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God help us. Note especially U.S. official Bonner's statement that aiding Iraqi
individuals suffering under sanctions is prosecutable ...
===
[1] http://www.msnbc.com/news/849920.asp?0cv=CB10
Hundreds of Calif. Muslims detained. Muslim men, boys subjected to strip
searches, lawyers allege
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 — Hundreds of Muslim men and boys are being subjected to
strip searches in freezing, standing-room-only detention centers in Southern
California after being arrested for routine visa irregularities, immigration
lawyers said Thursday.
They estimated that between 1,000 and 2,500 males, some as young as 16, were
spending their fourth day locked up in what they called inhumane conditions
after voluntarily presenting themselves at immigration offices to register under
new anti-terrorism rules.
...
[2] http://www.msnbc.com/news/849720.asp?0cv=CA01
U.S. alleges ring sent cash to Iraq
$12 million wired to Baghdad; suspect says it went to aid suffering Iraqis
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 — A dozen individuals who violated a U.S. trade embargo
against Iraq by funneling at least $12 million in cash and commodities to a
person living in Baghdad have been indicted on money-laundering charges, federal
officials said Thursday. “Those who hide in the shadows of the financial world
are learning that they cannot hide any longer,” Treasury Undersecretary Jimmy
Gurule said at a news conference to announce the indictments.
...
(U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Robert) Bonner acknowledged that
investigators have not found evidence that any of the money or commodities ended
up in the hands of the Iraqi government, but he added, “We can’t rule it out.
Our investigation is continuing.”
And he said that even money sent in violation of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act to individuals living in Iraq indirectly aids
Saddam Hussein’s regime by easing the financial pressure brought to bear by U.N.
sanctions.
“We are serious about investigating and prosecuting anyone who violates
the embargo against Iraq,” he said.
[[Note this appears to be a follow-up to raids earlier this year, where families
were investigated for the 'crime' of sending money to their grandparents in
Iraq. In Minneapolis, a 12-year old girl was held at gunpoint while her home
was searched. "Standard procedure", officials said. See
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2002/msg00265.html ...]]
...
[3] "They came for the 'suspected terrorists', and I didn't object -
For I wasn't a 'suspected terrorist';
They came for those of Middle Eastern descent, and I didn't object -
For I wasn't of Middle Eastern descent;
They came for the dissenters and activists, and I didn't object -
For I wasn't a dissenter or an activist;
...
Then they came for me -
And there was no one left to object."
[Original by Martin Niemoller, 1892-1984, a Protestant pastor in Nazi Germany;
updated by Doreen Miller, at http://www.yellowtimes.org/print.php?sid=444]
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