Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has produced record-breaking high-energy particle collisions.
Scientists working on the European machine have smashed beams of protons together at energies that are 3.5 times higher than previously achieved.
Tuesday's milestone marks the beginning of work that could lead to the discovery of fundamental new physics.
There was cheering and applause in the LHC control room as the first collisions were confirmed.
These seven-trillion-electronvolt (TeV) collisions have initiated 18-24 months of intensive investigations at the LHC.
Scientists hope the studies will bring novel insights into the nature of the cosmos and how it came into being.
Many of them have described Tuesday's event as the beginning of a "new era in science".
But researchers caution that the data gathered from the sub-atomic impacts will take time to evaluate, and the public should not expect immediate results.
"Major discoveries will happen only when we are able to collect billions of events and identify among them the very rare events that could present a new state of matter or new particles," said Guido Tonelli, a spokesman for the CMS detector at the LHC.
"This is not going to happen tomorrow. It will require months and years of patient work," he told BBC News.
The LHC is one of the biggest scientific endeavours ever undertaken.
Housed at Cern (the European Organization for Nuclear research) in a 27km-long tunnel under the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, the LHC successfully collided particle beams travelling at close to the speed of light.
The expectation is that previously unseen phenomena will reveal themselves in the resulting debris, with a key objective being the search for the much talked-about Higgs boson particle.
This is thought to have a profound role in the structure of the Universe, and would enable scientists to explain why matter has mass - something which, at a fundamental level, they have difficulty doing at present.
Cern's director general Rolf Heuer said: "It's a great day to be a particle physicist.
"The LHC has a real chance over the next two years of... possibly giving insights into the composition of about a quarter of the Universe."
Take two
The LHC broke down shortly after its opening in 2008 but, since coming back online late last year, has gradually been ramping up operations.
Two proton particle beams have been circling in opposite directions in the magnet-lined tunnels at 3.5 TeV since 19 March.
Having established their stability, these beams were allowed to cross paths and collide.
This 7 TeV event, which took place on Tuesday at 1200 BST, was the highest energy yet achieved in a particle accelerator.
The LHC's four major experiments - its giant detectors Alice, Atlas, CMS and LHCb - have now begun to gather their first physics data from the collisions, a development that Cern described as an "historic moment".
"This is new territory," said Professor Tonelli.
"If you want to discover new particles, you have to produce them; and these new particles are massive. To produce them, you need higher energies. For the first time [on Tuesday], we will be producing particles that have energy 3.5 times higher than the maximum energy achieved so far.
"This is why we can start the long journey to make major discoveries in identifying a new massive state of matter."
At the end of the 7 TeV (3.5 TeV per beam) experimental period, the LHC will be shut down for maintenance for up to a year. When it re-opens, it will attempt to create 14 TeV events.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Subway riders question NYPD’s ‘ridiculous’ show of force
Some people in New York are wondering whether the presence of police officers toting machine guns through the city's subway tunnels is really a necessary response to the subway bombings in Moscow on Monday.
"I think it's ridiculous," Torey Deprisest, a tourist from Ohio, told the New York Post. "The attack happened in a different country and had nothing to do with Americans. I'd be nervous seeing cops with machine guns on the train. It makes people afraid when they don't need to be."
Queens resident Holly Celentang described the police response as excessive.
"It's Easter this week, and you have families with young kids on the subway, and I'm sure cops with machine guns would scare them," she said. "I feel there should have been a bit more of a thought process before they did this."
"By the time most people awoke to news of yesterday's twin terror blasts that killed dozens, the NYPD had flooded city subways with extra cops," the New York Daily News reports. "Officers with bomb-sniffing dogs swept train cars, and cops set up tables near turnstiles to do random bag checks."
Bleary-eyed New Yorkers began their work weeks with a morning rush hour that featured city cops in full military gear, including helmets, goggles, body armor, sidearms and M16 assault rifles.
The underground arsenal startled sleepy straphangers, many of whom wondered whether the extra security was overkill.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told the Daily News that the measures are "simply a precaution," and said there was "no indication that the Moscow bombings were related to anything planned against the New York City subway system."
Russian authorities are preliminarily pinning the blame for the twin suicide bombings in Moscow -- which at last count took the lives of 39 people on Monday morning -- on the "Black Widows," a militant group composed of the wives, daughters and sisters of Chechens who were killed at the hands of Russian forces during Chechnya's long-running war of secession.
Some New Yorkers say they support the added security measures, even if they are a response to something unrelated to New York.
"Better overkill than under-response," Joe Kerick of New Jersey told the Post. "If the terrorists see an under-response, they may think we are vulnerable."
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Dog For Three Days
A Dog For Three Days
Jon Gold
3/24/2010
On Saturday March 20th, a huge anti-war rally and march was held at Lafayette Park in Washington D.C. It was sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. Speakers included Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright, Ralph Nader, Matthis Chiroux, Mike Ferner, and many others.
The march ended in front of the White House. Some of the protesters placed faux coffins representing different countries we have harmed during these illegal wars against the fence in front of the White House. The Park Police set up a perimeter around these coffins using the "POLICE DO NOT CROSS" tape. My guess would be it was around 50ft x 50ft on the front sidewalk of the White House. People like Matthis Chiroux laid down in front of the coffins to protest. If you entered this zone, you were arrested. I refer to it as an arbitrary "arrest zone."
