[NYTr] FCNL E-News: Government Spying, Iran, and More

Tue Oct 9 15:30:14 EDT 2007

FCNL - Oct 9, 2007
http://www.fcnl.org

E-News: Government Spying, Iran, and More

Find out more about FCNL: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/FIOVHRSGWV/1466101171/

**From the Hill: Permanent Government Spying?**

In August, Congress temporarily expanded the administration's powers to 
eavesdrop on all calls and emails that might be connected to someone 
outside the United States, with little or no court oversight. Now, 
Congress is revisiting this legislation and could make some of the 
expanded powers permanent. Read the letter FCNL sent to members of the 
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence urging them to support 
the basic civil liberties of people in the U.S.: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/BDQJHRSGWW/1466101171.

**In the News: "Ahmadinejad in New York: A Too-Warm Welcome?"**

The PBS program NOW produced a segment about the meeting between 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and U.S. religious leaders at the 
end of September. FCNL Executive Secretary Joe Volk participated in the 
meeting, which is part of an ongoing dialogue between U.S. faith 
communities and the people and government of Iran in an effort to 
prevent war between the two countries: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/KDIBHRSGWX/1466101171.  Watch
the video on the PBS website:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/APOLHRSGWY/1466101171.

**Iran: Watch the Video "Forewarned Is Forearmed: Bush on Iran"**

This three-minute video: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/HTNZHRSGWZ/1466101171, put
together by psychologist Roy Eidelson:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/NMLHHRSGXA/1466101171
chronicles President Bush's public war-mongering and demonization of
Iran over the last five years.

**From the Hill: FCNL Thanks Leaders for Opposing Torture**

In response to reports that the Justice Department secretly authorized 
harsh CIA interrogation techniques, such as head slapping, frigid 
temperatures, and simulated drowning, several members of Congress spoke 
out and denounced torture. FCNL sent letters thanking them for their 
statements and urging congressional oversight: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/BBZGHRSGXB/1466101171.

**Quote of the Week: Bruce Springsteen: What's Really Unpatriotic Is to 
Remain Silent**
"I believe every citizen has a stake in the course, direction of 
their country. That's why we vote...It's unpatriotic at any given 
moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place 
that you love so dearly and that has given me so much...I think we've 
seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody 
ever thought they'd ever see in the United States...When people think 
of the United States' identity, they don't think of torture. They don't 
think of illegal wiretapping...They don't think of no habeas 
corpus...Those are things that are anti-American."

~ Bruce Springsteen, Interviewed on 60 Minutes, October 7, 2007: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/GDCLHRSGXC/1466101171.

**Meet FCNL's New Legislative Representative: Ann Vaughan**

Graphic: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/BQAJHRSGXD/1466101171

Before coming to FCNL, Ann Vaughan spent three and a half years on the 
Hill working to improve the U.S. government's response to failed and 
failing states and two years serving in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua as 
a health extension volunteer. Ann joined the staff in September and is 
the Legislative Representative for the Peaceful Prevention of Deadly 
Conflict program. She works on efforts to strengthen the U.S. 
government's ability to prevent deadly conflict, including efforts to 
bolster resource for the State Department: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/DAWSHRSGXE/1466101171.

If you're interested in learning more about these issues, she invites 
you to sign up for FCNL's Prevent War email list: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/DPFVHRSGXF/1466101171.

**From Helena Cobban: Bush's Good Idea on Global Warming**

In an October 3 Christian Science Monitor column, , FCNL Friend in 
Washington Helena Cobban presents three reasons why the U.S. needs to 
participate fully in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions and points out that George W. Bush has in the past worked to 
advance pro-green goals: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/HUDXHRSGXG/1466101171.

**War is Not the Answer Photo of the Week**

Graphic:http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/HBQKHRSGXH/1466101171

A student from Howard University displays her War is Not the Answer 
sign at last month's anti-war march in Washington, DC.

Order a War is Not the Answer sign: 
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/CAEUHRSFYT/GVQCHRSGXI/1466101171.
_______________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation 
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 
fcnl at fcnl.org
http://www.fcnl.org
phone:(202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war We seek a society
with equity and justice for all We seek a community where every
person's potential may be fulfilled We seek an earth restored.