Rejecting NDAA, California bans indefinite detention. Sacramento - California's governor signed into law a measure banning indefinite detention in the state, as well as state cooperation with federal government attempts to detain people under the highly controversial National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Huffington Post reports Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed AB 351, the 'Civil liberties- suspension of habeas corpus for American citizens' act, into law earlier this week. The measure, which was authored by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican representing Twin Peaks, effectively bans state cooperation with any federal enforcement of 'indefinite detention' of so-called 'enemy combatants' without due process of law.
Such imprisonment is allowed under a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act, which permits the indefinite military detention without charge or trial of American citizens. Read more... Defense Update:President Obama Signs FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act - Defense Update: In a quiet affair without fanfare, President Barack Obama signed into law the $633 billion Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on 31 December while vacationing in his home state of Hawaii.
While not an appropriations act providing the funding to pay for the provisions contained in the law, the NDAA does outline the specific projects and programs the Department of Defense (DoD) is authorized to pursue. Actual funding authorization will be included in an appropriations bill yet to be finalized. Although several articles in the NDAA did not sit well with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and President Obama, the White House did get most of what was requested with $1.7 billion additional funding included. Secretary Panetta publicly expressed his disappointment that funding added by Congress for some items were neither requested nor needed by DoD.
Mr. Aircraft manufacturers and shipbuilders are pleased with the FY 2013 NDAA. Comments comments. House and Senate Quietly Passes Bigger & Badder 2014 NDAA. While everyone is distracted with the holiday festivities, Congress has been hard at work, screwing us over in the name of national security. Yesterday the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act was fast-tracked through the Senate, with no time for discussion or amendments.
And you know, its Christmastime, so they just passed it so that they could recess for the holidays. The new version of the NDAA has already been quietly passed by the House of Representatives. It authorizes massive spending, including $527 billion in base defense spending for the current fiscal year, funding for the war in Afghanistan, and funding for nuclear weapons programs. The indefinite detention allowed by the original NDAA is still here, and it’s actually worse now, because there are provisions that will make it easier for the government to target those who disagree. The New American reports in detail on the expansion of powers: source: Activist Post. Rockefeller attaches cybersecurity bill to NDAA 2014.
Bipartisan Defense Deal Announced. By Matt Fuller Roll Call Staff Dec. 9, 2013, 6:28 p.m. Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo McKeon said negotiators met last week to work out agreements on amendments. Top defense authorizers held a news conference Monday afternoon to announce they have a deal on the NDAA. In a gambit to avoid the most controversial pitfalls that could end a 51-year streak of annual passage, the top defense lawmakers from the House and Senate announced a deal on a $632.8 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Monday, even before the Senate had passed its version of the Pentagon policy bill. “The bill that we have come up with is not a Democratic bill or a Republican bill,” Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Monday on the Senate floor. “It is a bipartisan defense bill.” McKeon noted — as Roll Call reported — that the authorizers met behind closed doors last week to work through a number of amendments that would have been considered on the Senate floor.
Pentagon reaches compromise on defense authorization act. Leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services committees have agreed on a pared-down defense authorization bill, and want the House to vote on the measure before it leaves on its holiday recess at the end of this week, Senator Carl Levin said on Monday. Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Senate was unable to vote on a huge range of proposed amendments to the bill in time to pass it this year, so committee leaders reached agreement on a compromise version of the legislation.
"This is not the best way to proceed, but our troops and their families and our nation's security deserve a defense bill and this is the only practical way to get a defense bill done," Levin said on the Senate floor. The defense panel leaders want a final vote in the Senate next week. There were 3,553 sexual-assault complaints from October 2012 through June 2013 — a 50 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier. Al Jazeera and Reuters. RIP Google Reader and Winamp: 10 Tech Products We Lost in 2013.
