Obama Lawyers: Killing U.S. Citizens Allied With Al Qaeda is an Executive Decision -- News from Antiwar.com

The two government lawyers would not comment on the drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki

by John Glaser, December 01, 2011

The U.S. may target and kill U.S. citizens when they take up arms with al-Qaeda, top lawyers in the Obama administration said Thursday.

CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson were questioned at a national security conference about the drone strike that killed American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, but they would not comment on it specifically. They did say U.S. citizens don’t have legal rights when they side with al-Qaeda.

Johnson maintained that only the executive branch, not the courts, can decide who qualifies as an enemy on a battlefield. Unfortunately for U.S. citizens, the secret, peremptory nature of such executive decisions is not up to a review of any kind and do not require that any evidence be put forth proving the individual’s guilt or association with al-Qaeda.

Obama’s lawyers were also not bothered by the fact that the “battlefield” in such considerations is amorphous and essentially spans the globe, a fact which makes their legal opinion on targeted assassinations of American citizens a dramatic expansion of unaccountable government power.

Also unmentioned was the CIA murder of al-Awlaki’s 16-year old son and what kind of legal authority the Obama administration had for that action. Presumably, they are immune from any investigation or prosecution regarding that attack.

Obama Lawyers: Killing U.S. Citizens Allied With Al Qaeda is an Executive Decision -- News from Antiwar.com

Kato’s death, if true, has no impact on peace talks—MILF spokesman

By Kate Evangelista, INQUIRER.net, Friday, December 2nd, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – The death of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Ameril Umra Kato, if true, won’t affect the ongoing peace negotiations and that those who joined him in the breakaway group he formed were welcome to come back to the MILF, a spokesman for the Moro rebel group said Friday.

Informal peace talks between the MILF leadership and the Aquino administration resumed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in October.

“Wala sigurong mabigat na implication ito [Kato's death], walang negative impact ito sa ating [I don’t think there is a heavy implication, no negative impact with our] peace talks,” Von Al Haq said.

At the same time, Al Haq said the MILF was open to the return of members from Kato’s Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) but “that is if they toe the line and as long as they adhere to MILF policy”.

But in contrast to Gadzhali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman, Al Haq said they believed that Kato was still alive until proof of his death could be shown.

“Hindi siya patay, unless makakuha tayo ng ebidensiya, ang masasabi lang namin hindi siya patay [He’s not dead and unless there is evidence, all we can say is he’s not dead],” Al Haq told INQUIRER.net.

Read more Kato’s death, if true, has no impact on peace talks—MILF spokesman

Priest, 20 Catholics detained in Vietnam—lawyer

Agence France-Presse, Friday, December 2nd, 2011

HANOI—A parish priest and some 20 other Vietnamese Catholics were detained by police on Friday when they tried to ask local officials to return what they say is church land, a lawyer said.

Tensions between communist authorities and the Thai Ha Redemptorist parish have flared since mid-November when officials moved in to build a sewage reservoir that protesters say is on church land.

“A priest and about 20 Thai Ha faithful were arrested this morning while they were rallying at Hoan Kiem lake (in central Hanoi) to protest the invasion of church properties,” lawyer Le Quoc Quan told Agence France-Presse.

Quan is not representing the detainees but is a member of the parish.

Around 100 people, including the priest and protestors carrying signs, tried to march to the office of the Hanoi People’s Committee — the local government — to file a complaint over what they describe as a seizure of church land.

read more: Priest, 20 Catholics detained in Vietnam—lawyer

Occupy Montreal Protesters Branded by Police | Common Dreams

Published on Thursday, December 1, 2011 by CTV Montreal

Some members of the Occupy Montreal movement are considering legal action against the Montreal police after they were branded without their consent.

Occupy Montreal protesters were tagged by police with numbers only seen under a UV light. (Photo Courtesy: Nina Haigh/Facebook)

Police expelled the group of protesters from Victoria Square last Friday, as part of the group handcuffed themselves to the outdoor kitchen.

"The police asked us to move and we did not comply," said activist Bed Godin. "They removed us by using force."

Protesters were taken to a bus, where officers processed them, and marked some with an ink that could only be seen under a UV light.

"They took pictures and then they wrote one number. I got the number 5 in black marker," he said.

