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April 2005
4/12/05
Forgotten History - Tuesday, April 12, 2005
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Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Subject: Forgotten History - Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Time: 12:25:00 PM EDT
Author: momsfirstscreenn
Mood: Quiet
Music: Southern Gospel
Thoughts on the Patriot Act and Surveillence
Denis Mueller
I once met a FBI agent named Wesley Swearingen. Wes had been
an agent for twenty-five years. He had joined the bureau,
like many agents, to put bad guys away but soon found him-
self doing black bag jobs on private citizens. A black bag
job is when an agent breaks into someone's office, house or
workplace to acquire information illegally. Wes told me two
stories, which are particularly important when we speak
about surveillance and data.
The first story concerns how a woman, middle aged, was put
on the FBI's list of subversives. She was at a picnic when
she contributed $5.00 to a fund, which was used to promote
anti-lynching laws. It is hard to believe but at one time
some people opposed laws that were designed to stop
lynching, but at any rate, her action put her on a
subversives list to be detained in time of national
emergency. This became part of her file and followed her
whenever she went for a job. Because the group that had
been collecting the money was affiliated with the communist
party she became someone to be watched. She became a
subversive. Here is an example of information being used,
as I see it, incorrectly but it has another chilling effect
in that is dissuades people from contributing to outside of
the mainstream groups, whatever the justice of their cause.
Another example is the case of Geronimo Pratt, Pratt was a
decorated Vietnam veteran who became a member of the Black
Panther Party when he returned from Vietnam. Pratt was a
dedicated young man who rose quickly through the ranks of
the party to become Minister of Defense. He was framed for
a brutal murder he did not commit. Pratt had been under
surveillance by the FBI and they were out to get him. At
first they tried to pin the Tate/Labonca murders on him and
when that failed the FBI continued to try to get him for
some crime. So when a couple was brutally murdered, at a
tennis court by their house, Pratt's name quickly came up.
The trouble was that the FBI knew he was at a party meeting
400 miles away and could not have been on Los Angles at the
time. The bureau hid this fact in trial and when they were
asked for the logs for that day, the FBI said they missing.
Pratt was framed for the double murder and it took twenty-
eight years to finally free him. He was freed when a Reagan
appointed judge looked at all the evidence and decided to
call for a new trial.2 Why do I bring these two incidents
up? Because they are examples of how data can be used or
ignored altogether. Despite the assurances of the
government, are we sure that information gathered for the
Patriot Act will be handled in a neutral manner, or will
the prejudices of the agent's come into play?
The panopitcan works in manner where an individual, when
under surveillance, or the threat of surveillance, will
conform in a manner that is acceptable to the social order.
J. Edgar Hoover ruled the FBI with an iron fist for over 50
years. His premise was that everyone had skeletons in their
closet that they did not want to become public. So Hoover's
surveillance had a chilling effect for no Congressman would
dare challenge him because of the threat of what Hoover
might have in his files. So year after year the Congress
gave Hoover whatever he wanted. There would be no challenges
to his reign. The system, for Hoover, worked quite well. In
fact the people in Congress would fall over each other to
appease Hoover. What Hoover would do is invite someone into
his office and tell them that there are people spreading
rumors about something. Then he would say that he knows
this is not true but thought he should share the information
with them.3 Of course those in question knew exactly what
was going on and were then in Hoover's pocket. In a way, it
didn't matter whether they were innocent or guilty; all that
mattered was the threat from Hoover. This is a classic
example of how social control and surveillance can work.
The women who gave $5.00 never knew that she was under
surveillance. Pratt knew he was under surveillance but no
one, including his first attorney Johnnie Cochrane, would
believe him that the plot by the FBI would include setting
someone up for murder. The politicians knew that Hoover was
watching them and so they would give the FBI everything they
wanted.
Now, under the Patriot Act, we are asked to believe the FBI
when they say they would never abuse these new laws that
give them added power. We make these laws, such as the
Patriot Act, under the guise that ordinary citizens have
nothing to fear but forget that data can be used in all
types of ways. We become under the mercy of this type of
surveillance so dissent is stifled and control established.
Data gathering is not an apolitical act no matter what the
FBI might say and the potential for abuse is huge. Under
the Patriot Act one does not even, like the women who gave
five dollars, know why they are on list.
Take the case of Cat Stevens. Stevens, now know as Yusuf
Islam, was on his way to Nashville when the flight was
diverted to Banger, Maine. He was told to get off the plane
and refused entrance into the United States. Stevens was on
the terrorist watch list and so no other reason was given.
No other reason was deemed necessary. Mr. Islam said that
he was devastated." The unbelievable thing is that only two
months earlier, I had been having meetings in Washington
with top officials from the White House Office of Faith
Based and Community Initiatives to talk about my charity
work." Is it possible that unknowingly Stevens contributed
money to an organization that had some far removed
connection with a group that we deem as terrorist? What we
often fail to understand is surveillance is not neutral, it
makes no claims for such, it can be biased information.
