Washington Peace Letter

Washington Peace Center

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The Washington Peace Letter is published monthly for the social justice community of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Its purpose is to support local, national and international struggles against oppression. It seeks to present a radical analysis of current events, covering information not readily available in the corporate media.

The Peace Letter welcomes submissions of calendar announcements, articles, letters to the Editor, and artwork from the progressive community. Articles may be from 300-1200 words, but may be edited for space considerations. Preference is given to materials that cover actions or organizing campaigns in the D.C. metropolitan area.

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Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot
Act



By Roger Newell

January 2005

Volume 41, Number 1

A Federal judge has ruled that the government's duty to respond to national
security threats doesn't give it the right to override personal security.
The ruling blocks the government from conducting secret searches of
Internet and telephone records in a so-called effort to root out terrorism.

Federal Judge Victor Marrero struck down the part of the Patriot
Act allowing the FBI to force Internet service providers and phone
companies to turn over some customer records. Marrero ruled: while
the government "must be empowered to respond promptly and effectively"
to threats, personal security is equally important.