Asian American Studies 116

Silence of Civil Liberties: civil liberties in the name of quelling dissent, silencing criticism of political decisions and preserving national security. Inter arma silent leges: In time of war, laws are silent

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47051,00.html

tapping into letters, surveillance on the internet; acting against individuals that pose a threat against national security; wiretaps, silencing radio- censorship

the Patriot Act, now passed and the law of the land, has eliminated the Constitutional guarantee of probable cause when investigating a crime, and allows the police‹at any time, for any reason‹to enter and search your house, files, bank account‹and not even tell you about it.; detaining immigrants/racial profiing for extended amounts of tine for no reason
anti-arab/muslim discrimination; racism and hatecrimes; racial profiling
at least 500,000 children under the age of 5 have died in Iraq in the years of sanctions. In the 1991 Gulf War, 300 tons of depleted uranium--a radioactive weapon--were used. World Health Organization studies show an increase in cancer rates and birth deformities in Iraq. The rates of leukemia in children have skyrocketed, while the medicines needed for treatment have been withheld by sanctions.
Gulf War Disorders: More than 159,000 U.S. Gulf War veterans are receiving disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs due to U.S. activities in the 1991 war. Thousands of veterans suffer from memory loss, dizziness, blurred vision, speech difficulties, nerve disorders, muscle weakness, skin disorders. Veterans also report incidences of cancers in themselves and birth defects in their children, symptoms remarkably similar to ones in Iraq.

He who may still have had doubts about how Mexican undocumented migrants are viewed-- after reading antiterrorist czar Tom Ridge's document, which identifies undocumented migrants as "dangers" as serious to the United States as terrorists, drug smugglers, or weapons of mass destruction, an official document that establishes US policy in respect to its borders, a policy derived from the accords that the Mexican government signed with the US government in Monterrey --must now find himself much more clear that Ridge is not the only one who thinks like this.
The racial profiling which has become the unacknowledged focus of America's new security policy is in danger of provoking the very clash of cultures its authors appear to perceive. All these people are victims of a new kind of racial profiling which the United States government applies but denies. The US attorney-general has called for some 5000 men of Arab origin to be questioned by federal investigators. Since September 11, over 1000 people who were born in the Middle East have been detained indefinitely for "immigration infractions".
social opportunity costs: A war against Iraq, they claim, could cost Americans $200 billion‹the opportunity cost being equivalent to government expenditures in any number of areas such as education, healthcare, or international aid; Protestors claim that a possible war comes at the cost of $200 billion dollars. Does knowing that education or healthcare could be improved by that amount serve any purpose in assessing the value of a war on Iraq? No. While $200 billion could be used for other parts of the government¹s budget, these other potential uses are logically irrelevant in forging a US decision on war.
Humanity effects: Even so-called 'high tech' war wrecks a society's human service systems and physical infrastructure by disrupting delivery of food, water, medicine and energy supplies. The loss of these necessities of life leads to infection, disease, malnutrition, and starvation on a massive scale."; The aftermath of a US-led attack could include civil war, famine, epidemics, millions of refugees and economic collapse, according to the report. Dr. Victor W. Sidel, a Professor of Social Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City who advised the report authors, added, "As documented in Collateral Damage, a 'pre-emptive' attack would exacerbate the disastrous levels of death, disease, disability and despair already present in Iraq. At the same time, it would weaken the United Nations, weaken international law, weaken efforts to reduce terrorism and weaken the United States itself." Dr. Sidel is Past President of the American Public Health Association and held similar positions at IPPNW and PSR.
economic consequences
budget cuts