Cindy Sheehan, myself, and others walked through the crowd until we reached the barrier closest to those laying down on the sidewalk. As you can see in this video, the barrier failed, and Cindy Sheehan walked across. As soon as she entered the "arrest zone," the Park Police immediately grabbed her, and handcuffed her. They were literally manhandling her.
This made me angry, and I yelled at the Park Police to "let her go!" Before I knew it, the barrier was back up. I tried to push through the barrier, but the Park Police pushed back. I managed to push two Park Policeman back until one of them grabbed for something on their side to use against me. It was probably mace, but it could have been anything. I stopped pushing. I walked around to the side where the police tape was, that failed, and I found myself within the "arrest zone." I decided that I was going to allow myself to be arrested in order to keep an eye on Cindy. One of the Park Police grabbed me by my arm, and placed me next to Matthis and the others.
When I sat down next to Matthis, he said to me, "you're on the right side of the line," and I said, "I know." One of the Park Police walked over to me, and said to another officer, "he crossed the line, arrest him." That Park Policeman lifted me up, and put me in regular metal cuffs. As I stood up, I screamed as loud as I could, "THIS ARREST IS DEDICATED TO 9/11 VICTIM FAMILY MEMBER ROBERT MCILVAINE JR.!!!" and part of the crowd cheered. As they walked me away I could see Ann Wright waving her fist at me with a big smile on her face as if to say, "RIGHT ON!"
Before I was placed in the van, they changed the metal cuffs to the plasticuffs. They put them on WAY too tight. I told them I have a bad shoulder, but it didn't matter. They were not too concerned with our comfort. As a result of the plasticuffs, my left thumb is numb. Joshua Smith took this video of me being taken to the van.
This arrest was completely unplanned. The action Camp OUT NOW did plan was to take place about 45min - 1hr later (around 4pm) when the Democratic Caucus arrived to discuss the new health bill. The plan was to sit in front of the entrance ways to the White House to block them from getting in. We never had the opportunity.
Personally, I think it's a shame that more people didn't cross the line. That is a public sidewalk paid for by the people of this country, and we have a right to peaceably assemble. This arbitrary "arrest zone," is unconstitutional as far as I'm concerned.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Amendment to the United States Constitution
A song had been going through my head all week. Power To The People by John Lennon. I started singing it in the van, and everyone else joined in. It was really quite amazing to see.
When we arrived at the Park Police station, they took us out of the van, and brought us in to get our information, and to strip of us of everything we were carrying. Including our shoelaces. I told the officers that my shoulder was hurting, and that the plasticuffs were on too tight. They clipped them off, and Matthis described the way my arms shot forward like a "spring board." My wrists had these huge purple gashes in them where the plasticuffs were. They took my information, and placed me in a cell by myself with a window, a small metal bench, and a metal sink with a toilet. The air conditioning was on, so that was good for me, but a lot of the other arrestees were freezing.
We spent several hours in those cells only to come out to get fingerprinted, and photographed. Two of the people that were arrested with us eventually were allowed to leave, but six of us were not. Other people found out that we would most likely not be getting out until Monday, but I didn't hear anything from within my cell.
Cindy writes:
The two that were released were from DC and those of us held were out-of-towners. Immediately, we knew this explanation was total b.s. because I have been arrested in DC about 13 times now and I have always been from “out-of-town,” and have never even been held overnight, let alone two nights.
Was it a coincidence that Camp OUT NOW had two major actions over the weekend to try and hold our campsite that I missed due to being jailed? I don’t think so.
I asked officer Walker if we would be getting out that night, and he said he had to talk to his supervisor. Eventually officer Walker opened my cell door, and placed a tag on my wrist with my info and mugshot, and said "put your hands behind your back." This time they didn't put the plasticuffs on me so tightly. One of the officers TIGHTENTED Cindy's plasticuffs after another officer put them on less tighter than before. Elaine had cuts on her wrists.
From there, we were placed into a truck that had a VERY cramped sitting area. I am somewhat claustrophobic so it was hard for me to get in. I did. On the way to the jail, we were talking about how we should have been let go, among other things.
After we arrived at the jail, they took off our plasticuffs, and they frisked us. Then we were placed into what can only be described as a human kennel. The cells were SMALL, and comprised of steel walls, steel beds, steel sinks, and steel toilets. The bars were made up of big bars, and a steel mesh that kind of looked like this from Star Trek TNG. It was easily 85-90 degrees in there, with one big fan blowing. There was very little air circulation. My shirt became my pillow, and I put my socks in the water, and wrapped them around my head Rambo style in order to cool off.
As I said, I'm somewhat claustrophobic, and I started to get a panic attack. I asked to be taken to the hospital in order to get something to calm me down. They did, and as I was there, I was watched by two different shifts of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department. Most of them were nice. We talked about politics, and other things. Every single one of them laughed at me when I told them why I was in jail. They told me I should have gotten a $25-$100 fine, and been released after a few hours.
When I was returned to the kennel, they put me in a bigger cell by myself. In there, I sat for 30 some odd hours. Oddly enough, the fact that I didn't have cigarettes really didn't bother me. The cockroaches kept all of us company. They were ALL OVER the place. One of them crawled into bed with me.
