|
|
 MEET
"THE ENEMY" - CONDEMNED TO EXILE AND DEPRIVATION . . .
In case anyone has forgotten, these are the people who lived (and died) under the vicious, genocidal Anglo-American bombardment of Kabul. Yet, even now, their ordeal is not over. Desperation sets in as winter begins its descent upon Afghanistan and refugees face starvation and disease. WE MUST NEVER FORGET NOR FORGIVE THESE ATROCITIES. 
 To
this cowardly man of dishonour, breaker of treaties, and would-be Fuhrer
of the world, the heartless murder of men, women, and children is always
"unfortunate but nevertheless justified". This madman and his henchmen
must all face justice.
Originally published by Capitol Hill Blue on Wednesday, November 20, 2002. WONDER if any of the vast sums of money approved Tuesday for the new Department of Homeland Security are set aside for black uniforms with knee-length boots and black leather trench coats? Should be. Since we’ve gone to all this trouble to create the new American Gestapo we might as well let them look the part. Excuse me if I don’t join in all the senseless celebration over creation of yet another mammoth bureaucracy of the federal government. Pardon me if I don’t go ga-ga over a federal agency that has been given unlimited powers to spy on Americans, trample all over the First and Fourth Amendments, ignore the privacy of anyone it chooses and violate the rights of every man, woman and child who used to live in the Land of the Free. Our own paranoia has accomplished what Osama bin Laden and his minions could not with hijacked airplanes and vague threats about future attacks – these fears have forced America to abandon its principles and create a police state. This new Department of Homeland Security has the power to wiretap any American it wants, without a court order, without cause and without justification to any higher authority. Homeland Security goon squads will have the power to enter any American home, without a search warrant, without probable cause, simply because someone somewhere says “hey, this guy might be a threat.” No checks and balances, no due process. Nothing. Video cameras at ATMs, convenience stores, department stores and office building lobbies already record Americans living in urban areas 75-100 times on any given day but that isn’t enough for the new American Gestapo. They plan to erect video cameras on streets, along public highways, in neighborhoods and deploy them on helicopters and police cars to record everything you and I do every day of the year. “We are entering a new era of domestic surveillance,” says retired FBI agent Franklin Postel. “One where the constitution is secondary to the cause. The new department has the power to document the day-to-day actions of any American it chooses.” A secret court decision last May already gives the Justice Department expanded powers to wiretap phones, spy on Americans and “share information” with other law enforcement agencies. These powers, granted under a dangerous piece of legislation called the “USA Patriot Act,” allow Attorney-General John Ashcroft to sign away the normal rights and protections that Americans used to enjoy – little things like probable cause, due process and the now forgotten belief that any accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Those who support these expanded powers say the system has "safeguards" where law enforcement personnel must get a judge\'s approval before wiretapping an American family but those who have studied the law said the "safeguards" are, in fact, "carefully worded loopholes." "The law only requires an 'administrative review' by the very department that wants to spy on Americans," says retired federal judge John Macklin. "Most judges would not approve such wiretaps but the law is engineered to make sure that most judges never see the request." Ashcroft says he will implement the new powers “immediately” and is already increasing surveillance of Americans. Look closer at the powers granted under the act and you will find things that would make Hitler proud. They include provisions to allow private citizens to spy on other private citizens without fear of prosecution if the Department determines their actions were conducted “in the national interest.” “I’ve read some of the abstracts on the new law and they take the handcuffs off people like me,” says private detective Andrew Burlingame. “I can tap anyone I damn well please. All I have to do is claim I thought the guy was a terrorist.” Under the new law, an agent of the Department of Homeland Security can walk into your bank, flash a badge and demand to see your checking and saving account records. No court order. All they need is the “presumption of guilt.” They can stop you in your car without cause and search it and you. They can hold you in jail for 30 days or more without filing any charges or allowing you to make any phone calls. They can call up America Online and put a trace on all your Internet activity without a court order. They can require Visa to turn over all your credit card activity records without notice. "Again, the process only requires an internal administrative review and not the involvement of any independent judicial authority," says retired judge Macklin. "It violates all previous standards for due process and probable cause." In other words, they can do any damn thing they want and there isn’t a thing that any of us can do about it. Some may argue the current terrorist threat requires such drastic measures. But what happens when that threat is met? The Department of Homeland Security and its draconian powers will still exist. Who will determine the new threat? Who will decide who becomes the enemy? "An evil exists that threatens every man, woman and child of this great nation," the leader of another country once wrote, "We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and protect our homeland." That was Adoph Hitler, writing about the creation of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. So welcome to the American Gestapo. Be careful what you say and do. They are watching and they will be watching from now on. And soon, perhaps, they will be coming for you ... But when Beate, a German national, tried to visit him on a six-month tourist visa she was detained in Atlanta, handcuffed, jailed - even stripped of her diamond engagement ring. Then, after twenty hours without food, she was put on a plane and shipped back to Stuttgart. "This isn't the America I fought for," said Hughes, who served in the Navy and U.S. diplomatic corps, "You don't expect that." What happened - in Beate’s own words:- I spent the night of 6th October 2003 in an American jail - Kennesaw Jail, almost one hour from Atlanta airport. I was handcuffed and treated as though I had committed a heinous crime. Alongside me were numerous males, all of whom had broken U.S. law, and one other woman, from El Salvador, with whom I shared my jail experience. The rage and defiance I felt / feel, coupled with exhaustion, absolute disappointment for not being to fly on to see Trevor and sheer disbelief regarding what was happening was the roller coaster I went on for two days . . . and still am. I left for Atlanta Oct. 6th. Before checking in at Stuttgart Airport, Germany, I was already told that despite having a valid b1/b2 visa and questioned as to the point of my trip (visiting my fiancé . . .) to what I am doing with my life (enrolled at a university in London on a distance learning course) that they should warn me the U.S. sees a visa as merely 'knocking on their door' and nothing more. I felt they were exaggerating a little and felt they probably thought that I wasn’t telling the truth as they gave me examples of people whom had been returned – most of whom had stated something different in their visa application than what they told immigration. After nine hours on Delta I stood in line in Atlanta – and was sent to 'immigration orange'. 