If you have at all read the Canadian government's "anti-terrorist/hatecrime" Act it should immediately strike you that the Criminal Code already gave the federal government all the power it needed to arrest, charge and convict those engaged in or planning real terrorism.  There are, however, some subtle inclusions (and omissions) in our new UN version that need to be highlighted.

First of all, the Act itself is not intended to protect individual Canadians; rather the Act is clearly intended to protect TWO main focus groups: The massive government infrastructure within Canada, AND "UN personnel", who many say is an ominous shadow of the REAL intent of the document to grant unlimited power to a one world government police force, as described in the UN's "Freedom from War" document. The Freedom from war document, which was proposed decades ago, will transfer "law enforcement" power to UN agencies, and completely outlaws the private ownership of firearms.  The disarmament of the citizenry is the universally prescribed doctrine of all dictatorships.

The "UN anti-terrorism conventions and protocols" as referred to in the Act are mysterious unseen documents that were NEVER read and/or debated in the legislature; and while they are referred to in the Act [as shown below] they are not attached or catalogued for legal reference. This is rather odd procedure given the serious nature of the Act [it gives vast police power to government, that unlawfully infringe our common law rights] and its intended legal authority at law. Acts are commonly supplied with definitions and references to the phrases and words referred to in an Act as a means of preserving our "fundamental principles of justice" which is supposed to be our Charter Right, re: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,1982. How can you defend yourself if you don't know what specifically you are being accused of?

Critics of the US Patriot Act [which was likewise miraculously passed within a few WEEKS of 9/11] is over one thousand pages in length, and though it refers extensively to "terrorists", it mentions no definition of what a terrorist is. Legal experts who have actually read the "anti-terrorism" Act claim the definition is at the discretion of the US President, which is precisely what you would expect in a Dictatorship, but hardly that of a nation that claims a defence of individual Liberty as the foundation of its republican form of government!

Is a police state a coherent defence of our Liberty in the face of terrorism? Talk about a cure worse than the disease! Are we really this stupid? Do we really learn from history that we don't learn from history?

So how bad are these Acts?

Take for example this one section of the US Patriot Act, and you begin to see just a small picture of the problem with this "thousand page" document that was passed without proper reading or debate:

Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The section grants law enforcement the ability to obtain--without an ordinary criminal subpoena or search warrant and without probable cause--a court order giving them access to ”business records” and ”any tangible thing,” including records from libraries, booksellers, doctors, universities, Internet service providers and financial institutions.

 

 

 

Now have a look at the Canadian version....

Under Bill C-36, the Criminal Code will also be amended to establish provisions aimed at disabling and dismantling the activities of terrorist groups and those who support them. These include:

• defining "terrorist activity" in the Criminal Code as an action that takes place either within or outside of Canada that:
  • is an offence under one of the UN anti-terrorism conventions and protocols; or
  • is taken for political, religious or ideological purposes and intimidates the public concerning its security, or compels a government to do something, by intentionally killing, seriously harming or endangering a person, causing substantial property damage that is likely to seriously harm people or by seriously interfering with or disrupting an essential service, facility or system.

Would you be surprised to know that section 215 of the US Patriot Act was taken directly from the UN conventions and protocols? How would you know if you hadn't read them, and why didn't your "elected representative" feel OBLIGATED to do so before passing this Act?

If you are a true Patriot, you must ask these questions. Unless of course, the mere asking might make you a terrorist by "compelling" a government to do what we hired them to do?

Read that highlighted section again? Do you need to do ALL of the things in the list, or only one?

...defining "terrorist activity" in the Criminal Code as "an action"...  Action? Sounds singular doesn't it? So what "action"?? One that intimidates a member of the public (by blocking a government service) that is intended to compel a government to do something..... or violates one of the unknown, undisclosed, unread "UN anti-terrorism conventions"..... ALL of which is tied directly to "hate crimes" doctrine and statutes which have been used to silence and intimidate Christian beliefs and teachings..... Starting to get the picture?

And this is the part they didn't care if you read!

See list of FORBIDDEN MATERIALS that may indicate you're a security risk.

 

Man Treated As Terror Suspect For Taking Photo Of French Fries - May 24/07

VANCOUVER -- If you want a sense of how gargantuan the security challenges are going to be at the 2010 Olympics, just consider this: The RCMP is in need of an entire cruise ship -- maybe even two or more -- to house security personnel during the games.

Yes, for a brief few months in 2010, the West Coast will have Canada's largest detachment of Mounties -- floating in the Pacific off Vancouver's docks.

The Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit, run by the RCMP, likely will announce its seafaring option this week, putting out tenders to cruise-ship companies willing to rent out a ship or two.

US military will be guarding 2010 Olympics, in Vancouver BC.

 

Pipe bomb hoax shuts down rush hour traffic in Vancouver as pretext for military and police presence during Olympics.

