Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Brave New Internet
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ~Abraham Lincoln
The U.S. Congress approved a bill today that will change the way we use the Internet. Urged by "Boy Emperor" Bush, the current FISA domestic spy bill permits Mr. Gonzales (the Attorney General) to spy on American citizens with no cause---just because the government feels like it.
E-mail, instant message chats (this means iChat), Internet relay chats, VOIP phone calls made through a personal computer (Skype), cell phone calls, and landline phone calls that connect with people outside of the U.S. borders can now be tapped for no reason whatsoever.
This means if you use your personal computer in the privacy of your own home to chat with a relative in Canada, or the UK, or Japan, or wherever, your chat session can be monitored by American spies spying on Americans---you. With the enactment of this new law (as I understand it--I'm not an attorney) the government is no longer under any obligation to provide just cause to a judge that you are a terrorist suspect. From now onward, every U.S. citizen can be treated under the communications law as a suspected criminal. Computer-tap first; ask questions later.
The U.S. government can now monitor most any communication that arises from your personal computer that is destined to arrive outside the United States , all done without your knowledge and without demonstrating just cause.
I play the social role of "just the computer guy" and therefore I'm supposed to act dumb. I'm prepared to remove the mask now. If this new law doesn't scare you, nothing will. We now have a government run by a Republican president and a Democratic Congress--both of which are in service to fascism. The wishes of the citizens are meaningless. Voting--has no meaning. Political parties--have no meaning. Words--have no meaning. The Press--has no credibility because they have replaced "public service" with service to corporate profits. Schools teach that blind obedience is patriotism.
And so here we are--stuck in a failed democracy. It's just one big totalitarian lie. So, the next time you start up your personal computer, "Welcome to the Brave New Internet."
Historically, the most terrible things--war, genocide, and slavery--have resulted from obedience, not disobedience. ~Howard Zinn
...and lastly, a link to an enormously funny and equally accurate essay by Gore Vidal outlining the end of The Enlightment, President Jonah.
The U.S. Congress approved a bill today that will change the way we use the Internet. Urged by "Boy Emperor" Bush, the current FISA domestic spy bill permits Mr. Gonzales (the Attorney General) to spy on American citizens with no cause---just because the government feels like it.
E-mail, instant message chats (this means iChat), Internet relay chats, VOIP phone calls made through a personal computer (Skype), cell phone calls, and landline phone calls that connect with people outside of the U.S. borders can now be tapped for no reason whatsoever.
This means if you use your personal computer in the privacy of your own home to chat with a relative in Canada, or the UK, or Japan, or wherever, your chat session can be monitored by American spies spying on Americans---you. With the enactment of this new law (as I understand it--I'm not an attorney) the government is no longer under any obligation to provide just cause to a judge that you are a terrorist suspect. From now onward, every U.S. citizen can be treated under the communications law as a suspected criminal. Computer-tap first; ask questions later.
The U.S. government can now monitor most any communication that arises from your personal computer that is destined to arrive outside the United States , all done without your knowledge and without demonstrating just cause.
I play the social role of "just the computer guy" and therefore I'm supposed to act dumb. I'm prepared to remove the mask now. If this new law doesn't scare you, nothing will. We now have a government run by a Republican president and a Democratic Congress--both of which are in service to fascism. The wishes of the citizens are meaningless. Voting--has no meaning. Political parties--have no meaning. Words--have no meaning. The Press--has no credibility because they have replaced "public service" with service to corporate profits. Schools teach that blind obedience is patriotism.
And so here we are--stuck in a failed democracy. It's just one big totalitarian lie. So, the next time you start up your personal computer, "Welcome to the Brave New Internet."
Historically, the most terrible things--war, genocide, and slavery--have resulted from obedience, not disobedience. ~Howard Zinn
...and lastly, a link to an enormously funny and equally accurate essay by Gore Vidal outlining the end of The Enlightment, President Jonah.
