Big Dogs Weblog

It’s Springtime For Hitler

by Blake on Aug 31, 2009 at 07:14 Political

Actually, this post is not as bright and funny as the farce The Producers, by Mel Brooks- this is just about the same old mundane dictatorial powers that any old power- mad Socialist would have, indeed, this has already been done in this hemisphere. As we have seen, Hugo Chavez has taken over the media in his country, all the better to keep “his” country on “his” message.

Apparently it’s like the new x-box- every little dictator now wants this, and Hussein is no different, To hell with those pesky little amendments, especially the first one- you know, the freedom to speak freely, to assemble, religion, all that jazz- well, we really don’t need that do we? Especially if people are going to be critical of the Resident- his feelings get hurt so easily.

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

“I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.”

news.cnet.com

This is troubling, but not unexpected, given the way the Resident is mangling all our other freedoms, in the name of  “an emergency”- ooooh, Uncle Hugo would be soooooo proud- little Barry is growing up- it’s just soooooo cute when dictators learn to take away their first liberties. Did anyone get a picture?

The Rockefeller proposal plays out against a broader concern in Washington, D.C., about the government’s role in cybersecurity. In May, President Obama acknowledged that the government is “not as prepared” as it should be to respond to disruptions and announced that a new cybersecurity coordinator position would be created inside the White House staff. Three months later, that post remains empty, one top cybersecurity aide has quit, and some wags have begun to wonder why a government that receives failing marks on cybersecurity should be trusted to instruct the private sector what to do.

Rockefeller’s revised legislation seeks to reshuffle the way the federal government addresses the topic. It requires a “cybersecurity workforce plan” from every federal agency, a “dashboard” pilot project, measurements of hiring effectiveness, and the implementation of a “comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy” in six months–even though its mandatory legal review will take a year to complete.

The privacy implications of sweeping changes implemented before the legal review is finished worry Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. “As soon as you’re saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it’s going to be a really big issue,” he says.

Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to “direct the national response to the cyber threat” if necessary for “the national defense and security.” The White House is supposed to engage in “periodic mapping” of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies “shall share” requested information with the federal government. (“Cyber” is defined as anything having to do with the Internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.)

news.cnet.com

You know, I hate to say I told you so, but I surely did. This is what happens when you give idiot children matches- you shouldn’t be surprised when your house burns down, and here and now, the possibility exists in a dramatically more “real” fashion than ever before. 

First you have the “Diversity Thug” wanting to silence Talk Radio, which he will extend to TV (just watch)- and now a new law to shut down the internet in case of an (wonderfully vague) “emergency”- sounds a lot like the “denial of services” attacks Russia made on Georgia, crippling their communications before Russia attacked that country. 

But this is our own country- who are they afraid of? Who are they planning to attack? 

“The language has changed but it doesn’t contain any real additional limits,” EFF’s Tien says. “It simply switches the more direct and obvious language they had originally to the more ambiguous (version)…The designation of what is a critical infrastructure system or network as far as I can tell has no specific process. There’s no provision for any administrative process or review. That’s where the problems seem to start. And then you have the amorphous powers that go along with it.”

Translation: If your company is deemed “critical,” a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.

The Internet Security Alliance’s Clinton adds that his group is “supportive of increased federal involvement to enhance cyber security, but we believe that the wrong approach, as embodied in this bill as introduced, will be counterproductive both from an national economic and national secuity perspective.”

news.cnet.com

Yep- it’s coming- totalitarian control. It will be slow but steady- you will hardly notice when they wrap the coils of oppression around you. The groundwork is beginning- brought to you by “progressives” from both sides of the aisle. You might think I am delusional- some of the liberals that come here certainly will, but then they refuse to see the evidence in front of their own eyes, and that’s great for them.

Until the day where they do not agree with the Resident and his minions.

By then it is too late.

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Tags: dictator Barry, idiots, internet, regulation, suppression of speech