What If A Court Gave An Important Ruling, But We Were Not Allowed To Know What It Was?
from the sign-of-the-times dept
That Anonymous Coward alerts us to the news that DC federal appeals court has issued a ruling (pdf) in the case of Gitmo detainee Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif, but the entire ruling is classified, so the public has no idea what it says.
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Filed Under: adnan farhan abd al latif, gitmo, government, guantanamo, secrecy, transparency
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Disclaimer: the above is meant for purely sarcastic purposes, and does not represent the Will of the People...yet.
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I can't tell you
I am sorry, I can't tell you that either.
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so when do we just switch to the tribunal process?
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Answer...
We begin seriously considering scrapping it all and starting over, like our own founding document instructs us to do. I swear to god, this country's patriots are the most un-patriotic people in America....
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Re: Answer...
-Patrick Henry
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I wonder how much of him still being detained, over 9 years later, is because none of our leaders lack the balls to see justice done. That they are to worried about Faux News painting them as weak on terrorism because they let this man go free. This man who made the mistake of looking for medical care, is not a terrorist, but he fit a profile so he must be a terrorist. Are we really back to the idea if they float they must be a witch?
What is the value of one mans life when there is an election cycle to protect?
And while you ponder the fate of this unfortunate soul, consider what a few more years of solitary are going to do to Bradley Manning. No one mentions him anymore, is he just going to be detained forever and hidden away behind rulings the public can not see?
Secrets are toxic to Democracy, and we are well on our way to being a SuperFund site.
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I think it more intriguing that someone who was mentally ill thought Afghanistan was a good choice to get treatment. Perhaps it proves that they are in fact mentally ill.
Secrets aren't toxic to democracy, people who can't leave well enough alone are.
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transl.
"Now now, don't worry your little head about..."
This kind of secret has only one purpose - to cover wrongdoing.
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Democracy and our particular flavor of it was based on openness of decision and rule. Unfortunately, our "government" at all Federal levels has become so biased by financial and political viewpoints that they are now unable/unwilling to disclose any information that would cast a negative shadow on their "well meaning" decisions. Honestly, we the people vote for city, state and federal representatives. They in turn, get to vote for other versions of representation(Federal Judges/various committees). However, you will notice over the last double handful of elections, the options we are given to vote for are usually the ones the media has jumped behind and have the largest financial backing. Doesn't matter their true platform. Until we, as a country and voting population, get well and truly educated on the specifics and valid backgrounds of each potential candidate and take the power out of the media and financial behemoths, we will continue down the same path. The insane part is, we keep expecting different results.
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However the idea of completely cleaning out the current government (with the possibility of a few exceptions), and starting over with people that don't really want the job but are willing to do it because it needs to be done and done right, well that is a powerfully tempting notion.
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Unfortunately I can't vote it insightful again and again. As a 20 year military retiree, I can't agree more. This country is completely lost to our corporate masters. The real question to ask is: "what is the value of one mans life when I can get a shit-load of money from my cropophilia loving corporate masters..."
Sad day... sad day's indeed. If I wasn't an old man, I'd be on the front lines, because we've lost our way...
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I think Obama needs a primary challenger. Even if Obama is going to win, he needs to see the vote of no confidence that most Democrats have with his track record.
What better way than to choose a "traitor" to run against him in the Primary? Since Manning hasn't been charged with a crime or convicted, he can still run for POTUS, right?
Anonymous says "Free Bradley Manning". I say "Bradley Manning for President!"
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I'm all for promoting this, BM for Prez :-)
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I think it's time to "separate" again...
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I like this part better.
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That's terrorist talk!!! Guards! Throw him in Gitmo!!!
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Ignorance of the Law
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Overthrow the corrupt government. Period.
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution."
Abraham Lincoln
"The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible."
Senator Hubert H. Humprey (D-Minnesota)
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular
troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States."
Noah Webster
Uh oh Lucy, we have one of dem dare home grown terrists afoot. Oh noooooos.
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"If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for the selfish or local purposes." Noah Webster
"Corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded." Noah Webster
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Liberty
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Re: Liberty
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Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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It will only get worse unless we the people step in.
