civil liberties

Jena 6 Teen Released on $45,000 Bail

By DOUG SIMPSON
The Associated Press
Washington Post
Friday, September 28, 2007

JENA, La. -- A black teenager whose prosecution in the beating of a white classmate prompted a massive civil rights protest here walked out of a courthouse Thursday after a judge ordered him freed.

Mychal Bell's release on $45,000 bail came hours after a prosecutor confirmed he would no longer seek an adult trial for the 17-year-old. Bell, one of the teenagers known as the Jena Six, still faces trial as a juvenile in the December beating in this small central Louisiana town.

"We still have mountains to climb, but at least this is closer to an even playing field," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who helped organize last week's protest.

This is so wrong on sooo many levels. He preaches from his staged press conference that it was J.C. who prevented violence during a huge protest rally last week. Because African Americans would never act in a civil manner. What a slap in the face to the African American community

U.S. to Expand Domestic Use Of Spy Satellites

By ROBERT BLOCK
Wall Street Journal - online
August 15, 2007

The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S.

The decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, places for the first time some of the U.S.'s most powerful intelligence-gathering tools at the disposal of domestic security officials. The move was authorized in a May 25 memo sent to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking his department to facilitate access to the spy network on behalf of civilian agencies and law enforcement.