Supreme Court upholds “secret law” requiring travelers to show their ID to fly

WikiProtest Blog
Tuesday, January 9, 2007

If this ruling doesn’t truly discredit the Supreme Court as just another rubber stamp I don’t know what will. The ruling is in reference to Gilmore v. Gonzales, 06-211, in which millionaire Libertarian Activist John Gilmore (co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation) attempted to force the the federal government to disclose the actual law that requires people traveling by air to either show ID or submit to a more thorough search when passing through airport security.

The justices, by letting the appeals court ruling against Gilmore stand, have legitimized the use of “secret laws” against the citizens of the United States. This means you are now responsible for abiding by laws that are not published, and even classified in some cases.

I have asked before and I will ask again. When will people say enough is enough? What happens when people start getting arrested for breaking secret laws, and then find themselves in secret courts. Oh, wait, that has already been approved by the Military Commissions Act.

This ruling marks yet another blow against personal liberty and freedom, and a giant step towards totalitarianism in America. I just hope people start waking up to this soon, before it’s too late.

Zyprexa... turns your nipples into 1924 silver dollars.

  Historian 'pinned to ground by US police and beaten for jaywalking'

Laura Clout
London Telegraph
Thursday, January 11, 2007

A distinguished British historian claims he was knocked to the ground by an American policeman before being arrested and spending eight hours in jail — because he crossed the road in the wrong place.

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto said he had been the victim of "terrible, terrible violence" after he inadvertently committed the offence of "jaywalking" in Atlanta, Georgia, last week and failed to realise the man telling him to stop was an officer.

The slight, bespectacled professor claimed that five burly officers pinned him to the ground after Kevin Leonpacher kicked his legs from under him as he hesitated to show his ID.

He was left "traumatised and disorientated" and with a gashed forehead as he was taken to the local jail and charged with pedestrian failure to obey a police officer and physical obstruction of police.

The academic, professor of global environmental history at Queen Mary College, University of London, and a member of Oxford University's modern history faculty, said he had been subjected to "very humiliating procedures" and even had his box of peppermints confiscated.

The 56-year-old appeared in court the next day, "tortured" by the fear of getting a criminal record that would wreck his chances of getting a green card allowing him to work in America. But prosecutors dropped the charges.

Atlanta's police chief ordered an inquiry after the mayor raised the incident.

Prof Fernandez-Armesto, who is also a member of the history department at Tufts University, Massachusetts, was in Atlanta for the convention of the American Historical Association. He said he was crossing the road and became aware of a "rather intrusive young man shouting at me telling me that I shouldn't have crossed the road there".

Because he was wearing a "rather louche" bomber jacket that covered his uniform, the professor did not realise he was a policeman.

"I thanked him for his advice and went on," said the professor. When Officer Leonpacher tried to stop him and demanded to see identification, the professor asked to see his, which he "didn't take kindly to". "He said 'I am going to arrest you'," Prof Fernandez-Armesto said. "In the culture I come from this wouldn't mean that the conversation was over.

"Nor would it mean that you were about to be subjected to terrible, terrible violence. This young man kicked my legs from under me, wrenched me round in what I think is a sort of a judo move, pinned me to the ground, wrenched my arms behind my back and handcuffed me.

"Naturally I was bridling at this moment and he called his colleagues to his assistance. I had five burly policemen pinioning me to the ground, pressing my neck with really very severe pain. I'm a mass of contusions and grazes.

"I was traumatised, disorientated, my conference programme was in the gutter and I was begging them to give it back to me and to give me my spectacles back," he said. "I still find it incredible that an ageing, mild-mannered professor of impeccable antecedent, should be the subject of such abominable treatment."

The professor, who has written books on the Americas and global exploration, was handcuffed to another suspected criminal in a "filthy, foetid paddy wagon" to be transported to jail and had his fingerprints and mugshot taken. With his bail set at £720 but with no way to get the cash, Prof Fernandez-Armesto remained incarcerated, until he eventually got out with the help of a professional bail agent.

In court the following day he explained to the judge and charges were dropped.

Officer Leonpacher denied that he overreacted, saying the historian repeatedly refused to co-operate. The 28-year-old told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I used an excessive amount of discretion."

