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In Refusing to Hear My Case, the Supreme Court Has Put the World's Peace and Order in Danger
Last week the Supreme Court of the United States of America refused to hear my case. This eliminates any remaining hope for me of obtaining justice through the U.S. judicial system against US officials who sent me to Syria to be tortured.
Let me emphasize the fact that my case is not an isolated one. My case is unique in the sense that I was the only person who was rendered from US soil. But hundreds of other human beings have been rendered by the CIA and handed over to brutal regimes. No one knows how many of these people have died under torture or completely disappeared. Those of us who were lucky "survived" and were released, but now live with psychological and physical scars.
In times of turmoil and crisis, such as the ones we have been living since 9/11, the judicial system is supposed to do exactly the opposite of what it has done: it is supposed to stand up to the executive branch and make sure the constitution is respected. Unfortunately, the judicial system has abandoned its sacred role of ensuring that no one is above the law. In doing so it has given the executive branch the green light to continue abusing people's basic human rights. As a result of this willful blindness, it has put the world's peace and order in danger.
A lot of people had high hopes when Obama took his oath to uphold the Constitution. It later became clear that his administration was no better than that of his predecessor. Here we are, 18 months after he took office, and Guantánamo is still open, renditions are still being carried out and illegal assassinations by drone planes have increased tenfold. This latter tactic has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians so far. One can only wonder what is next in the so-called "war on terror."
What is the solution to this state of lawlessness that the world is experiencing today? In my opinion, the judicial system can, and should, exercise its full powers. American Judges should learn lessons from their Italian counterparts, who did not listen to their political masters when it came to laying charges against the CIA officers who illegally kidnapped an Egyptian cleric on Italian soil and rendered him to torture in Egypt.
The RCMP, the Canadian federal police force, has launched a criminal investigation into my case. They have been collecting evidence with the view to charge those Syrian and American officials who were responsible for my torture. Whether charges will be brought against these officials will be something I and other human rights advocates will be watching very closely.
History has taught us that civilizations prosper when they make sure that justice prevails. Those civilizations that forgot this important lesson saw their might vanish in the eyes of people. I have no choice but to agree with Benjamin Franklin, who once wrote, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
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Show All"When Tao is lost, there is goodness. When goodness is lost, there is kindness. When kindness is lost, there is justice. When justice is lost, there is ritual. Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion."
(From the Tao Te Cheh)
The USSC's Arar decision confirmed the USA's status as a Terrorist State far beyond "law". It further confirms that this USA is NOT the country I was born in. The USA as constituted in 1776 and reconstituted in 1787 no longer exists as this "decision" voids all US "law."
An "open letter" I wrote some time ago to our alleged representatives. Perhaps it should be restated.
------------------------------------
An Open Letter to the Senate and Congress of the United States
by
Steve Osborn
HEY you! Yes, you! Congress persons and Senators. The last I heard, you were supposed to be representing us, We the People who elected you. To represent us properly, you should be listening to our wants and needs. You should be requesting instructions from the electorate, We the People, as it says in the Constitution of the United States.
We all know about lobbyists and special interests. They are the guys with the cash and trips and gifts of land, cars, houses, etc. We know you listen to them. When they say “Speak,” you bark! When they say, "Fetch!," you bring them tax breaks, no bid contracts, huge barrels of pork, oil giveaways and military contracts. All at the expense of We the People.
Well, We the People have formed our own action groups to monitor what is going on in the government. Groups like Move On, Free Press, Common Cause, NRDC, AFSC, Veterans for America, Pro Choice America and many others. These watchdogs monitor what is going on and keep us informed. When a vital issue is coming up for a vote in the Senate or the House, we are informed. They run petition sites for us to sign and edit so you can get input from We the People, so you the representatives will have some direction.
We know that your receive hundreds of thousands of signatures, many faxes, phone calls and letters. We know this because once in a while, you vote for the people’s interests rather than the lobbyists. We the People have even started to feel good about some of our representatives, but apparently you representatives have been very uncomfortable receiving directions from us. Many of us who take the time to e-mail you directly find that you are so insulated that you will only receive information from constituents. This sounds reasonable until someone is trying to get information to a committee member on some issue and gets the form response.
Apparently you have figured out a way to eliminate input from us. We have heard that you now classify the petitions and letters you receive through our grass roots organizations such as those listed above as spam and just delete it. How simple! You can just delete the concerns of hundreds of thousands of constituents by a simple keystroke. Viola! Their opinions vanish and you can go back to listening to the monied lobbyists.
Well, representatives take notice! “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,” to promote responsible representation, eliminate graft and corruption from the lowest to the highest levels, and return of the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights, intact and functioning to the halls of government, may well vote you out of office and elect those who truly want to represent the people of the United States.