As 2013 comes to a close, it's important not only to look back at what we gained this year, but what we lost as well. From the death of Google Reader to the failure of the HTC First to the discontinuation of the iPhone 5, we saw lots of high profile products disappear. The past year also saw the end of many legacy products and services. From the classic search engine AltaVista to the generation-defining MP3 player Winamp to the hideous blinking layouts of classic MySpace, we said goodbye to the past. The closure of a few more modern services took place in 2013, including the encrypted email services Lavabit and Silent Circle, the once-popular Turntable.fm and the would-be-PayPal killer Google Checkout. The close of 2013 will also mean the closure of the remaining Blockbuster Videos. As you slow down to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year, join us in raising a toast to Google Reader and the host of other products we lost in 2013.
Have something to add to this story? Spoils of war: Police getting leftover Iraq trucks. By MICHAEL VIRTANEN Associated Press November 24, 2013 2:50PM Updated: November 24, 2013 3:25PM QUEENSBURY, N.Y. — Coming soon to your local sheriff: 18-ton, armor-protected military fighting vehicles with gun turrets and bulletproof glass that were once the U.S. answer to roadside bombs during the Iraq war. The hulking vehicles, built for about $500,000 each at the height of the war, are among the biggest pieces of equipment that the Defense Department is giving to law enforcement agencies under a national military surplus program.
For police and sheriff’s departments, which have scooped up 165 of the mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPS, since they became available this summer, the price and the ability to deliver shock and awe while serving warrants or dealing with hostage standoffs was just too good to pass up. “It’s armored. But the trucks have limits. The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing what it sees as the increasing militarization of the nation’s police. The NDAA and the Death of the Democratic State. States Fight to Nullify Indefinite Detention Under NDAA. Welcome! We are so glad you are here! Please consider supporting this site by whitelisting MinutemenNews.com in your adblocker. Thanks! President Barack Obama signed the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law on January 2, renewing the power to apprehend and detain Americans indefinitely granted in the previous year’s version.
In order to protect their citizens from being grabbed and imprisoned under the provisions of the NDAA, many state lawmakers are standing up to the federal government, proposing resolutions nullifying this unconstitutional power at the state borders. Nullification is a concept of constitutional law recognizing the right of each state to nullify, or invalidate, any federal measure that exceeds the few and defined powers allowed the federal government as enumerated in the U.S.
The House of Representatives of Washington, for example, is considering the “Washington State Preservation of Liberty Act.” H.B. 1581 enjoys bipartisan support. Indiana Bill Would Nullify NDAA “Indefinite Detention” Indiana State Senator Jim Banks has introduced a bill that would prohibit detainment of citizens under federal defense act (NDAA) in the state. SB 400 would amend the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration. The text of the bill simply states: “Prohibits specified individuals and entities in Indiana from aiding an agency of the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detention of a person under a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or similar law providing for indefinite detention.” The legislation takes things a step further too – providing for criminal charges on federal agents who attempt “indefinite detention” (AKA Kidnapping) in the State of Indiana: The Tenth Amendment Center is in agreement with the bill for the following reasons: If you live anywhere outside of Indiana, please contact your own legislators regarding anti-NDAA legislation.
Track the status of NDAA nullification in states around the country HERE. Obama signs indefinite detention, Gitmo bill. Obama signs indefinite detention, Guantanamo bill President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 on Wednesday, despite his own threat to veto it over prohibitions on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Civil liberties advocates had roundly criticized the bill over Guantanamo and a separate section that could allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens on suspicions of supporting terrorism. Just as he did with last year's version of the bill, however, Obama decided that the need to pass the NDAA, which also sets the armed forces' $633 billion budget for the 2013 fiscal year, was simply "too great to ignore," according to a presidential signing statement released in the early morning hours Thursday.
Members of the human rights coalition that had urged Obama to follow through on his veto threat blasted his decision as a cave to congressional Republicans. "The president seemed to have nothing to say about that," Buttar said. NDAA: What Obama Hoped You Wouldn't Notice About This Bill. Every year, Congress passes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which makes appropriations for the defense budget. This is mandated under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which delegates powers to Congress, here stating: “The Congress shall have Power … To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.”