It never stops with this administration. Turley is up in arms over this one, calling it horrific-saying it removes the 4th amendment from the Constitution. He also rips Congress for laying down like dogs and not even holding serious hearing on the NSA warrantless searches.

Turley: ...the fact that it was so quick as a suggestion shows the inclinations unfortunately of this administration-it treats the constitution like some legal technicality, and instead of the thing we're trying to fight to protect.

Atrios:

"According to Countdown, "US News and World Report will tell us tomorrow that Bush administration lawyers (Torture Yoo and Abu Gonzales presumably) after 9/11 made the case that Bush had the power to engage in warrantless physical searches of terrorism suspects on domestic soil."

Olbermann: (reading from a U.S. News & World Report press release) "Soon after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, lawyers in the White House and the Justice Department argued that the same legal authority that the same legal authority that allowed warrentless electronic surveillance inside the US, could also be used to justify physical searches of terror suspects homes & businesses without court approval. Doesn't that send chills down your spine?

Turley: Well it does. It's horrific, because what that would constitute is to effectively remove the 4th Amendment from the U.S. Constitution and the fact that it was so quick as a suggestion shows the inclinations, unfortunately, of this administration. It treats the Constitution as some legal technicality instead of the thing were trying to fight to protect. Notably, the U.S. News & World Report story says the FBI officals, or some of them apparently, objected... [W]e're seeing a lot of people in the administration with the courage to say "Hold it, this is not what we're supposed to be about. If we're fighting a war, it's a war of self definition and if we start to take whole amendments out of the Constitution in the name of the war on terror-we have to wonder what's left at the end, except victory."...

Click this link for video clip: Countdown-Turley-goodbye-constitution.wmv

 

NY Sun | February 28, 2006
BY JOSH GERSTEIN
 

COMMENT:
Everything we've been talking about for years about the Patriot Act being used against non-terrorists or crimes unrelated to terrorism is now in the mainstream press. (Thanks to Ron from NY for the Newstip)

Two federal judges in Florida have upheld the authority of individual courts to use the Patriot Act to order searches anywhere in the country for e-mails and computer data in all types of criminal investigations, overruling a magistrate who found that Congress limited such expanded jurisdiction to cases involving terrorism.

The disagreement among the jurists about the scope of their powers simmered for more than two years before coming to light in an opinion unsealed earlier this month. The resolution, which underscored the government's broad legal authority to intercept electronic communications, comes as debate is raging over President Bush's warrantless surveillance program and the duties of Internet providers to protect personal data.

A magistrate judge in Orlando, James Glazebrook, first questioned the so-called nationwide-search provision in 2003, after investigators in a child pornography probe asked him to issue a search warrant requiring a "legitimate" California-based Web site to identify all users who accessed certain "password-protected" photos posted on the site. The Web provider was not named in public court records.

Magistrate Glazebrook said that in passing the Patriot Act, formally known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, Congress made clear its focus was on terrorism. He said there was nothing in the language Congress adopted in the days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that suggested the nationwide-search provision should apply to garden variety federal cases.

"The statutory language is clear and unambiguous in limiting district court authority to issue out-of-district warrants to investigations of terrorism, and that language controls this court's interpretation. The government has shown no legislative intent to the contrary," the magistrate wrote. He also noted that many of the examples given during legislative debate involved terrorism. The then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, described the nationwide-search language as applying in terrorism cases, the court noted.

Magistrate Glazebrook denied the search warrant, but it was recently disclosed that the government appealed to a federal judge, G. Kendall Sharp, who granted it without explanation.

The scenario played out again late last year, after prosecutors presented Magistrate Glazebrook with an application for a search warrant directed to a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web portal, Yahoo. The government asked that Yahoo produce web pages, documents, and usage logs pertaining to two e-mail addresses and a Web site allegedly linked to an Orlando man, Earl Beach, under investigation for involvement in child pornography. Magistrate Glazebrook allowed searches of Mr. Beach's home and computers, but again rejected prosecutors' request to acquire data located across the country. "Congress has not authorized this court to seize out-of-district property except in cases of domestic or international terrorism," the magistrate handwrote on the application.

Again, prosecutors appealed. Judge Gregory Presnell took up the question and concluded that "it seems" Congress did intend to authorize nationwide search warrants in all cases, not just ones pertaining to terrorism. However, the judge acknowledged that the language Congress used was far from clear. "The court rejects the assertions made by both the United States here and the magistrate judge... that the statutory language is unambiguous. Although the court ultimately comes to a determination regarding the meaning of this language, by no means is it clearly, unambiguously or precisely written," Judge Presnell wrote.

The chief federal defender in Orlando, R. Fletcher Peacock, said the dispute was a straightforward one pitting literal interpretation against legislative intent. "Judge Presnell was more willing to go behind the language of the statute and look at the statutory intent, and clearly Judge Glazebrook was not," the attorney said.

