May, 04 2010, 12:44pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action, 951-217-7285, pmartin@peace-action.org
Judith Le Blanc, Peace Action, 917.806.8775, jleblanc@peace-action.org
International Coalition Delivers Seven Million Petition Signatures for Nuclear Abolition To UN Chair
Media Advisory:
PHOTO OPS: Dozens of boxes of petitions, UN Chair, NGO Leaders
NEW YORK, UN (May 4, 2010)
WHAT: NGO Leaders deliver over seven million petition signatures to UN
Chair of the NPT Review Conference.
WHEN: Tuesday May 4, 1:00 PM
WHERE: UN General Assembly
WASHINGTON
Media Advisory:
PHOTO OPS: Dozens of boxes of petitions, UN Chair, NGO Leaders
NEW YORK, UN (May 4, 2010)
WHAT: NGO Leaders deliver over seven million petition signatures to UN
Chair of the NPT Review Conference.
WHEN: Tuesday May 4, 1:00 PM
WHERE: UN General Assembly
WHO: UN Chair of the NPT Review Conference, Ambassador Libran N.
Cabactulan of the Republic of the Philippines, will receive the
petitions from Mayor Luc Dehaene from Ypres; Alfred Marder, President of
the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities; Hiroshi Taka,
Secretary General of Gensuikyo (Japan Council against A & H Bombs);
Koga Nobuaki, President, Japanese Trade Union, Rengo; Pierre Villard,
Co-President, Le Mouvement de la Paix (France); Kevin Martin, Executive
Director, Peace Action (US); Dave Web, Board Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (CND, Britain), and Reiner Braun, Program Director,
International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global
Responsibility (Germany).
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," explained one critic.
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Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
"This bill would basically allow the government to institute a spy draft," Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, warned Thursday. "It will lead to significant distrust between journalists and sources, not to mention everyone else."
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," he added. "Regardless of whether the end target of the surveillance is a foreigner, it's indisputable that the people the government can enlist to conduct the surveillance are Americans. And what's more, these civilians ordered to spy would be gagged and sworn to secrecy under the law."
In addition to the "Make Everyone a Spy" provision, civil libertarians have sounded the alarm over the House lawmakers' rejection of an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the legislation.
Critics accuse Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and colleagues including Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) of trying to rush a vote on RISAA while disingenuously claiming Section 702's powers will expire with the law on Friday. That's a misleading claim, as a national security court earlier this month approved the government's request to continue a disputed surveillance program even if Section 702 lapses.
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"There can be no mistake: Sens. Schumer and Warner just helped hand the next president an unspeakably dangerous weapon that will be used against their own constituents," Vitka added. "And there is only one vote left to stop it."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
In an attempt to tackle the warrantless surveillance issue, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on Thursday proposed a RISAA amendment that would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before accessing Americans' private communications.
However, the amendment contains exceptions to the warrant requirement in the event of unspecified emergencies and cyberattacks.
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Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
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