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Eroding Freedoms, 02- 01

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Police attack anti-Bush demonstrators in Portland Your Bill of Rights Repealed Supreme Court pares Miranda rights Authorities can force the unwilling to speak ACLU Releases Report on Suppression of Dissent in a Post 9/11 America Fearing FEMA Emergency Powers -- The New Paradigm In Democratic America Bush administration decides not to require written patient consent for sharing medical record Unlimited Presidential Powers Learning to love Big Brother George W. Bush channels George Orwell Foundations are in place for martial law in the US White House Security Rebuffs Attempt to Serve Lawsuit on Dick Cheney Bush Administration Objects to Language describing Slavery, War Crimes, Acts of Genocide, and Ethnic Cleansing as "Crimes Against Humanity" President George W. Bush is trying to sideline a new treaty to prevent torture Moving towards martial law and shadow government US cannabis refugees cross border Bush Endorses National ID and New Government Secrecy Measures Ex-U.S. officials warn that U.S. policies threaten repression Human Rights Activists Sentenced to Prison for Civil Disobedience / Bush's Grim Vision Navratilova says US can be as oppressive as Czechoslovakia Leahy Says Bush Seeks Department 'Above the Law ' Bush and Ashcroft are attempting to suspend the 'Great Writ' Bush's Grim Vision Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks A chilling case of political censorship Bush Strong Arm Tactics To Imprison Dissenters Executive Order #11000: Authorizes the splitting up of family units Unlimited Forced Drugging OK'd By Court Freedom to hate, freedom to harm The strange and convenient death of J. Clifford Baxter Powell urges Bush to abide by Geneva rules The overthrow of the American republic

Your Bill of Rights Repealed June 4, 2003 by John David Rose Think About It. In the Stalin era of the Soviet Union, Americans arrested for spying disappeared into the gulag without an opportunity for legal assistance or even to contact their families. My high school social science teacher illustrated how different America was from Russia by explaining to us the 14th Amendment to the Constitution: "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." We were proud to be citizens of a country where peoples' rights were guaranteed, protected against even the government. We foolishly believed those rights would last as long as the United States. Today, through presidential fiat, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution is no longer in force. The government can take liberty from American citizens without a trial. Attorney General John Ashcroft asserts that President Bush has the power to hold any American citizen incommunicado, in solitary confinement for a month, a year, even life if Bush designates that citizen an "enemy combatant." The accused may not have access to a lawyer or visits by a member of the family or even a priest. sianews.com

Supreme Court pares Miranda rights Authorities can force the unwilling to speak June 3, 2003 Bee News Services The Supreme Court narrowed the historic right against self-incrimination Tuesday, ruling that police and government investigators can force an unwilling person to talk, as long as those admissions are not used to prosecute them. The 6-3 opinion undercuts the well-known "Miranda warnings," in which officers tell suspects of their right to remain silent. It appears to allow more aggressive police questioning of reluctant witnesses in the hope of obtaining evidence. fresnobee.com

ACLU Releases Report on Suppression of Dissent in a Post 9/11 America May 9, 2003 NEW YORK Taking their cue from the Bush Administration, law enforcement officials across the country have interrogated, detained and prosecuted hundreds of people for exercising their First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union on the suppression of dissent since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. "This report clearly illustrates how dangerous it has become since the terrorist attacks of September 11 to criticize the President of the United States or his policies," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. Police have beaten and maced protestors in Missouri, charged on horseback into crowds of demonstrators in New York, fired on demonstrators in California, and helped FBI agents to spy on professors and students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, the ACLU report said. Attorney General Ashcroft’s Justice Department has further asserted the right to seize protesters’ assets and deport immigrants under anti-terrorism statutes rushed through Congress after the attacks, and debated whether to revoke U.S. citizenship in some cases. aclu.org

Fearing FEMA April 16, 2003 Sander Hicks In the summer of 2002, FEMA published a bid request for qualified construction companies to compete for contracts for three $6 million projects to create temporary cities that can house massive populations in the event of a disaster. Published on conservative web site Newsmax, this news was dismissed by FEMA Spokesman Chad Kolton as "totally bogus." But when challenged by the publishers on the phone, Kolton confirmed the essence of the story. The camps and temporary cities are being planned, to be built in 2003. FEMA says the sprawling temporary cities are being built to handle millions of displaced persons in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack on a major population center. Perhaps. Maybe FEMA has shed the yoke of its dark history. But considering the agency's legacy, is it so far-fetched to think it is not in laying the groundwork to deal with those who dissent from our government's increasingly draconian program of permanent war? guerrillanews.com

