A Bitter Taste of Things To Come Under SOPA…

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following graphic, being shared by my friend, Brian L., and promptly shared it to my own wall…

"Imagine a world without free knowledge: For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more. Contact your representatives."

“Imagine a world without free knowledge: For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more. Contact your representatives.”

My Commentary: For the next 24 hours, Wikipedia has kindly decided to give us a bitter little taste of things to come! Just say NO to censorship! Kill the SOPA bill!

Pro-Mubarak Forces Burn Down Al Jazeera’s Cairo Office

I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…

Egyptian protestors take part in a demonstration on February 1, 2011 at Cairo s Tahrir Square as massive tides of protesters flooded Cairo for the biggest outpouring of anger yet in their relentless drive to oust President Hosni Mubarak's regime. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptian protestors take part in a demonstration on February 1, 2011 at Cairo’s Tahrir Square as massive tides of protesters flooded Cairo for the biggest outpouring of anger yet in their relentless drive to oust President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED

Al Jazeera’s Cairo Office Burned Down by Pro-Mubarak ‘Thugs’:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/aljazeeras-cairo-office-torched-violence-journalists-escalates/

(Eric W. DolanRawStory.com) Al Jazeera’s office in Cairo was stormed by a “gang of thugs” and set on fire along with all the equipment inside it, the Arab news network said Friday.

“It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in the country,” the news network said in a statement.

“In the last week its bureau was forcibly closed, all its journalists had press credentials revoked, and nine journalists were detained at various stages. Al Jazeera has also faced unprecedented levels of interference in its broadcast signal as well as persistent and repeated attempts to bring down its websites.”

(Read entire article here…)

My Commentary: Pro-Mubarak forces are ENEMIES OF TRUTH, just like their leader!!!

Criminally Complicit Western Corporations Help Egyptian Regime Shut Down Telecommunications & Identify Dissident Voices

I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…

Vodafone, Inc.

Vodafone, Inc.

Digital Darkness: U.S., U.K. Companies Help Mubarak’s Regime Shut Down Telecommunications & Identify Dissident Voices:
http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2011/2/1/digital_darkness_us_uk_companies_help

(DemocracyNow.org) Doing the regime’s bidding, British-based Vodafone shut down Egypt’s phone and internet service. The American company called Narus — owned by Boeing — sold Egypt the surveillance technology that helped identify dissident voices.

(Read entire article here…)

My Commentary: THIS is FASCISM! Working as partners with Egypt’s tyrannical, illegitimate US-puppet, Mubarak, the soulless corporations of the west quickly shut down the service of millions of paying customers for days in order to suppress free speech & revolution for profit! And, this is only ONE of A NUMBER of cases of corporations from the west working with dictatorships towards the goal of CENSORSHIP!

Here a few other cases worth mentioning:

Microsoft and Chinese Censorship:
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/microsoft-and-chinese-censorship/

Apple’s Itunes: Still Kowtowing to Chinese Censorship:
http://blogs.computerworld.com/15412/apple_still_kowtowing_to_chinese_censor…ship

Google [Finally] Stops Censoring Search Results in China:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8581393.stm

Tyrannical, Censorship-Loving FCC Pushes to Regulate Internet

I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…

Federal Censorship Commission Seal

Federal Censorship Commission Seal

FCC Moves to Regulate Internet–Even Though Law Calls for Internet to be “Unfettered by Federal Gov”:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68003

(CNSNews.com) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski–even though federal law calls for an Internet “unfettered by Federal or State regulation.”

This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which  would allow the government to prevent private Internet providers from deciding which applications to allow on their networks.

The court said that the FCC did not have the authority to prevent Comcast, specifically,  from blocking certain peer-to-peer Web sites.

The FCC is now trying to reclassify the Internet to broaden its authority over the Web. Currently, the FCC only has “ancillary” authority, meaning it can regulate Internet access only in the process of regulating another service that it has direct authority over, such as television or cable.

(Read entire article here…)

My Commentary: This is the first step towards FCC regulation of the Internet – much in the same way that the commission was given authority to censor broadcast radio, then network television!

President Obama continues to betray Americans – this time, with the aid of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Together, the two men have worked diligently, using CLEVER LEGAL MANEUVERING and MANIPULATIONS, in order to grant the FCC the ability to CONTROL & CENSOR the Internet as we know it!

In Phoenix, First Amendment Doesn’t Apply to Individuals Critical of Police State

I originally posted the following news commentary onto my Facebook wall…

Phoenix, Arizona Police Patrol Unit

Phoenix, Arizona Police Patrol Unit

Phoenix Police Raid Home of Blogger Whose Writing is Highly Critical of Them:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2009/04/01/phoenix-police-raid-home-of-blogger-whose-writing-is-highly-critical-of-them/

(Carlos Miller) – In what should send a frightening chill down the spine of every blogger, writer, journalist and First Amendment advocate in the United States, Phoenix police raided the home of a blogger who has been highly critical of the department.

Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging.

The 41-year-old software engineer said they also confiscated numerous personal files and documents relating to a pending lawsuit he has against the department alleging harassment – which he says makes it obvious the raid was an act of retaliation.

(Read entire article here…)

My Commentary: Would it surprise you to know that, apparently, the First Amendment is reserved ONLY for those citizens that choose NOT to criticize the American Police State? If your answer is “yes,” then you obviously haven’t been paying attention!