Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: SOPA, PIPA, MEGAUPLOAD, AND THE FUTURE OF THE FORUMS
This just pisses me off...
This.
I know I already voiced my opinion on this on the first page, but let me add that We the People of the United States of America are a very interesting bunch. First of all, our Government was created to serve the People, US citizens, but ultimately became an entity of its own. After all, it was first called Our Governing Body and not -The- Government. There is a very clear disassociation through how The Government is spoken. It is no longer part of We and instead functions to serve itself under the pretense of protecting its population. However, were that true, we wouldn't have a failing education system (which is, I might add, the backbone of our future as a country and a World Power, unless they plan on having our country run in the future by only the people that can afford private schooling. Hmm...). After all, there are no better people to control than ignorant people.
If people were educated as to how to properly control their governing body then The government would lose their power. For example:
On December 16, 1950, during the Korean War, President Truman issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2914, declaring a state of national emergency. The Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer established, in 1952, that presidents may not act contrary to Acts of Congress during an emergency.
During the Watergate scandal which erupted in the 1970s after President Richard Nixon authorized a variety of illegal acts, Congress investigated the extent of the President's powers and belatedly realized that the U.S. had been in
a continuous state of emergency since 1950. As a result, in 1976 the National Emergencies Act set a limit of two years on emergency declarations unless the president explicitly extends them, and requiring the president to specify in advance which legal provisions will be invoked. The Act terminated the emergency of 1950 on September 14, 1978; however, even in the 21st century, the federal courts have upheld harsh penalties (including deportation) for crimes that occurred during the state of national emergency from 1950 to 1978, where the penalties were escalated because of the existence of that emergency.
The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows freezing of assets, limiting of trade, and confiscation of property during a declared emergency.
The United States is
formally in an
ongoing limited state of emergency declared by several Presidents for several reasons. A state of emergency began on January 24, 1995 with the signing of Executive Order 12947 by President Bill Clinton. In accordance with the National Emergencies Act, the executive order's actual effect was not a declaration of a general emergency, but a limited embargo on trade with "Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process". This "national emergency" was expanded in 1998 to include additional targets such as Osama bin Laden, and has been continued to at least 2008 by order of President George W. Bush. There are a number of other ongoing national emergencies of this type, regarding for instance diamond trade with Sierra Leone. Especially noteworthy are the ongoing states of emergency declared on November 14, 1979 regarding the Iran Hostage Crisis, that declared on March 15, 1995 with respect to Iran, and that declared on September 14, 2001 through Bush's Proclamation 7463, regarding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
President Barack Obama extended George Bush's Declaration of Emergency regarding terrorism on September 10, 2009 and again on September 10, 2010.
What does this all mean and how does it concern the abuse of government power in pretense for the betterment of its people including, but not limited to, the censorship and prosecution of anyone or anything contrary to the interests of the The Government?
This is only one aspect of the horribly clouded history of the pursuit of Truth, Justice, and the American Way and is an insight to how something with the best of intentions can lead to a massive sudden abuse of power. After all, while 'limited', it is STILL an ongoing State of Emergency concerning the War on Terrorism that we see so much today. Toss in this:
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, or NDAA, was recently signed off by US President Barack Obama. Under the legislation, the Department of Defense is guaranteed spending appropriations for a 12-month span. Thanks to certain provisions snuck in, however, the US government is granted the powers to indefinitely detain and torture American citizens without charge, essentially creating Guantanamo Prison-style detention possibilities for anyone deemed a threat by American authorities.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist. But you don't invest as much money on Non Lethal weaponry as the US has because you don't use Non Lethal weapons on another country. You use it on your own.
Add the reactions to the Occupy Movement in demonstration that the public can and will rise up against its own government and its affiliates if needed and the picture gets a little clearer. Not to mention that Congress has an Ace up its sleeve (sorry SmokinAce27!) to force the President to do, during this extended state of emergency, anything that it rules in majority concerning the legal venues for which the SOE has been issued or extended.
This isn't just a matter of fighting the censorship and prosecution (or lack of prosecution if offenders are labelled a threat) of the basis of the World's Social and Economic Infrastructure (after all, most main company servers for international businesses are located in the US). This is just another step closer to what many people believe will become a very violent change.
Does anyone else from the US here remember how, back during the W. Bush Administration, people became scared to even discuss politics on the street? Anonymity on the Internet has been one of the only saving graces for media, and while it does not concern piracy as 'a threat to immaterial rights', how long until that proposed censorship blots out the ability to share opinion and fact much like has already happened in News media on air and on paper? The only truthful news we can get in the US anymore, truly, is BBC News. Thank you, UK! Though, I admit, I read BBC News on the internet. Will it get blocked, too?
