Free Speech Is On Thin Ice
- Dees Illustration
By Amir Alwani
Potent News
January 13, 2012
Is anybody noticing all the flak journalists are getting for trying to do their jobs lately? Free speech of any kind seems to be under attack. It is fairly common now to see people getting arrested for video-taping police officers. To add insult to injury, SOPA/PIPA threatens free speech and spells RED ALERT to almost everyone willing to look at the facts. Do any of you think you’ll get anywhere by submitting to any of this, sugar coating it, or looking the other way?
Now is the time to make ourselves heard. When someone encroaches on our liberty we have a duty to fight back.
The role of the mainstream media has traditionally been to limit debate and to basically be the mouthpiece of government. Conversely, the role of the responsibly minded media is to take advantage of technology and opportunities to spread important/urgent information – being our eyes and ears when we can’t be there.
In the Arabic language, when you Love someone you call that person “ee-oo-nee” which means my “eyes” (probably because they offer you another perspective which you see as crucial and valuable). Hijacked governments are taking our eyes, leaving us blind, deaf and dumb – politically impotent.
There is a lot to look forward to in the times ahead but we must first deal with history’s immense baggage which is manifesting in all sorts of grotesque ways now, allowing us to see our true colours. I see a lot of beauty in the world but our present situation is also a nightmarish science fiction scenario for many reasons. At this point we are about to marry that scenario’s much uglier cousin. We must speak now or forever hold our peace (pun fully intended). If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about at this point, you have some catching up to do.
Those who witnessed the recent NDAA arrests shouldn’t be surprised at all. Here’s a brief glance at the political climate that has endured in the past couple years and what one might be faced with when trying to record a video, cover an event, attend a protest, have one’s voice heard in a public meeting, etc:
June 26 / June 27, 2010
November 22, 2010
January 7, 2011
June 8, 2011
June 24, 2011
August 22, 2011
August 31, 2011
December 16, 2011 – Culture has succumbed to the point where even a priest was practically kicked out of a town hall meeting recently, probably because they merely didn’t like the sound of his voice.
January 9, 2012
So it’s bad, right?
Don’t you think it’s a slippery slope if we keep letting this kind of thing slide? Over a year ago, State Sen. Bruce Patterson was proposing legislation that would introduce government-registered reporters. Mac Salvo wrote,
Once a reporter is licensed, the public would have the comfort of knowing that the writings, opinions, and insights being presented have been thoroughly sifted, filtered and edited to ensure the information is truthful and easy to understand.
The same population of gullible idiots that require government intervention when it comes to smoking cigarettes, drinking sodas, and salt intake, also need to be told what news they can consume.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know what the current state of affairs are regarding this legislation, but I agree with Salvo and here are my thoughts on the matter.
What was being proposed, albeit “voluntary”, was nothing more than government filtration of information. Our awareness is already extremely narrow and many human beings sadly go from the cradle to the grave without ever experiencing true happiness/bliss (except maybe as children). We need all the help we can get but we don’t need the style of help offered to us by government. The argument often used seems more or less like, “there’s a lot of stupid people out there and you can’t trust everybody so allow us to make sure the biggest and brightest get the spotlight and a chance. Have you no heart? For the love of GOD, let us help you by limiting your options and thinking for you. Let us be your God.”
Even if that argument was somewhat accurate – that is, even if the internet or the general arena of written work was in fact full of crap and you, for whatever reason, feared that people would take some unsavory (possibly dangerous) characters seriously – then it might be worthwhile to take a quick glance at Charlotte Iserbyt’s work because it might shed light on the why people are so ignorant these days and why there may be so much crap to filter through (if there even is indeed that much crap floating around shrouding the truth in a sea of mediocrity).
However, I personally don’t think it’s difficult for anybody to sift through the crap, whether it be online, in a physical library, or a newspaper. Furthermore, nobody is putting a gun to anybody’s head and saying, “believe Joe Blow’s blog or else”. It’s our responsibility to come to our own conclusions and if we’re never given the opportunity to practice that discernment and be able to say, “I did this research on my own”, then we are robbed of yet another freedom. If absurd laws like this were in place, nobody anywhere would be able to say they did the research on their own. You would have to say, “I did this research on my own, but every article I came across was preselected and hand-picked by my government” and so your government would be acting as a middle man.
