Goldstone Calls H.R. Res. 867 "Factually Inaccurate"

Justice Goldstone issues a line-by-line critique of H.R. Res. 867, which rejects the Goldstone Report as one sided and anti-Israeli. Justice Goldstone points out what he calls "misleading" and "factually inaccurate" interpretations of the Goldstone Report, including the charge that the basis of the fact-finding mission Goldstone led was to investigate Israeli activity. Goldstone says that the mission was to investigate all war crimes committed in Gaza during the fighting last December, and that the report specifically mentions war crimes committed by Hamas.

Read Justice Goldstone's letter to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

AP Reports on Renewal, Expiration of Patriot Act Provisions

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported on three Patriot Act provisions which are set to expire later this year, two of which will be renewed and modified by a House bill (introduced Tuesday). The provision for tracking a "lone wolf" (terror suspect operating independently of any terrorist organization) will be eliminated. Although the Justice Department has requested that the provision remain in effect, the government has not previously used it.

The two provisions that the House bill will renew involve roving wiretaps and court orders for seizure of documents and other tangible objects. Both will be modified to incorporate greater privacy protection. For example - the former provision, used to track terror suspects who switch from phone to phone, will only be applied to single, identifiable suspects.

You can track H.R. 3845 here. The Senate equivalent, which has been introduced to the full Senate, can be found here.