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FBI Accused of Abusing Criminal Database

Posted by kdawson on from the when-everyone-is-a-criminal dept.

Peace protesters were unable to leave the country to speak in Canada because their names had been added to a database of criminals. There's a serious due-process violation here because a listing in this database is equivalent to an "infamous" conviction. "'The FBI's placing of peace activists on an international criminal database is blatant political intimidation of US citizens opposed to Bush administration policies,' says Colonel Wright, who was also Deputy US Ambassador in four countries. 'The Canadian government should certainly not accept this FBI database as the criteria for entering the country... The list is supposed to be for felony and serious misdemeanor offenses. We don't qualify — it's for sex offenders, foreign fugitives, gang violence and terrorist organizations, people who are on parole...'"

4 of 433 comments (clear)

  1. What I don't get... by downix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To me, it is like the boy who cries wolf. If the FBI puts out "criminal" warnings on too many peace protestors, then the international criminal database will start ignoring FBI criminal warnings, allowing true criminals to exit the country and get away from prosecution. Way to go boys!

    --
    Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
    1. Re:What I don't get... by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unfortunately, with veto threats being thrown around, and partisan nonsense leading to the lack of a supermajority in the senate...there's not much that can be done.

      Oh, horseshit. The Democrats could shut the government down, like the Republicans did over minor tax squabbles in the 1990s. They can - and should - say, "We will not pass any funding for the military, for foreign intelligence, or federal law enforcement, until we see reforms."

      And of course, they have the power to ITMFA.

      Under the Constitution, the Congress is the most powerful of the three branches of government. (Though Presidents have been trying to usurp that for a long time, and Bush has been the worst - it's time for Congress to issue an ass-whooping to him and to the office.) They could do a lot.

      They don't want to, either because they agree with the criminal policies of the Bush administration, or because they think they're more likely to keep their cushy jobs if they take no action. In either case, fuck them.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
  2. Re:Wait one minute... by seebs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The thing is, not everyone who gets arrested normally gets put on that list. It's not supposed to be a comprehensive list of everyone who's ever been arrested, or everyone who's ever been charged, or even everyone who's ever been convicted of a crime. It's supposed to be a list of dangerous criminals. Now it's not.

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  3. Complaining about Canadian rules? by GoofyBoy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The Canadian government should certainly not accept this FBI database as the criteria for entering the country"

    "It's outrageous that Canada is turning away peacemakers ..."

    Fix your own government and your own government database before you complain about someones else's government.

    --
    The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.