Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3809-1005224478-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 08 Nov 2001 05:02:07 -0800 (PST) Received: (qmail 16289 invoked by uid 510); 8 Nov 2001 13:00:19 -0000 Received: from n26.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.76) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 8 Nov 2001 13:00:19 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3809-1005224478-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [10.1.4.52] by n26.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 08 Nov 2001 13:00:32 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 8 Nov 2001 13:01:18 -0000 Received: (qmail 85131 invoked from network); 8 Nov 2001 13:01:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.171) by m8.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 8 Nov 2001 13:01:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta3.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 8 Nov 2001 13:01:17 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id fA8D1Rx15406 for iwar@onelist.com; Thu, 8 Nov 2001 05:01:27 -0800 Message-Id: <200111081301.fA8D1Rx15406@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 05:01:26 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] ACLU Online: New Anti-Terrorism Law Further Strips Federal Judiciary of Authority (fwd) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Per the message sent by ACLUOnline@aclu.org: ********************************* IN THIS ISSUE: -- New Anti-Terrorism Law Further Strips Federal Judiciary of Authority -- Face-Recognition Software Offers Neither Security Nor Liberty -- News and Action: Racial Profiling in California; Gay Rights Victory in Washington State -- What YOU Can Do to Protect Our Freedoms ********************************* NEW ANTI-TERRORISM LAW FURTHER STRIPS FEDERAL JUDICIARY OF AUTHORITY At first glance, the anti-terrorism legislation recently signed into law by President Bush may appear to be only a means to give law enforcement officials the necessary tools to find terrorists and prevent future attacks. But in reality, the USA Patriot Act continues an alarming trend known as court-stripping -- removing authority from the judiciary -- in times of crisis. The origins of this trend are examined in "Upsetting Checks and Balances: Congressional Hostility Tow ard the Courts In Times of Crisis," a special report released last week at an ACLU forum in Washington. Read the report: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a46053a80483590a7 "While we all want our government to prevent future tragedies, we cannot allow our outrage to serve as justification for laws that trespass on our rights under the Constitution," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "Upsetting Checks and Balances" chronicles the history of assaults on civil liberties through laws aimed at increasing our collective security. The report focuses specific attention on the legislative response to the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Like this year's USA Patriot Act, the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act granted the government new powers while at the same time insulating certain enforcement actions -- notably death sentences -- from meaningful oversight by federal j udges. And within months of the passage of the 1996 anti-terrorism bill, Congress enacted two other laws -- the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Prison Litigation Reform Act -- that prevent judges from reviewing the exercise of executive authority over disfavored minorities. Some of the provisions in the 1996 court-stripping laws flatly deprive courts of the authority to hear cases. In others, lawmakers have left only a hollow review, under which federal judges may hear the claims of disfavored litigants but are deprived of the legal means to help them. The result is no due process for some, and distorted process for others. "In passing laws aimed at protecting our security, the government must consider the harm that such laws can and will cause," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU's Washington National Office. "Families torn apart by deportation, long-time legal res idents deported to a country they have never known and the execution of innocent people are just a few examples of the consequences." The new ACLU report and additional information about the anti-terrorism laws can be found on the ACLU's website at: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a46053a80483590a9 ********************************* FACE-RECOGNITION SOFTWARE OFFERS NEITHER SECURITY NOR LIBERTY The terrorist attacks of September 11 have led airports and other institutions to look for new ways of improving security, many of which the ACLU supports. One solution under consideration at a number of airports is to check the identity of passengers using video surveillance and "face recognition" technology -- dubbed "Ferret" by the Department of Defense. But it is abundantly clear that the security benef its of such an approach would be minimal to non-existent for a very simple reason: the technology doesn't work. Facial recognition software is easily tripped up by changes in hairstyle or facial hair, by aging, weight changes, and by simple disguises. A Department of Defense study found very high error rates even under ideal conditions, where the subject is starin g directly into the camera under bright lights. The study found that if installed in airports, these systems would miss a high proportion of suspects included in the photo database, and flag huge numbers of innocent people -- thereby lessening vigilance, wasting precious human resources and creating a false sense of security. Facial recognition technology carries the danger that its use will evolve into a widespread tool for spying on Americans as they move about in public places. Click below for a special feature on facial recognition technology: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a46053a80483590a8 ******************************** NEWS ROUND-UP ACLU SUES GOVERNOR DAVIS FOR ELIMINATING RACIAL PROFILING PROVISIONS FROM BUDGET A coalition of rights groups, racial profiling victims and taxpayers has filed a lawsuit charging that Governor Gray Davis (D) of California exceeded his authority when he eliminated key racial profiling data collection requirements from this year's budge t. "For several years, Davis has done everything in his power to block data collection legislation and thwart progress on the issue of racial profiling," said Michelle Alexander, Director of the ACLU of Northern California's Racial Justice Project, which fil ed the lawsuit together with a local law firm. "Now the governor has actually exceeded his powers under the state constitution in his misguided zeal to block meaningful reform." The legal papers in the case and a fact sheet entitled "The Five Essential Elements of Voluntary Data Collection" are online at: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a46053a80483590a1 WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS FAIRNESS FOR GAY COUPLES In a victory for equal treatment under the law, the Washington State Supreme Court last week upheld the right of gay partners to an equitable share of property jointly acquired while they were a couple. The ACLU of Washington submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, Vasquez v. Hawthorne, urging the court to recognize that equitable property distribution is a matter of fundamental fairness for ALL couples. Click below to learn more about the Court's ruling: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15545a46053a80483590a4 ------------------------ Yahoo! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:59 PST