New Bill Gives Obama ‘Kill Switch’ To Shut Down The Internet

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personalreality

be awesome.

Xanth


Stillwater

That makes no sense at all.

The internet is not "located" in the U.S. The U.S. government does not possess the ability to "shut off" the internet. They only have the ability to theoretically deny U.S. citizens access to the internet.

Now let us think for a moment... the most likely threat to U.S. security would likely be aboard, being planned elsewhere. In the event of an attack, all that shutting down the internet access in the U.S. would do is deny U.S. citizens the ability to access the most reliable way to get objective information about the incident. It would only tend toward panic, and would not provide any possible security. If the idea were to deny attackers communication, that is nonsense, since there many other methods they could use to communicate. A well-planned attack would include communications silence before the event anyhow.
"The Gardener is but a dream of the Garden."

-Unattributed Zen monastic

G01kur_Kisel

haha, Come on seriously. Do they honestly think that this would work? and what kind of impact it would have on the hole country? well perhaps they do, and want.

Haha, this is just getting weirder and weirder.
/ you can call me Kisel.

Xanth

Quote from: Stillwater on June 18, 2010, 02:37:37
That makes no sense at all.

The internet is not "located" in the U.S. The U.S. government does not possess the ability to "shut off" the internet. They only have the ability to theoretically deny U.S. citizens access to the internet.
That's all the power they need really.  :)

~Ryan

personalreality

You all are missing the point.  This isn't to somehow protect the people of the US.  It is there so that when the defining step into a dictatorship, complete with martial law, is taken, they can prevent us from telling the world what is really happening here.  It's not saying that Obama can blow up the internet.  It's saying that when they feel the time is right, they can shut down American citizen's ability to get on the internet.  If you read it, it explains that the government has basically bribed the biggest ISPs in the US by telling them that they will not be held liable (they can't get sued) and any lost profits during internet downtime will be repaid.  So why would the US ISPs care?  It's win-win for them.  For us, this is a great big slap in the face.  They are showing us the prison bars and most of us are too stupid to see them.  Imagine what it would be like if you couldn't email your family, or look up alternative news sources, or google the most basic information.  It would send us back 30 years.  The next thing to go will be access to public libraries, not that they haven't already censored most books there.  It's an information shut down, we would become isolated.  That's why the internet has boomed for so long, our dependency on digital/electronic means of communication has been slowly increased over the past 20+ years.  This is a game of chess, they are setting up their pieces in preparation of their move towards check mate.  Unfortunately, we all seem to be too afraid, deluded and brain washed to recognize their moves and begin setting up our defensive strategy.  We're just bending over and taking it.
be awesome.

Stookie


personalreality

absolutely nothing.

that's why i said, "i don't know how i'll be able to handle enslavement without being able to talk to you all about it".

lol.

luckily though, my zombie plan actually doubles as a NWO plan.

my dad and i have talked about it.  he's not a conspiracy buff like me, but he hasn't trusted the US government for years.  he actually joined the army years ago in order to get survival training (which he continued after his service), but more importantly to experience how their soldiers are trained so when they come he will be aware of their basic tactics.  he's a bit of an odd man.  nevertheless, he's convinced that gun rights will be gone soon and it won't be long after that before martial law goes into effect.  he doesn't have a bomb shelter or anything, but he built a house up in the mountains that is entirely self sufficient.  he tells everyone that it was his pet project for when he retires so that him and my mom can go live in the mountains (they are those kind of people either way).  but he's kept me involved, since i was about 15, as to the "true" nature of his retirement home.  it's a self sufficient house, with a well that he dug and solar/geothermal power supplies.  he has spent the past few years treating the soil around the place and preparing it to yield good crop harvests for a number of years.  he also has a small armory there.  he's always been into guns, he's kind of a redneck.  not really, but kind of. 

that's my zombie plan though.  to go to that house, which is a very defensible location.

i'm not saying that it will come to that, but just in case. 

i never really thought i'd have to legitimately worry about zombies, it was always just kind of a fun idea to have.  but then i saw this....

http://redicecreations.com/article.php?id=11397 


awesome.

but to straight up answer your question stookie, i'm doing nothing, because i'm one of those kind of people.  The one's that complain but don't do anything about it.
be awesome.

Stookie

Yeah, activism sucks.

If I don't make it through the zombie apocalypse, I'll put on a sign on that says "Shooting Reserved for Personal Reality" before I change.

personalreality

thank you, that means more to me than you could ever know.   :cry:

be awesome.

kailaurius

For myself I've been researching ways to get more involved with and interacting with my local community in such a way as to motivate myself and others to gain interest in reconnecting and working with each other towards a new way of living which could result in getting off the grid or breaking free from the current, dieing "system".  Because when the current system, that mainstream society is so dependent upon, becomes no longer sustainable, it is a pretty good assumption that those communities, towns, and cities that are still very much dependent upon that system will die as well, and will become a ghost town, unless they quickly come together to overcome the strife they were not prepared for.  Humanity is usually pretty good at overcoming large obstacles... when they work together of course (and that has almost always been the case).  From my perspective the only way society will be able to survive the inevitable demise of the current system is for people to reconnect with and interact with each other for the benefit, survival, and prosperity of all involved.  More often than not however, people normally do not change unless they are faced with extreme, threatening, and life altering situations.  "Complacency is the evil thereof." is a common phrase that always holds true in cases like this.