The one commodity in jail is the time of day. There were no clocks on the wall so you had no idea what time it was. The only way you could get the time was to ask a guard as they passed by. Some of them gave us the correct time, and others lied to us about it. They fed us bologna and cheese sandwiches every 12 hours, along with bug juice and lemonade.
It is very hard to sleep in jail. Someone told me the guilty sleep well, and the innocent do not. I could only sleep an hour here, and an hour there. It didn't help that some of my cellmates were talking, or that my neighbor sang and banged on the wall for all hours of the day.
This was my very first arrest, and the charge is "crossing a police line." I expected a phone call, and to have my rights read to me, but the big joke of the weekend was, "that's only on TV."
On Monday morning, we were eventually taken out of our cells to be taken to the court house. They plasticuffed us together. Three or four people per grouping, and placed us into the vans with the VERY cramped sitting area. We arrived at the court house, and they walked us into an area to put leg shackles on us. We saw Cindy and Elaine for the first time in this area. Obviously men and women are separate in jail. From there, they took us to a holding cell for traffic court offenders. It was run by the U.S. Marshal service.
Attorney Ann Wilcox came walking through one of the doors, and we finally got to hear a little bit about what was happening with Camp OUT NOW, and with our arrests. A BIG thank you to Ann for doing everything you did for us.
When it was time to go to court, they put handcuffs on our wrists that attached to a chain around our bellies. Then we were taken to a cell that is meant to hold four people, but they managed to shove 14 in. Cindy, Elaine, and other ladies were in the neighboring cell.
Never before have I wished for my name to be called. We waited for at least 2 hours in that cell before we finally were able to see the judge. We all plead not guilty, and have a trial sometime in June, but one of the more interesting things to happen was a request from the White House to create a "stay away" area around the White House that if we were to enter, we would get an automatic sixth months in prison.
When I finally entered the court room, I was THRILLED to see some of our friends from Camp OUT NOW waiting there for us. It made me feel really good inside.
Finally, the shackles and everything were taken off, and I was able to have a cigarette outside (thanks Josh). PressTV was there to interview us, and they took pictures of the purple abrasions on my ankles from the leg shackles.
The one thought that I had all weekend was that anything that I and the others experienced PALED in comparison to what those people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have had to endure. Cindy said they couldn't do anything worse to her than taking the life of her child.
I was often asked if I would do it again. My answer is without hesitation.
PEACE OF THE ACTION!!!
Jon Gold
3/24/2010
On Saturday March 20th, a huge anti-war rally and march was held at Lafayette Park in Washington D.C. It was sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. Speakers included Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright, Ralph Nader, Matthis Chiroux, Mike Ferner, and many others.
The march ended in front of the White House. Some of the protesters placed faux coffins representing different countries we have harmed during these illegal wars against the fence in front of the White House. The Park Police set up a perimeter around these coffins using the "POLICE DO NOT CROSS" tape. My guess would be it was around 50ft x 50ft on the front sidewalk of the White House. People like Matthis Chiroux laid down in front of the coffins to protest. If you entered this zone, you were arrested. I refer to it as an arbitrary "arrest zone."
Cindy Sheehan, myself, and others walked through the crowd until we reached the barrier closest to those laying down on the sidewalk. As you can see in this video, the barrier failed, and Cindy Sheehan walked across. As soon as she entered the "arrest zone," the Park Police immediately grabbed her, and handcuffed her. They were literally manhandling her.
This made me angry, and I yelled at the Park Police to "let her go!" Before I knew it, the barrier was back up. I tried to push through the barrier, but the Park Police pushed back. I managed to push two Park Policeman back until one of them grabbed for something on their side to use against me. It was probably mace, but it could have been anything. I stopped pushing. I walked around to the side where the police tape was, that failed, and I found myself within the "arrest zone." I decided that I was going to allow myself to be arrested in order to keep an eye on Cindy. One of the Park Police grabbed me by my arm, and placed me next to Matthis and the others.
When I sat down next to Matthis, he said to me, "you're on the right side of the line," and I said, "I know." One of the Park Police walked over to me, and said to another officer, "he crossed the line, arrest him." That Park Policeman lifted me up, and put me in regular metal cuffs. As I stood up, I screamed as loud as I could, "THIS ARREST IS DEDICATED TO 9/11 VICTIM FAMILY MEMBER ROBERT MCILVAINE JR.!!!" and part of the crowd cheered. As they walked me away I could see Ann Wright waving her fist at me with a big smile on her face as if to say, "RIGHT ON!"
Before I was placed in the van, they changed the metal cuffs to the plasticuffs. They put them on WAY too tight. I told them I have a bad shoulder, but it didn't matter. They were not too concerned with our comfort. As a result of the plasticuffs, my left thumb is numb. Joshua Smith took this video of me being taken to the van.
This arrest was completely unplanned. The action Camp OUT NOW did plan was to take place about 45min - 1hr later (around 4pm) when the Democratic Caucus arrived to discuss the new health bill. The plan was to sit in front of the entrance ways to the White House to block them from getting in. We never had the opportunity.
