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Mon Apr 9, 2012, 02:36 PM

U.S. Blocks Entry for Pakistani Lawyer, Outspoken Critic of Drone Attacks

Source: Common Dreams

U.S. Blocks Entry for Pakistani Lawyer, Outspoken Critic of Drone Attacks

Published on Monday, April 9, 2012
by Common Dreams


(photo: meesh)

The U.S. government is preventing a Pakistani lawyer and outspoken critic of drone attacks from entering the country. Rights groups say the move further silences the U.S. drone program's impact on civilians across the world.

The lawyer, Shahzad Akbar, has been invited to speak at the International Drone Summit this month organized by CODEPINK and the legal advocacy organizations Reprieve and the Center for Constitutional Rights. But Akbar has not received the necessary visa nor any information regarding his application for the visa filed in May 2011.

“Denying a visa to people like me is denying Americans their right to know what the U.S. government and its intelligence community are doing to children, women and other civilians in this part of the world,” Akbar said. “The CIA, which operates the drones in Pakistan, does not want anyone challenging their killing spree. But the American people should have the right to know.”

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/09-2



- Yes. We. Can?

"As it turned out, homeland insecurity was the perfect foil for the hegemony of Homeland Security. Now the architects of Total Information Awareness can legally be in our phone calls, our emails, our bank accounts, our library cards, our internet browsers, our peace groups, our medical records, our gonads, our heads, and our hearts. We’ve been hornswoggled, hoodwinked, and hijacked into accepting pervasive incursions into every vestige of individual liberty and political democracy -- all done quite ingeniously in the name of protecting liberty and preserving democracy.

"The mathematics are Machiavellian and their logic is inescapable. For the mere price of 3000 souls, the return on investment has been exponential: tens of thousands tortured, hundreds of thousands killed, millions relentlessly survived, billions frightened lest they be next. It is the dream of real numbers, the holy grail of realpolitik, a down payment on the permanent war economy, a blank check for purchasing the dreams of future generations. It is, in short, the emperor’s handcrafted new clothes in full regalia."

~from Millennial Math: Nine plus Eleven=1984 by Randall Amster~

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Reply U.S. Blocks Entry for Pakistani Lawyer, Outspoken Critic of Drone Attacks (Original post)
DeSwiss Apr 2012 OP
robinlynne Apr 2012 #1
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #2
izquierdista Apr 2012 #3
robinlynne Apr 2012 #4
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #5
msongs Apr 2012 #6
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #9
Robb Apr 2012 #7
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #8
closeupready Apr 2012 #12
think Apr 2012 #10
cosmicone Apr 2012 #11
frylock Apr 2012 #13
cosmicone Apr 2012 #14
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #24
Better Believe It Apr 2012 #15
The Northerner Apr 2012 #16
Robb Apr 2012 #17
The Northerner Apr 2012 #18
Robb Apr 2012 #19
Comrade Grumpy Apr 2012 #22
The Northerner Apr 2012 #23
Comrade Grumpy Apr 2012 #21
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #25
treestar Apr 2012 #20
DeSwiss Apr 2012 #26
treestar Apr 2012 #27
cosmicone Apr 2012 #28

Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 02:41 PM

1. interesting since now they are using drones here......they really don't like that nasty free speech

concept, do they.

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Response to robinlynne (Reply #1)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 02:53 PM

2. I believe they like the concept of free speech alright.....

Last edited Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:08 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

...it's the ''reality'' of free speech they seem to have the biggest problem with.

- Particularly when that speech comes in the form of hard questions they don't want to answer.

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 02:54 PM

3. Drone technology, meet Skype technology

 

There's no reason Akbar can't speak via video conference. To do so would underscore that for every technology, there is a counter-technology that can bring it down. Plus think of the view count when it's posted on YouTube.

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Response to izquierdista (Reply #3)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 02:56 PM

4. good idea, BUT, if visas are denied because of political views, we are in huge trouble as a nation.

which we are.
Remember when a codepink leader was not permitted to go to Canada for a bogus reason.