Atlanta's mayor, Shirley Franklin, said: "We want everyone who visits Atlanta to find Atlanta to be friendly and helpful."

The professor said he had no plans to sue, adding: "It was actually a fantastic experience going into that detention centre and spending time with those miserable wretches of the earth. I feel I've learnt more than I would have in important sessions of the Historical Association."

Ron Paul: Next President Of The USA?
Texas Congressman enjoys support across political spectrum, anti-war pro-freedom hero represents America's last hope

Prison Planet | January 12, 2007
Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones

Ron Paul's office has confirmed reports that the Texas Congressman is set to run for the 2008 Presidency. Paul unites opposition to the war and the police state at home across the entire political spectrum and in contrast to the current gaggle of criminals running the White House, represents everything that America truly stands for. A gargantuan effort in support of Ron Paul needs to be mobilized now to prevent Americans from being hoodwinked once again into electing a different puppet of the same dark establishment in 2008.

Paul first ran for President as the Libertarian candidate in 1988, receiving a massive 400,000 votes. He now commands the support of those all across the political spectrum, from libertarians through anti-war Democrats to real paleoconservative Republicans.

Paul has been in and out of Congress since the 70's and is universally hated by the Republican elite, who routinely back Democrats against him just to try and get him out of office. The former Vietnam flight surgeon is the perfect candidate for President and activists from every corner of every political persuasion should mobilize now in an attempt to help Paul shatter the power monopoly of the Republican and Democrat establishment who have worked together for decades to slit America's throat in the interests of power, greed, and ego - all working towards the realization of a new world order.

The Texan represents a dying breed in Congress, those who actually cast their votes in accordance with the Constitution and not at the discretion of lobbyists or the fear that the elite will tarnish their political careers if they don't continually support the establishment. As a result Ron Paul is the elite's worse nightmare, simply having him on the ticket itself will be a massive public relations blow, and that's why media organs will probably be activated to try and discredit him before 2008.

Paul was one of only a handful of Republicans to vote against the illegal invasion of Iraq, contenting rightly that the Constitution clearly states that only Congress can declare war. In bucking a trend, Paul was anti-war long before the majority of the country came around to a similar way of thinking following the catastrophe of the occupation.

While Democrats soft-peddle and cozy up to Bush, creating phony arguments about the level of troop presence in Iraq and ignoring the majority will of the country to bring the troops home immediately, Ron Paul's opposition to unnecessary wars of intervention has remained steadfast throughout his entire political career.

If a gargantuan effort is made from now until the end of 2008 to heighten Paul's media profile and forward him as America's last hope, he truly has a significant chance of giving Jeb Bush, Rudy Giuliani or whichever elitist puppet the Republicans choose to put forward a real run for their money.

At the very least it's a chance to attract attention to some serious issues and hold the establishment's feet to the fire. But with the favor of the political landscape continually swinging away from the scam repeatedly run by the Republicrats and Democans, we should really start off on a positive footing and consider the fact that Ron Paul, though still an underdog, has a real chance of becoming the next President.

According to the Associated Press , "Paul bills himself as "The Taxpayers' Best Friend," and is routinely ranked either first or second in the House by the National Taxpayers Union, a national group advocating low taxes and limited government."

On every single issue of national importance - borders, the war, limited government, U.S. sovereignty, tax and the federal reserve - Ron Paul stands for populist ideals that the country is screaming out for after seven years of hell under Bush, preceded by eight years of disgrace under Bill Clinton.

Ron Paul voted against the Patriot Act, opposes the draft, advocates the abolition of the income tax, urges the re-introduction of the gold standard, and stands against initiatives to strip the U.S. of its sovereignty such as CAFTA and the FTAA.

During several appearances on The Alex Jones Show , Ron Paul has consistently upheld his commitment to civil liberties, slammed the militarized police state that Bush has created and also called for immediate impeachment proceedings to be brought against the current incumbent of the White House.

President Ron Paul could truly return America to the great nation it once was and his decision to run is an exciting development that we should all embrace and stand beside him in the fight to restore some form of dignity to the office of President that has been completely absent since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

"Congressman Ron Paul is a dream candidate, a super patriot, a total Constitutionalist, an American hero."

"We must elect him President."
Alex Jones