---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 5:44 AM Subject: Controversy over the National Defense Authorization Act : American equivalent of a gulag To: http://www.truth-out.org/congress-vs-constitution/1323799353 excerpt : The Court held that, under the PATRIOT Act's material support provisions, *a defendant may be held guilty of material support for terror without ever intending to support violence*. Months later, the FBI conducted raids of property of dozens of peace and justice activists. Today, it continues an investigation that has stretched beyond a year. It's one thing for activists to be monitored, infiltrated and then harassed by government authorities for their speech and political views. The NDAA would vastly enhance those government powers, creating the authority to detain indefinitely without trial. Mere accusation would be enough to deny freedom to law-abiding people. Rather than face FBI harassment, those activists - and any others raising awareness about issues like foreign policy or corporate environmental policies - could face the American equivalent of a gulag<http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/?p=4978> . The PATRIOT Act's material support provisions allow our government to criminalize speech and repress political dissent, a frontal assault on the First Amendment. And with material support cases grounded in associational guilt, the First Amendment is also eroding from its figurative sides. -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens