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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2003)
(E!|c Jlortlanh (Observer Page A2 Campaign Made Official co n tin u ed fr o m f r o n t huge new bureaucracy,” B raun said in a low -key ap p ear ance at H ow ard U niversity. H er only introduction cam e from h er2 6 -y ear-o ld son. M atthew Braun. “ A w om an can fix the m ess they have created, because we are practical, we are not afraid o f partnerships and we are com m itted to m aking the world better forourchildren.” B raun stunned the political establishm ent in 1992 - the "Y ear o f the W om an" - unseating an incum bent D em o cratic senator in the prim ary, tw o-term law m aker Alan Dixon, on her w ay to w hat w as once considered an im probable victory in N ovem ber. H er election w as heralded as an advance for w om en and m inorities, but her popularity fell am id accusations that she exercised poor ju d g m en t in visiting N ig eria’s brutal form er dictator Sani A bacha and m isused cam paign funds. A cam paign finance investigation cleared Braun, but she lost her seat to w ell-funded R epublican challenger Peter Fitzgerald in 1998. A fter the defeat. President Clinton appointed her am bassador to New Z ealand. B raun used her announcem ent speech to present her vision for the future - “an A m erican renaissance" - and criticize President B u sh ’s record on national security and the econom y. U nlike the official cam paign an n o u n ce m ents by som e o f her nine rivals, Braun took questions from a handful o f H ow ard U niversity students and report ers follow ing her speeeh. She fielded broad questions about poverty and children, and m ore specific queries about the com m and and control o f U.S. troops in Iraq. A fierce opponent o f the U .S.-led w ar against Iraq, Braun said the United States will work to ensure a peaceful Iraq. “A m ericans d o n ’t cut and run, w e have to see this m isadventure through ,” she said. D uring m onths o f cam paigning, B raun has struggled to build a fund-raising netw ork. She has pleaded for financial support, especially when speaking to w o m en ’s groups, but raised less than $250,000 in the first h a lfo f the year. Last m onth, she picked up her first tw o m ajor endorse m ents from the National O rganization for W om en and the N ational W om en's Political C aucus. L eaders o f both groups said they w ould help raise m oney for her am ong their m em bers, and their support gave Braun encourage m ent to continue her bid beyond the exploratory phase. B raun ranks near the bottom in m ost surveys, but som e pol Is show her with m ore support than som e o f her better- financed rivals. She ranks higher in som e polls o f black voters. She has avoided m uch o f the intra-party fighting o fh e r rivals w ho confront each other in an effort to rise to the top o f the field. H er criticism has been focused on Presi dent B ush’s policies at hom e and abroad. “ A m erica is at a tipping point - if we stay the course we are on now , w e w o n ’t recognize this country live years from now ," she said in M onday’s speech. September 24, 2003 P olice Patriot Act Called Abuse of Power C ritics say law is being turned on petty crim inals; not terrorists tion as “any substance that is de signed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury” and contains toxic chemicals. C ivil liberties and legal defense groups are bothered by the string o f cases, and say the governm ent soon will be routinely using harsh anti-ter rorism laws against run-of-the-mill law- (A P) — In the tw o years since law en forcement agenc ies gained fresh pow- ers to help them track down and punish terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly turned the force ofthe new laws not on al-Qaida cells but on people charged with com m on crimes. The Justice D epartm ent said it has used authority given to it by the USA Patriot Act to crack dow n on currency sm ugglers and seize m oney hidden overseas by alleged bookies, con art ists and d n ig dealers. Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge o f ’terrorism using a w eapon o f m ass destruction” against a C alifornia man after a pipe bom b exploded in his lap, w ounding him as he sat in his car. A North C arolina county prosecu tor charged a man accused o f running a m etham phetam ine lab with breaking a new state law barring the m anufac- 'tu reo fch em ical weapons. Ifconvicted, M artin D w ayne M iller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crim e that usually brings about six months. Prosecutor Jerry W ilson says he isn ’t abusing the law, w hich defines chem ical w eapons o f m ass destruc- | They (Justice Department) say they want the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, then, within six months, they are teaching their people how to use it on ordinary citizens. — Dan Dodson, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys breakers. “W ithin six m onths o f passing the Patriot A ct, the Justice D epartm ent w as conducting sem inars on how to stretch the new w iretapping