Personally, I think it's a shame that more people didn't cross the line. That is a public sidewalk paid for by the people of this country, and we have a right to peaceably assemble. This arbitrary "arrest zone," is unconstitutional as far as I'm concerned.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Amendment to the United States Constitution
A song had been going through my head all week. Power To The People by John Lennon. I started singing it in the van, and everyone else joined in. It was really quite amazing to see.
When we arrived at the Park Police station, they took us out of the van, and brought us in to get our information, and to strip of us of everything we were carrying. Including our shoelaces. I told the officers that my shoulder was hurting, and that the plasticuffs were on too tight. They clipped them off, and Matthis described the way my arms shot forward like a "spring board." My wrists had these huge purple gashes in them where the plasticuffs were. They took my information, and placed me in a cell by myself with a window, a small metal bench, and a metal sink with a toilet. The air conditioning was on, so that was good for me, but a lot of the other arrestees were freezing.
We spent several hours in those cells only to come out to get fingerprinted, and photographed. Two of the people that were arrested with us eventually were allowed to leave, but six of us were not. Other people found out that we would most likely not be getting out until Monday, but I didn't hear anything from within my cell.
Cindy writes:
The two that were released were from DC and those of us held were out-of-towners. Immediately, we knew this explanation was total b.s. because I have been arrested in DC about 13 times now and I have always been from “out-of-town,” and have never even been held overnight, let alone two nights.
Was it a coincidence that Camp OUT NOW had two major actions over the weekend to try and hold our campsite that I missed due to being jailed? I don’t think so.
I asked officer Walker if we would be getting out that night, and he said he had to talk to his supervisor. Eventually officer Walker opened my cell door, and placed a tag on my wrist with my info and mugshot, and said "put your hands behind your back." This time they didn't put the plasticuffs on me so tightly. One of the officers TIGHTENTED Cindy's plasticuffs after another officer put them on less tighter than before. Elaine had cuts on her wrists.
From there, we were placed into a truck that had a VERY cramped sitting area. I am somewhat claustrophobic so it was hard for me to get in. I did. On the way to the jail, we were talking about how we should have been let go, among other things.
After we arrived at the jail, they took off our plasticuffs, and they frisked us. Then we were placed into what can only be described as a human kennel. The cells were SMALL, and comprised of steel walls, steel beds, steel sinks, and steel toilets. The bars were made up of big bars, and a steel mesh that kind of looked like this from Star Trek TNG. It was easily 85-90 degrees in there, with one big fan blowing. There was very little air circulation. My shirt became my pillow, and I put my socks in the water, and wrapped them around my head Rambo style in order to cool off.
As I said, I'm somewhat claustrophobic, and I started to get a panic attack. I asked to be taken to the hospital in order to get something to calm me down. They did, and as I was there, I was watched by two different shifts of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department. Most of them were nice. We talked about politics, and other things. Every single one of them laughed at me when I told them why I was in jail. They told me I should have gotten a $25-$100 fine, and been released after a few hours.
When I was returned to the kennel, they put me in a bigger cell by myself. In there, I sat for 30 some odd hours. Oddly enough, the fact that I didn't have cigarettes really didn't bother me. The cockroaches kept all of us company. They were ALL OVER the place. One of them crawled into bed with me.
The one commodity in jail is the time of day. There were no clocks on the wall so you had no idea what time it was. The only way you could get the time was to ask a guard as they passed by. Some of them gave us the correct time, and others lied to us about it. They fed us bologna and cheese sandwiches every 12 hours, along with bug juice and lemonade.
It is very hard to sleep in jail. Someone told me the guilty sleep well, and the innocent do not. I could only sleep an hour here, and an hour there. It didn't help that some of my cellmates were talking, or that my neighbor sang and banged on the wall for all hours of the day.
This was my very first arrest, and the charge is "crossing a police line." I expected a phone call, and to have my rights read to me, but the big joke of the weekend was, "that's only on TV."
On Monday morning, we were eventually taken out of our cells to be taken to the court house. They plasticuffed us together. Three or four people per grouping, and placed us into the vans with the VERY cramped sitting area. We arrived at the court house, and they walked us into an area to put leg shackles on us. We saw Cindy and Elaine for the first time in this area. Obviously men and women are separate in jail. From there, they took us to a holding cell for traffic court offenders. It was run by the U.S. Marshal service.
Attorney Ann Wilcox came walking through one of the doors, and we finally got to hear a little bit about what was happening with Camp OUT NOW, and with our arrests. A BIG thank you to Ann for doing everything you did for us.
When it was time to go to court, they put handcuffs on our wrists that attached to a chain around our bellies. Then we were taken to a cell that is meant to hold four people, but they managed to shove 14 in. Cindy, Elaine, and other ladies were in the neighboring cell.
Never before have I wished for my name to be called. We waited for at least 2 hours in that cell before we finally were able to see the judge. We all plead not guilty, and have a trial sometime in June, but one of the more interesting things to happen was a request from the White House to create a "stay away" area around the White House that if we were to enter, we would get an automatic sixth months in prison.
When I finally entered the court room, I was THRILLED to see some of our friends from Camp OUT NOW waiting there for us. It made me feel really good inside.
Finally, the shackles and everything were taken off, and I was able to have a cigarette outside (thanks Josh). PressTV was there to interview us, and they took pictures of the purple abrasions on my ankles from the leg shackles.
