First off, can anyone think of a reason why my internet being shutoff
would better those effected by hurricane Katrina? any Hurricane? Maybe
an earthquake? Tidal wave? Is there going to be a sudden demand for
government bandwidth, especially as technology improves. Is there
going to be a presidential address in 1080p?
Second:
Conspiracies tend to start out in secret. The patriot act, attempts
at legalizing torture, and this attempt at giving the president (who
is hardly qualified to decide when the internet should be shutdown)
the option to shutoff my internet during a time of "national
emergency" have been presented in plain sight.
The president can declare national emergencies. If a president is then
allowed to shut off the internet during an emergency, it seems to
follow that the president would be able to shutdown your internet
whenever an emergency can be claimed. It also seems reasonable that
the government would need to keep certain things classified within the
context of national security. So we might not find out why the
internet was shutoff on a said day, at least not until our
grandchildren are on social security.
This bill suggests more then just giving the president access to the
internet power switch, as if that were not enough. Allowing
presidential power over the internet is very complicated, as discussed
in the Bill.
"Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201 (of
the bill), which permits the president to "direct the national
response to the cyber threat" if necessary for "the national defense
and security." The White House is supposed to engage in "periodic
mapping" of private networks deemed to be critical, and those
companies "shall share" requested information with the federal
government. ("Cyber" is defined as anything having to do with the
Internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.) "
WOW.....
So who decides what is a critical network? If the president decides
an institution's network is critical, does the institution have any
say in this decision? You can bet the feds will be visiting
"critically" labeled institutions to ensure that things are setup for
the presidents "universal power switch" to the web.
The EFF says:
"Translation: If your company is deemed "critical," a new set of
regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you
must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over
your computers or network."
I bet we can guess some of the critical networks: all universities (at
least public), Hospitals (hence access to medical records), public
schools, libraries, power companies, anyone with a government
contract. I believe several institutions will be eligible for part of
(if not all of) these later to be seen regulations. Go national
security!
This bill and any like it are crap,
Chris...
On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 3:38 PM, John R. Hogerhuis<[email protected]> wrote:
> Really. Our government is made up of elected representatives. I have a
> little more faith in my fellow American than to think that there is
> some vast conspiracy here. They often pass misguided laws pandering to
> their various constituencies whose net effect is to reduce our
> freedoms. But that doesn't mean there's any conspiracy there.
>
> I can understand the concept of "chipping away" at freedoms -- the
> slippery slope mentality. Certainly we don't have absolute freedom.
> I'm happy to leave that kind of freedom to the likes of Somalia, but
> hey everyone has an opinion.
>
> But the idea that there is some Nazi conspiracy going on in our
> government to take our freedoms away simply to increase the power of
> the state is nuts.
>
> All these kind of theories hinge on one central, flawed, premise: that
> a democracy like ours can keep a secret. News flash: we can't. Heck
> I'm not even sure dictatorships can really keep secrets. People talk,
> stuff gets out.
>
> -- John.
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>
--
"As we open our newspapers or watch our television screens, we seem to
be continually assaulted by the fruits of Mankind's stupidity."
-Roger Penrose
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