Sources: Video: The FBI's War on Black America
Interview with Wesley Sweagingen
1 interview with Wesly Sweagingen. 1995
2 interview with Geronimo Pratt, 1990. The FBI's War on
Black America
3 See Atheon Thoeharris, The Boss
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Subject: Forgotten History - Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Time: 12:25:00 PM EDT
Author: momsfirstscreenn
Mood: Quiet
Music: Southern Gospel
Thoughts on the Patriot Act and Surveillence
Denis Mueller
I once met a FBI agent named Wesley Swearingen. Wes had been
an agent for twenty-five years. He had joined the bureau,
like many agents, to put bad guys away but soon found him-
self doing black bag jobs on private citizens. A black bag
job is when an agent breaks into someone's office, house or
workplace to acquire information illegally. Wes told me two
stories, which are particularly important when we speak
about surveillance and data.
The first story concerns how a woman, middle aged, was put
on the FBI's list of subversives. She was at a picnic when
she contributed $5.00 to a fund, which was used to promote
anti-lynching laws. It is hard to believe but at one time
some people opposed laws that were designed to stop
lynching, but at any rate, her action put her on a
subversives list to be detained in time of national
emergency. This became part of her file and followed her
whenever she went for a job. Because the group that had
been collecting the money was affiliated with the communist
party she became someone to be watched. She became a
subversive. Here is an example of information being used,
as I see it, incorrectly but it has another chilling effect
in that is dissuades people from contributing to outside of
the mainstream groups, whatever the justice of their cause.
Another example is the case of Geronimo Pratt, Pratt was a
decorated Vietnam veteran who became a member of the Black
Panther Party when he returned from Vietnam. Pratt was a
dedicated young man who rose quickly through the ranks of
the party to become Minister of Defense. He was framed for
a brutal murder he did not commit. Pratt had been under
surveillance by the FBI and they were out to get him. At
first they tried to pin the Tate/Labonca murders on him and
when that failed the FBI continued to try to get him for
some crime. So when a couple was brutally murdered, at a
tennis court by their house, Pratt's name quickly came up.
The trouble was that the FBI knew he was at a party meeting
400 miles away and could not have been on Los Angles at the
time. The bureau hid this fact in trial and when they were
asked for the logs for that day, the FBI said they missing.
Pratt was framed for the double murder and it took twenty-
eight years to finally free him. He was freed when a Reagan
appointed judge looked at all the evidence and decided to
call for a new trial.2 Why do I bring these two incidents
up? Because they are examples of how data can be used or
ignored altogether. Despite the assurances of the
government, are we sure that information gathered for the
Patriot Act will be handled in a neutral manner, or will
the prejudices of the agent's come into play?
The panopitcan works in manner where an individual, when
under surveillance, or the threat of surveillance, will
conform in a manner that is acceptable to the social order.
J. Edgar Hoover ruled the FBI with an iron fist for over 50
years. His premise was that everyone had skeletons in their
closet that they did not want to become public. So Hoover's
surveillance had a chilling effect for no Congressman would
dare challenge him because of the threat of what Hoover
might have in his files. So year after year the Congress
gave Hoover whatever he wanted. There would be no challenges
to his reign. The system, for Hoover, worked quite well. In
fact the people in Congress would fall over each other to
appease Hoover. What Hoover would do is invite someone into
his office and tell them that there are people spreading
rumors about something. Then he would say that he knows
this is not true but thought he should share the information
with them.3 Of course those in question knew exactly what
was going on and were then in Hoover's pocket. In a way, it
didn't matter whether they were innocent or guilty; all that
mattered was the threat from Hoover. This is a classic
example of how social control and surveillance can work.
The women who gave $5.00 never knew that she was under
surveillance. Pratt knew he was under surveillance but no
one, including his first attorney Johnnie Cochrane, would
believe him that the plot by the FBI would include setting
someone up for murder. The politicians knew that Hoover was
watching them and so they would give the FBI everything they
wanted.
Now, under the Patriot Act, we are asked to believe the FBI
when they say they would never abuse these new laws that
give them added power. We make these laws, such as the
Patriot Act, under the guise that ordinary citizens have
nothing to fear but forget that data can be used in all
types of ways. We become under the mercy of this type of
surveillance so dissent is stifled and control established.
Data gathering is not an apolitical act no matter what the
FBI might say and the potential for abuse is huge. Under
the Patriot Act one does not even, like the women who gave
five dollars, know why they are on list.
Take the case of Cat Stevens. Stevens, now know as Yusuf
Islam, was on his way to Nashville when the flight was
diverted to Banger, Maine. He was told to get off the plane
and refused entrance into the United States. Stevens was on
the terrorist watch list and so no other reason was given.
No other reason was deemed necessary. Mr. Islam said that
he was devastated." The unbelievable thing is that only two
months earlier, I had been having meetings in Washington
with top officials from the White House Office of Faith
Based and Community Initiatives to talk about my charity
work." Is it possible that unknowingly Stevens contributed
money to an organization that had some far removed
connection with a group that we deem as terrorist? What we
often fail to understand is surveillance is not neutral, it
makes no claims for such, it can be biased information.
Sources: Video: The FBI's War on Black America
Interview with Wesley Sweagingen
1 interview with Wesly Sweagingen. 1995
2 interview with Geronimo Pratt, 1990. The FBI's War on
Black America
3 See Atheon Thoeharris, The Boss
Written by momsfirstscreenn Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