The one thought that I had all weekend was that anything that I and the others experienced PALED in comparison to what those people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have had to endure. Cindy said they couldn't do anything worse to her than taking the life of her child.
I was often asked if I would do it again. My answer is without hesitation.
PEACE OF THE ACTION!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
McCain and Lieberman's "Enemy Belligerent" Act Could Set U.S. on Path to Military Dictatorship
http://www.alternet.org/rights/146081/mccain_and_lieberman%27s_%22enemy_belligerent%22_a ct_could_set_u.s._on_path_to_military_dictatorship
Glenn Greenwald calls the bill "probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades."
On March 4th, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman
introduced a bill called the "Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010" that, if passed, would set this country on a course to become a military dictatorship.
The bill is only 12 pages long, but that is plenty of room to grant the president the power to order the arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment of anyone -- including a U.S. citizen -- indefinitely, on the sole suspicion that he or she is affiliated with terrorism, and on the president's sole authority as commander in chief.
The Act begins with the following (convoluted) requirement:
Whenever within the United States, its territories, and possessions, or outside the territorial limits of the United States, an individual is captured or otherwise comes into the custody or under the effective control of the United States who is suspected of engaging in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners through an act of terrorism, or by other means in violation of the laws of war, or of purposely and materially supporting such hostilities, and who may be an unprivileged enemy belligerent, the individual shall be placed in military custody for purposes of initial interrogation and determination of status in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
In other words, if at any point, anywhere in the world, a person is caught who might have done something to suggest that he or she is a terrorist or somehow supporting a terrorist organization against the U.S. or its allies, that person must be imprisoned by the military.
For how long?
As long as U.S. officials want. A subsequent section, titled "Detention Without Trial of Unprivileged Enemy Belligerents," states that suspects "may be detained without criminal charges and without trial for the duration of hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners." In a press conference introducing the bill earlier this month, Sen. Joe Lieberman said, "I know that will be -- that may be -- a long time, but that's the nature of this war."
As constitutional expert Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, "It's basically a bill designed to formally authorize what the Bush administration did to American citizen Jose Padilla -- arrest him on U.S. soil and imprison him for years in military custody with no charges." What happened to Padilla, a notorious perversion of justice in a country that claims to be a democratic standard-bearer, would thus go from being an exception to the rule itself.
As "war on terror"-era legislation goes, Greenwald calls the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act "probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades, far beyond the horrific, habeas-abolishing Military Commissions Act." This is a sobering statement, especially given the intense controversy the MCA generated at the time of its passage, in the heady weeks preceding the 2006 midterm elections. Then-Senator Obama was one of only 34 senators who voted against it, calling it "sloppy," and expressing his wish that "cooler heads … prevail after the silly season of politics is over."
Now, however, as president, Obama has helped pave the way for such radical legislative efforts as the one introduced by McCain and Lieberman, by embracing -- and re-branding -- the military commissions he once opposed.
"Belligerents" are the new "Combatants"
Three years after Obama eloquently opposed the Military Commissions Act, the now-president signed a Military Commissions Act of his own, as part of the 2010 Defense Authorization Bill. The law, which sought to overhaul the discredited Bush-era military commissions for "alien enemy combatants," introduced what is apparently turning out to be an important new term to the counterterror lexicon: Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent, defined as "an individual who: 1) has engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners; or 2) has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners."
Months before, in March of 2009, the Obama administration announced that it was phasing out the term "alien enemy combatant," even as it held on to the authority to hold terror suspects indefinitely. "Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent," then, was its replacement.
As Human Rights Watch attorney Joanne Mariner wrote last fall, "this is a cosmetic change, not a real improvement, which mirrors the administration's decision to drop the enemy combatant formula in habeas litigation at Guantanamo Bay."
Glenn Greenwald calls the bill "probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades."
On March 4th, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman
introduced a bill called the "Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010" that, if passed, would set this country on a course to become a military dictatorship.
The bill is only 12 pages long, but that is plenty of room to grant the president the power to order the arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment of anyone -- including a U.S. citizen -- indefinitely, on the sole suspicion that he or she is affiliated with terrorism, and on the president's sole authority as commander in chief.
The Act begins with the following (convoluted) requirement:
Whenever within the United States, its territories, and possessions, or outside the territorial limits of the United States, an individual is captured or otherwise comes into the custody or under the effective control of the United States who is suspected of engaging in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners through an act of terrorism, or by other means in violation of the laws of war, or of purposely and materially supporting such hostilities, and who may be an unprivileged enemy belligerent, the individual shall be placed in military custody for purposes of initial interrogation and determination of status in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
In other words, if at any point, anywhere in the world, a person is caught who might have done something to suggest that he or she is a terrorist or somehow supporting a terrorist organization against the U.S. or its allies, that person must be imprisoned by the military.
For how long?
As long as U.S. officials want. A subsequent section, titled "Detention Without Trial of Unprivileged Enemy Belligerents," states that suspects "may be detained without criminal charges and without trial for the duration of hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners." In a press conference introducing the bill earlier this month, Sen. Joe Lieberman said, "I know that will be -- that may be -- a long time, but that's the nature of this war."