Emergency Powers -- The New Paradigm In Democratic America December 26, 2002 By Franz  Schurmann France's leading newspaper Le Monde has just published a major article warning of the growing use of emergency powers in democratic countries. The author cites President Bush's Nov. 13, 2001 military order on the detention of non-citizens as a prime example of "sovereign" power over the rule of law. In the week before Christmas 2002, hundreds, if not a thousand, Middle Eastern non-citizens were deceptively rounded up in Los Angeles and disappeared. This time, authorization came directly out of the Oval Office. And when asked why the roundup occurred the president answered, to "protect the American people." Agamben points out that shortly after he took power, Hitler issued a decree on Feb. 28, 1933, that "suspended" the "Weimar Constitution." Hitler justified his decree as "protecting the German people and its state." Shortly after Hitler proclaimed his decree, concentration camps sprang up and were filled by "enemies of the people". athena.tbwt.com

Bush administration decides not to require written patient consent for sharing medical records August 10, 2002 By JANELLE CARTER WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hospitals and doctors can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, the Bush administration said Friday in a decision denounced by privacy advocates. Finalizing rules on the handling of medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services set aside a Clinton administration proposal that would have required a patient's written consent before that information could be released. nj.com

Unlimited Presidential Powers August 9, 2002 The Justice Department all but told a federal judge this week to take his legitimate concerns about civil liberties and stuff them in the garbage pail. The Bush administration seems to believe, on no good legal authority, that if it calls citizens combatants in the war on terrorism, it can imprison them indefinitely and deprive them of lawyers. It took this misguided position to a ludicrous extreme on Tuesday, insisting that the federal courts could not review its determinations. This defiance of the courts repudiates two centuries of constitutional law and undermines the very freedoms that President Bush says he is defending in the struggle against terrorism. The courts must firmly reject the White House's assertion of unchecked powers. nytimes.com

Learning to love Big Brother George W. Bush channels George Orwell July 29, 2002 By Daniel Kurtzman Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting president be charged with plagiarism? As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is "1984, " the prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual. sfgate.com

Foundations are in place for martial law in the US July 28, 2002 By Ritt Goldstein Recent pronouncements from the Bush Administration and national security initiatives put in place in the Reagan era could see internment camps and martial law in the United States. When president Ronald Reagan was considering invading Nicaragua he issued a series of executive orders that provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with broad powers in the event of a "crisis" such as "violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a US military invasion abroad". They were never used. But with the looming possibility of a US invasion of Iraq, recent pronouncements by President George Bush's domestic security chief, Tom Ridge, and an official with the US Civil Rights Commission should fire concerns that these powers could be employed or a de facto drift into their deployment could occur. smh.com

White House Security Rebuffs Attempt to Serve Lawsuit on Dick Cheney July 28, 2002 By Susan Jones - The legal group that's made a name for itself by filing numerous lawsuits against the nation's leaders is having trouble serving its latest complaint against Vice President Dick Cheney. Judicial Watch says a process server was threatened with arrest when he went to the White House on Monday, July 22, to deliver a copy of the legal complaint against Dick Cheney on behalf of Halliburton shareholders. Judicial Watch accuses Cheney, the former chairman of Halliburton, of overstating company revenues. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced it is investigating how Halliburton accounted for cost overruns on construction jobs. According to Judicial Watch, a White House security officer refused to accept any papers for the vice president. The process server said he was told he would be arrested if he simply dropped the federal court summons and complaint on the ground and left. Judicial Watch notes it is a crime to interfere with the "service of process." "We have served many a lawsuit on Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton when they were in the White House," said Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. "The Clinton White House accepted the papers. Never before have our process servers been threatened with arrest. cnsnews.com

