Allison Bricker

WASHINGTON D.C. – The man once held as a P.O.W. and tortured after his A4E-SKYHAWK jet was shot down during the Vietnam War has authored a bill entitled, “S.3081 – Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010” which thus far has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill outlines the process by which Americans may be held indefinitely, without notice of their Miranda Rights, and without ever being charged with a crime. Worse detainment of an individual according to the legislation is authorized by mere suspicion that the individual did or seeks to harm any asset of the United States government or any civilian target.

Even more disappointing, the bill introduced last Thursday, March 4 already has 9 co-sponsors, including the supposed “Tea Party” candidate Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Calls made by this blogger to Senator McCain’s press office for comment regarding the Senators’ bill entitled “S. 3081__ ‘Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010″* remain unanswered as of this writing. However it is unlikely that Senators McCain or Lieberman would agree that their statist takes on protecting the “Homeland” come at the cost of fundamentally altering the Republic and Constitutional principles for which they took an oath to uphold and defend.

Case in point, Senator McCain’s website proudly displays his most recent vitriolic pronouncements against Liberty whereby he stated:

Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that sets forth a clear, comprehensive policy for the detention, interrogation and trial of enemy belligerents who are suspected of engaging in hostilities against the United States. This legislation seeks to ensure that the mistakes made during the apprehension of the Christmas Day bomber, such as reading him a Miranda warning, will never happen again…”

Senator John McCain (AZ)
U.S. Senate
Floor Statement³
March 4th, 2010

As was predicted when the Bush Administration first began down the path of forswearing the American principle that all individuals American or alien were guaranteed the inherent right of Habeas Corpus when coming into contact with the U.S. Government, Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman now seek to exert and extend the ever-corrupting power of the Central Authority’s design on the use of indefinite detention, secret interrogations, and denial of counsel to Americans. While many knee-jerked and quipped it was merely “Muslim Terrorists” who were subject to such treatment under the previous White House, this legislation seeks to lump all into the same pot, inherent liberty be damned.

My how far we have fallen from “the Path of the More Perfect Union”. Everyday the “Change” that came to Washington looks more and more  like an emboldened status-quo. Many will remember just months after President Obama’s inauguration, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, reported on the new President’s desire² to scrap former President’s Bush’s piecemeal system of imprisonment via the label of “Enemy Combatant” in favor of constructing a “new legal-framework” of “prolonged detention”, of which this bill will provide should it reach his desk.

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Moreover, this bill comes on the heels of the Obama Administration, the C.I.A., and the Director of National Intelligence Dennis C.  Blair seeking to have Congress authorize the assassination of Americans (a story we continue to research), the Central Authority on the Hill seeks to obtain the “legal” authority to label Americans with vague sounding titles such as “Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent” and “High Value Detainee” thereby denying “We the People” our right to Habeas Corpus solely based upon mere suspicion.

Lost Down a Rabbit Hole of Red Tape

Contained within this most abhorrent piece of legislation, whose pages emanate a continual nauseating stench of Imperialist statism, is  a system of interrogation and arbitrary adjudication which should make any cognizant American question their government’s lust for such unchecked power.

According to the bill any individual who is captured or “otherwise” comes into the “effective control” of the United States government shall be transferred into “military custody” at the earliest possible convenience. After which a “team” referred to as the “high value detainee interrogation group” organized by the President and consisting of  members with expertise in National Security, terrorism, intelligence, enhanced interrogation a.k.a torture, or law enforcement will conduct an initial assessment of the detained person to determine whether or not they pose a threat to the Central Authority its “Coalition Partners” or any of the federal government’s  endless Imperial wars/occupations.

Moreover, one can only guess that Senator McCain was seeking to hedge against any backlash the bill may produce upon seeing the light of day and included language that indicates the “high value interrogation group” must decide whether or not the person is indeed a threat within a 48-hour timetable. (phew) Whilst 48-hours is still an awful long time without access to legal counsel, one might think to themselves, well it sure is less oppressive sounding than indefinite.

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However, as anyone who has spent any time at all reading the schizophrenic manner in which legislation is crafted  will tell you, beware the redirect to previous sections of the bill and/or U.S. Code. As such, at the conclusion of SECTION 3; Sub-Section b; Paragraph C(3) which delineates the “48-hour” time window, the draconian measure directs you back to Section 2, which reveals that the the time-limit for detention and transfer of custody is only applicable if the detainee is determined not to be of any value from an intelligence or strategic perspective.

If the detainee is determined by any members of the ad hoc Tyrant tribunal, then the detainee may face indefinite detention without a trial or charges filed in a fashion similar to  many of the detainees in Gitmo who were held for years upon years without formal charges before their release.

