Category Archives: Arbitrary executive powers

D Is for a Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 9. May 2019 by

“When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; a culture-death is a clear possibility.” — Professor Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Read more . . .

Extra-judicial assassinations by the Obama Administration

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 1. October 2011 by

Killings Pose Legal and Moral QuandaryBy EVAN PEREZ And KEITH JOHNSONWall Street Journal    October 1, 2011http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203405504576603313410902934.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENewsIntl Federal investigators needed a judge’s permission to wiretap Anwar al-Awlaki, an American who became a leader in Yemen’s al Qaeda affiliate. But to kill … Read more . . .

Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 18. January 2009 by

Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly in Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009 Sources: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse website, December 7, 2007 Title: “In FISA Speech, Whitehouse Sharply Criticizes Bush Administration’s Assertion of Executive Power” Author: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse The Guardian, … Read more . . .

Feds give customs agents free hand to seize travelers’ documents

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 25. September 2008 by

Feds give customs agents free hand to seize travelers’ documents Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, September 24, 2008 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/23/BA9P133LEA.DTL The Bush administration has overturned a 22-year-old policy and now allows customs agents to seize, read and copy … Read more . . .

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive May 2007

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 11. October 2007 by

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51 HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20 Subject: National Continuity Policy Purpose (1) This directive establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal Government structures and operations and … Read more . . .

Germany Wants to Use Spying Software for Private Computers

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 11. October 2007 by

Germany Wants to Use Spying Software for Private Computers http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2757168,00.html?maca=en-bulletin-433-html Deutsche Welle, 29 August 2007 According to two German daily newspapers, Germany's interior ministry plans police-controlled spying of private computers to combat terrorism. Keyboard movements and password entry could also … Read more . . .

Bush signs bill authorizing torture of detainees

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 17. October 2006 by
"It allows the government to seize individuals on American soil and detain them indefinitely with no opportunity to challenge their detention in court," Senator Russ Feingold said. "And the new law would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and even allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death."
Read more . . .

Blair’s Big Brother Legacy

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 13. July 2006 by
In the guise of fighting terrorism and maintaining public order, Tony Blair’s government has quietly and systematically taken power from Parliament and from the British people. The author charts a nine-year assault on civil liberties that reveals the danger of trading freedom for security?and must have Churchill spinning in his grave
Read more . . .

Bush White House embraces assassination

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 10. December 2005 by

Bush White House embraces assassination By Bill Vann 3 October 2002 http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/oct2002/bush-o03.shtmlWorld Socialist Web Site  “The Bush administration represents the coming to power of a criminal element in the American ruling class … in its political methods, social base and … Read more . . .

Alabama legislature wishes to allow assassinations of foreign individuals

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 10. December 2005 by

42744-1:N:09/18/2001:MCS/ap LRS2001-16904 HJR156 By Representatives Hooper, Venable, Carns, Gaston, McMillan, McKee, Hubbard, Allen, McClurkin, Haney, Sanderson, Gipson, Oden, Hill, Morrison, Turner, Seibenhener, Bridges, Willis, Johnson, Carothers, White, Ford (C), Barton, Beason, Clouse, Greene, McDaniel, Millican, Sanderford, Thomas (E) and Warren … Read more . . .

U.S. policy on assassinations

Aldeilis (EN) Posted on 10. December 2005 by

U.S. policy on assassinations (CNN) — In 1976, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905 to clarify U.S. foreign intelligence activities. The order was enacted in response to the post-Watergate revelations that the CIA had staged multiple attempts on the life … Read more . . .