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Response to izquierdista (Reply #3)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:07 PM

5. Well, that'll work.....

...for just as long as we have access to the technology. And they're working on limiting that access as we speak. Likewise, as a result of our replacing reality with a virtual one, we will have conceded more power to the very Police State that some seem unable to see.

- If they'll ignore our Constitutional rights (in full view of everyone I might add), why would we expect for them to stop there?

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:17 PM

6. the Bush agenda marches on under new management nt

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Response to msongs (Reply #6)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:51 PM

9. Indeed. n/t

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:39 PM

7. Shahzad Akbar is an attorney. Similarly, Terry Jones is a pastor.

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Response to Robb (Reply #7)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:49 PM

8. Likewise, Obama is a Democrat. :-/ n/t

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Response to Robb (Reply #7)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:01 PM

12. And Fluffy is a feline.

So what.

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:51 PM

10. K&R

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:55 PM

11. Good.

He probably represents the terrorist element in Pakistan anyway -- one or more of the many official Pakistani terrorist organizations funded and supported by ISI.

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Response to cosmicone (Reply #11)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:04 PM

13. is that a gut feeling or are you basing that opinion on fact?

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Response to frylock (Reply #13)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:18 PM

14. For someone to get this level of publicity requires "connections" in Pakistan.

So it is a rational and logical conclusion.

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Response to cosmicone (Reply #11)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:49 PM

24. ''....funded and supported by ISI.''

Who are funded and supported by the USA (CIA).

- Just like bin Laden used to be.....

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:42 PM

15. K & R

 

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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:44 PM

16. K&R Why is this acceptable?

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Response to The Northerner (Reply #16)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:46 PM

17. You should invite him over for tea.

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Response to Robb (Reply #17)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:50 PM

18. If Shahzad Akbar is willing to expose the bloodshed caused by drone strikes

Last edited Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:51 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

I'll certainly invite him to have tea.

The slaughtering of innocent civilians and countless violations of another country's sovereignty should warrant considerable attention, right?


“The CIA, which operates the drones in Pakistan, does not want anyone challenging their killing spree. But the American people should have the right to know.”


- Shahzad Akbar

I agree 100% with the above quote.

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Response to The Northerner (Reply #18)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:54 PM

19. Is this going to be one of those DU - Ron Paul moments?

Where a complete asshole with a history of being an asshole says something a handful of credulous DUers agree with, and becomes the latest craze?

Good luck with that.

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Response to Robb (Reply #19)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:02 PM

22. It's not about him. It's about the behavior of our government.

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Response to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #22)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:24 PM

23. Exactly! The slaughtering of civilians by drone strikes should ALWAYS be condemned

Last edited Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:25 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

and if Shahzad Akbar can bring more attention to that issue then he should be welcomed and praised.

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Response to Robb (Reply #17)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:00 PM

21. I'd be happy to invite him over for tea. But I can't.

Are you okay with the US government denying visas because it would be embarrassed or because it's pissed off at someone?

I'm not.

What is the reason he can't get a visa?

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Response to Robb (Reply #17)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:52 PM

25. What?

And open one's self up to another episode of American Star-Chamber Drone Justice?



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Response to DeSwiss (Original post)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 04:57 PM

20. Nothing in this article proving why this visa was denied

We don't really have that fact.

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Response to treestar (Reply #20)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 05:55 PM

26. Fact?

Homeland Security doesn't release ''facts'' to the public.

- It's for your own good though.......

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Response to DeSwiss (Reply #26)

Mon Apr 9, 2012, 06:05 PM

27. Is there anything to prove that?

Denial of a visa may be for many reasons, and there may be a way to find out about that.

Though perhaps not easily on the internet.

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Response to treestar (Reply #20)

Tue Apr 10, 2012, 12:44 AM

28. Precisely. The guy is probably entrenched in Pakistan's

state sponsored terrorism apparatus.

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