One of the most striking aspects of the dispute is that there appears to be no other published court ruling addressing the nationwide-search provision, known as Section 220. The magistrate involved cited no cases directly on the point and neither did the government.

An attorney with a group that pushes for online privacy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said yesterday that the lack of published cases on the subject reflects the fact that search warrant applications are presented outside the presence of defense lawyers, often before a defendant even knows he is under investigation. "It's fairly typical that search warrants for electronic evidence would be kept under seal," the privacy advocate, Kevin Bankston, said. "In most cases, they wouldn't be reported."

Mr. Bankston said there is no question that the Justice Department wanted the Patriot Act to include nationwide-search authority for all crimes, but whether lawmakers accomplished that task is another question. "I don't know that Congress knew what it was voting on," he said.

Civil libertarians have objected to the nationwide-search provision on the grounds that it allows prosecutors the discretion to pick judicial districts where judges are seen as more friendly to the government. Critics of the Patriot Act have also warned that allowing search warrants to be filed from across the country will discourage Internet service providers from fighting such requests even when they may be unwarranted.

"The only person in a position to assert your rights is the ISP and if it's in their local court, they are more likely to challenge it if it is bad or somehow deficient," Mr. Bankston said.

A spokesman for the prosecutors did not return a call seeking comment for this story. However, the Justice Department has said the nationwide-search provision was "vital" to its investigation of the gruesome murder in 2004 of a pregnant Missouri woman, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, whose unborn child was cut from her womb with a kitchen knife. Investigators claim that they used the Patriot Act authority to quickly obtain email evidence from an Internet provider across state lines in Kansas. That data led them to a woman who later confessed to the attack, Lisa Montgomery.

In his ruling, Judge Presnell did not mention that episode, but suggested it was simpler for the courts and prosecutors to issue all warrants in a case from one place.

"As a matter of judicial and prosecutorial efficiency, it is practical to permit the federal district court for the district where the federal crime allegedly occurred to oversee both the prosecution and the investigation (including the issuance of warrants) thereof," he wrote. The government has also complained that the former procedure caused court backlogs and delays in jurisdictions, like northern California, that are home to many Internet companies.

It is unclear whether any charges resulted from the 2003 investigation, but the suspect involved in the disputed 2005 search, Mr. Beach, was indicted earlier this month on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty. A trial is set for April.

Magistrate Glazebrook said in a brief interview yesterday that he could not discuss the specific cases that prompted the legal disagreement over the Patriot Act, but that he expects the question to arise again. "It is certainly something that will come up," he said. "There are a lot of interesting issues surrounding that."

Patriot Act Renewal Clears Final Hurdle

 

Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 3 2006

When they're not investigating toy store owners for selling Rubik's cubes or handing out federal grants for tiny towns to install surveillance cameras to spy on everyone, Homeland Security is busy protecting us from the enemy by investigating you if you pay off credit card debt.

Underlining again the fact that the record growth in government since George Bush took office has nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with controlling the lives of ordinary Americans, a retired Texas school teacher recently came under the microscope of big brother when he attempted to level on his JCPenney Platinum MasterCard.

After mailing in a check for $6,522, Walter Soehnge was miffed to discover that his negative balance remained the same.

After calling the credit card company, Soehnge was told that his behavior was questionable. Any amount that is a certain percentage higher than the usual monthly payment automatically triggers a Homeland Security investigation.

"We're a product of the '60s," says Soehnge. "We believe government should be way away from us in that regard."

"The more I'm on, the scarier it gets," he said. "It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."

Mr. Soehnge obviously hasn't acclimatized himself to the new world order. Government is now our boss, they do not represent us, they do not serve us, we serve them. Government can become as secret as it likes, even re-classify as secret documents that were already in the public domain, but we have to be under suspicion all the time and it's for our own protection.

Homeland Security paid a visit to Pufferbelly Toys owner Stephanie Cox to help stop Al-Qaeda. The knock-off Rubik's Cubes she was selling could have been used on the black market to fund Al-Qaeda. The agents, ever dutiful in their defense of America, stood and sternly watched as Stephanie removed every toy from the shelf.

Likewise, alarm bells were ringing when Homeland discovered that the kindergarten class at Lakewood’s Taft Elementary was planning a field trip to NASA Glenn Research Center.

Access to the center is restricted to US citizens only and because two of the 6-year-olds were foreign born, Homeland patriotically ordered the school to cancel the trip. Yet another deadly terrorist cell was disrupted before their plan to .....get excited about seeing rocket ships..... could be enacted.

We can all sleep soundly tonight safe in the knowledge that Homeland Security is one step ahead of retired schoolteachers, toy store owners and kindergartners. The terrorists know that Homeland is watching them and they are on the run. God bless America.

