Tuesday, January 24, 2012
- Major media black out Paul's effortto repeal law on interning AmericansPresidential candidate Ron Paul's bill calling for repeal of a just-enacted law giving the president and the Pentagon authority to detain Americans indefinitely on mere suspicion was ignored by the mainstream media, as a Google news search (below) shows.No major media touched the story. Previously such media went to extreme lengths to avoid the controversy, which has raised the hackles of people on the right and left of the political spectrum.Major media similarly played down -- to the point of brown-out -- the Stop Online Privacy Act controversy and only relented when the new media, in the form of Wikipedia and Google, mobilized netizens to contact lawmakers.One of the things that the old media hold against Paul is his effective use of the new media, which -- to their commentators -- doesn't strike them as legitimate for a presidential contender.Although Newt Gingrich played to a debate audience about being abused by the press, it is Paul who is consistently chiseled and maligned by the old-line media. Gingrich, on the other hand, got into an ethics uproar over taking an outlandishly large book advance from media mogul Rupert Murdoch, known for his proclivity for manipulating lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic.
News for ron paul repeal
Ology
- Ron Paul introduces bill to repeal NDAA indefinite detention clauseOpenglobe - 15 hours agoRepublican Representative and presidential candidate Ron Paul took a day off from campaigning in the primary voting state of South Carolina to return to ...4 related articles
Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal NDAA's Indefinite Detention
thenewamerican.com/.../10608-ron-paul-introduces-bill-to-repeal-nd...4 days ago – GOP presidential contender Ron Paul introduced legislation to overturn the indefinite detention provision in the National Defense Authorization ...Ron Paul Moves To Repeal NDAA Police State Provisions Alex ...
www.infowars.com/ron-paul-moves-to-repeal-ndaa-police-state-prov...5 days ago – Ron Paul stepped aside from his 2012 presidential campaign today to fight directly for all of our freedoms, by introducing legislation to repeal ...Ron Paul proposes bill to repeal indefinite detention provision | The ...
www.rawstory.com/.../ron-paul-proposes-bill-to-repeal-indefinite-det...5 days ago – Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced legislation to the U.S House on Wednesday that would repeal Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization ...Ron Paul calls for repeal of detainee rules, slams Lindsey Graham ...
thehill.com/.../204811-ron-paul-slams-sen-graham-calls-on-house-to-...6 days ago – Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Texas) took to the House floor Wednesday morning to call on his colleagues to support his new ...AllGov - News - Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal Indefinite ...
www.allgov.com/.../Ron_Paul_Introduces_Bill_to_Repeal_Indefinite...4 days ago – The wording of the act, although carefully phrased, allows the president of the United States to imprison whomever he chooses.Ron Paul Introduces Bill To Repeal Unconstitutional Section of ...
www.dailypaul.com › Forums › Ron Paul 20123 days ago – Ron Paul took time off from his campaign schedule to introduce legislation to repeal section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act for ...Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links:http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or athttp://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Paul warns colleagues of peril
of indefinite detention measure
We have to go to Russian media to get a story on Ron Paul fighting indefinite detention of Americans.
RT.com
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, or the NDAA, was inked by President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve, despite immense opposition from Americans who were concerned by vague language that could allow the commander-in-chief to use military forces to domestically police the United States. Under Section 1021 of the NDAA, any person, US citizen or not, can be held without trial by American armed forces if they are suspected of being engaged in hostilities against the country by al-Qaeda or associated forces.
Opponents of the act — and there are many — have questioned the language of the specific section, as it could be written to allow the president to enforce the law to imprison anyone suspected of any crime that could be considered by the right person in office to be an act of terror. President Obama said that he would not abide by this rule, but despite a signing statement that his administration won’t act in that manner, it does not mean that the promise will be upheld.
ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero called Obama’s approval of the legislation is "a blight on his legacy,"insisting that “he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” and the Council on American-Islamic Relations called the bill an “ill-conceived and un-American legislation” that will “forever be seen as a stain on our nation’s history — one that will ultimately be viewed with embarrassment and shame.” Additionally, this week RT reported that noted journalist Chris Hedges has filed a lawsuit against the White House over the legislation, questioning the legality of the authorization and calling it “a catastrophic blow to civil liberties.”
On Wednesday this week, however, Ron Paul spoke from Capitol Hill, not South Carolina where the rest of his Republican Party rivals were campaigning before the state’s primary scheduled for this weekend. While in Washington to vote against raising the debt ceiling, Congressman Ron Paul also used the opportunity to go after Obama for signing the NDAA and offered a proposal that, if passed, would strike Section 1031 off the Act.
The move makes Paul not just the first frontrunner in the race for the GOP nomination to speak out against the act, but the first congressman to openly offer a solution to the legislation since it was authorized into law.
Paul began his address on Wednesday by noting that the National Defense Authorization Act was “quietly signed into law by the president on New Year’s Day,” sarcastically saluting it by adding, “and what a way to usher in a New Year.”
“Section 1021 provides for the possibility of the US military acting as a kind of police force on US soil, apprehending terror suspects – including Americans — and whisking them off to an undisclosed location indefinitely,” said Paul.
“No right to attorney, no right to trial, no day in court.”
While GOP contender Mitt Romney said during a debate from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week that he would have also authorized such legislation, Congressman Paul went over his time limit on stage in urging Americans to pay attention to the dangerous provisions included in the Act. In front of the debate crowd, Paul told the US not to lose faith in the country’s judicial system. From Washington only a week later, Congressman Paul asked his peers to think about America’s past once more, asking, “Have we not tried in civilian court and won convictions of hundreds of individuals for terrorist or related activities?” He added to his fellow legislature that this transformation away from a country founded on the ideals of the Constitution would soon lead America on the road to a place no one would wish it goes.
“This is precisely the kind of egregious distortion of justice that Americans have always ridiculed in so many dictatorships overseas,” said Paul, comparing it to the gulag system of the Soviet Union.
“Is this really the kind of United States we want to create in the name of fighting terrorism?” asked the congressman from Texas.
“Some have argued that nothing in Section 1021 explicitly mandates holding Americans without trial, but it employs vague language radically expanding the detention authority to include anyone who has ‘substantially supported’ certain terrorist groups or ‘associated forces,’” said Paul. “No one has defined what those two terms mean. What is an ‘associated force’?” he asked.
In a statement explaining his lawsuit against the president, Chris Hedges addressed the same concern earlier this week, calling into question the countless conversations he has had with people that the US government has labeled as terrorists. As a foreign correspondent, Hedges says, he met regularly with leaders from groups such as Hamas, the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran.
“What would this bill have meant if it had been in place when I and other Americans traveled in the 1980s with armed units of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua or the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front guerrillas in El Salvador? What would it have meant for those of us who were with the southern insurgents during the civil war in Yemen or the rebels in the southern Sudan?” asked Hedges. “I have had dinner more times than I can count with people whom this country brands as terrorists. But that does not make me one.”
While Hedges attacked Obama in drafting his explanation of the lawsuit, Paul spoke from the Capitol that his own peers in Congress are just as responsible for crafting the NDAA and corrupting others lawmakers into signing it, even as they themselves openly acknowledged the dangers of the act.
“Sadly, too many of my colleagues are too willing to undermine our Constitution to support such outrageous legislation,” said Paul. “One senator even said about American citizens picked up under this section of the NDAA, ‘When they say, “I want my lawyer,” you tell them, “Shut up. You don't get a lawyer.”’ Is this acceptable in someone one who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution?” he asked. The congressman in question was Senator Lindsay Graham, who did indeed have such vile words in encouraging others to sign the Act. “For those American citizens thinking about helping al-Qaeda, please know what will come your way: death; detention; prosecution,” explained Senator Graham while the Act was originally up for discussion.
