This is good to hear, I wish them luck. As SI notes, it’s stupid because it just encourages people to make mirror sites. Stupid suits, still too dense to understand how the intertubes operate as they War on Freedom. Lots of livelinks in the original.

Note to Bank: Don’t Wage War With the Internets

If you follow the political blogs, you probably know about the Wikileaks case. In a nutshell, last week a district court judge ruled in favor of Swiss Bank Julius Baer and ordered the Wikileaks domain name shut down because a former bank employee allegedly used the site to post proof that the bank is involved in a money laundering scheme. Wired’s Threat Level gives an excellent, thorough run-down of the story.

Last night the ACLU, the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a motion to intervene in that lawsuit.  Read more 

I love lists. I make them, I read them, I collect them…the ACLU made a list for 2007 your should read:

2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedoms Back

Top 10 ways our government failed us:

1. Not putting an end to warrantless NSA spying. Congress instead has continued to let the NSA spy without warrants and is considering letting the telephone companies off the hook for spying on Americans illegally. The Senate debated FISA last month before the holiday recess, and in a gift to the American people, legislation that would have forgiven telecom companies for spying on their customers and given the NSA more freedom to spy on Americans was not voted on. Congress is expected to take up the legislation when members return later in January.

2. Not repealing the Military Commissions Act or restoring habeas corpus. Despite a valiant effort and near success, an amendment to restore habeas corpus received 56 votes when it needed 60 votes. The support in the Senate indicates that legislation to fix the Military Commissions Act could pass. The Supreme Court will also issue a decision in 2008 regarding habeas corpus.

3. Not closing the Guantanamo Bay Prison. January 11 marks the sixth anniversary of the arrival of prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners have been held without habeas corpus rights for six years. The ACLU is organizing people across America to wear orange that day in recognition of the shame the prison has caused for all of us.

The number of inmates shrank this year to 355, having started at over 700; officials expect the prison to close one way or another in 2008. But Guantanamo’s closing will not necessarily mean the end of holding prisoners without due process, especially if the Military Commissions Act is still in place.

4. Not giving due process to immigrants and denying life-saving health care in immigration detention facilities. Although the comprehensive immigration reform bill ultimately failed, even that legislation would not have given immigrants badly needed basic due process rights. Congress failed to pass legislation this year securing those basic human rights for immigrants.

5. Allowing the CIA to destroy interrogation tapes.  Read more 

The ACLU says it all:

 Read more 

So Ye All Shall Be Free: (registration required)

OKLAHOMA CITY — The lawyer for a former Baptist church leader who had spoken out against homosexuality said Thursday the minister has a constitutional right to solicit sex from an undercover policeman.

The Rev. Lonnie W. Latham had supported a resolution calling on gays and lesbians to reject their “sinful, destructive lifestyle” before his Jan. 3, 2006, arrest outside the Habana Inn in Oklahoma City.

Authorities say he asked the undercover policeman to come up to his hotel for oral sex.

His attorney, Mack Martin, filed a motion to have the misdemeanor lewdness charge thrown out, saying the Supreme Court ruled in the 2003 decision Lawrence v. Texas that it was not illegal for consenting adults to engage in private homosexual acts.

“Now, my client’s being prosecuted basically for having offered to engage in such an act, which basically makes it a crime to ask someone to do something that’s legal,” Martin said.

Both sides agree there was no offer of money, but prosecutor Scott Rowland said there is a “legitimate governmental interest” in regulating offers of acts of lewdness.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has filed a brief claiming that Latham’s arrest also violated his right to free speech.  Read more 

It won’t surprise you at all, but guess what’s likely to be one of the last acts of the 109th Congress? eVote Fraud ’certification.’ Brad’s got more:

With Christine Jennings (D) contesting the results of Florida’s 13th congressional district race in court, “it is increasingly likely that the contest for the open Florida 13th district seat could end up before the House Administration Committee, which has oversight over federal elections,” reports Roll Call.

Here’s the process: if a candidate contests the race before the committee, “two majority members and one minority member” investigate and then the committee recommends a course of action. “That recommendation is voted on by the full panel and sent to the House floor for consideration just like any other bill that is reported out of a committee.”

“Because the Democrats do not take control of the House until Jan. 3, it is likely that any investigation by House Administration would be launched while Republicans are still in charge — meaning the GOP will have the 2-1 majority on the investigating committee. But by the time the full House would be asked to seat the new Member, the Democrats would be in the majority.”  Read more 

It’s funny, I spend so much time on the Internets and I missed this:. Given the Constitution is dead, I’m not surprised. But still, let’s all don the foil and imagine why this should be:

Author: Michelle Chen
Community Evaluator: Tim Ogburn
Student Researcher: Rachelle Cooper and Brian Murphy

The Department of Defense has been granted exemption from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In December 2005, Congress passed the 2006 Defense Authorization Act which renders Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) “operational files” fully immune to FOIA requests, the main mechanism by which watchdog groups, journalists and individuals can access federal documents.  Read more 

Or perhaps I mean unholy shit.

A federal judge in Detroit has ruled that the NSA program is unconstitutional, and ordered it to be halted.

The AP leads with that order to halt the program.
P.S. Chicago Dyke and I were writing at the same time. Follow me below the fold for a take on what we need to do immediately.  Read more 

Atrios, this one’s for you:

The women were ordered to leave by a state trooper hired to provide security after a member of Santorum’s promotional team overheard them talking before the senator arrived, according to the suit. When two of the women asked why they were being ejected, they were arrested, the suit say.  Read more