After all, being indefinitely held without trial, legal counsel, and tortured, reassures this blogger that those detainees will harbor no ill will towards their captors which might motivate them to seek revenge against said government  captors/torturers. Such observations of  “blowback” are only for the weak minded who secretly lust for the Glorious Imperial Homeland to fail, or are obviously “terrorist” sympathizers, and as such, indefinite detention is just punishment for their “un-NeoPatriotic” sentiments; right Mr. Hannnity?

Does this mean that Senator McCain himself might qualify as  an “Overprivileged Belligerent Aristocrat” if he helps recruit “enemies of the STATE” by proxy via the guaranteed abuses which are sure to follow should this legislation find its way into law? Does that count as material support of the enemy Senator McCain?

Upon reading this bill in its entirety, one can only hope that a piece of legislation which cites MIRANDA v. ARIZONA (384 U.S. 436 (1966)) solely to indicate that this right is no longer applicable should the whim of an unelected and unaccountable field agent of the CIA, FBI, DHS, NSA, et al declare an individual American to be an “Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent” would go down in flames. Its authors at a minimum, censured or at optimum, removed from their seats in the Senate and replaced with Senators who actually understand their oath to the Constitution and the principles embodied therein.

However, it is a new season of American Idol, and America’s Next Top Model, so maybe it is just wishful thinking that this legislation is tossed into the proverbial shredder and its machinations contained therein never see a vote in a conference committee or the stroke of the President’s pen.

As was once practice in all stenographer classes across the nation, “Now is the time for all good patriots to come to the aid of their country.”

In my estimation, we stand at an intersection of which two paths are quickly diverging. While we may take the time to celebrate such victories as our momentum on exposing the nature of the FEDERAL RESERVE, the flawed nature of Keynesian Economic Philosophy, and the insanity that is Fractional-Reserve banking, we must at the same time be vigilant to further resist the stratagem of the status quo’s desire to amass more unchecked power for themselves while indenturing our obedience through endless war and fear mongering over the threat of terrorist boogie men.

For it is up to us whether we stand to Restore the Republic or sacrifice human liberty to a second dark ages.

Source(s): ¹“S. 3081 “Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010″ PDF (44.0KB)* • ²MSNBC Rachel Maddow Show, originally aired May 22nd, 2010 • ³Website of Senator John McCain, Floor Statements, STATEMENT BY SENATOR McCAIN ON THE ENEMY BELLIGERENT INTERROGATION, DETENTION, AND PROSECUTION ACT OF 2010 / March 4, 2010

* Note S. 3081 has not been received by the Government Printing Office. As such the version contained within this post is the original draft. If any changes in the Bill exist after printing by GPO, the post will be updated to reflect the official Text of the bill.

The Smoking Argus

DISTRICT of COLUMBIA – Recently reappointed Chairman of the FEDERAL RESERVE, Ben Bernanke is set to give testimony before the House Financial Services Committee as it relates to the FEDERAL RESERVE’s perspective on “Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals”. The hearing originally scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST was moved up at the request of Chairman Bernanke to 9 a.m. EST.

Wire Report

(S4S) WESTON, CONNECTICUT – Today, Weston Republican Peter Schiff formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Over the past few months, Mr. Schiff, a successful entrepreneur and well-known proponent of fiscal responsibility, has been inspired by his fellow citizens urging him to bring his principled approach to Congress. As he enters this campaign, Mr. Schiff’s priority is to serve the American taxpayer. Years of reckless federal spending have placed an immense burden on every American that Mr. Schiff vows to ease.

Peter Schiff was born to a working-class family in New Haven, Connecticut. His grandfather came to New Haven in 1910 and helped with the construction of the Yale Bowl. Mr. Schiff spent his childhood in New Haven during the 60s and 70s during which values were instilled in him by his family such as hard work, self-reliance, and loyalty-loyalty to friends, to family, and to country. After successfully building his brokerage firm, Euro Pacific Capital, in California, Mr. Schiff decided to relocate the headquarters to Connecticut in 2003. He currently resides in Weston with his seven year old son. Since returning to Connecticut Mr. Schiff has published two books: Crash Proof and The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets.

Mr. Schiff gained notoriety in 2006 with a series of national interviews in which he accurately diagnosed the dangers that confronted the economy and predicted the mechanisms that led to the crash. His correct prognosis of the sub-prime lending crisis and subsequent credit crunch made him a popular economic commentator. Ever since, he has tirelessly sounded these warnings.