Sadly, prosecution could very well be the last step in an instance where an American is imprisoned under the NDAA. In Section 1031, citizens can indeed be held indefinitely, and as we’ve learned with the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that term of detainment could easily extend a decade, if not longer, without a trial ever being ordered. Over 170 prisoners are still held at Gitmo, including some that have been there without charge since the US began installing suspected war criminals there more than ten years ago. Under Section 1031, your neighbor, uncle or yourself could be the next person to don an orange jumpsuit and Ron Paul recognized how detrimental this is to American liberty.
In his closing remarks Wednesday, Paul explained that he was without a doubt opposed to acts of terrorism. “I recognize how critical it is that we identify and apprehend those who are suspected of plotting attacks against Americans. But why do we have so little faith in our justice system?” he asked.
Paul added that he wished to continue going after terrorists, but said, “let us not abandon what is so unique and special about our system of government in the process.”
“I hope my colleagues will join my effort to overturn the shameful Section 1021,” concluded the congressman.
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Spooky coincidence
On Sept. 7, Jeb readied martial law
as general spoke of trade center hit
On Sept. 7, 2001, Gen. Tommy Franks told intelligence staff members that his greatest fear was that a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center would result in martial law against American citizens, he says in his autobiography, American Soldier. Meanwhile, on the same day Florida Governor Jeb Bush prepared for martial law.
Franks, who wrote that he instantly assumed that Osama bin Laden was the culprit upon learning of the first strike on the World Trade Center, evidently found a need to include the Sept. 7 incident in his book, written with Malcolm McConnell, after he was questioned about it during a classified session of the 9/11 commission in April 2004.
http://books.google.com/books?
On the day Franks, chief of the U.S. Central Command, gave that assessment at MacDill Air Force Base, Governor Bush promulgated an executive order giving him authority to prepare for martial law, which he quietly implemented on Sept. 11.
On the day Franks, chief of the U.S. Central Command, gave that assessment at MacDill Air Force Base, Governor Bush promulgated an executive order giving him authority to prepare for martial law, which he quietly implemented on Sept. 11.
In his book, Franks talks about the "excesses of Reconstruction after the Civil War, which had resulted in the enactment of Posse Comitatus, the law that prevents military forces from serving as policemen within the United States."
His comment in the 2004 book is reflected by similar comments found on the proLiberty web page reproduced below. This reporter was unable to verify the date of the posting of the "historical note" below but the url makes it appear to have been posted in 2001.
From the October 2001 Idaho Observer:
His comment in the 2004 book is reflected by similar comments found on the proLiberty web page reproduced below. This reporter was unable to verify the date of the posting of the "historical note" below but the url makes it appear to have been posted in 2001.
From the October 2001 Idaho Observer:
Bush brother declares martial law in Florida
“I hereby declare that a state of emergency exists in the state of Florida...The Authority to suspend the effect of any statute or rule governing the conduct of state business, and further authority to suspend the effect of any order or rule of any government entity...The authority to seize and utilize any and all real or personal property as needed to meet this emergency...The authority to order the evacuation of any or all persons from any location in the State...The authority to regulate the return of the evacuees to their home comunities...I hereby order the Adjutant General to activate the Florida National Guard for the duration of this emergency.” ~Florida Governor Jeb Bush, September 11, 2001TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order 01-261 September 7, 2001, four days before the WTC tragedy of Sept. 11, which paves the way for a declaration of martial law in his state. The governor, in his EO, delegated to, “...the Adjutant General of the state of Florida all necessary authority....to order members of the Florida National Guard into Active Service.”
Immediately after the second WTC tower fell, Governor Bush signed EO 01-262 to make Florida the first state to declare a state of emergency though his state did not experience any terrorist events that day. Governor Bush is reportedly the only governor in the U.S. outside of NY and D.C. to make a declaration of martial law in the wake of the WTC tragedy. Interestingly, Governor Bush's declaration came before authorities in New York or Washington, D.C. declared states of emergency.
The text (see italics above) of the little reported declared state of emergency that exists in Florida leaves little doubt that the state is currently functioning under martial law.
The Florida national Guard, like the national guard units in the several states, is operated under the authority of the state government. The national guard can also be called up under the orders of the federal government.
There is no sunset clause to this EO. Jeb Bush, the son of former President Bush and the brother of current President Bush, has signed an EO that will keep Florida in a perpetual state of martial law until the EO has been revoked.
***
Historical note:
During the Civil War and the era known as Reconstruction, President Abraham Lincoln had declared a state of martial law. The authority President Lincoln gave himself at that time through executive order was not unlike the authority Governor Bush gave to himself September 11, 2001.
President Lincoln and his military government arrested and tried civilians in both military and civilian courts (which were operating under similar if not identical rules). The writ of habeas corpus was suspended.
The flagrant abuses of unchecked authority during the Civil War era led to the passage of the Posse Comitatus Act. The Act was intended to prohibit the use of federal military forces in domestic law enforcement.
The Posse Comitatus Act was hotly debated during the infamous siege at Waco. Janet Reno's Department of Justice rationalized itself out of being subject to the act because of alleged drug violations by the Branch Davidians.
The government theorizes that with a declared “war” on drugs, the military can be used in domestic actions.
We can see how these precedents have been used to justify the placement of armed and uniformed federal troops at airports all over the nation.
History has shown that declarations of martial law and the suspension of due process are followed by heinous abuses of that authority.
The following copy of the order is found on the Prison Planet website.
The following copy of the order is found on the Prison Planet website.
EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER
01-261 WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard has the statutory responsibility to provide support to law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard has the responsibility to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard must train to meet such responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard is funded for any such training by budgetary appropriation or grants before any such training; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard must conduct such training in active service of the state, as defined by Section 250.27, Florida Statutes (also known as active military service and state active duty) for members of the Florida National Guard to be covered by Section 250.34, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, as Governor, I may delegate the authority contained in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to order training to help respond to civil disturbances, natural disasters, and counter drug operations to The Adjutant General of the State of Florida; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State of Florida that I delegate such authority, so that the Florida National Guard is adequately trained to meet its obligation to help respond to civil disturbances, natural disasters, and counter drug operations and so that members of the Florida National Guard performing such training are covered by Section 250.34, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, the Governor may order the Florida National Guard to provide extraordinary support to law enforcement upon request and such a request has been received from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEB BUSH, as Governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution, and by Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, and all other applicable laws, do hereby promulgate the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:
Section 1.
Based upon the foregoing, I hereby find that the public welfare requires that the Florida National Guard train to support law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters and to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations.
Section 2.
I hereby delegate to The Adjutant General of the State of Florida all necessary authority, within approved budgetary appropriations or grants, to order members of the Florida National Guard into active service, as defined by Section 250.27, Florida Statutes, for the purpose of training to support law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters and to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations.
Section 3.
The Florida National Guard may order selected members on to state active duty for service to the State of Florida pursuant to Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections. Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port, the necessity to protect life and property from such acts of terrorism, and inhibiting the smuggling of illegal drugs into the State of Florida, the use of the Florida National Guard to support FDLE in accomplishing port security training and inspections is "extraordinary support to law enforcement" as used in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes.
Section 4.
The Adjutant General shall not place members of the Florida National Guard into active service for longer than necessary to accomplish the purposes declared herein.
Section 5.
This Executive Order supersedes Executive Order Number 01-17. Executive Order Number 01-17 is hereby revoked.
Section 6.
This Executive Order shall remain in full force and effect until the earlier of its revocation or June 30, 2003.