As constitutional expert Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, "It's basically a bill designed to formally authorize what the Bush administration did to American citizen Jose Padilla -- arrest him on U.S. soil and imprison him for years in military custody with no charges." What happened to Padilla, a notorious perversion of justice in a country that claims to be a democratic standard-bearer, would thus go from being an exception to the rule itself.
As "war on terror"-era legislation goes, Greenwald calls the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act "probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades, far beyond the horrific, habeas-abolishing Military Commissions Act." This is a sobering statement, especially given the intense controversy the MCA generated at the time of its passage, in the heady weeks preceding the 2006 midterm elections. Then-Senator Obama was one of only 34 senators who voted against it, calling it "sloppy," and expressing his wish that "cooler heads … prevail after the silly season of politics is over."
Now, however, as president, Obama has helped pave the way for such radical legislative efforts as the one introduced by McCain and Lieberman, by embracing -- and re-branding -- the military commissions he once opposed.
"Belligerents" are the new "Combatants"
Three years after Obama eloquently opposed the Military Commissions Act, the now-president signed a Military Commissions Act of his own, as part of the 2010 Defense Authorization Bill. The law, which sought to overhaul the discredited Bush-era military commissions for "alien enemy combatants," introduced what is apparently turning out to be an important new term to the counterterror lexicon: Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent, defined as "an individual who: 1) has engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners; or 2) has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners."
Months before, in March of 2009, the Obama administration announced that it was phasing out the term "alien enemy combatant," even as it held on to the authority to hold terror suspects indefinitely. "Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent," then, was its replacement.
As Human Rights Watch attorney Joanne Mariner wrote last fall, "this is a cosmetic change, not a real improvement, which mirrors the administration's decision to drop the enemy combatant formula in habeas litigation at Guantanamo Bay."
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ron Paul: IRS Will Steal More Money To Fund Health Care
by.Paul Joseph Watson
Texas Congressman Ron Paul warns that last night’s passage of the health care reform bill will prompt the government to hire thousands of new IRS agents who will be used to steal money from taxpaying Americans to fund the new program.
Paul also told Fox News that the passage of Obamacare will only be repealed once the United States enters bankruptcy as a result of its exploding national deficit and runaway spending.
“Any time a government tries to give you a service or something of substance, they have to steal it from somebody else, so the whole process is immoral because it’s based on government theft, that’s why they’re hiring 16,000 more new IRS agents, because they have to steal more money,” stated the Congressman, referring to an analysis by the Joint Economic Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee that found “Up to 16,500 new IRS personnel will be needed to collect, examine and audit new tax information mandated on families and small businesses,” under the health care bill.
Paul said that the passage of Obamacare will precipitate a deepening of the economic crisis that will be “defined by the destruction of the dollar,” meaning government won’t be able to pay for
“You cannot spend this kind of money, borrow this money and create new credit to finance this debt….medical care will get worse and this country will go into bankruptcy,” added Paul.
“This idea of an executive order amending the bill just is such an outrage,” said the Congressman, slamming Obama’s intention to bar federal funding for abortion after the vote as both misplaced and completely unconstitutional.
“To think that we’ve gotten to a point where we allow our presidents just to write an executive order as the law of he land, there’s nothing conceivable about that being Constitutional,” said Paul.
Throughout his campaign, Obama promised not to use executive powers and signing statements to change laws, a principle he has completely abandoned in pursuit of his big government agenda.
Congressman Paul warned that apparent efforts to prevent health care money being used to fund abortions were utterly ineffectual, saying that hospitals and clinics are just going to shift money around to fudge evidence of where the funds are being used.
On the wider argument behind government providing health care, Paul stated, “Central economic planning, if anything the 20th century proves, central economic planning fails, every country in the world today is on the verge of bankruptcy….and we’re marching on to a worldwide economic catastrophe if we’re not careful.”
Texas Congressman Ron Paul warns that last night’s passage of the health care reform bill will prompt the government to hire thousands of new IRS agents who will be used to steal money from taxpaying Americans to fund the new program.
Paul also told Fox News that the passage of Obamacare will only be repealed once the United States enters bankruptcy as a result of its exploding national deficit and runaway spending.
“Any time a government tries to give you a service or something of substance, they have to steal it from somebody else, so the whole process is immoral because it’s based on government theft, that’s why they’re hiring 16,000 more new IRS agents, because they have to steal more money,” stated the Congressman, referring to an analysis by the Joint Economic Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee that found “Up to 16,500 new IRS personnel will be needed to collect, examine and audit new tax information mandated on families and small businesses,” under the health care bill.
Paul said that the passage of Obamacare will precipitate a deepening of the economic crisis that will be “defined by the destruction of the dollar,” meaning government won’t be able to pay for
“You cannot spend this kind of money, borrow this money and create new credit to finance this debt….medical care will get worse and this country will go into bankruptcy,” added Paul.
“This idea of an executive order amending the bill just is such an outrage,” said the Congressman, slamming Obama’s intention to bar federal funding for abortion after the vote as both misplaced and completely unconstitutional.
“To think that we’ve gotten to a point where we allow our presidents just to write an executive order as the law of he land, there’s nothing conceivable about that being Constitutional,” said Paul.
Throughout his campaign, Obama promised not to use executive powers and signing statements to change laws, a principle he has completely abandoned in pursuit of his big government agenda.
