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9/11 Intel Bill Expands Powers of Patriot Act and "Politicizes
Intelligence"
Ralph Nader on the Ohio Recount, Bush's Cabinet Reshuffle
and the White House "Lowballing" of U.S. Casualties
in Iraq
Pinochet Indicted on Charges of Murder and Kidnapping
9/11 Intel Bill Expands Powers of Patriot Act and
"Politicizes Intelligence"
The intelligence reform bill passed by Congress includes
little-discussed provisions that would greatly expand the
government's policing power and centralizes the intelligence
community's surveillance powers which civil liberties advocates
say increases the likelihood for government abuses. We speak
with Robert Dreyfuss of Mother Jones and Timothy Edgar of
the ACLU. [includes rush
transcript]
In the weeks following President Bush's reelection, the White
House lobbied hard to push through a sweeping bill to reform
to the country's intelligence community. The legislation won
congressional approval last week and is expected to be signed
by the President within days.
The 9/11 intelligence bill, which creates a national intelligence
director that will be in charge of the budgets of the country's
15 spy agencies, is being touted as the biggest overhaul of
the country's intelligence community in half a century. Key
House Republicans held up the legislation until a compromise
was reached that ensured the Pentagon retained control of
much its own intelligence operations including the National
Security Agency which is the country's largest intelligence
unit.
Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, one of only two Senators
to vote against the measure, chastised his colleagues for
voting before reading the final version of the massive bill
and said "no legislation alone can forestall a terrorist
attack."
After the bill was approved, reports emerged that it included
a number of little-noticed provisions that would greatly expand
the government's policing power and in effect broaden the
USA Patriot Act. The Washington Post reports that the new
intelligence bill loosens standards for FBI surveillance warrants
and allows the Justice Department to more easily detain people
without bail. The bill will allow the FBI to obtain secret
surveillance and search warrants of individuals even if the
individual has no connection with a foreign government or
established terrorist group.
- Robert Dreyfuss, investigative reporter and contributing
editor at Mother Jones, the Nation and American Prospect.
He is the author of The
Dreyfuss Report - a new blog on TomPaine.com.
Ralph Nader on the Ohio Recount, Bush's Cabinet Reshuffle
and the White House "Lowballing" of U.S. Casualties
in Iraq
As the Ohio delegation to the Electoral College cast its
votes for President Bush despite calls for a review of voting
irregularities, we speak with independent presidential candidate
Ralph Nader about the Ohio recount, the future of the Democratic
Party, the reshuffling of Bush's cabinet, the occupation of
Iraq and much more.
The Ohio delegation to the Electoral College cast its votes
for President Bush on Monday, but not before a coalition of
groups asked the state Supreme Court to review the outcome
of the state's presidential race.
The challengers, led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, cited widespread
allegations of voting irregularities, voter suppression and
fraud in Ohio on Nov. 2nd and questioned whether President
Bush won the key swing state by 119,000 votes as certified
by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell last week.
The court did not act on the request before the ballots were
cast yesterday and the 20 GOP electors voted unanimously for
Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. If the court decides
to hear the challenge, it can declare a new winner or throw
out the results.
Third party candidates, David Cobb of the Green Party and
Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party are paying for recounts
in each of Ohio's 88 counties that will begin this week.
Blackwell spoke to reporters inside the Ohio statehouse yesterday
about the recount.
- Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of state speaking to
reporters, December 13, 2004.
Independent candidate Ralph Nader was ready to initiate a
recount in Ohio in the days following the election but could
not, since only candidates appearing on the Ohio ballot have
legal standing to do so. Nader was blocked from appearing
on the ballot in Ohio by Democratic Party efforts. Nader did
successfully seek a recount in New Hampshire in precincts
where Diebold voting machines were used.
- Ralph Nader,
2004 independent presidential candidate. His new book is
called "The Good Fight : Declare Your Independence
and Close the Democracy Gap by Ralph Nader."
Pinochet Indicted on Charges of Murder and Kidnapping
Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet was placed
under house arrest on human rights charges after a judge in
Santiago ruled he was mentally fit to stand trial for the
abuses committed during his brutal 17-year regime. We speak
with Chilean-American professor Ariel Dorfman of Duke University.
Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet was placed
under house arrest on human rights charges after a judge in
Santiago ruled he was mentally fit to stand trial for the
abuses committed during his brutal 17-year regime.
The former military ruler was indicted over the disappearance
of nine opposition activists and the killing of one of them.
Judge Juan Guzman declared Pinochet mentally fit to stand
trial after studying a television interview he gave to a Miami
channel in November 2003.
Pinochet's lawyers appealed against the charges and against
the house arrest order. One of his attorney's said, "This
is no more than a new episode of the most relentless persecution
this country has ever seen against one person."
Pinochet faces hundreds of charges from families of people
killed during his regime which came to power in a bloody CIA
backed military coup in 1973. Pinochet oversaw the killing
of at least 3,000 Chileans during a brutal 17-year military
reign. More than 30,000 Chileans have testified that they
were tortured or detained by the military government.
The ruling is the latest development in an ongoing investigation
into Operation Condor - an intelligence-sharing network of
South American dictators who helped each other hunt down and
eliminate dissidents in the Seventies and Eighties.
It marked the second time the former dictator has faced trial
for abuses carried out during his regime. In 2001, he was
indicted for the so-called Caravan of Death - a mobile death
squad responsible for the executions of 75 political prisoners.
However, he narrowly escaped facing charges after a Supreme
Court ruled later that he was physically and mentally unfit
to stand trial.
But Judge Guzman declared him competent to face charges,
sparking celebration by human rights groups across Chile.
Pinochet is also being investigated for tax evasion or corruption
after revelations this year that he had millions of dollars
hidden in secret off-shore bank accounts.
- Ariel Dorfman, Chilean-American professor of Literature
and Latin American Studies at Duke University. He is the
author of numerous books, He is the author of "Exorcising
Terror: The Incredible Unending Trial of Gen. Augusto Pinochet"
and a new book of essays "Other Septembers, Many Americas:
Selected Provocations, 1980-2004." He was on the staff
of Chilean President Salvador Allende the day he was removed
from office Sept. 11, 1973.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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