Perspective from across the pond : checks, balances and protest

[BelgianMadCow]

The below stories make me hope checks & balances are still functioning to some degree over here...
They also make me wish for a strong political European Union, and fast too.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1808088,00.html

Anti-terrorism control orders ruled illegal

Staff and agencies
Wednesday June 28, 2006

A key part of the government's controversial anti-terrorism legislation was in limbo tonight, after a senior judge ruled that so-called "control orders" were incompatible with the European convention on human rights.

The control orders, which can be used to curtail people's movements, tag them and restrict who they can meet, were brought in by the government to deal with suspects thought to be involved in terrorist activities, but against whom there is not enough evidence to prosecute.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1807446,00.html

EU members urged to admit to CIA renditions

· States under pressure to come clean on complicity
· Rights watchdog proposes new national security laws

David Gow in Brussels
Wednesday June 28, 2006
The Guardian

More than a dozen European governments yesterday came under severe pressure to own up to their secret services' role in handing over suspected terrorists to US intelligence after Franco Frattini, the EU justice commissioner, admitted for the first time that European territory had been used for "extraordinary renditions".

SNIP

Mr Frattini's intervention came as parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to approve a report by Liberal Swiss senator Dick Marty that "named and shamed" 14 European states, including Britain, Germany and Sweden, and watched a video containing direct testimony on secret detention and torture from two survivors.

SNIP

Lady Ludford, a Liberal Democrat MEP, said Mr Marty had "uncovered evidence going way beyond speculation of a pattern of human rights abuses through kidnappings, unlawful imprisonment, disappearances, maltreatment and torture".

SNIP

MEPs are, separately, demanding an EU inquiry into alleged transfers and abuses of financial data concerning European citizens from Swift, the Brussels-based international banking body, to the US authorities in the fight against terrorism.

This reminded me of the Swift news which came out over here a couple days ago (why NOW??) Now I finally know firsthand how it must feel to all of you...I got mad as hell about this. After all, they are Brussels based.

Our finance and justice ministers asked for an investigation as they claim they didn't know.



The national bank did know, but seeing how they (banking sector) reap unprecedented profits in hard times for middle class people (also over here!) while laying off people, somehow I am not suprised.
They say they informed (informally) both cabinets. Nicely done! :sarcasm:


Reason all the more to have a good protest :

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,424079,00.html

Am 13. Juli gegen Bush

Die Gegner des Besuchs des amerikanischen Präsidenten Bush in Deutschland wollen ihren Protest auf den 13. Juli konzentrieren. Man wolle gegen die Aggressionspolitik der US-Regierung demonstrieren.

Stralsund - Dies teilten Vertreter von Friedensorganisationen und Globalisierungsgegner mit. Die geplante Demonstration in Rostock werde wegen des neuen zeitlichen Ablaufs um einen Tag vorverlegt, teilte das Aktionsbündnis zur Bush-Visite in der Hansestadt mit.

Mit dem Protest solle Kritik an der Aggressionspolitik der US-Regierung zum Ausdruck gebracht werden. Um Aktionen vorzubereiten, wollen sich die Vertreter von Friedensorganisationen und -initiativen am nächsten Wochenende in Stralsund treffen.

Für den Tag des Bush-Besuchs wurden den Angaben zufolge Versammlungen und Demonstrationen angemeldet. Daneben sind eine Kundgebung, Talkrunden sowie der Aufbau von Infoständen geplant. Zugleich sollen bundesweit Protestveranstaltungen stattfinden.

Summarizing : There will be demonstrations against the aggressive US administration policy (note : not “the US”) on the 13th in Rostock and in other german cities.

Bottom line(s)
I have to honest : people are not caring for the above issues much more than in the US - it's all World Cup most of the time.
Then I see "Fly emirates" and "Bud" on the panels besides the field and I remember all people in Caesar's Rome needed were bread and games...and wonder once again to which degree WE over here are being played.

I've said it before and I say it again : we are in the same boat. People here think a disdain for current US politics cuts it, but they fail to see we are "sick in the same bed" as the saying goes in Dutch...

[panader0]

1. Great to have th EU perspective from a DU-er

Most papers don't carry the info in detail. Please continue to keep us informed on these issues.

[BelgianMadCow]

3. I will

[MissWaverly]

2. thank you so much for your post

today I went to the drugstore here in Baltimore and I wanted to buy allergy pills that also
target sinus problems, it has rained for over a week here and my allergies are bothering me.
I was told that I had to show an ID, okay so I show my employee ID. Then I was told that I had
to give my home address. This supposedly is a big US effort to track those who might want
to create "meth" to sell. I do not want to be in a government database for buying 10 pills.
I am tired of this constant surveillance. I am just tired, it is not that they are going after
criminals; it is that they are treating everybody as a criminal. And we still have not caught
Osama. They could create a database of every single minute of my life and it would not help
capture Osama.

[BelgianMadCow]

4. To that too, I can relate

as I get funny faces everytime I refuse the grocery store's card that gives you a .x % rebate while using all of your data.

Over here everyone has an ID and a social security card is necessary for anything beyond vitamins, aspirin and cough syrup. But we have very good medical care and no big brother government, so no one really minds...

They had better track opium farmers in Afhanistan than you me thinks!

[MissWaverly]

5. I don't like files everywhere containing my personal data

If this is really a danger, make this drug prescription only, I agree with you that some monitoring is good, but much of it is questionable now. I don't want the government in
my bank account to see who I contribute to in elections and I don't want them to see what
liberal websites and charities I give to, it's not their business. We had a woman here
accused of leaking classified information to reporters. It was all over the airwaves that
she had donated $7,000 to Kerry. Guilt or innocence should not be determined by your political
campaign contribution. To this day, this woman had denied that she leaked the information,
she said that she did not even have access to it.

[BelgianMadCow]

7. So this was not a prescription drug you were speaking about?

then it's indeed stupid to ask for your personal details. I don't particularly like that we have ID & social security card, but given that a very large part of the cost for prescription drugs is covered by the government, I do feel it's acceptable that they track what is being prescribed.

You do make me wonder what kind of data they can access over here - I think they mainly follow which doctor prescribes what in order to control the budget (which goed up 4 % per year).

If they keep logs on a personal basis that would get me worried.

And you're totally right on the bank transactions thing - that just freaked me out.

[MissWaverly]

9. Yes, I am talking about over the counter non-prescription

Okay, "meth" is made from these substances, it is possible for people to accumulate a large
number of these routine pills and do harm. But buying 10 pills in 1 box should not be a police
matter. Limit the sales to 1 or 2 boxes at a time or take it off the shelves amd make it
prescription only. I would write a letter if I were you to your government representatives
so the bank transaction data mining is not forgetten.

[zeemike]

6. I have fantasized about going to another country to escape

All the fascist crap we have here now.
But I know that it is my (our) fault that we got into this mess and it would be wrong to run away and leave it to our offspring to deal with.

[MissWaverly]

8. this is not our fault

did we bring a lawsuit to the Supreme Court claiming that the Florida recount would do
irrepable harm to us, did we let 5 Supreme Court Justices say we should be president. Did
we have the Secretary of State in Ohio as our campaign manager. No, no, and no.

[Vidar]

10. Thanks for the enlightening European perspective.