Congressman Paul warned that apparent efforts to prevent health care money being used to fund abortions were utterly ineffectual, saying that hospitals and clinics are just going to shift money around to fudge evidence of where the funds are being used.
On the wider argument behind government providing health care, Paul stated, “Central economic planning, if anything the 20th century proves, central economic planning fails, every country in the world today is on the verge of bankruptcy….and we’re marching on to a worldwide economic catastrophe if we’re not careful.”
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Obama gives Patriot Act another year with no privacy protections
If the Patriot Act hadn't been approved for another year, Sunday would have looked much different.
Sunday could have meant the government was no longer given permission to wiretap the phones of Americans and seize their records and property.
But since the bill was approved by Congressional Democrats earlier this week and signed into law by President Obama on Saturday, this Sunday is just another Sunday for Americans living with the Patriot Act.
To be fair, many Democrats asked for additional protections for the privacy rights of American citizens.
But Republicans said that would detract from the ability of the country's intelligence agencies to track down terrorists. Lacking a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate to pass the bill with the extra provisions, Democrats left them out.
Democratic Rep. Jane Harman opposed the House's approval of the extension, citing abuses during the administration of President George W. Bush.
"While I strongly support using the most robust tools possible to go after terrorists, Congress must revise and narrow -- not extend -- Bush era policies," Harman said.
Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com had the following to say of the overwhelming support of the law's extension:
One of the strangest prongs of conventional Beltway wisdom is the lament that there is not enough bipartisanship. The opposite is true: many of the most damaging acts inflicted on the country by Washington are enacted on a fully bipartisan basis -- the most destructive political act of this generation, the invasion of Iraq, was fully bipartisan, as were most of the post-9/11 civil liberties abuses and other Bush-era initiatives-- and, at least in certain areas, the harmonious joining together of Republicans and Democrats continues unabated.
Most publications and politicians expected Obama to sign the Patriot Act.
Sunday could have meant the government was no longer given permission to wiretap the phones of Americans and seize their records and property.
But since the bill was approved by Congressional Democrats earlier this week and signed into law by President Obama on Saturday, this Sunday is just another Sunday for Americans living with the Patriot Act.
To be fair, many Democrats asked for additional protections for the privacy rights of American citizens.
But Republicans said that would detract from the ability of the country's intelligence agencies to track down terrorists. Lacking a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate to pass the bill with the extra provisions, Democrats left them out.
Democratic Rep. Jane Harman opposed the House's approval of the extension, citing abuses during the administration of President George W. Bush.
"While I strongly support using the most robust tools possible to go after terrorists, Congress must revise and narrow -- not extend -- Bush era policies," Harman said.
Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com had the following to say of the overwhelming support of the law's extension:
One of the strangest prongs of conventional Beltway wisdom is the lament that there is not enough bipartisanship. The opposite is true: many of the most damaging acts inflicted on the country by Washington are enacted on a fully bipartisan basis -- the most destructive political act of this generation, the invasion of Iraq, was fully bipartisan, as were most of the post-9/11 civil liberties abuses and other Bush-era initiatives-- and, at least in certain areas, the harmonious joining together of Republicans and Democrats continues unabated.
Most publications and politicians expected Obama to sign the Patriot Act.
Tsunami waves reach Japan’s coast
The first tsunami from Chile's earthquake has hit Japan's outlying islands, but the initial waves are small," the Associated Press reports.
The article continues, "Japan's Meteorological Agency said the first tsunami to reach Japan after the magnitude 8.8 quake off Chile was recorded in the Ogasawara islands early Sunday afternoon. It was just 10 centimeters high. There were no reports of damage."
Japan and Russia went on alert Sunday, clearing tens of thousands of people out of vulnerable coastal areas as a tsunami triggered by Chile's massive killer quake powered across the Pacific.
Tsunami warnings were lifted in other nations across the Pacific Basin's "Ring of Fire" as fears of destructive waves eased, but Tokyo and Moscow were taking no chances after one of the biggest earthquakes on record.
Waves pummelled Chile and rolled through into Hawaii, French Polynesia and the South Pacific as the tsunami moved at jet-speed across the vast ocean after Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, which left at least 300 people dead. Related article: Chile quake kills over 300
Warning sirens wailed as about 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Japan were put on alert, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people.
Five people were killed on the remote Robinson Crusoe archipelago far off the coast of Chile, the first reported tsunami casualties, but elsewhere no significant damage was reported and surges of water were smaller than expected.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its tsunami warning for everywhere except Japan and Russia, but the Philippines was also bracing for outsized waves.
Japan warned that waves of up to three metres (10 feet) could hit its northern Pacific coastline, ordering more than 50,000 people living near the shore to leave and closing ports.
The Chilean disaster revived raw memories for Japan, where 140 lives were lost in 1960 when a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in the South American nation -- the largest on record -- sent a tsunami roaring across the Pacific.
"Last time, waves that hit after the first one became even more powerful," said Japan Meteorological Agency official Yasuo Sekita.
"We believe it will be the case this time, too," he said, as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama set up an emergency task force. "The agency will keep the tsunami alert for quite a long time."
Russia issued a similar warning and launched an evacuation in its Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka.
"We are expecting waves of up to two metres, which is a dangerous height, and so people are asked to evacuate from dangerous zones," Sakhalin island's tsunami centre chief, Tatyana Ivelskaya, said.
