Military Data Reveal Tips on Antiwar Activities

[babylonsister]

Big Brother is watching, even though they claim they misinterpreted their 'mandate'. :eyes:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8428

November 21st, 2006 12:49 am
Military Data Reveal Tips on Antiwar Activities

By Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti / New York Times

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 — An antiterrorist database used by the Defense Department in an effort to prevent attacks against military installations included intelligence tips about antiwar planning meetings held at churches, libraries, college campuses and other locations, newly disclosed documents show.

snip//

Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U. in New York, said the new documents suggested that the military’s efforts to glean intelligence on protesters went beyond what was previously known. If intelligence officials “are going to be doing investigations or monitoring in a place where people gather to worship or to study, they should have a pretty clear indication that a crime has occurred,” Mr. Wizner added.

The leader of one antiwar group mentioned repeatedly in the latest military documents provided to the A.C.L.U. said he was skeptical that the military had ended its collection of material on war protests.

“I don’t believe it,” said the leader, Michael T. McPhearson, a former Army captain who is the executive director of Veterans for Peace, a group in St. Louis.

Mr. McPhearson said he found the references to his group in the Talon database disappointing but not altogether surprising, and he said the group continued to use public settings and the Internet to plan its protests.



more...

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. They are afraid of Vets for Peace!

And Cindy Sheehan
and the vegans...
and the Quakers...
and anyone who brings attention
to the military industrial complex.

They will be the ones to pull the trigger first!
Be ready with your video cameras.

[babylonsister]

3. Seems they're afraid of anyone not toeing their ideological line.

And I hope you mean 'pull the trigger' figuratively, though nothing would surprise me, which is why this is frightening.

[Kolesar]

2. The Veterans for Peace got access to the "Talon" database: how do I?

The latest Talon documents showed that the military used a variety of sources to collect intelligence leads on antiwar protests, including an agent in the Department of Homeland Security, Google searches on the Internet and e-mail messages forwarded by apparent informants with ties to protest groups.

In most cases, entries in the Talon database acknowledged that there was no specific evidence indicating the possibility of terrorism or disruptions at the antiwar events, but they warned of the potential for violence.

One entry on Mr. McPhearson’s group from April 2005, for instance, described a protest at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces at which members handed out antimilitary literature and set up hundreds of white crosses to symbolize soldiers killed in Iraq.

“Veterans for Peace is a peaceful organization,” the entry said, but added there was potential that future protests “could become violent.”

[babylonsister]

4. File an FOIA? Contact the ACLU??

:shrug:

[Kolesar]

7. I have got skin in this one

thanks for the answer

[babylonsister]

8. You might even go to Vets For Peace and get their

input. If you don't get an answer, I have a friend who is friends with Cindy Sheehan. She might be able to give you some feedback. Good luck.

[marmar]

5. Thus the reasons for the vague definition of "enemy combatant" in the torture bill...

Let there be no doubt about who much of this terror bill fervor is directed at. See you in Gitmo, my DU brothers and sisters!

[babylonsister]

6. Or perhaps one of those cozy little camps they're building,

familiarly termed detention centers.