We have previously discussed how, after Sept. 11th, officials have simply begun to classify acts to be terrorism to use ramped up surveillance and sentencing laws. It was inevitable that with Western countries giving official unprecedented anti-terror powers, they would start to move as many crimes as possible under the expanding category. That is evident after it was disclosed this week that British authorities framed the case against David Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, as a case of terrorism “terrorism” for carrying documents from Edward Snowden.
We have previously discussed the alleged decision of Greenwald to have his partner serve as a courier of the documents. Putting aside the wisdom of using family or personal friends as couriers or colleagues in such cases, it was clearly not terrorism unless you view all whistleblowers and journalists as engaged in terrorism when exposing abusive surveillance.
Miranda filed a lawsuit over his treatment at Heathrow. At a hearing, a document called a “Ports Circulation Sheet” was read into the record from Scotland Yard. The document was written in consultation with the MI5 counterintelligence agency and states that “Intelligence indicates that Miranda is likely to be involved in espionage activity which has the potential to act against the interests of UK national security.” That is of course an absurd conclusion since they knew of his connection to Greenwald. However, the document then includes the following line: “Additionally the disclosure, or threat of disclosure, is designed to influence a government and is made for the purpose of promoting a political or ideological cause. This therefore falls within the definition of terrorism…”
That is the chilling line. It seems something right out of “V for Vendetta” and all that is missing is Peter Creedy and his agents of Finger.
Police officials say that items seized from Miranda included electronic media containing 58,000 documents from the U.S. National Security Agency and its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Greenwald immediately said that his partner was carrying the Snowden documents.
Recently, Prime Minister Cameron called on measures to be taken against the media for reporting on the documents and their content.
The casual and easy transition from a journalist/whistleblower case to a terrorism case demonstrates the slippery slope that the West is now on. These officials did not appear to have the slightest hesitation in converting the case into a terrorism case. Indeed, they created a type of legal shape shifting charge where they could claim either espionage or terrorism — effectively admitting that such classifications are now entirely arbitrary.
It is distressing to see both England and the United States slipping into such authoritarian constructs. What is most distressing is that the desire for such powers seems to reside like a dormant virus in some law enforcement circles. The ease with which the Miranda case was treated as espionage or terrorism shows an utter lack of concern over the implications of such ill-defined offenses. Under this definition, the Pentagon Papers could be treated as the same act as the 9-11 bombings.
Will the US State Dept Condemn UK’s Attempt to Use ‘Terrorism’ Laws to Suppress Journalism?
November 3, 2013
By Trevor Timm
https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/blog/2013/11/will-us-state-dept-condemn-uks-attempt-use-terrorism-laws-suppress-journalism
“As the Committee to Protect Journalists noted in their excellent report on the misuse of terror laws, “The number of journalists jailed worldwide hit 232 in 2012, 132 of whom were held on anti-terror or other national security charges. Both are records in the 22 years CPJ has documented imprisonments.”
Warping “terrorism” laws to suppress journalism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes and deserves to be condemned by all. The Miranda case is a classic example of, as the State Department has put it, “misus[ing] terrorism laws to prosecute and imprison journalists.”
We call on the State Department to apply the same principle they’ve applied to these authoritarian regimes and condemn the UK for misusing its “terrorism” laws to suppress journalism and free expression.”
Better than cookies, lottakatz. Well, maybe not…, but thanks for the link.
It is time that we give the British government a Miranda warning: don’t tread on me. We will stop visiting your corrupt nation of chumps who do not have a constitution. Please quit sending schmucks over here like Ries whatshis name who is on CNN every night railing against our Constitution. Redcoats need to be shot on sight.
Maybe the voters in California can ask that 80 year old feline to retire and replace her with someone not senile. I am sorry cats, I meant Feinstein not feline.
Max1, good video reports. Snowden, Assange, Greenwald would all end up with a bag over their head being questioned on a military ship in international waters if the government could get their hands on them.
[I don’t recall where I got this link so if someone on this blawg posted it before (motivating me to squirrel it away in my ‘whimsy/vids’ folder, please take credit for it and thank you.]
