Stream of Consciousness

I’ve just added the Great News Network to my news bookmarks.

What a treat to have some good news for a change!

From the virtual desk of Declan McCullagh: Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill (CNET):

For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite. A proposed copyright law seen by CNET News.com would expand the DMCA’s restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections and grant federal police more wiretapping and enforcement powers.

This bill likens copyright infringers to terrorists, and would make it a federal offense even to talk about ways of violating copyright. For some background on what the DMCA has done for us so far, see this report published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The idea that such an abomination to free speech could even be considered speaks volumes of the power of corporate lobbiests - when will the American people wake up and demand the end of this crooked institution?

Update: See this coverage at IPac Action.

This is chilling: decisions being made now will shape the future of the Internet for a generation. Before long, all media &mdash TV, phone and the Web — will come to your home via the same broadband connection. The dispute over net neutrality is about who’ll control access to new and emerging technologies.

From http://SaveTheInternet.com:

Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you — based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.

Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn’t speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online.

Please join and add your voice to help preserve Net Neutrality - don’t let the big telcos determing what information gets to pass through the wires.

For more information, check out Net Neutrality - Not an optional feature of the Internet.

Found on Digg:

3 convicted of jamming phones to a Democratic get out the vote campaign in New Hampshire. Turns out there had been more than 2 dozen calls between these guys and the White House, all within 3 days of election day 2004. Recently the republican party had paid millions in legal bills to defend these people.

See the full story on CNN.com.

It’s watergate all over again…

Yesterday Harry Taylor rose at one of those “Bush town hall” forums in North Carolina to tell President Bush that he’s never felt more ashamed of the leadership of his country. He said Bush has asserted his right to tap phone calls without a warrant, to arrest people and hold them without charges and to revoke a woman’s right to an abortion, among other things. After President Bush, was told by Harry that he should be ashamed of his policies, Bush defended the government’s secret eavesdropping program Thursday and said he would not apologize for listening in on the phone and e-mail conversations of Americans talking to people with suspected al-Qaida links.

On the same day Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the House Judiciary Committee that he believes President Bush has the authority to warrantlessly monitor all internal phone (and other electronic communications) within the US–purely domestic contacts. This position is contrary to Article 4 of the US Constitution which states:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

If you’d like to thank Harry Taylor for his timely and brilliant use of his First Amendment rights, use the first link below.

If you’d like to participate in a public action thanking Harry Taylor click the second link to learn how to do so.

http://thankyouharrytaylor.org/

http://thankyouharrytaylor.blogspot.com/