July 31, 2005 by MW Mandeville in Pollock Pines, CA  ( mwman@earthlink.net )



BULLETIN ITEM: I wonder how our Canadian Friends Are Reacting To Canada's Recent Annexation By The U.S.?



MWM:  Perhaps many of them still do not quite get that they now have even less rights than U.S. Citizens., not that we have much.  Read on....

Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 18:53:56 -0700 (PDT)



OPINION RELEASE:  The U.S. Police State Spills Over the Northern

Border!!!





----- Forwarded message from Aliceprez@aol.com -----



Subject: The U.S. Police State Spills Over the Northern Border!!!



I have now learned that all arrestees here are *Canadians* who were *in

Canada* and not breaking any *Canadian* law, but the U.S. somehow got

them arrested *in Canada* by the RCMP. And Marc Emery is to be *deported* to

the U.S.



What would you think if you were an American, in America, doing

something  in America that is legal in America, and the state police arrested you for

it to send you to, say, North Korea for prosecution for that ?



This is what happened to Emery.



Alice



http://usmjparty.blogspot.com/2005/07/bcmp-arrest-and-search-

warrant.html



EMERY EMPIRE RAIDED AT REQUEST OF UNITED  STATES

Cannabis activist and two others arrested

By Jennifer  Garner



Canadian police acting under orders from US officials raided  the

headquarters of the British Columbia Marijuana Party (BCMP)  in

Vancouver today (Friday, July 22).



The search warrants were  authorized at the highest levels of the

provincial government in  concert with a cross-border US-Canada law

enforcement pact authorized  by the a US-authored Mutual Legal

Assistance in Criminal Matters  treaty (MLAT) between the US and

Canada.



The US has issued extradition  orders for Marc Emery, who was arrested

while traveling in Halifax to  a hemp festival, as well as two others

who work with Emery on  television productions and other endeavours.



American officials accuse  Emery of “a conspiracy to produce marijuana

and distribute marijuana  seeds, and money laundering.”



The DEA and other agencies are claiming  that by selling seeds to

pot-growing Americans, Emery is engaged in a  criminal enterprise
with the growers. "Their activities resulted in  the growing of tens of

thousands of marijuana plants in America,”  claims US federal
attorney Jeff Sullivan. “[Emery] was involved,  allegedly, in an
illegal, distribution of marijuana in [the United  States.] He is a
drug  dealer.”  Vancouver police armed with a search 
warrant  raided the legendary  store in the heart of
Vancouver’s  “Vansterdam” district.



Chris Bennett, manager of Pot-TV who was onsite  when the BCMP center

was raided today, said he is particularly angry  that Canadian police

were acting as enforcers of American drug  laws.



“They're taking him down to face charges in the United States  of

America, where sentences are much harsher that one would face  in

Canada," said Bennett. Emery has been arrested for  marijuana-related

“crimes” many times before, but those other arrests  involved local

Canadian charges and jurisdictions. Today’s charges are  far more

serious because they involve US federal laws that stipulate  mandatory

minimum sentences of 20 years or more. Last year, Emery  served 90 days

in a Saskatoon, Canada jail for passing a  joint.



American officials are seeking Emery's extradition, which could  take

six months to a year. If they do seek to extradite him, he will  become

another high-profile cannabis activist seeking to fight off  American

attempts to prosecute him.



Renee Boje, whose husband  works for Emery at BCMP, has been fighting

for years to quash a US  extradition order that seeks to take her from

Canada to face  prosecution for cannabis in America. Her legal costs

have been funded  by Emery.



According to witnesses, police have chained the BCMP doors,  put

barriers on the windows, and are dismantling the store to  seize

business records, seeds, computers, and other  materials.



The raid took place at 11 am. As of late Friday afternoon,  there was

no official statement from Emery or any of those arrested  with him.



If past behavior is any indication, however, Emery is likely to  be

unrepentant, and will fight the charges and extradition vigorously  in

front of judges and in the court of public opinion.



The law  enforcement treaty (MLAT) that snared Emery and his

compatriots is part of a  global American network of treaties allowing the US to

use foreign  police agents to investigate and arrest foreign citizens.



MLAT’s help the  US to violate civil rights protections and other

constitutional  protections that would normally be afforded to citizens

by their own  countries. The first US bilateral MLAT entered into force

with  Switzerland in 1977. The treaties are seen as a powerful tool of

US  foreign policy and hegemony. Dozens of countries have entered into

MLAT’s with the US since 1977, and the treaties are seen as a way for

US police and prosecutors to arrest people no matter where they live,

and even if they are not guilty of a serious crime in their home

country.



The treaties favor prosecutors and police, and make it  virtually

impossible for defense attorneys to advocate for clients  snared by

MLAT operations. MLAT’s have been criticized in other  countries. Critics

say US MLAT actions against foreigners violate  international law,

compromise human rights, and violate national  sovereignty.



The Irish Human Rights Commission has complained about a  US-Ireland

MLAT that allows CIA agents to secretly question Irish  citizens on

Irish soil. The MLAT signed by Minister for Justice  Michael McDowell

and the US Ambassador to Ireland James Kenny, gives  sweeping powers to

US authorities operating in foreign countries,  including the right to

seize documents, check bank accounts and carry  out searches of

property.



The Irish Human Rights Commission  (IHRC) said it would be examining

the agreement, which was pushed  through with the promise that it would

only be used to assist the US  “war on terror.”



Human rights activists in Ireland are particularly  concerned that

interrogations can be carried out in secret, and that  the costs of CIA

operations in Ireland will be paid by Irish  taxpayers.



The cross-border MLAT efforts sometimes involve enforcement of  the

United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic  Drugs

and Psychotropic Substances that was finalized worldwide on
November 11, 1990.


It is possible that Emery and his associates  would be charged with

violating this Convention. In past years, UN  officials have condemned

Emery by name. The raids leave many questions  unanswered.



Although Emery is the highest profile marijuana activist in  the world,

who publicly airs reality television shows portraying all  aspects of

marijuana culture and who hosts marijuana connoisseur  events like the

Toker’s Bowl, he is by far not the only person selling  marijuana seeds

across international boundaries.



Vansterdam  insiders note that while police were raiding Emery’s store

on West  Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver, other marijuana seed

businesses  were still open for business, and people were smoking

marijuana while  watching the raid. The issue of selective prosecution

is also raised  by insiders who note that US and Canadian officials are

aware of  massive cross-border organized crime operations that involve

guns,  hard drugs, and other illegality on a scale that dwarfs Emery’s

marijuana seed business. And yet it’s Emery, who donates all the money

he earns to non-profit pro-marijuana causes, who is targeted in an

unprecedented raid ordered by the US.



Protesters are on hand at  Emery’s store in Vancouver. The man who has

provided bail money,  attorneys, and other support for so many

marijuana arrestees now finds  himself in the clutches of the US government which

he, his magazine,  and his website so accurately describe as a

totalitarian and  imperialist hit squad. For the man who is often

called “The Prince of  Pot,” today’s arrest is the ultimate showdown.



After leaving jail last  year, Emery said, “Once you get over your fear

of whatever they can do  to you, you become empowered to just live as

if marijuana is legal,  without much concern for the consequences they

threaten you with.  Whatever they do to me- arrest, incarceration, even

if they kill me-  it’s not going to make me live in fear. We’re going

to continue to  show them that marijuana should be legal, that our culture

is harmless  and vibrant, and that it is the drug war, not the cannabis

culture,  which threatens public order and safety.




"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."     Socrates



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