Inquirer Editorial: No more excuses

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Inquirer Editorial: No more excuses

Cardinal Justin Rigali said Wednesday that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia understands “the gravity of child sexual abuse.” If so, there are a number of reforms the archdiocese should implement in the wake of the latest grand-jury report that alleges continued abuse of boys by priests and a cover-up by top church officials.

But history is not on the archdiocese’s side. That is why state lawmakers must pass measures that help victims and force reluctant church authorities to see the light.

There can be no more window dressing and half-steps by the archdiocese, designed to quiet the masses. That was clearly the case after a grand-jury report in 2005 accused the archdiocese of allowing hundreds of sexual assaults against children to go unpunished, while protecting dozens of priests.

Following that report, the archdiocese agreed to establish a review board to consider abuse allegations, hired outreach staffers to work with victims, and said that it would notify law enforcement whenever it received a substantial accusation of abuse by a priest.

Most seemed willing to give church officials a second chance.

But a new grand-jury report released last week shows that many of the reforms appear to have been designed to protect the church rather than victims. Worse, the cover-up continues and allegedly reaches to top diocesan officials.

The report found that dozens of priests remain in active ministry despite credible allegations against them. In some cases, the church’s review board ruled allegations unsubstantiated even when the evidence was convincing, including priests flunking lie-detector tests.

The grand jury also found that the church’s victim-assistance coordinators fed information from the victims back to church lawyers, which further undermined whatever credibility remains for the church concerning its handling of priest sex-abuse allegations.

The grand jury was correct in saying “nothing will change in the church until there is a will to change.” Toward that end, the grand jury put forth worthy recommendations that the archdiocese should implement. They include:

Victims assistance should be provided by an independent, nonprofit organization with no ties to the church.

The archdiocese’s review board should be overhauled to ensure that any credible allegations against priests result in appropriate corrective action. The current process is far from one of zero tolerance.

Cardinal Justin Rigali said Wednesday that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia understands “the gravity of child sexual abuse.” If so, there are a number of reforms the archdiocese should implement in the wake of the latest grand-jury report that alleges continued abuse of boys by priests and a cover-up by top church officials.

But history is not on the archdiocese’s side. That is why state lawmakers must pass measures that help victims and force reluctant church authorities to see the light.

There can be no more window dressing and half-steps by the archdiocese, designed to quiet the masses. That was clearly the case after a grand-jury report in 2005 accused the archdiocese of allowing hundreds of sexual assaults against children to go unpunished, while protecting dozens of priests.

Following that report, the archdiocese agreed to establish a review board to consider abuse allegations, hired outreach staffers to work with victims, and said that it would notify law enforcement whenever it received a substantial accusation of abuse by a priest.

Most seemed willing to give church officials a second chance.

But a new grand-jury report released last week shows that many of the reforms appear to have been designed to protect the church rather than victims. Worse, the cover-up continues and allegedly reaches to top diocesan officials.

The report found that dozens of priests remain in active ministry despite credible allegations against them. In some cases, the church’s review board ruled allegations unsubstantiated even when the evidence was convincing, including priests flunking lie-detector tests.

The grand jury also found that the church’s victim-assistance coordinators fed information from the victims back to church lawyers, which further undermined whatever credibility remains for the church concerning its handling of priest sex-abuse allegations.

The grand jury was correct in saying “nothing will change in the church until there is a will to change.” Toward that end, the grand jury put forth worthy recommendations that the archdiocese should implement. They include:

Victims assistance should be provided by an independent, nonprofit organization with no ties to the church.

The archdiocese’s review board should be overhauled to ensure that any credible allegations against priests result in appropriate corrective action. The current process is far from one of zero tolerance.

Cardinal Justin Rigali said Wednesday that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia understands “the gravity of child sexual abuse.” If so, there are a number of reforms the archdiocese should implement in the wake of the latest grand-jury report that alleges continued abuse of boys by priests and a cover-up by top church officials.

But history is not on the archdiocese’s side. That is why state lawmakers must pass measures that help victims and force reluctant church authorities to see the light.

There can be no more window dressing and half-steps by the archdiocese, designed to quiet the masses. That was clearly the case after a grand-jury report in 2005 accused the archdiocese of allowing hundreds of sexual assaults against children to go unpunished, while protecting dozens of priests.

Following that report, the archdiocese agreed to establish a review board to consider abuse allegations, hired outreach staffers to work with victims, and said that it would notify law enforcement whenever it received a substantial accusation of abuse by a priest.