More importantly, at the end of the day the whole idea of free speech is meant specifically for unpopular speech (probably because times of great change are usually led by a minority). Think about it. We need a great change right now. You’re not going to get it with the help of CNN.
Sometimes the presence of a middle man doesn’t work out so well. Why have a “middle-man” between you and reality? Why are so many people so desperate for powerful people, “experts”, and people with degrees to rule over them?
There is no real danger and there never was, except for maybe the danger posed by a psychopathic government’s obsession with control. Writing about what you see in your world is not the same as performing medical surgery or driving a vehicle. The world is not going to fall apart if one guy posts a slightly inaccurate blog every now and then by mistake. When you read a piece of news, you should critically think about it for yourself because you matter in the grand scheme of things. Chances are that your opinion of whatever piece of news comes your way is actually much more aligned with reality and conducive to genuine growth and maturity (for you and our species) than your government’s version of the events (at least when you can think clearly anyway).
If that still doesn’t make sense to you, consider the following. What if you even already have a degree (which some consider a scam in and of itself, by the way). What assurance can you honestly say you have that this “committee” Patterson is talking about, this bureaucratic arm of a monstrously corrupt and rampaging hijacked government will be fair when contemplating your qualifications (or that any future administration wouldn’t abuse those powers)? This is a hijacked government which, by the way, is controlled by a banking cartel which is hellbent on robbing people of their ability to eat real food, breath untainted air, and drink untainted water.
I would bet that if you did your homework you would have zero assurance that any “committee” like this would be looking out for your best interest.
A recent article titled “Mainstream Media To Bully Bloggers Out Of ‘Fair Use'” mentions,
The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, along with 28 other news organizations, are launching a company which hopes to further profit on their news reporting, by seeking to make paying customers out of websites or blogs which reproduce their content, either in full or in part.
So even if that Detroit legislator mentioned above didn’t get his way, we can see that the corporate oligarchy’s wheels are in motion and that the fight to suppress free speech is ever present.
When people’s websites get torn down or when reporters get arrested for filming a public event or for filming a police officer abusing his/her authority, the message there is simply. “shut up, slave. We own you.”
Sure, if all your life you’ve had a tendency to conform, you might be shortsighted enough to come up with some sort of rationalization for that kind of assault on your freedom but at the end of the day there is no justification for these pompous acts of domination, and worse, they are intertwined with an entire system of domination that has world depopulation at the heart of its agenda. Seen in this light, World War 3 is also not surprising.
Furthermore, when you look at the fact that many honest small businesses actually had their websites shut down and replaced with Department of Homeland Security logos falsely accusing them of being pedophiles and violating child porn laws that is obviously quite another story. I don’t think that’s a fumble. I find it difficult to believe such a mistake could be made. It is like saying, “Oops, I tripped and fell on the button that falsely accused your website of violating child porn laws”. I mean I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure this is a joke or on purpose.
The solution? Do you even have to ask? What could it be?
Simple: Do not shut up. They can’t shut us all up.
I’m already seeing a huge surge of various names in the alternative news media expanding their operations. We do outnumber those pushing for the global genocidal tyranny.
If you do shut up, the powers that be say, “mission accomplished” and celebrate. Instead, listen to your “gut feeling” and act on it, please. You’d be doing me (and all of us) a huge favor.
Related Articles:
- Hosting Company Says al-Qaeda Website Reason for Removing 73,000 Blogs (July 20, 2010)
- Every email and website to be stored (October 20, 2010)
- Metered internet a colossal failure (January 26, 2011)
- Egypt’s Internet Kill Switch: Coming To America (January 28, 2011)
- Algeria Shuts Down Social Media Websites As Protests Grow (February 14, 2011)
- VeriSign Demands Power To Kill “Abusive” Websites (October 11, 2011)
- Thousands leave GoDaddy over registrar’s support for SOPA (December 30, 2011)
- WordPress Comes Out Against SOPA Internet Censorship Bill (January 11, 2012)
- Reddit to shut-down over SOPA (January 11, 2012)
- Activist Appeals Felony Ruling for Exercising Free Speech (January 13, 2012)
Amir Alwani is a psychonaut who makes metal, electronic and hip-hop music. He is also the founder and editor of the online independent media outlet known as Potent News.