 

Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 7 2006

Last week's story about a retired Texas school teacher who came under Homeland Security's microscope for paying off a $6,522 credit card debt has been trumped by a similar case involving an amount of just $650.

Previously, Walter Soehnge made national headlines when he attempted to pay off debt on his MasterCard. The payment was rejected and automatically triggered an investigation by Homeland Security.

Now we have the story of Edie Booth, a community college professor in East Texas.

Trying to pay off her February credit card bill, Booth found her funds short and so asked to borrow $650 from her sister to avoid an interest overcharge of $140.

Booth made a $3,500 payment from her own account and then sent the other $650 with permission from her sister's electronic account.

I watched the status of these two payments on line, since I am not the 'trusting' type, when it comes either to banks, credit card companies, OR government," says Booth.

"The $650 was pending one day and then showed funded the next. All seemed fine. However, I continued to check the status on-line for the next 5 days.

"On the 6th day I found the extra $650 payment CANCELLED."

Upon calling the credit card company, Booth was told that Homeland Security would not allow her to make two payments from two different sources in the same day.

Booth was then slapped with the $140 overcharge for causing the hard working boys at Homeland so much inconvenience.

This is a monumental waste of time and if there were any real terrorists out there Homeland Security is more interested in your spending habits than Al-Qaeda.

As Edie Booth points out, this is "such insanity, I mean, if you are paying your credit card, you have already obtained the explosives or whatever some time before."

"Where is the leadership? When will we get some relief from these morons?"

The very individuals that used 9/11 to force layer upon layer of increased state surveillance and big government bureaucracy upon us are the ones in business with Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. And yet it is law-abiding citizens that get hassled for the simple desire to pay off some debt.

Homeland Security targets toy store owners, t-shirt sellers and kindergartners while hiring former East German Stasi heads to spy on Americans and recruiting tattle-tale squads under 'Highway Watch' - a program that encourages truckers, toll takers, road crews and bus drivers to watch their fellow citizens and report suspicious activity.

It seems painfully obvious that the people trying to take away our freedoms are not wearing turbans and shouting Allah Akbar, but that the enemy is within the gates.
 

 

In November 2005, Deborah Davis was reading a book on a Denver bus

when a guard of a nearby federal building got on board and demanded everyone

show their ID. Davis refused, leading the guard to "call on federal cops, who then

dragged Davis off a public bus, handcuffed her, shoved her into the back seat of

a police car and drove off to a police station within the Federal Center."

 

How long before Americans are tortured with taser weapons on the streets for

refusing to show identification on a routine basis?

 

 

"Public Servants" Going After "Constitutional Terrorists"?

by Angel Shamaya

November 14, 2001

KeepAndBearArms.com -- The Phoenix Federal Bureau of Investigation created a flyer some time back during Clinton's Presidency, asking the recipients to help them fight domestic terrorism. I received one of these flyers this past weekend at the Arizona "Freedom in the 21st Century" gathering. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (Greater Phoenix, Arizona) and the Maricopa County Attorney were placed on the flyer, as well -- before they saw the actual wording of the flyer -- in an effort by the FBI to "work jointly with local law enforcement."

Called the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the program was created, presumably, to help preserve the American way of life. This flyer was created -- by the feds -- to disseminate information about who the bad guys might be. However, its wording made it look like a disinformation campaign to paint at least a few groups of Real Americans as domestic terrorists. Among other things, the FBI was asking people:

"If you encounter any of the following, Call the Joint Terrorism Task Force":

"defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN"

[That describes many civil liberties groups and most gun rights and American Sovereignty groups in existence -- and, by extension, their members.]

"Groups of individuals engaging in para-military training"

[Such as, perhaps, shooting your semi-automatic "assault weapon" with some friends out in the desert?"]

Also being sought are "Common Law Movement Proponents" who

"Request authority for a stop"

[That's illegal now?]

"Make numerous references to the US Constitution"

[That's illegal now?]

"Attempt to 'police the police'"

[That's illegal now?]

And let's not forget the other potential "domestic terrorists" being sought. We really need to watch out for these people:

"Lone Individuals"

[Do you meet that description?]

"Rebels"

[Know any gun rights activist who doesn't have at least a touch of rebel pumping through the old bloodstream?]

Be sure and notice the following two things on the flyer, as well:

1) There is NOT ONE MENTION of "Islamic Fundamentalists" anywhere.

2) Defenders of the US Constitution and the common law from which it grew are being classified on the same level as the bottom-feeding Skinheads, Nazis and the KKK.

READ THE FLYER FOR YOURSELF

The flyer is a tri-fold, so you'll have to turn your head sideways to read one of the sections.

Front Page Back Page

NOTE: The far right side of the above "Front Page" is the actual front of the tri-fold flyer. The far left side of the above "Back Page" -- the part that mentions the 'defenders of the US Constitution' -- is the inside flap... the first thing you see when you open the flyer.

