Going Going Gone …..Internet freedom

A friend recently said to me, “I see they want to censor the Internet”.  My reply was the U.S. government has been working OT to sensor it for some time.

Not only are the feds reaching across nations to rip people out of bed and place them in prison with no bail (case of megaupload founder New Zealand) but they also have threatened countries around to globe to shut down Internet Providers who allow content the U.S. censors find objectionable.

You may not be interested in watching people deficate, or have sex with animals, or even pee, but those things were available recently until the U.S. censors got to them.  Even 3D sex cartoons now require you sign up to view  them (not in all cases).  China does not hold a candle to the U.S. in terms of reaching across jurisdictions to get their way.

They shut down Limewire, Megaupload, made Frostwire comply with their demands, and its my guess they will go after Pirate Bay within six months, as well as many more.  The fact the business operates within the laws of the country it is registered in, and the fact the owners may not be aware of U.S. law, no matter.  The U.S. has so much power to intimidate foreign officials, they arrest and extradite anyone they wish to shut up or shut down! (Except in China or other nations too powerful to bully)

I don’t see the Americans going into China and cracking down on bootlegging.  But they can get away with suing and shutting down Limewire, slapping the New Zealand officials around to get Megaupload shut down.  It’s like beating up nations like Iraq, Panama, and  Lybia, but although much worse things happen in places like Syria, these same chest thumpers do little to nothing!

I have a friend who was fined more than three million dollars and sentenced to more than three years in the Federal Penn for operating a legitimate Internet business in Central America.  Although he was not aware of it, he violated The Wire Act”, which was written long before the Internet existed.  These arrests, as in his  case, are often more about money than anything else.  The powers that be in the U.S. government do not like to see people make loads of money using the Internet without the U.S., or one of its power brokers (Hollywood crew for example), getting a share!

The neo-conservatives as well as powerful people in the current government want the total control of Cyberspace, sometime for different reasons, but still, total control and the elimination of the Internet as a free speech tool.  These intentions are no secret. They are spelled out in the Manifesto for a New American Century, they are being acted upon at present by an unkown number of tekkies working for the government on an overtime schedule.

And now that it is no secret, the government officials as stoges for the police state, have and are, actually introducing legislature to demand IPs keep track of every site you visit!  Such legislation has been introduced in Hawaii and is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.  When the Hawaii legislation hit the media the writers backed off, but said they will just approacfh it from another angle!

How about the S.T.O.P. legislation?  When the public cried fowl against it, the proponents said they will still get their legislation through, just from another angle.  How often have you seen powerful financial interests, with multiple paid lobbyists, lose to the common folk?  Next to never!  Hollywood will win, wait and see.

Knowledgeable experts point out  although Hollywood has a financial loss problem, there are many appropriate avenues for them to take, rather than taking away peoples rights on the Internet!  The public good, if not the last mode of freedom of speech, lies in the Internet!

So I am sorry to send out the message, but the Internet will disappear as far as freedom of speech. It also will morph into control of who uses what, and what price you must pay to be a user at all!

Porn freaks, sorry the old days are long gone.  College students, sorry you will not be able to use the Internet to start revolutions!  Truth tellers, I don’t know what vehicle you will use the get the message out, but it won’t be the Internet!  And all the rest of you. prepare to explain, if not, be detained under the new laws as a Terrorist, if the government checks your Internet site records and finds you have visited a “site of interest”! If you decided to practice Islam as your religion, you may want to get rid of your computer altogether!

It’s getting ugly folks and quick!

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

MOKENMAN