Police say it was to identify the demonstrators, and described it as the best technique to prevent the group from returning to Victoria Square.

They also said it's a technique long used by clubs and bars.

Constitutional lawyer Julius Grey, however, said protesters weren't in a bar and that the police violated the activists' civil rights.

"If the police said, ‘May we do this?' and the person said, ‘Yes,' then I don't think there would be any problem… You can't do something physically to somebody. You can't brand them, mark them, touch them, cut their head… physical acts," he said.

Ben Godin and others are now considering a civil suit against police.

Meanwhile, the Occupy movement has now moved to the gazebo on Mount Royal.

© 2011 CTV Montreal

Occupy Montreal Protesters Branded by Police | Common Dreams

POLITICO: Tea party, liberal coalition fails to revoke Iraq war authorization - On Congress - Tea party, liberal coalition fails to revoke Iraq war authorization

An unusual bipartisan coalition of liberals, moderate Democrats and tea party-backed senators failed on Tuesday evening to revoke the 2002 authorization for war in Iraq.

By a 30-67 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment by libertarian-minded Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that proponents said would have officially declared the Iraq war to be over. The 25 Democrats who voted for it included liberals like Barbara Boxer of California and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Even the four Republicans were all over the map ideologically, like tea party favorite Jim DeMint of South Carolina, conservative Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada and Maine moderate Olympia Snowe.

Twenty-four Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined 42 Republicans including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Maine moderate Susan Collins and independent Joe Lieberman in opposing the plan, which would have forced the president to return to Congress and seek additional authority to send more troops to the country.

POLITICO: Tea party, liberal coalition fails to revoke Iraq war authorization - On Congress - Tea party, liberal coalition fails to revoke Iraq war authorization

At Least 19 Killed as Syria Continues Crackdown -- News from Antiwar.com

Seven Troops, 12 Civilians Among the Slain

by Jason Ditz, November 30, 2011

At least nineteen people were killed today across Syria as violent crackdowns continued across the nation and more violence against regime-loyal troops was also reported. At least 12 civilians were killed, in Daal and Idlib Provinces.

The deaths came as the Turkish government announced major new sanctions, a serious blow since they are traditionally Syria’s largest trading partner. The sanctions included a full freezing of assets, and Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu says it will continue until a “legitimate government” replaces Assad.

The move is the latest since the Arab League imposed sanctions of Syria over the weekend, citing their refusal to follow through with a deal that would’ve had them removing the military from the city and releasing all political prisoners in the country.

But the Syrian regime did surprisingly release another 912 of their prisoners today, saying they were not linked with any violence. Rights groups say upwards of 15,000 protesters have been arrested since February.

At Least 19 Killed as Syria Continues Crackdown -- News from Antiwar.com

Israeli Govt Pushes Bill to Move Against Human Rights Groups -- News from Antiwar.com

Controversial 'Talkback' Bill Also Moves Forward in Knesset

by Jason Ditz, November 30, 2011

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Despite growing criticism from abroad, Israel’s ruling coalition is pushing a new bill in the Knesset which would impose major penalties on human rights groups, including a massive 45% tax on all foreign donations and a full ban on funding for groups seen as too critical of the government.

The 45% tax will apply to all human rights groups except those who are already funded by the Israeli government, which will be able to solicit funds tax-free. It is seen as a “compromise” bill after previous efforts by Avigdor Lieberman’s faction to ban all funding to all human rights groups not approved by the foreign ministry were blocked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who feared a major international backlash.

The bill is explicitly aimed at civil rights groups critical of the government’s harsh moves against freedom of the press and its restrictions against Arab citizens. NGOs have been outspokenly critical of the measure, saying it threatened to damage Israel’s democracy irreparably.

In other news, the controversial “Talkback” bill is moving forward in the Knesset as well. The bill, which is almost uniformly supported among both the ruling coalition and the “moderate” opposition, imposes serious restrictions on the posting of comments in online forums, and allows MPs to sue any poster, even anonymous ones, in Israeli courts for any comment which they believe is designed to “damage” their positions. It would also force Israeli ISPs to keep track of the sources of all such comments so they could “out” anonymous posters for punitive lawsuits.

Israeli Govt Pushes Bill to Move Against Human Rights Groups -- News from Antiwar.com