Police State Gadgets and the Technology of Enslavement (video)
Boiling Frogs Video
January 10, 2012
CONTINUE WATCHING: http://ur1.ca/7eafz
TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=3650
The popular conception of the police state, derived mainly from works of science fiction, revolves heavily around the deployment of exotic technologies for keeping the populace firmly under the thumb of an authoritarian government.
Winston Smith and the characters of 1984 were surveilled by the omnipresent telescreens. The inhabitants of the Brave New World were controlled by their government-administered soma drugs and hypnopædia indoctrination. Enemy of the State introduced the viewer to worldwide telephone and satellite surveillance. Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report had its robotic tracking bugs. And all manner of science-fiction has featured pain devices and bracelets that cause the protagonist to double over in pain at the click of a button.
Perhaps it is the frequency with which these devices are presented to us in fictionalized form that prevents many from noticing that this technology is not the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but increasingly a part of our everyday lives.
Free Thinking Human Or Programmed Sheeple – David Icke/Alex Jones (video)
by Zen Gardner
Before It’s News
January 9, 2012
NDAA Protests End In Ironic Swarm Of Arrests (video)
- Dees Illustration
by Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com
January 10, 2012
The absurdity of America today never ceases to amaze. In fact, it has become so elaborate that one might even suggest it has reached a kind of poetic symmetry.
When a protest group is willing to stick their necks out to expose the horror of the National Defense Authorization Act and its open door strategy for unconstitutional arrest and indefinite detainment of American citizens, I have to stand up and applaud.
This is the kind of protest we need to see all over the country. Of course, any establishment system which is willing to dissolve the inherent liberties of its citizens certainly isn’t going to stand by quietly while they blatantly point out the injustice.
The Grand Central Terminal action featured in the video below is a perfect example of the swift and immediate stifling of peaceful dissent by an increasingly totalitarian government:
Responses to the event vary. Most people who have actually been exposed to the facts on the NDAA have expressed utter disgust and fury. Rightly so.
Some, however, have taken the old elitist mantra, perpetuated effectively by the Neo-Cons in their heyday, that if you are not for the system, then you are a danger to society. Not surprisingly, there are still plenty of useful idiots out there buzzing about like parasites in search of blood.
For those who would applaud these arrests, and suggest that they are well deserved, I would have to ask very pointedly; why?
Is it right to crush free speech as long as the message is offensive to you personally? Do peaceful protestors really present a legitimate threat to our national stability? Are they truly more dangerous than a corrupt government hellbent on assassinating the legal protections of our natural rights which have existed for centuries?
Would any supporter of the jackboot methodology like to explain to me in a coherent manner why they believe their skewed world view should be shielded from sincere questions? Please, I can’t wait to witness the kind of ridiculous mental gymnastics required to make such arguments palatable. If this kind of ignorance wasn’t so destructive, it might actually be entertaining.
The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter if these activists were in Grand Central Terminal, on the streets, or busting through the doors of the Oval Office. While New York authorities will attempt to argue property loopholes in free speech protections for Grand Central, or national security because of the vulnerability of the terminal, really, this has nothing to do with either.
This is about the removal of American voices from a room, and nothing more. If the message is going to be suppressed by the mainstream media, and shrugged off by representatives, then protesters must go to where the people are, and make the truth heard by whatever means necessary.
Ultimately, activism is about disturbing people’s normal mundane routines and shocking them out of their pop-culture stupor, even if for a moment. If we aren’t allowed to do that without constant police intervention, then the First Amendment is not being served, and then, my friends, we have a problem, a problem which should be forced down the throat of government with even more public action.
————————-
(hat tip: The Intel Hub)
Syria: Deadly price of pursuing change
by NewsBot
End the Lie
January 9, 2012
Amid heavy criticism for failing to stop violence in Syria, the Arab League has renewed calls for the regime to end bloodshed and open its borders to more observers. As the carnage continues, many say they are paying too high a price for change.