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard must train to meet such responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard is funded for any such training by budgetary appropriation or grants before any such training; and
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard must conduct such training in active service of the state, as defined by Section 250.27, Florida Statutes (also known as active military service and state active duty) for members of the Florida National Guard to be covered by Section 250.34, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, as Governor, I may delegate the authority contained in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to order training to help respond to civil disturbances, natural disasters, and counter drug operations to The Adjutant General of the State of Florida; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State of Florida that I delegate such authority, so that the Florida National Guard is adequately trained to meet its obligation to help respond to civil disturbances, natural disasters, and counter drug operations and so that members of the Florida National Guard performing such training are covered by Section 250.34, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, the Governor may order the Florida National Guard to provide extraordinary support to law enforcement upon request and such a request has been received from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEB BUSH, as Governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution, and by Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, and all other applicable laws, do hereby promulgate the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:
Section 1.
Based upon the foregoing, I hereby find that the public welfare requires that the Florida National Guard train to support law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters and to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations.
Section 2.
I hereby delegate to The Adjutant General of the State of Florida all necessary authority, within approved budgetary appropriations or grants, to order members of the Florida National Guard into active service, as defined by Section 250.27, Florida Statutes, for the purpose of training to support law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters and to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations.
Section 3.
The Florida National Guard may order selected members on to state active duty for service to the State of Florida pursuant to Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections. Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port, the necessity to protect life and property from such acts of terrorism, and inhibiting the smuggling of illegal drugs into the State of Florida, the use of the Florida National Guard to support FDLE in accomplishing port security training and inspections is "extraordinary support to law enforcement" as used in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes.
Section 4.
The Adjutant General shall not place members of the Florida National Guard into active service for longer than necessary to accomplish the purposes declared herein.
Section 5.
This Executive Order supersedes Executive Order Number 01-17. Executive Order Number 01-17 is hereby revoked.
Section 6.
This Executive Order shall remain in full force and effect until the earlier of its revocation or June 30, 2003.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and have caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed at Tallahassee, the Capitol, this 7th day of September 2001.Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Friday, January 6, 2012
More and more school kids
sentenced to years of prison
By Danny Weil, Project Censored
A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that children in poor urban neighborhoods need more chances for old-fashioned playtime in their daily lives.
A number of experts in the report have raised concerns that in the current climate of treating youth not as if they were at risk, but as the risk themselves, children have little time for unstructured play — which, AAP says, is important for kids’ physical and mental development. Perhaps the lack of play is due to the fact that more and more students are spending all day in school classes, hunched over desks preparing for standardized tests under the corporatized Obama educational policy, Race to the Top. The (AAP) report seemed to think this was the case noting that even U.S. suburban children are “over-scheduled” with formal classes and lessons, leaving them little time for simple play (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011).
A 2009 report by the Alliance for Childhood surveyed kindergartens in New York City and Los Angeles and found that children had less than 30 minutes a day, on average, of “choice” time, in which kids could do whatever they wanted. Kids in L.A. had only about 19 minutes of free time each day. The rest of the kindergarten day was filled with the tyranny of functionalist learning and standardized test preparation. According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, as many as 40 percent of school districts in the United States have reduced recess in the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind act, which emphasizes testing scores over anything else. ((Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
In Belmont, Massachusetts, on November 3, 2011, Superintendent Thomas Kingston closed playgrounds at the Daniel Butler Elementary School, and the town’s Recreation Department closed the playground near Winn Brook Elementary School. The recent closing of two elementary school playgrounds in Boston for safety reasons has exasperated parents and exposed a bigger problem in Belmont, one which exists throughout the nation — chronic under-funding of playgrounds for children (or no funding at all) that leave schools unable to maintain play equipment without hefty parental fundraising and out of pocket expenses, local officials and residents say (Evan, A (November 13, 2011) Playground closings bare larger issue: Schools rely on parents to raise funds for upkeep. Boston.com. http://articles.boston.com/2011-11-13/news/30394828_1_playground-parental-involvement-school-budget).
Part of the problem is that there is simply no money for playground equipment due to austerity measures designed to bail out Wall Street banksters, hedge fund operators and financial capitalists who have now turned to working people to belly up money or shoulder cuts in social services to pay for the banksters’ crime sprees. The Wall Street criminals are now going through our children’s pockets. Our children are being asked to sacrifice public space devoted to childhood play and physical education to assure that Wall Street investors and banksters suffer no loss of their own “play time” — gambling in the casino economy they created for us to we live in.
For poor children who do not live in suburbs but reside mainly in cities in particular, they complain they experience problems such as a lack of safe places to play, parents who are busy trying to pay for housing and other basics and schools that are cutting out recess and physical education to make more time for the ubiquitous and mind numbing standardized testing. Although schools nationwide have been reducing time for recess and physical education for many years, those students in poor areas, in particular, are feeling pressure by administrators and politicians to labor to narrow disparities in student performance and this means they must give up playtime for the “chain gang” of testing. The attack on youth extends to denying them the kernel of the very essence their childhood.
In close to one-third of schools with the highest poverty rates, recess has actually been completely eliminated. That AAP study also found that kids who lacked regular recess time were more likely to be black, low-income and live in large cities, versus kids who routinely had recess (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011).
Despite the increasing amount of ‘forced, tube feeding’ now called ‘learning’, schools are trying to cram into their day (a 2008 study published in The Elementary School Journal reported that up to a quarter of elementary schools don’t even schedule recess regularly for all grade levels), some humane advocates are now advocating expenditures designed to improve kids’ playground experiences (Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
For the AAP, playtime is vital for children’s development (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011). Yet, Children’s free playtime has dropped over the years, replaced by structured activities and screen time, including television and computer use. A 2003 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that a quarter of kids under age 6 watched TV for at least two hours a day; these same kids spent 30 minutes less per day playing outside than kids who didn’t spend so much time in front of a screen (Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
At a time when unstructured childhood time is vanishing in favor forced regimentation and militarization, a pair ofUniversityofMarylandstudies of children’s time use found that in 1981, kids ages 6 to 12 had about 57 hours of free time per week. By 2003, kids had only 48 hours in which to choose their own activities. Time spent outdoors was especially hard-hit as children were ‘benched’ in the new learning incarceration (ibid).
Of course if Newt Gingrich has his way, children at public schools would be busy cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and otherwise doing janitorial work in their early ages which would mean playtime would be replaced with forced child labor.
Dr. Milteer, of AAP, also indicated that unstructured play has its own unique benefits, like sparking children’s imaginations, and teaching them social skills and “negotiation (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011). Arne Duncan and the venture capitalists and hedge fund operators who now work assiduously, paid for by your tax money, to privatize public schools, close public schools and force desk time over play time seem to disagree. The Dickensian miscreants wish to steal not just taxpayer funds in their unquenchable quest to privatize schools; they also wish to steal childhood itself. These ‘businessmen’ are not interested in ‘sparkling children’s imagination’ but instead advocate tethering students to the carpet loom of structured, functionalist-based testing where imagination suffers capital punishment. All of this while obesity rates rise, child poverty increases and opportunities to even access public spaces such as playgrounds or public parks shrink.
In fact, more and more schools seem to resemble such Super-maximum security prisons like Pelican Bay, where prisoners are let out in the ‘yard’ for only one hour per day. At least high-max prisoners get one hour a day of exercise; many children, the majority of them minority and lower class youth, don’t even get this.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
sentenced to years of prison
By Danny Weil, Project Censored
A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that children in poor urban neighborhoods need more chances for old-fashioned playtime in their daily lives.
