  

Domestic Spying, Inc (CorpWatch)

EXCERPT: “A new intelligence institution to be inaugurated soon by the Bush administration will allow government spying agencies to conduct broad surveillance and reconnaissance inside the United States for the first time. Under a proposal being reviewed by Congress, a National Applications Office (NAO) will be established to coordinate how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and domestic law enforcement and rescue agencies use imagery and communications intelligence picked up by U.S. spy satellites. If the plan goes forward, the NAO will create the legal mechanism for an unprecedented degree of domestic intelligence gathering that would make the U.S. one of the world’s most closely monitored nations. Until now, domestic use of electronic intelligence from spy satellites was limited to scientific agencies with no responsibility for national security or law enforcement.  
 
The intelligence-sharing system to be managed by the NAO will rely heavily on private contractors including Boeing, BAE Systems, L-3 Communications and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). These companies already provide technology and personnel to U.S. agencies involved in foreign intelligence, and the NAO greatly expands their markets. Indeed, at an intelligence conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month, the titans of the industry were actively lobbying intelligence officials to buy products specifically designed for domestic surveillance.”

Disarming the Populace and the Tyranny of Gun Control (Stop Lying blog, Canada)

Russian General says Pentagon seeking direct confrontation with Moscow (Int’l Herald Tribune)

The United States remains unprepared for disasters ranging from biological attacks to a flu pandemic, and funding for preparedness is falling (Reuters/Yahoo)

Homeland Insecurity (Business Week)

“This is the first of three stories on the challenges and opportunities faced by the Homeland Security Dept. as it develops technology aimed at keeping the U.S. safe.”

Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians (Judicial Watch)

Four presidential candidates make the list.  Can you guess which ones?  There’s an apparent attempt to crash the server; keep trying. 

NORTHCOM: Constitution Irrelevant (BlackListed News)

Deception Detection: Project Hostile Intent (Homeland Security)

Over 1000 lawyers have signed statement demanding investigation into unconstitutional and criminal activity by the Bush administration (The Nation)

“Homeland Security” finalizing plans for domestic spy satellite program (Raw Story)

Bush seeks to limit military lawyers’ independence (Int’l Herald Tribune)

EXCERPT: “Former JAG officers say the regulation would end the uniformed lawyers’ role as a check on presidential power because politically appointed lawyers could block the promotion of JAGs who they believe would speak up if they think a White House policy is illegal…Through the past several years, the administration has repeatedly proposed changes that would impose greater control over the JAGs. Each previous proposal has died in the Pentagon or Congress. The new proposal goes further than anything the administration has pushed before because it would affect all military lawyers, not just the top JAG for each service.”

The Sole Superpower in Decline (ZMag)

Icelandic woman arrested and shackled for overstaying visa 10 years ago (MSNBC)

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