The observers held a meeting with the governor of Damascus, Hussein Makhlouf, on Sunday and visited a local hospital to meet with relatives of the victims of recent violence.
As the country edges ever closer towards civil war, hundreds of people from both sides are losing their lives every month – opposition, pro-regime, civilians, soldiers and children alike.
On Friday, another suicide bombing in Damascus was yet further evidence of the escalating conflict. The attack hit the central Damascus neighborhood of al-Midan, killing 26 and wounding dozens. And all this has continued to take place with Arab League observers on the ground.
“We went to the League and asked them to help,” a local woman said. “But they did not want to listen to us and did not respond to our complaints.”
Exactly who is responsible for what is happening in the country right now remains far from clear.
In an effort to shed light on the situation, people have continued to risk their lives getting information out of the country. Gene Sharp, a leading expert on non-violent revolution, calls the actions of the Syrian people “quite amazing.”
“Even though so many people have been killed, they are going out on the streets,” said Sharp, a senior Scholar at the Albert Einstein Institution in Boston. “When the population loses its fear, that is a great achievement towards success.”
But the opposition itself is becoming increasingly divided, with more and more Army deserters joining its ranks and calling for a violent overthrow of the government.
“The danger now is that those soldiers who have been moved by these developments and defected from the Syrian army have concluded that they need to use violence to fight the rest of the Syrian army. If they want to succeed, that is not the way to do it,” explains Sharp.
The Arab League has once again renewed calls for the violence from all sides to end, having met to review their findings so far.
All across the country right now people are fighting tooth and nail for the right to determine their own future.
Despite government promises, many people now feel that simply too many lives have been lost, too much blood has been shed, for anything other than real change to be an option.
Source – http://rt.com/news/syria-observer-mission-price-379/
David Icke’s ‘ad lib’ documentary at Occupy Wall Street (video)
David Icke
January 6, 2012
David Icke’s ‘ad lib’ documentary at Occupy Wall Street – the peoples’ voice and the agent provocateurs of the New York Police
New Clancy ‘Rainbow Six’ vid game labels OWS protesters as the new domestic terror threat
Dees Illustration
by J.D. Heyes
Natural News
December 21, 2011
(NaturalNews) Is it getting increasingly harder to voice your opinion in the U.S. without someone labeling you a terrorist or a subversive? The latest outrage comes from the Tom Clancy-inspired “Rainbow Six” videogame series, in which Occupy Wall Street protesters are the new domestic terrorists.
The latest incarnation of the series, “The Patriots,” won’t hit stores until 2013, but here’s a sample of the plot: “Terrorism has evolved and America is under attack. Capitalizing on the sense of frustration in a nation seemingly corrupted by greedy politicians and corporate special interests, a group of US citizens-turned-radicals, the True Patriots, will stop at nothing to overthrow the government and financial institutions. As a leader of the elite Rainbow counter-terrorism unit, players will be the last line of defense tasked with saving the nation no matter the cost.”
If that’s not enough to shock you, the first official trailer for the game is introduced along a similar theme: “This is the day we’ve been waiting for. This is for the jobs you’ve streamlined, the debts you’ve collected, this is for the homes you foreclosed on, the bailouts you took. We are the true patriots. It’s time for a new balance of power. You may not answer to the government, but you will answer to us.”
There may be a few factions within the OWS movement calling for direct action against the government, but they are fair game for law enforcement. But generalizing all OWS-type protesters as terrorists that have gone over the edge and are acting in the extreme is, well, extreme. For the record, the First Amendment specifically protects speech and even civil disobedience, so long as it such behavior doesn’t violate the law or the rights of other citizens. Or, at least, it used to.
Granted, the video game isn’t calling the “terrorist” group Occupy Wall Street, but we think you get the picture, based on the set-up plot of the game. And that, to us, is the real problem here.
Sources:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/12/09/confirmed-rainbow-patriots-making-its-debut-at-the-vgas/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rainbow-Six-Patriots-Gets-Disturbing-Terrorist-Trailer-239860.shtml
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