A number of experts in the report have raised concerns that in the current climate of treating youth not as if they were at risk, but as the risk themselves, children have little time for unstructured play — which, AAP says, is important for kids’ physical and mental development. Perhaps the lack of play is due to the fact that more and more students are spending all day in school classes, hunched over desks preparing for standardized tests under the corporatized Obama educational policy, Race to the Top. The (AAP) report seemed to think this was the case noting that even U.S. suburban children are “over-scheduled” with formal classes and lessons, leaving them little time for simple play (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011).
A 2009 report by the Alliance for Childhood surveyed kindergartens in New York City and Los Angeles and found that children had less than 30 minutes a day, on average, of “choice” time, in which kids could do whatever they wanted. Kids in L.A. had only about 19 minutes of free time each day. The rest of the kindergarten day was filled with the tyranny of functionalist learning and standardized test preparation. According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, as many as 40 percent of school districts in the United States have reduced recess in the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind act, which emphasizes testing scores over anything else. ((Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
In Belmont, Massachusetts, on November 3, 2011, Superintendent Thomas Kingston closed playgrounds at the Daniel Butler Elementary School, and the town’s Recreation Department closed the playground near Winn Brook Elementary School. The recent closing of two elementary school playgrounds in Boston for safety reasons has exasperated parents and exposed a bigger problem in Belmont, one which exists throughout the nation — chronic under-funding of playgrounds for children (or no funding at all) that leave schools unable to maintain play equipment without hefty parental fundraising and out of pocket expenses, local officials and residents say (Evan, A (November 13, 2011) Playground closings bare larger issue: Schools rely on parents to raise funds for upkeep. Boston.com. http://articles.boston.com/2011-11-13/news/30394828_1_playground-parental-involvement-school-budget).
Part of the problem is that there is simply no money for playground equipment due to austerity measures designed to bail out Wall Street banksters, hedge fund operators and financial capitalists who have now turned to working people to belly up money or shoulder cuts in social services to pay for the banksters’ crime sprees. The Wall Street criminals are now going through our children’s pockets. Our children are being asked to sacrifice public space devoted to childhood play and physical education to assure that Wall Street investors and banksters suffer no loss of their own “play time” — gambling in the casino economy they created for us to we live in.
For poor children who do not live in suburbs but reside mainly in cities in particular, they complain they experience problems such as a lack of safe places to play, parents who are busy trying to pay for housing and other basics and schools that are cutting out recess and physical education to make more time for the ubiquitous and mind numbing standardized testing. Although schools nationwide have been reducing time for recess and physical education for many years, those students in poor areas, in particular, are feeling pressure by administrators and politicians to labor to narrow disparities in student performance and this means they must give up playtime for the “chain gang” of testing. The attack on youth extends to denying them the kernel of the very essence their childhood.
In close to one-third of schools with the highest poverty rates, recess has actually been completely eliminated. That AAP study also found that kids who lacked regular recess time were more likely to be black, low-income and live in large cities, versus kids who routinely had recess (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011).
Despite the increasing amount of ‘forced, tube feeding’ now called ‘learning’, schools are trying to cram into their day (a 2008 study published in The Elementary School Journal reported that up to a quarter of elementary schools don’t even schedule recess regularly for all grade levels), some humane advocates are now advocating expenditures designed to improve kids’ playground experiences (Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
For the AAP, playtime is vital for children’s development (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011). Yet, Children’s free playtime has dropped over the years, replaced by structured activities and screen time, including television and computer use. A 2003 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that a quarter of kids under age 6 watched TV for at least two hours a day; these same kids spent 30 minutes less per day playing outside than kids who didn’t spend so much time in front of a screen (Pappas, S. (August 14, 2011). As Schools cut recess, Kids’ learning will suffer, experts say. Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/15555-schools-cut-recess-learning-suffers.html).
At a time when unstructured childhood time is vanishing in favor forced regimentation and militarization, a pair ofUniversityofMarylandstudies of children’s time use found that in 1981, kids ages 6 to 12 had about 57 hours of free time per week. By 2003, kids had only 48 hours in which to choose their own activities. Time spent outdoors was especially hard-hit as children were ‘benched’ in the new learning incarceration (ibid).
Of course if Newt Gingrich has his way, children at public schools would be busy cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and otherwise doing janitorial work in their early ages which would mean playtime would be replaced with forced child labor.
Dr. Milteer, of AAP, also indicated that unstructured play has its own unique benefits, like sparking children’s imaginations, and teaching them social skills and “negotiation (Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say, http://bit.ly/udH1U2 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011). Arne Duncan and the venture capitalists and hedge fund operators who now work assiduously, paid for by your tax money, to privatize public schools, close public schools and force desk time over play time seem to disagree. The Dickensian miscreants wish to steal not just taxpayer funds in their unquenchable quest to privatize schools; they also wish to steal childhood itself. These ‘businessmen’ are not interested in ‘sparkling children’s imagination’ but instead advocate tethering students to the carpet loom of structured, functionalist-based testing where imagination suffers capital punishment. All of this while obesity rates rise, child poverty increases and opportunities to even access public spaces such as playgrounds or public parks shrink.
In fact, more and more schools seem to resemble such Super-maximum security prisons like Pelican Bay, where prisoners are let out in the ‘yard’ for only one hour per day. At least high-max prisoners get one hour a day of exercise; many children, the majority of them minority and lower class youth, don’t even get this.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Press avoids defense of Paul
from Texas NAACP official
A Texas NAACP official who knows Ron Paul well is on record defending the GOP presidential candidate's positions, citing maneuvering by moneyed interests to misrepresent the newsletter issue. The mainstream press has avoided quoting this Paul defender.
Meanwhile, mainstream media are making an issue of the candidate's refusal to discuss further the newsletter matter, while themselves refusing to discuss the Israel lobby crusade to defeat him. Paul favors leaving both Israel and Iran to fend for themselves.
Paul has disavowed some of the editorial content of the newsletters, saying he hadn't been paying strict attention.
Speaking out against the charges when they first surfaced during the last Republican primary in 2007, Nelson Linder, president of the Austin branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he has personally known Paul for 20 years and heard him speak out against police oppression in minority communities, racial biases in mandatory drug sentencing, and favorably about the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Knowing Ron Paul’s intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that," Linder said, adding that "I think it’s very easy for folks who want to to take his position out of context and that’s what I’m hearing.” Linder told talk radio host Alex Jones during a January 2008 interview.
“Knowing Ron Paul and having talked to him, I think he’s a very fair guy I just think that a lot of folks do not understand the Libertarian platform,” Linder told talk radio host Alex Jones during a January 2008 interview.
“I’ve read Ron Paul’s whole philosophy, I also understand what he’s saying from a political standpoint and why people are attacking him,” said Linder.
“If you scare the folks that have the money, they’re going to attack you and they’re going to take it out of context,” he added.
“What he’s saying is really really threatening the powers that be and that’s what they fear,” the the NAACP president said.
At another point, Linder is quoted: “There are quite a few folks who don’t understand the libertarian philosophy,” Linder said, adding the ideology is one African-Americans should more open to -- though Linder did not endorse Paul and went on to support Barack Obama.
“The two-party system has failed America,” Linder said.
“I hope that more folks in the other parties develop the courage to join him in addressing that, I think, will decide the fate of this country in the future.”
Linder's opinion might lend support to the idea that Paul wasn't keeping track of everything in his newsletters.
A commentary in a 1992 Ron Paul Political Report on the Los Angeles riots was titled “A Special Issue on Racial Terrorism.” Among other things, it said: “The criminals who terrorized our cities — in riots and on every non-riot day — are not exclusively young black males, but they largely are.” It went on to say: “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks three days after rioting began.”
This opinion is highly insensitive, but it should be taken in light of the great indignation across the nation over the rioting.
