To the Point
National Security and Civilian Surveillance
America is on the alert. In Florida, citizen surveillance generated a false alarm when three Muslim Americans turned out to be medical students after all. In upstate New York, a tip caused the arrest of six Muslim Americans as a possible al Qaeda -sleeper cell,- even though there-s no published evidence that they planned to do any harm. Two weeks later, a federal magistrate still can-t decide if the six Americans of Yemeni descent should be let out on bail. While officials have no choice but to err on the side of caution, how do they strike a balance between vigilance and paranoia? We examine the delicate relationship between public safety and Constitutional liberties with legal experts, the attorney for one of the accused, and the author of a book about American-born terrorist Timothy McVeigh. Newsmaker: Bush Seeks Approval to Train Iraqi Opposition Today-s Los Angeles Times reports that the Bush Administration is prepared to ask Congress for approval to train up to 10,000 members of an Iraqi opposition force. Robin Wright, senior diplomatic correspondent for the Times, says the money to train a Northern Alliance-like group to fill a potential power vacuum is a reversal of longstanding policy. Reporter-s Notebook: MacArthur -Genius- Jack Miles A veil of secrecy cloaks the process by which the MacArthur Foundation picks its 24 fellows each year. All anyone really knows is that the fellows get $ 500,000 to spend however they wish. One of this year-s -Genius Awards- will go to Jack Miles, a former Los Angeles Times- editorial writer, former Jesuit seminarian and Pulitzer Prize-winner.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readAmerica is on the alert. In Florida, citizen surveillance generated a false alarm when three Muslim Americans turned out to be medical students after all. In upstate New York, a tip caused the arrest of six Muslim Americans as a possible al Qaeda -sleeper cell,- even though there-s no published evidence that they planned to do any harm. Two weeks later, a federal magistrate still can-t decide if the six Americans of Yemeni descent should be let out on bail. While officials have no choice but to err on the side of caution, how do they strike a balance between vigilance and paranoia? We examine the delicate relationship between public safety and Constitutional liberties with legal experts, the attorney for one of the accused, and the author of a book about American-born terrorist Timothy McVeigh.
Bush Seeks Approval to Train Iraqi Opposition
Today-s Los Angeles Times reports that the Bush Administration is prepared to ask Congress for approval to train up to 10,000 members of an Iraqi opposition force. Robin Wright, senior diplomatic correspondent for the Times, says the money to train a Northern Alliance-like group to fill a potential power vacuum is a reversal of longstanding policy.
MacArthur -Genius- Jack Miles
A veil of secrecy cloaks the process by which the MacArthur Foundation picks its 24 fellows each year. All anyone really knows is that the fellows get $ 500,000 to spend however they wish. One of this year-s -Genius Awards- will go to Jack Miles, a former Los Angeles Times- editorial writer, former Jesuit seminarian and Pulitzer Prize-winner.