Most seemed willing to give church officials a second chance.

But a new grand-jury report released last week shows that many of the reforms appear to have been designed to protect the church rather than victims. Worse, the cover-up continues and allegedly reaches to top diocesan officials.

The report found that dozens of priests remain in active ministry despite credible allegations against them. In some cases, the church’s review board ruled allegations unsubstantiated even when the evidence was convincing, including priests flunking lie-detector tests.

The grand jury also found that the church’s victim-assistance coordinators fed information from the victims back to church lawyers, which further undermined whatever credibility remains for the church concerning its handling of priest sex-abuse allegations.

The grand jury was correct in saying “nothing will change in the church until there is a will to change.” Toward that end, the grand jury put forth worthy recommendations that the archdiocese should implement. They include:

Victims assistance should be provided by an independent, nonprofit organization with no ties to the church.

The archdiocese’s review board should be overhauled to ensure that any credible allegations against priests result in appropriate corrective action. The current process is far from one of zero tolerance.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-17/news/28549867_1_grand-jury-report-abuse-allegations-sexual-abuse Read more at reform-network.net

 

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ABSOLUTE MUST READ…Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Vows of Silence

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ABSOLUTE MUST READ…Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Vows of Silence

What will it take for Roman Catholic Church leaders to finally stand up and openly and honestly confront the priest sex-abuse scandal that continues to eat away at the very institution its leaders are trying to protect?

Do more priests have to be taken away in handcuffs? Does a cardinal or two have to get indicted? Will a judge have to hold the Vatican liable?

How many more boys have to get abused and turn to drugs and alcohol to ease their pain and suffering? Or commit suicide? Does already-lagging church attendance have to plummet even further? Do collection plates have to return to the altar empty?

Given the details in a grand jury report released last week involving the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, it seems clear church leaders are still trying to contain and cover up the scandal.

The grand jury indicted a former top aide to retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua for allegedly enabling a cover-up of priests accused of abusing boys. Bevilacqua, 87, wasn’t charged, but the grand jury concluded he was “closely involved” in decisions surrounding the problem priests and “personally authorized many of them.”

Msgr. William Lynn, who handled priest personnel issues, including abuse cases, from 1992 to 2004, was accused of turning a blind eye to the abuse. He is believed to be the highest church official criminally charged in the sexual-abuse scandal, which has rocked the church for more than a decade. Two other priests, a former priest, and a lay teacher were also charged with assaulting two young boys.

The Rev. Charles F. Engelhardt, 64, allegedly orally sodomized a 10-year-old altar boy in the sacristy of St. Jerome’s Church in 1998. Engelhardt told the Rev. Edward Avery about the assault. Avery, 68, who is now defrocked, then allegedly assaulted the boy, as allegedly did the boy’s sixth-grade teacher, Bernard G. Shero, 48.

The criminal acts allegedly commited by the priests and teacher are disgusting enough, but then there’s the response of church leaders, whose essential role was to deny, fight, and ignore the claims. Even more disturbing, the grand jury report comes less than six years after a similar panel excoriated the archdiocese for protecting problem priests.

After the earlier report, the church announced steps to be more responsive to victims and get rid of abusive priests. But the new grand jury says “much has not changed.” Indeed, it said dozens of priests accused of abuse remained active in church ministry. The archdiocese denies that.

The report did praise the church for sometimes paying for victims’ counseling and reporting abusers to law enforcement, which was never done before. But the grand jury also accused the church’s so-called victim-assistance coordinators of feeding information about abuse victims to church attorneys.

Victims were also pressured to turn over records from therapists and other sources, which later could be used against them. While victims were “hounded” to give statements, accused abusers received “kid-glove treatment.”

“The procedures implemented by the archdiocese to help victims are in fact designed to help the abusers, and the archdiocese itself,” the grand jury found.

Until church leaders take full responsibility for the sexual crimes and cover-up, there will be more grand jury reports, more arrests, more scandal, more legal fees, and, worst of all, more victims.

Heaven help them.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-14/news/28534174_1_abusive-priests-grand-jury-abuse-cases Read more at reform-network.net

 

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The Bad Guys and the Good Guys

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The Bad Guys and the Good Guys

What we have here is an old-boys network, with all of its sins and shortcomings. Instead of merit and the public good, they trade in favors underneath a transparent layer of devotion to “values.”

By Marci A. Hamilton, February 17, 2011

If you have not read the 2011 Grand Jury Report on child sex abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese yet, and you happen to care about children, you need to sit down and read it right now: Report of the Grand Jury.