Paul's enemies, who remain shielded by mainstream media, include the defense industry lobby, which sees his positions as threatening welfare for the arms merchants, and the neoconservatives, who believe that American and Israeli foreign policy should be joined at the hip.
The neocons in government and the press are a major source of the continuing confrontationalism with Iran, as they were with Iraq. A published plan that they endorsed had the United States invade Iraq and from there also neutralize Iran and Syria, thus pacifying all Israel's major enemies. Much of neocon frustration with President Obama stems from the fact that he did not continue a major presence in Iraq so as to more easily carry out the neocon agenda.
The other GOP candidates fear to cross the neocon war party by making peace-like noises.
The New York Times last week ran a long article on the newsletter controversy without making a strong case for anti-Semitism, while other passages cited may have been politically insensitive, but a great many readers would have identified with them.
The Times report set off the term neocon in quotation marks, as if it was a term used by fringe groups, without identifying who the neoconservatives are and their close ties to pro-Israel militants.
In fact, the Times cited the New Republic and the Weekly Standard for publishing excerpts from the newsletters, without mentioning their militantly pro-Israel background.
The hawkish Weekly Standard, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, was established as the voice of the neocon movement.
The New Republic's owner, the leftist Martin Peretz, has himself been embroiled in controversies over ethnically charged comments.
On September 4, 2010, Peretz drew media attention and controversy when he posted an editorial which concluded:
"But, frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims. And among those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf there is hardly one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse."
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof denounced Peretz's comments, asking: "Is it possible to imagine the same kind of casual slur tossed off about blacks or Jews?"
Amid the controversy, Harvard University canceled Peretz's scheduled speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Harvard's Social Studies Department where Peretz once taught. The Atlantic's James Fallows summarized Peretz's reputation on Sept. 25, concluding that if his legacy were settled that day, despite being "beloved by many students and respected by some magazine colleagues," in his 70s he would be considered a bigot.
Jefferson Morley, a Peretz friend, who worked at The New Republic from 1983 to 1987, told Jack Shafer of Slate, "I could never reconcile this intellectual strength with his racism and unpleasant attempts to play the bully."
And as for problems of editorial control, during Peretz's tenure at the New Republic, the magazine faced one of journalism's most notorious fabrication scandals. One of the magazine's writers, Stephen Glass, was found to have fabricated portions or all of 27 of 41 stories he wrote for the magazine.
CNN commentator David Frum branded Paul an "ignoramous" and a "cracker" while being interviewed for a news spot. CNN simply lists Frum as a "conservative." However, the former Bush speechwriter is on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has "hosted leadership trips to Israel for Members of Congress, governors, and other political leaders," among other activities.
During the 1990s Frum is reported to have attended "three or four" Bilderberg Group meetings as a guest of Conrad Black, at the time a militantly pro-Israel media tycoon whose Daily Telegraph went on to become a major proponent of invading Iraq.
Black, since imprisoned on financial fraud charges, kept Washington Post writer George Will on his payroll. Will served on an informal board of advisors to Hollinger International, a newspaper company controlled by Black. The board met once a year and Will received an annual payment of $25,000. The board was disbanded in 2001. In March 2003, Will wrote a syndicated column which praised a speech by Black and did not disclose their previous business relationship.
This reporter has tried to review copies of the Paul newsletters termed inflammatory, but hasn't succeeded in getting online access. Much of the criticism coming from such outlets as CNN talks vaguely about "racism," "anti-Semitism" and so on without giving exact quotations.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
from Texas NAACP official
A Texas NAACP official who knows Ron Paul well is on record defending the GOP presidential candidate's positions, citing maneuvering by moneyed interests to misrepresent the newsletter issue. The mainstream press has avoided quoting this Paul defender.
Meanwhile, mainstream media are making an issue of the candidate's refusal to discuss further the newsletter matter, while themselves refusing to discuss the Israel lobby crusade to defeat him. Paul favors leaving both Israel and Iran to fend for themselves.
Paul has disavowed some of the editorial content of the newsletters, saying he hadn't been paying strict attention.
Speaking out against the charges when they first surfaced during the last Republican primary in 2007, Nelson Linder, president of the Austin branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he has personally known Paul for 20 years and heard him speak out against police oppression in minority communities, racial biases in mandatory drug sentencing, and favorably about the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Knowing Ron Paul’s intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that," Linder said, adding that "I think it’s very easy for folks who want to to take his position out of context and that’s what I’m hearing.” Linder told talk radio host Alex Jones during a January 2008 interview.
“Knowing Ron Paul and having talked to him, I think he’s a very fair guy I just think that a lot of folks do not understand the Libertarian platform,” Linder told talk radio host Alex Jones during a January 2008 interview.
“I’ve read Ron Paul’s whole philosophy, I also understand what he’s saying from a political standpoint and why people are attacking him,” said Linder.
“If you scare the folks that have the money, they’re going to attack you and they’re going to take it out of context,” he added.
“What he’s saying is really really threatening the powers that be and that’s what they fear,” the the NAACP president said.
At another point, Linder is quoted: “There are quite a few folks who don’t understand the libertarian philosophy,” Linder said, adding the ideology is one African-Americans should more open to -- though Linder did not endorse Paul and went on to support Barack Obama.
“The two-party system has failed America,” Linder said.
“I hope that more folks in the other parties develop the courage to join him in addressing that, I think, will decide the fate of this country in the future.”
Linder's opinion might lend support to the idea that Paul wasn't keeping track of everything in his newsletters.
A commentary in a 1992 Ron Paul Political Report on the Los Angeles riots was titled “A Special Issue on Racial Terrorism.” Among other things, it said: “The criminals who terrorized our cities — in riots and on every non-riot day — are not exclusively young black males, but they largely are.” It went on to say: “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks three days after rioting began.”
This opinion is highly insensitive, but it should be taken in light of the great indignation across the nation over the rioting.
Paul's enemies, who remain shielded by mainstream media, include the defense industry lobby, which sees his positions as threatening welfare for the arms merchants, and the neoconservatives, who believe that American and Israeli foreign policy should be joined at the hip.
The neocons in government and the press are a major source of the continuing confrontationalism with Iran, as they were with Iraq. A published plan that they endorsed had the United States invade Iraq and from there also neutralize Iran and Syria, thus pacifying all Israel's major enemies. Much of neocon frustration with President Obama stems from the fact that he did not continue a major presence in Iraq so as to more easily carry out the neocon agenda.
The other GOP candidates fear to cross the neocon war party by making peace-like noises.
The New York Times last week ran a long article on the newsletter controversy without making a strong case for anti-Semitism, while other passages cited may have been politically insensitive, but a great many readers would have identified with them.
The Times report set off the term neocon in quotation marks, as if it was a term used by fringe groups, without identifying who the neoconservatives are and their close ties to pro-Israel militants.
In fact, the Times cited the New Republic and the Weekly Standard for publishing excerpts from the newsletters, without mentioning their militantly pro-Israel background.
The hawkish Weekly Standard, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, was established as the voice of the neocon movement.
The New Republic's owner, the leftist Martin Peretz, has himself been embroiled in controversies over ethnically charged comments.
On September 4, 2010, Peretz drew media attention and controversy when he posted an editorial which concluded:
"But, frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims. And among those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf there is hardly one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse."
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof denounced Peretz's comments, asking: "Is it possible to imagine the same kind of casual slur tossed off about blacks or Jews?"
Amid the controversy, Harvard University canceled Peretz's scheduled speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Harvard's Social Studies Department where Peretz once taught. The Atlantic's James Fallows summarized Peretz's reputation on Sept. 25, concluding that if his legacy were settled that day, despite being "beloved by many students and respected by some magazine colleagues," in his 70s he would be considered a bigot.