However, for those of us who are very aware of what is happening, it continues to be quite a challenge to increase that awareness among those who are still very much mesmerized by reality T.V., FOX News, medicine commercials, fast food, etc., and are very comfortable with the way they are living.  Most would rather continue sacrificing their freedom (while at the same time believing they are free :| ) for the sake of so-called "safety" and "comfort" that has been brainwashed into individuals of mainstream society since birth, not knowing that if all individuals within society reconnected with each other there would be more safety, comfort, and freedom like none other in recorded history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vblJ6RF7rM&feature=related

It has been quite an interesting challenge for myself because the community in which I live is a very wealthy and very conservative, religious community overwhelmed with suburbs, S.U.V.s, banks, restaurants, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, etc. with very little to no community gardens, especially no organic gardens.  The so-called "economic crisis" never had an effect on this town I can assure you, hehe.  For starters, what I have been doing is posting in local forums and talking with people about ideas such as more community gardens, garden sharing by sharing our back yards with gardening, permaculture (because agriculture continues to destroy the nation's and world's top soil.), water collecting, alternative forms of electricity, etc. etc. - anything to get away from the dependence upon institutions we have allowed ourselves to become enslaved by.  For the most part people take a small interest in the idea, but then just leave it at that.  It's a small step, but time is quickly running out.  I'm certainly not about to lay it all out and suggest everyone to exercise total non-compliance by taking all their money of of their bank and have a bonfire, stop driving their cars, stop going to the grocery stores etc., and engage in selfless service to others for the benefit of the community and eventually society as a whole.  No, at this present time, that would definitely require a major crash or catastrophe before all individuals within the community to jump in at the same time in helping each other.  In the mind of someone who is very comfortable and has a lot of confidence in the current system there would be no need or desire to move toward such a radical change in lifestyle.  So, if I were to make a prediction based on current observations, I would say the only way people across the world who live in communities that see no need for change to break free from the current system would have to be some sort of major crisis.  It is my current opinion that most people would have to be forced into reconnecting with each other instead of freely volunteering their service to one another.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not the least bit concerned or worried about any "future" crisis, and I'm not really all that interested in gardening  :roll:, but the methods I described above are the only things I can think of at the present moment to get started in a community such as this one, which I'm sure is very similar to most "mainstream" communities across the nation and the planet.  I do have an interest in seeing people working together once again across the planet as a single unit for the benefit of all life and the planet, and it would be preferable if my community and others would continue to wake up at a little faster rate and start interacting with each other towards a more self sufficient, self reliant lifestyle, because I would prefer not to be a refugee looking for such a self-sufficient community if this one were to fail due to some collapse as I am myself a resident of a suburb and very much a part of mainstream society deeply embedded into the system with great expectation of being free.  :-)

Anyway, this probably sounded a bit more dismal than I intended, and maybe a little off topic from the OP, but since the discussion popped up of what our plans were I felt compelled to include mine.  :wink:

caterpillarwoman

Quote from: Stillwater on June 18, 2010, 02:37:37
That makes no sense at all.

The internet is not "located" in the U.S. The U.S. government does not possess the ability to "shut off" the internet. They only have the ability to theoretically deny U.S. citizens access to the internet.

That's exactly what I was thinking. And even if, somehow, it were possible to shut down every router and every server and every ISP in the whole of the United States, the rest of the world's internet access would be temporarily slowed and then new routing would start to take over. That's how the internet works. The worst that could happen is that a large number of websites would disappear, due to being hosted in the United States.

By the way, it's not true that "similar" bills have been introduced in Australia, despite what's in the article. There is currently a rather harebrained scheme to install mandatory filtering at the ISP level (which won't be discussed until after the next federal election due to widespread public opposition to it), and the government was making overtures toward looking into a data storage scheme, similar to that which is in place in Europe, but the second thing hasn't even got a bill behind it. At this time, it's just yet another harebrained scheme concocted by some technically inept person in the Rudd government.

In fact, Australia IS at work on installing and setting up a national bandwidth expansion program. Work has apparently already started on that.