This bare-knuckles Report documents the Archdiocese’s continuing victimization of children sexually abused by priests. Just read the “Overview” and you will see what I mean. There is one bad guy after another, and so much tragedy in the lives of the victims.

At the end, the Report urges Pennsylvania to pass legislation to eliminate the civil statute of limitations for two years so that all victims have a chance to come forward, even if the statute of limitations expired at one point. It is called “window” legislation, and was already enacted in California and Delaware. ANew York Times editorial on Tuesday endorsed both the Report and the recommendation that States enact legislation to open the courthouse doors to child sex abuse victims.

(Update: A Philadelphia Inquirereditorial endorses similar legislation.)

At first, I thought I would write today about how such legislation typically has no chance, because the Catholic bishops pay their lobbyists the big bucks to kill such bills. Like vampires fear garlic, bishops live in terror of the truth that would flow from the untethered victims. But I changed my mind.

Everyone knows or should know by now that the bishops are not the good guys when it comes to child sex abuse. But there are some other bad guys that need to be identified.

Here are the really bad guys: state legislators sitting on their hands while victims suffer, and pedophiles have free rein.

Let’s get more specific. Whose fault is it that the New York Senate has never passed window legislation even though the General Assembly has three times? Let’s see, it would be the water-carriers for the bishops, Assemblyman Vito Lopez (now under investigation for corrupt practices) and former Senator Joseph Bruno (convicted for corrupt practices). Lopez trotted around with the bishops’ substitute bill that was supposed to be more “fair” to the Church but which, in fact, cut out the vast majority of victims. Bruno simply blocked the bill from entering the Senate when he was Majority Leader. Last year, a window bill did make it to a Senate committee. It had a chance, but two Senators who had supported it ultimately caved, Senator Shirley Huntley and now-retired Senator Dale Volker. Definitely bad guys.

Then there are the Republican lawmakers who hate trial lawyers and love anything religious (because they are more interested in public appearance and power than doing the right thing—ring a bell?). Child sex abuse victims are just the collateral damage flowing from their “principled” positions.

Just as in Philadelphia, children in New York City—as I write this—are being sexually abused by perpetrators whose previous crimes are protected by an expired statute of limitations. They are in homes, schools, and churches. Who is responsible for keeping the New York child rapists in business? The New York Senate, which has the simplest of remedies at hand, but so far lacks the guts to tell the Catholic Conference’s high-paid lobbyist that this time she loses.

The line of cowardly legislators who obey like slobbering dogs when the Catholic Conference sweeps into the room, regardless of the issue, could span the country at this point (yes, I’m exaggerating, but it is a long line): Colorado lawmakers, Ohio lawmakers, Connecticut lawmakers, Pennsylvania lawmakers. In each of these states, powerful lawmakers knowingly and willingly have furthered the cover-up of predators by refusing to change the laws that muzzle victims.

What we have here is an old-boys network, with all of its sins and shortcomings. Instead of merit and the public good, they trade in favors underneath a transparent layer of devotion to “values.”

There are some good “guys,” too. Representative Maile Shimabukuro has been shepherding window legislation through the Hawaii legislature. The Hawaii Catholic Conference objected last week, but was rebuffed! Then there are Delaware Senator Karen Peterson, who is Catholic, and Representative Deborah Hudson, who succeeded in getting the window passed there, despite the Catholic Conference. And the never-say-die Assemblywoman Marge Markey in New York, who is a Catholic, and will never give up on the issue. And there are a number of other legislators around the country who have introduced window legislation, and will introduce it again, including in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Do you want to know whether your parochial school teacher is a pedophile, or your neighbor, or your cousin? The only ones who know for sure are the victims they already destroyed, and the vast majority of them are standing outside a locked courthouse. Your elected representatives hold the key.

Marci A. Hamilton is the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University and author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge, 2008) and God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge, 2005, 2007).

Hamilton’s column, “God vs. Gavel,” is published every Thursday. Subscribe viaemail or RSS. Read more at reform-network.net

 

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A Priests Story on Location by Richard Bennett

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Potatoes to be kept in 'doomsday' vault

LIMA, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Farmers in Peru say they've sent 1,500 varieties of potatoes to a "doomsday" seed vault in the Arctic Circle to safeguard the future of the crop.

The samples will be kept in a vault inside a mountain designed to protect world food crop species against natural and human disasters, the BBC reported Friday.

Potatoes are considered the world's most important non-cereal crop, but scientists say some native species in Peru are at risk.