Jefferson Morley, a Peretz friend, who worked at The New Republic from 1983 to 1987, told Jack Shafer of Slate, "I could never reconcile this intellectual strength with his racism and unpleasant attempts to play the bully."
And as for problems of editorial control, during Peretz's tenure at the New Republic, the magazine faced one of journalism's most notorious fabrication scandals. One of the magazine's writers, Stephen Glass, was found to have fabricated portions or all of 27 of 41 stories he wrote for the magazine.
CNN commentator David Frum branded Paul an "ignoramous" and a "cracker" while being interviewed for a news spot. CNN simply lists Frum as a "conservative." However, the former Bush speechwriter is on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has "hosted leadership trips to Israel for Members of Congress, governors, and other political leaders," among other activities.
During the 1990s Frum is reported to have attended "three or four" Bilderberg Group meetings as a guest of Conrad Black, at the time a militantly pro-Israel media tycoon whose Daily Telegraph went on to become a major proponent of invading Iraq.
Black, since imprisoned on financial fraud charges, kept Washington Post writer George Will on his payroll. Will served on an informal board of advisors to Hollinger International, a newspaper company controlled by Black. The board met once a year and Will received an annual payment of $25,000. The board was disbanded in 2001. In March 2003, Will wrote a syndicated column which praised a speech by Black and did not disclose their previous business relationship.
This reporter has tried to review copies of the Paul newsletters termed inflammatory, but hasn't succeeded in getting online access. Much of the criticism coming from such outlets as CNN talks vaguely about "racism," "anti-Semitism" and so on without giving exact quotations.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Skeptical of censorship, scientist
points to ease of low-tech bioterror
Ron A.M. Fouchier, lead researcher in a study of an altered avian flu virus, told a New York Times interviewer that a federal proposal to censor his team's work appeared to be overzealous and that low-tech bioterrorism would be much easier than trying to replicate his team's work.
Reproduction of the virus "is not very easy," he told the Times. "You need a very sophisticated specialist team and sophisticated facilities to do this. And in our opinion, nature is the biggest bioterrorist. There are many pathogens in nature that you could get your hands on very easily, and if you released those in the human population, we would be in trouble."
He added, "And therefore we think that if bioterror or biowarfare would be a problem, there are so many easy ways of doing it that nobody would take this H5N1 virus and do this very difficult thing to achieve it.
"You could not do this work in your garage if you are a terrorist organization. But what you can do is get viruses out of the wild" and grow them, he said. "There are terrorist opportunities that are much, much easier than to genetically modify H5N1 bird flu virus that are probably much more effective."
Comment: The problem with aerosol pathogens (such as flu viruses passed via sneezing and coughing) is that the terrorists and their families could well become victims. Food-borne pathogens would seem to pose more of a threat from terrorists.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Reproduction of the virus "is not very easy," he told the Times. "You need a very sophisticated specialist team and sophisticated facilities to do this. And in our opinion, nature is the biggest bioterrorist. There are many pathogens in nature that you could get your hands on very easily, and if you released those in the human population, we would be in trouble."
He added, "And therefore we think that if bioterror or biowarfare would be a problem, there are so many easy ways of doing it that nobody would take this H5N1 virus and do this very difficult thing to achieve it.
"You could not do this work in your garage if you are a terrorist organization. But what you can do is get viruses out of the wild" and grow them, he said. "There are terrorist opportunities that are much, much easier than to genetically modify H5N1 bird flu virus that are probably much more effective."
Comment: The problem with aerosol pathogens (such as flu viruses passed via sneezing and coughing) is that the terrorists and their families could well become victims. Food-borne pathogens would seem to pose more of a threat from terrorists.
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Internet engineers alarmed
at SOPA censorship peril
Open letter to members of Congress
We, the undersigned, have played various parts in building a network called the Internet. We wrote and debugged the software; we defined the standards and protocols that talk over that network. Many of us invented parts of it. We're just a little proud of the social and economic benefits that our project, the Internet, has brought with it.
Last year, many of us wrote to you and your colleagues to warn about the proposed "COICA" copyright and censorship legislation. Today, we are writing again to reiterate our concerns about the SOPA and PIPA derivatives of last year's bill, that are under consideration in the House and Senate. In many respects, these proposals are worse than the one we were alarmed to read last year.
If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure. Regardless of recent amendments to SOPA, both bills will risk fragmenting the Internet's global domain name system (DNS) and have other capricious technical consequences. In exchange for this, such legislation would engender censorship that will simultaneously be circumvented by deliberate infringers while hampering innocent parties' right and ability to communicate and express themselves online.
All censorship schemes impact speech beyond the category they were intended to restrict, but these bills are particularly egregious in that regard because they cause entire domains to vanish from the Web, not just infringing pages or files. Worse, an incredible range of useful, law-abiding sites can be blacklisted under these proposals. In fact, it seems that this has already begun to happen under the nascent DHS/ICE seizures program.
Censorship of Internet infrastructure will inevitably cause network errors and security problems. This is true in China, Iran and other countries that censor the network today; it will be just as true of American censorship. It is also true regardless of whether censorship is implemented via the DNS, proxies, firewalls, or any other method. Types of network errors and insecurity that we wrestle with today will become more widespread, and will affect sites other than those blacklisted by the American government.
The current bills -- SOPA explicitly and PIPA implicitly -- also threaten engineers who build Internet systems or offer services that are not readily and automatically compliant with censorship actions by the U.S. government. When we designed the Internet the first time, our priorities were reliability, robustness and minimizing central points of failure or control. We are alarmed that Congress is so close to mandating censorship-compliance as a design requirement for new Internet innovations. This can only damage the security of the network, and give authoritarian governments more power over what their citizens can read and publish.
The US government has regularly claimed that it supports a free and open Internet, both domestically and abroad. We cannot have a free and open Internet unless its naming and routing systems sit above the political concerns and objectives of any one government or industry. To date, the leading role the US has played in this infrastructure has been fairly uncontroversial because America is seen as a trustworthy arbiter and a neutral bastion of free expression. If the US begins to use its central position in the network for censorship that advances its political and economic agenda, the consequences will be far-reaching and destructive.
Senators, Congressmen, we believe the Internet is too important and too valuable to be endangered in this way, and implore you to put these bills aside.
Signed,
Last year, many of us wrote to you and your colleagues to warn about the proposed "COICA" copyright and censorship legislation. Today, we are writing again to reiterate our concerns about the SOPA and PIPA derivatives of last year's bill, that are under consideration in the House and Senate. In many respects, these proposals are worse than the one we were alarmed to read last year.
If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure. Regardless of recent amendments to SOPA, both bills will risk fragmenting the Internet's global domain name system (DNS) and have other capricious technical consequences. In exchange for this, such legislation would engender censorship that will simultaneously be circumvented by deliberate infringers while hampering innocent parties' right and ability to communicate and express themselves online.
All censorship schemes impact speech beyond the category they were intended to restrict, but these bills are particularly egregious in that regard because they cause entire domains to vanish from the Web, not just infringing pages or files. Worse, an incredible range of useful, law-abiding sites can be blacklisted under these proposals. In fact, it seems that this has already begun to happen under the nascent DHS/ICE seizures program.
Censorship of Internet infrastructure will inevitably cause network errors and security problems. This is true in China, Iran and other countries that censor the network today; it will be just as true of American censorship. It is also true regardless of whether censorship is implemented via the DNS, proxies, firewalls, or any other method. Types of network errors and insecurity that we wrestle with today will become more widespread, and will affect sites other than those blacklisted by the American government.
