Personal Data, and Who Is a Terrorist?

Last anti-rabies shot was the Saturday just past, Yeah!

Personal: and Who is a Terrorist?

I signed the petition to close Guantanamo because I believe our court system is capable of trying terrorism suspects, as it did the "underwear bomber".  I also signed it because if we haven't already, we may Create future terrorists by holding people without trial or charges for so many years, (in some cases) without either charges or trials.  I do not Want any more acts of terrorism carried out here or anywhere.

Then there is the question of just who Is a terrorist?  Sometimes it seems to me that a terrorist is someone the government in power is fighting and needs to label.  All of the young people protesting against autocratic rule during the "Arab Spring" were labeled "terrorists" by their ruling governments.  All Syrian rebels are now labeled in the same way.  My best guess is that some are and some are not.  And at this late date it might be impossible to tell them apart.

But I suspect that black South African protesters, along with those called "colored" in S. Africa would have been labeled "terrorists" who wanted to bring down the state and destroy the country, if they had been protesting After Sept. 2011.  Leonard Peltier, (who is now 68 and has serious health problems)  would have gotten the same label, although people from around the world call for his release as it was not proven that he fired the shot which killed an FBI agent in the mid-1970's.

Then there is the case of the high school girl below.  I haven't yet signed this petition, as I want to read more about it first.  But where does this intentionally scary labeling stop?

Israel has Never been accused of terrorism by the US., even when their military destroyed hundreds of olive trees, depriving farmers of a livelihood and craftspeople from the wood they use when the trees are prooned to keep them healthy.  Israeli military soldiers have been accused of stopping ambulances from reaching the wounded after battles, something the "refusenicks" in Israel have refused to do. 

The burning of a mosque in Joplin Mo. Was not called "terrorism" it was arsen.

This word "terrorism" should be used only to label Specific acts or it loses its meaning.  Or, as I think may be  intended, it sets a vaguely scary feeling inside us which has no outlet or relief.  I object to this. This charge can be misued in dangerous ways. What do you think?

Change.org

President Obama: Close Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay

By Morris D.

Gainesville, Virginia

Sign Colonel Davis's Petition

I served 25 years in the US Air Force, I was the Chief Prosecutor for the Terrorism

Trials at Guantanamo Bay for more than two years, and now I need your help.

I personally charged Osama Bin Laden’s driver Salim Hamdan, Australian anathema David

Hicks, and Canadian teen Omar Khadr.

All three were convicted … and then they were released from Guantanamo.

More than 160 men who have never been charged with any offense, much less convicted

of a war crime, remain at Guantanamo with no end in sight.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where not

 being charged with a war crime keeps you locked away indefinitely and a war crime

conviction is your ticket home.

As of April 29, 2013 – 100 of the 166 men who remain in Guantanamo are engaged in

a hunger strike in protest of their indefinite detention.  Twenty-one of them are

being force-fed and five are hospitalized.

Some of the men have been in prison for more than eleven years without charge or

trial.

The United States has cleared a majority of the detainees for transfer out of Guantanamo,

yet they remain in custody year after year because of their citizenship and ongoing

political gamesmanship in the U.S.

That is why I am calling on Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel to use his authority

to effect cleared transfers from Guantanamo and on President Obama to appoint an

individual within the Administration to lead the effort to close Guantanamo.

Obama announced on April 30 that he plans to do his part to close Guantanamo,

 but he has made this promise before

.  Now is the time to hold him to his promise and urge him to take the steps necessary

to dismantle Guantanamo Bay Prison.

If any other country were treating prisoners the way we are treating those in Guantanamo

we would roundly and rightly criticize that country.

We can never retake the legal and moral high ground when we claim the right to do

unto others that which we would vehemently condemn if done to one of us.

It is probably no surprise that human rights and activist groups like the Center

For Constitutional Rights, Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International have

been outspoken critics of Guantanamo.

It may surprise you that a former military prosecutor and many other retired senior

military officers and members of the intelligence community agree with them.

The Patriotic thing, the American thing, the Human thing to do here is to Close Guantanamo.

Please join us in the fight by signing this petition.

Sign Colonel Davis's Petition

Start a petition on Change.org.

Morris, who created this petition, is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org

did not create and is not responsible for the petition content.

Mailing address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130, New York, NY 10025 USA

Change.org

Teresa

 — There's a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested

in signing it:

State Attorney Jerry Hill: Drop charges against Kiera Wilmot

By Maggie G.

Corbett, Oregon

Sign Maggie's Petition

Kiera Wilmot has been described as an exemplary student and a wonderful young woman.

Why is it then that an experiment gone wrong is being dealt with by the police and

school as a felony offense? According to the Miami Times:

"7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small

8 oz water bottle on the grounds of Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida. The reaction

caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No

one was hurt and no damage was caused."

The principal has said that that he doesn't believe she had any malicious intentions.

Yet she now faces two felony charges as an adult. These includ

making, possessing or discharging a destructive device and with possessing or discharging

weapons on school grounds!

I've learned that the charges have not yet been filed and this means that Florida

State Attorney Jerry Hill and Assistant State Attorney Tammy Glotfelty have an opportunity

to the right thing, use common sense, and drop these charges against Kiera.

Please sign this petition to challenge any decision to so drastically charge this

young woman for something that was a simple mistake. Her life should not be turned

upside down, her future crushed, because someone wants to make a statement. There

was no criminal activity here - she does not deserve to be punished like this. Help

Kiera find real justice!

I also recommend checking out this article about the situation

http://feministing.com/2013/05/01/the-effects-of-unchecked-criminalization-teen-charged-with-felony-for-science-experiment/

Sign Maggie's Petition

The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org.

Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content.

Start a petition on Change.org

Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025