[A-List] Fwd: [R-G] FBI Raids Anti-War Groups, Spying and Internet Surveillance

[Suzanne de Kuyper]

The A-List, one assumes, can expect surveillance too.    Suzanne


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gary Crethers <garyrumor2 at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 6:25 PM
Subject: [R-G] FBI Raids Anti-War Groups, Spying and Internet Surveillance
To: Suzanne  de Kuyper <suzannedk at gmail.com>


FBI Raids On Anti War Activists, Internet Spying & Infiltration Of Protest
GroupsSeptember 25th, 2010

Not a single mainstream media source seems to have picked up  this most recent
series of FBI abuses of civil rights. There are reports  below of FBI raids on
anti war activists, and of FBI spying which is  from a Justice Department
report.
>From Digital Journal
FBI raids hope to link anti-war protesters to terrorism
By Stephanie Dearing.
The FBI conducted multiple raids Friday, targeting the homes and offices of
anti-war activists in Minneapolis and Chicago.
The raids, characterized by one lawyer as “patently political” focused  on
people who organized anti-Iraq war protests, as well as protests that  took
place two years ago in St. Paul during the Republican National  Convention,
reported the New York Times. A total of eight warrants were  executed. FBI
spokesman Steve Warfield said
“They were seeking evidence related to an ongoing Joint Terrorism  Task Force
investigation. They are looking at activities connected to  the material support
of terrorism.”
World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) reported that no-one was arrested in  the raids,
but the people being investigated were issued with subpoenas  to appear before
the Grand Jury in Chicago in October. WSWS also said  there were unconfirmed
reports of raids conducted on activists in  Michigan and North Carolina.
Pioneer Press said five activists in Minneapolis were targeted, with  suspicion
that the anti-war activists have ties to terrorist  organizations in Columbia
and the Middle East. Warfield is quoted as  saying
“There is no imminent threat to the community, and we’re not planning any
arrests at this time.”
Those served with search warrants in Minneapolis are believed to be  Mick Kelly,
Jess Sundin, Anh Pham, Sarah Martin, Tracy Molm and Steff  Yorek. In Chicago,
Hatem Abudayyeh, Thomas Burke, Stephanie Weiner and  Joseph Losbaker.
The early morning raids were conducted with the help of SWAT teams,  reported
Pioneer Press. A lawyer for Minneapolis-based Mick Kelly said  the search
warrant focused on his client’s travels to the Middle East  and Columbia, as
well as his
“ability to pay for his own travel within the United States or to  Palestine or
Colombia from the year 2000 until today. And this has to  do with any contact
with FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia),  PFLP (Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine) and Hezbollah, all  of which are FTOs (Foreign
Terrorist Organizations).”

Activists raided in Chicago told the Chicago Tribune the warrants  were similar
to those executed in Minneapolis. The activists deny any  wrongdoing, and lawyer
for one of the Chicago activists told the  Associated Press her clients were
“… committed to social justice. That is not a crime in this country.”
One Minneapolis activist who was targeted in the searches was Jess  Sundin. She
told the Associated Press she thought her activism against  the US funding given
to Columbia and Israel, combined with her group’s  activism against the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan were the reasons she  had been centered out, saying
“It’s kind of outrageous that citizens of the United States could be targeted
like this.”
Kelly claimed the FBI was (sic)
“… harrassing anti-war organizers and leaders, folks who opposed U.S.
intervention in the Middle East and Latin America.”
The Huffington Post reported Warfield said he couldn’t provide  specific
information about the search warrants because the case was  “ongoing.”
Two of those raided, Sundin and Kelly, are said to be associated with  the
Chicago-based Freedom Road Socialist Organization. They also  organized a
peaceful mass rally that took place in St. Paul two years  ago. The rally had an
estimated 10,000 to 30,000 participants. Both  Sundin and Kelly were arrested
during the Republican Convention in 2008,  along with 800 other people.”
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/298094#ixzz10Yg53dFr
This is from the ACLU Site
Justice Department Report Finds FBI Spied on American Protestors
Earlier this week, we learned that yet another Department of Justice
(DOJ) Inspector General (IG) report has found malfeasance in the FBI.
This time, the IG found the bureau spying on American citizens engaged
in protests and other activities protected by the First Amendment. These
investigations have led to several activists being inappropriately placed
on terrorist watchlists.
The IG’s investigation was prompted by an ACLU Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request, which uncovered evidence in 2006 that the FBI was
chilling political association by improperly investigating peaceful
advocacy groups like Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA).
The report concludes that the FBI was not spying on groups because of
their political views. Rather, it was investigating them because they
suspected the groups might commit crimes, which was okay under the FBI
rules that existed at the time. By that logic, everyone can be subject
to FBI investigation and possibly be included on a terrorist
watchlist.
The report found FBI investigations were often opened based on
“factually weak” or even “speculative” justifications, and were often
kept open even after it was clear there was no criminal activity. We
can attribute this low bar to Attorney General guidelines for opening
investigations, which were gradually weakened during the Bush
administration.
In 2002, the guidelines under then-Attorney General John Ashcroft
required only the “possibility” of a federal crime. This guideline led
activities like the FBI infiltrating a peace group that was doing
nothing more nefarious than handing out anti-war leaflets in downtown
Pittsburgh.
>> Learn more about spying on First Amendment activities.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=H3wm7p5THE54qKwv3tUs4g..
This is from Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8622
“Spying on Americans: The FBI’s “Quantico Circuit” — Still Spying, Still Lying
by Tom Burghardt
Global Research, April 9, 2008
Tuesday’s Washington Post reports that FBI investigators “with the  click of a
mouse, [can] instantly transfer key data along a computer  circuit to an FBI
technology office in Quantico.”
Last month I wrote that evidence of the Bureau’s massive spying  operations on
Americans had been uncovered and “that a new FISA  whistleblower has stepped
forward with information about a major  wireless provider apparently granting
the state unrestricted access to  all of their customers’ voice communications
and electronic data via a  so-called ‘Quantico Circuit’.”
According to whistleblower Babak Pasdar, a telecom carrier he worked  for as a
security consultant, subsequently named as Verizon by the Post,  said the
company maintained a high-speed DS-3 digital line that allowed  the Bureau and
other security agencies “unfettered” access to the  carrier’s wireless network,
including billing records and customer data  “transmitted wirelessly.”
Verizon denied the report that the FBI has open access to its  network; a denial
belied by documents obtained by the San  Francisco-based Electronic Frontier
Foundation describing the Bureau’s  Digital Collection System.
When these allegations first surfaced they were stonewalled by major  media.
Nevertheless, the reports continued and we now have learned that  electronic
connections between major telecom firms and FBI personnel  scattered across the
country provide the Bureau with real-time access to  who is speaking to whom,
the time and duration of each call as well as  the locations of those so
targeted.
Despite half-hearted protests by Congress, the FBI’s budget for these
operations have increased significantly. According to Post reporter  Ellen
Nakashima,
“The bureau says its budget for the collection system increased  from $30
million in 2007 to $40 million in 2008. Information lawfully  collected by the
FBI from telecom firms can be shared with law  enforcement and
intelligence-gathering partners, including the National  Security Agency and the
CIA. Likewise, under guidelines approved by the  attorney general or a court,
some intercept data gathered by  intelligence agencies can be shared with law
enforcement  agencies.”(Ellen Nakashima, “FBI Transfers via Telecoms
Questioned,” The  Washington Post, Tuesday, April 8, 2008; A03)”



_______________________________________________
Rad-Green mailing list
Rad-Green at lists.econ.utah.edu
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green