The Myth of Freedom in the USA……
Since 9/11, the USA has moved slowly, systematically and surely to becoming an authoritarian regime. There continues to be an on-going erosion of civil liberties in the USA. Those who speak up face police harassment, constant surveillance, summary intimidation or arrests. Land of the Free? Oh come on…
THE EROSION OF FREEDOM IN THE USA
In Alphabetical Order
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American public lives under an all pervasive surveillance state. The US government can take any document, file or material from a citizen for its intelligence agencies for analysis in the name of national security.
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Corporations, such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, who assist the US government in surveillance of citizens in the USA and worldwide, are immune from prosecution for violating citizens’ rights, including the right to privacy as in the Sixth Amendment.
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Government employees from politicians, the military, law enforcement agencies and bureaucrats cannot be prosecuted for any kind of war crime. Soldiers very occasionally face the military court for their crimes against citizens.
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National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) passed a bill this year allowing the military to investigate all alleged terror suspects within the USA that overrule police criminal investigation.
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Suspects involved in acts of terror can be jailed with indefinite detention and have no right to a criminal trial. The ruling applies to US and foreign citizens in the USA.
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The US government refuses to accept international accountability for its actions
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US uphold the right to order the assassination of suspects without trial anywhere in the world whether foreign or US citizens.
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US authorities can monitor the activities of citizens including use of GPS, without any authorisation.
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US citizens are blocked from taking out prosecutions against government and businesses for violations of the privacy of citizens.
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US citizens have essentially lost their right to privacy since the law can now conduct unwarranted searches and seizures on anybody on any pretext.
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US government can get information on any citizen through the records of any company about one of its customers.
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US government can offer secret evidence against a suspect in a federal or military court in the name of national security.
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US government continues to uphold its right to transfer suspects from one country to another including US citizens.
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US government decides whether a suspect appears in a federal court or a military court.
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US government does not require a warrant for any kind of surveillance of a citizen who is suspected of political affiliations with organisations opposed to the US government.
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US government refuses to allow any investigation of suspected US war criminals, past or present. The US government regularly demands other countries have such investigations.
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US government refuses to ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC). 121 nations, rich and poor, have signed up another 30 countries are in the process of ratification. The ICC has the power to prosecute those leaders and military personnel who commit atrocities.
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US government sanctions the right to engage in any kind of secret search of citizens within the USA or overseas even if they are not part of any terrorist organisation.
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US government upholds its right to detain individuals indefinitely even when there is no evidence against prisoners such as Guantanamo Bay and numerous other similar US political prisons worldwide.
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US government upholds the right to secret military trials with a low level of evidence for a guilty verdict. A US court can order the execution of a person in a guilty verdict for treason and other crimes.
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US law no longer has an obligation to charge a citizen with a specific crime (s), or a right to trial if it is not deemed to be in the national interest. The Sixth Amendment guarantees every citizen the right to a speedy and public trial appears to be ignored.
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US military does not have to show proof to an independent judge before committing an individual to indefinite detention.
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US Police have the right to break up, arrest and inflict certain levels of violence on peaceful citizens who protest against US domestic and foreign policy. The police are not held accountable for such aggression.
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US uphold the right to strip citizens of legal protection, such as whistle blowers and prominent leaders who protest against the abuse of the power of the state.
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USA government continues to threaten, interrogate and punish families of suspects at home or overseas without any fear of prosecution.
Surveillance enables governments and corporations to collect data about citizens, going back decades, within the USA and overseas. The US government can use this data to discredit voices of opposition to the interests of the government. The US uses the media to demonise individuals and groups who draw attention to deficits in government policy and actions.
Millions of Muslims in the USA live in daily fear of the police, FBI and other government agencies. Muslims and others face threats, especially if they dare speak up and criticise US foreign policy in the Arab world. They face summary arrest and imprisonment without trial as suspected terrorists or claims they are sympathetic to terrorist organisations.
The US government engages in the persecution of whistle blowers who face interrogation and long periods of imprisonment for exercising freedom of information. Those who are caught face initially years in solitary confinement.
Acts of civil disobedience become bold steps as governments and businesses find ways to marginalise protest including arrests, fines and imprisonment for non-violent action.
More and more foreign nationals entering into the USA find themselves falling under suspicion on the merest point of information. Levels of anxiety run high for foreign nationals, especially from the African/Arab world or with a Muslim name in the passport queue for entry into the USA.
The erosion of freedom in the USA makes its citizens obedient to the will of the US government and fearful of making protest. The US government, military and corporate power aims to confine citizens to the role of customers and consumers while marginalising all forms of protest against the policies of the Administration.
May all beings remain vigilant in matters of freedom
May all beings feel free to protest at injustice
May all beings keep alive the voice of liberation.