December, 14 2009, 10:59am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rachel Myers, ACLU National, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Rebecca Farmer, ACLU of Northern California, (415) 621-2493 x374
ACLU in Court Tuesday in Extraordinary Rendition Case
Government Claiming 'State Secrets' to Have Case Against Boeing Subsidiary Thrown Out
SAN FRANCISCO
The
American Civil Liberties Union will be in federal appeals court in San
Francisco tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15 at 10:00 a.m. PST to argue
that a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. for its
role in the Bush administration's unlawful "extraordinary rendition"
program should go forward. The government has repeatedly misused the
state secrets privilege in an attempt to have the case thrown out. To
this day, not a single victim of the Bush administration's torture
policies has had his day in court.
The ACLU and the ACLU of Northern
California brought the lawsuit in May 2007 on behalf of five men who
the CIA kidnapped, forcibly disappeared and secretly transferred to
U.S.-run prisons or foreign intelligence agencies overseas, where they
were interrogated under torture. The lawsuit charges that Jeppesen
knowingly participated in the forcible disappearance and torture of the
men by providing critical flight planning and logistical support
services to the aircraft and crews used by the CIA to carry out their
"extraordinary rendition." The Bush administration intervened in the
case, improperly asserting the state secrets privilege to have the
lawsuit thrown out, but in April a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the government can only
invoke the state secrets privilege with respect to specific evidence -
not to dismiss an entire suit. The Obama administration's appeal of
that decision will be now be heard by an en banc panel of 11 judges.
WHAT:
Arguments in Mohamed, et al. v. Jeppesen,
the ACLU's lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen DataPlan for its
role in the Bush administration's "extraordinary rendition" program.
The government is appealing an earlier ruling allowing the case to go
forward.
WHO:
Ben Wizner, staff attorney for the
ACLU National Security Program, will argue before an en banc panel of
11 judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
WHEN:
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
10:00 a.m. PST
WHERE:
James R. Browning Courthouse, Courtroom 1
95 7th Street
San Francisco, California 94103
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
Bernie Sanders Says Defeating Oligarchy Now Most Urgent Issue
"My friends, you don’t have to be a PhD in political science to understand that this is not democracy. This is not one person, one vote. This is not all of us coming together to decide our future. This is oligarchy."
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Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is escalating his fight against the U.S. oligarchy with a new campaign directed at the nation's wealthiest individuals—including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg—who he says are key culprits in a global race to the bottom that is stripping people worldwide of political agency while impoverishing billions so that the rich can amass increasingly obscene levels of wealth.
Announcing a new series that will detail how "billionaire oligarchs" in the U.S. "manipulate the global economy, purchase our elections, avoid paying taxes, and increasingly control our government," Sanders said in a Friday night video address that it makes him laugh when mainstream pundits talk openly about the nefarious oligarchic structures in other places, but refuse to acknowledge the issue in domestic terms.
"Strangely enough, the term 'oligarchy' is very rarely used to describe what's happening in the United States or in fact, what's happening around the world," said Sanders. "But guess what? Oligarchy is a global phenomenon, and it is headquartered right here in the United States."
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While rarely discussed in the corporate press or by most elected officials, argues Sanders, the reality is that a "small number of incredibly wealthy billionaires own and control much of the global economy. Period. End of discussion. And increasingly they own and control our government through a corrupt campaign finance system."
Since the the victory of President-elect Donald Trump in November, Sanders has been increasingly outspoken about his frustrations over the failure of the Democratic Party to adequately confront the contradictions presented by a party that purports to represent the interests of the working class yet remains so beholden to corporate interests and the wealthy that lavish it with campaign contributions.
In a missive to supporters last month, Sanders bemoaned how "just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected" in this year's elections, which included giving to both major political parties. Such a reality, he said, must be challenged.
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Public Citizen is among various organizations that have criticized President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, with the watchdog's co-president, Robert Weissman, saying that "he shouldn't be allowed in the building... let alone be placed in charge of the nation's public health agency."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
Mr. Siri declined to be interviewed, but said all of his petitions were filed on behalf of clients. Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy, said Mr. Siri has been advising Mr. Kennedy but has not discussed his petitions with any of the health nominees. She added, "Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice."
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The Times pointed out that experts consider placebo-controlled trials that would deny some children polio shots unethical, because "you're substituting a theoretical risk for a real risk," as Dr. Paul A. Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, explained. "The real risks are the diseases."
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Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, warned that "they want your kids dead."
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Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded with a video on social media:
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"It's a big slap in the face for us once again," Amanda Lorah—who was sentenced by Conahan to five years of juvenile detention over a high school fight—toldWBRE.
Sandy Fonzo, whose son killed himself after being sentenced to juvenile detention, said in a statement: "I am shocked and I am hurt. Conahan's actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son's death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power."
"This pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer," Fonzo added. "Right now I am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that this has brought back."
Many of Conahan's victims were first-time or low-level offenders. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court would later throw out thousands of cases adjudicated by the Conahan and Ciaverella, the latter of whom is serving a 28-year sentence for his role in the scheme.
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Others have called on Biden—who earlier this month pardoned his son Hunter Biden after promising he wouldn't—to grant clemency to people including Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier and environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.
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