"Peruvian potato culture is under threat," said Alejandro Argumedo, a plant scientist involved in the project. "The work we begin today will guarantee the availability of our incredible potato diversity for future generations."

The samples are being sent to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault by the Cusco Potato Park, set up by six indigenous communities to protect biodiversity and protect food security in the region.

The park faces an uncertain future because climate change could undermine the farmers' weather-dependent agricultural systems, scientists say.

"Climate change will mean that traditional methods of maintaining this collection can no longer provide absolute guarantees," said Lino Mamani, head of the indigenous collective.

"Sending seeds to the [vault] will help us to provide a valuable backup collection -- the vault was built for the global community and we are going to use it," he said.

Related Stories Volunteers go after air potatoes Scientists close in on plant enemy No greater antioxidants in organics Wild seeds seen as world crop 'insurance' Read more at www.upi.com

 

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Returning National Guard Troops Set To Smash Wisconsin Protest?

300 soldiers head back to state fresh from Iraq after Gov. Walker put Guard on alert last week to prepare for strikes

Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Friday, February 18, 2011

Coincidence or not, the fact that hundreds of National Guard troops are returning to Wisconsin today fresh from battling insurgents in Iraq is sure to alarm union protesters who labeled Governor Scott Walker’s move to put the Guard on alert last week a “threat” designed to intimidate demonstrators who are currently massed around the Capitol in Madison.

In case of a widespread walkout in response to his “budget repair bill,” Walker told reporters last week that he would use National Guard troops to be “prepared…for whatever the governor, their commander-in-chief, might call for. … I am fully prepared for whatever may happen.”

Ostensibly, Walker’s announcement was a signal that he is prepared to replace state workers with National Guard troops, deploying them for example as prison guards. However, protesters cried foul, claiming that Walker was invoking the Guard as an intimidation tactic to suppress dissent.

“Hundreds of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers return to the state Friday,” reports the Wausau Daily Herald.

“About 300 soldiers from the 724th Engineer Battalion will be back at Volk Field where they will be met by senior National Guard officials and family members. A brief ceremony will be held before the soldiers are taken to nearby Fort McCoy to begin about five days of demobilization before their release.”

The unit comprises roughly half of Wisconsin’s National Guard soldiers that are currently on active duty. They return fresh from Iraq after having been on missions to remove roadside bombs placed by insurgents.

They may now face a different type of insurgency, one led by state workers who are furious that their pension and health care contributions are set to double to fill a $3.6 billion budget deficit black hole, while two-thirds of corporations in the state pay no taxes whatsoever according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

The sight of fully uniformed National Guard soldiers policing angry Americans could see a repeat of the scenes witnessed in Cairo over the last few weeks. Indeed, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R) is already drawing similar comparisons.

Ryan expressed his opposition to the demands of the protesters, pointing out that even after Walker’s bill is passed, state sector workers would still pay far less in pension and health contributions that private sector workers, but noted that the level of fury surrounding the legislation meant that Walker was now facing, “Riots — it’s like Cairo has moved to Madison these days.”

Making reference to Walker’s threat to bring in the National Guard, liberal activist and author Noam Chomsky told Democracy Now that what happened in Egypt was “the beginning of what we need here – democracy uprising.”

Some have even expressed fears that the Guard could be used to break the strikes at the point of a gun. Such a move would not be without historical precedent.

“The last time Wisconsin called in the National Guard was in 1886. The Guard, then called the State Militia were brought in to break a rally of Milwaukee workers advocating an 8-hour work day. The militia fired into a crowd of unarmed picketers; it’s estimated that 5 to 7 workers were killed,” reports the Huffington Post.

“Maybe the new governor doesn’t understand yet – but the National Guard is not his own personal intimidation force to be mobilized to quash political dissent,” said Robin Eckstein, a former Wisconsin National Guard member, Iraq War Veteran from Appleton, WI, and member of VoteVets.org. “The Guard is to be used in case of true emergencies and disasters, to help the people of Wisconsin, not to bully political opponents.”

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show. Read more at www.prisonplanet.com

 

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White House Science Advisor: Climate Change Skeptics Are ‘Heretics’

Chris Neefus CNS News Friday, February 18, 2011

(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s top science advisor, Dr. John Holdren, told a congressman asking about climate change skeptics that climate change is accepted science and that “there are always heretics” in the scientific community.

“This is not the view of a few isolated scientists, this is the overwhelming view of scientists who study this matter around the world,” Holdren said, adding,  “There are always skeptics, there are always heretics. That’s in the nature of science.

