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Oversight of security agencies
Monia Mazigh - Corruption, tax evasion and terrorism: The case of Arthur Porter
Rabble.ca 07/03/2013 - My intention here isn't to reinforce the allegations against Mr. Porter or to defend him. My question is very simple: how could the financial transactions of this man go unnoticed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)?  How could Mr. Porter have been appointed the chairman of Canada's spy agency watchdog while several suspicious activities were taking place? Where was the RCMP? Where was CSIS? Where was the police? How about CSIS itself, did it have a file on Mr. Porter? It took an article in the National Post to expose the relationship Mr. Porter had with an ex-Israeli spy, based in Montreal and involved in international arms trafficking. Aren't those deals included in CSIS's mandate for information collection? Or is CSIS only obsessed with "Islamic" terrorism, with the Occupy movement and with environmental activists? Meanwhile, people like Porter continue to live in total impunity.
Read moreEx-Mountie arrested after weapons stockpile uncovered in Bancroft house
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Guantanamo
Over 100 Guantánamo prisoners on hunger strike, citing threat of return to "darkest days under Bush"
Democracy Now! 13/03/2013 - More than 100 detainees held in the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay are reportedly entering their fifth week of a hunger strike sparked by deteriorating conditions. News of the hunger  strike first emerged last week, but it appears the action involves far more prisoners than previously thought. In a letter to his attorney, one detainee wrote: "We are in danger. One of the soldiers fired on one of the brothers a month ago. Before that, they send the emergency forces with M-16 weapons into one of the brothers' cell blocks. ... Now they want to return us to the darkest days under [George W.] Bush. They said this to us. Please do something." We're joined by Pardiss Kebriaei, senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights and counsel for one of the hunger strikers. MoreAs Gitmo prisoners revolt, Obama admin challenged on indefinite detention at OAS hearingU.S. claims no indefinite detention at GuantanamoThe failing state of Guantanamo Bay |
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War on terror
White House explores how to make 'war on terror' policies 'permanent'
Common Dreams 07/03/2013 - Though the Authorization for Use of Military Force-a joint resolution passed in the days following the 9/11 attacks-has been repeatedly reauthorized by Congress, officials inside the White House reveal that the Obama administration is having  specific conversations about how to both expand the law's authority and make certain aspects of the US "global war on terror" permanent. Known as the AUMF and considered the piece of legislation most responsible for the ongoing and seemingly endless use of military force abroad, new reporting by the Washington Post examines how even government insiders supportive of the ongoing military operations say the law is being "stretched to its legal limits." Read moreNYT Editorial: Repeal the military force law
Bin Laden relative pleads not guilty in terrorism case
The New York Times 12/03/2013 - Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who once served as a spokesman for Al Qaeda,  pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Friday morning in federal court in Manhattan, where he was charged with conspiring to kill Americans. Mr. Cronan asked that Mr. Abu Ghaith be held without bail. Mr. Weinstein did not challenge the request but left open the possibility of making a bail application later. Mr. Cronan said the government would take three weeks to present its case at trial, but no date was set.
Read moreBin Laden's son-in-law trial reignites debate |
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Iraq: 10 years later
Al Jazeera 14/03/2013 - The overwhelming lesson is that in this historical period interventions by the West in the non-West, especially when not authorised by the UN Security Council, can rarely succeed in attaining their stated goals. More broadly, counterinsurgency warfare involving a core  encounter between Western invading and occupying forces and a national resistance movement will not be decided on the basis of hard power military superiority. But rather by the dynamics of self-determination associated with the party that has the more credible nationalist credentials, which include the will to persist in the struggle for as long as it takes, and the capacity to capture the high moral ground in the ongoing struggle for domestic and international public support. It is only when we witness the dismantling of many of America's 700-plus acknowledged foreign military bases spread around the world, and see the end of repeated US military intervention globally, that we can have some hope that the correct lessons of the Iraq War are finally being learned. Read more10 years later: Why Chrétien said no to IraqIraq suffers 'attacks on civilians, unfair trials', Amnesty reportsTen years ago, the truth about Iraqi WMDs was published-and ignoredMission unaccomplished: Why the invasion of Iraq was the single worst foreign policy decision in American historyThe coming collapse of the Middle East?One of first Iraq veterans to publicly oppose war will die for our sinsConsulting the zombies: Why we invariably turn to the "experts" who were never right when it comes to Iraq |
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Rule of law
The drone debate upends DC's right/left divide
The Huffington Post 28/02/2013 - It's become accepted wisdom that Washington has become pathologically polarized and partisan, with every new debate inevitably breaking down along  party lines. That's why it was so remarkable last week when Rand Paul's old-fashioned talking filibuster scrambled the even more old-fashioned right-vs.-left way of looking at the world. The Paul-provoked debate on the confirmation of John Brennan to head the CIA in turn provoked a wider and critical debate about the use of drones -- a debate that needs to continue well beyond Brennan's confirmation.
