On Oct 26, George Bush signed USA PATRIOT Act (H.R.3162) into law, marking a new, draconian era in civil rights legislation in the US. Passed in the House by a vote of 357 to 66, and the Senate 98 to 1, the USA Patriot Act (HR 3162) gives enormous, unwarranted power to the executive branch which will be unchecked by meaningful judicial review. "As it has done in times of past tragedy, the government responded by passing legislation that reduces or eliminates the process of judicial review and erodes our civil liberties," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU.

Read an in-depth analysis of the bill by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The ACLU also outlined the impact that the bill will have on civil liberties and personal freedom. ACLU Chart

The bill grants the government extensive surveillance powers and the ability to detain US residents and immigrants with no judicial process or other oversight (beyond what it could already do). Read FAIR's reports on how the corporate media hasn't given this bill the coverage it demands. The EFF had issued an action alert regarding the original proposed legislation, along with related legislation (presently 3 bills, including the Public Safety and Cyber Security Enhancement Act, PSCSEA). They also held a Forum on Civil Liberties in SF last month. Read their response to pro-surveillance criticism and learn 12 ways to protect your online privacy.

According to the US DOJ, a majority of the 1000+ post-9/11 detainees remain jailed. US citizen Tarek Abdelhamid Albasti, for instance, was taken away from his Evansville, Ind., restaurant with his uncle and seven other Muslim men after FBI agents showed up to inquire about his political beliefs and the flying lessons he had been given as a birthday present. The nine men were flown to Chicago in shackles on a U.S. Marshal's Service jet. Albasti was eventually released after staging a hunger strike. Meanwhile, Mustafa Abu Jdai from Tyler, Tex., remains in a Dallas jail after he and his wife, trying to help investigators, called the FBI's 800 tipline on 9/13. Abu Jdai answered a question "incorrectly" during an FBI polygraph test, was charged with a visa violation, and now faces indefinite detention.

In an example of how the new laws will be used to punish activists as suspected "terrorists," Long Island activist Connor Cash was officially charged with "providing material support to terrorists," in connection with property damage claimed by the Earth Liberation Front on Long Island late last year.

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