Over twelve surveillance-related provisions of the Patriot Act will expire this year unless they are renewed. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and
President Bush are pitching Patriot Act provisions' renewal to Congress and the public. Changes are in the works. Spokesman Kevin Madden says any
changes will need to "add to law enforcement's ability to crack down on terror."
www.concordmonitor.com
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ...told a conference ...that the USA Patriot Act, passed in 2001, "has helped prevent additional terrorist
attacks" and that he shares Congress's goal of "giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep America safe..."
More than a dozen surveillance-related provisions of the law are scheduled to expire this year unless they are renewed, a prospect that provoked a
political campaign by Gonzales's predecessor, John Ashcroft, for reauthorization of each provision. Although Gonzales did not delve into specifics,
he opened the door to potential modifications by saying, "I am willing to support improvements to our laws that make America safer."
Spokesman Kevin Madden amplified slightly after the speech, saying, "If there are movements to make these provisions that are designed to sunset
better, then he would support that; but (Gonzales believes) allowing them to lapse would make America less safe." Madden said that any changes would
have to "add to law enforcement's ability to crack down on terror."
The Patriot Act provided new authority to the Justice Department and the FBI to monitor alleged terrorists or their associates, and provided legal
sanction for increased information-sharing between criminal investigators and intelligence agencies. Some of its provisions have been assailed by
civil liberties groups, including some conservatives; lawsuits have been filed to challenge in particular a provision allowing the collection of
information from libraries and businesses without the government's having to show probable cause.
Gonzales also ...pledged to strengthen the prosecution of obscenity, a cause in which the Justice Department recently declared its intention to appeal
a federal judge's ruling against certain anti-obscenity laws. He also pledged to try to curtail trafficking in human beings by getting states to
approve model legislation developed by the Justice Department.
..........
President Bush on Monday urged the nation to stay the course in its "urgent mission" to fight terrorism, and he called on Congress to move quickly
to extend sweeping law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act.
Bush Renews Call to Extend Patriot
Act
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
The Patriot Act effectively dismantles the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Congress will need to evaluate any renewals and proposed
modifications with a team of high-powered super-critical civil rights lawyers - for each and every provision and change.
Gonzales does not respect the law. He is the kind of lawyer that looks for loopholes and ways around laws. Now he's the US Attorney General, in
charge of the nation's laws. Can we trust him to protect American civil liberties and the spirit of US democracy? I think not.
Broadly criticized for not respecting the law, Gonzales has taken hits in the mainstream and alternative media. The worst criticisms come from the
alternative sites of course. Alternative sites are not considered "reliable sources," but looking at their views along with the rest provides a
broader, more valuable perspective.
"...one reason the prison abuse scandal won't go away ...is that a long paper trail of memos and directives from inside the administration has
emerged, often leaked by those who disagreed with rougher means of questioning.
"The instructions went out to our people to adhere to the law," Bush himself told reporters. But the law according to whom?"
www.msnbc.msn.com...
................
"In his position as White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzales was the architect for the legal strategy that set the stage for torture and abuses at Abu
Ghraib and other U.S. military prisons around the world."
www.humanrightsfirst.org...
...............
"Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, intervened directly with Justice Department lawyers in 2002 to obtain a legal "ruling on the extent
of the president's authority to permit extreme interrogation practices in the name of national security, current and former administration officials
said Tuesday.
The request by Mr. Gonzales produced the much-debated Justice Department memorandum of Aug. 1, 2002, which defined torture narrowly and said that Mr.
Bush could circumvent domestic and international prohibitions against torture in the name of national security."
www.nytimes.com...
................
"On 25 January 2002, a memorandum from Gonzales to Bush stated that 'the war against terrorism is a new kind of war, which renders obsolete
Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions.' The prohibition against torture was thus
found to be 'obsolete' and 'quaint'...
Six months later, in August 2002,
Gonzales cleared a Justice Department memo that stated bluntly that both international treaties such as the
Geneva Convention and US law do 'not apply to the President's detention and interrogation of enemy combatants.' "
www.commondreams.org...
www.thestatesman.net...
.......................
"...a group of military legal experts, including Rear Adm. John Hutson, who was recently the Navy's judge advocate general, released a letter to the
Judiciary Committee noting that Gonzales' recommendations "fostered greater animosity toward the United States, undermined our intelligence
gathering efforts, and added to the risks facing our troops serving around the world." "
Backing
Gonzales Is Backing Torture
www.commondreams.org...
................
"Mr. Gonzales told a meeting of the Hoover Institution in Washington that some of the act's provisions will expire at the end of this year, but that
"the terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule."
Mr. Gonzales, who formerly served as White House counsel, described the Patriot Act as "one of the most important weapons" the Justice Department
has in the war against terror, adding that the "brave and dedicated men and women" who work each day to track down, disrupt and prosecute terrorists
deserve to have "the right tools and resources" to do the job.
"The coming congressional deliberations regarding the reauthorization of the Patriot Act are important. Debate and discussion reflect our strength as
a democracy," he said, adding that he would not support changes in the law that would make the United States more vulnerable to terrorist
attacks."
www.prisonplanet.tv...
........................
"Alberto Gonzales, who scorned international law, approved terrorism and torture of Iraqi prisoners, who denies the validity and relevance of the
Geneva Accords has been promoted to Attorney General, giving him power to arbitrarily arrest and prosecute whoever he deems a 'threat' to 'national
security'."
www.rebelion.org...