HISTORY OF THE FLYER

According to Terry Chapman of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office -- whose name is on the flyer as the MCSO contact -- the FBI created the flyer and printed the MCSO and Attorney's Office before the text was approved. He said it was created as a full color brochure to hand out to officers, not for the general public -- and that as soon as he saw it, he urged them not to use it, knowing it had some problems.

"The flyer never got off the ground," said Officer Chapman, "but it did manage to make it's way out -- and maybe it's right that it did." He genuinely didn't like this piece of junk, and he showed true concern about my issues with the flyer, too. "We were not happy with it. It was formulated, I think, for legitimate purposes, but it fell on stony ground because of the way it was worded -- the unfortunate profiles that were put in there outraged a number of people who received it."

"It's dead in the water as far as I know," said Chapman. "I just can't imagine the FBI putting it out there again. It wasn't for the public. The fact that it's circulating again has gotta be by unofficial sources."

Mr. Chapman couldn't name the FBI agent who created the flyer, saying the individual who created it was no longer with the FBI's Phoenix branch, which he described as having "revolving doors." Sheriff's officers didn't like the flyer, either. Said Chapman, "I had a Lieutenant from our own office call me and ask 'Am I on your list?' Am I a threat?' for supporting the constitution?'" Chapman was embarrassed by the seeming targeting of "decent, honorable segments of the community" by the flyer -- he hoped it would never be handed out or go anywhere at all.

According to Chapman, the FBI approached the Sheriff's Office saying they wanted to put a flyer together to help local law enforcement raise officer awareness about who to watch out for. They asked for a local contact name and number for use of a flyer they wanted to produce, and because Terry Chapman heads up MCSO Intelligence, he was the likely candidate. Possible lesson for Chapman: don't let yourself get used by misguided federal agents again.

The big question: Why the hell does the FBI have someone running around promoting that Defenders of the Constitution (and the common law from which the Constitution was born) are domestic terrorists?

The FBI has not returned phone calls on this matter. But suffice it to say that there has been at least one unAmerican weasel running around their camp urging people to turn against We The Real American People. We'd sure like to know this fool's name and location within the Bureau. If you track that information down, please contact me personally; we've got a bone to pick with him and his boss, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=2126

READ THE FLYER FOR YOURSELF Both pages in PDF

Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 28 2006

A Virginia training manual used to help state employees recognize terrorists lists anti-government and property rights activists as terrorists and includes binoculars, video cameras, pads and notebooks in a compendium of terrorist tools.

The manual, discovered by the Virginia News Source, is keen to emphasize that terrorists are not only Middle Eastern in scope and the main focus is afforded to domestic terrorism.

Included with Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad, the following groups are identified as terrorist organizations.

In any anti-government and militia movements
Are property-rights activists
Are in any racist, separatist and hate groups
Are an environmental and animal rights activist
Are a religious extremist
Are in a street gang

Presumably, tourists, journalists, hikers, bird-watchers, scuba divers, artists, painters, and anyone who takes a photograph is also a terrorist, according to the official list of terrorist paraphernalia provided.

- sketch pads or notebooks
- maps or charts
- still or video camera
- hand held tape recorder
- binoculars
- SCUBA equipment
- disguises

Reading further into the manual, associations between domestic terrorists and the supporting the American Revolution are subtly made. In Alex Jones' 2001 documentary 9/11: The Road To Tyranny, FEMA officials give a seminar in which they identify George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers as terrorists.

The manual encourages people to report any suspicious activity to an authority figure. Presumably, if property rights activism is deemed suspicious then anyone protesting or communicating about the recent "eminent domain" issue will be reported and investigated on grounds of terrorism.

The manual concludes by encouraging state employees to seek more information from FEMA and Homeland Security.

Shortly after 9/11 a Phoenix FBI manual that was disseminated amongst federal employees at the end of the Clinton term caused waves on the Internet after it was revealed that potential terrorists included, "defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN, " and individuals who "make numerous references to the US Constitution." Lawyers everywhere cowered in fear at being shipped off to Gitmo.

This manual is another surreal and frightening reminder that government officials are being trained to embrace a Gestapo like mentality whereby any political activism or even individualistic outdoor leisure activity is deemed to be suspicious and a possible indication of terrorism.

Click here to read the Virginia manual in full.

 

 Homeland Security Arrests Veteran for Complaining Too Much

      Infowars.com
      November 8, 2004

Now complaining too much can get you arrested by Homeland  Security.

The veteran arrested in the article, Dr. Tennant was arrested in  front of his family for calling the VA too many times. He did jail time for the offense of "harassing."

Not that this is the first time that Homeland Security has ventured
where we were told that it wouldn't -- click here to see an archive of
similar abuses of power.

The Federal Protective Service Agent admitted, "He had been   harassing them for the past three years...We were looking at the  messages and while there were no direct threats, the language was abusive and derogatory and seemed to be getting worse."

