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The Department of Justice (DOJ) is using the Supreme Court's June 2010 Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project decision. It called nonviolent First Amendment speech and advocacy "coordinated with (or) under the direction of" groups designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) criminal activity.
Under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Congress made it a crime punishable by up to 10 years, later 15 for anyone providing "material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization or attempts or conspires to do so." The statute defines it as:
"....any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel and transportation except medicine or religious materials."
In fact, many groups and individuals providing peaceful advocacy are threatened, including Jimmy Carter for training all Lebanonese parties (including Hezbollah) on fair election practices. He submitted an opposition amicus brief.
CCR called the ruling "one of a very few times that the Supreme Court has upheld a criminal prohibition of speech under strict scrutiny, and the first time it has permitted the government to make it a crime to advocate lawful, nonviolent activity."
Deutsch now believes Obama's Justice Department will target political groups and activists, using their First Amendment rights in support of liberating struggles, including against Israeli apartheid and occupation. Under material support's new definition, anyone backing (rightly or wrongly) designated terrorist groups may be prosecuted as criminals, no matter their just cause. Obama is even more lawless than Bush. As a result, expect harder-line enforcement to come.
Obama's Neoliberal Austerity
Instead of vitally needed stimulus to revive a troubled economy, Obama plans austerity, using the pretext of deficit cutting urgency to shift more public wealth to super-rich allies already with too much but want it all.
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