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State secrets
Finally: hear Bradley Manning in his own voice
The Guardian 12/03/2013 - The court-martial proceeding of Bradley Manning has, rather ironically, been shrouded in extreme secrecy, often exceeding even that which prevails at  Guantanamo military commissions. This secrecy prompted the Center for Constitutional Rights to commence formal legal action on behalf of several journalists and activists, including myself, to compel greater transparency. One particularly oppressive rule governing the Manning trial has barred not only all video or audio recordings of the proceedings, but also any photographs being taken of Manning or even transcripts made of what is said in court. Combined with the prohibition on all press interviews with him, this extraordinary secrecy regime has meant that, in the two-and-a-half years since his arrest, the world has been prevented, literally, from hearing Manning's voice. That changes today.
Read more and listenOp-Ed: Death to whistle-blowers?The case of the US vs Bradley ManningDaniel Ellsberg: In hearing Bradley Manning act out of conscience, secret tape refutes media slanderNational intelligence memorandum outlines steps taken to deter classified leaks to mediaOp-Ed: Private Manning's confidant |
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Access to information
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Aviation security
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Border security
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Criminalization of dissent
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National security
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Racism
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Rendition to torture
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Surveillance and privacy
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Terrorism
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War in Mali
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War on terror
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Miscellaneous
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About us
The ICLMG is a national coalition of thirty-nine Canadian civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. You will find in this News Digest news articles, events, calls to action and much more regarding national security, anti-terrorism, civil liberties and other issues related to the mandate and concerns of ICLMG and its member organizations. 
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ICLMG in the media
Human rights... here & there: The criminalization of dissent
Canadian Lawyer 11/03/2013 - According to Roch Tassé, national co-ordinator of ICLMG, the federal government, in particular, has been engaged in a disciplined communications strategy whereby it constantly and consistently messages to Canadians that economic interests, meaning economic growth, are the same as national interests. The language of post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism legislation created to counter terrorist activities that threatened our national interests is now being used to allow government police agencies to spy on those who speak against corporate interests, particularly in relation to the extractive industries.
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Take action
Donate to the legal fund for Mohamed Mahjoub
The security certificate process was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 2007 Charkaoui ruling. A new certificate was issued against Mr. Mahjoub in February 2008 under this new process and he was forced to begin the process all over again. The Federal Court has not yet ruled on the 'reasonability' of the new certificate against him. In the context of these new security certificate proceedings, Mr. Mahjoub was subject to an unprecedented violation of his rights. The present fund-raising initiative is aimed at obtaining a permanent stay of the unfair proceedings against him in light of this unprecedented violation.
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Take action
"Hundred for Hassan" Campaign
Hassan will be put in prison if he does not pay his "creditor" - in this case, the Canadian government - $2,000 per month for the cost of his own surveillance. We invite you to be one of 100 people who care about due process and the presumption of innocence and oppose abusive extradition proceedings, by pledging $20 per month or more to share the cost of Dr. Diab's oppressive burden. This is our way of taking a public stand and saying, "This is just wrong."
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Humor
TSA to allow small terrorists on planes
The Onion 07/03/2013 - In a notable relaxation of its existing security protocols, the Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday that it will henceforth allow small terrorists on commercial aircraft.  "After reviewing our longstanding policies, we have decided to ease our boarding requirements to allow any terrorist 5 feet tall or shorter to enter the airplane cabin," TSA administrator John S. Pistole said in a prepared statement.
'You're my best friend,' says Obama to drone that appears outside bedroom window every night
The Onion 08/03/2013 - White House sources confirmed that after hearing a gentle tap on his window Thursday evening, President Barack Obama stepped out onto the Truman balcony to meet with the predator drone that appears outside his  bedroom every night at 9 p.m. "Ah, there you are, old friend; almost thought you weren't coming tonight," the President reportedly said to the unmanned aerial vehicle before affectionately patting its antenna dome, telling the drone that it was "truly good" to see it, and asking about who it killed that day.
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