The current bills -- SOPA explicitly and PIPA implicitly -- also threaten engineers who build Internet systems or offer services that are not readily and automatically compliant with censorship actions by the U.S. government. When we designed the Internet the first time, our priorities were reliability, robustness and minimizing central points of failure or control. We are alarmed that Congress is so close to mandating censorship-compliance as a design requirement for new Internet innovations. This can only damage the security of the network, and give authoritarian governments more power over what their citizens can read and publish.
The US government has regularly claimed that it supports a free and open Internet, both domestically and abroad. We cannot have a free and open Internet unless its naming and routing systems sit above the political concerns and objectives of any one government or industry. To date, the leading role the US has played in this infrastructure has been fairly uncontroversial because America is seen as a trustworthy arbiter and a neutral bastion of free expression. If the US begins to use its central position in the network for censorship that advances its political and economic agenda, the consequences will be far-reaching and destructive.
Senators, Congressmen, we believe the Internet is too important and too valuable to be endangered in this way, and implore you to put these bills aside.
Signed,
•Vint Cerf, co-designer of TCP/IP, one of the "fathers of the Internet", signing as private citizen
•Paul Vixie, author of BIND, the most widely-used DNS server software, and President of the Internet Systems Consortium
•Tony Li, co-author of BGP (the protocol used to arrange Internet routing); chair of the IRTF's Routing Research Group; a Cisco Fellow; and architect for many of the systems that have actually been used to build the Internet
•Steven Bellovin, invented the DNS cache contamination attack; co-authored the first book on Internet security; recipient of the 2007 NIST/NSA National Computer Systems Security Award and member of the DHS Science and Technology Advisory Committee
•Jim Gettys, editor of the HTTP/1.1 protocol standards, which we use to do everything on the Web
•Dave Kristol, co-author, RFCs 2109, 2965 (Web cookies); contributor, RFC 2616 (HTTP/1.1)
•Steve Deering, Ph.D., invented the IP multicast feature of the Internet; lead designer of IPv6 (version 6 of the Internet Protocol)
•David Ulevitch, David Ulevitch, CEO of OpenDNS, which offers alternative DNS services for enhanced security.
•Elizabeth Feinler, director of the Network Information Center (NIC) at SRI International, administered the Internet Name Space from 1970 until 1989 and developed the naming conventions for the internet top level domains (TLDs) of .mil, .gov, .com, .org, etc. under contracts to DoD
•Robert W. Taylor, founded and funded the beginning of the ARPAnet; founded and managed the Xerox PARC Computer Science Lab which designed and built the first networked personal computer (Alto), the Ethernet, the first internet protocol and internet, and desktop publishing
•Fred Baker, former IETF chair, has written about 50 RFCs and contributed to about 150 more, regarding widely used Internet technology
•Dan Kaminsky, Chief Scientist, DKH
•Esther Dyson, EDventure; founding chairman, ICANN; former chairman, EFF; active investor in many start-ups that support commerce, news and advertising on the Internet; director, Sunlight Foundation
•Walt Daniels, IBM’s contributor to MIME, the mechanism used to add attachments to emails
•Nathaniel Borenstein, Chief Scientist, Mimecast; one of the two authors of the MIME protocol, and has worked on many other software systems and protocols, mostly related to e-mail and payments
•Simon Higgs, designed the role of the stealth DNS server that protects a.root-servers.net; worked on all versions of Draft Postel for creating new TLDs and addressed trademark issues with a complimentary Internet Draft; ran the shared-TLD mailing list back in 1995 which defined the domain name registry/registrar relationship; was a root server operator for the Open Root Server Consortium; founded coupons.com in 1994
•John Bartas, was the technical lead on the first commercial IP/TCP software for IBM PCs in 1985-1987 at The Wollongong Group. As part of that work, developed the first tunneling RFC, rfc-1088
•Nathan Eisenberg, Atlas Networks Senior System Administrator; manager of 25K sq. ft. of data centers which provide services to Starbucks, Oracle, and local state
•Dave Crocker, author of Internet standards including email, DKIM anti-abuse, electronic data interchange and facsimile, developer of CSNet and MCI national email services, former IETF Area Director for network management, DNS and standards, recipient of IEEE Internet Award for contributions to email, and serial entrepreneur
•Craig Partridge, architect of how email is routed through the Internet; designed the world's fastest router in the mid 1990s
•Doug Moeller, Chief Technology Officer at Autonet Mobile
•John Todd, Lead Designer/Maintainer - Freenum Project (DNS-based, free telephony/chat pointer system), http://freenum.org/
•Alia Atlas, designed software in a core router (Avici) and has various RFCs around resiliency, MPLS, and ICMP
•Kelly Kane, shared web hosting network operator
•Robert Rodgers, distinguished engineer, Juniper Networks, signing as a private citizen
•Anthony Lauck, helped design and standardize routing protocols and local area network protocols and served on the Internet Architecture Board
•Ramaswamy Aditya, built various networks and web/mail content and application hosting providers including AS10368 (DNAI) which is now part of AS6079 (RCN); did network engineering and peering for that provider; did network engineering for AS25 (UC Berkeley); currently does network engineering for AS177-179 and others (UMich)
•Blake Pfankuch, Connecting Point of Greeley, Network Engineer
•Jon Loeliger, has implemented OSPF, one of the main routing protocols used to determine IP packet delivery; at other companies, has helped design and build the actual computers used to implement core routers or storage delivery systems; at another company, installed network services (T-1 lines and ISP service) into Hotels and Airports across the country
•Jim Deleskie, internetMCI Sr. Network Engineer, Teleglobe Principal Network Architect
•David Barrett, Founder and CEO, Expensify
•Mikki Barry, VP Engineering of InterCon Systems Corp., creators of the first commercial applications software for the Macintosh platform and the first commercial Internet Service Provider in Japan
•Peter Rubenstein,helped to design and build the AOL backbone network, ATDN.