Holdren, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, appeared before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to discuss the president’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget request for research and development.

Holdren’s comments were to Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the committee chairman who, referring to the spending levels for climate-change research, asked Holdren why the American taxpayer should put much stock in Holdren’s predictions of climate-related catastrophe, considering that he has been incorrect in the past.

The top scientist responded that the administration’s position on global climate change is in the “mainstream.”

“Every major national academy of sciences in the world, and virtually all of the major professional societies that deal with the relevant disciplines have issued statements saying that the evidence for climate change outside the realm of natural variability is overwhelming, that we have very strong reason to believe that human activity is responsible for a large part of this change, that harm is already occurring from these changes and that the harm will grow unless and until we stabilize and begin to reduce our emissions,” Holdren said.

But Holdren also compared global warming skeptics to those who disparage the link between smoking and lung cancer.

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New bill strips president’s power to shut off Internet

Sahil Kapur Raw Story Friday, February 18, 2011

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan trio of senators has introduced a new cybersecurity bill that eliminates the president’s authority to switch off the Internet.

The “kill switch,” as it’s known, exists in the 1934 Telecommunications Act, which was amended in 1996. It gives the president powers to shut off all regulated telecommunications if he or she deems it vital to national security interests.

But that’s not going to fly any more, say Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

The three senators on Thursday introduced The Cybersecurity Freedom Act of 2011, which would take away the president’s power to shut off the Internet.

The measure states that “neither the president, the director of the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, nor any other officer or employee of the federal government should have the authority to shut down the Internet.”

Lieberman said part of the purpose was to clear up controversy surrounding cybersecurity legislation he introduced last year, which was mistakenly thought to have created a kill switch but merely limited the president’s ability to use the feature.

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Horse semen on the menu at New Zealand food festival

Long renowned for pioneering extreme sports such as bungee-jumping and heli-skiing, New Zealanders are now pushing culinary boundaries by serving up shots of horse semen to iron-stomached food lovers.

The equine delicacy will be on the menu at the annual Wildfoods Festival in the South Island town of Hokitika next month, along with other gastronomic delights such as raw scorpions, chocolate-covered beetles and deep-fried grubs. "The idea is you'll have as much zizz as a stallion for a week afterwards," Christchurch racehorse breeder Lindsay Kerslake, who came up with the semen surprise, told Fairfax Media. He said the shots being sold at this year's festival on March 12 would taste like a milkshake and be washed down with an energy drink chaser. Organiser Mike Keenan said he expected many festival patrons would sample the shots as a dare, and he was prepared to put his own stomach on the line. "Yeah, I'll give it a go," he told Agence France-Presse. Keenan said the festival began 22 years ago as a way of allowing city slickers to "get out of their comfort zone" and sample bush tucker. While much of the fare such as venison and wild boar is relatively unchallenging for mainstream tastes, Keenan said organisers liked to spice up the menu with more unusual offerings. In the past, these have included rams' testicles and bulls' penises, although Keenan admitted Kerslake may have set a new benchmark.

"He thought these flavoured horse semen shots would be something different," Keenan said. "He's working on a number of flavours, from vanilla, right through to strawberry and chocolate." - AFP Read more at www.mg.co.za

 

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Lancaster prison guard charged with selling cocaine

The Associated Press

LANCASTER, Pa.—A corrections officer in central Pennsylvania has been charged with selling drugs. State police say 42-year-old Douglas Brosey of Mountville sold cocaine to a confidential informant for $750. Brosey, a Lancaster County prison guard, was arrested after the alleged sale on Sunday. He is charged with possession and delivery of a controlled substance. Prison Deputy Warden Donald Raiger told the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era on Thursday that Brosey has been fired as a result of the charges. Raiger says Brosey had worked at the prison since 2008. Brosey did not immediately return a call for comment. ——— Information from: Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era , http://lancasteronline.com Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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DHS Anti-Child Pornography Operation Accidentally Shuts Down 84,000 Sites

Editors Note: This is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE! The Department of Homeland Security is a rogue government agency that believes it operates above the Constitution. We CANNOT let this continue.

Every single owner of the 84,000 sites that were shut down should file a lawsuit immediately. DHS MUST be help accountable for their actions or our republic will be lost forever.

The Huffington Post By Amy Lee February 17th, 2011

In an effort to crack down on child pornography, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of 10 domains as a part of a new initiative called “Operation Protect Our Children” but they also shut down 84,000 seemingly innocent sites in the process.

