Tax dollars to fund study on restricting public data The federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million to do research aimed at rolling back the amount of sensitive data available to the press and public through freedom-of-information requests.
Tax dollars to fund study on restricting public data
USA Today/Richard Willing | July 7 2006
The federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million to do research aimed at rolling back the amount of sensitive data available to the press and public through freedom-of-information requests.
Beginning this month, St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio will analyze recent state laws that place previously available information, such as site plans of power plants, beyond the reach of public inquiries.
Jeffrey Addicott, a professor at the law school, said he will use that research to produce a national "model statute" that state legislatures and Congress could adopt to ensure that potentially dangerous information "stays out of the hands of the bad guys."
"There's the public's right to know, but how much?" said Addicott, a former legal adviser in the Army's Special Forces.
"There's a strong feeling that the law needs to balance that with the need to protect the well-being of the nation. ... There's too much stuff that's easy to get that shouldn't be," he said.
The federal Freedom of Information Act, which became law 40 years ago this week, has long been a source of tension between the government and the public and news media.
Critics say the research plan overstates the need for secrecy and is likely to give state and federal governments too much discretion to withhold material. "Restricting information (for) security and efficiency and comfort level, that's the good story," says Paul McMasters, a specialist in public information law at the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va. "The bad story is that it can also be a great instrument of control. ... To automatically believe that the less known the better is really not rational."
Congress added the grant to this year's Defense Department budget. It is being administered through the Air Force Research Laboratory, Addicott said. The laboratory in Rome, N.Y., specializes in information technology, according to its website.
The Freedom of Information Act was signed July 4, 1966. All 50 states and the federal government have "sunshine laws" that allow reporters and citizens access to many government meetings and to government records through freedom-of-information requests.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT:Signed documents by President Johnson (.pdf files)
In the past four years, Congress, the District of Columbia and 41 of the 50 states have moved to close some meetings and restrict records for fear of making information available to terrorists, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Va.
Under a 2002 law, for instance, information submitted to the federal government by private industry that concerns "critical infrastructure programs" is exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests or use in lawsuits.
Since 2004, Virginia has withheld terrorism response plans, as well as engineering and architectural drawings of government buildings that are deemed to be possible terrorist targets. Since 2004, Ohio has required formal requests and fees to access formerly open birth and death records.
Addicott says the various state plans should "take a more uniform approach" so that neighboring states and the federal government are "on the same page."
In 2003, he said, a simulated cyberattack on San Antonio's water and government information systems showed that computer security data that was protected under federal law could have been accessed by terrorists under Texas legislation.
Lucy Dalglish, director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, says the research program is in keeping with a recent federal trend to use "homeland security" as an excuse to restrict unrelated material.
"Decisions (on requests for public information) are being handled in progressively less friendly ways," she said.
Addicott said he knows of no cases in this country in which public records or a public meeting were used for a terrorist act. In 2002, a hacker in Australia breached the data control system of a water treatment plant and caused 260,000 gallons of sewage to be discharged.
"We're leaning forward in the saddle (and) thinking about this before it happens," he said.
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Texas Training Pamphlet: 'Nice Guys' Who Wear Levis & Travel With Children Likely Terrorists - Says people who use cellphones and e mail should be under suspicion
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.tv | April 27 2006
A Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Law Enforcement pamphlet gives the public characteristics to identify terrorists that include buying baby formula, beer, wearing Levi jeans, carrying identifying documents like a drivers license and traveling with women or children.
View Entire Pamphlet: Page 1 | Page 2
This latest assault on common sense arrives on the back of a Virginia training manual used to help state employees recognize terrorists that listed anti-government and property rights activists as terrorists and includes binoculars, video cameras, pads and notebooks in a compendium of terrorist tools.
Shortly after 9/11 a Phoenix FBI manual that was disseminated amongst federal employees at the end of the Clinton term caused waves on the Internet after it was revealed that potential terrorists included, "defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN, " and individuals who "make numerous references to the US Constitution." Lawyers everywhere cowered in fear at being shipped off to Gitmo.
If you live in Texas and you use a mobile phone, the Internet or text messaging then you could come under the scrutiny of a cadre of informants trained to identify terrorists based on those very precepts.
Why are the definitions so vague?
Because law enforcement personnel across the country have been trained to treat absolutely anything as suspicious in order to foster a return to a society not unlike the East German Stasi, where one in fifty citizens was an informant for the state.
In Alex Jones' film 9/11: The Road to Tyranny, FEMA officials give instructional classes in which they label George Washington and the founding fathers as terrorists because they killed British colonizers.