•David Farber, distinguished Professor CMU; Principal in development of CSNET, NSFNET, NREN, GIGABIT TESTBED, and the first operational distributed computer system; EFF board member
•Bradford Chatterjee, Network Engineer, helped design and operate the backbone network for a nationwide ISP serving about 450,000 users
•Gary E. Miller Network Engineer specializing in eCommerce
•Jon Callas, worked on a number of Internet security standards including OpenPGP, ZRTP, DKIM, Signed Syslog, SPKI, and others; also participated in other standards for applications and network routing
•John Kemp, Principal Software Architect, Nokia; helped build the distributed authorization protocol OAuth and its predecessors; former member of the W3C Technical Architecture Group
•Christian Huitema, worked on building the Internet in France and Europe in the 80’s, and authored many Internet standards related to IPv6, RTP, and SIP; a former member of the Internet Architecture Board
•Steve Goldstein, Program Officer for International Networking Coordination at the National Science Foundation 1989-2003, initiated several projects that spread Internet and advanced Internet capabilities globally
•David Newman, 20 years' experience in performance testing of Internet
infrastructure; author of three RFCs on measurement techniques (two on firewall performance, one on test traffic contents)
•Justin Krejci, helped build and run the two biggest and most successful municipal wifi networks located in Minneapolis, MN and Riverside, CA; building and running a new FTTH network in Minneapolis
•Christopher Liljenstolpe, was the chief architect for AS3561 (at the time about 30% of the Internet backbone by traffic), and AS1221 (Australia's main Internet infrastructure)
•Joe Hamelin, co-founder of Seattle Internet Exchange (http://www.seattleix.net) in 1997, and former peering engineer for Amazon in 2001
•John Adams, operations engineer at Twitter, signing as a private citizen
•David M. Miller, CTO / Exec VP for DNS Made Easy (IP Anycast Managed Enterprise DNS provider)
•Seth Breidbart, helped build the Pluribus IMP/TIP for the ARPANET
•Timothy McGinnis, co-chair of the African Network Information Center Policy Development Working Group, and active in various IETF Working Groups
•Richard Kulawiec, 30 years designing/operating academic/commercial/ISP systems and networks
•Larry Stewart, built the Etherphone at Xerox, the first telephone system working over a local area network; designed early e-commerce systems for the Internet at Open Market
•John Pettitt, Internet commerce pioneer, online since 1983, CEO Free Range Content Inc.; founder/CTO CyberSource & Beyond.com; created online fraud protection software that processes over 2 billion transaction a year
•Brandon Ross, Chief Network Architect and CEO of Network Utility Force LLC
•Chris Boyd, runs a green hosting company and supports EFF-Austin as a board member
•Dr. Richard Clayton, designer of Turnpike, widely used Windows-based Internet access suite; prominent Computer Security researcher at Cambridge University
•Robert Bonomi, designed, built, and implemented, the Internet presence for a number of large corporations
•Owen DeLong, member of the ARIN Advisory Council who has spent more than a decade developing better IP addressing policies for the internet in North America and around the world
•Baudouin Schombe, blog design and content trainer
•Lyndon Nerenberg, Creator of IMAP Binary extension (RFC 3516)
•John Gilmore, co-designed BOOTP (RFC 951), which became DHCP, the way you get an IP address when you plug into an Ethernet or get on a WiFi access point; current EFF board member
•John Bond, Systems Engineer at RIPE NCC maintaining AS25152 (k.root-servers.net.) and AS197000 (f.in-addr-servers.arpa. ,f.ip6-servers.arpa.); signing as a private citizen
•Stephen Farrell, co-author on about 15 RFCs
•Samuel Moats, senior systems engineer for the Department of Defense; helps build and defend the networks that deliver data to Defense Department users
•John Vittal, created the first full email client and the email standards still in use today
•Ryan Rawdon, built out and maintains the network infrastructure for a rapidly growing company in our country's bustling advertising industry; was on the technical operations team for one of our country's largest residential ISPs
•Brian Haberman, has been involved in the design of IPv6, IGMP/MLD, and NTP within the IETF for nearly 15 years
•Eric Tykwinski, Network Engineer working for a small ISP based in the Philadelphia region; currently maintains the network as well as the DNS and server infrastructure
•Noel Chiappa, has been working on the lowest level stuff (the IP protocol level) since 1977; name on the 'Birth of the Internet' plaque at Stanford); actively helping to develop new 'plumbing' at that level
•Robert M. Hinden, worked on the gateways in the early Internet, author of many of the core IPv6 specifications, active in the IETF since the first IETF meeting, author of 37 RFCs, and current Internet Society Board of Trustee member
•Alexander McKenzie, former member of the Network Working Group and participated in the design of the first ARPAnet Host protocols; was the manager of the ARPAnet Network Operation Center that kept the network running in the early 1970s; was a charter member of the International Network Working Group that developed the ideas used in TCP and IP
•Keith Moore, was on the Internet Engineering Steering Group from 1996-2000, as one of two Area Directors for applications; wrote or co-wrote technical specification RFCs associated with email, WWW, and IPv6 transition
•Guy Almes, led the connection of universities in Texas to the NSFnet during the late 1980s; served as Chief Engineer of Internet2 in the late 1990s
•David Mercer, formerly of The River Internet, provided service to more of Arizona than any local or national ISP
•Paul Timmins, designed and runs the multi-state network of a medium sized telephone and internet company in the Midwest
•Stephen L. Casner, led the working group that designed the Real-time Transport Protocol that carries the voice signals in VoIP systems
•Tim Rutherford, DNS and network administrator at C4
•Mike Alexander, helped implement (on the Michigan Terminal System at the University of Michigan) one of the first EMail systems to be connected to the Internet (and to its predecessors such as Bitnet, Mailnet, and UUCP); helped with the basic work to connect MTS to the Internet; implemented various IP related drivers on early Macintosh systems: one allowed TCP/IP connections over ISDN lines and another made a TCP connection look like a serial port
•John Klensin, Ph.D., early and ongoing role in the design of Internet applications and coordination and administrative policies; former IAB Chair and former AT&T Internet Architecture VP
•L. Jean Camp, former Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, focusing on computer security; eight years at Harvard's Kennedy School; tenured Professor at Indiana Unviersity's School of Informatics with research addressing security in society.
•Louis Pouzin, designed and implemented the first computer network using datagrams (CYCLADES), from which TCP/IP was derived
•Carl Page, helped found eGroups, the biggest social network
of its day, 14 million users at the point of sale to Yahoo for around $430,000,000, at which point it became Yahoo Groups
•Phil Lapsley, co-author of the Internet Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), RFC 977, and developer of the NNTP reference implementation
•Jack Haverty (MSEE, BSEE MIT 1970), Principal Investigator for several DARPA projects including the first Internet development and operation; Corporate Network Architect for BBN; Founding member of the IAB/ICCB; Internet Architect and Corporate Founding Member of W3C for Oracle Corporation
•Glenn Ricart, Managed the original (FIX) Internet interconnection point
•Ben Laurie, Apache Software Foundation founder, OpenSSL core team member, security researcher. Over half the secure websites on the Internet are powered by his software.
•Chris Wellens President & CEO InterWorking Labs
•Chris Morrow Network Security Engineer at Google, and previously at UUNET. Involved in several IETF routing and security working groups.
•Dave Shambley, entrepreneur and IEEE member
•Bill Jennings, who was VP of Engineering at Cisco for 10 years and responsible for building much of the hardware and embedded software for Cisco's core router products and high-end Ethernet switches
•Bernie Cosell coauthored the original IMP code, Terminal-IMP [TIP] and monitoring code for the NOC.
•Leonard Kleinrock, one of the "fathers of the Internet", created the mathematical theory of packet networks, ran the UCLA lab that served as the first node of the ARPANET, and supervised the transmission of its first message.
•Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, helped advance many large-scale Internet projects, and have been working the web since its invention.
In first, U.S. presses journals to censor bird flu studies
The science journals Nature and Science are resisting a first-time request from a U.S. bioterror unit to censor data on a laboratory-made version of bird flu on grounds the pathogen might be used as a weapon, according to a report in the Guardian.
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity asked the two journals to publish redacted versions of studies by two research groups that created forms of the H5N1 avian flu that showed signs of being able to infect humans.
The journals are objecting to the request, saying it would restrict access to information that might advance the cause of public health, the Guardian reports.
The request was a first for the expert panel, formed after a series of anthrax attacks on U.S. targets in 2001, the paper said.
E. coli mystery raises terrorism issue
http://conantcensorshipissue.blogspot.com/2011/06/e.html
Deadly E. coli outbreak latest in parade of woes
http://conantcensorshipissue.blogspot.com/2011/06/deadly-e_12.html
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
E. coli mystery raises terrorism issue
http://conantcensorshipissue.blogspot.com/2011/06/e.html
Deadly E. coli outbreak latest in parade of woes
http://conantcensorshipissue.blogspot.com/2011/06/deadly-e_12.html
Newz from Limbo is a news site and, the hosting mechanism notwithstanding, should not be defined as a web log or as 'little more than a community forum'... Write News from Limbo at Krypto78=at=gmail=dot=com... The philosophical orientation of Newz from Limbo is best described as libertarian... For anti-censorship links: http://veilside78.blogspot.com/2010/12/anti-censorship-spectrum_23.html (If link fails, cut and paste it into the url bar)... You may reach some of Paul Conant's other pages through the sidebar link or at http://paulpages.blogspot.com/
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