President Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/pres...ention-bill-law

 

WASHINGTON – President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law today. The statute contains a sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provision. While President Obama issued a signing statement saying he had “serious reservations” about the provisions, the statement only applies to how his administration would use the authorities granted by the NDAA, and would not affect how the law is interpreted by subsequent administrations. The White House had threatened to veto an earlier version of the NDAA, but reversed course shortly before Congress voted on the final bill.

 

“President Obama's action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield. The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.”

 

Under the Bush administration, similar claims of worldwide detention authority were used to hold even a U.S. citizen detained on U.S. soil in military custody, and many in Congress now assert that the NDAA should be used in the same way again. The ACLU believes that any military detention of American citizens or others within the United States is unconstitutional and illegal, including under the NDAA. In addition, the breadth of the NDAA’s detention authority violates international law because it is not limited to people captured in the context of an actual armed conflict as required by the laws of war.

 

“We are incredibly disappointed that President Obama signed this new law even though his administration had already claimed overly broad detention authority in court,” said Romero. “Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back the constitutional excesses of George Bush in the war on terror was extinguished today. Thankfully, we have three branches of government, and the final word belongs to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the scope of detention authority. But Congress and the president also have a role to play in cleaning up the mess they have created because no American citizen or anyone else should live in fear of this or any future president misusing the NDAA’s detention authority.”

 

The bill also contains provisions making it difficult to transfer suspects out of military detention, which prompted FBI Director Robert Mueller to testify that it could jeopardize criminal investigations. It also restricts the transfers of cleared detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries for resettlement or repatriation, making it more difficult to close Guantanamo, as President Obama pledged to do in one of his first acts in office.

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Mark this date well, because it is surely a "day that will live in infamy" as another American president (a REAL Democrat by the way) said.

 

This is a betrayal of everything democracy, the rule of law (and even Obama's own principles when he was a Senator), the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus ever stood for. This basically makes it legal for the US state to imprison anyone the like without proper trial, without any proper due legal recourse... This is the nightmare that Kafka envisioned when he wrote "The Trial". This is the sort of thing Stalin and every other tin-pot dictator throughout the world would be proud of....

 

This is the day democracy died....

This is... concerning. I'm still fully backing Obama this year since the alternative doesn't bear thinking about but something needs to seriously change.

This is... concerning. I'm still fully backing Obama this year since the alternative doesn't bear thinking about but something needs to seriously change.

 

TBH, I'm beginning to find Ron Paul slightly preferable to Obama.. At least Paul is a Libertarian, Obama is just a disgrace and a traitor to everything that African American leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X ever stood for.... Neither of them would ever have signed off on something like this....

TBH, I'm beginning to find Ron Paul slightly preferable to Obama.. At least Paul is a Libertarian, Obama is just a disgrace and a traitor to everything that African American leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X ever stood for.... Neither of them would ever have signed off on something like this....

 

No matter how Libertarian he is he'll still be in the pocket of the Tea Party if he's elected, same as any Republican candidate.

Ron Paul 2012, Obama has made no changes. Well he has made some BUT all the changed he did make cost us more money!

 

It said the average amount of taxes the government receives in like a month is 150 Billion dollars. But Obama goes ahead and spends 300 billion!

 

Ron Paul 2012!

 

Where exactly would Paul be saving all that money then?

Where exactly would Paul be saving all that money then?

 

Well, for a start, probably not spending billions invading Iran..... :rolleyes:

Well, for a start, probably not spending billions invading Iran..... :rolleyes:

 

Given he's seen as the godfather of the Tea Party I can hardly see him vetoing it if Congress puts it through...

Given he's seen as the godfather of the Tea Party I can hardly see him vetoing it if Congress puts it through...

 

Errr, he's publically stated that he's against a war with Iran. He's also going to do something about corruption on Wall Street and wants to end the current regime in the Federal Reserve Bank..

 

Good luck to him, I say. He's the one guy who isn't in service to J P Morgan or Goldman Sachs... He might even have the guts to actually JAIL some of these banker-scum who have fukked the American economy, god knows Barack Obama has proven himself to be a spineless worm where this is concerned.... <_<

Errr, he's publically stated that he's against a war with Iran. He's also going to do something about corruption on Wall Street and wants to end the current regime in the Federal Reserve Bank..

 

Good luck to him, I say. He's the one guy who isn't in service to J P Morgan or Goldman Sachs... He might even have the guts to actually JAIL some of these banker-scum who have fukked the American economy, god knows Barack Obama has proven himself to be a spineless worm where this is concerned.... <_>

So which of the following of his proposals do you support?

 

1) Abolish income and inheritance taxes by an amendment to the constitution

 

2) Abolish Capital Gains Tax

 

3) Repeal Obama's health care programme

 

4) Abolish the welfare state (such as it exists in the US)

 

5) Loosen restrictions on gun ownership

 

6) Abolish taxes on petrol

 

7) Remove restrictions on drilling for oil

 

8) Abolish the Environmental Protection Agency

 

9) Tax credits for a whole host of things (paid for how?)