Previous manuals of this nature highlighted any political activity as potential terrorism. This creates a climate of fear and discourages people from exercising their freedoms or becoming involved in local government affairs.
This manual goes a step further in identifying behavior endemic to any typical American family as potential terrorism.
In essence it defines the characteristics of being "normal," "nice," and wearing normal clothes and behaving in a completely normal manner ("fitting in") as benchmarks of a suspected Al-Qaeda member.
These descriptions seemingly only protect by omission a nervous suicide bomber casing a shopping mall. Everybody else in the mall behaving normally could be terrorists but the sweating, paranoid, evasive mass killer is completely above suspicion according to this preposterous manual.
In December 2003 the FBI warned Americans nationwide to be on the lookout for people reading Almanacs as this could indicate an act of terrorism in planning. Almanacs are popular glove box inventory of any vehicle and this ludicrous fearmongering was met with a raucous response from satirists and news commentators.
This manual is an unnecessary piece of anti-American trash and it should be removed from circulation immediately. Politely email the Texas Department of Public Safety and suggest this be done forthwith.
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"Public Servants" Going After "Constitutional Terrorists"?
by Angel Shamaya November 14, 2001
Original Link: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp
?cmd=view&articleid=2126
Public Servants" Going After "Constitutional Terrorists"?
by Angel Shamaya
November 14, 2001
KeepAndBearArms.com -- The Phoenix Federal Bureau of Investigation created a flyer some time back during Clinton's Presidency, asking the recipients to help them fight domestic terrorism. I received one of these flyers this past weekend at the Arizona "Freedom in the 21st Century" gathering. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (Greater Phoenix, Arizona) and the Maricopa County Attorney were placed on the flyer, as well -- before they saw the actual wording of the flyer -- in an effort by the FBI to "work jointly with local law enforcement."
Called the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the program was created, presumably, to help preserve the American way of life. This flyer was created -- by the feds -- to disseminate information about who the bad guys might be. However, its wording made it look like a disinformation campaign to paint at least a few groups of Real Americans as domestic terrorists. Among other things, the FBI was asking people:
"If you encounter any of the following, Call the Joint Terrorism Task Force":
"defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN"
[That describes many civil liberties groups and most gun rights and American Sovereignty groups in existence -- and, by extension, their members.]
"Groups of individuals engaging in para-military training"
[Such as, perhaps, shooting your semi-automatic "assault weapon" with some friends out in the desert?"]
Also being sought are "Common Law Movement Proponents" who
"Request authority for a stop"
[That's illegal now?]
"Make numerous references to the US Constitution"
[That's illegal now?]
"Attempt to 'police the police'"
[That's illegal now?]
And let's not forget the other potential "domestic terrorists" being sought. We really need to watch out for these people:
"Lone Individuals"
[Do you meet that description?]
"Rebels"
[Know any gun rights activist who doesn't have at least a touch of rebel pumping through the old bloodstream?]
Be sure and notice the following two things on the flyer, as well:
1) There is NOT ONE MENTION of "Islamic Fundamentalists" anywhere.
2) Defenders of the US Constitution and the common law from which it grew are being classified on the same level as the bottom-feeding Skinheads, Nazis and the KKK.
READ THE FLYER FOR YOURSELF
The flyer is a tri-fold, so you'll have to turn your head sideways to read one of the sections.
Front Page
Back Page
NOTE: The far right side of the above "Front Page" is the actual front of the tri-fold flyer. The far left side of the above "Back Page" -- the part that mentions the 'defenders of the US Constitution' -- is the inside flap... the first thing you see when you open the flyer.
HISTORY OF THE FLYER
According to Terry Chapman of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office -- whose name is on the flyer as the MCSO contact -- the FBI created the flyer and printed the MCSO and Attorney's Office before the text was approved. He said it was created as a full color brochure to hand out to officers, not for the general public -- and that as soon as he saw it, he urged them not to use it, knowing it had some problems.
"The flyer never got off the ground," said Officer Chapman, "but it did manage to make it's way out -- and maybe it's right that it did." He genuinely didn't like this piece of junk, and he showed true concern about my issues with the flyer, too. "We were not happy with it. It was formulated, I think, for legitimate purposes, but it fell on stony ground because of the way it was worded -- the unfortunate profiles that were put in there outraged a number of people who received it."
"It's dead in the water as far as I know," said Chapman. "I just can't imagine the FBI putting it out there again. It wasn't for the public. The fact that it's circulating again has gotta be by unofficial sources."