However, like much of the legislation that comes out of Washington, each years bill is stuffed with other provisions. The NDAA began receiving wide attention in late 2011 when, on December 31, President Obama signed the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012. Under Title X, Subtitle D of this law is the controversial section 1021, which essentially legalizes martial law in the United States. The NDAA for 2013, which President Obama signed this month, again includes these provisions despite pressure from Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), citing Section 1021 as a gross, unconstitutional overreach of federal power. NDAA 2013 Propaganda | Think Tank. The Lesser Evil: Four Years Later. (Article changed on November 1, 2012 at 19:17) (Article changed on November 1, 2012 at 19:06) (Article changed on November 1, 2012 at 19:01) As the election arrives in a few days, there has been much talk in the media in defense of President Obama's "progressive" policies.
The Democratic apologists are coming out in full force declaring the president's good intentions and hopefulness for progressive policies. At the same time, recognizing the lack of progressive reforms over the past four years, the Democrats quickly blame Republican obstructionism for the faults of the administration. I believe it is time to put the apologists back in their place and reveal what really has been going on for the past four years.
While the majority of campaign contributions come from individuals giving $250 or less, the weight of individual contributions is heavily on the side of the corporations. Democratic apologists often blame Republican obstructionism for many of Obama's failings or policy reversals. Americans living with Orwellian idea of human rights: Analyst. An analyst says the US as a human rights champion is an Orwellian notion and it has no right being on anybody’s human rights council. The United States has applied as a candidate for membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council, which will be voted on at an upcoming UN General Assembly. Iran has called on all UN members to oppose membership to the US saying it is not qualified for membership. Press TV has interviewed Dr. Kevin Barrett, author and Islamic studies expert, Madison about what it says about the notion of human rights if the United States is permitted to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The following is an approximate transcription of the interview. Press TV: We know that the United States has been engaged in several acts of war crimes: it has launched US drones in several Muslim countries; we have US police brutality; we have Obama’s so-called kill list and a lot more to name. 50 States Secede Will Obama Respond With NDAA? | Economy. Residents In All 50 States File Secession Petitions: Will Obama Respond With NDAA? (Nov 14) What began as a small group of citizens voicing their disappointment with President Obama’s victory in last week’s presidential election has turned into secession petitions from all 50 states by citizens requesting that the administration “peacefully grant” them the opportunity to form their own sovereign government. Currently, six secession petitions have reached that threshold of 25,000 signatures – from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas.
(Source) Is it all a waste of time or the beginning of something big? “In summary, I applaud the educational and PR impact of these secession petitions and I urge all readers to sign these petitions. But remember, the right to withdraw from the union requires the same process most states followed to enter into this voluntary contract, state-based secession conventions.
Continued below. Insider: CIA Is Purging The U.S. NDAA 2013: Let's Identify The Traitors To The U.S. Constitution. Friday, 23 November 2012 03:53 Eric Blair This article was written by Eric Blair and originally published at Activist Post By now anyone who pays attention to politics knows that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 contained a provision that allows for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial. Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA states that anyone suspected of being involved in terrorism or “belligerent acts” against the U.S. can be detained by the military under the so-called Authorization for Use of Military Force, including American citizens. In other words, the war on terror has been officially declared on U.S. soil and everyone is now considered a potential combatant in this war. Senator Lindsey Graham pretty much summed it up when he said, "The homeland is part of the battlefield and people can be held without trial whether an American citizen or not.
" Rand Paul's amendment simply reaffirms the 6th Amendment to the U.S. NDAA Plaintiffs Answer Questions on Reddit. Obama Administration Fights For The NDAA. US Drone Tweets Reveal 'Double Tap' Plan. White House threatens NDAA veto over Guantanamo provisions. Feinstein amendment doubles down on NDAA's assault on constitutional rights | Naomi Wolf. Michigan House passes bill blocking NDAA detention. How our liberties can survive the Obama-Bush legacy - Black Hills Pioneer: Opinion.
How Grassley and Harkin voted on the Defense authorization bill (updated) Daniel Ellsberg: I Congratulate Ecuador for Standing Up to British Empire to Protect Julian Assange. Obama demands court uphold his “Right” to ignore Constitution. Reality Check: Obama Administration Refuses To Tell Judge If NDAA is Being Illegally Enforced? "VIDEO"