Thousands of families in the Philippines also fled coastal areas.
"The most important thing is that for people not to panic. We have prepared all our local government units since last night," said Albay provincial official Joey Salceda.
The Hawaii center, set up by Pacific governments after the 1960 tsunami, had warned of possible "widespread damage" from waves as high as three metres.
In Hawaii itself, the tsunami led to the evacuation of thousands of people and triggered panic buying of food, water and fuel. But there was little damage in the event.
US President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, had warned that the US western seaboard may see dangerous waves and currents throughout the day.
"In the hours ahead, we'll continue to take every step possible to prepare our shores and protect our citizens," he said.
One tsunami measuring nearly 2.5 metres slammed into Talcahuano, one of about 11 coastal towns in Chile pounded by the surge. Trawlers were sent shooting inland to the town square where they lay oddly marooned next to abandoned cars.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced a partial evacuation of Easter Island, but the island of about 4,000 people, known for its monolithic stone statues, received a relatively small onrush of water.
In the island paradise of French Polynesia, schools were closed, the port in Papeete was evacuated and thousands in Tahiti's hillside areas were taken to safer areas as the waves hit.
Waves up to 1.5 metres rammed New Zealand's eastern Chatham Islands, while in Australia, the size of the surge dropped to around 40 centimetres although strong currents rolled up the east coast.
In Tonga and the Cook Islands, residents made their way to higher ground, still jittery after a tsunami trashed entire villages in the South Pacific in September, killing more than 180.
Japan and Russia are on the outer edge of the "Ring of Fire", a belt of seismic fury responsible for most of the world's tremors and volcanoes.
The article continues, "Japan's Meteorological Agency said the first tsunami to reach Japan after the magnitude 8.8 quake off Chile was recorded in the Ogasawara islands early Sunday afternoon. It was just 10 centimeters high. There were no reports of damage."
Japan and Russia went on alert Sunday, clearing tens of thousands of people out of vulnerable coastal areas as a tsunami triggered by Chile's massive killer quake powered across the Pacific.
Tsunami warnings were lifted in other nations across the Pacific Basin's "Ring of Fire" as fears of destructive waves eased, but Tokyo and Moscow were taking no chances after one of the biggest earthquakes on record.
Waves pummelled Chile and rolled through into Hawaii, French Polynesia and the South Pacific as the tsunami moved at jet-speed across the vast ocean after Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, which left at least 300 people dead. Related article: Chile quake kills over 300
Warning sirens wailed as about 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Japan were put on alert, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people.
Five people were killed on the remote Robinson Crusoe archipelago far off the coast of Chile, the first reported tsunami casualties, but elsewhere no significant damage was reported and surges of water were smaller than expected.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its tsunami warning for everywhere except Japan and Russia, but the Philippines was also bracing for outsized waves.
Japan warned that waves of up to three metres (10 feet) could hit its northern Pacific coastline, ordering more than 50,000 people living near the shore to leave and closing ports.
The Chilean disaster revived raw memories for Japan, where 140 lives were lost in 1960 when a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in the South American nation -- the largest on record -- sent a tsunami roaring across the Pacific.
"Last time, waves that hit after the first one became even more powerful," said Japan Meteorological Agency official Yasuo Sekita.
"We believe it will be the case this time, too," he said, as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama set up an emergency task force. "The agency will keep the tsunami alert for quite a long time."
Russia issued a similar warning and launched an evacuation in its Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka.
"We are expecting waves of up to two metres, which is a dangerous height, and so people are asked to evacuate from dangerous zones," Sakhalin island's tsunami centre chief, Tatyana Ivelskaya, said.
Thousands of families in the Philippines also fled coastal areas.
"The most important thing is that for people not to panic. We have prepared all our local government units since last night," said Albay provincial official Joey Salceda.
The Hawaii center, set up by Pacific governments after the 1960 tsunami, had warned of possible "widespread damage" from waves as high as three metres.
In Hawaii itself, the tsunami led to the evacuation of thousands of people and triggered panic buying of food, water and fuel. But there was little damage in the event.
US President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, had warned that the US western seaboard may see dangerous waves and currents throughout the day.
"In the hours ahead, we'll continue to take every step possible to prepare our shores and protect our citizens," he said.
One tsunami measuring nearly 2.5 metres slammed into Talcahuano, one of about 11 coastal towns in Chile pounded by the surge. Trawlers were sent shooting inland to the town square where they lay oddly marooned next to abandoned cars.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced a partial evacuation of Easter Island, but the island of about 4,000 people, known for its monolithic stone statues, received a relatively small onrush of water.
In the island paradise of French Polynesia, schools were closed, the port in Papeete was evacuated and thousands in Tahiti's hillside areas were taken to safer areas as the waves hit.
Waves up to 1.5 metres rammed New Zealand's eastern Chatham Islands, while in Australia, the size of the surge dropped to around 40 centimetres although strong currents rolled up the east coast.
In Tonga and the Cook Islands, residents made their way to higher ground, still jittery after a tsunami trashed entire villages in the South Pacific in September, killing more than 180.
Japan and Russia are on the outer edge of the "Ring of Fire", a belt of seismic fury responsible for most of the world's tremors and volcanoes.
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