Bush Administration Objects to Language describing Slavery, War Crimes, Acts of Genocide, and Ethnic Cleansing as "Crimes Against Humanity" July 26, 2002 At the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Bush Administration representatives walked out in protest to a declaration calling for "an end to the systematic perpetration of racist crimes, including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing", because it also contained a reference to Israels treatment of the Pallestinian people as "a crime against humanity." / africanfilmny.org

U.S. Working to Derail Another Human Rights Treaty... Against Torture! July 24, 2002 by Jim Lobe by Jim Lobe Two months after withdrawing from the United Nations treaty to create a permanent international war crimes court, the administration of United States, President George W. Bush is trying to sideline a new treaty to prevent torture, according to several human rights groups. The draft Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture is due to be considered for adoption by a key UN committee Wednesday, but Washington has introduced a resolution to create a special working group to discuss it further, according to a draft letter from the U.S. mission at the UN obtained Monday by OneWorld. Rights groups claim that the resolution is an attempt to prevent the Protocol's adoption, even though the U.S. would not be bound by its terms if it declined to sign it. "This fits a pattern we've seen for some time under the Bush administration," said Rory Mungoven, global advocacy director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Yet again the Bush administration is on a collision course with its allies over an important new mechanism to protect human rights." commondreams.org 

Moving towards martial law and shadow government July  22 - The 'Posse Comitatus Act' makes it a crime to employ any part of the Army of the United States as a domestic police force, "except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress". 'The 'Posse Comitatus Act' also addresses a need to control the military role in domestic law enforcement, and represents a philosophical commitment to subordinating military power to civilian authority.
U.S. Should Consider Giving Military Arrest Powers, Ridge Says July 22, 2002 By Alex Canizares Washington, -- The government should consider reversing a more than a century of tradition and law to give the military authority to make arrests and fire their weapons on U.S. soil in the event of a terrorist attack, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said. bloomberg.com

US cannabis refugees cross border 'Persecuted' medicinal marijuana users seek asylum in Canada July 20, 2002 Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles A group of Americans are seeking political asylum in Canada, claiming they face persecution by their own government because of their use of medicinal marijuana. Their cases are being considered by the Canadian legal authorities, who are assessing whether they face "genuine fear of persecution" if they are sent back. Hundreds of Americans have crossed the border into Canada in recent months following clampdowns ordered by the attorney general, John Ashcroft, on medicinal marijuana clubs that exist in states where voters have passed measures approving them. They provide marijuana to patients suffering from cancer, Aids, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma and whose doctors have suggested the use of the drug. guardian.co.uk

Bush Endorses National ID and New Government Secrecy Measures; July 17, 2002 ACLU Slams Parts of President’s Homeland Security Plan as Shortsighted WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly criticized provisions in the newly announced Bush Administration homeland security proposal that could lead to forcing a national ID system on the American public and weaken federal and state government openness laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act. “This plan proposes a national ID -- an internal passport -- pure and simple,” said Katie Corrigan, an ACLU Legislative Counsel on privacy rights. “It’s astonishing that the Bush Administration would back a proposal that has been slammed from all sides of the political spectrum as ineffective, expensive, easily compromised and dangerous to core American liberties.” aclu.org

Ex-U.S. officials warn that U.S. policies threaten repression July 17, 2002 LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher and former FBI and CIA chief William Webster challenged administration policies dealing with terrorism suspects Tuesday, and Christopher warned that secrecy threatens to lead America down a path to repression. "When I was in the Carter administration, I was in Argentina and I saw mothers in the streets protesting, asking for the names of those being held, those who had disappeared," Christopher said. "We must be very careful in this country of not holding people without revealing their names. It leads to the 'disappeared,"' he said. "The names of people should be revealed so that relatives will know what has become of their loved ones. It's a good precaution against having the 'disappeared."' sfgate.com

Human Rights Activists Sentenced to Prison for Civil Disobedience at School of the Americas July 14 /U.S. Newswire / COLUMBUS, Ga., Web site: www.soaw.org/newsroom Photos Available at www.soawne.org/Photos1Trial37.html --Twenty-nine human rights activists were given sentences today ranging from three to six months in federal prison. Fines ranged from none to $5000. Thirty-seven defendants had been in federal court all this week for civil disobedience at the School of the Americas (renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) in Columbus, Ga. All of the defendants (excepting the one acquitted) were sentenced well into the night. The "SOA 37" were among 10,000 who gathered last November to call for the closure of the notorious SOA/WHISC. The defendants peacefully crossed onto Ft. Benning, site of the school. Judge Faircloth is known for giving the maximum of six months to SOA/WHISC opponents. Seventy-one people have served a total of over forty years in prison for engaging in non-violent resistance in a broad-based campaign to close the school. Last year 26 people were prosecuted, including Dorothy Hennessey, an 88 year-old Franciscan nun who was sentenced to six months in federal prison. usnewswire.com