provi sions to extend them beyond terror cases,” said D an D odson, a spokes man for the N ational A ssociation o f C rim inal D efense A ttorneys. “They say they w ant the Patriot A ct to fight terrorism, then, w ithin six months, they are teaching their people now to use it on ordinary citizens.” A ttorney G eneral John A shcroft com pleted a 16-city tour last w eek de fending the Patriot Act as key to pre venting a second catastrophic terror ist attack. Federal prosecutors have brought more than 250crim inal charges under the law, with m ore than 130 con victions or guilty pleas. The law, passed tw o m onths after the Sept. 11 attacks, erased m any re strictions that had barred the govern m ent from spying on its citizens, grant ing agents new pow ers to use w ire- •taps, conduct electronic and com puter eavesdropping and access private fi nancial data. Stefan Cassel la, deputy chief for legal policy for the Justice D epartm ent’s as set forfeiture and money laundering section, said that while the Patriot A ct’s primary focus was on terrorism, lawmak ers were aware it contained provisions that had been on prosecutors’ wish lists for years and w ould be used in a wide variety o f cases. Skinheads Charged in Racial Attack Portland police have ar rested tw o men on assault, w eap o n s and in tim id atio n charges after they allegedly attacked a black m an and threatened another. P o lic e say 2 0 -y e a r-o ld Bryce W oods and 23-year- old D ennis M o th ersb au g h a re tw o s e l f - d e s c r ib e d skinheads. T he investigation began Sunday after a security guard saw the tw o men arguing with a black man near N orthw est Dennis Mothersbaugh and Bryce Woods B ro ad w ay and N o rth w est C ouch Street. The guard broke up the ar gum ent and a short tim e later police say the black man w as stabbed in the back. Police say the suspects fled and then threatened another black m an w ith a gun. D etectives responded to the scene and linked the tw o crim es after finding a security cam era captured the second crime. Police say both attacks are racially m otivated. T he sus pects arc jailed in M ultnom ah C ounty. Portland Terror Case to Test Patriot Act (A P I— The A m erican C ivil Liber ties U nion has taken aim at the U SA Patriot A ct in an early court test o f secret w arrants the FBI says it needs for the w ar on terrorism . F riday’s b rief filed in U.S. D istrict Court in Portland marks the first ACLU challenge to the w arrants in a crim inal case, said D avid Fidanque, director o fth e A C L U ’s O regon chapter The FBI used the secret w arrants — called Foreign Intelligence S ur veillance C ourt w arrants — to plant bugs and tap phone conversations o f A m erican M uslim s and Portland-area residents now on trial for conspiring to support the T aliban and al-Q aida. C ongress first allow ed the secret w arrants in 1978, in a law that curbed the pow ers o f the FBI and CI A to spy on U.S. citizens for political purposes. The w arrants’ uses w ere restricted to FBI agents hunting for foreign spies. But afterthe Sept. 11 attacks, C on gress passed the Patriot A ct allow ing agents to use the w arrants against U.S. citizens in crim inal cases. Unlike typical crim inal search w ar rants, the FBI is not required to show probable cause. Offender Relapse (A P )— V oth y C h h ay w a sa fre e man - for 42 m inutes. Released from theC lark C ounty Jail at 7:25 a.m. last W ednesday, he w as booked back in by 8:07 a.m . for investigation o f car prow ling - the sam e charge on w hich he w as pre- viouslyjailed. S h e riff s deputy Tim G osch w as called outside the county co u rt house about 8 a.m . after a Juvenile C ourt w orker saw a man try' to open the door o fh e r w hite 2003 Lexus. G osch found C hhay, 19, nearby and arrested him . He h a d ju st been released pending trial in another car-prow ling case. Bilal Brothers Plead Guilty to Conspiracy "Think of it as a hand-held power company." Although rare, power outages can occur year-round. If this happens, a flashlight can be a lifesaver when you need it. Besides the flashlight, toss in a portable radio, fresh (AP) — Tw o o f the “ Portland Seven” terror suspects face at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges o f conspiring to helpal-Q aidaand the Taliban during the w ar in Afghanistan. Ahmed B ilal,25, and hisbrother, Muhammad Bilal, 23, both appeared before U.S. D istrict Judge Robert Jones to form ally enter their pleas after Jones announced the agree m ent W ednesday. The brothers also pleaded guilty Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal to firearms charges in exchange for dism issing the main charge o f con spiracy to levy w ar against the US. Both had been accused o f trav- eling with four other m en to C hina shortly after the Sept. 11 ,2 0 0 1, ter rorist attack in a failed attem pt to enter A fghanistan and fight w ith the T aliban against U.S. forces. A hm ed Bilal agreed to a term o f 10 to 14 years w hile his younger brother agreed to 8 to 14 years, pending sentencing. 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