So, this is formal notice. Shape up and represent us, or be ready to ship out. We’ve had it!
My perception,from the Australian media,of the Supreme Court,is of a court that is all about who's team you are on than making judicial decisions based on the evidence presented.
Their denial of a hearing in relation to the Arar case,show them to be afraid to have to make a judgement that brings before the courts the agents of U.S. "justice"for their egregious activities.
It is worth looking at some of the cases of relatively little importance and compare it to the denial of a hearing in the Arar case.
One word comes to mind.Gutless.
Similar situation happened to me and many others in late 1989 and early 1990, the year after Pres Bush #1 gave his "war in drugs/crack cocaine" speech during prime time TV. We were arrested, had our property taken and never charged with a crime. 'Zero tolerance' meant the authorities needed 'zero evidence or cause' to steal money and property and to treat us like sub-humans. I, along with many others, was completely innocent, but it mattered to no one. No lawyer, no politician, no one would help or even lift a finger to help us. We lost jobs and lots of money trying to right these wrongs.
Maher Arar's situation is worse than mine was, but in a way, it is all the same. The US Constitution is just a piece of old paper with some nice words written on it. It means nothing.
Treasonous Patriot Act invoking cowards.
Are we men of law, or men of fear that hide behind the stazi patriot act.
If the Supreme court judges took an oath, it was to serve their elitist masters and not constitutional law.
All lawyers and judges in our country are giving up their power to fight for legal remedy and knowledge of jurisprudence.
We have a constitution, written by men that wanted to create a country governed by rule of law ,,,its not perfect , and it needed to be changed to accommodate full civil rights, but we the brave , marched forward.
The Patriot Act and the action of our supreme court have set us back 35 years.Prior to the The Church Committee hearings.
Welcome to the United Stazi of America.
Is this east Germany, 1960.
Somebody wake me from this insane war mongering, fear mongering nightmare.
LIVE FREE OR DIE, really means something to me now.
BornFreemen,
Warrant lass surveillance victim by gang stalking community watch right wing lunatics for three years , 24/7 , in Tampa Forida.
I wrote my lawyer a letter , he is a civil rights lawyer, I told him I am being victimized by 7 county's community watch stazi, and we could prove it with FOIA requests.
He is afraid , and wont respond.Or he , and many others in the legal community swore oaths with Securegard,Infragard, or other DHS programs before they knew what they were doing.
"As a result of this willful blindness, it has put the world's peace and order in danger."
____________________________
You don't have to tell ME twice.
But that's inferior "mortal" thinking! To the denizens of the Mount Olympus of the US Supreme Court, the world's peace and order be damned.
This is the way of the gods. It is absurd, and contrary to the natural order of things, to suppose that the great and lordly scruple at the trifling affairs of their inferiors.
The gods have their own, manifestly superior, lives to lead. Their pleasure, satisfaction, prosperity, and comity-- in short, THEIR "peace and order"-- is what's important. The ordinary unprivileged citizen is to them at best a commodity, grist for their marble mills.
The gods call the tune, and those in its thrall must perforce dance to it or be trampled underfoot-- and devil take the hindmost.
For some reason, this circumstance is typically denied, forgotten, or lost in the daily hue and cry of chasing the mechanical bunnies du jour. It may be a case of truth vanishing over the horizon of hyperbole.
My sympathies and apologies to Mr Arar. I am utterly ashamed of my government.
This federal government today is corrupt beyond recognition. Madison's hope that the judiciary would be the last bulwark against tyranny has been dashed decades ago.
The government believes to admit you into court would be to admit fault.
The corporate mentality never admits fault. Sorry.
I agree, sorry Mr. Arar...our government, supreme court, and legal system is in shambles as torturers and war criminals go free as a result of lawless state protection...on this Obama is as guilty as Bush.
I am not only angry at our political leaders for betraying our ideals, but I am also angry at our populace for being so uninformed and apathetic. I hope that Mr. Arar continues to inform the world about what has happened to him and to countless others.
America officially became Amerika, Inc., on 1-21-10, when the Constitutional terrorists granted corporations the rights of personhood in elections. The golden rule is official. "Those with the gold, rule." They own it lock, stock, and barrel. There is no rule of law anymore and the populace doesn't have a clue. The thought of all the flag-waving going on this weekend makes me want to vomit. They should be waving dollar bills as flags. That's what Amerika really pledges allegiance to.
I'm sorry the US government doesn't even recognize its own laws anymore, Mr. Arar. I sure hope Canada finds you some kind of justice. Thank goodness you're a citizen of a nation who still has some semblance of civil rights. Thanks for speaking out and doing your part in trying to inform the ignorant US populace of its criminal government's actions. It's incredibly saddening and maddening that willful ignorance of the torture and death of innocent people is now the law of the land. As long as one of us is vulnerable, we're all vulnerable.