I’m laughing at it but it’s really not funny:
If I had known we were both were going to be in moderation jail I’d have brought cookies. 🙂
lottakatz,
I could use some… (:
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s site:
http://www.pclob.gov/
———-
What Powers Does the Civil Liberties Oversight Board Have?
By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project
https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/what-powers-does-civil-liberties-oversight-board-have
Thanks to the GB that freed my posting.
AY, If I had known we were both were going to be in moderation jail I’d have brought cookies. 🙂
Today, and on C-SPAN, now:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Civil-Liberties-Board-Reviews-Surveillance-Programs/10737442462-1/
“The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board holds a public hearing on recommended changes to surveillance programs authorized under the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Among the witnesses are James Carr, a former FISA court judge, and counsels of four federal intelligence gathering agencies. The PCLOB, an outgrowth of the 911 Commission, advises the President on policies to protect civil liberties while combating terrorism.”
(http://justsecurity.org/2013/11/04/pclob-hearing-nsa-review/)
We have good reason to fear that whistle-blowers will soon be labeled terrorists and we have a legislative history in the public and private sector that makes it all but inevitable IMO. -lottakatz
Here’s the video from the link posted by lottakatz:
http://youtu.be/w2Q6e_hDhGo
(Thanks, lottakatz.)
Again and every day, at least once -Lost another comment, can somebody dig it out?
From article: “Additionally the disclosure, or threat of disclosure, is designed to influence a government and is made for the purpose of promoting a political or ideological cause. This therefore falls within the definition of terrorism…” ”
*
I read this and just shake my head, not because it is abominable, which it is, but because the precursors for our own slide into fungibility of the definition of “Terrorist” has been around so long and become so commonplace.
Activists in the animal rights and environmental movement have been cast in the popular press as terrorists, for years. We have the same kind of gag-orders and criminalization of information at work with Ag Gag laws, written by ALEC and lobbyists. Once laws criminalizing the disclosure of information in the private sector are passed it’s just a short hop to public sector suppression of information dissemination using the same tools.
We have good reason to fear that whistle-blowers will soon be labeled terrorists and we have a legislative history in the public and private sector that makes it all but inevitable IMO. Whistle-blower legislation hasn’t ever done anything to really protect whistle-blowers from most forms of official retaliation and when you start dealing with any information deemed worthy of security classification (and public disclosure) those slight, primarily cosmetic protections evaporate.
**
From Wikipedia:
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is a United States federal law (Pub.L. 109–374; 18 U.S.C. § 43) that prohibits any person from engaging in certain conduct “for the purpose of damaging or interfering with the operations of an animal enterprise.”[
From The Nation:
“Ag Gag” laws are a species of state-level legislation that has been vigorously pushed by lobbyists over the last several years to criminalize and suppress the exposure of inhumane practices in animal agricultural operations. In essence, the laws protect the industry by making whistle-blowers into outlaws ….
In 2002, the American Legislative Exchange Council—the conservative law-drafting organization behind Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law and Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070—took the approach one step further. ALEC drafted a piece of “model legislation” for distribution to lobbyists and state lawmakers across the country in an effort to make Ag Gag into a national phenomenon. The model bill, called The Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act, proposed prohibiting activists from, among other things, “entering an animal or research facility to take pictures by photograph, video camera, or other means with the intent to commit criminal activities or defame the facility or its owner.” It also proposed the creation of a “terrorist registry” that would contain the names, addresses and photographs of those convicted under the proposed law.”
http://www.thenation.com/article/175506/charged-crime-filming-slaughterhouse#
Thanks to the comment liberators. 😉
On a side note… when will the media and the FBI call the LAX shooting an act of terrorism?
Or maybe Dianne Feinstein can explain why the 4th Amendment was derived out of a sense of paranoid delusions…
I wish Dianne Feinstein would explain why the Founder’s fear of an ever present government spying on the people, was unfounded…
Pt. 2
Pt. 1
More forbidden words: Greenwald, terrorism… Just kidding.
(Comment in the moderation queue. Could someone post it?)