Mr. Chapman couldn't name the FBI agent who created the flyer, saying the individual who created it was no longer with the FBI's Phoenix branch, which he described as having "revolving doors." Sheriff's officers didn't like the flyer, either. Said Chapman, "I had a Lieutenant from our own office call me and ask 'Am I on your list?' Am I a threat?' for supporting the constitution?'" Chapman was embarrassed by the seeming targeting of "decent, honorable segments of the community" by the flyer -- he hoped it would never be handed out or go anywhere at all.
According to Chapman, the FBI approached the Sheriff's Office saying they wanted to put a flyer together to help local law enforcement raise officer awareness about who to watch out for. They asked for a local contact name and number for use of a flyer they wanted to produce, and because Terry Chapman heads up MCSO Intelligence, he was the likely candidate. Possible lesson for Chapman: don't let yourself get used by misguided federal agents again.
The big question: Why the hell does the FBI have someone running around promoting that Defenders of the Constitution (and the common law from which the Constitution was born) are domestic terrorists?
The FBI has not returned phone calls on this matter. But suffice it to say that there has been at least one unAmerican weasel running around their camp urging people to turn against We The Real American People. We'd sure like to know this fool's name and location within the Bureau. If you track that information down, please contact me personally; we've got a bone to pick with him and his boss, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
CONTACT THE AGENCIES MENTIONED ON THE FLYER
FBI Phoenix Office
Website: http://phoenix.fbi.gov/
Email: phoenix@fbi.gov
Special Agent in Charge - Guadalupe Gonzalez
FBI's "Civil Rights" Website:
http://phoenix.fbi.gov/contact/fo/phnx/pxcivil.htm
FBI's "Counterterrorism" Website:
http://phoenix.fbi.gov/contact/fo/phnx/pxterr.htm
FBI Arizona Regional Offices:
http://phoenix.fbi.gov/contact/fo/phnx/pxterrit.htm
The Maricopa Sheriff's Office
Website: http://www.mcso.org/
Feedback form for Sheriff Joe Arpaio:
Via Website: http://www.mcso.org/submenu.asp?file=public
Via Email: complaints@mcso.maricopa.gov, information@mcso.maricopa.gov
Maricopa County Attorney
Richard M. Romley
http://www.maricopa.gov/attorney/MCAOhome.asp
http://www.maricopa.gov/feedback/feedback.asp
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Virginia Training Manual Lists Property Rights Activists As Terrorists
Says video cameras, binoculars, sketch pads are terrorist tools
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 28 2006
A Virginia training manual used to help state employees recognize terrorists lists anti-government and property rights activists as terrorists and includes binoculars, video cameras, pads and notebooks in a compendium of terrorist tools.
The manual, discovered by the Virginia News Source, is keen to emphasize that terrorists are not only Middle Eastern in scope and the main focus is afforded to domestic terrorism.
Included with Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad, the following groups are identified as terrorist organizations.
In any anti-government and militia movements
Are property-rights activists
Are in any racist, separatist and hate groups
Are an environmental and animal rights activist
Are a religious extremist
Are in a street gang
Presumably, tourists, journalists, hikers, bird-watchers, scuba divers, artists, painters, and anyone who takes a photograph is also now a terrorists according to the official list of terrorist paraphernalia provided.
- sketch pads or notebooks
- maps or charts
- still or video camera
- hand held tape recorder
- binoculars
- SCUBA equipment
- disguises
Reading further into the manual, associations between domestic terrorists and the supporting the American Revolution are subtly made. In Alex Jones' 2001 documentary 9/11: The Road To Tyranny, FEMA officials give a seminar in which they identify George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers as terrorists.
The manual encourages people to report any suspicious activity to an authority figure. Presumably, if property rights activism is deemed suspicious then anyone protesting or communicating about the recent eminent domain issue will be reported and investigated on grounds of terrorism.
The manual concludes by encouraging state employees to seek more information from FEMA and Homeland Security.
Shortly after 9/11 a Phoenix FBI manual that was disseminated amongst federal employees at the end of the Clinton term caused waves on the Internet after it was revealed that potential terrorists included, "defenders of the US Constitution against federal government and the UN, " and individuals who "make numerous references to the US Constitution." Lawyers everywhere cowered in fear at being shipped off to Gitmo.
This manual is another surreal and frightening reminder that government officials are being trained to embrace a Gestapo like mentality whereby any political activism or even individualistic outdoor leisure activity is deemed to be suspicious and a possible indication of terrorism.
Click here to read the Virginia manual in full.