Navratilova says US can be as oppressive as Czechoslovakia June 27, 2002 The Guardian Kate Connolly in Berlin The tennis legend Martina Navratilova has hit out at her adoptive homeland, the United States, saying that in some ways it is as manipulative and oppressive as the Czechoslovak communist regime from which she fled 27 years ago. Writing in today's edition of the German weekly Die Zeit, Navratilova says she escaped Czechoslovakia because it did not allow independent thought or freedom of speech - but she had ended up in a similarly oppressive world. "The most absurd thing about my escape from injustice was that I simply exchanged one system which oppressed opinion for another," she said. guardian.co

Leahy Says Bush Seeks Department 'Above the Law ' Jun. 26, 2002 BY THOMAS FERRARO WASHINGTON - (Reuters) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy charged on Wednesday that the Bush administration was effectively asking Congress to put its proposed department to combat terrorism "above the law." Leahy told Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge that to win swift congressional approval of the department -- designed to guard against another Sept. 11-like attack -- the administration must revise or drop provisions that would exempt the operation from a number of legal requirements. (Reuters) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy charged on Wednesday that the Bush administration was effectively asking Congress to put its proposed department to combat terrorism "above the law." Leahy told Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge that to win swift congressional approval of the department -- designed to guard against another Sept. 11-like attack -- the administration must revise or drop provisions that would exempt the operation from a number of legal requirements. aberdeennews.com

Bush and Ashcroft are attempting to suspend the 'Great Writ' of habeas corpus June 25, 2002 By Timothy Lynch "The Bush administration has now asserted that (a) citizens can be taken into custody as enemy combatants; (b) that, beyond such battlefield detainees, citizens can also be taken off the streets of any American town; and (c) that civilian courts cannot intervene to inquire into the legality of such arrests and detentions. When these propositions are taken together as a whole, the implications are very disturbing. "The bottom line is that President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft are attempting to suspend the 'Great Writ' of habeas corpus, which allows Americans to get into a court of law to challenge the legality of their arrest and to have their liberty restored if the court agrees that the arrest was unlawful. Without judicial review, the police can arrest people without warrants and jail people without trials. "The controversial 'military order' that Bush issued last November has, in effect, now been extended to American citizens--and the writ of habeas corpus is now under assault. President Bush seems to believe that his commander-in-chief power gives him the authority to ignore every other part of the Constitution when he deems it necessary. The president is profoundly mistaken about that -- and the judiciary should resist this power grab." bushwatch.net

Bush's Grim Vision June 25, 2002 By Nat Parry In the nine months since Sept. 11, George W. Bush has put the United States on a course that is so bleak that few analysts have – as the saying goes – connected the dots. If they had, they would see an outline of a future that mixes constant war overseas with abridgment of constitutional freedoms at home, a picture drawn by a politician who once joked, "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier – so long as I'm the dictator." The dots are certainly there. Bush's speech at West Point on June 1 asserted a unilateral U.S. right to overthrow any government in the world that is deemed a threat to American security, a position so sweeping that it lacks historical precedent. "If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long," Bush said in describing what he calls a "new doctrine" and what some acolytes have dubbed the "Bush Doctrine." consortiumnews.com

Air Force officer disciplined for saying Bush allowed September 11 attacks 21 June 2002 - Hijacker attended US military school By Jerry Isaacs A US Air Force officer in California recently accused President Bush of deliberately allowing the September 11 terror attacks to take place. Lieutenant Colonel Butler, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Monterey County Herald charging that “Bush knew about the impending attacks,” was vice chancellor for student affairs at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California—a US military facility that one or more of the hijackers reportedly attended during the 1990s. The officer has been relieved of his command and faces further discipline. In his May 26 letter to the newspaper, Butler responded to Bush supporters, who had written the paper opposing the congressional investigation into the September 11 events. He wrote: “Of course President Bush knew about the impending attacks on America. He did nothing to warn the American people because he needed this war on terrorism. His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama. His presidency was going nowhere. He wasn’t elected by the American people, but placed in the Oval Office by a conservative supreme court. The economy was sliding into the usual Republican pits and he needed something on which to hang his presidency.... This guy is a joke. What is sleazy and contemptible is the President of the United States not telling the American people what he knows for political gain.” wsws.org