Tune in today to the Alex Jones Show to hear an interview with Dr. Tennant, about his ordeal, and to learn more about Homeland  Security and the Patriot Act out of control.

Agents arrest man in threats

Quad-City Times | November 5, 2004
By Tory Brecht

Inspectors from Federal Protective Services - a branch of the   Homeland Security Department - arrested a Bettendorf chiropractor Friday accused of making harassing phone calls to  the Department of Veterans Affairs office in Des Moines.

Kenneth C. Tennant, 45, 3447 Magnolia Court, remained in the  Polk County, Iowa, jail late Friday afternoon, charged with third-degree harassment.

Although it is a state charge - and a misdemeanor - Federal Protective Service, or FPS,  personnel were involved because the VA office is a federal facility, said special agent Wil Calvey.

The FPS provides law enforcement and security services to more than 1 million tenants and daily visitors to all federally owned and leased facilities nationwide, according to its mission statement. FPS focuses directly on the interior security of the nation and the reduction of crimes and potential threats to federal facilities.

Calvey said two inspectors from Des Moines had been  investigating Tennant after receiving complaints from the VA office.

"He had been harassing them for the past three years," said  Calvey. "We were looking at the messages and while there were no direct threats, the language was abusive and derogatory and seemed to be getting worse."

Proactive measures

The specific nature of the calls, or a dispute between Tennant and the VA, was not divulged by FPS officials or the VA.

Calvey said the elevated threat of terrorism, coupled with a better
understanding of workplace violence, have led the service to take a more proactive approach to dealing with harassment.

"We are trying to nip these things in the bud rather than let them escalate into a greater problem," he said. "When you let things go, and people are not punished, they get worse and you have an increased chance of an incident where someone is injured or killed."

Tennant will be prosecuted by the Polk County Attorney's office, not in federal court, Calvey added. His bond was set at $325.

Tennant works at American Family Chiropractic, 1530 State St., where he shares an office with three other chiropractors. One of the doctors, who did not wish to give her name, said she was surprised by the charges and was not aware Tennant had a dispute with the VA.

According to federal court records, Tennant filed a lawsuit in 1998
disputing a denial of disability insurance benefits and Supplemental
Security Income. After a two-year legal battle, the U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit upheld the denial.


---------------------


Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store

Associated Press | October 29 2004

ST. HELENS, Ore. - So far as she knows, Pufferbelly Toys owner  Stephanie Cox hasn't been passing any state secrets to sinister  foreign governments, or violating obscure clauses in the Patriot Act.

So she was taken aback by a mysterious phone call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to her small store in this quiet  Columbia River town just north of Portland.

"I was shaking in my shoes," Cox said of the September phone  call. "My first thought was the government can shut your business down on a whim, in my opinion. If I'm closed even for a day that would cause undue stress."

When the two agents arrived at the store, the lead agent asked  Cox whether she carried a toy called the Magic Cube, which he said was an illegal copy of the Rubik's Cube, one of the most popular toys of all time.

He told her to remove the Magic Cube from her shelves, and he   watched to make sure she complied.

After the agents left, Cox called the manufacturer of the Magic  Cube, the Toysmith Group, which is based in Auburn, Wash. A representative told her that Rubik's Cube patent had expired, and the Magic Cube did not infringe on the rival toy's trademark.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs  Enforcement, said agents went to Pufferbelly based on a trademark infringement complaint filed in the agency's intellectual property rights center in Washington, D.C.

"One of the things that our agency's responsible for doing is  protecting the integrity of the economy and our nation's financial systems and obviously trademark infringement does have significant economic implications," she said.

Six weeks after her brush with Homeland Security, Cox told The Oregonian she is still bewildered by the experience.

"Aren't there any terrorists out there?" she said.

================================================

January 05, 2005

Watches Now a "Terrorism Threat"

MSNBC reported:

An advisory issued Monday by the Department of Homeland  Security and the FBI urges the Transportation Security  Administration to have airport screeners keep an eye out for  wristwatches containing "cigarette lighters" or "altimeters".

The notice says "recent intelligence suggests "al-Qaida" has expressed interest in obtaining wristwatches with a hidden butane-lighter function and Casio watches with an altimeter function. Casio watches have been extensively used by "al-Qaida" and associated organizations [that would be the CIA who created al-Qaida] as timers for improvised explosive devices. The Casio brand is likely chosen due to its worldwide availability and inexpensive price."

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/01/altimeter_watch.html

===============================================

Boys arrested for stick figure drawings

CNN | January 26 2005

OCALA, Florida (AP) -- Two boys were arrested for making pencil-and-crayon stick figure drawings depicting a 10-year-old  classmate being stabbed and hung, police said. The children, charged with a felony, were taken from school in handcuffs.