In January of 2009, with the near-collapse of the financial system and revelations about the corruption of Connecticut politicians, calls began to surface for Mr. Schiff to run for office. An exploratory committee was formed in June.

To date, 10,000 individuals have convinced him to run for Senate with telephone calls and letters of support; additionally, they have raised over $1,000,000 on his behalf. Schiff now believes a run for the Senate is absolutely necessary to give a voice to the majority of Connecticut taxpayers who are misrepresented.

“I plan to bring my dedication and experience to the taxpayers of Connecticut. I may make mistakes in this campaign—but I will not make mistakes in representing you in the Senate. I look forward to an exciting race where I can share my vision with the people of Connecticut.”

Peter Schiff
Senate Candidate
September 17th, 2009

On the Web: SchiffForSenate.com • FixedNews Channel

The Smoking Argus

OAK BLUFFS, MASSACHUSETTS – According to sources close to President Obama; the President will nominate current Chairman of the FEDERAL RESERVE Board of Governors, Ben Bernanke to a second term. The announcement is expected to come on Tuesday morning.

Keynesian economists largely credit Chairman Bernanke with guiding the economy through the worst economic recession in fifty years. During the economic malaise, the FEDERAL RESERVE expanded a variety of programs and intervened into the economy utilizing new sweeping powers granted to the third Central Bank said to stave off a larger collapse. Consequently, the FEDERAL RESERVE pumped trillions of Reserve Note Dollars into the economy, thus increasing the national debt to its highest point in American history.

Central economic planners however, remain confident that Chairman Bernanke will know when to reel in the excess money supply in order to avert the possibility of inflation. While this appointment is likely to soothe the growing concerns on Wall Street, a multitude of challenges in addition to avoiding inflation remain unresolved.

Chief among the problems which remain a thorn in the side of Chairman Bernanke; the growing call for true transparency via a full audit of the FED’s books in dealings with other private Central Banks and foreign governments. Two bills, H.R. 1207 and its Senate companion, S. 604 currently seek to repeal the immunity granted to the FED on such transactions under Title 31 of the United States Code.

Moreover, the calm expressed by the Wall Street bankers and Keynesians in general may be short-lived depending upon what is contained within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) second-quarter report for 2009.

UPDATE No. 1 – Official White House video of President nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term.

Allison Bricker

WASHINGTON D.C. -During an interview by Emily Bazelon of the “New York Times Sunday Magazine”, Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals how she originally understood the high court’s 1973 decision on ROE  v. WADE to be based upon a desire for government population control. Specifically stating:

“…there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
New York Times Magazine
July 12th, 2009 Edition

 

Justice Ginsburg points to U.S Air Force policy prior to ROE v. WADE of automatic discharge for women who became pregnant. She further explains how it was customary for superiors to recommend abortions in lieu of discharge and that the U.S. Air Force actually offered abortions to pregnant enlisted women on base. Specifically Justice Ginsburg cites her representation of Captain Susan Struck during her hearing in 1972.

Moreover, Justice Ginsburg reveals how she imagined Medicaid could have served as the vehicle for government funded abortions. However, to her complete surprise, the court ruled to uphold the “Hyde Amendment” i.e. prohibition on the government funding of abortion, in its 1980 decision,  HARRIS v. M_CRAE. The ninety-minute interview also covered her opinions on President Obama’s pick for the high court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. To which Fox News Judicial Analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano admonished her for cheer leading a potential Supreme Court nominee whilst residing on the bench.

Source(s): New York Times Magazine “The Place of Women on the Court” published for Sunday July 12th, 2009 Edition

Allison Bricker

NAJMARAI, PAKISTAN – Reuters¹ and Al Jazeera² are reporting that up to  eighty people were killed in U.S. drone missile attacks on Tuesday in the village of Najmarai, located in the South Waziristan along the Afghan border. The attacks came just as those in attendance were leaving after offering prayers for the funeral service of Niaz Wali, as suspected Pakistani Taliban commander. Eyewitness reports indicate three missiles fired from unmanned Pentagon drones:

“I saw three drones, they dropped bombs”
Sohail Mehsud
resident of Makeen

A Pentagon spokesman wholly denies any such drone attack was carried out. However, Pakistani television is also reporting the attack, which if proven would be the twentieth drone attack so far in 2009. The Pentagon believes that regardless of claims of national sovereignty by Pakistan and the death of civilians, the drone attacks are necessary in the tribal region of Pakistan, which the Pentagon believes is a major staging ground for Taliban attacks into Afghanistan.