A chilling case of political censorship - Anti-Bush protesters ejected from Ohio State commencement 19 June 2002 By Kate Randall Graduates at the June 14 commencement ceremony held by Ohio State University (OSU) were threatened with arrest if they made any protest against the keynote speaker, George W. Bush. In opening remarks at the university’s football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, OSU Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Richard Hollingsworth warned, “Disruption, including obstructing the view or hearing of others, will not be tolerated.” The graduates and their guests, numbering about 60,000, were informed that anyone protesting or heckling the speakers could be subject to arrest and expulsion from the stadium. They were told that staff members, police and Secret Service officers would be watching the stands for any signs of protest. As Bush walked to the podium, about 10 people, including four graduates, stood up and turned their backs to the president. An undetermined number of them were escorted out of the stadium by police officers. “Before he [Bush] even got to the stage, we did our about-face. I looked over my shoulder to see how many graduates were doing the same. However, everybody was standing at that point, and in pure black robes, it was impossible to see who was facing what direction. Furthermore, over that same shoulder, I saw one of Columbus’ Finest heading our way. We never got to see how many students participated. We were being led out of Ohio Stadium. When we reached the exit, I asked the SS [Secret Service] man why we had been ejected, and he told me we were being charged with disturbing the peace. “On this day, June 14, 2002, I came to the realization that we no longer live in a free society. This is rapidly heading the same way Nazi Germany headed. Questioning our leaders is no longer the most outrageous crime you can be charged with. Not paying attention to them is.” wsws.org

Bush Strong Arm Tactics To Imprison Dissenters May 26, 2002 Contributed by Dan - George Bush said that HE (not the Whitehouse but HE) will no longer tolerate questions of what he or the administration knew or when he knew it regarding terrorist attacks prior to 9-11. HE won't tollerate it! The arrogant ba$tard! Rumsfield, in a press release from DOD said "those who ask questions could face government charges." Bush said there is one congressional investigation, and HE will not allow any other investigations, nor will he answer any further questions! May 26, 2002 Contributed by Dan - George Bush said that HE (not the Whitehouse but HE) will no longer tolerate questions of what he or the administration knew or when he knew it regarding terrorist attacks prior to 9-11. HE won't tollerate it! The arrogant ba$tard! Rumsfield, in a press release from DOD said "those who ask questions could face government charges." Bush said there is one congressional investigation, and HE will not allow any other investigations, nor will he answer any further questions! May 26, 2002 Contributed by Dan - George Bush said that HE (not the Whitehouse but HE) will no longer tolerate questions of what he or the administration knew or when he knew it regarding terrorist attacks prior to 9-11. HE won't tollerate it! The arrogant ba$tard! Rumsfield, in a press release from DOD said "those who ask questions could face government charges." Bush said there is one congressional investigation, and HE will not allow any other investigations, nor will he answer any further questions! May 26, 2002 Contributed by Dan - George Bush said that HE (not the Whitehouse but HE) will no longer tolerate questions of what he or the administration knew or when he knew it regarding terrorist attacks prior to 9-11. HE won't tollerate it! The arrogant ba$tard! Rumsfield, in a press release from DOD said "those who ask questions could face government charges." Bush said there is one congressional investigation, and HE will not allow any other investigations, nor will he answer any further questions! thepeoplesvoice.org

Executive Order #11000: Authorizes the splitting up of family units April 7, 2002 by the editor @ thepeoplesvoice.org The Bush administration used the September 11 terrorist attack as an opportunity to implement a "shadow government," based on old plans prepared during the Cold War. More than 150 officials were initially evacuated by helicopter to different locations in mountainous regions of the eastern United States. In late October the temporary arrangement was made permanent, officially establishing the new regime. Since then Bush has added hand picked people from top levels of the civil service who will carry out his commands unquestioningly. Legal documents have been drafted to give these officials the full powers of government in the event of a catastrophe. thepeoplesvoice.org

