Plz GO here ASAP and be sure to read the Comments under this post as well.
Two Suggested ACTIONS:
One) Support Andy Worthington as he's way at the top of our Gitmo/Human Rights writers today
Two) Let's work to defeat the passing of US Senate bill S.968
See the conversation among the Comments to this post by Andy:
See here Evidently, if this bill passes this would extend the already permissive legalities re. torture by our nation...Andy said: I do recommend readers to check out the bill, which, as OpenCongress describes it:
Establishes a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be “dedicated to infringing activities.” The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court.
The OpenCongress page is:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show
And this is the text of the bill:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/text
Andy added "...what’s absolutely certain is that what’s said on the campaign trail is essentially meaningless, as vested interests dictate what actually happens when people are in power. It’s why we truly do need a revolution in political and economic thinking, so that we the people can be represented, instead of our enemies —the corporate interests who place shareholders’ interests and profits above everything else.
Allison Lee-Clay wrote:
I heard rumors that gulag ships are being used more frequently now to circumvent even rudimentary GITMO oversights & documentation.
Andy Worthington said:
It may be so, Allison, after the emergence of the story about the Somali, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, who was held on a ship for two months before being brought to New York to face a federal court trial. I haven’t had time to write about this yet. For a compromised, supposedly “objective” account of the issues at stake see this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/world/africa/07detain.html
Policing the Internet: A Senate bill's approach has problems - Los ...
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit confusing but I expect Andy Worthington will clarify some of the bill's points soon. Meantime, do you own research.
June 07, 2011. Hollywood studios, record labels and other U.S. copyright and trademark ... The Senate Judiciary Committee has responded with a bill (S 968) that would force ... federal agents could then tell the U.S. companies that direct traffic, ... Los Angeles Times Articles. Copyright 2011 Los Angeles Times ...
articles.
http://latimes.com/2011/jun/07/opinion/la-ed-protectip-20110607
The following is from the freespeakblog.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteSaturday, July 2, 2011
Senate Bill 968 to Remove Dissidents from Internet
URGENT FREEDOM ALERT: S.968 is a bill pending before Congress that representatives intended to pass before Americans could learn about it and have an opportunity to protest...Sen. Wyden temporarily block9ed) Senate's vote.
If S.968 passes, the government will be able to legally take down targeted Internet sites. Prisoner activists, anti-war activists, workers' rights advocates, and everyone who does not bow to corporate masters of the universe can be silenced in one day.
The bill may even be used to silence religious messages online. Please take advantage of Sen. Wyden's courageous move to temporarily block Senate's vote on this Nazi bill.
See "Mary Neal Goes to Washington for YOUR Justice Quest" at this link: http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/mary-neal-goes-to-washington-for-your.html
Interesting that evidently even GOOGLE is involved in opposing this bill:
ReplyDelete1. GOOGLE OPPOSES SENATE BILL 968, called the "Internet Censorship Bill." OpenCongress.org carries information on the contested bill at this link: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show - This freedom-killing bill was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat like Rep. Alcee Hastings, who introduced H.R.645, in January 2009. One might believe that Democrats want to eliminate the Constitution. S.968 contradicts: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . . " If S.968 passes, the censorship that has been done covertly to keep this civil/human rights activist offline to hide government crimes will become legal. Provisions of S.968 can be used to silence all voices of dissent on the Internet in the United States of America.
Call, write, and email your representatives. Alert all human/civil rights activists. Notify minorities that S.968 can be used to stop Internet uploads of videos showing their unarmed loved ones being shot by police
ReplyDeletePerhaps the connection will be made by our gov. not to make MORE of the same sort of mistakes made by UK in reference to media corruption and hacking?
ReplyDeleteBut if any here have time, plz do some more research, follow the links provided above and let us know what you'd suggest beyond calling our elected officials and saying NO to this bill?
And of course spreading the word.
Wonder what our great American Library Association are saying about this propsed bill?