Map of Region Click to Enlarge

Additionally, Qari Hussain told the Associated Press that Baitullah Mehsud, the intended target of the attack was not even present at the funeral, but that five of those killed out of the eighty were associates of Mehsud’s. Moreover the U.S. government has had a standing $5million Dollar reward for information leading to the capture of Mehsud who is suspected of planning the assassination attempt of former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.

Consequently, the Pakistan army was also attempting to capture Mehsud and had launched air raids and artillery barages on suspected Taliban bases in the region earlier in the month. Tuesday’s attack also coincided with the assassination of Qari Zainuddin, a key rival of Mehsud’s.

Reporting for the Al Jazeera news network, Kamal Hyder indicates the drone atacks may backfire and instead incite further anger towards Americans saying:

“It may play into the hands of elements like Mehsud because the attack took place on a funeral – there are cultural sensitivities,”

“Such attacks are likely to complicate the situation for the Pakistani military because they have to be equally sensitive to public opinion in that area – something that is not going to be helped by the drones.”

Kamal Hyde
Reporter
Al Jazeera News Network

The increasing frequency of the drone attacks are already drawing heavy criticism from both Pakistanis and their government.

Source(s): ¹Reuters India “FACTBOX – U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan” published June 24th, 2009 • ²Al Jazeera ‘US drone’ hits Pakistan funeral

Allison Bricker

Al-Qaeda’s third in command, Mustafa Abul-Yazeed, said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera¹ today, that he is praying Taliban forces are able to capture Pakistani nuclear weapons as they continue fighting their way towards Islamabad. In April of this year, Taliban forces captured the “Swat Valley region” and are now approximately sixty-miles outside the Pakistani capitol.

Abul-Yazeed also goes on to say during the interview that hostilities will only cease when the United States removes its forces from all Muslim countries and quits supplying military funding to nations hostile towards Muslims, namely Israel. Foreign policy experts, the C.I.A., and Representative Ron Paul have also cited our interventionist foreign policy as the root cause of what is known as “blowback”, i.e. the motivation to commit acts of terrorism against the United States.

Source(s): ¹ “The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Authorized Edition)” by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, published by:W.W. Norton & Co. July 22, 2004

• ² Al Jazeera News Network, “Al-Qaeda commander threatens US” orignally aired June 22nd, 2009

• ³ “Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror” by Michael Scheuer, Potomac Books Inc. March 4, 2005

• ⁴ “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” by Robert Pape Random House Trade Paperbacks – July 25, 2006

• ⁵ “Blowback, Second Edition: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire” (American Empire Project) by Chalmers Johnson Holt Paperbacks January 4, 2004

Allison Bricker

GAZA STRIP, PALESTINIAN TERRITORY – A plot to assassinate former President Jimmy Carter was foiled by Hamas on Tuesday according to wire reports and “The Jerusalem Post”.  Sources also indicate that Israeli Security forces were able to pass on the information directly to the former President’s personal security detail allowing them to take defensive measures.

Source(s): AP Wire • The Jerusalem Post “Hamas Thwarted Carter Assassination, published June 15th, 2009

—END REPORT—

The Smoking Argus Daily will report more details upon verification.

Allison Bricker

TEHRAN, IRAN – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader has ordered the Guardian Council to take up the an investigation of alleged fraud over Iran’s tumultuous election, according to Iran’s state television network. In a response to opposition candidate’s letter to the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replied:

“You are different from those people (rioter protesters on the streets) and you are advised to keep manners and calmness,”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iranian Supreme Leader

Opposition candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi is now reporting that he is currently under house arrest as protests continue to swell across the nation. Police and rioters continue to clash regardless of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory speech on Sunday. Reports are also circulating that various news reporters have been arrested, including those from NBC and the BBC. At the time of publiction, details are spotty and difficult to confirm. The Smoking Argus Daily will continue to provide updates to this post upon further developments.

—END REPORT—

Source(s): ¹NBC “The Today Show” live report, June 15th, 2009 •

Allison Bricker

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – In an emergency meeting today, and for the first time in 41 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic caused by the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu). In a statement to member countries, the WHO indicated it had decided to raise the pandemic level from 5 to 6 since their figures indicate that the criteria for phase 6 had already been met and surpassed. The final decision to raise the alert level came after the United Nation’s (UN) the WHO’s governing body had also met with its swine flu experts.

UPDATE #1 (June 11th, 2009 12:31 p.m. CST)

I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6.The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic. We are in the earliest days of the pandemic.

Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection.

Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General of the World Health Organization

Official WHO Press Release 06/11/2009 • WHO global influenza preparedness plan (Protocols for infected, Phase 6, published 2005, iPaper unavailable; Download only)

This is a BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, STAY TUNED AS DEVELOPMENTS OCCUR.

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