 

All of these are on his campaign website. One of the longest items on the website is his "statement of faith".

 

Paul is one of those where certain aspects of his politics seem a bit different and appealing but in many ways he's just same old Republican.

Paul is one of those where certain aspects of his politics seem a bit different and appealing but in many ways he's just same old Republican.

 

At least he'll actually do something as opposed to Obama just sitting on his hands for the next four years, continue to let the banksters ruin the country, sign off on even dodgier legislation which destroys the Constitution like the Indefinite Detention Act and SOPA (both of which Paul utterly opposes I believe...). The mainstream press dont like Ron Paul because he is the one candidate who's a bit of shit-stirrer... Where is the shit-stirring from the so-called "liberal" camp in the US coming from.. They all seem to be too busy hand-wringing and being apologists for O-bomber.... It's only people Cenk Uygur on the Young Turks, Keith Olbermann and bloody MATT DAMON of all people, who seem to be the only vaguely leftist voices of dissent.... And unfortunately, none of them are running for President...

At least he'll actually do something as opposed to Obama just sitting on his hands for the next four years, continue to let the banksters ruin the country, sign off on even dodgier legislation which destroys the Constitution like the Indefinite Detention Act and SOPA (both of which Paul utterly opposes I believe...). The mainstream press dont like Ron Paul because he is the one candidate who's a bit of shit-stirrer... Where is the shit-stirring from the so-called "liberal" camp in the US coming from.. They all seem to be too busy hand-wringing and being apologists for O-bomber.... It's only people Cenk Uygur on the Young Turks, Keith Olbermann and bloody MATT DAMON of all people, who seem to be the only vaguely leftist voices of dissent.... And unfortunately, none of them are running for President...

 

He'd also reverse one of the few really good things Obama's done, tit for tat really.

At least he'll actually do something as opposed to Obama just sitting on his hands for the next four years, continue to let the banksters ruin the country, sign off on even dodgier legislation which destroys the Constitution like the Indefinite Detention Act and SOPA (both of which Paul utterly opposes I believe...). The mainstream press dont like Ron Paul because he is the one candidate who's a bit of shit-stirrer... Where is the shit-stirring from the so-called "liberal" camp in the US coming from.. They all seem to be too busy hand-wringing and being apologists for O-bomber.... It's only people Cenk Uygur on the Young Turks, Keith Olbermann and bloody MATT DAMON of all people, who seem to be the only vaguely leftist voices of dissent.... And unfortunately, none of them are running for President...

Are you going to tell us which of the list of Paul policies I provided you support?

So which of the following of his proposals do you support?

 

1) Abolish income and inheritance taxes by an amendment to the constitution

 

2) Abolish Capital Gains Tax

 

3) Repeal Obama's health care programme

 

4) Abolish the welfare state (such as it exists in the US)

 

5) Loosen restrictions on gun ownership

 

6) Abolish taxes on petrol

 

7) Remove restrictions on drilling for oil

 

8) Abolish the Environmental Protection Agency

 

9) Tax credits for a whole host of things (paid for how?)

 

All of these are on his campaign website. One of the longest items on the website is his "statement of faith".

 

Yes please. Not a massive fan of CGT, it's a pain in the arse to calculate and how it is fair that the government can make money on things that you own that appreciate in value.

 

Inheritance Tax is actually evil, and I've made my stance on fuel duty well known....

At least he'll actually do something as opposed to Obama just sitting on his hands for the next four years, continue to let the banksters ruin the country, sign off on even dodgier legislation which destroys the Constitution like the Indefinite Detention Act and SOPA (both of which Paul utterly opposes I believe...). The mainstream press dont like Ron Paul because he is the one candidate who's a bit of shit-stirrer... Where is the shit-stirring from the so-called "liberal" camp in the US coming from.. They all seem to be too busy hand-wringing and being apologists for O-bomber.... It's only people Cenk Uygur on the Young Turks, Keith Olbermann and bloody MATT DAMON of all people, who seem to be the only vaguely leftist voices of dissent.... And unfortunately, none of them are running for President...

SOPA is probably the single largest violation to the right to free speech in the world. It's horrifying that the American government can shut down any website they wish, or rather that Hollywood wishes them to.

Yes please. Not a massive fan of CGT, it's a pain in the arse to calculate and how it is fair that the government can make money on things that you own that appreciate in value.

 

Inheritance Tax is actually evil, and I've made my stance on fuel duty well known....

 

SOPA is probably the single largest violation to the right to free speech in the world. It's horrifying that the American government can shut down any website they wish, or rather that Hollywood wishes them to.

So how would you raise the revenue lost?