The dangers of the Patriot Act are most apparent when viewed in the context of NORTHCOM, the new US military command charged with
keeping the peace in North America.
NORTHCOM. U.S. Northern Command – new
combatant command assigned to defend the United States and
support military assistance to civil
authorities.
www.defenselink.mil...
..............
"On April 17, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the formation of the Northern Command, or NorthCom...
Secretary Rumsfeld stated that NorthCom will "…help the department better
deal with natural disasters, attacks on U.S. soil, or other civil
difficulties. It will provide for a more coordinated military support to civil authorities such as FBI, FEMA and state and local
governments." "
www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/rsepResources/ si/may02/homeland.asp
..............
RE: Military Support to Civil Authorities:
"In the area of law enforcement... On one occasion state authorities requested military assistance during civil disturbances in Los Angeles
County."
www.tecom.usmc.mil...
Also see:
Armored Tanks Dispel Anti-War Protest in USA

NORTHCOM supporters make much of the fact that the command has only 1200 employees, but NORTHCOM's function is not to provide manpower. It's mandate
is to coordinate and oversee
existent civil authorities, operations and agencies, using military troops. It is a
command function. In a
state of emergency, NORTHCOM is the
supreme domestic authority.
NORTHCOM will take control in the USA in the event of an emergency like a "terrorist" attack or an epidemic. Most likely, if the expected flu
epidemic doesn't strike within a few weeks, then a terrorist attack will materialize.
The Patriot Act will work together with NORTHCOM - against civil authority, civil liberties, and individual rights and freedoms.
In particular, the stage is set for NORTHCOM to implement quarantines for whatever ails US safety and security. Federal officials have been brushing
off old quarantine laws and urging states to do the same for the past four years. Camps already exist.
Quarantine is politically useful and expedient - but it's
completely ineffective against most modern diseases. Not only are modern diseases
different, but quarantine
never works if you don't clean the barn. In this case, the barn is the whole planet.
"Dr. Keiji Fukuda, an influenza expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But Fukuda said H5N1 was spreading so fast and so far
that traditional efforts to control it - culling, vaccinating and quarantining flocks - would not always work.
Bird flu may be in Asia to stay, officials fear

Not that it matters.
So far, truth, laws and scientific facts all have failed to impede the Bush Blitzkrieg. Be prepared.
News gathering to be illegal under Patriot Act 2
Want to know whats in the Patriot Act 2?
Patriot Act2 Example
Patriot Act 2 on Verge of Passing Says Ron Paul
Intelligence reform bill
FBI Charges Laser Suspect Under Patriot Act: Despite Acknowledging Not A Terrorist
Act
The Patriot Act 2, Immigration and NORTHCOM
Enemies In Our Midst
Voice Your Opinon to Congress Quickly and Easily on Patriot Act II!
********************
UPDATE: Part 2
NAFTA, the Patriot Act and NORTHCOM
In the USA, the Patriot Act works in concert with NAFTA and NORTHCOM. NAFTA and NORTHCOM are "continental" plans - and create a kind of
"over-government" that applies to all of North America. The Patriot Act is the "open door" allowing the security component of these plans to be
implemented in the USA.
NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement. In its original form, this agreement broke through the traditional boundaries and redefined
'trade' - for the first time, information and services were defined as trade items and controlled by
trade laws created and written by
international corporations. By NAFTA's terms, our governments must negotiate directly with corporations, and the corporations are calling the
shots.
NAFTA is about to be expanded - the expansion was scheduled as part of the original agreement. The original NAFTA agreement demanded a
"harmonization" of laws and regulation in the USA, Canada and Mexico - meaning that each country's laws had to be modified and made the same so as
not to interfere with business or cut into profits. For example,
immigration and security will be defined as trade items under the new NAFTA.
The final harmonization deadline is coming up.
Before the "leftist takeover" of South America, NAFTA's architects were planning to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and expand
NAFTA over the whole northern hemisphere. Now the focus is on North America and finalizing the last stages of all the agreements, negotiations and
plans.
NORTHCOM is the US military command for North America. In the event of any national emergency - like an epidemic or terrorist attack - NORTHCOM
will assume military command over all US agencies like FEMA and the FBI,
plus civil authorities and policing. Under emergency conditions,
NORTHCOM's first priority likely will be to ensure NAFTA's continued smooth functioning - to protect international corporations operating in North
America.
NORTHCOM. U.S. Northern Command – new
combatant command assigned to defend the United States and
support military assistance to civil
authorities.
www.defenselink.mil...
..............
"On April 17, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the formation of the Northern Command, or NorthCom...
Secretary Rumsfeld stated that NorthCom will "…help the department better
deal with natural disasters, attacks on U.S. soil, or other civil
difficulties. It will provide for a more coordinated military support to civil authorities such as FBI, FEMA and state and local
governments." "
www.ccc.nps.navy.mil...

The Patriot Act "harmonizes" US civil liberties downward to be in line with Mexico's. (Canada has her own problems.)
The public rationale for establishing a military police state in North America is "combating the terrorist threat" - and/or dealing with "natural
disasters" and "other civil difficulties." Basically, they've covered all the angles.
The current scare-monerging with its focus on international terrorism is a standard diversionary tactic designed to keep America's eyes off the home
front. The added benefit is that "the terrorist threat" also can serve as a publicly acceptable reason to implement military command over civil
authorities, and establish a police state in the USA.
Related News Links:
www.observer-reporter.com
www.nytimes.com
Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
www.atsnn.com...
www.atsnn.com...
United States of North America!
TERRORISM: Terrorist Threat Message Outlines Attack Plans
[edit on 3-3-2005 by soficrow]