'Immigration green' I had the privilege of enjoying for three hours on my last trip to the U.S. The six hours following that were rather phenomenal, and I held on to shreds of hope that I would not be deported. I was interrogated by a man who failed to make eye contact with me once, yelled questions across the entire office at me, went through my bag, read everything and took me apart . . . from my nationality, birth place, to where and why I studied in London to which church my parents attend . . . repeating to me over and over that I was failing to convince him that I was a permanent German resident. I answered everything truthfully, having nothing to hide. My crime in a nutshell, if there is a nutshell in this case, is being engaged to an American and 'never' living in Germany long enough to convince this one man that Germany is home. And so, it became clear that he was sending me 'home' (whatever that was, of course) I fail to know how really to convey the absolute fury and rage at his arrogant, rude, discriminating behavior. It took almost an hour to get all my fingerprints because they kept failing to do it correctly. He thought we had now reached a stage at which he could joke around with me. I resented this man so completely. By 11pm we were heading for jail. I was finally 'allowed' to make a phone call to Trevor and also Sue, his mum, and I was able to at least let some of the feeling from the last day out. All my belongings were taken, including all my jewelry and I was handcuffed and marched out with the other 'detainees' to the van. It was reiterated on several accounts that “these were just proceedings, I was not a criminal . . .” Somehow they seemed to think this would make it more acceptable to me. So we drove into the night, I looked out at rainy America, ‘land of the free’, through criss-crossed metal bars, wishing I was with my fiancé in Colorado Springs. Trying to comfort the woman next to me, who spoke almost no English, and being thankful that I did, we arrived at the jail almost one hour later. Crass ordering around, mugshots, receiving blankets and being put in our cells followed. We briefly acknowledged the other women in the jail there and I headed for my hard bunk bed. I thought about all the love and support I had in this and I tried to sleep. It was loud and light and toilets flushed all night, you could hear the men’s raucous voices. It was, to be sure, interesting to slip into this world and feel all the intense emotions I did, but knowing I would be free again tomorrow. Back in Europe tomorrow. I surprised myself that night, I was okay. The next morning - early - a loud “Killguss! Out of bed NOW” beckoned me into phase two of my 'detainee' experience. I was put back into a van and taken to the airport. I was stuck in solitary confinement with no belongings for over four hours. I finally bashed on the door and demanded to be told what I was doing in there, why I couldn’t sit at the front in the immigration office like the night before and demanded food after close to twenty hours of forced fasting . . . Someone finally let me out after being refused the first time. My plea to make phone calls earlier and let out of the cold white room, essentially a toilet, as that was the only thing keeping me company. Another six hours of waiting ensued. I escaped to the toilet with my mobile several times to make calls to Trev, got to know some South Africans with a similar story being deported. This was complete and utter injustice. The desire to ever return – regardless how long we had been banned from entering – was non-existent. We were all furious, resigned to our fate and yet telling ourselves that everything was going to be okay, and joking with each other about the absurdity of it all. I was finally ‘escorted’ half an hour prior to take-off. My passport was handed to a stewardess. I have never looked forward to a Delta flight more in my life. I was given three middle seats to sleep on; a row clearly held for the Germans returned every day. 
The same woman from the passport control in Germany met me. She was concerned
to hear my story and how I had been treated. I appreciated the time they
took to do so. She told me of similar cases. Of a wife that had
recently been returned, married to an American military man. Of a musician
who had been invited by several American orchestras and had a visa, but
was returned because he was questioned as to whether he would be earning
money. He was adamant that he had been invited and was doing this voluntarily,
but he was interrogated so long that he added he might receive gifts for
helping. He couldn’t say. That was considered reason enough to deport him.
The last four months have seen a wave of people returned to Stuttgart Airport. For almost two weeks there was a person on the flight back every day. I am tired. I was met by my aunt and uncle at the airport. I am happy to be home and clean again, to be in Europe, but very sad to be without Trevor. I know we can get through this and have been doing so. We have more dramatic changes ahead. I struggle to know how I will ever find the desire to return again at this point. Several government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security either didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment or refused to discuss Beate’s detention. MONEY - THE ULTIMATE WEAPON . . . WHAT product sells best? What product do you see advertised the most? It's MONEY, of course, in one form or another, whether as mortgages, loans, overdrafts, credit cards, or insurances. And for a very good reason . . . The ruling authorities have made sure that there is never enough money to go around everyone - thereby ensuring that the populations of the world are kept firmly under the control of those who have it. The scarcity, poverty, and deprivation in the world is therefore deliberately politically manufactured - and it need not be so. The fact is that there is no scarcity save that which has been deliberately engineered. There is enough money in the world to go around everyone. There are enough resources to house and shelter the world's populations. There is enough food produced worldwide to feed the peoples of this planet. Why, then, do these resources seem to be in such short supply? It is because the vast majority of all world's resources are in the pockets of just too few people. (And, it seems, the politicians are in their pockets too.) Those who have it know that money is their ultimate weapon, that they can beat people to death with it and not be indicted for murder. Money talks. Money corrupts and controls. Money enslaves.
|