The 9- and 10-year-old boys were arrested Monday and charged  with making a written threat to kill or harm another person. They  were also suspended from school.

One drawing showed the two boys standing on either side of the  other boy and "holding knives pointed through" his body, according to a police report. The figures were identified by written names or initials.

Another drawing showed a stick figure hanging, tears falling from  his eyes, with two other stick figures standing below him. Other  pieces of scrap paper listed misspelled profanities and the initials of the boy who was allegedly threatened.

The boys' parents said they thought the children should be  punished by the school and families, not the legal system.
 

A freelance photographer has said he was stopped and searched under anti-terrorism laws after taking pictures of the Houses of Parliament.

Lawrence White, from Notting Hill, west London, was told to move on or face arrest after the police officers searched his pockets and camera bag.

Civil liberties campaigners said it shows anti-terrorism powers are being used to intimidate the public.

People may be asked to move as part of security patrols, Scotland Yard said.

Mr White has written a letter of complaint about the matter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.

Police powers

He said: "I was taking a few shots of the Houses of Parliament from the Albert Embankment on the other side of the Thames."

"I asked four officers if I could photograph them in front of the Houses of Parliament, but they said 'No, we're on anti-terrorist duty'."

He said as he walked away and took a few more shots one of the officers walked up to him and said "I want to search you under suspicion of being a terrorist".

Mr White said the officer cited Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which gives police powers to stop and search anyone if they suspect them of being involved in terrorism.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said the act was "overly-broad" and one of the worst examples of "blank cheque" police powers.

---
Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4503711.stm

Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store

So far as she knows, Pufferbelly Toys owner Stephanie Cox hasn't been passing any state secrets to sinister foreign governments, or violating obscure clauses in the Patriot Act.

In Terror War, 2nd Track for Suspects

The Bush administration is developing a parallel legal system in which terrorism suspects -- U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike -- may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system, lawyers inside and outside the government say.

Court: U.S. Can Hold Citizens as Enemy Combatants

A federal appeals court today ruled that the government has properly detained an American-born man captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan without an attorney and has legally declared him an enemy combatant.

Patriot Act Being Used to Harrass BlackBoxVoting.org website

It appears that they may be using the Patriot Act to circumvent some of the civil rights protections laid down in the 60s. You see, it is illegal for a government agency to go in and demand the list of all the members of a group. And you can't investigate leaks to journalists by going in and grabbing the reporter's computer.

Terrorism panic goes too far at Area 51

Chuck Clark wasn't even home when law enforcement personnel assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force roared up to his rented trailer in tiny Rachel, Nev., the other day. He didn't know about the still-sealed search warrant until he returned from a road trip and found that his files, photos and computer had been seized.

Secret Service Questions Students

Some teachers in Oakland are rallying behind two students who were interrogated by the Secret Service. That followed remarks the teenagers made about the President during a class discussion. The incident has many people angry. It's good to see the real terrorists are being hunted down.

Boy investigated by FBI for researching paper on Chesapeake Bay Bridge

A 12-year-old kid at Boys' Latin researches a paper on the Bay Bridge, and suddenly the Joint Terrorist Task Force shows up in the headmaster's office.

Photographer Arrested "Under Patriot Act"

A Denver photographer was arrested while taking pictures in Denver, during Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to the city. Denver resident Mike Maginnis reports being physically assaulted by Denver police.

FBI says Patriot Act used in Vegas strip club corruption probe

The FBI used the USA Patriot Act to obtain financial information about key figures in a political corruption probe centered on striptease club owner Michael Galardi, an agent said.

Webmaster Sherman Austin, Jailed under PATRIOT Act

Political prisoner Sherman Austin, who made headlines last year after being targeted as one of the first casualties of the infamous USA PATRIOT Act, was released from the Federal Corrections Institute in Tucson and left Arizona July 12 to return to Los Angeles.

Patriot Act increasingly used against common criminals

In the two years since law enforcement agencies gained fresh powers to help them track down and punish terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly turned the force of the new laws not on al-Qaida cells but on people charged with common crimes.

Patriot Act available against many types of criminals

Virtually unmentioned, however, is the fact that the Patriot Act extended the government's powers well beyond the terrorism arena.

Patriot Act of 2001 casts wide net

Overall, the policy now allows evidence to be used for prosecuting common criminals even when obtained under extraordinary anti-terrorism powers and information-sharing between intelligence agencies and the FBI.

Patriot Act's reach has gone beyond terrorism

The Bush administration, which calls the USA Patriot Act perhaps its most essential tool in fighting terrorists, has begun using the law with increasing frequency in many criminal investigations that have little or no connection to terrorism.

Using The Patriot Act To Target Patriots

The Patriot Act has been used to obtain search warrants against doctors and scientists who had been warning about the threat of bioterrorism in the U.S.