So, maybe take the article with a grain of salt. Or a ton of it. ;)



personalreality

be awesome.

caterpillarwoman

Quote from: personalreality on June 19, 2010, 00:43:48
Buzzkill
:-D

Sorry. Cross between "Sensible Mum" and "Geek". Pretty potent combination. Hard to resist. ;)

Oh, I will add that while Google's biggest HQ is in the United States, it has other major centres around the world, and server farms all over the place. So the rest of the world could even Google stuff without the permission of the U.S.  :-P

personalreality

Perhaps "Internet Kill Switch" was too strong a phrase.  The author of the article picked it, not me.  Nevertheless, look at what is done in China and North Korea.  The internet is tightly regulated there.  If they can do it, the US can do it.  It's not that the internet would be "shut down", I mean, it's the internet, it's like electricity, it was discovered, not created (lol, you get what i mean).  But, just like the US can control access to electricity, they could equally control access to the internet.  they wouldn't kill the internet, but they could severely limit our access to it, thereby preventing us from telling the world what's happening here and preventing the world from communicating with us.
be awesome.

caterpillarwoman

Quote from: personalreality on June 19, 2010, 09:27:10But, just like the US can control access to electricity, they could equally control access to the internet.

Well, if they figure out a way to do that, from a technical standpoint, I'd sure like to see how it's done. They can't figure out how to do it in Australia, and Australia only has a fraction of the people of the United States (only about 21million, compared to 350million or so). They also can't find a way to make it actually work in China, because people jump the Great Firewall of China every day. Every country with a national firewall has plenty of citizens who take the time and make the effort to go around the filter.

But the U.S. has a very different system from that of China. The U.S. has hundred or even thousands of ISPs. Granted, they all get their feed from some bigger upstream provider, but installing heavy-duty real-time firewalling slows things down tremendously, and the businesses involved (Sprint, AT&T, etc. etc.) would raise holy hell about it, and in the U.S., money talks, and big business pretty much always gets its way. Hell, all you have to do is go bankrupt over shady business dealings and the government gives you a big, fat handout!

I'm sorry to be a wet blanket, but I was actually working on the internet in the Nineties, as a technician, at one of those many ISPs in the U.S. I honestly can't see any way they could pull this off. They may WANT to, sure, but actually being able to DO it? I think not.

Like I said, if they can pull it off, I'd love to see how they plan on making it actually work and then catching people who just climb over the firewall. The internet is very cleverly designed. It's really hard to control. Governments HATE that.  :evil:

personalreality

If I were a betting man, I would put money on them being able to do it.

I'm not a tech person so I can't tell you the logistics of it.

There is a point in that article that says part of the bill includes freeing any of the big ISPs of liability AND paying them for any lost profits during the "down-time".  It's as easy as that to get the big ISP guys in on the plan.  Naturally there will be those who would find loopholes and the like.  But for like 95% (random number, no evidence, just a guess) of people who barely know how to work a computer, let alone how the computer works, this could be a collapse. 

I have learned to accept that the technology we are allowed access to doesn't even scratch the surface of what really exists.  I don't doubt for a second that there is probably a very simple means to this end and even the "tech-savvy" are ignorant of it.

but that's just me.

I'm probably 100% dead wrong and am just being silly and paranoid.
(sarcasm at your expense)
be awesome.

caterpillarwoman

You can be as sarcastic as you want. It's of no consequence to me at all. Indulge yourself, by all means!

All I'm saying is that I actually am a tech person, and I do have a pretty good idea how the internet works, and I cannot imagine how on earth the United States government could pull off a trick like censoring the entire internet and actually make it work.

But, hey, I'll make you a deal. If they do manage to pull it off, I'll make a public apology. Not that you'd be able to see it or anything, due to censorship, but I'll still apologise. Okay?

Now, please have the last word. That's important. I'll stand back and let you. Use sarcasm if you want, too. I won't even argue back. And I won't breach this topic again, because, well, better things to do and all that.

personalreality

i was being jokingly sarcastic  :-)

so it was sarcastic sarcasm.  just trying to express that i'm not getting "heated" over this discussion.  who cares either way, it will happen or it won't, whatever.  we can deal with it if the time comes.  and i know i come across as awfully "paranoid" but i just like to think of myself as mentally prepared to lessen the blow of the cognitive dissonance that will happen when we are finally shown how different our "lives" are compared to what we've been told our lives are.
be awesome.

Liminalitus

Obama is an extremely arrogant man, although he's got no reason to be, he's completely incompetent . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself here. He's very big into his position of power. "Shutting down" the internet would mean political suicide on his part. It would mean political suicide on any politician's part. It was only instated if there was ever an "internet invasion" from another country (NK, China, etc). We all know that won't happen. It was instated to make him look like he's trying to take initiative in the operations of America.



Remember, kids: The keyword here is politricks.

personalreality

be awesome.

Vitruvian

@ kailarius,
There are plenty of survivalists around with a similiar mindset. I think they congregate in Wyoming, wayyyyyy out that way :-). Not sure they're into mutual support, however. Or, for a more community based approach check out the Freestate Project, New Hampshire.

Anyway I agree with you whole-heartedly. Inertia is the most powerful force in the universe. If it's not raining, it's the uncommon man that will fix the hole in the roof before he needs to, unless he's been soaked before. And I do believe a hard rains a-gonna fall.
Vitruvian

Mydral

Lieberman + Rockefeller...

What else is new. Spreading fear is always an easy game.
In somnis veritas