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I mean seriously, the Supreme Court has ruled that it's perfectly ok for the government to keep you locked up in jail indefinitely even after you've served all the time you were sentenced to if you're deemed a 'threat' to society should you be released. Now combine that with secret laws and secret interpretations of the law, and now even secret court rulings on secret laws, and how are we supposed to know the government isn't just throwing anybody they dislike in jail just to look like they're doing something?
There's a reason why our founding fathers defined treason in the constitution, it's a favorite tool of dictators to crush descent. It looks like today's politicians have found a way around that pesky problem.
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I get all my news from the internet, including techdirt- thanks Mike. The mainstream media have abandoned us. Much of society classifies you as a geek or a kook if you try to discuss these issues.
I don't know when it will happen, but I am sure critical mass will be reached and the people will be heard. I hope I get to see it.
I don't know where to start, but I know I need to get off my duff and do something. as do we all.
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2nd
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Ignorance of the law
So now anyone can be arrested, but because the reason is classified, they'll never know why. Seems like it paves the way for a police state...
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Re: Ignorance of the law
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Book after Book scaring us.
Messenger after Messenger slain.
Liberator after Liberator fighting Big Government.
The authors of the Declaration of Independence risked life and limb to prevent this very thing.
Why are you (generally speaking) allowing it?
Because no one can stop it…I dare you to try.
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Secrecy..
The government "detains" people under secret laws that no one knows about. This is clearly a sign that the government is corrupt beyond belief. Himmler and his cohorts would be proud of our government today.
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Re: Secrecy..
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Agree that FOIA is unlikely to be availing, but it might at least shake loose why it is considered to be "classified".
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Oh wait..
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And what if I could spell? lol
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RE Classified
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Simple protests are meaningless; the government believes itself unassailable. If the people vote Republican, they get another Dubya. If the people vote Democrat, they get another Obama. Both sides take funding from the same corporations, so both sides toe the same line, no matter how much they promise to change their ways.
Eventually, inevitably, widespread dissemination of facts illuminating corruption will trigger radical change. We can only hope that it takes the form of resignations and reform rather than armed uprisings and lynchings.
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Or join the Tea Party. Ironically, both are fighting against this sort of thing. It's the apathetic political 'middle' that lets this go on.
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There are no barriers the price is low right now and they got away with it, of course the people who they killed deserve it, but where are the mechanism that guarantee this will not be used more and more against Americans?
All this secrecy crap is scary.
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Re: Osama Bin Laden
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This is the funny bit ...
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All about the precedent
1) What legal basis is there for classifying the ruling?
2) How could the government expect to get away with this?
3) How could anyone think this is a good idea?
It's (obviously) hard to prove, but I'm pretty sure the answer to #3 has to do with precedent. If, as I suspect, the court denied the appeal (and upheld the order to release Latif), this would serve as an incredibly important precedent for releasing any other detainees that are being held for no particularly good reason.
If the ruling had been in the administration's favor, they'd really want to cite it in their dozens of other similar cases. If the ruling went against the administration, they'd really want to prevent the ruling from being cited. By classifying the judgement, they're essentially removing the case from the entire body of US case law -- any precedent that would have been set (including in the original case) will now be entirely ignored.
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Re: All about the precedent
the inmates are now running the asylum, and making things "legal" pretty much at a whim.Those who should be stewards, guardians, and defenders of our society are legislating honest, law-abiding citizens into being criminals while giving themselves carte blanche and setting the system so they cannot be held accountable for anything.
Be a law-abiding citizen doing what you do every day, go to bed that night, wake up the next morning to being a criminal for doing the same thing you did yesterday the next day...
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Re: All about the precedent
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Secret laws and court orders
Joe: What law?
Persecutor: Sorry, can't tell you, it's classified.
Joe: You can't tell me what law I broke, but I am to be prosecuted for breaking it?
Persecutor: We could tell you what law you broke, but then we'd have to kill you.
Joe: Then I won't answer the charges until I know what I am charged with.
Persecutor: The court has just now ordered you to do something, but the court order itself is classified. Failure to comply with the court order will result in sanctions, including the death penalty. We could tell you the contents of the court order, but then we'd have to kill you.
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Secret Laws
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Classified pending redaction
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