Shopkeeper deported from South Carolina under PATRIOT Act killed in Pakistan

After marrying a naturalized U.S. citizen, having two U.S.-born children and running a Rock Hill convenience store for years, Khan was rounded up in post-Sept. 11, 2001, sweeps that targeted Muslim immigrants.

Art becomes the next suspect in America's 9/11 paranoia

On May 10 Steven Kurtz went to bed a married art professor. On May 11 he woke up a widower. By the afternoon he was under federal investigation for bioterrorism.

ARTISTS SUBPOENAED IN USA PATRIOT ACT CASE

Three Four artists have been served subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury that will consider bioterrorism charges against a university professor whose art involves the use of simple biology equipment.

Patriot Act used to prosecute U.S. civilian

The CIA contract employee accused of abusing a prisoner in Afghanistan is being prosecuted under the Patriot Act in what legal experts are calling a surprising and to some, troubling application of the new anti-terrorism law.

Patriot Act abuses plain

Where were you these past three years while, amid considerable publicity, our government was imprisoning people without making charges against them, holding them without trials, and not allowing them to talk to attorneys?

British Journalist Detained, Harrassed On Trip To LA

When writer Elena Lappin flew to LA, she dreamed of a sunkissed, laid-back city. But that was before airport officials decided to detain her as a threat to security.

"Hi babe" is terror message, Australia court hears

Nine Muslim men arrested in Australia's biggest security swoop, and charged with planning a terrorist act, pretended to be women texting girlfriends to secretly communicate, a prosecutor told a court on Friday.

"Hi babes, I'm missing you," one message read, while another said: "How you going love, did Sue want to meet me."

During a bail application for one of the men, Khaled Cheikho, 32, in the New South Wales Supreme Court, a prosecutor said the men used "covert phones" under false names and code to communicate, Australian Associated Press reported from the court.

iPod sparks terror scare in Ottawa

 

THE stars of ABC TV's The Chaser could have been shot by snipers when they breached APEC security during a prank yesterday, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.

Eleven crew from the comedy show were arrested and charged by police yesterday after driving a fake motorcade of three cars into Sydney's APEC restricted security zone. [full story]

Weekend Edition
July 1 - 2, 2006

Has This Country Gone Completely Insane?

Getting Busted for Wearing a Peace T-Shirt

By MIKE FERNER

Yesterday afternoon, drinking a cup of coffee while sitting in the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center on Chicago's south side, a Veterans Administration cop walked up to me and said, "OK, you've had your 15 minutes, it's time to go."

"Huh?", I asked intelligently, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"You can't be in here protesting," Officer Adkins said, pointing to my Veterans For Peace shirt.

"Well, I'm not protesting, I'm having a cup of coffee," I returned, thinking that logic would convince Adkins to go back to his earlier duties of guarding against serious terrorists.

Flipping his badge open, he said, "No, not with that shirt. You're protesting and you have to go."

Beginning to get his drift, I said firmly, "Not before I finish my coffee."

He insisted that I leave, but still not quite believing my ears, I tried one more approach to reason.

"Hey, listen. I'm a veteran. This is a V.A. facility. I'm sitting here not talking to anybody, having a cup of coffee. I'm not protesting and you can't kick me out."

"You'll either go or we'll arrest you," Adkins threatened.

"Well, you'll just have to arrest me," I said, wondering what strange land I was now living in.

You know the rest.

Handcuffed, led away to the facility's security office past people with surprised looks on their faces, read my rights, searched, and written up.

The officer who did the formalities, Eric Ousley, was professional in his duties.

When I asked him if he was a vet, it turned out he had been a hospital corpsman in the Navy.

We exchanged a couple sea stories.

He uncuffed me early.

And he allowed as to how he would only charge me with disorderly conduct, letting me go on charges of criminal trespass and weapons possession -- a pocket knife -- which he said would have to be destroyed (something I rather doubt since it was a nifty Swiss Army knife with not only a bottle opener, but a tweezers and a toothpick).

After informing me I could either pay the $275 fine on the citation or appear in court, Ousley escorted me off the premises, warning me if I returned with "that shirt" on, I'd be arrested and booked into jail.

I'm sure I could go back to officers Adkins' and Ousleys' fiefdom with a shirt that said, "Nuke all the hajis," or "Show us your tits," or any number of truly obscene things and no one would care.

Just so it's not "that shirt" again.

And just for the record?

I'm not paying the fine.

I'll see Adkins and Ousley and Dubya's Director of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, if he wants to show up, in United States District Court on the appointed date.

And if there's a Chicago area attorney who'd like to take the case, I'd really like to sue them -- from Dubya on down.

I have to believe that this whole country has not yet gone insane, just the government.

This kind of behavior can't be tolerated. It must be challenged.

Mike Ferner served as a Navy corpsman during Vietnam and is obviously a member of Veterans For Peace.

http://www.counterpunch.org/ferner07012006.html