ViceZilla’s Views

More that 900,000 people are currently listed as suspected terrorists on the US government’s “do not fly” list, and that number will grow to beyond 1 million by summer, says the American Civil Liberties Union.

This is ridiculous! Is the Government’s ‘no fly’ list a product of paranoia or bumbling bureaucratic incompetence? With so many names on the list, how can it be effectively monitored? You might be on the list, hell my apple pie baking grandmother might be on the list for all I know!

As it stands right now, the list doesn’t seem to be under any scrutiny at all. People’s names just seem to be added to the list for shits and giggles! According to the ACLU’s ‘watch list counter’ web site, it lists some pretty prominent and not so prominent names who are not allowed to fly into this country. Some of the more notable ‘no flyers’ include:
Evo Morales, president of Bolivia.
Representative John Lewis (D, Georgia)
U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.)
Major General Vernon Lewis (Ret.)
Captain Robert Campbell, US Navy-retired
Rep. Don Young (R, AK)
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, D-CA

My favorites from this ‘no fly’ list include John William Anderson, who is 6 years old, and Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown was blocked from flying while on his way home from an 8-month deployment in Iraq. He was listed as a suspected terrorist due to a previous incident in which gunpowder was detected on his boots, most likely a residue of a previous tour in Iraq.

And the not so notables who are included on the list, Saddam Hussein, 14 of the 19 dead hijackers from 9/11, Gary Smith, and John Williams, David Nelson, and Sister Anne McPhee.

So before you pack up the family to head off to the airport for your vacation to Wally World this summer, you’d better keep in mind that you play poker with Gary Smith, and you use the telephone to order in from your favorite ethnic restaurant twice a month.

Technorati Tags: ACLU, No Fly List, Terrorist List

Tags: Bush Administration, War on Terror by vicezilla
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“Overproduction”, a term used by the F.B.I. describing when a telecommunications provider gives the government more data than it was ordered to provide. An example of overproduction would be continuing a wiretap for days, weeks beyond what was authorized. Or the provider mistakenly setting its e-mail filtering equipment to trap far more data than a judge had actually authorized.

A technical glitch gave the F.B.I. access to the e-mail messages from an entire computer network — perhaps hundreds of accounts or more — instead of simply the lone e-mail address that was approved by a secret intelligence court as part of a national security investigation, according to an internal report of the 2006 episode.

So what’s the F.B.I. going to do when they receive more data than the law allows? They claim that “ultimately” the data was destroyed, saying “It’s inevitable that these things will happen. It’s not weekly, but it’s common.”

So now we see why Bush wants immunity for the idiots at the telecommunications companies, because of these common, innevitable, glitches, resulting in overproduction of personal data about you and me! The F.B.I. of course is not taking any responsibility for these glitches, saying that about half of the violations were a result of “third party error” in which a private company provided the F.B.I. information they did not seek. OK then, who is responsible for the other half of errors?

The other question to this illegal wiretapping saga is can the F.B.I. be trusted when they say the data is “ultimately” destroyed? What exactly do they do with it before it’s destroyed? Do you think the F.B.I. has our civil liberties rights in mind as they receive more data than they are allowed to receive because of a “glitch?” Somehow I’m thinking a big fat NO!
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Technorati Tags: Wiretapping, Illegal Wiretapping, FISA, FBI, Overproduction, Domestic Spying,

Tags: Musings, War on Terror by vicezilla
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With all the lies and deception surrounding ‘the war on terror’ it only seems fitting that one of the three stooges would be in charge of the records department at Guantanamo Bay. Seems the U.S. military has lost a year’s worth of records describing the Guantanamo confinement of Osama bin Laden’s driver, a prosecutor said at the Yemeni captive’s war court hearing on Thursday.

If it wasn’t enough to learn that the U.S. uses torture to coerse information from some of it’s higher profile detainees, it makes it worse to learn that a detainee’s records are easily lost! Seriously, is it that hard to file a few papers in a folder somewhere?

This kind of idiocy makes it hard to believe that anybody involved is competent in the ‘war on terror.’

I might suggest that the Military employ the use of the IRS to do it’s record keeping. I happen to know first hand that the IRS never loses a file!

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Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay, Missing Records,

Tags: War on Terror by vicezilla
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What could more chilling than a leader of your country who relishes war? How about two leaders then?

Vice President Dick “I’d do it again” Cheney claimed just that during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference today.
“The President has made the right decisions for the right reasons and he always reflected the values of the American people,” Cheney declared, “Would I support those same decisions today? You’re damn right I would.”

More than half his speech was devoted to Conservative rhetoric about national security and terrorism, which seemed to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Sadly, the loudest cheers came when he discussed the interrogation of detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

“We have gathered a wealth of information that has foiled attacks against the United States. Information that has saved thousands of lives,” he said, before adding, “We do not torture. It is against our laws and our values.”

It’s obvious that these same people who cheered, screamed, and yelled “We love you,” are the same people who unconditionally, without question bought Bush and Cheney’s slick spin campaign that brought this country to war in the first place. Now they are cheering the spin about “we do not torture. It is against our laws and values!”

It’s time to wake up people! The United States has used, and possibly still is using torture against terror suspects. The CIA admitted to the use of waterboarding, which is torture as defined under international law.

Oh that’s right, I keep forgetting that Bush and Cheney think they are above ALL laws! Isn’t that the mind set that got this country into the present mess in the first place?

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Tags: Bush Administration, Torture, War on Terror by vicezilla
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The Bill of Rights lay in tatters on the House floor. Free speech is no longer a Constitutional right in America. The Police State has cometh.

Shocked? You should be. Thanks to some very clever Orwellian doublespeak, a new law called the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act is on the Senate floor awaiting its fate. The law passed the House with an overwhelming 405 to 6 vote. Definitions in the new Law are as follows:

Violent Radicalization. The term “violent radicalization” means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.

Homegrown Terrorism. The term “homegrown terrorism” means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. This definition is so vague in its terminology that the words “use” and “force” can be construed in any way to make almost anything illegal. A non-violent protest or “sit-in” to protest the War in Iraq for example can easily be considered an illegal act under this definition.

Ideologically Based Violence. The term “ideologically based violence” means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs. This definition is the kicker. “Ideologically” is taken from ideology. It means 1. The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture. Or 2. A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system. In other words, under this Law if you disagree with the Government you could be arrested for making your views known.

A little further down in the “Findings” section, you will see: “(3) The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.” In other words, anything you read from your favorite bloggers for example that question the status quo of the Government could be considered political propaganda and thus be considered criminal.

This new Law has all the makings of changing our way of life, and making what we once took as a Constitutional right illegal. Who’s to blame for this you ask? We are to blame. We let this happen. We the sheeple stood by and let our elected representatives do this to the Constitution.

How can we look our children in the eyes and tell them their lives are going to be better because of this Law? Read about H.R. 1955 here and here

Then make up your own mind.

Tags: Bush Administration, War on Terror by vicezilla
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