AAPS: Unlimited Forced Drugging OK'd By Court; Physician Group Calls Ruling 'Shocking & Inhumane' WASHINGTON, March 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Defendants can be forcibly drugged even though they haven't been convicted of any charges and pose no danger to themselves or others. That's the ruling issued yesterday by the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of United States vs. Charles Thomas Sell. (see uscourts pdf) The 2-1 split decision establishes government power to forcibly medicate a person with mind-altering drugs even before trial. "It's a shocking, inhumane decision. Now, all the government needs are allegations and a cooperative psychiatrist to forcibly drug any citizen," said Andrew Schlafly, general counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). That group filed an amicus brief opposing the government drugging. "It's unprecedented to allow prosecutors to drug peaceful defendants presumed to be innocent. Government cannot force citizens to pledge allegiance to the flag, but now can forcibly medicate them with mind-altering drugs," said Schlafly. usnewswire.com

Freedom to hate, freedom to harm May 30, 2002 - With the supreme court to rule on the legality of racist cross burning, Julian Borger asks whether the US constitution remains a force for liberty This week, it is the first amendment's turn. The supreme court has decided to consider an issue that most Americans and much of the rest of the world had considered dead and buried - whether there is a constitutional right to burn crosses in the manner made famous over a century ago by the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan is still around, in a depleted and pathetic form, and there are still some people out there who choose to relive the "good old days" of overt and vicious racial bigotry by burning the odd cross. The court is to consider two cases from 1998, both from Virginia. In one incident, a Klansman lit a 30-foot cross on private land which, naturally enough, terrified passing blacks. In another case, a couple of drunken rednecks tried to burn a cross in a black neighbour's garden. When the cases went to trial, a conservative Virginia court reversed a 50-year-old law banning the practice, and brought some unpleasant history back to haunt the south. guardian.co.uk

The strange and convenient death of J. Clifford Baxter—Enron executive found shot to death 28 January By Patrick Martin - Without anything that can be called a serious investigation, local authorities in a wealthy Houston suburb have whitewashed the death of former Enron vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter, calling it a suicide. Baxter, 43, was found shot to death in his Mercedes Benz in the early hours of Friday morning, January 25, near his home in Sugar Land. wsws.org

Powell urges Bush to abide by Geneva rules Jan. 26, 2002 Marking a break with most, if not all, senior administration officials, Secretary of State Colin Powell has asked President Bush to reverse course and formally adhere to the Geneva Convention when it comes to dealing with al-Qaida and Taliban detainees, according to an internal memo divulged Saturday. msnbc.com

"THE OVERTHROW OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC", 9/13/02 Part 17 by Sherman H. Skolnick  FBI SOUGHT CLAMP ON BUSH STORIES White House and network reporters as well as U.S.-based foreign journalists are using national security leaks to pursue proposed stories about George W. Bush's reputed relationship with a male sex-mate since his college days up to now. So contends the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a Justice Department request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act secret court that met in sound-proof facilities in the Justice Department Building, Washington, D.C. The Bush reputed male sex-mate details have enabled Red China, perceived by some as a sworn enemy of the U.S., and others reportedly to blackmail or otherwise unlawfully compromise the current occupant and resident of the White House, causing the disclosure of U.S. industrial, financial, and military secrets. Various reporters, including those of British Broadcasting Company, BBC, and Canadian Broadcasting Company, CBC, have, on their own, verified and corroborated the exclusive stories by this reporter as to the Bush relationship causing a breach itself by Bush of national security. The FBI/Justice requests to the secret court acting as a type of U.S. District Court under FISA, included
[1] that the FBI/Justice Department be empowered and authorized to use all means necessary to surveil the reporters, foreign and domestic, working on the story;
[2] that the FBI/Justice Department be authorized and empowered as to the War Powers, or similar provisions, to forcibly or otherwise stop the publishing and electronic transmission of any stories or pictures relating to George W. Bush in a Skull & Bones Society satanic ritual coffin engaging in homosexual acts with his reputed male sex-mate. skolnicksreport.com