 

How is IHT evil? Why should inherited wealth be able to be passed from generation to generation tax free ad infinitum?

Errr, he's publically stated that he's against a war with Iran. He's also going to do something about corruption on Wall Street and wants to end the current regime in the Federal Reserve Bank..

 

Good luck to him, I say. He's the one guy who isn't in service to J P Morgan or Goldman Sachs... He might even have the guts to actually JAIL some of these banker-scum who have fukked the American economy, god knows Barack Obama has proven himself to be a spineless worm where this is concerned.... <_<

Will he though? He blames the economy crash on "bloated government spending" and not unregulated, absurd lending. As an Austrian school economist he would deregulate businesses even further, allowing 'banker-scum' to get away with anything. Where has he stated that he'd jail reckless bankers, as that would completely go against his ideology?

 

Absolutely no income tax? That, libertarianism, isn't freedom, it's leaving the bottom x% to rot. He's scary. They all seem to be.

Are you going to tell us which of the list of Paul policies I provided you support?

 

I dont actually support any of them.. Which surely makes it even worse if I'd rather Paul win the Presidency than O-bomber get another four years to do yet more nothing and allow yet more Wall St criminality and excess....

 

As Matt Damon said "I'd rather have had a one term President with some balls...".

 

Amen...

Will he though? He blames the economy crash on "bloated government spending" and not unregulated, absurd lending. As an Austrian school economist he would deregulate businesses even further, allowing 'banker-scum' to get away with anything. Where has he stated that he'd jail reckless bankers, as that would completely go against his ideology?

 

 

Ron Paul has stated that he would "End the Fed", he's publically stated that.. The Fed Bank, and in particular Ben Bernanke and Tim Gheitner, is almost certainly a massive part of the problem in the US. The Fed serves the interests of the big banks like J P Morgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs and not the interests of the majority of Americans...

 

END THE FED... FUKK QUANTITIVE EASING...

Ron Paul has stated that he would "End the Fed", he's publically stated that.. The Fed Bank, and in particular Ben Bernanke and Tim Gheitner, is almost certainly a massive part of the problem in the US. The Fed serves the interests of the big banks like J P Morgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs and not the interests of the majority of Americans...

 

END THE FED... FUKK QUANTITIVE EASING...

The Federal Reserve serves as a regulator of private, profit making banks. Whether this is effective is another matter. However, I imagine that Ron Paul deems it to be too interventionalist. That is to say, it takes away a fraction of banks' autonomy. While he may make accusations that the Fed is corrupt, abolishing the Fed is going to give big banks even more autonomy. I imagine that he criticises the Fed for using quantatitive easing as it is inflationary since it boosts the money supply and can destroy the value of the currency. But if you're a Keynesian, it also increases lending and thus investment and employment and, you know, serves the interests of the majority?

 

Now upon looking this up... "A major theme throughout the work also revolves around the idea of inflation as a hidden tax making warfare much easier to wage" - So he's advocating that inflation is deliberate now? Ha! Inflation raises the cost of manufacturing weapons and waging war (unless they're imported or it raises terms of trade. Whatever), even if it does raise government revenue. The costs of inflation far outweight the benefits of it and I'm sure the Fed realise this!

 

He just sounds like an extreme inflation hawk. That is to say, there are parallels with Thatcher. While almost everyone economic view can be argued convincingly if you ignore its counter-arguments, his view of the world seems worryingly distorted.

 

I realise I haven't been too coherent or succint here, but I'm not sure if you understand Ron Paul very well.

The Federal Reserve serves as a regulator of private, profit making banks. Whether this is effective is another matter. However, I imagine that Ron Paul deems it to be too interventionalist. That is to say, it takes away a fraction of banks' autonomy.

 

Hmmm, well the Fed obviously has a very strange definition of "intervention" then.. Last time I looked, "intervention" didn't mean "rolling over and just letting people crap all over you"......

 

Yeah, I've heard that argument in favour of QE, and if it actually HAD any benefits for ordinary people, I might agree with you, unfortunately all QE has done is to print billions of fake money which the banks have sat on and haven't lent out to small businesses. At all... You'd've been just as well using the QE money and just given it to ordinary people in an equal share-out, instead of just letting the banks keep it on their (im)balance sheets...

 

So, if you're going to use Keynsianism, use it properly, as FDR did.... I dont even like Ron Paul that much, but really, at least he's making some of the right noises, unlike the other GOP candidates who are obsessed with relatively trivial issues like gay marriage and gays in the military and dont seem to be paying any attention to the real issues, which is the economy and unemployment. I suspect the likes of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum dont even understand the economy or the issues concerned, which is why they seem to be avoiding tackling the whole issue... Ron Paul at least "gets" the fact the the economy and jobs are the heart of this whole thing... And, unlike O-bomber, he seems to actually want to do something about the corruption which is standing in the way of America's recovery...