“For all its positive impact, the Internet has also unfortunately created a new way for child predators to commit their inexcusable crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the DOJ in a statement. “The production and distribution of child pornography wreak havoc on innocent lives. With these domain seizures, we are taking our fight against child pornography to websites that facilitate the exchange of these abusive images.”

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Massacre in Bahrain: Hospitals FULL, Doctor Urges World To Help! FBI Translator Submitted Report Entitled “Kamikaze Pilots” to Bureau 5 Months Before 9/11 The Real Choice: Individual Liberty -vs- Government Control Ray McGovern Bloodied and Arrested at Clinton Speech Possible Mexican Military Incursion On U.S. Soil The Problem With Transnationals And What To Do About It San Diego Port Officer Says Nukes Have Been Found In An American Port Freedom Action Network: The Future of the Light Bulb Ban – Police State Read more at theintelhub.com

 

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House Passes Amendment to Block Net Neutrality Funds

Juliana Gruenwald National Journal February 18, 2011

The House passed an amendment Thursday that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from using any funding to implement the network-neutrality order it approved in December.

The amendment, approved on a 244-181 vote, was offered by Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., to legislation that would fund government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2011.

Walden and other critics of the FCC’s net-neutrality order argue it will stifle innovation and investment in broadband. The order aims to bar broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, services, or applications.

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FBI Calls for Backdoor to Snoop Web

Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com February 18, 2011

The FBI is once again calling for the internet to be converted into a Stasi-like spy grid. “Web-based e-mail, social-networking and peer-to-peer services are frustrating law enforcement wiretapping efforts, a lawyer for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation told lawmakers Thursday,” reports PCWorld.

The Obama administration will attempt to bribe, coerce, or intimidate web-based services not covered by traditional wiretap laws into helping the government turn the medium into a sprawling high-tech surveillance platform.

Valerie Caproni, general counsel at the FBI, reminded the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, does not cover the internet. CALEA requires traditional telecom carriers to allow law enforcement agencies real-time access to communications.

Instead of forcing ISPs to adopt CALEA, the government will attempt to convince communication providers to build in so-called back doors allowing law enforcement access to their software. Caproni said she’s optimistic the U.S. government can find “incentives” for companies to “have intercept solutions engineered into their systems.”

“We are not looking for any new authority,” she said. “We are concerned we are losing ground in actually being able to gather the information we are authorized to have.”

Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, said in a statement that the FBI plan “will actually change the structure of the Internet, providing the government with a master key to our online communications.”

Caproni said the FBI is concerned about the internet being used for criminal activity. “That criminal may be a massive drug dealer, they may be an arms trafficker, they may be a child pornographer or a child molester,” she said. “We need the actual ability to conduct the wiretaps so we can keep the streets safe.”

The FBI has a long history of using its authority to monitor and harass political activists. A report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation reveals that since 9/11, the FBI has been responsible for at least 40,000 violations of the law. It has functioned primarily since its inception in the early 1900s as a political police force tasked with going after political activists of all stripes.

“In many cases, many of those now under surveillance by the FBI are ordinary American citizens doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment right to free speech by criticizing the government,” writes constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead.

Ms. Caproni has sheepishly admitted that the internet continues to stump the FBI and the government. It has allowed activists to coordinate and announce their protest activities. It also represents the greatest single threat to the ruling elite and the government because it allows unfettered dissemination of alternative news that is not reported by the corporate Mockingbird media.

Caproni told the House committee the FBI would have recommendations for Congress soon. Representative Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, said Congress is ready to oblige. “What are you seeking here today?” he asked. “What is it exactly that you would want Congress to do?”

The FBI wants Congress to turn the internet into the largest and most efficient Stasi snoop grid in history. It wants a legal fig leaf to cover its effort to neutralize the opposition through surveillance and ultimately harassment, intimidation, and in the case of the Black Panthers and American Indian Movement activists in the 1960s and 70s, assassination. Read more at www.infowars.com

 

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Kids who skip school are tracked by GPS

Eric Carpenter OC Register February 18, 2011

ANAHEIM – Frustrated by students habitually skipping class, police and school officials in Anaheim are turning to GPS tracking to ensure they come to class.

The Anaheim Union High School District is the first in California to test Global Positioning System technology as part of a six-week pilot program that began last week, officials said.

Seventh- and eighth-graders with four unexcused absences or more this school year are assigned to carry a handheld GPS device, about the size of a cell phone.

Each morning on schooldays, they get an automated phone call reminding them that they need to get to school on time.

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